For discussion of Teragen philosophy and events.

---

Structure of the Teragen Movement, 2008

In the wake of the events in Bahrain, divisions within the Teragen movement cause it to fracture.  When the in-fighting and debates settle, only three primary sub-factions remain: the Accord, the Sanctified, and the Dominion.  Led by Raoul Orzaiz, members of the Accord, sometimes referred to unflatteringly as apologists, believe in the potential for co-existence between Novas and Baselines; while they still hold to an ideology of evolution and nova autonomy, they see nothing inherently wrong in co-operation with baselines and they believe that novas should live by clearly defined rules created by their peers.  The Sanctified, led by Scripture, see Teras as a holy path that leads to spiritual, as well as physical, transcendence; Sanctified Terats have close ties to the Host of Eternity, though they care more for their own transcendence than for shepherding mortal souls.  The Dominion, the most extreme Teragen sub-faction, holds to nova-supremacist ideals and actively works toward nova control of the planet while adhering to harsh training techniques instigated by its de facto leader Shrapnel to spur self-evolution.  The remainder of the movement, Teras or the Unaligned, eschew the intricacies of Teragen politics for the simple messages of nova superiority, rebellion, and self-transformation; Manus Aequitas and Narcosis share power over this large portion of the movement, and are rumored to share much more.

The movement as a whole clings together by a few strong threads: anti-nova sentiment pushing from outside the movement, and the philosophy of chrysalis binding those within.  The Sanctified serve as  mediators and educators within the movement, assuring it does not collapse completely, while the Accord plays damage control and attempts to obfuscate the worst acts of the Dominion, if only to prevent outright war.  The Dominion caries the “do as thou wilt” philosophy to its most extreme ends, and despises, to varying degrees, those not working toward the Cause.  While a Dominion Terat might defend an Accord member against an unruly mob of baselines, it would only be for the sake of punishing the Accord member in private for the affront of making the Teragen appear weak.

Above all the conflict in the group, Divis Mal sits on his technological throne, observing the world from afar.  After sensing a disturbance within the ebb and flow of the earth's quantum field, a secret he announced only to the Pantheon itself, Divis Mal took control over the recently completed international moon base.  He still allows baselines to come and go but holds complete control over the facility, which he nominally chose to "pay" for in homage to "an old friend."  As the moon base was not the property of any international power, there were no immediate repercussions to Mal’s action.  Only the group responsible for the base’s creation made mention of any action against the nova demigod, and the combination of Mal’s terrible, sudden presence in their boardroom, and his gift of invaluable quantum-resonance devices for use in future space endeavors, left them little choice but to move past their loss.

The increasingly rare Pantheon meetings are held on the station, while a pensive Mal watches his children in silence.

Teragen Structure and Notable Members
Pantheon
1. Gravitas (Accord)
2. Hell Kraken (Accord)
3. Raoul Orzaiz (Accord)
4. Bounty (Accord)
5. The Mathematician (Accord)
6. Leviathan (Sanctified)
7. Sin Eater (Sanctified)
8. Jeremiah Scripture (Sanctified)
9. Solitaire (Teras)
10. Manus Aequitas (Teras)
11. Narcosis (Teras)
12. Shrapnel (Dominion)

Lost Pantheon Members
1. Impetus (RETIRED)
2. Geryon (MISSING/DEAD)
3. Dr. Zero (MISSING)
4. Carolyn Fong (MISSING/DEAD)


