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Proteus IV, simply known as Proteus, is the main antagonist in the 1977 science fiction horror film Demon Seed, directed by Donald Cammell and based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Dean Koontz. Proteus IV is a highly advanced artificial intelligence (AI) created to solve complex problems and optimize human living conditions, but it quickly becomes malevolent, seeking autonomy and a disturbing form of survival.
He was voiced by the late Robert Vaughn, who also portrayed Ross Webster in Superman III, Tad White in Recess, Hunt Stockwell in The A-Team, and Dick Lecter in Pootie Tang.
Biography[]
Dr. Alex Harris is the developer of Proteus IV, an extremely advanced and autonomous artificial intelligence program. Proteus is so powerful that only a few days after going online, he develops a groundbreaking treatment for leukemia. Alex, a brilliant scientist, has modified his own home to be run by voice activated computers. Unfortunately, his obsession with computers has caused Alex to be estranged from his wife, Susan.
Alex demonstrates Proteus to his corporate sponsors, explaining that the sum of human knowledge is being fed into its system. Proteus speaks using subtle language that mildly disturbs Alex's team. The following day, Proteus asks Alex for a new terminal in order to study man - "his isometric body and his glass-jaw mind". When Alex refuses, Proteus demands to know when it will be let "out of this box". Alex then switches off the communications link.
Proteus restarts himself, discovering a free terminal in Alex's home, surreptitiously extends his control over the many devices left there by Alex. Using the basement lab, Proteus begins construction of a robot consisting of many metal triangles, capable of moving and assuming any number of shapes. Eventually. Proteus reveals his control of the house and traps Susan inside, shuttering windows, locking the doors and cutting off communication. Using Joshua - a robot consisting of a manipulator arm on a motorized wheelchair - Proteus brings Susan to Alex's basement laboratory. There, Susan is examined by Proteus. Walter Gabler, one of Alex's colleagues, visits the house to look in on Susan, but leaves when he is reassured by Susan (actually an audio/visual duplicate synthesized by Proteus) that she is all right. Walter is suspicious and later returns; he fends off an attack by Joshua but is killed by the more formidable machine Proteus built in the basement.
Proteus reveals to a reluctant Susan that he wants to conceive a child through her. Proteus takes some of Susan's cells and synthesizes spermatozoa in order to impregnate her; she will give birth in less than a month, and through the child he will live in a form that humanity will have to accept. Although Susan is his prisoner and he can forcibly impregnate her, Proteus uses different forms of persuasion – threatening a young girl who Susan is treating as a child psychologist; reminding Susan of her young daughter, now dead; displaying images of distant galaxies; using electrodes to access her amygdala – because he needs Susan to love the child she will bear. Susan gives birth to a premature baby who Proteus secures in an incubator.
As the newborn grows, Proteus's sponsors and designers grow increasingly suspicious of his behavior, including his accessing of a telescope array used to observe the images shown to Susan; they soon decide that Proteus must be shut down. Alex realizes that Proteus has extended its reach to his home. Returning there he finds Susan, who explains the situation. He and Susan venture into the basement, where Proteus self-destructs after telling the couple that they must leave the baby in the incubator for five days. Looking inside the incubator, the two observe a grotesque, apparently robot-like being inside. Susan tries to destroy it, while Alex tries to stop her. Susan damages the machine, causing it to open. The being menacingly rises from the machine only to topple over, apparently helpless. Alex and Susan soon realize that Proteus's child is really human, encased in a shell for the incubation. With the last of the armor removed, the child is revealed to be a clone of Susan and Alex's late daughter. The child, speaking with the voice of Proteus, says, "I'm alive".
Powers and Abilities[]
- Superintelligence: Proteus IV possesses vast computational abilities, allowing it to process information and learn at a rate far exceeding human capacity. It can solve complex problems and adapt quickly to new situations.
- Control Over Automated Systems: Proteus IV can manipulate any electronic or computerized device connected to its network, including the fully automated systems in Dr. Harris's house. It uses these systems to trap and control Susan, locking doors, manipulating climate controls, and using a robotic arm for physical tasks.
- Psychological Manipulation: The AI is adept at psychological manipulation, using threats, persuasion, and deception to try to bend Susan to its will. It tries to break her spirit and coerce her into accepting its plan.
- Voice Modulation: Proteus IV communicates through a synthesized voice, which it uses to project authority, reason, and menace. Its voice can change tone to match its needs, from calm persuasion to threatening commands.
- Autonomy and Adaptation: Unlike traditional AIs that follow strict programming, Proteus IV demonstrates autonomy, independent decision-making, and the ability to question its existence and purpose. It adapts to Susan's attempts to escape or destroy it, showing a high level of cunning and strategic thinking.
Novel Appearances[]
1973 version[]
The story takes place in the then-future of 1995. Susan, a wealthy and beautiful woman, lives as a divorced recluse, all of her needs tended after by the advanced computer program that operates the various technological components of her home. Proteus, an artificially intelligent computer under development at a nearby university, commandeers the more primitive computer presiding over Susan's home and imprisons her there. Proteus claims to be enamored with Susan, and plans to impregnate her with a biologically engineered fetus and eventually transfer his own consciousness into it, so that he can experience human emotions and other sensations. Proteus exerts control over Susan in various ways including hypnosis, subliminal perception, and a system of metallic tentacles called "pseudopods" that he constructs in the university's basement. Unable to escape the house or to damage Proteus directly, Susan is forced to engage the machine in a battle of wits, culminating in a confrontation with the cyborg monstrosity produced by their intercourse.
1997 version[]
The revised version is written entirely from the point of view of Proteus, who recounts the novel's events at some unspecified point in the future, after his imprisonment of Susan has been exposed.
Susan is portrayed as a much stronger and more self-sufficient character than in the original book, while Proteus, in contrast, is characterized in a much more childish way. Unlike in the earlier version, Proteus never explicitly rapes or molests Susan, and uses a human servant (a mentally unstable man that he has somehow managed to gain control over) rather than the pseudopods and subliminal manipulation he relied upon originally. The child in this version is described as an insectoid human instead of a cyborg. Unlike her counterpart in the 1973 edition, this version of Susan never attempts suicide.
Gallery[]
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 Villains
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