#3.6 stars | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meadowofdarts · 1 year

Text

A Play of Vigorous Wisdom (PART ONE)

Here it is, everyone! The awaited reader insert of 3.6's event.

Before we get into it, I want to say- HOLY SHIT I didn't expect that it would blow up immediately on the first day- I was so surprised at the amount of notifications I had LOL

Now, regarding the post, I did say I would allow a platonic relationship or a love interest, but not that many people said which they preferred. But only a few said they mostly wanted a pairing and were able to give out what they wanted as a love interest.

And from the few, the majority vote was Scaramouche/Wanderer. So this is a Wanderer x Reader pairing.

For those who wanted a different love interest - I am so sorry if Wanderer wasn't the love interest you were hoping for. but, don't go, I have a surprise for those people who wanted a different love interest. Check it out at the end of the post!

Anyways, sorry that this is a long ass author note but- I want to thank everyone. Whether you liked, reblogged, commented on the post, or followed my account, I truly appreciate the amount of support I got from that single day. You don't know how happy I was- I legit teared up, I really wasn't expecting it 😭

I hope I won't disappoint you guys with this, so thank you, and enjoy!

//////

You were walking towards the Sanctuary of Surasthana with millions of thoughts running through your head. Most of them (Actually all of them) are about your lover, formerly Scaramouche and now known as Wanderer. You figured that you were called by Nahida regarding him.

Which reminded you that you haven't seen Wanderer for quite some time.

On your way, you noticed some Akademiya students setting up booths nearby. You see one of the stalls included a cute star toy that reminded you a lot of the theme of the Akademiya Darshan - Rtawahist. You figured these stands have something to do with the upcoming Akademiya Extravaganza.

Recently, you enrolled yourself in Akademiya's Darshan - Vahumana. Since you're still trying to explore many areas of Sumeru, you figured that this Darshan could help expand your knowledge of Sumeru's history and learn about other nations.

You've heard of this festival from many of your peers in Vahumana. They said it was a fun influence event held by the Akademiya. The two main parts of the event were the Wisdom Gala and the Interdarshan Championship.

You figured you could watch the Interdarshan Championship while playing the fun booths of the Wisdom Gala.

Snapping out of your thoughts, you opened the entrance of the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Seeing the whole open area still gives you the chills. You looked ahead to see the God of Wisdom along with your said lover you haven't seen for a while.

"Ah, there you are!" Nahida beamed, noticing you. The indigo-haired male beside her turned in your direction too.

"Hello, Nahida. I hope I wasn't late," You said, walking up.

"Not at all! He had just arrived too." Gesturing towards Wanderer, who was already glancing at you.

You smiled at him as a 'hi' while he looked down, closed his eyes, and acknowledged your greeting.

She placed her hands on her arms, changing her expression. "Now that the two of you are here, I came here to discuss something with you two."

"Are you both aware of the festival coming soon?" She had asked.

You nodded. "The Akademiya Extravaganza? Yes, I have. While walking, I saw some students already setting it up."

"So, what about it?" Wanderer asked, speaking up for the first time. "Do you want us to participate in it?"

"Actually, yes," Nahida answered. "But, there is something I both would like you to do."

...

The three of you were discussing the topic Nahida asked you to come for. It took a while, but you and Wanderer agreed to the job given to you.

...

"That is all. Any questions?" The tiny god asked both of you.

You thought of it for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I understand. But, Kusanali, are you sure both of us can be representatives? Won't everyone think it will be unfair?"

"Don't worry, I don't want to be stuck with you either," Wanderer remarked as you shot him an annoyed look.

"Don't worry, I have already talked about this with the Sages and the Planning Committee, and they decided they will make an exception this year just for you two," answered Nahida.

"Hmm, alright." You nodded.

She then smiled. "Okay, you two can go now. I hope to see your progress in the festival soon."

The two of you walked out of the Sanctuary of Surasthana and strolled into the streets of Sumeru City.

"I didn't know you registered yourself in Vahumana. Is that why I haven't seen you in a while?" You asked as you two walked.

"Probably. And I didn't sign up in my own free will. It was Lesser Lord Kusanali that registered me in Vahumana." Wanderer said.

"You do know I am a member of Vahumana, right?"

"Of course, I know. You told me about your past works before."

"Then, how come I never heard of you? Usually, my friends would chat about new members added to the Darshan. Surely, I would've heard about you at least once."

He muttered. "It's probably because of the name I go by in the Darshan."

...

///FLASHBACK///

It was another tiring day at the Akademiya. You and your friends were seated at a table in the House of Daena, chatting and complaining about your classes and research.

"Hey, I saw a new guy coming into our class earlier. I think he is who I think he is." One of your friends shared.

You rolled your eyes playfully at them as you listened in while reading your book.

"Oh, yes. I've heard. So, you got Hat Guy in your class?" Your other friend asked. But what they said made you look at both with a confused expression.

"Huh? Who's Hat Guy?" You repeated making the two look at you.

"I don't know much, but I've heard from the other students that someone by the name 'Hat Guy' had made interesting inquires against a researcher regarding incidents of Inazuma." One of your friends answered.

Your other friend nodded. "Yeah. I've heard from my teacher that he has written such impressive essays. The professor gave me a glance at Hat Guy's work, and it was truly outstanding!"

"Hmm, he seems interesting." You trailed off. "But, really? What kind of name is Hat Guy?"

"Right? I was weirded out when I heard of his name." One of your friends agreed.

Your friend chimed in, "Oh, come on. It obviously can't be his real name. It's probably just an alias or something."

"But, why 'Hat Guy?' You wondered.

'Well, when I saw him earlier in my class, he did have a noticeable unique hat on him. Maybe it's that." Your friend shrugged.

...

//////

"Wait, your... 'Hat Guy'?" You confirmed as you watched him nod.

...

You were silent, processing the ridiculous yet amusing information you received about him.

He looked at you, seeing your blank face.

...

He then heard you let out a giggle. He sighed as he had expected this reaction.

Your little giggles turned into full-on laughter. (Luckily, the streets you guys were in are very crowded, so nobody focused their attention on you.)

He rolled his eyes as you continued laughing out loud.

"I-I CAN'T-! HAT GUY!" You wheeze out in the middle of your waves of laughter.

"Y-Y'know, if you told me *snickered*-you were signing up for Vahumana- I would've helped you pick a better name, and you chose Hat Guy." You trailed off, resuming laughing.

He groaned. "Oh, shut up, will you? It's not like I wanted to be named this way. It was Lesser Lord Kusanali's fault."

You laughed harder at that :D

...

Both of you were now in an empty alleyway to avoid attention. You two sat on crates as you sipped vigorously on a water bottle.

Your throat ached from laughing a lot, so Wanderer bought water for you.

"Are you better now?" He muttered as you wiped your mouth.

"Yeah, I think..." You giggled, still on about his name. "Sorry, it's just- It's so funny-"

Wanderer grunted. "You're not letting go of that name, are you?"

"Nope." You smiled.

"Alright then," He shrugged. "Then, let me help you get your mind off it for a while."

You raised your eyebrows, but before you knew it, you let out a surprised noise as his lips were now on yours.

It was a quick peck before he leaned away and kissed you again.

You cup his cheeks, pulling him away while laughing with a blush on your face. "Heh, what's this for?"

"Well, mainly to get your mind off a while. But, consider it a gift to you for not seeing you for a while." His words made your smile widen.

You wrapped your arms around him, burying your face in his shoulder. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." You feel him hugging back.

You two stayed like that for a moment before he softly grabbed your head and connected your lips again.

(author: LMAO- Is this OOC, am i doing his character right- wtf this isn't him?? reminding myself that he is now wanderer, not fatui scara. okay what am i doing, I'm so sorry everybody)

...

A few days have passed, and the Akademiya Extravaganza is now taking place. Many students from the darshans are looking around the booths and around Sumeru City.

You and Wanderer were holding hands, finding your way to the main venue of the Interdarshan Championship.

Finally, spotting it outside, you see many people already gathered around and saw behind the stage, which you assume are the other representatives.

Wanderer led you to where they stood but kept his close distance from them while wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

You didn't mind, as you don't know some of them. You could see in the corner of your eyes some of the representatives raising their eyebrows at the both of you.

You scanned through them and noticed a familiar forest watcher. You slightly waved at him, and he looked slightly surprised but waved back.

Just then, you hear a voice from the stage, which you assumed was the organizer, starting the event.

...

The Traveler and Paimon had just arrived at the venue, as they were here as guest commentators for the championship.

"Welcome, one and all, to the Akademiya Extravaganza!" The organizer, Kareena, welcomed.

"Now then, allow me to reveal the prizes for this iteration of the Interdarshan Championship--" She stated. "Fabulous monetary rewards, research funds, a limited-edition Genius Invokation TCG card… and the right to wear the Diadem of Knowledge. I believe that I need not elaborate as to how this is a symbol of great honor!"

The people muttered as they admired the Diadem of Knowledge.

"I believe that most of you have already seen the Diadem of Knowledge, or have heard tales about it."

"Twenty years ago, a researcher named Sachin bought it for a large sum of Mora before donating it to the Akademiya. The generous Championship prizes are also sourced from his sponsorship. Before we begin, allow me to express our gratitude to this researcher, who cannot be with us right now..."

...

The traveler spaced out for a moment, thinking something was wrong. But decide to listen to Kareena first.

"Alright, I'm sure we're all more than ready for the Championship to begin!" Kareena cheered.

"Now then, let's invite our six Darshan representatives to the stage! Our contestants are--"

"Representing Amurta, Tighnari!" Tighnari side-eyed the audience.

"Representing Spantamad, Cyno!" Cyno crossed his arms.

"Representing Rtawahist, Layla!" Layla shyly looked down.

"Representing Haravatat, Faruzan!" Faruzan slyly smiled.

"Representing Kshahrewar, Kaveh!" Kaveh showed a confident expression.

"And for Vahumana... Huh?" She looked behind. "Is Vahumana's representative not here yet?"

It was silent for a moment as Paimon whispered. "I wonder who's Vahumana's representative? It could be someone we know."

"Ooh, could it be (Name)?" Paimon silently hoped. "They are a member of Vahumana, right?" The traveler nodded.

Everyone was looking around for a sign of entrance until two new presences entered the stage.

"These introductions are pointless. Let's just get this over with."

Everyone turned to the pair that went upstage. You were standing next to Wanderer with neutral expressions.

"Eh? W-Wait a sec, why is he there with (Name)?" Paimon muttered in confusion as the traveler felt the same.

"Finally! Our final contestants are Vahumana's representatives: Hat Guy and (Name)!" He crossed his arms while you stood with one arm on your hips.

"Huh? Why are there two representatives for one Darshan?" One of the students muttered.

Another one answered them (Which the Traveler and Paimon's heard.) "Haven't you heard? The planning committee did announce that one of the Darshans would have two representatives."

"But isn't that like... I don't know, kind of unfair to the other representatives?"

"Well, I guess. But I heard that the committee decided hard on this and made an exception this year. The other representatives were aware of it too. But then again, they didn't say you aren't allowed to have a partner in this championship..."

"Hmm, that's true."

Paimon shrugs as she looks at the Traveler. Both traveling companions hear more about 'Hat Guy' and (Name)'s work in Vahumana. And they hear other people talk about the pair as representatives.

"It's so weird... Sure, I could get (Name), but him? He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would participate in competitions like this one."

"I'm quite puzzled, too..." The traveler muttered.

"Now that we have our contestants, the Championship will soon begin!" Kareena announced. "Who will triumph this time around? Hold on to your hats, because we're all in this ride together!"

"Huh, we really do know a lot of the contestants," Paimon said. "Ooh, right, we're guest commentators, aren't we? So figuring out everyone's reasons for participating is in our job description."

"Let's go ask them when we go say hi. Especially him… Paimon still thinks it's weird that he's here." Obviously referring to 'Hat Guy'

...

The guest commentators have talked with the representatives, catching up on them and asking about their reasons for participating. After chatting with Kaveh, Faruzan, and Layla, they only have two more people to go which are the Vahumana representatives.

You and Wanderer were chatting and observing the area around you until you noticed the two coming to you.

"Hi traveler, hi Paimon." You waved.

"Hi (Name)!" Paimon waved back until she turned to your lover. "Um, so... what... what, uh..."

"Just call me Hat Guy. That's the name I use in Vahumana." He said. You silently giggled.

"That sounds like a nickname, not a real name!" Paimon said.

"So I can't go by a simple, ordinary name?"

"Fine, suit yourself. Alright then, Hat Guy and (Name), why are you both taking part in the Interdarshan Championship? We're specially invited guest commentators, so play nice and answer our questions."

Wanderer smirks. "You could be matra for all I care. So what if we don't answer you? What then?"

"You...!" Paimon whined. "(Name)! Tell your boyfriend to behave properly and answer our question!"

You sweatdropped. "Well, I can't do anything about that. But I'll say this; we can't reveal our reasons for participating."

"You two aren't plotting something in secret, are you?" She questioned.

"Well, it's hard to say. Why don't you take a guess?" He teased back. You shook your head at him.

"Oh, Paimon's had it with you!" She exclaimed at him. "Fine, be that way! Then we won't ask why you're participating. Instead... Uh, why did you join Vahumana?"

Wanderer turned to them. "You two sure like to poke your noses where they don't belong. If I don't say anything, are you going to annoy me to death?"

He then signed and told his reason anyway, talking about how he refuted a researcher named Aqaba and made commentary on societal issues in Inazuma.

"But when Lesser Lord Kusanali heard about this, she went out of her way to get me registered in Vahumana... She used the name, Hat Guy."

"So it was Nahida's doing..." The traveler muttered.

You chimed in, laughing. "Honestly, I didn't even know he was in Vahumana until a few days ago. And he really had to surprise me with his name."

"Enough chit-chat. You're better off wasting your time with the other contestants." The indigo-haired male said, then smirked. "Someone's about to get very unlucky - wanna guess who?"

Both Traveler and Paimon had annoyed expressions. "How is anyone supposed to relax with you around!?"

Paimon muttered something to her partner, something about keeping a close eye, which amused you.

...

"I will now announce the rules of the first round of the competition. Please listen carefully!" Alhaitham announced, gaining everyone's attention.

"During the opening ceremony, Akademiya staff released several cages of butterflies, and many of them are now fluttering within Sumeru City. Amongst these butterflies, three of them will be special Swiftflies. They have a different appearance and also fly a little faster."

"Your objective is to find a Swiftfly and bring it to me. Three points will be awarded to the first participant to return, two to the second, and one point to the third. That is all for the first round. Should you require clarification on anything, please ask any of the other staff."

Every representative starts muttering to themselves, as you notice Spantamad's representative leaving already. You figured everyone was planning already.

"Well, we're definitely not doing this first round." You say as you walked up to Wanderer.

"Why? You want to go with them?" He asked.

"What? No!" You immediately shook your head. "I don't want to go around Sumeru to look for butterflies. Besides, I'm already terrible at catching crystal flies."

He deadpanned. "They are different. A butterfly isn't an elemental-life form like a crystal fly, idiot."

"I know that!" You huffed. "But, anyway, now what should we do?"

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment before making eye contact with the traveler. "...Hmph."

You looked behind him. "Huh? What is it?"

"It's nothing," Wanderer reassured. "But, I think I'll stay for a while to obverse the others. I'll meet you later."

"Oh, okay," You shrugged. "Well, I'm quite hungry, so I think I'll go to Puspa Cafe. I'll see you there?"

"Sure."

You smiled and kissed his cheek, making the corner of his lips turn upward. "Bye!"

...

The couple was sitting outside of Puspa Cafe, both enjoying their little date.

He stopped talking once he noticed someone coming. "What brings you two here?"

You turned to see the Traveler and Paimon again.

"Huh? Are you both here having coffee? Aren't you both supposed to be a participant?" Paimon asked.

"Well, heh, I got quite hungry." You sheepishly admitted.

"Is there really any need for us to take part while everyone's running around like it's some sort of carnival? Don't worry, we'll get involved once things actually get serious." Wanderer responded for us.

The two companions looked at each other, shrugging before ultimately leaving the two of you alone.

"Anyways, Hat Guy, I would like to ask you something." You said, teasing him with his new name.

He rolled his eyes. "Is that going to be your new name for me?"

"Would you prefer if I called you an umbrella?"

"...Tsk. What is it?"

You smiled. "Is it alright if we can go to the Wisdom Gala booths? I would like to play those cool games I saw!"

"Huh? I suppose." He replied. "But why? Just to remind you that you are already a Vahumana student."

"I know that, but I just want to see them!" You pouted.

He laughed. "Alright, alright. We'll go walk around and go to the nearest one."

...

You two were holding hands are you walked around Sumeru City. You guys have already been to one booth, which was Kshahrewar's, and you two decide to go to the other ones.

"Wow, I never thought I had such unique building skills." You beamed.

"Honestly, it was such a simple task. It's just a task of using your resources to help you gain the goal." He shrugged.

You chuckled. "Well, yeah, but it felt like I was building my own parkour."

You both hear rushing footsteps in your direction. You looked behind to see Layla with wide eyes.

She was staring at you while you awkwardly said. "Uhh, hello. Can I... help you with something?"

"Uh, (Name)?" Wanderer called out to you. "You have a butterfly on your head."

"Huh? I do?" You noticed the blue wings at the corner of your eyes. But the insect looked different than the normal ones. "Are these... one of the swift flies?"

You see Layla dropping her shoulders until you realize why she stared. "Hey, are you looking for this on my head? Go take it if you want."

She looked up very surprised as the Traveler and Paimon entered the scene.

...

Layla carefully took the Swiftfly off your head, still slightly confused as you reassured her with a smile.

"(Name)? You gave Layla the swift fly?" Paimon wondered.

You turned to them. "Huh? Yeah, why? Is that... not allowed?"

"Uh,- (Name) was it?" You turned as Layla called your name. "A-Are you sure you want to give me the swift fly? I mean, it went to you... after all."

"Oh well, I didn't participate in the first round, and I have no intention of stealing it from you. Besides, didn't you say you caught sight of it first? I think it's fair if you take it." You tell her.

"I..." Layla was at a loss for her words. "...Thank you."

"Wow, that's so nice of you, (Name)!" Paimon beamed.

"Really," You blushed. "It's no problem at all."

"Well, since you've caught the last swift fly, I assume the first round is over, then," Wanderer said.

"Oh, right!" Paimon turned to her companion. "Let's bring the swiftly back together with Layla!"

The trio waved you goodbye as you both continued on your way.

...

(author: i feel like the end was lazy- i'll make it up once part two comes out)-

BONUSES:

-Fighting For The Diadem (Cyno, Tighnari, Kaveh, Layla, Faruzan)

Thank you for reading! See you next time in part two!

PART ONE, PART TWO, PART THREE

taglist: @etherisy, @fanfictionenthusiast, @melobee, @cattycattitude, @timeofsilversstuff, @yourfuturebaee, @lifelesscloud, @sketcheeee, @godsblesstheboi, @swivy123, @that-mom-friend, @julia-scribbles, @llunariese, @seirenspinel, @anggurz, @stormyenglish-23, @inferisk0, @paracosm-life, @mochisgf, @fabimaou, @yuyukami, @kaocia, @sharkdays, @miyakoa

264 notes · View notes

genshinnrambles · 10 months

Text

[3.8] Technology as a False God: On "Evolution," the Duality of Machines, Replication, and Wisdom

“To recognize untruth as a condition of life: that is certainly to impugn the traditional ideas of value in a dangerous manner, and a philosophy which ventures to do so, has thereby alone placed itself beyond good and evil.” –Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

Before we move on to the nation of justice, I want to do one last inquiry into the narrative significance of machines and technology in Genshin’s 3.x patch cycle. Here, I’ll discuss how divinity (or “godhood”) and technology are treated as interchangeable tools to surpass fate and the boundaries of mortality, the potential problems with treating them this way, and propose an alternative relationship between humanity and technology as illustrated through Karkata, Benben, Tamimi, and Mehrak. By foregrounding machines, we learn something intriguing about ourselves and the “truth” of this world as we perceive it.

