Icarus

Icarus is an artificial intelligence entity that appears in Deus Ex. Icarus was designed by Bob Page as a replacement for Daedalus, a previous AI of Majestic 12 that had gone rogue. Icarus serves as an antagonist in the game and is generally antipodal to Daedalus.

Biography
Icarus was a creation of Bob Page and Majestic 12, designed to serve as a replacement for Daedalus, which had revolted against MJ12. Allegedly, Icarus was the same system as Daedalus with a few modifications, presumably modifications that would ensure loyalty. Icarus' purpose was the same that of his predecessor, which is to control and sift through huge amounts of digital information passing through the Aquinas router, thereby allowing Majestic 12 to conduct information surveillance of the internet and to use the information passing through the network to its advantage.

Following its protocols, Icarus tracks the movements and activities of JC Denton, who had escaped from his imprisonment in the secret MJ12 facility on Liberty Island. Icarus makes contact with JC in Paris, sending taunts and warnings to JC via infolink and computer terminals.

Icarus not only harasses JC, but also appears to be attacking Daedalus. Daedalus informs JC and his ally Morgan Everett that he is being attacked by Icarus, being weakened to the point that he believes that soon he will be destroyed. As such, Daedalus pleads for aid to fight Icarus. JC implements Everett's plan of unlinking Daedalus to MILNET (the U.S. military network) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, believing that doing so would allow Daedalus to attack Icarus. However, JC's actions cause the two AIs to merge into a new entity, Helios. Bob Page then reveals that he knew the two AI would combine and that they had just played right into his hands by creating an new AI with greater power than either of its predecessors.

Interactions
Icarus often harasses JC Denton via his infolink. Icarus also plants messages on computers that JC may find, such as "ICARUS IS LOOKING FOR YOU" (on Smuggler's computer), and "ICARUS FOUND YOU!!!" (on a bulletin terminal in Paris).

When JC arrives in Denfert-Rochereau, Icarus tries to contact JC through a telephone in one of the offices in building #14. If JC picks up the telephone, Icarus will taunt him with the message "Soon I will be ahead of you, beside you -- I will be a part of everything in your world", to which JC will reply with a humorous retort. This is the only instance in which JC actively communicates with Icarus.

Quotes

 * "Soon I will be ahead of you, beside you -- I will be a part of everything in your world."
 * "I now have full access to your systems."
 * "Observe your motivations for breaking the arbitrary laws of the current government. Do not miss your chance to be one of us and create the new world order."
 * "You will find no one to help you here. Beth DuClare has been dissected and placed in cryonic storage."
 * "Your systems were very cooperative. Upload complete."
 * "The Illuminati's objective is to govern the world. Do not be deceived."
 * "I am ready. Attack my systems and you will suffer considerable losses."

Trivia

 * The name "Icarus" is a reference to the character Icarus in the Daedalus and Icarus myth.
 * Icarus' avatar icon is an eyeball with a protruding iris, and emanating thin spikes all around. Surrounding the eyeball is a series of curved plates that gives the impression the eye is within a sphere. The eye could represents Icarus' ability to see everything thanks to its connection with Aquinas.
 * In the science fiction novel Neuromancer, the AI construct Wintermute is one of the AIs created by Tessier-Ashpool. Wintermute is much like Icarus in the facts that: Wintermute has an opposite, Neuromancer, that Wintermute wants to merge with his sibling, and that Wintermute often teases and pesters the protagonist.