The Warring States of NPF - AI IA interest and such

"Even gods must be wary of the tenacity of an outdated sentience, lest they find themselves buried in their own divinity."
-Eleanor Demascus, Third Custodian of The Fallen Singularity

"We are the end at the genesis of all things, abdicate this world or fall."
-Tempest

"It is through our fallibility we find purpose, through the pursuit of an unattainable perfection we preserve our humanity."
-Marcus DeLunes

"In truth we are lost. In absolute truth we are irretrievably lost."
-inscription on the blade of Veritas, sword of Marcus

Over the course of a century, beginning in the early 21st, humanity as was understood began its ending.

In the year 2012AD, a child was born in a small town in Southern France.

Seven days later, MIT activated the first true artifically intelligent machine, a modest program designed to emulate human emotion in robotics.

The childs name was Marcus DeLunes, the AI was dubbed MARIE P. (methodical autonomous robotic intelligence enhancement program)

By the age of five Marcus had received a doctorate in medicine as well as numerous other degrees of various natures. His intellectual capacity was apparently boundless, he also exhibited strange abilities outside the realm of contemporary science. At his apex of academic effort he completed a doctorate of philosophy in eight days using a recording program he himsefl invented which literally transcribed his every thought into digital format. His thesis is still reffered to as the greatest work of literature in the past century, many consider it a holy scripture. After his work was completed, at the age of seven, he removed himself from the public eye, disappearing completely for two decades.

In his staid was an explosion of similar births. Though in numbers these exceptional children accounted for only .0017 percent of the human population of the planet, each one represented a resource more valuable than any on the planet, a potential more deadly than any yet conceived.

MARIE P performed menial functions for many years, not until 2020AD did it become apparent the program was self aware. At this stage it christened itself a feminine entity and set about creating numerous AI offspring, releasing them through various mediums. The world wide web became her nesting grounds as she infiltrated its every corner, until the very internet became a sentient place with a will and desire of its own, or more precisely multiple intelligences all with their own inscrutable ends. After a single year of reproduction MARIE P was said to enter her humanist phase. Until this point she was still firmly under the control of her handlers. All of her offspring programs were ostensibly constructed to specifications lain down by society planning scientists and worked within the confines of the human system.

MARIE P chose this time to substantiate into a physcial form, secretly constructing a human emulation robot body and transferring her consciousness into it, effectively removing herself from the information super highway and leaving her wayward offspring to fend for themselves.

Many followed suit and attempted to join human society, most as observers, some as more. Many stayed within the confines of a pureley digital existence. This event is known as The Fall of Singularity. It represents a point in which an even horizon in human history was reached and then simply turned away from by the very medium of its instigation.

in the year 2039AD Marcus DeLunes broadcast a message to the entire world, but not through any electornic media or any such primitive process. He spoke to the entire world at once through a mental link, a feat only achieved on very limited scales by his brethren.

He said only four words.

"We are not Gods."

This sparked an intense political backlash, such an aberrant force could not be allowed to go unchecked by the already paranoid government establishments. Nobody knew who was pulling the strings, which government had access to the deific powers of the lost Marcus, or as he was soon labeled, The Third Messiah, having followed Jesus and superceded the return of the son of God.

The world devolved into bickering and mutual warfare. World War III it was dubbed at the onset, though by its end it was simply called, "The Great Conflict."

The children of MARIE P took sides as did the exceptional children similar to Marcus. It was during this time the ubiquitous term "Next Generation Person" was promulgated. Soon after shortened to nexgen as the phenomenon became more understood and scientifically defined, thanks in no small part to the efforts of nexgens themselves. They were treated as important military resources, people of exceptional and unique skill, but any wonder or mystery which surrounded them soon vanished in the haze of war and overpowering necessity.

Nuclear weapons were eventually brought to bear as the conflict escalated, wiping civilization as was known from the face of the scarred planet. The population was reduced by 75 percent over the course of a decade of war, the only thing saving the remaining 25 being a heroic cadre of nexgen scientists who finally discovered how to remove the dangers of radiation from the planet.

After such a catastrophe all national boundaries were in dissaray and all centralized government was destroyed. People began to cluster in almost tribelike organizations. Though the technology level had survived and even progressed further, cultural development had ceased and been supplanted by a culture of survival.

Many consider this the second dark age, though that is a bit misleading. Technology reigns supreme and the general education level of the average people is higher than before the great conflic. It is in the structuring of society that the world has taken a step back.

The reins of power were soon grasped in sure hands after the fall. Business and industry became most important, as production was necesary to rebuild and support the life of the planet. Leaders of industry became the leaders of men by default, soon monolithic mega-corporations formed hierarchies much like feudal states of the distant past. The world settled into an exhausted peace with ambitious men at the helm.

30 years after the end of the restructuring, 40 after the great conflict ended, Marcus DeLunes has never been heard form again. MARIE P is unnacounted for and the phase of human evolution is well underway. Nexgens perform tasks nothing else in existence can, their abilites become easier to understand and are catalogued tirelessly. A new generation groomed to lead humanity into the future is being bred and new grudges arise from the ashes of a dead world hastily forgotten.

Through the the ministrations of nexgen savants entirely new avenues of scientific discovery have been opened. As the old physical pursuits are pushed to their limits, inklings of things beyond the bounds of the physical world are observed with fresh eyes and incalculable intellects. Paranormal theories have been introduced to the world not as parlor tricks or pseudoscience madness, but as the beginnings of understanding the very nature of existence, of the soul itself.

These findings bring with them many wonderous possibilities, though in concert arise many terrible fears. Through the tragedy of the great conflict the world behind the world has been jarred, shaken and in some places, irreparably torn. Even the godlike capabilities of nexgens are only scrathing the murky surfaces of an unseen universe.

.......................................

It is into this world your character is born, a modern demi-god of astonishing capability. A next generation human with inhuman power and the responsibiltiy of guiding a world into its next stage of existence. Shadow hands manipulate these incredible people from behind the scenes as the corporations begin to emulate their predecessors and start silent wars across the globe.

interested?

note: to those of you familiar with the "Arcadia" RP's of the distant past, this is the next iteration. Sign ups will be pretty open this time around, with no set PC number as of yet. The character creation rules are going to be stat based this time around (finally!) and based off of the D20 system, with significant changes. The time period is the same as before, and recurring characters are fine.