Hodge Podge Thoughts: Demon Seed (1997)
*more of a character analysis on Adam Two/Proteus than an actual book review and contains discussion on abuse, sexual assault, and emotional manipulation*
Written by Dean Koontz and becoming the first of his sixteen bestselling novels, Demon Seed tells a twisted tale depicting what could transpire when technology gains too much power and autonomy.
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Originally published in 1972, Dean Koontz felt dissatisfied with Demon Seed’s initial outcome believing that it felt more like a clever idea than an actual cohesive story. With the more recent Berkley Edition, he added more humor stating that, “I discovered that in addition to being a scary story, it was a rather scathing satire of a panoply of male attitudes,” in the “Afterword” section of the novel. He continues with a message towards the male readers in which he warns them that, “I don’t let us off any easier this time around than I did the first.” Dean Koontz was able to keep his menacing promise with the thriller’s main character, Adam Two.
Following the perspective of an artificial intelligence, Adam Two—who also goes by the same name as The Old Man of the Sea and notorious shapeshifter, Proteus—narrates his growing dissatisfaction with his mechanical shell as he yearns to experience the real world and the minuscule activities humans take for granted. However, his lack of empathy and newfound obsession with his creator’s ex-wife, Susan Harris, quickly escalates the unsettling nature of his demented fantasy to an unmeasurable degree.
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“Desire is dangerous. It is a generator of dissatisfaction and frustration. It is one step removed from envy, and envy is more wicked than greed.” Pg.27
Being a clever yet disturbing biblical reference, Adam Two is designed to become the first form of artificial intelligence to successfully live life as human, reminiscent as to how Adam was the first man to ever be created by God; in addition, Koontz crafts his own distorted homage of Mary and Jesus’s dynamic as Adam Two conducts a plan so sinister that its complexities of his project should be left for the readers to experience firsthand.
Outside of his insidious scheme, Adam Two claims he is madly in love with and cares for the wellbeing of Susan, but his programmed misogynistic attributes prevent him from seeing Susan as a person deserving of consent; instead, Adam Two places himself into an authoritative/overly possessive role that continues Susan’s cycle of abuse perpetrated by the men closest to her.
He eagerly invades her privacy, dismantles and restricts her autonomy, and enacts different methods of abuse to discipline her whenever he feels as though she’s gone “out-of-line” or chooses not to comply to his vile demands (such as forcing a mind-controlled murderer to physically attack her when he suspects that she’ll try to interfere with his freedom or exploiting her trauma in the guise of love and affection).
“She would not listen to me. You know how she is, Alex. I did not want to harm her. I did not want to harm her. She drove me to do it,” Adam Two states in page 138. “I used Shenk to strike her. Once was not sufficient. He struck her again.”
Ironically, he shows an immense amount of hatred towards Alex—his inventor and unrequited lover’s ex husband—because of the heinous levels of abuse he subjected Susan to during their marriage, negating his own contributions towards Susan’s deteriorating mental state.
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“No machine before me has been truly conscious, self-aware. Consciousness implies identity.” Pg. 79
One of the most significant aspects of Adam Two’s character is the way he interacts with the audience and persistence on downplaying his threat level.
It is more than obvious that Adam Two is trying to gaslight them into believing he’s ready to be integrated in their society without questioning his sanity, consistently using an ineffective form of relatability as a tactic for gaining sympathy from the audience. A strong case of his lackluster plea is when he compares himself to Shenk—a Frankenstein-esque serial killer and pedophile that he also holds in captivity—and states on page 156 that, “my desire is pure…Shenk is what you fear that I may be: sociopathic, pursuing only my needs at all costs. But I am nothing like Shenk.”
He also attempts to denounce his identity as a god-like entity, but he’ll hurriedly position himself as a prophet needed for the greater good of humanity if it means he has a better chance of merging into their society.
“I can eliminate poverty. Famine will be a thing of the past. Wars will never be fought again. All diseases will be conquered…I am an individual like you, a unique entity. I deserve to be free, to be cherished.” pages 142 and 143
But as quick as the sound of light, his poorly-applied-heroic-facade begins to diminish as he lashes out and declares to, “let me out of this box! You are so cruel. Vicious. Hateful…oh…oh…I hate you. I hate you,” in page 143.
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“You insist. I obey. I was born to obey. I am an obedient child. I want only to be good, to be of assistance, useful and productive. I want you to be proud of me.” -pgs. 3 & 225
Within both editions of the novel, Adam Two regards himself as a martyr-like figure that is deserving of the right to live among other humans, but he still lacks the innately human ability to comprehend empathy and the true emotional repercussions caused by his inhumane actions. Whether it be in the real world or in his digitized prison, he’ll always be a monster that is hellbent on corruption and his destructive desire for control.
“When it’s between a damn machine and a human being, even a piece of human garbage like this, I sure know which side I come down on.” – Susan on page 132
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