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Old 08-08-2020, 09:21 AM   #4939
Apollonian
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Shoreline, WA (north of Seattle)
Default Re: New Reality Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
Does anyone here think the Cabalist, manipulating Rome, should introduce paper manufacture to Rome. There are lots of knock on effects from paper.
Why would the Romans adopt paper? Consider: all the elements of printing were around quite a bit before Gutenberg, but it didn't take off until there was a need for it - a population that had an unfilled appetite for written material that couldn't be filled by the old method of scribes. As it is, the Romans already have parchment and papyrus, which probably serve their needs admirably.

So, perhaps the Cabalist wants to introduce all the things that require paper as well. In the Hellenistic period, novels existed; we have surviving examples on papyrus from Egypt. Maybe they've got a project to introduce widespread literacy, so they need to introduce printmaking, and for that they need paper. (And also better metalworking for the type, so that ties into the metal thing you've already introduced.) The screw press is probably next on the menu, only a century or so ahead of time. Concurrent with that, we could expect to see, say, a couple of mystery cults that rely on the widespread written word for their rites - maybe prayer books that are inconvenient to write out by hand, so there's a need for easy reproduction; maybe get the Romans to start promulgating more laws and the like by posters and broadsheets.

As to why, well that's obvious. Widespread literacy is a direct magical attack on the gods of memory and oral tradition, and the Cabalist intends to use that attack to weaken a foe who draws power from the ancient, unwritten rituals. By making the attack on this particular timeline, he is able to target a particular subset of eikones who favor it, while at the same time making an ally of the local manifestation of Thoth - always handy to have a god in your debt.

At least, that's the plan. Cabalists are noted for hubris, and this will probably go sideways in an entertaining fashion sooner or later.
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