‘Silo’: What Is on the Hard Drive That Juliette Is Looking For?

The latest episode of Apple TV’s ‘Silo‘ focused on the relics and their dangers to the current state of Silo. By now, we are aware that the leadership of the Silo is lying to people, and there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the outside world. One relic, in particular, is extremely dangerous, leading to the deaths of former Sheriff Holston, his wife Allison, and Juliette’s boyfriend, George Wilkins. Of course, we’re talking about the hard drive that Julette is currently looking for. So what kind of information does that hard drive contain?

Editor’s Note: Please beware that the following paragraphs contain heavy spoilers for the events that took place in the Silo Series of books that the show was based on. If you want to avoid spoilers, now would be a good time to stop reading!

The hard drive Juliette is looking for contains a program that is used to project images onto a screen inside the helmet of the protective suits people wear when they are being sent out to clean. The images in question show a verdant and green environment while nothing can be further from the truth. Seeing the projected images inside their helmets, everyone eventually removes their masks, leading to a fairly quick death. Those images are just another layer of the manipulation taking place in the Silo and additional proof that the leadership is hiding something and purposely sending people to die. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to analyze this more thoroughly. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

The mystery surrounding the hard drive started with Allison 

Back in the first episode of Silo, we saw Allison, Holston’s wife assisting George Wilkins, “the computer guy,” regarding the hard drive that he happened upon accidentally. He needed help to read the information from it, and Allison was aware from the start that this was a highly dangerous relic and that what they found on the drive might change their lives forever. 

Allison and George saw evidence that the outside world was verdant, green, and alive. There’s nothing wrong with it, and the leadership of the Silo was lying to them all this time. Allison tried to communicate this to Holston, but he wasn’t as convinced. At the end of the day, all residents of the Silo have 24-hour live stream of the corpses that litter the surroundings of the Silo. 

Allison was so convinced that the outside was not toxic that she decided to ask to be sent out to clean, which we know by now is a death sentence. She had a deal with Holston. If the outside world is truly ok, she will use her scarf to clean the sensor, and this is a sign that she was telling the truth all along. 

Once she was sent to clean, Allison indeed saw that the surroundings of the Silo were green and full of life. She cleaned the sensor using her scarf to let Holston know she was right all along. After a few seconds, Allison started walking away from the Silo but eventually died due to toxicity.

Holston decided to follow his wife and was met with the same fate. He saw the green surroundings but eventually realized that what he saw was nothing more than a video being projected inside his helmet.

The outside was truly as toxic as the Silo leadership claimed, and removing the helmet proved to be lethal. But how is all of this connected to the hard drive? 

Juliette and her shadow Scottie eventually uncovered the secret of the drive

In the books, Juliette manages to secure access to Holston’s computer files and the hard drive that was in his possession when he was sent to clean. Scottie and Juliette pour over the files and eventually find a program used to project false images on screens. 

Now is the time when most people assume that the program is used to project images of desolation to the large screens inside of the Silo. However, this is not true. Scottie explains that the pixel density of the program is too small. It’s eight by two inches, indicating that the images in question are being projected to much smaller screens. 

Juliette figured out the false images when she was sent to clean 

Over the course of the first book, it is clear that Bernard wants to do everything in his power to get rid of Juliette, and he eventually sends her out to clean, thinking that he will get rid of her for good.

While she is being prepared for cleaning, Juliette looks at her helmet’s visor and notices that its size is eight by two inches. She figures out that false images are being projected inside the visor of every person that goes to clean, and this is the reason why they try walking away from the Silo or removing their helmets and the reason why they ultimately die. 

Now that Juliette knew the secret, she gained additional motivation to uncover what was going on. She also knew what to expect once she stepped outside of the Silo. 

Why are false images being projected to visors?

It seems counterintuitive to show people healthy and vibrant surroundings if they are convinced that Silo is lying to them and the outside is not poisoned. So why would they project false images onto their visors? 

Because the people sent out to clean should never return to the Silo, the leaders are willing to achieve this goal by any means necessary. 

First, the protective suits are sabotaged from the start. Defective heat tape is used to seal any openings in the suit.

But since the heat tape disintegrates easily, the toxicity eventually starts leaking into the suit, and even the people who don’t remove the helmet are going to die, except if they somehow got their hands on the protective suit that wasn’t tampered with. 

Now, if their protective suit is perfectly fine, you need another layer of protection to get your point across. This is where false images come in. People seeing false images will eventually be tempted to remove their helmets, being convinced that everything is fine and they will suffocate on the poisonous gasses.  

The whole ordeal will be watched by the people inside the Silo, further cementing the point that the IT department is trying to make. There is no outside. You can’t survive outside.