Androids and backups - why not? ENDING A SPOILERS

[🐉Kesseleth🐉]

As the intro to the game makes fairly clear, androids are able to back up their data. That's what dying and reloading is, after all. However, throughout the first run of the game, there's frank discussion about androids "dying", which doesn't make much sense to me. At the end, 9S nearly dies but uploads himself into the consciousness of the machines (I think? I found it pretty damn confusing myself) because his backup won't contain any of his memories, and I can't help but wonder... why? What's stopping androids from backup up their data every hour or so - at worst they'll lose an hour, but not remembering the hour of your own death before you wake back up seems to be a fairly small price to pay all things considered.

Can anyone please explain, with NO SPOILERS PAST ENDING A, please, what it is I'm missing? If a big spoiler is involved then please just say it gets explained later, I don't want to be spoiled if that's all right.

[shoopy]

Backups might only be reserved for androids on special missions because of server space. It requires server space in the bunker. The game does address this eventually.

[Rett]

You're not going to get a good answer to your question, because backups are never properly explained, but the best I can say is:

It's not as easy as you think it is to backup their data, as I recall only certain models like Scanner can backup data, and of course they need good signal.

Just because a unit can be backed up, doesn't mean the bunker necessarily wants to backup that unit, they might prefer a clean slate, as you might have noticed some Yorha units deserted.

You won't understand the significance of Ending A and 9S's 'death' until you complete all the other endings.

[shoopy]

Also it is mentioned they can't afford to just give flight units to everybody. Which means they probably can't afford to always revive everybody either.

[lessthanoff]

The game makes it pretty clear in multiple instances that server space is extremely limited (through emails and random dialogue you get with NPCs). So I think it can easily be inferred that backups are only reserved for a select few. Since 2B assumed captain's duties at the beginning when the squad leader was killed, it's obvious that 2B is a fairly high-ranking member, so backups for her, I would think, would be necessary.

If you're also wondering why 2B had such a strange, emotional reaction at the idea of 9S getting hurt and/or killed, even though he can "come back," (especially since she holds steadfast to the whole "emotions are prohibited" attitude) don't worry, this will be explained much later in the story. It's not inconsistent writing.

[myhr2]

This is part of the question : who am I? What is consciousness? You ask why androids (and by extension us as an audience) should be emotionally effected by deaths when there is a back-up system, but the whole intro sequence is the way the game hints to a possible answer : if you loose a part of your past experience, are you the same person? Not really, as shown when 2B has to asks to 9S again to stop calling her "madam".
Even making a back-up every hour doesn't solve this question. "But it's only 1 hour, no big deal!" Well, it IS a big deal, and memory loss in real life is a traumatic experience, even for a couple hours, even for a couple minutes even, because it ties to what you are, and perhaps more importantly, who you are. If you don't remember what you did, how can you take responsibility for what you did, intellectually (not talking judicially, here, but from the perspective of someone who doesn't remember).
So you see, androids can "die". Even if a new copy is launched after, it's not the same exact android, it can't be, because something invaluable has been lost. This is what the game hints at.

[🐉Kesseleth🐉]

Originally posted by lessthanoff:

The game makes it pretty clear in multiple instances that server space is extremely limited (through emails and random dialogue you get with NPCs). So I think it can easily be inferred that backups are only reserved for a select few. Since 2B assumed captain's duties at the beginning when the squad leader was killed, it's obvious that 2B is a fairly high-ranking member, so backups for her, I would think, would be necessary.

If you're also wondering why 2B had such a strange, emotional reaction at the idea of 9S getting hurt and/or killed, even though he can "come back," (especially since she holds steadfast to the whole "emotions are prohibited" attitude) don't worry, this will be explained much later in the story. It's not inconsistent writing.

I thought it was consistent with the writing, since throughout all of Route A 2B was shown to start opening up more and more to 9S and 60, and also that she seemed to be particularly vulnerable to the idea of death being so horrible - even in the intro she got fairly emotional.

(As a slight tangent, I find it curious that of all the androids, 2B seems to be the only one who cares so much about emotions being prohibited. All the other androids seemed perfectly fine with showing their emotions, caring about fashion, keeping pets, going on dates, etc. I expect a revelation about that, though please don't confirm or deny.)

It made perfect sense to me that, by the end of the route, she'd grown attached enough to 9S and learned to open up enough that she would react the way she did... assuming that death was permanent. The crux of my question lies with that assumption being demonstrably false, not with her reaction itself. Having said that the answers everyone is giving are completely valid and understandable reasons - it does make sense that storage space is limited.

