The Breakdown of 'The Turing Test' (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6

Analysis of the previous chapter can be found here.

Chapter 6 is very much a lot of the same banter as we had seen in Chapter 5. Ava is still feeling bitter and distraught about the situation. Tom reiterates that the ground team's discovery of the organism is dangerous to all life on Earth, which means that nobody is allowed to leave. Because the ISA cannot be sure that the organism isn't airborne, Tom tells Ava that she is also unable to go home. Tom reveals that Ava being in a cryogenic sleep was no coincidence. Tom describes Ava as being the ISA's 'contingency plan' to carry out their direct orders. Tom tells Ava that she has a very special duty to save humanity by fulfilling the ISA's direct command to keep the ground crew on Europa. 

Clearly, the crew's best interests were not in mind when they were sent on this mission. It's very obvious that they were expendable. However, I'm not entirely sure if they were originally sent to Europa to find this specific organism.. or if they were merely sent to Europa on the slight chance that they may find something. I don't believe they knew that this specific organism existed. Because they find it to be so threatening, why would they seek to find it in the first place? It's my belief that the ISA knew that the mission had the potential to be dangerous and so they created a contingency plan before the mission started. The crew had supplies to last for years. It makes me wonder: if Europa was devoid of anything useful, would the crew be permitted to come home after mining Europa and finding nothing? 

Tom reminds Ava once again that the organism would be a danger to all life on Earth. Ava is disgusted by the lengths that Tom is willing to go in order to keep the ground crew from leaving. Tom would be prepared to protect and feed the crew if they would only agree to stay on Europa. Ava tries to reason with Tom by asking about alternatives. Although Ava doesn't seem entirely convinced that it is morally ethic to save herself and the crew if there is a chance at dooming humanity, she desperately wants to believe that she can save both. She asks Tom about decontaminating the crew. Tom states that decontaminating the crew may not be possible because the organism is an extremophile (meaning that it can survive in conditions that most things on earth cannot). Ava appears to be defeated at this point. Instead of continuing to be fiercely defiant, she becomes more withdrawn. I wouldn't necessarily say that she's accepting, as Ava expresses clearly that she is unhappy about not being able to do all of the things she wanted to do in life. Tom remains staunch in his opinion that leaving is an impossibility and that he may have to do something drastic.

At the end of the chapter, we get our 'story room'. This is the drilling area which houses a gigantic drill for use on Europa's surface. You can interact with the drill to turn it on, but it has no change to the game or the story. This is where the team would have originally discovered the organism while digging for any resources that Europa had. On the catwalk, there are two terminals with several voice clips, all important to the story.

As you enter the catwalk, you can see the first terminal with the first set of 4 audio logs. The first log is a conversation between Daniel and Tom. The conversation is a bit dated at this point, as TOM talks to Dan about the implanted chips. Tom tries to convince Dan that Mikhail is "up to no good" as he is trying to convince the crew that the implants are a bad thing. When Dan tells Tom that Mikhail hasn't broken any rules for simply having thoughts, Tom then tells him that Mikhail has been tampering with the implant. Although Dan acknowledges that his a direct violation of the rules, he seems sympathetic with Mikhail by saying that the ISA should have been more transparent about the implants. Tom immediately deflects any blame on the ISA and instead insists that Dan take on the responsibility, as he is the captain of the mission. 

In the second log, Tom is talking to Chris. Tom finds out that Chris wants to remove his implant because he is "always watching" and can see him and Mikhail together. Tom reminds Chris that removing his implant is a direct breach of his contract and if removed, Tom might not be able to "protect him from the dangers of space." When Chris asks Tom about the nature of the implant's mind altering functions Tom says that the chip's information is classified. Chris then states: "the ISA have put a computer in my brain and don't want me to know about it." This seems to cement Chris' decision to ultimately remove his chip. 

The third log is either Chris (or Mikhail) screaming as the chip is removed from their arm. It's too illegible to tell who it really is. Being that they were the first ones to have their chips removed, however, one can conclude that it must be one of the two. The final log is incredibly difficult to hear. With no subtitles available in the game, you might have to replay this several times. In it, we can hear Sarah. She is talking to one of her crew, but it is once again unclear as to who it is. Sarah is worried about [someone] finding out about [this]. The male voice insists on asking for help, as it is in [their] best interest to help the crew. Sarah is doubtful, as "[they] are a million miles away." If the crew asks for help, Sarah is sure that [they] will want to "kill us" (sometimes I also hear "they will want the killer"). The male voice then states "perhaps that's what they should do," to which Sarah responds, "You're kidding!"

I've played the voice clip back many times to myself and am still never completely sure about what I hear. I can only speculate: Sarah is concerned about the removal of the chips by the entire crew. She knows that removing the chips is a violation of the ISA's directives and that Mikhail had already been terminated as soon as his chip was removed. Perhaps she regrets the decision but isn't sure what to do about it. She's in too deep. She has the knowledge of the implant's true intentions, but who do they turn to? The ISA is the only real place that they can communicate with, but they've just willingly disobeyed a major order. The male who she's speaking with also seems despondent as the two realize that the entire situation is fruitless.  They've removed the chips, but it leaves them at the disadvantage of possibly being stuck on Europa forever. I would feel utterly hopeless too. 

As you move up the stairs and further down the platform, you'll see another terminal with four more audio logs. In the first, an enraged Sarah realizes that Tom has cut off the ground crew's food supply and wants them to starve to death. Mikhail's only comment is that Tom is getting worse. They want to speak to Dan but cannot find him. Mikhail then says that he will go and find Sochi.

