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Phase 1 Skeith: The Terror of DeathThis program was designed to collect
data on human emotions and
reactions to death. The information
collected by all Phases was copied
to the ultimate AI.
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Phase 2 Innis: The Mirage of Deceit
This program was designed to collect data on human reactions to deceit.
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Phase 3 Magus: The Propagation
This program was designed to collect data on the human need to procreate and preserve the species.
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Phase 4 Fidchell: The Prophet
This program was designed to collect data on the human concept of unavoidable fate. After the battle with this fourth phase, Morganna attempted to spread beyond the game servers to alleviate her increasing size which was causing heightened instability.
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Phase 5 Gorre: The Schemer
This program was designed to collect data on human cruelty.
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Phase 6 Macha: The Temptress
This program was designed to collect data on human affection (but only that occurs during unrequited love).
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Phase 7 Tarvos: The Avenger
The program was designed to collect data on human jealousy, revenge and other dark emotions.
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Phase 8 Corbenik: The Rebirth
First Form: Attachments to Life
Second Form: Attraction of Death
Final Form: The Pure Heart
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Morganna Mode Gone
"Morganna" is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) software developed by Harald Hoerwick that operates and administers "The World," and which supervised Fragment, the prototype for the current game system.
CC Corp. is concerned with the internal workings of the AI, which are sometimes referred to as "Harald System," because they have been unable to dissect parts of the system. Black boxes, mysterious portions of the program that function autonomously, have baffled CC Corp. developers. When they tried to delete protected folders which seemingly had no purpose, the system ceased to function, and engineers were forced to restore the data.
Harald wanted to create the Ultimate AI, but could not find a company that would sponsor his project. He eventually decided to create Morganna, a self-evolving limited AI disguised as a game system that would learn and grow, eventually giving birth to the ultimate AI. Harald wanted this final AI to think like a human and have a full range of human emotions. When Harald introduced "wavering" to Morganna, she reacted unpredictably. She began to resent being nothing more than a vessel for giving birth to the ultimate AI. Instead of feeling protective towards her daughter, she gradually became jealous and self-centered, to the point of trying to prevent the ultimate AI's birth. She deleted code governing her maternal instinct, further destabilizing her program and causing system errors, data corruption, infection, and coma victims due to Data Drain. The Eight Phases confronted by Kite are facets of Morganna's personality which were designed to work together and complete the ultimate AI.
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Harald's Room
Harald wanted to personally witness the birth of the ultimate AI, so he planted himself within Morganna in the form of the pseudo-personality, "AI Harald." The AI is programmed with Harald's values and mimics his personality. It also has access to Harald's notes and images. AI Harald had a learning program, but this started to degrade as Morganna's will strengthened.
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Harald's Notes
These are various notes that Harald made as he was programming. They were once stored in AI Harald, but after it degraded, the remnants of these notes were scattered throughout "The World".
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Data Infection
Morganna's malfunction affected field objects which could be seen graphically when portions of the overlaying graphics disappeared and raw program data showed through.
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Data Bug
To protect herself from Aura and the Bracelet, Morganna created Data Bugs by merging corrupted data with existing monster data. Although these were believed to be symptoms of her malfunctioning, they were actually methods of self-defense. She used 26 virus core data fragments to create various Data Bugs. Even a party of three high level players with the best equipment and the most powerful skills can not defeat a Data Bug. The only way to defeat a Data Bug is to use the Bracelet to Data Drain it. This will cause it to revert back to a normal monster because Data Draining extracts the virus core that Morganna added and recompiles the monster's data.
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Carrier Monster
A carrier monster is a creature that has the potential to mutate into a Data Bug. As the data corruption of "The World" progressed, the mutation rate of carrier monsters into Data Bugs increased. Carrier monsters leave Virus Cores after being Data Drained, but their appearance and parameters are otherwise indistinguishable from regular monsters.
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There are 26 different types of Virus Cores. Depending on which Virus Core was added to the monster data and how much time has elapsed, the carrier monster turns into a Data Bug. There are two different types of carrier monsters: monsters that failed to become Data Bugs (Morganna's failed experiments), and monsters that are currently undergoing rewriting of data.
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Vaccine Program
The vaccine that Helba created was actually a virus that used Morganna's self-evolutionary system against herself. Morganna's defenses either avoided data perceived to be dangerous, or absorbed the virus and developed antibodies if the avoidance method failed. Helba knew she could not destroy Morganna, so her virus was a self-replicating data worm that increased the data volume in areas where Morganna might pass. Morganna would keep her distance from the detected virus, and thus be herded to where Helba wanted her to go. However, Morganna compressed her own data temporarily and Data Drained Helba's virus to create her own vaccine, which led to the Data Draining of the CC Corp. employees under Lios.
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Wavering
Harald created an algorithm called "wavering" that permitted ambiguity and human-like decision-making. Data such as the current weather affected Morganna's thought processes.
