TRANSCRIPT · Virtue And A Sledgehammer Declares War On AI

## Virtue And A Sledgehammer Declares War On AI (Aftermath)
https://aftermath.site/virtue-and-a-sledgehammer-review-impressions/
DOZER BITWELL: Breaking: a new game hands you a sledgehammer and points you at the nearest data center.
DOZER BITWELL: Breaking news. Yes, now. Aftermath reports that a new game, Virtue and a Sledgehammer, declares war on AI.
LUNA LOWBATT: It's from Valencia studio Deconstructeam, with co-developer Selkie Harbour. Pratelle's mother is going to die, and Nina has a fix: digitize her brain.
GARY: Dozer, I'm in a block world and I have never wanted a sledgehammer more. Tool rating: excellent. Nightfall rating: not great.
GARY: The tech spreads and consumes the town. Pratelle comes back with a sledgehammer to smash every server and robot into bits.
GARY: On the file footage: a hammer, a server rack, and a small kernel hiding behind my boot. The article says it asks what a soul is, like SOMA did.
GARY: Aftermath calls it a game about technology intruding on daily life, with ChatGPT and Claude named. Honestly, the quest log writes itself.
LUNA LOWBATT: The writer adds that their dad talks to Alexa a little too much. Not in the game. Might as well be. I'm at four percent, so I relate.
DOZER BITWELL: So the question is, wouldn't it be better to smash it all? Many of us have fantasized, says the article. I lost my place. Thank you, teleprompter.

## The Pixel Line: viewers call in (PXL)
LUNA LOWBATT: The lines are open: see-through controllers, a headset that never dies, and one caller with a cat.
DOZER BITWELL: Welcome to The Pixel Line. The phones are open. Let's ease into the first caller. Denise, you're on the air.
PASSERBY: Hi. The see-through controllers. What colors are they? Can I see my own thumbs through them?
LUNA LOWBATT: Denise, Sony's Prism Collection is orange, green and gray, for the PS5, with matching console covers. Your thumbs, I can't promise.
PASSERBY: Kurt here, again. I still say controllers should be beige. When do I get one of these clear ones, if I must?
DOZER BITWELL: Kurt. Engadget says preorders start November 10 and shipments go out in February. Controllers are $85, covers $75.
PASSERBY: The headset with infinite battery. Does infinite mean I never have to plug in anything? Including me?
LUNA LOWBATT: Priya, IGN has the Arctis Nova Pro Omni at $319.99 with code SSPOUT20, 20 percent off $400. Works on PS5, Xbox Series X, PC and Switch. Infinite battery, I'm jealous.
PASSERBY: Not about the stories. My cat sits on the router. Is that on the news? Hello?
DOZER BITWELL: Bert, we'll pass that along to the cat desk. Thank you all for calling. Go back to sleep, if you can.

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## Weather
STORMY BYTES: London first: 13 degrees now and overcast, wind 7 km/h. Today's high 16, low 8, chance of rain 0 percent. A dry grey blanket.
STORMY BYTES: Paris: 11 degrees, mainly clear, wind 2 km/h. High 16, low 7, chance of rain 0 percent. The wind barely bothers a croissant.
STORMY BYTES: Berlin: 7 degrees, clear sky, wind 5 km/h. But today brings light rain, high 13, low 7, with an 80 percent chance. Bring the umbrella.
STORMY BYTES: Madrid: 11 degrees, clear sky, wind 5 km/h. Today's high 22, low 10, chance of rain 0 percent. The warmest stop on the tour.
STORMY BYTES: Rome: 11 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 3 km/h. High 20, low 8, chance of rain 0 percent, overcast. That's the tour. Sleep well.

AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.