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Are corruptions meant to be ultimately "fatal" (in quotations because some of them don't kill the character, but they're removed from play either way) if the PC who contracts it doesn't seek a cure? By which I mean, if the corrupted character refuses to cure themselves because they think the corruption's powers are too cool, do they eventually reach a point where the saves they have to make to survive are just too numerically high for any PC to realistically make?
I have a player who, upon seeing the Promethean, immediately began researching to build a character with optimized fortitude saves so he could get all the cool Promethean powers without reaching Corruption Level 3, which would effectively "kill" him.
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You're the GM; it's ultimately up to you. If you want him to play without the fear of losing his character, just play that way. Otherwise, use the rules as they are. The Corruption rules are very obviously written to be "fatal" if the character allows it progress too far (or just has some bad luck).
-Skeld
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As mentioned, it's largely up to you as to how you want to apply it to your game. I've been looking at how these might be incorporated in a fun way and these are the biggest things that comes to mind, though they're only suggestions and thought points for consideration.
-Make your decision on whether or not it will be incorporated for PC acquisition and be upfront about it at the beginning. If you're not going to allow it, make that clear so that the player doesn't build his character around something that isn't going to occur. If you do decide to include it, make sure they are aware of what extent it's going to be included, such as whether or not they would be at risk of losing the character and that they're on board with the possibility of character loss. Depending on how heavily you incorporate i, it's also likely that there might some societal repercussions to the corruption that the entire party may end up needing to deal with.
-If you're going to allow for it, make sure the other players and their characters will have equally cool opportunities. The corruption benefits offer a significant boost in power in a way that isn't exactly a transferable resource in the same way that a magic item might be.
-In the case of the Promethean, if you're going to allow it as written with the possibility of character loss also consider that once it becomes "lost", it's entirely possible that it could turn on the rest of the party. It would be a rather ignominious end if that resulted in further character death, or worse, a tpk.
There is a lot of alternate progression routes, levels of severity etc alternate rules for corruptions. Basically the system is made to be houseruled to find the perfect balance you as a DM are looking for within your game. If that means removing the whole "player becomes NPC" system, (which is frankly terrible), then drop it. Maybe look at the stains/penalties to the corruptions, and make them more lenient, as some of them can be far too harsh as well.
The point I'd recommend is you want the corruption to be a valid character choice. Not a punishment, and not a hindrance.
Ignoring the consequences of Corruption sounds like Mythic territory to me.
So at what point do you tell Mr. Promethean that it is time to redo his character as an android?
When it isn't fun anymore for everyone else?
The player can't guarantee getting a corruption, though, so I'm not sure what his plan is.
You might consider removing the saves and letting everyone progress two or three stages into a fitting corruption, or something like that.
Well corruption saves are 15 + manifestation level. The max manifestation is 9, so he needs to get a save capable of reliably making a DC 24 save. This is doable as time progresses, but even at low levels a DC 16 save (the minimum for a corruption) can go terribly wrong. Basically, unless you're a Paladin or Anti-Paladin, or using some other means of getting extra stats to your saves, I don't see this happening as he needs to reliably make DC 24 Fort and Will saves.
Also for comparison, Promethean ultimately ends up with a -4 to their CON at the cost of... +4 to natural AC and a lot of penalties, and roughly undead immunities.
It's a fun concept, but likely not really worth it for your friend.