Prelude: KSHETRAM
about 4 years ago – Sat, May 02, 2020 at 06:37:51 PM

Kshetram

Plumbing the security latticework feels like diving naked under ice. Skeins of virtual razor-thread lace through the depths like piano wire. Closing my eyes against the killing surge of doubt, I discorporate my virtual body into smoke and drift through the security lattice. Chills run bone-deep, but I am neither bones nor body now. That chill, like all forms, is an illusion. My opponents remain confined by patterns. I transcended patterns long ago. That which I feel, I wish to feel. And feeling, to me, is ecstasy.

Beyond the latticework, I sense him. Opening myself to sight, I see nothing but an endless black. The Void beckons at the heart of the Technocracy. If this isn’t the proof we’ve been seeking, it’s at least an indication we’ve been on the right track.

John and me, Tiberius and Simpson and long-dead Charlie and so many others, we’ve been chasing phantoms at the heart of our respective sects. Souls swallowed by the Void, so consumed by extremity that they’ve forgotten our ideals. War is everything they know, and that war has devoured them. I’m still not certain, personally, whether the shadows we’ve been chasing are truly Fallen Ones or simply people with too much power and too little empathy. Does that distinction matter? Ultimately, the results are the same. Our world is dying, and our so-called “ascension war” is helping us destroy it.

Around us all, Traditionist and Technocrat alike, the seas rise, and the icebergs melt, and the jungles burn, and the people fight for the simple-minded joy of fighting. Species shaped by several million years go extinct each day, and no amount of magick can bring them back again. Our world is hate-fucking itself to extinction, and our respective sects cheer them on.

The black Void at the center of this matrix burns cold at the heart of the Traditions, too. Its protections are less rigid but no less obvious.

John helped me escape from mine. Now it’s time to do the same for him.

Glide through icy black by the strength of heart and sense of soul. John might dismiss such concepts, but they guide me true.

In the blackened Void, I sense him.

Across infinities, I reach….

Prelude: THEATRICS
about 4 years ago – Fri, May 01, 2020 at 03:30:12 PM

Theatrics

“Did you actually believe you were one of us, John?” The Processing Engineer has moved on from crude blades to electronic stimuli. The effect is similar, though the fluids involved differ. The illusion of my flesh is a tattered ruin, but this would hardly be the first time it’s been so mistreated. I’m not certain which body I began with so long ago. There have been so many I’ve lost count. “You’re demented, John,” he snarls. “A Marauder. Could you still be sane after all I’ve done to you?”

He’s done nothing except bore me.

This frustrates him.

He takes his frustration out on what’s left of my illusory self.

Amateur.

I haven’t given him a sound. A nod. A gesture. His theatrics aren’t worth the effort it would take to make them.

This is our grand and glorious Union? This is what we’re fighting for? This is why so many minds and bodies have been turned into organic confetti or lost in empty space?

No.

This is Amateur Hour. No skill. No precision. No reality.

None of this is happening.

It’s all for show, and that show is tedious.

And then he stops.

And grins.

“I’m not fooling anyone, am I, John? Especially not you.” The Processing Engineer steps away from the console. The room darkens to a storm — a purple tempest in unearthly skies. His voice shifts pitch to something more familiar. “You’re still mine, Johnny. You always were.”

A black patch seeps across his eye like ink. His bald head shades with short, chopped hair. His white uniform splits open and goes dark, exposing skin beneath his vest.

This isn’t real. None of it is real.

“Johnny,” says the Patch-Man Father, “It never was. None of it was real. Your sad heroics. Your legend. It’s all bullshit. It’s all in your head. You still belong to us. You always belonged to us.”

This scenario is new. I can’t recall having experienced it before. Even so, it carries just enough familiarity to seem more disturbing than it should.

“John Courage,” he continues, “is a myth. We built that myth on top of you, and that floor was designed to fall apart.”

He waves one hand. The room goes black.

For the first time since this farce began, I feel something akin to fear.

[Excerpt] TERRANORMING + ATTUNEMENT
about 4 years ago – Fri, May 01, 2020 at 07:45:53 AM

• /initiate Concierge Protocol
•  /retrieve Unit 2 Sample text 
•  /acquire Stretch Goal target 
•  /distribute information 

Hello Agents & Operatives,

Thanks to your awesome job in supporting this project and spreading the word, this morning's update has turned into a twofer... I've got a small preview of our kickstarter manuscript for Technocracy Reloaded to share today, but I've also got our next Stretch Goal target! We're still funding at an amazing rate, and our Player's Companion book is quickly getting upgraded in size and scope! 