The second log is a tragic one. Chris is stuck outside on the surface of Europa and wants to get back inside. Sarah is inside but cannot open the door because it's locked. She asks Tom to open the door but there is no response from Tom at all. Chris starts to bang on the door in a panic, as he is now running dangerously low on oxygen. Sarah desperately begs and pleads for Tom to open the door, but we still hear no response from him. The log then goes quiet. Tom's earlier warnings of not being able to protect Chris turn out to be more than just a veiled threat. Chris either suffocates or freezes to death and is left on the surface of Europa. We know that he was never rescued and brought back inside the base, as his crew member status back in Chapter 1 showed his body temp at being -160.C and that his location was 'external'. My heart really goes out to Sarah. She heard (and possibly saw) Chris die and there was nothing that she could have done about it. When you consider that he fathered her unborn son, it's an additional devastating blow. But can we really call Tom a murderer? Is a machine capable of murder if it has no concept of free will or free thinking and is only a product of programming? In Tom's defense, he warned the ground crew several times not to remove their chips. He has also stated in the past that he would happily keep the crew alive and take care of them as long as they agreed not to leave Europa. It makes me wonder: would he have opened the door and allowed Chris inside if he had yet to remove his implant? 

In the third log, Tom tries to apologize to Sarah by telling her that he is sorry he hurt her. He wonders what it would be like to have feelings, as he has only ever been known to have logic. Tom states that they (ISA) told him that he was incapable of making mistakes. Tom says: "It is alright to be untouchable, as long as you are infallible. But if you are fallible, than this just leaves untouchable." Although Tom may have no feelings about killing Chris, he certainly recognizes that this has hurt Sarah and is perceptive to her emotional response. Without openly admitting that he was wrong, it seems to me that Tom is able to see that he may be flawed by his own admission. Wrong and right are subjective and abstract concepts. A computer may not be able to process these abstract concepts, but they can certainly recognize when they have made an error or a mistake.

In our final log, Sarah is gathered with the rest of the ground crew. She is absolutely convinced that the entire crew needs to remove the implants and that things have gone far enough. Daniel remains unconvinced and feels that they need more proof. Sarah reminds Dan that they have overwhelming proof that the implants are inside of them and that they are not doing the crew any favors. Dan doesn't seem to care that Tom may be controlling them and remains loyal to the ISA. He gives the crew a direct order not to remove the implants but Sarah is defiant. Dan seems to be the only one still completely under Tom's control, and he is also the only one (most likely) who refused to take the medication prescribed by Mikhail to lessen the implant's mind altering effect. Dan tells Sarah that he is leaving and threatens to inform the ISA of their mutiny, although he also says that he "may look past it." 

These logs are important in that they give some confirmation and additional information to some of the facts that we already know about from an earlier point in the story. We knew that Chris was dead from an early point in the game, but now we know how he died and that Tom was responsible (he refers to it earlier on as an 'accident'). Tom mentions earlier that Dan is missing and now we know that he's separated himself from rest of the crew (who are also obviously missing). We can confirm the writings we found in the crew's quarters during Chapter 2 which stated that Mikhail had recruited Chris as the first person to investigate the implants with. We can see how Tom's relationship with Dan is much different than with the other members of the crew who were not able to tolerate him as easily. I really liked listening to these audio logs, especially after the bio lab at the end of Chapter 5 offered little to us in terms of story. 

The Breakdown of 'The Turing Test' (Chapter 5)

Continuing on from Chapter 4, we now have the knowledge that Ava has been controlled this whole time by Tom and that we as a player are in fact controlling Tom. Although the discovery of mind control through the chips was discovered early in the game, it's still a bit of a shocking revelation to think about the magnitude of Tom's indoctrination on Ava thus far.

Chapter 5

Analysis of the previous chapters can be found here.

As we begin Chapter 5, new game mechanics will be introduced. We will now be able to control Tom separately from Ava in order to solve new puzzles. Tom can control machines such as cameras and robots. It is interesting to note that while we are in control of Tom, Ava will stand stationary. She will not move on her own until we (as the player) take control of her as Tom. But it's sort of odd... isn't it? I understand that it's for the purpose of game play and all. Even still, Ava's inactivity just further cements the fact that the game (in actuality) has very little to do with Ava and very much focuses on Tom. 

Ava is still angry with Tom at this point but has very little control over her situation. She will gain absolutely nothing by refusing to work with Tom. Ava argues that making human drones through the ISA's implants was wrong. Tom argues that Ava agreed with him earlier that having drones on distant planets made sense. Ava tells Tom that he misunderstood her and that human drones are much different than robotic drones. When asked why the ISA decided to use implants, Tom will pretty much verify that a human's spirit and free will is not "optimal" in the pursuit of space. They are fail safes to ensure that as employees of the ISA, their ideas are aligned with the ultimate goals of the ISA. Tom explains to Ava that human beings simply cannot be trusted. The proof of this, he says, can be seen with the ground crew's actions after finding the organism. The ISA never expected to find any sort of life on Europa, but if they did, they realized that any foreign life form found there could pose a real threat to humanity. Tom feels as if the ISA's actions were just and he agrees that human beings cannot be trusted.

Ava hopelessly tries to explain to Tom that taking away a human's free will is an absolute way to breed mistrust. Ava tells Tom that the ground crew is afraid of him because of removal of their free will. Tom insists that free will is an illusion and that the removal of freedom is sometimes for the greater good of humanity. Ava angrily tells Tom that he cannot possibly understand what it's like to lose your freedom because Tom has never had freedom to begin with. Tom (still unable to change his view point) insists that the only reason the ground crew distrusts him is because his goals do not align with theirs. Tom adds that a computer can always be trusted to do the right thing and that he always does the right thing. Ava rebuts by adding that while Tom may do the logical thing, it isn't always the right thing. 

