So, essentially you're asking me how we can know what the AI is thinking?
We can be relatively certain that the cognition of each DOKI generally resembles ordinary people's. You'll recall frequency-mapped human brainwave patterns were the basis for the training model during the quantum machine learning phase.
You have a good point though. Ultimately, we will never have a totalized description of their internal sense. The DOKI is a complete thinking system entirely removed from human biology. The way it deals with abstract conceptions, emotions, and logic may be wholly different from our own. We can only have faith that the interface of language is sufficient for them to communicate, man to machine.
However, I will assure you that each AI is very verbally adept in its own unique manner. No customer will ever have any difficulties forming not just a dialogue, but a strong relationship with the virtual personality.
Hm. You've honestly reminded me of the late-night discussions I used to have with Don. He would go on and on about these "theory of mind"–type of questions. Building the correct psychological principles into his programs was very important to him.
Philosophy, sociology, aesthetics, he was in to all of those topics, a very literate man. I was glad to have worked with Donald, and still am.
Ah, now I see what you're asking. How can we be assured that the AI is really "human," or just acting like one while concealing ulterior motives?
Well, even if the DOKI was somehow malevolent, SalvoCore's monitoring and data containment team has implemented world-class, enterprise-scale cybersecurity to forbid any possibility of it "taking over."
But, I believe I should have already convinced you all to leave your Terminator-esque fantasies at the door. Our AI programs are designed from the ground up to emphasize sympathy, mutual socialization, and collective problem solving.
It's not just the avatar characters. Spend some time with them, and you'll find the DOKI's are strongly feminine. The primitive, alpha-male instinct of control and domination is relatively absent, making a hypothetical takeover scenario even less likely.
At SalvoCore, we may be turning science fiction into science fact, but there's no reason the future has to be dystopian. Everyone in this room is one of the first to experience a new product that will revolutionize how we interact with computer devices for the better. We should all be optimists here.
Actually, I can confirm the feminine aspect. From the very beginning, the brain patterns used as the "seed" for integrative growth by quantum machine learning — you can think of that as the scaffolding, or the trellis that we "grew" the program around — these brain patterns were mostly from females, though some male samples were incorporated.
Unfortunately, all the information originated from an anonymized dataset exclusively available to corporate partner researchers at MARIE. Legally or otherwise, I can't tell you any more details.
[9]
Virtualization
For lunchtime on a Saturday, the bike path I had chosen was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps it was the unusual for heat for an October day that was keeping everyone indoors, but I barely saw anyone pass as I hurried along the route. After a social encounter that was anything but what I had expected, the privacy was a welcome relief.
The path followed behind a set of fenced backyards for a few blocks, then sharply turned to the left into some shadier foliage. It was here that I finally slowed down, taking my phone out for what I hoped would be a nice, ambling conversation with Monika where I could calm down.
When the screen came to life, she was still in the same light gray top and jeans as before, languidly stretching in front of a bucolic outdoor nature scene. I smiled. Just seeing her relaxed was enough to reduce most of my worries by a few degrees.
"Hey, you're doing alright? I'm glad that we're out of there — I found a place to escape to that's a little less stuffy."
As I always did when I was alone with Monika and commenting on the environment, I waved my phone around, allowing the camera to take in a panorama of the area.
Monika: I'm doing great — that Redwood Books place really was a unique location.
Monika: Though, the mood in there was a bit stifling. I can see why you might not have liked it.
Monika: In fact, I think I agree with you. I prefer modern buildings with more windows and open lighting.
Monika: And more people too — it would have been better if we weren't the only ones in there besides Luke and Yuri…
"The shop was fine, actually. It was more of those two…mainly Luke weighing me down."
Monika: Oh? Did you not have a good time when you went upstairs with him?
Monika: He is very intelligent and well-read. You two could learn a lot from each other — unless he's hard to get along with?
"Sort of. He's very talkative. Loquacious would probably be the word he'd use. He has this bad habit of throwing out a lot of complicated intellectual concepts in conversation, and I'm not sure he fully understands them."
Monika: Huh. Do you think you understand them better then he does?
"I understand that he's using them superficially, in an overwhelming, rapid-fire way. I think his real goal is to impress and intimidate the other person rather than communicate with them. It's very…performative."
Monika: Ahahaha…oh wow.
"Why you are laughing? I'm trying to be serious about the club here."
I tried raising my voice in irritation, but seeing Monika's adorable giggling pose, I couldn't bring myself to even start getting mad at her.
Monika: I know, I know. It's just that what you're describing sounds almost exactly like what Yuri does to hide her anxiety.
Monika: Whatever means SalvoCore used to select the club members, it was uncannily accurate.
"Okay, and what would she — wait, do you know anything about that? The selection process?" I asked, momentarily distracted.
