The Core UI is originally described as the supreme artificial intelligence creation in a universe where all such things are programmed and constructed, and a rival to an evolved 'Human' UI which exists in an alternate future. But in later books, we learn that AIs evolve through competition and predation much as humans do, and we read at least one chunk of speculation that the TechnoCore may eventually evolve into cooperation and symbiosis with humanity. It's also revealed that the being who originally described the Core UI was lying through his teeth most of the time to manipulate the protagonists.
Conclusion of all this? The TechnoCore, the so-called 'Ultimate' Intelligence, is a step away from being truly ultimate. Its eventual fate, as much as it may try to deny it, is to become the Logic part of the Human UI, on an equal footing for the Empathy part it has such contempt for. There are no alternate futures; the Human UI just comes from further up the timeline than the Core UI. Every major event across all the novels is arguably due to deliberate connivance by the Human UI manipulating the Core UI into position to make sure a single deterministic timeline comes out 'right'.
A drunken, washed-up, Insane Keats hybrid. He certainly has the poetic prowess, down to the stylistics. He may have never actually been born on Old Earth, he thinks he was, because the memories of the life of Keats and the data that the Technocore already knew about Hegira Era Earth became fused and interpreted by Silenus as memories. The cryogenic sleep he was on was a death similar to that experienced by Johnny in Lamia's story, only much, much worse. Johnny only died for a few seconds, and, while unchanged character wise, lost incredible amounts of data. Martin must have been dead for years, upon his resurrection on Heavens Gate, he had become partially disconnected from the Core, forgetting about life in the megasphere, his persona being driven to insanity.
Him writing down the Cantos was a result of someone in the Core trying to fix him from his damage.The Technocore is mentioned to have greatly praised his published Cantos, implying that Martin is on the same intellectual level as them. Most failed personas are destroyed, but Silenus's unique Cantos may have proven useful by the AI he originated from, who was most likely a Stable due to Martin's allegiance to humanity. Eventually, he or his AI must have been found out by Volatiles. His AI may have been killed, completely destroying any chance of Martin fully realizing his true past. and as a final insult, his Cybrid was hung on the tree of thorns by the Shrike, until Lamia rescued him.
Martin has gone through so many Poulson treatments, biosculpting, drug use, and general aging that he is completely unrecognizable from the other personas. Due to the intense trauma he has suffered with the changing environment he has lived in, confused memories and the death of several of his friends, his original personality has completely changed. His Cantos may be either a continued, fully realized version of Keat's Unfinished epics, or a stream of consciousness from his AI located far in a possible future, explaining his apparent ability to predict the future with his Cantos. Lamia also may or may not find something familiar about him. One of the worst outbursts she had against him, apart from him being…Martin. was when he quoted Keats's poetry, something that may have reminded Lamia of her loss and stirred up unwanted feelings and memories.
Hmm. Data-based lifeform? Check! Fascinated by trying to evolve and reach the next level of development? Check! Split between different factions that have opposed goals about how to go about their aims? Check! Produces human interfaces that allow the A.I.s to interact with humans as people? Check! And Yuki was even reading a copy of Fall of Hyperion; no doubt she was wondering how on Earth the future had been sent back to before the Heigra.
That would logically put Yuki as either a Stable or an Ultimate. Ryoko is certainly a Volatile, and we don't know enough about Emiri (although she seems Stable). That would also explain Mikuru; she's been sent back by the future humans to protect a nascent part of the Human UI, although Haruhi is probably not the Empathy part.
- She could be a representative from the Lions and Tigers and Bears, though. Or maybe that's Kyon.
The original victims of the resurrection cruciform, the Bikura, were driven into sexless idiocy after only a few hundred resurrections - and that's at a generous estimate of one or two deaths a year over the course of several centuries. Dure likely died more than fifty thousand times during his ordeal but somehow avoided coming back as a drooling androgynous vegetable. Given his reaction to the cruciform and his ability to be in the right place at the right time, it is apparent that Dure is not completely human - possibly an outright Observer, possibly just modified or enhanced by the Observers to stand up to the resurrection cruciform.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled game of Guess The Time Lord. Have at it, folks.
- As this troper recalls, he only died once. He set it up so he would be as free of the cruciform as possible, plus avoiding death as well as possible. Not too shabby. The downside? The rest of the time waiting for Mr. Jerk Priest he was being tortured to death but never actually getting there. Plus, he is somewhat brain damaged on his first appearance, matching up to about how one death would seem. He's confused, disoriented and his lucidity is somewhat variable. Characters note that if he's this charismatic and whatnot now, imagine how he was before?
