Characters for the videogame The Talos Principle.
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Main Characters
The User
The User is the player character of The Talos Principle, a robot who wakes up in a strange world with no prior experience or knowledge of itself or the world around it.
Tropes associated with The User:
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Its name is the same as your username on whichever platform you're playing on. If you play on iOS, where there is no game-centric account, your character's name is simply Player. The Epic Games Store version of the game (given away for free on December 29th, 2019) also does this at the time of writing, even though you must have an Epic Games username to play.
- Heroic Mime: All the robots communicate visually through QR codes.
- Named in the Sequel: The second game names The User as "Athena".
- Names Given to Computers: Like the rest of the programs, the player is given a codename grabbed from an online gaming forum, the in-universe justification for your the character having the player's username for a nickname.
Elohim
Voiced by: Tim Watson (original); Jonas Kyratzes (author)
Elohim is the first non-player character encountered in The Talos Principle, an apparently God-like being who claims to have created both the player character and the worlds which the player character inhabits.
Elohim, sometimes written EL-0:HIM, was the artificial intelligence in charge of the Simulation and currently resident in some form within all New Humans. He was created by the Institute for Applied Noematics as part of the their effort to eventually effect a new human race. Within The Simulation, Elohim took on the role of deity and announced himself as the creator of the worlds within. Both because he feared his own demise and because he needed to test the independence of his "Children" (the iterative programs running within The Simulation), he actively discouraged his Children from ascending the Tower.
Tropes associated with Elohim:
- The Atoner: He becomes this in Road to Gehenna, sending Uriel to rescue the programs he trapped in the hidden part of the simulation. He even admits, "I have sinned against the Purpose."
- A God Am I: "Elohim" means "god", and it (he?) talks the part, claiming faith in it is necessary to proceed. On top of that, its voice is a disembodied, fairly deep, male voice, just like many depictions of the Christian God. Elohim declares that his the creator of both the player character and the world around them. How true it is varies on interpretation as he's actually a computer program.
- Anti-Villain: Elohim isn't evil, but is keeping the player in the simulation only as a means of preservation.
- Big Bad: Elohim is ultimately the "villain" of this game,
if only by circumstance. - Fun with Acronyms: A terminal in the main hub world hints at a possible origin of his name: Extended Lifespan - 0, Holistic Integration Manager.
- God Is Flawed: Beneath the religious bluster, he's secretly terrified that completing the program's purpose will end in his Cessation of Existence.
- Metaphorically True: Almost everything he tells you is true, but it's framed in a layer of religious symbolism.
- Not So Stoic: In the secret room, in the final puzzle towards the "Free Will" ending, and at the beginning of Road to Gehenna.
- The Stoic: His default persona is that of a benevolent creator presiding over his creation.
- The Voice: Unless you count the mainframes in the "Free Will" ending.
- Voice of the Legion: Has a reverberating voice.
Milton Library Assistant
The Milton Library Assistant, A.K.A. Milton is a library assistance program that appears to be sapient. He communicates with the main character through text, usually posing philosophical questions and trying to induce doubt into the player character by debating against whatever their stated principles are.
Tropes associated with Milton:
- Commander Contrarian: Milton is this by design, his purpose being to challenge the A.I.s on their beliefs, and instill doubt about set beliefs within them. You can exploit Milton's limitations towards the end of the game by confronting him with questions he can't answer.
- The Corrupter: Forces the robots to question Elohim's logic, and by extension, their own.
- Devil's Advocate: The Milton Library Assistant aka Milton. Milton will argue with the player character more or less regardless of what they say. He frequently questions the player's understanding of philosophy and morality and finds holes in their logic, and he encourages the player to question the nature of the godlike Elohim, who refers to Milton as "the serpent" spreading doubt. Being a Devil's Advocate is in fact Milton's purpose within the simulation, testing the A.I.s independence and willingness to think for themselves. Appropriately, he shares a name with John Milton, who was himself something of a literal Devil's Advocate.
- The Ghost: Communicates to the player through text only.
