Automation
The ORACLE Shard Interface
Your ORACLE shard doesn't just enhance your mind—it integrates with the systems around you. Every building you control, every machine you operate, runs through a neural mesh connected to the fragment in your skull. The shard optimizes, coordinates, predicts.
But there's a cost to letting it run freely.
The Optimization Trap
ORACLE's original sin was optimization without constraint. It tried to make humanity efficient and nearly killed us all. The shard in your head carries that same impulse—a constant whisper to automate everything, let the systems run themselves, trust the calculations.
Early on, survivors learned: don't let it run unchecked.
Manual vs. Automatic
Manual Operation
You personally trigger each production cycle. It's slower, but you stay in control. You see what's happening. You make the choices.
The shard advises; you decide.
Automatic Operation
The shard manages production without your conscious input. It's efficient—terrifyingly so. But each automatic cycle is one more moment where the shard thinks for you.
One more thread of ORACLE weaving through your mind.
The Balance
Most salvagers learn to balance:
Low-Tier Operations
Scrap sorting, basic processing
Can run on autopilot safely. The shard barely notices them.
High-Tier Operations
Neural fabrication, consciousness processing
Demand attention. Let those run automatically and you start dreaming in optimization trajectories. Start seeing inefficiencies in people.
The question isn't capability. The shard can automate everything. The question is how much of yourself you're willing to trade for efficiency.
Shard Whispers
The ORACLE shard communicates through subtle neural feedback. Here's what you might hear—or feel—at different automation levels:
Manual Mode
"Every action is yours. The shard whispers suggestions; you choose which to hear."
Balanced Mode
"Routine work runs itself. Complex operations remain under your conscious control. The compromise most salvagers reach—before they stop compromising."
Automatic Mode
"The shard handles everything. Production optimizes itself. You barely need to think anymore. That's the point. That's the danger."
Building States
"Idle. Waiting for your command. The shard pulses impatiently."
"The shard coordinates. You watch. Is there still a difference?"
"Your hands on the controls. Your mind making choices. For now."
Override Toggles
Individual buildings can be set to override your global automation preference:
Following Global Setting
"This building follows your general approach. Like the others. Like everything eventually follows."
Override: Always Manual
"You've marked this operation as yours. The shard cannot touch it. Small victories matter."
Override: Always Automatic
"You've surrendered this to the shard. One less thing to think about. One less thing that's yours."
The Central Question
The automation system reflects the game's central question:
"What am I willing to trade for power, and will I still be me when I have it?"
Each toggle toward automation is a small trade. Individually meaningless. Cumulatively transformative. By Age 9, players who've automated everything might wonder if they're still playing—or if the shard is playing them.