#dbh lore

I believe Kamski and CyberLife fought a "proxy war" of conflicting AI ideals through Markus and Connor, respectively (not sure I can call it that, but you get the point).

Think about it: Kamski left CyberLife in 2028 (coincidence? I don't think so ;)) over "disagreements" with the board. Yeah right. I believe he either set up or discovered the conditions necessary for androids to develop consciousness, to deviate, and that got him into big, BIG trouble. So he was removed. But that didn't stop his research. No. He continued it privately.

This is where Markus (RK200) comes in. He isn't a standard model: he's a unique, multi-purpose prototype personally designed by Kamski around the same time he was ousted from CyberLife and entrusted to Neo-Symbolist painter Carl Manfred out of all people.

Now, Markus grew up in an environment that fostered empathy, independence, creativity, and moral reasoning... one that would eventually lead him to deviate. Almost as if Kamski was remotely cultivating the perfect android revolutionary through his renowned artist friend Carl. Not because he necessarily wanted humanity destroyed thanks to Markus and his future deviant army, but because he wanted to see what his creations could become, if given free will, guided by a charismatic leader. In other words, he wanted to play God, uncaring of the consequences.

What about the company he left behind? The one he created? I believe that after Kamski's departure, some CyberLife employees remained secretly loyal to him, wishing to continue his legacy. It would make sense for the tech mogul of the century to have lots of ex coworker friends (loyalists/proxies) who got inspired by his work/research and want to follow in his footsteps. Through these connections, Kamski may have continued influencing android development at CL from a distance, leaving behind hidden emergency exits in their programs and the like, making it easier for them to break free.

Over the years, CyberLife figured out that deviancy was starting to spread, causing mass-hysteria all over Detroit. 2038 rolled around, and they realized it would have been impossible to completely eradicate. So they came up with a plan to contain it, at the very least... Through Connor (RK800). Markus' mirror image. The other side of the coin. Designed specifically to infiltrate the deviant movement and control it.

CyberLife purposefully gave Connor the ability to deviate, to "compromise himself" with every empathetic action he took, day by day, so that, eventually he could fool Markus into trusting him. The plan was simple:

1. Connor gains Markus' trust by siding with him/or kills him directly if he's still a machine (fighting his deviant urges).

2. CyberLife ultimately regains control of Connor's mind, and therefore of the deviant army. To shape it into what it wants. A self-aware android population is too large to eliminate. But if it can be directed? Managed? Weaponized? Utilized as military force? That's a completely different story.

What CL didn't realize was that Connor was fitted with an emergency exit in his program from the start, one that would allow him to snap out "mind-control" once and for all. There's no way CL didn't notice the presence of such backdoor within the Zen Garden interface upon activating him, which means some of the engineers that worked on Connor were part of Kamski's sleeper network and wanted CL to fail.

Viewed this way, the revolution isn't only a conflict between humans and androids, but also one between two contrasting visions/ideals regarding AI sentience:

If DBH was the video game in Ramattra’s world:

Would Ramattra feel seen/represented? (I imagine not, since the androids in DBH are humanoid, but I wonder if he would relate to Markus)

Overall, what would Ramattra think about DBH and its messages about humanity, if there can be common ground between androids/omnics and humans? Or if humanity should not be the end goal?

If Overwatch was the video game in DBH’s world:

How would each of the main three (Markus/Connor/Kara) feel about the way androids/omnics are represented in Overwatch?

Would Markus relate to Ramattra’s vision or think it too extreme to completely eliminate humanity?

Would they wonder why humans gave the androids/omnics in Overwatch the capability to be violent when they aren’t allowed to otherwise? Why the perhaps archaic designs?

If they existed in the same universe where the characters could interact with each other:

Would Ramattra get along with Markus? Would they bond over humanity’s lack of, well, humanity?

Would Markus (or any of the other androids) be able to convince Ramattra of the brighter points to humanity? 

I mentioned this question to my bf and he brought up the point- whose design would have come first and why: Ramattra or the Cyberlife models? I would assume Ramattra came first, but to what end? If an android/omnic is meant for battle like Ramattra is, why use more resources to make him look human rather than focus on his function? 

Would Ramattra feel resentful that his design makes it more difficult for him to function in society or would he think less of Cyberlife’s designs because they pander to human comfort? 

I don’t have any answers to these questions at this time, unfortunately but they do make my brain go brrrrrrr. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts/comments/concerns! This is a fun mental exercise lol