Sons of the Ether
The Sons of Ether are a group of technomancers aligned to the Council of Nine. Originally part of the Order of Reason and the Technocracy, they abandoned their former compatriots after the Union aided the expulsion of the Luminiferous Aether from the Consensus. Since then, the Sons have adopted several outdated technologies and incorporated them into their Paradigm.
Contents
Paradigm
Key to the Sons' paradigm is Science (the word is always capitalised to distinguish it from the science of sleepers). Exotic theories of orgone fields, hypercombustion chambers and etheric transmission matrices enable the Etherites to create even more weird and wonderful devices. Their Science almost always has a baroque feel, as if it leapt from the pages of pulp fiction or Victorian sci-fi — death rays, robotic servants built of brass and powered by clockwork and fantastic space or aquatic vehicles spring to mind when others discuss the Sons of Ether.
The Sons of Ether see the science of the Technocracy with disdain, abhorring its static view on the nature of things. Scientific practices are not predictable mechanisms that can be recombined in a near endless rate, but a dynamic and chaotic process. As the Kitab Al-Alacir teaches: Everything is true. Anything is possible.
The Sons believe that the Spheres are actually different aspects of Ether: Correspondence is the Contiguous Ether, Entropy describes Ether dynamics, Forces are the Energetic Physics of the Ether, Life is Etheric Biology, Matter is Etheric Chemistry and Engineering, Mind is Noetic Science, Prime is Metaphysical Ether, Spirit describes the Etheric and Mimetic Dimensions, and Time is the study of Causality. All Sons of Ether work to touch the True Ether, the legendary Tenth Sphere.
History
The Sons of Ether attribute their origins to the teachings of the Trojan philosopher Aretus, who had ostensibly learned from refugees of lost Atlantis. According to the Sons, Atlantis was an ideal society that harnessed the Aether to its full potential, before an unknown cataclysm struck it down. Aretus recorded their knowledge of Aetheric Science in the Kitab Al-Alacir, which survived the sacking of Troy thanks to his pupil Parmenesthes, who fled to Athens and whose recordings were later translated by Aristotle, who deduced the fifth element out of the scriptures.
The text remained forgotten in a library until the Arabs translated the book and young Italian mage Lorenzo Golo found an exemplar through travel, while the Templar Simon de Laurent found a copy while he joined the First Crusade. Both met in Paris and tried to decipher the book, founding House Golo within the Order of Hermes in 1171, Europe's dominant scholarly magical institution of the Dark Ages. Due to internal strife with House Verditius, House Golo was disbanded only 17 years later and the two founded the Natural Philosopher's Guild.
Renaissance
During their studies, both Golo and Laurent came in conflict with the Church, and Laurent was excommunicated in 1190 for heresy. As a reaction, the guild searched for a patron who would protect them and their studies from mortal authorities. They found an ally in the nascent Order of Reason, whose Ars Praeclarus was similar to the outlinings of the Kitab Al-Alacir. Both joined forces and the Guild dissolved in the various Conventions of the new Order, spreading their knowledge of the Aether. Golo himself died at an accident when he tried to create an airship.
In 1283, a scroll fell into the hands of a Spanish scribe. He founded a secret society based on its precepts, which some accounts call the Pupils of Parmenides, which was outside the Guild's influence. They would later join the Celestial Chorus and eventually reunite with the Voltarian Order.
The disciples of Aretus prospered in the era of the Renessaince when it seemed that Science knew no boundaries. The enemy was clearly defined by its archaic, unsophisticated rites and barbarianism and most followers of Aretus were proud to fight against the hordes of Unreason.
Victorian Age
In 1806, the formation of the Voltarian Order on the precepts of Alessandro Volta reassembled the followers of Aretus' book in one Convention. It was a time of upheaval for the Order of Reason, and in 1851, when the Order was reassembled as the Technocratic Union, they were renamed as the Electrodyne Engineers, who focused on the transmission of energy in all its forms. One of their popular theories was the existence of luminiferous Ether, as stated in Aristotelian works.
Many of the Engineers were offended when the Union moved against the young and brilliant Croatian Nikolas Tesla via the more predictable Thomas Edison. To the Invisible College, Tesla represented all the dangers of the scientific paradigm without proper control and procedure, while to the Electrodyne Engineers, he was a figurehead for the innovative nature of Science and an inspiration. His ruination already set tensions high, and when the higher echelons turned against the Engineers for their attempts to advance the Time Table too quickly by moving the concept of luminiferous Ether out of the Consensus in 1904, a short time after the Invisible College had become Control (the shadowy force that nowadays guides the Technocracy), the Engineers left, renaming themselves Sons of Ether in order to honor the concept that was central to their doctrine.
The Sons joined the Council of Nine, claiming the Seat of Matter, vacant since the Solificati had been banished from the Traditions. They provided much information on the enemy and finally allowed the Council of Nine to actually act as a Council with full members.
Modern Nights
In 1900, Czar Vargo, one of the most infamous Sons of Ether, attended the Paris Exhibition, intending on proving that Ether actually existed and breaking the Technocratic paradigm in one great feat of Science. Instead of his energy device, however, weapons were the main focus, which enraged the mage greatly, for he believed that the purpose of Science was peace and cooperation, not conflict. In 1914, only a short time before the outbreak of World War I, he manifested himself in Paris in an airship announcing his intent to bring world peace if all governments would step down under his benevolent rule.
Vargo was stopped by the Technocratic Union, and his deeds were erased from humanity's collective memory thanks to Paradox and the Union's coverup, but it proved the determination and loyalty of the new Tradition to their peers. In World War II, most Sons turned against Hitler when his involvement in the occult became apparent (let alone the concentration camps). Others continued to support the Axis, hoping to use the Third Reich to combat the Technocratic paradigm. It ended not well for both sides and the Tradition as a whole was damaged.
Modern Science has brought some relief for the paradigm of the Sons. The Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Theory, and the discovery of "Dunkle Materie" or Dark Matter has given the Sons a hold in modern sciences and they intend to exploit it before the Technocracy can close the leak. The Avatar Storm, however, has proven to be problematic, since it trapped many Etheritic agents in the Umbra.
Organization
Initiates of the Sons of Ether are often recruited from the halls of academia, where a prospective Etherite is surreptitiously given a copy of the Kitab al Alacir. Should the student show an ability to break through the barriers of conventional logic, he or she will then be guided into a mentorship.
Advancement among the Sons is much like academia. Etherites correspond and publish journals and papers on their theories, and those that are useful, interesting, and have shown practical application are given the most acclaim- especially those published in the Etherites' most prestigious journal, Paradigma.
Factions
- Adventurers
- Cybernauts
- Ethernauts
- Mad Scientists
- Progressivists
- Utopians
Rotes
Death Ray
Entropy 4 or Forces 3, Prime 2, optional Time 3
A mainstay of Mad Scientists everywhere, the death ray comes in two generally recognized forms. The first is a standard laser or particle beam, easily jury-rigged from available materials. Most of these weapons emit invisible beams, but most Sons of Ether refit them to spray brilliant red, blue or green, as tradition demands.
The second, called the "chaos beam" or "black ray," projects random-frequency microwaves, anti-Etheric particles or contra-Reichian orgone fields (depending on who you ask,) disrupting bodily functions. These death rays take the form of black, jagged bolts, a rippling in the air or a noticeable chill, and they are favored by Etherite psychics as well as weapons engineers.
Recent designs also include repetitive mental techniques or fast crystal-cycling mechanisms to allow an automatic weapon's rate of fire.
If sufficiently bulky (requiring at least 50 kilograms of equipment) and made of precision parts, a laser or particle beam is coincidental. The other versions are vulgar.
