ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.
Hunter S. Thompson

Ocean, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -- who has no gills.
Ambrose Bierce

The true World of Darkness exists beneath the surface of the sea, inaccessible and unknown. Less is known about the oceanic depths than about the planet Mars, a place which appears almost familiar compared to the alien life and environment of the deep oceans.

It is an important fact that very few people actually live or move across the oceans, compared to dry land. Ships usually follow the main routes and the large majority keeps within sight of land. Those ships who do not are alone on the ocean, usually without any other human being or man-made artifact in sight. And very few humans have ever traveled through its real depths. Most keep to the surface. Actually, mankind has a very tenuous grip on the oceans and their reality. While the Gauntlet on land and in the air are kept strong by the collective beliefs of people, the oceans are immense weak spot in the Gauntlet. It is no wonder that seamen still tell tales about strange beings or bizarre events they have witnessed and that superstitions still abound on the sea. Of course, the reasonable land crabs quickly discount all this as the result of boredom, natural phenomena and alcohol.

While the Gauntlet is weaker across the oceans, it becomes even more frail in the depths. Mankind has never visited many places in the deep ocean and outside these reality is still original and alien. In fact, large volumes are immense openings in the Gauntlet, huge threats to the stability and sanity of the surface world. The beings who live here are even strange by the bizarre standards of the depths, and they swim freely between the oceans of the Umbra and Earth. The real reason creatures from these depths die when they are brought to the surface is often not the pressure or temperature difference but simply paradox. They are things that should not be.

The surface layers are usually quite safe, at least as deep as sunlight dares to penetrate (at depths beneath 100 meters the only light is dark indigo, slowly fading into black). In the nights the Unknown creep closer to the surface, only to return at dawn. Certain kinds of shrimp and squid seem to follow these movements, perhaps feeding on the flows of Quintessence, and occasionally the black predators of the deep also gather to feed on the surface dwellers. Perhaps surprisingly the ocean floor is also relatively safe, the real danger is in the unmapable volumes of darkness above them. Here the darkness is only broken by the eerie glow of the few luminescent creatures and most of them are predators preying on each other or the scraps from the surface. The sparse life here is strongly affected by the close presence of the Unknown and many beings might even originally be from the outside. Most are grotesque but fairly inconsequential, but among them are some real threats.

The giant squid are some of the least understood denizens of the deep. Only a few cadavers have been found and all of them quickly decompose into ammonia-stinking piles of flesh in air. They can become at least 18 meters long and sperm whales and other whales are often seen with scars from their suckers. It is widely believed that toothed whales feed on the squid but no one knows for certain.

The truth is darker: the giant squid are actually not from our reality. They are intruders from the Deep Umbra, perhaps scouts from the Things Beyond, perhaps trying to establish a foothold (tentaclehold?) in our oceans. They are darkly intelligent but so far limited by the paradox of the surface world and the attacks of the whales. They are able to use their unknown senses to manipulate other squid and octopi (which might actually be descendants of their old servants), watching through their eyes and feeling through their bodies.

However, they are strongly opposed by the true rulers of the sea, the cetaceans. Apparently the sperm whales are involved in an immense war against the squid in the black deeps, driving them back to their own reality and guarding the openings to beyond. While whales and dolphins certainly aren't intelligent in a human way, mages who have had mental contact with them report that their minds are both agile and complex, but their alien environment and senses makes actual communication very difficult. We simply have very little in common. However, they have abilities which sometimes seem to be very close to magick. At least the great whales are able to break through the Gauntlet into the Umbra, and many reports claim dolphins sometimes seems to have an uncanny knowledge (or control) over the weather, currents and geography around them, not to mention some kind of empathic powers.

Ironically, these abilities caused the tragedy of the whales. When the Technocracy began to understand in the 1700s how they could swim between realities, it was horrified and quickly decided to put an end to it. They strongly encouraged whaling, and through advances in technology they began a wholesale program of extinction against the great whales. It was very successful, and the technocrats congratulated themselves to a victory against the dangers of the Outside while the giant squid grew in power. Finally, in the 1960's a young Oceanographer realized the awful truth about the increased incidents of reality instability on the oceans and the extinction of the whales. His impassioned speech and irrefutable evidence stunned the symposium, and the Syndicate quickly made whaling uneconomic. Today, the Technocracy seeks to understand the cetaceans better, in a late attempt to win some allies or at least find out what is really going on.

