[Excerpt] Non-Human Persons Within the Technocratic Ranks
about 4 years ago – Sat, May 09, 2020 at 06:24:11 AM

• /examine secondary data breech
• /review information on nonhuman persons
• /collect information for further examination

Hello Agents & Operatives,

Following our earlier preview from Unit 4, we continue with another preview segment, further detailing  Persons within the Technocratic Ranks.

No mention of human this time...

Non-Human Persons Within the Technocratic Ranks

Generous as it might be in comparison to other human cultures, the Union’s definition of “person” has limits. As with any sort of shadowy organization run by people in the business of acquiring power, however, there’s little that the Union’s leadership won’t do to achieve their goal. For the Technocracy, that includes working with individuals who don’t meet their standards for “humanity” when such collaboration affords them the power they most desire. The Technocratic Union, therefore, has a long and effective history of working with non-humans to promote the human cause.

The trouble — at least with regards to being one of the non-humans in question — is that those “not-quite human” persons are treated significantly worse than “normal persons” are. The Doctrine of Mutuality still applies, of course — in theory, at least. Even so, the following members of the Technocratic family are officially considered “little cousins”; entitled, certainly, to respect and protection but afforded a second-class citizen status among the Technocratic ranks.

Androids and Other Robots

The word robot comes from the Czech word for “slave”; despite how much the Technocracy depends upon robotic assistance, that’s pretty much the official status granted to most robots among the Union’s ranks. Androids — that is, robots designed to look and act like humans — receive considerably more respect than that, but remain second-class citizens under the DOM. Non-humanoid robots are essentially regarded as useful machines by everyone except certain Iteration X operatives, who envy the comparatively uncomplicated lives of their robot companions. Individual Technocrats, of course, can form a personal relationship with any sort of robotic entity. Getting other operatives to respect that robot, however, often tends to be an exercise in futility.

Artificial Lifeforms

In a group dedicated to expanding the possibilities of technological achievement, the term “artificial lifeform” covers a lot of ground. Technically, any clone, uplift, genegineered organism, robot, etc. qualifies as an artificial lifeform. Even so, many Technocratic operatives fall in between the cracks of such categories. Holographic avatars, reanimated corpses, elemental constructs, and so forth have venerable pedigrees among the ranks of the Technocratic Union and its Daedalean predecessor. Although golems and alchemical homunculi have gone out of style since the 1800s, such creatures were relatively common companions within the Order of Reason until the Industrial Revolution. These days, that niche has been filled largely by lifelike androids, Progenitor reanimates, Matrix Invested Operatives, MODES, telepresence operatives (that is, “living” holograms), and the personified data programs known as Virtual Agents (all detailed below). Thus, the catch-all artificial lifeform category generally applies to unique individuals whose origins and composition don’t fit into any of the other established classifications. Consequently, although such entities receive a certain degree of affection and acknowledgement from human operatives, they haven’t earned enough status or taken up enough space within the Union’s ranks to be taken seriously in their own right.

Cybernetic Constructs

HIT Marks. Everybody loves HIT Marks, right? Well, actually no. Among Union operatives, the various cybernetic weapons-platforms grouped under the HIT Mark designation are considered dangers to themselves and everyone around them. A common joke among field ops is “Mark toward enemy” — a reference to Claymore mines, which shred everyone within the blast radius. Certain HIT Marks (and related war-constructs like the Atlas Unit and the oddly popular Cyber-Tooth Tiger) manage to bond with their human comrades — a phenomenon especially common among the latest iteration of the HIT Mark program, the Mark X, which blends in uncannily well among human operatives. For the most part, however, HIT Marks and other distinctly inhuman cyborgs seem to be more machine than organism, even though they incorporate elements of both. Technically, this biomechanical blend should make them the most revered Technocrats of all. Truth be told, however, they often seem to be one step too far into the uncanny valley. Human operatives respect cybernetic constructs as elegant examples of technological supremacy, but that edge of “supremacy” just might be more than even a loyal Technocrat can accept.

Experimental Animals and Guardian Beasts

“Life finds a way.” And because Progenitors often put life through imaginative (and often frightening) paces, the “way” in question results in some pretty odd creations. Progenitor students are expected to “doodle” with biological experiments as a matter of course, and although such creatures tend to be short-lived (especially if they leave the lab and Construct where they’ve been assembled), unnatural entities like bat-winged Chihuahuas, Moreauvian beast-people, and the unnerving cephalomorphs, sauromorphsand dracomorphs epitomize the weird nature of Progenitor-dominant facilities. Such creatures (literally) freak out other Technocrats, and so they’re too outré to be considered “persons” under the DOM and far too strange for comfort outside the Convention that constructs them. From the Progenitors themselves, these beasts might win a creator’s pride and affection, but rarely, if ever, a sense of equality.

MIOs: Matrix-Invested Operatives

To superstitionists, living beings infused with Quintessential energy bear the woo-woo label “Soulflowers.” To sensible agents of the Technocratic Union, such beings are Matrix-Invested Entities. Entrusted with the vital essence of lifeforce energies, these vessels of sublime value are especially prized companions of Syndicate agents. Those agents literally invest themselves in their MIOs, and so those beings represent precious property to the operatives investing in them. Ah, but there’s the rub: MIOs are property, not persons. Although certain MIOs (like the personal assistant, Eva Cherone) may be human employees at the T0 or possibly T1 rank, they are — as their designation asserts — investments. Though officially designated as Operatives (as opposed to the depersonalized designation entities), MIOs definitely rank below “real” people in terms of their respect, status, and protection within the Union’s ranks.

Telepresence Entities

Literal tricks of the light and other forces, telepresence entities exist in the physical world but without consistent physical form. Although some of them, like the fearsome avatar of Control, can manifest remarkable power, most are simply projections of established programs that have expansive but limited capabilities when compared to living beings. Most telepresence entities remain anchored to a single area: a room, a vehicle, perhaps a Construct; some, however, may be networked to exist in several places at once. The Masses’ acceptance of such entities into a certain degree of everyday reality (“Hello, Alexa!”) means telepresence entities have become staples of 21st century-technology and popular media, affording a certain degree of affection (or occasionally, as with Control, fear) among the people who know them.

Uplifted and / or Cybernetically Enhanced Animals

Progenitors adore their literal pet projects: animals whose capabilities have been technologically enhanced to human or superhuman status. Other operatives, however, seem a bit warier around such animals. Although such uplifts tend to be indistinguishable from “normal” animals, their ability to speak, manipulate complex objects, ponder existential thoughts, or otherwise manifest human characteristics makes them both adorable and vaguely threatening. After all, as was mentioned earlier, human beings have a lot to answer for when it comes to our relationship to “dumb animals.” If an animal in question isn’t nearly as dumb as he might seem at first glance, he might not be nearly as happy among humans as he appears to be…

VAs: Virtual Agents

Named as a mockery of the treasonous Virtual Adepts Tradition, Virtual Agents exist only in the Digital Web. Essentially sophisticated memophores, these VAs exist in a state of telepresence anchored to the Digital Web. Some, like Jarvis and E.D.I.T.H. in the MCU films, exist as disembodied voices linked to electronic control systems; others, like the virtual celebrity Aimi Eguchi, appear to be as “real” as physical human organisms, so long as you encounter them online.

In casual online interactions, Virtual Agents appear to be normal netizens, with the typically “flat” and selective personality that’s familiar to anyone interacting with people online. However, while “solid” netizens occupy both physical space and online reality, Virtual Agents are created (or, in certain cases, may have manifested spontaneously of their own accord) in Web reality alone. And although Technocracy agents might recognize familiar VAs, it’s becoming increasingly difficult — even among agents devoted to online operations — to tell the Virtual Agents from ones exiting in physical space as well. While Virtual Agents aren’t technically considered “people” under Union law and protocol, it’s increasingly difficult to figure out where the line between Virtual Agents and physical ones begins, much less where that line ends.

#TechnocracyReloaded

#OneWorld.OneTruth.OneOrder

• /end communication 
• /further analysis required
• /secure additional segment for review

Pathcast, Actual Play, Session 00, Stretch Goals
about 4 years ago – Fri, May 08, 2020 at 10:38:52 AM

• /Connect with External Information Sources
• /Stream / Listen / Watch

Hello Agents & Operatives,

As noted in an earlier update, the Technocracy Reloaded team has been zipping around the datasphere, spreading word about our project and sharing insights about the contents and creative process.

I'm always keep to learn more about these projects, especially when it comes from listening to the creative team discuss the process or, sometimes even more illuminating fascinating, hearing the game being played.

Anyway, that's all preamble to share our exciting links for the day:

THE ONYX PATHCAST

Episode 103 of the Onyx Pathcast puts the spotlight on our Technocracy Reloaded project, and features hosts Eddy and Dixie discussing M20 and the Technocracy with developers Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge. In the conversation, they cover:

• How Danielle and Travis got involved in the project
• What’s in M20: TR?
• Reconciling different takes on the Technocracy
• Hit Marks
• “Metaplot agnostic” vs keeping up with technology
• The cult-like nature of the Technocracy
• Surface-level inclusivity in the Technocracy
• Gadgets and tech toys
• The “space opera” flavor of the Void Engineers
• What things do you think are cool about TR?

Give it a listen for some more behind-the-scenes peeks at the process and project.

RED MOON ROLEPLAYING ACTUAL PLAY PODCAST

Welcome to the future.  The world stands on the brink of destruction, and it is up to the agents and operatives of the Technocratic Union to save it or be its ultimate downfall.  Join The Primogen, Nikita from Devil’s Luck Gaming and Red Moon Roleplaying's own Hjalmar as they play agents of the Technocratic Union in this Mage: The Ascension 20th anniversary chronicle led by Travis Legge.

TECHNOCRACY RELOADED EPISODE 0 - NOW ON YOUTUBE

If you missed Session 00 of Onyx Path's Technocracy Reloaded game on their Twitch channel this week, or if you haven't yet subscribed, it's now available on Youtube! Check it out!

Technocracy Reloaded developer, Travis Legge, is the Storyteller for this game, with an impressive list of players:

• Satyros Phil Brucato
• Hiromi Cota
• Jacqueline Bryk
• Abie Eke
• Drew Kuhendorf

WORKING TOWARDS OUR GOALS

As noted, the Technocracy Reloaded team is continuing to spread the word, as are so many backers and fans! And it shows - we're closing in on another Stretch Goal.

At $139,000 in funding - Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion: Unlikely Allies II —A guide to cross-faction play incorporating the Disparate Alliance into a Technocracy Campaign and vice-versa will be added to this PDF supplement.

We're almost there! And, I think that will lead nicely into our very next Stretch Goal. I mean, if we're going to double the Unlikely Allies section with new content, why not triple it...

At $143,000 in funding - Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion: Unlikely Allies III — A guide to cross-faction play incorporating street-level Orphans into a Technocracy Campaign and vice-versa will be added to this PDF supplement.

So, keep up the good work! Share your excitement and enthusiasm for this campaign! Let's go out and recruit some unlikely allies and turn them into backers - and maybe double and triple that number - and get ourselves an expanded Player's Companion. 

#TechnocracyReloaded

#OneWorld.OneTruth.OneOrder

• /end digital announcements
• /monitor Stretch Goal activity

[Excerpt] Human Persons Within the Technocratic “Family”
about 4 years ago – Thu, May 07, 2020 at 10:00:44 AM

• /data breech
• /file segment detected
• /upload for investigation

Hello Agents & Operatives,

I've secured an excerpt from our next Backers Only Manuscript Preview section, which will feature Unit 4: Internal Matters from the Technocracy Reloaded manuscript. Backers will be able to download the full chapter - and, indeed, the full book by the time this campaign has completed - on Tuesday. Until then, sample this small segment:

Human Persons Within the Technocratic “Family”

Under Union protocols, “person” has a fairly broad meaning. Although that definition favors Homo sapiens, it’s not restricted to that familiar species. Dedicated as it is to the evolution of humanity, and to the elevation of an Enlightened elite above the Masses, the Technocracy has expanded its view of personhood to accommodate enhancement, uplift, accelerated evolution, and — of course — the ability to comprehend and employ Enlightened hypertech the Masses could not possibly understand. Although Orwell’s maximum that “some animals are more equal than others” (SAMETO) certainly applies, the Union’s approach to personhood regards the following operatives as essentially equal to one another within the larger ranks and structure of the Technocratic hierarchy. Discrimination against fellow persons, for reasons other than rank and behavior, is considered unmutual under Technocratic law.

Biologically “Normal” Humans

No matter how advanced it might aspire to be, the Technocracy remains a human organization with human foundations. Thus, baseline Homo sapiens remains the standard by which the Union determines personhood. Enhanced, Enlightened, and otherwise evolved humans are, of course, considered superior to the Masses; even so, the protection and advancement of humanity has been the Union’s primary goal (or at least its stated primary goal) since its origins at the Convention of the White Tower. Human beings, then, remain the essential quantum of personhood as far as the Technocracy is concerned.

Extraordinary and Enlightened “Superior” Humans

Enlightenment is considered — depending on which Technocrat you ask — to be either the next stage of human evolution or the base state from which other “sleepers” have since fallen. The Union sets its base Tier, after all, at T1: initiation into the insights and existence of the Technocracy and its mission. Though extraordinary citizens aren’t necessarily Enlightened in the same way that supposedly “awakened” Technocrats are, they still fit into a higher category of personhood under Union law. Such people enjoy greater respect, higher status, and a sense of camaraderie than outside that other humans cannot achieve, and they’re essentially “first among equals” where human beings are concerned.

