the idea that everyone is a digital copy doesn't make sense when we consider the following:
-scratch was working on a way to live forever because of his brain tumor, but the circus isn't his creation, it's caine's. He didnt create a world to live in, he tested AI first with caine and then with the blue AI (that we assume is the original Abel)
-when we see scratch interacting with caine, caine looks off, like hes still a more primitive AI, still learning, but everyone else looks confused. something went wrong
-If we consider that the devs are digital copies, we have to remember that C&A is not an abandoned building yet. it's already hard to believe scratch made everyone test the game at the same time, leaving no one on the outside to pull them out (assuming its like matrix, where you need someone in the real world to plug you in and get you out), but also, if a digital copy is made when you put on the headset, but your physical body is unchanged, why wouldnt scratch or any other dev see this and not do anything about it? like trying to mess with caine's programming (considering he absorbed abel without any input from the devs) or delete the digital copies? scratch is acting like something went wrong, he cant remember his or his coworkers' names and he cant leave, so why wouldnt he in the real life intervene? unless their real bodies can't access the real life computer caine is running on, like if their entire bodies were digitized (aka the tron theory)
-C&A eventually shuts down (probably because the whole staff went missing) and years later, ragatha, with a team of other people, comes to see the building, probably to sell it or condemn it, and she also puts on the headset. if the soma theory is true, ragatha in the real world saw a working computer, tried the headset, took it off, and didnt tell any of her coworkers about it.
She also didnt get to a deal, which means the building was left abandoned for even longer with electricity (which at this point would be over 20 years), and there have been people who would be able to either shut down the game or the computer, but didnt. if C&A devs were laid off or something like that, they would have turned off the computers before leaving, meaning every digital copy in the circus, npcs and caine would have died, but they didnt
its easier to assume ragatha and her team didnt touch anything (aside from putting on the headset once and not letting anyone else in the team try it, which is hard to believe) and left. But they also had the chance to turn off the power in the building and didnt
then jax, gangle, zooble and pomni came. we dont know what everyone of them was doing there, but I think its safe to assume they were alone, so no holes there since there would be nobody else to pull them out, turn off the computer or try on the headset after them
TL;DR it makes no sense that they are digital copies, because there were plenty of chances of either their real world selfs or people who were with them to mess with the computer caine is running on, delete their digital copies or destroy the computer. It does make sense if their bodies disappear when they put on the headset though
please tell me what you think
origamiaround
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
blakekathryn
kaledo-art
stormborns
yousharknotpass
