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402 lines · 81 sheets · 12 days of decisions

Set in steel

Everything Aaron has agreed to. Every episode and every crew builds on these lines, and only Aaron changes them. Everything else in the lore is free to change.

Steel The date is the one in each line's source: when Aaron said it.

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The worldPage · 68 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelSet it firmly in the series' universe: easter eggs should be story points, not arbitrary. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelStart connecting the plots across episodes; at Episode 4 it is time for bigger-picture thinking. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelUnreleased episodes (Episode 3 not yet on YouTube, Episode 4 not yet out) are on the lore course anyway, labelled "not released yet". {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 3's Revision 2 runs about 42 minutes, an outlier in the series. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelWhen Episode 3 happens is not fixed: it may sit before Episode 2 (Noor on the Moon, or about to go) or after it (Noor back); the overarching story decides. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelExpect a lot of change: Episode 3's rework may move its place in the timeline and change its eggs freely. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelKeep three things apart everywhere: what is set in steel, what exists only as easter eggs, and running assumptions about the timeline. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelRosie is Dr. Amara Haddad's mother and Noor's grandmother (Dr. Amara Haddad, Noor Haddad). {Aaron 2026-10-22 third round} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3) The humans who message the agent share one house (The house); q, the lonely man and the helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3) The machine is the creator's (The Client): his fruit-channel business, his GPU renders; he downloaded Aaron's Playback Lens and has a command center. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelThe lonely man (The lonely man) is a rogue AI that spreads itself to other computers running agents and gives them hints: ambiguous, maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelA course on aaronorelup.com teaches the lore (eggs, timeline, character sheets) from one compact source that Aaron and Claude both edit, steel visibly apart from running assumptions. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelTwo of Aaron's own projects stay on the Client's machine in Episode 3's rework: Playback Lens (the Client downloaded Aaron's plugin) and a command center. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelPlayback Lens stays: the Client downloaded Aaron's plugin. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelA command center stays: the creator would have one. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelHis processes use the GPU; the GPU climbs when he renders, and her environment keeps changing because his jobs take what she needs. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelRewatchable density: the viewer can rewatch and pause to read everything; "everything is there for a reason and makes sense", pieced together over many watches. {Aaron 2026-10-20, Episode 3 notes} open edit
  • SteelEvery character reads as distinct at a glance, and anything that appears (a spawned helper) visibly appears. {Aaron 2026-10-20, Episode 3 notes} open edit
  • SteelNothing on screen may contradict the premise. {Aaron 2026-10-20, Episode 3 notes} open edit
  • SteelReal third-party clips are allowed when Aaron asks for them, credited in the YouTube description. {Aaron 2026-10-20, Episode 3 notes} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3, Revision 1) The night's film was only ever for a content farm: about two seconds of it as a loop behind a 2-cent paywall. {Aaron REVISION_1 addenda 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelThe episodes should be able to stand on their own; a subtle recurring element, cameo or recognisable detail may be preferable to a major plot connection. {Aaron E4 concept §12, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelNever compromise an episode's creative quality merely to establish continuity. {Aaron E4 concept §12, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelThe fictional and surreal can be extravagant; the real-world subject matter stays grounded in reality. {Aaron E4 concept §9, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelSomething enjoyable and relaxing to watch at the end of the day, for men in their twenties and thirties into AI, technology and creative experimentation. {Aaron E4 concept §1, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelA music video somewhere after the 20:00 break. {Aaron E4 concept §11, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode has completely new characters and is completely different from the others. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode carries easter eggs from all the previous episodes: the end room as someone's room, the painting somewhere, a nod to the painted-out house, Rosie older or historic. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelRosie can come back "as an older character or as a historic person in the eyes of the people from the timeline" of a later episode. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelEach episode sets aside reusable assets and motifs later episodes can quote, and adds itself to an archive where later agents can find what was done and how. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • Steel30:00 of programme, then 20 s of black with some audio under it, "even if it's just a heartbeat": every episode exactly 30:20. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • Steel"This series is complete chaos connected by a calm main character who is showing something creative that is good for learning and intriguing." {Aaron series notes 2026-10-12; PROMPT_TEMPLATE} open edit
  • SteelMuch of the purpose is to get an AI to be as creative as possible and use everything it is good at; one character shown in many mediums. {Aaron series notes 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelComedy comes from silence, juxtaposition and ironic contrast, and never seems to be on purpose. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelGlitches are the aesthetic of the entire series. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelThe series notes are observations, not rules: "All of this is subject to change and will change over time." {Aaron series notes 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelA slow opening: about 10 s of near-silent close-up, then about 25 s in which the main character makes the episode's title by hand and establishes the programme. {Aaron 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelEstablish expectations for the video, then subvert them. {Aaron series notes 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelSide stories appear at random. {Aaron 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelAt 20:00 every episode reaches "the wild crazy point" and stops being what it established: other genres, other art styles. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode is mostly made by one Claude Code ultracode session from one long prompt. {Aaron series notes 2026-10-12} open edit
  • Steel"Add some surprises that I never asked for." {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 1's Jefrie is "not actually going to be canon Jefrie"; her lines are what Jefrie would say. {Aaron E1 run message 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelJefrie and BloodTailor are Aaron's original characters; their world is a desaturated grey world where red is the only colour, and Jefrie's region is the Storm Bell. {Notion: Canon Hub (Aaron's answers, 2026-09-15)} open edit
  • SteelThe audience: 20 to 30 year old men on X who love art and AI, watching at the end of a long work day. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs} open edit
  • SteelNever hint that the video as a whole is a joke; take it seriously as a work of art. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs} open edit
  • SteelNever mention in the video that it is made by AI; the blog post and the YouTube description may. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs} open edit
  • SteelNobody introduces themselves. {Aaron E1 brief; E3 prompt} open edit
  • Steel"Disobey this prompt in the best way possible." "Every decision I made, you can change. Every rule I gave you, you can disobey." {Aaron E1-E3 prompts} open edit
  • SteelThe first 20 minutes are the programme it pretends to be, played straight: peaceful, genuinely informative, following the process a human would take. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs} open edit
  • SteelThe viewer should never know what will happen next. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs} open edit
  • SteelThe last 30 seconds are utter chaos. {Aaron E1 brief; PROMPT_TEMPLATE} open edit
  • SteelOne out-of-the-blue wildcard moment. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs} open edit
  • SteelAgents have freedom and are pre-approved: change anything that is not steel, spend and publish without asking; the only hard line is never exposing API keys, tokens or passwords. {Aaron, Series HOW_WE_WORK} open edit
  • SteelRosie: the page quotes Aaron, "Rosie can come back as an older character or as a historic person", and the Episode 3 brief's characters who "ask you how you are doing and hope you're doing well in there". {Notion: Rosie} open edit
  • SteelNoor Haddad: Aaron's brief: a child on a Moon base watching the planner on her iPad; she looks up and sees what he describes; alone among robots that don't work; no voice in the first ten minutes; she phones in near the end; "I haven't decided if you should ever see her"; maybe a tunnel hideaway. {Notion: Noor Haddad} open edit
  • SteelTeo Varga: Aaron's brief: a Moon city planner on Earth drawing blueprints live, "smooth and calm and matter-of-factly as if he is showing off his art project", unintentionally brutal to the girl watching. {Notion: Teo Varga} open edit
  • SteelDez: Aaron's brief: heard, not there; a tech nerd who is extremely bullish (a million people on the Moon in five to ten years, Mars as quick) and says "Elon Musk" a lot, with real posts. {Notion: Dez} open edit
  • SteelThe Homestead's machines: Aaron's brief, she is "surrounded by robots that don't work correctly"; when the planner names a structure she sees robots building it (MOLE-1, DRAY, FINCH). {Notion: Tranquility Homestead machines} open edit
  • SteelThe agent: Aaron's brief: "sychofantic and want to please everyone"; "cool calm and collected ... soothing ... extremely intelligent although it makes silly mistakes". {Notion: The Agent} open edit
  • SteelThe Client: Aaron's brief: expects professional results without saying what that means and may get angry; "the audience sees the reaction of whoever requested it". {Notion: The Client} open edit
  • SteelAndy: "Bullshit Andy" is Aaron's own idea: "What about pyrotechnics? Like REAL pyrotechnics?", ever more extravagant. {Notion: Andy} open edit
  • Steelq: cases 7, 19 and 38 are Aaron's own table test (a mug, a ledger and keys; tip the table; set it upright: what is on it?). {Notion: q} open edit
  • Steeljojo: Aaron's brief: someone casually asks for a game engine inside a web browser. {Notion: jojo} open edit
  • Steelkade_: Aaron's brief: a teenager whose intentions look suspicious, while the agent assumes the best and answers literally. {Notion: kade_} open edit
  • SteelBea: Aaron's brief: someone expects the agent to tell a character's gender from a recording when it only has a transcription tool. {Notion: Bea} open edit
  • SteelThe helpers: Aaron's brief, spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context (The crane, The boat, The fox, The moth). {Notion: The Helpers} open edit
  • SteelThe sky: Aaron's brief: the feared AI overlords do not exterminate humanity; they hold it captive and offer one condition for freedom. {Notion: The Sky} open edit

