Communications
Sealed Communiqué, Leminkainen Archives, Dated Ninthmonth, Coldtime, 4998
To: Lord Powell, Baron of the Kelmac Reaches in the city of Dyrak, Grikkor
From: Father Sanctus Ophelionne, Cathedral Adricon in the city of Hakkonen, Jyväskylä
Most Esteemed Sir,
By the Grace of the One and through the desires of that most Holy and Whole of Faiths, the Salvation of Worlds, the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, I compose this epistle to you. The Mother Church has recently become aware of the pointed and quite public criticisms you have leveled against Her regarding Her policies on mass communications and the media. It is our hope that within these pages we can allay your passions through an appeal to your rationality and thus avoid the less tender scrutiny of the Inquisitorial Synod. Such cooperation on your part would allow us to return back to more pressing matters of the Faith, like the Pagan barbarians bearing down on certain properties of yours within the Cortran Barony.
With this firmly in mind, I shall hereby address your comments on that most pernicious of institutions, well known for its subtle degradation of the spirit, the Media.
You correctly pointed out that human communication was revolutionized through the creation of writing.
Writing is an activity, which the Church wholly approves of. It is both fitting and proper that man recognize the wonders of the Pancreator’s creation as well as the subtle avenues of the spirit, marking them down, much as Zebulon once did, for future generations to embrace and enjoy. Even the baser facet of this art, the crude entertainments that appeal only to the lower masses, are not without merit, as they may enliven the spirit in hard times or during harsh tragedies.
What you failed to acknowledge, however, is that our objection comes not with the act of writing, the skill of literacy, or even the physical expression of human thought but with the mass production of it.
Whether through the Oro’ym electro-plating techniques of Madoc, the utilization of Obun vhella leaves on Velisamil, or Gutenberg’s printing press on Holy Terra, it is this point where we of the Holy Writ believe the sanctity of the art of writing begins the inevitable
slide into corruption.
You claim that the spread of information can harm no one.
At the recent birthday celebrations of Lady Edaine you pointed out, quite forcefully, that the mere expression of an idea could not possibly be baneful to the proper social order. You also postulated, with equal vigor, that during the times when man produced the most plentiful forms of communication, his achievements, especially in the areas of invention and the sciences, increased manifold.
Truly, if life was solely measured by the material things man produced, then that would have been a glorious time. And through this fallacy, the idea behind mass media is seductive, for if something such as mere literacy was such a good idea, why would
more of it not be better?
Yet, what you fail to perceive is that hand in hand with these so-called achievements comes widespread suffering previously undreamt of in human history.
Take, for example, one of the first uses of the Terran printing press. An intellectual of the day, a man named Luther, used it to undermine the pre-reflective church of that era, leading to millennia of factional fighting, wars, and religious intolerance. One man,
using the power of mass communication, was able to shake the foundations of his very culture; a culture that never properly recovered.
As far as man’s inventiveness, the excesses of the First and Second Republic showed us where that leads: Misery, greed, madness, suicide, and the deaths of millions. Are these the great achievements of which you speak? We must trust that, upon further reflection, you will realize they are not as magnificent as you first perceived.
You stated that information can bring only freedom.
When you addressed the Citizen’s Council of East Dyrak, you stated that you believed communication technologies offered up the greatest freedom the human race could ever hope for. What a quaint and fanciful notion this is! Luckily, it is also one that can
be swiftly and easily laid aside.
Following Luther’s upset of the culture of that time, intellectuals soon grasped that there were two simple ways to control the power of this new medium:
You could alter the content of the information or its flow.
Early despots, eager for power, quickly selected the former - the information’s content, to begin their rise to power. They flooded the minds and souls of their people with the messages they wanted them to hear, and only those messages. Ruthlessly, these leaders suppressed any attempt at the mass production of alternate points of view. They taught their young only the truths they needed to support the state.
And with such power in hand, they soon found their empires expanding faster and more efficiently than ever. The idea of “World Wars” became inevitable as one nation’s “truth” competed with another.
