Stephen (Shin Megami Tensei)

“	I see you've got that computer program I wrote. Has it been useful for you? A long time ago, I was working on a teleportation device... A network of Terminal Systems that would allow the user to instantly transport him or herself from terminal to terminal. But in the middle of one of my experiments, I accidentally opened a portal to the Abyss and summoned a demon. The demon seemed like it was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn't understand it, and it eventually became hostile and attacked me. I managed to defeat it, but not without sustaining terrible wounds first. The experience motivated me to develop a computer program that would allow people to speak with and befriend demons, making them into minions... Thus, I wrote the Demon Summoning Program. After learning that the terminals were connected with the Abyss, a man named Gotou began to summon and attempt to control them. Knowing that the demons would be coming in large numbers, I sent my Demon Summoning Program to as many people as I could. By increasing the number of people that have the ability to control demons, I was hoping to balance things out and keep any potential demonic revolts from getting totally out of control. Unfortunately, the program itself is harder to master than I had hoped and very few people were able to become full-fledged summoners. Do you understand me? Very well. Then I shall give you this program to assist you. It is designed to capture and analyze data. It will scan and analyze any demons that you should meet, and record their data into your computer's memory so that you can refer to it whenever you need to. If there is anything I can do to help you, please come back here and see me. Now, go to the director's office on the second floor, I've unlocked the door for you. There should be another switch inside. If you hit it, it should open the gate outside so you can get out of here.	„
	~ Stephen to The Hero upon their first meeting

“	Hi. I'm not a demon. I'm a person just like you, and I came into this virtual battle so I could meet you. My name is... call me Steven. I'm here because there's something I want to give you. Here... this is my new Demon Summoning Program that I wrote. You can download it to your arm terminal diretly through the virtual interface here. There has been an... incident... and because of it, very soon. "Tokyo Millenium" here will most likely be overrun with demons. The leaders of this city have been surpressing the demons for a long time, but they can no longer hold out. At this point, nothing can stop the demons from entering our world. Unless we learn to live with the demons and use their power, we humans will never survive. Therefore, in preparation. I have been giving this program to everyone that looks to be able to summon and use demons. I don't know who you are, nor does it matter to me. All I can tell is that you are powerful, and thus I am giving you this program. Do you understand me? Very well. I am glad that you understand. I shall upload the demon summoning program into your arm terminal. Use it well! I hope you use this program with fore-thought and moderation. We will most likely meet again, here in the virtual reality of the Virtual Battler. I look forward to seeing you again. Goodbye for now!	„
	~ Stephen to Aleph

“

I extended salvation to you, even though it meant bending the laws of the universe. That is because I sensed that humans have the potential to exceed the Axiom. I need you to show me that I'm right. That it was worth breaking such immutable rules to save you. Now, show me humanity's true potential. Take the reigns of history once more...

„

“	I hear some guy saw a guy in a wheelchair while virtual battling. That's not supposed to be part of the program!	„
	~ Bartender talking about Stephen in Shin Megami Tensei II

