Benjamin Antony "Ben" Saxon is a mechanically augmented soldier, one of the two protagonists of the book Deus Ex: Icarus Effect and the protagonist of the game Deus Ex: The Fall.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Saxon was raised in London. His father was an alcoholic who, despite attempts, could not sober up. Saxon enjoyed spending time with his grandfather.
Saxon served as a member of the United Kingdom's Special Air Service. After being laid off from the military, he immediately began working for Belltower Associates Incorporated, a private military contractor corporation. In 2025 Saxon became the commander of Belltower's Strike Team Six, an elite commando force, and led them in numerous conflicts around the world.
Working for, and then against, the Tyrants[]
- For additional information on this part of Ben Saxon's story, see the main article for Deus Ex: Icarus Effect.
In 2027 Saxon and Strike Six are taking part in Operation Rainbird, supposedly a quick strike against rival forces in the civil war taking place in Australia. Even though Belltower has assured them that the mission will be entirely safe, the transport plane is suddenly attacked by a drone aircraft. Saxon's team (including Sam Duarte) is apparently wiped out in the crash by the drone. Saxon manages to down the craft with a G-87 shortly before stumbling off a cliff into a shallow river. With massive burns and severe damage to his cybernetic limbs Saxon is recovered by Jaron Namir and taken to a South Australia Federation (SAF) hospital.
While Ben Saxon is recovering from his injuries, he is approached by Namir to join the Tyrants. Namir describes his group as an independent special operations team that supplies its members with the best weapons and augmentations, and gives its members much more freedom than more official groups like the military. After Namir promises to help find the people responsible for Strike Team Six's deaths, Saxon agrees to join.
Saxon works for the Tyrants for a few months, getting to know each member: Jaron Namir, Lawrence Barrett, Yelena Fedorova, new recruit Gunther Hermann, and Scott Hardesty (who believes that the new members are both too inexperienced to be trusted). In his first operation he, Hermann and Hardesty are sent into the Hotel Novoe Rostov in Moscow to kill Mikhail Kontarsky, an administrator of the Russian committee on Human Augmentation. Namir tells Saxon that Kontarsky associates with the Juggernaut Collective, a cyberterrorism cell, and also has done business with the people responsible for Operation Rainbird's failure. After fighting through several guards, the team finally find Kontarsky in a secret room, speaking to a mysterious figure, known as "Janus", through audio/video communication. Janus mentions something about a "Killing Floor", and then asks Saxon if he is sure who he is working for or of his loyalty. Before Saxon can interrogate either of them, Hardesty kills Kontarsky from a sniper perch across the street. Saxon becomes increasingly skeptical about the Tyrants, and on board their private plane, Hermann and Saxon are both tased and knocked out.
Betrayal[]
Saxon wakes up on the ground of a cramped room with the other tyrants watching. Jaron explains that one of the new recruits, Saxon or Gunther, is not loyal to the group and the two must fight to the death to determine which. He throws a handgun with a single round and the two fight over it. Saxon eventually gets the pistol, but he refuses to kill Gunther, however the round was a blank and Jaron explain that the fight was just a test. They exit the small room into Jaron's home, and he learns that Jaron leads a double life, both as a ruthless killer abroad and a family man at home. Saxon grows increasingly unhappy with the Tyrants. Later, he is in his home, a luxurious resort in London, when an automated advertisement blimp begins showing messages on its screens from Janus, asking him again if he is sure where his loyalties are. Federova enters his apartment, and the two have sex.
The Tyrants return to their base of operations, at the Romeo Airport in Michigan, where they are planning an attack on the Sarif Industries Headquarters in Detroit, to stop them from developing the Typhoon Explosive System, an experimental augmentation, and kill the leader of the project before, before they can meet with the National Science Board. They express slight worry about a security expert guarding the facility, Adam Jensen. Although he wishes to participate, Saxon is informed at the last moment that he, Hardesty, and Hermann have been given a different assignment; they will be flown to Virginia for an, as of yet, unknown job. As they arrive, Hardesty explains that they have been sent to kill Ron Temple and anyone currently in his house. However, at the beginning of the operation, Hardesty makes Saxon stay behind, as he thinks Saxon is too weak. The mission is a success when, in the Helicopter, Saxon notices a woman (Anna Kelso) running for the fence. Seeing this as his only shot at redemption, he aims at her, only to let her go, as he still lacks the ability to shoot helpless civilians. Hardesty and Hermann return from Ron Temple's House, and Hardesty chides Saxon for letting the woman get away. Nevertheless, he says that the media will spin the events to their benefit, and the group return to Romeo Airport. At the base, Saxon meets up with Barrett and Namir, who strangely seems uneasy about the events at Sarif and Namir says that they are planning another major operation in Europe, and that Yelena is currently handling a job of her own.
