Technocracy Setting

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BEGIN TRANSMISSION

The screen blinked, revealing a picturesque scene. A beautiful woman sat on a tall-backed chair of dark green velvet. Beside her stood a cherry wood end table, and behind it all was a slate fireplace with a stained glass screen. The woman looked up from the book that was spread across her lap and closed it, setting it on the table.

"Good evening, and welcome to another installment of "Shoppe Talk". I'm your host, Sophie Mills," she introduced herself. The periodic status updates and directives always took the same format; a pre-recorded message that was part fireside chat and part daytime talkshow. It could have seemed silly, and perhaps to some who watched, it was. It was also produced with the technical prowess of a studio and the woman sitting in the chair had years of oratory skill, and she took it very seriously.

"I'd like to start off with a thank you to the dedicated men and women of this organization. If you're seeing this feed, know that I'm watching you, and I'm impressed. I'm impressed with your resourcefulness, I'm impressed with your compliance, and I'm impressed with your resolve. Hell, I'm even impressed with your moxie," she added with a casual gesture of her hand.

"I want you to think for a moment about your colleagues - those brave individuals I just mentioned, the people you pass in the halls. Who are they, and what are they trying to accomplish?" she asked, gazing into the screen. "How can you help them? How can they help you? It's true that there are choppy waters ahead," the woman admitted, tilting her head slightly and frowning. "We've all suffered losses; for some, worse than others. At the Shoppe, though, you're more than just doing your job. You're a family. Reorganization is always a difficult time, but as long as we work together, I know that we'll do more than persevere, we'll prosper."

Confidence and even a little bit of defiance suffused her voice and posture, and she projected those sentiments to her viewers.

"Try as it might, it's a simple fact that the Pogrom has not succeeded in routing our greatest adverseries. No, it's undeniable that our largest victories have been ideological. Subtlety has always been our greatest strength, and in these trying times, abandoning it would be a mistake. Shock-and-awe, hocus pocus - they're for amateurs," she said with a small, dismissive wave. "While our enemies seek to shape the world in a phantom image, we give the people the image they ask for, and we give it to them in high-definition. They thank us for it, and they always want more."

Shrugging, she went on. "There's certainly a time and a place for ugliness - after all, how would we ever define beauty without its counterpoint as a reference? Not every gun is chambered with bullets, though; not every knife draws blood. Like it or not, the cold hard reality is that we're in a recession," she declared, opening both of her hands. "Some fights cost more to wage than their projected dividends, and if we want to stay solvent, we need to identify them and avoid them. To upcycle a bit of Hollywood parlance: sometimes the only winning move is not to play at all. Time is on our side," she explained with a sly smile. "If we're clever and patient, it will do the heavy lifting for us."

She seemed absolutely convinced of that much.

"That shouldn't be construed as a reason to get complacent, though. The Precepts are an eternal, guiding force, of course. But the questions we have to ask are: how do we apply them to best suit our needs, and the needs of those we protect? We bring order first and foremost by exemplifying it. When threatened, we lock step. When Corrections loom over us, we seek out fresh and unique opportunities. We can preserve the status quo; we'll just be doing it in new and creative ways, and adapt to arising challenges with an entrepenurial heart."

Straightening her spine somewhat, the woman crossed her legs, revealing shapely limbs from beneath the skirt of her finely-pressed suit.

"In that pioneering spirit, I'm here tonight to tell you about exciting changes to this organization's operational protocols. I know what you're thinking: blah, blah blah, blah blah," she said, rolling her eyes and making a 'talking' gesture with one of her hands. "And if things were different, I might even agree with you," she continued with a slight conspiratorial bent, leaning forward a bit. "These variances are extremely important, though, and will help you do your job better. They may even allow for potential advancement. Think again of your colleagues. They're relying on you! Ignoring these revisions could endanger everything you all work so hard to build. We all need to pull our weight if we're going to weather this storm and sail towards the future."

Folding her hands, the woman let a lot of her 'congenial face' drop, becoming more matter-of-fact, and far less flexible.