Cybernetically Enhanced Humans

Mechanical transhumanism, especially among Iteration X operatives, remains a mark of distinction within the Technocratic Union. Although such “upgrades” are considered voluntary these days, the Clockwork Convention still prizes the fusion of biology and machines. Whether or not such fusions represent the next stage of human evolution remains a hotly (sometimes bitterly) contested subject between Iterators, Progenitors, and New World Order operatives. Nevertheless, no Technocrat denies the useful applications of cybernetic technologies, and so mechanically enhanced humans are also considered “first among equals” even if the person in question isn’t Enlightened in the greater sense of that word.

There remains, however, an unmutual yet undeniable rift between transhuman operatives and the self-proclaimed Adamites, who favor natural-born humanity. Detailed further under “Dissident Factions,” Adamite Technocrats resent the existence and status of “upgraded” comrades. That rift extends to the upper levels of Management, and (although officially forbidden) it remains a significant factor in relationships between biologically “normal” human agents and operatives enhanced with mechanical and biotech technology.

Biotech-Uplifted Humans

Biotech uplift has fascinated Progenitors since their Cosian genesis. Indeed, the continued evolution of the human organism (and of other organisms, too) remains the primary focus for this convention’s ideology. Just as Iteration X prizes the capabilities of mechanically enhanced operatives, the Progenitors and Syndicate prize biotech enhancements among Technocracy personnel. Drugs, genegineering, implants, transplants, biorestorations, and other aspects of hyperaccelerated evolution grant status to operatives enjoying such enhancements, and despite the grumbling of jealous Adamites and the erratic behavior of Victors and other specimens of bio-modified humanity, uplifted operatives receive status equal to, if not exceeding, the esteem granted to cybernetic operatives.

Clones of Humans

Among the Technocracy’s most infamous biotech achievements, human clones have been an established element of Union society for most of the last century. Many of the Black Suit field agents so familiar to (and loathed by) rival mages have been cloned from Enlightened field operatives who proved to be exceptionally good at their jobs — and those who have not are often indistinguishable from those who have. Supervisors and Managers deploy clones in place of their original selves, and cloned duplicates replace targeted rivals, helpful assets, and operatives who have screwed up badly once or twice too often. Although cloning technology has yet to create “perfect” human beings, it’s often difficult — even for Technocrats — to tell which people have been cloned and which have not. Therefore, among the Union’s ranks, there’s no distinction between cloned humans and “original” humans yet to be cloned.

MODEs: Media-Operations Diversionary Enterprise Specialists

Literally manufactured celebrities, MODEs are biologically enhanced human constructs, crafted for beauty and charisma within high-normal human capacity. Though they’re literally artificial people, MODEs rest a bit higher than usual on the Technocratic personhood hierarchy, if only because of their influence among the Masses. Even so, influence isthe purpose they’ve been created to serve within the ranks, and so that status gets a MODE only so far when she’s dealing with field operatives, Grey Suits, and other hardworking agents of the Union’s greater goals. Those operatives tend to view MODEs as silly, superficial, and — though useful in their way — ultimately dispensable. Yes, they’re human enough but remain limited in potential and barred, at least in their current iteration, from true Enlightenment.

Vat-Born Humans

“Vat-born” is a rather insulting misnomer; operatives bred by the Progenitors are not born in vats, but instead gestate in large artificial wombs. The process is far more resource-intensive than many outsiders believe, and yet that very belief has made it possible for the Technocracy to breed such clones with relative ease. By the third decade of the 21st century, vast cloning facilities have become so common in popular entertainment that the process itself has entered the Consensus as a distinctly possible thing. Where such “artificial people” were once subject to rapid degeneration outside of Progenitor Constructs, they can now pass among the Masses for indefinite periods of time — subject to genetic flaws, certainly, but otherwise unharmed by Unbelief Paradox — so long as they appear to be “normal” to unenlightened eyes. The Homo superior Victors are the most obvious examples of this type of operative; cloned Black Suit field agents fit this category too. Among the Union’s ranks, such agents are, if anything, afforded even greater status than mere Homo sapiens — unless, of course, one deals with an Adamite who recognizes the sort of “artificial human” agent with which she’s dealing.

#TechnocracyReloaded

#OneWorld.OneTruth.OneOrder

• /end segment review
• /additional data breech detected
• /segment forthcoming

Prelude: TELESPHORUS
about 4 years ago – Wed, May 06, 2020 at 06:36:09 AM

Telesphorus

I have been here before. It has never been a pleasant experience. It’s no pleasant thing to render a human consciousness into its component parts. Necessary, at certain times, but never pleasant.