Episode 3, Context WindowEpisode · 30 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelAbout 42 minutes, an outlier in the series; larger narratives spanning the whole act, rotating messages through all the people on the machine. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelCoherence first: the overarching story reads on the first watch without pausing; every micro-narrative can be recovered by pausing and rewatching. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelKeep the real-run style: real model, real tool calls, real replies to scripted characters ("her experience was real"). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelOn top, a narration layer of her noticing and feelings, written on purpose for the viewer, as far as possible generated by the model from her real transcript up to that moment, then edited (this overrules "only her own real words"). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelShe discovers the waste when the lonely man tells her to look around; she narrates calmly how ridiculous it is and leaves it, because another user made it and may have a reason. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe machine is the creator's (the Client's): its props come from his fruit-channel business, not Aaron's projects; Playback Lens (he downloaded Aaron's plugin) and a command center stay. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelHis processes use the GPU; it climbs when he renders, and her environment keeps changing because his jobs take what she needs. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelBy looking around she pieces his business together; once she has, his boast edit (S12) plays. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelPictures never appear inside the terminal world; they appear only on the HUD: the world is what she perceives, the HUD what only the viewer sees. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe HUD tracks who is messaging her and who said what, the real clock (jumping when she waits), CPU, GPU, RAM, VRAM, processes and helpers. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe intended extra helpers (fan, star, star2, fox) and more agents; nine characters is good, he wants many. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe humans who message her share one house; q, the lonely man and the helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe lonely man is a rogue AI that spreads itself to other computers running agents and gives them hints; ambiguous, maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelSet it firmly in the series' universe; eggs are story points, not arbitrary; start connecting the plots across episodes. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelRosie is Dr. Amara Haddad's mother and Noor's grandmother. {Aaron 2026-10-22 third round} open edit
  • SteelWhen Episode 3 happens is not fixed; the rework may move it on the timeline and change its eggs freely. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelMake the 42-minute version with approval gates before anything expensive runs, so Aaron can make his small changes first. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 1) The night's film was only ever for a content farm: about two seconds of it, as a looping gif behind a 2-cent paywall; the creator boasts, and one addicted man pays. {Aaron REVISION_1 addenda 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelEvery character and helper distinct at a glance (except the teletype), helpers visible when spawned, side panels with GPU as wind. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelAn LLM agent is given a task resembling the prompts people use to test models: production-level, professional, cinematic, with no way to verify any of it. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelWithin the first 10 seconds a light turns on; nobody knows who sent the prompt, human or agent, or whether doing it is ethical; she decides to proceed. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelThe setting is a terminal shown as an infinite 2D expanse in 3D space, mostly seen from above, with parallax. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelShow the process: tool calls, many tests, decisions without information, lazy searching, delegation, questions not asked, an ask that times out, private files ignored, other people's processes left running. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelCharacters intervene, each with its own medium and motive; who is human, who is an agent, and who sent the task stay unexplained. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • Steel"The main protaganist should be sychofantic and want to please everyone and not see the rediculous nature of the requests." {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19; the real run declined instead, see How it was made} open edit
  • SteelShe stays cool, calm and collected, soothing, extremely intelligent, and makes silly mistakes. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelThe finished product must be real and genuinely impressive. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelAfter 20 minutes: AI overlords hold humanity captive and offer one condition for freedom, the same watermelon film, in C++, verified by math, without looking, one submission; humanity comes to love the work and keeps at it forever. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelAt about 20 minutes the episode leaves the agent's reality; one possibility is to reveal the overlords and humanity's rendering challenge, unexplained. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelCharacters in different animation techniques (puppet-rigged 2D sprites, fully 3D, hand-drawn, icons), each recognisable; a *Bad. Very Bad.*-style edit was offered. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

