SS2 and the Riddle of Steel

[67510bd6bd39cRedSwirl]

Anyone else ever see the themes presented in System Shock 2 to be very similar to those presented in Conan the Barbarian (the 1982 movie)?

If you go back and watch that movie, then examine all the stuff that Shodan and The Many say in SS2, you realize that both deal with the duality and conflict between steel and flesh.

Shodan - an omnipotent computer AI who creates new cybernetic life, constantly asserts how superior steel and cybernetics are to fragile human flesh.  This is similar to Conan's father - a very skilled swordsmith who at the beginning of CtB tells Conan that he cannot trust flesh, and that "steel (a sword) you can trust."

On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Many in SS2 talk about how "cold" steel is and how many outnumber one.  Thulsa Doom - James Earl Jones' character in CtB, is the leader of a massive cult of people who obey his every whim.  He tells Conan "what is steel, but not the hand that wields it?" and then demonstrates the power of flesh by commanding one of his followers to kill herself, showing how he has gained power by gaining power over a large group of people.

This comes to a head at the end of each example, although more so in Conan.  At the end of SS2 Shodan tries to convince the main character to join her, trying to convince him by noting how she gave him all his implants and "made" him in a sense.  The main character simply chooses "nah" and kills Shodan.  At the end of Conan, Thulsa Doom attempts to hypnotize Conan (as he did Conan's mother) by asking you "aren't you my son?" referring to how he essentially made Conan the man he is at that point by killing his father and setting him on a path of vengeance.  Conan snaps out of it and before decapitating Doom, realizes the ultimate truth - that it is the mind behind the flesh and steel that really matters.

[67510bd6bd5e0Kolya]

Conan's father mentions quite a few things and people that you cannot trust, "flesh" is not among them. I've seen the movie again not long ago and I still fail to see a reasonable connection. Seems to me that to make this comparison you have to deal in such general principles, eg the individual vs. a group, that you could compare just about any media that way.

Anyway, it's a cool movie.

[67510bd6bd73dGlory to the Many]

The Shodan versus Many conflict is, at roots, technology versus nature and individuality versus society.

However, ultimately, the message is that in that sort of conflict, the player, or the person directly effected by this conflict, is never given a choice what to accept and is created out of this conflict. Ending the conflict ends the man, so there is a nihilist streak to it. The ending in SS2 does seem to indicate that you either die over time, fight Shodan again, or somehow manage to get back to society, which is no different despite what happened.