But Elliot (Rami Malek) doesn't necessarily know this.

As far as he knows, what is happening to him is similar to what he sees in movies about people with Multiple Personality Disorder (the way Hollywood has always depicted people with DID).

I think what people forget is that this has been a continuing process of discovery for Elliot.

What would you do if you woke up one day, and all of a sudden, out of the blue, you had an Alternate Personality? How would you react?

Would you know what was happening? What would you do?

Elliot is anti-social and depressed with anxiety and addiction problems (which means he REALLY hates going for help). Despite this, he was trying pretty hard with his therapist Krista (Gloria Reuben) and he wanted so badly to get better (and still does).

Sure, it took him most of Season 2 to figure it all out, and even then he messed up at the end. But, this stuff, I suspect, is not easy to negotiate.

Anyway, Elliot is in jail and he is trying to set up a routine which is so regulated and recyclable that it never leaves space for Mr. Robot to take over (or bores him to death).

If you are wondering why he is thinking this way, my guess would be because he has struggled with addiction.

In a sense recovery from addiction is a process of establishing what (we) addicts call a "program of recovery" which is a structure of routines and behaviors we repeat every day and use to help stop relapses (especially when triggered).

By building up the muscle memory through the repetition of your routine, you will react correctly while triggered.

In a sense, Elliot is saying that Mr. Robot shows up when he is "triggered" and he is trying to create a routine so he can use it to reestablish control when he shows up.

What he is gradually learning, however, is that he and Mr. Robot are truly parts of the same person. As Elliot 2 puts it in the book:

"When he (Mr. Robot) steals my time. These are the ramblings of a psychotic person. I can't believe this is where I am. Why can't I get through this mental block? If he knows it, I know it."

He is more right than he knows, they are different aspects of the same person.

When Mr. Robot doesn't share things it is because Elliot doesn't want him to share things with Elliot 2. Mr. Robot is a protective mechanism that allows Elliot 2 to continue to see himself as morally innocent of most of the things the larger Elliot does.

So, anyway, Elliot has a routine established and starts talking about how much Mr. Robot hates it. Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) breaks in and tells the story of Gus the Bear who was a polar bear with bipolar disorder who used to swim in his "cell" in a pattern of never-ending figure 8's. Mr. Robot is suggesting that when your entire life becomes a repetitive routine, there is nothing special anymore about you, you become reduced to just a routine.

Of course, he also shares the tale of a masturbating walrus. But it is just a different version of the same story.

I suspect the truth is somewhere in between. And it totally fits with Elliot 2's character as he explains in response to what Mr. Robot shares:

"Okay, I don't have any fear that that is my fate, and even if it is, I still won't be hurting anyone else."

He concludes:

"Focus. I'm trying. It's the only way to get to a point where I have total control."

Exactly, Elliot is trying to use his routine to keep control so that the "bad stuff" doesn't take over.

Elliot also makes reference here to there being a secret code that could help him get the information he is after. I suspect that is an explicit reference to the inserts and codes inside the book. As you probably know, these have all been solved in r/ARGSociety (if you want even more spoilers).

Resurrection