A recent update to the popular action RPG Genshin Impact features in-game text that draws striking parallels to the widely publicized issues surrounding the $14.7 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C.
Players have found a document within the game penned by a character named Grand Duke Diomid Turzov. The text describes Turzov's experience building a large fountain, which he boasts is the most beautiful in Snezhnaya and potentially all of Teyvat. He laments that the fountain was "ruined" by "horrible Tidalga" from Fontaine, which made the water "ugly." Turzov claims he "fixed" the problem by draining the fountain and painting the bottom a "beautiful, bright paint." However, he then blames "idiots on the Snezhnograd Veche" and "thugs" for sabotaging the fountain, suggesting they knew the paint would cause problems.
Turzov's narrative continues with his intention to hire "biggest, toughest, strongest warriors" to round up vandals and "paint-scraping lunatics" he believes are responsible for further damage. The parallels to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool incident are notable. Following its renovation, the pool turned a murky neon green shortly after being refilled. Scientists attributed this to a massive algae bloom, caused by the new dark blue paint absorbing more solar radiation and heating the water.
Initially, then-US President Donald Trump suggested vandals were to blame, alleging a "massive slit" had been cut into the pool's bottom. While several individuals were arrested for trespassing and alleged vandalism, criminal charges were ultimately dropped by federal prosecutors. Later investigations by federal authorities and independent experts concluded that contractor errors, design flaws, and chemical treatments were the primary causes of the pool's failure, not vandalism.
The tone and specific complaints detailed in Turzov's in-game document—blaming external forces and flawed workmanship while boasting of a personal fix—closely mirror aspects of the public discourse surrounding the reflecting pool's issues. This instance marks a rare occasion where a video game appears to directly reference and satirize a contemporary real-world event. The document's author expresses frustration over shoddy workmanship and external sabotage, a narrative that echoes the conflicting explanations and investigations that followed the reflecting pool's algae bloom and peeling sealant. The game's approach uses in-world lore to comment on these events, highlighting how narratives of blame and artistic vision can play out in unexpected contexts.