System: Both versions inflict aggravated wounds after a success is spent to acquire the target, and each requires a successful Dexterity + Firearms (or Wits + Enigmas, for mental versions) to strike. The Time 3 version gives the death ray the characteristics of a fully automatic weapon (see Mage: the Ascension pg. 241) for four additional successes, plus additional successes spent on the duration. Most death rays inflict aggravated damage through extreme heat or Entropy disruptions.
Etheric Shielding
Matter 2, Spirit 2, optional Prime 2
Ordinary materials can be converted to resist energies from alien dimensions, to provide both physical and mental protection against the horrors of the unknown. Imbuing standard clothing with extra-dimensional material (such as materialized ephemera) or using matter with proven anti-Etheric properties (such as lead or polyester) in precise amounts creates a garment or enclosure that is resistant to alien meddling. Sophisticated versions of this rote actually align extra-dimensional energies to protect against physical alien attack.
System: After successes are spent on duration as well as the clothing or enclosure (based on how many people it could reasonably contain,) each success increases the Gauntlet around the wearer or dweller by one. This barrier must first be breached by any spirit wishing to possess the character. Using Prime, the scientist can also provide two additional soak dice against attacks in or from the Umbra.
Exotic Matter
Matter 5 or Matter 5, Prime 3
A few Sons of Ether have reached the pinnacle of their Craft, and no longer feel constrained by such paltry limitations as the periodic table. Mastery of Matter has limitless possibilities, exemplified by such materials as antimatter and Primium. The guidelines for creating them and their in-game effects are detailed as follows:
Antimatter (requires Matter 5): Using garage-built particle accelerators, stolen research time at CERN and postmodern alchemy are all known ways to create antimatter. Previously, this material required an esoteric command of Forces as well, but the general acceptance of antimatter among Sleeper scientists has simplified the process considerably. Of course, rather than laboring with an unwieldy conventional particle accelerator for the sake of a few measly positrons, Etherites use their own shortcuts.
Unlike standard matter, antimatter is composed of particles with an opposing spin: positrons, antineutrons and antiprotons. When it meets normal matter, each particle annihilates its opposites and releases their combined energy.
Unless kept in a vacuum, antimatter and normal matter meet... explosively. In game terms, successes measure both how much is created and how much it can annihilate, inflicting three aggravated wounds (unsoakable by any material entity or object) per success in a radius of approximately 100 yards per success. (Successes are not divided in this case.) Etherites may measure out small amounts of antimatter for experiments (in the three-to-six-wounds/100-to-200-yard range) or simply use it to blow something up. Magnetic containment fields and the ability to evacuate the area are recommended.
Antimatter requires at least 20 successes to prepare before spending successes on the amount/damage/area of effect. Creating antimatter in these amounts is vulgar, even though the amount is microscopic.
Primium (requires Matter 5, Prime 3): Along with Iteration X, the Sons of Ether are among the few who still know how to create this alchemically perfect gold/silver alloy. Some scientists consider the metal to be the perfect earthly reflection of the universal Ether. Expensive alchemy and/or nuclear furnaces (as well as a king's ransom of base materials) go into its creation. Characters need access to a Resources 5 rating to afford it.
Furthermore, Quintessence is needed. In game terms, each success used to create Primium needs to be backed by one point of Quintessence. After 15 successes are spent on the threshold to create it, successes are spent on its relative mass and potency.
Finished Primium has a near perfect sheen and excellent material strength, but its real benefits come from its perfect antipathy to supernatural energies (representative, it is said, of its perfected structure refusing to yield to such influences.) A Primium weapon's striking surface inflicts aggravated wounds. It also provides permanent countermagic commensurate with its mass: two dice per success spent past the threshold, though no amount of Primium can provide more than 10 dice to resist any single magical effect. Etherites may divide successes spent to create multiple masses of Primium. The countermagic affects magic within a rough two-yard radius of the mass. If the Primium has been made into a weapon, this effect is rolled to weaken the strength of any supernatural defense, allowing Primium blades and bullets to punch through defensive Forces effects and weaken enhanced soak capabilities.