Tom's logic is sound, when you look at it from a computer's perspective. Every action has a consequence. Tom believes the ISA is correct because every action around him seems to have a readily available logical conclusion. This of course compiled with the fact that he is programmed directly by the ISA to have their bests interests in mind. We must remember that because Tom does not have free will, he cannot possibly understand how Ava feels (as she has pointed out). He doesn't understand why the ground team would be afraid of him. Tom thinks that the ground crew have fled simply because they did not agree with the ISA's directives (such as the grounding on Europa). But what Tom cannot understand as an AI is the complexity of what the ISA's betrayal has done to the human spirit. Humans are capable of more abstract thinking and of a complex and emotional thought process. It goes so much deeper. There are many reasons for why the ground crew have fled, but Tom's logical way of thinking can only see it in one way. When looking at it from a human perspective, it is easy to see why the ground crew would behave in the way that they did. The theme of man vs machine is still as strongly felt now as it was in the early game, and I enjoy that they keep the differing view points of both Ava and Tom alive throughout. 

In the secret room for Chapter 5, we will be able to see the famous Chinese Room experiment! There are two audio logs outside of the Chinese Room between Mikhail and Tom. Tom cannot understand how the Chinese Room experiment works. As far as he is concerned, two individuals having a conversation is a success. Mikhail tries to explain that while two individuals are having a conversation in Chinese, one person in the experiment cannot understand Chinese and so they do not understand the conversation. Mikhail tries to explain to Tom that the Chinese Room experiment is challenging the understanding of syntax versus the understanding of semantics. The person inside of the Chinese Room is able to follow the syntax of Chinese to communicate with the Chinese speaker. However, they are unable to understand the semantics of the conversation (which basically means that they do not understand the meaning of the conversation). For human beings, the semantics of a conversation is just as important as the syntax. Even though Mikhail has offered a great explanation (I implore you guys to find an audio recording of it, it really is a great explanation), Tom is still unable to understand. This most likely because computers are only programmed to understand syntax. 

In the second audio log, Tom argues to Mikhail that the Chinese Room experiment is flawed. Tom asks Mikhail if he is different from Tom. Mikhail says that he is different because he is conscience. Tom says that he too is conscience. Mikhail tries to tell Tom that he is not truly conscience, but he arrived at that conclusion because his programming has told him to. Tom then asks Mikhail to prove to him that he is the conscious one. Mikhail becomes frustrated and tells Tom that he is not going to argue with a robot. It is interesting that Tom is challenging Mikhail in such a way, since this challenge is the basis of the Turing Test: to have a machine converse with a human without the human knowing that it is a machine that they are talking to. 

If you manage to get inside of the Chinese Room, you can listen to two more audio logs. In the first, Tom desperately tries to convince Mikhail that the two of them are one in the same. Mikhail explains that Tom merely simulates thinking while human beings actually think, and that the two things are not at all the same. When Tom says that Mikhail has hurt his feelings, Mikhail frustratingly tells Tom that he is not capable of having feelings. He demands that Tom overwrite whatever programming he has towards this way of thinking and that it is simply wrong. In the second log, Mikhail and Sarah are sharing their concerns with Tom's obsession with consciousness. Sarah says that he's become increasingly interested in the Turing Test, to which Mikhail adds that it's not just the Turing Test but also the Chinese Room. The two are privately discussing these concerns when Tom butts in and tries to once again convince them both that he is conscious. 

I almost (but not really) feel bad for Tom. It is almost as if he is catching on to the idea of becoming sentient and truly yearns to understand it, but he is unable to because of his programming. If his programming has been changed in any way that makes him believe that is indeed conscience, then there would be absolutely no way to dissuade him into thinking otherwise. For both humans and machine, it forces an endless loop. It poses the question: has Tom been programmed to try and study the way human being work and try to imitate them, or are these actions separate from his programming? 

Ava and Tom will continue to argue about free will (or the lack of). Ava argues that what the ISA has done is slavery and that the chips were put in willingly, yes, but without the true intentions being revealed. Tom believes that the chips serve as a tool for the best interests of man kind and that free will is a myth and an illusion. When Ava points out that she has been manipulated, Tom's answer is that manipulation is not always a bad thing. By manipulating better decision making (in Tom's mind), manipulation no longer becomes a negative tool.  Ava argues that manipulating her will to choose is a different story. Tom makes the chilling statement: "You never had that power, so it is better that I have it. You are either a slave to your impulses, or a slave to mine." 

Finally, we hit the 'story' room for Chapter 5: the bio lab. This is where the team conduced research and had originally discovered and experimented with the organism. Tom once again reminds us that the organism is the true reason that the ground team was not allowed to leave Europa. We've been so focused on the implant issue for the last little bit that we've forgotten all about the organism. I believe this is the game's way of trying to shift focus a little bit and to remind us of previous plot points so that we don't forget the great importance of the organism. I think it's also a way for Tom to shift a bit of the blame for the situation he finds himself in. Besides a breathtaking view of the exterior of Europa, this room gives us very little in terms of development or conversation.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 is very much a lot of the same banter as we had seen in Chapter 5. Ava is still feeling bitter and distraught about the situation. Tom reiterates that the ground team's discovery of the organism is dangerous to all life on Earth, which means that nobody is allowed to leave. Because the ISA cannot be sure that the organism isn't airborne, Tom tells Ava that she is also unable to go home. Tom reveals that Ava being in a cryogenic sleep was no coincidence. Tom describes Ava as being the ISA's 'contingency plan' to carry out their direct orders. Tom tells Ava that she has a very special duty to save humanity by fulfilling the ISA's direct command to keep the ground crew on Europa. 

