Re: Shepard/AIs/etc. She said that before we went out the second time, and your point about perception bias is fair. It's probably in part why I go to alternate universes/realities as an explanation so often; that's something I've had a lot of experience with especially right before coming here.
I think it's important to remember also that we're not just looking to figure out one entity that explains everything that's happened. If Laurens' oblique word is true, there are five "sides on the board," one of which is us. But Laurens also keeps saying "he" like there is a single entity, maybe a person, that he knows of who is controlling at least some part of this. Did he invite us, we're stomping on his toes, we're changing his rules.
When we found him I threw five names at him: Smiley, Van Rijn, Gallagher, Ward, Davis. He said that we should've asked about four, and then corrected himself to three. Davis "isn't himself anymore, if he ever was." He said this like it was especially significant, but when I suggested other people haven't been themselves lately either (thinking of your fingerprints, actually) he didn't engage. He did imply that whatever way Davis is not himself is not in the same way that Laurens isn't. He calls himself a rat in a cage and says Davis wouldn't have fit.
Laurens also said that they just forgot to take care of him (Laurens) until it was too late, while Charlotte was our accident. Something we did brought her here, and only we can send her back. We've somehow gained some measure of power we were never meant to have, though it doesn't seem like we have any idea what it is.
When you say 'monsters and other phenomena', do you mean like the people we saw in the hallways last year when all the recon stuff went bad? Could you get readings off them?
I apologize for jumping around, it's hard to mash any of this into any sort of sensible organizational structure in conversation because it's so hard to tell what actually has significance to anything else.
2/2
I think it's important to remember also that we're not just looking to figure out one entity that explains everything that's happened. If Laurens' oblique word is true, there are five "sides on the board," one of which is us. But Laurens also keeps saying "he" like there is a single entity, maybe a person, that he knows of who is controlling at least some part of this. Did he invite us, we're stomping on his toes, we're changing his rules.
When we found him I threw five names at him: Smiley, Van Rijn, Gallagher, Ward, Davis. He said that we should've asked about four, and then corrected himself to three. Davis "isn't himself anymore, if he ever was." He said this like it was especially significant, but when I suggested other people haven't been themselves lately either (thinking of your fingerprints, actually) he didn't engage. He did imply that whatever way Davis is not himself is not in the same way that Laurens isn't. He calls himself a rat in a cage and says Davis wouldn't have fit.
Laurens also said that they just forgot to take care of him (Laurens) until it was too late, while Charlotte was our accident. Something we did brought her here, and only we can send her back. We've somehow gained some measure of power we were never meant to have, though it doesn't seem like we have any idea what it is.
When you say 'monsters and other phenomena', do you mean like the people we saw in the hallways last year when all the recon stuff went bad? Could you get readings off them?
I apologize for jumping around, it's hard to mash any of this into any sort of sensible organizational structure in conversation because it's so hard to tell what actually has significance to anything else.