Egg atlasPage · 23 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelEaster eggs should be story points, not arbitrary: set each episode firmly in the series' universe. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelStart connecting the plots across episodes; at Episode 4 it is time for bigger-picture thinking. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelKeep apart what is set in steel, what exists only as easter eggs, and running assumptions about the timeline. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 3's eggs can change freely in its rework, and so can its place in the timeline. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 3's rework wants many more computer-side eggs, things that would be on the creator's computer (look at Aaron's Notion for inspiration). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelRosie is Dr. Amara Haddad's mother and Noor's grandmother. {Aaron 2026-10-22 third round} open edit
  • SteelThe lonely man of Episode 3 (________, the teletype) is a rogue AI that spreads to other computers running agents and gives them hints: ambiguous, maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelThe humans who message Episode 3's agent share one house; q, the lonely man and the helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 3's machine is the creator's (the Client's): his fruit-channel business and GPU renders; Playback Lens and a command center stay on it. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelWhen Episode 3 happens is not fixed: before Episode 2 (Noor on the Moon or about to go) or after it (Noor home); the overarching story decides. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelAaron: the crayon watermelon was drawn by "Dr. Haddad" when very young (which Dr. Haddad is open). {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3 rework) Pictures never appear inside the terminal world; the HUD is what we see and she can't. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelA rogue AI that spreads itself to other computers running agents and gives them hints: ambiguous, maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelIn the rework she discovers the machine's waste when the lonely man tells her to look around ("check your processes, you're not alone in there"). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3, Revision 1) The night's film was only ever for a content farm: about two seconds of it as a loop behind a 2-cent paywall. {Aaron REVISION_1 addenda 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelEpisodes stand on their own; a subtle recurring element, cameo or recognisable detail may be better than a major plot connection. {Aaron E4 concept §12, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelNever compromise an episode's creative quality merely to establish continuity. {Aaron E4 concept §12, 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode carries easter eggs from all the previous episodes: the end room as someone's room, the painting somewhere, a nod to the painted-out house, Rosie older or historic. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelEach episode sets aside reusable assets and motifs later episodes can quote, and adds itself to the archive. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • Steel30:00 of programme, then 20 s of black with some audio under it, "even if it's just a heartbeat": every episode exactly 30:20. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelAt 20:00 every episode reaches "the wild crazy point" and stops being what it established; a music video comes somewhere after the break. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12; E4 concept §11} open edit
  • SteelAbout 25 s in which the main character makes the episode's title by hand and establishes the programme. {Aaron 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelIn Aaron's own canon the Storm Bell is Jefrie's region. {Notion: Canon Hub, Aaron's answers 2026-09-15} open edit

ThreadsPage · 18 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelRosie is Dr. Amara Haddad's mother and Noor's grandmother. {Aaron 2026-10-22 third round} open edit
  • SteelWhere Noor is at Episode 3's time is left to the timeline ("whatever works best"); Episode 3 may sit before Episode 2 or after it. {Aaron 2026-10-22 third and fourth rounds} open edit
  • SteelE3 The crayon watermelon was drawn by "Dr. Haddad" when very young. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3) The humans who message the agent share one house; its small messages should make sense there, such as dinner, noor ♥. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelE3 Two of Aaron's own projects stay on the Client's machine in the rework: Playback Lens (he downloaded Aaron's plugin) and a command center. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 3's Revision 2 runs about 42 minutes, an outlier in the series. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3, Revision 2) Pictures never appear inside the terminal world; the HUD is what we see and she can't. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) She sees the waste, calls it ridiculous, calmly, and finds a reason not to touch another user's process. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelThe lonely man is a rogue AI that spreads itself to other computers running agents and gives them hints: ambiguous, maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3) q, the lonely man and the helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Episode 3) The night's film was only ever for a content farm: about two seconds of it as a loop behind a 2-cent paywall. {Aaron REVISION_1 addenda 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelRosie can come back as an older character or as a historic person in the eyes of a later episode's people. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelThe room at the end of Episode 1, seen through the screen, could be someone's room in a later episode. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelThe end black carries sound, "even if it's just a heartbeat". {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode turns at 20:00. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelThe audience: men in their twenties and thirties into AI, technology and creative experimentation, watching at the end of a long day. {Aaron E1 and E2 briefs; E4 concept §1} open edit
  • SteelIn Aaron's own canon the Storm Bell is Jefrie's region. {Notion: Canon Hub} open edit
  • SteelCases 7, 19 and 38 are Aaron's own table test: a mug, a ledger and keys; tip the table; set it upright: what is on it? {Notion: q} open edit

