(Originally posted to Let's Play Sacntuary)
#11, originally posted Feb 27 2016, 09:29 AM
Route A—Session 04, part 2: Prepared Account
Sakuya firmly declares a commitment to find Mutsuki. Her determination rubs off on Hinata, who soon has an encounter with a strange AI. The next day, he and Sakuya go out into town, and he relates his attempted cracking, while feeling like he's being stalked. Another dream, remembered, but this time, a clear plea. The pair head back to Hinata's house.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
inviting fairy
Apparently, LEM was sent by someone named "Tsukki". This is very close to the word for moon, "tsuki", just with a geminate "k". (It's also being pronounced as two syllables, whereas "tsuki" usually seems to come out as one.) Could this be any more obvious? (Then again, those things that are very obvious can turn out to be false, so I have to hold just a little doubt.)
what do you see?
Hinata tried to get into Mutsuki's computer by guessing the password. It's funny no one thinks of just pulling out the hard drive (or whatever the mass storage medium of choice is in 2032) and accessing it directly, instead of struggling against the operating system. Or heck, even just booting from some other medium like a live CD (or, again, whatever equivalent medium in 2032). Of course, it's not unlikely it would be encrypted. I would expect such a practice to be more widespread by then.
Sakuya seems to be a bit self-contradictory here. First she says he's narrow-minded for being sick of food at family restaurants, then when he says whatever she wants is fine, she says he should be more independent. Though not really opposite viewpoints, the question is, just what does she want??
Well, although I don't like the ear-pulling for the most part, I have to say, he kind of earned that last one.
Apparently, LEM was sent by someone named "Tsukki". This is very close to the word for moon, "tsuki", just with a geminate "k". (It's also being pronounced as two syllables, whereas "tsuki" usually seems to come out as one.) Could this be any more obvious? (Then again, those things that are very obvious can turn out to be false, so I have to hold just a little doubt.)
what do you see?
Hinata tried to get into Mutsuki's computer by guessing the password. It's funny no one thinks of just pulling out the hard drive (or whatever the mass storage medium of choice is in 2032) and accessing it directly, instead of struggling against the operating system. Or heck, even just booting from some other medium like a live CD (or, again, whatever equivalent medium in 2032). Of course, it's not unlikely it would be encrypted. I would expect such a practice to be more widespread by then.
Sakuya seems to be a bit self-contradictory here. First she says he's narrow-minded for being sick of food at family restaurants, then when he says whatever she wants is fine, she says he should be more independent. Though not really opposite viewpoints, the question is, just what does she want??
Well, although I don't like the ear-pulling for the most part, I have to say, he kind of earned that last one.
#12, originally posted Feb 29 2016, 10:07 AM
Route A—Session 04, part 3: Breakthrough
Back at Hinata's house, and after an awkward start, Sakuya lends help to his password cracking efforts, with success. But it turns out to be only one layer. The next day, they go to the library to research Babylon. Another dream gives crucial clues, Yumi says hi, and then he finds information about Shamash, and possibly Mutsuki.
And here's where the notes go. This time, I wrote quite a bit, including some things that may be crazy theories. But hey, that's what this is all about, right? :P
Spoiler: click to toggle
eyes of night
Well, this is an awkward scene. :D But it's actually just because Hinata is hesitant to make progress in finding Mutsuki.
Just something I want to point out: "nana" can mean "seven" in Japanese. This may or may not be relevant; I have no idea. Of course, I know of a more plausible association that comes up later in this part. But there's no reason there can't be multiple relevant associations.
to advance or to strike
If this were a normal real-world situation, I would say it's pretty stupid to use such weak passwords. Among the most basic rules for good passwords are: don't use dictionary words, and especially don't use data about oneself an attacker might find out (name, birthdate, etc.). But, Mutsuki clearly wanted Hinata to figure this out. Plus, as a story, it's more fun if it's a puzzle that can be solved through investigation and logic.
seek and ye shall find...
"Pressure chart" is a term I'm not familiar with. I guess it's referring to her cheerfulness or something.
Once again, agreeing with someone's self-deprecation is a bit insensitive. Especially if you're implying they're STUPID!
So, I have a hypothesis. In this dream, Mutsuki says, "Find me with the power to see the invisible", and where she is is "The moon in your dreams. In a place that you can see, yet can't see." If we're talking about the moon, what is invisible? That would be a new moon. As I said before, a possible meaning of "saku" is 朔 "new moon". And "ya" can mean 矢 "arrow". Well, I checked, and the "saku" is indeed 朔, but the "ya" is written as 夜 "night". But that doesn't mean it's the true meaning. Anyway, this may be a bit crazy, but does Sakuya point the way to Mutsuki, so to speak? After all, she does seem to be helping Hinata with just that. (I do realize that, strictly speaking, 矢 refers to the projectile and not the symbol, so I don't know if the meaning can be extended in this way.)
One thing does bug me about this, though. When I think about a moon that can be seen, and yet cannot be seen, it would have to be the moon of a solar eclipse. This is a new moon (invisible moon) that reveals itself by passing in front of something else (the sun). However, Mutsuki says, "Even if the sunlight dispels it, it's still there on the other side of the Earth." In other words, approximately the situation of a full moon near the nadir. In what sense can such a moon be seen? Only in one's imagination, as far as I am aware. Or if one travels to the other side of Earth, or leaves it altogether. This does make some sense, as only a full moon can be eclipsed. But so does the solar eclipse idea, given the name Hinata. Which one is right?
This also reminds me of that insert movie way back in the chapter "childhood friend". That has bugged me for a while. They were talking about a lunar eclipse. But what the movie depicts is some sort of occultation that resembles a solar eclipse, yet clearly isn't. Rather, it looks like the moon, with some other round object passing in front of it. (It's the background of my video thumbnails.) Whatever could it be? I don't suppose we'll have any idea for some time.
And lastly, she says, "Once you [find me], save everything." This hints to something much bigger happening. But we have very little idea what it could be at this point. I'll put forth my idea, though, for what it's worth. The more common meaning of "save" would be to "make safe", to "protect from harm", etc. However, for me, the whole phrase, "save everything" evokes the idea of "writing or copying a file to a storage medium". One might use this phrase in reference to a large set of data residing on a computer system, like a database or project, or the state of some very complex program. And that's all I have right now, really.
This choice, whether this girl is Sami or Yumi, unlike the previous one, is pretty obvious, I think. Once you know that there are two of them, her behavior is distinct enough to identify her. I wonder if they're testing to see if you remembered which name is which.
