Deus Ex is short for Deus Ex Machina which is Greek for “god from the machine”. The term has evolved to mean a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability or object. In the case of this world humanity is the “problem” and technology is the “solution”. Technology is being used to give humans the abilities usually attributed to gods. This is also a play on words. As mentioned before, Deus Ex is literally the beginning of the term Deus Ex Machina.

Humanity is a slave to technology

The UNATCO motto is “Nihil aliud scit necessitas quam vincere.” which is Latin for “Because necessity knows nothing else but victory”. UNATCO is the agency the main protagonist works for. The reference is relevant because in the game (in all games for that matter) it is necessary for you win or complete the game. More importantly humanity must survive.

The whole situation seems hopeless.

The main character in this game has had major anatomical replacements. The components are all some sort of metal. Cold. This is also a reference to the rock group Coldplay its song “Yellow”. Characters supportive of the human augmentation movement dress themselves and decorate their homes in reinterpreted late-medieval Italian style, and the game as a whole has a sepia-tinted colour palette (yellow) reminiscent of historic manuscripts. In contrast, characters who are opposed to or are of neutral persuasion toward the human enhancement movement wear clothing that is more reminiscent of contemporary fashions. Its hard to say who is right or wrong because both sides have good arguments. Its a grey area.

Humans weren’t meant to have tech in them. Humans are now in freefall as they have been thrown from their path. This is reflected in the Icarus dreams the protagonist, Adam Jensen, has throughout the game.

Knowledge is power but too much knowledge without responsibility is dangerous.

The Illuminati and Majestic 12 are secret organizations that sought to control the world. Their ambitions led to the weaponization of the Grey Death which ended up killing most of the human population. They overreached.

This game is a prequel to the other Deus Ex Games developed by a company called “Ion Storm”. The story takes place 25 years before the original game (Deus Ex) and 45 years before the sequel to that (Invisible War). In those games mechanical augmentation has given way to nanotech augmentation. The grey death was intended for use with augmentations but was repurposed as a lethal virus.

One of the man themes of the game is that there is a movement of humans that are against body modifications. This is called the Human Revolution.