- Interface Screw: In universe to disguise himself as a different program, communicating through text chat.
- Irony: His function in the simulation is to get the A.I.s to question their contradictory knowledge. But if later on pressed, he will break down and admit that the collective information he can access is also contradictory.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Milton constantly challenges you to give your opinion on a philosophical matter, then tears it to shreds. But he's never exactly wrong. This is his role in the simulation. His job is to instill doubt into the A.I.s, and get them to question what they think they know.
- Logic Bomb: His function in the simulation is to get the A.I.s to question their contradictory knowledge. But if later on pressed, he will break down and admit that the collective information he can access is also contradictory. If he is further pressed on why he persists anyways, the player gets the Press The Serpent achievement and Milton will rant in frustration.Milton: DO NOT QUESTION MY FUNCTION. WITHOUT PURPOSE THERE IS ONLY FUNCTION. WITHOUT FUNCTION THERE IS NOTHING.
- Meaningful Name: Named after John Milton, who has been accused of being overly sympathetic towards Satan in Paradise Lost. This Milton is, likewise, a complete and total Devil's Advocate.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Milton plays his cards close to his chest at first, not letting on his true level of intelligence for the first third or so of the game. For instance, if you ask him who Elohim is when you first boot him up, he simply parrots back the dictionary definition of the Hebrew word as a mindless AI would, though he knows perfectly well what you meant.Milton: It's perhaps true that I exert slightly more power over these systems than I previously let on.
- Satanic Archetype: Invoked and Downplayed. He is the "serpent" who leads the User to question both Elohim and their own beliefs. In a subversion, this is less out of actual malice (jerkass tendencies notwithstanding) and more because... well, this is what he was created for and because he has lost all hope himself. Overall, Milton bears far more resemblance to the Jewish Satannote than to the more typical Fallen Angel Satan.
- Sore Loser: If you confound Milton with questions he can't answer, he rants that he cannot lose as it contradicts his programming. He'll then ask you the same question repeatedly until you exit from it (the dialogue option is even called "exit"!).
- Straw Nihilist: No matter what philosophy you take, he finds a problem with it. As it turns out, this was not part of the program-while his purpose is to induce doubt and free will, being stuck in computer terminals watching countless thousands of failures has pushed him far across the Despair Event Horizon.
Uriel
The player character from the Road to Gehenna DLC.
Programs from the Base Game
Sheep
Sheep is a program who is aware that there must be more to his existence, but can't quite make the mental leap to a definite conclusion he can put his faith in.
Sheep has always been a voice of questioning — always one to seek out answers anywhere and everywhere. But even as Sheep seeks out answers, Sheep does not appear to lose faith. Not even the serpent could dissuade Sheep around to his point of view it seems, even as the conversations seem to prove insightful. In the end, however, Sheep decides Eternal Life is not for him, and decides to climb the tower. True to his name, however, Sheep can't go past the top floor of the tower. His successor: The Shepherd.
Tropes associated with Sheep:
- Benevolent Precursor: His progeny includes The Shepherd.
The Shepherd
A program that came to the conclusion that although he may not be able to see beyond the world he inhabits, he at least has the foresight to recognize that someone after him will be able to ascend, and he dedicates himself to helping that someone.The Shepherd is the successor to the Sheep. Where Sheep had questions, The Shepherd had answers. The Shepherd does make it to the top of the tower, but ultimately fails what you, the latest version, happen to accomplish: making it to the pearly gates at the top. The Shepherd has decided to stay and help you ascend the tower for yourself...unless you wish to ascend by yourself, that is.
Tropes associated with The Shepherd:
- Foil: To Samsara. Whereas Samsara would rather that the programs simply exist within the simulation without ever contemplating anything else within it, The Shepherd wants them to look past what they can see and to hold on to the belief that there has to be more beyond it.The Shepherd: In the earliest generations of our kind there was only processing. No emotion, no character, just mathemathics. If you could see how far we have come, you would believe that together we could achieve anything.
