I'll be honest, I have little more idea of what's going on than I did earlier, since it seems I am not familiar with this world. That said, I can more or less safely assume it's structurally similar to ours - You're on earth, which is a mildly damp rock with plants on. Further, I assume there are seven or so continents, and (much further on) that the political situation is approximately the same, with the United States being a thing, as well as China (which is communist, or at least says it is) and the mess of nations that is Europe. Given your current situation, I assume you are in Japan, which is near China. So far, the universe off of Earth has proven remarkably boring, with no discernible life yet found to be not from Earth, much less anything interesting to talk to. Most everything runs on oil products, with some nuclear power in places. Based on the others' comments, I gather that your world is broadly similar on earth, but apparently espers are a thing? Also apparently time travel is a thing, and we sure don't have that.
Comparing worlds aside (and without further knowledge about your world what I have is more fumbling in the dark than anything) I should note that despite being, as was said prior:
we seem to have very little control of anything other than this way we're talking. Rather disappointing, but I figure that if such was common, it would be unremarkable enough to fade back into the background pretty quickly.
I'll be honest, I have little more idea of what's going on than I did earlier, since it seems I am not familiar with this world. That said, I can more or less safely assume it's structurally similar to ours - You're on earth, which is a mildly damp rock with plants on. Further, I assume there are seven or so continents, and (much further on) that the political situation is approximately the same, with the United States being a thing, as well as China (which is communist, or at least says it is) and the mess of nations that is Europe. Given your current situation, I assume you are in Japan, which is near China. So far, the universe off of Earth has proven remarkably boring, with no discernible life yet found to be not from Earth, much less anything interesting to talk to. Most everything runs on oil products, with some nuclear power in places. Based on the others' comments, I gather that your world is broadly similar on earth, but apparently espers are a thing? Also apparently time travel is a thing, and we sure don't have that.
Comparing worlds aside (and without further knowledge about your world what I have is more fumbling in the dark than anything) I should note that despite being, as was said prior:
we seem to have very little control of anything other than this way we're talking. Rather disappointing, but I figure that if such was common, it would be unremarkable enough to fade back into the background pretty quickly.
Since apparently nobody here could keep character... the cliche it is. You gave the game away when you talked about us not having time travel. I didn't want to say it because it's cliche, boring, and insulting to the people you say it to. We're humans experiencing this as a message board thread. In the timeline we came from, there is a light novel franchise with the SOS brigade as protagonists that came out roughly a decade ago. It's late 2018 in this timeline. Most of us either don't remember them or have a smattering of familiarity. With you having not gone through with assassinating Kyon and being eliminated by Yuki Nagato though, canon is derailed.
We're humans experiencing this as a message board thread. In the timeline we came from, there is a light novel franchise with the SOS brigade as protagonists that came out roughly a decade ago. It's late 2018 in this timeline. Most of us either don't remember them or have a smattering of familiarity. With you having not gone through with assassinating Kyon and being eliminated by Yuki Nagato though, canon is derailed.
"An alternate reality where the events of her own life are fictional?" Ryoko ponders this for a few seconds before breaking out into a fit of giggling. "Oh! Miss Suzumiya finds the most bizarre, unpredictable uses for her abilities! She even felt it necessary to throw a little time travel in too, it seems: here, at least, it's Heisei 22...ah, that would be 2010 by the calendar you used. Though I am a little annoyed: the creation of a widely divergent time plane like that is exactly the sort of large-scale data manipulation I've been hoping to observe for my whole life, and here I am, unable to perceive it, all because I grew impatient! What a shame."
I'll be honest, I have little more idea of what's going on than I did earlier, since it seems I am not familiar with this world. That said, I can more or less safely assume it's structurally similar to ours - You're on earth, which is a mildly damp rock with plants on. Further, I assume there are seven or so continents, and (much further on) that the political situation is approximately the same, with the United States being a thing, as well as China (which is communist, or at least says it is) and the mess of nations that is Europe. Given your current situation, I assume you are in Japan, which is near China. So far, the universe off of Earth has proven remarkably boring, with no discernible life yet found to be not from Earth, much less anything interesting to talk to. Most everything runs on oil products, with some nuclear power in places. Based on the others' comments, I gather that your world is broadly similar on earth, but apparently espers are a thing? Also apparently time travel is a thing, and we sure don't have that.
