name lips wrote:Regular non-commander units CAN'T disobey an order. There's no need for an auto-disband feature, they can't make that decision anyway. A commander tells them to do something, they do it, even if it's obviously a bad decision or suicidal.
Y'know, thinking about that...Stanley himself was popped as nothing more than a regular Piker. When you Promote someone that (apparently) has no ability to comprehend Duty (I hesitate to say 'isn't free willed', as I don't recall if that's ever been explicitly mentioned, but it's along those lines) to a position that, quite suddenly, grants it...I'm having a hard time even imagining what that's like from a Stupidworld perspective. We do know that when Parson promoted himself to a field unit, his knees immediately buckled just from the simple, physical transition to improved movement capabilities (along with Parson pulling a Keanu).
It might have some similarity to the idea of a computer system obtaining self-awareness and eventual AI, but we already know that Erfworld Units, even 'regular' ones, possess emotions and desires, so at the same time, it wouldn't be like the aforementioned computer scenario at all. Maybe this is why Stanley possesses 'cognitive limitations'? Personally, I don't think he's unintelligent; I think, perhaps, he's literally unequipped to handle something like Duty.
What other examples do we have of 'regular units' being promoted to Warlords? I think all of the comic instances occurred in Gobwin Knob...maybe those Warlords had the same limitations Stanley does, which is why they didn't perform as well? Every other side I've seen pops Warlords into the position by default; if the side in question needs a new Warlord, they'll pop one, not promote a 'regular unit' to the position, even if funds are running short (after all, that's how we got Wanda, if I'm to understand Goodminton's treasury issues at the time of her popping).
Apologies if I'm off-base with these speculations, what name_lips said just kinda made me wonder...