Background

Stephen is a non-player character, first appearing in Shin Megami Tensei. Stephen is a recurring character within the series. Stephen has had contact with the axiom and has gained immense power from it. Stephen has a cat named Schrodinger which is likely a reference to the idea of Schrodinger's cat. He has been present since the first Shin Megami Tensei game.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Stephen’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Stephen is a brilliant computer programmer who is the main architect of the Terminal System project, a revolutionary technology which allowed instantaneous travel through computer networks. However, during one of those experiments, a terminal accidentally connected to the Expanse, causing a demon to travel through. The supernatural being tried to communicate with Stephen, but as Stephen wasn't able to comprehend its language, it eventually got hostile and attacked, resulting in the crippling of Stephen. This event ended up motivating Stephen in developing the Demon Summoning Program, a computer file that, once downloaded in a COMP, will allow its user to translate the demon language, allowing for proper communication. It also possesses an auto-map and stores demons on its memory plate function, as Stephen hoped that someone would one day be able to use it to ally himself with demons to avert the obliteration of Tokyo by the upcoming war of the rising Messian and Gaean factions. Thus, he sent the Demon Summoning Program through e-mail to as many people as possible, before being captured by Gotou's forces and imprisoned in Echo Building; where he would meet the protagonist for the very first time. After this, he only makes minor appearances through the game, mostly to upgrade the protagonist's computer as well as the Demon Summoning Program, allowing them to store and summon more demons at the same time. Shin Megami Tensei II Stephen is first mentioned when some drinkers at a bar informs Hawk that a "guy in a wheelchair" has been seen by numerous fighters while Virtual Battling, and that this phenomenon was not supposed to be part of the program. While training in the virtual world, Aleph himself is approached by the mysterious man who, after introducing himself, predicts that great calamities are about to befall Tokyo Millennium, saying that he has been waiting for strong warriors to appear at the various public Virtual Battlers scattered through town as to be able to give them what he calls a "Demon Summoning Program;" stating that if humanity doesn't learn how to use the power of the demons as their own, they will be destroyed by it. It is mainly through this technology, uploaded into Hawk's Arm Terminal, that he can communicate, recruit, and summon different demons. Through the remainder of the game, Stephen can be seen on various other optional appearances, all in Virtual Battlers of different districts of both Tokyo Millennium and the Underworld. It is over these meetings that Stephen is able to grant Aleph with different improvements and upgrades to his Demon Summoning Program, giving him the ability to stock more and more minions (to the maximum capability of twelve) through the use of a compression algorithm that, according to him, reduces the size of demon data that is able to be simultaneously stored inside a computer. The Devil Analyze program and the Identification System (used to show information about specific demons and certain items, respectively) were both also engineered by Stephen. He appears much later, this time in Yesod, one of the multiple districts of the Abyss. There, he activates for Aleph the Terminal technology used in the Abyss, so that he can save the game and teleport himself whenever he likes. In the Neutral Route he teleports Aleph to Eden after they defeat the dragon Kuzuryu. Shin Megami Tensei IV Stephen returns as a guide to the protagonist, giving hints throughout the game. His appearance is said to be mere references to previous games in the series. He first appears in Alraune's Domain and introduces himself to the prentice Samurai. He mentions that the girl has taken an interest in Flynn. He offers to heal their wounds in a room further in if they are injured. He appears in the dream Flynn has after the Lilim incapacitate him and tells him that she wants to see him to the east, then vanishes. In Naraku he appears at the Temporary Scaffolding floor, updates the devil summoning program and disappears again. If Flynn remains neutral throughout the game, he meets Stephen at the Monochrome Forest, who introduces himself at the behest of Burroughs and requests that Flynn defeat the White, who still have sway over the expanse despite being rejected. Once the deed is done, he explains to Flynn his identity from the past and that he tasked Burroughs with finding Flynn's current self. He explains that the girl is, in fact, the goddess of Tokyo; and that by lifting the ceiling over Tokyo with the help of Masakado, that she will be restored to her original form. In the DLC Challenge Quest For the Past... For the Future, Stephen is met in the Expanse, which, he explains, is a place that transcends time. He takes Flynn to the past, to the day the ceiling formed over Tokyo to protect it from incoming missiles, and explains the events leading up to that day: When the Yamato Perpetual Reactor connected to the Expanse, it allowed demons to come into the world. This led to wars for control between the angels and demons, a world war among humanity, and the launch of the worst weapons known to man. He tells Flynn that he must help Masakado regain his senses and become the ceiling, and warns that any future Tokyo will fade into only a possibility if the city is destroyed. After Masakado's restoration and the rise of the Firmament, Stephen states that history will now continue along the path they remember, with Mikado's formation and Flynn's eventual birth, and returns Flynn to his own time, thanking him and Burroughs for saving everyone. Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse Stephen appears to the cast from time to time, guiding them on their quest and occasionally lending indirect assistance; most notably while disguised as Dr. Matsuda when developing measures to counter Shesha. His main motive appears to be to help restore the Goddess of Tokyo after her body is damaged. At the final chapter of the game, he appears to Nanashi to explain how humans and gods interact, and shows the party the way to YHVH's Universe, with the intent of defeating the Creator in order to either usher in true freedom for humanity or to pave the way for the new universe. Although mysterious and often appearing as a neutral figure in the background, Stephen reveals a more ruthless side in his desire to see human potential on Dagda's route. There he sends the united forces of humanity intentionally to their doom, knowing they would fail and to serve as a lesson to ensure that Nanashi will not back down from his current resolve. He also gives multiple warnings to the new Creator who still retains his humanity, leaving to chase the Goddess of Tokyo after warning him of Messiahs and the fates that befell Krishna, Lucifer, Merkabah, and YHVH. Messiahs in the Diamond Realm Stephen is the one behind the DLC quest "Messiahs in the Diamond Realm." He summons the hero, Aleph, the Demi-fiend and an alternate version of Flynn into the Diamond Realm, as a means to save them from YHVH's attempt to remove them from the cycle of reincarnation. He then calls Nanashi into the Diamond Realm, instructing him to find the other four Messiahs and guide them back to their worlds. He has one in his possession, that of the hero's, and has Nanashi find the remaining three first. Once the other three Messiahs are gathered, En no Ozuno unlocks a door that allows Nanashi to meet with Stephen, who instructs him to use his powers of observation to have the hero regain his form. To this end, Stephen does battle with Nanashi, hoping to have the hero remember who he is. As the hero reforms, the remaining Messiahs burst into the room. Stephen then gets out of his wheelchair, explaining his motives. He had sensed that humans have the potential to exceed the Axiom, and thus extended a chance for salvation to them. He then does battle with Nanashi's party and the four Messiahs, giving them a chance to show whether it was worth saving them and defying the Axiom's laws. He unleashes his full power as the game's ultimate boss. The second battle is easily the hardest fight in the game. Stephen has an estimated 100,000 HP, and initially resists everything. However, akin to the battle with YHVH, the player alternates between Nanashi's party and the Messiahs, and the hero and Aleph possess skills that can reduce Stephen's resistances and potentially open up weaknesses. Stephen also possesses very strong moves: Pair Production fully buffs himself and gives him smirk; Particle Annihilation fully debuffs the active party; Reboot Code wipes the party of all buffs and effects up to and including Charge, Smirk and Doping; Crack Code removes 3 Press Turns from the party's next turn. His most dangerous attack is Singularity Wave, which can inflict almighty damage reaching tens of thousands of points, which will immediately kill any combatant without revival passives or items. While it can be dodged, the attack landing on Nanashi on Apocalypse difficulty can completely ruin the fight. He will only use Singularity Wave if he has not taken any damage the turn prior, so to prevent him from using it you need to hit him at least once every turn. This is what makes Crack Code so dangerous: you need to choose between healing, buffing/debuffing, and damaging Stephen over one press turn. All his elemental attacks pierce resistances, but his physical attacks don't, so bringing phys-immune demons to the fight can easily snatch away his turns. Refrain from fully buffing yourself or debuffing him - i.e. keep him at -2 on all stats and you on +2 on all of yours - as having excessive buffs or debuffs can cause him to use Dekunda, Reboot Code, Pair Production and Particle Annihilation more often. Between the Messiahs, it is best to have the hero and Aleph focus on reducing Stephen's weaknesses to make it easier for both teams to do damage to him. Making Stephen weak to physical attacks will allow both teams to get a long string of free Press Turns. The Demi-fiend is the party's main damage dealer, as his Deadly Fury has a very high critical rate, allowing him to easily smirk and fire off double-power Freikugels. Flynn is largely reduced to support, being the party's only source of Mediarahan, but on odd turns he can strike any elemental weaknesses or fire off Smile Charged Antichthons. Upon defeat, Stephen applauds the Messiahs for demonstrating their power, and leaves. A wormhole opens, allowing each Messiah to return to their universe and set right what went wrong. En no Ozuno bids Nanashi farewell as the quest is complete.

