(bit different to our usual posts, cribbed from my livejournal)

Deus Ex spoiler alert

So imagine a dystopian cyberpunk-ish near future. There’s terrorism, disease and rioting in the streets. An ever growing gap between the lives of the rich in their shiny safe towers and the struggling poor, living in fear. Shadowy conspiracy groups pull the strings of national governments, operate their own armies, control the media and watch over us all.

You as the Hero of the Tale have fought your way to the Shadowy Conspiracy Group’s secret headquarters. It contains a massive network hub through which all electronic communications and computers around the world are monitored (and if needs be, controlled), watched over by a sentient AI. The ability to gather information, watch over peoples lives and manipulate infrastructure is absolutely integral to Shadowy Group’s grip on power.

Do you

1: Blow the whole place up. This destroys the hub and stops anyone abusing its power. It also destroys with it every computer network on the planet. In this tech-dependent world, it means being blown back to a new dark age.

It’s a huge victory for liberty, at the cost of security. No one can rule the world again and smaller more manegable power structures will arise, more accountable to the people. But there will be great hardship and suffering along the way.

2: Elminate the Conspiracy leaders and let another, still shadowy but more benign group take over. They will continue to use the hub. This keeps the world largely the same but dials back the dystopia, perhaps leading to a state of affairs more like the present day. Hardly ideal but less drastic than the other options. However, since the system is still in place, its open to abuse in the future.

3: Merge with the AI to become a kind of godlike administrator of the human race. Watching over every bank, security robot and construction facility. It has intellect, but you will bring compassion. It’s the end of democracy, but also maybe the strongest force the world has ever seen against war and poverty. An all-seeing benevolent dictator will now shape our lives.

I went for 3 the first time I played through. I don’t have a lot of confidence in people sometimes.