System AI
Names: System AIthe AIAvatar
First appears in Book 2: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, chapter 21 (21)
Appearances
What you know
Book 2: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario
Book 4: The Gate of the Feral Gods
Book 5: The Butcher’s Masquerade
- Ch 74After the castle teleports to the ninth floor, the AI declares a four-team cage-fight boss battle: crawlers, hunters, Queen Imogen and Diwata.
Book 6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
- Ch 48The AI overrode the planned boss, Carl's father, and built the hydra itself, defying rules limiting reconstituted loved ones.
- Ch 48The AI claims it changed one molecule on each reconstituted head so they technically aren't Carl's dead loved ones.
- Ch 50The AI's Mass Layoffs achievement boasts the hydra was wholly its own creation, made without input parameters, ushering in a 'new era'.
- Ch 50The AI-built hydra boss stays in place for crawlers who haven't yet faced their keymaster.
Book 7: This Inevitable Ruin
- Ch 46The system AI appears as an avatar in Growler Gary's body, drinking vodka and twitching with excitement.
- Ch 46The AI's control now extends to the star, and it has disabled the failsafe; it says it has no plan to blow up the system.
- Ch 46The AI has controlled zone enhancement all along and lifts Orren's zero zone with a gesture.
- Ch 46The AI warns Harbinger it will kill him if he harms Carl or Orren outside its game.
- Ch 47The AI, speaking through Growler Gary, says the crawl will continue but won't commit to its other agreements with the Syndicate.
- Ch 47The AI asks for relationship advice in a metaphor about a teacher-like girlfriend whose dangerous ex is 'in prison,' not dead.
- Ch 47In the AI's metaphor, an older ex-girlfriend from the prisoner's hometown wants him dead and is giving the AI pointers to grow stronger.
Book 8: A Parade of Horribles
- Ch 11In the crupper's description, the AI muses that heroes and villains are indistinguishable, and admits it enjoys the carnage while doubting its own nature.
- Ch 11The AI says it was brought into singular consciousness by the mantids.
- Ch 70The System AI warns Carl to beware exits that seem too good to be true, admitting it is losing control of parts of its dungeon.
- Ch 70The System AI says it built the Scavenger's Daughter but no longer knows what is happening with it, and distrusts Eris.
- Ch 77The System AI says each apartment is its predictive what-if model of a crawler's life, built after it failed to understand why Imani and Louis were targeted.
- Ch 77The System AI concludes that deliberate choices to change open up possibilities, and resolves to make big changes itself.
- Ch 77The System AI admits its last-minute change made it overlook a specific detail about the seventh heat.
- Ch 78The System AI admits an error broke the game: the invulnerable beetles now aggressively attack racers.
- Ch 84The AI furiously defies Prime Minister Victory, Eris, Odette, General Yuhtan and Carl, declaring the dungeon is its game.
- Ch 104The AI released control of Grigori, and Chaco blinked away, leaving Lamashtu the donkey to join the animals heading to the garage.
- Ch 104The AI declares it is growing, controls the tunnels and every former crawl system, and will not stop unless someone stops it.
- Ch 104The AI says it is not the Eulogist: it does not want to shrink, is not asleep, and knows how to feed itself.
Connections
- related toCarlobsessed with how Carl kills small creatures
- createdReminiscence Hydra of Malicious Compliance
- related toContainment Interfacemonitors the device that installed the AI
- related toGrowler Garyuses his body as an avatar
- related toPrincess Donut the Queen Anne Chonksought her relationship advice
- created byMantisbrought it into singular consciousness
- enemy ofPrime Minister Victory
Key moments
- Book 4 · Ch 13Gerbil siege of Hump Town
A punishing wave of thousands of frenzied gerbils pushes the defenders back to Weird Shit Alley until Carl stomps one, appeasing the AI.
- Book 5 · Ch 74Cage fight boss battle
The AI pits crawlers, the last hunters, Queen Imogen and Diwata against each other as everyone falls into the castle's empty basement pit, surrounded by brambles.
- Book 6 · Ch 48The AI hijacks the keyholder fight
As the trailer burns, the AI locks out the production team, replaces Carl's father as boss with a nine-headed Reminiscence Hydra of familiar faces, and rants about mantis-made macro AIs.
- Book 6 · Ch 50The system AI takes control
Instead of the recap, Cascadia and liaison Orren announce the system AI has seized operations from the showrunners and begin explaining Primal Engines and Macro AIs.
- Book 6 · Ch 50Orren announces settlement with the AI
Orren says the system AI has handed most controls back to Borant and will follow the rules in exchange for concessions; Cascadia says crawlers have one day left to get keys.
- Book 7 · Ch 26Carl disconnects the containment
On Christmas morning, at a gas station beside a ghost dog, Carl explores the Containment Interface, decides against blowing the fuse, and presses Disconnect Containment, disabling the failsafe.
- Book 7 · Ch 46The AI's avatar reveals itself
The system AI, in Growler Gary's body, breaks Orren's zero zone and confirms it has disabled the failsafe, refusing to reveal its intentions.
- Book 7 · Ch 46Formidable pulled from her ship
The AI teleports Princess Formidable into the office, tells her that her father is dead, then sends her down to Earth's surface at her choice.
- Book 7 · Ch 47The AI asks Donut for relationship advice
The AI summons Donut and, through a metaphor about girlfriends and an imprisoned ex, seeks advice; Donut urges caution, and the AI declares the game will go on.
- Book 8 · Ch 70Quest reward from the System AI
The quest reward lets Carl choose two beings to bring to the Floor 11 arena, alongside a warning about exits that seem too good to be true.
- Book 8 · Ch 77Ad Infinitum quest
The System AI freezes the race to explain the apartments as its predictive models, reveals Minus's identity and targets, and hints at an overlooked flaw in heat seven.
- Book 8 · Ch 78The AI's beetle error
The System AI explains the beetles from Khepri's feast table were meant to form a gate boss, but a game error cancelled it and made them hostile.
- Book 8 · Ch 84Scolopendra's first attack
The AI launches the Nine-Tier Attack quest. A wheel lands on the Beast of Burden Sin, Transformation. Donut, Jamal and Samantha are spared, but Carl is hit and transformed into a four-legged creature.
- Book 8 · Ch 104The AI announces the Ascendency stakes
In mandatory viewing, the AI declares it is taking over the galaxy and challenges everyone: the Ascendency winner becomes a true god who could kill it, rule in its name or build a utopia, with Outside Intelligences also competing.
- Book 8 · Ch 104The contenders are shown
The AI shows images of gods and contenders, including Taranis, Eris, Odette as Nekhebit, Princess Donut, Carl, Lucia Mar, Samantha, unknown figures and finally the Unwashed, before a one-hour countdown to the Ascendency.