[video + text] science ladies part deux

[slapfight]

[Peridot seems to be broadcasting from… a barn, which if anyone has actually seen her and Lapis’s room makes total sense. She has a whiteboard behind her that has a lot of squiggles and equations that make perfect sense to her.]

Claude, hold the camera steady. [Offscreen, there is a meow. Claude is doing no such thing. The only reason the camera isn’t moving is because the kitten has not decided it’s something to play with yet. Peridot is still satisfied that she’s being heeded and clears her throat.]

Greetings, fellow prisoners of Wonderland. Some of you may be aware that since my arrival I have been seeking to understand the machinations of this place we’re trapped in. Some of you mistakenly believe this is merely a planetoid or a world composed entirely by magic with no other explanation, and you just accept that, which is exactly what the clods in charge what you to think!

But with the latest upset as of two months ago, it’s clear that my theories were right all along. This place you call Wonderland is merely a simulation, and our current bodies are highly detailed computer simulated projections, while our physical bodies are in stasis. I’ve adjusted my theories to allow the inclusion of magic into the nature of this place, but the overall theory remains true. Accompanying this broadcast is an account of some of my findings. I hope you’ll enlighten yourselves, allow yourselves to expand your thinking, and also thank Entrapta for her own growing research into the Core. It’s about time this matter was handled by true geniuses.

[Yeah. Anyway. She pauses dramatically and waits for the camera to turn off, presumably on Claude’s own power, which is asking a lot of a lazy kitten. After a few seconds of her standing there and sweating, she sighs, marches over, and turns it off herself.]


WONDERLAND SIMULATION EVIDENCE PART ONE

FACT: Wonderland is comprised of a very limited area.

A careful observation of Wonderland’s boundaries have shown that if one tries to travel too far in any one direction, you will suffer a horrible fate, and then be returned to this mansion, suggesting there might not be anything else beyond that point. There are no signs of invisible barriers or any indication that anything else could exist beyond that point. Wonderland is, and then by the time you reach a point where you could find out either way, you black out and return to the mansion. And probably die. Data is inconclusive. I will accept volunteers to test this.

If Wonderland were a planet, there would be indications of other life outside of its barriers or even a sign that there are barriers at all. As a simulation, keeping people from wandering too far off the grid is a natural defense mechanism for the system.

FACT: Events are created from brain data mined from the people trapped inside

We’ve known for awhile now that events are specifically gleaned from the minds of those within Wonderland. There has never been a recorded case of an event occurring when the person whose mind it came from wasn’t present, so it only utilizes the data of people it is actively tormenting.

If we are in fact in perpetual stasis, then our brains are constantly being scanned and analyzed to create new events meant to test us in some way. Reexperiencing traumas, forcing other people into situations we’ve experienced, and so on. Why else would this happen if not for data analysis purposes? We've seen Wonderland's ability to create things based on nothing but itself, so it can, logically, do anything. It seems to be specifically picking moments or places of significant interest in our lives and using them against us.


FACT: Events are announced unless there are unforeseen circumstances

Events are planned. Wonderland might be made up of code, but the beings who announce the events are real, likely servants of whoever is in charge of the system. Take Alice for example- she’s like us, but she’s been so long hooked up to the system that she’s basically a part of it herself. The Dormouse informed me that Wonderland controls the so-called “Residents.” It decides when and how they can appear even though they have their own minds and opinions, and it can unmake them.

So the Residents are forced to announce the events. They can’t change them and they can’t offer direct answers. There’s a similarity to the Residents and gems from Homeworld, but that’s another discussion, and mostly speculation. This will be elaborated on in a further report.

The point being that events aren’t random. They are planned, announced, and then executed within a specific timeframe nearly perfectly every time.

FACT: Wonderlands physical make-up can change at will to suit an event

Even if we consider magic, an entire space cannot change into something else without there being an element of technology. If Wonderland is a simulation, then altering its code on a whim is easy for whoever controls the program. I feel like this argument speaks for itself- I have yet to hear an explanation that can explain both that and the fact that our bodies and minds are physically altered during some events with only slight emotional distress, and no physical distress at all.

FACT: No one stays dead in Wonderland.