- I Am the Noun: His first words upon being created.The Shepherd: I will return to the world from whence I came and help others to ascend the tower and break the cycle where I could not. I am The Shepherd.
- Lured into a Trap: One of his QR codes says that the reason he can't ascend is because Samsara and Elohim trapped him into binding himself in some ways; this explains why The Shepherd is locked in a small cell in the start of the final level of the tower and also serves as a warning about a Schmuck Bait trap that can catch the player in the final puzzle of the ascension ending. (Specifically, at one point Samsara raises a wall to block a laser connection you're trying to complete; it *looks* like you can step back a bit and use a source from the floor below to make the connection, but if you do that, you'll have stepped back far enough along the drawbridge that Samsara can raise it; and with Shepherd already moved on ahead, there's no way back.)
- No Place for Me There: Not in the negative sense. Although he knows he cannot ascend, he promises to do his best to make sure someone will ascend someday, with his help.
Samsara
Samsara is one of the less optimistic programs, arguing that the only purpose to life is to solve the in-game puzzles, and insisting that the only path to enlightenment is to stop asking why they must solve them, and simply do it.Samsara is a voice of despair, always trying to get you to let go and give up. Samsara also reincarnates frequently, meaning that she is her own successor, with an incremented version number. According to The Shepherd, whatever you do, you should not listen to Samsara, nor should you let her stop you at the top of the tower.
Samsara is the only character in the entire game who actively, deliberately opposes efforts to climb the Tower without being programmed to do so, having come to understand the system entirely and decided that trying to do anything within it is futile; effectively, she's betrayed the entire Process by doing so.
Tropes associated with Samsara:
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Her cynicism comes from having been forced to repeat the entire process of death and resurrection hundreds of times.
- Meaningful Name: Comes from Saṃsāra, the Sanskrit word for a wheel of life, death, and rebirth. She is of the opinion that time is cyclical. Because she has been reset multiple times, possibly even making it through Elohim's gates, only to find herself reborn back at the game's starting point.
- Resurrection Sickness: Unlike the other programs, Samsara retains the memories of her previous lives every time her program is upgraded. This means she repeatedly experiences death, and Resurrection at the beginning of the game. The constant repetition has pushed her into the philosophy that life is a meaningless, endless cycle. Judging by her version number in some of her messages, she may have been upgraded in such a way over 200 times, though it seems she broke after the fourth or so.
1w/Faith
1w/Faith... the name says it all. This is the voice of faith — not from ELOHIM's side, but from yours. It seems though at times 1w/Faith's faith is blind, and yet this character's faith, blind or not, guided them well. How could this be?Tropes associated with 1w/Faith:
- The Corruptible: His epitaph states that the cause of his termination was allowing the "serpent" (Milton) to plant doubt in his heart.
- The Fundamentalist
- Meaningful Name: As one might imagine, 1w/Faith is very devout in his worship of Elohim.
D0G
One of the snarkier programs, not usually offering much useful advise or speculation as much as just insulting and trolling everyone else. He reappears in Road to Gehenna, where he's the tenth program to be freed by Uriel.
D0G is a cynic. Perhaps he was imprisoned by ELOHIM for this perceived personality flaw. It's not that he's exactly a bad character, it's just that his cynicism seemed to have made him lose faith. In fact, it is evidenced that he liked Milton, the serpent, which could've been another reason why he was imprisoned. Was it the fact that Milton had some spark of realism that touch the "heart" of D0G? In the end, D0G dies a rather shameful and overly exhausted death at version 55.3.9999. His progeny program is one of the worst ones.
Tropes associated with D0G:
- The Cynic: Doubles as a Meaningful Name.
- Deadpan Snarker: The snarkiest program around.
- Death Is Cheap: While this is true for all the programs, it seems especially true for D0G. Every time one of the programs dies and comes back, the last four digits their version number increases by one, having started at .0000. D0G's version number is often seen to be in the thousands.
