Roland could be a NCP Guardian/Robot... *spoilers*

[Daeris]

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..."

[flaggwalkstheline]

Uck
this theory has once again reared its ugly head
I dont think roland is a robot
but in a story like this one can extrapolate endlessly

[Letti]

It's an interesting question and it's not the first time someone brings it up but I think there are way too many things that are totally against this idea. (His childhood memories, his whole family and his ancestors, we can't miss Artur Eld here; all his feelings - I don't see him emotionless at all; the fact that he almost died because of an infection; the way he gets older and older, and I could go on forever.)
The speculation is good and exciting but still a playful speculation for me.

And - however it's just my feeling and my opinion - Roland is one of the most human-like character I have ever met. He is everything but a robot. That's why I love and respect him so much.

[ManOfWesternesse]

Interesting idle speculation Daeris, and it must have taken time to develop & write.
... but no, I don't even begin to think there's a glimmer of a possibility of truth in it.

Welcome to the site. It's a hell of a first post either way!:grouphug:

[Jean]

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.
I am very much with Nikolett here - Roland is a total, ultimate human being. He is "cold and emotionless" mostly in the Tull episode; that's what he had to become in order to survive. But, much as I dislike The Gunslinger as a book, there's one thing there - there's a lot, in fact, but this one is special for me - that shocked me greatly, and precisely by its humanity (I am not using the word "humanity" to indicate anything good here - only something that is very human, not humane). When he knows he will have to sacrifice Jake, he, in his mind, starts referring to him as "the boy": just a generic, nameless entity. That's what people do to lull their conscience, and that means there is a conscience, and it hurts.

[Daeris]

And - however it's just my feeling and my opinion - Roland is one of the most human-like character I have ever met. He is everything but a robot. That's why I love and respect him so much.

Not to disagree with you (because I really do think Roland IS human), but how many humans do you know that are obsessed to the level that Roland is? How many humans do you know that don't cry off? I think it's in our human nature to give up most the time, to take the easy route. People like Roland are the exception, rather than the rule.

And, just because Roland makes very human-like decisions doesn't mean he is human. The whole point of his existence to guard the toward would be to feel human, and to carry out his programming to protect humanity (as well as ALL life of the multi-verse). Isn't that why the Tower and Beams were created in the first place, to literally support the multi-verse?

It's just phenomenal to think that Roland's human heart and will are stronger than anything I've ever seen. He stops at nothing, like a programmed construct.

[jayson]

People like Roland are the exception, rather than the rule.

Which is what makes him an interesting character. He's also not as exceptional as you may think. There are a lot of people who have their own Towers to save in a metaphorical sense. Call it obsession or existential crises or however you want to interpret it, but Roland is plenty human to me. Maybe he doesn't represent the most pleasant sides of humanity all the time.

Also, as I said the last time the "Roland is a Robot" topic came up. He's most assuredly not a robot because of the parts of him that are clearly organic (best illustrated by the infection he gets from the lobstrosity wounds). If Roland is in any way a machine, he'd be a cyborg not a robot. :borg:

[Letti]

And - however it's just my feeling and my opinion - Roland is one of the most human-like character I have ever met. He is everything but a robot. That's why I love and respect him so much.

Not to disagree with you (because I really do think Roland IS human), but how many humans do you know that are obsessed to the level that Roland is? How many humans do you know that don't cry off? I think it's in our human nature to give up most the time, to take the easy route. People like Roland are the exception, rather than the rule.

How many? A lot. Hell of a lot.

Their black money is not called Dark Tower but there are many people who are hooked on something (sometimes someone) they can't let go... that's very human-like. I think people who don't have a Tower are quite lost in this world... the wind blows them away because they don't have real roots they don't really know what's important for them. They don't have a central point in their life. No direction.
I don't say every single person is as obsessed as Roland but I do say there are many out there.
If you choose your Tower (many people don't) will you walk on the right path.

I guess our opinion about people is very different.

[Letti]

Call it obsession or existential crises or however you want to interpret it, but Roland is plenty human to me. Maybe he doesn't represent the most pleasant sides of humanity all the time.

We must admit that most sides of humanity aren't pleasant. That's the truth. That's why we keep fighting and it's so hard to find peace.

[jayson]

We must admit that most sides of humanity aren't pleasant. That's the truth. That's why we keep fighting and it's so hard to find peace.

I agree Letti. :)

[Brice]

And - however it's just my feeling and my opinion - Roland is one of the most human-like character I have ever met. He is everything but a robot. That's why I love and respect him so much.

Not to disagree with you (because I really do think Roland IS human), but how many humans do you know that are obsessed to the level that Roland is? How many humans do you know that don't cry off? I think it's in our human nature to give up most the time, to take the easy route. People like Roland are the exception, rather than the rule.



I think when someone has lost their whole world (and I don't speak of the physical thing here) ...everything that matters to them anyway, MOST people become pretty damn single-minded and methodical. It is easy to become obsessed by a singular goal. I even think it is completely normal. The only thing in my mind that sets Roland apart isn't his reaction to things, but his skill to be able to persevere towards those goals where the majority of us would still try, but fail. I absolutely do not believe Roland is an exception to the rule though. I think his reactions and feelings ARE the rule.

[pathoftheturtle]

John Henry was a steel drivin' man.
Lawd, Lawd,
John Henry was a steel drivin' man.