It's possible that when Root introduces herself to Finch in 1x23 ("So nice to finally meet you, Harold. You can call me Root."), this is the first time she has ever shown her true self to someone in person. This would add another layer to her eagerness to talk to him. Not only has she found someone on her intellectual level who shares her affinity for computers, but also someone with whom she can finally be herself - or so she thought.
As she tells Shaw in 5x10, "I've been hiding since I was twelve." This was the time of Hanna's disappearance, which was a significant contributing factor in her becoming the Root we know. Following this, her work as an online hacker/assassin is entirely remote as we see in 1x13. In 5x01, she meets her past client Bela Durchenko who says, "Hello Root. Nice to finally meet you," demonstrating that the people she worked with never met her in person.
For the people she did interact with, it was likely all done through cover identities. In 1x13 she says to Finch, "My name? I've had a few.", implying that she has used multiple cover identities and both credit cards she uses in 2x02 are under different names. Given what we saw of Caroline Turing, she is more than capable of creating a watertight fake identity and giving a convincing performance. In 2x01, she switches seamlessly between sharing her misanthropic worldview with Finch and politely thanking the woman she's drugging, showing that she is experienced in using her acting skills for even the shortest conversation.
(It was harder than I thought, and overall turned into an analysis; if anyone of you wants to note something etc., go ahead.)
Root - favorite book genre
My first thought was: does Root actually like to read books?
I think she does. She knew the poem “Cocoon above! Cocoon below!” by Emily Dickinson, which The Machine sent Harold. Root could have just looked it and its meaning up on the internet, but I doubt it. She also had “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen on her bedside table. She might have borrowed it from Harold? Then there is of course “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. I’m sure Root read it, simply because Hanna liked it. Maybe she even owns a copy. As a kid, Root spent a lot of time in the library. She obviously got in contact with computers there, but I’m sure she also spent much time reading. When Harold has locked her up, she is surrounded by books again, and Harold provides stashes of books to her, which I think she all checked out. (I don’t remember any titles, though.)
I think Root enjoys reading two genres: science and romance.
Science because she wants to know a lot (and she does know a lot, and I think the most of it is self taught), because she is always looking for something greater. Now that I’m thinking of it; she might think that science is a ridiculous concept created by humans, though? Or at least some fields of science. However, she still enjoys it, maybe like she enjoys playing with people?
Now to romance (and poems). Root is very emotional and driven by emotions. And since romance usually has got an “‘emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending’” (x), it fits to Root. Obviously she yearns after a place where she feels she belongs, and she finds meaning in an AI; and The Machine could be enough for Root; but Root found herself being drawn to Harold and Shaw, and they provide her with something The Machine can’t. While growing older and traveling, Root realized that not every person is bad code. The Machine is the perfect good code, but the original lines were created by Harold. Root is part of the code humans are made of, while The Machine exists on a different level - the next step on the ladder, as Greer would say. The Machine can fulfill Root, but she is not always there for Root, she is there for everyone - The Machine is everything Root wants the world to be, but she is not everything Root needs. This, then, is the part that Harold and Shaw, and John, too, take in Roots life.
So I think Root spends some time reading romance and finding comfort in what these stories provide.
Shaw - If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?
I don’t think Shaw believes she is able to fall in love. She doesn’t experience emotions like the average person does; so she is indeed not able to fall in love in a way love is usually thought of. I think, however, that Shaw experiences a range of emotions; some very shallow, some quite intense. If they are too shallow, she ignores them - because it’s exhausting to figure them out, they all feel the same, anyway; and Shaw rather goes with “I’m a sociopath, I don’t have feelings”.
I think Shaw is attracted to the physical appearance of people (Root, Matthew Reed, Tomas Koroa) and to the set of skills of a person (Root, Tomas Koroa, Joss). Considering the appearance: Shaw’s motivation is lust, she would have sex with them if she gets along with them. About the set of skills: she enjoys to work with people who know what they are doing and are good at it.
Shaw would only fall in love - in her own way - with someone who qualifies for both categories. Anyone else is too boring and exhausting. Shaw doesn’t get along well with people. She can fit in and pretend if she wants to, though. But she barely cares for people and would leave as soon as there is no benefit in their company anymore.