The flaw in this thinking is that inevitably, people will come up with alternate means to publish their own vision, their own idea of truth. These misguided people are willing to put their lives, and the lives of countless others, at risk to mass-produce this
“truth” and the resulting confusion “tainted” and
destabilized the despot’s ordered world. After several spectacular failures, later despots of that era veered away from content control and segued into altering the information’s flow. To put it simply, they discovered that in order to control information, you do not have to manipulate its every word. Merely, be the loudest “voice” among many.
On one hand, they produced entertainments designed to numb the mind and produce a spiritual malaise. On the other, they had a set of linked media outlets producing variants on the same story (the one they wanted their citizens to hear) and downplayed
any other versions of the truth as “unreliable.”
The plutocracies behind the First Republic were masters of this. They invented technologies that could predict and corrupt human behaviors, prying into human minds and then locking them into an endless cycle of making products and buying products.
Communication was absolutely free but rigidly monitored.
While you could say anything, you were only rewarded for those things that promoted the status quo. Humanity, as a whole, fell in line like cattle at a slaughterhouse and only found freedom from this cycle by the fortuitous discovery of the jumpgate and
the worlds that lay beyond.
You said that mass communication links humanity to one another.
I recall when you defended your beliefs at the Brandelien Auditorium in Miletian Square. You clearly conveyed the idea that the media’s central purpose was to keep an enlightened humanity informed and connected. Would that such a premise were true! The
Church would then be in the forefront of the media world, much like the pre-reflective churches of old Terra.
The real truth of the matter, however, was laid bare in the pseudo-Utopian ideals of the Second Republic.
The Diaspora wrested the media’s control over the heart of humanity and each planet had proceeded on at its own pace. Then came the Second Republic, dedicated to “re-uniting” the lost children of Terra. They promised freedoms and security within a new
framework, a government dedicated to peace, justice, and the Terran way. And to secure this reality, they used the media. Planets like the now-lost world of Lamorak produced informational magic-lantern shows and phantasms dedicated to education. Throughout
Human Space these products were shipped to every corner of the Universe and it was throughout Human Space that this lie of media was finally revealed.
The heart of man has not much changed since his creation on Holy Terra a million years ago. That heart responds to that what can be seen and touched and felt. It does not matter that the mind of man tells him that what he is seeing, touching, or feeling is not
real. To be more specific, in deference to your sharp mind, baron, instant communication creates the illusion that things that happen outside of your domain are important to you. Untold generations watched as people were murdered, disasters played out, and villains were caught. So enraptured were they by these reports, they paid less and less attention to their own homes.
These watchers became increasingly paranoid despite living in paradise, because crime was reported to be “up.” Alternately, burnt out by too much cynicism, they ignored even the worst excesses of humanity among their own, letting neighborhood rapists, molesters, and career criminals go unpunished because they were too concerned with the interstellar news to pay
attention to their immediate surroundings.
The fading of the suns proved once and for all the danger of media. It was apparent to all that there was a universal problem. But as some began to broadcast possible solutions, they found themselves inundated with those desperate to reach them. The
Welfare Nexus collapsed and the barbarians moved in, governments fell as people anticipated the end - even if they themselves were not in imminent danger!
The remnants of the Second Republic found themselves resorting to First Republic technologies and sometimes even cruder propaganda to restore control, but it was too late.
You thought that a restored media would lead to a restored humanity.
It is a comforting thought, to some, and we understand that, to pray for the glories of the past. But know this, Lord Powell - as the star of Emperor Alexius and the Church rises, so do the hopes of humanity.
Not only the physical chains of the Republic’s legacy must be overthrown but also the confines of its ideological legacy. Abandon your pulpit and let the masses concentrate on what is truly important - faith and the world directly around them. Let those who
labor under the Privilege of Martyrs be the sole arbitrators of the dangers mankind has wroth.
May this epistle and your faith in the One, the mighty Flame of the Pancreator, bring you revelation and bring you peace.
