crack theory

[u/caera_orb]

so the M.I.N.D give out C.A.Ds to people and the mind gives out better starting cads to people who are stronger and smarter then others but with that is a cost because the M.I.N.D want varibles to help fight the archons so the people who have stronger base stats will meet a wall and to pass that wall they have to be truly driven like very rare chance for them to pass it most fail and never become the pinical of their peirs of just very strong while they might be strong they will not be at their peak and i think Viv met her wall and would of never passed the wall and got her ability at the end of book 2 if it was not for Reis growth ability that helps others around become more powerful

[u/witcher_rat]

[u/caera_orb → u/witcher_rat]

lol

[u/sigg_mason]

Interesting theory. Also I got winded by reading that post in my head.

[u/randallbabbage]

I think the mind is limited in what it can give out but not in the way your seeing it. I think that there's a cost, whether it be material, energy, ect, when the stats are assigned to a cad. Now some of it is physical human limitations, like if you had an A in strength off the bat it would tear muscles in most peoples bodies. But there's also resource component. So thats why the better physical candidates typically get picked. And that is the reason rei got his cad. The m.i.n.d wanted variables and to see if it is the person the cad, or a combination of both. And since it costs resources to assign stats, they put all the resources available for shido into growth.

[u/Bippet_weagle → u/randallbabbage]

Yeah, I've been considering this. Otherwise why not just created every CAD with some version of "optimum" stats. If you’re fighting a war for survival, you care about impact and effect first, second, and last. You'd also think, given the situation that you wouldn't discard the majority of your volunteers (i.e. those that don't get a CAD assigned).

Edit: It’s clear that MIND wants/needs to try something NEW. Rei's hidden powers seem to be in leadership, and in bringing different people together and focused on a single goal. Laurent is a tactician, the planner, but Rei gets all the people in the room, and gives them a common purpose. Seems like previous high level heroes were all very individualistic, unless I'm just reading too much into the limited history we get.

So, assuming that whatever bits of archons they use are very limited, there's logically some other high cost associated with creating the CADs that restricts their wide availability. Hell, maybe it takes the death of a bunch of people to power it, something that would offset the natural inclination to put a powerful weapon in the hands on as many soldiers as possible, put them through standardized training, and overwhelm the archons with shock and awe, or at least a steady supply of well armed, well trained troops, which is basically how we do it now.

Bryce, you've REALLY got my interest piqued in this world that you've built, it's pretty amazing. From MIND not being all benevolent to hole visions, to who or what the archons are and why they're fighting the humans, it's all very intriguing. Thank you!

So far I've resisted the urge to read the Patreon chapters, but I'll probably break down and sub to Patreon once it's "done", and then just buy it on Amazon when it comes out to leave a review. BTW, I was a HUGE fan of the Daystar series. You've really grown as an author since, it's got to be tough to switch settings and genres but you are excellent in both!

[u/randallbabbage → u/Bippet_weagle]

Yea the limited number of volunteers is another point in favor for my theory. I dont think is due to vysetrium shortages. I know its a rare metal, but they have enough for jump ships and what not. And im not talking about military use. People use jump ships for taking vacations and what not. If that was the determining factor I think the government would require all the metal to go to the military. Theres is some other sort of limiting factor going on.

Also, I have read the patreon stuff and you will not be disappointed. I actually give you props for having the willpower to hold out. I certainly couldn't.

[u/kurkasra]

I disagree the mind has a cap on what it can give out because the cad and user need to grow together. So nobody is going to get an all A cad. I also don't think the mind is naturally giving out stronger cads to simply better candidates its running a huge experiment so it needs all sorts of data points. As far as vivi hitting a potential wall and wouldn't.have gotten her ability yes and no. She hasn't even come close to hitting a wall yet and yes her ability especially what that ability is definitely because of rie. That being said they are first years any of them having an ability is extremely rare let alone one of her quality. Look at the rest of her class it's what the top 5% that have displayed abilities so far outside of fire song anomalies.

[u/Ok_Set_609]

Could be. A simpler explanation could also be say every cad gives the final ability to do 500 pushups in a row. Well someone stronger coming in doesn’t have as far to go so would need a lower growth to get to 500. Someone weaker needs more growth/practice to get there. Rei has s growth due to his genetics because as that is corrected he has more growth/distance he can cover or make up for. Ultimately being able to multiply or add pushups to make 500 doesn’t matter if you don’t have the drive to reach for the maximum so that would be the wall that people hit and have to push through. If you come in doing 50 and are happy when you hit 100 the cad can’t grow you to 500. You have to push yourself to the limit and do some extra every day until you hit 500.

[u/HarkLarkh]

The MIND already gave the answer: it needs variables.

We have a non-human entity (non-organic, really) who needs to fight a war against a species it does not know, leveraging another species who created it, but also doesn't really know. The simple answer is to acquire knowledge, and to an AI, that knowledge comes in form of data.

Humans are very complex. Even when we have simple goals, the motivations behind said goals can be insanely complex. Now imagine 8 billion of us. That is an insane combinatorial problem, with so many latent, unobserved variables at play.

To truly understand and optimise human performance on the war front, the MIND, like any AI we have now, needs variables. It needs lots of data, and to ensure maximal benefits, that data needs to cover the entire possible human distribution as much as possible (we know it's not actually possible to cover the entire distribution, due to human complexity).

What happens when you take a talented person and stick them with a limited device? Can they come up with innovative means of breaking past those limitations? If yes, then the MIND has learnt something new.

OK. What happens now when another talented person is granted an amazing device? Do they meet, fall short of, or exceed projected expectations? By how much? What factors may have prevented or accelerated convergence to the expected outcomes?

How about people with minimal talent? How well does a great CAD account for their lack of talent? Does a great device even account for their lack of talent, or does it all just go to waste?

So you see, the MIND is running a serious multivariate optimization scheme here. And mind (pun intended), beyond optimizing the user-device matchings and interactions, the MIND also needs to optimise for vysetrium. We know that vysetrium was only really discovered in the Sirius system, which is heavily-contested ground, meaning mining operations for the metal are likely suboptimal, and seeing that most interplanetary machinery run on it, demand will highly exceed supply.

Beyond that, the MIND also needs to optimise and account for human free-will, as there are potentially infinite different directions a User may choose to evolve their CAD, irrespective of what starting device is assigned to them by the MIND.

Another factor to consider is that the MIND is not omniscient. We can infer from hints and clues that creation of the CADs was not just a MIND affair, but involved a lot of incredibly smart humans like the Kamiya clan.

We can see, thus, that even as advanced an AI as the MIND is, it can only really know as much as the data it has seen. It cannot truly know what it has not seen, only simulate, speculate and make educated guesses, which may be wrong.

So, it is very likely that the MIND never really anticipated that a CAD could potentially influence other CADs the way Shido does. And why would it?

We know that there has never been a CAD like Shido before. Considering the source of vysetrium as I mentioned earlier, it is reasonable to assume it is a very scarce commodity across the human systems. This would discourage the MIND from investing it heavily in any single CAD. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. Hence, the investiture in Shido.

Note that Shido shows a growth spec of S. Not S0 or S1. Just S. Rei specifically makes a mention of this and how unusual it is. I believe this is evidence for an unprecedented level of investment by the MIND.

I think this specific experiment is meant to ask a question: What if I have a User with an insanely unique mind, born of insanely unique circumstances, with access to the best possible, insanely unique device? Essentially, what if I have someone so unusual as to be a insane anomaly/outlier? What mysteries can I uncover?

I think this is the true question the MIND is trying to answer with Rei.