ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

Arcane and Sanctum are obvious and easy for the mages who have them. Most searching will be done using Correspondence, since that allows one mage to cover a wide area, but correspondence alone is insufficient since mages appear identical to Sleepers to normal senses.

Technocrats always need foci. For searching, surveillance devices such as cameras and airport metal detectors are obvious. Have you noticed the increasing use of cameras monitoring public areas? In the World of Darkness this has to be a Technocratic plot. Another type of focus would be records. The Technocrat uses a computer to search medical, social security, employment records, etc. looking for someone who fits the pattern of a mage.

A search using a surveillance device close to the mage may be detected by using a Perception + Awareness roll. Awareness 1 would just be a feeling of magic being used on the mage. Awareness 2 would let him know that it was some kind of scrying. Awareness 3 would locate the device being used. A Correspondence 1 effect could warn the mage when the device focused on him.

If he senses it, the mage can use countermagick to try to stop it finding him. The Technocrat would detect only a glitch in the system (which he would probably deduce was caused by a mage). Partial success with countermagick would allow the Technocrat to detect the presence of a mage but not get a complete identification. Offensive countermagick would reveal the Technocrat doing the search, allowing a mage with sufficient Correspondence and other Spheres to attack, discouraging further searches. Sphere vs. Sphere countermagic could be done with any of Correspondence 2 (close window), Entropy 3 (slay machine), Forces 2 (system havoc), Matter 2 (broken wire) or Mind 2 (don't notice — but this would leave a record). These are all localized effects. They would not completely stop the search. Anti-magick would do so (the system crashes), forcing the Technocrat to restart the search (reboot the system). An indirect search (through the records) would give less information, but could not be stopped with countermagick.

Correspondence 2 can create wards which can be built up over time until they are almost impossible to penetrate. A mage who is entering an area he knows is likely to be monitored could create a temporary ward over himself. Since it would almost always be coincidental he could even do so on a routine basis. This would not stop local monitoring (unless the mage really believed that cameras are magickal) but would prevent the magickal collection and filtering by the Technocracy. Records would normally be left.

Entropy 2 could be used if there is a (chaotic) crowd of people around to make sure there is always someone between the mage and the camera. Entropy 3 could cause the camera to fail.

Forces 2 could blow a fuse in the camera or bend light around the mage to make him invisible (though this would likely be vulgar).

Life 3 can be used to disguise a mage. Life 5 (Perfect Metamorphosis) would be needed to completely fool someone who is using Life 1.

Matter 2 can be used to stop a camera working.

Mind 1 can block mental probes and disguise the mage's aura Editor's Note: this is debatable. Mind 2 in conjunction with Correspondence can stop any observer, even a remote one from noticing the mage. With Mind 3 he can also get him to turn off the recording equipment or even erase it, and make it seem accidental.

Prime 4 could be used to suppress the flow of Prime within a mage, to make him appear to be a Sleeper, even to magickal senses (except mind reading). This effect would stop automatically as soon as the mage attempted to use any magick.

Spirit 4 could be used to channel a spirit within an appropriate Gift.

None of the above would stop a search of existing records, but Correspondence 2 could be used to find them, and then several Spheres could be used to destroy or alter them. Warding would prevent this, but the Virtual Adepts would have had to get them before they left the Technocracy and would have scrambled most of the records held on computer, just before they left. Some of them may still have access codes for getting through the wards. It may be routine for a mentor to arrange for an initiate's records to be destroyed. The old records could still be searched using Time 2 (backups), but it would be more difficult.

Talismans could be created which duplicate one or more of the effects above.

Overall it seems that it is possible for the Technocracy to find any mage, but it is not easy if the mage is experienced and there is some risk to it. Beginning mages may need protection if they don't have the Spheres to protect themselves.