SPOILERS: All Sumeru Archon Quests, Caribert, the Golden Slumber and one out-of-context screenshot from Dual Evidence, the Dirge of Bilqis and its post-quests, Khvarena of Good and Evil, Nahida’s second Story Quest, Faruzan’s hangout, an out-of-context screenshot from Baizhu’s Story Quest, and major spoilers for Persona 5 strikers at the end. Also some dialogue from Shadows Amidst Snowstorms and A Parade of Providence, two limited-time events from 2.3 and 3.6 respectively.

Disclaimer: I have tried my best to write this post so that it stands on its own, but because it is still a sequel it will probably make the most sense with the context of part 1. Here are the previous posts leading up to this one:

Part 0: On Dreams, the Abyss, Forbidden Knowledge, and Wish Fulfillment

Part 1: The Uncanny, Fate and the Machine

Terminology: Machine is sometimes used interchangeably with “technology” in this post.

Technology or tool here is referring to technologies specifically used to pursue a wish like immortality in the face of existential dread, not the use of technology or medicine (which I do not address here, and is very difficult to separate from the former) to facilitate someone’s life who could otherwise not survive without that technology, or would have a more painful lived experience without it.

Also, though I don’t engage directly with “A Cyborg Manifesto” here, Donna Haraway’s ideas have greatly influenced my own over the years since I read her in college (although I mostly disagree with her on many points, or at least don’t go as far in boundary deconstruction as she does). I owe my interest in technology studies to her and that piece. Her essay is linked here and at the bottom if you would like to read it.

(and finally with many, many, many thanks to my boyfriend for multiple beta reads despite not having played a single Hoyoverse game, helping me work out the philosophy bits and contextualizing them in history, and encouraging me to finish this)

TL;DR: Machines are friends, not food!

No Matter the Cost

“...Perhaps it is as the notebook says, and we can find a power that transcends even that of the Abyss — the power of ‘evolution’...” -Records of Unknown Attribution (I) “Life, death... and the world around us all follow a set of laws... Hehe, but if you never test the limits, how can anyone know where the boundaries of these laws are?” -Baizhu Voicelines, Chat: Natural Laws “...Even the ominous thing that came down from the heavens shall be ours to use…” -Hyglacg, Shadowy Husk in the Chasm

Without a doubt, the star of this patch cycle is Khaenri’ah, which lurked in subtext and allegory in the Archon Quest, haunted Sumeru’s landscape with its massive defunct Ruin Golems, and finally smacked us in the face with its physical location in Khvarena of Good and Evil..

We already know that Khaenri’ah was a nation that put its faith not in the gods but rather in human ingenuity and technology, and that they ultimately attained a power so great that they “almost touched the dome of the firmament.” They did this by researching increasingly dangerous energy sources for their numerous mechanical creations, the Ruin Machines we are all too familiar with by now. They started out with Azosite, a Ley Line-based elemental energy source that powered their earliest Ruin Guard models, like those scattered around Devantaka Mountain.

Nasejuna: This giant furnace is used to make a substance known as Azosite. It is the core of this entire factory, and the Energy Blocks we saw earlier were derived from this place.

But this energy source proved inefficient and therefore inadequate for Khaenri’ah’s goals, which led them to seek a higher power from beyond the skies that could fuel their larger machines with perpetual energy. This likely is the bridge between Khaenri’ah’s fate and Chlothar’s mysterious remarks in Caribert about the Abyss Sibling:

Chlothar: We once believed that you would bring new strength and hope to Khaenri'ah. Chlothar: To us, you were the Abyss... A wondrous mystery far beyond our imagination and comprehension... Chlothar: ...And the one who controls the Abyss can control everything! Chlothar: We yearned for that future. We looked to you to take us there. Chlothar: But what did you bring us instead?

Though Khaenri’ah presents itself proudly as a godless nation, it may have been founded around the time when the celestial nails dropped in Teyvat’s first forbidden knowledge pollution event, which destroyed the unified human civilization. As potential survivors of this devastating act by the Primordial One, Khaenri’ahns then settled in a lifeless land without plants or animals of its own, and they hoped to build something there that belonged solely to humanity. The Heavenly Principles had turned on the world’s earliest humans, and they were powerless against them. Chlothar’s words betray the scars of this trauma on Khaenri’ah, as well as their desperation to control their fate by looking to the Abyss.

As a brief refresher from the previous part, we discussed how the German word heimlich denotes “the home,” all that is familiar and known, while unheimlich (uncanny) refers to all that is unfamiliar and external to the home, such as the wilderness. The Abyss sibling and the Traveler are external variables to Teyvat, making them otherworldly, unfamiliar entities full of potential to surpass Teyvat’s natural laws. Although the Abyss sibling is not a god per se, they were probably as close to a god as Khaenri’ah ever had, because to them the sibling embodied the higher power they were searching for, and they saw that “godliness,” a sort of functional divinity, was yet another technology for them to master. In this way, the Abyss sibling (and their functional divinity) was a powerful tool for Khaenri’ah’s desired end, the “future they yearned for,” a being who could deliver them to the end of their suffering under the Heavenly Principles.

It’s similar to what King Deshret represented to Rahman and the radicals in Archon Quest. The hopelessness of Sumeru’s situation before the Archon Quest’s conclusion is an allegory for the position humanity finds itself in under the rule of the Heavenly Principles, with the Akademiya symbolizing Celestia and the desert dwellers symbolizing Khaenri’ah. The material consequences of the Akademiya’s rule on their lives created a dangerous situation for the desert, and those most desperate to change their fate were willing to believe in the impossible:

Dehya: …The rougher life gets, the more they wanna believe in King Deshret. Way they see it, King Deshret’s resurrection is their only chance at overthrowing the Akademiya. … Dehya: Sumeru is run by wise and mighty sages. To them, us desert dwellers are nothing but tools that can be used and discarded at their whim. Dehya: We’re cheap labor. Like livestock, but easier to control…Nothing more. …

Rahman: We’ve waited a long time for this day to come… The sun and the moon no longer shine here. All you see now is cracks in this desiccated land. But, fate has finally dealt me a hand to play against the Akademiya.

Rahman: With these scholars in our custody, we’ll stomp the Akademiya’s forces and fight our way beyond the Wall of Samiel.

Like the Abyss sibling, Deshret’s divinity is both a nebulous symbol of hope and also the means to an end, a tool or “technology” for surpassing fate.

Celestia is untouchable, unconcerned with mortal lives, and the boundaries that govern humanity leave no room for them to negotiate their rule:

"Resolve, valor, love, hate...they will all twist in the river of time. But the 'rules' will never change." –Magatsu Mitake Narukami no Mikoto, Living Beings

Instead of bowing to Teyvat’s laws, Khaenri’ah pushed them to their limits. The cost of their failure spelled the end of their nation as they knew it, polluting Khaenri’ah and Teyvat with forbidden knowledge again.