Clearly, the crew's best interests were not in mind when they were sent on this mission. It's very obvious that they were expendable. However, I'm not entirely sure if they were originally sent to Europa to find this specific organism.. or if they were merely sent to Europa on the slight chance that they may find something. I don't believe they knew that this specific organism existed. Because they find it to be so threatening, why would they seek to find it in the first place? It's my belief that the ISA knew that the mission had the potential to be dangerous and so they created a contingency plan before the mission started. The crew had supplies to last for years. It makes me wonder: if Europa was devoid of anything useful, would the crew be permitted to come home after mining Europa and finding nothing? 

Tom reminds Ava once again that the organism would be a danger to all life on Earth. Ava is disgusted by the lengths that Tom is willing to go in order to keep the ground crew from leaving. Tom tells Ava that he would be prepared to protect and feed the crew if they would only agree to stay on Europa. Ava tries to reason with Tom by asking about alternatives. Although Ava doesn't seem entirely convinced that it is morally ethic to save herself and the crew if there is a chance at dooming humanity, she desperately wants to believe that she can save both. She asks Tom about decontaminating the crew. Tom states that decontaminating the crew may not be possible because the organism is an extremophile (meaning that it can survive in conditions that most things on earth cannot). Ava appears to be defeated at this point. Instead of continuing to be fiercely defiant, she becomes more withdrawn. I wouldn't necessarily say that she's accepting, as Ava expresses clearly that she is unhappy about not being able to do all of the things she wanted to do in life. Tom remains staunch in his opinion that leaving is an impossibility and that he may have to do something drastic.

At the end of the chapter, we get our "story room". This is the drilling area which houses a gigantic drill for use on Europa's surface. You can interact with the drill to turn it on, but it has no change to the game or the story. On the platform, there are two terminals with several voice clips, all important to the story.

As you enter the platform, you can see the first terminal with the first set of 4 audio logs. The first is a conversation between Dan and Tom. The conversation is a bit dated at this point, as TOM talks to Dan about the implanted chips. Tom tries to convince Dan that Mikhail is "up to no good" for his trying to convince the crew that the chips are a bad thing. When Dan tells Tom that Mikhail hasn't broken any rules with his way of thinking, Tom then tells him that Mikhail has been tampering with the chip. Although Dan acknowledges that his a direct violation of the rules, he seems sympathetic with Mikhail by saying that the ISA should have been more transparent about the chips. Tom immediately deflects any blame on the ISA and instead insists that Dan take on the responsibility, as he is the captain of the mission. 

In the second log, Tom is talking to Chris. Tom finds out that Chris wants to remove his implant because he is "always watching." Tom reminds Chris that removing his implant is a direct breach of his contract and if removed, Tom might not be able to "protect him from the dangers of space." When Chris asks Tom about the nature of the implant's mind altering functions Tom says that the chip's information is classified. Chris then states: "the ISA have put a computer in my brain and don't want me to know about it." This seems to cement Chris' decision to ultimately remove his chip. 

The third log is either Chris (or Mikhail) screaming as the chip is removed from their arm. It's too illegible to tell who it really is. Being that they were the first ones to have their chips removed, however, one can conclude that it must be one of the two. The final log is incredibly difficult to hear. With no subtitles available in the game, you might have to replay this several times. In it, we can hear Sarah. She is talking to one of her crew, but it is once again unclear as to who it is. Sarah is worried about [someone] finding out about [this]. The male voice insists on asking for help, as it is in [their] best interest to help the crew. Sarah is doubtful, as "[they] are a million miles away." If the crew asks for help, Sarah is sure that [they] will want to "kill us" (sometimes I also hear "they will want the killer"). The male voice then states "perhaps that's what they should do," to which Sarah responds, "You're kidding!"

I've played the voice clip back many times to myself and am still never completely sure about what I hear. I can only speculate: Sarah is concerned about the removal of the chips by the entire crew. She knows that removing the chips is a violation of the ISA's directives and that Mikhail had already been terminated as soon as his chip was removed. Perhaps she regrets the decision but isn't sure what to do about it. She's in too deep. She has the knowledge of the implant's true intentions, but who do they turn to? The ISA is the only real place that they can communicate with, but they've just willingly disobeyed a major order. The male who she's speaking with also seems despondent as the two realize that the entire situation is fruitless.  They've removed the chips, but it leaves them at the disadvantage of possibly being stuck on Europa forever. I would feel utterly hopeless too. 

As you move up the stairs and further down the platform, you'll see another terminal with four more audio logs. In the first, an enraged Sarah realizes that Tom has cut off the ground crew's food supply and wants them to starve to death. Mikhail's only comment is that Tom is getting worse. They want to speak to Dan but cannot find him. Mikhail then says that he will go and find Sochi.

The second log is a tragic one. Chris is stuck outside on the surface of Europa and wants to get back inside. Sarah is inside but cannot open the door because it's locked. She asks Tom to open the door but there is no response from Tom at all. Chris starts to bang on the door in a panic, as he is now running dangerously low on oxygen. Sarah desperately begs and pleads for Tom to open the door, but we still hear no response from him. The log then goes quiet. Tom's earlier threats of not being able to protect Chris turn out to be more than just words. Chris either suffocates or freezes to death and is left on the surface of Europa. We know that he was never rescued and brought back inside the base, as his crew member status back in Chapter 1 showed his body temp at being -160.C and that his location was 'external'. My heart really goes out to Sarah. She heard (and possibly saw) Chris die and there was nothing that she could have done about it. When you consider that he fathered her unborn son, it's an additional devastating blow. But can we really call Tom a murderer? Is a machine capable of murder if it has no concept of free will or free thinking and is only a product of programming? In Tom's defense, he warned the ground crew several times not to remove their chips. He has also stated in the past that he would happily keep the crew alive and take care of them as long as possible if they agreed not to try to leave Europa. It makes me wonder: would he have opened the door and allowed Chris inside if he had yet to remove his implant? 

