Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.46.22.35-20130403153709/@comment-64.33.250.214-20150627224544

Adachi Did It wrote: Correct, but that still doesn't explain the sudden stop in aging. You have to imagine starting a domino effect (i.e speeding up the aging process) is a lot easier than stopping it completely (i.e stopping the person aging).

Surely the point of Solidus prematurely aging would've been a counter-measure against such a future betrayal. Not making a young child protect the greatest soldier alive, someone Zero has literally commited/attempted to commit atrocites for/against.

Could Solidus be Ishmael? there's always a chance, but it wouldn't make sense imo if Kojima did so. Small retcons are one thing, but making a character who claimed to have never met Big Boss be his 9 year guardian is a big retcon.

Also unless Kojima at some point explains the sudden decrease in his speed of aging how are we to figure it out? Simply saying "I'm a 12 year old who looks in his 30's, but I won't age again for a while because my genetics say so for the plot-twist son" won't cut it. We're not at the point where science can manipulate genes that determine longevity. Theoretically, if scientists were able to program a gene responsible for accelerated aging, then they should be able to program the length of its activity. Solidus wouldn't stop aging altogether, but the accelerated aging could be designed to cancel out at a specific age.

It's implied through MGS2 that The Patriots intended to kill Solidus through Raiden by way of the S3 Plan. They didn't necessarily need to reset his aging genes in case of betrayal, as the S3 Plan implies they predicted or intended his betrayal in the first place. If the plan had failed, then I'm sure the Patriots would've had a countermeasure.

Who said Zero intends for Solidus to protect Big Boss? That could be the reason, or it could be a test they're putting Solidus through. If Solidus can get close to Boss and keep him from falling into enemy hands, he'd be able to prove himself as a rightful successor. Solidus wouldn't be a small child the entire time. Remember, it only took Solid 5 years to age about 30 years.