We get a couple of correspondences of names here:
Hinata = Shamash
Mutsuki = Sin (assumed)
Interestingly enough, the Sumerian equivalent of Sin is Nanna. It can't be a coincidence that Sakuya named her stuffed rabbit "Nana". But why Sakuya's? It would make more sense, at least on the surface, if that were the name Mutsuki gave hers. Is there some twist underlying this whole thing?
BTW, the Sumerian equivalent of Shamash is Utu. If we are to assume symmetry,
then where is there a stuffed rabbit with such a name? Or maybe, since rabbits
are only associated with the moon and not the sun, Utu is some other animal?
Well, this is an awkward scene. :D But it's actually just because Hinata is hesitant to make progress in finding Mutsuki.
Just something I want to point out: "nana" can mean "seven" in Japanese. This may or may not be relevant; I have no idea. Of course, I know of a more plausible association that comes up later in this part. But there's no reason there can't be multiple relevant associations.
to advance or to strike
If this were a normal real-world situation, I would say it's pretty stupid to use such weak passwords. Among the most basic rules for good passwords are: don't use dictionary words, and especially don't use data about oneself an attacker might find out (name, birthdate, etc.). But, Mutsuki clearly wanted Hinata to figure this out. Plus, as a story, it's more fun if it's a puzzle that can be solved through investigation and logic.
seek and ye shall find...
"Pressure chart" is a term I'm not familiar with. I guess it's referring to her cheerfulness or something.
Once again, agreeing with someone's self-deprecation is a bit insensitive. Especially if you're implying they're STUPID!
So, I have a hypothesis. In this dream, Mutsuki says, "Find me with the power to see the invisible", and where she is is "The moon in your dreams. In a place that you can see, yet can't see." If we're talking about the moon, what is invisible? That would be a new moon. As I said before, a possible meaning of "saku" is 朔 "new moon". And "ya" can mean 矢 "arrow". Well, I checked, and the "saku" is indeed 朔, but the "ya" is written as 夜 "night". But that doesn't mean it's the true meaning. Anyway, this may be a bit crazy, but does Sakuya point the way to Mutsuki, so to speak? After all, she does seem to be helping Hinata with just that. (I do realize that, strictly speaking, 矢 refers to the projectile and not the symbol, so I don't know if the meaning can be extended in this way.)
One thing does bug me about this, though. When I think about a moon that can be seen, and yet cannot be seen, it would have to be the moon of a solar eclipse. This is a new moon (invisible moon) that reveals itself by passing in front of something else (the sun). However, Mutsuki says, "Even if the sunlight dispels it, it's still there on the other side of the Earth." In other words, approximately the situation of a full moon near the nadir. In what sense can such a moon be seen? Only in one's imagination, as far as I am aware. Or if one travels to the other side of Earth, or leaves it altogether. This does make some sense, as only a full moon can be eclipsed. But so does the solar eclipse idea, given the name Hinata. Which one is right?
This also reminds me of that insert movie way back in the chapter "childhood friend". That has bugged me for a while. They were talking about a lunar eclipse. But what the movie depicts is some sort of occultation that resembles a solar eclipse, yet clearly isn't. Rather, it looks like the moon, with some other round object passing in front of it. (It's the background of my video thumbnails.) Whatever could it be? I don't suppose we'll have any idea for some time.
And lastly, she says, "Once you [find me], save everything." This hints to something much bigger happening. But we have very little idea what it could be at this point. I'll put forth my idea, though, for what it's worth. The more common meaning of "save" would be to "make safe", to "protect from harm", etc. However, for me, the whole phrase, "save everything" evokes the idea of "writing or copying a file to a storage medium". One might use this phrase in reference to a large set of data residing on a computer system, like a database or project, or the state of some very complex program. And that's all I have right now, really.
This choice, whether this girl is Sami or Yumi, unlike the previous one, is pretty obvious, I think. Once you know that there are two of them, her behavior is distinct enough to identify her. I wonder if they're testing to see if you remembered which name is which.
We get a couple of correspondences of names here:
Hinata = Shamash
Mutsuki = Sin (assumed)
Interestingly enough, the Sumerian equivalent of Sin is Nanna. It can't be a coincidence that Sakuya named her stuffed rabbit "Nana". But why Sakuya's? It would make more sense, at least on the surface, if that were the name Mutsuki gave hers. Is there some twist underlying this whole thing?
BTW, the Sumerian equivalent of Shamash is Utu. If we are to assume symmetry,
then where is there a stuffed rabbit with such a name? Or maybe, since rabbits
are only associated with the moon and not the sun, Utu is some other animal?
#13, originally posted Mar 1 2016, 10:00 AM
This part is shorter than usual. Sorry about that. It was tough finding good break points, and I don't want to go too much over 30 minutes per part.
Route A—Session 04, part 4: Rooftop Meeting
Hinata and Sakuya head to the roof for a break, and are shocked to witness a meeting between two people they thought were unrelated. Then they go to an Internet café to try to work some more on the Shamash password.
A couple of notes, still:
Spoiler: click to toggle
won't end like this
And we have Yayoi = Anu (Sumerian: An).
Ah hah! I knew it! That person is not a man after all. Or at least, that's my interpretation of this. When Hinata called them a man, Yayoi's response was, "Man, huh...?" I almost missed it; I did miss it when I went through this before. But if Yayoi, who clearly knows this person, thinks they're not a man, then I think I can safely say they aren't. Are they a woman, then? Possibly. But that whole inhuman-left-hand thing makes me doubtful. Of course, it could be a woman with just a robotic hand or arm. But based on the information about cyborgs in this world, it also seems quite possible that their whole body is robotic, in which case the issue of gender is a lot murkier.
And we have Yayoi = Anu (Sumerian: An).
Ah hah! I knew it! That person is not a man after all. Or at least, that's my interpretation of this. When Hinata called them a man, Yayoi's response was, "Man, huh...?" I almost missed it; I did miss it when I went through this before. But if Yayoi, who clearly knows this person, thinks they're not a man, then I think I can safely say they aren't. Are they a woman, then? Possibly. But that whole inhuman-left-hand thing makes me doubtful. Of course, it could be a woman with just a robotic hand or arm. But based on the information about cyborgs in this world, it also seems quite possible that their whole body is robotic, in which case the issue of gender is a lot murkier.
#14, originally posted Mar 2 2016, 10:05 AM
Route A—Session 04, part 5: City of Corruption
Hinata and Sakuya make new accounts and start playing Babylon. They're not doing too well, until Sakuya thinks of checking the counterpart of a police station. While being led to safety, they learn a little of Babylon's creation, as well as the fact that "Shamash" is a significant name. At a meeting hall, they listen to a brief speech about free will, and then meet someone they know well (who apparently didn't research the word he chose as his handle). This guy leads them to the place they're looking for, but things aren't that easy, it seems.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
seeking the sunlight
Hmm. "Seeking the sunlight", huh? Hinata feels as if this place was built for his sake. Although, I don't have a clear idea about this.
true free will
Apparently, there's no alcohol in the drinks in this virtual world. But what does that even mean? It's a virtual world, after all. There isn't really anything there; it's all just a stream of sensations, or so I assume. Can a virtual drink make someone drunk through sensation alone?