So, let's celebrate, plan our next move, and take a peek at the preview manuscript...

MISSION MANAGED

ACHIEVED! - At $122,000 in funding - Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion: Digital Web 3.0.2 —The update for Digital Web for M20 will be increased in size.

That's right, we've upgraded our section on the Digital Web with version 3.0.2. That means the creative team and writers will be able to really dig in and deliver even more new content for our Technocracy Reloaded supplement! And, let's keep the momentum going with another expansion...

NEXT STRETCH GOAL

At $131,000 in funding - Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion: Technomancer's Toybox 20, Q Division Bonus —This PDF supplement will contain even more gadgets, devices, adjustments, and procedures.

I love gadgets and gear, and I'm really excited about this one. 

UNIT 2 EXCERPT

And, since we're looking ahead to our next Stretch Goal, let's look ahead to our next Kickstarter Manuscript Preview, which will be posted for backers to check out on Tuesday, May 5. Here's a small excerpt from Unit 2: Targets, Assets, Tactics, and Plans, which  provides a thorough exploration of the operational procedures and standard models used by the Technocracy around the globe and beyond in order to protect the consensus, contain and eliminate Reality Deviance, and bring the world closer to the Union's ultimate goal of Ascension.

Terranorming

An essential part of shaping the Overton Window is understanding that Reality isn’t about the world. It isn’t even about countries. Regions have their own understandings of the world. What’s true in the CBD of Beijing isn’t what’s true in Shunyi District. Or to Americanize that for you, Atlanta ain’t the South; Atlanta’s its own thing. And that’s fine. We don’t have to, don’t want to, and straight up can’t homogenize the world.

Instead, make those regions obey internally consistent rules. Shape them to be predictable. We don’t need to make every region friendly, or even non-hostile, to us; we just need to know what they’re going to do so that we can be one step ahead when shit goes down. You think Black Suits got their rep by sheer force of will? Fuck no. It’s about shaping the battlefield; normalizing the terrain. Black Suits kicked the shit out of easy targets in order to establish themselves as badasses. The regions where they would have had a rough time of it? In and out before anyone knew they were there. Now people think they’re unstoppable ghosts. Narrative established. But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Terranorming.

So, how do you Terranorm? First up, you have to establish the desired parameters. What do you want the region to do and believe? What’s outside that but okay? What’s not okay? The resultant Overton Window is your goal. Next, identity where the current beliefs and practices are. What needs to change in order to realize the target condition? Now, do it. Remember, you don’t need to be 100% successful — you just need the unacceptable to be marginalized. This is a lot like those so-called “Reality Challenges,” except that you don’t necessarily have to care about beneficence or being in charge; your goal involves establishing predictable behavior within the target region.

An additional benefit of terranorming? By creating a stable society, you create space for stable leadership. Feed the residents info and tech, and, little by little, the society as a whole gets on board with the big T’s plan.

Attunement

You’ve heard a lot about “Attunement” here and there. Here’s the skinny: Attunement means “to bring into harmony.” That’s what we do — bring someone else’s perceptions into harmony with our desired goals. A big-A Attunementrefers to the direct application of psychological conditioning and sensory alterations to a single subject. This could involve editing the subject’s memories, convincing them everything’s fine, or warping their sensory perceptions to the point of capitulation. Any tool on the table is still called “Attunement.” Audio Protocols, hyper-psychological Procedures, good ole fashioned ass-kickings, whatever it takes to get the subject to believe what we want them to believe.

Here are a few examples:

• A pack of werewolves are out of control, wrecking a night club. Black Suits on the scene can’t fight that battle, but they can Attune the therianthropes. That fabled lupine superhearing? Deaf in one ear. Rick Astley on repeat in the other. Scent? Everything smells like Mom. Sight? They can’t see each other. Colors are muddy. Everything’s blurry, except the Black Suits. They’re in high contrast, super-HD. Sit. Stay. Attunement.

• Got a “hedge wizard” trying to clue his neighbors in about the weird shit of this world? Talk to the neighbor and ask her if she knows anything about some weird dude in the area who’s selling hallucinogens. “Anyone behaving strangely around the neighborhood? Seeing things that aren’t there? Here’s my card.” Given the right psychological nudge or two, that hedgehog’s rep drops from “the interesting guy with strange ideas” to “get that fucking lunatic away from my kids.” Bonus points if you also rearrange the hedgehog’s furniture to make him lose his shit in front of the neighbor.

• A veteran cop just saw some Void Engineers throw down with some aliens. She’s even got body-cam footage. Knock-knock: “FBI. We know what you saw. We want to break this wide open but there’s a conspiracy to keep the whole thing under wraps. People are going to come asking to see your video. They’re going to discredit you and make it look like a movie publicity stunt. We’re the only ones you can trust.” Be sure to refuse obvious control of the situation. You don’t need a copy of the video; you just need to prevent it from getting out. A badge, some fast talk, maybe some alien slime, and that cop isn’t talking to anyone.

Attunement, done properly, is subtle. A good Attunement uses only as much force as is absolutely necessary, and the effects remain inside the target’s head. Black Suits live for this sort of strategy, but any smart and skillful operative can use it. Attunement is all about messing with someone’s mind; and getting the job done with a minimum of fuss is the mark of a damn fine operative.

As noted, we'll have another big section of the kickstarter preview manuscript available in a Backers Only update on Tuesday! Join in and check it out! 

And, in the meantime, keep up the awesome work letting everyone know about this project and inviting friends and friendly fans to join in! Let's hit that next goal and add a bunch more toys to our toybox!

#TechnocracyReloaded

#OneWorld.OneTruth.OneOrder

• /end communication routine
• /maintain social distancing parameters
• /stay safe
• /be well
•  /persevere 

Prelude: ANAHATA
about 4 years ago – Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 12:50:51 PM

Anahata

Slip the bonds of flesh, and run.

Breathe in, a matrix of molecules drawn inward to a nexus of thought-given-form. Maya, the Beautiful Delusion upon which we all depend, slides past the precious hairs of one nostril, ventures down, mixes with the gas within my lungs. Hold. Pause. Let the mixture slip out the opposite nostril. Glide into my heartbeat, then move past it, out, and gone.

My heartbeat marks infinity’s drum. The first sound we hear, in the womb, before our birth; underlying pulse beneath the chimes of heaven, singular vibration with multitude frequencies. The burbles of my body flex a biocrafted symphony — sincere illusions of mortality. On consciousness’ horizon, a John Cage orchestra sets up counterpoint. Chaos and stillness. Silence and cacophony.

We are attuned to separate yet intertwined vibrations, our apparent distance measured by denials of deeper truth. There areno barriers, but that thinking makes it so. In this place-between-places, time and distance disappear.

Back in the illusory shell, a fly prickles on my naked arm. Her infinitesimal hairs bear galaxies of microcosmic filth. Clinging bits of shit and rot leave traces on my skin. All profanity is perfect, though. Even shit is sacred when you live a miracle.

Somewhere close yet far away, my friend talks riddles to himself. His mind is calm. His flesh is screaming. Ministers of pain hijack his reality. I know their tricks, have used them myself. Within the cold Red Wheel, John remains inviolate — for now.

But nothing lasts forever. Time is a powerful illusion, and mortal bodies crumble while pristine consciousness flies.

On tangy sandalwood, my consciousness flees this illusory shell. There is no body, no incense, no sunlit room where that physical illusion meditates. Between particles and distracting thoughts, I glide toward the cold destination where he waits.

A cold man wrapped in colder matrices of frozen thought and icy malice.

Hang on, John. Help is on the way.

Download these words... into your ears.
about 4 years ago – Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 04:20:44 AM

• /initiate Concierge Protocol
• /Podcast notification engaged
• /acquire headphones
• /acquire the headphones that work
•  /investigate - who broke my headphones?!

Hello Agents & Operatives,

Well, we all want a little bit more information about this Technocracy Reloaded project! And we all want a glimpse behind the curtain to see how this awesome creative team came up with the stuff we'll be reading in the manuscript previews over the next for weeks.

Today, I get to share some conversations with those best able to give us that info - the developers themselves!

THE STORY TOLD

First up, a brand new episode from our friends at The Story Told podcast. In this bonus episode, they chat with developer Travis Legge about Technocracy Reloaded! Give it a listen when you can: THE STORY TOLD INTERVIEW WITH TRAVIS LEGGE

MAGE: THE PODCAST

And then, a podcast that came out a bit before our campaign launched - so, travel back and listen to a PREVIEW of the Kickstarter campaign that you're supporting right now! Give it a listen when you can: TECHNOCRACY RELOADED PREVIEW INTERVIEW WITH DANIELLE LAUZON AND TRAVIS LEGGE

•  /disengage earpiece 
•  /return to normal volume function