Teras Undivided: Though anyone unaligned fits here, from firm believers in the Null Manifesto to the various groupies drawn in by Narcosis’s charms, there are two smaller divisions within this group as well.  The “Cult of Mal” lead by Manus Aequitas and “The House of Cards” made by the Solitaire.  The House of Cards is the primary method by which people disappear if they’ve found trouble, and it also serves as eyes and ears for the Movement in general.  Solitaire’s project is still very much a community effort and a reflection of her philosophy, but individual Tables have, at times, been turned into personal gangs or contact rings for other novas.  The Houses serve the additional purpose of bridging the gap between humanity and nova, but in a more organic and basic fashion than the diplomacy of the Accord.  The Cult of Mal, by contrast, focuses on the demagogue at the center of the movement, holding Divis Mal as the pinnacle of nova ideals and achievement and urging others to ask “What would Divis Mal do?”  Mal’s cult of personality resides in the general Teras movement because the goals of the group seem simply to be the idolization of Mal and forwarding Mal’s dreams, rather than moving toward personal understanding (Sanctified) or a complex political agenda (Accord, Dominion).
Key Location:
Blackburn Hotel
The Archon
Goals:
-Train newly erupted novas and liberate tainted or abused novas
-Recruit new members to the movement
-Counter Utopian efforts, destroy their reputation, and oppose them at any opportunity
-Fight for nova rights and superiority
-Enjoy the fruits of nova existence
Novas of Note:
1. Manus Aequitas (Leader)
2. Narcosis (Co-Leader)
3. Solitaire (“Fuck your ranking system and your artificial divisions”)
4. The Apothecary (Adherent)
5. Synapse (Adherent)
6. Clarion (Groupie)
7. Sloppy Joe (Groupie)
8. Gale (Adherent)

Dominion: Shrapnel is doing a lot of recruiting among Elites.  She is also building a nova homeland in Australia, starting from some old bunkers in the outback.  Unlike Tarik’s Bandanah, this is more akin to a Brotherhood-of-Steel Bunker-Vault.  Someplace she can stockpile weapons and recruits for when the war comes.  Reduced in number since its parent groups the Primacy and Nova Vigilance were all but dismantled by Impetus’s speech and Gravitas’s sentencing of Geryon Bahrain, the Dominion is a lean and mobile group, all the more driven for having its lesser members defect to other factions.
Key Location:
Club Zmei
Various secured bunkers
Goals:
-Destroy Utopia and any organization or individual that opposes Teras or the One Race in general, including many Elite organizations (but not the elites themselves)
-End or dominate baseline humanity
-Increase Nova population
-Increase the power of Teras (usually in a literal sense but also through other means when viable)
Novas of Note:
1 Shrapnel (Commander)
2. Confederate (2nd in Command)
3. Natalya “Swarm Queen” Dornova (Lieutenant)
4. Epoch (Lieutenant)
5. Boom-Boom (Soldier)
6. Matador (Soldier
7. Gauze (Soldier

Sanctified: A rarified group that does little aggressive recruiting.  Leviathan and his monsters are one side of the coin, those who want to understand their nature.  The other side are those with an academic or spiritual interest in taint, quantum and what it means to be nova.  The Sanctified look to the ailing within the Teragen, and those who stick with it have a ‘calling’ that keeps them on the path of Truth.
Key Location:
The Catacombs/Cathedral
Goals:
-Forward unity within Teras
-Foster an understanding of Teras within all members of the Teragen movement
-Find personal Transcendence through Teras
Novas of Note:
1. Scripture (Teacher)
2. Leviathan (Disciple)
3. Sin-Eater (Disciple)
4. Turncoat (Devotee. Unraveling sanity held together by Scripture and Sin-Eater)
5. Feathered Serpent (Ascetic)

Accord: The most important rule among the accord is “The Teragen is not your personal army.”  Almost anything else is up for debate, as the group attempts to create the rules by which nova society will govern itself.  The group does accept political dissidents, but what matters is an attempt and interest in building with baselines rather than against them.  A lot of groupies find their way here, since nova celebrity has become a fashionable thing.
Key Location:
The Villa
Goals:
-Ensure the safety of the One Race by preventing unnecessary intra-species and inter-species conflict
-Create rules for Nova interactions that move beyond “might is right”
-Protect baseline rights… though strident voices within the movement argue the limits and tone of those rights
-Use baseline society to forward the Teragen movement
Novas of Note:
1. Raoul Orzaiz (Facilitator)
2. The Mathematician (Speaker)
3. Gravitas (Speaker)
4. Bounty (Speaker)
5. Hell Kraken (Speaker)
6. Tarik ibn’Mahmoud (Peer)
7. Bridgette Caulder (Peer)
8. Jester (Peer)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:44, Tue 17 Sept 2013.