Oh, and one more quick question - is there ever an explanation for why the androids wear such absurdly revealing clothing, or can that simply be chalked up to the game being from Japan?

[Rett]

Originally posted by 🐉Kesseleth🐉:

Originally posted by lessthanoff:

The game makes it pretty clear in multiple instances that server space is extremely limited (through emails and random dialogue you get with NPCs). So I think it can easily be inferred that backups are only reserved for a select few. Since 2B assumed captain's duties at the beginning when the squad leader was killed, it's obvious that 2B is a fairly high-ranking member, so backups for her, I would think, would be necessary.

If you're also wondering why 2B had such a strange, emotional reaction at the idea of 9S getting hurt and/or killed, even though he can "come back," (especially since she holds steadfast to the whole "emotions are prohibited" attitude) don't worry, this will be explained much later in the story. It's not inconsistent writing.

I thought it was consistent with the writing, since throughout all of Route A 2B was shown to start opening up more and more to 9S and 60, and also that she seemed to be particularly vulnerable to the idea of death being so horrible - even in the intro she got fairly emotional.

(As a slight tangent, I find it curious that of all the androids, 2B seems to be the only one who cares so much about emotions being prohibited. All the other androids seemed perfectly fine with showing their emotions, caring about fashion, keeping pets, going on dates, etc. I expect a revelation about that, though please don't confirm or deny.)

It made perfect sense to me that, by the end of the route, she'd grown attached enough to 9S and learned to open up enough that she would react the way she did... assuming that death was permanent. The crux of my question lies with that assumption being demonstrably false, not with her reaction itself. Having said that the answers everyone is giving are completely valid and understandable reasons - it does make sense that storage space is limited.

Oh, and one more quick question - is there ever an explanation for why the androids wear such absurdly revealing clothing, or can that simply be chalked up to the game being from Japan?

I'll repeat myself:

You won't understand the significance of Ending A until you get all the other endings. You're missing a LOT of information. There's no way to explain it without spoiling it, but you've got a lot of ideas wrong.

You won't find out why Yorha androids arent allowed to be emotional in-game, but you can find some information in external sources (which will also spoil a lot of other stuff if you try and look it up). As to why some Yorha androids act emotional despite orders, I imagine it's the same reason you can't force humans to simply turn off their emotions completely. Also, 9S's operator, 210, is on the non-emotional side as well, but you probably didnt interact with her much in Route A.

Revealing Clothing isnt really explained as far as I know, but 2B's skirt and 9S's pants explode on Self Detonation because they're heatsinks of some sort. That's the only clothing explanation I can think of.

[🐉Kesseleth🐉]

Originally posted by Rett:

I'll repeat myself:

You won't understand the significance of Ending A until you get all the other endings. You're missing a LOT of information. There's no way to explain it without spoiling it, but you've got a lot of ideas wrong.

You won't find out why Yorha androids arent allowed to be emotional in-game, but you can find some information in external sources (which will also spoil a lot of other stuff if you try and look it up). As to why some Yorha androids act emotional despite orders, I imagine it's the same reason you can't force humans to simply turn off their emotions completely. Also, 9S's operator, 210, is on the non-emotional side as well, but you probably didnt interact with her much in Route A.

Revealing Clothing isnt really explained as far as I know, but 2B's skirt and 9S's pants explode on Self Detonation because they're heatsinks of some sort. That's the only clothing explanation I can think of.

I see - well, all the more incentive to keep moving forward and find out the truth!

[lessthanoff]

"(As a slight tangent, I find it curious that of all the androids, 2B seems to be the only one who cares so much about emotions being prohibited. All the other androids seemed perfectly fine with showing their emotions, caring about fashion, keeping pets, going on dates, etc. I expect a revelation about that, though please don't confirm or deny.)"

Yeah, this is a big part of the spoiler aspect of their relationship that I was referring to.

[lessthanoff]

"Oh, and one more quick question - is there ever an explanation for why the androids wear such absurdly revealing clothing, or can that simply be chalked up to the game being from Japan?"


Yoko Taro just said it's because he really likes girls.

[🐉Kesseleth🐉]

Originally posted by lessthanoff:

"Oh, and one more quick question - is there ever an explanation for why the androids wear such absurdly revealing clothing, or can that simply be chalked up to the game being from Japan?"


Yoko Taro just said it's because he really likes girls.

tries not to laugh

Well, at least he's honest.

