Deiyen on 27/5/2002 at 09:43
I'm sure there's been hundreds of posts about the three different endings, and I'm scared that this'll be redundant. People are gonna start telling me to "use the search function!" but I wanted to just start a new thread, from the beginning. I wanna say what's on my mind about the endings. What follows are ending spoilers, so consider this your warning, I'm not gonna bother using spoiler tags.
The Helios ending was the first that I chose. I wonder about exactly what happens when JC and Helios merge. Separate, both have their obvious flaws. JC is only human, tied down by human needs and human natures. Helios has the goal to create the "perfect" society, but he has no understanding of these human needs and natures. When Helios and JC merge, how can we know that they can make the "right" decisions? JC is far from the perfect human being, he kills, he lies, he is a betrayer, even if it is for the better cause. Of course, Helios has the advantage of knowing all, making unbiased choices for the benefit of humanity, but it's hard to say whether only JC's "good" characteristics are manifested in the result.
In the Illuminati ending, Everett claims that "This time we will do it right." This seems to suggest that things were "wrong" to begin with. When I see it, these "wrongs" come from people and society itself. There can be no "perfect freedom." Individual sacrifices must be made to benefit the whole. The Illuminati have a great potential in ruling the world, but these "wrong"s can't be fixed. New problems will inevitably crop up, no matter how much we learn from the past. One ruler, or a group of rulers, is always prone to corruption, and I believe that this and other "wrong"s are due to the complexity of human nature.
The Dark Ages ending seems to be, as JC puts it, "overkill," a very drastic measure. By the time of the game, how much have we come to be dependent on technology? What exactly is meant by a "Dark Age." Completely no technology? A "Stone Age" as some people have put? Or simply, loss of network and communicating technologies? One thing that comes to mind, is JC's infolink. What happens when everything is destroyed? Might it be possible that JC suffer some harmful consequences? Or perhaps it just happens that no one can communicate with JC through infolink anymore. In that case, if JC survives, the technology survives with him. Also, a Dark Age might be beneficial as far as freedom goes for a short period of time, but logically, what follows is a feudal system, as we've seen in Europe's own Dark Age. Humans depend on social coordination to create governments and laws. So it is inevitable that political factions would form. These separate factions would fight for control and power. And the will to dominate would only lead to the same problems we've seen in history.
I can't say which is the best ending since all have benefits and drawbacks, but the Helios ending is for sure one that we've never tried. Since we've given the others a shot, might as well try a computer AI controlled world. Anyway, that's my dollar, two cents is too cheap.
ICEBreaker on 27/5/2002 at 13:56
That is a good analysis. You also spotted the fact that the three endings also represented past, present and future. Tong's ending is effectively setting the clock back 100 years, the Everett ending is giving the reins of power back to the people who used to have it before Page came along 5 or 10 years ago. Finally the Helios ending represents a new future, something which has never been tried, as you noticed.
santaClaws on 27/5/2002 at 19:39
Use the search function! :p
You wanted it that way, admit it. Secretly you desired it.
Deiyen on 27/5/2002 at 22:55
Lol, no! Unless you mean "secretly" as in "subconciously," then maybe.
ICEBreaker, I wasn't intentionally pointing out the past, present, future, although I did read a few of your posts about it in the other thread. I guess reading it influenced my own thinking.
Pipe Smoke on 29/5/2002 at 02:27
Yea, naturally I saved and tried all 3 out but the one I would pick in real life is the Helios ending.
Evil_Giraffe on 29/5/2002 at 08:57
I think there's a secret fourth ending. I haven't found it yet, but I'm convinced there is.
Remember as you're entering one of the areas in the bunker, one of the scientist blokes says "There must be a better way." I can't remember who, it's been a long while since I played it through.
Also, if you look on the CD, there are FOUR ending files. I haven't tried to see what's in them yet, because I wanted to try and find the ending without any clues. Does anyone else know about this? It may have come up before, this is the first time I've visited these forums.
Amorpheus on 29/5/2002 at 16:06
Actually, it's a secret ending. Open it through the console or rename it as intro, you'll know it when you see it. :cheeky:
Singing Dancing Moose on 29/5/2002 at 16:13
The secret dance ending can only be found by cheating, as far as anyone knows.
