Anti is a traffic light
Now, let me explain.
Firstly, traffic lights have one function. To control traffic. Specifically, to stop, start, and regulate the flow of vehicles. You could almost say that so many people's lives are impacted by traffic lights--they can slow down or speed up a commute, ultimately deciding when someone is somewhere. We as a society created traffic lights, and we as a community created anti. One of his more poignant lines is that he's "in control, now." Traffic lights control our actions. They decide when we go and stop.
Many of us are not traffic light operators. We don't know all of the goings on behind the scenes of the grid they run on. But its made of code, and even though we program it, we can still hit that very same light when we're late to work. They directly influence us, constantly guiding us through life.
Traffic lights have three options: green for go, yellow for slow down, and red for stop. How does this help us? Well, when we see green anti, its a go. We're okay, its small fries compared to some of the other stuff we've seen. Green anti is okay. Green anti is the anti we have fun with (ie, i am a turtle, compared to games like red light green light) Green anti is when we're crusing down the road, appreciating life and the fact that the light didnt change from green. We know what to expect, this is routine.
The second anti is the "yellow" anti, or the "no-filter" anti. He's there, staring us down. Daring us to challenge him. We have to be cautious, who knows when he'll turn into red anti.
Red anti is stop. Stop at all costs. This is not good. As evidenced in dark silence, as well as a few other moments where sean uses his lovely lighting to illuminate his face with the red, if we see red anti or red lighting, its game over. Something is happening. We all stop dead and start paying attention. As soon as the traffic light turns red, everyone pays attention.
Now, other than the main lights for a traffic light, the other thing they are used for is monitoring speed. There's cameras and sensors and radars on them, and they're found in most communities. As Anti claims he's "always watching," its curious to think how he can. But if he's got access to all of the traffic lights in the world, he truly is always there.
Traffic is constantly a part of our lives. We talk about how many lights we stopped at on the way to school/work. "Such good little puppets, obeying me almost religiously. Some of you break the rules now.. but,, we dont take kindly to those who try to take control."
If i havent convinced you yet, here's the pièce de résistance. In the pax intro video, Anti claims that he's "been replaced, thrown aside." But also that he "isnt going anywhere." This is peculiar--what could be threatening traffic lights?
Traffic circles. fucking circles.
In conclusion, anti is a sentient traffic light.
(Inspired by this discussion in the discord:)
we tend to have discussions like this often in that chat, but i just had to flesh this one out
@pumpkin-demon @n-anon @ninjasinsocks @wyverwithy @jam-jackson @lilyenderborn