Ghost Mode

Definition

Ghost Mode is a mode in which the other is experienced as if they were Instantiating i_B(A) and returning a Reciprocal Elicitation (e_{B→A}). In reality, In reality, there is no way to confirm that such an Instantiation has occurred, nor to determine whether a return is a Genuine Reciprocal Elicitation or a mere illusion.Nevertheless, the subject experiences the situation as though the Loop were functioning. In this sense, Ghost Mode resonates with the philosophical problem of the zombie: even if the other were only a behavioral replica without inner consciousness, the subject would still live the relation as if Instantiation and Reciprocity were taking place.

Features

• Unverifiable response: Instantiation and Reciprocity cannot be observed, yet they are experienced as though present.
• Sustained by memory, imagination, and narrative: Ghost Mode is maintained through cultural representations, stories, and imaginative elicitation.
• Unreachable others: This includes those who never directly respond, such as idols, historical figures, or anonymous presences in online spaces.
• Inclusion of spiritual phenomena: Encounters with “ghosts” or the dead also belong to Ghost Mode. Although the dead cannot instantiate in principle, the subject may nevertheless feel as if they speak, appear, or respond.

Examples

• Cheering for idols or athletes: Even without direct reply, the subject feels as though their voice reaches the other and is returned.
• Phantom presences in online space: Addressing anonymous participants and experiencing replies as if they came from a particular other.
• A child’s lost balloon: A girl cries when she accidentally releases her balloon at an amusement park. Without the experience to know otherwise, she feels as if the balloon might speak back.
• Spiritual encounters: Experiencing the dead as appearing or speaking. No Reciprocity can be verified, yet for the subject it is lived as a functioning Loop.

Key Point

Ghost Mode is the mode of experiencing unverifiable Reciprocal Elicitation as if it were present. The Loop does not in fact close, but the subject lives it as though it does. This experiential illusion — much like in the zombie thought experiment — becomes the very force that sustains a relationship with unreachable others or with ghostly presences. Ghost Mode is not just one Mode among others, but the very condition that runs through the whole of PoC.