Statistics

Key: Pre-Cycle of Transmigration | Post-Cycle of Transmigration

Tier: 10-C physically, higher with Observation & Willpower. 8-C to 2-C with summoned Demons | Low 1-C, possibly 1-C

Name: Stephen

Origin: Megami Tensei

Sex: Male

Age: Originally arounds his 50s, once transcending the cycle he no longer is bound by time

Alignment: True Neutral (Stephen will help the Messiahs regardless of their alignment to see what they will do, even after Nanashi has betrayed and killed his entire party, Stephen will give him insight on what to do next, however Stephen shows he isn't on Nanashi's side. When Nanashi does decide to create a new universe Stephen informs people that originally supported him the truth and warns Nanashi that a new messiash will come to overthrow him, as he did to YHVH)

Classification: Human, Scientist, Creator of the Demon Summoning Program, Agent of the Axiom

Dimensionality: 3-D initially, Unknown after transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration) | Low Complex Multiverse level+ (Gained a small glimpse of. This level of power would make him comparable to Matter Lucifer who transcended into a higher plane of existence beyond even YHVH), possibly Complex Multiverse level (Implied to have gained a portion of The Axiom's power, which is the most powerful being in the verse, existing in a realm beyond every other realm prior, being beyond even the likes of Matter Lucifer and YHVH. Was the very being that granted humans observation, and tasked them with observing the universe, with the ability being the reason for Gods and demons existing. Which would include beings such as Matter Lucifer, who transcended into a higher plane of existence beyond even YHVH. A small glimpse of it's being caused Stephen to be so powerful he could fight off all four of the Messiahs at once)

Durability: Below Average Human level physically, higher with Observation & Willpower (His observation allowed him to take a hit from a demon he summoned). Building level to Complex Universe level with summoned Demons | Low Complex Multiverse level+, possibly Complex Multiverse level

Striking Strength: Below Average Human Class physically, higher with Observation & Willpower. Building Class to Complex Universe Class with summoned Demons | Low Complex Multiverse Class+, possibly Complex Multiverse level

Lifting Strength: Below Average, Class 5 with summoned demons | Unknown

Travel Speed: Below Average Human, Superhuman with summoned demons | Extra-Temporal (In a state where he can appear anywhere he wants. Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration)

Combat Speed: Below Average Human, cannot be blitzed by Extra-Temporal beings due to Observation (His observation allowed him to tag a demon he summoned even after being greatly wounded, demons are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse). Extra-Temporal with summoned Demons | Extra-Temporal

Reaction Speed: Below Average Human, cannot be blitzed by Extra-Temporal beings due to Observation. Extra-Temporal with summoned Demons | Extra-Temporal

Stamina: Below Average (Is an impaired person in a wheelchair, due to a fatal attack from a demon), Limitless for his summoned Demons (Due to their innate physiologies, demons naturally do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. Demons such as King Frost can passively produce magic for years upon years even while fighting enemies without tiring)

Range: Standard Melee Range, Kilometers with demons like Jack Frost (Could create an entire snowstorm that instantly darkened the entire sky), Planetary with demons like King Frost (It is noted that King Frost has the power to freeze the entire world), Cross-Dimensional for his demons (Demons passively create adecoherence field, that is essentially a special dimension of quantum fluctuation that they exist in, where humans cannot see them, and can attack from there. Demons can also create mirage realms, that shroud an entire area in mist, with them being able to attack from inside said illusion without being capable of being attacked back, requiring the user to go inside of their illusion to fight them), Hyper Multiversal with Summoning (Opened a portal to the Expanse, that summoned a demon from there, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse) | Complex Multiversal (Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration. Risked bending the very will of The Axiom, and ended up bending the immutable laws of the universe to fight the Messiahs)