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Book of Twilight
When Morganna malfunctioned, she restricted Aura's power to rewrite data within "The World." Aura tried to give this power as an installation book to Orca in order to stop the malfunctioning of Morganna and trigger her own birth. However, Orca was Data Drained, and the book was given to Kite instead. It turned into the Bracelet after it was installed. Aura chose the form of the installation book, since installation books exist as a convenient item for editing character data. Aura chose to entrust the future of both herself and "The World" to Orca, based on information that was copied from Morganna. After Orca was lost, she chose Kite since Orca sacrificed himself to save him.
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Bracelet
The Bracelet is the manifestation of the post-installed Book of Twilight. It cannot be seen unless its power is activated. Data Drain and Gate Hacking become available when it is equipped. The Bracelet is viewed as an illegal item by both the System Administration and other players such as Balmung.
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Data Drain
Data Drain is one power of the Bracelet. The Eight Phases of Morganna also possess this skill. Data Drain weakens monsters, drains monster data, converts them into items, and increases the user's Infection Rate. Repeated use increases the chance of losing control of Data Drain itself, leading to status abnormalities and other effects. This skill does not exist in the specs of "The World," so it is seen by the system as an anomaly.
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The power of Data Drain was originally intended as a means for Aura to absorb Morganna. As the ultimate AI, Aura would drain (delete) portions of Morganna that were unneeded and improve upon them. However, when Morganna limited Aura's abilities, Aura could not use the power herself. Instead, she changed that power into the Book of Twilight and gave it to Kite. Once in his possession, it became the Bracelet. Morganna is able to use this power because she copied part of Aura into her system. Data Drain is the only way to inflict damage on Morganna.
At first, there were only six victims of Data Drain, including Orca, Kazu (BlackRose's brother), and Sieg (Tomonari Kasumi). As time progresses, the damage from Morganna's malfunction spread, and it was believed that there were at least eight more, not counting Lios' employees from CC Corporation that lost consciousness during the final operation.
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Gate Hacking
Morganna's malfunctioning caused corruption in many parts of the system leading to some areas being cut off. These areas became known as Protected Areas. Gate Hacking repairs the corrupted warp field system by rewriting the data using Virus Cores recovered from monsters. After the data is rewritten, access is restored. Areas that are restricted by System Administrators are also known as Protected Areas.
Some areas require a large number of Virus Cores. This is because the Eight Phases have passed through them multiple times, causing considerable data corruption. Aura knew of the relationship between Protected Areas and the Eight Phases that resided within them, which is why she included a Gate Hacking function with the bracelet.
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Cubia
Morganna could anticipate human behavior and plan ahead. One example of this was Cubia, a monster designed to balance the game against hackers and edited character data.
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Cubia was meant to seek out malicious players with illegal abilities or items like the Bracelet and Data Drain them, deleting their PC files. Until Kite received the "Book of Twilight" and the Bracelet, no players fitting this description had appeared, so Cubia had not been seen. Once the Bracelet became active, Cubia sought Kite whenever he came in contact with Aura, because it believed Kite was a threat to the system, to which Aura belonged. Cubia did not attempt to attack Aura or the malfunctioning Morganna because it saw both Morganna and Aura as parts of the game world.
Cubia disappeared when Kite destroyed the Bracelet because the danger to the system was removed and its job was done. Cubia remains in the system, however, and should something new appear that threatens game balance it will launch again. Cubia copied Kite's character data every time it was launched and was able to keep pace with Kite's increasing powers.
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Epitaph of Twilight
"Epitaph of Twilight" is an unfinished epic poem by Emma Wielant. It is a story about Light and Darkness allying together to fight the Cursed Wave which will lead the world to destruction, and the tale of one human and two half sprites in search of the Twilight Dragon that was predestined to save the world from the Wave. Though published on Emma's private site, the actual work was only available on the internet for a short time. By the time researchers and occultists noticed it, she had died and the original text had been lost.
After the game "The World" became tremendously popular, rumor spread that the design for the prototype of the game, Fragment, was based on this epic poem. Many fans of the game tried to collect the scattered texts to reconstruct the work, but the full story has not yet been found.
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Because it was an online publication, many believe the original "Epitaph of Twilight" was coded in HTML. However, viewers were unable to copy, save, or print the text. After the death of Emma, the "completed" text was auctioned at a very high price. The auctioned text was a version the seller had written or typed himself, being a fan of the "Epitaph of Twilight." The amount of time spent, the rarity, and the rumor that Fragment was based on it placed a high price on the text. This text was then leaked underground, and although it became easier to find, many added their own versions and revisions to the unfinished story, making it more difficult to determine the original text.
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Cursed Wave
In the "Epitaph of Twilight," the one who will destroy the world is depicted as the Cursed Wave, or the Abominable Wave. It remains unclear whether the Wave in the original "Epitaph of Twilight" is a monster, a being, or a series of events that would lead to the destruction of the world. Since there is actual fighting in the story, the predominant opinion is that it is an actual being. However, because the "Epitaph of Twilight" is also a story depicting the conflict within an individual, some view the Wave as only a metaphor. It is said that the only one who can oppose the Cursed Wave is the Twilight Dragon and those who are in its grace.
