>>525669114
from another perspective, Devola and Popola are what got the project as far as it did get. legion was destroyed, and aliens were not yet relevant. but there were unexpected factors—replicants were never meant to develop free will, and gestalt Nier was supposed to cooperate for as long as it took. it’s true Devola and Popola didn’t manage to overcome the challenges that emerged (which they were not programmed to anticipate), but they also didn’t set the collapse of Project Gestalt in motion. the willful actions of both replicant Nier and gestalt Nier seem to me like what really started the candle burning at both ends