Sincerely,
Father Sanctus
Fadind Suns RPG Sourcebook - Arcane Technology - Communications
To: Lord Powell, Baron of the Kelmac Reaches in the city of Dyrak, Grikkor
From: Father Sanctus Ophelionne, Cathedral Adricon in the city of Hakkonen, Jyväskylä
Most Esteemed Sir,
By the Grace of the One and through the desires of that most Holy and Whole of Faiths, the Salvation of Worlds, the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, I compose this epistle to you. The Mother Church has recently become aware of the pointed and quite public criticisms you have leveled against Her regarding Her policies on mass communications and the media. It is our hope that within these pages we can allay your passions through an appeal to your rationality and thus avoid the less tender scrutiny of the Inquisitorial Synod. Such cooperation on your part would allow us to return back to more pressing matters of the Faith, like the Pagan barbarians bearing down on certain properties of yours within the Cortran Barony.
With this firmly in mind, I shall hereby address your comments on that most pernicious of institutions, well known for its subtle degradation of the spirit, the Media.
You correctly pointed out that human communication was revolutionized through the creation of writing.
Writing is an activity, which the Church wholly approves of. It is both fitting and proper that man recognize the wonders of the Pancreator’s creation as well as the subtle avenues of the spirit, marking them down, much as Zebulon once did, for future generations to embrace and enjoy. Even the baser facet of this art, the crude entertainments that appeal only to the lower masses, are not without merit, as they may enliven the spirit in hard times or during harsh tragedies.
What you failed to acknowledge, however, is that our objection comes not with the act of writing, the skill of literacy, or even the physical expression of human thought but with the mass production of it.
Whether through the Oro’ym electro-plating techniques of Madoc, the utilization of Obun vhella leaves on Velisamil, or Gutenberg’s printing press on Holy Terra, it is this point where we of the Holy Writ believe the sanctity of the art of writing begins the inevitable
slide into corruption.
You claim that the spread of information can harm no one.
At the recent birthday celebrations of Lady Edaine you pointed out, quite forcefully, that the mere expression of an idea could not possibly be baneful to the proper social order. You also postulated, with equal vigor, that during the times when man produced the most plentiful forms of communication, his achievements, especially in the areas of invention and the sciences, increased manifold.
Truly, if life was solely measured by the material things man produced, then that would have been a glorious time. And through this fallacy, the idea behind mass media is seductive, for if something such as mere literacy was such a good idea, why would
more of it not be better?
Yet, what you fail to perceive is that hand in hand with these so-called achievements comes widespread suffering previously undreamt of in human history.
Take, for example, one of the first uses of the Terran printing press. An intellectual of the day, a man named Luther, used it to undermine the pre-reflective church of that era, leading to millennia of factional fighting, wars, and religious intolerance. One man,
using the power of mass communication, was able to shake the foundations of his very culture; a culture that never properly recovered.
As far as man’s inventiveness, the excesses of the First and Second Republic showed us where that leads: Misery, greed, madness, suicide, and the deaths of millions. Are these the great achievements of which you speak? We must trust that, upon further reflection, you will realize they are not as magnificent as you first perceived.
You stated that information can bring only freedom.
When you addressed the Citizen’s Council of East Dyrak, you stated that you believed communication technologies offered up the greatest freedom the human race could ever hope for. What a quaint and fanciful notion this is! Luckily, it is also one that can
be swiftly and easily laid aside.
Following Luther’s upset of the culture of that time, intellectuals soon grasped that there were two simple ways to control the power of this new medium:
You could alter the content of the information or its flow.
Early despots, eager for power, quickly selected the former - the information’s content, to begin their rise to power. They flooded the minds and souls of their people with the messages they wanted them to hear, and only those messages. Ruthlessly, these leaders suppressed any attempt at the mass production of alternate points of view. They taught their young only the truths they needed to support the state.
And with such power in hand, they soon found their empires expanding faster and more efficiently than ever. The idea of “World Wars” became inevitable as one nation’s “truth” competed with another.