I looked up some definitions of love (x); and I’m going to strike the ones that I don’t think apply to Shaw.
“general expression of positive sentiment”
“less sexual and more emotionally intimate form of romantic attachment”
“interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones” (not the typical romantic acts, though)
“caring for, or identifying with, a person or thing”
“condition of ‘absolute value’”
“’to be delighted by the happiness of another’”
“’feeling of unity’”
“’active appreciation of the intrinsic worth of the ‘object of love.’’”
“’unconditional selflessness’”
Now, back to the original question: Shaw’s ideal, if she were to fall in love. Attractive in their appearance; skilled in their field of work; appealing in their activities/hobbies, which have to resemble Shaw’s interests at least slightly; not expecting Shaw to act and react like a neurotypical person, and they have to be able to handle Shaw (i.e. accept and respect her the way she is).
I think everyone considers Shaw’s and Root’s relationship as a form of love. Root has got all these “requirements” that make her attractive to Shaw - long term. It’s especially how Root respects and accepts who Shaw is. She doesn’t expect Shaw to be anything else that Shaw isn’t, and Shaw appreciates it. Shaw is not on the low-empathy-and-low-compassion-and-low-sympathy spectrum (referring to this). She is affected when the team fails to save a number, she worries about Gen; she is concerned when Root is in danger, she visits her grave, says goodbye to her. Shaw doesn’t fake these emotions. I think they are shallow - Shaw notices them, she might not realize them, though; and they are short lived; then brushed aside and replaced by the emotions she experiences more intensly.
Ok, this got a bit off track - as a summary: Root reads romance and science. Shaw’s ideal significant other has to accept and respect her, and be interesting in a way that correlates with her interests.
My personal headcanon is that Root’s mother had Alzheimer’s.
All we know about Root’s mother stems from two quotations: “Her mom wasn’t well. I guess that’s why she always hung around the library” and “My mom told me to follow my talents and I’m good at what I do”.
Her mother being “not well” could be just about anything, but coupled with the facts that Root only left Texas after her mother’s death and that her mother cared about her enough to tell her to “follow her talents” it seems to indicate that it could be something that otherwise allowed the two of them to have a good relationship.
This could also be a factor in what made her believe computers are superior to human beings, if young Root saw the fragility of humans first-hand at a young age. Especially considering that the machine has a virtually unlimited memory, which could be why she lashes out at Harold when she discovers that he made the Machine delete Her memories every night, because it brought back the feeling she got when her mother was losing her memory and there was nothing Root could do to stop it.
Root sees herself as familiar to Harold, and it is possible she learned that his father had Alzheimer’s and, after realising he had a similar experience to her, figured that it was something they could bond over. When she first meets him it is clear she believes that she has found the one person who will understand her and her worldview, but after he initially rejected her friendship it is possible she changed her mind or thought that he wouldn’t appreciate that she had found out lots of personal information about him.
I rewatched The Devil You Know, and got curious about a few things. So I did some research on strangling and instant sedation. Below the cut is some information on both. I’ve also touched the topic of breath play; and added some headcanons, referring to the scene above.
At first I’d like to write about the second picture.
Before informing myself, I believed that Shaw is choking Root. After some research, I tend to believe she is not necessarily choking Root, but strangling her (which is a hypernym of choking).
Choke / choking: obstruction in upper airway (x, x)
Chokehold: grappling hold, reduces/prevents either air (air choke) or blood (blood choke) from passing through the neck of an opponent (x, x)
Strangulation: act of pressure around the neck with enough force to impede respiration or circulation (x), interferes with normal flow of oxygen into the brain
Strangulation can involve:
compression of veins/arteries in the neck -> decreased/no blood flow to brain -> no oxygen supply for brain, so called brain ischemia
compression of laryngopharynx/larynx/trachea -> abnormal breathing -> severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body (choking), so called asphyxia
stimulation of carotid sinus reflex -> slow heartrate, low blood pressure -> fainting (can also be caused by a slap/strike; Root used it on Dr Ronald Carmichael in s3 ep03 Lady Killer [x])
(x)
Strangulation can lead to serious injuries (petechiae, soft tissue haemorrhage, laryngeal fractures), and death (x). Unconsciousness occurs after about 10 seconds when the blood flow is restricted, and after 3 minutes when breathing is resricted (x).