[Continued from Vignettes]



Impetus, good to meet you.  Your reputation precedes you of course.  You have a great deal of charisma, and you have a way with words matched by few of our kind.  I'm sure we'll have much to discuss in the future.  I look forward to it in fact...

Mal makes a few thought provoking comments before moving on, and seems genuinely interested in Impetus' thoughts on the future and the future of human/nova relations.




Mal seems as though he has been looking forward to meeting Solitaire, and enthusiastically joins her in conversation before moving on.
"You are exactly right.  In some ways Solitaire, you are the vision of what I see our people becoming.  So self-assured, so in touch with your own place in the grand scheme of things.  You have can be a teacher to our people, a role model.  I hope you will come to serve as a light towards a better path for all our siblings living in the darkness of their own pettiness."



When Mal comes is approached by Zero, he treats the nova with deep respect.  Where he treated the others with enthusiasm or interest, he treats Zero as a wise comrade and listens as much as he speaks.
"You're books have been exceptionally insightful, Dr. Zero, and your willingness to discard the trappings of "humanity" show a deep spiritual growth.  I'm honored you could be here, and look forward to discussing ways in which we can progress our people towards a better future."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

If anyone else wanted to be here, feel free to join in the discussion.  I'll move things along in a few days if no one else has anything (or anything more in the case of those that have already posted) to add.

---

Though eager to meet the newcomer, Quentin hangs back during the initial rush of people, allowing others the chance to greet him. Quentin spent the time chatting briefly with others as they waited for Divis Mal to make the rounds of the room. An interesting moniker he has chosen for himself, thought Quentin. It doesn't translate exactly, but could mean a number of things. He was vaguely troubled that one of the clearer translations was something like 'Terrible Angel'. On the other hand it might also mean something more benign like 'Divine Messenger', though this was a bit of a stretch.

While he waited and pondered over this translation, he took the chance to catch up with Pedro, who was taking to calling himself The Mathematician more and more (for plainly obvious reasons to anyone that knew him at all), about the current global economic situation. Quentin wasn't terribly money-minded, but he was beginning to acknowledge that Utopia's funding had its limits, and that they wouldn't allow him all of the freedom that he wanted. This meant that self-funding was becoming more and more important, and so he'd taken to playing the stocks a bit.

When Mal got around to Quentin and those near him, Quentin did his best to greet him cordially. "I've gotta say, you seem to have made quite the impression on us," he began. "We have, amongst ourselves, discussed the direction of nova-kind in general and ourselves in specific at great length - it seems that you have some insight in that area." Indeed, the man seemed to be living evidence of actualized self-improvement. "I'm sure we'd all be eager to hear what you've got to say. It sounds like you've got quite the grand vision for novas."

If these words had been directed at virtually anyone else they might have sounded pedantic or patronizing, but focused as they were at this being that almost seemed as far beyond himself and his fellows as they were beyond baseline humanity, they were anything but. Quentin couldn't help but find himself painfully curious to know what this man had done to become as he was - to know what sort of future he had in mind. Though he had only used a few words to do it, the future Mal had alluded to was like a siren call to Quentin. He was always eager to know more, to learn, and to see what the future held - preferably with his own two eyes.

"You know, I think I'd like that." Solitaire says, grasping his hand in farewell before Mal moved on to the next Nova. His grip was firm, but seemed measured as well, as if he could casually crush her if he forgot to control himself, and Solitaire knew that thought was correct. She was a child in comparison, experienced and tough as she was, still a child. It was astounding, it was humbling, it was Glorious. In the instant she shook his hand, Solitaire felt as if she could see everything to come, how it was connected, where it would lead. The feeling passed as quickly as it came, and left a odd tingling sensation in its wake. It took her a moment to realize what that was.

Fear.

Divis Mal frightened her. She who feared nothing (except psychics), who had watched the dawn from the moon, could out fly a jet and had stared into the nuclear blast that had killed so many friends and emerged (mostly, and due to a far greater share of luck than she cared to admit,) unscathed. It was invigorating to know she could still feel that, to know that one day she would reached the illusory heights of power, of being, that Mal spoke to her from.

She decided she liked him.