A Setting For an Information Elemental

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by whswhs

... But the part of a dragon, or a fallen angel with six arms, or an information elemental, is played by a human being; I have to set aside the person I'm seeing and envision what the character looks like....

I'm curious what sort of a setting an information elemental would actually live in. Everything that comes to mind for me ends up being very bland, very kitchen-sink-ish, or produces something better described as a spirit.

what sort of setting does one find an information elemental in?

This is not aimed at anyone in particular.

[JanMikal]

A library. Almost certainly. Or perhaps it would be a non-solid energy sprite living in cyberspace.

[roguebfl]

Bob the Skull is the first thing that comes to mind when you tall about information elemental, when the skull is an enchanted "shelter" to protect the memory spirit during the day


Another location one might be drawn to on the mortal plane would be a news room

[whswhs]

Well, this was a superhero campaign, so we were kind of freeform about what it could do. But basically it could inhabit electronic information processing devices, control them, and reshape them. It had to be *electronic*: No jumping into neurons, DNA, or print.

[Badmash]

Maybe it's a web spider that became self-aware?

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by roguebfl

Bob the Skull is the first thing that comes to mind when you tall about information elemental, when the skull is an enchanted "shelter" to protect the memory spirit during the day

Perhaps I'm splitting hairs here, but Bob always come across as a spirit rather than as an elemental. In many ways he's composed of knowledge, but he doesn't seem to have any more control of it than anyone else,. I would expect an information elemental to be more physically tied to information and to have more control of it.

Originally Posted by whswhs

Well, this was a superhero campaign, so we were kind of freeform about what it could do. But basically it could inhabit electronic information processing devices, control them, and reshape them. It had to be *electronic*: No jumping into neurons, DNA, or print.

Superhero campaign. I thought it might be something like that. Good to know.

Originally Posted by Badmash

Maybe it's a web spider that became self-aware?

Originally Posted by JanMikal

A library. Almost certainly. Or perhaps it would be a non-solid energy sprite living in cyberspace.

Another location one might be drawn to on the mortal plane would be a news room

I suppose I was asking more about the metaphysics of a world that had information elementals. If information forms elementals, then what else forms elementals. Does that mean magic is common? what kind of magic? information Elementals call up visions of computers, but if you've got digital technology and enough magic that elementals form spontaneously, what kind of a world are you living in?

The images of the places they arrive and hang out is strangely helpful in visualizing the creatures though.

[AlexanderHowl]

Yes, a spirit of information makes much more conceptual sense than an element of information (elements generally refer to concrete rather than abstract phenomena). While you might have a paper elemental relating to books or a light elemental relating to the internet (almost no form of information storage or transmission is electrical except for old fashion landlines, most of which have been replaced by optical fibers in the developed world), they would not be generic information elementals, just elementals whose realm contains forms of information storage and transmission.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Perhaps I'm splitting hairs here, but Bob always come across as a spirit rather than as an elemental. In many ways he's composed of knowledge, but he doesn't seem to have any more control of it than anyone else,. I would expect an information elemental to be more physically tied to information and to have more control of it.

There is also the Archive that resides in Ivy

[Refplace]

The Akhashic Library or a plane of knowledge with crystals and images. Perhaps a dreamscape type place.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Yes, a spirit of information makes much more conceptual sense than an element of information (elements generally refer to concrete rather than abstract phenomena). While you might have a paper elemental relating to books or a light elemental relating to the internet (almost no form of information storage or transmission is electrical except for old fashion landlines, most of which have been replaced by optical fibers in the developed world), they would not be generic information elementals, just elementals whose realm contains forms of information storage and transmission.

In comics, the word "elemental" is used loosely. Consider Swamp Thing, for example. Really he's a vegetation deity, more or less, but DC called him an "elemental."