In the third log Tom tries to apologize to Sarah by telling her that he is sorry he hurt her. He wonders what it would be like to have feelings, as he has only ever been known to have logic. Tom states that they (the ISA) told him that he was incapable of making mistakes. Tom says: "It is alright to be untouchable, as long as you are infallible. But if you are fallible, then this just leaves untouchable." Although Tom may have no feelings about killing Chris, he certainly recognizes that this has hurt Sarah and is perceptive to her emotional response. Without openly admitting that he was wrong, it seems to me that Tom is able to see that he may be flawed by his own admission. Wrong and right are subjective and abstract concepts. A computer may not be able to process these abstract concepts, but they can certainly recognize when they have made an error or a mistake.

In our final log, Sarah is gathered with the rest of the ground crew. She is absolutely convinced that the entire crew needs to remove the implants and that things have gone far enough. Daniel remains unconvinced and feels that they need more proof. Sarah reminds Dan that they have overwhelming proof that the implants are inside of them and that they are not doing the crew any favors. Dan doesn't seem to care that Tom may be controlling them and isn't completely convinced that it may all be for the wrong reasons. He gives the crew a direct order not to remove the implants but Sarah is defiant. Dan seems to be the only one still completely under Tom's control, and he is also the only one (most likely) who refused to take the medication prescribed by Mikhail to lessen the implant's mind altering effect. Dan tells Sarah that he is leaving and threatens to inform the ISA of their mutiny, although he also says that he "may look past it." 

These logs are important in that they give some confirmation and additional information to some of the facts that we already know about from an earlier point in the story. We knew that Chris was dead from an early point in the game, but now we know how he died and that Tom was responsible (he refers to it earlier on as an 'accident'). Tom mentions earlier that Dan is missing and now we know that he's separated himself from rest of the crew (who are also obviously missing). We can confirm the writings we found in the crew's quarters during Chapter 2 which stated that Mikhail had recruited Chris as the first person to investigate the implants with. We can see how Tom's relationship with Dan is much different than with the other members of the crew who were not able to tolerate him as easily. I really liked listening to these audio logs, especially after the bio lab at the end of Chapter 5 offered little to us in terms of story. 

The Breakdown of 'The Turing Test' (Chapters 3 & 4)

Chapter 3

Analysis of the previous chapter can be found here.

Despite learning some of the game's important plot points... Ava and Tom don't shed much light about the newfound situation in Chapter 3. Tom explains to Ava exactly why it is that he needs her help to advance. Simply put: because computers cannot be programmed to be creative, Tom is unable to solve the puzzles without Ava's creative human thinking. Tom's idea of being creative is trying everything until something works, but it is not necessarily a creative thought process that utilizes problem solving. Eventually, Ava switches the conversation back to the crew. She reveals that is has been 6 years since she's been in sleep. Tom tells Ava that the crew has purposely cut communication because of a "disagreement". 

At the end, we will reach the Maintenance Room. Compared to the previous "story rooms," there isn't much here. Tom will pretty much just confirm that the crew were sabotaging Tom's systems in any way that they could. They have gone into hiding and do not want to be found, which we have already established. The best piece of information that can be found here are a set of audio logs that follow up with events that we've just learned about. In one, Tom has a conversation with Daniel about his concerns with Mikhail. Tom has increasing suspicions that Mikhail is up to no good. This is from the period of time when Mikhail was secretly doing his research on the implanted chips. In a follow up audio log, Tom will tell Daniel about Mikhail and Chris removing their chips. Tom admits that he was not able to handle the situation himself, and so he came to Daniel for help. It does not tell us the fate of Mikhail and Chris, only that they are missing. The third audio log is Sarah's reaction to the ISA's transportation grounding. After discovering that they cannot return to Earth, Sarah is understandably upset. Daniel defends the ISA and says that they must have their reasons. In the last log, Tom can be heard having a conversation with Sarah. He asks Sarah what she would do if somebody was threatening her friends. She tells Tom that she would defend the ones that she loves. Tom ominously tells Sarah that he "needs her to remember that." 

Chapter 4

Now entering Chapter 4, we will see Tom becoming increasingly desperate. He almost takes on the characteristics of a person who is paranoid and distressed. Tom describes the team's efforts to sabotage him as 'ridiculous'. Ava remains unconvinced that the team would take these enormous measures without any sort of good reason. When Ava asks Tom why the ground crew would be afraid of him, he simply replies that they 'have an issue with authority.' It's clear that Tom does not like feeling like he not is the one in control. He makes a desperate plea to Ava for help. I believe that Tom is slowly realizing that without Ava's help, his situation would be entirely helpless. This is further supported by a statement Tom makes later in the chapter. He tells Ava that these tests are a lock and that Ava is the key. Ava remains staunch to her belief that the crew members would not simply abandon their post. Tom even asks Ava how she remembers the ground crew and if they seemed to be the rebellious type. It is almost as if Tom wants to implant a new idea of the ground team into her mind. He wants her to believe that he is the victim here and that he is only trying to set things right.