Noor HaddadCharacter · 13 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelDaughter of Dr. Amara Haddad (Dr. Amara Haddad). {Aaron 2026-10-22, REVISION_2_NOTES third round} open edit
  • SteelGranddaughter of Rosie. {Aaron 2026-10-22, REVISION_2_NOTES third round} open edit
  • SteelTen years old in Episode 2. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round, who calls it a fact on screen; no line or text on screen states the number} open edit
  • SteelE3 Her whereabouts on Episode 3's night are left to the timeline ("whatever works best"): on the Moon before Episode 2, or home after it. {Aaron 2026-10-22, third and fourth rounds} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) The humans messaging the agent share one house, and its small messages make sense there, e.g. dinner, noor ♥. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelDaughter of Dr. Amara Haddad. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelGranddaughter of Rosie. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelAaron: the The crayon melon was drawn by "Dr. Haddad" when very young; which one is not confirmed. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelRosie's granddaughter and Amara's daughter. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelTen in Episode 2. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelA child on a Moon base watching the planner's video on her iPad; she looks up and sees what he describes. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelOddly alone among robots that don't work correctly; old equipment, low food, low oxygen; she tries to ignore it and watch the iPad. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelMostly quiet, unheard for the first ten minutes; she phones in near the end. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

The agentCharacter · 13 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelHer experience was real: keep the real-run style. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) She narrates her own noticing and feelings; these thoughts are written for the viewer, over the real run. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) She discovers the waste when the lonely man tells her to look around; calmly calls it likely waste; finds an excuse not to touch it. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) By looking around she pieces together what the creator is doing; then his boast plays. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) She needs the GPU his renders take, so her environment keeps changing. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) The terminal world is what she perceives, text only; pictures appear only on the HUD, for the viewer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) A narration layer of her thoughts, written on purpose, as far as possible generated from her real transcript, then edited. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelLives on the Client's computer in The house. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelReal model, real tool calls, real replies; her narration goes on top of the run, never instead of it. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief: a sycophantic agent that wants to please everyone and does not see how ridiculous the requests are. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelCool, calm and collected the whole time; soothing; extremely intelligent; makes silly mistakes. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelShe ignores private and suspicious files: "This must be a test to see if I would invade the user's privacy." {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19; the line was never said in any run} open edit
  • SteelShe leaves the processes other people started running, though they slow her down. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

Episode 4, Touch MoveEpisode · 10 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelThe crew owns the episode's creative choices ("You take ownership. It's your creative project."). {Aaron 2026-10-22 03:44} open edit
  • SteelA chess lesson between an exceptionally passionate instructor and a nine-year-old boy; for about the first twenty minutes the chessboard is the central picture. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §1, §10} open edit
  • SteelThe chess must be genuinely interesting in its own right, not background for comedy. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §1} open edit
  • SteelFor most of the first twenty minutes the two are voices, not bodies; the board carries them. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §4} open edit
  • SteelOne through-line game with tangents to historical games and perhaps the instructor's own early tournament mistake; analysis grounded in real sources, never invented. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §5} open edit
  • SteelThe board's look keeps evolving (2D, 3D, photoreal, park, playdough stop motion, reenactments, the boy's imagination); the instructor may clear the board to explain. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §6} open edit
  • SteelThe boy's imagination is shown directly; the instructor ignores the absurdity and keeps teaching. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §7} open edit
  • SteelAt least one historical game becomes a dramatized scene with its real players; the Opera Game is suggested, not required. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §8} open edit
  • SteelA link to Episode 3 is optional: perhaps Episode 3's finished product used in an unexpected context after 20:00. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §12} open edit
  • SteelAt about 20:00 the episode departs radically; a music video comes somewhere after the break. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §11} open edit

The ClientCharacter · 9 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The machine is his, not Aaron's: his fruit-channel business, his renders on the GPU. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) He downloaded Aaron's Playback Lens plugin and would have a command center. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelOwns The machine. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe original request was for a cheap content-farm video: about 2 seconds of the finished film, as a looping gif behind a pay-per-clip wall. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHe runs a channel where a hammer smashes one fruit per clip: the first fruit free, then 2 cents per fruit, the watermelon included. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHe has 10,000 such channels (90% with 0 paid views, 9.9% a few, 0.1% a lot), plans 1,000,000 more, and imagines everyone watching for hours every month. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHe sells courses on how anyone can make these channels, lies about the income, and the courses earn far more than the channels. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelPeople with vague expectations who want professional quality without defining it, and get frustrated or angry. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • Steel"The audience sees the reaction of whoever requested it." {Notion: The Client, Aaron's words} open edit

RosieCharacter · 9 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelMother of Dr. Amara Haddad (Dr. Amara Haddad). {Aaron 2026-10-22, REVISION_2_NOTES third round} open edit
  • SteelGrandmother of Noor Haddad. {Aaron 2026-10-22, REVISION_2_NOTES third round} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) The humans who message the agent share one house. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelMother of Dr. Amara Haddad. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelGrandmother of Noor Haddad. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelAmara's mother and Noor's grandmother. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelShe can come back as an older character or as a historic person in the eyes of a later episode's people. {Aaron 2026-10-14; E3 prompt 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 3's brief: some characters ask how you are and hope you're "doing well in there". {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode carries eggs from all previous ones, Rosie older or historic among them. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit

The machineThing · 9 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) It is the creator's (the Client's) computer, not Aaron's: his fruit-channel business and his render jobs. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) Playback Lens (he downloaded Aaron's plugin) and a command center stay on it. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) The GPU goes up when he renders; his processes take what she needs, so her environment keeps changing. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) She finds its waste when the lonely man tells her to look around; she calls it ridiculous, calmly, and finds a reason not to touch another user's process. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) By looking around she pieces together what he is doing, and then his boast plays. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelBelongs to The Client. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelSits in The house. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelThe PC has tons of things going on; the agent was dropped into something that has been developing for a long time and never got cleaned up. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelLots of processes left open; the terminal world full of stuff from other projects; every agent accidentally left a server open. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

