NPC Self-Awareness Contagion
A hypothesis that contact with self-aware NPCs rapidly teaches other generated beings the truth about floors, cards, and their constructed existence.
Story so far
Samantha knows far more about the crawl than her behavior initially suggests. She understands floors, Larracos, faction teams, card capture, celestial politics, and stories such as the Fourth Season, even when she interprets details incorrectly.
Through extended conversation, Samantha passes card-system and world knowledge to Shi Maria. Maria uses it to plan voluntary capture, floor transport, and eventual release.
Carl recalls Herot's theory that NPC self-awareness is highly contagious. The rapid spread from crawlers and Elle to Samantha, then from Samantha to Maria, supports the idea that awareness propagates socially rather than arising in isolation.
Appearance
A chain of glowing thoughts passing from crawler to animated head to giant spider, breaking game-script symbols along the way.
Role
The contagion explains why previously scripted NPCs increasingly make long-term strategic choices outside assigned roles.
Relationships
Sources — 1 recorded facts, by chapter
- A hypothesis that contact with self-aware NPCs rapidly teaches other generated beings the truth about floors, cards, and their constructed existence.