The cab driver was found in Los Angeles during the events surrounding the discovery of the Ankaran Sarcophagus in late 2004. Little is known about him, except that he and Smiling Jack know each other.
It is strongly implied that the taxi driver may be Caine, the first vampire and ancestral sire of all Cainites. Evidence to support this theory includes:
His line about "driving people to their destination" before the final confrontation with LaCroix/Ming, as quoted above, contains a strong ironic undertone: as a mere cab driver, he does "drive people to their destination" in the literal sense, but as Caine, father of all vampires, the inherited blood connection with his Kindred also allows him to subconsciously "drive" their actions via manipulation of the Jyhad, a fact he reminds the fledgling of via the "blood of Caine" reference.
A Malkavianfledgling shows an immediate instinctual terror towards the cab driver, suggesting that their clan's unique insight has led them to recognize him as Caine. This is supported by several lines of dialog: demanding to know "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING US?" (with the "us" referring to all Kindred, rather than the personal "me"), results in the driver replying that he is "just a driver", and it is up to "you" (referring to all Kindred, if the analogy is followed) to "figure out where you want to be taken". The Malkavian fledgling can then retort with "But you've made that mistake before", to which he tersely responds "Yes".[1]
When speaking with Rosa, the seer, on the Santa Monica Beach, one line of dialogue mentions a smiling man), and the "Father" standing behind him. At the end of the game, a cutscene is shown with Jack watching the Venture Tower from afar and laughing, with the corpse of Messerach next to him; in the last moments of the game, the Cab Driver appears unexpectedly behind him, bearing a smoky black aura that no other character in the game displays, and repeating his earlier line: "Remember, wherever we go, it is the blood of Caine which makes our fate".
Although this specific curse does not appear in the Book of Nod, in the Bible, Caine was reportedly cursed to forever wander; an apt description of a taxi driver.
If the cab driver was not actually Caine, it is possible that Caine possessed the cab driver remotely (using the Possession power of Dominate, especially if he had also engineered the recovery of the Ankharan Sarcophagus in Turkey. This is supported by the appearance of Kapaneus in VTM: Gehenna: The Final Night in Kaymakli: Kaymakli and Ankara are both in Turkey, a mere 300 km apart.
In VTM: Gehenna: The Final Night, which was set after the events of Bloodlines but published ten months before its release, Jack insists that he had met with Caine himself.
When speaking to Andrei as a Malkavian for the first time, the player is able to say: "the Dark Father walks among us. With scales in his hand." Andrei replies: "Indeed. And I fear not his wrath or judgement."
Quests[]
Ming Must Die!
Royal Flush
Trivia[]
When any character uses the Auspex trait, the Cab Driver has a purple aura, which is used for supernatural entities such as vampires.
The files containing the Cab Driver's text and audio dialog, as well as the model and texture files, are all named with the prefix "caine".
The taxi license displayed in the back of the cab is at a very low resolution,
A higher-res recreation of the cab license
as it was never intended to be viewed up close, but the displayed name appears to be "MICHAEL SELENE," a reference to the two main protagonists of the 2003 Underworld film. The permit is a New York City permit rather than one from Los Angeles, with an expiry date of May 31, 1977.
The distinct facial structure of the Cab Driver bears a strong resemblance[2] to actor David Will No[3]. No played one of the Merovingian's henchmen, the exile vampire-program Cain, in The Matrix Reloaded. Reloaded was in theatres during production of Bloodlines.
Gallery[]
the Cab Driver's cab
References[]
↑"Caine felt anger when his children fought / He discovered deceit when he saw them make world-war / He knew sadness when he saw them abuse the Children of Seth / Caine read the signs / In the darkening sky / But he said nothing." - VTM: The Book of Nod, p. 27