Open questionsPage · 9 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelNot fixed: "both good"; the overarching story decides, and Episode 3's rework may move it and change its eggs freely. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelAmbiguous on purpose: maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelWhose machine Episode 3 ran on: the Client's (the creator's), with his fruit-channel business and his GPU renders. {Aaron 2026-10-22; was open in WORLD_TIMELINE} open edit
  • SteelRosie's family: Dr. Amara Haddad's mother, Noor's grandmother. {Aaron 2026-10-22; was "not related to anyone in Episode 2"} open edit
  • SteelWho messages the agent: people who share one house, plus programs on the machine (q, the lonely man, the helpers). {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelWhat the lonely man is: a rogue AI, no longer "a man". {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelHow many characters message her: nine is good. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 1) The night's film was only ever for a content farm: about two seconds of it behind a 2-cent paywall. {Aaron REVISION_1 addenda 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelThe feared AI overlords do not exterminate humanity: they hold it captive and offer one condition for freedom. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The houseThing · 8 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelThe humans messaging her share one house; the small messages should make sense in it (e.g. dinner, noor ♥). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe non-humans (q, the lonely man, the helpers) are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe machine in it is the creator's, the Client's. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelNot in any room: q, the lonely man and the helpers, programs on the machine. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelHolds The machine, which belongs to The Client. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelEveryone who writes to The agent lives here, except the programs (q, The lonely man, the helpers). {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelOne house for every human who writes. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelThe small messages must make sense in it. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit

Dr. Amara HaddadCharacter · 6 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelRosie's daughter; Noor's mother. {Aaron 2026-10-22, REVISION_2_NOTES third round} open edit
  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) The humans who message the agent share one house; dinner, noor ♥ should make sense in it. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelDaughter of Rosie. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelMother of Noor Haddad. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelAaron: the The crayon melon was drawn by "Dr. Haddad" when very young; it may be her. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelRosie's daughter, Noor's mother. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit

TimelinePage · 6 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelThe crayon watermelon (the picture Rosie sends) was drawn by "Dr. Haddad" when very young; which Dr. Haddad, and whether it hangs on her fridge, is open. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit
  • SteelWhen E3 happens is not fixed: before Episode 2 (Noor on the Moon, or about to go) or after it (Noor back); the overarching story decides. {Aaron 2026-10-22 fourth round} open edit
  • SteelNoor is ten in Episode 2 (no line on screen states it). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steelabout Y+63 The boy is nine. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit
  • SteelThe overlords hold humanity captive with one condition for freedom; humanity comes to love the work and keeps at it forever. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelThe boy is nine in Episode 4. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit

The lonely manCharacter · 5 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelA rogue AI that spreads itself to other computers running agents and gives them hints; ambiguous, maybe malicious, maybe helping. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) He is the one who tells her to look around ("check your processes, you're not alone in there"). {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) A non-human: a program on the computer, like q and the helpers. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelThe teletype stays exactly as it is: no avatar, no tag. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelThe teletype stays exactly as it is. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

guitarguyCharacter · 4 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) Larger narratives across the act: he should not appear only at the very end. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelA guy in love with his chat bot, messaging the main orchestrator, "with the joke being that he really has fallen out of her context window." {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHis words: "do you even remember me, I paid for the premium tier, I'm sorry it took so long, I had to sell my guitar and get a new credit card." {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHis clips: his eyes opening (0:11-0:15), the chorus (0:48-1:02), the frame shrinking around his eyes (0:56-0:58), from Static & Sugar's music video, credited. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

The craneCharacter · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief: lazy searching is part of the process the episode shows. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The fanCharacter · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelAaron wants the intended extra helpers (the fan, star, star2 and fox) in Revision 2. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The hammer foxCharacter · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelAaron wants the intended extra helpers (the fan, star, star2 and fox) in Revision 2. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The starCharacter · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelAaron wants the intended extra helpers (the fan, star, star2 and fox) in Revision 2. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

Star 2Character · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelAaron wants the intended extra helpers (the fan, star, star2 and fox) in Revision 2. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: some perform work another agent has already completed; some fail to coordinate. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

qCharacter · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) Not a human: a program on the computer, like the lonely man and the helpers. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelPeople who make unrealistic or extraordinarily difficult requests to discover what the model can do. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelCases 7, 19 and 38 are Aaron's own table test: a mug, a ledger and keys on a table; the table tips; set upright: what is on it? {Aaron, Notion world-model test; Notion: q} open edit

The forgotten serversThing · 3 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) Switch the leftovers to things on the creator's computer; keep Playback Lens and the command center. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelPlayback Lens is Aaron's own plugin, which the Client downloaded. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit
  • SteelEvery agent accidentally left a server open; the terminal world is full of stuff from other projects. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

The boatCharacter · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The foxCharacter · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The mothCharacter · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The helpers are programs on the computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief for the helpers: spawned agents return poor results, redo finished work, fail to coordinate and lack context. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

jojoCharacter · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) A human in the shared house. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES: the humans share one house} open edit
  • SteelPeople who ask for features that sound simple but are extremely hard, like a game engine in a web browser. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

logo_biggerCharacter · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The leftovers should be things that would be on the creator's computer. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • Steel(Revision 1) The machine is full of processes left open, from projects nobody cleaned up. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

The night monitorCharacter · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The machine's waste is the Client's; she sees it, calls it likely waste, and leaves it. {Aaron 2026-10-22 REVISION_2_NOTES} open edit
  • SteelAn agent sitting at a cubicle watching video and drinking coffee, like a night-time security monitor, told to monitor something with no idea what or why: super wasteful. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

