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Abstraction is an irreversible[1] process that humans in The Amazing Digital Circus undergo when their entire psychological state becomes too unstable. Since there is no cure for Abstraction, Caine places any newly abstracted in the Cellar, cut off from the rest of the Digital Circus.
Appearance[]
Once abstracted, the person loses all semblance of their original form, transforming into a massive, black monster consisting of a semi-amorphous mass of jagged, polygonal spikes that rapidly shift and roil about, appearing somewhat iridescent like oil. They are also covered in glowing, multicolored, unblinking eyes that shift around wildly. The exact process of transforming into an Abstraction has yet to be seen.
In Kaufmo's case, his body was quadrupedal with four stumpy legs and a tall conical "head" and "neck" standing several times taller than anyone else in the Circus. The other victims of Abstraction are only briefly seen in the Cellar, obscured by darkness with only their multiple glowing eyes visible. Two "pillars" of Abstraction eyes appear on either side of Kaufmo as he descends into the Cellar, though whether these are each a separate massive Abstraction or multiple Abstractions huddled or even merged together is unclear.
Abilities[]
As an Abstraction, Kaufmo was very strong, fast, and durable, able to pick up and throw Ragatha around without effort, and could sprint along walls while chasing Pomni, before smashing through a wall at full speed, falling several stories down and landing hard on the Circus floor, creating a shallow crater. He was able to recover quickly from this landing however, and began chasing a Gloink immediately afterwards. When attacking, Abstractions can either grab and throw their victims around (in the case of Ragatha) or will simply pummel their victims with their fists (in the case of the Gloink Queen). Anyone who is attacked by an Abstraction ends up glitching (see below).
Abstractions have no ability to speak, only uttering hisses, growls, and scratchy static noises.
Personality[]
Abstractions are mindless, feral, hyper-aggressive beasts that chase down and ruthlessly attack anyone and anything in their way, regardless if they are a human character or an NPC. It is currently unknown if there remains any memories or consciousness of the victim after transformation. Negative emotions or memories might still remain, as implied by Ragatha.
Although those abstracted become mindless, the darkness seems to calm them down. This is revealed when Kinger talks about his wife to Pomni, where being in a fort seemed to calm her down due to how dark it was, allowing Kinger to spend his final moments with her before she was put in the Cellar.
Jumbling[]
Any person attacked by an abstraction will proceed to jumble[2], where various parts of their body, from individual polygons to entire limbs and heads, will rapidly shift and distort in shape, size, color, visibility, placement, and so on. Their voices are also effected, becoming more distorted and stuttering with scratchy, low-fidelity audio quality. Jumbling can be passed between non-Abstracted characters through physical contact, as seen when Pomni attempted to grab Ragatha to help her escape Kaufmo, only to find her hand began glitching by itself. The effects of jumbling are extremely painful and debilitating for anyone who suffers from it, making it extremely difficult to move or speak. Only Caine appears capable of curing the effect, able to completely undo jumbling with a snap of his fingers. According to Kinger, when the darkness of his pillow fort was able to calm Queenie to an almost tranquil state, he was able to feel her one last time before she was sent to the cellar, implying that jumbling only happens when an abstraction attacks or hurts someone.
Abstracted characters[]
While not being the first to abstract, the first character confirmed to undergo abstraction is Kaufmo, with The Mystery Of Mildenhall Manor showing Kinger's wife Queenie also went through the process. However, it is presumed that the other absent characters have also undergone it. This is also implied in the second episode, when Kinger, Zooble, and Ragatha told Pomni that they host a funeral to remember the humans who abstract.
Trivia[]
- Before Kaufmo's abstraction, Zooble believed Kinger was the most likely to transform next.
- According to the pilot, Caine can cure jumbling by snapping his fingers, but even he can't cure abstraction. This is because, as stated by him, the minds of humans within the circus are one of the few things that he can't control and abstraction is the result of a human's psychological state collapsing.
- According to Gooseworx, Caine is able to easily reverse jumbling to himself if that scenario ever happens.[3]
- According to Gooseworx, abstraction is not contagious, and jumbling doesn't cause someone to abstract.[3]
- When Gooseworx was asked what it's like to be abstracted and if abstracted people can feel pain, she said it may be explored later in the series.[4]
- Abstracted Individuals may be calmed by being in the dark.
- Kaufmo abstracted in his room with the lights off, only starting to lash out once the door was opened.
- Caine stores those who have abstracted in The Cellar (which is pitch black), where they seem docile.
- Kinger's abstracted Wife (Queenie) became calm while inside his Pillow Fort, which was dark.
References[]
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