Daeris
05-14-2009, 12:44 PM
SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW! SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW! SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW!
SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW! SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW! SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW!
I just finished the series, and - like the majority of folk - I'm torn on the ending. In many ways, I agree with King in that it had to end like that; overall I do enjoy the ending. But it's an ambivalent ending... slightly anticlimactic as well... has a slight rushed feeling from King... and is one of those endings that arises more questions and speculation than it actually concludes anything.
Now, as the topic suggests, I'm going to touch on an pretty crazy idea here. Let me preface this by saying that I don't fully believe in this idea, but rather that I simply acknowlege that it is a possibility, and therefore feel it warrants some thought and discussion. Here we go:
Roland could be a Guardian construct built by the old people of North Central Positronics. Instead of guarding the beams, he guards the Tower. He is controlled by the Tower. He is the 13th Guardian. His programming is to exist and protect the Tower, as long as the Tower stands. He essentially IS the Tower. Like the other NCP bots, he can't break his programming - however - he can become so old and worn down that he strays from it.
NOW: Remember - This is all speculation. I'm simply tossing these ideas out because they deserve some thought. Not saying this IS the be all, end all. Because this warrants some additional thought, let's dive in a skosh deeper:
Why is he not like the other constructs (IE: Thinking caps, gears inside)?
Potential Answer: Being that he guards the Tower itself, he would be unlike any other construct. He would be the ultimate one... just as complex and unfathomable as the Tower itself.
His memories were all implanted (this is the part that I don't like about this theory). Why? Because Roland's toubled past, his life devotion, is simply the PERFECT programming to make him reach the Tower, time and time again.
He doesn't know he's a guardian, and that's a rule of the programming too. If somehow he DID become self-aware, imagine what that would do to him. His programming would fail, and he'd probably call off the Tower, which - of course - the Tower can't allow.
Why is Roland so old? Why is time even more strange for him, than it is for others?
Like Shardik going mad, in a sense Roland the Guardian could be going "mad" in his own ways too. His programming is failing, just like Shardik's mind failed. This is why Roland is able to be more and more influenced by his ka-tet each time he visits the Tower. Each time he get there, Roland has learned more of Love, and other emotions of life. In time, maybe his programming will fail (isn't it inevitable that it would?), and he'll be able to break off his quest to protect the Tower.
Let's look at some other plot keys/funfacts that suggest Roland may in fact be a NCP construct:
1. Roland in The Gunslinger is cold, emotionless, and well, robotic. As his quest goes on though, he opens up his mind and heart, and learns to love. The humans he interacts with bring out his softer, more human side.
2. In Drawing of the Three Roland takes command of Jack Mort's body. When he interacts with the police officer outside of the ammo shop, he leaves such a mysterious impression on the officer, that years later, the officer compares him to the TERMINATOR. Now, it was Jack Mort that the officer was literally talking to, but in WAS Roland. It doesn't matter that Roland was working through someone, he was doing what he knew how to do.
3. In Book VII, Irene Tassenbaum compares him to Yul Brener who (she even thinks this) played a robot cowboy run amok. Doesn't that line describe the essense of Roland? A robot cowboy run amok!
4. As Roland is climbing the stairs in the Tower, he thinks I'm like one of the robots of old, constantly marching towards my goal until either completion or death. Sure, King writes this as a simile/metaphor, but could it be that Roland actually IS a robot of old. Being in the Tower - his source - brought the finality of that thought out.
If Roland is a North Central Positronics contstruct, there is a resonance in the plot that suggest he is on his way to breaking free of his innate programming. It's the other robots of the story, the order they're presented, and the varying degree of their attitudes. Take a look:
Andy the Messenger: Very coniving. Cares nothing for the other life around him. Answers only to his programming. A covert enemy.
Nigel: Works for the enemy, yet confused and has a good "heart". More open to human emotion, caring about the others around him. Aids both the good and the evil.
Bill: Aids the enemy, but secretly had a great care for the locked up Patrick. Wears his emotions on his sleeve, showing signs of great human emotions that he's developed. Primarily helps those of the white.
So, what do you guys think? I know this will get blasted, and I don't blame it, because I don't necessarily care for it myself. But it came out nonetheless. Is it possible that if Roland was ever slain on the way to his Tower, we'd hear that loud North Central Positronics alarm, booming something along the lines of the following: "MODEL: ROLAND - 13th GUARDIAN OF THE DARK TOWER. NUCLEAR SUBCELLS OPERATING AT 19 PERCENT. IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS IMMEDIATELY. REPEAT. PLEASE CALL NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS IMMEDIATELY..."
SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW! SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW! SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW!
I just finished the series, and - like the majority of folk - I'm torn on the ending. In many ways, I agree with King in that it had to end like that; overall I do enjoy the ending. But it's an ambivalent ending... slightly anticlimactic as well... has a slight rushed feeling from King... and is one of those endings that arises more questions and speculation than it actually concludes anything.
Now, as the topic suggests, I'm going to touch on an pretty crazy idea here. Let me preface this by saying that I don't fully believe in this idea, but rather that I simply acknowlege that it is a possibility, and therefore feel it warrants some thought and discussion. Here we go:
Roland could be a Guardian construct built by the old people of North Central Positronics. Instead of guarding the beams, he guards the Tower. He is controlled by the Tower. He is the 13th Guardian. His programming is to exist and protect the Tower, as long as the Tower stands. He essentially IS the Tower. Like the other NCP bots, he can't break his programming - however - he can become so old and worn down that he strays from it.
NOW: Remember - This is all speculation. I'm simply tossing these ideas out because they deserve some thought. Not saying this IS the be all, end all. Because this warrants some additional thought, let's dive in a skosh deeper:
Why is he not like the other constructs (IE: Thinking caps, gears inside)?
Potential Answer: Being that he guards the Tower itself, he would be unlike any other construct. He would be the ultimate one... just as complex and unfathomable as the Tower itself.
His memories were all implanted (this is the part that I don't like about this theory). Why? Because Roland's toubled past, his life devotion, is simply the PERFECT programming to make him reach the Tower, time and time again.
He doesn't know he's a guardian, and that's a rule of the programming too. If somehow he DID become self-aware, imagine what that would do to him. His programming would fail, and he'd probably call off the Tower, which - of course - the Tower can't allow.
Why is Roland so old? Why is time even more strange for him, than it is for others?
Like Shardik going mad, in a sense Roland the Guardian could be going "mad" in his own ways too. His programming is failing, just like Shardik's mind failed. This is why Roland is able to be more and more influenced by his ka-tet each time he visits the Tower. Each time he get there, Roland has learned more of Love, and other emotions of life. In time, maybe his programming will fail (isn't it inevitable that it would?), and he'll be able to break off his quest to protect the Tower.
Let's look at some other plot keys/funfacts that suggest Roland may in fact be a NCP construct:
1. Roland in The Gunslinger is cold, emotionless, and well, robotic. As his quest goes on though, he opens up his mind and heart, and learns to love. The humans he interacts with bring out his softer, more human side.
2. In Drawing of the Three Roland takes command of Jack Mort's body. When he interacts with the police officer outside of the ammo shop, he leaves such a mysterious impression on the officer, that years later, the officer compares him to the TERMINATOR. Now, it was Jack Mort that the officer was literally talking to, but in WAS Roland. It doesn't matter that Roland was working through someone, he was doing what he knew how to do.
3. In Book VII, Irene Tassenbaum compares him to Yul Brener who (she even thinks this) played a robot cowboy run amok. Doesn't that line describe the essense of Roland? A robot cowboy run amok!
4. As Roland is climbing the stairs in the Tower, he thinks I'm like one of the robots of old, constantly marching towards my goal until either completion or death. Sure, King writes this as a simile/metaphor, but could it be that Roland actually IS a robot of old. Being in the Tower - his source - brought the finality of that thought out.
If Roland is a North Central Positronics contstruct, there is a resonance in the plot that suggest he is on his way to breaking free of his innate programming. It's the other robots of the story, the order they're presented, and the varying degree of their attitudes. Take a look:
Andy the Messenger: Very coniving. Cares nothing for the other life around him. Answers only to his programming. A covert enemy.
Nigel: Works for the enemy, yet confused and has a good "heart". More open to human emotion, caring about the others around him. Aids both the good and the evil.
Bill: Aids the enemy, but secretly had a great care for the locked up Patrick. Wears his emotions on his sleeve, showing signs of great human emotions that he's developed. Primarily helps those of the white.
So, what do you guys think? I know this will get blasted, and I don't blame it, because I don't necessarily care for it myself. But it came out nonetheless. Is it possible that if Roland was ever slain on the way to his Tower, we'd hear that loud North Central Positronics alarm, booming something along the lines of the following: "MODEL: ROLAND - 13th GUARDIAN OF THE DARK TOWER. NUCLEAR SUBCELLS OPERATING AT 19 PERCENT. IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS IMMEDIATELY. REPEAT. PLEASE CALL NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS IMMEDIATELY..."