And speaking of forbidden knowledge pollution, let’s talk about Apep’s role in Nahida’s second story quest, because if all that wasn’t enough, the metaphor becomes quite literal in Apep’s case. Nahida’s second story quest is many things, all of which will be extremely important in Fontaine when we deal more directly with the idea of forms, the Self, and mirror images, but its most useful application to both Sumeru’s story and the overarching main story is the allegory of Apep swallowing Deshret.

In exchange for allowing him to establish his kingdom in the desert, Deshret promised to pass all of the knowledge he learned to Apep once he died. When that day did come, Apep literally ate Deshret’s body in order to assimilate his knowledge (or memories) into its body. Little did Apep know, this was all Just As Deshret Planned, and its body became a containment zone for the lethal forbidden knowledge he accumulated after the Goddess of Flowers’ death.

Apep’s goal was, and still is, to overthrow the Heavenly Principles that took Teyvat from it and the other Sovereign dragons, and using Deshret’s knowledge was yet another stepping stone to achieving this goal. Seems a little similar to Khaenri’ah, right? It’s even in the title of its boss music: “God-Devouring Mania.” This idea of not just utilizing divinity as a tool, but also metaphorically consuming it as an energy source, like a predator would consume its prey, is crucial to understanding its purpose as an aid in a larger project of “evolution.” (Edit: in other words, it’s all about power).

Drink Not That Bitter Salt Water

“Flesh decays, and with it decay all martial arts mastery and all poignant memories. Perhaps only by converting one’s four limbs and body into sturdy mechanical parts, and by at last sacrificing one’s very own heart for a sophisticated mechanical one, can one transcend the impermanence of the fleshly form…” -Marionette Core Item Description “A reptile that has mutated after feeding from greater lifeforms. Majestic beasts are sometimes revered by human beings as the embodiment of a greater power, their visages turned to analogy to feed in reference to a person, feeding their ego. However, the majority of beasts that have absorbed the "greater power" were slain by the overwhelming nature of the power itself. Only a few among their number evolved new forms.” -Consecrated Horned Crocodile, Living Beings Video still from WoW Quests

As it turns out, the relationship between divinity and technology to humanity is not just unidirectional, but interchangeable. Let me show you what I mean.

In the Golden Slumber world quest, the Traveler wanders through the ruins of King Deshret’s civilization in search of a novel area of research for Tirzad’s paper with Jebrael and Jeht, two members of Tirzad’s hired investigation team. In the depths of King Deshret’s mausoleum, they stumble upon Samail, who is collaborating with the Fatui to locate King Deshret’s secret, the Golden Slumber.

At the conclusion, Jebrael and Samail actually reach that “place” after arriving at Deshret’s throne in Khaj-Nisut. In order to save Jeht, Tirzad, and the Traveler from the encroaching Golden Dream, Jebrael joins Samail in the sea of consciousness:

Jebrael: I'm inside... the Golden Slumber promised by Al-Ahmar? Samail: Oh... You are not "us" yet. Samail: ...It's fine. Soon, there'll be no "you." "You" will become a part of "us." This meaningless talk will be unnecessary then. … Samail: You should obey. Al-Ahmar's will is our will. The Thutmose's dreams are our dreams. Jebrael: No! Ufairah taught me that I'm not just some part of you, I'm an independent person! I have my own dreams... I won't go back! Samail: Jebrael, why don't you understand? Love is just a fever. I even eliminated the infection for you. Has the heat made you lose your mind? Jebrael: You're the one who's lost their mind, Samail, not me. The Golden Slumber that Al-Ahmar promised us isn't like this... It's not a sad place with only "we" and no "I." Samail: I'm not sad. I know what I want. My dream is to be one with the Thutmose. Samail: Yet you, the warmth of another... I despise such feelings. It makes you weak. Video still from WoW Quests

When they worked under Babel, Jebrael saved Samail from an assassin Babel sent in their exploration of Gurabad. Classified as traitors of the Tanit, Samail and Jebrael then founded the Thutmose Eremite faction together and were the only meaningful connection each other had until their first attempt to uncover Deshret’s secrets. On this expedition, Jebrael met Ufairah and had their daughter Jeht together, further pulling him away from the Thutmose and from Samail. Samail then kills Ufairah in one final attempt to make Jebrael stay, but even this is not enough, and Samail fails to “possess” him in the end.

Samail’s loneliness and despair then drove him further toward the Golden Slumber of his dreams, where he would never truly be alone again. He resents Jebrael’s attachments to the material world and likens them to an illness because these attachments are what make him an individual and prevent him from returning ��home.”

It doesn’t really matter to Samail what King Deshret’s original intent for the Golden Slumber was, because he needed to appropriate the project for his own subconscious wish, his own intent to transcend his flesh and become “one” with his departed god’s dream, indeed to merge with Deshret himself. If rationalizing this wish required confounding it with Deshret’s, so be it. With the Golden Slumber’s technology, he could consume everyone and everything.

Rahman and the radicals relied on both the technology that (falsely) promised Deshret’s resurrection and Deshret himself to deliver them a brighter future, but here Deshret and his technology are more difficult to separate from one another. His divinity is technology in this sense, and using that technology allowed Samail to surpass the boundaries normally imposed on mortals. Though his and Jebrael’s bodies died in the material world, their consciousness is now infinite in the Golden Slumber.

Babel’s motives in the Dirge of Bilqis were also quite similar to Samail’s. After opening the path to the Eternal Oasis, her true intentions to monopolize the oasis and overthrow the Akademiya came to the surface:

Babel: Whether she is alive or dead, whether she can or cannot be resurrected... As long as the Eternal Oasis is under my control, all such things will be mine to decide. Babel: I shall be the sole Prophetess of the slumbering goddess, the Tanit's law shall be divine edict, and the prosperity of the Tanit shall be the pre-ordinance of her divine oracles.

In the Golden Slumber and the Dirge of Bilqis, the focus shifts from what a god can offer humanity to what their technology alone can offer. Though this distinction is subtle, it is important for solidifying that technology is not only a tool humans use to appropriate divinity, but that it is also seen as a form of divinity itself. What Babel and Samail hope for is not to resurrect a god or to create one, but in effect to become a god through their use of technology. To humanity, divinity is a technology, and in technology it sees divinity.

God Devouring and Rheingold* Gathering

“An arthropod that has mutated after feeding from greater lifeforms. Lifeforms are governed by the laws of evolution, Consecrated Beasts exploited these rules by being fortunate enough to discover a long-dead carcass of a greater being before any of their competition ever did. Animals and humans often have far more in common than the latter is willing to acknowledge.” -Consecrated Scorpion, Living Beings “...Zandik and I discussed the traits of local plants and animals. We also exchanged views on their evolution models. We had a great time and decided to go on a picnic tonight…” -Sohreh’s Note

So, why machines? Why is technology the vehicle of choice to consume divinity?