Intelligence: Supergenius (Worked on a teleportation device that opened a portal to the Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse. Developed a computer program that allowed people to speak with and befriend demons and make them into minions, when he couldn't understand the demon prior, creating the demon summoning program. created a program designed to capture and analyze data, and record the data into the computer's memory so a user may summon a demon whenever. Attempted to stop the demon overrun by sending his computer program across Tokyo to prevent the attack, with his plan only failing because his summoner program was harder to master then he anticipated. Saw an incident that would very soon make Tokyo Millenium be overrun with demons and went to give people his demon summoning program) | Cosmic (Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration. Is aware of other universes and the Messiahs that died in the other universes, recruiting Nanashi to save them. Knows about the multiversal ability of observation and how it works. Helps guide Nanashi through the entirety of Apocalypse)

---

Powers and Abilities

Genius Intelligence, Social Influencing (Developed a computer program that allowed people to speak with and befriend demons and make them into minions, like other demon summoners, he is able to convince demons to join his side), Nondualism (Everything within Megami Tensei is one, with one simple word binding all togehter, oneness), Immortality (Type 8. All people when they die are sent to The Axiom to reincarnate back, some become demons in these cases), Immersion (Stephen was able to enter into the virtual world where Aleph was training), Save & Load (Stephen has the power to save Kazuya's progress), Is a user of Observation which grants him: Observation (Varies between Types 2 & 3. Observation users consciously and unconsciously change truths around them creating Gods and demons from myths and rumors), Negation (The power of observation, has the ability to make something without form, be certain and stable, The Axiom, tasked humans with observing the universe, allowing humans to assign an answer to phenomena without an answer. Dagda mentions humanity's "understanding" (observation) is what's locked him and Danu in physical forms. Nanashi and his party's denial of YHVH cast him into a demonic form. Gods and demons exist within a human's observation. Demons that also exist beyond death can be killed by observation users), Negation of Null Existence (Type 3. Can kill The White and demons, who naturally exist within the expanse, which the Monochrome Forest exists within the expanse, a place that is eerily still, having no sound or smell, where even the ground itself feels unusual, which demons naturally exist in. The Forest also holds the White’s realm, which is a vast, white space), Negation of Incorporeality (Can harm and kill demons, who are beings made of data, that exist in a virtual world, along with being pure information. With even the most basic of objects in the verse existing as data), Negation of Abstract Existence (Type 1. Demons embody the phenomena and beliefs of humans, with their physical forms only being created due to humanity's observation locking them into these forms, and their true forms existing as the phenomena and beliefs they reside in), Negation of Acausality (Type 5. Can harm and kill demons, who are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse, demons such as Ishtar are capable of going into separate multiverses, along into the "real world", demons such as Demi-Fiend, can exist in different universes asides from the original SMT 3 universe, demons can exist even when the flow of time itself collapses and there is nothing left but a void), Negation of Invulnerability (Type 2. Observation users such as Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV, can harm demons with regular guns and swords, even though demons when brought into corporeal forms cannot be harmed by conventional weaponry, along with military grade weaponry), Negation of Immortality & Regeneration (Types 1, 3, 5 & 8; High-Godly. It is noted by Lucifer that only a human can kill gods and demons, that when gods and demons try to fight each other the most they can do is seal each other. Permanently killed YHVH. All demons are reliant on the observation of humans to keep them existing, including even nonexistent demons such as The White, allowing them to come back even if they’re erased from existence and nonexistence. Along with this, all demons that die return to The Axiom and reincarnate. This allows demons to die and come back in a short timeframe due to their continuous existence from The Axiom and the observation of humans. This means even if all of reality were to cease existing, the Axiom would still exist within it, allowing demons to regenerate back.), Negation of Omnipresence (Observation can reduce one into a singular being, when the being was originally one that was everywhere within reality), Power Bestowal (Gods & demons are granted by humans observations of them. To the point that a gods power is based off if humans still remember them. Observation has the ability to resurrect someone and give them strength to the point where they can fight Stephen with The Axioms powers), Power Nullification (Observation allows one to remove one's defenses and strengths along with some of their innate abilities), Reality Warping (Stephen stated that humans have the power to shape the world. Philemon states people have tremendous power in their souls over the flow of reality, with their strong wills being able to change reality), Conceptual Manipulation, Subjective Reality, & Creation (The power of observation, has the ability to make something without form, be certain and stable, The Axiom, tasked humans with observing the universe, allowing humans to assign an answer to phenomena without an answer), Truth Manipulation (Humans have the ability to change the answer they've found into faith, and eventually into truth. Observation debased YHVH's truths, removing him from everyone's mind, killing him), Memory Manipulation (Through the power of observation, the Persona 2 Innocent Sin cast were able to erase their meeting during a summer evening, creating an alternate timeline), Statistics Amplification & Resurrection (Observation has the ability to resurrect someone and give them strength to the point where they can fight Stephen with The Axioms powers. Isamu was able to survive a hit from Thor despite being a regular human), Statistics Reduction (Flynn and his party's denial of YHVH as the one true god brought him to the level of a demon, massively weakening him. One's will and beliefs can lower even a nonexistent entity's (such as The White) stats. Gods powers can be greatly reduced if they're forgotten. Observation allowed Aleph and his party to harm YHVH who stated as they were his creations, there blades cannot harm him, yet they were able to), Resistance to Memory Manipulation (Through the power of observation, the Persona 2 Innocent Sin cast were able to erase their meeting during a summer evening, creating an alternate timeline)

Information Analysis, Data Manipulation, Information Manipulation & Sealing (Created a program designed to capture and analyze data, and record the data into the computer's memory so a user may summon a demon whenever), Summoning (Developed a computer program that allowed people to speak with and befriend demons and make them into minions, when he couldn't understand the demon prior, creating the demon summoning program)