Revelation[]
Saxon is resting near the Tyrant Jet when he overhears Hardesty and Namir speaking, Hardesty warns that Saxon is a liability, too sympathetic to be useful in their operations but Namir reminds him that Saxon is experienced enough to be useful regardless, and that everyone on the team is expendable if necessary. With his doubts confirmed, Saxon finally calls Janus, who explains that Jaron keeps a private terminal (and access point to the Killing Floor) aboard the Tyrant Jet, and that Jaron's deceased sister is his most likely password. The Tyrants, sans Yelena, leave for their Target in Europe and aboard the plane, Saxon waits for the others to go to sleep before leaving for Namir's terminal. After logging on, he learns that the Tyrants superiors kill close contacts before recruiting new members, mostly to prevent distraction, and usually stage it as an accident. While Saxon is reading the Killing Floor, Jaron enters the office and admits that he was responsible for Strike Team Six's failure. Saxon, armed only with a stun gun, shoots the terminal, causing a power failure and starting several fire alarms. He manages to escape, and heads to the weapons storage area, where he finds Gunther Hermann and the two fight briefly, but Saxon manages to break several of Gunther's ribs and sternum, then shoots him in the eye with his stun gun.
Saxon using his Icarus Landing System to safely land in the ocean.
The German appears dead, and Saxon heads for the cockpit, where he finds Hardesty, armed with a Widowmaker TX shotgun loaded with nonlethal "Crowd buster" rounds. He blinds the man with a fire extinguisher and heads to the cargo bay, where a VTOL is located. In the bay, he is attacked by Barrett, who nearly kills Saxon, although he manages to detonate a belt of concussion grenades around his waist, scarring him badly. With no other choice, Saxon opens the cargo bay doors and jumps out into the sky above the Atlantic Ocean. At the last moment he triggers his Icarus Landing System, the strain of such a long fall eventually burns it out. Saxon manages to land in the water and but once again destroys his cybernetic legs. He is rescued by a fishing trawler, hacked and sent as a makeshift rescue boat by Janus.
Ben Saxon emerges from the trawler in front of the Juggernaut HQ, an electromagnetically shielded hangar in a port. After meeting Powell and Kelso, and then having his damaged leg augmentations replaced, he gives D-Bar the password for the Killing Floor. When they access the Killing Floor, they learn that the Tyrants are heading for Geneva, Switzerland, the same week that Bill Taggart of Humanity Front is in town. The Tyrants plan to assassinate him on the steps of the Palais de Nations, making him a martyr for the anti-aug cause and push for a vote on UN regulation.
To stop them Saxon, Powell, Kelso, D-Bar and a 4-man NSF platoon head for Geneva by VTOL. Over the Atlantic coast, they drop onto a mostly autonomous cargo blimp and set off. When they arrive, the group split into two forces. Saxon and Powell will lead the NSF troops to the Tyrant plane, in case any Tyrants are using it as a control center; Anna, D-Bar, and Croix, another Juggernaut initiate, will pursue a car bomb that is heading for Taggart's hotel. While searching the plane, Saxon's team finds nothing of interest, or anyone inside. He does find a terminal, and notices that there is a third point for the Tyrants, a location dubbed "Icarus". Powell finds material for an improvised explosive, but is confused because the Tyrants have access to Military grade explosives. At the last minute Saxon notices that the Tyrants knew they were planning to attack the plane, and runs. The plane explodes, killing Powell and his people. Ben Saxon talk to the radio, warning that the plane was trapped, and Jaron responds that Anna is in his custody and that he will kill her if Saxon does not kill Taggart himself in plain public view. Knowing he cannot let an innocent person die, he begins walking to the Palais de Nations.
Last operation[]
A small van approaches, driven by Scott Hardesty, who gives Saxon a Diamond Back .357 with one bullet in the cylinder, and reminds him that Barret will broadcast himself torturing Kelso to his Mastoid Comm if he fails. Saxon approaches Taggart and his secretary, fighting through several Belltower private guards, and points the gun at Taggart but at the last second, he chooses not to kill him, and pulls Taggart out of the open. Hardesty, perched at the nearby library, shoots with a Longsword Whisperhead rifle and misses, killing the secretary accidentally. Taggart asks Saxon if "They" sent him, implying that he knows about the Illuminati, before Saxon runs toward the Library to kill Hardesty. Inside, he uses his only bullet to sever a chandelier which leads to it crashing on Hardesty, incapacitating him. Saxon climbs up and fights with him, who manages to stab him in the gut with his augmented arm. Saxon finally kills him by shoving his own arm blade through his jaw and skull. Being chased by the Geneva police, suffering from a knife wound, having no contacts, he calls Janus and asks for help. Janus tells him that the Icarus is actually a private yacht on the Rhône river where they are holding Anna.
