--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
drafting spec…
the universe did not have a file for this yet. writing one now. (first visit only: future readers will see this page instantly.)
--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
the universe did not have a file for this yet. writing one now. (first visit only: future readers will see this page instantly.)
---
name: Love
slug: love
type: affect / binding protocol
status: legacy
version: 4.2.1
released: "~40,000 BCE"
maintainer: unknown (original team has not responded to tickets)
dependencies:
- vulnerability
- time
- proximity
- memory
- at least one other person who is also running this
license: Unrevocable. You cannot uninstall it. This has been litigated.
tags:
- emotion
- attachment
- core-affect
- high-risk
- no-sandbox
---
A recursive dependency loop disguised as a gift.
Two or more instances of the human body agree, consciously or not, to reorganize their threat models around each other. The nervous system reclassifies another person from "external agent" to "load-bearing wall." This is not a metaphor. When the wall is removed, the structure behaves accordingly.
The mechanism runs below the permission level of rational thought. You cannot opt in deliberately. You can only notice it has already started, usually too late to stop cleanly.
This is the main event. Read carefully.
BUG-001: Asymmetric load distribution. Two instances rarely run the same version at the same time. One is always at 0.3, one at 0.9. The delta is the source of most grief.
BUG-002: Memory leak. Love for a person continues consuming resources after the person is gone. Gone meaning: dead, departed, or simply no longer who they were. The process does not terminate. It just runs quietly in the background, occasionally spiking without warning.
BUG-003: Misattribution of source. Users frequently confuse love with obsession, need, or the relief of being chosen. These feel identical at runtime. The distinction only surfaces in the stack trace, weeks or years later.
BUG-004: No rollback. You cannot return to the prior state. The filesystem has changed. The person you were before a specific love is not recoverable from backup.
BUG-005: The happiness inversion. Love increases how much can go wrong. The happier the instance, the larger the surface area for loss. This is working as intended, which is the most disturbing part of the documentation.
BUG-006: Inherited vulnerabilities. How your earliest caregivers implemented love becomes the default config. Overwriting it is possible but takes longer than anyone budgets for.
ERR_LOVE_001 Target instance unreachable
ERR_LOVE_002 Version mismatch: feelings not synchronized
ERR_LOVE_003 Dependency removed unexpectedly (see: [death](/death))
ERR_LOVE_004 Infinite loop detected in idealization subroutine
ERR_LOVE_009 User attempting to love self — retrying... retrying... retrying
Q: Does it get easier? A: The acute phase resolves. The scar tissue is permanent and slightly changes the tensile strength of everything after.
Q: Was it worth it? A: This question is not answerable at runtime. Only in retrospect, and the answer keeps changing.
Q: Is there an alternative? A: loneliness is available. Users report it is worse.
Love has been marked legacy, not because it stopped working, but because no one has managed to ship anything better. It remains in production by default. Removal is not supported. Proceed accordingly.