6

This question is inspired by Who was dreaming when and whose mind was being projected?, where the infographic shows very well in which mind each dream level takes place, except for the Limbo:

Inception infographic

So let's review, what is Limbo?

The top answer on this question provides the movie dialogue that explains it:

    ARIADNE
Limbo?

    ARTHUR 
Unconstructed dream space.

    ARIADNE 
What's down there?

    ARTHUR
Raw, infinite subconscious. Nothing 
there but what was left behind by 
anyone on the team who's been trapped 
there before. On this team... just 
Cobb.

That definition is really vague and does not really provide an answer to where the Limbo takes place, i.e. in which subconsciousness. As we know, usually someone has to sleep and dream the world so the others can link in.

I think it can be compared to hosting a dedicated server for a game. One of the players has to "host" (dream) the world on his "PC" (mind) for the others to be able connect to it. He then is able to control the environment.

Apparently Limbo happens in the subconscious, so the "player" is not able to actively control the environment. Still leaves the question:

In which subconscious does the limbo happen? How is that decided and who is able to control this world?

I would expect the person dying to fall down into their own sub-conscience. However Cobb and Saito are able to meet there, so that cannot be true.

Improve this question
2
  • Given that all those dreams are connected anyway (by whatever dream-sharing machinery), it could just be some kind of interconnected collective subconcious, well, the limbo, you know (the internet or the depths of the network connection in your analogy). Though "who's been trapped there before" seems to suggest some persistence even across individual dream-sessions. But interestig question (which ocurred to me too while reading that other question).
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Jun 3, 2014 at 15:39
  • Limbo takes place in Limbo
    – pt18cher
    Oct 24, 2014 at 16:20

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
9

The following is quoted from this page - http://inception.wikia.com/wiki/Limbo

Limbo exists as a space that is not dreamt by any one individual, but is a shared space where any mind can make drastic alterations of any kind.

Based on that game hosting server example you gave I would say a dream level is like a client-server architecture whereas limbo is a peer to peer model.

Improve this answer
1
  • Welcome to Movies & TV! Good information and good analogy, thank you.
    – magnattic
    Jun 3, 2014 at 15:45

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .