Behavior, Bug

Excerpted from notes written on 2019-08-18

The events that occur in reality are based on certain rules, such as the laws of physics. While there isn't someone managing these rules, we don't need to worry about these rules conflicting with each other or about unhandled exceptional situations. For example, we don't need to worry about scenarios like: "What if I jump up from a standing position and suddenly bounce off the floor, getting half of my body stuck in the ceiling?"

It's a different story in a city based on rules created and managed by someone. If the administrators haven't thoroughly refined the rules, unexpected things might happen. For example, yesterday you might have seen other people normally, but today it's possible that no one is visible. Or you might go to a specific location and hear conversations from a far-off place. Or part of your body might get stuck in the floor, leaving you unable to move. Let's call these unexpected occurrences errors or bugs. Analyzing the reasons for these bugs, we'd find that they occurred because the designated rules were followed. However, following the rules is separate from situations unfolding according to the rule-maker's intentions. Minor bugs might briefly confuse users, but some bugs could grant users administrator privileges, irreparably damage user information, or perhaps even paralyze the entire city.

In everyday life, various bugs, both big and small, will be discovered. In some cities, these bugs will be quickly managed. Some cities will be remembered for specific bugs, and just as laws differ from country to country, these bugs will become one of the factors determining a city's identity. The people of the city interact with the city through these bugs.