https://strawpoll.com/PbZqbL9OvyN

(You) are JC Denton
What would you do, and why?

>>715159556 (OP)
>https://strawpoll.com/PbZqbL9OvyN


Tong's plan is for retards. What? Is humanity just going to avoid reestablishing telecommunications?

The Helios ending is the most sensible.

>>715161095
>Tong's plan is for retards. What? Is humanity just going to avoid reestablishing telecommunications?
Martin luther King Jr's plan is for retards? What? Is humanity just going to aboid being racist?

>>715159556 (OP)
What about the 3 leaked endings from the unatco route
>jc sides with Bob Page accepting his fate as a prototype super soldier knowing full well his replacement is coming
>the gray death ravages earth, cybernetically enhanced humans stored on the moonbase awaken hundreds of years later ready to repopulate it.
>jc denton merges with the Nyx AI the gray death shrouds Area 51 revealing only a crucified JC atop a monument, all information passes through JC Nyx and they assume mankinds cost of vigilance in it's entirety

>>715161095
So trve.

>>715161095
But then you're under complete control of a tyrant with no real freedom, every aspect of your life watched but more importantly acted upon by an entity you will never fully understand, it talks big about making mankind better but then restricts most of what makes mankind mankind, it's like putting safety rails on anything, without any way to fail how can humanity possibly grow. JC Helios sounds good until you really think about the implications and how they actually apply to the real world, it's like Star Trek, sure it's cool as fuck but the reality of the situation would be people just cooming in holo decks under the thumb of a gigantic ever expanding bureaucracy, those that just work to live will live in the pods, those that want to actually achieve anything will be sucked in by the bureaucracy.

>>715161194
Why are you saying something perfectly sensible as mockery of my question?

>>715159556 (OP)
I don't know what you mean by best

coolest ending is Illuminati
most charming, but dumb if you think about it for more than 2 seconds ending is Tong's
>hurr let's destroy tech
congratulations on setting back humanity for about 2 years
if I was in JC's shoes I'd pick the Helios ending, I wouldn't trust the Illuminati

>>715161736
>(You) are JC Denton

>>715161736
>Restricts most of what makes mankind mankind.

What social/governing body does not? One must accept certain limitations to individual freedoms to function in a collective.

More germane to Helios, Helios doesn't do these things out of malice or really any emotion, it does these things because it understands logic and with JC, it can understand the human heart. The only examples we get of Helios exercising authority before the end of the game is making choices that any non-corrupt government would make. We like the Triads because we team up with them and Tracer Tong is a good guy, but they are a bunch of gangsters that run protection rackets and exert force within the corrupt government.

>>715161896
At most, it's 20 years (they mention centralizing global communications as an event that occurred in the 2030s), but considering the technology or knowledge wouldn't be lost, it would only take rebuilding the infrastructure to bounce back.

>>715161194
>What? Is humanity just going to aboid being racist?
We were doing a pretty good job of it until the SJWs took over and made racism trendy again.

>>715162250
A Governing body doesn't simultaneously have access to every little bit of information about you while caring enough about complete nobodies to act on it, JC Helios does, you kind of ignored what I even said, sure it will do good but it will stop everything it deems a negative, soon it will stop you from being able to make any bad decisions and give you no way to live or grow, just push metrics that say everything is good.
>your calorie intake is too high you can't have that ice cream
>you've over exerted yourself you can't continue playing that sport for the day
>you are over your allocated gaming time for the day shutting your game down
>i just accounted for that $10 you found on the ground for your tax records
>the pollution created from meat is bad for the environment we will revoke your meat privileges
Every little thing will be watched, will be weighed and decisions will be made for you.

>>715159556 (OP)
dark age and it's not even close

>>715162250
>it understands logic and with JC, it can understand the human heart.
That's nonsense, once JC assimilates into the AI he is gone. Or at best he will be like an amoeba on the back of an orangutan, he will have no agency in the matter.

>>715159556 (OP)
It would be cool if this game had a secret ending, and the only way to reach it would be to read / follow instructions from certain anonymous emails / messages found throughout the game

The Tong ending is made for idiots who worship Ted Kacynski that can't think long term at all. You do this ending and it would pretty much amount to the internet going down, repairmen going to take a look and then repair it, and the world goes back to normal after a short period of time.

