[OPEN MINGLE]

[justscribing]

WHO: Everyone! It's a mingle!
WHAT: Discussing recent reveals about the simulation
WHERE: Pairidaeza Architectural Studio
WHEN: Feb 3rd morning to evening
WARNINGS: Potential existential crises, discussions of death, memory manipulation, basically everything to do with their actual situation in a simulated environment.




[The actual setup within the garage-turned-studio is away from all the actual workbenches.

On one folding table are copies of multiple documents available around the X: The main document is a summary of a resident from a prior iteration that's clearly been redacted via scanning copies with stuff blocked out. Additionally are copies of the most recent newsletter with the memo on the back and photos of the hotel journal printed in black and white.

Lined up on another folding table away from the one with the documents is an array of finger foods: hummus, chutneys, and yoghurt dips with a variety of sliced vegetables, cheeses, cold cuts, and fresh pita bread. cardamom cookies, panipuri, and both vegetable and chicken samosas take up the other side. Mint water and fresh juice are in pitchers to the center. It's actually a little crowded.

Chairs are set up in small grounds and around the document table. And finally, a whiteboard has been rolled in for people to make use of in group discussions.]



((This is a mingle, so everyone is encouraged to threadjack, make toplevels, etc prior plot mingles have been done. Alhaitham and Kaveh will be around and participating but not taking the lead beyond making sure people stay orderly in the studio and have enough papers.

If you character has discussed the simulation with either Kaveh or Alhaitham, you can also handwave they texted them directly about it.))

Comments

[justscribing]

That's right, though there's no clarity if we're experiencing time here the same way it's occurring in reality. [He looks aside to Yesod.] And they could have them in a sort of stasis to be able to use us for so long. What would you do if we returned to our home worlds and it turned out many decades had passed with your absence?

[wordchain]

Yes... It's possible that the passage of time differs between worlds, and it seems likely that they have the means to preserve us in a relatively stable state.

[ But considering the data issues, the number of failed iterations, the conflict within those research teams, how sustainable is that? Yesod pauses, brow furrowed as he contemplates the implications of all of this. Admittedly, now he's very much wondering about the technology used to access the Library and its denizens' constructed bodies, but that probably isn't relevant to the majority of people here. Still, capturing copies of their consciousness to insert into a simulation seemed more plausible, less impractical — and not as unpleasant as the thought of physically being stored somewhere for any length of time, something apparently accomplished regardless of individual circumstances. ]

I suppose they need the findings that monitoring our physical bodies would provide, in addition to their observations of the enclosure.

[justscribing]

We found some additional papers on physical assessments, but the data itself isn't that important to the group. There are probably multiple reasons they decided they needed us physically here. Such as, it's possible a data copy could never truly emulate free will.

[The consciousness is complex. To create "life" is something Alhaitham's only heard of a singular case from and that required gods themselves. If they want to study human behavior, they need humans.]

[wordchain]

[ The fact that those other papers exist raises even more questions about their contents whenever the individual isn't human, for example, or doesn't reflect a typical situation. Of course, they have no way of targeting files to discover themselves.

Alhaitham does have a point; Yesod nods as he listens. ]

That is true. There was presumably a reason why the "blanks" that they initially used were considered insufficient. Perhaps, if these were essentially vessels to customize each time, that approach had its own flaws.

[justscribing]

Right. [He doesn't really need to explain it further to Yesod: he knows from firsthand experience why someone would need an actual human, or at least sapient, test subject. Even if they were removed from their awareness of being human.]

In any case, we've enough evidence we can take our physical presence as fact. Now it's a matter of removing ourselves from the simulation our minds are in.

[wordchain]

[ All of it certainly hits too close to home, but it won't help anyone to dwell on it now, nor can they determine whether their physical bodies are in fact clones or the original version. It's best not to travel too far down that path, for the time being — the answer to that question has no bearing on the goal of gaining control over their situation.

Yesod answers with another nod. ]

We would need to induce our bodies to respond outside the simulation, in that case. This may not be impossible, if its boundaries have become increasingly unstable.

[justscribing]

That's what I'm thinking. If the simulation itself collapses, we'll no longer have anything holding our minds in our or they'll be forced to disconnect us to run repairs. I believe our best option for removing they're control is to destabilize this place.

[wordchain]

[ Though there are reasons to leave and purposely return to their worlds after their time here, it's become strange to think of letting go of everything that they have in this city, despite the circumstances. Then again, that can be rebuilt elsewhere, as long as they have their memories. They might have even more than that, if they succeed. ]

What is the current status of those plans?

[justscribing]

I believe the intention is to cause the damage this month, though there's been some disagreement on the extent and location. [So happening, but a bit haphazard.]