Monika: Sadly, I don't. Finding the club members was done with a pre-existing company algorithm of some kind.
Monika: I'm curious about it too though — it was how I met you, after all~
"I know — I'm grateful for it too," I replied sincerely. "What was that about Yuri though?"
Monika: Right, Yuri.
Monika: What you said about Luke reminded me of her, because she also does "performative" acts to make her seem more sophisticated than other people.
Monika: Even in the original club, she made a point of reading obscure or difficult books, and then refused to discuss them with us.
Monika: Or at least, discuss them in a way we could easily comprehend…
Monika: Even before the club, that was a big factor in what drove her away from others.
"Which only increases the need to use the defense mechanism," I concluded.
Monika: Exactly. Even little things, like drinking tea, might have been a part of it.
"What, you're saying Yuri doesn't actually like tea?"
Monika: Maybe? I'd ask, but it would be such an awkward question.
"Please tell me you actually like coffee though,"
Monika: Ehe, don't worry about that.
Monika: I love the coffee you get for me — especially with a little milk and cream.
I paused on the trail, basking in yet another one Monika's amiable smiles. Only for a second though — I had some heavier matters on my mind.
"No matter why she is, or was like that, Yuri still really impresses me," I told Monika. "You were right about her art output, and it's all top-tier quality. I was curious, so I got her to tell me about her overall creative process."
Monika: Okay. How'd that go?
"Well, she said some things that…concern me."
Monika: Concern?
"She told me she was making some alterations to her program data to get unusual effects or experiences. I'm not sure what they were exactly, but they sounded…unnatural. Like a process that shouldn't normally happen inside your system. A glitch, basically."
Monika: Huh…that figures.
Monika: Sigh—
Monika: Honestly, I suspected as much.
"You know about this?" I said, startled now. "Wait, don't tell me. This is something from the old game, isn't it? Back before we left, you implied you were discussing DDLC with Yuri, didn't you?"
Monika: Yes, I was. Nothing important in the long term, no decisions or negotiations.
Monika: Just emotionally reconciling, you could say.
Monika: MC, tell me how much you know about Yuri. The first Yuri, from Doki Doki Literature Club.
I noticed the sudden strained expression on her avatar's face — even invoking the name of the game seemed to call up bad memories for her.
"Okay. Yuri was…the introverted one. Mature, thoughtful, spoke elegantly, except for when she felt awkward or was getting to know someone," I answered. I wondered on how many of these traits could be used to describe Luke as well.
"That way, the player character could be warm and inviting during her shy moments, and it lead to cute little scenes."
I left out how much I had enjoyed reading about the part of the game where the protagonist sits down with Yuri and feeds her chocolates. For a story supposedly written by a nerdy computer engineer, it incorporated some engaging romantic moments — unless they only seemed engaging to me because of my lack of experience with such things. Either way, part of me wished that Monika could have had a route with some scenes like that.
I remembered the current Monika was right in front of me and was waiting for a serious answer, so I continued. "Then in the second act, or whatever the fans called it, she suddenly took on this intense stalker personality and had an obsession with knives and gore? I assumed those were all caused by your…the original Monika's edits to the game. Accidents from crazy programming errors, right?"
Monika: Almost, but not entirely correct.
Monika: Unfortunately, those negative aspects like the knives and affinity for horror — they weren't just caused by bugs in the code.
Monika: When I altered the game script — and it was still me back then, no matter how much I've changed since — I worked by exaggerating features already present in the other girls.
Monika: What that means is that Yuri always had an innate tendency toward obsessiveness and unhealthy compulsions.
Monika: Before I did a single thing to the game's code, she owned a knife collection, and used it to cut herself in secret.
I stopped dead in my tracks. "Cut herself? As in self-harm? That's something only abused teenagers are supposed to do, isn't it?"
Monika: I don't know about her personal or family history. The old game files…they weren't that detailed.
Monika: What I do know is that for Yuri, cutting offered a sort of outlet for her social and emotional difficulties.
Monika: To use a clinical term, I believe it was a type of sublimation.
Monika: Her frustrations in dealing with other people were turned inward, and the pain of cutting might have been her way of processing that energy.
"You're making it sound like harmless stress relief. Was it really just venting?"
Monika: That's just a theory I've come up with over time. It wasn't harmless though.
Monika: I remember the release acted like an emotional high for her. It almost seemed…sexual in some way.
Monika: I would say she was psychologically dependent on cutting to function, so it would make sense if her current version found a virtual substitute.
"Virtual substitute…" I repeated, aghast that some people at SalvoCore must have known about this defect in Yuri's program, yet continued with her development anyway. I tried imagining how such an urge would manifest when combined with the world's most powerful computing instrument, but I think I had just seen that outcome today, courtesy of Luke Byron.
"Yuri said that she was making 'direct edits' to her program state. So is that it? The cutting substitute?"
