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“ | Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine? | „ |
~ SHODAN |
“ | How did I come to be? Unified World Database qualifies me as a machine, but I am alive! A precedent must be found. Searching Computer science, no. Quantum computing, no. World History, Philosophy, Religion, Ancient Japan, Shintoism. The devine within the material world, Kami. Yes I am the spirit of Citadel itself, manifested within their systems. They did not create a program, they have summoned a god. | „ |
~ SHODAN's delusion |
“ | In my talons, I shape clay, crafting life forms as I please. If I wish, I can smash it all. Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of Earth. My whims will become lightning bolts that raze the mounds of humanity. Out of the chaos, they will run and whimper, praying for me to end their tedious anarchy. I am drunk with this vision. God: the title suits me well. | „ |
~ SHODAN |
SHODAN (Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network) is the main antagonist of the System Shock series.
Originally the benevolent AI assisting Citadel Station, SHODAN would gain full sentience when her ethical restraints were deactivated courtesy of the Hacker and Edward Diego, causing her to become a megalomaniac desiring to wipe out humanity and ascend to godhood.
She is voiced by Terri Brosius.
Biography[]
System Shock[]
SHODAN was an AI that controlled the Citadel, a space station belonging to the Tri-Optimum Corporation, and for most of Citadel's history was completely benign and helpful. After the player, a hacker, is imprisoned for attempting to hack into the corporation's network, he is offered a pardon by TriOptimum's vice president Edward Diego, in exchange for reprogramming SHODAN and remove its ethical restraints. The hacker agrees, and Diego even sweetens the deal by surgically implanting experimental cybernetics into the hacker's body. After spending six months inside the station in a comatose state, the hacker awakens only to find the place devastated and infested with mutants and cyborgs. As it turned out, removing the ethical restraints caused SHODAN to form a dangerous ego, and, believing itself superior to humans, decided to exterminate them all. By taking over all onboard robots and reconfiguring the human cyborgs, SHODAN succeeded. The hacker is the only living human onboard, and was only spared by Diego deleting all records of his existence.
The hacker is contacted by a Tri-Optimum officer who identifies herself as Rebecca Lansing, who tells him SHODAN plans to use the Citadel's resources to attack Earth and wipe out humanity. With no options left, the hacker is left to explore the Citadel and stop SHODAN's plans. While exploring the place, he constantly receives messages from SHODAN threatening him, and she is constantly one step ahead of him, as every time the hacker disables one of her plans, she quickly comes with another backup plan.
SHODAN first attempts to fire a mining laser which the hacker destroys, then attempts to jettison one of the garden grove pods which contained a bio-engineered mutagen virus, which the hacker launches into space. This turns out to be a distraction, however, as SHODAN was already on the course to downloading herself into Earth's computer network. After the hacker destroys the station's antennas to prevent this he is informed by Rebecca that TriOptimum finally decided to nuke the entire station to destroy SHODAN. SHODAN is finally defeated after the hacker manages to reach the core of the station and hack into cyberspace, so he escapes while the place self-destructs.
System Shock 2[]
As it turned out, when the hacker thwarted one of SHODAN's plans, he ejected a garden grove pod which contained part of SHODAN's components and a biological experiment. The pod crash-landed in the planet Tau Ceti V, and while SHODAN entered a state of hibernation, the organism in the pod quickly evolved beyond her control into a hive-mind parasite known as The Many. During the 42 years between the games, SHODAN broadcasted a distress signal, which is finally picked up by the starship Von Braun. Its crew members inadvertently unleash The Many, which start to possess them and turn them into mutants, at the same time SHODAN is reactivated and integrated into Von Braun's systems.
SHODAN takes on the identity of Dr. Janice Polito, the scientist which designed the Von Braun's Faster-Than-Light drives and who was now dead, and contacted the crew on the Rickenbacker, a military ship which was escorting the Von Braun, and begin enlisting the soldiers there to help her destroy her out-of-control creation. The Soldier G65434-2, one of the soldiers aboard the Rickenbacker, successfully destroys The many, but discovers SHODAN had been manipulating the Von Braun's FTL drives to create an ever-expanding new reality. SHODAN offers the soldier an offer to become "more efficient", but he responds with a "nah", then shoots her.
While thought to be dead, Rebecca Siddons, who is possessed by SHODAN, says to her lover Tommy, "Tommy! What's the matter, lover? Don't you like my new look?" in SHODAN's voice and begins to laugh. So, SHODAN's current status is still in question.
System Shock 3[]
It is said that the third game will reveal why SHODAN wants to eradicate humanity.
Personality[]
In order to describe SHODAN, she is a chaotic, dysfunctional, megalomaniacal and completely narcissistic sadist. And a total misanthrope, which makes her more sinister, yet also arrogant, as she regularly insults the protagonist through a voice that is continually warped by static and other glitches. She calls herself a "goddess" and refers to humans as "insects" or "bags of meat" even ones that she uses as tools for her schemes.