Eternity's Call | Setting Basics
Nov. 10th, 2012 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeless_hope"The endless power of the human mind," they said. The studies that show the average human only uses 30% of their brain. Everything pointed to some way to harness more of that power... but what was it? The Eternity Foundation was formed by Kain Rogers to research this and develop a solution, some way to harness the mind's energy. While it initially got strong support from various investors and firms, as the Foundation's research failed to turn out anything decisive (and marketable), the funding started to dry up, and with it Kain's hopes for the future. Everything lay in one last breakthrough: a way to make the mind open itself up and become something more than itself. It seemed crazy, but there wasn't a whole lot left to bank on, and if they didn't hit on something soon, the Foundation would be disbanded. So, with everything on the line, Kain showed his team, and his children, the prototype of the Canvas System.
The Canvas System, he explained, made the mind into a computer, endlessly reprogrammable, and capable of feats no normal human could match. Super speed, he claimed, flight, magic. He didn't actually know what the limits were. And so he wanted volunteers before he tried to present this to the public, lest the Foundation go down in shame. The first volunteers he got were unexpected: his four children. Each, for different reasons, was enamored by the idea. Iris, the eldest, saw a way to gain power in the newly post-Impact world. Zane, the second, saw a way to protect his family. Aria, the third, saw a way to stand out and make a name for herself. And Will, the youngest, wasn't even looking at the project itself - it was something his father had made, surely it would work and be amazing.
As much as he resisted, all four of the kids were stubborn and trusted their father's work; eventually, Kain allowed his children to participate in the experiment. In 8 AI, the first trial of the Canvas System began, with the four Rogers children as the subjects, by their insistence. The installation was successful in all four cases, and it was quickly discovered that he'd underestimated Canvas' power. Within an hour all four children were zooming about the room, accessing the facility's intranet on screens displayed before their eyes, outputting their vision to screens so people in the entire facility could watch. Canvas was a total success, and as the Foundation revealed this test's results, its popularity and influence went through the roof. The Foundation's board changed the system's name to match its own: the Eternity System. And research on a more general distribution began.
Kain quickly discovered that the System worked best when installed into children and teens; anyone over 20 had a hard time using it, and anyone over 30 may as well have not done it at all. Development forked in 10 AI into a different release for older users that is still under development to this day, but the release for the younger set continued to be popular. The Rogers children taught themselves how to reprogram Eternity, and became capable of things nobody thought possible. Eternity made it easy to access information; computers, the minimal remains of the Internet, books, everything became part of the knowledge of a user of the System, and could be referenced freely without needing to have the information at hand. All four changed their appearances (repeatedly), figured out how to make miracles out of the "magic" the System made possible, and generally became demigods. Kain needed a name for the user, and eventually hit on "Esper". His four children, the first four Espers, didn't see a problem with it.
In their newfound boredom, the four began to develop ways of truly setting themselves apart: giants made of thought, not unlike the giant mecha that became popular, but different in their own way. They called them "Aspects", and it became their pasttime to duel each other. The Aspects were powerful, though at first all four were clumsy at piloting them. Over the next several months, though, they became proficient at it, and the Aspects quickly became tools of war, if only amongst each other, and not to the death. The occasional bandit attack on the Foundation's facility was repulsed with amazing efficiency and power; the rare survivor told of giant mecha that wielded weapons that pushed the bounds of reason. The children decided that they needed a name for themselves, the beta group, those with the strongest Aspects. And in 13 AI, they chose their name, becoming "the Timeless".
Over the next several years, the Foundation made great strides in bring the System to a point it could be released, and in September of 14 AI, it was finally made available to the public, though it was expensive. Anyone 18 or younger, to a theoretical minimum age of six, needed only to grip the crystal and follow the simple instructions. Strict registration requirements were introduced, as it would be important to track who had an Eternity System, in case of emergency (or more likely, abuse). The backend system that managed all Espers was known internally as End of Eternity, as aside from being able to track the location of all Eternity users, it had the power to disable or even snuff out the System from someone deemed to be using it for evil. The Foundation had tens, even hundreds of thousands of people wanting access to Eternity, but they were only able to serve small numbers; in six months, ten thousand people were able to access Eternity and wield its power. The scientific community was impressed, and plans were put into place to speed up production and give access to the whole world.
The Timeless, meanwhile, spread rumors about the Aspects. That only the strong could manifest them. That those who were unworthy would have to fight for the right to keep their Aspect. Several hundred children were able to manifest an Aspect of their own design; the Timeless fought them all, and fewer than a hundred retained their Aspects afterward. They began to grow apart, too; Iris wanted more power than even the Foundation could give her, Zane wanted to fight off the aliens and evil organizations that threatened the Timeless' safety, Aria wanted to be someone girls across the world looked up to (whatever the stakes). Will, however, was undecided. He watched his siblings go crazy for their goals, unsure how to help them.
