Deus Ex: Human Revolution has a great many secondary non-player characters (NPCs) that the player can and must interact with throughout the course of the game. Some of these secondary characters are minor, only appearing in one place in the game to perform one specific role in the narrative. Other characters have much more impact, appearing at several times in the game and driving the narrative to a large degree.
David Sarif is one of these major secondary characters. Sarif is the head of Sarif Industries, a major biotech firm, and Adam Jensen (the game’s main character, who the player controls) works for him. One of the central questions posed by the game is whether cybernetic augmentation of humans is the next step in human evolution, or whether it strips away essential humanity, and Sarif is the game’s strongest voice for the former point of view. Sarif Industries has several military contracts, but a large portion of the company’s work is focused elsewhere, and Sarif believes that his work is improving the lives of everyday people.Many things serve to further Sarif’s narrative role as advocate for augmentation technology, including his physical appearance. As can be seen in the image, Sarif has a cybernetic arm. The look of the arm—sleek and lifelike—is in contrast to some of the “clunkier” augmentations that other NPCs in the game possess. Also, the décor in his office has elements of the Renaissance; this is an aesthetic choice on the part of the game developers. People who support augmentation (such as Sarif) believe that a kind of “cyber-renaissance” is happening, and this can often be seen in their homes and offices, and even their dress.
There are two conversations in particular that illuminate Sarif’s view of human augmentation. The first takes place about a third of the way into the game, when Sarif and Adam are discussing an attack on Sarif Industries by an unknown group of mercenaries. The relevant portion is quoted below:
