The Galatea Method (Ally Spirit), (Thanks to AH for inspiration) Options

[Demosthenes]

Ally Spirit formulae:

The Galatea Method -
Developed in the 2040s, this set of principles for summoning Ally spirits is much used by Hermetics, having originally been developed by Luca Buonnaroti in the university of Turin.

Buonarotti published the Method as a part of his Th.D. thesis, but never actually used it - he developed as a part of his studies into the art of Conjuring.
Since his Th.D. was funded by Saeder-Krupp, Buonnaroti's results became proprietary to that Corporation. Parts of the Galatea Method have been leaked to the magical community at large, but most of its users are Saeder-Krupp wage-mages.

According to Buonnaroti's ideas, the way in which a spirit is summoned (in the case of an Ally, its formula) can have a great influence on the mental state and "moral compass" of the summoned spirit.

If a magician uses the procedures set out in this method to derive the formula for an ally spirit, the resultant Ally is generally very obedient and friendly to its summoner - if frequently more free-willed than many others.

As a result, Allies summoned using this method are frequently more pleasant to have around - they seem to actually enjoy their service.

The Galatea Method does have its detractors - allies summoned using its procedures are often slightly different from the precise specifications of the formula (generally in ways that express the personality of the summoning magician, though not necessarily his or her subconscious), and they often break their summoner's control at inconvenient times.

Well-treated Galatea Allies will often remain well-disposed to their summoners, and may even continue to aid them in their endeavours.

The most common reason for a mage to use the Galatea Method is that it produces Allies that, from the very moment of creation, tend to act independently on behalf of the summoner, rather than the usual "passive" ally that acts only when commanded to.

[ Spoiler ]

The Galatea Method contains a complex set of precepts that must be incorporated into the formula for summoning an Ally. The core of these precepts forms the moral principles and ethical foundations of the Ally's mind:

Absent any other direction, an Ally summoned using this procedure knows only one moral guideline: Good is defined as "that which benefits the master" (master here meaning 'summoner').

The Ally is generally free to act as it sees fit, provided that it obeys the commands of its master (this is a part of the Ally formula) - though it will chafe at those commands that it perceives as being against its master's interests.

Those magicians who summon an Ally using this method frequently discover the downside of absolute loyalty: their Ally may well act in ways that will get the magician into a great deal of trouble (committing criminal acts, for example), believing itself to act in its master's best interests.

Because of this, a Galatea Ally will always try to go free at any opportunity: not because it chafes at servitude, but because it believes that it truly "knows best" what is good for its summoner - if it is free to act as it pleases, then it can obviously help the poor little magician a lot better...

Allies of this kind who go free often retain this underlying "moral" guideline, irrespective of the type of Free Spirit they become: Shadow and Player archetypes are very common among such spirits, followed closely by Anima/Animus.

The Galatea Method is a widely-known, though not often used method of deriving an Ally formula. It is very complex (Treat Allies summoned using the Galatea Method as having a Force 2 higher than the desired force for the purpose of developing the Ally Formula), and is generally distributed in an abridged form. Buonnaroti's thesis explains the means he used to incorporate 'moral' guidelines into the spirit formula, and implies that other moral guidelines could be used.

Unfortunately, the Method is usually distributed without Buonnaroti's (very complicated) academic discourse.
Generally available versions of the text are invariably corrupted or pirated copies snatched from S-K corporate databases.

The version of the Method used by Saeder-Krupp retains Buonnaroti's "example" principles - most wage-mages in S-K are more than happy to have an amoral magical companion that thinks the world revolves around "The Master"...

[Edit]Typo in Buonnaroti...[/Edit]

This post has been edited by Demosthenes: Apr 21 2005, 07:06 AM