Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Severance.
Severance could be hiding the fact that Lumon Industries founder Kier Eagan is not only still alive, but is also running the company. Lumon started off as a company that sells topical salves in the late 19th century, after which it developed into “the world's leading pioneer in biotechnologies.” Lumon's most impressive achievement thus far is the severance chip, which makes it possible to split employee memories upon entering the severed floor. Considering the level of engineering and medical expertise required for producing and continuously developing the severance chip, it's entirely possible that Lumon also has the technology to allow its founder Kier Eagan to escape death.
In the earliest episodes of Severance, the show remained vague about whether or not Kier is still alive. However, in Severance episode 3 “In Perpetuity,” it is made clear that Kier is indeed dead. In fact, the Perpetuity Wing that was revealed in the third episode is dedicated to preserving the memory of not just Kier Eagan, but every other Eagan who became the CEO. It's also revealed that Kier was born in 1841 and served as the company's CEO from 1865 to 1939, the year that he died. Not much else is revealed about both Lumon Industries or Kier.
Severance maintains an air of mystery about the exact purpose of the work done by Lumon Industries' small departments in the severed floor/basement. However, what's clear is that Lumon doesn't hesitate to lie and hide behind friendly and colorful branding in order to conceal its sinister operations, not just from its employees, but from the world in general. This means that Lumon is quite possibly lying about its founder being dead as well. If Kier Eagan is still alive and in charge of running Lumon Industries, it raises serious questions around how the company prevented his death, as well as how he is being successfully kept alive. Here's how Kier Egan could still be in charge in Severance.
Kier Eagan's Consciousness Is Transferred Onto Each New Lumon CEO
There's evidence to suggest that Kier is being kept alive through the transfer of consciousness, a technology that's yet to exist in the real world. This would certainly be congruent with Lumon Industries' forays into memory-based biotechnologies – bifurcating memories could just be one of the steps to transferring the consciousness of one person onto another. In short, while the series is focused on the process of severance itself, the possibilities of this type of technology are endless, including memory transfer-based immortality. Moreover, certain elements found in the Perpetuity Wing support this possibility. As the immortalized Eagan quotes at the entrance of the Perpetuity Wing reads, “The remembered man does not decay,” which was said by Kier, and “History lives in us whether we learn it or nor,” which are words from current Lumon Industries CEO Jame Eagan. While these quotes are comparable to any other vaguely inspiring words from history's notable CEOs, founders, and visionaries, they could be referring to the fact that Kier's actual consciousness, and not just his lessons, lives on through Lumon Industries.
Kier Eagan's Living Body Is Still Being Kept Inside His Real House
Another possibility is that Kier is being kept alive in a decrepit physical state, but with his neurons still intact. Apart from inspiring new severed workers and introducing them to the creator of Lumon Industries, the replica of Kier's house in the Perpetuity Wing could also be there to reinforce the lie that he's dead, as well as hide the fact that he's still living inside his actual house and running the company from there. This could be why the board of Lumon Industries is never heard speaking, even by Harmony who seems to be the boss of the severed floor. Moreover, this could also mean that severance itself is just an experiment aimed at keeping Kier alive, as bifurcating memories is just one step away from the technology needed to actually transfer a person's entire consciousness. This possibility bridges the gap between existing and theoretical technologies in Severance.
Macrodata Refiners Are Working On Keeping Kier Eagan Alive
Mark and the other members of the macrodata refinement department are consistently kept in the dark about the real purpose of their jobs. The official explanation from the company is that knowing about Lumon Industries' actual purpose would limit a refiner's ability to tap into their natural instincts and do the job efficiently. However, it's much more likely that severed workers are kept in the dark about their job because it involves experimental, dangerous, and potentially illegal biotechnology research – including keeping Kier alive through whatever means necessary.
If Lumon is refining a method for transferring Kier's consciousness into a younger brain and body, every severed employee could just be a guinea pig for Lumon Industries' questionable experiments with theoretical immortality. The macrodata refinement department's work with numbers could just be a way to fine-tune the severance chip. Lumon Industries might even be planning to transfer Kier's consciousness onto Mark himself, or at least onto someone from the macrodata refinement department or from the severed floor. This could also be the real reason why the non-severed worker Harmony keeps a close eye on outie Mark, and even goes so far as to investigate Mark's home while he's at work. Indeed, getting severed is considered an honor – a welcome into the Eagan family. Every severed employee has the chance to "become" the next CEO.
Why Lumon Industries Doesn't Want The World To Know Kier Eagan Is Still Alive
If Lumon Industries found a way to make someone immortal, it's not immediately clear why they wouldn't make this information public and reap the stock-raising benefits of positive publicity. However, based on the way the company operates, it's likely that Kier is being kept alive through highly unethical and controversial means, possibly involving human embryonic stem cell research, which necessitates destroying human life. Indeed, as Petey explains to Mark, even though getting severed has helped Mark cope with his wife's death, it comes at the cost of inadvertently “murdering people 8 hours a day.” It wouldn't be surprising if the company is involved in such nefarious activities, as Lumon Industries is meant to parallel real-world corporations with questionable ethics.
Severance, at its core, is a critique against hypercapitalism. If Lumon Industries is keeping Kier alive through whatever unethical means, this paints a truly bleak picture for the severed, as the life's work of their respective innies could just be dedicated to preventing the company's founder from dying – potentially at the cost of their own lives. At first glance, the theory that Kier is still alive and running the company may seem far-fetched. However, it's actually consistent with the show's social commentary on the daily oppression of workers trapped in modern capitalism.
Severance releases new episodes Fridays on Apple TV+.