So, Hinata deduces the strange man is Enlil. We don't know a real-world name yet, so that will have to do.
And then, his reasoning triggers another comment by the mysterious eye. So Hinata is now self-aware, I guess. But he's just a Watson. But this being thinks he'll still arrive at the truth anyway. I have to admit, I don't understand this very well.
And then, despite there supposedly being no alcohol, Sakuya starts acting drunk. Also, "drunk off the atmosphere", huh? Okay, whatever you say.
I explain in the video about what "Chiquitita" means. But just to reiterate, it means "tiny girl". What the heck was Inagaki thinking? :D
Just a nitpick here. The narration says that Sakuya reads the name of the fortunate-telling house. Presumably, she would have read the translation, which is レムの占い屋 (REMU no uranai-ya). But the voice doesn't say that exactly. It's phrased differently: "Uranai-ya-san no REMU-chan...". That's just a little misleading, if you care about that kind of thing.
And once again, we see that LEM is quite elusive. Despite that, Hinata encountered her before even entering Babylon. But more importantly, Yoshida has also encountered her, so it would be quite valuable to talk to him.
Hmm. "Seeking the sunlight", huh? Hinata feels as if this place was built for his sake. Although, I don't have a clear idea about this.
true free will
Apparently, there's no alcohol in the drinks in this virtual world. But what does that even mean? It's a virtual world, after all. There isn't really anything there; it's all just a stream of sensations, or so I assume. Can a virtual drink make someone drunk through sensation alone?
So, Hinata deduces the strange man is Enlil. We don't know a real-world name yet, so that will have to do.
And then, his reasoning triggers another comment by the mysterious eye. So Hinata is now self-aware, I guess. But he's just a Watson. But this being thinks he'll still arrive at the truth anyway. I have to admit, I don't understand this very well.
And then, despite there supposedly being no alcohol, Sakuya starts acting drunk. Also, "drunk off the atmosphere", huh? Okay, whatever you say.
I explain in the video about what "Chiquitita" means. But just to reiterate, it means "tiny girl". What the heck was Inagaki thinking? :D
Just a nitpick here. The narration says that Sakuya reads the name of the fortunate-telling house. Presumably, she would have read the translation, which is レムの占い屋 (REMU no uranai-ya). But the voice doesn't say that exactly. It's phrased differently: "Uranai-ya-san no REMU-chan...". That's just a little misleading, if you care about that kind of thing.
And once again, we see that LEM is quite elusive. Despite that, Hinata encountered her before even entering Babylon. But more importantly, Yoshida has also encountered her, so it would be quite valuable to talk to him.
Session done. That was a nice long one. I actually kind of liked going on for that long, so I went over two hours in the next session as well. But for right now, here's the full session 4.
Route A—Session 4 (full)
No additional notes this time. I actually didn't cut any Keyword readings out of the part videos, as I thought the ones I read were all important.
#15, originally posted Mar 4 2016, 10:46 AM
Route A—Session 05, part 1: Herbal Remedy
Hinata and Sakuya discuss what they should do from this point; Hinata wants to attack the Ziggurat head-on, but Sakuya talks some sense into him. The topic turns to his relationship with Mutsuki. In the morning, they head home, and she's very happy to hear that he can now sleep well. Realizing that makes him happy too, leading to a slightly embarrassing encounter with the Shinozuka twins, which in turn, makes him fantasize about what it would be like to argue with Mutsuki the way they argue with each other. After Sakuya wakes him up with a call saying she's coming over to his house, he goes back to sleep, and has a vision of two strange figures saying strange things about him. Then he wakes up again to find Sakuya there; she feeds him food and herbal tea, and he falls asleep for a third time.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
siblings' opposites
Hinata reminds me a bit of myself in some ways. When Sakuya remarks about the sun being yellow, he immediately thinks of astronomical facts. Astronomy isn't as much of an interest for me as some other things, but this is similar to the kind of thinking I engage in myself at times. In this case, though, I think we do differ in that I sort of get what she's saying, while Hinata does not. Maybe it's just a difference in age, though.
mother's
In Hinata's dream/vision/whatever, he (apparently) sees the silhouettes of two people, a man and a woman. At least one of them looks familiar. If you remember the protagonist selection choice, way back at the end of the prologue, this man was the one on the far right. (I wonder what's up with his right hand. I always thought it looked odd. It's like a shadow puppet of a dog or something.) I'm not certain, but the woman may be another of the protagonists, whose route we will be going through much later.
Anyway, I'm not sure what she means by Hinata's "true goal", even after having gone through this route once. I guess it's not finding Mutsuki, though? And why does the man stay silent? Maybe he is speaking, and we just can't hear him for some reason. But then, she seems to think he really isn't speaking.
Supposedly, Hinata breaks out of a dream. But the world he wakes up in seems to be the same. Then is this just a change of his mindset? I don't understand this.
Sakuya is there by his bed. When she's feeding him, we get a couple of nice closeup CGs. I have to say, though, the art style of the characters always looked a little weird to me. No offense to Soyosoyo. But there are some things that look just a little disturbing to me. Case in point:
I think because of the prominent rings in those eyes, the smile here, taken out of context, could be seen as a little creepy. It's not just Sakuya, though. When I look carefully, I can see that all of the characters seem to have those rings, though they're more pronounced in her eyes, probably because of the color.
I have to wonder why they're drawn like that. Real human eyes don't look like that at all. Then again, real human eyes aren't the size they're usually drawn in Japanese styles. I know that's in order to emphasize them, so the audience can more easily read expressions. Is that the case with the rings too, then?
Man, what's up with Hinata's mother? Was it just her character to not be able to do anything herself, or is there more to it than that? Well, I guess that explains how she ended up in a hospital, though. A bit sad.
And the tea is brewed from red clover (trifolium pratense?). Mitsuhiko left behind a clover leaf. Is it just a coincidence? What species was that leaf again? Oh, it didn't say. Hinata may not know, then. Personally, I had assumed it was white clover (trifolium repens), probably because that's what grows in the area where I live. But who knows?
