and it's "ability" to block out hivemind communications. As we know, the Prism houses Orpheus, the sole remaining entity that has this ability. Now, it is claimed several times that the Prism has an "aura" that has a cumulative effect the more you are around it, and a decreasing effect the more you distance yourself from it. However, there is one entity who can choose NOT to send out hivemind comms - which is different from disrupting it - the Brain itself. This is also something that the Brain admits to have done by releasing the Emperor from under it's grasp to be a pawn in the Grand Design.
Therefore, to sum it up, there are three ways to block hivemind comms:
- The aura of the Astral Prism ramping up.
- The Emperor using Orpheus's power with precision.
- The Brain letting certain individuals roam free on purpose.
However, I have argued in the OP that this isn't the case and that the Prism, in fact, does not have a radiating aura. I have recently been messaged by several people that I had this wrong, so I would like to list key examples of who/what is blocking out comms in key plot moments, with what purpose, and why it's one big plot hole.
1: The player character. In the first Dream Sequence, the Emperor finally managed to extend Orpheus's protection to you. He has confirmed that you were just about to transform, which much later on is confirmed as he claims that the order for your transformation has been given thousand times over. While the netherese-touched tadpoles are intended to induce a state of suspended ceremorphosis, there is also nothing to suggest that the suspension must occur with these tadpoles. Why there is nothing to suggest this is not clear - one could assume that it'd be an attempt at throwing off any potential investigators, but this is pure assumption with no evidence to back it up. Note that these tadpoles are capable of instantly transforming their victims into mind flayers unlike normal tadpoles, which take roughly a week to do so. Again, nothing to confirm that this instant transformation can only happen after said week has passed, but we can assume that instantly transforming just after an infestation is impossible. What we can confirm though, as there have been several cases during the plot, is that suspended ceremorphosis does not activate until a few hours after being tadpoled - key examples here are the players, origins and Duke Ravengard.
2: Minthara. After raiding the Grove and spending the night with her at the altar, she finds herself worried and panicked that she can no longer hear the Absolute's voice. Her immediate suspicion is that the Player is responsible for this, and so chooses to distance herself. After thinking things over, she decides to end your life, yet at the last moment she can once more hear the voice of the Absolute, who then tells her that it is up to MInthara if they find the Player worthy of Her. Now, it is easy to piece together that the story is implying the fact that after several hours of having been together with the Player, Minthara fell under the protection of the Prism, which is why she couldn't hear the Absolute, and once she distanced herself, the connection was restored. The protection never activates again however, despite being near the Player again for some time. Later on, if you recruit her, she is protected once more, this time by Emperor.
3: The player character (once more). At the beginning of Act3, if you choose to kill Emperor upon first contact, you get a game over screen where you become a thrall to the Brain as the extended protection of Orpheus is lost.
4: Minsc. In his case, we witness Emperor's extension live, and Minsc takes some time to gather his bearings as soon as the disruption happens, not unlike Minthara.
To make it incredibly simple to understand: cases where Emperor/Orpheus steps in to protect others are - with one exception in the next paragraph - always consitent in universe. Cases where it comes down to whether the Brain let someone go or the passive "aura" of the Prism is what was responsible are extremely foggy, even with the confirmation by the Brain itself that Emperor was let go willingly. Here's the thing: in example three, you have been under the protection of the Prism for days, weeks, maybe months. And sure, it was Emperor who channeled the power, but if the Prism has an aura, then why would it protect Minthara after several hours together and why wouldn't it protect the Player? There is no reason to believe in any hypothetical emanating auras as the Brain can toy around with whoever they wish, and point three very explicitly confirms that Orpheus's power must be wielded with precision, else it won't work at all. There is also nothing to suggest or confirm that Emperor directly reached out to protect Minthara in Act1, which muddies the waters even more.
There is one slight inconsistency with Orpheus's power, and that is if you decide to free Orpheus. Once Emperor leaves, his protection should have fallen and we should have gotten a game over screen - just like at the start of Act3. And had that happened, he would have been correct in all his worries and all his warnings that there is no point in freeing Orpheus. Yet there is a period of time between Emperor leaving and Orpheus being freed when the power is not channeled, which is interesting because if you tell Orpheus that you want to become a Mind Flayer, the very millisecond the protection drops, you are turned into one.
Ultimately, once we run into an inconsistency, the only explanation is defaulting to the claim that "it must have been the Brain", which in itself is simply not a reasonable one, especially when it goes against it's own interests.