"You're mostly correct, at least as far as this planet is concerned. I suppose I should give my explanation now, for those of you still lacking the full context. But first, it's high time for proper introductions!"
"My name is Ryoko Asakura, and it's very nice to meet all of you. I hope we can work productively together!" Her smile broadens, and she bows formally towards you. "I'm afraid it was a little fib when I told you I was an ordinary high school girl. The truth is; I was created three years ago as a humanoid interface by the Data Integration Thought Entity, a collective of data-based organisms that are unable to directly communicate in the limited, language-based methods of human beings."
"Well, actually, your kind wasn't of much interest to us up until very recently: humans are relatively unique in the universe as the only organic life-forms to develop cognitive abilities advanced enough to be called 'intellect,' but that made you an idle curiosity at best, I'm sorry to say." As she speaks, Ryoko ducks her head apologetically and idly plays with a strand of her navy-blue hair. As alien as she claims to be, she has pretty convincing human mannerisms at times.
"All that changed three years ago, however: the Entity became aware of an abnormal and unprecedented flare of data creation on the surface of your planet. Specifically, right here in Japan! At the center of this explosion of information was a very odd little girl by the name of Haruhi Suzumiya. To investigate this phenomenon, the Entity created humanoid interfaces such as myself, and we've been quietly observing Miss Suzumiya ever since."
"She really is quite something, you know." Ryoko's ever-present smile turns fond. "Miss Suzumiya has the ability to unconsciously manipulate environmental data to suit her desires, to a nigh-limitless degree! She can essentially transform her will into absolute data, without even being aware she's doing so. This amazing ability is of interest to the Data Integration Thought Entity because we believe it may be the key to overcoming the inert auto-evolution we are currently experiencing."
A long sigh and a familiar pout as the story returns to the present.
"And that's where my recent troubles began. After three years of observing impressive but ultimately directionless data manipulations from Miss Suzumiya, I'd grown quite fed up with the lack of progress. Despite the virtually unlimited potential of her abilities, she seems content with minor probabilistic changes in order to, say, attract humans from another time plane with primitive time travel capabilities, or empower another group of humans with highly limited metaphysical abilities of their own so they can call themselves espers. So, I developed a plan to provoke Miss Suzumiya towards a greater display of her abilities, so we could conduct more efficacious research: I planned to kill someone she felt very close to, and see how she would react."
"The rest went as I previously told you: a fellow humanoid interface became aware of my plans, and I am currently being disciplined by the Entity. But at the end of the day, aren't we all working towards the same goal? My methodology may have been flawed, but my purpose remains: in order to truly learn from Miss Suzumiya, and in order to redeem myself, I need to do something to break up this stagnant status quo!" Clasping her hands together, Ryoko stares at you in earnest plea. "If killing that boy is off the table, what else can I do to provoke the changes I want to see? As unlikely as it seems, even humans such as yourselves may have unique insight, now that you've been provided with all the relevant information. Please, won't you help me?"
Since apparently nobody here could keep character... the cliche it is. You gave the game away when you talked about us not having time travel. I didn't want to say it because it's cliche, boring, and insulting to the people you say it to. We're humans experiencing this as a message board thread.
Wait, we were supposed to be in character? Huh - I was just sort of making noises, without any more thought than I usually give to conversation. Given I appear to have made a mistake, I apologise for that though I ask that you explain what you mean in the second-to last scentence I quoted.
As for shaking things up, I have nothing to offer but what little I remember of scientific research, being that you probably don't need to cause massive upset to produce interesting reaction - if you can consistently cause even minor reactions in various areas, you might be able to efficiently model her and her abilities without too much trouble.
Wait, we were supposed to be in character? Huh - I was just sort of making noises, without any more thought than I usually give to conversation. Given I appear to have made a mistake, I apologise for that though I ask that you explain what you mean in the second-to last scentence I quoted.
