Silo: What Is The Safeguard & What It Means For Lukas Kyle?

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Silo season 2’s episode 9.

Lukas Kyle learns about “the safeguard” after encountering the Algorithm in Silo season 2’s episode 9, raising many questions surrounding the mysterious term’s meaning and future implications. After Lukas was punished and sent to the mines in Silo season 1’s ending arc, he remained absent almost throughout season 2’s first half. However, the show gradually turns him into one of the main characters after Bernard puts immense trust in him and makes him his shadow.

To make the best out of his second chance, Lukas ensures he does not let Bernard down and sets out to decode Salvador Quinn’s letter for him. Although he initially struggles to find the right method to decipher the letter, he puts his intelligence to good use in Silo season 2’s episode 9 to finally crack the code. This leads him to the mysterious tunnel at the bottom of Silo 18, where he learns about the Algorithm and “the safeguard.“

The Algorithm Mentions “The Safeguard” In Silo Season 2 – What Could It Mean?

“The Safeguard” Is An Extreme Measure The Algorithm Will Have To Take To Maintain Order

Before revealing the truth about what lies beyond the tunnel’s entrance to Lukas, the Algorithm warns him that it will implement “the safeguard” if Lukas talks to anyone about what he is going to learn. Although Lukas seems clueless about what “the safeguard” means, he agrees to comply with the Algorithm. Given how the Algorithm refers to “the safeguard” as a threat, it seems like it is an extreme measure it has been designed to take if the people of the silo learn too much about their world.

The founders of the silos believed that the citizens in the underground cities should be kept in the dark to prevent them from rebelling against the system that was designed to exploit them. They knew that if people learned the truth about what happened in the outside world and why the silos were built, they would turn defiant and set out to destroy the system. Therefore, to ensure that knowledge about the tunnel system and the outside world only remained with a few authoritative figures in the silo, the founders programmed the Algorithm to protect crucial information.

In a previous episode, the Algorithm also informed Bernard about a security breach in Silo 18 when the people from the Mechanical launched a rocket to the upper levels to raise more awareness about the IT and Bernard’s malicious plans. If Lukas tells anyone else about what he learns from the Algorithm, he, too, will be considered a major threat to the silo’s security, prompting the AI to trigger “the safeguard” to silence him.

What The Safeguard Means For Lukas Kyle (Based On George Wilkins & Mary Meadows’ Fates)

All Previous Citizens Who Have Reached The Tunnels Are Dead

The Algorithm in Silo reveals that before Lukas, three other people reached the tunnels: Salvador Quinn, Mary Meadows, and George Wilkins. Since Wilkins did hold a position of power in the silo, the AI did not interact with him. However, Quinn and Meadows were both warned about “the safeguard” before being told the truth about the tunnel. Given how all Silo 18 citizens who previously came in contact with the tunnel lost their faith in the entire silo system and eventually died, Lukas could be in danger after his interaction with the AI.

If he risks telling anyone about what he learns from the Algorithm, he would not only put his own life at risk but also potentially jeopardize the lives of all citizens of Silo 18. While only time will tell what will happen if the Algorithm sets off “the safeguard,” it could seemingly wipe out the entire underground structure in Silo.