10 October 2026 · Built with Claude · made 9 October
No one at the wheel. Everyone is wired.
Each vehicle has two sensors and two motors, and nothing else is in charge. The urgent person's demands spread as rings. What happens next depends only on how the others are wired to those rings. Flip the switches and watch the pattern change.
The urgent person
Crossed excitatory wiring to the target, so it steers towards them and speeds up. It emits a demand ring whenever its drive allows. A demand answered quickly adds to its drive. An ignored one causes a brief rise in frustration before the drive decays. That is the extinction burst.
The target
Uncrossed inhibitory wiring to its work lamp, so it approaches and settles there. Drops everything: a strong ring flips a threshold, so it steers straight to the urgent person. Pauses: rings are queued and it visits on a fixed timer. The visit is the same, but it no longer follows the demand.
Bystanders
Watch: drawn towards the commotion. Near the urgent person they act as an audience and add a little to its drive. Stand with: drawn to the target instead. Close by, they damp the rings reaching it, and near the urgent person they make each demand cost something.