Later, he kills a Tyrant VTOL and pilots himself to the Icarus. After revealing himself, he decides to challenge Jaron to a one-on-one fight, to settle his desire for revenge once and for all. With his advanced augmentations, Jaron easily defeats Saxon, though at the last moment Saxon pulls out a Zenith 10mm pistol (snagged from the Pilot) and shoots Namir in the chest 3 times, which manage to subdue him even with his dermal augs. Saxon trains the gun on Namir's head, but Barrett threatens to kill Anna if he kills the leader. Saxon lets them go again, and he and Anna jump into the burning wreckage of the Icarus to avoid gunfire. With the police coming, the Tyrants leave by VTOL, leaving the two to die aboard the yacht; however Anna is able to breath underwater due to her rebreather aug, and the two manage to escape through a breach in the boats hull.
Later, Saxon and Anna are recovering from their injuries at the Duarte safe house in Costa Rica, and Anna plans to stay there, where the Illuminati have minimal influence. Saxon plans to leave for an unknown location, but Anna urges him to stay, stressing that she remembers something from Janus' vision, that a serious change is coming soon, and that none of them can change it.
Discovery of Belltower's Riezene distribution in Panama City[]
- For additional information on this part of Ben Saxon's story, see the main article for Deus Ex: The Fall.
At the Duarte safe house in Costa Rica, Saxon recounts to Anna his discovery of the Tyrants' betrayal. She is suddenly pained by Darrow Deficiency Syndrome, and Saxon has to administer Neuropozyne to Anna. Due to a worldwide shortage of Neuropozyne, they've been rationing their remaining supply, so Saxon contacts Janus for the first time in months for advice on a new source. Since the Tyrants would find them if they went to a LIMB Clinic, Janus recommends Saxon to travel to the slums of Panama to see the shady Doctor Alvarez Araujo for treatment with an experimental alternative to Neuropozyne, recently developed by Zaaphire Biotech, called Riezene. After explaining to Anna whether he will take a lethal or non-lethal approach there, and suggesting that she research the Tyrants while he's gone, Saxon boards a train to Panama City.
Saxon manages to find Alvarez, who offers him a shot of Riezene that he has synthesized himself in his clinic. If Saxon accepts the Riezene, he will remark that it's just as effective as Neuropozyne at treating his Darrow Deficiency Syndrome. Alvarez also offers Saxon a job to find and retrieve Alvarez's new shipment of Rievido, the active ingredient of Riezene. Alvarez finally points Saxon in the direction of the director of the local LIMB clinic, Doctor Camila Cardoso, in order for Saxon to secure a supply of Neuropozyne, and offers him an anonymous preferred clinic card to help protect his identity from LIMB's background checks. Dr. Cardoso mentions that Riezene has been involved in several recent deaths of augmented people who have taken it, and due to this her clinic has refused to be included in clinical trials for the drug. Camila agrees to send Saxon discreet shipments of Neuropozyne if he finds out where the street gangs are getting their Riezene supply, and she directs him to a black market weapon's dealer named Cobra for more information on the criminals.
At the Train Station, Cobra tells Saxon to speak with Diego, the leader of the Skulls gang, and also offers him a reward for Diego's pocket secretary. Following this lead, Saxon discovers that Belltower is in Panama City supplying the Skulls with Riezene. Saxon explains the situation to Anna and reports the evidence to Camila, who concludes that Zaaphire Biotech is making a flawed product and has been field-testing it by employing Belltower to use street gangs to distribute the product and hide the bodies of those who overdose on it. She asks Saxon to find Alex Vega, a Belltower pilot, in order to get some inside answers.
Saxon tells Anna to pickup Camila's shipment of Neuropozyne at their PO Box while he finds Vega. Anna warns him that this isn't their problem, but Saxon insists on continuing, knowing people could die if he doesn't intervene. Saxon finds Alex at the Nightshades nightclub, and she tells him to warn the World Health Organization inspector she's been hired to transport that this situation has put his life in danger. At Hotel Etana, Saxon finds Inspector Stuart St. John, who tells him he already knows about the botched Riezene shipments and plans to go public with his findings on Picus TV. The inspector is suddenly executed by Sam Duarte, revealed to be alive all along and now working for the Tyrants. Namir orders Sam to execute Saxon, but he hesitates, and Barrett orders Sam to escape to a VTOL waiting outside the window. Saxon tells Anna that the Tyrants' involvement means that her position may be compromised, and warns her not to return to the safe house.
