How to turn off the mining laser's failsafe in System Shock
During your playthrough of System Shock, AI menace SHODAN will threaten to fire the station's mining laser at Earth, and the only way to stop it is to turn off the mining laser's failsafe and use Isotope X-22 to power the station's shields in the process.
Directing the laser at that station's shields is the only way to stop the System Shock AI's plan, but there are several steps you'll need to complete to do so. Follow our step-by-step breakdown below to learn more.
How do you turn off the mining laser's failsafe?
There are these major steps you'll need to complete to finish this mission in the game, these are:
- Unlock the Beta Quadrant by flipping the power lever in Alpha (first door to the right).
- Obtain the Science Access Keycard within the Beta Quadrant in the Admin Security room.
- Gather the three-digit safety override code from the Library Cyberspace terminal (this will display on the left side of the terminal once completed).
- Get Isotope X-22 from the biohazard room in the Gamma Quadrant and put it in Radiation Shield Controls on the Reactor level (the elevator to get to the Reactor level is also in Gamma).
- Enter the safety override code into the console on the Reactor level.
- Deactivate the laser from the Control Room (Research floor)
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If you do not implement Isotope X-22 or use the safety override code before interacting with the laser, the mission will fail and the laser will destroy Earth resulting in a game over.
How to deactivate the laser
Once you've completed all the above tasks, you need to make your way back to the elevator from the Reactor Floor to the Gamma Quadrant in Research (floor 2).
From the Central Hub, open the door to the Central Control Room (located opposite the Delta entryway).
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Defeat the spore creatures and head up to the control room, where you will see a button on a console labeled as 'Laser Charging'.
Press the button and listen to SHODAN before returning to the elevator. Take it to Maintenance to destroy the next set of Nodes whilst you receive a call from Anna Parovski asking for help in the process.
Make sure you also destroy the nodes on this level and take note of the number you get on the center terminal afterward. This is part of a code you'll need later in the game.
The nodes on this level are in the Computer Room in the Gamma Quadrant.
You'll need a good stock of credits to help you through your playthrough. Check out our guide on how to recycle junk in System Shock for credits.