Organic beings die. Lines of code manifested by a mainframe tapping into our brains and allowing us to project simulated bodies that think and feel like we do… Do not. Honestly, it’s comparative to what happens when a Gem becomes too damaged and has to reform. When someone in Wonderland dies, their consciousness returns to their stasis form and then returns, free of damage. The five death rule could be a hard limit on how much the system can reset your simulated organic body before there’s drawbacks.

END WONDERLAND SIMULATION EVIDENCE PART ONE

Comments

[angewiesen]

...You're as overwhelming as ever. I think I'm gonna have to replay this.

[slapfight]

[SIGHS]

I tried to make it accessible for everyone. The original draft is nearly a hundred pages! I consolidated a lot of information to make sure you all could understand it!

[jamminshield]

Wow. It sounds kinda scary, but... I guess it does make a whole lot of sense.

[A beat.]

There's just one thing I don't get, Peridot. If this isn't my real body, then how come I still have to use the bathroom?

[slapfight]

A dedication to realism so you don't immediately assume it has to be fake?

[It's unclear whether that "duh" tone in her voice is because she means DUH THIS IS OBVIOUS vs "I DIDN'T THINK THAT PART THROUGH AT ALL AND NOW I'M HOPING YOU DON'T NOTICE IT."]

video;

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji reads through Peridot's evidence and considers it for a bit before responding.]

If you're right about everything being simulated, I wonder if there would be a real consequence on our physical bodies when we die. Like some kind of feedback.

[slapfight]

No one even remembers Wonderland when they're returned to their individual planets, so it would be hard to test without shutting the simulation down. [She grumbles.] Which is proving impossible.

video;

[tinyfoods]

[Entrapta looks like she hasn't slept in a while. Who needs sleep when there's work to be done?]

Do you know what this could mean? If your theories are correct, it means were all from the same place. Maybe not the same planet, but the same dimension at least.

...Unless whoever is in charge of the experiment has a way to pull us from different dimensions altogether!

[She might be a little too excited about this possibility. She isn't totally sure she buys completely into what Peridot's saying, but it makes as much sense to her as anything else.]

[slapfight]

[and Peridot is the wrong person to call her on that, because she doesn't even need to sleep.]

It's not unreasonable. There's thousands of planets. Maybe there's thousands of planets exactly like Earth! But if there is some magic involved, then that's where most of it would be centered- the manner in which we were taken, not the manner in which we're experimented on. Hm.

Audio

[shslliar]

[... Part ONE?! Good god, what else did she compile? At least Kokichi can get behind this theory.]

So you're saying we're all robots?! [GASP!

... Okay, maybe he doesn't seem to be taking this seriously.]

[slapfight]

That is not what I said!

Video which is also simultaneously action because they're dorks and I wanna

[ssmisery]

[That is to say, Lapis is across the room, which makes replying via the network extremely unnecessary and quite silly. She's not even paying that much attention to the post; the text is definite tl;dr, and she already overheard the video part being made in the first place, complete with extensive planning beforehand.

But, like, she doesn't really feel like getting up. Claude is even heading her way now that Peridot is no longer doing anything that personally entertains him, and it is not yet clear whether he means to nap or destroy. Besides, maybe a dash of silliness seems right somehow, despite the rather heavy topic.]

Did you actually find anything new back then?

[slapfight]

[Peridot looks down at her communicator back up at Lapis across the room, back at the communicator.

She is resigned to this talk across the room via instant messenger lifestyle.]

Just what the Dormouse told me. I'm still... sorting through all of that.

Video

[teamfun]

Wow, that's really... thorough, Triangles. What about going home? I mean, people vanish, right? And then they show up with whole new memories of home. Do you think that's just them...adding to our memories while we don't actually go anywhere, or something?

[A pause.]

Just a quick follow up question, did you legit just ask people to volunteer to test out dying? Because it kind of sounds like you do and maybe that's not the best thing? Maybe?

[Peri, please don't ask people to die, that's not cool, Peri. Peri, no.]

[slapfight]

Presumably, once Wonderland has gotten everything it wants out of you, it sends you back to where you came from. Maybe inexplicably altered even if you have no idea why. As for the memory updates... Perhaps there was a flaw in the system and not all our memories were uploaded as they should be.

[And then, without preamble.] Well, I'm sure someone had to have tried it to know what happens when you pass the boundaries. I'm only asking that if someone were to try it again, they warn someone to take notes beforehand.

video;

[entreats]

Magic could do most of those things where I'm from, you know.

