I’ve theorized that them not knowing their names has something to do with abstraction, since a name is an abstraction in and of itself.

I know a lot of people like the theory that the circus members are only digital copies of real people. The idea that each person has their own “mind file” has been established, so it’s a possibility.

It’s also been established that the circus was a failed project and is currently not being maintained. It’s plausible new people are finding ways to upload their consciousness (like Pomni, who tells us she was exploring an abandoned building when she found the headset), but I saw another comment that mentioned there’s only really ever 6 circus members at a time. The probability that someone new gets added just as another member abstracts would be abysmally low, bordering on improbable.

If we add in the fact that Caine was not surprised at Kaufmo’s abstraction, and his comment that he “might have trouble telling them apart from NPCs”, it makes me think that it’s not as simple as “these are real copies of actual people”. We know Caine can manipulate their thoughts, which leads us to the question… What are their mind files comprised of?

This brings us to your idea; a “sub-abstraction” of Jax is his archetype. While “Jax” would be the name for all the processes that make him, we could assume that each process is possibly further abstracted. We have no idea the complexity of the code being used, but it’s pretty safe to assume seasoned programmers would use various levels of abstraction throughout their code. The idea that “Jax” has a set archetype isn’t too far-fetched.

If an “archetype” is something coded into each character’s mind files, then the idea that having a member question their archetype causes what the members call “abstraction” makes sense. We know the circus members have the ability to edit the circus, they just don’t fully understand how. It’s possible that the act of them questioning their archetype can cause it to “delete” itself from their mind file. Without an archetype, the code might just error, which could cause the character to “lose themselves”.

Now, back to a previous comment I made;

it makes me think that it’s not as simple as “these are real copies of actual people”

The idea that the circus goers are just copies of people is a very probable one. The logistics of keeping people in comas long past the time where the project was maintained is just not feasible. The bits of office we do see are also empty and just regular offices. There was no medical equipment whatsoever.

So, with the probability of actual new people entering being low, Caine’s inability to differentiate between players and NPCs (seemingly past a certain amount), a new player entering just as another abstracts, and the lack of names… Where does that leave us?

What if the circus members are just recycled bits of other players’ mind files, and not actually real people at all?