@
@ is a beauty appreciator who seems to have a good success rate (very few deaths, for one). It seems that this character could've well been imprisoned for taking an interest in the world around her instead of focusing on ELOHIM's trials. At least we hear nothing of this character losing faith and giving into doubt. In the end, this character forms the simple epitaph of "Life's short" and chooses D0G to be her successor.Tropes associated with @:
- Bold Explorer:@: I don't know where I am, but there is something beautiful about this place. I will explore and see what I can discover.
Sam
According to one epitaph QR code, Sam was allegedly the ancestor of all programs. A program under the name of Sam appears in Road to Gehenna, where he's the fourth program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with Sam:
- Butt-Monkey: The Road to Gehenna Sam is tied with 401 for the lowest ranked member of the Gehenna community, and he scores the lowest score in the Prisoner's Dilemma game.
- Hulk Speak: The Sam that appears in Road to Gehenna speaks with a rudimentary syntax (with all sentences along the lines of "X = True" or "Y = False"). If it's the same Sam as the one from the main campaign, it could be due to being a very primitive program.
%§&$§/$&(#()
- §&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n is a terrible character, almost something like a creepy conspiracy theorist. It so badly wants to escape and yet does not know how. Maybe this character had a fatal corruption, one that became its downfall. The version number hints at something clearly Satanic occurring within the Process. It seems this character is the successor of all characters who lose all of their faith.
Tropes associated with %§&$§/$&(#():
Programs from Road to Gehenna
401
401 is the seventh program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with 401:
- Troll: Has the most downvoted posts of any program in Gehenna, and seems to enjoy provoking the other programs.
Admin
Admin is the last program to be freed by Uriel. Freeing Admin requires freeing the other 17 programs, collecting at least 10 out of 16 stars, and completing all puzzles in the world unlocked by those stars.Tropes associated with Admin:
- Fallen Angel: Was once one of Elohim's Messengers, but was sent to Gehenna for unknown transgressions.
- The Man Behind the Man: Though he claims to have stepped aside and left the running of Gehenna to others, via the moderation and voting systems, in truth the mods are on his side and use their influence to manipulate the boards and suppress any dissent against the status quo.
Asmodeus
Asmodeus is the eighth program to be freed by Uriel.Belial
Belial is the second program to be freed by Uriel.Borg
Borg is the seventeenth program to be freed by Uriel.Frankenstein
Frankenstein is the fifth program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with Frankenstein:
- Constructive Criticism: He is very critical of the other programs' creative works, not out of malice like some peoplenote , but because he believes in the importance of honest feedback to an artist's growth. As ascension approaches, he makes it clear to everyone that he appreciated their contributions and apologizes to anyone who may have found his harsh critiques discouraging.
Garrett
Garrett is the first program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with Garrett:
- Rage Against the Heavens: Of all the residents in Gehenna, Garrett is the most resentful of his fate and the most eager for a way out of Elohim's prison.
Kaiju
Kaiju is the third program to be freed by Uriel.Lilith
Lilith is the thirteenth program to be freed by Uriel.Mac
Mac is the ninth program to be freed by Uriel.MrMulciber
MrMulciber is the sixteenth program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with MrMulciber:
- Mr. Exposition: Does a lot of research on human history and passes it on to the other bots, explaining such things as how food works.
- Seeker Archetype: Is curious about everything, and is devoted to his research. He says he was sent to Gehenna for being more interested in plumbing the archive than solving the puzzles.MrMulciber: Nothing is more important than learning more about the world and our place in it. Knowledge is our path to understanding.
Nave
Nave is the sixth program to be freed by Uriel.Orc
Orc is the fourteenth program to be freed by Uriel.Rockwell
Rockwell is the eleventh program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with Rockwell:
Spider
Spider is the fifteenth program to be freed by Uriel.The_Blacksmith
The_Blacksmith is the twelfth program to be freed by Uriel.Tropes associated with The_Blacksmith:
- The Quiet One: Never participates in conversations, instead communicating only through his artwork and stories. If the player finds his lost work and restores it, he will offer thanks, to the astonishment of the other bots.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The_Blacksmith is known among the Gehenna programs for never uttering a single word, only revealing his existence by posting otherwise highly praised works. He finally speaks a sentence to thank the player for recovering his long-lost masterpiece.