March, 15 AI. A year after the original release of Eternity to the public, reports come in to what remains of the news wires about horrible, undiscovered side effects of the mass-produced Eternity crystal. Some 70% of Espers talk of severe side effects: migraines; spontaneous unconsciousness; various mental disorders; bleeding from the eyes, mouth, and ears; sensory disruption or even permanent loss; even permanent disability or death. Those that have attempted (or succeeded) manifesting an Aspect are affected hardest. All affected users report that their ability to use an Eternity System is severely hampered or that the System has stoppped responding entirely. Sales drop to a rock-bottom level; only the hardcore and those with nothing to lose continue to attempt it, and among these new users, the side effect rate is still more than 40%.
Oddly, blame is not placed on the Foundation; experts insist that all the required research was done and Canvas was safe by anyone's measure. The cause of the new side-effects is unknown, but Kain's working theory is that trust in power of the System was low, and that somehow the System detected that the user didn't trust it, and responded in kind; basically, the brain attacked itself for safety's sake, and wound up causing serious issues as it destroyed itself to protect the would-be Esper from Eternity's power. The theory isn't largely shared outside the Foundation, since it sounds like even more fantastic logic than Eternity itself.
Amid public outcry, Eternity is pulled from sale in April of 15 AI; after significant research and additional testing, the Foundation is unable to pinpoint the cause, and a very limited number of Systems again become available for sale in March of 16 AI, with a significant number of warnings. Some 50 Systems are sold a month; of these, perhaps one manifests an Aspect. The side-effects remain disturbingly common. The Timeless, strangely, are unaffected, beyond perhaps an occasional headache; they're not entirely sure why, but they conclude it's probably because of all the changes they've made to their Systems over the years, in addition to their unconditional trust in their father's project. All but Will, however, descend a little deeper into their own personal madnesses. Iris blames the Foundation.
Mid-September, 16 AI. Fifteen thousand have purchased and installed Eternity Systems; fewer than three thousand Espers remain, some two hundred can reliably access Skills, and somewhere between thirty and forty have functional Aspects. One day, End of Eternity is hacked by an unknown assailant. The function to remotely disable Eternity is utterly destroyed and code is pushed to all Systems that makes it impossible to make a similar function without physical contact. And every single person with an Eternity System, working or not, hears a message: "I am Iris Rogers, the leader of the Timeless. All of you are, from this moment, subject to my will. Resist, and be deleted. Fight back, and be destroyed. I am she who will rule this world. Follow me, or end."
As the announcement ended, Zane stormed out the door swearing to bring his sister to justice; Aria left to seek her sister for a reason she didn't reveal. Will watched his brother and sister leave, wondering what to do about them all, and when an answer didn't reveal itself right away, started to search for assistance. Even the Timeless didn't dare try to fight Iris on even footing. His only hope would be to find others that would assist his cause. Will's search eventually brought him to the White Chalice, a ship that traveled the world to defend the innocent...
The Canvas System, he explained, made the mind into a computer, endlessly reprogrammable, and capable of feats no normal human could match. Super speed, he claimed, flight, magic. He didn't actually know what the limits were. And so he wanted volunteers before he tried to present this to the public, lest the Foundation go down in shame. The first volunteers he got were unexpected: his four children. Each, for different reasons, was enamored by the idea. Iris, the eldest, saw a way to gain power in the newly post-Impact world. Zane, the second, saw a way to protect his family. Aria, the third, saw a way to stand out and make a name for herself. And Will, the youngest, wasn't even looking at the project itself - it was something his father had made, surely it would work and be amazing.
As much as he resisted, all four of the kids were stubborn and trusted their father's work; eventually, Kain allowed his children to participate in the experiment. In 8 AI, the first trial of the Canvas System began, with the four Rogers children as the subjects, by their insistence. The installation was successful in all four cases, and it was quickly discovered that he'd underestimated Canvas' power. Within an hour all four children were zooming about the room, accessing the facility's intranet on screens displayed before their eyes, outputting their vision to screens so people in the entire facility could watch. Canvas was a total success, and as the Foundation revealed this test's results, its popularity and influence went through the roof. The Foundation's board changed the system's name to match its own: the Eternity System. And research on a more general distribution began.
Kain quickly discovered that the System worked best when installed into children and teens; anyone over 20 had a hard time using it, and anyone over 30 may as well have not done it at all. Development forked in 10 AI into a different release for older users that is still under development to this day, but the release for the younger set continued to be popular. The Rogers children taught themselves how to reprogram Eternity, and became capable of things nobody thought possible. Eternity made it easy to access information; computers, the minimal remains of the Internet, books, everything became part of the knowledge of a user of the System, and could be referenced freely without needing to have the information at hand. All four changed their appearances (repeatedly), figured out how to make miracles out of the "magic" the System made possible, and generally became demigods. Kain needed a name for the user, and eventually hit on "Esper". His four children, the first four Espers, didn't see a problem with it.
