![]() The cataclysmic Aug Incident would unsurprisingly strike fear into the hearts of the naturals, serving as a trigger for the discrimination towards augs. Furthermore, they are also responsible for the deaths of fifty million worldwide, albeit unintentionally. This necessitates a certain level of income a person must have in order to maintain their augmentations Although there are exceptions like Adam who received augmentations because he would otherwise die, most augs are augmented by choice. Due to the nature of augmentation technology, augs have to regularly purchase and use the expensive immunosuppressive drug, Neuropozyne, to prevent their bodies from rejecting the augmentations. Indeed, they “are a privileged and wealthy elite who mostly choose to put themselves above their fellow human beings through expensive technological enhancements” (para. However, as the same article also points out, unlike the black people who suffered during the apartheid, the augs are not victims of an invading force that were subject to oppression by a racist minority elite. ![]() In a 2016 Polygon article by Colin Campbell, a black game developer who worked on the game until 2014, Gilles Matouba, said “Racism is a dark part of our human nature and we wanted to treat this subject” (para. It is clear that the developers wanted to paint the discrimination against augs as something akin to racism, by putting augs in a position akin to an oppressed minority race. ![]() In fact, the developers themselves have used the word “apartheid” in the title of one of the promotional videos for the game – “The Mechanical Apartheid”. Benches with words “Naturals Only” draw a parallel to similar signages found in South Africa during apartheid. The game takes place mainly in Prague, where anti-augmentation policies such as the separation between train cars for augs and for naturals have been established. Augs are now seen as a threat to the non-augmented majority or “naturals”. In the following game, Mankind Divided, which takes place 2 years later, Adam is now an Interpol agent working to capture augmented terrorists who are also influenced by the Illuminati, while also acting as a double agent for the hacktivist group Juggernaut Collective. This came to be known as the Aug Incident. Thumbnail for the promotional video titled “The Mechanical Apartheid” Although Adam was able to shut down the radio signal, around fifty million people had already died at the hands of out-of-control augmented humans. Hugh Darrow, a member of the Illuminati and the inventor of human augmentation technology, went against the Illuminati’s intentions, modifying the microchip to instead cause augmented humans to go berserk when they receive a certain radio broadcast, in hopes that a violent cataclysmic event would cause mankind to abandon augmentation technology completely. ![]() Through his investigations, Adam discovers the Illuminati’s plan of controlling augmented humans or “augs” (henceforth used to refer to augmented humans, with the technology being referred to as “augmentation(s)”) through an implanted microchip. In order to save his life, his employer decides to augment him cybernetically, essentially turning him into a mechanical super-soldier. Human Revolution begins with an attack on Sarif Industries, leaving him gravely injured. Adam is now employed at Sarif Industries, a company based in Detroit at the forefront of human augmentation technology. The two games follow ex-SWAT officer Adam Jensen as he uncovers a worldwide conspiracy by the Illuminati seeking to control humanity through human augmentation. The two games are set in a near-future cyberpunk world where human augmentation has become reality. The Inconsistent Picture of Racism Painted by Deus Ex: Mankind Dividedĭeus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided were developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix on Augand 2016 respectively. Promotional artwork featuring main character Adam Jensen.
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