"Contingencies One, Three, Four, and Five regarding Tradition Mages are hereby suspended until further notice. Surveillance protocols of Contingency Two are upheld, pending authorization from myself on a case-by-case basis. Union personnel in the San Diego region are not to engage in direct corrective measures in response to these Deviants unless those measures are limited to pursuing Article Three, or General Protocols One or Two."

The woman raised one of her hands, showing the palm as if to gently restrain or reassure an agitated viewer.

"All contingencies regarding other Deviant threats remain unaffected, and the focus of our work will shift to these myriad dangers to reality," she explained.

"With resources drawn down from the Traditions warfront, we will be better equipped to pursue investigations into the loss of contact with Union personnel, vessels, assets, and constructs throughout Horizon. This mission should be considered a continual priority; information gleaned from any source - even unconventional ones - should be brought to my attention for vetting, analysis, and dissemination to the whole."

A brilliant smile played across her face, then.

"Your continuing efforts do not go unnoticed. In recognition for services rendered, I have attached a small monetary bonus to this transmission. You've all earned a little bit of R&R; enjoy yourselves! Not too much, though; there's still work to be done," she added in a tone of voice that was light and amused; a contrast to the sharpness from just a few moments before. "Simply input your biometric signature as reciept of this stipend and accession to the protocol revisions discussed earlier."

The woman folded her hands in front of her. "If you have doubts or concerns, please come see me; my door is always open to you."

With that, the scene blinked away, replaced by a series of electronic forms that shrunk down and lined up to recieve thumbprints, retinal scans, or other input codes.

END TRANSMISSION

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OOC: What does this mean?

As part of the Mage setting for San Diego, the Union and the Traditions have entered a sort of Cold War standing, with the respective leaders having negotiated a cease-fire and non-aggression arrangement. Union personnel are restricted from engaging in direct hostile action against any Tradition mages they may encounter, and Tradition mages have pledged to do likewise. This should not be taken to mean that the Union and the Traditions are friends or allies. They aren't. They just aren't killing each other in the streets because there are larger problems to worry about.

Extreme violations against reality (aka, witnessed vulgar effects) should be reported to Sophie. If these effects create issues that threaten the secrecy of the Union or are witnessed by Sleepers, Technocrats should make efforts to conceal the event from Sleepers (aka, the 'cover-up') using whatever tools are at their disposal (Mind effects, devices, influence over sleeper spheres, etc). Obviously, vulgar Inspired Science is still very much frowned upon.

The message delivered to the Union employees in San Diego serves as the instrument for a Motivational Speaking effect (Mind 3, Prime 2 - as per Guide to the Technocracy, p. 214). The emotional themes of this Procedure are compliance to protocols, and cooperation with colleagues (aka 'be a team player'). I have not rolled this effect out, nor would I try to enforce it on any players or characters (I'm not a ST). It should simply be used as an explanation for the setting change and a roleplaying opportunity. The Union is far more rigid in its organization than the Traditions; compliance to orders is expected, owing in part to the conditioning and processing that agents undergo, and also in part to the threats that loom over them, should they decide to go rogue. Everyone has heard of Room 101; everyone has heard stories about troublemakers who get 'reassigned', 'downsized', or simply 'terminated'.

Anybody who feels absolutely compelled to do so can and should make a Perception + Awareness roll, difficulty 7, to detect that something unusual is going on during the transmission. If 2+ successes are scored, they can determine that a subtle Procedure is at work, with more successes suggesting what kind of Procedure it is. If the player is inclined, the character can roll Willpower, difficulty 6, to resist. Five successes are needed on the Willpower roll to defend completely; partial success reduces the Procedure's impact by an appropriate degree. If the roll is failed, Willpower points can be spent to resist on a turn-by-turn basis, but seeing as the transmission continues for entire minutes, any character's pool would be depleted in a matter of seconds. Willpower points could buy a character enough time to terminate the transmission, however...characters that do not "sign" the documents attached to the transmission (accepting the bribe...err, bonus, and agreeing to follow new policy) will, of course, come up as Giant Red Flags on Sophie's radar, and appropriate action will be taken.

Welcome to the Union.