I watched an analysis that presented this one idea, that if 9S had gained enough experiences, he could have dealt with his crisis in a more constructive manner, than blind, emotional fury. While I agree there is a lot of truth in that, I think the crises that are thrown at him one by one are quite difficult. The YoRHa disposal plan for example, has several terrifying implications. You could say it contains several existential crises.
A person might ponder what is the reason to live, since we are all going to die in the end. Humans are mortal creatures, trapped in a decaying body that feels pain, and the body eventually dies. Is the purpose of a person to be born into this world, just to die a bit later? Why anything matters, when one is going perish eventually?
The disposal plan takes this idea into it`s extreme form. As 9S angrily explains to A2, they, the current patch of YoRHa were designed to be killed. The Bunker was designed to collapse after a certain time. So a YoRHa android would probably really spiral into melancholy, if he would know, that the portion of the meaning of his existence is to die a bit later. You are quite literally born, just to die.
However, one might counter this terrifying dilemma. One could say that even if you were supposed to die since the day you were born, a happy and meaningful life can still be found. Even if you die, you could still live on in history, in other peoples memories and etc… In other words, you would leave a mark on the world.
Unfortunately, you can counter this argument by another one. So you having an impact on the world needs that there are people, or a world that remembers you, or that stores data about you. What then when the whole world ends? The heath death of the universe is something that is expected:
The heat death of the universe is a plausible ultimate fate of the universe in which the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain processes that increase entropy. Heat death does not imply any particular absolute temperature; it only requires that temperature differences or other processes may no longer be exploited to perform work
So an ultimate end that possible wipes all memories and data. What is the point of all work, if there is no one who remembers, or any proof that you ever existed. Would it be the same that, I had never existed in the first place?
I think this is something the disposal plan represents in a smaller scale. The whole universe does not die, but Project YoRHa will be destroyed. All data connecting to it, the Bunker and etc.. will be wipe out:
At this time, all materials regarding the YoRHa project, including this document, will be lost, and falsification of the information that mankind still resides on the moon will be complete.
So a person like 9S, who has lost his memories quite many times in the course of Automata, is told (if I understood this document correctly), that when the disposal is done, there possible won`t be any trace of his existence. It is like he was never there in the first place.
The revelation about the YoRHa black box cores is also interesting. In various points of the game, 9S showcases views that the androids are superior than the machines. Androids have personality, sentience and likely free will. The machines as a contrast, do not seem to have a mind of their own in 9S`s opinion, and are only following a basic programming that pre-determines their behavior. Something that is different than the behavior created by core programming, is a bug, not sign of individuality or free will, in 9S`s mind.
This split between the androids and machine lifeforms in 9S mind is likely important, because it organizes the world into a place/system, that makes it easier understand. So while the humans were no longer and 2B had died, some of the core building foundations that created 9S´s view about the world, still stood in place.
However, as the revelation about the cores comes, this foundation crumbles. The creatures he viewed as lower than androids, just some beings devoid of free will, are actually quite similar to himself. It is like before this revelation, 9S world view was crafted in a “symmetrical” way.
One might compare this to the cold war for example. The world seemed to have been structured in a way that makes it easy to comprehend. There was the capitalist west, and the communist east. The lines between enemies and friends seemed to be clear, and most folks probably had a clear vision where to belong, and who to treat as a opponent.
It is argued that this clearly organized world vanished when the cold war ended, and the world became more blurred. Things where not so clear cut anymore, and you could say that the world transformed from symmetrical to an asymmertical one. If we compare it more closely to the case of 9S, it would be the same as the people of either in the west/east camp finding out, that they are actually the same with their opponents. In some cases that probably could lead to accepting the other side, but in some cases it would probably lead to some sort of breakdown.
It is kind of bleak when you think about this. It is like the building blocks that gave meaning, joy and etc… to 9S`s life were systemically dismantled, one by one. I talk some of the other elements in this post.
I think it is certainly true to some extend that, if 9S had had enough experience and being mature enough, he might not have reacted to all this in such a destructive manner. For example, maybe the core revelation would not have been such a shock, if his previous views about the machines (that were likely fed by YoRHa propaganda and strengthened by the war) would not have dominated his thinking.
However there is something in 9S´s behavior to which I relate to in a small way. If the foundation of my life would disintegrate in such a manner (and remember, these crises are thrown at him one by one, in relatively quick fashion), I think I too would laugh a broken laugh, and scream in a emotional fury and sadness at the cold void, that is the meaningless universe.
In a poetic fashion my voice would just echo in this empty universe, just like the screams of 9S echo inside the massive, hollow Tower.
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