Hinata reminds me a bit of myself in some ways. When Sakuya remarks about the sun being yellow, he immediately thinks of astronomical facts. Astronomy isn't as much of an interest for me as some other things, but this is similar to the kind of thinking I engage in myself at times. In this case, though, I think we do differ in that I sort of get what she's saying, while Hinata does not. Maybe it's just a difference in age, though.
mother's
In Hinata's dream/vision/whatever, he (apparently) sees the silhouettes of two people, a man and a woman. At least one of them looks familiar. If you remember the protagonist selection choice, way back at the end of the prologue, this man was the one on the far right. (I wonder what's up with his right hand. I always thought it looked odd. It's like a shadow puppet of a dog or something.) I'm not certain, but the woman may be another of the protagonists, whose route we will be going through much later.
Anyway, I'm not sure what she means by Hinata's "true goal", even after having gone through this route once. I guess it's not finding Mutsuki, though? And why does the man stay silent? Maybe he is speaking, and we just can't hear him for some reason. But then, she seems to think he really isn't speaking.
Supposedly, Hinata breaks out of a dream. But the world he wakes up in seems to be the same. Then is this just a change of his mindset? I don't understand this.
Sakuya is there by his bed. When she's feeding him, we get a couple of nice closeup CGs. I have to say, though, the art style of the characters always looked a little weird to me. No offense to Soyosoyo. But there are some things that look just a little disturbing to me. Case in point:
I think because of the prominent rings in those eyes, the smile here, taken out of context, could be seen as a little creepy. It's not just Sakuya, though. When I look carefully, I can see that all of the characters seem to have those rings, though they're more pronounced in her eyes, probably because of the color.
I have to wonder why they're drawn like that. Real human eyes don't look like that at all. Then again, real human eyes aren't the size they're usually drawn in Japanese styles. I know that's in order to emphasize them, so the audience can more easily read expressions. Is that the case with the rings too, then?
Man, what's up with Hinata's mother? Was it just her character to not be able to do anything herself, or is there more to it than that? Well, I guess that explains how she ended up in a hospital, though. A bit sad.
And the tea is brewed from red clover (trifolium pratense?). Mitsuhiko left behind a clover leaf. Is it just a coincidence? What species was that leaf again? Oh, it didn't say. Hinata may not know, then. Personally, I had assumed it was white clover (trifolium repens), probably because that's what grows in the area where I live. But who knows?
#16, originally posted Mar 5 2016, 01:18 PM
Route A—Session 05, part 2: Sun God
Hinata wakes late at night from a dreamless sleep, feeling well. Even though Sakuya had entered the house without his help earlier, it seems the door is chained, and both keys are accounted for; he suspects Sakuya of doing something wrong, but puts it aside. He starts a search of Mutsuki's hard drive for the name "Shamash". Then he finds the hint that gets him into the Shamash account. Inside Babylon, he blows away all opposition, causing Chiquitita to start following him in admiration. He heads to the Ziggurat, and gets into a fight with an admin.
The notes this time are even more copious than usual. I don't know if I was just of a mind to pick on details a lot, or there just happened to be a lot of details that caught my attention. Anyway, here they are:
Spoiler: click to toggle
i'm late
Well, this is really weird. Hinata is sure he locked the door when he got home, because it's a habit, so he probably did. Yet, Sakuya was there when he woke up earlier, and now she's gone again. He didn't just dream it, either: she left behind her red clover brew and a note.
So, how did she get in, and how did she leave while keeping the chain on the door? It's not like some kind of locked-room mystery; it's clearly possible. The question is just what method was used. A few possibilities come to mind:
Actually, something else comes to mind. Does this house only have one exterior door? Don't most houses have at least two, for safety and other reasons? Or maybe some Japanese houses only have one? But if there is more than one, Hinata didn't check the other one. Maybe she went out the back door. Of course, it's still a strange thing to do, even at a close friend's house you don't live at.
The thing about memes (analogy to genes) is something I more or less knew about already, but the end of the entry is what I found interesting. In short:
Sounds very cyberpunk. Although, perhaps "hacking" here is not confined to computer hacking, but is used in the broader sense of "playing around with the world". In that case, it definitely makes sense to me.
The pattern on the ceiling of Mutsuki's room intrigues me. Is it just a meaningless decoration? I doubt it. If something odd like that is being mentioned, even in passing, then there must be some meaning to it. Unfortunately, Hinata thinks little of it, so little can be said about it. However, now that I really think about it, a "whirlpool" is one possible description of what a spiral staircase looks like when you look up or down the center.
Hinata checks the air conditioner. When he falls down, it says the "plastic, angular case falls down". I'm not sure what this means. Is it talking about the air conditioner?? Or the chair??? Nah, they probably wouldn't call a chair a "case". If it was the air conditioner, its position in the picture suggests it would have fallen on Mutsuki's monitors. Clearly, that didn't happen, though. (I know it seems like I'm being unusally picky about details this time. But I think it's just a matter of chance.)
Like I said in the video, all three of the displayed stats for Shamash are powers of two. Someone really likes those. And who else would like them more than a computer geek? (Although a mathematician would probably be a close second.) That's the second time I've noticed powers of two. The first was the date, which is in 2032 (the 32 part is, although if you wanted the whole year number to be a power of two, it would have to be 2048), and it starts in the 4th month as well. Sadly, there is never a 32nd day of a month, which would have completed it.
Anyway, it says, "Level Data MAX". Does this mean his stats are as high as they can be for any character? Or does it just mean his HP and SP are at max for his level? If the former, then 64 seems an unusually small number for a maximum level in an RPG, at least to my knowledge, though admittedly I'm not into RPGs enough to know for sure how common it really is.
Oh, and Shamash has long hair. Hinata couldn't help noticing that. Yet another clue, perhaps, but I can't say any more than that.
i can't lose
Re "root authority": Some may claim—incorrectly—that root is like the "god" of a system. However, that role really belongs to the kernel. Even root can't do absolutely anything with a computer if the kernel doesn't allow it. The analogy of "president" is much closer, but still not quite right. After all, a president typically has limits on his or her power. I think a closer analogy would be that of an absolute monarch. I.e. there's no other authority to say root cannot do something, though some things are still not possible.
Hmm. This is supposed to be a game, right? So, why should the admins be concerned about a player managing to get somewhere they ordinarily would have a hard time reaching? It's not as if it would be a problem for them, right? Again, RPGs (especially MMOs) are not something I know a great deal about, so can someone explain why the admins would have a place inside the game world that is supposed to be reserved for them alone? If they need a place like that, wouldn't it be outside the world? Even if it has to be within the game for whatever reason (e.g. it's much more convenient to meet in cyberspace), they could still have a separate space that is not connected to the game world, so that players cannot reach it. Otherwise, the designers' thinking is too tied to the concept of physical space from the real world.
