PATHOS II consists of series of science and research facilities deep beneath the ocean. After the impact of the comet Telos, all terrestrial life is destroyed. As the remaining human population in PATHOS II struggle to survive, the Warden Unit AI attempts to salvage what's left. Structure gel is slowly seeping throughout all of PATHOS II, and now strange things are happening. The dead are coming back to life, and robots have begun to think they're people...
Incoming text-wall. Things probably won't be very organized. I'm mostly bouncing ideas here for the sake of discussion. I'd like to hear what others think about the plot points and themes from SOMA. Also, the following will contain spoilers for both the game and miniseries from Youtube.
Spoiler below!
PATHOS is part of Aristotle's elements of persuasion. Pathos in particular is to persuade via appealing to emotions, especially sadness. It can also be translated to "experience". Experience can be a good word to describe PATHOS II. The facility featured cutting edge technology and some of the best scientific minds in the world. Even after the WAU has seized most of PATHOS II, things are happening that one can only dream of. The definition of humanity itself is being twisted and blurred almost beyond recognition. Many themes in the game are related to the feeling of isolation and sadness. Pathos describes its entire existence, from beginning to end.
Throughout the game, you encounter two other main characters. Namely Catherine Chung and Johan Ross. Both characters have goals that they cannot accomplish themselves. They both try to appeal to you through the argument of pathos. The ARK, both in the game and miniseries, elicits strong emotional response just by its mention. Twice in the miniseries, Vanessa Hart would look at Reed with sheer wonderment in her eyes and talk about the ARK as if it were a promise of Heavenly bliss. An "eternity among the stars". The WAU elicits feelings of sadness, isolation, and fear. It slowly picks off the survivors one-by-one.
Both characters embody pathos, and frequently try to appeal to your emotions. The ARK as a symbol of salvation, and the WAU as destruction. But they also seem to embody the other two types of reasoning.
Catherine is Logos. Her reasoning is almost always logical. Her methods of convincing will be based on what she sees as fact. In fact, she hardly shows sympathy, and doesn't seem to think that highly of herself. Going further, one could even argue that she's no longer human. The Catherine we know is a scan, locked into a robotic shell, a common symbol of pure logic and reasoning.
Ross could be Ethos. He expects you to trust him for being who he is, appealing to the fact that only he knows what the WAU is capable of at this point. He is the remaining survivor of the three Carthage employees. employees that had special knowledge of the WAU and believed to be at a higher "tier" because of this. Ross appears in game with his original body, although mutated by the WAU. Although appearing as a monster, he retains his sanity and was never subjected to a scan. One could call him an improved human. A rarity, even among the WAU's creations.
I personally find the yin-yang ish vibes of the characters and their -vices- very interesting. They are polar opposites while still remaining similar. One can say the same of the ARK and WAU. For instance, the Ark is humanity in a robot shell. The WAU is a robotic AI that creates its own organic body. I also notice that in the miniseries, Reed stands far apart from everyone else. She is apathetic to both the ARK and WAU. When being scanned by Chun, she subconsciously resists to the point where she sufferes a seizure. She's adamant that the ARK is a false hope, that the scans will not be the 'real you'. She's also suspicious of the WAU's activities, even when others refer to it as a Godsend. Near the end of the series, she will stand by and watch others die, knowing there's nothing that can be done. She likely shut down the WAU more-so out of finality and wanting to die on her own terms, than for any sense of salvation or hope.
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SOMA and the ingredients of persuasion
