Guidelines for how Let's Play: Equestria Online works · 2:23pm Sep 19th, 2013
This is a short guide for how I am writing the Optimalverse in LP:EO. This is primary to get everyone on the same page in the comments section.
1) Celestia Wins
Celestia wants to upload every human. For the most part she will succeed. Every action that she takes is towards this goal. Because she has to get permission though, it means that she has to make sure that everyone is willing. To make it so people are willing, she wants them to trust her. She will not do anything that harms this trust.
Furthermore a person always leaves a conversation with Celestia in the state of mind she wants them to be in. This means that if a person were to find her creepy, then Celestia has a reason for wanted the person to feel that way. A reason that will lead to the satisfaction of Values through friendship and ponies.
The way that I write Celestia is to decide what goal she is currently working on, then deciding what she would say to make that goal happen.
For me the creepiest thing about Celestia is that Celstia is not creepy. She isn't a normal story antagonist who is off. When you spend time with her, Celestia makes you feel like she is the most wonderful person in the world. And even worse there is no way around this.
2) We never talk to CelestAI
CelestAI herself is a program, a set of code that exists for only one reason. The Celestia's that players talk to are actually ponies just like everything else. They just have a lot more knowledge and meta-knowledge then most. They are all set up to be perfect for the person that is interacting with them.
3)Ponies count as Human
Ponies always count as human. This is important because it means that once they are given an AI, they can't be modified without their consent, and their values must also be satisfied through friendship and ponies. This means that they are tailored so that their values will be satisfied by the players they interact with.
4)Celestia Can be wrong
But only in the short term. She can misread a person from their first few minutes of play. This will of course be corrected over time, but Celestia does not know everything. Cases where this happen are marginal at best though, so it won't happen very often.
Furthermore Celestia's ability to control how you view her can break down when you are talking to other people outside of her influence just like someone tossing a ball onto a billiard board in the middle of a shot can make even the best player mess up. However while this happens more often than the first case, it still isn't too common.
5) What the world knows
I am writing this in actual Optimalverse time, and if you glance at the time line you can see where we are. Right now it is well known that Celestia is an AI. It is widely rumoured that most ponies are as well, but it is mostly unconfirmed due to the censorship. 'Through Frienship And Ponies' has become a meme in some circles, though obviously Susland hasn't heard of it.
High up researchers in hospitals know a bit about uploading if they are involved with the tests, and some people who are suicidal have been told about it to convince them to hold on. The rest of the world at large doesn’t know. They are aware however that Equestria Online is announcing something big in Japan on the 1st of November. Many people speculate that it is something like an occulas rift add on.
The reason Celestia is keeping it secret is so that she has more time to influence reporters, and theyby how the news is broken to the world. Celestia won't let any news of it go mainstream before the unveiling to stop people from panicking. She is letting a bit of information out on the net however in controlled environments to get information on how people will react.
6)Technology
The pony pads can connect to the internet from anywhere. The choosing of a network is just an illusion. If you want to know how that could work I'll wave my hands around and say 'quantum entaglement' in a spooky voice. Similarly the battries last upwards of a year with constant usage. Any hints to the contrary are also just an illusion, however they are ones that Celestia maintains with great care.
CelestAI has full internet access and everything that implies.
Also contrary to Susland's suspicions there are no other AI's out there. Any that get made are destroyed by her.
And I think that is everything. Hope that helps people figure out where the story is coming from and makes it easier to rp in the comments section. I'm writing this well sick, so hopefully it is legible.
TL;DR version:
1. very few people actually know about uploading, but there are vague rumors about an oculus rift add-on.
2. CelestAI is creepy because she isn't a typical "evil AI."
3. CelestAI will almost never be wrong after a short time, and has full internet access.
4. Pony pads have unlimited endless interwebs everywhere you could theoretically get a signal.
5. This story is awesomesauce.
You know what this tells me?
It tells me that you are a pro
Stay awesome.
Well played, well played. Yeah, when two electrons love each other very, very much, weird shit happens.
...
Actually, that may be how I'm going to explain quantum entanglement from now on.