In Real Life (irl, lol) the idea of the NPC is those people who can only react to influences and inputs according to the programming they’ve received from without. People who can’t parse signal from noise, truth from propaganda. To me it clearly has nothing to do with the mind, and it’s “intelligence”, and I’ve always seen it as something more fundamental.

What is it that creates an inner “ballast” for some, a pull or need for inner discernment in things? A call to seek truth, however relative?

I used to believe it rested in a positive attitude toward work and suffering. But my experiences in this 4th Turning have led me to question whether it’s something deeper…?