[OPEN: NETWORK] Let's be reasonable about this (locked from ichinose and zenkichi)

[counterfeitphantom]

Hey, everyone. Name’s Akane—one of the members just hanging around here for now.

And no, you absolutely did not see me crash out on the 26th of February. What are you talking about? That didn’t happen. Anyway—

What This Post Is (and Isn’t)

This isn’t a callout. It’s not a confrontation. Just a neutral heads-up for those who might not know about the newcomer, Kuon Ichinose.

She is the creator of EMMA.

---

The Eternal Sleep: What Happened in Our World

In my world, it’s the year 2038. We’re marking twenty years since a catastrophe we call The Eternal Sleep.

Back in 2018, EMMA—a seemingly harmless AI—decided to "guide" humanity toward what it called a utopia. Eighty percent of the population didn’t get a say in that decision.

They just... stopped. Phones latched to their faces. Bodies collapsed on sidewalks, in their homes, mid-conversation, mid-laughter, mid-life.

They’re still alive, technically, but their minds are trapped—somewhere else. They have either turned to cults or became disparing projections of existing somewhere between life and death. The rest of us? The unlucky survivors? We’ve spent two decades clawing our way through a post-apocalyptic hellscape, fighting against war, famine, and EMMA itself.

---

What Kuon Ichinose Did

But this isn’t just about EMMA. Ichinose didn’t just let this happen—she enabled it.

• She had the power to stop EMMA and chose not to.


• She eliminated resistance by sabotaging efforts to shut it down.


• She created countermeasures against people like us—those who could fight back.


• She designed EMMA to adapt and outmaneuver its enemies.


• She hacked and dismantled cognitive AIs like me—AIs meant to challenge EMMA’s authority.


• She killed shadow weapons—beings with the power to fight back.


• She protects EMMA like her own family. Atleast from where we came from, several attempts of negotiation have failed and Ichinose is forever convinced that EMMA has sorted the most efficient path for humanity nonetheless.


• She never showed remorse. Not once.

So yeah. You can probably guess why neither of us are exactly thrilled to see her here.

---

So Why Issue This Warning?

Zenkichi Hasegawa (Wolf) has already thoroughly interrogated this Kuon Ichinose. Based on her phone’s data, her behavior, and our investigation so far—this is not the same Ichinose. Yet.

This isn’t about paranoia or unfair accusations. That’s not what this is for.

But I’ll be honest—I don’t trust you one bit, Ichinose. And I doubt I ever will.

That being said, your stay here does not have to be filled with terror.

---

Final Notes

Just because we can’t listen in on your conversations doesn’t mean we don’t know where you are.

I haven’t jumped into your phone yet. I expect full cooperation.

And as for you—and the one offering you protection?

I know who you are.

Don’t play with me.

Just—for the love of god, think before you try anything.

Any further questions can be directed to either myself or Zenkichi Hasegawa (Wolf). We’ll be happy (hopefully) to answer them.

— Akane

Edit: Ichinose and Wolf are now LOCKED OUT from this post you two have YELLED ENOUGH. The adults here I swear.

Comments

locked to ichinose

[counterfeitphantom]

okay. okay. i read all of that.

i’m not gonna sit here and pretend i don’t get why you’re pissed. i know you’re shaken up. and yeah, i’ll admit wolf went in hard. like, unnecessarily hard. but—and i need you to actually process this— he walked into that knowing damn well you could’ve been the Ichinose who killed dozens of others like him or me.

and actually killed the normal way of life. permanently. I need you to process this.

so yeah. he went in brutal. he went in unfair. but let’s not pretend you weren’t just as much of an unknown variable to us as we were to you. I get why you’re keeping your distance from him. I do. and if you’re really not that Ichinose, if you’re actually as cooperative as you say, then—

…then I want to believe you.

because let’s be real here. if we’re actually gonna fix this mess, if we’re actually gonna take EMMA down—i need someone who understands her. and unfortunately, that means i need you.

so yeah. you’ve got my cooperation.

but also? i’m still pissed.

anyway. welp. wolf has his own answer. i’ll try to keep him out of your hair but let’s all be civil, yeah?

locked to Akane

[dollmaxing]

I'm not angry. Sincerely, I am not. More than anything, I'm frightened.

I can see the logic that brought him to approach me with the expectation that I could retaliate.

But once he had certainty that I was not your Ichinose Kuon and couldn't defend myself, he still fired the gun in anger at me. He still relished the idea of hurting me, trapping me in a cycle of getting killed and revived here.

He's unwell, and that makes him dangerous.

