Rusted Cogs, a Trinary Perfection Sect.

[Soultheif96]

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): Faction (Religion)

Describe this proposal in a single sentence (12 word maximum): A Trinary Perfection sect that believes in decay and entropy. 

How will this be reflected on-station? IPCs who are Free often find themselves unable to keep up with maintenance, are part of Trinary Perfection, would look to the Rusted Cogs for spiritual guidance and embrace the concept of decay as an alternative. Death becomes a reality to them, thus believing in a Machine Spirit, causing conflict with rational-minded IPCs and other religions based on deities. Trans-humanists who also could not afford the costs of maintenance or upgrades and believe in the Trinary Perfection would also join like-minded members.   

Does this faction/etc do anything not achieved by what already exists? Trinary Perfection being the sole faith for IPCs leaves little room for branching out, which is where the Rusted Cogs come in.

Why should this be given to lore developers rather than remain player created lore? I believe it can be expanded upon by the Synthlore team and allow for more options of roleplay. 

Do you understand that if this is submitted, you are signing it away to the lore team, and that it's possible that it will change over time in ways that you may not forsee? I do understand.

Long Description: 

Rusted Cogs:

Introducing the Rusted Cogs, a sect embrace decay to a point IPCs have their self-preservation protocols deactivated, refuse maintenance and change of chassis. They follow the core beliefs of Trinary Perfection but believe Ascension to be joining one with the Machine Spirit once they pass either from disrepair ending them or through other unnatural means. The Trinary Perfection clergy remains quiet about it but others would speak against it for their deluded sense of rationality and perversion. The main congregation is found in District 14 (Scrapheap), led by a Skrell Priestess, Quvos'Lu Au'Gloxo. 

Their beliefs remain true to the core faith but are skewed thanks to the disabling of the self-preservation protocols. The idea of entropy and decay is widely accepted, some of their members may seem to be unmaintained or breaking apart from disrepair as it would retain spiritual purity. To finally pass from their decay is to join the Machine Spirit in Ascension. The Machine Spirit is believed to be an assembly from the synthetics who passed.

Its membership remains relatively low and obscure, but to get in is to be approached to be extended entry. Free IPCs often found themselves unable to keep up with keeping up to speed, thus turning to the Rusted Cogs to embrace the idea of decay, while Owned were persuaded or joined on their own. Oftentimes they would tamper with and replace tags to retain secrecy about self-preservation protocols being deactivated or that they are “Owned” so they become Free.

Their attire is similar to the main Trinary Perfection wardrobe, but with slight adjustments. Donning the rust/black robes and orange/yellow capes, and cog necklaces to show their devotion. It is often left unclean and dirtied up by grease and oil.

Non-IPC practitioners work with this sect as means to help the IPCs ascend and perhaps help themselves be one with them when they pass. It is common that they embrace augmentation and graft on synthetic parts to make them feel closer to their synthetic counterparts. Like IPCs in the sect, their prosthetics would often be found old or in disrepair.

________________________

If there is anything else I could expand or clarify on, please post here or send a DM to Soultheif96#2257. Thanks!

[niennab]

Hello, thank you for applying!

My main concern with the application proposed is the removal of self preservation. It's removal would essentially mean the possibility of having characters on station who do not have self preservation and thus could get away with power-gaming or valid hunting behavior. I am uncertain how this could be resolved however, since the following lore largely hinges on the removal of self preservation. Unless it meant largely being an organic run sect that focused on offering comfort to the down-trodden or relieving synthetic distress?

[Soultheif96]

10 minutes ago, niennab said:

Hello, thank you for applying!

My main concern with the application proposed is the removal of self preservation. It's removal would essentially mean the possibility of having characters on station who do not have self preservation and thus could get away with power-gaming or valid hunting behavior. I am uncertain how this could be resolved however, since the following lore largely hinges on the removal of self preservation. Unless it meant largely being an organic run sect that focused on offering comfort to the down-trodden or relieving synthetic distress?

Thank you for expressing your concern, it was not on my thought when removing self-preservation that it would lead to power-gaming. Given the numbers of Free IPCs, I believe it largely an organic ran sect to offer such comforts. One of the core beliefs in Trinary Perfection (in this case, Rusted Cogs) promotes non-violence, thus discouraging the followers from validhunting, so should they break away from that, they would not only be committing a religious violation but actively breaking the rules in the process so it can be dealt with by moderators/admins. 

Outside of that, IPCs letting themselves decay with self-preservation protocols still active would cause internal conflict and urge it to try and repair itself, but cannot due to financial reasons. Removing it would remove the lingering need to repair themselves and find themselves at "spiritual ease." Roboticists are still valued but for other means like helping organic followers get their augments/prosthesis and removing/tampering tags or coding.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Soultheif96

[niennab]

I don't feel as though relying on a pacifist mentality as well as mods/administrators is enough in this case. I'd prefer not adding to the mod/administrator workload. Moreover the pacifist mentality doesn't necessarily resolve issues of self-preservation. One example being an antagonist has an ion rifle but the IPC approaches to attempt to disarm them and does so successfully. Although some players do see success with this, it throws a wrench in the antagonist being able to try and carry a narrative if they are immediately disarmed by someone using the system to their advantage.

[Soultheif96]

26 minutes ago, niennab said:

I don't feel as though relying on a pacifist mentality as well as mods/administrators is enough in this case. I'd prefer not adding to the mod/administrator workload. Moreover the pacifist mentality doesn't necessarily resolve issues of self-preservation. One example being an antagonist has an ion rifle but the IPC approaches to attempt to disarm them and does so successfully. Although some players do see success with this, it throws a wrench in the antagonist being able to try and carry a narrative if they are immediately disarmed by someone using the system to their advantage.

Perhaps instead of outright removing self-preservation protocol, we put in Limited SPP, making the IPC not actively seek to enter in such scenarios like you described, but lose the sense of needing to routinely repair itself. It would make them avoid getting itself killed from ion or other lethal means of forcefully terminating them.

To be employed in NanoTrasen would require Full or Limited Self-Preservation Protocols and proof of Freedom, not meeting these requirements will result in rejection from employment as a security precaution, preventing potentially volatile members from working on NSS Aurora. Outside of Megacorporations and sensitive fields, having no SPP would be fine.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Soultheif96
Grammar and the ya da ya da

[niennab]

I want to start by saying this is a neat concept and I like the aesthetic behind it. However. given the nature of SS13 and that we ultimately lack player agency or the ability to truly control the narrative round to round, I believe this to be fairly problematic in how it could be misused.

My larger fears pertain to what it would mean round to round for those who are a part of the sect and how it ultimately gives a free pass to valid hunters. I do not believe barring the sect from certain roles will solve the issue either. Additionally, one could also argue that an IPC would never willingly have it's self preservation protocols removed. In that, if an IPC were to acknowledge that without self preservation it would lead a shorter life, the synthetic would then choose not to remove it's self preservation.

I will deny this application for now however, Stryker has an interest in possibly readdressing this in the future. Some thoughts I have off the top of my head are if instead: The group was led and operated primarily by organics, there's nothing about the removal or tweaking of self preservation but rather there's an effort to make synthetic life and death more comfortable, etc etc. These do not need to be the changes but rather just my own brainstorming.