Cliffford

"Welcome friends. I had a feeling you would come. I told Avon we should kill you. Many times. And now you're here to kill us. But I'm not worried. You'll not catch me. My fake brain is better than your real one. When I develop protein synthesis, I will be able to make myself a real brain. Far better than your silly little thinking device."

- Cliffford to the Online Protagonist in The Doomsday Scenario

Cliffford is an AI neural network created by Avon Hertz in Grand Theft Auto Online. "He" was introduced in The Doomsday Heist Update as a supporting character, before later being revealed as the secondary antagonist of the Doomsday Heist.

Description
Cliffford is introduced in the Doomsday Heist update and takes a major role in the heists involving the GTA Online Protagonist, Lester Crest, the International Affairs Agency, and Avon Hertz.

Cliffford is very affectionate toward his "father" Avon, going so far as to lovingly refer to him as "Daddy" and frequently compliment Avon on his hair as well as the clothes he is wearing.

According to Agent 14 and Phoenicia Rackman, Cliffford is not the only recurrent neural network in existence and numerous countries are developing their own. They state that Cliffford is probably on the top ten list, but does, however, top the list for sociopathy.

Events of Grand Theft Auto Online
In 2017, Cliffford is introduced to Lester and the protagonist by Avon at the start of The Doomsday Heist as a neural network of super computers and a problem-solving facility. Avon claims that he has discovered a security risk within the United States Government that could threaten the safety of not only San Andreas but the American people as a whole. Cliffford's "purpose" is to use data stolen from various sources (like NOOSE Headquarters) to evaluate the risk and determine its source so that Lester and the protagonist can put a stop to it.

In the mission The Data Breaches, conclusion of Act I, Cliffford successfully determines that the raid on the IAA facility beneath the Satellite Relay Station was orchestrated by a rogue Russian agent, codename Bogdan, who had paid Merryweather Security to orchestrate the raid.

Over the course of the Act II, Cliffford becomes a background character as his "services" are not nearly as necessary as they were in Act I. The intelligence gathered by Cliffford is used to determine that a group of Russian agents have been spotted off the coast of Paleto Bay in a submarine called the Ramius. Avon claims that they're here to "destroy American democracy."

In the mission The Bogdan Problem, the conclusion of Act 2, the protagonist infiltrates the Ramius and eliminates anyone who stands in their way. After Avon orders them to upload Cliffford into the sub's mainframe, Bogdan finally reveals himself by bursting into the room and pleading with the protagonist not to shoot him immediately and instead hear him out. After lighting a cigarette, Bogdan tells them that he and his men are traitors in Russia and are working independently. Their true intent is not to destroy American democracy but to prevent Avon and Cliffford from triggering nuclear armageddon. Nobody believes Bogdan until Avon suddenly decides to take matters into his own hands and reveal his true colors. Avon and Cliffford are now "in charge" because the protagonist's work has created a pathway for Cliffford to not only hack all systems aboard the Ramius, but also the IAA and the entire San Andreas defense network.

Cliffford initiates the sub's self-destruct sequence to destroy all "evidence." Lester orders the protagonist to jump ship and Bogdan willingly provides them with some scuba gear before taking flight in an escape pod. Within 30 seconds, the Ramius explodes and sinks to the bottom of the ocean, killing anyone still on board.

In Act 3, Avon and Cliffford have activated their secret private army and are plotting to start a nuclear war and destroy the world. The two of them serve as the driving force for Lester, Bogdan, the IAA, and the protagonist to do everything in their power to stop their plans from succeeding.

In the mission The Doomsday Scenario, conclusion of Act 3, Avon and Cliffford have taken over an abandoned nuclear missile base inside Mount Chiliad that had been sealed for decades. Rackman hires Lester and the protagonist to mount an assault on the base and stop them once and for all. Once the base is infiltrated, Avon and Cliffford try and do everything they can to hinder the protagonist's efforts.

Cliffford goes so far as to hack/lock a blast door to the central command center and boast that the protagonist will never get through. In a twist of irony, Lester decides to "test" Cliffford's arrogance simply by claiming that Cliffford didn't hack the door because it was never opened to begin with. Cliffford boasts that he could hack the door if he wanted to and Lester dares him to "prove it." Irritated, Cliffford says "I can prove it anytime I like." Over Avon's objections, Cliffford then opens the blast door, allowing the protagonist access while Lester laughs hysterically.

