Alright so I’ve been trying to make understanding AL-AN’s colors as easy as possible for me, so I’ll start with color coding his lines in the fabricator base. I’ve decided to only use the final version of the game for this. The colors in Robin’s lines also indicate AL-AN’s color as she says them.
Before data transfer begins.
Robin commences data transfer.
AL-AN stretches.
AL-AN: It has been some time since I last stretched out in so many dimensions. Like waking from a dream.
AL-AN picks Robin up with his levitator arm.
Robin: Whoa! Hey.
AL-AN waves back.
Robin: You’re really not in my head anymore?
AL-AN: There are some remnants. (Pause.) Would you like your memories of me removed as well?
Robin: Are you kidding? No way. You still owe me the end of your story.
AL-AN: I told you I must return home. To assess. Repair. Make amends.
Robin: Tell me more.
AL-AN: When the bacteria escaped, it was my fault. I disobeyed the directive from my network. (Pause.)
AL-AN stares off into space.
Robin: Oh no…
AL-AN turns green and teleports to the terminal.
AL-AN: We noticed that a species of leviathan young produced an enzyme that is efficient against the bacteria. I thought if we incubated Sea Dragon eggs, we might expedite their hatching. I was not wrong…
Robin: But…
AL-AN: It would appear that Sea Dragon parents are stronger and more motivated than our facility was rated to handle.
Robin: And the bacteria got out, infecting everything. How many survived the outbreak, back home? Are they still waiting for someone to bring back a cure?
AL-AN: I do not know.
Robin: Can I help?
AL-AN: The fact that I withheld this information does not concern you?
Robin: It was certainly manipulative. But I’ve also made my own share of mistakes. I’m still committed to helping.
AL-AN: I accept your help. Find me at the Gate when you are ready. In te meantime, I must prepare.
The colors used are as follows:
Purple
Cool pink
Green
Warm pink with hints of orange
Blue
Saturated neutral to warm pink
Orange
I’ll get into what I think the colors mean in a second, but first let me preface it by saying that I could have gotten some of the colors wrong as the lighting conditions change in the scene. I also want to mention that I don’t think the emotion behind a color varies from Architect to Architect. They seem to value efficiency, so having to learn the color-emotion combinations of each Architect would not be ideal. Therefore, I think this color chart applies not only to AL-AN, but to every Architect.
Purple seems to be a sort of stand-by color, as well as a color between some of the color shifts (not apparent in my color coding above). It could possibly mean there is no consciousness currently inhabiting the vessel. The in between shifts of purple could just be a product of two colors blending together as they shift from one to the other.
Cool pink seems to be a neutral color. AL-AN is not feeling any specific emotion strongly enough for it to show. It is possible that AL-AN could suppress his feelings somewhat, resulting in this neutral color.
Green seems to signify a heavier processing load and analytical thinking. He turns green as he mentions the need to assess the state of his homeworld. He turns green when he notices or remembers the terminal and what his next step for now is. What’s perplexing is that he turns green when stretching too, but this could be explained by the fact that AL-AN is getting reacquainted with an Architect vessel after having been in storage and in Robin’s mind for a long time. He is also waking up the facility from what seems to be a low power mode as well as powering on the robotic arms. I believe this would need some processing power. Furthermore, it does make sense that Architects would predominantly use green in their work in this case as they seem to value information and knowledge.
Warm pink with hints of orange gives me the impression of fondness and companionship. He turns this color when first looking at and interacting with Robin in his new body, before the weight of his past mistakes crashes into him again as he tells her his story.
Blue looks to me like joy or possibly amusement. He turns this color when waving back and when Robin speaks to him. He could be happy just for that, or perhaps because he is happy he is no longer limited to her cerebral cortex and can now start making real progress in returning to his home and making amends.
Saturated pink could mean embarrassment. It makes sense when applied to the part where he talks about the accident being his fault. The embarrassment he feels after waving back and hearing Robin ask if he’s really not in her head anymore could be because he does not know what the gesture means, that he’s a bit embarrassed by the awed reaction from Robin, because there is a bit of an awkward silence at that moment, or because of the fond and joyful feelings he’s having at the moment. And then he’s only feeling embarrassment as he talks about what he thought was his foolproof solution regarding the incubation of the Sea Dragon eggs. He remains embarrassed from there on out—for not knowing the extent of the damage he caused back home, for withholding crucial information about him. It could be a reason for wanting some space from Robin, telling her to meet him at the Gate when she’s ready. Though perhaps he simply needs time to prepare or is only giving Robin time to prepare and his suggestion is unrelated to his embarrassment.
Orange seems like anger. He turns orange after admitting that he disobeyed the directive from his network, which he is probably angry with himself for. Orange shows up only once in this entire scene for a very brief amount of time, and I feel it makes sense in case it does signify anger, as AL-AN does not come across as someone who is easy to anger.
This is how I interpreted his colors anyhow. Some emotions we didn’t get to see being represented by a color, like sadness, grief, fear, and love, or perhaps I am simply wrong in my assessment. It’s possible these emotions have their own colors, but will need to exist outside of canon.
TL;DR
Purple — Stand-by. No consciousness inhabiting the vessel.
Cool pink — Neutral.
Green — Processing. Analyzing.
Warm pink with hints of orange — Fondness. Companionship.
Blue — Joy. Amusement.
Saturated neutral to warm pink — Embarrassment.
Orange — Anger.
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