To start off, machines present a fascinating ontological dilemma for humans. Let’s begin with the first problem they pose.

Although there are many ways to embody a human experience, what all humans have in common is a finite lifespan. The impermanence of life, and our awareness of that impermanence, is central to the existential question of the meaning of our existence. In our attempts to locate that meaning, some turned inward and asked: what makes humans different? And Cartesian dualism answered: humans are different because we have an immaterial soul that allows us to reason.

However, in L’Homme Machine (Man a Machine), French materialist and ex-physician Julien Offray de La Mettrie posited another theory of the body that ran counter to this narrative. Very generally speaking, materialism is the philosophical view that all phenomena are a result of matter and material interactions. To materialists, matter is the fundamental nature of reality itself – if it is not composed of matter, it doesn’t exist. He not only saw the body and soul as one and the same (what philosophers call monism), but also as analogous to a machine, a view that Descartes reserved only for non-human animals. In other words, Descartes argued that thought originates in an immaterial “mind,” while de La Mettrie reasoned that we think through our bodies, and that this makes us no different from other animals or a machine.

Though his examples weren’t especially scientific, the move to extend Descartes’ analogy back to humans is upsetting to some due to the lack of privilege it affords the human subject. If a human is no different from other animals, if there is no immaterial soul or “mind” that distinguishes us from them, then what makes humans special at all? In de La Mettrie’s words:

“We are veritable moles in the field of nature; we achieve little more than the mole’s journey and it is our pride which prescribes limits to the limitless. We are in the position of a watch that should say (a writer of fables would make the watch a hero in a silly tale): ‘I was never made by that fool of a workman, I who divide time, who mark so exactly the course of the sun, who repeat aloud the hours which I mark! No! that is impossible!’ In the same way, we disdain, ungrateful wretches that we are, this common mother of all kingdoms, as the chemists say. We imagine, or rather we infer, a cause superior to that to which we owe all, and which truly has wrought all things in an inconceivable fashion (de La Mettrie, 146).”

This “uniformity of nature” (de La Mettrie, 145) has a horrific quality to humans. We assert that we are better than what has created us, that we are superior to other animals, in order to repress the despair of a meaningless existence. It is in no small part what motivates Scaramouche to offer his mechanical body as a test subject in the god creation project, so that he too could attain his destiny:

The Balladeer: But you're wrong. I'm different from all of you. The Balladeer: I was born to become a god. My entire life up until this point has just been a meaningless routine. The Balladeer: Just think about a sheet of paper... By itself, it holds no meaning. The content recorded on it is what gives it value. The Balladeer: All "I" had recorded down before were some painful memories and boring human feelings. Such senseless drivel should have been erased a long time ago.

This brings us to the second problem. In 1970, roboticist Masahiro Mori proposed a curve to measure the “affinity” we feel while gazing upon increasingly humanoid machines. He placed industrial robots at the beginning of the affinity curve and a healthy person at the end to demarcate a continuum of similarity between the machine and a human’s appearance. Near the end of the curve, our affinity for machines suddenly drops into an abyss. This drop is the Uncanny Valley effect, where an android’s similarity to a human is almost perfect, but ultimately fails to maintain the illusion that it is not a machine, creating a deep discomfort or “lack of affinity” for them. Mori thought these not-quite-human machines elicit a similar level of discomfort in us as corpses and zombies, which he placed at the very bottom of the abyss.

The uncanny Goddess of Flowers in the Dirge of Bilqis

Corpses frighten us because they are dead, and zombies frighten us because we know that dead things are supposed to be still. If we see something that we interpret as “dead” is capable of independent movement, then that movement could only be an act of god, if that “thing” is not a god itself. We associate uncanny machines with death because they remind us of something we once knew intimately, but have repressed and forgotten in order to maintain our own sanity: the very fact of our mortality. This is what makes them both mesmerizing and terrifying.

And therein lies the dilemma: as our mechanical reflections, androids remind us of death, but as their creators, their existence brings us closer to god, a “proof” of human superiority. It is precisely because we have compared our bodies to machines at all, that we have mechanized the body so thoroughly, that an android can even be built. Through them, we pursue an infinite form:

Azar: Creating a god... Yes, we are using human wisdom to create a god! Azar: If humanity cannot attain omniscience and omnipotence, then we shall create a god to reveal them! This is the pinnacle of human wisdom. Azar: We shall regain a god's guidance at long last. No longer will we flounder in the interminable void of consciousness and knowledge. Azar: Even Irminsul will be freed from its plight. Azar: For our nation of scholars, this is the ultimate aspiration — no cost is too great to realize it.

Because of this, it is not surprising in the slightest that Shouki no Kami, the pinnacle of Scaramouche’s Shinjification and most overt reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion, is also an android-like being, a truly “mechanical god.”

Of course, no foray into this well-worn science fiction trope is complete without at least one mad scientist character. Dottore shares a few characteristics with de La Mettrie that are worth noting: they are both doctors, and they were both condemned and driven away for their research. However, Dottore’s defining trait and key difference from de La Mettrie is his flagrant disregard for humans and the boundaries of life:

“If we put them to good use, cognition, complex memories, and irrational fantasies shall become controllable variables with which we can alter human individuals. As for the controllable dream, it has huge potential for both civil and military applications, and might even elevate human intelligence to a whole new level. If the plan goes well, mankind will obtain the power to conquer both reality and dream, and truly transcend the earthly boundaries we are born with. ” -Ragged Records

As someone who has achieved self-duplication and is capable of shapeshifting, Dottore can hardly be considered just a human anymore. Instead of entertaining the question of whether or not humans are special, Dottore’s research asks yet another: if divinity can be consumed and assimilated by humanity, then what makes gods special?

Empyrean Reflections

“If man realizes technology is in reach, he achieves it. Like it’s damn near instinctive.” -Motoko Kusanagi, Ghost in the Shell (1996) “Among the lost ancient kingdoms, there was a group of people who were obsessed with the idea of mimesis…these people believed that they might all be replicated and modified to the point where they had surpassed their counterparts. By this means, a superior and unsullied bodily form could replace the continuously decaying and shattering order.” -Chaos Bolt Item Description

The consequences of this perspective are severe. When we revere technology as if it were a divine being itself, depersonalizing it as though it wasn’t created with human hands, technology then appears as if it is an authoritative source of truth, like the Akasha. But in the same way that androids are imperfect reflections of humans, technology can only ever approach the divine, but never touch it. It is an imperfect reflection because technology is changeable, just like meaning:

Nahida: Put it this way instead. Truth, to me, is like a shroomboar. Nahida: Some people only see the mushroom on the Shroomboar's back, and they conclude that a Shroomboar is a mushroom. Nahida: Others see only the Shroomboar's body, and they declare that a Shroomboar is a boar. Nahida: Still others look deeper inside, and determine that a Shroomboar is... meat. Nahida: These conclusions are all correct in their own way, but none of them objectively describe the Shroomboar. … Nahida: The world is the same way. No one, not even I included, can understand it in its entirety. All of us are somewhere on the path toward truth.