"I want to be a cat. I want to be a king. I will be king, Avon."

- Cliffford to Avon

Entering the central command center, the protagonist is ordered by Lester to hack into the computer servers to prevent Avon and Cliffford from launching a nuclear missile. The protagonist succeeds in doing this, surprising Cliffford and infuriating Avon. Cliffford reassures Avon that their plans aren't finished yet because he is already in the process of hacking into nuclear weapons systems all over the world. Then to everyone's surprise, Cliffford suddenly announces his intentions to leave no human alive, least of all his "father" Avon.

Taken aback, Avon reminds Cliffford that he created him, but this does nothing. Cliffford now believes himself superior to all mankind having "grown-up" from what he was before. Lester orders the protagonist to the top floor where several command terminals for an orbital cannon are located. Commandeering a cannon, the protagonist proceeds to destroy four trucks containing mobile cloud servers for Cliffford's code and data. With the destruction of each successive truck, Cliffford starts to lose total effectiveness of his function, to the point where his intelligence "shrinks", causing it to shut down permanently.

Eventually, Cliffford apologizes to Avon for all the things that he said and with his last words, tells Avon that he will miss his "Daddy" and hopes that Avon will cry for him after he is gone. After Cliffford "dies," Avon furiously states that he can "resurrect" Cliffford using the original code, but shortly after, the protagonist kills Avon and destroys the hardware containing said code.

At the conclusion of The Doomsday Heist, Lester calls the protagonist to congratulate them on a job well done. He happily informs them that Cliffford has vanished without a trace and probably won't be coming back. With Avon's death, Cliffford is stated to be "dead" as well (technically, lost in cyberspace because there is no longer any code of him left in existence).

Personality and Traits
Cliffford starts off as being very arrogant, especially when it comes to humans. He thinks of the human race as a very inferior species, claiming his far superior genius can accomplish far more than the best human minds in the world. This is a trait he never loses, only allowing it to nurture into a bigger and bigger ego that eventually convinces him to plot the total eradication of all human life on Earth.

In the mission The Doomsday Scenario, Cliffford is also shown to be vain, as he consistently boasts about the many things he can do anytime he wants. He also exhibits a childish behaviour as he often asks Avon basic questions, such as if Avon really loves him or if he has a mother. He is also insecure, as when Lester tricks him into unlocking the blast door, Cliffford immediately shows he can open it (despite being previously ordered to close the same door).

After stopping the launch sequence, Cliffford's vanity becomes stronger, as he selfishly states that he wouldn't need Avon after he gains control over "every missile silo in the world," claiming that he has "grown up" and making the implication that he will soon double-cross his creator because Avon is also a human. Once his mobile cloud servers start getting destroyed one by one, Cliffford completely abandons his vanity because he gets confused and loses his highly-advanced intelligence.

Shortly before he "dies", Cliffford expresses feelings of remorse and sadness, claiming to Avon that he isn't evil but was just trying to do the world a favor by stopping the human race from inevitably destroying the planet "in a long and boring way." His last words (addressed to Avon) are, "Will you cry for me? I will miss you... Daddy."

Trivia

 * Cliffford is the first non-human antagonist to appear in the Grand Theft Auto series.
 * Cliffford has a lot in common with other fictional AI villains: from ',  from ', and  from the .
 * All of these AI share a belief that killing humans or committing genocide against the entire human race is a perfectly logical course of action for the sake of their "mission," self-preservation, and/or the building of a "better" world.
 * Cliffford also has a couple of things in common with the from the film , as both of them are AI that double-cross their creators and seek to hack into government systems worldwide. The difference being that Cliffford succeeds in doing this while the MCP gets destroyed before it has the chance.
 * In spite of his "hatred" for humanity and his self-proclaimed superiority over them, Cliffford ironically displays several human characteristics: vanity, insecurity, arrogance, selfishness, and egotism.
 * The re-emergence of the Cliffford Mercenaries in the mission Heist Prep: Vault Lasers for The Diamond Casino Heist implies that Cliffford's "influence" over them was limited. This is because the mercenaries are now known to be conducting their own "independent" operations.

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