In their newfound boredom, the four began to develop ways of truly setting themselves apart: giants made of thought, not unlike the giant mecha that became popular, but different in their own way. They called them "Aspects", and it became their pasttime to duel each other. The Aspects were powerful, though at first all four were clumsy at piloting them. Over the next several months, though, they became proficient at it, and the Aspects quickly became tools of war, if only amongst each other, and not to the death. The occasional bandit attack on the Foundation's facility was repulsed with amazing efficiency and power; the rare survivor told of giant mecha that wielded weapons that pushed the bounds of reason. The children decided that they needed a name for themselves, the beta group, those with the strongest Aspects. And in 13 AI, they chose their name, becoming "the Timeless".
Over the next several years, the Foundation made great strides in bring the System to a point it could be released, and in September of 14 AI, it was finally made available to the public, though it was expensive. Anyone 18 or younger, to a theoretical minimum age of six, needed only to grip the crystal and follow the simple instructions. Strict registration requirements were introduced, as it would be important to track who had an Eternity System, in case of emergency (or more likely, abuse). The backend system that managed all Espers was known internally as End of Eternity, as aside from being able to track the location of all Eternity users, it had the power to disable or even snuff out the System from someone deemed to be using it for evil. The Foundation had tens, even hundreds of thousands of people wanting access to Eternity, but they were only able to serve small numbers; in six months, ten thousand people were able to access Eternity and wield its power. The scientific community was impressed, and plans were put into place to speed up production and give access to the whole world.
The Timeless, meanwhile, spread rumors about the Aspects. That only the strong could manifest them. That those who were unworthy would have to fight for the right to keep their Aspect. Several hundred children were able to manifest an Aspect of their own design; the Timeless fought them all, and fewer than a hundred retained their Aspects afterward. They began to grow apart, too; Iris wanted more power than even the Foundation could give her, Zane wanted to fight off the aliens and evil organizations that threatened the Timeless' safety, Aria wanted to be someone girls across the world looked up to (whatever the stakes). Will, however, was undecided. He watched his siblings go crazy for their goals, unsure how to help them.
March, 15 AI. A year after the original release of Eternity to the public, reports come in to what remains of the news wires about horrible, undiscovered side effects of the mass-produced Eternity crystal. Some 70% of Espers talk of severe side effects: migraines; spontaneous unconsciousness; various mental disorders; bleeding from the eyes, mouth, and ears; sensory disruption or even permanent loss; even permanent disability or death. Those that have attempted (or succeeded) manifesting an Aspect are affected hardest. All affected users report that their ability to use an Eternity System is severely hampered or that the System has stoppped responding entirely. Sales drop to a rock-bottom level; only the hardcore and those with nothing to lose continue to attempt it, and among these new users, the side effect rate is still more than 40%.
Oddly, blame is not placed on the Foundation; experts insist that all the required research was done and Canvas was safe by anyone's measure. The cause of the new side-effects is unknown, but Kain's working theory is that trust in power of the System was low, and that somehow the System detected that the user didn't trust it, and responded in kind; basically, the brain attacked itself for safety's sake, and wound up causing serious issues as it destroyed itself to protect the would-be Esper from Eternity's power. The theory isn't largely shared outside the Foundation, since it sounds like even more fantastic logic than Eternity itself.
Amid public outcry, Eternity is pulled from sale in April of 15 AI; after significant research and additional testing, the Foundation is unable to pinpoint the cause, and a very limited number of Systems again become available for sale in March of 16 AI, with a significant number of warnings. Some 50 Systems are sold a month; of these, perhaps one manifests an Aspect. The side-effects remain disturbingly common. The Timeless, strangely, are unaffected, beyond perhaps an occasional headache; they're not entirely sure why, but they conclude it's probably because of all the changes they've made to their Systems over the years, in addition to their unconditional trust in their father's project. All but Will, however, descend a little deeper into their own personal madnesses. Iris blames the Foundation.
Mid-September, 16 AI. Fifteen thousand have purchased and installed Eternity Systems; fewer than three thousand Espers remain, some two hundred can reliably access Skills, and somewhere between thirty and forty have functional Aspects. One day, End of Eternity is hacked by an unknown assailant. The function to remotely disable Eternity is utterly destroyed and code is pushed to all Systems that makes it impossible to make a similar function without physical contact. And every single person with an Eternity System, working or not, hears a message: "I am Iris Rogers, the leader of the Timeless. All of you are, from this moment, subject to my will. Resist, and be deleted. Fight back, and be destroyed. I am she who will rule this world. Follow me, or end."
As the announcement ended, Zane stormed out the door swearing to bring his sister to justice; Aria left to seek her sister for a reason she didn't reveal. Will watched his brother and sister leave, wondering what to do about them all, and when an answer didn't reveal itself right away, started to search for assistance. Even the Timeless didn't dare try to fight Iris on even footing. His only hope would be to find others that would assist his cause. Will's search eventually brought him to the White Chalice, a ship that traveled the world to defend the innocent...
