We've seen guests do pretty much whatever they want to hosts, but what happens should things get ugly between paying customers? Could one complain to management? Would the instigator be kicked out/blacklisted/whatever?
Answer
This was answered in interviews with showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. In short, any hosts in the vicinity would seamlessly intervene in any situation where a guest was liable to hurt another guest.
Q. William is told he can’t get hurt in Westworld. But what about being hurt by another guests? What’s to keep a guest from stabbing him thinking he’s a robot? Is there a safe word?
Joy: We talked a lot about the rules of the park. A lot of it isn’t made explicit in the series but there’s something called the Good Samaritan Reflex within the hosts. So say you’re in a bar fight and some guy has a knife and maybe there’s even another guest that you didn’t know and he thinks you’re a host and he’s gonna stab you in the back. In that instance, a good Samaritan host would seamlessly intersect and get in that fight and literally take that knife for you. Now accidents can happen – falling off a cliff and things like that. But you know it’s mitigated somewhat because even the animals – aside from the flies – are hosts, so no horse is going to buck you to your death.
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and
“Part of what the hosts have been designed to do, we have a feature in the program called The Good Samaritan Reflex or Function,” Nolan said. “Wherever they can, the park is populated by hosts and part of their responsibility, part of their subconscious programming is to try to protect the guests in whatever capacity it can. So if you’ve got a drunken guest who’s careening towards a cliff edge, you’re more likely than not to have a host nearby who, without breaking that narrative, is going to find a way to gently steer them back. They’re cannon fodder on one hand, but they’re also the all-purpose minders of this place.”
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We see an example of this in episode 5 when the MiB indicates that he intends to "open up" Dr Ford. The closest host (Teddy) responds immediately and decisively.
As to consequences, it's mentioned on the Westworld website that the park's rules specifically forbid attempting to harm another guest. Presumably doing so (deliberately) would result in ejection.
Aeden: You won’t be in any physical danger at Westworld, though the further you get from Sweetwater, the rowdier things can get. The park only has one rule: You cannot hurt another human.
The hosts, on the other hand, can be hurt and killed, if that is your thing. What more can I explain?
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We do know that the park would be covered, at least from a liability perspective.
“One of the ideas was sort of layered in the narrative,” Nolan said. “I think the release that you would sign when you came to this place would be pretty extensive, would cover a fair amount of injury and risk involved in going to Westworld.”
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In the highly unlikely event of "human-on-human" violence, the waiver terms and conditions listed on the Official Westworld Website indicate that these crimes would initially be investigated by the park's own investigative team. If it was determined that a crime had occurred, the details would be passed on to the relevant authorities.
3. (c) Please act responsibly while a guest at the Mesa Gold resort and while utilizing the Mesa Bar. Please be mindful of other guests, families, and children. Please note that while utilizing the Mesa Bar, you may interact with I Delos, Inc. employees; any ideas pitched to Delos, Inc. employees automatically become the property of Delos, Inc., in perpetuity. Also, any mention of human-on-human crime admitted to a Delos, Inc. employee must be brought to the attention of Delos, Inc., and if falling within the laws of the Territory, may have to be reported to local authorities.
5. INVESTIGATIONS/VIOLATIONS: If Delos, Inc. or any Delos Entity believes, in its sole discretion, that a violation of those Terms has occurred, it may take any and all corrective action it dooms appropriate without notice, including contacting local authorities on the mainland. All human on human crimes taking place within the Delos Destinations compound will first be investigated by Delos, Inc.; Delos, Inc. has successfully avoided providing personal data in response to a legal process involving outside court entities for its entire history of existence. However, Delos, Inc. reserves the right to disclose personal information requested by a law enforcement agency, and shall have no liability to you for such disclosure.
As a minimum, were you to engage in behaviour that was against the park's primary rule, I suspect the park would exercise its rights as laid out in the waiver.
Delos, Inc. reserves the right to deny access to all or part of the Service to you or any person in its sole discretion without notice or liability of any kind.
Additionally, we learn from the DelosIncorporated viral website that guest-on-guest violence is monitored by an automated computer system that focuses on three key elements;
- Ensuring guest groups don't cross each others paths
- Ensuring intra-group fights are dealt with swiftly (by using the hosts as a discreet security force)
- Ensuring that groups with unhealthy dynamics are split up.
THE SECURITY PANEL’S PROPRIETARY LOGISTIC SOFTWARE SEAMLESSLY WORKS WITH HOST PROGRAMMING TO ENSURE GUEST GROUPS CROSS PATHS AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE— BUT THERE IS NO FULLY ACCOUNTING FOR THE HUMAN FACTOR OF INTRA-GROUP CONFLICT.
and
AGGRESSION BETWEEN GUEST ID#398436 AND GUEST ID#435873 HAS INTENSIFIED. GUESTS NOW ACTIVELY SHOOTING AT EACH OTHER.
STATUS:
BULLET VELOCITY PROTOCOLS FULLY OPERATIONAL, AND GUESTS REMAINS UNAFFECTED, BUT MUST DEESCALATE SITUATION.
and
GUEST ID#398436 HAS BROKEN A MILK BOTTLE AND IS POSING AN ACTIVE THREAT TO GUEST ID#435873.
STATUS:
GOOD SAMARITAN SAFETY PROTOCOLS FULLY OPERATIONAL, AND DESIRED 10-1 HOST-TO-GUEST RATIO IS BEING MAINTAINED, BUT MUST DEESCALATE THE SITUATION.
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