Talos Rucker

Talos Rucker is a humanitarian aid doctor and the leader of the Augmented Rights Coalition.

As the leader of ARC, Rucker brings several groups of transhumans together, amassing considerable power in the process. The power he holds makes him a threat to individuals and groups (such as the Illuminati) who wish to further restrict augmented people. Despite being branded as a terrorist group, Rucker maintains that ARC is a peacekeeping organization and does not endorse violent actions by its members.

Biography
Talos Rucker studied medicine in his hometown of Stuttgart. In 2013, Rucker lost his wife and nearly died himself while attempting to treat victims of the Vilama Caldera volcano eruption in Argentina. After becoming augmented in order to save his life, Rucker began caring exclusively for those with mechanical augmentations. Rucker later became an influential pro-aug activist, as leader of the Augmented Rights Coalition.

In the early half of 2028, Rucker moves from Stuttgart to Prague, allegedly due to police investigations of his involvement in Neuropozyne smuggling. Rucker establishes his base in ARC's Prague headquarters located in Útulek Complex.

After the bombing of Růžička Station, local Task Force 29 branch director Jim Miller sends Adam Jensen to locate and extract Rucker for questioning, due to ARC's suspected involvement in the bombing. When Jensen meets with Rucker, Rucker is hesitant to comply. Rucker suspects that there is a conspiracy at hand that is attempting to frame ARC for various terrorist attacks. He claims that Jensen, as a member of the Interpol-run Task Force 29, speaks on behalf of "masters who hide in the shadows" and is thus reluctant to trust him. Following his talk with Jensen, Rucker's body begins to suddenly reject his augmentations, and he suffers a gruesome death.

Adam Jensen later discovers that Rucker was poisoned by an experimental substance known as the Orchid. Illuminati member Bob Page had ordered Rucker's assassination when Rucker was getting close to uncovering the Illuminati's inside man implanted inside ARC. However, Picus TV covers the circumstances of Rucker's death, claiming that he had died of alcohol poisoning.

Mission appearances

 * M7: The Rucker Extraction

Publications
Rucker authored the following books and publications:
 * Talos Rucker: An Autobiography - his autobiography.
 * The Inconvenient Aug - a book where he expresses his personal beliefs regarding the human augmentation technology.
 * An Appeal to Basic Humanity - an open letter to the public, in which he suggests forming an activist coalition that would defend the rights of augmented people in the post-Aug Incident world.

There is also an unauthorized biography of Rucker titled Pride in Prejudice.

CASIE Summary
During M7: The Rucker Extraction, Jensen will have to debate Rucker. His CASIE summary is as follows:

Personality Traits Psychological Profile
 * Idealistic
 * Responsible
 * Demoralized
 * Uses idealism as a shield. Needs to be reminded of reality.
 * Exaggerates his own importance, but welcomes good advice.
 * Conceals insecurities with bluster. Desperate for something to hold on to.

Trivia

 * Rucker was intended to represent the Cyber-Renaissance era prominently depicted in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The prop on Rucker's desk, identified in artist commentary as "Cyber Renaissance statue," was designed to serve as a link to Human Revolution 's Cyber-Renaissance era.
 * According to The Art of Deus Ex Universe, Rucker's death was intended to mark the end of the Cyber-Renaissance era, further expressed by the visual metaphor of the sunset seen through his office window.
 * The name Talos (Τάλως) means "the sun" in Cretan Greek, and is also the name of one of the earliest "robot-like" man-made creatures in mythology (predating the Golem).
 * According to voice actor commentary, Rucker was intended to be portrayed as very diplomatic and concerned about a peaceful resolution to a trying time, and as reasonable leader who possesses both idealism and rational practicality. Additionally, Rucker's voice was given a British lilt to portray his worldliness.
 * In his conversation with Jensen, Rucker states that if he surrenders to Jensen, he will be made to disappear. Rucker then says that he will not make "Solzhenitsyn's mistake." This phrase could be a reference to the Russian novelist 's self-described "unpardonable mistake," which refers to Solzhenitsyn's premature reveal of his (literary) work in the 1960s, which resulted in his inability to complete his work when it became suppressed by authorities.