Early on inNieR: Automata, the player meets a group of androids on the surface of the Earth, The Resistance. They are encountered when 2B and 9S enter a camp that belongs to them. Later on, fans would find out that they were the first set of androids sent down by the Council of Humanity, to fight the machines hundreds of years prior to the start of the story.
As the game progresses, we begin to learn more about their abilities and overall views on the YoRHa units. So this begs the question; who exactly are the androids that make up The Resistance?
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The Test Subjects
We could argue that the initial mission The Resistance were given, was no more than a test run to see how they would do. The Council of Humanity would then use that data, to create enhanced androids who became the YoRHa units. Though this could hardly be called an “argument”, as in the first two chapters ofYoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent, we see The Resistance members acting hostile towards No.2 and her other comrades, taking their arrival as an ambush.
Surprised at seeing another group of androids,the YoRHa unitsfind out that once The Resistance began to request for backup, no help came, and thus so, concluded they were effectively abandoned as a result. In the game, after the events ofYoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent, the other Resistance members continue to request for backup from the Council of Humanity, but of course, to no avail. When 2B and 9S arrive on Earth, they assume their calls have finally been answered - unfortunately, we the audience, know that to not be the case.
Notice Anything?
Looking at this from a symbolic perspective, notice how The Resistance seem more equipped for battle? Moreover, they don’t have any blindfolds either. The Council of Humanity is questionable from the beginning, but given the attitudes of The Resistance, we can conclude that it isn’t all righteous like it makes itself out to be. They dressed as actual soldiers, because they were ready to give up their lives, with no backup data. And they were well aware of what they were getting into, only being ignorant of YoRHa’s true intentions. They don’t have blindfolds,because they can “see” the truth. The Resistance are no longer fighting because they’re being told to, it’s because they have to. They’ve been abandoned to fight for themselves. Does this sound familiar?
In real life, soldiers fight on behalf of their countries, some under the impression that they’re doing something righteous (usually someone who’s new), and some realizing that they’re only there to fight - another body to use against the enemy. Given Yoko Taro’stendency to mirror real-world events, perhaps it isn’t too far off to assume that The Resistance are a metaphor for war veterans, and the YoRHa units are a metaphor for new recruits.
Hence the name, The Resistance are a group of androids who have technically defected from YoRHa, as they chose to eliminate the machines, using their own methods. Battle androids are not meant to question or stick their noses where they don’t belong - at least by YoRHa standards. The character,Jackasswho is a part of The Resistance definitely doesn’t go by that ideology. She gives the player multiple side quests, so she can analyze 2B and 9S’s data. In the anime, she straight up asks the pair to take them apart, no shame whatsoever. To be fair, the other Resistance members do find her “passion” strange, however. As the anime progresses, we will surely learn more about the group and the importance they will come to play in 2B and 9S’s journey.