Unpleasant necessities are my vocation. I know them well.

“It is better indeed, to conquer oneself than to conquer others. Neither a deva, nor a gandhabba, nor Mara together with Brahma can turn into defeat the victory of the man who controls himself.” I have had to master that self. It is literally all I have. I may be a delusion, a distraction, a myth and a trap, but I am myself, integrated, and no degree of dis-integration can dismember who I am.

I am an ideal.

I am an operative.

I am mythology with a pulse in a Union deluded by its own mythology.

But although I realize that ideals are themselves mythology, the greater ideals I strive for are larger than any single myth.

We have won this round. There will be others. Certain forecasts of near-future events suggest that before long each battle we fight will be rendered futile by an extinction we have no powers to prevent.

But I refuse to fall down and die.

Or to let this world, for all its flaws, perish on my watch.

Our Union is not perfect. The Traditions are deeply flawed. The Mad are fatally capricious, and the unassociated loose cannons present an existential risk. Rot eats at the center of every human endeavor, and only mindfulness can save us from ourselves.

In the dark places of the world, we must be stars flashing from the deep. The Void is hungry, and the darkness eternal without a light. I have been to the edges of human accomplishment, and all that I am is formed by my experiences there.

By all I am. All I have become.

I am the open secret and the agent of resolve.

My shoes make no sound on the metallic floors. All doors open to me.

Agent Simpson has taken the essential precautions. All records of my session have been erased. My allies in this fight take up their positions for our next operation, their movements and locations secret even from me. It is a strange alliance — by many estimates, unthinkable. Survival, though, often demands unthinkable things. I have survived this long this way, and so I know such tactics work.

I am a walking paradox: The chaotic agent of order. The famous secret. Courage by a common name, speaking scriptures in the name of science.

I like it this way.

My enemies do not.

And so, the game continues.

Is it enough, though? Can we survive our strange human drive toward self-extinction? Will there ever be a breakthrough where our desperate matter and our restless minds transcend this obliviating urge? Can our efforts, however united, sustain us through a greater evolution and uplift our species and this world? Or will the Void have the last laugh on us and turn it all to dust?

Can I — can we — ever be enough?

Even now, as fellow agents prepare our next endeavor, I must admit uncertainty.

But for now, at least, I have to believe we are.

[...End]

Reminder: Travis will be appearing on Storytellers with Coffee on Onyx Path's Twitch channel Wednesday at 1:30 PM EDT to talk Technocracy Reloaded with Satyr and Hiromi. Tune in and enjoy some Technocratic chat!

Travis and the Technocracy around the 'Net
about 4 years ago – Tue, May 05, 2020 at 01:41:21 PM

Hey there, Agents and Operatives,

Another update today! I know, that's a lot. I'll bump our finale in the Prelude fiction pieces to tomorrow because I wanted to let you know about the Technocracy Team appearing around the internet over the next week or so...

STREAMING TONIGHT!

The Technocratic Union begins broadcast of their actual play of M20 Technocracy Reloaded tonight, Tuesday, May 5th at 9 PM EDT on the Onyx Path Publishing Twitch Channel. twitch.tv/theonyxpath

Technocracy Reloaded developer, Travis Legge, will be the Storyteller for this game, with an impressive list of players:

• Satyros Phil Brucato
• Hiromi Cota
• Jacqueline Bryk
• Abie Eke
• Drew Kuhendorf

That's right! This game will feature a very rare appearance by the developer most people associate with Mage: the Ascension, Satyr Phil Brucato, himself!

BREWING UP FOR TOMORROW

Travis will also be appearing on Storytellers with Coffee on Onyx Path's Twitch channel Wednesday at 1:30 PM EDT to talk Technocracy Reloaded with Satyr and Hiromi. 

COMING FRIDAY...

The Onyx Pathcast episode dropping this Friday, May 8th, will feature a deep dive into M20 Technocracy Reloaded,  with the regular crew joined by Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge to take a long look at the book and what it means for the Technocracy as well as the entire M20 setting! As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

NEXT WEEK...

Jump ahead a week to Tuesday the 12th, and Onyx Path will be doing an M20 Technocracy Reloaded Ask Me Anything at 12 noon Eastern US time on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/OnyxPathRPG.

This AMA will be focused on the new book and our Kickstarter campaign, but I'm sure if it’s anything like previous Onyx Path AMAs, folks are going to show up with questions of all sorts, so stop in if you can and check out the Qs and As.

That's the final update for today! I'll be back tomorrow with our final entry from the Prelude! Let's keep it going, and don't forget to check out Onyx Path's Twitch tonight to see the Technocratic Union in action!