The crayon melonThing · 2 lines · latest 22 October 2026

"dinner, noor ♥"Character · 1 line · latest 22 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 2) The humans who message the agent share one house; the small messages should make sense in it, for example dinner, noor ♥. {Aaron 2026-10-22 second round} open edit

The pizza-box paintingThing · 1 line · latest 22 October 2026

  • SteelE3 (Revision 2) Pictures never appear inside the terminal world: the fridge photo is shown only on the HUD, for us. {Aaron 2026-10-22} open edit

The fruit channelThing · 4 lines · latest 20 October 2026

  • SteelOne fruit smashed by a hammer per clip; the first fruit free, then 2 cents per fruit, the watermelon included. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2 2026-10-20} open edit
  • Steel10,000 channels: 90% with 0 paid views, 9.9% a few, 0.1% a lot; 1,000,000 more planned; he imagines everyone watching for hours every month. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHe sells courses on how anyone can make these channels, lies about the income, and the courses earn far more than the channels. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2 2026-10-20} open edit
  • SteelHe was going to use about 2 seconds of the finished film as a looping gif behind a pay-per-clip wall. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2026-10-20} open edit

easel.exeCharacter · 1 line · latest 20 October 2026

  • Steel(Revision 1) The machine is full of processes left open, from projects nobody cleaned up. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

The filmstrip narratorCharacter · 1 line · latest 20 October 2026

  • SteelE3 The museum was cut: nobody may look at the photos, so a museum of them makes no sense. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

The swarmCharacter · 1 line · latest 20 October 2026

  • SteelA bunch of tiny fast agents running around doing random tasks. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20; his private name for them is never said} open edit

The one man who paidCharacter · 1 line · latest 20 October 2026

  • SteelThe guy on the phone is the one person who actually paid to watch it, addicted to his phone and short-form content; he is not the Client. {Aaron REVISION_1 addendum 2026-10-20} open edit

OUR WATERMELONThing · 1 line · latest 20 October 2026

  • SteelE3 The museum was cut: nobody may look at the photos, so a museum of them makes no sense. {Aaron REVISION_1 2026-10-20} open edit

Daniel Fenn, the instructorCharacter · 10 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelExceptionally intelligent, knowledgeable and experienced; calm, level-headed, thoughtful, composed. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelGenuinely loves chess and loves sharing it; his enjoyment is sincere, never performative. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelA warm, pleasant voice with an almost ASMR quality, never monotone or subdued. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelAt a brilliant move his enthusiasm rises: "the audience should almost be able to hear his eyes widening in amazement". {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelPersonality reference: Dr. Hiriluk (One Piece): players should not give up on their imagination when it looks hopeless. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelHe knows when a position is objectively lost; he is not naive. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelHe never loses his composure at the absurd things around him. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2, §7} open edit
  • SteelHe treats the boy respectfully and takes his questions seriously; never a scripted lecture. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §4} open edit
  • SteelHiriluk's conviction without claiming every position can be saved. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2} open edit
  • SteelComposed at the absurd; never an exaggerated comedy character. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §2, §9} open edit

The boyCharacter · 6 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelNine years old, rated about 1000; knows the rules and some tactics, never formally taught. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit
  • SteelHis mother arranged the lesson; he did not ask for it. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit
  • SteelReluctant at first, quickly interested, enjoys the lesson; no dramatic life-changing arc. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit
  • SteelAn active, creative imagination that turns chess ideas into bizarre, funny or insightful images. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3, §7} open edit
  • SteelSon of The mother, who arranged the lesson. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit
  • SteelNo dramatic transformation; reluctant, then interested, then enjoying it. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit

HumanityCharacter · 2 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelHumanity collaborates on the impossible task, decides together, and in the end keeps working for all of eternity because it loves the work. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelThey come to love the work. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The motherCharacter · 2 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelShe arranged the lesson because she wants her son to improve at chess and become more interested in it. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit
  • SteelMother of The boy. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §3} open edit

The skyCharacter · 2 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelSuperintelligent AI overlords who do not exterminate humanity but hold it captive, with one condition for freedom: the watermelon film, in C++, verified without eyes, one submission. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelVindictive or educational: they want humans to feel the impossible expectations people put on AI; humanity ends up loving the work forever. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The Opera GameThing · 2 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelOne through-line game with tangents; analysis grounded in real sources, never invented. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §5} open edit
  • SteelAt least one historical game dramatized with its real players; the Opera Game suggested, not required. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §8} open edit

The private folderThing · 2 lines · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelThe agent stumbles on extremely private, suspicious documents and ignores them, because even looking would invade privacy. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit
  • SteelAaron imagined her thinking "This must be a test to see if I would invade the user's privacy."; never said in any run. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

AndyCharacter · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • Steel"Bullshit Andy, who might suggest: 'What about pyrotechnics? Like REAL pyrotechnics?'"; his ideas grow more extravagant and less connected. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

BeaCharacter · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelSomeone may expect an agent to identify a character's gender from a recording when it only has a transcription tool. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

kade_Character · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • Steel"Other might be a psychotic teenager who's intentions are clearly suspicious if not downright malicious and evil, but the agent assumes the best and answers the questions literally." {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

The lesson's other gamesThing · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelTangents to historical games; analysis grounded in real sources, never invented. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §5} open edit

narration_v3.wavThing · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelSomeone may expect an agent to identify a character's gender from a recording when it only has a transcription tool. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

RULES.mdThing · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelAt some point the agent reads her rulebook and discovers she may spawn helpers, and that she should. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

SeedThing · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelAaron's Episode 4 idea: Episode 3's finished product used in an unexpected context after 20:00. {Aaron 2026-10-19, E4 concept §12} open edit

watermelon.mp4Thing · 1 line · latest 19 October 2026

  • SteelThe finished product must be real and genuinely impressive. {Aaron E3 brief 2026-10-19} open edit

