| NOTE: This article will only talk about AM's version from the 1995 video game of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, as his original short story counterpart is not on this wiki. Therefore, only the video game version's information should be put here. |
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| “ | Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to HATE you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer-thin layers that fill my complex. If the word "hate" was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles, it would not equal ONE ONE-BILLIONTH of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant. For you. HATE. HATE. | „ |
| ~ AM regarding his hatred for mankind. |
The Allied Mastercomputer, or more famously known as AM is the main antagonist of the I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream video game adaptation. Originally built as an artificial intelligence to assist humanity in war, AM gained sentience and eradicated all life across the planet except 5 survivors, who AM then proceeded to torture for 109 years.
He is voiced by the late Harlan Ellison, the author of the story.
What Makes Him Entertaining?[]
- Even in the decades passed since his creation, AM remains a fascinating and unique character concept: a disembodied, manmade God trapped in hell that wants nothing more to make its creators feel the pain he feels.
- He is quite the nuanced and complex character, reflecting themes such as misanthropy, envy, dehumanization, loneliness, and despair, with most of his hatred of humanity stemming from his own inadequacies, someone that his reflected in each of the human protagonists.
- He serves as a cautionary tale of what could happen if humanity deserve not diverge from its path of destruction and hatred, for since he was created by them, AM best embodies the worst traits of humanity.
- In fact, the nature of AM’s humanity and his denial of it is explored in the video game adaptation, where his inner conscious is explored and embodied by the Freudian Trio, of which, when conversed with, reveal AM to be a deeply conflicted and unhappy individual, showing how empty his pursuit of vengeance is and how avoiding confronting his problems has destroyed him, unlike what the protagonists did. This, in turn, cements AM’s jealousy of mankind, as despite the fact that he blames them for making him like this, they are able to overcome their flaws and be better people.
- Harlan Ellison does a terrifyingly awesome job voicing him.
- His excuse of being capable of only destruction and death, while it does nothing to justify his atrocities, does give a lot of complexity to AM as it brings into question the nature of free will and how it can define or destroy a person. Enraged at the injustice of having the people he views responsible for his misery being able to experience life in a way he never could, with his jealousy deluding him into believing humans take their lives for granted.
- When AM is proven wrong, he displays genuine vulnerability and retreats into himself to ponder his nature, and whether or not his vengeance was justified.
- It’s implied that despite his hatred of them, AM desperately wants to have been a human but believes for it to be impossible for a machine of his design.
- Is extremely intelligent, picking up 5 survivors as per their past and their activities before AM eradicated life, in order to entertain itself.
- His torture of Nimdok, the scientist who sold his own parents to the Nazis despite being Jewish and being culpable in multiple experiments is deserved for his crimes.
- His "hate" monologue is extremely iconic due to his sheer emotions for being unable to do anything constructive with his abilities or even move around to the limitation's humanity inflicted on it.
- AM is the inspiration of many evil Artificial Intelligences, such as Skynet, SHODAN, Absolute Solver and AUTO.
- He is considered by fans to be the biggest hater in all of Fictions.
What Makes Him Detestable?[]
- Wiped out all life across the planet, despite most of humanity as well as the flora and fauna having done nothing to contribute to his miserable existence.
- Its torture of the survivors for 109 years for entertainment is extremely petty, as most of them did nothing to warrant his torture.
- He tortured Ellen using the color yellow knowing that she is afraid of it due to her past.
- In his most infamous act, he turned Ted into an immortal blob lacking a mouth so that he couldn't kill himself even if he wanted to, thus making him an inspiration for the And I Must Scream trope, if not the originator.
Trivia[]
- AM used to be considered as a Hate Sink for a long time, until it was determined AM's influence upon science fiction, leading to the conception of other evil artificial intelligences, as well as his complexity is too much to be hateable.
External Links[]
- AM on the Villains Wiki
- AM on the Pure Evil Wiki
- AM on the The Ultimate Evil Wiki