Well, it's not as if we know what the Ziggurat is really about, though.
And how does that "mental attack" work, exactly? Is the game reading his mind? I find that hard to believe, unless his brain is hooked up. I know they had something like that at the net café. But in Mutsuki's room, I thought it was less advanced than that. But even with those headsets, I'm not sure if that should work. It could be some other mechanism, though. In any case, that could really be a powerful attack, albeit a cruel one for a player.
Well, this is really weird. Hinata is sure he locked the door when he got home, because it's a habit, so he probably did. Yet, Sakuya was there when he woke up earlier, and now she's gone again. He didn't just dream it, either: she left behind her red clover brew and a note.
So, how did she get in, and how did she leave while keeping the chain on the door? It's not like some kind of locked-room mystery; it's clearly possible. The question is just what method was used. A few possibilities come to mind:
- As Hinata suggests, she has a duplicate key. This is quite disturbing, because her keeping it from him calls into question her trustworthiness as a friend. Well, she didn't necessarily borrow his key; maybe Mitsuhiko gave her one? Although, it doesn't seem like something he would have done, in light of his letter. Also, this doesn't address how she managed to get out while leaving the chain on (let alone how she got in if the chain was already on). I suppose she could have gone out a window or something.
- She entered and left via a window. A little less creepy for not having a secret key, I suppose. But at the same time more creepy for bypassing the door, when you'd think she would ring the doorbell and such. Plus, it can definitely be considered a crime.
- Something even weirder is going on. Well, duh. Of course, weird things are going on. But I mean specifically with Sakuya or something. What that something might be, I'm not going to try to guess. There just isn't enough information at this point.
Actually, something else comes to mind. Does this house only have one exterior door? Don't most houses have at least two, for safety and other reasons? Or maybe some Japanese houses only have one? But if there is more than one, Hinata didn't check the other one. Maybe she went out the back door. Of course, it's still a strange thing to do, even at a close friend's house you don't live at.
The thing about memes (analogy to genes) is something I more or less knew about already, but the end of the entry is what I found interesting. In short:
- genes ⟶ sex
- memes ⟶ hacking
Sounds very cyberpunk. Although, perhaps "hacking" here is not confined to computer hacking, but is used in the broader sense of "playing around with the world". In that case, it definitely makes sense to me.
The pattern on the ceiling of Mutsuki's room intrigues me. Is it just a meaningless decoration? I doubt it. If something odd like that is being mentioned, even in passing, then there must be some meaning to it. Unfortunately, Hinata thinks little of it, so little can be said about it. However, now that I really think about it, a "whirlpool" is one possible description of what a spiral staircase looks like when you look up or down the center.
Hinata checks the air conditioner. When he falls down, it says the "plastic, angular case falls down". I'm not sure what this means. Is it talking about the air conditioner?? Or the chair??? Nah, they probably wouldn't call a chair a "case". If it was the air conditioner, its position in the picture suggests it would have fallen on Mutsuki's monitors. Clearly, that didn't happen, though. (I know it seems like I'm being unusally picky about details this time. But I think it's just a matter of chance.)
Like I said in the video, all three of the displayed stats for Shamash are powers of two. Someone really likes those. And who else would like them more than a computer geek? (Although a mathematician would probably be a close second.) That's the second time I've noticed powers of two. The first was the date, which is in 2032 (the 32 part is, although if you wanted the whole year number to be a power of two, it would have to be 2048), and it starts in the 4th month as well. Sadly, there is never a 32nd day of a month, which would have completed it.
Anyway, it says, "Level Data MAX". Does this mean his stats are as high as they can be for any character? Or does it just mean his HP and SP are at max for his level? If the former, then 64 seems an unusually small number for a maximum level in an RPG, at least to my knowledge, though admittedly I'm not into RPGs enough to know for sure how common it really is.
Oh, and Shamash has long hair. Hinata couldn't help noticing that. Yet another clue, perhaps, but I can't say any more than that.
i can't lose
Re "root authority": Some may claim—incorrectly—that root is like the "god" of a system. However, that role really belongs to the kernel. Even root can't do absolutely anything with a computer if the kernel doesn't allow it. The analogy of "president" is much closer, but still not quite right. After all, a president typically has limits on his or her power. I think a closer analogy would be that of an absolute monarch. I.e. there's no other authority to say root cannot do something, though some things are still not possible.
Hmm. This is supposed to be a game, right? So, why should the admins be concerned about a player managing to get somewhere they ordinarily would have a hard time reaching? It's not as if it would be a problem for them, right? Again, RPGs (especially MMOs) are not something I know a great deal about, so can someone explain why the admins would have a place inside the game world that is supposed to be reserved for them alone? If they need a place like that, wouldn't it be outside the world? Even if it has to be within the game for whatever reason (e.g. it's much more convenient to meet in cyberspace), they could still have a separate space that is not connected to the game world, so that players cannot reach it. Otherwise, the designers' thinking is too tied to the concept of physical space from the real world.
Well, it's not as if we know what the Ziggurat is really about, though.
And how does that "mental attack" work, exactly? Is the game reading his mind? I find that hard to believe, unless his brain is hooked up. I know they had something like that at the net café. But in Mutsuki's room, I thought it was less advanced than that. But even with those headsets, I'm not sure if that should work. It could be some other mechanism, though. In any case, that could really be a powerful attack, albeit a cruel one for a player.
#17, originally posted Mar 6 2016, 08:35 AM
Route A—Session 05, part 3: Divination
Hinata (as Shamash) awakes to find Chiquitita caring for him, since he did a lot of damage to himself with his own attack. Chiquitita guides him to a meeting place of DlroW, and Shamash introduces himself. He finds out something troubling about Sin. After the DlroW members depart, LEM appears and reads his fortune; she seems different this time.
Tarot card images are from Rider-Waite-Smith deck.
Spoiler: click to toggle
i can't lose
Chiquitita says Hinata severely damaged the Ziggurat. But I have to wonder why a player would even be allowed to damage such a place, or to be more precise, why such a place is subject to damage.
beyond the lovely echo
Just a minor thing, but how did these DlroW people actually get a picture of LEM, if she's so secretive? Were they able to take the hologram equivalent of a screenshot? Or did they recreate her appearance somehow, say, by using a stock model and posing it that way?
When telling the DlroW guys about meeting LEM, I feel like Hinata is bending the truth just a little. He says "in front of the gate to Babylon". It's true, in a sense. Except he meant "gate" as in a computer in the real world and "Babylon" as in the game itself. Incidentally, where would this gate to the in-game city be? Is there a gate-like place in Shinjuku? Did Shamash!Hinata pass through it?
