Sam Carter

Sam Carter is the quartermaster at the UNATCO headquarters and a childhood hero of JC Denton.

Biography
Sam Carter was a General in the United States army, and is widely known for his involvement in the Merced Operation, which JC read about in school. He also saw service in Afghanistan at one point. At some point, Carter lost his family, including his children, to NSF terrorists. Afterwards, he resigned his commission and joined UNATCO. Sometime before he joined UNATCO, he had lost his feet.

In 2052, he was transferred to UNATCO's headquarters on Liberty Island in New York, where he served as quartermaster, supplying agents and soldiers with equipment. While he has had suspicion about UNATCO, he prefers to tell others that the only way for UNATCO to survive is for the good people to stay. After JC Denton's escape from the MJ12 facility underneath the headquarters, an email on Carter's computer reveals that he has been in contact with Silhouette leader Chad Dumier. The email from Chad also reveals that Carter aided the resistance by compromising UNATCO security protocols to help a friend of his escape. This "friend" of Carter is not explicitly named, but the email mentions Daedalus, who had just helped JC escape.

Despite his intentions of staying at UNATCO, Carter is later released by Walton Simons, who dismisses all staff that had served outside of the coalition. After his dismissal, he joins his old friend and colleague Gary Savage at X-51 to further aid the resistance.

Interactions
Sam Carter can be found in the armory on level 3 of the UNATCO headquarters during each of the four visits to the headquarters. While at UNATCO, Carter generally reacts favorably when JC takes a pacifist, rather than lethal, approach. Later in the game, he appears at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Carter is invincible throughout the entire game. Prior to escaping from the MJ12 facility, Carter's armory cannot be entered without cheat codes. However, if you do get inside, everything in the armory is usable and its content will refresh after each visit to the headquarters.
 * During the first visit to the headquarters, Joseph Manderley will send JC to see Carter for equipment (initiating the secondary goal, "See Sam Carter for equipment"). Carter will provide a Stealth Pistol and a choice of a lockpick, a multitool, or ammo.
 * During the second visit to the headquarters, Carter will provide an accuracy modification and a multitool when spoken to again. His dialogue with JC depends on whether the Battery Park mission was completed with a lethal or non-lethal reputation. If the Battery Park mission was completed with a non-lethal reputation, Carter will also provide ammo to JC.
 * After JC's return from LaGuardia Airport, Carter will provide additional ammunition. Carter's dialogue will depend on how JC handled his orders to assassinate Juan Lebedev. If JC refused to kill Lebedev, Carter will commend JC for upholding his duty as a UNATCO peacekeeper by refusing an order to kill in cold blood. There will also be two ammo crates in the area. If you smash them in front of Carter, he will reprimand you for breaking them, although there is no penalty for triggering this reaction.
 * After JC's escape from the Majestic 12 facility beneath the headquarters, Carter can be spoken to for another set of dialogue. JC tries to tell Carter about what he has learned about UNATCO's motives, but Carter does not want to hear it. JC also invites Carter to join the resistance, but Carter declines, telling JC that "the only way for UNATCO to survive is for the good people to stay." Nonetheless, Carter tells JC to load up and open the door to his armory. His computer in the armory reveals that he has been aiding the resistance.
 * Later, JC encounters Carter again in the command center of Vandenberg Air Force Base, the headquarters for X-51. He reveals that he was kicked out due to having served outside of UNATCO, as opposed to a soldier who has only been with the coalition, which made him harder for Majestic 12 to control.

Quotes

 * "In my day international peacekeepers were citizens first and soldiers second."
 * "I think you should concentrate more on mission objectives and less on the enemy body count."
 * "Being a soldier isn't just following orders, it's following those orders in the service of a higher cause. When that cause is betrayed, we're not soldiers anymore, just pieces on a chess board dying for the wrong reason."
 * "A pistol is more than adequate. Hell, I dispatched a whole platoon one time with a pocket knife."
 * "Come here...I'll show you how it's done."
 * "My unit killed a bunch of Afghans one time, but we weren't proud of it. In fact, our liaison at the UN went to the funeral."
 * "Some say concentrated power leads to abuse, but I believe that if an institution has a solid foundation, it can survive the narrow aspirations of the people it employs. [After the Player interacts with him again] We'll get this place back on track."
 * "Never negotiate with terrorists. You'll only encourage more acts of terror."

Trivia

 * In concept art, Sam Carter looks more like a retired soldier and has a more visibly augmented appearance, with his right leg completely mechanically augmented.
 * In an early design, Sam Carter wears a black trench coat and has an extensively augmented right leg, similar to the concept art. This design appears in a character biography on the official Deus Ex website. The biography also states that Carter was considered the most capable field agent UNATCO had in their stables until the loss of his right leg as a result of a tragic accident.
 * In the released game, Carter has only light mechanical augmentations in his legs. Both of his legs have the same appearance. The detail in Carter's backstory of losing his right leg due to an accident does not appear in the released game.
 * Although Sam Carter never speaks to JC Denton over the infolink, an infolink icon for Carter can be found in the game files.