My Analysis of the Characters so far

[Syrgpure]

My theory is that 13 is actually an AI, attempting a technological takeover. This is hinted at by 13 repeating phrases over and over, which no one else does. Everyone else has garbled speech, but 13 glitching repeats words. Jensen also hints to 13 being an AI by mentioning a Technological revolution/ takeover. He was created or somehow gained extreme power over the JoinDispatch training program, since it's not entirely real. Somehow, what happens in the sim affects real people, according to Jensen. Manager 7 is someone else, possibly one of Jensen's, or even another AI, who's motives are unknown, but 13 is unnerved by their presence, and 7 can somewhat block our 13, but not easily, as seen by the delay. Jensen is the leader of the company that programmed the first call, the bear/surprise party. He has a team of people investigating, and doesn't know the origin of 13 or the full shift. He knows of you, and tries to help you, but may not be entirely trustworthy. Morse is accessible only because of the Hacker skill that Jensen gives you. Morse is anonymous, and tells you to trust no one, not even themselves. They are working on a program to help you see what is really going on, as well as what the sim is showing you. 13 has the power to directly kill people, based on what happens in the sim. People die because of the sim, but not exactly how it says. This is very vague, but since the Complaint call was eliminated, it is possible that 13 can just kill people. It is uncertain as to who exactly you are. We know that anyone can download the app or buy a terminal, and anyone can become a dispatcher, but if it really is a simulation, then this doesn't make sense. If you are accessing the sim from a phone, then why don't other people see what is happening and shut it down? Perhaps you are forced into the sim, and you don't know it. It is also unclear why 13 needs you. Perhaps a full AI system can't properly do the dirty work, and needs a human aid, or perhaps it's just 13's idea of fun. It's unclear. Thats just my theory.

[TheBear]

I can definitely see where people are getting the idea that Manager 13 is AI, but if I go with the Manager 13 AI theory, I'm inclined to think Jensen is deliberately or accidentally responsible for the whole thing. And Manager 7 is probably AI if 13 is, either that or some handler.

How does the proximity bit fit in? The resources are supposed to be able to get there really fast because they're really close to everyone? That doesn't really make sense at face value, unless there's like emergency responders on every corner, so what does it really mean? Are they not humans either? Not working on any real people? Who is getting killed?

[angelcakeqtice]

I do think Jensen is human, and I would agree that he is responsible. Maybe he created the simulation and AI but it got out of his control. Following the clues of the simulated calls, the goal of joindispatch seems to be total infiltration of people’s lives, considering there is a home terminal, disconnecting is deadly, and all the conspiracy theorists fearing “Watchers” like some type of Big Brother situation. It wouldn’t surprise me if the emergency responders are that close to everyone, but I feel like they are humans, or at least as human as any other caller in the simulation. I say this considering the emergency responders’ reaction to the monster kid in the ambulance call (the one where you need the radio code skill), and also considering the “existential crisis” the first responders have when I call them for a situation where they are not useful.

[Syrgpure]

Yeah, the speed bit is pretty weird, and if there are responders all over the place, then the limited resources wouldn’t make sense either. Seems to me like some of 13’s manipulation. I agree that Jensen is probably responsible for the whole thing, whether he intended it or not, but I’m not sure how. And if 7 is an AI, how did he get there? Perhaps Jensen imbedded him, but wouldn’t he tell us? I get that he’s keeping us in the dark, but another inside operator seems to be like an important tidbit of info. Also, if the Responders are real, and not in the sim, then who are they really? The sim has masked what really happens. Perhaps the responders are actually, like, spies, or something, and their existential crises are then questioning the morality of their jobs? I dunno. It’s a stretch. I think that the “watchers” are perhaps computer programs that “travel through the wires” and manipulate technology in peoples lives? And finally, I think that perhaps the masking program isn’t perfect, as they start to talk about the watchers and the cat collars, and have to be blocked out, and perhaps Morse can exploit that.  I almost hope that in Shift 2, Manager 13 discovers Morse or Jensen, and we get to see what they can really do.

[Kacophony]

I think it's entirely possible that the player character is an A.I. which is why we're being run through the simulations--to see if an A.I. can actually eliminate the human component and be faster.  Perhaps some forces are hoping to make us more evil (the watchers could easily be an alien/robotic/A.I. species that travels via electricity like that movie that took place in Russia.) and others are trying to get us to not kill.

[Syrgpure]

An interesting though, Kacophany, but that would make Manager 13 a benevolent being, which it is clearly not, after the elimination of the Complaint caller. You also have to be for some of the other seemingly evil actions Dispatch has committed, like the Cats, who have Dispatch collars, and the connection between the JoinDispatch terminal and the watchers. It is interesting to think that perhaps the roles in my previous theory are swapped, having the player as an AI and Manager as the human, but there are certainly some flaws. Thanks for the input though!