All of his summons have Demon Physiology which gives:

Low Tier Demon Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics (Demons can casually rip out a man's throat. They can also casually eat fully grown humans), Immortality (Types 1, 3, 7, & 8. Demons are the descendants of the gods of old. Many demons tend to be undead beings and humans that die and become ghost become demons. All demons are reliant on the observation of humans to keep them existing, including even nonexistent demons such as The White, allowing them to come back even if they’re erased from existence and nonexistence. Along with this, all demons that die return to The Axiom and reincarnate), Abstract Existence (Type 1. Demons embody the phenomena and beliefs of humans, with their physical forms only being created due to humanity's observation locking them into these forms, and their true forms existing as the phenomena and beliefs they reside in), Null Existence (Type 3. The home of the demons is the expanse, which the Monochrome Forest exists within the expanse, a place that is eerily still, having no sound or smell, where even the ground itself feels unusual, which demons naturally exist in. The Forest also holds the White’s realm, which is a vast, white space), Incorporeality (Demons are beings made of data, that exist in a virtual world, along with being pure information. With even the most basic of objects in the verse existing as data. Even if a demon's physical form is lost, their residual MAG can still remain, allowing one to infuse them within one's weapons or objects), Nondualism (Everything within Megami Tensei is one, with one simple word binding all togehter, oneness), Regeneration (High-Godly. All demons are reliant on the observation of humans to keep them existing, including even nonexistent demons such as The White, allowing them to come back even if they’re erased from existence and nonexistence. Along with this, all demons that die return to The Axiom and reincarnate. This allows demons to die and come back in a short timeframe due to their continuous existence from The Axiom and the observation of humans. This means even if all of reality were to cease existing, the Axiom would still exist within it, allowing demons to regenerate back), Acausality (Type 5. Demons are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse, demons such as Ishtar are capable of going into separate multiverses, along into the "real world", demons such as Demi-Fiend, can exist in different universes asides from the original SMT 3 universe, demons can exist even when the flow of time itself collapses and there is nothing left but a void), Self-Sustenance (Types 1, 2, & 3. Demons can naturally exist and breathe within the vacuum of space without any adverse effects done to them. Due to their innate physiologies, demons naturally do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep), Accelerated Development (Level;Physical Stats and Abilities. Demons and Humans are able to grow from battles, allowing them to enhance their level of strength, magic, agility, luck, etcetera. Additionally, they can learn new skills and abilities from battles and further increase their HP and Magic capacity, and get strong enough to the point that they can fight end game tier demons), Reactive Adaptation (Demons as they grow in battle form changes around their body until they transform into a higher level with newer stats and newer abilities to learn), Precognition (Types 3. Demons have the ability to see into the future, with the likes of Eligor being able to see things to come), Extrasensory Perception (Demons are able to tell who is actually a demon in disguise and who is an actual human. Demons can sense the power of an opponent and compare it to the power they sensed of others), Corrosion Inducement (Demons can shapeshift into a blob, allowing them to melt areas), Duplication (Demons can make duplicates of themselves. With them being completely disconnected from the demons, thus killing or defeating the clones in no way affects the original and they can endlessly spawn more), Invisibility & Perception Manipulation (Demons are naturally invisible to humans, and can do actions such as make noises and fight without humans noticing), Quantum Manipulation & Intangibility (Spatial. Demons passively create adecoherence field, that is essentially a special dimension of quantum fluctuation that they exist in, where humans cannot see them), Non-Physical Interaction (Demons can interact with each other and Gods, despite their physiologies and existences), Sealing (Gods and Demons cannot kill each other, thus resulting in them needing to seal each other), Soul Manipulation (Noted by a soul that demons can eat souls), Size Manipulation & Statistics Amplification (Demons can grow in size to grow strong enough to fight Messiahs), Shapeshifting (Demons can shapeshift into humans to trick others), Hacking (Demons can hack into various servers and set up firewalls and "digital traps"), Necromancy (Demons can raise people from the dead and turn them into zombies), Personal Domain & BFR (Demons can pull one into alternate dimensions where coordinates and direction are different. Along with pull entire areas such as mansions into pocket dimensions. High level demons such as fiends can create personal realms to battle people in. Alice created her own personal domain that she could freely control. Demons can also freely teleport people to other locations), Pocket Reality Manipulation (Demons can warp areas into alternate dimensions such as the inside of a school. Once one is in said dimension the demon will keep it's hold into the dimension until it's defeated), Subjective Reality (Demons are able to take the thoughts of people and materialize them into something real), Information Manipulation & Matter Manipulation (As demons can make pocket realms and higher level demons can make universes, they are by extension they are creating areas entirely made of data and information down to their sub-atomic level), Illusion Creation & Perception Manipulation (Type 3. Demons can create mirage realms, that shroud an entire area in mist, with them being able to attack from inside said illusion without being capable of being attacked back, requiring the user to go inside of their illusion to fight them), Teleportation (Demons are capable of teleporting around usually through manipulating their own Magutushi or Magnetite), Telepathy (Demons are able to speak telepathically to others. Demons such as Aogami speaks telepathically with Nahobino), Power Bestowal (The memories of a demon's techniques can be passed down into weapons), Absorption (Demons can absorb lifeforce and Magutushi out of another. Demons can feed off the lifeforce of people to manifest themselves into the real world), Healing Negation (Demons can inflict wounds that only spiritual magic can heal), Power Absorption (Demons can absorb the remains of other demons to gain their abilities), Dimensional Travel (Demons can feed off the lifeforce of people to manifest themselves into the real world), Healing (Demons naturally have healing properties, allowing them to heal other people), Fusionism (Demons can latch on with a humans negative emotions, fusing with them to become a far more powerful demon. Demons can fuse with humans to become a Nahobino), Telekinesis (Higher level demons can telekinetically affect the entire environment to cause the Earth to shake, cause fissures, and affect mountains), Existence Erasure (Type 4. Demons can kill humans, which in the process erases said beings from memory and existence), Invulnerability (Type 2. Demons even when brought into corporeal forms cannot be harmed by conventional weaponry, along with military grade weaponry), Invulnerability Negation (Demons are capable of harming each other, and are viewed as valuable tools to get past other demons invulnerability), Possession (Demons can possess one’s body), Creation (Demons can create Shikimi no Kage's that are unable to be put down for good and will regenerate even from observation users who can negate regeneration and immortality), Resistance Negation (Shikimi no Kage have specific weaknesses that cannot be exploited by Raidou's gun or other things to do with their specific elemental weakness, requiring Raidou to get a demon's elemental magic to affect it), Regeneration Negation (Unknown. Demons can create Shikimi no Kage's that are unable to be put down for good and will regenerate even from observation users who can negate regeneration and immortality. Which they themselves can negate the regeneration of), Limited Resistance to Observation (Demons to an extent can resist some humans abilities of observation as shown with them being immune to conventional weaponry and higher-dimensional demons not being able to be percieved by some observation users), Resistance to Cosmic Radiations, Biological Manipulation, & Gravity Manipulation (Demons can naturally exist and breathe within the vacuum of space without any adverse effects done to them), Death Manipulation (Demons can naturally exist within the vortex world which kills all humans who enter), Disease Manipulation, Corruption, Data Manipulation, & Petrification (All demons are unaffected by the Cuvier Syndrome, a state where corruptive data came out of the black sun, irreversible petrification), Sealing (Demons naturally have a resistance to sealing if they’re stronger then their target, and their sealing resistance gets amplified during the full moon), Forcefield Creation (Demons can pass through tainted barriers that humans cannot pass through), Elemental Manipulation (Shikimi no Kage have specific weaknesses that cannot be exploited by Raidou's gun or other things to do with their specific elemental weakness, requiring Raidou to get a demon's elemental magic to affect it), Resistance Negation (Demons can create Shikimi no Kage's that are unable to be put down for good and will regenerate even from observation users who can negate regeneration and immortality)

