You think... the Animus are like the batteries that keep this whole place working? Like a machine on autopilot?

That's the first time I've heard such an interesting theory. And so surprisingly close to the one I had... [Except she hadn't found the part the Animus could play into this. But Sanae's hypothesis kinda make sense.]

This is a theory we should keep for ourselves for now. But it's certainly worth investigating it.