Keyaki wrote:the failed Digital Penitentiary might eventually prove useful to keep online as well.
Wait, I thought Pi destroyed the Digital Bastille at the end of Quantum with the Crest Gun-enhanced Data Drain?
"Might eventually have proven useful," to phrase it precisely. If the whole thing was more of an accident that an incident (we don't have enough information to know which it was, but either is plausible), that would still be understandable because they have every incentive to keep random dangerous technology on the internet. That's why the Movie happens, because the evolving virus used to spur adoption of Sophia years ago finally went out of control. And even that accident ends up being great for MaMa, because it results in the reconstitution of Aura.
Keyaki wrote:You saying Pi obtained more information from the NAB?
I' would think so, she's aware that the incident is part of something greater.
Keyaki wrote:That's the problem: if Returner is non-canon, then several aspects of Link no longer work since it connects to Returner.
Meaning, that Returner was featured in Link, I assume~
More than that. It's definitely a problem that Returner is acknowledged by Link if we're supposed to completely forget it (I wish I could remember the contents of that chapter better, though, it's been a while since I played it), but it's even more of a problem because the story of Link begins in Returner. The colorful benign AIDA that appear in Returner eventually become
AIKA. It's hard to forget about Returner when it's one of the main continuity bridges to the story of Link.
Keyaki wrote:You think it could be possible that its just a result of bad translation with the English dub, or is the Japanese dub saying the same thing?
Unfortunately, Shamrock is just as continuity-busting in Japanese.
Keyaki wrote:Interestingly enough, we've seen more action from the anti-Aura faction than the pro-Aura faction, save for Thanatos Report.
Definitely. Although the anti-Aura faction used that time to embed themselves Hydra-style into all major government organs, from the FBI to the local police to NAB. They were as ready as they could be to spring into action the moment anyone caught a glimpse of Aura.
Keyaki wrote:Makes me wonder if Aura were to somehow just disappear completely, but even if she were to be destroyed, she'd just be reborn as we see at the of Link.
She wasn't destroyed in Link, though.
The brainwashing virus was removed from her by the vaccine gear, but even free from the virus it was taking Aura too long to revert back to normal, so AIKA used her power to make her remember. This resulted in the reversal of the Immortal Dusk, and the disappearance of Aura and AIKA in a pillar of light. Aura was damaged by the virus, and AIKA by Aura, but based on AIKA's Chim Doll, the protagonists believe she may be in a process of regenerating. Much like how Tanaka had a dream of Aura's location in Thanatos Report, in bullet Tokio has new dreams about AIKA. Aura meanwhile was stated to have wandered the network with no powers or memories, eventually returning to The World. The World FORCE:ERA itself was designed as an "altar" for her, to welcome her back (presumably by the pro-Aura faction). Meeting Sora, someone with a compatible synaptic map, allowed Aura to regrow from the little girl we see AIKA free from the virus in Link.
Keyaki wrote:But if she were to just vanish somehow it would at least deter the pro-Aura side.
That's definitely what David was fighting for and why he caged her in the first place, and that was more or less the end result of Thanatos Report, I'd think.