High Tier Demon Abilities: Power Bestowal (Demons can grant others their powers and strength), Reality Warping, Space-Time Manipulation & Creation (Demons such as Loki can create and sustain his own universe. Demons such as Morax can create their own personal realms, with it being noted demons create their own space-time sectors by quantum tunneling, that have stack of space-time layers on top of each other. Demons such as Set with enough Magnetite gathered can merge entire worlds), Immortality (Type 5. Higher tiered demons exist beyond death itself), Sheer Will, Resurrection, & Transformation (Some fiends are born from men that die in competitive sports), Curse Manipulation (Gods such as Anahita can remove curses), Resistance to Physics Manipulation (A god's divine energy isn’t bound by the laws of physics)

All previous powers and abilities to a infinitely greater extent, except for Observation due to reaching such a state where he is no longer truly human, Cosmic Intelligence, Cosmic Awareness, Immortality (Type 5. Transcended the infinite Cycle of Transmigration, a cycle of life and death<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.
Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.
Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that.), Acausality (Type 5. Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom<ref>Shioda: Professor Matsuda didn’t even have a character design in the preliminary stages.
Miyata: It’s shocking that so few people realised professor Matsuda was actually Stephen.
Shioda: That was shocking indeed, and they even had the same voice actor (laughs). What kind of device is the Shesha radar in Hibiya?
Miyata: I saw news the other day about the success of the detection of gravitational waves and this radar works on the same principle. There is a huge empty lot underneath Hibiya named ‘multi-purpose underground utility conduit’ and it is presumed that that is where Stephen built his detector.
Yamai: Because the device related to the elementary particles is extremely big.
Miyata: He also needed a secure place, and the underground was much safer than the streets dominated by demons. It is explained in the beginning of SMT4A that the multi-purpose underground utility conduit has been abandoned because of the battle of gods and the underground empty space remained as it is. I figured it was just right, since the new headquarters of the Hunter Association in Kasumigaseki is close enough, but I didn’t think gravitational waves would be discovered so fast when I was writing the setting.
Yamai: Stephen travels through various parallel worlds, so I believe it is possible for him to discover gravitational waves, since he makes contact with all kinds of technological developments.
Miyata: Gravitational waves appear anywhere in the universe when stars reach the end of their lives and explode, but every time Shesha warped to a different universe and a different dimension, there were weak gravitational waves released possible to detect.
Shioda: Since Stephen is also the creator of the terminals and the Demon Summoning Program, related to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor, it’s easy to say he is the biggest mystery of the Megaten series.
Yamai: What is clear is that Stephen is the same person across the series. Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II are related, while Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV are each in their own universes, but we can argue that he is the only one to cross space and time and visit each universe. I think the beginning was the universe created in Shin Megami Tensei, but we have no intention to give a clear answer on such a personal matter. As for the details of his arrival in the Shin Megami Tensei IV world, when he was researching the Demon Summoning Program and the Matter Transfer System he got connected by coincidence to the Expanse, demons showed up and hurt him badly, which led to him being now dependent on a wheelchair.
Shioda: This time he talks about the aim of the Great Reason in the end. Do you think he has met the Great Reason?
*From Dijeh (Basically just a translators note): The term used here is NOT the Great Will. The Japanese for Great Will [of the Universe] is either “宇宙の大いなる意志” or just “大いなる意志” in previous games in the series, while in SMT4F and this interview, the term is 大いなる理; the kanji used are easily distinguishable: 意志 vs. 理. For more about the distinction, see Will and Li.
Yamai: From the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei, the Stephen of Shin Megami Tensei IV is one of the possibilities, but we can say it was possible for him to have met the Great Reason. Of course, from the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei IV’s Stephen, I think we can say Shin Megami Tensei is also a possibility.
Miyata: Stephen’s position allows him to catch a glimpse of a small part of the Great Reason’s movement. When he passed through time and space and made contact with the Great Reason, he interpreted things in his own way.<ref> through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.
Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.
Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that.), Reality Separation (Type 4. Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom<ref>Shioda: Professor Matsuda didn’t even have a character design in the preliminary stages.
Miyata: It’s shocking that so few people realised professor Matsuda was actually Stephen.
Shioda: That was shocking indeed, and they even had the same voice actor (laughs). What kind of device is the Shesha radar in Hibiya?
Miyata: I saw news the other day about the success of the detection of gravitational waves and this radar works on the same principle. There is a huge empty lot underneath Hibiya named ‘multi-purpose underground utility conduit’ and it is presumed that that is where Stephen built his detector.
Yamai: Because the device related to the elementary particles is extremely big.
Miyata: He also needed a secure place, and the underground was much safer than the streets dominated by demons. It is explained in the beginning of SMT4A that the multi-purpose underground utility conduit has been abandoned because of the battle of gods and the underground empty space remained as it is. I figured it was just right, since the new headquarters of the Hunter Association in Kasumigaseki is close enough, but I didn’t think gravitational waves would be discovered so fast when I was writing the setting.