The flaw in this thinking is that inevitably, people will come up with alternate means to publish their own vision, their own idea of truth. These misguided people are willing to put their lives, and the lives of countless others, at risk to mass-produce this
“truth” and the resulting confusion “tainted” and
destabilized the despot’s ordered world. After several spectacular failures, later despots of that era veered away from content control and segued into altering the information’s flow. To put it simply, they discovered that in order to control information, you do not have to manipulate its every word. Merely, be the loudest “voice” among many.
On one hand, they produced entertainments designed to numb the mind and produce a spiritual malaise. On the other, they had a set of linked media outlets producing variants on the same story (the one they wanted their citizens to hear) and downplayed
any other versions of the truth as “unreliable.”
The plutocracies behind the First Republic were masters of this. They invented technologies that could predict and corrupt human behaviors, prying into human minds and then locking them into an endless cycle of making products and buying products.
Communication was absolutely free but rigidly monitored.
While you could say anything, you were only rewarded for those things that promoted the status quo. Humanity, as a whole, fell in line like cattle at a slaughterhouse and only found freedom from this cycle by the fortuitous discovery of the jumpgate and
the worlds that lay beyond.
You said that mass communication links humanity to one another.
I recall when you defended your beliefs at the Brandelien Auditorium in Miletian Square. You clearly conveyed the idea that the media’s central purpose was to keep an enlightened humanity informed and connected. Would that such a premise were true! The
Church would then be in the forefront of the media world, much like the pre-reflective churches of old Terra.
The real truth of the matter, however, was laid bare in the pseudo-Utopian ideals of the Second Republic.
The Diaspora wrested the media’s control over the heart of humanity and each planet had proceeded on at its own pace. Then came the Second Republic, dedicated to “re-uniting” the lost children of Terra. They promised freedoms and security within a new
framework, a government dedicated to peace, justice, and the Terran way. And to secure this reality, they used the media. Planets like the now-lost world of Lamorak produced informational magic-lantern shows and phantasms dedicated to education. Throughout
Human Space these products were shipped to every corner of the Universe and it was throughout Human Space that this lie of media was finally revealed.
The heart of man has not much changed since his creation on Holy Terra a million years ago. That heart responds to that what can be seen and touched and felt. It does not matter that the mind of man tells him that what he is seeing, touching, or feeling is not
real. To be more specific, in deference to your sharp mind, baron, instant communication creates the illusion that things that happen outside of your domain are important to you. Untold generations watched as people were murdered, disasters played out, and villains were caught. So enraptured were they by these reports, they paid less and less attention to their own homes.
These watchers became increasingly paranoid despite living in paradise, because crime was reported to be “up.” Alternately, burnt out by too much cynicism, they ignored even the worst excesses of humanity among their own, letting neighborhood rapists, molesters, and career criminals go unpunished because they were too concerned with the interstellar news to pay
attention to their immediate surroundings.
The fading of the suns proved once and for all the danger of media. It was apparent to all that there was a universal problem. But as some began to broadcast possible solutions, they found themselves inundated with those desperate to reach them. The
Welfare Nexus collapsed and the barbarians moved in, governments fell as people anticipated the end - even if they themselves were not in imminent danger!
The remnants of the Second Republic found themselves resorting to First Republic technologies and sometimes even cruder propaganda to restore control, but it was too late.
You thought that a restored media would lead to a restored humanity.
It is a comforting thought, to some, and we understand that, to pray for the glories of the past. But know this, Lord Powell - as the star of Emperor Alexius and the Church rises, so do the hopes of humanity.
Not only the physical chains of the Republic’s legacy must be overthrown but also the confines of its ideological legacy. Abandon your pulpit and let the masses concentrate on what is truly important - faith and the world directly around them. Let those who
labor under the Privilege of Martyrs be the sole arbitrators of the dangers mankind has wroth.
May this epistle and your faith in the One, the mighty Flame of the Pancreator, bring you revelation and bring you peace.
Sincerely,
Father Sanctus
Fadind Suns RPG Sourcebook - Arcane Technology - Communications