Would you throw the switch? Options

[Sendaz]

Now SR is built around the concept of magic and machine co-existing, if a bit tentatively at times, but what if YOU could have had a say at the early days?

Now this is going to divert a bit from canon, so please bear with me as we play with this a bit....


Imagine it's the regular real world as we know it today. No spike babies yet, no confirmed psi or magic results, though some research is showing some tantalising data.

Now imagine you discover some information about magic/mana cycles and see that the mana IS rising, but at a bit slower pace than what the game did. That initially small magics will work through lengthy rituals requiring gestures, incantations, reagents. Over the next few decades this would slowly improve, and larger magics would be possible, but would overall be a much slower process until it reached levels equivalent to current SR levels by the 2080's and later.


But now let's throw in the monkey wrench. The data goes on to reveal an artefact at a hidden location that basically cause a big spike in the mana cycle, knocking the world up to Classic SR levels today, with all the resulting shake up that would happen with it, with everything from kids suddenly shooting fireballs to goblinization and more...

The same artifact could also be used to act as a brake on the coming mana cycle, keeping the magic partially suppressed so that it may be another 100 years before even small magics would even have a chance to work and major magics much further down the line.

So the question would be if YOU could affect the mana cycle, would you kick it up to SR levels or let it slowly rise on its own even if it might be 50 to 100 years to reach its full potential or would you shut it down for as long as you can to keep the world as you know it?

[Jaid]

do i know about the horrors?

[Toptomcat]

Given that the peak of a mana cycle neccesarily leads to a civilization-destroying cataclysm, I should hope the answer would be reasonably obvious.

[Sendaz]

do i know about the horrors?

You know that the Horrors will be able to cross over as mana increases, just how much impact they will have is still debatable as several threads touch on this, especially with the addition of technology to the mix.

Given that the peak of a mana cycle neccesarily leads to a civilization-destroying cataclysm, I should hope the answer would be reasonably obvious.

I could argue that it is not necessarily so obvious.

It is coming regardless of the effect of the artefact, the device hurts let's us jump in that much faster or buy some time for tech to improve. But waiting too long can be a hindrance as well. Imagine a situation not unlike Warhammer 40K where emerging awakened (psyckers) are hunted down and co-opted by the various governments or killed if rebellious and the general population believe that any level of psi/ magic automatically marks you as a hazard.

Or you could look at how much SR history would differ if magic came more gradually on. If the world governments had been given more time to have accepted magic and prepared for it, would the First Nations been able to pull off the GGD or would the now aware gov squelched it fast?

[Jaid]

yeah, i'd buy some time to deal with the horrors. or, more likely, since i probably wouldn't be able to afford repeated leonization, never have to personally deal with the horrors at all.

[Draco18s]

Would I flip the switch?

Is my avatar a dragon for a reason?

[Stahlseele]

< = look at that and ask me that question again with a straight face . .

i'd do it just to fuck with other people.
cold war? nuclear weapons enough to destroy the planet several times over?
racism? sexism? many other isms?
fuck that, look at this and shut up!

[Not of this Worl...]

Power to the Awakened people. Time for a Revolution.

[FuelDrop]

Meh, magic's not all its cracked up to be. I prefer tech anyway.

EDIT: That said, the possibility of hooking up with a smoking hot elf chick is tempting. Just not tempting enough.

[Drace]

At first I thought it would be great to have the magic ramped up, he'll higher chance I would be the 1+% that's awakened that way. But then I thought about all the other people that could be awakened, and then the comment about kids hurling fireballs.

And kids are dicks to begin with.

Like really giant, sociopathic dicks.

Look at the comments on any random YouTube video, especially a video with a black person or other visible or open minority (gay, disabled, non-white etc). Would you really risk giving any one of those people commenting the 1% chance to fling fireballs and turn off someone's brains for shits and giggles? For that alone I would try to turn the world into a massive mana sink.

[FuelDrop]

Agreed. And that's why we need these. Buy yours today!

[DMiller]

Short answer...
Hell Yea! The world needs VITAS!

[Elfenlied]

To hell with the Technocracy, give me mah magic!

[binarywraith]

Given that my dumb ass would probably end up goblinzing anyway, sure, why not.

Always wanted to be a troll anyway. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Faelan]

I would hold it back and use the knowledge to place myself in position to take full personal, and economic advantage of the situation. After all if you know even a little bit of what is coming, you are in a much better spot, and if you can time it...well power, sweet, sweet power.

[Draco18s]

I would hold it back and use the knowledge to place myself in position to take full personal, and economic advantage of the situation. After all if you know even a little bit of what is coming, you are in a much better spot, and if you can time it...well power, sweet, sweet power.

"Yes, I'd like to make a bet. I want to put $10,000,000 on 'by this time next week there will be real magic.'"
"Sir, the odds on that are one in never."
"Then I'll be rich if it happens, yeah?"

[Shortstraw]

"Am I awakened?" is the question that must be asked

[Tyro]

Its, not it's (option 2)

[Elfenlied]

I would hold it back and use the knowledge to place myself in position to take full personal, and economic advantage of the situation. After all if you know even a little bit of what is coming, you are in a much better spot, and if you can time it...well power, sweet, sweet power.

I will do what David Gavilan did (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

And besides, there are ways for a mundane to become awakened.

[Sendaz]

Its, not it's (option 2)

Corrected, really hate the iPad for predictive spelling sometimes.

[Shinobi Killfist]

Do I awaken as a mage? If yes, then hell yeah. If no, frag you all I'm a petty selfish bitch and I'd be too jealous.

[Rubic]

The world needs something to shake up the foundations of power and break the yoke that has been placed upon the world. Besides, I'm not particularly fond of humanity in general. Welcome to the new world, without order.

[Draco18s]

Besides, I'm not particularly fond of humanity in general. Welcome to the new world, without order.

High five fellow antihumanist.

[Rubic]

High five fellow antihumanist.

Eww! Not with THAT anatomy! Filthy primate!

[Jaid]

based on what the majority of the people in the world have chosen as far as who's in control, i feel pretty safe in saying that i'm pretty happy with the current crop of idiots. sure, they may be incompetent, selfish, lying bastards, but at least we have a system where i live that i do not, for example, have to worry about the government sending thugs to kill me because i disagree with them.

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." - Sir Winston Churchill