Hmm. Side effects of cyberware are inhibited by stimulating a desire for death??! Didn't say what those side effects are, though.
Also, HE is associated with Thanatos, while Ishtar with Eros, whatever that means.
On January 15, 1990, telephone servie (including 9-1-1) in several cities did go down for several hours, an event known as the Martin Luther King Day Crash. As far as my meager research can determine, it was due to a bug in AT&T's Unix system, rather than hackers or crackers. No real mystery there.
So, they're saying that Enlil dealt in these drugs? And this Sin does now? I don't know what to make of this, but I'll file it away like the many other bits of information.
eye that foresees all
I'm afraid I don't understand much at all about tarot, let alone tarot divination. Well, I suppose that's to be expected, since I don't believe in divination at all, so I've never been interested enough to try to understand it. Maybe I'll just try to remember this and analyze it in detail later.
However, there are some bits that sound interesting: "go back to the starting point" and "make the right choice" sound a bit like the medium of this story. Also, "The biggest cause that lead to your current situation was trivial deception and silence. In other words, miscommunication." This could mean a lot of things. Of course, there is the lack of communication between Hinata and Mutsuki. But also, I'm reminded of what seem to me like choices that I think will open up later. If so, then it's basically saying that this path of the story is doomed. But I could easily be barking up the wrong tree there.
Fortune teller LEM is surprised when Shamash's "true nature" doesn't match his apparent identity. I guess. Well, it wasn't Hinata's character originally. Does this mean the person currently behind the LEM avatar knew the original Shamash (or, in other words, a person who might be Mitsuhiko)?
But at the end, she recognizes him as Hinata. How? Maybe she has admin privileges?
Chiquitita says Hinata severely damaged the Ziggurat. But I have to wonder why a player would even be allowed to damage such a place, or to be more precise, why such a place is subject to damage.
beyond the lovely echo
Just a minor thing, but how did these DlroW people actually get a picture of LEM, if she's so secretive? Were they able to take the hologram equivalent of a screenshot? Or did they recreate her appearance somehow, say, by using a stock model and posing it that way?
When telling the DlroW guys about meeting LEM, I feel like Hinata is bending the truth just a little. He says "in front of the gate to Babylon". It's true, in a sense. Except he meant "gate" as in a computer in the real world and "Babylon" as in the game itself. Incidentally, where would this gate to the in-game city be? Is there a gate-like place in Shinjuku? Did Shamash!Hinata pass through it?
Hmm. Side effects of cyberware are inhibited by stimulating a desire for death??! Didn't say what those side effects are, though.
Also, HE is associated with Thanatos, while Ishtar with Eros, whatever that means.
On January 15, 1990, telephone servie (including 9-1-1) in several cities did go down for several hours, an event known as the Martin Luther King Day Crash. As far as my meager research can determine, it was due to a bug in AT&T's Unix system, rather than hackers or crackers. No real mystery there.
So, they're saying that Enlil dealt in these drugs? And this Sin does now? I don't know what to make of this, but I'll file it away like the many other bits of information.
eye that foresees all
I'm afraid I don't understand much at all about tarot, let alone tarot divination. Well, I suppose that's to be expected, since I don't believe in divination at all, so I've never been interested enough to try to understand it. Maybe I'll just try to remember this and analyze it in detail later.
However, there are some bits that sound interesting: "go back to the starting point" and "make the right choice" sound a bit like the medium of this story. Also, "The biggest cause that lead to your current situation was trivial deception and silence. In other words, miscommunication." This could mean a lot of things. Of course, there is the lack of communication between Hinata and Mutsuki. But also, I'm reminded of what seem to me like choices that I think will open up later. If so, then it's basically saying that this path of the story is doomed. But I could easily be barking up the wrong tree there.
Fortune teller LEM is surprised when Shamash's "true nature" doesn't match his apparent identity. I guess. Well, it wasn't Hinata's character originally. Does this mean the person currently behind the LEM avatar knew the original Shamash (or, in other words, a person who might be Mitsuhiko)?
But at the end, she recognizes him as Hinata. How? Maybe she has admin privileges?
#18, originally posted Mar 7 2016, 10:35 AM
This one is really short. I really tried to find more balanced break points, but it didn't work out.
Route A—Session 05, part 4: Salvaged Letter
Hinata logs out of Babylon, and sees that the file search he started earlier found something: a letter from Mutsuki. It reveals something very interesting about Shamash. It also opens up a puzzle that promises to lead to her. Then Sakuya calls and reveals that Midori has been out of touch. They go out to breakfast.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
must connect white and black
Hinata restores Mutsuki's letter from the virtual trash. I wonder why she did that. I suppose we could very well assume that she wanted him to go searching for Shamash or something, and find it that way. But I'm not really satisfied with that explanation. It's not as if anyone couldn't check the trash to begin with. It provides almost no security. It also doesn't seem like much of a puzzle, though maybe just the act of looking for it was important. However, I also wonder if she really meant to discard it, and just didn't get the chance to finish the job. Or was she indecisive about it?
Hinata asks, "Is something wrong?" and when he clarifies, she says, "That's what you meant". What's that about, I wonder? What else did she think he could have meant? Another strange thing with Sakuya, possibly.
Hinata restores Mutsuki's letter from the virtual trash. I wonder why she did that. I suppose we could very well assume that she wanted him to go searching for Shamash or something, and find it that way. But I'm not really satisfied with that explanation. It's not as if anyone couldn't check the trash to begin with. It provides almost no security. It also doesn't seem like much of a puzzle, though maybe just the act of looking for it was important. However, I also wonder if she really meant to discard it, and just didn't get the chance to finish the job. Or was she indecisive about it?
Hinata asks, "Is something wrong?" and when he clarifies, she says, "That's what you meant". What's that about, I wonder? What else did she think he could have meant? Another strange thing with Sakuya, possibly.
#19, originally posted Mar 8 2016, 12:03 PM
Route A—Session 05, part 5: Memory Sync
Sakuya talks about her concern for Midori, who has been dating someone she met in Babylon. Because of a fight they had, it would be too awkward to check on her IRL, so Hinata suggests trying out the Final Scenario. But when they log in, it turns out their characters experienced things in their absence, and now those experiences are "downloaded" to them; the process is a little bewildering. LEM makes another appearance, acting more like the first time she appeared.
Wow, this time I wrote a lot of notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
fluttering wings in the city of shadows
Hinata's thought about bringing a drink while playing Babylon raises a question in my mind about the user interface. As far as I can tell, Mutsuki's computer is equipped with some sort of 3D image projection (incorrectly called holograms), and apparently the player can still use the keyboard and such to provide input, though a camera and microphone exist to interpret his/her movement and speech.