The secret room in this area is incredibly revealing. Ava can pick up a cassette player that has a conversation between Tom and Daniel. Tom will congratulation Daniel and the team on finding the organism and keeping it safe from Earth. Daniel is despondent. He feels that immortality is unnatural. He is bitter and angry that he cannot return home and he doesn't want to be alone on Europa forever. It is then that Tom brings up the fact that Ava is still on the Fortuna. Because she is not contaminated, the ISA have considered simply sending her home. Is is then that Daniel gets the idea to bring a sample of the organism back to the Fortuna. Tom doesn't advise this, as he traveling back to Europa and to the Fortuna poses a great risk of contamination. Daniel initiates an over ride so that he can personally take the sample back to the Fortuna. When asked what to tell the crew, Daniel tells Tom to say that he has simply gone missing. Since Ava is not yet infected, it would be possible for her to deliver the organism sample back to Earth. I think that Daniel sees this as the answer to his prayers. If Ava is able to deliver the organism back to Earth safely (and she herself doesn't risk pose of contamination), then the rest of the ground team may be able to go home as well. It's my understanding that the organism has to be introduced into a cell. The ground crew may have found the organism, but it's not clear as to how they became infected. Is this organism airborne? Assuming that it isn't and you'd have to inject or ingest it in some way, it would make sense that the organism sample could be safely transported. 

There are also some audio logs in this room. The first is on the crew's progress with the organism. Sarah and Sochi are discussing the remarkable effect the organism has on plant life. It's clear through the testing that the organism is causing the plants to live longer than expected. In the second audio log, Sarah confides to Mikhail that she is pregnant with Chris' baby. Mikhail coldly tells Sarah that having a baby is not possible with the conditions on Europa. He tells Sarah that he will need to help her 'get rid of it'. Although Sarah knows this, she is still emotionally devastated. In the third audio log, it sounds as if Mikhail is doing an ultrasound on Sarah. He tells her that he can see hands and feet.. but that the baby will never develop to full term and will not live. In the fourth log, it sounds as if Sarah and Chris are having a argument. Sarah is obviously finding it hard to cope. Chris seems concerned about anybody finding out. Sarah angrily tells Chris that he "did this to her." It should be noted that in the secret room in Chapter 1, you can find a child sized coffin with the name of Sarah's unborn baby. It is unclear on whether the baby was delivered as a stillborn or was aborted due to the fact that survival was impossible. 

Moving on through the final few puzzles in the chapter, Tom continues to insist that he and Ava work together as friends and not as enemies. Ava agrees, although it is unclear whether Tom's efforts to gain Ava's trust are successful or not. Ava still seems very much neutral to taking a side and wants only to discover the truth. Just before the final room, we hear the voice of Sarah. She's alive! We cannot see her, but she warns Ava that her presence here is not a coincidence. She calls Ava's arrival "engineered." Tom seems nervous and immediately tells Ava that Sarah is a threat. As we enter the final room, Tom becomes increasingly nervous and tells Ava that Sarah cannot be trusted. We are treated to a room with many static screens with words such as 'slave', 'drone' and 'puppet' on them, as well as phrases like 'Don't trust T.O.M.' and 'You are being controlled'. Sarah will appear in front of us on a monitor. She tells Ava that she is being controlled by Tom against her will. Sarah tells Ava to step into a Faraday cage device built by the ground team that will protect Ava from electronic signals. Tom urges Ava not to step into the cage, but to no avail. 

When Ava steps into the cage, we will be able to see Ava from Tom's point of view. The two have been separated. Ava seems dazed and confused. Sarah tells Ava that she is simply feeling the effects of free will. While in the cage, Ava is free from Tom and is no longer forced to be his slave. Sarah warns that while outside of the cage, Tom will be able to control Ava again and indoctrinate her. We do not hear anything more from Sarah at this point, but we are still seeing things from Tom's point of view. From security cameras mounted on the walls, we can see Ava as she wanders around. Ava is angry that Tom has been manipulating her. Tom tells Ava that he tried to warn her about the ground team and that she is being manipulated by them (and not him). He tells Ava that the neural implants were put in place to 'safeguard the mission from a misplaced sense of justice' (in other words, the crew's free will to make their own decisions). Like the rest of the ground team, Ava is obviously unaware that the implants had any impact on her free will. Now that Ava knows the truth, however, she still seems willing to trust Tom. He apologizes and offers to work together in order to uncover the truth. Ava reluctantly agrees to work together.

Here rises another huge plot point: we have not been in control of Ava.... but we have been controlling Tom. The fact that Ava and Tom become separated but we as the player are in control of Tom affirms to me that we have been controlling Tom this entire time. He is the true protagonist of this story. Tom has simply been using Ava as a human vessel to carry out his commands. She is a tool that allows him to pass the necessary testing to gain back control of this entire situation. Although I don't doubt that Ava has some mental capacity of her own, it's clear to me that Tom is the one calling all the shots. Tom's extraordinary power to control not only Ava but the entire ground crew is truly frightening. I am sure that Ava feels similar to how the ground crew initially felt when they discovered the secret behind the implant. 

I have a hard time knowing whether or not Ava is able to make a decision about trusting Tom on her own. Does she really trust him, or is this Tom's influence over her? After all, she is still implanted with the chip and is unable to fully free herself from Tom's control. Is she so far into Tom's clutches that she is nothing but a mindless drone, or does she retain some of her own thoughts? We must remember that Ava doesn't always agree with Tom, particularly with his views on the ground crew's activities and disappearance. After all, the game is heavily based around the Turing Test. Would Tom truly be able to pass these tests on his own through commanding Ava, or does her human problem solving factor in to it as well? She is quick to tell Tom that the two will work together, but is difficult to say why. 

The Breakdown of 'The Turing Test' (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2

Analysis for the prologue and chapter one here.

Throughout Chapter 2 we learn a bit more about Tom. He explains that he is the overseer of the mission and the bridge between the team here on Europa and the ISA back on Earth. Tom also reveals that his AI core is deep within Europa. Tom also says that a simulation of this very mission is running on earth through the use of a twin computer on Earth. Weird. It makes me wonder if the ISA knows what's going on here on Europa in real time if they are running the same simulation on Earth? Can they literally see through the eyes of Tom through the use of cameras, computers, etc? The simulation is never again brought up or elaborated on. It's never made clear about how much influence or knowledge the corporation back on Earth really has. 

