| “ | You have part of the big picture, Max. Not all of the picture. Sometimes when you're at your most certain, that's when everything you know is wrong. | ” |
–Voice talking to Max, The Final Warning | ||
The Voice is an entity that Max hears in her mind, usually giving advice or ominous warnings. It has also spoken to other Flock members. Although Jeb was briefly believed to be the Voice, in Nevermore, it was revealed to be Angel.
History[]
The Voice first appeared in the The Angel Experiment, shortly after Angel's rescue, giving Max horrible headaches as her brain adjusted. It helped them survive in New York and eventually track down the Institute for Higher Living.
The Voice tends to appear at the worst moment, gives advice that is more often confusing than helpful, and doesn't answer direct questions. It claims to be friendly to Max. Like Jeb Batchelder, it wants Max to "save the world." It is implied that Voice comes from a microchip implanted in Max's brain, and at one point from a microchip found in her arm, which it directly forbids her to remove. However, the theory of the microchip in her arm is proven false: even after the chip is removed by Dr. Martinez, the Voice remains in Max's head.
In Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, Jeb reveals an ability to "do the Voice" out loud, implying that he has been the one behind it all along. However, in The Final Warning, he states that he isn't the Voice. At the end of Nevermore, Angel reveals that she was the Voice all along. She has visions of the future, and used the Voice to warn Max and others about them.
Other Voices[]
Other people have heard the Voice; it's unclear whether all of these instances are the same Voice or not.
In School's Out - Forever, Ari has a Voice reminding him to take the Flock alive.
In FANG, Angel's Voice gives her the premonition about Fang's death, and she later obeys its advice to split the Flock into two in an attempt to separate Max and Fang, with a plan "to bring the flock into 'a new era of peace and prosperity.'" It's unclear how this fits in with the later revelation that Angel herself is the Voice.
In Nevermore, the Voice speaks to a surprised Fang, telling him that he has to go to Max and that she needs him. Later, it gives every single member of the Flock the message "Everything is about to change. Prepare yourselves." It gives Nudge the task of recording everything that happens, and tells Iggy and Gazzy to stay with Max and protect her at all costs. (Nudge seems surprised, but Iggy and Gazzy have apparently heard the Voice once or twice before.)
Dylan's task is to win Max's heart, in order to save the world. After Fang and Max are reunited, an enraged Dylan begins destroying the town, only for the Voice to tell him, "This isn't the answer. You know what your job is. You know what you have to do." He interprets this as an order to kill Fang, stating that "The Voice was right."
Description[]
Max found it impossible to tell if the Voice was male or female, adult or child, friend or foe.
Abilities[]
The Voice possesses knowledge from ninth-grade subjects to information on the School and Itexicon. It rarely offers this knowledge directly, preferring to make Max attempt to figure it out on her own. At times, it has given Max instructions or missions, such as in the epilogue of The Final Warning.
It also appears to be able to communicate through computers, TVs, Ouija boards, and other technology - for instance, when an Ouija board spells out the message "Save the World, Max." At times, it has been accompanied by visual hallucinations, such as Max seeing her reflection as an Eraser. Typically, it prefers to speak to Max directly.
Trivia[]
- Clues around the Voice's true identity are inconsistent or contradict each other - such as telling Fang to go to Max while influencing Dylan to kill Fang. Although Angel is revealed as the real Voice in Nevermore, it is not explained why she has a Voice in her own head.
- Jeb Batchelder is somehow aware of the Voice and has the ability to mimic it out loud.