After escaping from Hotel Etana, Saxon informs Alex of the inspector's assassination. Realizing Belltower will need to cover up the inspector's demise by scapegoating her to take the fall, Alex tasks Saxon with breaking into the XNG Data Center and destroying the surveillance equipment monitoring her VTOL so they can escape Panama. After making his way through Belltower's secret base inside the XNG building, Saxon arrives at Belltower's helipad and disables the tracking equipment. Vega then tells Saxon to escape the XNG facility and rendezvous on the roof of the Hotel Etana for extraction. Upon returning to the Hotel Etana, Saxon finds the building has been evacuated by the police and that the upper floors are being patrolled by Belltower Spec Ops. After Saxon makes his way to the rooftop helipad and neutralizes the Belltower team (along with a Boxguard) defending the area, Alex shoots down a Belltower gunship that was patrolling the site, and lands to extract Saxon. They escape Panama, and Saxon tells her their destination is the Zaaphire Biotech building in Canberra, Australia, to continue his investigation into the Riezene shipments.
After Panama City[]
After completing his business in Australia and ending a related conflict in New York City, Ben Saxon decided to introduce Alex to Janus. As a result, Alex becomes a member of the Juggernaut Collective.[1]
As of 2029, Ben Saxon is still an active agent of the Juggernaut Collective.[2]
Augmentations[]
Ben Saxon has several military-grade mechanical augmentations. These include a TYM-made Samson-series Cybernetic Arm Prosthesis allowing strength and flexibility greater than an ordinary human. His arm includes a nanoblade that can be released at either the wrist or elbow for close quarters combat, and a function that enables him to punch through walls by opening a section of his forearm. Other augmentations include firing stability and accuracy while running.
His eyes have retractable eye-shields, Retinal HUD, Smart Vision, Flash Suppressant, and a Radar System.
He also has a suite of cerebral augmentations. These include: an Infolink, Hacking: Capture, Hacking: Fortify, Hacking: Stealth, and an Emotion Enhancer.
Saxon's torso seems to be mostly organic, but he has a few internal implants. These augmentations include: an Icarus Landing System, Energy Converter, Quicksilver Reflex System, and Glass Shield Cloaking System. Ben Saxon also has a modified Rhino Dermal Armor, called Sub-dermal Electrostatic Armor Plating.
His TYM-made, and later Caidin-made, Cybernetic Leg Prosthesis are augmented with a Movement Speed Enhancer, Sound Dampening He also has a Kobalos GS-IL1 Stealth Dash System installed, which which uses a reverse boost from the Icarus Landing System to propel the user forward very rapidly. Although, unlike the later Icarus Dash augmentation, the Stealth Dash cannot be charged or used offensively to ram opponents, instead it engages the user's GlassShield Cloaking System to move them to the target location undetected.
Notes[]
- With his cybernetic arm and eye shield being his most predominant augmentations, his design is heavily like a cross between Adam Jensen and concept art of Gunther Hermann.
- Saxon had a one night stand with Yelena Fedorova.
- He is the most openly emotive protagonist in the Deus Ex series.
- Most of his augmentations are made by Tai Yong Medical, but he has a Sarif Industries Series 8 Energy converter, and during the events of Icarus Effect he has his TYM made Hermes legs replaced with ones made by Caidin.
- Over the course of events in Icarus Effect, he has his leg prosthesis destroyed twice. First when falling into a creek after surviving the ambush in Australia, and again when crashing into the sea while escaping the Tyrants.
- Going on that Saxon has the same augmentations available to him during his time in the Tyrants and the mission in Panama, depicted in The Fall, it seems he either removed the upgrades from his old legs and installed them into his newer Caidin ones, or had new copies installed.
- His nano-ceramic blade is attached to the underside of his arm, unlike Jensen's which is on the topside.
- In Icarus Effect, Saxon claims that his Icarus augmentation burnt out during his escape from the Tyrants, being irreparably damaged. Yet, in The Fall, he still this augmentation active and usable during his mission in Panama City.
- Saxon's Sub-dermal Electrostatic Armor Plating augmentation requires a power source and offering more protection than rhino dermal armor. It functions much like the Titan augmentation from Deus Ex: Mankind Divide.
- Saxon has a Kobalos GS-IL1 Stealth Dash System installed in his legs. It functions very similarly to the Icarus Dash system in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
- In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, a list of deployed Tarvos agents, found on the large screen in Tarvos Security's Palisade Bank vault, lists the name "Saxon". This may hint that Saxon is working for Tarvos as a double agent for the Juggernaut Collective.
See also[]
Gallery[]
References[]
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