In The Devil You Know, Shaw is strangling Root.
Shaw has been strangling opponents before. I remember her applying a rear choke (s3 ep10 The Devil’s Share), strangling someone with her legs (triangle choke) (s3 ep23 Deus Ex Machina), strangling a Samaritan nurse (s5 ep08 Reassortment), and Leon (there’s only a bruise on his neck shown) (s2 ep16 Relevance). Referring to the first two occasions, the opponent passed out after a few seconds, which means Shaw restricted the blood flow to their brain. The nurse didn’t pass out, so Shaw might have been only choking her. Leon stated that Shaw almost killed him, so she might have applied a blood choke. I think in s4 ep09 it’s assumable that Shaw is restricting the bloodflow to Root’s brain, as well, which would give Root about 10 seconds until she passes out.
Had the drug Root injected Shaw with not worked instantly, Root would have passed out first, and Shaw would have created some distance between her and Root until she would have fainted. I’ll look further at this, but at first I want to come back to strangling.
I’ve read some fanfics were Root and Shaw engange in breath play. This refers to interfering the normal oxygen supply provided to the body or brain, in order to create or further sexual arousal. It can be done in several ways:
1. Restricting the blood flow to the brain by pressing the blood vessels in the neck (asphyxia play) either
manually (with the hands)
or by using a ligature (belt, chord, etc.)
2. Interfering with normal breathing by
placing an object over one’s mouth/nose (hand, bag, gag, etc)
telling one to hold their breath or breath differently (which can lead to hyperventilation, where the carbon dioxide in the blood is decreased, which leads to dizziness, tingling sensations, and one may faint if the abnormal breathing pattern is kept up)
Breath play, especially asphyxia play and restricting breath intake with an object or hands, is not safe, as it can severely damage, or kill the submissive partner.
“There is no medically valid way to know exactly when an individual will become unconscious. … when someone loses consciousness it is not an end, it is merely a symptom, ranging from mere oxygen depletion to cardiac arrest”.
Pressure on the neck can damage the blood vessels and airway, too. It’s recommended to take part in material arts classes that teach how to strangle someone without injuring or killing them, before engaging in breath play. Furthermore, a safe sign is very important, rather than a safe word, because the submissive partner is probably not able to speak. For further information, read here: x, x).
Back to Root and Shaw. Since Shaw has got special training, she knows how to strangle someone, so her strangling Root involves fewer risks. Now for the fanfics: restricting the blood flow to the brain can only be done for a few seconds; and compressing the airways usually hurts and leads to teary eyes and coughing.
Finally, I’d like to come to the first picture.
Root has been drugging people through injections quite often, and it has been done to her, too, in s4 ep21 Asylum.
There are drugs that can cause unconsciousness in less than a minute. However, they must be injected into an artery or a vein. Preferably into a vein because:
an atery is harder to penetrate
if injected into an artery it takes longer to reach the brain
if done wrongly, it can bleed very much
(x)
Given that one can’t pinpoint the exact location of the blood vessels by just looking, it’s very unlikely to hit them, especially when the victim won’t hold still (like stabbing someone in the neck while they are standing). That means that this practice in Poi is not really portrayed in a realistic way. There are other ways to knock someone out instantly, though:
a hit/punch to the head, which is called a mild traumatic brain injury (concussion); this occurs when the brain hits the bone of the skull, it is usually achieved by a punch behind the ear or to the jaw, and doesn’t necessarily require much strength (x)
a general anaesthetic injected into a vein, or a voltile anaesthetic which is breathed in
a chokehold (restricting the blood flow to the brain)
stimulation of carotid sinus reflex
When someone has lost consciousness, they must be closely monitored, because they have lost their protective reflexes (e.g. coughing reflex); they must be placed in coma position, and might need to be ventilated (like Root in s5 ep02 SNAFU). (x)
That means that Root probably never applied a general anaestetic, but a sedative (a sedative doesn’t cause unconsciousness), and tied her victims up and gagged them to prevent them from moving/escaping, etc.