Orgone Accumulator
Prime 3 or 5
Inspired by the work of Doctor Wilhelm Reich, many Sons of Ether use his theories to store and use a unique variation of the Odyllic Force. Orgone theory states that the universal essence is emotional as well as physical. By harnessing it, Etherites may imbue Scientific workings with either their own Resonance or that of another subject, item or place. Particularly advanced accumulators can attract and store ambient Quintessence as well as Resonance.
Orgone Accumulators take many forms (and, in fact, many of them are turned into full fledged Wonders.) The classic Reichian design is a chamber built of alternating layers of conductive metals and organic materials, but the Sons of Ether have experimented with many alternate designs, including accumulator jumpsuits, handheld units and even wood and metal buildings designed to focus orgone energy upon a laboratory.
Orgone Accumulators are also used as foci for Life and Forces effects, relying on the ability to store Resonance in order to make precise changes. Healing and weather control are the most common additional functions of Orgone Accumulators.
System: For the Prime 3 version, each success allows the Etherite's focus to hold two Resonance Traits for as long as the Etherite chooses to commit successes to duration. These Traits may be applied to any other effect the character casts, but doing so expends those Traits. By default, an accumulator absorbs the strongest ambient Resonance in an area, but the effect can be used to take a Resonance sample from a specific person, place or thing by spending additional successes on targeting. The target does not lose any Resonance.
The Prime 5 version also acts as the Prime effect Fount of Paradise , as listed in Mage: the Ascension. Additional successes must be spent to activate this use of the accumulator.
Quantum Temporal Travel
Correspondence 3 or 4, Entropy 4, Time 3 or 5
The introduction of quantum mechanics has solved many of the lethal problems of time travel. By tunneling through to alternate universes, Sons of Ether can travel into the past without suffering an instant visit from an annoying Paradox pest. It's still vulgar and less potentially useful than traveling to the "true" past, present and future. Going to an alternate past cannot change the true present, and fantastic technology retrieved from alternate futures tends to fail to Unbelief. Still, visiting an alternate universe has its uses. Utopians visit the grand futures and idyllic pasts that might have been, or sneak into dystopias to learn harsh lessons about the price of failure. Ethernauts explore these universes out of sheer curiosity, dividing their time between strange alternate universes and those barely different from the "baseline" World of Darkness.
Controlled wormholes in the space-time continuum are created with high-energy particle beams, special electromagnetic fields, locating twists in the Odyllic flow and, in some cases, psychedelic drugs.
System: Correspondence 3 transports one person, while Correspondence 4 creates a tunnel into an alternate universe that can accommodate one traveler per success spent. Further successes can move characters through space as well as time, as a normal Correspondence effect. Time 4 allows a short hop (one turn/success) forward or backward compared to the baseline time, before being pulled back to the point of departure. Time 5 allows for extended journeys into the alternate past or future (using the standard chart for Time effects.) Time and Entropy are used together to isolate the travelers from the time stream and move them to a new "branch" of the continuum. The Time 5 version of the rote must be used to return as well, or it's a one-way trip. Return trips use the Consensus of the alternate universe to determine vulgarity.
Other successes are spent on the dissimilarity between the alternate reality and the traveler's. One success indicates a near clone of the "real" timeline, while five successes allow passage to the most bizarre alternate worlds, such as worlds where the Order of Hermes controls the paradigm or sentient dinosaurs coexist with humanity.
Traveling into an alternate past cannot affect the "real" present, except through any knowledge or artifacts that the traveler brings with her. Objects that have a specific duplicate in the baseline present eventually erode or fade, while objects from the future do so if they can perform any feat of magic or science unknown to the present day. Still, the low-level version of this rote allows characters to hop into an alternate past and grab a temporal duplicate of an object that you desperately need (or need more of) for a brief period to use in the baseline present.
A word of warning: Alternate universes are just that - alternate. Even the most familiar-looking one might have subtle, dangerous differences. Some Sons of Ether note similarities with the Mirror Zone of the Umbra and posit that this rote actually takes them there.
