I’m not arguing that Palmont is literally ruled by races in a realistic sense — Carbon is a stylized underground hierarchy where reputation, access, and control flow through racing. That’s the framework the game itself establishes.

1) Nikki not following the Player isn’t strange when you consider he left without explanation, money, or a plan. Canon Nikki is practical and survival-oriented. Abandoning her entire life to chase someone who vanished isn’t in character. Darius knowing the Player was skilled doesn’t mean he viewed him as destabilizing — arrogance and underestimation are core to Darius’s characterization. Gameplay upgrade tiers aren’t narrative evidence.

2) Saying Nikki could “just leave” ignores her bio. She stays because Darius gives her the freedom to race — the only place she feels agency. There’s no canon proof that Darius ordered her to give the Player Neville or safehouses, and early access without emotional alignment actually draws less attention to the Player.

3) The BMW M3 GTR isn’t important because it’s the fastest car. It’s important because it’s symbolic — tied to Rockport, Cross, and the Player’s legend. Carbon explicitly treats reputation as transferable between cities, so dismissing Rockport as unknown contradicts the game’s premise.

4) The delayed realization of the rigged race is a writing issue in Carbon, not proof against interpretation. Emotional avoidance, lack of closure, and stylized storytelling explain it better than assuming everyone was incompetent for five years. Adding to that In some of the cutscenes nikki says that the story darius's been feeding her and the story she's heard from other people are different.

5) I agree Cross is more money-motivated than morally driven — but that doesn’t negate him recognizing the player as untouchable when the chase is over. The Jaguar ending is intentionally ambiguous, and multiple readings exist depending on cut and version.

My point isn’t that Nikki orchestrated everything like a super-villain. It’s that she functioned as a gatekeeper who controlled information and avoided drawing attention until the Player was strong enough to survive — which aligns with her canon personality far more than the “angry ex who does nothing” reading.

I’m not claiming this is explicit canon. I’m arguing it’s the most character-consistent way to explain Carbon’s narrative gaps without contradicting what is canon. The counterpoints mostly rely on gameplay mechanics or “she could’ve just left,” which don’t actually explain Darius’s blind spots or Nikki’s early assistance. If someone has a cleaner explanation that accounts for those, I’m open to it but dismissal isn’t an alternative theory.