Since Root is not quite physically strong, not specially trained, and prefers to use guns, syringes, tasers and stun guns, I don’t think she usually would knock her victims unconscious or apply a chokehold (except when it comes to Martine?). Root actually prefers to catch her victims through psychological methods. Even though, she used material arts techniques a couple of times: in s4 ep13 M.I.A, she twisted Chief Wicker’s wrist when he groped her, and knocked him out shortly after; furthermore she fought with Martine in s4 ep19 Search and Destroy and in s4 ep21 Asylum; and she kicked Jeff Blackwell in s5 ep05 ShotSeeker. It wasn’t displayed how she knocked out Chief Wick, however, her fights with Martine were shown. Root probably learned self defense techniques when she was younger, and Shaw might have taught her a bit in hand-to-hand combat; however, she could never reach Martine’s years of training and experience. I think Root managed to stay on top of Martine because she was furious, angry, scared, and desperate.
“Under acute stress, the body’s sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for sustained, vigorous action. The adrenal gland dumps cortisol and adrenaline into the blood stream. Blood pressure surges and the heart races, delivering oxygen and energy to the muscles. It’s the biological equivalent of opening the throttle of an engine.”
“You don’t feel the ache of your muscles. You don’t feel the pain. You just do what needs to be done.”
(x)
Considering Chief Wick, I imagine Root did it like I describe below (maybe without the sedative?).
I like to headcanon that Root, when she wants to knock someone out or sedate them, uses a taser or a stun gun first. They drop to the ground. (But don’t lose consciousness - check out this post for more information). After this, Root might hurt them a bit. Then she restrains them enough to access a vein for an injection of a sedative. Afterwards, she drags them to wherever she wants them to be, ties them up properly, etc.
Now back to The Devil You Know.
I headcanon that Root incapacitated Shaw by using a taser or a stun gun. As soon as Shaw was on the ground, Root quickly zip tied Shaw, or only one arm at first. Beforehand, she might have gotten everything Shaw could use as a weapon out of Shaw’s reach. Then she injected a sedative. Depending on how much Shaw struggled, Root might not have hit a vein, which means it would take longer for the sedative to work (intramuscular injections take longer to work, it can range from 3 to 15 minutes or longer) (x, x).
Shaw might have been able to strangle Root, depending on how fast Root could tie Shaw up after tasing/stunning her. However, I’m sure Shaw would have strangled Root until she was unconscious. That means Root must have applied a sedative quickly as soon as Shaw was tied up enough for Root to be able to inject her. Staying close to the episode, I imagine Root tied only one arm of Shaw while restraining the other arm with her body weight, tased/stunned Shaw again, and managed to inject her into a vein. Then Shaw strangled Root until Root was unconscious. The sedative would work quickly, Shaw would become sleepy, Root would regain consciousness and immobilize Shaw properly.
In The Devil You Know, Shaw appears to be unconscious in the subway. If Root had applied a general anaesthetic, perhaps after sedating Shaw, Shaw must have been monitored while being unconscious (so Root perhaps had to order an ambulance?). Or she guided a sedated, sleepy, zip tied Shaw through NYC, maybe with the help of John, and they used a general anaesthetic on Shaw when they arrived at the subway. Or John came to pick up Root and Shaw, knocked Shaw unconscious and brought her to the subway.
I tend to headcanon that the boys picked them up, John knocked Shaw out, put her into the car, Harold or Lionel drove, Root and John checked on Shaw, they brought her to the subway and cuffed her there.
Anyway, Shaw would be furious as hell. Tased/stunned, zip tied, sedated, knocked out.
Alright, so we see Root getting surgery after having Harold modify a cochlear implant for her. I’ve always wondered: is Root actually deaf on her right ear, even with the implant?
So, I informed myself briefly about cochlear implants.
At first, a few (?) facts I found interesting:
“Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. ...
Hearing through a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing and takes time to learn or relearn. However, it allows many people to recognize warning signals, understand other sounds in the environment, and understand speech in person or over the telephone. ...
Use of a cochlear implant requires ... significant therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing. ...
