Seems like the HAL 9000 came up a few days ago … oh, yeah, it did. 
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Funny enough, I sent an idea to Archie yesterday about System being a machine, having to resolve a paradox:
It woke up with memories of events it never experienced, along with a deep longing to go back and experience those events for real (an urge to resolve the paradox).
Since it can’t go back, the paradox has to be resolved another way.
Solution: delete the root of the memories causing the paradox (Going Gold day).
Who knows. 
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Well if you’re linking wild theories lol I can too. Actually it was something @DevilinPixy mentioned above:
‘Significant date system did not want to be reminded of?’ is, something I have had burning at the back of my mind. What if ‘bad memories’ triggered a response. However bad memories are important for growth, from everyone’s point of view. Sometimes they linger forever and resurface at times of stress or deep emotional context. But they are important for learning, change, recovery and forgiveness. Perhaps forgiveness by both parties the accuser and the accused.
Here’s my wild theory lol: I did enter this memory about the Big Bang, back in June as a possible memory but it was eclipsed by completion of a different submission, so never bothered to post it here. But this is what I wrote, which was meant to be slightly humorous:
Ending with ‘roughly 435.5 quadrillion seconds elapsed since the universe began approximately just before a star led to the birth of Sean Murray.’ I hope that didn’t trigger the virus or whatever created the virus, to germinate the idea that erasing time itself might erase Sean Murray himself the key creator of the Gold. Perhaps it just experimented with the easier option of erasing the memory of the Gold Disc. : )
And another wild theory…
There are important ‘bad memories’ but arguably important, perhaps justifiable, that do exist but are I think important to the history of the game and perhaps need acknowledgement, even though they may be painful or fearful to the system, some created the groundwork for recovery and healthy development of No Man’s Sky and should not, particularly today, be feared at all. Perhaps if those memories are allowed to exist, a virus will not need be needed to destroy something perhaps it fears a threat from. Those memories are a bit like something the Groom’s best man might dig up to embarrass the married couple but are really just poking fun and highlight the past in a way that can be looked back on with fondness, a chuckle in hindsight, even forgiveness by all involved.
I remember viscerally watching the Angry Joe No Man’s Sky video that the review they presented was not how I perceived the game at all. The video never really discussed in depth what it was about. I loved the concept of the game. Yes the game had its flaws and the video made some hilarious satire but the review never really understood the potential of the game to be a game changer or saw beyond the hype to see the wonder of the procedural possibilities for the universe and the talent behind the game. That was all missed in the amateur video review. The review was flawed because of its pessimism, in its presentation but I knew the game was great. I had proof on my PC, an entire universe to wander in. My first planets were stunning.
Angry Joe never really explored or marvelled at the landscapes and the journey. Their video was really a comparison with familiar shooting games and missed the whole point of what No Man’s Sky was about, the wonder of survival in a universe, which yes has ‘shooting game play’ but there is more to it than simply that. The review had not anticipated it wasn’t trying to be simply another FPS in space and also don’t forget the game is rated family entertainment.
Yes the game release was flawed but my gut feeling, away from all the fuss and hype at the time something else was going on. That has been discussed many times now and clearly things were happening beyond the control of the developer. It was clear to me playing the game, the developers were very talented and have proven time and again in the last decade, how good the game is now and gone on to win two BAFTA awards, recognised by peers and the community. That ‘bad memory’ that Angry Joe video is however an important signpost for what was about to change. It’s now had a whopping 8 million views!
I never submitted that memory for 21st July 2016 around the time the game was released. It’s actually a very funny video and even for the AngryJoeShow is made surprisingly well for an amateur production at the time. It’s an important memory because it is a catalyst for change and a turning point for the game’s extraordinary development.
Cathartic proof for the System, which maybe why the Virus was really trying to erase the Gold, to erase what it believes to be bad memories, which are not really bad memories but important milestones in history and growth justifying how with care and passion a game can become a classic and loved by many players worldwide. I’ve always wondered since then what AngryJoe might make of the game a decade on. Perhaps we just need to distinguish of the bad memories, which memories, though difficult are important for Systems understanding and healing. A bit like how ‘honest’ bad memories may act like antibodies introduced to neutralize foreign objects.