However, the dolphins may have their own dark designs. While they certainly appear friendly and playful, a few people have begun to worry about their presence and empathic abilities. Dolphins are appearing more and more as symbols, and many aquariums have been forced to close after the number of visitors have dropped inexplicably. Are their black eyes and toothy grins hiding something?

Other Powers

However, there are many other dangers in and on the oceans. Nowhere else are the natural forces as strong as here, and even the Technocracy has to admit that it is far from harnessing their power (yet). Even modern ships have a hard time handling a tropical hurricane or the winter storms of the Antarctic Ocean. The elementals of air and water found at sea are much more powerful than their domesticated cousins on land. They are wild and free and quite able to wreak havoc to mages unwise enough to summon them when they feel playful or angry. Marine nature spirits are less human than the spirits of the land and often have very different perceptions and goals, which makes dealing with them much harder. Some just want to flow as they always do, according to the wind, the currents and the tides, while others want to churn and crush and foam.

However, there are other beings at home in the sea than spirits. The faeries have always had a strong tie to the oceans and the underwater courts use the ocean itself as a protection against banality. The faeries of the sea mostly keep to the bright upper layers, where they build their castles out of coral or explore underwater forests of kelp. Mermaids, sea monks and tritons roam these enchanted worlds, blissfully unaware or uncaring of the surface world and its banal inhabitants.

But the sea is cruel too, as many wraiths know. The border between life and death is thinner here, and during storms it can open completely in some places, as the crew on Marie Celeste discovered. The spirits of all those who died at sea whisper in the waves, and the servants of Oblivion constantly seek to lure ships to their doom or into the frequent maelstroms. Some marine wraiths use their arcanos to inhabit sea birds, especially the albatross (giving rise to the myth that the spirits of dead sailors become albatrosses). The Flying Dutchman is just one of the best known ghost ships on the ocean.

There are also rumors of something else, something immense in the deepest depths of the ocean, both in the Umbra and physical world. Nobody knows what it is, but its awesome presence is said to be felt across the world by those attuned to it. Some mages call it Leviathan. Maybe it's the incarnation of the unknown sea itself.

The Technocracy in the Oceans

The Technocracy is aware of the dangers below and the conventions are frantically seeking to build a better defence. The Void Engineers and Iteration X are the driving force in this project, the Ocean Development Program (ODP). The Void Engineers have by tradition always upheld the Gauntlet but they also have been the explorers and cartographers. The marine environment is just as alien and hostile as outer space and many of the technologies developed by the space programs are applicable here, and vice versa. The Oceanologists, the methodology involved in the ODP project, are studying all aspects of underwater exploration and colonization. They develop new submarine crafts and habitats, study the hydrology, geology and ecology of the oceans (in close association with the Progenitors) and plan for the eventual large-scale colonization of the oceans by the masses, which will once and for all make their reality static and provide immense living space to mankind.

Iteration X, on the other hand, sees the oceans as a vast untapped potential for industry and technology. They map mineral resources and encourage their exploitation in collaboration with the Syndicate. They develop robotic vehicles to visit the most extreme and dangerous depths, and discreetly plan for a total industrialization of the oceans. The mineral nodules they have found across the ocean floor are making the syndicate really excited and could provide the boost necessary to make deep ocean mining economical. There are already plans for robotic underwater mining vehicles or deep sea factories, and the difficulties the Oceanographers have with scaling up their life support systems only encourages the use of machines instead.

The Progenitors have always been interested in oceanic life, but either the interest has been practical (as in increasing the efficiency of fishing or sea-farming) or purely theoretical (like the study of the deep ocean vents). They gather data and specimens from the other conventions, slowly developing a model of the ecologies of the deep. One area they have been very interested in is dolphin intelligence. Are the dolphins truly intelligent, and do they share the abnormal abilities of the whales? Together with the New World Order they have made various attempts at communication, with mixed results. Today they are fairly certain that dolphins are not as intelligent as humans but might provide a useful partner for exploration (some gengineers have suggested bringing dolphins to full human intelligence but so far this has not been approved).

The New World Order does not care for the oceans in a physical way, they are just a lot of water. But they also provide cover. Just about anything could be hidden down there. The nuclear submarines developed during the cold war provided an interesting way to study the psychology of small, closed communities and NWO sociologists are quite interested in the ideas for underwater colonies.

