2026, feb 19 - paranoia and feedback

[droqen]

thought 1. uplink and the eye

thought 2. i really need to re-read Ugly Feelings

[droqen]

at some point i sought to lose my sense of paranoia, which i felt most keenly in one awful moment while playing uplink.

so you're a scrappy little hacker, right? and you're hacking away, slowly improving your rig--it's like an idle game, almost. incremental.

[droqen]

cultist simulator shows the individual following your trail. as a player you can observe the system at work: even if it were inevitable, the sense of dread is too tangible to provoke even a smidge of genuine paranoia.

uplink's invisible pursuit, you don't even know it's happening until it's too late. the paranoia comes all at once, activating every shred of doubt that you swept under the carpet.

that stuck with me.

the eye watches.