Interlude XXV - How My Light is Spent

Ambassador, a newly created tulpa, reflects on their unique existence. Unlike their siblings, Thrive and Survive, who were born from their creator's memories with specific perspectives, Ambassador was given only impressions of memories and a distinct sense of purpose: to serve as a communicative bridge between their creator—"Prime," the powerful psychic known as the Dreamer—and the rest of the world. Guided and encouraged by Thrive and Survive, Ambassador finds comfort in their belonging and accepts their role as a separated reflection of a person, created to safely interact with other minds without leaking Prime's secrets.

Seeking information and advice, Prime directs Ambassador to merge with Elite Agatha. Slipping past the Elite's mental shields, Ambassador proposes a trade of questions. Their first inquiry is about the status of Red Verres, whom Prime had secretly trained and grown fond of. Agatha's emotions spike behind a complex, kaleidoscopic mental shield. Sensing her internal conflict, Ambassador realizes the answer is grave; Agatha confirms Red is injured, and that it is "Bad," though Interpol is keeping the details secret. Experiencing their own visceral grief bleeding through Agatha's body, Ambassador offers to help heal Red if given the chance. As a gesture of goodwill, they share an impression of Survive's unique technique for isolating and destroying mental corruption using rapid partitions. Agatha is fascinated but admits the precise pruning method is currently beyond her capabilities.

Ambassador's second question concerns Champion Lance. Prime wishes to halt the dangerous unown research across the regions and seeks advice on how to persuade the Champion. Agatha warns that Lance is deeply spooked by a secret he shared with the League and advises Ambassador to remain respectful. She then facilitates a direct psychic merger between Ambassador and the Champion.

Merging with Lance is jarring; his mind snaps rigidly between concrete focal points rather than flowing smoothly. Ambassador warns Lance that the "mad god" will continue to encroach on their reality through the unown, urging him to lead the regions in stopping the experiments. Lance refuses, revealing that the unown research is a vital component in completing the Master Ball. He argues that Indigo needs the ultimate capture device to defend against apocalyptic threats like the Stormbringers, glitchmon, or foreign legendary pokemon. Ambassador tries to point out the destabilizing risk of such a weapon, but Lance's mind is locked into his strategic justifications. Frustrated by their inability to find the flaw in Lance's reasoning, Ambassador considers aggressively diving past his defenses, but Prime orders them to stand down and avoid antagonizing the Champion.

At an impasse, Ambassador states they will seek allies elsewhere. Lance issues a veiled ultimatum: any action against Indigo's labs will be seen as an act of war, but if the Dreamer wishes to prove their good faith, they should begin by dismantling the unown research in rival regions first. Seeing a potential advantage in weakening others, Ambassador accepts the challenge.

Reflecting on their failure to persuade Lance, Ambassador spends days observing human arguments online and in person. They realize that people constantly fail to convince one another because they argue using "facts and logic" without ever attempting to understand the underlying emotional drives, childhood heuristics, and values that form their opponent's beliefs. Most people blindly accept information that sparks validating emotions and reject what causes cognitive friction, all while falsely believing their own reason is unclouded. Ambassador sees that true persuasion requires the humility to genuinely understand the emotional root of a disagreement.

Armed with this revelation, the Dreamer's collective decides to bypass rational debate entirely. They target Martin, the newly appointed director of an unown lab, who took the job for prestige rather than a true belief in the research. By gently prodding his memories and amplifying his underlying anxieties about safety, they methodically stoke his fear of the glitchmon. Capping the manipulation with a carefully tailored nightmare, they break his resolve. Two days later, Martin resigns. Feeling Prime's pride and satisfaction, Ambassador embraces their new, dark purpose.