2nd to last? You know works of self insert fan fiction, where the protagonist explains how they know things because the reality they're in is a work of fiction? Telling somebody they're fictional just seems rude. I've seen the work of fiction explanation speech enough times in to be tired of that cliche and was hoping people could key off of my explanation so we wouldnt have to do that. Thats what I meant by being in character. If we were Voyagers, then presumably we would have some capacity for time travel because we could choose when we entered the fragment.
2nd to last? You know works of self insert fan fiction, where the protagonist explains how they know things because the reality they're in is a work of fiction? Telling somebody they're fictional just seems rude. I've seen the work of fiction explanation speech enough times in to be tired of that cliche and was hoping people could key off of my explanation so we wouldnt have to do that. Thats what I meant by being in character. If we were Voyagers, then presumably we would have some capacity for time travel because we could choose when we entered the fragment.
(Fortunately, the nature of this particular anime's setting makes it pretty easy to explain away just about anything. Don't worry about it too much - Ryoko certainly isn't about to have an existential crisis due to the revelation.)
Try to befriend her, and nudge her towards more interesting paths?
Talk with her friends and convince them they need some new adventures.
See if you can prompt her to try new things without involving yourself, like making her win the lottery, a travel somewhere, meet new people, see some interesting adds to pick her creativity.
Seriously, anything but causing emotional turmoil to reality manipulator would be more conductive to the survival of the general area of the planet, learning about the subject, and your, and anyone related to you, continued observation of such.
You seem to have been working under stupid logic unfortunately, thinking on terms of x will cause y, y is desirable, so x is what I should do, instead of thinking on if there are any unintended consequences for doing x, if those effects are detrimental or benefical to your plans and potential observations, if they let you enjoy y fully, and if y is worth their effects by itself or if it's actually worth anything compared to the potential damages to your own observations.
Which as far as I can tell tends to the negative on all accounts, detrimental consequences, that would hinder you ability to observe and learn, would likely generate worthless data because no one would be able gather as they would be very very much dead or running away as fast as they can.
2nd to last? You know works of self insert fan fiction, where the protagonist explains how they know things because the reality they're in is a work of fiction? Telling somebody they're fictional just seems rude. I've seen the work of fiction explanation speech enough times in to be tired of that cliche and was hoping people could key off of my explanation so we wouldnt have to do that. Thats what I meant by being in character. If we were Voyagers, then presumably we would have some capacity for time travel because we could choose when we entered the fragment.
That's not what I did though. I may have disclosed more information than you were comfortable with, but I figured there was no point paving over information that had no inherent danger to it. Besides, it seems to have gone over well.
That's not what I did though. I may have disclosed more information than you were comfortable with, but I figured there was no point paving over information that had no inherent danger to it. Besides, it seems to have gone over well.
You know the best way to actually make something happen would actually be to reveal herself to Kyon and just interact with him (and maybe not try to kill him, that probably wouldn't go over too well given what we know)......and I just realized we don't actually know Kyon's real name, it's not actually ever revealed.
Try to befriend her, and nudge her towards more interesting paths?
Talk with her friends and convince them they need some new adventures.
See if you can prompt her to try new things without involving yourself, like making her win the lottery, a travel somewhere, meet new people, see some interesting adds to pick her creativity.
Seriously, anything but causing emotional turmoil to reality manipulator would be more conductive to the survival of the general area of the planet, learning about the subject, and your, and anyone related to you, continued observation of such.
You seem to have been working under stupid logic unfortunately, thinking on terms of x will cause y, y is desirable, so x is what I should do, instead of thinking on if there are any unintended consequences for doing x, if those effects are detrimental or benefical to your plans and potential observations, if they let you enjoy y fully, and if y is worth their effects by itself or if it's actually worth anything compared to the potential damages to your own observations.
Which as far as I can tell tends to the negative on all accounts, detrimental consequences, that would hinder you ability to observe and learn, would likely generate worthless data because no one would be able gather as they would be very very much dead or running away as fast as they can.
You know the best way to actually make something happen would actually be to reveal herself to Kyon and just interact with him (and maybe not try to kill him, that probably wouldn't go over too well given what we know)......and I just realized we don't actually know Kyon's real name, it's not actually ever revealed.