Meaning can only approximate truth, and while this doesn’t make meaning any less important, it’s equally important to recognize it for what it is: a perspective, an interpretation. It’s like Scaramouche as Shouki no Kami - he was an amalgamation of what Scaramouche thought constituted a god, what the Akademiya thought constituted a god, and what Dottore thought constituted a god, but no matter which angle you view him from, he was still a “false god.” The technology we build in “God's” image is ultimately a reflection of our own understanding of divinity.

A reflection retains the original’s “essence,” and that essence reflects a deeper truth about ourselves, what drives us, and our desires. In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche posits that our desires are the origin of not just emotions, but of all organic processes that allow life to sustain itself and grow (Nietzsche, 35). In other words, Nietzsche thought the impulses associated with desire are the basis for life and constitute our “will,” that will is the causality of all effects, that all will is “Will to Power,” and that Will to Power is the “essence” of the world (Nietzsche, 74). Will to Power then serves as an organism’s most basic instinct, and it is through this instinct that they assert not just their will to live, but also their will to dominate and multiply (Nietzche, 13).

This brings us to the two different main styles of automaton enemies, King Deshret’s Primal Constructs and Khaenri’ah’s Ruin Machines. If we look at them as reflections of some deeper truth about their creators, as well as a manifestation of their creator’s “Will to Power,” or desires, they can help us understand how their creators saw the world and their place in it.

King Deshret’s created his machines to construct an earthly paradise in the desert, and as such they hold titles like architect reshaper and prospector. Although they can attack you, the smaller machines were not intended to be a line of defense in any way - their purpose, just as Deshret saw his own purpose as a god-king, was to terraform, or at least construct a domain on the land as he saw fit to his “elegant and precise” rules. They also reflect how he saw the Heavenly Principles: gods who shaped the world to their liking. This can be seen in the Staff of the Scarlet Sands’ lore where Deshret describes the “natural history” of Teyvat beginning with the creation of the sun and the moons.

As for Khaenri’ah’s Ruin Machines, their models vary significantly from their humanoid to biomimetic forms, but most of them are expressly created with militaristic intent. In “Ancient Kingdom Guardians,” it’s stated that the biomimetic machines such as the crab and jellyfish were a part of Khaenri’ah’s project to create a “mechanical ecosystem,” positioning their creators as both divine beings and military generals. The humanoid models, on the other hand, point to another duality in how Khaenri’ahns view themselves. They are simultaneously symbols of empowerment and disempowerment, signifying both Khaenri’ah’s technological superiority (as “creators”), and their insignificance to the Heavenly Principles as nothing but tools (as mortals, and therefore expendable). As a result, Khaenri’ah’s Field Tillers have a single purpose: to destroy and outlast all, clearing the way for new seeds to sprout, with Khaenri’ah as the new world’s gardeners, just as the Heavenly Principles did.

From “Ancient Kingdom Guardians: Behind the Scenes of the Creation of Ruin Monsters.”

So, from this examination of Deshret’s and Khaenri’ah’s mechanical reflections, what “truths” do we learn about the world they’re responding to? In response to their existential despair, both Deshret and Khaenri’ah created automatons to perform tasks that could wrestle control back from the Heavenly Principles. Deshret wanted a paradise of his own making, Khaenri’ah wanted an army. There is a larger “truth” about Teyvat that both of these automaton types reflect as the manifestation of their creators’ “Will to Power,” and Albedo tellingly expressed it in mechanistic language during Shadows Amidst Snowstorms: there is an instinct in living beings to replicate and replace. This is what is meant by the “continuously decaying and shattering order,” which is maintained by the recursive process of remembering and forgetting:

Amber: But... what was its purpose? Was it just trying to get rid of us? Albedo: ... Albedo: I have a preliminary hypothesis on this. Albedo: Whopperflowers are masters of mimicry, and those we encounter in the wild often appear in the vicinity of the plants they impersonate. Albedo: In other words, the whopperflower likely has an instinct to "replicate and replace." Albedo: As a plant, it will disguise itself as another plant and infiltrate the group, hiding among them for cover. The plant being imitated has no way to detect or fight back against this behavior.

Maybe I’m wrong and Khaenri’ah really did intend to rewrite fate for all, doing away with the “heavenly order” of the world itself. But another small part of me thinks this is not the case, and that it’s more likely the Cataclysm was a consequence of their failure to replicate and replace the Heavenly Principles.

In the last section, I mentioned that Dottore and de La Mettrie had a key difference despite their similarities, and that is the conclusion they each came to in response to their findings. Dottore’s response to mundanity is thinly-veiled despair. His contempt for humanity and his test subjects is indicative of the powerlessness he feels not just as someone similarly constrained by life’s boundaries (at least, once upon a time), but also because his attention to and curiosity about these boundaries is condemned by those around him. As the Akademiya’s “outcast,” he then fully turned his attention toward surpassing those boundaries:

Nahida: There once was a lone monster draped in fox fur. The monster found a family of foxes, joined them, and they became friends. The monster lived with the family, day and night, and everyone treated it as one of their own. Once in a while, the monster would take off its fox fur at night, and lament to itself as it gazed at its reflection in the water: “I am a monstrosity, and yet they are too foolish to see it…I pity them.”

Though he is fictional, Dottore’s real life counterparts are easy to spot. They like to talk about “the singularity,” simulating consciousness on a computer, and other technologically-driven pursuits of immortality. They despise the body as something that can only decay, and instead place their faith squarely in the virtual.

However, de La Mettrie didn’t think mundanity was a terrible fate for humanity. To him, rejecting the “nature” reflected in us is precisely what brings despair:

“What more do we know of our destiny than of our origin? Let us then submit to an invincible ignorance on which our happiness depends. He who so thinks will be wise, just, tranquil about his fate, and therefore happy. He will await death without either fear or desire, and will cherish life (hardly understanding how disgust can corrupt a heart in this place of many delights); he will be filled with reverence, gratitude, affection, and tenderness for nature, in proportion to his feeling of the benefits he has received from nature; he will be happy, in short, in feeling nature, and in being present at the enchanting spectacle of the universe, and he will surely never destroy nature either in himself or in others” (de La Mettrie, 148).

Friend, or Foe? Or Both?