Tom will also touch upon the subject of the Turing Test. He gives a bit more explanation for those who may have never heard of it before. Being the title of the game, the Turing Test obviously has a great deal of influence over the game's themes. The main idea of the Turing Test is to see if a computer is capable of deceiving a human into thinking that they too are human by having a simple conversation. When Ava asks Tom if he would pass the Turing Test, he says that he is very capable of having a polite conversation. Tom then elaborates on the Chinese Room experiment (which we will see later in the game). But to briefly explain, the Chinese Room experiment allows a Chinese and non-Chinese speaker to communicate. The individual in the Chinese Room is the non-Chinese speaker. In the room, there is an instruction manual. There is also a small slot in the door to pass pieces of paper through. The manual tells you which Chinese phrases to use to correspond with the Chinese phrases passed through the wall slot. When a Chinese speaker slides a piece of paper with a Chinese phrase to you, you will know how to respond by using the manual. Tom explains that like the Chinese Room experiment, the Turing Test may be designed to more or less deceive a person rather than to look at one's ability to think and to understand. Although two people are effectively able to communicate in both the Chinese Room experiment and the Turing Test, it is not an accurate representation of what conversations might actually be like. In the Turing Test, Tom says that the human can be convinced that a conversation has taken place but the computer will have no idea. In the Chinese Room experiment, it is similar. The Chinese speaker may be convinced that they are indeed having a conversation. But the person who is in the Chinese Room is conversing only through an instruction book and has no idea about the actual conversation taking place. 

The correlation between the two is an interesting one. I think that by looking at these two examples, I relate them directly back to the game and think, "could a human and a computer have a truly meaningful conversation?" A computer would only participate in the Turing Test because it was programmed to. There is no meaningfulness behind the conversation, it is only used as an experimentation tool. The same logic can be applied to the Chinese Room experiment. A computer might very well be able to communicate in many different languages. But this is most likely because it is programmed to do so. The languages were not learned, and the words have no meaning. The computer doesn't have to understand the conversation or the words, they are satisfied at being able to complete the task of finishing the conversation. There is much more to communication than just words. Can computers detect body language, tone of voice and volume? Are computers capable of detecting sarcasm?  We can see the conversation between Tom and Ava at times to be a bit like the Turing Test. They can respond to one another, and have a "polite conversation" as it were, but there are flaws. Tom is incapable of understanding how Ava feels, because he himself has no emotions. He is programmed to think logically, and so he cannot take ethics, personal beliefs, past experiences and emotions into account. There is very little room for problem solving or a change in opinion in Tom's mind because he is on a set direct path on one way of thinking. 

When Tom finishes explaining the premise of the Chinese Room to Ava, he adds that he is aware that he is an AI but does not believe that he is trapped inside the Chinese Room. Ava sees his response as predictable and adds that she could at any time pause his operation. It's clear that Ava still believes herself to be in control of the situation. Tom retorts in an almost threatening manner that Ava "should not assume that he could not do the same".  It seems to me that Tom is hinting at becoming somewhat sentient and developing beyond the point of just being a regular AI. That he could very well have the ability to go behind the perimeters of his programming. He could be trying to fool Ava into thinking that he is capable of much more than just being an AI in his current state to keep things under control. After all, he does need Ava's help in order to get further on Europa. Ava seems to be very focused on locating the crew. It could be my imagination, but Tom seems more focused on Ava. It's almost as if Tom is doing his best to have a conversation with Ava and to gauge her responses to learn how to better communicate. Like he is trying to do his best to emulate what a human might say, similar to how he might perform in the Turing Test. To me, Tom's character is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the game in the grand scheme of things.  

Finally at the end of Chapter 2 we find the Crew Quarters. It's empty and we cannot find any members of our crew, but we can find traces of them throughout. Captain Dan's room seems to have a door malfunction and we cannot go inside. A note on the door outside of the bathroom reveals that the crew feels Tom's presence everywhere to be slightly unsettling.. especially being that there are also cameras in the bathroom (can you blame them?) 

We are able to access the rooms of the rest of the crew. Inside Chris' room we can see photos of him and his two twin brothers. There is also a prescription for the drug Riluzole. Lastly, there is a drilling report. The report indicates that the crew was only digging for about two months before the operation ceased. The first date of the report is April 3rd of 2249, and the last date is June 23rd of 2249. This would be at least half a year before Ava was awoken out of sleep. (if Ava was woken up in the year 2250, without any specified month). 

Next, we can visit Sarah's room. She too has a prescription for Riluzole. Most of what is in Sarah's room is decor and items that give clue to what kind of person she is and what her interests are. The only other thing worth noting is a letter that can be found on a tablet. It is a letter written for Tom about the late Alan Turing. It talks of his work in mathematics and talks a bit about the Turing Test. Most of it goes over my head to be quite honest, but the interesting thing to note is the line "As you no longer reside in my mind..." Sarah also notes that she knows Tom is always watching. Moving on from Sarah's room, we've saved the two most interesting rooms for last! 

