Shardik

Shardik is one of the twelve guardians of Beams that hold up The Dark Tower. It is a cyborg bear that stands over forty feet tall and has a contraption affixed to its head resembling a satellite dish (known as a thinking cap by Roland).

Quick Answers

Who built Shardik in The Dark Tower series?

In The Dark Tower series, Shardik is a cyborg bear built by North Central Positronics, a company part of The Imperium. Standing over forty feet tall, Shardik is one of the twelve guardians of Beams. A device known as a thinking cap is affixed to its head. Its longevity is attributed to an internal nuclear power source.

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What is the purpose of the contraption affixed to Shardik's head?

Shardik, the cyborg bear from The Dark Tower, has a device known as a thinking cap attached to its head. This contraption, which resembles a satellite dish, was incorporated into Shardik's design by North Central Positronics, a company from The Imperium. Shardik's role is to guard the Beams that support The Dark Tower.

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What is Shardik's role in The Dark Tower series?

In The Dark Tower series, Shardik is one of twelve guardians of the Beams supporting The Dark Tower. This forty-foot tall cyborg bear, equipped with a thinking cap, was created by North Central Positronics, a company from The Imperium. Tribal groups, who previously inhabited his domain, refer to Shardik as Mir, meaning the world beneath the world.

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Why was Shardik known as Mir by tribal groups?

In The Dark Tower Series, Shardik was referred to as Mir by tribes inhabiting his forest domain. Mir, in their dialect, signifies 'the world beneath the world'. Shardik's extended lifespan is likely due to an internal nuclear power source. It's suggested that Shardik may have had a non-cybernetic form, akin to the turtle beam guardian, Maturin.

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Description

Shardik was built by North Central Positronics, the mysterious company which was a part of The Imperium thousands of years prior to the events of The Dark Tower Series. Shardik was known as Mir by tribal groups who once lived in the woods of his domain, which in their language means, the world beneath the world. Shardik's functional longevity is most likely due its internal nuclear power source.

It is possible that Shardik might have had a non-cybernetic form apart from the one encountered by Roland and his Ka-tet: Maturin, the turtle beam guardian, is revealed to be a force of the white, and aids Roland and his allies on several occasions, and is revealed to be a powerful "macroversal" spirit in It.

Left on Shardik by the Old Ones is the following:

DESIGN 4 GUARDIAN
SERIAL # AA 24123 CX 755431297 L 14
TYPE/SPECIES: BEAR
SHARDIK
NR SUBNUCLEAR CELLS MUST NOT
BE REPLACED NR

The Waste Lands

After several millennia of service watching over the beam it had begun to deteriorate and die. Biologically, the bear suffered an extensive infestation of worms. Electronically, the bearings in its "thinking cap" were worn and, according to Eddie, about to freeze up, presumably resulting in the creature's death.

When Roland and his ka-tet arrive and set up temporary residence in Shardik's woods, the creature becomes visibly upset. Thinking them to be the "troublesome fire starters" who lived in his woods years past (delusions presumably brought on by extreme fever and madness), he decides to kill them.

Shardik runs to Roland's camp in the clearing to find Eddie. He chases Eddie into a tree and attempts to shake Eddie loose. In the first real test of her newly-learned gunslinger skills Susannah Dean has to shoot the metal "thinking cap" on the bear's head. She succeeds and as a result, kills the bear.

Post-mortem inspection reveals to the ka-tet that the bear is indeed one of the Guardians of the Beams. This, as revealed to the reader, is what Roland has been seeking for so long. Following the creature's trail back, they find the beginning of the beam and start on their final path to the Dark Tower.

Allusions

Shardik shares his name with a 1974 Richard Adams novel.

Appearances

• The Waste Lands