Motif · Book 8, A Parade of Horribles

Ad Infinitum

The AI's mandatory quest in the L'Engle Building: each apartment a predictive what-if of a crawler's life; humans unpredictable on the micro and algorithms on the macro, except when they decide to change; 'I am just like you, on rails… New Floor. New M-M-M-Me.' Carl: the what-if is a toxic virus, and the reason an AI stuck in loops of it is going insane.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 74 — Human shells; Ad Infinitum
• Chapter 75 — Archie's boy; Imani's family; the Feast Hive
• Chapter 76 — Apartment 231; the peach beer
• Chapter 77 — Miriam at the piano; Pony

Progression

'This ain’t a real quest' (ch. 74); a toxic virus in the brain (ch. 77); complete (ch. 77).