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Prince Charon · 08-05-2020, 07:06 PM

Artificial Intelligence appears to be ahead of even Homeline, but the 'AIs' are really spirits possessing select machines through Fetish or Embody, while non-magical computers (and the internet) are closer to those of the 1980s than the 1990s; still, you can get a robot butler or maid (which might also be a sexbot). Compact discs haven't taken off, replaced by high-density cassette tapes. Netrunning, also known as cyberdecking or simply 'decking, exists as a magical form of hacking, and has lead to many businesses air-gapping and magically isolating computers with proprietary data on them, requiring would-be 'deckers to physically penetrate building security if they want to get it, often by running through the shadows at night with a few bodyguards. Black ICE is rare and highly illegal (LC0 in most nations, LC1 in a few like the USA and Japan, LC2 in strongly corporate-influenced polities like the Argentine Republic or the Principality of Dalmatia), but less-lethal anti-intruder curses may be as acceptable as LC4. The appearance of cyberspace tends to be a compromise between the mind of the 'decker and the intentions of the system's designers.

Magic had relatively little effect on the US space program at first, beyond a few astronauts being trained in certain styles at the request of curious magicians. It had rather more immediate (and very secret) effect on the Soviet lunar program, as the N1 rocket required enchanted parts (fetishes) to avoid blowing up on the launch pad (something that the USSR has never officially admitted to). This began impacting the Apollo Program in May of 1969, when successful N1 launches prompted President Nixon to order the Apollo 10 crew to land on the Moon. On May 22, 1969, Tom Stafford became the first human from this Earth to walk on the Moon. On May 23, 1969, Vladimir Shatalov, commander of Soyuz 6, became the first cosmonaut to walk on the Moon (contrary to the conspiracy theorists and some movies in this worldline, Stafford and Cernan did not meet Shatalov on the Moon, as the capsules landed hundreds of miles apart). The rocks and dust brought back by the two missions were of great interest to the mages in their respective space programs, as many of the rocks were found to be magically reactive, and the dust was likewise useful as an expendable component in many rituals. The first trained mage on a Moon mission was Fred Haise on Apollo 13, who performed a number of magical experiments both in orbit and on the Moon. In the early 1970s, moonbases were placed on Earth's moon by both sides of the Space Race; orbital and lunar colonies and factories are operated by a dozen nations by 1997, along with lunar and Near-Earth Asteroid mines. In 1975, Leonid Brezhnev declared that 'Mars will be a Red planet,' though as it happened, the first successful manned Mars mission was the joint NASA/ESA Project Ares, which first landed in 1987, while the joint Russian/Chinese did not arrive until 1989; long-term Martian colonies are still in the planning stages, though intermediate-term occupations of over a Martian year have occurred. By the mid-1980s, magical flying saucers were common government spacecraft, and by 1997, civilian models are widely used by big business, and approaching the regular civilian market.

Mystic Symbols are uncommon on this Earth. Those that do exist rarely grant Magery, but may grant some often-limited form of Path/Book Adept (e.g. Three Paths Only, Triggered by LSD, War Aspected, et cetra). Familiars capable of granting Magery or Path/Book Adept are known on this worldline, and are more common than Mystic Symbols. Many magical styles on this worldline (particularly the martial arts-based magical styles) have developed fairly efficient methods of learning Limited Path/Book Adept advantages appropriate to the style. In several cases, such as Soviet Thaumatronics and many forms of Ritual Alchemy, it is not possible to drop the 'Material and Symbolic Components' ritual element; this is also true of some styles based on traditional Celtic Tree Magic, and a few based on Ogham, Futhark, or other forms of Symbol Drawing, especially Sacred Architecture.

The people of this Quantum 5 worldline are unaware of Infinity or the Cabal.

Thoughts?

08-05-2020, 07:06 PM	#36
Prince Charon Join Date: Dec 2012	Re: [Path/Book Magic] 'Grimoire' worldlines Artificial Intelligence appears to be ahead of even Homeline, but the 'AIs' are really spirits possessing select machines through Fetish or Embody, while non-magical computers (and the internet) are closer to those of the 1980s than the 1990s; still, you can get a robot butler or maid (which might also be a sexbot). Compact discs haven't taken off, replaced by high-density cassette tapes. Netrunning, also known as cyberdecking or simply 'decking, exists as a magical form of hacking, and has lead to many businesses air-gapping and magically isolating computers with proprietary data on them, requiring would-be 'deckers to physically penetrate building security if they want to get it, often by running through the shadows at night with a few bodyguards. Black ICE is rare and highly illegal (LC0 in most nations, LC1 in a few like the USA and Japan, LC2 in strongly corporate-influenced polities like the Argentine Republic or the Principality of Dalmatia), but less-lethal anti-intruder curses may be as acceptable as LC4. The appearance of cyberspace tends to be a compromise between the mind of the 'decker and the intentions of the system's designers. Magic had relatively little effect on the US space program at first, beyond a few astronauts being trained in certain styles at the request of curious magicians. It had rather more immediate (and very secret) effect on the Soviet lunar program, as the N1 rocket required enchanted parts (fetishes) to avoid blowing up on the launch pad (something that the USSR has never officially admitted to). This began impacting the Apollo Program in May of 1969, when successful N1 launches prompted President Nixon to order the Apollo 10 crew to land on the Moon. On May 22, 1969, Tom Stafford became the first human from this Earth to walk on the Moon. On May 23, 1969, Vladimir Shatalov, commander of Soyuz 6, became the first cosmonaut to walk on the Moon (contrary to the conspiracy theorists and some movies in this worldline, Stafford and Cernan did not meet Shatalov on the Moon, as the capsules landed hundreds of miles apart). The rocks and dust brought back by the two missions were of great interest to the mages in their respective space programs, as many of the rocks were found to be magically reactive, and the dust was likewise useful as an expendable component in many rituals. The first trained mage on a Moon mission was Fred Haise on Apollo 13, who performed a number of magical experiments both in orbit and on the Moon. In the early 1970s, moonbases were placed on Earth's moon by both sides of the Space Race; orbital and lunar colonies and factories are operated by a dozen nations by 1997, along with lunar and Near-Earth Asteroid mines. In 1975, Leonid Brezhnev declared that 'Mars will be a Red planet,' though as it happened, the first successful manned Mars mission was the joint NASA/ESA Project Ares, which first landed in 1987, while the joint Russian/Chinese did not arrive until 1989; long-term Martian colonies are still in the planning stages, though intermediate-term occupations of over a Martian year have occurred. By the mid-1980s, magical flying saucers were common government spacecraft, and by 1997, civilian models are widely used by big business, and approaching the regular civilian market. Mystic Symbols are uncommon on this Earth. Those that do exist rarely grant Magery, but may grant some often-limited form of Path/Book Adept (e.g. Three Paths Only, Triggered by LSD, War Aspected, et cetra). Familiars capable of granting Magery or Path/Book Adept are known on this worldline, and are more common than Mystic Symbols. Many magical styles on this worldline (particularly the martial arts-based magical styles) have developed fairly efficient methods of learning Limited Path/Book Adept advantages appropriate to the style. In several cases, such as Soviet Thaumatronics and many forms of Ritual Alchemy, it is not possible to drop the 'Material and Symbolic Components' ritual element; this is also true of some styles based on traditional Celtic Tree Magic, and a few based on Ogham, Futhark, or other forms of Symbol Drawing, especially Sacred Architecture. The people of this Quantum 5 worldline are unaware of Infinity or the Cabal. Thoughts? __________________ Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted. Last edited by Prince Charon; 08-05-2020 at 07:11 PM.