Silver

Silver is the head engineer in the Barrens and one of the characters Niko meets on their journey.

Appearance
Silver is a tall, slender robot woman. Her body is light gray in color and she has long, thick red hair, falling on her forehead with a torn bang, from under which are large, dark red eyes. She wears light violet armor that has glowing cyan edges, as well as a glowing cyan circle on the chestplate. She also has black gloves and metal boots.

Personality
Unlike Prophetbot, Silver is a Tamed robot, meaning she can act somewhat outside of her programming. Due to this her reactions and emotions are more similar to an organic being's than other robots in the World. Silver is pessimistic and reserved, keeping a neutral, apathetic expression at most times. When she is first introduced, she gives the impression of a melancholic skeptic: she does not believe that the Sun will fix the World or that the messiah should carry such a burden, but still helps Niko with their journey.

Background
According to Kip, Silver was created as a first attempt to create a tamed robot. Kip used herself as a template for the robot. Due to contradictions in her code, Silver "went rogue," leading to the "Incident", in which she assumedly broke the laws of robotics. Even after the Author managed to fix her, Kip and her team of scientists lost hope in their creation. As a result, they decided to send Silver to the Barrens under the pretext of replacing the head engineer. Kip still regrets this decision, and sometimes writes letters to her, but Silver realized that they had given up on her and does not respond to any of the letters.

Silver performed the work of the head engineer until the Sun died - after this event all the people and the most important robots were evacuated and Silver was left all alone. Now, Silver's only task is to monitor the Barrens and report anything unusual to the Refuge. For Silver to remain operational, a power cell was installed at the lookout point, similar to Prophetbot's in the Outpost. Silver continued this monotonous life all alone. Due to everything that has happened, she became pessimistic and closed.

Main Story
Silver is an important character in Niko's journey. She can first be met in Lookout Point, where she answers some of Niko's questions about the World. After this interaction, Niko can enter the mines, in which Silver explains the mines' history. After Niko has cleaned the Rowbot, it tells them to talk to the head engineer for help fixing its navigation system. Silver gives Niko the amber which will activate the Rowbot's backup tracking system, allowing Niko to enter the Glen. Before Niko leaves, the two play a game of chess against each other, as Silver is not able to do so with anyone else in the Barrens. In this game they discuss the Sun and the World. Silver wins the match and lets Niko leave.

Silver appears in the Return the Sun ending, and is shown looking at the sunlight with apparent amazement.

Solstice Update
In the Solstice update, the Strange Journal will begin to glow in the mines. Silver asks Niko about the journal before giving them the amber, much sooner than in a normal run. Reading the journal in the correct spot summons a minecart that Niko can ride in to access the deeper mines with Silver, where she will check the terminals and realize that all of the Barrens can be seen on the screens. She also meets Proto in this location, and gives him the amber.

After the minecart is covered in squares by the World Machine, Niko, Proto and Silver decide to use the secret passage by pushing the computer terminal aside. In the secret path there are rails leading to Glen and a minecart to ride in, which Niko uses. After traveling a distance, the World Machine causes a collapse in the tunnel, during which Silver decides to sacrifice herself for Niko and Proto. She holds the passage open to give them time to escape. As a result, the World Machine destroys her code with squares.

In the Solstice ending, the World Machine “revives” her, correcting the code, and sending her home after Niko leaves the credits room. Just as in the ending of “The Return of the Sun”, she can be seen in amazement looking at the sky, but this time the World is completely saved, and Niko has returned home.

Trivia
Silver
 * Silver is the only tamed robot in the Barrens, allowing her to perform tasks and decisions not specified by her programming.
 * During a cutscene in the Barrens, Silver displays that she can play chess, and plays a match against Niko. She points out that she is the only robot in the Barrens that can play chess, as the others do not have it included in their programming.
 * While Niko is in the factory in the Refuge, they point out that Kip bears a resemblance to Silver, and wonders if the two are related in any way. Kip tells Niko the truth when talked to while holding the amber.