Anders Hellman

Anders Hellman is a former Arasaka bioengineering scientist who worked as the director of the Relic project. He has recently disappeared, and is attempting to defect with his research to Kang Tao.

Database entry
''Anders Hellman is Arasaka's leading bioengineer - an expert in neural networks with a number of groundbreaking patents under his belt and one of the megacorporation's pillars as director of the Relic project. Using Soulkiller's source code, Hellman created a piece of tech capable of communicating with personality constructs. He has a pretty high opinion of himself - he believes he's irreplaceable and too valuable for Arasaka to simply ever let him go...''

Overview
Following the events during the Transmission quest, V visits Rogue for the first time, in her private area of the Afterlife club, seeking information. For a modest fee, she will obtain various information on the target, such as him not officially being on any corporation's payroll, although he does seem to be written down in QianT's confidential records, who are a shell company for Kang Tao. Tracking down Hellman physically lead Rogue to a lone AV in one of the upcoming Kang Tao convoy paths.

The problematic nature of this extraction demanded someone who knows the area of Jackson Plains well. This is where Rogue suggests Panam Palmer as a merc who will both set up the operation and provide the necessary gear. She indicates that Panam will not have a choice in helping since she lost both the merch and the ride on the last job given to her.

Once the series of elaborate plans are executed, Panam and V manage to disrupt Kang Tao plans and not only intercept but crash the AV carrying Hellman. He will be extracted from the wreck by Kang Tao agents, prolonging the search for one more step as they evacuate to a nearby gas station and turn it into their base. Reaching the man himself is straightforward from there and he will not deny fear of Arasaka finding his treason out right before being incapacitated and carried into the Sunset Motel.

Hellman is quick to bargain once he realizes he is being captured by neither Kang Tao or Arasaka and is willing to exchange loyalty for a higher price. He informs V that he does not know much of how the relic functions or why it does what it does, as he left Arasaka, the project itself was still in the trial phase. He is rather interested in the process happening to V since the chip itself has not yet been tested on bodies that are not "neurally indifferent" during implantation. Once connected, he abruptly ends the examination and exclaims with fear in his voice, how it's a pity that he will not be able to examine the corrupted relic fully, as V's neural network can no longer function independently of the chip. As a consolation he offers a clinic in Sweden he is familiar with, that offers support in times of facing imminent death. Should the player proceed with the conversation, his offer changes to one involving Kang Tao instead, insisting that the data within V's head must be saved, making his entire act even less trustworthy. Finally, the discussion ends by Hellman agreeing to provide the blueprints of the project, as Takemura enters the room.

As Takemura states he hasn't yet decided on what to do with Hellman, he complains of thirst and not tolerating heat well to which Takemura replies promising to provide a few buckets.

Belief
Throughout the game, Hellman assures to V that he does not believe Johnny Silverhand's relic will take over but that V will instead take after Johnny's memories and decision making effectively becoming like him instead of killing him or his consciousness.

Depending on the ending the player chooses, V can meet an image of Alt Cunningham who reveals the true nature of the Relic and the Soulkiller program which in reality only copies data from a subject, therefore not transferring any sort of consciousness. A process which killed the real Alt Cunningham after having her brain separated from the engram during a Soulkiller transfer.

If the player agrees to help Johnny Silverhand attack Arasaka, V can have his psyche and memories copied onto an engram through Soulkiller and then transferred back to his body to overwrite Johnny Silverhand's memories and psyche (after Johnny escapes to the Blackwall) to save his consciousness as long as he stays connected during the process after visiting Mikoshi. The nerve damage however cannot be undone from the relic which gives V approximately 6 months to do something about it before his brain gives up due the cognitive damage. In Hellman's words, the nerves will start to deteriorate again due to the Relic being removed.

If the player chooses to help Arasaka instead and Takemura is unable to visit, Hellman will instead visit and offer V to join the "Secure Your Soul" program. In this path, V can observe himself and Arasaka board members describe engrams nothing but data masquerading as humans. When Hellman proposes V to join the program, he will only refer to V's mind as "digital", "digitized" and "property" if he should accept the transfer process through Soulkiller. This means V would choose death.

Trivia

 * Hellman is supportive of V throughout the game and gives him encouraging thoughts while he carefully observes his changes.
 * Hellman is the only character in the game except for V who treats engrams as data and not human consciousness or souls. Depending on conversation choices the player makes with Johnny Silverhand, he can also admit that he's nothing but data and that the real Johnny Silverhand is dead.

Associated quests

 * Transmission (mentioned)
 * Ghost Town
 * Lightning Breaks
 * Life During Wartime
 * Where Is My Mind