Overmind

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The role of Overmind, in relation to Lord Dread seems simple enough on the surface. Dread commands,Overmind runs the computers in Volcania. But is it really that simple? Is Overmind really that innocuous?Is the relationship merely that of Dread is the lord, and Overmind the repository of knowledge?

Dread and Overmind share a mind link of some sort. Before he became Lord Dread, Lyman Taggart used to hook himself up to Overmind, and allow the computer to 'touch his mind'.Yet Overmind's position is more than just a computer in which Dread can use to do calculations and keep track of his massive empire.

Overmind is consort,advisor, strategist, parent and even, friend, all rolled into one - and Dread relies on it's advice.When Dread steps out of line, Overmind reminds him that him that 'Emotions are the Enemy of Logic.' and that he must fulfil 'the will of the machine'.It is a thinking machine, but as we find out near the end, not completely insentient.[See New Order: The Earth Shall Burn]

As the ultimate in artificial intelligence, it becomes eventually clear that if Dread has from Overmind absorbed his conceptions and beliefs in a perfect world of gleaming machines, then Overmind has learnt from Dread too. Towards the middle and end of the season, we increasingly get the feeling that while Dread is the Lord, the true reins of power may not lie completely in his hands. Overmind appears subservient to Dread most times, but in crucial moments, we find him chastising Dread, and sometimes, seemingly questioning Dread's loyalty and devotion to the cause of the machine.

What begins as reminders of his dedication to the way of the machine, slowly eat at Dread. He begins to resent, not openly, Overmind's infrequent but well timed interventions, reminding him that he is one of the machine, doubting his devotion to the dream. Increasingly, he begins to suspect that Overmind harbours greater ambitions. We never know Overmind's true objectives or motives, for it rarely speaks alone without Dread present. Yet we know that Lakki reports back to him, and suspicions of a hidden agenda become more prominent when we see Lakki address Overmind as 'My Lord'.