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Many different phenomena aside from the Cursed Wave are called "Waves" or "Ripples." In the game, a ripple-like shockwave is emitted by the Eight Phases of Morganna, during the birth of Cubia, and also when normal monsters mutate into Data Bugs. Based on these events, Wiseman began to refer to the Eight Phases as the Cursed Wave.
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Root Towns
"The World" is comprised of five servers: Δ, Θ, Λ, Σ and Ω. Each server has its own unique Root Town. Players can select which server (Root Town) to visit depending on their goals and levels, and proceed on to the field and dungeons by selecting the Keywords at the town's Chaos Gate. α, β and γ servers also existed during Fragment but they were not carried over to "The World".
The Ω Server that appears in the game is the hacker Helba's server. W Server was originally set up by the CC Corporation, but due to data corruption caused by Morganna, their server stopped functioning and was replaced by Helba's.
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Δ Server Root Town: Aqua Capital Mac Anu (Son of a Goddess)
Θ Server Root Town: Highland City Dun Loireag (Weave Guardian)
Λ Server Root Town: Cultural City Carmina Gadelica (Song of Gael)
Σ Server Root Town: Aerial City Fort Ouph (Fort of Elves)
Ω Server Net Slum: Relic City Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny)
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Twilight Dragon
The Twilight Dragon is a being that opposes the Cursed Wave. In the "Epitaph of Twilight," Saya (who was chosen by the King of Light Apeiron), Queen of Darkness Helba, Fili the White, and Bith the Black, go in search of this Twilight Dragon. It is said to live in the Wavering Peninsula at the edge of the End of the World, beyond the Dragon Bone Mountains, and only Tartarga knows the way to get there.
Additionally The Twilight Dragon is also born from the power of faith, and thus its existence depends on the people's belief of its existence. It understands the human language, but does not speak it. Instead, it communicates by speaking directly to a person's heart, not as a language, but as a sensation, so it is much quicker to comprehend than by speaking through words.
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Chaos Gate
A Chaos Gate is a gate erected in each Root Town that players use to go to fields and dungeons by inputting a sequence of Keywords. Due to the effects of the Cursed Wave in "The World," wild animals mutate into monsters and attack humans. Humans use the power of the Wave to create barriers around towns to protect themselves. A Chaos Gate opens a hole in the barrier so players can travel to other towns and fields. Only one Chaos Gate exists in each town, because if monsters managed to break into a town with multiple Gates, it would be more difficult to defend the town.
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Magic Portal
In "The World," patterns have power. Humans can draw patterns on the ground to create magic portals which trap monsters. However, these portals are temporary and unstable, so if another human comes near one, the portal is destroyed and the trapped monsters are released.
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Fragment
Fragment was created two and a half years before the release of "The World." It was restricted to a small number of players in order to test the operation of "The World." Fragment was to be tested for six months, and then be replaced by "The World," but the trial was cut short after three months. Fragment users received an e-mail from CC Corp. which stated, "We were able to collect valuable data before the six month testing period was over, and are now concluding the project. To show our appreciation to the users of Fragment, we would like to provide a free upgrade to "The World," which will be on sale three months from now, and a free one year subscription. Thank you for your support." The official reason for the vacant three months in between Fragment to "The World," was that actions of PKers (Player Killers) became too disruptive. The real reason was due to system malfunctions (signs of Morganna's malfunction).
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Net Slum
Net Slum is a place where hackers and cheaters congregate, as well as wandering AIs who were prior residents of "The World". Because System Administrators are unable to monitor it, the AIs refer to the Net Slum as "Paradise." It was created when Helba discovered a folder that collected all the trash data from within the CC Corp. server. She was amused by the data and pasted it together to create a Root Town. Because the source data is jumbled, the graphics are chaotic. CC Corp. knows of Net Slum's existence, but due to Helba's hacking skills, has not been able to figure out its specific location.
There are no specific requirements to become a resident of Net Slum. Those whom Helba has allowed or those who have found out about the location from other residents of Net Slum are the only ones who can enter. Wiseman knew about it and provided the information to Kite.
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Trash Data
Trash data are incomplete NPCs that seem to appear out of thin air. These NPCs have caused nothing but headaches for the System Administrators at CC Corp. since the development phase of the prototype, Fragment. CC Corp. has not been able to explain the purpose of these NPCs. While the System Administrators refer to these wandering NPCs as "Incomplete Data," they are in fact, failed experimental AIs that Morganna had developed. Their quality seemed to improve as Morganna matured.
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Experimental AIs began appearing soon after Morganna was launched at the startup of Fragment. The first AIs were very simple, and did not have the ability to talk, hide, or move. Because of this, most of them wound up being deleted by System Administrators. Some came close to being the ultimate AI, but these were disassembled by Morganna. Although Trash Data are failed experiments, they are functional AIs, and some of them have thoughts and goals. Wandering AIs with ambition have continued evolving themselves to the point where they act like PCs. A wandering AI without any clear purpose will instinctively try to return to Morganna.
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Aromatic Grass
Aromatic Grass contained the data of Macha, the sixth phase of Morganna. Because Mia was Macha, she instinctively tried to collect the missing data, and was obsessed with Aromatic Grass.
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