However, at the net café, it seems they have a sort of brain interface device. It's not clear just what that does. Actually, the narration called them "brainwave support headsets", so they might just be the sort of devices that are starting to come out now, essentially EEG devices that attempt to interpret commands out of the signals they can read. Right now, they are very hard to use, as they require the user to concentrate intensely, and even then they aren't very reliable. But I suppose that by 2032, the technology will be much better.
This AIO system is interesting in a way. Having a sort of agent that acts like you sounds like it could be fun, I guess. But there are a couple of problems I can see with it:
So, there's apparently a system that promotes ethical behavior. I suppose what Shamash did recently would be considered bad under that system. Good job, Hinata.
There's that HE again. And "the true god of biocomputers"? Is HE some sort of virtual entity haunting computer systems, then? I guess we'll have to wait for route D to (supposedly) get that perspective.
And despite what I said about accuracy of personality, the AIO system surprises a bit by registering Hinata and Sakuya as a couple for the Final Scenario. It's a bit scary, really. It did this before they even thought of doing it themselves. Well, I suppose it made sense to do so. Was it really able to predict that based on observing their behavior for four hours?
Apparently, HINATA and SAKUYA met Midori (or her shadow) at some point. But who was the guy with her? He sounds familiar. Based on their reactions, it sounds as if not only does he know Sakuya and Hinata, but also they just figured out something about each other. Oh, I get it now (took me long enough). I bet he's Yoshida. And Midori just figured out that the one she's been dating is a classmate she wouldn't have been interested in in real life.
An unknown woman in a corridor somewhere makes some interesting comments. "You guys don't have any? How useless. It'll be a long wait until the next new moon." I think I can figure something out from this. I didn't understand it at first, but she might be talking about Destrudo and/or Libido. She is trying to meet Sin as well.
Hinata touches upon the "simulated reality" notion that some philosophers and other thinkers have pondered for years. I'll leave it up to readers to study that further, if so desired.
"Doesn't it feel like someone's watching you from slightly above the back of your head?" What a strangely specific thing to say. Is this something that people in real life report experiencing, or is it just something that Hinata is experiencing? In any case, Hinata seems to notice the gazing eye just briefly. Interestingly, it almost seems as if the eye wants to be noticed. It causes Hinata a bit of confusion, though.
And now, Hinata raises the same issue I raised in the first point above, from the other perspective, albeit in less detail. They can't be sure they actually talked to Yoshida and Midori and not just their Shadows.
LEM appears again. But this is different from the one at the fortune-telling shop. More specifically, she sounds like the voice mail sent to Sakuya's phone. Could we also say she is the same as the one that showed up on Mutsuki's computer? Maybe. But I think it would be premature to assume so. There could be three or even more for all we know.
Also, she sounds a bit like the young girl from the park, the one that had been chasing the escaped rabbit. She, too, saw Sakuya as rabbit-like, and she said a similar "boing, boing" thing. Well, she doesn't sound exactly like her, but there are enough similarities for me to notice.
I have to agree with Hinata that LEM is Mutsuki's Shadow. That still leaves the fortune telling encounter, though. Was that not Mutsuki? Or perhaps she was just pretending to be someone else.
Hinata's thought about bringing a drink while playing Babylon raises a question in my mind about the user interface. As far as I can tell, Mutsuki's computer is equipped with some sort of 3D image projection (incorrectly called holograms), and apparently the player can still use the keyboard and such to provide input, though a camera and microphone exist to interpret his/her movement and speech.
However, at the net café, it seems they have a sort of brain interface device. It's not clear just what that does. Actually, the narration called them "brainwave support headsets", so they might just be the sort of devices that are starting to come out now, essentially EEG devices that attempt to interpret commands out of the signals they can read. Right now, they are very hard to use, as they require the user to concentrate intensely, and even then they aren't very reliable. But I suppose that by 2032, the technology will be much better.
This AIO system is interesting in a way. Having a sort of agent that acts like you sounds like it could be fun, I guess. But there are a couple of problems I can see with it:
- In something like this that is so realistic it's difficult to distinguish from reality, other people might have a hard time telling whether it's really you or not. The Shadows say they don't do anything their player wouldn't want them to, but is that really true? How can the system really know with certainty what a player's desires, plans, etc., really are? Sure, reading their behaviors helps. Maybe reading their brainwaves, when available, helps too. But people are sometimes capable of surprising even others who think they know them well. Such behaviors often cannot be predicted because the circumstances that trigger them are not something the person usually encounters.
Also, what if the Shadow gets cracked? Theoretically, an attacker could make it do pretty much anything. Other people might assume that's just something the player was doing (or would do, if they know it's a Shadow). Only those close to them would notice the anomaly, unless it was crazy behavior. All of this leads into my second point.
- When a player logs in, their Shadow's experiences are replayed to their senses. There are a couple of reasons this could be bad. One is just the fact that the experiences are so vivid, the mind could have a hard time distinguishing this fiction from their real experiences. In effect, the Shadow's experiences almost become reality for the player. Hinata himself thinks along these lines, that if they were equipped with biocomputers, there might be no way for them to distinguish fantasy and reality. So, here's the question: over time, is it the Shadow's personality that conforms to the player's, or is it the player's personality that conforms to the Shadow's?
And the more sinister part: if a Shadow is cracked (or even just taken over by some admin) and made to do whatever, wouldn't this become part of the player's memory? Would they, perhaps, come to believe that they themselves had taken those actions? I think, if they deviated too conspicuously from the player's personality, the player might refuse to believe it, but if it were subtle enough...
So, there's apparently a system that promotes ethical behavior. I suppose what Shamash did recently would be considered bad under that system. Good job, Hinata.
There's that HE again. And "the true god of biocomputers"? Is HE some sort of virtual entity haunting computer systems, then? I guess we'll have to wait for route D to (supposedly) get that perspective.
And despite what I said about accuracy of personality, the AIO system surprises a bit by registering Hinata and Sakuya as a couple for the Final Scenario. It's a bit scary, really. It did this before they even thought of doing it themselves. Well, I suppose it made sense to do so. Was it really able to predict that based on observing their behavior for four hours?
Apparently, HINATA and SAKUYA met Midori (or her shadow) at some point. But who was the guy with her? He sounds familiar. Based on their reactions, it sounds as if not only does he know Sakuya and Hinata, but also they just figured out something about each other. Oh, I get it now (took me long enough). I bet he's Yoshida. And Midori just figured out that the one she's been dating is a classmate she wouldn't have been interested in in real life.
