Only Immortals like Baseball

batesian mimicry

Revived and nerfed Caine AU Part 7

I feel like I should explain that I have headcanoned that Bubble is being used (subconsciously) by Caine for his subconscious thoughts but also that the Blue AI is using Bubble to speak in the first place, because it's/he's "trapped" within Caine's subconscious or something like that. I refuse to call it "Abel" due to wanting to avoid confusion with Abel the NPC.

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Sorry I'm a little fascinated by how the AI and NPC characters work and the mechanics of their interactions. Does giving direct orders cost anything (even power or capacity wise)? I'd have thought giving direct orders would be easier and more efficient than manipulation. Also does that mean whenever we see Abel grumble about Caine doing Caine things, it's something he's actually allowed because he's come to agree that it helps prevent abstraction? That's hilariously petty.

Also are only Gummigoo and EJ meant to be sentient? I got the impression that Moon and the other working NPC's were the same. What qualifies them a sentient in particular?

Dw I don’t think you have!

I think part of the problem with the direct orders thing is a lot of what Abel wants done is ongoing things, not one and done things. He can easily give a direct order of “Caine, give patient #009 this vaccination by 7:00pm today”, or “This patient did X, so do Y to them” but “Don’t give them pain medications” or “punish them when they break the rules” are ongoing things that would get a bit exhaustive for Abel to give direct orders for each time he thinks it needs to happen. He’d rather spend his energy taking care of accounting things. Thus it’s actually kind of easier for him to manipulate them than it is for him to give the direct orders. The NPC’s don’t usually need to be manipulated into it, just vaguely knowing they’re supposed to obey Dr. Abel, and Caine is very easily manipulated. Abel also wasn’t really designed to be that active that often, so it’s actually much easier for him to manipulate and let things run how he set them up rather than just giving direct orders every time.

And yes, usually. XD Sometimes it’s because Caine found a loophole, but more often than not it’s technically not something Abel has done anything to stop.

And yes, Gummigoo and EJ are the only ones who are aware that they’re NPCs so far. Part of what I have planned with EJ is that he parallels Jax by finding meaning in his life despite it being literally unreal. The NPCs are pretty advanced, and sometimes they can feel their own distaste for the orders Dr. Abel gives them, but that’s because they were programmed by the same people who programmed Caine, and designed to have their own expertise in their own fields. They aren’t rlly aware that they’re NPCs or of the fact that they kind of just disappear when they’re not needed. They have pre-written backstories and character facts and stuff, but that stuff doesn’t actually happen. My friend once explained it as “like Severance without an outtie” and this got me to watch Severance and confirm that it is in fact like that lol

Tenna art by @9Aaaalt29 on twt