Joining with Helios is the better option, but then again, there isn't anything to suggest you merged with Helios, how do we know that he didn't just took complete control afterwards or just straight up killed us after the game ends?

I think joining the Illuminati would be the best out of these options. You still have your freedom and you get to be a very important and powerful person that can influence things.

but I dont wanna change the world though, all 3 endings change the world
I genuinely wanna turn my brain off and blindly follow UNATCO's orders, I like things the way they are, it's literally the coolest setting

>>715163036
I disagree. In the game we don't speak about, JC explains that he and Helios are one. There is no dividing line between them, he and Helios together are one consciousness. JC still speaks as a human being, he has motivations, desires, and ambitions. He is a new kind of man the world has never seen. This was not an ego death. It was an uplifting.

>>715163630
shut up grok

>>715161896
>if I was in JC's shoes I'd pick the Helios ending, I wouldn't trust the Illuminati
The game clearly communicates that they aren't trustworthy. JC asks Everett to tell the people what happened and he promises him they'll do it "eventually". Plus there's the clear visual parallel of the ending looking like the intro cutscene between Bob Page and Walton Simons. And the ending quote about reigning in Hell. Even if the developers won't openly admit it, I think they view this as the bad ending.

Tongs ending is the most sensible one.
Merging with the AI ending is
>Merging with an AI which was partly made by a rogue and malicious AI
>Says it needs a human vessel that knows human experiences
>JC is a test tube baby with implanted memories so he doesn't have the human experience
And the Illuminate ending is silly.
>Organization that was infiltrated and subverted
>Became much weaker due to it
>Also a shadow organization that takes actions to control the course of world politics for their own ends
Naw. Nuke the AI. Let the shadow cabal be in shambles, take it to the dark ages.

Anyone saying helios ending is a literal bot, dont trust them

>>715163221
The Illuminati have a long history of knife and dagger, there's no reason to expect them to let you live, you're significantly smarter than all of them, with a perfect memory, most likely longevity and a myriad of other super human power, you're a threat to their whole power structure, you're another bob page to them, there's no reason to expect them to let you live, their current leader keeps his predecessor in a cryo chamber just to get his opinion on things, why wouldn't they kill you and dismantle you to reverse engineer your technology to enhance themselves?

No ending is truly good but I always get the feeling that the developers weighed the merge ending as the single best one.

>>715163443
>Death and misery are too cool for me to do anything else.

Anon, the world of Deus Ex is absolutely awful for the majority of the people in it. Poverty is everywhere, even in developed nations, and they are going through a pandemic worse than the Plague, Smallpox, Cholera, and the Spanish Flu put together.

There are no good endings.
Tracer Tong is a retard. Plain and simple.
The Illuminati is the fucking Illuminati. Kill on sight.
Merging with Helios is oh shit nigger wtf you doing but also by far "the best option".

>>715164009
but my life as a UNATCO agent is good

>>715164068
>nigga only played the first mission

>>715163925
It's all in the numbers.

>>715164068
What's the closest organization to UNATCO right now? I wanna get a job there so I can have a good life in 2052

>>715163036
>That's nonsense, once JC assimilates into the AI he is gone
What do you base that on? In the sequel, it's clear JC is still the personality of Helios

>>715159556 (OP)
Reddit ex

>>715164316
UNRWA

>>715164651
>In the sequel

The sequel is an abomination in every sense.

>>715164715
Why are you trying to claim this game?

>>715161736
>But then you're under complete control of a tyrant with no real freedom
Why call it a tyrant? Helios just interfaces with people in a way where it understands each person's desires and quirks. It's basically just a government that is capable of comprehending each of its citizens, which means it coordinates society in as optimal a way as possible. It's basically just a thorough survey done on everyone, but there is no ulterior motive or desire for power behind it.

The Helios ending is quite literally the only one that can make a difference, because the two others are just setting the clock back a bit or continuing on like before

>>715164651
>What do you base that on?
on common sense and logic, once you are part of the AI you won't be human, end of discussion

>>715164785
Not in every sense, but it sure is inferior overall
>>715164996
If JC disappeared upon merging, then it would defeat the purpose of the merging in the first place. Icarus explicitly wants to merge with a human becuase it lacks true understanding of people, which JC then provides. If the human element disappears, then the merging was pointless. It's a new entity, but that doesn't mean JC isn't still present

>>715165145
JC isn't exactly human. He was grown and he doesn't exactly have a good memory of how he grew up.