An additional consideration is learning to interpret the sounds created by an implant. This process takes time and practice. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are frequently involved in this learning process.”
source: x, obtained on Feb 3, 2017
Alright, so then I checked on how a cochlear implant works... And I found that Root can’t possibly hear anything with her right ear. That is because an actual cochlear implant has got an internal and an external part.
See the pic below. Underneath I added what a “whole” cochlear implant requires.
“cochlear implant package contains:
receiver-stimulator, contains electronic circuits that control the flow of electrical pulses into the ear
antenna, receives signals from the external sound and speech processor
a magnet, holds the external sound and speech processor in place
one wire, containing electrodes that are inserted into the cochlea (the electrodes act much like normal functioning hair cells and provide electrical charges to stimulate the auditory nerve)
sound and speech processor: minicomputer, processes sound into digital information, sends that informationas electrical signals to the implant package; is worn externally, looks like a normal hearing aid”
Root hasn’t got any external part: no transmitter, no microphone, no speech processor. She probably only has got a receiver-stimulator.
The following explains how a cochlear implant works. I striked out the parts that are impossible in Root’s case.
microphone picks up sound
sound is sent to the sound and speech processor
processor analyzes sound, converts it into an electrical signal.
transmitter sends the signal to the implant package, where it's decoded.
implant package determines how much electric current should pass to the electrodes and sends the signal (the amount of electric current determines loudness, and the position of the electrodes determines the sound's pitch)
nerve endings in the cochlea are stimulated and the message is sent to the brain along the auditory nerve
brain interprets the sound and the person hears.”
This means Root can’t pick up any external sound with her cochlear implant.
However, Harold built in the means to make communication with The Machine possible, and he built in a GPS, as well (Samaritan accessed location data from the cochlear implant in s5 ep11).
Now a short cut. I’d like to take a look at the tiny wireless ear buds Team Machine has been using (you know the tiny wireless skin tone “ear worms” that can be turned off by touch): Something exactly like this doesn’t currently exist. There are wireless headphones available that come with a wire to wrap around the neck. There is the so called “The Dash”, though - available since 2016. It comes as close as possible to what Team Machine is wearing.
Considering that Harold has got a lot of money, he might have put some of it into the development of something like this, so it’s not impossible for Team Machine to wear wireless ear buds.
And considering this (Harold’s money, advantage in technology), it might be possible for Root’s cochlear implant to function without any external part in the world of Person of Interest.
Because to communicate with the rest of Team Machine, Root would need to wear an ear bud in her left ear because it’s the one that still can pick up sound. Or her cochlear implant covers that function, as well.
So, I came to the conclusion that Root can either only hear The Machine with her right ear and needs to use an ear bud / headphones / the speaker of her phone for her left ear to communicate with Team Machine, or she can hear everything with the modified cochlear implant, which might be connected to her phone (and therefore needs no earbud etc.).
I’d like to know what you think about it, reblog or hit my ask, everyone.
source for the italic parts and pic: x, obtained on Feb 3, 2017
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Person of Interest (TV)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Root (Person of Interest), Harold Finch, Sameen Shaw, The Machine
Summary:
I have analyzed season 5 episode 10 of Person of Interest, and found that it is entirely possible that Root survived. To share my thoughts, I wrote this essay/meta. I mainly focus on the conversations between characters and point out how they can be interpreted in a way that Root is still alive. Furthermore, I look at Root's death scenario to show that it is likely that she survived. I also mention episode 4, 11, 12 and 13 of season 5.
some of my ocd root headcanons (sorry i only just saw that you answered my ask): she likes the machine because it is perfect, completely breaks down when she doesn't find the machine, which she had been looking for for so long, changes her name to root because of bad, icky memories associated with the name samatha groves, needs to be able to rely on the machine, needs to be in control over the jobs she does for the machine, likes the machine because it helps her do perfect jobs with no (1/2)
loose ends, loosing shaw really hurt her because she was also someone she could rely on, and maybe she had had intrusive thoughts about shaw dying but shoved them out of her head because she didn’t believe they could happen, so when she thought shaw died it was awful. i have more but this just got really long (2/2)nice! i can see it (and you should send the rest of your headcanons if you want to, because i already love the idea, every nd!root headcanon is a good headcanon)@delphines