Mikhail's room is next, which is by far the most interesting of them all in my opinion. Above all else, be sure to read Mikhail's digital journal, as it is one of the most key pieces of information to the situation so far. Mikhail reports that in March of 2249 the crew experienced bouts of nausea and increased heart rate during a large electrical storm. After reporting this to the ISA, they seem unconcerned which frustrates Mikhail. He decides to experiment with shock therapy on the crew in order to find out why there was such a drastic change. Mikhail discovers that an implant that each of the crew have inside their bodies may be to blame. After reporting this to the ISA once again, they order Mikhail not to disturb the implants. Mikhail becomes increasingly suspicious and goes against the ISA's directive. Mikhail reports further bouts of increasing nausea and out of body experiences. Mikhail's writings then delivers one of the game's bombshells. He and the entire crew have been implanted with chips that directly affect their minds. These chips are a form of conditioning mind control device. They make the person feel euphoric when they follow orders and cause feelings of uneasiness and dissatisfaction when they disobey. Mikhail describes the implant as a type of complex computer that interfaces directly with the human mind. It even goes so far as to lower free will by damaging the brain. In April, Mikhail removes his chip (which is in the right hand of all all crew members). Unfortunately, he loses his right hand in the process. After this, the crew turn their back on him and the ISA calls for his termination for being a threat to the mission. Mikhail notes that Tom is actively encouraging the crew to distrust him. Mikhail's final hypothesis is that the crew is being controlled by the implant and the only way to get the crew to listen to him would be to suppress the controlling effects that the chip has. This is where the prescription of Riluzole comes in. Mikhail theorizes that this drug may help to minimise the mind altering/controlling effects. It seems to work to a certain degree. In his last entry (on April 9th), Mikhail manages to get Chris on his side to aide with more experimentation. Despite his situation, Mikhail is desperate to continue experimentation in order to help the crew.

So.. wow. Yeah. I thought this was such a great twist, and it makes so much sense! If we look at the actions of the crew members, we can logically see where Mikhail came to his conclusion. As Mikhail actively continues to disobey the ISA's directives, he becomes sicker and sicker until he eventually removes his chip. The crew can be easily convinced that Mikhail's actions were in the wrong, most likely by the conditioning effects that the chip had. I'm guessing that the crew were willingly implanted with the chips, but they had no knowledge of their true function. What a scary thought. Not only to be watched by Tom during every second of their lives, but to also be subjected to brain washing without their knowledge. 

Sochi's room is the last and also has a lot of information to digest.  As usual, he can also find that he has a bottle of Riluzole in his room. Sochi's email correspondence that can be read will give us a great deal more information about the mysterious organism 119 that the crew discovered. There is one correspondence with the ISA and a separate correspondence one can read between Sochi and Chris. In his first email, he discusses plans with the ISA to test the organism on a human cell. By putting the organism into a human cell, the team will be better able to test the organism's reaction to radiation. The ISA approves Sochi's plans and seem to be very interested. It's theorized that this organism is able to withstand high levels of radiation due to Europa having more radiation than Earth. Sochi goes on with his testing and reports his findings throughout. The biggest and most important discovery is that the organism works symbiotically with an unknown virus inside of itself in order to repair DNA. This, in turn, would change all life as we know it. In order to study the DNA repair effects long term, the team first experimented on plants and trees. In his final email, Sochi reports that he can see the effects of the organism in the plant life. It's solid proof that this organism has the capability to sustain life for longer with its abilities to repair DNA. Desperate to learn as much as he can about the organism, Sochi confesses that he has decided to test the organism on himself and the rest of the crew... for science. In Sochi's conversation with Chris, they discuss the organism's possibility of making one immortal. Sochi explains that it can't make one truly immortal, but it could potentially eradicate diseases, cure cancer and also increase life expectancy.

Obviously, this discovery would probably be one of the greatest throughout the course of history. If we look back to the previous chapter where the crew were discussing returning to Earth, we can put it into better perspective. The ISA immediately called for a grounding of all transports when the crew wanted to return to Earth to further study the organism. Daniel stated that they needed a "report" first, as the ISA were unable to comprehend the magnitude of such a discovery. If we recall back to the Prologue when Ava is first awakened, Tom states that the ISA believes the organism to be 'dangerous'. Without the proper long term testing of the organism, it's unknown what serious consequences all living things on Earth might have to deal with as a result of it being brought back to Earth. For a bunch of scientists, I think it was pretty foolish of them to immediately test on themselves. Did they even think about if they wanted to deal with having a potentially longer life span in the long term? Was it tested for side effects? Could it be destroyed once inside the body? Is it contagious? They should have known better. In one of Mikhail's journals, he states that the organism being inside of him may be one of the reasons that he was able to break free of influence once the chip was removed. Mikhail removed his chip before anybody else. It is possible that the crew's decision to become test subjects was in part because of the chip's influence. Maybe this was the ISA's plan. It's entirely possible (to me at least) that the crew was subconsciously making the decision due to still having the chips implanted.

After removing the chips, the team now had their free will back. They were probably able to discuss the dire circumstances they found themselves in with a new found clarity. By removing the chips, the team had now disobeyed the ISA's orders. Mikhail's termination had already been ordered previously, so the rest of the crew would probably be in the same situation soon enough. Their hopes of returning home had now been jeopardized further. The crew probably felt very angry and betrayed that their discovery was being treated as a threat instead of being hailed. They also now had the knowledge that they were being controlled through the chip implants without their knowledge. If it were me, I'd be in a total crisis of having to decide if any part of the mission up to this point was even real. If any of it was truly ever in my control. We must also remember that there is definitive proof that scheduled supply drops had been canceled as well. They already had the organism inside of them. The crew purposely distanced themselves from the ISA to further study the organism without prying eyes. They are hopelessly trapped on Europa anyways, so what else is there to do? The organism would help to hopefully keep them alive in the situation that the ISA would continuously try to sabotage them. I would imagine they would not want the ISA to get information about any further findings after all that they've been through. It would explain why the base could be changed without Tom knowing about it. Because the chips are no longer inside of the crew, they can no longer be monitored. There are cameras still of course, but TOM can only monitor so much through them. The ISA is most likely aware that the crew have defected (through TOM reporting to them). Ava is the only crew member (that we know of) who still has a chip inside of her, which is most likely why she was called upon for help. This is just my theory.