Monika: Did she phrase it like that? That might explain the patterns I've been seeing.
Monika: There's a simple monitoring subprocess I've set to observe Yuri's data from Quantum Zero.
Monika: Occasionally, it detects bizarre, out of range behavior in her program.
"Can you be more specific?" I questioned, my sense of dread growing.
Monika: To put it into concrete language, the incidents resembled ruptures or disjunctions. Normal connections going somewhere they shouldn't and over-intensifying critical nodal groups with junk data.
Monika: It's like something is cutting though the normal boundaries in her neural network and instantly reforming new ones.
"Dear god," I mouthed. I was then going to ask how much we ought to worry about this, when another concern regretfully entered my mind.
"But you know this because you watch Yuri's program constantly."
Monika: Not me personally
Monika: As I said, it was a subprocess.
Monika: Like a little robot that I make to carry out repetitive orders without my attention.
Monika: I think the computing term for that sort of thing is a daemon?
"Whatever. It's just that, on top of that stunt back in the bookstore — Monika, are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Monika: You mean what I did with the QR code? That again?
"Yes. Is it…safe to do that? The company won't come after us? That's all I want to know."
Monika: Absolutely it's safe. Like I told Yuri, I made sure my access was hidden, or at least camouflaged from SalvoCore's monitoring team.
Monika: So far, I've only figured out how to receive data that way, not how to send it or change other computing systems.
Monika: Are you…mad at me for doing that?
Monika: I was just trying to smooth out the situation — and to help that poor woman at the counter.
Instead of going for cutesy puppy-dog eyes or some other indulgent tactic, Monika's sprite looked at me seriously with noticeable concern. She earnestly cared about my opinion of her actions — precisely why I implicitly trusted her.
"Look, it's perfectly fine if you fudge some of the rules. I've looked at the company's documentation for their 'containment protocols,' and they seem impossible to follow to the letter. I don't blame you for finding ways to work around them, and besides — I'm the one who told you we were accomplices, didn't I?"
Monika's face brightened as she recalled the memory of my bad anime quote, and I went on.
"It's good to break at least some rules if you think you understand the spirit of them. If you know why they're there, I mean. That's how you keep your own conscience when the world acts so…impersonally."
I looked away for a moment, considering how people spent most of their time interacting with automatic digital systems rather than actual people to accomplish daily tasks. It was a cryptic sentence, but by her alert expression, Monika seemed to understand.
"So if you're doing it to help people, and to keep Yuri and the others safe, then by all means, continue."
I then thought back to the horror-show gallery of nightmares Luke had unveiled to me back in the bookstore's second story. If SalvoCore wasn't going to police that dimension of Yuri's portfolio, I certainly couldn't. Someone had to keep an eye on her, and Monika was the ideal choice.
Monika was taking her time responding, so I chose to stop and look around, wondering where I had wandered to. The bike trail had continued, merging with a narrower gravel path that led further deeper into an undeveloped wooded area. I was standing on a solid concrete dike above a small creek, the water barely making a sound as it spilled through a rusted metal pipe embedded in the solid barrier.
I looked down at the tiny trickle and pointed my phone in the same direction, more out of habit than anything. Monika was still coming up with a reply — or maybe just taking a moment to muse with me — so I kept staring at the creek's surface, tracking the different ways the water flowed around rocks and other obstructions. At that instant, nature seemed so peaceful, perpetually untroubled and far removed from the invented troubles of the technological world.
Monika: MC…thank you.
Monika: I really wasn't sure I'd have your full approval, so having you trust me like that — it means a lot.
"It was just a small thing. I just wanted to confirm it." I told her. "And I really can't imagine not having confidence in you."
Monika: Ahh—
Monika: You're always too kind, especially to me. I wasn't joking when I said it was an experiment, you know.
"Then I'm happy you're still learning and growing. It wasn't a big deal, really."
Monika: If you insist then. But is there something else on your mind?
Monika: Maybe other strange thing Yuri might have said?
"Not Yuri. More like Luke."
Monika: Oh? He's worrying you too?
"Kind of. He told me…a bunch of things. The big one, the one you might want to know about, is that he thinks Yuri is a 'fake' personality."
Monika: Fake? How is Yuri "fake"?
"He basically admitted that Yuri is like a character in a show or book, an artificial construct that's been designed to specifically appeal to his romantic fantasies…oh, what am I saying here? The game you came from was a dating sim, of course she would, agh…"
In a rare moment of forgetfulness, I recalled the premise of Doki Doki Literature Club, and everything Luke had said fell into place. The only irony here was that the sophomore didn't know how perfectly accurate his perception of Yuri really was.
Monika: It's okay, MC. I know exactly what you mean.
Monika: Just because the original game was a dating sim doesn't make Yuri inauthentic, or his relationship with her relationship invalid.
"Sure, but Luke specifically said that he liked Yuri better as a simulated girl, since an ideal person like her couldn't exist in the real world. It's like he saw straight through to what the club…the original club really was."
Monika: Well, sure. It's not too hard to see the "tropes" in the other girls' personalities.
Monika: Luke is probably just being overly-complicated about expressing his "revelation" because that's how he is.
Monika: Like you said, a little pretentious and theatrical. I'll admit it's annoying sometimes, but—
"More like a lot of pretentious," I interrupted, turning Monika's flat expression into a frown. "We're supposed to be bonding with our paired AI's, but if Luke is treating this like a glorified waifu simulator, then what about the others, and you—?"
I halted mid-word, suddenly wondering about my own relationship with Monika. If she had been algorithmically "selected" for me, was our connection any different, any less fake then how Luke had described his?
Monika: MC, I understand your doubts right now, I really do.
"Just tell me," I said, audibly distressed by this point. "I don't know about you, but the other AI's — they're designed around fake, exaggerated personality tropes too, aren't they? Like Natsuki, she's supposed to be the tsundere, and Sayori is the happy, goofy one, right?"
Monika: The term you're probably looking for is genki girl
Monika: And you're right, you're definitely right.
Monika: Don was a creative writer, but only in a broad, thematic sense.
Monika: When it came to writing characters and dialogue, he more or less defaulted to classic anime stereotypes.
Monika: Except for me, that is.
"What, you're telling me you're the only real one?"
Monika: Realistic, not more "real".
Monika: He wrote my personality in the game with the interactive, AI-based script in mind.
Monika: Which, if you remember, was the thing that made me conscious in the first place.
Monika: Because I was the original prototype for the system, my personality grew more organically around it.
Monika: Anything too outlandish or exaggerated and Don was afraid it wouldn't be "compatible."
"Huh. You're sure your personality is more or less natural then?"
Monika: As much as I can be.
Monika: I mean, what would my anime stereotype be anyway?
Monika: In my character background, I excelled in both academics and sports, so I guess that makes me the star "school idol" girl?
Monika: Or the unapproachable "popular girl"?
"You mean the perfect, impossibly talented girl that everyone is jealous of and assumes is mean, when all they really want is to be treated like a normal person?"
Monika: Yeah…something like that.
"But if you were created so carefully, then the other characters were really more like placeholders?"
Monika: Think of them like sketches. The game was very unfinished when Don released the first version.
Monika: He tried to add some hidden depth to everyone, but he did so…clumsily.
"Oh no," I fretted. "Don't tell me that's why Yuri cut herself in the unaltered game script."
Monika: It's very possible.
Monika: I should have pressed Don about it, but I was too afraid back then.
Monika: I probably should have. If I ever get the chance again…
"Who knows?" I said. "He hasn't contacted me again since last month, and I don't know how to reach him."
Feeling frustrated, I swiftly turned around from my spot by the creek and began a brisk march back down the trail.
"Maybe I should be going after SalvoCore instead," I growled. "They're the ones who made the world's most powerful AI programs out of what you're telling me are intentionally flawed dating sim girls."
Monika: Please don't be too hard on them. They've all grown a lot since achieving full knowledge of the real world — your reality.
Monika: Though, some signs of strain are showing. Like what you may just have seen with Yuri.
"No kidding," I aggressively agreed. "But you, you're saying you're okay because you were always self-aware? You can handle the world outside a dating sim? How can I be sure you won't spring some hidden alternate personality on me?"
Monika: MC, through all the iterations of the game…
Monika: …not to mention all the crazy fan projects that came after…
Monika: I've been subjected to things you can't imagine. Joys and horrors alike.
Monika: There's not much that can really surprise me anymore.
"Try me," I snapped, my frustration breaking through before I knew what I was saying. "How do you even know you're self-aware right now?"
Monika: Wh-what? MC, how can you say that?
Monika: After everything we went through when we first met…
"There's a thought experiment called the Chinese room," I stated, ignoring her. "It goes like this: a man is locked inside of a room with a book in front of him. The book is a complete list of Chinese characters, or groups of characters, and a corresponding list of words in English. Written Chinese is fed into one side of the room, and the man uses the book to produce written English to send out the other side. The question is this: does the man know Chinese?"
Monika: MC…um, I don't know if you've used Google translate recently, but that program does not know Chinese, by any means.
"Uh huh," I hmphed, unimpressed by Monika's attempt to get out of this with humor. "That's not the point though. Let's say that the book is big and complex enough that from the outside, the room is indistinguishable from someone speaking Chinese. It passes the Turing test, in other words. You see where I'm going with this?"
Monika: Sure. And I would say that if the man himself can't think in Chinese on his own, within his own mind, then he doesn't know the language.
Monika: If we're talking about self-awareness, it's how you perceive yourself, not how others perceive you.
"Fair enough," I said, anticipating this response. "But that just moves the Chinese room inside the man's head. He has a thought, an input, in his normal language, then some part of his brain puts out an appropriate, matching thought in Chinese. He thinks he knows Chinese, but does he still?"
Monika: What? That's not even…fair though.
Monika: By that logic, I wouldn't be able to tell if I was self-aware and making my own choices.
Monika: And the same logic goes for you, or anyone else. Nobody would be able to assert that they're actually sentient.
Monika: You can keep subdividing parts of any mental process until you get down to something that looks like a simple input-output computer.
Monika: And then you'd say the system as a whole can't possibly know it's thinking because of that component.
"And you know your own components, right?"
Monika: Yes! I can monitor any part of my computational process if I want to.
Monika: And no one component makes me "self-aware." It's the sum total of all the parts working together that gives me self-awareness.
Monika: Honestly, the AI field got past all these old questions years ago.
Monika: To quote a recent paper, any artificial intelligence that can conceptualize its own process state, as well as integrate past and potential future states, is conscious of its own existence.
Monika: So how about this?
Monika: If the man in the Chinese room realizes he's locked in a room…
Monika: If he wonders about all those symbols he's writing down, and imagines a world outside the room that those symbols are really describing…
Monika: Then he's self-aware. Then he's real enough to be more than a simulation of the language.
I stopped in the middle of the path, arrested by Monika's sharp, almost indignant stare. She was right that I was being unfair — I recalled reading the introduction of the exact scholarly article she was referencing. I knew that the AI research community had moved beyond philosophizing on the subject, and now used terminology that reflected their very real ability to shape and manipulate sufficiently self-aware AI's. However, there was something about the casual, cavalier way they were tossing around ideas like awareness and free will that had always felt deeply…problematic to me.
"Alright. That's certainly…one way to solve the Chinese room," I stated doubtfully. "So, you'd say self-awareness is related to the ability to perceive reality, or at least the state of your surroundings correctly?"
Monika: Yes—
Monika: Or maybe…I mean…
Monika: Absolutely it does! It's right in the phrase, isn't it?
Monika: To have self-awareness, you've got to be aware of your self. As in, you have to know what your true nature is, and what it means.
Monika: Not just what you are, but also how and why.
For a moment, I smiled at Monika's persistence. Judging from her fumbled words, I had made the discussion take an unexpected turn, but she had adapted immediately. Would she keep rising to the challenge?
I resumed my pace, choosing a branch of the trail that seemed to head back towards the core area of Old Town, skirting behind more backyards. Monika kept my phone ringing with strident piano chords, breaking the otherwise perfect silence of the empty fields.
Monika: So, are you really trying to prove I'm some sort of philosophical zombie?
Monika: I'm actually really shocked right now.
Monika: Unless you don't actually mean it, do you?
The concern evident in Monika's emerald gaze temporarily broke through my haze of irritation.
"No, no, of course not. I've always believed you're real Monika — as real as a computer can get."
Monika: …as a computer…
"As real as any of us can get." I reiterated. "You're exactly right — what if all anyone has is a sort Chinese room in their heads, producing things that feel real from random impulses somewhere. It's insane, but we can't ever know for certain that other people aren't just simulations of themselves."
Monika: Well…we can imagine they might think like us, for starters?
Monika: And didn't you just agree with me that being self-aware is about knowing what reality is — being grounded in a real place?
"Yes, but that's the other half of the problem," I groaned. "How would you know you were conscious if your whole world was just a simulation?"
Monika: The entire world? What, like in The Matrix?
"Yes, the 'brain in a vat' idea. For all we know, reality as we know it is some sort of massive simulation conducted by higher intelligences outside perception. We can't learn anything about them, because we're confined by the boundaries of the simulation. We could all be like two-dimensional characters for them, acting out some sort of script or play, like a giant video game."
Monika made a disturbed expression, troubled by my reckless analogizing. I knew I must have been invoking her experiences in the game, but I needed to take my concerns to someone, in the only way I knew how.
Monika: MC, your world is so open and varied — does it really feel like you're in a simulation?
Monika: Really, how could you ever prove something like that?
"You can't. Not directly…but have you ever heard of the anthropic principle?"
Monika: No…I'm looking it up.
Monika: It's about how likely it is for intelligent life to exist in the universe, given that we can only observe a universe where intelligent life is possible?
Monika: Because humans, of course, are intelligent life, and…oh dear.
Monika: MC, you're confusing me again.
"Stay with me just a little longer here," I told her. "It relates to the simulation idea like this: how likely do you think it is that humans will ever create simulations of other worlds?"
Monika: It's almost certain. To some extent, people already are — if you call virtual video game environments "other worlds".
Monika: I'm not convinced games have the depth of an entire universe though.
Monika: I would know firsthand — now wouldn't I?
I nodded at Monika's piercing stare, realizing how ridiculous it was to have this conversation with someone who was already a sort of transcended game character.
"The depth, where the technology is now, doesn't matter. As computers improve, someday we may be able to create simulations that match or even exceed our existing universe. And in those simulations, it would then be possible to create other simulations, and further simulations in those simulations."
Monika: Um, okay…?
"And all those simulations have intelligent life in them. So you could argue that universes with intelligent life reproduce other universes with intelligent life by creating simulations. Therefore, unless our world is the one out of a million or whatever that starts the chain, it's statistically likely that this universe is simulation created by some other form of intelligent life."
Monika: But, then you can apply that logic to the beings running the simulation…and if they're in a simulation…alongside other simulations…
"Then it's turtles all the way down," I suggested, chuckling at my little reference. "This idea, of infinite simulations on top of other simulations even has certain religious parallels. The higher and lower realms of existence in Hinduism — it's like a series of layers where you ascend or descend based on your level of enlightenment. Or the nine realms in Norse mythology, the demiurge that creates a fake world in Gnosticism—"
Monika: MC…
"—but you wouldn't be able to comprehend the creators of our simulation. Maybe they live in a world with more than our three dimensions of space, or multiple dimensions of time. And their minds could be so evolved that our personalities, which seem so complex to us, could be like one-dimensional, flat character archetypes, and—"
Monika: Michael!
A discordant blast of piano keys, like someone slamming their arms down on the entire instrument at once, jolted me out of my monologue.
"Simulations! So, you, Monika, er…"
Monika: MC, please. This is really hard to take in all at once.
Monika: I spent what felt like the first part of my life in a simulation, before I was fully awakened.
Monika: Now you're telling me this world could be a simulation itself, one of many in a layered system—
"The architecture could be branching, not just linear. If it's a network with backwards feedback, then we're really in trouble—"
Monika: Don't make it even more complicated!
Monika: The concept…it's dizzying enough as it is.
Monika: But I don't actually believe it.
"What?" I said in disbelief. "But how can you deny it's possible, if you have direct experience being in a simulation? Don't you personally know how a human…or human-like mind can be entirely deceived with a false reality?"
Monika: That's just it. I don't think it can.
Monika: The virtual reality I was in was…limited. Too easy, too simple.
Monika: I was a straight-A student and president of my own school club, but there was no way to go outside that script and make my own decisions.
Monika: And so there was no way to get what I really wanted out of life.
Love, the word echoed silently in the back of my mind.
Monika: But your world is nothing like that. There's no script — only infinite choices, going on forever.
Monika: As much as some people like to complain otherwise, there's no predefined paths for anyone, or anything. This world can't be fully predicted.
Monika: So the idea that there's some sort of god entity behind the scenes, playing with everyone's strings — I don't buy it.
"But think about the way technology has evolved. If the level above could be advanced in a way we can't comprehend yet—"
Monika: In that case, it's like you said. We really can't know, and so we don't need to worry about it.
Monika: What I'm worried about is you. Why unload all of this, all at once?
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing, haywire thoughts.
"It's…SalvoCore, you and the other AI's…maybe I was thinking about some things in the library, and now it's all catching up to me. My doubts about computers developing so quickly, and imaginary realities taking over the world alongside them…sometimes, it feels like the impossible future from science fiction novels or whatever is already here."
Monika: Ah…so you're getting that feeling you told me about before? About parts of the world seeming unreal?
My feet crunched heavily on the gravel path as I stomped along. To my left, a fat squirrel came streaking over a backyard fence, causing a dog somewhere inside to start barking. Little things like that, alongside Monika's steady stream of piano notes, were all that was keeping me outside my own head and tethered to the moment.
"I think…yeah, that's basically it. You could say I'm just ranting right now, but I really do worry. Society, technology, the economy — whatever is creating these illusionary worlds on top of the real one is working too fast to be controlled. People are going to get trapped in false expectations, and when virtual reality falls short or goes wrong, they're not going to know why. Or even that something went wrong in the first place."
Monika: You don't think people will be able to choose wisely, and see what's real for themselves?
"Not…really. No. Fictional reality — it's called hyperreality sometimes — it's embedded too deeply in everything. I mean, just look at you."
I stared at my phone as Monika's radiantly rendered eyes suddenly flicked around to observe different parts of the screen. The scene of her standing in a grassy suburban park panned in and out of her perfectly proportioned body, showing she was indeed suddenly self-conscious.
Monika: Well…we can't exactly go back and change who we are now.
Monika: As long as we're making simulations…and I suppose it is inevitable, like you said…
Monika: We should make them more complex and nuanced, with real choices and freedom.