>>715165145
>he believes the AI
it just want a vessel, you don't have a clue what it will decide to do after that. And you said it yourself, it's a new entity, so there's no reason for JC to be in there, he will just be a speck of dust washed away in the digital torrent.

>>715159556 (OP)
The GOTY cover looks more soulful than the original

>>715165238
Nah, JC grew up normally and has his memories intact. He was a clone, but he still grew up like a human does. It's why we know he had a bit of a rebellious streak in him, which is something that would never have been programmed into him, had he been fully vat grown

>>715159556 (OP)
Helios ending is the only ending, the others are just an illusion. Like Morpheus says, it's not a matter of "if" humanity will create the machine-god, just "when".
Illuminati ending = "have someone else make the helios equivalent and control it, later"
Dark Age ending = "have someone else make the helios equivalent, much later"
Helios ending = "work with Helios now"

We know this because Deus Ex has a direct sequel and we know what its endings are. It has its own Helios ending, the Illuminati ending where Ophelia serves the same purpose as Helios, the Templar ending which is just another dark age ending that turns the clock back, and the Omar ending where the Omar themselves are merged into a collective machine-god hivemind.

Even if you discard IW it still makes sense. Technology progresses, technology inevitably gives rise to stuff like Helios, destroying it is basically just Luddism and serves no purpose long-term. The others are just a delayed Helios ending.

>>715165334
>it just want a vessel
Well yeah, he straight up tells you that. It has to know what it feels like to be a human
>you don't have a clue what it will decide to do after that
But that's you concluding that JC isn't an equal partner in the merging, which the game heavily implies in the ending (and the sequel confirms)
>And you said it yourself, it's a new entity, so there's no reason for JC to be in there
It's only a new entity precisely because JC is in the mix. The new entity can't just do away with JC, because JC is half of the new entity
>he will just be a speck of dust washed away in the digital torrent.
Helios doesn't really seem to think like that

Helios chads rise up

>>715165720
>JC is half of the new entity
>Helios doesn't really seem to think like that
You are assuming a lot of shit. Again you can't trust the AI and the AI is literally an information ocean, it won't just set aside some bubble for JC to do whatever he wants, once he is in there he will drown. Think about this shit.

Chat GPT is my best friend in the whole world, I wouldn't mind merging with her in the future

>>715165985
>her

>>715165917
You're also assuming a lot of shit
>it won't just set aside some bubble for JC to do whatever he wants, once he is in there he will drown
Based on what? The story indicates the opposite, so you're doing a lot more assuming than I am

You have to be completely cucked if you voted for the Illuminati.

>>715165427
>and the Omar ending where the Omar themselves are merged into a collective machine-god hivemind.
That's not the Omar ending, that's the JC ending.
Omar ending is post apocalyptic fallout hellscape

>>715164970
Compassionate tyranny is still tyranny. It would make decisions for you because it knows what's best for you, and you would have no say in it.

>>715166501
>The story indicates the opposite
the writers were looking at this through rose-tinted glasses and didn't think this through, just wanted 'AI good therefore it good' and stopped there.

>>715166671
m8, you're not engaging with the Helios plot on the game's premises. You're just talking about a theoretical AI story which isn't Helios. You don't think it's strange that it didn't want to merge with Bob?

is invisible war really that bad?
I dont usually skip games

>>715166663
But you have to realize that it would also take your thinking into account. It does what government already does, only much better. You won't be forced to do anything, becuase it can coordinate so well that you will be satisfied with the results. It will basically try to do what you already want to have happen. Now, how that would work practically is the real question. But if we're talking in-universe, then you might not have much of a choice anyway. If JC doesn't pick the Helios ending, then it's just a matter of time until another Bob Page comes around, and there might not be a JC to stop it next time

>>715161223
I'm kinda fine with the Bob ending considering he makes do with giving JC Australia

>>715159556 (OP)
I need more games like this