ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

The Technocracy is fundamentally anti-creative. Editor's Note: ? Creativity is all about breaking the old rules and preconceptions of what is possible, something the Technocracy definitely wants to discourage. But at the same time it needs creativity to solve its problems. In my opinion, the technomancers want good solutions, and do not care if they are creative as long as they work. In fact, they prefer to reuse old methods (compare this to the codified methods of mathematics and physics), since this will strengthen their own paradigm. An individual technomancer should ideally believe completely in the Technocratic reality and be able to solve any problem completely by using its methods. Creative solutions may work, but are frowned upon. This is the same as in any Traditon: a member of the Celestial Chorus who solves problem by summoning demons may be praised for solving the problem but severely criticized for the way he did it. The important thing is how much the individual mage is within the Tradition's view of Ascension.

The Technocracy must balance itself between too much creativity (contrary to their philosophy and against their idea of Ascension) and too little (which will make it impossible to solve problems). Perhaps they have solved it by "doublethinking" — at the same time accepting and rejecting creativity.

In my view the technomancers can be divided into several groups.

Pawns

These people are unAwakened and know almost nothing about anything. They work at the lowest levels, suspecting that something strange is going on, but smart enough not to inquire. The Technocracy discourages unnecessary creativity, but quite subtly (to avoid arousing suspicion). The accountant at BMI Investments or the man in the car pool of the MIBs is in this category.

Tools

These people definitely know that weird things are going on, they may even suspect something about what's going on. While unAwakened, their work involves quite extraordinary things. The Technocracy actively discourages curiosity and creativity. The workers in the factories in Null B and Autochthonia are in this category.

Assistants

The assistants know much about what is going on and work together with the true technomancers. They are quite loyal and do their work as they should. They are probably quite uncreative and rulebound, doing all the dirty work. Here are the bureaucrats working for New World Order, engineers helping Iteration X design new machines and the personal assistants to high ranking technomancers. These are probably Acolytes.

Low Level Technomancers

These are the techomancers responsible for such mundane things as supervision of installations, simple design and planning, teaching and all the other myriad tasks that require a mage's attention. While they should behave according to the rules, they should also accomplish their tasks, something that may require creativity.

High Level Technomancers

These are responsible for long range planning, whole projects or the design of new scientific principles. It is these technomancers that meet at the Symposium. These mages must have some ability to find new ways to solve a problem, or they will be removed as inefficient.

Note that the Symposium seems to be quite democratic (One Convention one vote? How the Conventions decide internally may be another question. How are new Conventions created and old removed?). Perhaps the Technocracy has partially solved the problem by allowing radicalism in some Conventions (probably the Void Engineers, Progenitors and Iteration X in falling order), and having the conservatives in other Conventions. Thus the good ideas can be developed, and bad ideas can be stopped by the other Conventions.