The world in Atomic Heart is about as dire as you will come across. Many people have died from humans or robots. That being said, you will come into contact with people who are already dead and communicate with their lasting memory. When you come across the algae lab, you talk to a man who seems doomed to his fate. Can you save him at all?
Related: How to fix Atomic Heart crashing issues
Can you save the trapped man in the algae lab in Atomic Heart?
When you come across the trapped man in the algae lab in Atomic Heart, there is nothing you can do to save him because he is actually already dead. The man died within the last few hours, and his Thought Device is replaying the final memory of him until it expires, eliminating him from the network. It might seem cruel, but that is not the real person talking to you, just the last glimmering but fading aspect of his memory that you have no control over.
With all of this in mind, you are given a choice to end his misery or leave him to his fate. Do whatever you want because it doesn’t matter. Even if you were to bomb his body, that echo of him in the network would still exist until its time runs out.
Related: Does Atomic Heart actually have a six-hour long robot twins cutscene?
You should feel no guilt in anything to do with the trapped man in the algae lab. As mentioned above, his fate has already come to pass, and no matter what you do, you can’t actually put him out of any misery. Your link to him on the network would come to an end regardless if you walk away or try something more proactive.