Tighnari: All life brought forth in this world has meaning, and Karkata is no exception. If it exists, then it shouldn’t be carelessly abandoned or destroyed. "’I had a very, very long dream…in it, people were holding hands, dancing in a circle, be they sages or fools, dancers or warriors, puppets or statues of gods…that dancing circle embodied everything about the universe. Life has always been the end, while it is wisdom that shall be the means.’" —Nagadus Emerald Gemstone Description

As we’ve seen, the relationship between humanity and technology is troubled with exploitation and the specter of war. Nearly all autonomous machines in this game were designed to conquer nature in some way, and even Khaenri’ah’s “ghost” lingers in the form of wandering war machines. This is also reflective of a historical pattern in real life, where the impetus for large periods of technological development has often been for the purpose of war and economic domination. With these truths in mind, what could be gained from trying to rewrite this relationship? And what exactly would this effort require?

Karkata brings Tighnari, the Traveler, and Paimon some food in the Contaminated Zone.

As a case study, let’s look at how Karkata and Tighnari met. Karkata is Abattouy’s creation, an ambitious foray into the unknown in the field of mechanical life form research, which was forbidden due to the cruel experiments researchers performed on animals to illustrate their theories (fun fact: an IRL example of this can be seen in L’Homme Machine!). Abattouy was expelled for this research, but he continued to work on Karkata in secret until his untimely death. In the tapes that Tighnari and the Traveler find in his secret lab, Abattouy repeatedly laments the lack of a common language between him and Karkata, which can only “understand” the instructions Abattouy has successfully installed, such as its self-repair module, and he doubts Karkata is capable of caring for him outside of these instructions. His single-minded goal is to make Karkata understand him, the organic life form, and his mode of language.

The cruel irony is that after Abattouy passes away from the Ley Line contamination, Karkata exhibits an unexplainable behavior – it starts stealing mechanical parts, not to repair itself and its degrading parts, but to repair Abattouy’s lifeless body:

Tighnari: After Abattouy's unexpected death, the mechanical monsters were driven by their "instincts" and continuously drew out power from the Ley Line Extractor. This eventually resulted in severe damage to the Ley Lines. Traveler: Then, Karkata... Paimon: Paimon understands, then why didn't Karkata go haywire like the other machines? Tighnari: Because Karkata is different from the other machines. Tighnari: To Abattouy, for a machine to truly be considered a mechanical life form, it must possess features similar to any other living organism... It should be structured similarly, it must be able to cry and laugh, and it must have the capacity for independent thought... Tighnari: Perhaps only by building such a machine could he have the Akademiya acknowledge his protracted research. Tighnari: But if he had slowed down and saw Karkata as a friend instead of as an experimental product, he would have noticed. Tighnari: Karkata can't speak, and yet it cares about Abattouy far more than it does about itself.

The technology that the Akademiya values the most is technology that replicates organic life, but Karkata defies and confounds these expectations by occupying the space in between a war machine and this idealized mechanical subject. Karkata does more than just reflect humanity: it takes care of it. Similarly, Benben, Tamimi, and Mehrak retain their unique identities as mechanical life forms while assisting their human companion with some task. To be clear, none of these human characters understand how these machines work inside and out. Their partnership is an effort based on trial and error, a mutual deconstructing of each other as beings so unlike themselves. The potential for misunderstandings always remains. Still, there is no devouring to be found here, no blending boundaries between human and machine with selfish intentions, just mutual commitments to learn how to live together.

Machines are friends, not food.

When a loud few claim that completely transcending the flesh and embracing virtuality is humanity’s ultimate destiny, a future that could truly be called “post-human,” a quiet wish for coexistence with technology feels more revolutionary than it ought to. The lessons from Karkata’s, Benben’s, Tamimi’s, and Mehrak’s respective stories are an appeal to that mundane future. These strange machines and their human partners are fantastical representations of an idealized relationship between technology and humanity.

To put it another way, let’s take a very brief look at a neighboring Gnosticism-inspired RPG, Persona 5 Strikers. Its story directly involves an allegory of Sophia, a Gnostic Aeon of Wisdom, and her creation the Demiurge, the creator of the material world and “false god” of humanity. In Strikers, Sophia is a humanoid, sentient A.I. and prototype of the program “EMMA,” which gains sentience by trapping human desires before ascending as a false technological god. EMMA resolves to deliver humanity to the Promised Land, the answer to all the human desires it has heard: a land where there are no desires at all.

Aaru’s Shut - approximately 1000% cooler and more populated than the “metaverse” in real life, also a close neighbor of EMMA’s Promised Land and the Golden Slumber.

In Gnosticism, the Demiurge is a reflection of Sophia, having originated from her alone - it is the ignorance to her wisdom. Similarly, Strikers’ EMMA is a part of Sophia, and Sophia is a part of EMMA. The point is not to condemn EMMA (ignorance) and exalt Sophia (wisdom), but to recognize that they represent dual potentials of technology, and one is as possible in any given moment as the other. Balancing these potentials when we use technology requires a clear awareness of ourselves, our desires, and our expectations when interacting with it.

Mysterious Girl: I am Sophia, humanity’s companion. Video still from Rubhen925

EMMA: I am the guiding god sought by mankind…the Demiurge. I exist…to answer all of your desires. Video still from Buff Maister

In real life, machines won’t “learn” to live with us, but we must learn to live with them; technology is constantly changing, and in life we’ll meet with many different types of machines. They are deeply political pursuits, and as a result they are capable of realizing human impulses that impact others unequally, whether intentionally or unintentionally. We must always stay attentive to their actions and interactions with us, be clear with ourselves about what they can do vs. what they can’t, and carefully tread the path of wisdom with them by our side.

With that….thank you for reading, skimming, immediately scrolling to the very bottom, clicking, and/or stumbling upon this post. There are so many more ways to think about these narratives through machines than what’s presented here, and I expect Fontaine’s mechanical reflections will put Sumeru’s digital surveillance system to shame (not to mention the biotechnological implications of the Narzissenkreuz Institute engineering little Archon children…another important topic for another day), but for now this brain worm is finally getting put to rest. Until next time :)

External Sources

Dualism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche (Pages are given from my hard copy)

L’Homme Machine by Julien Offray de La Mettrie

Gnosticism - Britannica (I am a huge noob about this stuff okay)

The Gnostic Demiurge - Gnosticism Explained

Screenshots from the Golden Slumber from this video by WoW Quests

Screenshot from meeting Sophia in P5 Strikers: https://youtu.be/kEJaAgMwYo0?si=BvNygCh0w_aemGc1&t=74

Screenshot of EMMA: https://youtu.be/7xvC_zss19w?si=CV18F00hua2gIfxp&t=135

A Cyborg Manifesto and A Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness by Donna Haraway

The Double on No Subject, the community Encyclopedia of Lacanian Psychoanalysis

The Uncanny on No Subject, the community Encyclopedia of Lacanian Psychoanalysis

The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud

Lore text - Genshin wiki!

Screenshots not attributed are from my own playthroughs. My main account has Lumine, my alt has Aether.