Handsome Jack and Rhys's Cybernetics.
So here's what I don't understand about Rhys's cybernetics and how Jack is inside of them.
Jack granted access to the cybernetics when he was plugged into Rhys's USB port, so how would crushing the cybernetic eye destroy Jack completely?
The way I thought of it was:
ECHO eye: Allows Rhys to see Jack's hologram (also where he gets information from ECHO, also where Jack hacks into to create his Jack-apedia)
USB port: Where Jack's AI files are (I'm guessing there's wires connected to the brain?)
Robotic arm: The only part that Jack can control.
So wouldn't it make sense if AI Jack's existence was completely deleted as soon as Rhys pulled out the USB port since that was where he was inserted? Wouldn't the ECHO eye be another system that Jack has only hacked, and is seeable to Rhys? Is this intentionally done in a lead up to more of Handsome Jack in future Borderlands games?
Thoughts?
Comments
The way I see it, the AI acts like a virus infecting Rhys system.
But even then, would crushing the ECHO eye completely destroy Jack's AI?
I suppose that's the point of choosing to crush or keep it.
The Borderlands universe probably has technology far enough along that they can store and IMMENSE amount of data ( an AI ) into such a small place that he can hide on almost any piece of tech that can hold memory. Such as the eye.
I have somewhat of a theory. In Ep. 3, Jack controls Rhys's WHOLE body. I believe that Jack is secretly programmed into Rhys's brain (hence why he could take over his whole body). In Ep. 5 when Rhys fainted in the ruins of Helios, that's when Jack really took over Rhys, In Ep. 5 when Jack wanted to put the endoskeleton inside you even though he could already control Rhys's body, is because with the endoskeleton, Rhys wouldn't be able to take back control (because he is dead).
Long story short, I believe that Jack could very well be alive. TellTale was giving us little hints the whole time.
So Jack is a sleeper agent inside Rhys right now ?
Oh damn, I completely forgot about him taking over Rhys's entire body. But that was because he was blacked out and couldn't resist it. But yeah, nice theory.
But wouldn't it hold memory in the USB port as well? It surely did with Rhys's arm when he broke it off, since Jack was trying to move it even though it wasn't attached to Rhys's body anymore.
I don't get that either
Yeah, if we're talking computer virus that can't be wiped it looked like Rhys was forcibly removing all hardware and starting fresh later. If any of the interface left had a trace of data storage you'd be running the risk of reinfection. Which is why the spurts of blood and Rhys passing out had me a little scared...real world those connections would have been direct to multiple points of his nervous system and yanking real hard would have consequences.
Then I remembered this was a world where an energy shield over your face protects your entire body from a vacuum, and not being pulled through an airlock only involves holding on real tight :P
There's also that moment in episode four if you reject Hyperion, where Rhys is fully awake and fighting and Jack still manages to take full control. The other weird thing about that moment is that Jack is "outside" in theory at that point but is still able to restrain Rhys and use his voice.
He doesn't take full control beyond episode 3. He moves Rhys's robotic which basically pulls Rhys along with it.
Doesn't Jack control is voice, too? I guess you're right, that's not full control, but more than Jack had let on he had in the reject Hyperion route.
Yeah, he controlled his voice.
Yeah I also share the theory Jack is still in there somewhere. We see him get control of Rhys's entire body when he falls unconscious in episode 4 which means he was able to access parts of his brain that are purely biological. There's also cut dialogue where Jack mentions he's going through Rhys's memories, which further tells me he's not just in his cybernetics. There's also everything people above already pointed out.
Weirdly, I was pretty convinced endgame/present Rhys was a mashup of Jack & Rhys's personalities; he talks and gestures a lot like Jack in the first few episodes and there was of course the habit of Rhys's eye turning gold every time Jack had control. Anyway, if there's a second season I don't think crushing/keeping the eye will matter (just like choosing to trust or reject hyperion didn't matter either). If they decide to bring Jack back around, I'm sure they have several ideas of how to do it. This is likely one of them.
I'm just guessing here, but I think the layout of Rhys' cybernetics are largely like the average computer:
The ECHO-eye contains all the information and data. It acts as both the motherboard and the hard-drive. It's wired throughout Rhys' brain, connected to processor(s) located somewhere inside his brain. These processors allow the eye to access and maintain various bodily systems and functions, such as allowing Rhys to actually see out of the eye and so forth. The echo-eye's wiring obviously acts as Jack's gateway to control Rhys.
Rhys' arm is hooked up in such a way that it is linked directly to the eye itself, which means that an outside source, IE Jack, has immediate control of the arm, but nothing else unless Rhys grants third-party access to his other systems. So more or less, Rhys has a personal 'firewall' that prevents remote access to the more important parts of his body (IE everything that isn't his robot arm or echo-eye interface), and Jack is only able to control the rest of Rhys when he gives the OK to Jack, which I guess involves Rhys himself making an exception and allowing the Jack AI access to the inner workings/subsystems. Maybe Rhys has a little menu pop up that's all like "H-J4CK.exe is trying to access C:/Users/Rhy5/My_Body/, allow access? Y/N"
The head-port isn't storage space, just a way for Rhys to link physical objects directly into his cybernetics, just like the USB on any computer works. Nothing's stored in it, it's simply a bridge between the information stored on the drive and the computer it is plugged in to. When he plugged it in, he unwittingly copied the Jack AI into the echo-eye, which means that it's now stored in it.
So simply put: echo-eye is the motherboard and hard-drive, Rhys is the tower, he has a CPU and GPU jammed into the lobes of his brain somewhere, and a USB port on the side of his head.
So going off these assumptions, Jack is completely removed from Rhys, and if the eye was crushed, gone and deleted. However, theoretically, if Nakayama's ID drive is still intact and out in the desert somewhere, Jack could still return. Think about how flash drives work: if you plug one in, you're simply copying the files on it over to your PC, right? The files remain on the drive until they are deleted entirely. So that means that the Jack AI could still be out there, waiting for someone to find the drive and be plugged into something or someone else.
I think Rhys has more cybernetics in his brain. I mean in order for the eco eye, his arm, and his port to work it has to all connect to the brain to send control pulses to all 3. Whenever he moves his arm, his brain has to tell him to, right? And you would need more technology inside of you to make your robotic arm compatible with your brain.
Yeah, that's what I figured too. Also, when Rhys is unconscious or panicked, Jack can probably override Rhys' permission to access his biological body (when he passed out from the fall, when Jack takes over his speech).
Rhys didn't destroy or keep the USB port, so who knows what will happen with AI Jack in future?