The Great Conspiracy

by Corwin Alambar with additions by Anders Sandberg

Say the word "Conspiracy" to anyone "in the know" in the WWorld of Darkness, and yuo're likely to get the response "SO what else is new? Which illuminated group is at it this week?" All in all, it can get rather humdrum after a time.

But what if, instead of there being hundreds of unrelated little copnspiracies, there were really only a few grand ones that transcended even the makers of the so-called grand conspiracies, forming a Great Conspiracy.

The beings that run such conspiracies cannot possibly be comprehended by mere mortals, since they contemplate forces so vast that they transcend even the knowledge and experience of the Oracles of the magi and the Antediluvians of the Kindred.

WHat if, indeed, there were three different Great Conspiracies going on at the backdrop, each with their own major players? Here's an overview to this backdrop that may provide that unifying influence that can give meaning to anotherwise confused tangle of conspiracies within conspiracies that fill the World of Darkness (and can answer such annoying questions as the relationship between the Giovanni and the Euthanatos, or PenteX and the $yndicate.)

The Great Conspiracies

The Tellurian has always existed, yet it didn't exist until the first great beings set eyes upon a shapeless, formless, unpatterned chunk of not-void that eventually became the Gaian Tellurian. Since it was not-void, it had everything within it, including a native intelligence, but it was patternable by Great Beings from outside.

These Great Beings played with this new Tellurian, even inviting it in on the whole thing. And they began a series of conflicts and games, with the stakes being totally unfathomable to all but the most twisted and insane individuals, who are also the most Transcended. There are three main versions of this game that drive the entirety of the World of Darknes and its surrounding Tellurian.

The Great Reunification

The players in this game wish only one thing: To re-establish the unity of the single power. But each wants to be the one in control. The players in this game are no lesser than Caine's Sire, the One of the Celestial Chorus, the Outer Lord of Order, the Crystal Essence, and the Eater of Worlds.

Each of these powers has their own method of seeking out their goal, and all are in a race to see who can eventually recombine the entire essence of the Tellurian into a single thing (for lack of a better word, for it is not merely a place, n entity, or an object, but all of these). The major players in this conspiracy are:

Caine's Sire

The One - We are all part of the One, the Celestial Chorus tells us. Our Avatars are shards of the Primal Essence. Our eventual goal is to reunify these shards back into the original being, the One. This is the philosophy this being proposes, and instills in its followers and tools.

The Outer Lord of Order - A strange being which exists in all times, all spaces, and contains every pattern known and unknown. Oddly, this being is itself a paradox, because it also contains the patterns of randomness and chaos. It's tools are less direct, save that its actions have contributed to the "madness" of the Weaver in Garou mythology, and the strengthening of the Gauntlet.

The Crystal Essence - This is yet another strange being, containing all concepts. The differnce between it and the Outer Lord of Order are unfathomable, but it is known that they often work at cross-purposes. This being seems more interested in causing enough beings to interact in so many different ways that eventually they will find the points where they lock together, helping rediscover the original order and unity.

The Eater of Worlds - Every game has its spoilsport, and this one is no exception. The Eater of Worlds wants to win - by being the only player left standing. It has already made it so that none of the other players can win unless they destroy/assimilate it, which would taint the win condition since it is not one of the original game pieces.

Caveats to the Game: The various players of this game have an interesting problem that none have yet realized fully, save maybe the Crystal Essence and the Outer Lord of Order - to win the game, one must become a piece within it. The players are also pawns, and the game is very self-referential.

The Infinite Democracy

An interesting game in and of itself, the players of this Game do nothing, in a very strict sense. But they tend to work with incredible skill and adeptness.

THe premise of the game is much like the Game of Rules (sometimes called Dictator, Fascist, Democracy or Nomic when played by mortals as a party game). In a very simplified game, the first player makes a rule about the game. Only three rules apply:

You cannot directly contradict an established rule
You cannot make a rule that removes another player from the game
Any player can unmake a rule (veto), but must have a majority of the other players in agreement, and all have a voice. This rule as well cant be changed.

