Ok, so I’m not sure if this is going to be a controversial opinion, but I’ve got to say it:
I don’t think Moira stole Mercy’s tech, and I don’t think it was even stolen.
Ok. Big claim. It’s clear that Moira and Mercy’s tech is related in some way. Same yellow healing, similar beams, even similar suits between Valkyrie and Blackwatch. But I think that the stolen tech theory is reversed. I don’t think Moira’s tech is a corruption of Valkyrie tech. It’s an earlier version.
My first piece of evidence is just the age of the two scientists. Which, no one seems to bring up. Sure, Mercy is prodigious in medical science. But she is still nearly a decade younger. Mercy was 14 when she visited Torbjörn post Whitedome and was already orphaned, so Moira was probably about 25 at the time. Considering that Switzerland is usually taken first in war, Ireland probably had a slightly longer time before the crisis reached them.
With Moira’s age and place in Overwatch (though it is Technically never stated that she was a member, given that she says Overwatch shut her down and it isn’t implied that they go around shuttering scientist, it is heavily implied) she likely joined during the Omnic Crisis (it’s unlikely she joined post war only to be immediately thrown out). This would also explain how she got accepted in the first place.
So about ethics. They kinda go out the window in war. No one would approve a bomb full of explosive bats outside of war. So someone like Moira who’s actions are surprisingly… normal? (In the sense that animal testing and self testing are not uncommon in science and aren’t usually considered that radical. Nobel prize winners have tested on themselves in the past when they couldn’t get other subjects.)
Though if the omnic crisis had a post war “Cold War” phase (which would imply that Dr. Liao was the equivalent of a paperclip project) then she might have been brought on during that time.
But for now let’s accept that Moira was an earlier member or at least developed her theories earlier.
So this theory is heavily based around this interaction.
The standard interpretation seems to be that it is just skin deep. But with how little lore we get and how important each interaction is, I read this as a clue. Because Mercy has a lot of wit in her interactions, so it feels almost like it is missing something if all it takes to shut her down is to point out that it does technically work. But there is a whole lot more weight (enough to end the interaction) behind Moira’s point if Mercy’s tech was inspired by hers.
Because though the interpretation that Moira’s biotics are a broken version of Mercy has some weight, I think it makes more sense as a cruder version.
Though Moira’s healing is stronger in burst, it is limited in range, long term healing, differentiating targets, and sustainability. Though there's a certain amount of in-system reproduction, it isn't infinite like Mercy. To refill it faster and heal herself it needs a source to steal from. (All this makes sense for an earlier, less refined version, made to be used in a fight.) Mercy is more refined and focused, even being entirely self sustainable. Even her self healing is, though possibly slower, without any clear need for eternal "battery." (Which would work excellently for a medical doctor!) But it is more watered down. She sacrificed it’s strengths to be more effective long term.
Now about stealing. I don’t think either stole the tech. And even if one of them did, neither is that upset about it.
Since both are definitely the sort who would point out if her tech was stolen, but none of their interactions come out and say that.
Now, I don’t personally believe that Mercy stole the research either though. Not only is Mercy definitely not the sort to steal research, but with her concections to Oasis and need to improve, she probably didn't hide her research (fake it, change numbers, obscure facts? Sure. But the results need to be shared to be improved!)
(Though if it was stolen it could be an allusion to Watson and Crick stealing the notes of Rosalind Elsie Franklin on her discovery of the double helix. Yes I did just bring that up because people need to still be angry about that.)
Then again, I’ve probably just thought about this a whole lot more than anyone on the Blizzard team did. So who knows.
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