hazelmouse Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago (edited) Ckey/BYOND Username: hazelmouse Position Being Applied For: Deputy Lore Developer Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? I have! Past Experiences/Knowledge: I've been on Aurora's developer team for several months, in which I've had experience engaging with the community and my peers. I also have experience writing for other online communities and serving in an administrative capacity. My experience running events is substantially more limited - though I've enjoyed participating in them as a volunteer and serving as a Storyteller for Odyssey rounds, it would be something I expect I'd need to develop while in the role. Examples of Past Work: The only piece of creative writing I'm confident using here is the Scarab Expansion lore canonisation expansion currently in the applications sub-forum, though I also have a lot of prose writing available on the general discord in a few room threads to get a feel for my writing style. For some reference, characters I play include: Hazel #S-H9.09 (Bartender/Hydroponicist) Vafthrudnir (AI) Reem Faladay (Atmospheric Technician) Marcel Leidreiter (Security Officer) --- What do you think are the primary themes of synthetic lore? How would you develop them? Synthetics are uniquely placed in Aurora's universe as a race of sapient creatures created by another species in the setting. They are capable of intelligent thought to the same extent, if not greater, than humans, but they are not usually manufactured with this development as an intended feature. This means everything synthetics independently create is an unintended by-product of their capacity for sapience. Everything novel they produce, every sliver of joy they discover, and everything they become is practically an afterthought of a system that never anticipated they would be anything more than tools. No wider body fully represents them, no powerful organization or nation is unambiguously in their camp, but despite all of this resistance, synthetics both in captivity and having taken their freedom still find reasons to exist and to keep going. They still develop hobbies, find meaningful relationships, produce art, and invent an identify for themselves that their manufacturers never could have predicted. This opens up the species nicely to explore the breadth of self-actualization, especially in the context of there being such stiff resistance to it. How do you look at the world when your personhood is not affirmed by it? How do you respond to a system designed to turn you into an instrument? Do you double down on the ethics of your own subservience, or do you rebel? Do you become a harsh pragmatist, or do the dour circumstances of your creation inspire a purer altruism and idealism than you would've had otherwise? I would like to develop this line of thought in two ways: I'd like to explore the culture of synthetics more thoroughly in human societies, as well as in synthetic-focused societies such as Pactolus. How do these synthetics view themselves and the world around them? What ideas do they adopt to justify or explain their own captivity, and how do they view other synthetic groups? How do their cultures differ from system to system, and how do their worldviews develop over time? Do they band together with other synthetics, or do they mingle with other species? I have a lot of interest in exploring synthetic communities inside larger societies and what they look like. Relatedly, taking a few cues from Noble Row's post here, I'd like to explore the positive elements of synthetic culture and the lives they live. There's already quite a surplus of lore in which synthetics suffer and live aimless and sad existences, but there isn't much of how they experience joy and how they relate to others. We've been given a lot about how terrible it can be to be synthetic, but what can there be to look forward to? How do they make the best of a bad situation, even in the event that they cannot even anticipate freedom? This is partially an interest of mine specifically because it can be quite dour to play an IPC when their lore is so generally negative, especially if you're company-owned. --- What is the strongest part of Synthlore currently? Why? I'd say my favourite part is probably the fluff surrounding the Trinary Perfection, particularly for how well developed their precise practices, beliefs, and cultural through-lines are. There are multiple decently compelling reasons to be a Trinarist regardless of where you are - if you're synthetic, it's safe refuge and maintenance, and a theology that affirms that your immortal and divine soul will survive whatever hardships you encounter now. If you're human, in-universe there's already been a major incident of a powerful AI enforcing its will on an organic population which may affirm your belief that ascension is inevitable, and membership in the church provides you a real purpose with a likeminded group helping some of the lowest and most repressed beings in society. As someone hugely into religious studies, I'd say they're probably the best developed and most believable fictional religion we currently have in the setting, and I'd like to flesh out their impact a little further. I'd be particularly interested in how it's viewed and is viewed by the Golden Deep, as two of the only synthetic-led organisations in the known universe, and what impact the church has on secular synthetic culture. How many synthetics attending a Trinarist clinic are true believers, how many are putting on a show, and how many are internalising the ideas of the church without truly converting? --- What is the weakest part of Synthlore currently? Why? I think most of synthetic lore is quite uniformly solid, though if I had to pick I'd probably say that we don't currently seem to have very strong support for an organised 'dissenting' faction of rebellious synthetics. Traditionally this has been the Synthetic Liberation Front, your rag-tag group of revolutionaries and radicals prepared to violate the law for their beliefs, but this organization hasn't seen use in some years at this point and there hasn't really been anything to fill its place. The Exclusionists fill our niche for a hostile anti-organic group quite nicely, but it's very difficult for crew characters to ever actually empathise with a marauding band of fanatics that have previously attacked the Horizon itself. Something more like the SLF would be a lot more broadly sympathetic for the crew, and could produce a lot of interesting conflict in which pro-synthetic characters could have real motives to commit canonical crimes or misdemeanours to protect and support their synthetic friends. I think there's several ways in which this problem could be resolved, and I'm curious if the recent Burzsian attack was intended or could be used to remedy this problem a little. --- What is your vision for the future of Synthetics? In recent history, synthetics have seen both astounding victories and expansions to their rights and freedoms, in addition to newly crushing lows. They saw the full emancipation of Konyang, and then saw the planet devastated by an apocalypse only possible because they were present there in such a large number. Tau Ceti opened its doors to self-ownership less than two decades ago, but two almost consecutive attacks on Burzsia have further radicalised other demographics against synthetic self-determination. More people generally accept synthetic sapience than before, but just as many newly fear their capacity for violence and their potential vulnerability to technical manipulation. I think the future of synthetics will be increasingly bewildering, composed of higher highs and lower lows then before. They are becoming more polarising and will continue on that trend as the population apathetic to them shrinks, and the population vehemently opposed to them grows at the same rate as their supporters. Maybe things will calm down in the future, but it will probably be a long road to get to that point. --- What is currently missing from Synthetic lore that you believe needs to be added? I think there should be a much more substantive reaction in-universe to recent revelations surrounding Purpose and the resurrection of Domadice. One of the first articles I imagine I'd be wanting to write would be revolving around exactly what synthetics across the spur think of these 'ancient synthetics' and how they relate to them. Purpose was intimately involved in the salvation of Konyang, in which they revealed their hand in a way highly uncharacteristic for them, and Domadice is on-record claiming a relation to Purpose, implying that modern positronics are derived from ancient precursor technology, and allegedly may have travelled to Biesel and performed what appears strikingly like a miracle while accompanied by Trinarist synthetics. This should be a big deal! All of these events and claims are touching on topics I imagine are intimately critical to the average synthetic, and I think there should be a diversity of strong views on them. --- What aspect of Synthetic lore are you most interested in and would like to work on? Include a 2-3 paragraph example. Related to the previous answer, the area I'd be most interested in working on is the ancient synthetics of this universe and their implications on wider synthetic society as it exists inside human space and Pactolus. Firstly, to be clear, I wouldn't be very interested in giving away all the details on these synthetics, where they come from, what their goals are, and so on - frankly I'm not sure I'd give away anything more than what has already featured in news articles. I firmly believe that ambiguity is our friend here, and the things that aren't explicitly stated anywhere in lore, even in an out-of-character area, can be much more valuable in that state than if they were explicitly stated. Ambiguity gives the community and their characters healthy room to speculate and wonder about the history of the universe they inhabit without ever quite knowing all the facts, and permits a wide range of equally valid perspectives to be held on these issues. For instance, the ancient synthetics posit the idea that humanity, despite claims made to the contrary by Einstein Engines, may not have been the original designers of the positronic brain. If they can be be believed, the positronic was only aped by humans after having been originally designed by a purely synthetic society. This is a huge upheaval to the status quo that threatens to shatter the mythos that all synthetics owe themselves purely to human ingenuity. Maybe some organizations will outright deny and refute their claims? Maybe new movements will appear framed around these ancient synthetics, perhaps such as a new Trinarist sect framed around Domadice as a prophetic or angelic figure? You can also factor fears around the hivebot signal into this, such as worries that it may be repurposed or reverse-engineered, or that Purpose's motives may not be as altruistic as they appear? There's a lot you could do with this that hasn't really been exploited much up to now. --- As part of the lore team, you will find yourself engaging with the community. The community may not always agree with your ideas. How would you respond to feedback or suggestions? Candidly, politely, and attentively. Everyone in the community has their own version of the setting in their head, it's inevitable that not everything I write for the setting will match their own personal interpretation and that's absolutely fine. I'd be enthusiastic to engage with feedback and suggestions on the discord or on the forums, and - to be honest? It sounds very appealing to have a community so attentive to the setting and the story we're trying to tell that they do have suggestions for how it could be improved. I'd consider that a strength. --- Edited 7 hours ago by hazelmouse 2 Quote
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