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Ross Sylibus in Poly-Matrix

Ross is quite intelligent, and notices early on that Armitage is different from the other cops, taking more chances, more fearless, and able to do more physically. Her reactions to the murders of the Thirds and his thoughts on robots clue him in to the fact that Armitage is a robot, but by that time she is also his partner and he feels some loyalty to her. Interactions with her have also begun to destroy the wall of distrust for robots Ross tried to build for himself, and so he chooses to keep his discovery to himself. Ross observes that Armitage is a great cop, and he realizes that robots, like humans, have both good and bad members of their race. Not all are killers like the cyborg on Earth or D’Anclaude; some are skilled, wonderful people, like Julian and Armitage. Only when Ross breaks free of the cycle of pain started by the cyborg does he truly begin to live his life again, and he realizes that Armitage is a key to that escape.

During the course of their investigations, Ross and Armitage are attacked several times by both the original Rene D’Anclaude and by one of the Assassinroids made in his image. It is during one of these attacks that Ross is seriously injured, his chest and right arm crushed badly. He undergoes surgery which replaces his right arm and the right side of his chest with cybernetics, and the doctors install an artificial nervous system to help him better balance his natural and cybernetic halves. At this point, Ross is more than fifty percent artificial- nearly a robot himself, though his brain is still natural and not an artificial intelligence. Somewhat self-conscious about his cybernetics, Ross generally wears clothes to cover them up, such as long-sleeved shirts and pants. After going with Armitage to Dunwich Hill, however, he gets over this and realizes he has nothing to be ashamed of, especially in front of her.

Ross keeps his mouth shut unless he has something worthwhile to say, and rarely is what he has to say longer than a few sentences. Those close to him know to listen when Ross speaks, however, as it is never idle chatter. He is extremely poor at public speaking, however, constantly shifting and usually boring his audience to tears. This is a by-product of his normal speaking style- Ross simply doesn’t know how to speak in an entertaining and engaging fashion, as that requires what he sees as a bunch of useless filler words. It is also due to his lack of practice at public speaking, as Ross prefers to be in the background doing his duty to meeting with crowds as a spokesman. This makes him fairly unpopular with the press, a fact Armitage realizes after she tricks him into speaking to the press about the Third murders. Though he reveals no information, Ross has a poor speaking presence and leaves the press with the impression that he is incompetent.

Old-fashioned ways and things are what Ross prefers, as they simply feel more ‘right’ to him. He drives a Ferrari 250GT, for example, and has had manual controls installed in it in an era where most drivers don’t know how to drive a vehicle without any help from a computer. While this may not be as efficient a way to drive as having a computer pilot, Ross does have the luxury of exceeding a computer’s allowable driving parameters- breaking the speed limit, for example, or driving to a place that does not exist on a computer map, such as Dunwich Hill. In addition, it is a constant test of his skill, which helps Ross feel active and alive.
 

Ross Sylibus in Dual Matrix

Chicago must have brought back memories for Ross, as he worked there as an officer before transferring to Mars and TCS. In addition, he lost his partner and a leg to a killer cyborg there, so it seems unlikely that returning was something he really wanted to do. Out of respect for the Chairman and to support his own beliefs about robotic rights, however, Ross went, bringing Yoko with him to provide support and love and to act as an anchor to his current, happy life. To have his beloved daughter taken away from him and used as leverage to force him to do something he knew was wrong--vote against the robot rights bill--must have brought all of the old anger about being threatened and having someone he loved in danger rushing back.

Ross made a compromise that he saw as the only way out--he abstained. His abstention was still the cause for the failure of the bill to pass, and so in reality was the same as voting no, but in Ross’ mind it was the only way he could save his daughter and still live with his conscience. He then had to watch as Armitage was repeatedly beaten badly and nearly killed by Demitrio’s copies while all he could do was protect Yoko and run for the shuttle. By the end of the film, Ross had watched his loved ones threatened at every turn, and could finally admit that part of being a family included everyone doing what they could, and that sometimes fighting wasn’t the role he was meant for.

Ross shows no less spirit than Armitage when it comes to protecting Yoko. It was as hard for him to allow Armitage to give herself up as it was for her to actually do it, and when she did he knew that he had no choice- he had to rescue Yoko quickly. Any other alternative was unacceptable. After finding his daughter, despite great obstacles he wrenched open her door, his love and fear for her giving him strength greater even than his cybernetic limbs. The image of the mother animal fighting to protect her cubs is a common one, but just as accurate is that of the father implacably defending his family. As Demitrio discovers, threatening the child of a mother like Armitage and a father like Ross is a recipe for disaster.