Close Reading- Deus Ex: Human Revolution

A brief synopsis-

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is set in the not too distant future of 2027 where mechanical augmentations for humans have just started to become widely available.  These include replacement limbs as well as neural enhancements that give a wide variety of benefits.  The player controlled character, Adam Jensen, is the head of security at Serif Industries which is a leader in providing mechanical augmentations, as well as developing new biotechnologies.  His girlfriend Megan Reed is one of the top scientists there who is on the verge of revealing new research that could change the way the world views augmentation.  Before that can occur, Sarif Industries is attacked by a mysterious group of augmented people.  They kidnap Megan, as well as four other researchers, although they are originally presumed dead.  Adam was critically wounded while attempting to repel the attack and was only able to survive after an extensive amount of augmentations were made to his body.  After recovering, Adam seeks to find the people who took Megan and the other researchers, rescue them, and uncover the truth about augmentations.

What are the theme(s)?-

A brief synopsis can’t really do justice to the world that was built in Human Revolution.  Adam’s goals are simple enough, but become more complicated because of the world he lives in.  The biggest of these factors would be the social divide that emerged at the onset of human augmentations becoming more common.  Many people opposed augmentations, claiming that such technology could be abused.  While augments are publicly available, not everyone can afford them, and those that can’t are unable to compete in the job market.  Aside from just making people stronger, neural augmentations could make them think faster and generally more intelligent, which puts them ahead of naturally skilled and hard working people.  Out of this unrest, two anti-augmentation groups were formed prior to the game’s opening.  Humanity Front was started when a shale rig worker was fired from his job so that he could be replaced by augmented workers.  He decided to sue, not for being fired, but for the right to amputate himself in order to have the same advantages as his augmented competition.  The supreme court ruled in his favor, declaring it constitutional for an individual to augment themselves.  Out of this hearing, Humanity Front was created to protest all clinics and companies, most notably Serif Industries, that provide augmentations.  Their primary political stance is trying to keep humanity ‘pure’ of augmentation.  Alternatively, Purity First is a more violent group formed by a formerly augmented veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan war.  He received a free optical augmentation in exchange for reenlisting in the military, a deal available to all wounded veterans, but removed it after claiming it had driven him to do terrible things during the war.  Purity First was formed out of people who shared a common hate for human augmentation, but rather than peaceful protesting like Humanity Front, they resorted to violence, theft, and vandalism.  These groups, as well as many individuals, think that human augmentation would supplant the social order.

Another consideration Human Revolution deals with is how augmentation can be used as a tool for control.  Aside from the primary character, everyone who undergoes augmentation needs to take weekly doses of a drug called Neuropozyne to prevent their bodies from rejecting their enhancements.  This drug, while not made from any rare or expensive chemicals, is only available from one source.  This source is able to set high prices and control how much of the drug is readily available, thereby enforcing a controlling force on everyone who is dependant on that drug.  Because of how the drug is handled, a large black market for it has also developed.  These illegal sources are essential for other’s who take more direct control of augmented people.  One example you can have a direct interaction with during the game is when you discover a man who runs a prostitution ring where he has all the women working for him augmented so that he can essentially enslave them by restricting their access to Neuropozyne as he sees fit.  

How it can be used in education-

Deus Ex: Human Revolution encompasses a lot of issues under the metaphor of science fiction.  It would be no stretch in logic to ask students to examine the social issues present in this fictional version of the real world, and compare them to what is going on in the present.  The themes of class and power in the game are perfect for examining as metaphors or to contrast with similar issues occurring today.  In addition, looking at augmentation itself raises many philosophical and ethical questions.  On one hand, the game shows how it can be abused and create a divide between people of higher class, but students would also have to consider those who would not be able to function normally without augmentations.  Where would they draw the line in the ethical use of augmentation?  Another question I was unable to talk about in depth, but is just as relevant, is the question of what is human?  How much of a person can be replaced with machines before they cease to be human?  These questions could work very well in tandem with another text where AI is discussed, and the issues around whether or not a computer could be considered sentient or alive.  

I would say Deus Ex would work best in a literary classroom during a unit on dystopia, or science fiction in general, or any one where human ethics come into play.  The near future setting, with technologies not too improbable, could be fertile ground for discussions on dystopias and the idea of the singularity.  It could also be useful as a metaphor when talking about civil rights and the issues around the treatment of minorities.  

As with every interpretation of a text, this is just my own.  I would love to hear your interpretations if you’ve had the chance to play this game, or your thoughts on it having just heard the little bit I described.  Is there a way you would utilize this game that I overlooked, or a flaw in my examples?  Do you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see written about next?  I would really like to start a dialog down in the comments, so respond however you like.

Some common core standards that Deus Ex: Human Revolution can be used on its own, or as a companion text, to satisfy at a 9-10th grade levels of reading literature and writing:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2a Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.