Is the echo artificial?

[KageTokage]

Especially given... well, we know exactly what the Echo is now, to a very specific degree. And it's not artificial.

I don't feel comfortable saying we know exactly what it is considering that we still don't know the specifics of how Ancient souls differ from ordinary ones. If all souls are gifts from the star, why they got the special treatment is something I'm hoping we get an answer to.

I'd argue that, whilst not artificial, the fact that it has a side-effect of that nature suggests something about it makes it not quite 100% compatible.

Considering now that we know it's awakened by our soul's crippling PTSD of the Final Days, I think I'd be more surprised if it wasn't an uncomfortable sensation.

[Cleretic]

I don't feel comfortable saying we know exactly what it is considering that we still don't know the specifics of how Ancient souls differ from ordinary ones. If all souls are gifts from the star, why they got the special treatment is something I'm hoping we get an answer to.

I would say that the more useful way to describe that question isn't 'why do we get the Echo', and more 'why does someone like Alisaie not'; we've got a full explanation for our own situation, but one that doesn't adequately explain everyone else. An explanation would be nice, but I think it's more 'Encyclopedia Eorzea territory' than anything else; I don't want to know because it's super-important, I mainly want to know so I can sufficiently explain why my roleplaying character would look at a starshower and awaken to nothing more than a realization maybe she shouldn't look directly at something like that.

As for why the Echo looks painful... I believe it was Futurama that once described an idea as 'a headache, but with pictures'. Maybe that's just how the Echo feels; like a very narratively-dense hallucinatory migraine.