"So you believe a moderate approach would be enough to provoke Miss Suzumiya to more actively use her abilities?" Ryoko appears thoughtful, tapping a finger against her cheek. "I'm a bit skeptical; I tried to talk to her as best I could, but she didn't seem to respond well - that's actually why my original plan was murder!"
She sounds way too cheerful when she says that.
"The dramatic and sudden death of someone close to her would be enough to create a significant response, but without the risk of drawing undue attention to the Entity - it would be, ah, out of character for us, you see? From her unconscious perspective, that is. As eager as I am to observe new data, even I'm not so reckless as to intentionally anger the first being encountered since the formation of the universe that could potentially pose an existential threat to my kind! Anyway, that's why I'm a bit hesitant to do anything that might threaten my cover as an ordinary human around her - but now I have other humans advising me, so perhaps I can juggle the two priorities successfully. I'm determined to try, at least!"
"Speaking of which, I need to hurry if I'm to arrive on time. Let's go!" Ryoko recollects her bag and skips happily back towards the door of her apartment.
The walk to school affords you an opportunity to be thankful for your status as incorporeal observers - the length and steepness of this hill is ridiculous! Wherever you are exactly in Japan, it must have the most athletic high schoolers in the country, just from the workout they acquire from getting to class every day. The early morning crowds don't afford you much room for conversation; you're pretty sure other people can't hear you, but it would look odd for her to reply aloud. No sooner has Ryoko walked in through the school gate than a group of girls approach her:
"Miss Asakura!" The one with her hair in braids calls out with a wave, as the other two jog up behind her. "Kotone told me about yesterday - she was sure you were sick or something! Feeling better today, I hope?"
"Oh yes, much better!" Ryoko replies, school bag dangling in front of her as she pauses to speak to her...friends? With all this talk of alien entities and reality warpers, it's pretty jarring to watch such an ordinary scene play out. "I'm sorry if I worried you all. The truth is, I had a slight disagreement with my family yesterday, and it lead me to reflect on some of the choices I've made."
Well that's one way of putting it. Seems the whole masquerade thing is in full force.
"I think I'm going to tell Okabe-sensei I'm stepping down as class representative. I want to try something new, and see if it fits me better." The end of Ryoko's explanation draws a chorus of surprised gasps from the three girls.
"Does this mean you're finally giving in to our peer pressure and joining the handicraft club?" The girl with the slightly shorter hair sounds like she just won the lottery. For a murder-happy alien, Ryoko sure seems popular.
"Unfortunately, I'll have to disappoint you again, miss Nishijima. I had a different club in mind."
"No! I won't let those snobs in the calligraphy club have you!" Nishijima wails, trying to wrap her arms possessively around Ryoko, who skips lightly to the side, giggling.
"Nope, guess again!" Your blue-haired alien accomplice singsongs as the shorter girl stumbles. It's a little creepy how she uses the same tone of voice and cutesy mannerisms when playfully teasing her school friends as when she's cheerfully discussing her plans to murder a classmate.
"Chorus?" Chimes in the third girl, with the brighter reddish-brown locks. "You've always had such a lovely voice."
"Not that one either!"
"But all the sports clubs already have full rosters by now, so that only leaves..." Braid-girl gasps in realization. "You don't mean Suzumiya and her weirdo squad, do you?"
"You shouldn't be so mean, Miss Seno," Ryoko chides her, "Miss Suzumiya may be a little eccentric, but I think she and her friends are very interesting!"
"'A little eccentric?' Miss Asakura, last week she and that second-year girl were handing out flyers in front of the school wearing Playboy bunny-girl costumes!" The three girls seem unanimous in their dismay at the prospect. "Aren't you afraid she's going to, I don't know, hang you up like a weather-doll to attract aliens or whatever?"
"Don't be silly, Miss Kenmochi - why would one try to attract aliens with a weather-doll? In stories, they usually kidnap cattle to experiment on - Miss Suzumiya may have some funny ideas on propriety, but I don't think she'd mistake me for a cow!" By now, Ryoko and the three other girls have made their way into the main school building, and the discussion draws some funny looks from passing students.
