[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

[nomoresharks]

Well... There is the possibility that our souls are being moved along with our memories and minds, which seems simple enough considering everything else to do with our presence here, but implies something considerably more dangerous than moving the mind from one place to another.

Alternatively, rather than a link, 'tis a copy of our minds at play. In which case...

[There could be several of themselves out there. And not a one of them the original.]

[wordchain]

In other words, our bodies in their possession could be the product of cloning us entirely? This would preserve all aspects of our selves for their purposes.

[ That isn't farfetched. These researchers already seem to have the equivalent of multiple Singularities at their disposal.

Yesod glances back at the documents, quiet for a moment. Coordinates, unknown methods used to insert residents into this simulated environment. The biodome itself is real enough. ]

The original would remain where we were, presumably, which would also provide them with an untouched backup.

[nomoresharks]

Something of the sort, yes.

[As much as he wishes that it wasn't the case.]

As well as different points along the timeline to take from without having to worry about our time here interfering with how we might develop in our own reality.

[wordchain]

[ It's difficult to say what would be preferable, in these circumstances. There are positive and negative sides to each of the possibilities described here, and at the moment, they can only be certain that they are real no matter where they are. ]

...Yes, the fact that we have noted numerous instances of people from the same world recalling different points in time seems to support this theory. That would make our bodies undergoing assessments on the outside just as disposable as our iteration-specific memories and our bodies within this enclosure, to the researchers, if not for the need to perform their neuron wipe procedure.

[ Reusing the same individuals indicates that they most likely haven't discarded anyone altogether to create a blank slate of sorts, at least. ]

[nomoresharks]

A worrisome predicament indeed. Both for our current situation and for what comes after.

[If that really is the case, is it even possible for them to return? And what if they did? Would there be a place for two of the same person in the world they returned to?]

[wordchain]

It is.

[ It would certainly complicate matters in a number of ways, if several versions of them now exist. Still, if nothing else, it's unlikely to end in these different selves eventually facing each other in combat... ]

Our experiences here are as real as our bodies. Even if we receive confirmation that we are clones, I do not believe that it makes us expendable.

[ Nor that they don't have the same right as their original selves to continue to live their lives. ]