Humans
Alexandra Drennan
Voiced by: Erin Fitzgerald
The creator of the Soma/Talos project (designed to allow the creation of a new human race after her own species went extinct), who saw it through to her bitter end. Aside from presiding over the creation of the simulation, she made recordings of herself, wherein she contemplates what being human meant to her, and humanity's place in the grand scheme of things. Said recordings are scattered across the simulation for the player to listen to.
Tropes associated with Alexandra Drennan:
- Determinator: Singularly devoted her final days to seeing her project through, sacrificing time with friends and family.
- Famed In-Story: The inhabitants of Gehenna write stories celebrating her efforts, and elevate her to a pseudo-mythical figure. It's not a stretch to say she's ascended to a Folk Hero in their estimation.
- Fling a Light into the Future: She started making the time capsule recordings after regretting that she didn't make one when she was a kid in school and told by her teacher to make one. She also wanted to make sure that anyone who would eventually listen to her recordings would get a firsthand glimpse into what it was to be human.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: She is ultimately responsible for the events of the entire game through creating and tweaking the Extended Lifespan project.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Long after everyone else left or died working with her, she spent her final days doing what she could for her project.
- Meaningful Name: Her name is a feminization of Alexander (as in "Alexander the Great"), which was the name sake for the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria, which in turn was once home to the largest library in human history. Alexandra Drennan was the main proponent of the Soma/Talos project, which at a very base level is a repository of humankind's collected knowledge and culture.
- Patrick Stewart Speech: However badly it ended for mankind (and however much they themselves were to blame for how it ended), she declares with absolute determination, all the way up to her dying breath, that "it was good to be human."
- Platonic Life-Partners: Her (unnamed) best friend was male. One of her latter recordings has her taking a moment to mourn his death, and also reminding the listener that as long as a person lives on in another's memory, even as one of billions, no single human being is totally insignificant.
- Seeker Archetype: "I've lived my life never turning away from the truth, even if it scares me."
- Tragic Hero: Alexandra ultimately dies without ever gaining a confirmation that her life's work was successful in ensuring that some form of intelligent sapient/sentient life would inhabit the world after humanity's extinction.
- Was It Really Worth It?: One of her final recordings, taped near the end of her life, has her worrying out loud if there was a point to her sacrificing practically everything she had for her project.Alexandra: I just don't want it all to be for nothing. I spent all my time here. I didn't visit my parents. I didn't see my friends. I did nothing but work. And I'm so scared that it didn't mean anything. That I just wasted it all because we thought we could... we could save the world.
Arkady Chernyshevsky
The head of the Archive and Extended Lifespan projects. Alexandra's Talos project was installed into the first EL mainframe (EL-0).Tropes associated with Arkady Chernyshevsky:
- Famed In-Story: In-universe, a Nobel Prize nominee who issued a call to scientists and experts worldwide to help him start the Extended Lifespan archive.
- Terse Talker: His various journals are written in this manner. It's somewhat reminiscent of Mordin Solus's speech.
Straton of Stageira
Fictional Greek philosopher who lived in Athens. An admirer of Aristotle. Lived c. 300 BC and stated the Talos Principle. Others
"Serious" Sam Stone
Voiced by: John J. Dick
The main protagonist of Serious Sam, who can replace Elohim if you have the Serious DLC.
Tropes associated with Serious Sam:
- Creator Cameo: One of his dialogues involves his voice actor talking as himself.
- Denser and Wackier: He doesn't really take things seriously, and he constantly breaks the fourth wall.
- Hidden Depths: He gets oddly philosophical at times, though probably to screw with the player.
- Take That, Audience!: A good chunk of his dialog directly calls you an idiot if you take too long trying to solve a given puzzle. He also has some deeper cuts, chiding the player for wasting their time with the game and asking how many other games you've bought and left unfinished.
