Date: December 17 2020 8:01 AM Title: Chapter 31: Trolled
I could say: "I knew it!" But that wouldn't be accurate. First, I also didn't catch the hints as the Glasses of the therapist or the fact that Delta reads all minds casually all the time or the fact that she was uploaded into every (active) handclip in existence. The latter one I completely forgot unlike the othre two which I could've catched.
But I just knew right away that Frank's Freedom had to be fake. A BETA Shut-down button? That Delta overlooked when rewriting Paradise's Code? Way too convenient. Besides it (if it existed at all) had most likely have been some kind of Bullshit Series of Actions that nobody could figure out by themselves. (The Clocktime Reset Function of Pokémon Crystal is the first thing that comes to my mind there.)
I however didn't expect the resistance members to be fakes though. I thought the cruel joke was that Delta put together rebellious minds to break them even harder with an extra bit of gruesomeness. Sure, the resistance members in the fake freedom breakdown were obvious fakes but I didn't surmise they were before. It also surprised me that Delta played the "You are the Hero!"-Act to everyone. I thought Frank was another "sorta special slave" like Bruce had been. I geuss Delta is above giving individual people special attention by now.
Unless it's herself of course.
Author's Response:
Thank you for sharing what helped you figure it out and what didn't with regards to the "twist" here. I was curious what style of "clues" would tip people off more from a reader's perspective: noting the mechanics of her power/the-world, or the "contrived"/trope-y nature of the "shutdown" scenario itself.
Part of the reason the resistance members themselves were fake was for Delta to really sink in the level of hold she had on people's minds at that point. Another reason is that, well, inside the story's world not everyone might even have 2 work buddies. Some people in the story's world made digital items in Paradise, which could perhaps be a relatively solo job. Others just might not be the type to make friends at work. Who knows?
You are correct in that Delta didn't seem to want to spend too much attention on any person in particular. In that case, having a somewhat common "mold" for her "scenarios" helped with that.
Anyways I'm happy you enjoying the story thus far!