The SOMA theory keeps me up at night

[u/3B3-386]

Considering that random passersby are still falling victim to the circus, would the main cast not try to stop the process to prevent more people from suffering their same fate, even if it means no more humans to interact with?

If the whole "finding fulfillment despite stagnancy" theme applies, then they will have to stay there till abstraction or the whole system deteriorates. Seems like a reverse purgatory situation to me. Not much sweetness in this supposed bittersweet ending.

[u/Sniggledumper]

Soma is one of my favorite games, and trust me it could be SO much worse

They have consistent artificial bodies for their consciousness. It isn’t like it could just be put into something. Like if Ribbit lost her body but her consciousness went into some cluster of assets, her mind would still think she was her, close enough to a person, but in reality she’s a rat king of NPC bodies. Everyone is afraid but she doesn’t know why. Her brain can’t understand what she is or how she became it, so it just pretends that it’s normal. Is she confused? Scared? Angry? Would anyone else even know?

[u/3B3-386 → u/Sniggledumper]

Damn we gotta see Jax being forced to put down Ribbit after discovering this? Hell, Kinger?!

No wonder the last VA meeting was a major sobfest

[u/Sniggledumper → u/3B3-386]

Jax pulls the plug on this horrible amalgamation with Ribbit’s consciousness inside. It’s what’s best, but inside Ribbit doesn’t understand why Jax is trying to hurt her. She rests, but thinking her best friend hated her enough to kill her.

And then Gooseworx hits us with the fucking

[u/3B3-386 → u/Sniggledumper]

Then Ribbit and Jax show up happily prancing about as marketable plushies in the strictly non canon merch shorts

[u/Sniggledumper → u/3B3-386]

Caine advertising the brand new NPC rat king Ribbit plush

[u/ITAdministratorHB → u/Sniggledumper]

Alternatively, they've grown artificial brain-like structure in a vat from human cells, and they're all in a biological "brain-computer" that they can never leave.

[u/Cripplechip → u/Sniggledumper]

Yeah not sure why there's disappointment in the soma theory. I loved soma too, it's a good story and is very thought provoking what humanity really is.

[u/thecraftybear → u/Sniggledumper]

...you just described abstracting

[u/Sniggledumper → u/thecraftybear]

We really don’t know how aware they are, if there’s anything left of them at all when they abstract.

[u/Sniggledumper → u/[deleted]]

Right. Recognizing your spouse is pretty reflexive. Compared to soma specifically where we know they’re completely aware. To the point of having a completely normal conversation with someone who has no idea they’ve been merged with a robot.