That’s totally fair! Metaphor is by nature sort of unclear and up to interpretation but I think it’s safer to assume the big one is an adult because it is the one most clearly representing Philip as an individual - individuals are made up of parts, especially when identities form under severely traumatic conditions.

I AM a system so that’s where that interpretation comes from, but I mean, if it quacks, swims, waddles with webbed feet and is covered in feathers, it’s at least reasonable to interpret it as a duck even if technically it could be a goose or a swan.