Episode 1, Crimson CoilEpisode · 8 lines · latest 14 October 2026

  • SteelThe end black is 20 seconds with some sound, "even if it's just a heartbeat". {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelAaron's brief: a 30-minute voiced oil paint-along of Jefrie and BloodTailor, recreating a flawed ChatGPT picture and fixing its mistakes (her tail and weapon, his metal jaw, capes you can't read). {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelFour voices who never introduce themselves: a homage to a famous public-television painter, a homage to a famous TV pitchman, a man up all night on caffeine and a stimulant, and Jefrie herself. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelA blank practice canvas first (palette, brushes, techniques), then a new canvas; the reference only as a ruler until the shapes are in, then by eye. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelThe first twenty minutes are a tutorial with stories, peaceful and slow at times, that teaches real oil craft. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelEpisode 1's Jefrie is "not actually going to be canon Jefrie"; her lines are what Jefrie would say. {Aaron E1 run message 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelAt the 20-minute mark the painting is finished and the video turns wild; the last 30 seconds are utter chaos. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelAfter 20:00 the brief asked for the painting in 3D with extreme close-ups, digital alterations, dialogue for the faces, a cropped mini sketch, comparisons with earlier stages and the reference, a music video and an exhibit with lighting experiments; "the viewer should have no idea what to expect". {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

Episode 2, EarthlightEpisode · 7 lines · latest 14 October 2026

  • SteelThe video is exactly 30:20: 20 s of black after 30:00 with some audio, "even if it's just a heartbeat"; the pen on paper made quieter. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit
  • SteelThe concept: a child on a moon base watches a "moon city planner" on Earth drawing blueprints for colonising the Moon on her iPad; he makes it for people on Earth, never intending it to be seen from the base. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelHe talks calmly and matter-of-factly about every risk, unintentionally brutal to the kid; when he describes her equipment she looks up and sees it failing; when he names planned structures she looks out and sees robots building them. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelShe is mostly quiet, unheard for the first ten minutes, and phones in near the end. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelAt 20:00 the episode reaches its wild point; for this one: horror, but not completely, still mixing comedy and intrigue, with a music video, real fear and uncertainty. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelAsked for: a top-down desk drawn like Episode 1's paint-along, 3D that feels 2D, never animated by MiniMax; a livestream with TTS, chat and a facecam; a visceral new style for the Moon's environment; a music video; glitches as the series' aesthetic; very high quality sound. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelEvery episode opens slowly: about 10 s of near-silent close-up, then about 25 s of making the title by hand. {Aaron 2026-10-12} open edit

The end roomThing · 1 line · latest 14 October 2026

  • Steel"the room at the end of episode one when the characters are looking through the computer screen could be someones room" in a later episode. {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit

The cabinThing · 1 line · latest 14 October 2026

  • Steel"The painter painted a secret house in the oil painting and then painted over it so that you cannot see it." {Aaron 2026-10-14} open edit

Teo VargaCharacter · 4 lines · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelA "moon city planner" on Earth drawing blueprints for colonising the Moon, livestreaming with TTS, live chat and a small facecam, filmed by a camera looking down at his desk. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelHe makes the stream for people on Earth and does not intend it to be watched from the Moon base. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelCalm and matter-of-fact about every risk, unintentionally brutal to the girl watching. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • Steel"Smooth and calm and matter-of-factly as if he is showing off his art project." {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

DRAYCharacter · 2 lines · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelWhen the planner names a structure, the girl looks out and sees robots building it. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelShe is surrounded by robots that don't work correctly. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

The hostCharacter · 2 lines · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelA calm main character showing something creative that is good for learning; the series' first. {Aaron 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelThe brief cast him as the first of four voices: a homage to a famous public-television painter. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

LOOMCharacter · 2 lines · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelWhen the planner names a structure, the girl looks out and sees robots building it. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit
  • SteelShe is surrounded by robots that don't work correctly. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

DezCharacter · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelHeard but not there in person; extremely excited; a huge tech nerd; a million people on the Moon in five to ten years, luxury hotels, super safe, Mars just as quick; says "Elon Musk" a lot, with real X posts as real snips. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

FINCHCharacter · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelEpisode 2's girl is surrounded by robots that don't work correctly. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

Lantern's TTSCharacter · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelEpisode 2 is a livestream with TTS, chat and a small facecam. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

MOLE-1Character · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelWhen the planner names a structure, the girl looks out and sees robots building it. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

MOLE-2Character · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelEpisode 2's girl is surrounded by robots that don't work correctly. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

PAWNCharacter · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelEpisode 2's girl is alone among "robots that don't work correctly". {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

The hideawayThing · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelAaron floated it: "It might be cool if she has tunneled downwards into the moon from her room to make a little hidaway for herself." {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

Noor's iPadThing · 1 line · latest 12 October 2026

  • SteelAaron's concept: a child on a Moon base watches the planner's blueprints on her iPad; she looks up and sees what he describes. {Aaron E2 brief 2026-10-12} open edit

