You ever wonder when exactly we'll get more info about what exactly Fairy is? Cause I honestly thought that would be the main mystery of the game back at the start - we find Fairy being kapt away by a gang of criminals, who are certainly big and notorious, but altogether not important to the plot besides Nekomata. Then the Proxies plug her in, activating her, and we get a whole cutscenes with prophetic-looking visions, mysterious, almost warbly-sounding people talking about how "One of the keys got activated", namedropping stuff like Ghost, Jinni, Youkai (all types of spirits so that's extra mystery connections), and then apparently she can just breach the privacy of 80% of smart devices in the city and probably beyond. Fairy explicitly says that Hollow data analysis is her core function. You think it might be the same for all the other ones that were named?
Honestly this is more interesting to me than the questions about Carole Arna, though that's only because we've already gathered some of the possible history of what happened with her, but nothing about Fairy and the other AI named after spirits.
The devs said that they would be furthering the AI Storyline sometime soon, after 2.4, likely after 2.5, and I'd be willing to be that they've got plans for the AI in season 3, given that we no longer really have the Exaltists as the Big Bads.
As for the Lore implications, I wouldn't be shocked if the four AI are disparate pieces of a larger whole, and, I'd be willing to bet that they all have a rather 'Neutral' intention in their purposes as opposed to being good or evil.
They could go either way, and my money is on Fairy originally being designed to be something evil or selfish; we signed an End-User license agreement without knowing the full terms, and with the Fae that's basically a (Potentially worse than) death sentence, but due to us being kind to her, letting her learn and praising her for her work, she'll end up siding with us instead of completing her initial purpose, whatever that may be.
And, I'm also willing to bet that the others will end up in a similar situation.
Fairy, Jinni, Ghost, and Youkai. Intially Tricksters and malevolent, or at least annoying beings, but recent media has made them much more approachable as concepts.
The Fae of Great Britain, those that make Changelings and steal away those that wander into Mushroom Circles, or The Fairy Godmother and the Toothfairy, tinkerbell and the like.
Djinn, shapeshifting, possessive creatures, or the Wish-granting and kind types like Genie (Aladdin).
Ghosts, like the Headless Horseman, or Casper?
Youkai, deranged, strange creatures oft born of the forgotten and that which is taken for granted, but then again, Nekomiya Mana is a close friend of ours.
I can't quite say that Carole Arna has anything to do with the AI Directly, but Fairy seems oddly compatible with Eous and the Optic Implants, beyond just an HDD System. After all "To some extent, I was Drawn to those same Eyes as well"
Although that may just be more due to Eous and the Implants than Fairy herself; she is completing her purpose, but the way she is doing so is not quite how she was initially meant to. Phaethon is, as far as we know, the only people capable of transmitting signals through Hollows in Real-Time, without extreme amounts of equipment and power.
Like - Specifically Fairy seems to be doing her job, both as a device and as a fae. A Deal was made, and so she helps travelers through strange, twisted dimensions - that being the Hollows which parallel the realm of Faerie and things like the Fae Wild from DND.
Ghost was used to Hack Into the Inter-Knot Database, simply gain access to it.
Youkai was told to "Corrupt the Database Firewall" which I believe means allowing direct interaction with the Database and its information.
Fairy parsed it for "Preset Key-Terms."
Jinni was then set to upload itself, presumably, into the Inter-Knot Database.
So, while I believe that Fairy is doing what she does to complete her primary objective of Data Analysis - She can Access 80% of Smart Devices in New Eridu, but Ghost might be able to access all of them with sufficient power, along with what the others may be specialized in.
As for what they are, we know they Aren't legal, or at least, a Powerful, rare resource that needs to be defended to the death to protect and reclaim, something the POWERHOUSES of New Eridu would be able to take full advantage of, especially if they lack the morals Belle and Wise do.
also "To some extent, I was Drawn to those same Eyes as well" could be interpreted two ways - She was not meant for Phaethon, but Phaethon's specific capabilities due to the Implants compliment and boost her own abilities, or that she was meant for Phaethon, and that she only knew who they were because of those implants - though I'm more inclined towards the first theory.
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Carole Arna is an interesting subject to me - why is she so important? Do the Exaltists want to know how to stop Belle and Wise from using their implants because Real-Time Comms are so powerful? I was fully willing to accept that she was dead and we were doing all of this to clear her name in history as a means of honoring her.
But she's alive. That's nuts.