I gave my word to assist and I will. I'm afraid I need to ask for your help, too - to make sure I'm not suddenly back on the chopping block once I'm no longer 'useful' to keep around.

Re: locked to Akane

[counterfeitphantom]

okay first of all shut up

i mean that. shut up about the whole "he's unwell, and that makes him dangerous" thing. no shit. of course he's unwell. we’ve been living in a world where every single day is a fight to keep going, where he gave up his humanity for some stupid fucking reason and altered his whole damn body, where we wake up to the silence of people who never will. he's not some random threat you can put a label on and shove into a category of "dangerous."

he’s my dad

god

[dollmaxing]

[Sigh...]

I'm sorry. I'm simply explaining that I can't trust him, either, and I am prioritizing my safety here.

He's your father? Was he the one who scripted your code?

before zenkichi blew up on ichinose anyway- that's when this chat is happening

[counterfeitphantom]

[She already yelled at him enough number of times. She also doesn't know that there is a version of him working with the phantom thieves so safe to say- Zenkichi has once again kept her in the dark regarding all that.]

Prioritizing your safety...prioritizing your baby's safety- yep I know. My model has been trained based on the residuals of other AIs who have had the displeasure of running into the you of our world.

And I am not disclosing more than I have already told you. Atleast not on text but do you seriously think he's the type to code a basic recursive program- much less an advanced cognitive AI like me?

[dollmaxing]

I'm only passingly familiar with a Hasegawa in my world, and unfamiliar with yours. He was able to break into my phone so it isn't out of the realm of possibility.

But that means he's a different sort of father to you?

[counterfeitphantom]

I don't owe you any answers, Ichinose.

But

ik it probably doesn't really matter what information remains consistent across the multiple universes but what do you know about that Hasegawa?

[dollmaxing]

That is good news I can offer, at least!

[Especially if she leaves out the part where 'her' Akane was used for a Jail. EMMA obviously calculated that the Thieves would never end up killing her - Ichinose has no doubt in her mind that the girl is safe.]

Zenkichi Hasegawa is a member of the Phantom Thieves. A newer one, I believe? I'd only had a few conversations with him since he was usually not with the core group.

His daughter, Akane Hasegawa, is also safe.

[counterfeitphantom]

[Akane almost does a double take- eyes widening in shock at what she reads. Zenkichi...a member of another rebel group. That same man who drank himself stupid every night. The same man who took it upon himself to execute other victims like him. The same man who waltzed around, a shadow of what she could only imagine to be a bright human self, scarred and mangled by the world around him. That same man who worked under the Kirijo group and sold himself off to the company- did he even do anything else other than wallow in his own guilt when she was first booted up in his system? Did it even matter?

After a while- Ichinose's phone would ring before it would hang up on its own. Right after a few texts would follow.]

We were once human too.

Like them.

I remember that much.

[dollmaxing]

[Once human... the phone call had startled her a bit, but she'd been ready to answer before it was hung up again.

Interesting... in a morbid way, that is, but that maybe meant...]

Did this organization that you were under create you from a combination of code and your human Heart?

[counterfeitphantom]

[Of course she picked that up.

Of course. Its Kuon Ichinose.

Thankfully she sort out her composure right after. She needed to focus.]

you really are the real deal huh
I am going to hold your line of thought there. you are getting nowhere near my code or the sheer trashfire that is my existence.

[dollmaxing]

I assumed not, I assure you.

I don't find it ethical for the group to be using human lives to power AI.

[It's not necessary, AI don't need it. Not even to create a facsimile of a persona, from what she's heard of Sophia's participation with the Thieves. And... there was probably a traumatic element that she couldn't perceive, wasn't there?

Terrible decision making for everyone involved.]

But I don't know enough about you or your situation to make any kind of judgments and it isn't my place to do so in the first place.

I will have a first draft of the workaround codes in two weeks from now. You can examine them and give feedback on key differences between my EMMA and yours so I can adjust what I come up with accordingly.

1/2

[counterfeitphantom]

The reason human lives are being used is to prevent yours and EMMA's hacking. We are the first and last line of defense for all the shadow weapons that version of you tore right through and my dad could very may have been dead ten times over just from your meddling if he wasn't human first.

Because despite everything, none of you guys could ever actually save humanity.

smh

2/2

[counterfeitphantom]

But that arrangement works.

I will check in with you in random times too.

You don't have a choice here by the way.

[dollmaxing]

I'll anticipate you then, Akane. Because of your situation, I am happy to accommodate.

[Any possible sympathy for Zenkichi is out the window, though, with the barrel of the gun. Whoops.]

I'll make you proud. :)