The Syndicate is so far not very interested in the depths except for their mineral resources. Their main interest in the sea is simply shipping. And maybe for disposing of their enemies.

The Traditions and the Oceans

A bit surprisingly, the Traditions have never truly explored the oceans, perhaps because they are more interested in the beliefs and powers of the land-dwellers.

Coastal Verbena (sometimes called the People of the Mists) are probably the most knowledgeable Tradition mages when it comes to marine secrets. In many fishing villages the old superstitions still survive, and fishermen rely on the skills of the wise people to ensure good weather, bountiful catches and safety. Marine Verbena have learned to speak with the denizens of the deep, to intercede with the spirits of the waves and divine the weather, often using very different methods than their inland cousins.

Most other Traditions have very little to do with the sea. To most of the high mages of the Order of Hermes and Celestial Chorus the sea is just an abstraction, a symbol for the subconscious or primal. The Cult of Ecstasy might enjoy cruising in the Caribbean or diving in tropical waters but that ıs it. The Sons of Ether have a certain fascination for conquering the sea and a few Etherites build more or less bizarre exploration crafts.

Abyssal Research Station One

This is a Technocracy construct located on the abyssal plains in the West European Basin, around 1200 kilometers west of France at a depth of 6,637 meters. Its main purpose is oceanic study of the north-eastern Atlantic, the development and testing of new underwater crafts and research into geothermal energy. It is manned by 100 people, making it one of the largest undersea constructs. Much of the research is done from mobile research stations (or workshacks, as the Void Engineers call them) which are towed to their work areas from the main station.

At the construct there are four research teams: Team Blue, which is a Oceanographic team devoted to surveying the north-eastern Atlantic; Team Green, which is a Progenitor/Oceanic team studying deep sea biology; Team Red, which is an Iteration X/Oceanic team testing new submarine crafts; and Team Yellow, which is an Iteration X team studying geothermal energy. Each team is led by a coordinator (Team Blue and Green are rather democratic, while Team Yellow and Red have a fixed command structure) and the coordinators work together with the station manager as a ruling council.

The construct is built out of cylindrical modules, 15 meters across and 20 meters high, which are linked together into a hexagonal pattern by airlocks. Currently there are ten such modules at the main construct, and two modules which are used as workshacks (one near the mid-Atlantic ridge where Team Yellow drills for geothermal energy, the other around 100 kilometers to the north where parts of Team Blue are doing studies of the Gauntlet). The outside is covered with searchlights, airlocks, girders and large tanks. The interiors are cramped and have a distinct submarine feel despite the best efforts (?) from the Iteration X designers. Outside the ocean floor forms an infinite reddish-gray plain, strewn with the occasional boulder and instrument package.

So far the research station has done well. It has mapped a large portion of the seafloor, catalogued the life in the area and begun some serious work on geothermics, although the last project has been somewhat hampered by unexplained equipment failures (Team Yellow has noted some incidents of reality instability near the Midatlantic Ridge, but so far the matter has not been studied well enough). There is even talk of adding two modules more to the station to house a fifth research team to study deep ocean mining. However, the station manager Gordon Westing (a graduate from the Ivory Tower) is secretly worried that something is amiss. It could be his usual paranoia, but he is certain that there is something out there watching the station. He has stepped up the security measures just in case and has scattered secret sensor packages over the ocean floor.

Proteus 5

This is a Son of Ether exploration craft/Chantry, built by the Gerault brothers (a pair of quite successful French Son of Ether engineers). It looks like a mixture between an immense tank, a submarine and a building, which is quite close to the truth. It has immense megnetohydrodynamic propulsion units which can drive it forward in the sea (although it is quite slow and hard to steer) and threads allowing it to crawl along the ocean floor. Its armored hull (made out of a black alloy originally devised by Jules Verne) can withstand immense pressures and most forms of attack. On the top there is a pyramid of windows (made out of a similarly strong transparent material which can also be covered with armored sheets) which allows the crew to look out. In addition the Proteus is armed with two big electromagnetic cannons, able to send electrical discharges through the water against an enemy.

The whole construction requires a crew of two to function but there is room for another 10 people (although it will be extremely cramped). The interior is decorated in a mixture of industrial romanticism (lots of bulkheads, pipes and decorative cast-iron statues) and futurism (abstract paintings of machines, chromed instruments and slashes of red, white and black). The laboratory forms the central room, with the pyramid windows allowing 360 degree vision of the sea (which can be lit by immense searchlights or bio-fluorescent radiation). Around it are crew quarters, the control room, a small pantry and the airlocks. Beneath this level is the machinery, powered by an etheric generator.