[Psyntifik]

Originally posted by 🐉Kesseleth🐉:

tries not to laugh

Well, at least he's honest.

Not even close to the limits of Yoko Taro's quirkiness.

My advice in general is to just avoid asking questions altogther until you unlock all 5 endings. It will all come together eventually.
Besides, you'll probably just end up with more questions this way.

The stageplays are really good to watch when you're done with the game, too.

[myhr2]

Originally posted by 🐉Kesseleth🐉:

Originally posted by lessthanoff:

"Oh, and one more quick question - is there ever an explanation for why the androids wear such absurdly revealing clothing, or can that simply be chalked up to the game being from Japan?"


Yoko Taro just said it's because he really likes girls.

tries not to laugh

Well, at least he's honest.

Yoko Taro is an interesting man that has perfectly understood how to troll a certain type of people. His answer, while honest, is also a manifestation of his will to make us think by ourselves and come up with our own conclusions.

In the case of 2B's outfit, I always like to point out how it perfectly fits the themes of Nier : Automata. It's a game about consciousness and existentialism, and the fact that some of the characters are androids is a very classical trope, used in many SF works to explore questions like "what does it means to be human?", "is an artificially created consciousness human?", things like that. So nothing really new here, but here, 2B is clearly sexualized, which also resonates with another classic theme of SF, aka the objectification of the human being. 2B is a battle android, a battle automaton, a battle doll...but she wears a revealing outfit and high-heels that are unpractical for battle. The fact that she can still move and fight just underline how inhuman her physical prowess really are, and yeah, she's not human, after all. So yeah, does she choose to wear that outfit? Is it to feel more human?
And I'm not even talking about all the symbolism that comes with it like :
- black and white, like Yorha's worldviews : humankind is good, machines are bad, no nuances.
- the eye-patch for troops sent on the battlefield, to prevent them from seeing the truth, and the veil for the operators, to prevent them from saying the truth.
- the feathers, evocative of crows and other misfortune-announcing birds.
- a maid-like outfit, symbol of servitude and obedience.
So no, you won't have a clear explanation about the outfit, and you won't have a clear explanation for many other elements of the universe. But sometimes, asking questions and hinting at possible trains of thoughts is more interesting that imposing a clear and definite answer.

Or yeah, you could go with "it's just an attractive outfit", works too.

[🐉Kesseleth🐉]

Originally posted by myhr2:

Originally posted by 🐉Kesseleth🐉:

tries not to laugh

Well, at least he's honest.

Yoko Taro is an interesting man that has perfectly understood how to troll a certain type of people. His answer, while honest, is also a manifestation of his will to make us think by ourselves and come up with our own conclusions.

In the case of 2B's outfit, I always like to point out how it perfectly fits the themes of Nier : Automata. It's a game about consciousness and existentialism, and the fact that some of the characters are androids is a very classical trope, used in many SF works to explore questions like "what does it means to be human?", "is an artificially created consciousness human?", things like that. So nothing really new here, but here, 2B is clearly sexualized, which also resonates with another classic theme of SF, aka the objectification of the human being. 2B is a battle android, a battle automaton, a battle doll...but she wears a revealing outfit and high-heels that are unpractical for battle. The fact that she can still move and fight just underline how inhuman her physical prowess really are, and yeah, she's not human, after all. So yeah, does she choose to wear that outfit? Is it to feel more human?
And I'm not even talking about all the symbolism that comes with it like :
- black and white, like Yorha's worldviews : humankind is good, machines are bad, no nuances.
- the eye-patch for troops sent on the battlefield, to prevent them from seeing the truth, and the veil for the operators, to prevent them from saying the truth.
- the feathers, evocative of crows and other misfortune-announcing birds.
- a maid-like outfit, symbol of servitude and obedience.
So no, you won't have a clear explanation about the outfit, and you won't have a clear explanation for many other elements of the universe. But sometimes, asking questions and hinting at possible trains of thoughts is more interesting that imposing a clear and definite answer.

Or yeah, you could go with "it's just an attractive outfit", works too.

Quickly glancing at 9S' outfit, I notice that he has gold buttons and clasps. I wonder, does that represent that even with servitude and servility, personality can shine through like gold?

Well, no need to answer - just thinking out loud.

[myhr2]

Well, I have another interpretation, but it's going into spoiler territory! The buttons do look kinda like...buttons for a machine, too, so there is that. But yeah, gold is an interesting choice, and his outfit definitely is a mix between military, school, and groom uniforms.