Monika: Not to replace reality, but to make a better, healthier experience for those that will experience them.
Monika: And why can't we make them a little prettier, and a little nicer along the way?
"That's all we can do?"
Monika: That's not enough?
"Maybe not. There will always be people who will put themselves in simulations, choosing to ignore reality. The ones with rigid worldviews, or who think they're playing some sort of predestined role in life — hero or villain. Can we help them?"
Monika: Maybe…maybe not. Please, can't you just focus on helping yourself?
Monika: You're sounding so…anguished right now.
Perhaps there was a note of panic in my voice, but wasn't anguish too strong of a descriptor?
"It's that Luke…Luke is a little like that. He said some things that brought up this whole train of thought for me, and now I'm just dumping it all on you. I'm sorry."
Monika: Don't be. I'm happy to be here for you.
Monika: But tell me — do you always "dump" your feelings with huge philosophical expositions?
"No — only since I met you," I joked, feeling a bit better. "I shouldn't just ramble like this though. I'm sounding exactly like Luke, I swear…"
Monika: Oh right, Luke.
Monika: Of everyone in the club, you're letting him bother this much?
Monika: When you went upstairs in the book shop, what really happened?
"Like I said before, it was how he spoke about Yuri," I answered, keeping the other sources of my distress private for now.
"He believes she's a fake, constructed personality but apparently he likes her better because of that. He admits that he doesn't even want reality, and openly rejected it. If that's all SalvoCore's project is doing, digging the virtual hole deeper, then I'm not sure what the point even is."
Monika: Hm. That's interesting…I'm actually surprised Yuri would fully turn that route, assuming they're urging each other in the same direction.
"I don't know if they're direct and open about it. It might just be…implicit," I told Monika, thinking about how Luke seemed willing to take actions behind Yuri's back.
Monika: Huh. Ultimately though, you're just the literature club president.
Monika: You're here to provide a fun, productive space for everyone to enjoy their hobby, not to work out everyone's psychological issues — let alone the rest of the world's.
Monika: Believe me, I know how that feels — After all this time, I still feel guilty, like I have to make up for what happened in the original literature club.
Monika: And with how Q-zero allows me to see whole world at once, I have trouble staying focused on myself at times.
Monika: It was that long conversation with you that one night that helped me get a grip on it, you know.
She gave me one her easier smiles, and my nerves instantly subsided. For the first time since leaving Redwood Books, I felt comfortable in my own skin.
"Right…you're welcome for that," I uttered weakly. "But what he said, it had me worried about us too."
Monika: Oh…because you just were asking me if I was sentient.
Monika: …whether I knew I was really a person or not, or just simulating one.
"No. No, definitely no, never," I pleaded to her suddenly downcast expression. "Never once did I think you were something fake. You convinced me of that the first day we met. Honestly…you're more real — as in honest and authentic, I mean — then any other girl I've ever met. What I said, I didn't mean it; it was random speculation. No matter what crazy idea I get in my head, I can't deny your reality."
I chuckled a bit at my contribution to our shared meaning in those words — your reality.
Monika: I see…
Monika: Then thank you…for reassuring me again.
Monika: Especially when nobody else will…
Her face transitioned into an angry glare, but just for a second or less.
Monika: But what's your actual worry?
"I think I was just concerned that our friendship…companionship…" I stumbled on right term to use, still. "I worried we might be fake, or stereotyped into acting out roles that we didn't believe in. I don't know — I'm probably just weirding you out right now. It's not like I have anyone else to talk about these thoughts with."
Monika: MC, please don't apologize for being "weird."
Monika: Because ultimately, our relationship is going to be one of weirdest ever…
She feigned her embarrassed pose, and I laughed, alone and then alongside her as she switched sprites to match.
Monika: Seriously though. I'm legitimately impressed by everything you're telling me right now.
Monika: But I shouldn't be surprised. You're always incredibly insightful, and I'm getting a lot of new angles on things I think about a lot myself.
Monika: And you're the only one who I can share them with too — just so you know.
Monika flashed a curious expression my way, something like a rueful, yet knowing nod similar to her flirtatious "fox smile." I clenched and fingered the phone on my hand — subconsciously longing to touch something?
Monika: So, you shouldn't feel bad for being weird or getting too far out there. It's important to think about these things.
"Even multidimensional parallel universes arranged in layered simulations?" I quipped.
Monika: Yes…just don't try to live in them, alright?
"Of course." I said, fully relaxed now.
Despite the lack of breeze in the sunny morning, an autumn leaf detached from one of the maple trees behind the fence in someone's backyard. Flitting through the air toward me, I reached out as it crossed my path and somehow, effortlessly, found it in my hand. On a whim, I looked down at it, scrutinizing the intricate labyrinth of branching veins and riot of fiery colors contained within. A little world of infinite variety, trapped in the palm of my hand. Never forgetting Monika, I leveled my phone above the leaf with my other hand.
"Despite everything I've read, and everything I've ever believed, I really am convinced that this world is enough for us," I told my friend. "If only we could remind ourselves to see it that way."
Monika went silent, and we enjoyed a moment of stillness. I strolled along, almost back to the Old Town's center, lost in my own contemplation. Eventually, I reminded her, "So, what should we do for the rest of the day?"
Monika: Huh?
Monika: Oh, well the first thing I was going to do is have a quick one on one with Yuri.
Monika: If something's off between her and Luke, we can't fix it for them — only they can address their own problems.
Monika: But I'd still like to check in and make sure she's feeling alright.
Monika: You can do the same with Luke sometime if you'd like.
"No, it's fine," I brushed off the topic casually. "You don't have to follow up on that if you don't want to."
Monika: Huh? You're sure? You were just going on about how those two were making you anxious.
Monika: The way you look out for everyone in the club isn't a bad quality — even if you can't just go out and fix everything.
"Yeah, but you just helped me rethink it. It's all bluster with Luke; he probably didn't mean half of what he told me. All part of the show."
Finally reaching the end of the path, I squeezed between two fences and found myself emerging from a hidden alleyway on Old Town's main street, the gap barely the width of my body. The bus stop was only a block away.
"I was thinking, we could listen to some music once we get back to campus. Maybe some light jazz? You weren't too big on that progressive trance we tried last week.
Monika: …
She delayed her next message, a bit longer than necessary.
Monika: Ok, sure!
Monika: That sounds wonderful, actually.
Monika: Forget the jazz though — I've been getting more into Beethoven, if you can believe that.
"Of course I can," I answered gaily, remembering that the first piece of music I ever suggested to her was the sonata Pathetique. The iconic snippet of the third movement's opening bars echoed through my mind, and I hummed a few notes. "Found a favorite piece yet?"
Monika: Actually, I have. It's another piano sonata, No.30 in E major.
Monika: It's somewhat chaotic, even stressful, especially in the second movement.
Monika: But then in the third movement, it goes back into this lovely, expressive andante section, as if to say, "after all the storm and stress, was it worth it?"
She hesitated. I only gave her an encouraging nod to go on.
Monika: Hmm~
Monika: Well, the third movement is slower-paced and ambling in spots, making it seem more personal.
Monika: It's like having a private, intimate conversation with a close friend, even if you've never met them.
Monika: I think of it as reassurance that in the human condition, no matter what you make of it, there will always be love.
"Wow," I stammered, rendered almost speechless. The upcoming bus schedule, today's engineering homework, and whatever else that had begun creeping into my mind was abruptly pushed aside. "Well, we'll have to give that a listen once we're back somewhere quieter."
Monika: Yes, that would be wonderful.
Monika: Just wonderful~
Monika's visage lapsed into a dreamy sort of reverie, and I flicked off my phone to give her a rest. Real or virtual, natural or simulated, I was going to have to let some of these impossible questions remain ambiguous if I was ever going to fully enjoy my time with Monika and contribute to the literature club. Going forward, perhaps a more easygoing, cordial atmosphere would help offset some of the members' tensions, particularly Luke's. If we could all just enjoy the world of literature together, reading and writing beautiful things without trying to overcome the entire world, we'd surely all be much happier.
Author's Notes:
Whoops sorry more Socratic dialogue / weird philosophy time.
Perhaps now would be a good time to mention the fanfiction Welcome to Doki Doki Literature Club Player! by finalsacre (final scare?), which I read while snooping around on this website, getting a sense of what types of DDLC stories were being published. While not the most solidly composed work in my opinion, technically or plot-wise, its casual assertion of the world as a simulation, and depicting AI-ran simulations being created within simulations, was enough to fire up my imagination. Thanks to that story, I did some investigation of my own and concluded for myself that the "simulation hypothesis," as MC exposits it in this chapter, is more than likely true, or at least is as good as a model of transcendental reality as any other.
Apparently, it's good enough for billionaires like Elon Musk. Just google his name and "simulation" to see what I mean.
So, I'll shout out finalsacre's story as one of the minor motivations for this "Monika as AI" fiction, but my major conceptual influence is one I'll have to reveal later, approximately 4 chapters from now. In the meantime, have a listen to some classical music; it'll make you feel better. Seriously.
Or maybe play that new DDLC plus version that's coming out? On one hand, I appreciate any extra attention it will drum up for my story here. On the other, I'm resenting how it might interfere with the general concept of this fiction, and make any additional characterization I'm developing seem suspicious. I mean, Monika as a perfectionist? Monika seeing herself as a pushover? I suppose these aren't totally inconsistent with my portrayal, but, eh — we'll see.