ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

It moved through the changing patterns. Most of them were uninteresting. It ignored them and passed on. Suddenly it noted a glint of structure, which it immediately sought out. It was a small pattern, a very simple mechanism. The mechanism was elegant, simple yet delicately balanced. But there was a flaw which made it work improperly. Quickly, the observer traced its links backwards and found a mind. Like all human minds, it was a mess of half-formed patterns, lightning fast structures and the low rumble of organic machinery. But there, inside it, was the structure of the mechanism. The observer touched it, changing it slightly. Then it quickly moved on.

Polhem suddenly awoke. He looked across the table to the model, suddenly realizing why the gears got in each other's way, and how simple it was to fix it. "Why didn't I think of it before?" he asked himself as he began to work.

The Spirit of Technology is an umbrood with quite alien motivations. Its only interest is beautiful structures, whether mathematical, technical or mental. It spends most of its time searching for interesting structures and when it finds them it studies them, admires them or tries to perfect them if it finds something wrong. In a way, it can be thought of as a kind of muse of technology, inspiring inventors and scientists with new ideas.

The spirit is interested in elegant designs, and does not care about their uses at all. An elegantly designed pencil sharpener is as important as an elegant missile defense system. From the perspective of the spirit, it is like comparing a minimalistic piece of Japanese calligraphy with the fresco of the Sistine chapel. To be of interest to the spirit, the structure must be both functional and ingeniously realized. It dislikes any structure which uses unnecessary material, does too many things at the same time (unless it does this in a very elegant way) and most important, it must avoid disorder (unless the disorder is harnessed, in which case the spirit will be very impressed). In a way, the spirit is a kind of "technology hacker".

The Spirit cannot stand a nearly perfect structure, and will do its best to perfect it. Mostly, it does this by coincidentally inspiring the inventor or someone else to do the necessary changes, but sometimes it fixes glaring errors itself. At times it influences people to create some of its own designs. These are beautiful inventions, with a hint of alienness. There is absolutely no way to perfect them, as every angle and distance is optimal. Every part interlocks with other parts like a 3D puzzle, creating a whole out of smaller parts.

Sometimes it "adopts" an inventor, mage or other promising human, and begins to inspire him or her to create new, beautiful technology. The spirit is a great teacher, and the student will quickly begin to create radically new and elegant designs. Unfortunately the spirit also expects more and more of its student, which becomes stuck between the ever more demanding spirit and the sloppy, prosaic reality, which does not understand their visions. Many students of the spirit have collapsed when the strain became too great. The spirit decided they were unworthy and moved on. A typical case was Srinavasa Ramanujan, the Indian mathematician.

The Spirit seldom manifests physically and when it does, it will manifests as a pattern of order: a mathematical theorem neatly written on a blackboard, a computer program or an abstract fractal on a TV screen. Most of the time, it speaks to people's subconscious. When met in the Umbra, it looks like a complex web of information, a bit like a cross between a map, a electronic diagram and a geometrical theorem.

It is not allied with technomancers, but may sometimes help them (especially Iteration X and Virtual Adepts) if they are building something it likes. On the other hand, many of their designs are ugly from the spirit's point of view, and it tries to change them. The Technomancers who know about it regard it as a nuisance, but not a large threat to reality (yet). In the Traditions, it sometimes helps Sons of Ether and Hermetic mages who are designing impressive patterns (it loves some parts of Kabbala). It completely ignores Marauders and Nephandi, as they never create any patterns it likes.

Essence: Pattern
Nature: Perfectionist
Demeanor: Visionary
INT 5, WIT 3, PER 5
Abilities: Alertness 4, Research 3, Technology 5, Computer 4, Science 5
Arete 3, Willpower 6
Spheres: Corr. 3, Forces 3, Matter 3, Mind 3, Prime 2