An unknown woman in a corridor somewhere makes some interesting comments. "You guys don't have any? How useless. It'll be a long wait until the next new moon." I think I can figure something out from this. I didn't understand it at first, but she might be talking about Destrudo and/or Libido. She is trying to meet Sin as well.
Hinata touches upon the "simulated reality" notion that some philosophers and other thinkers have pondered for years. I'll leave it up to readers to study that further, if so desired.
"Doesn't it feel like someone's watching you from slightly above the back of your head?" What a strangely specific thing to say. Is this something that people in real life report experiencing, or is it just something that Hinata is experiencing? In any case, Hinata seems to notice the gazing eye just briefly. Interestingly, it almost seems as if the eye wants to be noticed. It causes Hinata a bit of confusion, though.
And now, Hinata raises the same issue I raised in the first point above, from the other perspective, albeit in less detail. They can't be sure they actually talked to Yoshida and Midori and not just their Shadows.
LEM appears again. But this is different from the one at the fortune-telling shop. More specifically, she sounds like the voice mail sent to Sakuya's phone. Could we also say she is the same as the one that showed up on Mutsuki's computer? Maybe. But I think it would be premature to assume so. There could be three or even more for all we know.
Also, she sounds a bit like the young girl from the park, the one that had been chasing the escaped rabbit. She, too, saw Sakuya as rabbit-like, and she said a similar "boing, boing" thing. Well, she doesn't sound exactly like her, but there are enough similarities for me to notice.
I have to agree with Hinata that LEM is Mutsuki's Shadow. That still leaves the fortune telling encounter, though. Was that not Mutsuki? Or perhaps she was just pretending to be someone else.
Here's the full session:
Route A—Session 5 (full)
No notes to add for this.
#20, originally posted Mar 10 2016, 02:52 PM
Route A—Session 06, part 1: Assembling the Clues
Hinata returns home, and reflects on the nature of Shadows and their reality. He also flashes back to what Chiquitita just told them about scenario Ashur, that couples are being forcibly separated and sent to separate time periods, and that their failures might be causing them to commit suicide. He also remembers Sakuya confessing her loneliness to him (and chiding him for not understanding her). Then he gets started on solving the crossword puzzle. After getting a few words and then hitting a wall, he dreams of LEM leading him to the library.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
all the mysteries are...
So, Ashur involves time travel? I said a little of it already, and this is a bit of a tangent, but simulating any sort of time manipulation, including time travel, in a multiplayer environment would generally not work, for a couple of reasons. In the case of traveling to the past, there is the issue of causality. With a single-player game, I could see creating all sorts of weird effects, but they may not work when multiple players are involved. It gets worse if you wanted to have time pass differently for different people; it's just not possible without either (a) actually making time pass differently (what, you're going to put someone in a spaceship close to the speed of light, or deep in a huge gravity well?) or (b) manipulating their minds into perceiving time differently, say, with drugs or hypnosis, neither of which is necessarily reliable, to say nothing of probably being unethical.
But I guess if it's just for a change of setting, it's not really a problem. For now, I'll assume that's what's happening here.
But this whole thing really is shady, if people are being driven to suicide over it.
This "Imaginary Children" thing may have at least some basis in reality. I think some people do feel along these lines. However, I'm not sure I agree about the cause. Why would people suddenly be born with certain mental makeups to match a society that has come into existence only very recently in human history. I'll leave it for now, though. Maybe I'll say more in the next route.
Also, this sense of unreality has been brought up a couple of times before. I mentioned the simulation hypothesis (sort of), i.e. that for all we know, our own reality could just be an extremely detailed simulation. Supposing this were true, though, why would a presumably simulated reality within what we've known as true reality feel more real?
Hmmmm... Sakuya never invites Hinata to her house. Well, it's not as if she has to. Is it really that odd? I don't know. But I can't help wondering what might be there. Come to think of it, what is with her father? Considering how young they were when they met, I think most parents would be happy that their child is getting along with someone else their own age. But this guy didn't seem to want Hinata to get close to her. What if it's not that he distrusted Hinata, but that he was guarding some secret, and he was watching to make sure it wasn't accidentally revealed?
There are some mistakes in the text that shows the partially filled-in words of the puzzle. For instance, for "shadow", it shows "-H*--", when it should be "-H*---", and "Anunnaki" is shown as "---N---". As far as I know, this puzzle was created by the translation team, to replace what was in the Japanese version, since most readers would have a hard time understanding it. It would have been nice if they'd proofread this text a bit more. Well, at least the puzzle itself is okay.
So, Ashur involves time travel? I said a little of it already, and this is a bit of a tangent, but simulating any sort of time manipulation, including time travel, in a multiplayer environment would generally not work, for a couple of reasons. In the case of traveling to the past, there is the issue of causality. With a single-player game, I could see creating all sorts of weird effects, but they may not work when multiple players are involved. It gets worse if you wanted to have time pass differently for different people; it's just not possible without either (a) actually making time pass differently (what, you're going to put someone in a spaceship close to the speed of light, or deep in a huge gravity well?) or (b) manipulating their minds into perceiving time differently, say, with drugs or hypnosis, neither of which is necessarily reliable, to say nothing of probably being unethical.
But I guess if it's just for a change of setting, it's not really a problem. For now, I'll assume that's what's happening here.
But this whole thing really is shady, if people are being driven to suicide over it.
This "Imaginary Children" thing may have at least some basis in reality. I think some people do feel along these lines. However, I'm not sure I agree about the cause. Why would people suddenly be born with certain mental makeups to match a society that has come into existence only very recently in human history. I'll leave it for now, though. Maybe I'll say more in the next route.
Also, this sense of unreality has been brought up a couple of times before. I mentioned the simulation hypothesis (sort of), i.e. that for all we know, our own reality could just be an extremely detailed simulation. Supposing this were true, though, why would a presumably simulated reality within what we've known as true reality feel more real?
Hmmmm... Sakuya never invites Hinata to her house. Well, it's not as if she has to. Is it really that odd? I don't know. But I can't help wondering what might be there. Come to think of it, what is with her father? Considering how young they were when they met, I think most parents would be happy that their child is getting along with someone else their own age. But this guy didn't seem to want Hinata to get close to her. What if it's not that he distrusted Hinata, but that he was guarding some secret, and he was watching to make sure it wasn't accidentally revealed?
There are some mistakes in the text that shows the partially filled-in words of the puzzle. For instance, for "shadow", it shows "-H*--", when it should be "-H*---", and "Anunnaki" is shown as "---N---". As far as I know, this puzzle was created by the translation team, to replace what was in the Japanese version, since most readers would have a hard time understanding it. It would have been nice if they'd proofread this text a bit more. Well, at least the puzzle itself is okay.
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