Even if the main tool is manipulation, you would have to assume that the humans retained at least some agency in this system. And if you truly think that a sing

Even if the main tool is manipulation, you would have to assume that the humans retained at least some agency in this system. And if you truly think that a singular intelligence could just puppeteer entire civilizations, you’re using the same rationalist scarecrow trap that there isn’t some vastly likelier middle ground that we should be more concerned about (but by definition is less dramatic and therefore less fun to write about)