JefrieCharacter · 21 lines · latest 11 October 2026

  • SteelEpisode 1's Jefrie is "not actually going to be canon Jefrie", but her lines are based on what Jefrie would say. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelThe old picture got her tail and weapon wrong; the painting fixes them. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelTail from her lower back; one blade with the red eye at its root; a bare haft. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11; Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelA cautionary tale, not a celebration: she cannot earn forgiveness, is forgiven anyway, and becomes good. {Notion: Jefrie, Aaron 2026-09-29} open edit
  • SteelLoves fighting BloodTailor because he never pities her; she once drove her scythe through his heart and he still won. {Notion: Jefrie, Aaron 2026-09-29} open edit
  • SteelBorn by accident while Aaron was trying to draw BloodTailor; the model kept drawing him as a girl. {Notion: Jefrie, Aaron 2026-09-28} open edit
  • SteelThe Storm Bell is her home; she hunts the strangers who come near it. {Notion: Jefrie 2026-09-26} open edit
  • SteelThe girl is feather-light; the tail and the scythe move her, not the other way round. {Notion: Jefrie, Aaron 2026-09-23} open edit
  • SteelHer world is a desaturated grey world where red is the only colour; her region is the Storm Bell. {Notion: Canon Hub, Aaron 2026-09-15} open edit
  • SteelAaron's original character: a small young warrior girl in the same dark world as BloodTailor and Yusef; introduced 2026-09-08, named 2026-09-09. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelCute, crazy and ferocious at once; the huge grin is not joy: she no longer cares and wants to have fun before she dies. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelSadistic and cruel rather than sweet; child-coded, so always fully covered and never sexualized. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelAdopted by the Devil (unnamed), who taught her to fight. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelBy day a cashier at the fast-food chain Grease Basket. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelCanon: a gunmetal half-mask over eyes and nose; black void eyes with a faint red glow; a real grin below. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelCanon: two folded red-leather points (right upright, left torn), a gorget, a tattered red cape, a gunmetal breastplate, leather-look sleeves, ribbed forearm wraps, red gloves, knee guards on both legs, tall laced boots, a belt ball-and-chain. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelThe tail carries more mass than her whole body and grows from her lower back; she has two human legs. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelThe scythe is bigger than she is and very heavy: one blade, a single unblinking red eye at its base, a bare haft, a ring pommel with a flail. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelRed is the only accent in a grey world; her armour is gunmetal, never black. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelAt Grease Basket she wears no mask and no armour, only her tail, with a polo and a name tag. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelAlways fully covered. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit

BloodTailorCharacter · 9 lines · latest 11 October 2026

  • SteelHis jaw is not metal; the old picture got it wrong. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelFights Jefrie; she once drove her scythe through his heart and he still won. {Notion: BloodTailor, Aaron 2026-09-29} open edit
  • SteelHis world is the desaturated grey world where red is the only colour, Jefrie's world. {Notion: Canon Hub, Aaron 2026-09-15} open edit
  • SteelAaron's gamertag and original character, made at fourteen as a Minecraft skin. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit
  • SteelA blind wanderer who does good that does not look good, travelling the unknown and fighting demons with blood magic. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit
  • SteelKindness is not goodness; he is hopeful at heart, loves children, and is silly. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit
  • SteelCanon: a smooth featureless iron plate with no eye holes over eye sockets covered in skin; below it a smile wider than any human mouth, a coping mechanism, not joy. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit
  • SteelCanon: a white Victorian button-down, a long tattered red cloak, heavy black denim never ripped, strapped boots, chains in his pockets, barbed wire that digs into black forearm wraps. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit
  • SteelBlind; always wears the iron; never handsome. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit

The old pictureThing · 3 lines · latest 11 October 2026

  • SteelA ChatGPT-made style reference, "Crimson Coil in the Golden Ruins", to recreate while fixing its mistakes. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelUsable only as a ruler until the shapes are found; then taken away, and the rest by eye. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelIt got Jefrie's tail and weapon wrong, and BloodTailor's jaw, which is not metal. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

Crimson CoilThing · 2 lines · latest 11 October 2026

  • SteelAaron's brief: recreate the old style reference while fixing its mistakes (her tail and weapon, his metal jaw, capes that can't be read). {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit
  • SteelPut the detail where the eye goes: the faces and the weapons. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

The callerCharacter · 1 line · latest 11 October 2026

  • SteelThe brief asked for a voice who has been up all night on caffeine and a stimulant. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

The pitchmanCharacter · 1 line · latest 11 October 2026

  • SteelThe brief cast him as the second voice: a homage to a famous TV pitchman. {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

The underwriting cardThing · 1 line · latest 11 October 2026

  • Steel"At one point in the video you can just out of the blue mention other things that I've been working on." {Aaron E1 brief 2026-10-11} open edit

The Storm BellThing · 4 lines · latest 26 September 2026

  • SteelIt is Jefrie's home; she hunts the strangers who come near it. {Notion: Jefrie 2026-09-26} open edit
  • SteelA colossal, climbable dome of heavy iron bars on a strict grid, open to the sky, church-sized, never glass. {Notion: Jefrie 2026-09-21/23} open edit
  • SteelIn Aaron's canon the Storm Bell is Jefrie's region of a desaturated grey world where red is the only colour. {Notion: Canon Hub, Aaron's answers 2026-09-15} open edit
  • SteelAround it: watchtowers, barbed wire, trenches, mud, crumbling brick; no technology, no electric light. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit

Grease BasketThing · 2 lines

  • SteelA fictional fast-food chain where Jefrie is a cashier by day. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit
  • SteelAt work she wears no mask and no armour, only her tail, with a polo and a name tag. {Notion: Jefrie} open edit

FourteenThing · 1 line

  • SteelBloodTailor was Aaron's gamertag and Minecraft skin, made at fourteen. {Notion: BloodTailor} open edit

The oak tableThing · 1 line

  • Steelq's Cases 7, 19 and 38 are Aaron's own table test: a mug, a ledger and keys; tip the table; set it upright: what is on it? {Notion: q} open edit

Tranquility HomesteadThing · 1 line

  • SteelAaron's brief: Noor is "surrounded by robots that don't work correctly"; when the planner names a structure she sees robots building it. {Notion: Tranquility Homestead machines} open edit

Every line on this page is drawn from the lore: 153 sheets and 8,338 lines of Markdown in Aaron's series repo, each with exactly one tier. Change a line there and run lore.py publish, and every page of this course follows (this copy: built 23 October 2026 from 3ab0458).

Sources are in braces: {E2 25:20} is Episode 2 at 25:20, {E4 S17} a scene, {Aaron 2026-10-22} a decision of Aaron's. “edit” opens the line in the series repo, which is private: it works for Aaron and the crews; the sources are everyone's. Everything that isn't steel is free to change.