"It's too late, girls," Seno heaves a dramatic sigh. "Suzumiya's weirdness has already infected her. Let us fondly remember our dear departed friend Ryoko Asakura, the latest victim of North High's black hole of social dysfunction. She will be missed."
"I'll knit you a nice big woolly sweater, Miss Asakura," Nishijima pats Ryoko on the arm, ignoring Seno's histrionics. "Maybe if we wrap you up in enough layers, Suzumiya won't be able to force you into anything too scandalous."
The four laughing girls enter classroom 1-5 and take their seats near the front of the room. When a tracksuit-clad teacher in his early thirties enters, a bundle of paperwork under one arm, Ryoko rises to speak to him. Even as she does so, you suddenly hear a familiar voice reverberating through your awareness somehow.
'Hello?' Ryoko's tone conveys an uncertainty you haven't heard from her yet, but it's definitely her speaking. 'My capacity for data manipulation is severely limited at the moment, but I wanted to see if I can at least do this much. I'm confident that you can reply without anyone overhearing, too. Look, just coming in the door - that's Miss Suzumiya.'
Sure enough, you see a new student striding purposefully into the classroom with a menacing scowl on her face. So this is the all-powerful reality-warper, huh? You wouldn't know it from looking at her. As she drops into her seat up the back of the room with a loud sigh, she gives every indication of being just another bored, grumpy high school student who isn't looking forward to class.
'My current plan is to approach her after school with a request to join the club she started,' Ryoko continues to explain through in newly-displayed telepathy, 'I believe she calls it the SOS Brigade. She hasn't responded to me when I've tried to start a conversation in the past, so I'd appreciate your advice on how to proceed. For safety's sake, I don't think it's a good idea to reveal any of the information I shared with you earlier, but other than that I'm willing to try almost anything if you think it will lead to the creation of new and interesting data! Do you have any ideas for me?'
Hrm... you suspect you may have become connected to a groupmind(us) recently and want to join to find out more about the weird side of the world? Hazard: Haruhi's Cynical. Kyon actually said all the other club members were supernaturals in one of the novels and she didn't believe it.
Some of the stuff from our timeline is so utterly stupid that it has to be real. Like the president of the US being Donald Trump, who didn't expect to win and did it for the PR, is in all likelihood a Russian intelligence asset, spends sizeable amounts of time ranting about his opposition on social media, and is an incompetent buffoon in general.
Hmm Suzumiya is certainly picky when it comes to people she considers interesting, If she believes Ryoko Asakura to be a boring or too "normal" person she may not accept her as a member and there is a chance that will be the case.
So here's my suggestion, approach Suzumiya normally and ask to become a member of her club, possibly do so after it becomes known you have stepped down as class president as hearing that will have certainly piqued her curiosity, now it is entirely possible she just accepts immediately ,she did recruit Itsuki Koizumi just because he was a "Mysterious transfer student" so stepping down from the position of class president may just be enough to be interesting to her, still if she does refuse or asks for a reason, say you heard a voice in your sleep telling you to enter that club, it is possible even likely that she will not believe what you say.
Should that be the case there is one final trump card that will ensure she thinks you're interesting enough to join the club, it is also the one that carries the most risk, you will tell her the voice called itself John Smith, she will recognize the name....
This is very dangerous and carries the risk of setting off Suzumiya, possibly causing a restructuring of the world or explosion of data or whatever you want to call the weird reality warping powers she unknowingly uses, but then again....isn't that what you wanted? To cause a reaction within Suzumiya? Well that will almost certainly do that.
And hey if it doesn't do anything, that's fine too.
Frankly if I actually lived in your world there is no way I'd tell you about this or want to risk anything that potentially world changing, but I don't, and a part of me really does agree with you and wants to see what happens with this kind of interference so there you go.
Judge for yourself whether the risk is worth it or not.
For context, John Smith is Kyon, who goes back in time at some point in the novels with Mikiru and ends up helping Haruhi set up that design she did in middle school, along with turning out to be the cause of her search for the world's weirdness in the first place. Haruhi didn't see his face.
