expiationnet | audio; un: spartan

[ It has been a couple of weeks now since the successful reset of the terminals. Now, the same voice that was heard trying to rally them all to that task, tired and thick with a Slavic accent, has come to speak over the network once again. ]

Greetings, my friends. Miller here. First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who assisted in our efforts to restore this place to its former self. If it was not for all your cooperation, I am certain things would have gone very differently. It is thanks to all of you that we are still alive.

[ He's proud, really. The change from when he first arrived in this place has been immense. ]

Which is why it is my hope that we can keep this spirit of camaraderie going. There has already been a lively discussion of the visions we encountered at the terminals. Now that it has become clear that there is truly no safe space to hide from the prying eyes of the "Council," I wish to propose a forum for us all to continue sharing information.

[ The creation of the Dark Web was an innovation, to say the least... but can one even really call that secure when the entire world they live in is simulated? Where he's concerned, it's time to be forthright. ]

Allow me to begin with this. I was summoned to the courtroom. Yes – the courtroom. I only recall the inside of the building, but I presume it's one and the same as the new structure in the city center. I have been part of this experiment for eight months now and it is my first time seeing this Jerry face to face. But I can't be the only one who, up until now, seemed to have forgotten that he even existed? So, please... I would like to hear all of your thoughts.

I don't know about all of you, but I didn't try to save that artificial intelligence because I wanted to go back to putting my head in the sand!

( ooc: so long as it's cool with both parties, feel free to threadjack to discuss amongst yourselves! )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Honestly? He can appreciate that attitude. For better or worse, he's already been through this sort of shit before, so he at least has some idea about what's going on, but it wasn't too long ago that he was just as clueless as the rest of them. Not knowing anything and still refusing to give in is something he can definitely get behind, so while he might not say that out loud, that response earns Miller some respect, begrudging though it may be. ]

Pretty much, yeah. Normally, it just completely replaces the old world's information with the new one, erasing the previous reality... just like it seems to do for the locals. And us that one time.

[ You know. When he blew up the City Hall. ]

[ Likewise, while it will go equally unsaid, the more time he's spent here, the more he's maybe come to understand the motivation behind that initial explosion. ]

But this time, we remember everything. If anyone seems to have forgotten what happened, it's Jerry himself. Giving out orders from the Council as he always has. How do you explain that?

[ If the event of overwriting reality is some kind of function hard coded into the simulation, then would its parameters be able to be changed depending on how it was triggered? ]

[ All good questions, and as always, Ragna has no answers to provide. ]

Beats me. Probably something to do with us being the Chosen, but...

[ He trails off, leaving that thought unfinished. It helped that the last time he was in this scenario, he wasn't one of the Chosen, allowing him to operate outside the set boundaries. If he were to make an educated guess, he'd say it must have to do with the current state of their souls, but he's got nothing to prove it beyond a hunch vaguely based off experience. ]

I thought the guy was this world's Onlooker, but it looks like there are things even he can't observe.

[ But...? Miller waits for him to finish that thought, but then instead of prying for an answer when one doesn't come, he considers it quietly.

He'd started to believe, for a moment, that their existence here was some kind of training mechanism for the program itself—that perhaps they were only here to teach the AI how to handle and account for any variables in future sessions. Except that theory wasn't very solid after learning just how many came before them. It seems that this task that they were "chosen" for is one that whoever is running it is determined to accomplish. No matter how many people they must involve. ]

I'm not sure if he's even any different from the AI at this point. If he's not just part of this program. Maybe he doesn't even have a mind of his own. Is that what you mean by "Onlooker?"

A being that observes everything that happens in the world.

[ But if that were the case, he assumes Jerry would've stopped him from blowing up the City Hall... since that didn't happen, he began to question just how much power the guy had over this place. In the end, he figures Jerry is just an executioner of the main purpose of this world, and his role is to oversee the "rehabilitation" of the Chosen, but he can't influence it much. So at least that part is similar to his original suspicion. ]

You're probably right about that... especially this version of him.

Hm... Yes. Like a system administrator. I agree. I don't think Jerry is the one with that role.

[ He might have considered that at one point, but he seems to have been subject to the wipe of city hall and the subsequent reset just as much as everything else apart from them. ]

I didn't realize you knew so much about this.

[ There's a small pause on Ragna's end, followed by a deep sigh. ]

Not my first rodeo with this shit.

[ Maybe if he admits that, people will be more willing to hear him out... though that would require him to explain things first, and being a stubborn oaf that he is, he's not likely to extend the courtesy. ]

[ Yeah, he probably should have led with that one... but frankly, what does it matter anymore anyway? It's too late for that, right? ]

I see. Good to know. [ There is some consideration evident behind the response, although it's a simple one. ]

In that case, I'd like to hear your suggestions. Is there any way to control these alterations to reality?

[ See, this is why he was avoiding the subject ─ people will have questions. And while he might have answers, he doesn't necessarily have solutions just yet. Even then, he'd prefer to figure it out on his own, without getting anyone else involved... just like he did the last time. ]

If you can find yourself an Observer, yeah. And before you ask, an Observer is someone who can affect reality by observing whatever possibility they desire.

[ Is that a sufficient explanation? It'll have to do, because Ragna moves right past it. ]

... 'Course, even if there was one of those here, whoever is the primary Observer of this place could probably still overwrite reality anyway, so they'd have to be ridiculously powerful to overcome that.

[ That is the natural progression, yes. Though thankfully, Miller is not inclined to be overtly intrusive right now. It's helpful if Ragna has some personal experience with this, but he is ultimately in the same position as the rest of them. These experiences are worth considering... but they are one of many.

So, basically right now he's just along for the ride. ]

If that's true, it would be a liability for them to summon a person like that here. I don't imagine they have left many openings for us to exploit...

[ Which is why— ]

It really seems like our best chance lies in influencing that AI. If anyone here is an Observer... it's her.

[ See, it's not that he necessarily disagrees with that analysis... and he's more than familiar with Observers' efforts being rendered null and void by a superior force, so he's almost certain it would work like that here, too. One might think that's enough for him to be on board with Miller's suggestion, but the part about "influencing" the AI rubs him the wrong way. ]

... She may be an Observer, yeah, but she's as much of a prisoner here as we are. [ A beat. ] No, scratch that... even more so.

[ As much as he wants to say, "so what?" To say she is not a person... his interactions on the subject with Root have allowed him to extend at least a small amount of lenience to this perspective. It's the reason he refers to the AI as "her" at all. So he stops himself, considers that it is more valuable to retain neutrality with Ragna than not. ]

Yes — but it was my understanding that she detailed all of that info to us because she wanted us to live. She felt that way because of watching us and interacting with us. Our influence on her is mutually beneficial to us both.

audio; un: spartan

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