A weapon of peace
Dr. Rose Franklin sees her mission to assemble the ancient robot as a way of advancement for humankind. As the mission progresses, Dr. Franklin’s beliefs start to crumble, and she begins to see the robot for what it is - a weapon. It might have been a weapon that upheld peace, but it is a deadly weapon nevertheless. This is confirmed when the anonymous leader of the operation has a conversation with another individual, who reveals himself to be the descendant of the alien species that roamed the Earth long ago and used those robots as weapons against war.
Situational irony - geneticist Alyssa the antagonist
The anonymous leader of the operation appoints Alyssa, who was previously fired from her position, as a new overseer of the robot-operation after its existence gets revealed to the public and Dr. Franklin dies. Alyssa was shown to be problematic from the start, her psychopathic tendencies led her to be fired, and now, in the position of power she decides to do invasive tests on Kara and Vincent, to discover why they are the only ones that can control the robot. Her lacking abilities lead to the exposure of the secret yet again, and she is revealed to actually be a war-criminal who led experiments on victims of the war in Bosnia.
Situational irony - Rose Franklin is alive
The novel concludes with a surprising twist. Rose Franklin wakes up in the middle of nowhere in Denmark, with no memory of events that took place the last four years. She was believed to have died in the incident at the Denver airport, that led to the robot being revealed to the world. Though unexpected, her death in the middle of the novel was abrupt, considering that it all started with her.
Aliens are watching
From his conversation with the descendant of the alien species, the anonymous leader discovers that aliens are still present and keeping an eye out on Earth, watching how the events after the discovery of the robot will unfold. They refuse to interfere with it, and they left the robot scattered on Earth to test the advancement of humanity. There is a sense of unease after all this is revealed, that humanity and its conflicts are being observed as a form of game.