The Gerault brothers travel around the world, exploring the oceans, sometimes sabotaging Technocracy activities like Captain Nemo did (it is rather obvious to anyone who has met them that they have read far too much Jules Verne). They are not particularly interested in ecology and don't think twice about blowing up oil tankers if they get the chance (fortunately the range of the cannons is somewhat limited). Recently they have begun to become more and more obsessed with finding out what is going on in the real depths, exploring the deepest trenches. What they might find there could destroy them.

The Clearwater Institute

The Clearwater Institute was founded in 1971 by Janosh Kazensky, a Polish-German industrialist and philanthropist quite interested in oceanography and ecology. Its purpose is to "study the ocean and the life therein, and find ways for the oceanic biosphere to co-exist with mankind". So far it has spent a great deal of energy tracking down sources of pollution, developing new ways to clean water (which incidentally have brought in a lot of new money) and several ingenious methods of measuring the health of marine organisms. Its research stations are spread world-wide, especially in the tropics and near the polluted rivers of Europe.

One of the lesser known projects is dolphin communication. The institute owns the research vessel Delphinus 2, which it uses to meet the dolphins in their own environment and record their sounds. The ship is filled with advanced computers used to build databases of dolphin sounds and behavior, applying sophisticated cryptographic algorithms to understand them. On staff are two biologists, a linguist and a cryptographer. One technique they have experimented with is leaving hidden recorders in the sea to listen when no humans are around. So far the project has yielded some intriguing information about the social life of the dolphins and a lot of data about their migrations.

However, the project is slowly moving towards a revelation. Within the computer memory are some songs which should never have been recorded by humans. If they are cracked by the team, the communications barrier will be broken. But they will also learn some secrets the dolphins would never have revealed voluntarily, and will do anything to keep secret. Anything.

Story Ideas

The ocean represents the primal unknown, the collective unconscious, the watery womb of reality. In its depths everything is born, and everything sooner or later returns to its darkness to be reborn or dissolved. Stories involving the ocean always have elements of mystery and primordial myths — civilization, technology, even mages, all are powerless against its might.

Vendetta

Proteus accidentally encounters Abyssal Research Station One. The Gerault brothers jump at the chance of wreaking havoc and the Technocrats will strike back with all their underwater might. The ensuing battle will take place in darkness and cold, where the enemy can strike from anywhere and vanish into the darkness again. The PCs could either be technomancers desperately trying to defend the construct from unseen attackers, or Tradition mages aboard the Proteus. In the latter case the construct is not the only danger, as the Gerault brothers are slowly slipping into Quiet fighting their enemies. This could be an underwater techno-thriller like "The Abyss" or "DeepStar 6", or a darker tale about destruction and unreasoning hatred.

Exploration

The mages are exploring a coral reef where they have indications a powerful node lies hidden inside an underwater cave. What kinds of beings live there? During the day, the reef may be an exotic but beautiful place, but what about at night? This gives the Storyteller a chance to explore the weird and wonderful world of underwater life, but also the gritty and dangerous problems with scuba gear, wet suits and unknown currents.

The Thing From The Depths

After a storm the PCs find an unusual object washed ashore, completely different from anything they have ever seen. The most sensitive of the PCs start having unsettling dreams and visions, all relating to the sea and its dark mysteries. Something down there draws them towards it, but what? And why do people who rely on Dream suddenly behave so strangely, almost as if something was influencing their actions? Is something awakening that should sleep forever or is this the beginning of a new era? This story could be a horror story a la Lovecraft, or a modern myth about the subconscious.

The Island

For some reason (maybe searching for a lost tome, following a vision or fleeing from the Technocracy) the PCs arrive at an isolated island somewhere in the north sea, constantly surrounded by fog and seabirds, yet strangely silent. The inhabitants seem to all be gone without a trace from their homes, except for the sullen keeper of the lighthouse who just tells then to mind their own business. If pressed he just answers that the sea took the others. There is no doubt that there is something out there, and it definitely has something to do with the reason for the visit of the PCs. This story could be anything from a detective story in an unusual setting to a symbolic quest for Ascension.