Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-26025032-20160119021526/@comment-26397825-20160119033825

Ohhhh, right. I forgot she probably hacked into Penny through the network.

I like this theory best; she shut it off in the same move she did to take over the feed so they couldn't shut off the broadcast. Explains everything, doesn't make Penny think fake-suicide is a good idea, and means that they don't need ot build a new one. It's not damaged, just turned off. They can transplant it directly into a new body alongside her brain.