The goal of this game is deceptively simple: You win if you create the "final rule", and make it so that no more rules can be made that do not meet the criterion of the three main rules.

The players of this game are almost impossible to fathom, but as they create more and more rules, the scale of each rule shortens, until they begin making rules about individuals and small groups of certain species. There is truly no bound to this Game, but the interplay can be incredible.

The Gödel Entity

The Unifier System - the main enemy of the Gödel Entity, seeks to create a rule that subsumes all other rules, a Final Rule that implies all possible rules. Since an early rule says that new rules have to be different from previous rules, the Final Rule would be the winning rule.

The Infinite Descent - this entity tries to force every other player into its own game, where they have to make certain moves (like in Tic-Tac-Toe, where you have to do certain moves or the opponent will win). The Infinite Descent hopes to retain enough freedom to win.

The System Jumper - this trickster entity tries to win by making the other entities defeat each other. It is always adding unexpected rules making it hard for the Unifier System and Infinite Descent to get ahead, but also adds more freedom to the system so that the Gödel Entity cannot win. Sometimes the System Jumper becomes more players or changes the game.

The Great Game of Life

Everyone has seen the Game of Life, the computer algorithm that generates a number of "flowers" that are born, grow, stabilize, decay, and die based on a number of simple rules. In this Great Conspiracy, the players are manipulating the basics of the Game of Life, tweaking with the scenarios that are played out - but the only way they can do this is by changing each and every piece in the game through some kind of agent, which also becomes a piece in the game. Powers such as Gaia are both players and pieces in this Great Game.

In this game there are no real rules except for the rules of the game (which has been defined by the Infinite Democracy), but there are two sides of players: the Enders and Eternalists. The Enders seek to end the game, by making it impossible for any new change (for example, if all pieces were to be destroyed or the entire configuration became static) or to lock it into a loop, while the Eternalists try to make the game continue forever.

Some players are:

The Replicator

The Patterner - an Ender trying to create a stable pattern that can fill all reality. Previously it has tried to lead configurations towards a stable state, but it was too easy for the Replicator or Random to prevent it. Instead it has subverted the idea of replication, and tries to create self-replicating, error-correcting patterns that will spread everywhere and become resistant to change. Behind all forces of order, pattern, life and direction.

The Random - an Eternalist trying to keep the game running by acting unpredictable, preventing all plans from working perfectly. Behind everything unpredictable, random and all tricksters.

Meta - an Eternalist or Ender who seeks to use the plans of the Replicator and Pattener against them. As soon as a new piece appears or the Patterner manages to overrun reality, Meta introduces a small change that causes a new level of reality to appear. It is uncertain if Meta seeks to continue the game forever by building on top of all levels, or if the goal is to create a super-pattern that is its own metalevel. Its agents are all forces of self-organization, energy and intelligence.

The Wrecker - an Ender with a simple strategy: try to wreck the other player's agents so that it will be the last player able to influence the game. Then it will destroy every pattern. Its agents are the forces of destruction, nihilism, chaos and limitations.

The Independent - this entity works closely with the Wrecker in sabotaging the pieces of others, but is an Eternalist. The Independent seeks to destroy the ability for all players (including itself) to affect the game - the game is to decide its own fate. Its agents are for all practical purposes indistinguishable from the agents of the Wrecker.

Sorry I got less detailed as time went on... Only the first one lent iself very well to a description of the various players, but can definitely be used as a guideline for fleshing out the ideas. Now, imagine a universe where all three games were going on at once... Frightening concept, but definitely within the realm of possibility. Pieces behave erratically, because there are other players, and players themselves are manipulted as pieces through a series of metarules that cannot possibly be understood.

The Great Conspiracies are games in which the rules of the game are merely pieces within the game itself - they become truly self-referential.

My thanks to whoever posted the piece about the two Oracles playing the Game... It was an enlightening piece, to say the least.

-Corey, who hopes no one is bothered by his "story ideas" posts.

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Anders Sandberg / nv91-asa@nada.kth.se