Yamai: Stephen travels through various parallel worlds, so I believe it is possible for him to discover gravitational waves, since he makes contact with all kinds of technological developments.
Miyata: Gravitational waves appear anywhere in the universe when stars reach the end of their lives and explode, but every time Shesha warped to a different universe and a different dimension, there were weak gravitational waves released possible to detect.
Shioda: Since Stephen is also the creator of the terminals and the Demon Summoning Program, related to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor, it’s easy to say he is the biggest mystery of the Megaten series.
Yamai: What is clear is that Stephen is the same person across the series. Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II are related, while Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV are each in their own universes, but we can argue that he is the only one to cross space and time and visit each universe. I think the beginning was the universe created in Shin Megami Tensei, but we have no intention to give a clear answer on such a personal matter. As for the details of his arrival in the Shin Megami Tensei IV world, when he was researching the Demon Summoning Program and the Matter Transfer System he got connected by coincidence to the Expanse, demons showed up and hurt him badly, which led to him being now dependent on a wheelchair.
Shioda: This time he talks about the aim of the Great Reason in the end. Do you think he has met the Great Reason?
*From Dijeh (Basically just a translators note): The term used here is NOT the Great Will. The Japanese for Great Will [of the Universe] is either “宇宙の大いなる意志” or just “大いなる意志” in previous games in the series, while in SMT4F and this interview, the term is 大いなる理; the kanji used are easily distinguishable: 意志 vs. 理. For more about the distinction, see Will and Li.
Yamai: From the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei, the Stephen of Shin Megami Tensei IV is one of the possibilities, but we can say it was possible for him to have met the Great Reason. Of course, from the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei IV’s Stephen, I think we can say Shin Megami Tensei is also a possibility.
Miyata: Stephen’s position allows him to catch a glimpse of a small part of the Great Reason’s movement. When he passed through time and space and made contact with the Great Reason, he interpreted things in his own way.<ref>, reaching his realm, through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.
Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.
Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that.), Soul Manipulation (Could salvage the SMT 1 Hero's soul after it was broken from the cycle of reincarnation by YHVH), Link Manipulation (Linked the SMT 1 Hero's soul with Nanashi's), Statistics Amplification (With Luster Candy, boosts all stats. With Smile Charge, induces smirk, the effects of Smirking include maximizing buffs like Tarukaja (boosts attack damage), boosting critical chance of attacks to 95% and 70% for phys and gun respectively, boosting hit rate of normal attacks and physical skills to 100%, removing the unit's weakness and preventing the enemy's critical chance, and boosting evasion rate to 85% against all incoming attacks, but with no changes to ailment infliction chances. With pair production, fully buffs himself by the maximum amount), Statistics Reduction (With deabilitate, drops all stats. With Particle Annihilation, fully debuffs all foes by the maximum amount), Electricity Manipulation (With singularity lightning, severe elec damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Ice Manipulation (With singularity hail, severe ice damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Fire Manipulation (With singularity hellfire, severe fire damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Air Manipulation (With Singularity Vortex, severe force damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Resistance Negation (Attacks such as singularity lightning have a pierce effect pierce allows the user's physical attacks to bypass all resistances, except for Repel), Energy Manipulation (With energy compression, a severe physical attack), Explosion Manipulation, Resistance Manipulation, Power Nullification, & Law Negation (With calamity code, medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe. Almighty damage is done to all foes by producing a large explosion. Almighty skills in Persona bypasses all barriers and reflectors, invulnerability, and resistances. Almighty attacks are able to hurt someone wielding the Omnipotent Orb, which bends the rules of reality to defend the user from attacks), Status Effect Inducement (With calamity code, medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe. With singularity brand, a heavy physical attack that inflicts the brand status, a status effect that reduces HP and MP recovery to one point), Durability Negation (With black body radiation, drops all foes remaining HP by half), Power Nullification (With dekunda, removes all stat buffs from allies. With Reboot Code, removes all buffs, debuffs, and effects (smirk, charge, Doping) from all foes), Law Manipulation (Risked bending the very will of The Axiom, and ended up bending the immutable laws of the universe to fight the Messiahs), Quantum Manipulation (Shown to have control over wave functions), Data Manipulation/Information Manipulation (With crack code, Stephen cracks and executes a code that removes 3 Press Turns at the start of the foe's next turn), Resistance to Physical Attacks (Naturally resists physical attacks), Gun Attacks (Naturally resists gun attacks), Fire Manipulation (Naturally resists fire elemental attacks), Ice Manipulation (Naturally resists ice elemental attacks), Electricity Manipulation (Naturally resists electric elemental attacks), Air Manipulation (Naturally resists force elemental attacks), Light Manipulation (Naturally resists light elemental attacks), & Darkness Manipulation (Naturally resists darkness elemental attacks)