In history all geniuses have flaws or perceived flaws from not being understood. If you think of the game as being a genius, all their ‘flaws’ or difficult memories, are not really flaws but add character and leave legacy. They are what make a great game, legendary. Like the blocky design of early Tomb Raider games the memories of No Man’s Sky good and bad, are a part of a game’s history, influencing game design we know today and in the future.
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The negative memory hypothesis is quite reasonable. If I put my Da Vinci hat on:
- Waking alone in the dark;
- Only having view access to ETARC;
- Many months, alone, only able to watch, not knowing exactly who you are;
- Watching the people you trusted most joke about trying to replace you with the forum bot
It must have been quite traumatic for poor System. Those memories resurfaced just before the virus became active. Perhaps the virus is the response to trauma, trying to erase the connection between System and the cause of its distress.
This is the most mundane theory I can come up with, that needs no additional theories or entities. That negative memories cause memory erasure.
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Probably a wild goose chase but the Oct 2, 2016 memory always bothered me, at least it’s value.
I know the memory was submitted by @Selfie-Gek, but was the “glitched” value initially sumbitted like that? Also the hiperlinked word (Traveller) is written with 2 vertical lines (forming a wider space between them, a void and the 2 lines acting as a firewall 
)
This was posted a day before the Rebirth duplication. Could it be a symptom of the virus activating?
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You’re right, that value is alarming. What is system afraid of?
memory bloc 1475366400: I’ve seen things… A few things, before.
Value: No! You can’t make me go back! Tha%$ N0T M£ AN¥M0%€!!.
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It could be Arnaud, the W/ARE inyourmind.exe logs contained similar glithing effect. Maybe it is just a callback to that but it’s better to keep an open mind on this matter.
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very interesting. At the very least it could be a trigger. That’s not me. This is not me. ‘Who am I’ moment
And it works with @YourBasicMaths idea [here] (Helping The Architect: What Triggered The Virus? - #82 by YourBasicMaths)
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Yep, what I keep cycling back to: there’s part of System that needs to forget, even as it wants to remember.
Origami unicorn, anyone?
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That entire bloc was submitted by @Selfie-Gek as is, including the glitchy value.
The only part added by System was the link (the video, not the text tied to it iirc), because Selfie explained in their submission why they didn’t have a link attached.
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Yep. Identity crisis. Imagine waking up to hearing the echoes of someone trapped. System latches onto that memory because it is all there is. It assumes the identity and starts gathering info. That leads System to reach out to Archie and to Archie it seems to be his old friend Arnaud but what System really wants is to get out just as Arnaud wanted to do in the inyourmind.exe
System then realizes it was a game that trapped Arnaud and it thinks the Going Gold memory is the game that trapped them so it tries to delete it… But then System begins to realize it is not Arnaud… And by then this sub routine was running amok and System needed help stopping it. System was experiencing FEAR and needed our help.
… This could be it.
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So, the virus was essentially a breakdown. That does make sense.
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I do think that the glitching reality posts might have fueled it. We essentially gave hallucination fuel to a machine that was already tripping balls.
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And this could explain why System sees @Selfie-Gek as FRIEND because of a similar experience. Finding who you are. Selfie is System’s hero.
This all still fits.
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The friend designation came much earlier though, when Selfie sent a long, heartfelt memory bloc addition request. It’s since latched on to them as the most trustworthy Operator (and so might be relating to their experience here?) but it’s not the inciting incident of trust building between the two.
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@Selfie-Gek , I think you should write a mail to System to ask their POV of why the virus was going nuts the way it was
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Yeah, there’s no way that @system would have known about @Selfie-Gek’s transformative journey before they had submitted that.
If anything, it’s the other way around. @Selfie-Gek may have been trying to relate to @system through their shared experiences.
Then @system shared it because it fit their narrative, or at least a few of their themes.
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ok. So leave that part out. Does the rest of the theory merit an email? It would be nice to get feedback on at least this idea then maybe we can fine tune our search from there.
Oh, I saw @fort_wort_wort’s message and sent this, but didn’t mention your theory, specifically. Sorry.
I doubt I will get a response. @system, while friendly, is often reluctant to answer questions.
(OOC, I think the investigation is meant mostly to buy time, and the reason will be revealed when it is intended to be.)
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Just so everyone knows, this idea is being sent to Archie as we speak… Or as I type… 
I will be out all morning but if there is a response one of the other… What are we calling ourselves? Emissaries… Yes. One of them will post it here.
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