Deus Ex Diaries Part Seventy-One (Mankind Divided)

This is my ongoing exploration of the Deus Ex Universe, in release order. Whether you’re a newcomer or an old-goer, I hope to make this something you can read along with and enjoy. This time I continue Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Having been sidetracked on my way to meet Jim Miller, I was just wrapping up a couple of things before I could get there…

My first stop was to activate some permits in a registration office near the Čistá Čtvrť metro station. I knocked out a patrolling guard when he was away from everyone, finding a pocket secretary on him with the password “samithedog” on. I then used my cloak to get inside the office and past the guard at reception, then through the door with the code 6788. Since a camera was watching the security computer I had to work quickly while cloaked, but thankfully had the aforementioned password.

Deactivating the cameras and activating the permit station, I touched the screen to start and called the forger Milena. The screen had a one minute timer counting down, so she quickly logged in remotely only to find that I could only activate one of her forged permits! With 11 seconds left on the clock I had to choose one person, so I picked Edward Brod. I reasoned that he had family in the city that he wanted to remain close to, while Irenka Bauer did not.

Cloaking and leaving the office, Milena thanked me for helping at least one person. I decided that I should probably try and solve the murder case, so headed over to the red light district to find Johnny Gunn, the lead suspect. Explaining why I was there, Johnny told me that detective Karl Montag had already called and told him to expect me. I asked him about his association with Belltower, and he explained that he was part of the organisation during the Australian Civil War. It was where he was augmented, not entirely by choice but definitely not against his will. Johnny had been alone all night in his apartment, visiting the bathroom twice, and the only resentment he felt wasn’t towards the victim or their separation. A little bit towards me, sure, but mostly he resented this whole situation.

Rooting through his stuff I found a poem written by Johnny for the victim, some booze, and a letter from his doctor. It was direct evidence that Johnny had mechanical hands, because the doctor was telling him that it was impossible for them to itch. Since the victim was strangled and the killer had left a fingerprint, that meant Johnny wasn’t the killer.

Since I still had to get to a shop called Future-Past Antiký, to get a disk reader for Helle, I left Johnny’s place and went straight there. The clerk behind the counter welcomed me to “Future-Last” which was curious, so I spoke to him and told him what I needed, and pressed him when he tried to ask questions. He explained that “the other guy” was already looking for the one reader they had left in the basement, and I was welcome to go down and look too. I asked him about the other person and as he talked about the basement again my CASIE augment gave me the option to either warn or suspect the clerk. Suspecting him, I told him that I wasn’t going in the basement and asked what was waiting for me, so he pulled a gun on me.

The clerk asked who I thought he was, so I told him that he was in danger. The pocket secretary I had grabbed off of one of the mercs earlier had mentioned that they were going to kill a man named Walker, under orders from Everett, and wouldn’t you know it, this was Walker! Angry, the clerk — Walker — put his gun away and handed over the disk reader, so I let him leave. Apparently, Helle was a computer program from Panchaea that had broken itself up to hide, and Everett was trying to prevent it from reforming itself.

Curious, I nipped down into the basement and found a bunch of deactivated laser grids or explosives lining the floors and walls. I also found a Companion Cube, so that was fun.

Leaving the shop, I looked up at the sign and discovered why Walker had misnamed the store — the start of the word “Fast” was worn, so he mistook it for “Past”. Since all of my side missions required me to head back to Překážka, I jumped back on the metro.

Once I was back in my apartment, I hooked up the reader and inserted the disk. Helle popped up on the screen, their image glitching, and they asked me if I remembered Panchaea. In turn I asked what they remembered, so they explained the Hyron machine which I destroyed, including the humans hooked up to it, one of which was named Helle. Apparently her scream was the loudest as they died, and it imprinted on the construct which I was talking to. I sympathised with them, then asked what exactly they were. They refused to answer, saying that as I had initiated the process it was up to me, and further, they asked me to define the “intelligence” part of “artificial intelligence”. Figuring that it was the second, learning and reasoning things, trying to understand, I answered that, and while seemingly happy with that answer Helle said that “She claims we can be more.” before revealing that part of them was Eliza Cassan!

The Eliza which had been on Picus since the start was different from the original, the one who had helped me before and during The Aug Incident a couple of years ago. Helle said that Eliza trusted me, and asked if I trusted her, which I reassured her that was true. The Eliza part of the amalgamation spoke directly to me, asking for advice as she wanted to remain free from those trying to recapture her. How could she resist? I couldn’t answer for her, so I told her that it was her decision as a sentient being.

We were suddenly interrupted by Everett’s men at my door. Switching to concussion grenades, I hid around the corner from the front door. As soon as it opened I threw a grenade and it went off, somehow making everyone turn around and leave. One man remained long enough for me to shoot him, but the rest began searching the building for me and ignoring the apartment. Once the search timer had run its course, Eliza called to thank me for making her whole again.

Jumping down to ground level, I was spotted and people started shooting at me. However, I managed to escape and made my way over to detective Karl Montag. I ran through the evidence, and he told me that we should pin this on Johnny Gunn, but couldn’t in good conscience do that with the evidence I had found. He did have a theory — thanks to an officer who used to work in the neighbourhood — that this was a copycat basing themselves on a dead killer named Scobotka who used needles and removed augmentations…

Leaving the scene with the murder unresolved, I contacted my neighbour Daria who had been in the alleyway when the murder occurred. I told her to be careful and call me if she needed me. While talking I wandered into a nearby bar and found Walker! Just leaning against the pool table, chilling. He didn’t want to talk to me, so I hacked a nearby door. There was a pocket secretary which mentioned a shipment in a basement at a place called DaiTaga, with a code of 5622, but I didn’t know what it was a shipment of. There wasn’t much else in the room, but one of the walls was designed to open, I just couldn’t make it move.

Curious, I spoke to the bartender and asked what “something else” they had. They were vague, not wanting to tell me outright, until I gave them some Neuropozyne. They didn’t have any obvious augmentations, and admitted that it wasn’t for them. In fact, they were a Samaritan Smuggler, and as such was happy to share whatever was in the basement, with the code 1015. Of course, I’d already been inside and nicked it all…

I hopped on the metro and went to Chikane’s landing pad, where I was supposed to meet Miller. Entering the workshop I was distracted by a door which, according to my Smart Vision, led downstairs where several objects glowed suggestively. After hacking it open I had a look around, discovering a button hidden behind a painting which opened a secret room. Touching a trophy revealed a safe hidden behind another painting, inside of which were some credits, a weapon mod, and a pocket secretary. The email it contained was vaguely worded, but it also gave the GPS coordinates 47°22’N 8°33’E, which put it in Zurich, Switzerland. He had until midnight to get there, but I needed him to take me to the GARM facility in the Swiss Alps — curiously close to where he needed to be. Hacking Chikane’s computer, with a multitool after several manual attempts, one of the emails showed that he was behind on payments to the assisted living facility which housed his foster brother. Perhaps the two emails were related somehow, but for now I finally had to speak with Miller…