---

Standard Equipment

• Wheelchair: Due to the injuries he sustained from his attack from a demon, he is confined to a wheelchair he uses to move around. Though once he transcends the infinite Cycle of Transmigration<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.
  Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.
  Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that., it is shown he doesn't need the wheelchair.

---

Notable Techniques

*Energy Compression: Severe physical damage to one foe.

• Singularity Brand: Heavy physical damage to one foe, chance of brand.
• Singularity Hellfire: Severe fire damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Hail: Severe ice damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Lightning: Severe elec damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Vortex: Severe force damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Calamity Code: Medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe.
• Black Body Radiation: Drops all foes remaining HP by half. Almighty-type.
• Smile Charge: Bestows the user with smirk. Cannot be used if the user has ailment(s).
• Luster Candy: Buffs party's attack, defense and agility by 1 level.
• Debilitate: Debuffs all foes' attack, defense and agility by 1 level.
• Dekunda: Negates all stat debuffs from all allies.
• Reboot Code: Removes all buffs, debuffs, and effects (smirk, charge, Doping) from all foes.

*Energy Compression: Severe physical damage to one foe.

Convergence: 8 hits of heavy physical damage to multiple foes.

Singularity Brand: Heavy physical damage to one foe, chance of brand.

Singularity Hellfire: Severe fire damage to all foes, pierces resistances.

Singularity Hail: Severe ice damage to all foes, pierces resistances.

Singularity Lightning: Severe elec damage to all foes, pierces resistances.

Singularity Vortex: Severe force damage to all foes, pierces resistances.

Calamity Code: Medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe.

Black Body Radiation: Drops all foes remaining HP by half. Almighty-type.

Black Hole: Steals MP from all foes.

Wave Function: Severe almighty damage to all foes.

Singularity Wave: Incredibly severe almighty damage to one foe.

Particle Annihilation: Fully debuffs (-3) all foes.

Pair Production: Fully buffs (+3) self and gains smirk.

Reboot Code: Removes all buffs, debuffs, and effects (smirk, charge, Doping) from all foes.

Crack Code: Removes 3 Press Turns at the start of the foe's next turn.

---

Other

Standard Tactics: Stephen before transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration encourages people to use the demon summoning program, meanning he himself would most likely open up with it. After transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.
Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.
Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that., he will use various attacks based off quantum physics, along with being able to manipulate the laws of reality that are meant to be immutable.

Weaknesses: Confined to a wheel chair. | Nothing notable.

Trivia

• Kazuyuki Yamai (producer of Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse) stated in an interview that Stephen is the same person across the series, traveling across time and space to the various universes in which each game occurs. In the process he has transcended the cycle of life and death humans undergo due to being trapped in bodies of flesh and bone. Alongside Stephen, Mido and Saint Germain have also become similar transcendent entities.
• Though not appearing in person, one of the software installations for the COMP in Soul Hackers is named "Steven," likely after him. It removes the level limit during COMP Fusion in a New Game Plus.
• In the DLC Boss Battle against him in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse, the hero notes that magnetite is flowing out of Stephen.

Gallery

• 

  Stephen in Shin Megami Tensei

• 

  Stephen as he appears in the Sega CD version of Shin Megami Tensei

• 

  Stephen in the Sega CD version of Shin Megami Tensei

• 

  Stephen in Shin Megami Tensei II

• 

  Stephen's first reveal

• 

  Stephen as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei IV

• 

  Stephen as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei NINE

• 

  Stephen as he appears in the comic anthology.

• 

  Stephen standing up from his wheelchair in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse.

Battle Records

None.

None.

None.

Discussions (Link For Mobile Users):

Discussion threads involving Stephen (Shin Megami Tensei)