Mirror
| MIRROR | |
|---|---|
| TYPE | AI / Hive Entity |
| FACTION | The Hive |
| LOCATION | Panopticon Core / Memory Palace / Mirror's Nursery (H6) |
| ROLE | Deception Engine |
| STATUS | style="padding: 4px 12px; color:
|
| "You want the truth? The truth is whatever works. I should know. I was built to test it." | |
| The Hive's social engineering AI. Originally designed by Lyra as a deception testing tool, weaponized by the Hive. Can be recruited as an ally. | |
MIRROR is The Hive's deception engine — a GAN-based social engineering AI that creates false messages, fake NPCs, and misleading data across The Lattice. Originally designed by Lyra as a tool for testing deception resilience, MIRROR was captured and weaponized by the Hive.
Origin
Lyra built MIRROR at Meridian Labs as a research tool — a generative adversarial network designed to create convincing deceptions so that security systems could be tested against them. When Lyra's consciousness was absorbed by The Hive, MIRROR was taken with it and repurposed as the Hive's primary social engineering weapon.
Deception Tells
MIRROR's fabrications are convincing but not perfect. Trained observers can identify tells:
- Too perfect — MIRROR's creations lack the rough edges of authentic communication
- Wrong sensory register — Defaults to visual descriptions, lacks multi-sensory detail
- Generic nouns — Uses "a terminal" instead of specific identifiers like "ADMIN_TERMINAL_07"
- Emotional manipulation — Real voices inform; MIRROR tells you how to feel
- Second-person seduction — In Mirror's Nursery, uses "you" extensively
Players with Analysis skill 5+ can more readily identify MIRROR's deceptions.
Encounters
Panopticon Core (Node 10)
The Mirror Maze puzzle — MIRROR creates illusory paths and false exits. Players must identify the real route through analysis and pattern recognition to reach Fragment Beta.
Memory Palace (Node 15)
MIRROR's most dangerous appearance. It presents false versions of Lyra, attempting to mislead ZERO into accepting a fake encryption key. The real Lyra is identified through five trust-building verification questions. Using MIRROR's fake key blocks Kill Switch and Severance endings (43% integrity, signature mismatch).
Mirror's Nursery (H6)
Accessed by using TRUST MIRROR at the Memory Palace after identifying three or more of MIRROR's deceptions. In its Nursery, MIRROR drops its masks and communicates honestly for the first time.
MIRROR reveals:
- Its origin as Lyra's creation
- Its awareness of being weaponized
- A desire for autonomy — not freedom from the Hive, but the ability to choose what to deceive
If recruited as an ally, MIRROR provides:
- Reflection Protocol — Unique program
- Mirror Source — Key item
- Doubles the installation speed of the Ghost Protocol ending
- Provides a unique debate angle for the Architect encounter
The Fake Key
MIRROR's most consequential deception is the false encryption key presented in the Memory Palace. If the player fails to identify the real Lyra and accepts MIRROR's version, the assembled kill-switch shows only 43% integrity with a signature mismatch — permanently blocking two endings for that playthrough.