[ Although the discussion about whether magic is even real to begin with or not is.. very, very complicated where she's from, which is why she's just chosen to disregard that nuance entirely for the sake of this conversation. ]

Not that I'm saying you're wrong. Your theory sounds like it could be just as likely. But I figured I'd tell you the usage of magic isn't all that limited in every world out there.

[slapfight]

True, but lacks the experimentation aspect. This seems to be a matter of applying cause and effect experiments via the memories of different persons for some as of yet unknown goal. Why would you use magic for that when science is so much more precise?

video;

[itchtokill]

I don't think magic is as limited as you assume. [He sounds a bit vexed that anyone might assume so. He may know a bit too much about magic to expect it to be so limited.] The limits of the area we known could easily be a boundary spell. I could ask my sister to demonstrate one, and prove how well and effective they are, if you like. [Sorry Freya; he'd do it himself to prove a point, if he could, honestly.] Bold of you to suggest other people die for your cause, though. [He sounds something like part-impresed, part-amused at that.] What sort of data do you think anyone might glean from observations of us during events, anyway? [Even if it's only speculation, Kol would love to hear it. This is how they actually get somewhere toward understanding in all of this mess of utter unknowns.]

[slapfight]

I'm not asking, so much as I'm hoping if they do decide to test it, they give proper warning instead of just doing it. People had to have tried it for anyone to even know what happens.

[ALSO STOP CONTRADICTING HER WELL THOUGHT OUT THEORIES, KOL. HRGH.]

Events are always normal occurrences for the people whose memories they come from, but when they affect everyone, it's suddenly a radically different shift in what they know and are prepared for. I'm hardly an expert on the cognitive behavioral patterns of organics but I know from experience that radical shifts in perspective can alter even a gem, even when we're made to be basically unalterable.

video;

[thisismadfreaky]

I never thought about it like a simulation, but it's definitely an interesting theory. Really adds to the 'rats trapped in a maze' feel this place can give sometimes. [And he's not sure how he feels about being someone's experiment in that way, even if the theory makes a lot of sense.] I'd definitely be interested in seeing anything else you've put together so far. [Science is where his life lives okay? Even if some of the science he's known his entire life has been upturned by metas and their impossibilities sometimes.]

[slapfight]

[RECOGNITION? IN HER POST? IT'S MORE LIKELY THAN ANYONE WOULD THINK. Peridot's ego may be vast, but she's also not used to being taken seriously.]

I'm still compiling. I received some data from the Dormouse during what I'm terming The Incident, since it was less of an event, and I'm still not certain how to go about approaching it. I'm hoping Entrapta can help with her black garnet.

[text]

[mourning_ghost]

I don't have a body anymore. [Aside from the one it seems Wonderland gave him, that is.] I don't think I could be put in a simulation.

[Not to mention that Wonderland is almost like the false star in Nageki's world and that hadn't been a simulation. Nageki remains unconvinced.]

[slapfight]

I need further clarification.

[because what.]

Video

[singloversing]

This is still seriously creepy....

[He says that, but reading over the whole thing was actually kind of fascinating? He's not as good at science and doesn't always follow on that front, but it's an interesting read.]

So does that mean Alice can't be unhooked from everything? O-Or that like, anyone who loses as many memories as her wouldn't be able to either?

[slapfight]

Alice is an outlier. I'm not entirely sure about her, and we don't exactly have any data that the memory loss is permanent when we're returned to our worlds for good. Losing memories in the simulation could be a way to completely indoctrinate us into it so we stop fighting, but people get sent back too frequently for that to be a good argument.

video

[choosetruth]

I admit, I definitely prefer this explanation to just "it's magic."

[Though she's not entirely convinced of either.]

[slapfight]

It's such a lazy theory. It requires no effort to prove or disprove, and just highlights the awful mentality long term residents of Wonderland fall victim to.

video

[truefriendship]

This is fascinating.

[She doesn't entirely understand it, since she's not really a science pony, but she still thinks it's pretty interesting.]

Do you think we could access this code? Perhaps with magical assistance?

[She isn't a science pony, but she is an extremely powerful unicorn.]

[slapfight]

If there's a way, you'd need to be able to reach the Core... Huh. I wonder how many people have tried magic on the Core.

[She's pretty sold on Entrapta's ideas, but there's no reason for secondary experiments.] Ugh. They really need to get better at documenting things here.