Gauche
Arch Disciple
- Messages
- 674
| EIBON ARH ASTYR'S QUOTE Only you are obsessed with knowledge. Quote attributed to Promethean Eibon arh Astyr |
| SCYLE'S MEMOREM - EXTRACT 1 The holographic light reflected on his alabaster skin. I could still hear the distant melody of the Artists playing a symphony in the Agora, half-conscious, intoxicated by the bewildering presence of the Hero before me. His powerful Medarchial hands caught my hips and pushed me against the metal. His fingers traveled through my hair as I grabbed his throat with the belligerence I had learned in his own training camps. Our breathless rattles and voracious wrestling turned days into nights as we melded into one; until our exhausted bodies were forced to stop, leading to what felt like rebirth. Scyle Medarch Valnir's student Entry 1083 |
| SCYLE'S MEMOREM - EXTRACT 2 We are going too fast. We keep moving forward as if gravity was on the verge of swallowing us. As if we had to master the galaxy before it was too late. Yet, we have fought all our wars. We have defeated all our enemies. The Ones from Elsewhere will never come back. The mad Priest and his Titans will never come back. The Qrh'Shan and the Herd will never come back. We know this for certain. This industrial race is senseless. We are being devoured by the Five's insatiable scientific curiosity. Scyle Medarch Valnir's student Entry 1236 |
| SCYLE'S MEMOREM - EXTRACT 3 I had traveled through forgotten paths tor days, weeks and months to reach the Thousand-Door Palace. A place where only silence reigned now. Where the wind had stopped and the tides retreated with the Great Rift. And here stood before me this towering pyramid of onyx and obsidian—the divine home where once echoed every whisper of the world. So vast that the greatest city of any kingdom would only be an anteroom in comparison. Peculiar green lights shone from inside the building, pulsating through the circular openings of the floating columns. The lost reverberations of an empty throne. . . And here I was, bathed in my mist of past and future memories, standing in this mythical place that remained, still. The only location anyone in Hypnos could have found with no map or compass back when the King still reigned. And I remember the silence in my soul. The bitter raindrops in the wind. [Scyle Student of the Medarch Valnir Entry 1301] |
| SCYLE'S MEMOREM - EXTRACT 4 It was dark. I waited still, my muscles wrapped in bandages, almost like some sort of statue in wet tatters. My fingers were burning from holding my saber so tight. The rock formations were dripping from above, water running down through the cracks in my mask, blinding me a bit more with each drop that made its way through. Another time would have seen me admire this temple lost in the winding paths of a nameless city, its soaked floor like a memory from my home country. But not in this moment. Not as my life depended on the silence of my breath and the cramping of my still limbs. For I knew it was here. It could not have been anywhere else. Amidst the shadows of the many columns, I heard a whisper. A rustle in the air. And reality was torn apart. It leapt out of the still patches under the onyx slabs with a crash of black splinters and aqueous sprays. For an instant suspended in time, I saw my insignificant form facing the colossus. From its chitin belly emerged a monstrous maw arrayed in impossible fangs that let out a scream that tore through every layer of the Ether, down to my very bones. I wiped my steamy mask with my sleeve. I had a breath's time to strengthen my guard before it swooped on me with a sinister snap of its gigantic exoskeleton. [Scyle Student of the Medarch Valnir Entry 1306] |
| EXTRACT 1 FROM THE ASTYR CODEX ... And so, our civilization is organized within eight castes and two circles. None of the eight prevail over the others, and each one gains power when their turn comes or the situation calls for it. The Sentientists handle the research and development of sentient technologies and conscious matter. The Geodesists observe and study the biosphere, they preserve and optimize our worlds' resources. The Archons protect our realms and seek complete martial perfection in all its forms. The Architects build our cities, both on the ground and in the skies, skillfully melding beauty with function. The Genesists handle the sensitive and primordial science of heredity. They manage and assign our births justly and in optimal fashion. The Logicians oversee digital sciences, the improvement of the artificial consciousness and intelligence with which we share our lives. The Engineers manage all industrial and mechanical plans. They ensure our most essential systems remain efficient and constantly improving. The Cosmodesists explore the cosmos and study material and non-Euclidian dimensions. |
| EXTRACT 2 FROM THE ASTYR CODEX ...two circles formed by the Crafters and Artists. Every single person is free to leave their own caste to join another, or to enter a circle, For personal fulfillment is to remain the cornerstone of our society's betterment. Each caste and circle will elect three of its most respected members, and these thirty Astyr shall become the Decahedron, the guiding light of our civilization. ... four Logicians from the Tetrahedron pledge to Forever serve our Cardinal Lords. It is now the physical and virtual reality of these venerable beings. ... Decahedron Hypnos watches. Blessed by its gaze, we march towards all the great answers... ... And among us are the Five, who guide our doubts and escort our meandering. |
| EXTRACT 3 FROM THE ASTYR CODEX There is Yig, the One who Guides. The great Mind. A Master Geodesist, the only one to have uncovered the mysteries of consciousness. His thoughts outline our research and his advice illuminates the seas that swallow our questions. There is Eibon, the One who Knows. The great Interface. Queen of the wise, her body was made to house all of the world's knowledge. She solidifies and evolves every aspect of our understanding. There is Kaamos, the One who Revives. The King of Souls. The guardian of our memories and of our chosen immortalities, he sets our consciousness free from any form of endings. There is Choronzon, the One who Travels. The Door and the Key. The architect of our potential bliss, this perfect synthetic body projected through time and space anchors our existence. There is Jurgen, the One who Protects. The Extinction. His bleak gaze lands on the world with the strength of the celestial void. |
| MEMOREM ABOUT THE RAVEN When the network opened, while the infinity of data from the Prior Future was flowing, something got in. We don't have names for those entities, those ghosts roaming in the ocean of information. Some are harmless, faint and mute shadows who seem to have no goal. Others are predatory and hunt the living. I'm scared of connecting to the Agora now, and scared of sleeping with my neural key on. One night, I met one of them. He spoke with rales and croaky whispers through his skeletal mask. He told me he came from a far and primitive time, from a misty city where his peers heaped up, an open air cesspit of famine and disease. He spoke of a violent and unequal world, of a future without knowledge or wisdom, barbaric and hopeless. He was himself a destitute, led by morbid instincts to commit horrific acts. He was a killer, and his victims... My God, he was stealing their faces. He said he was a Dreamer, capable of taking a monstrous astral form to torture the minds of others during his sleep. He was hanged for his crimes. How such a creature could find itself here, in our days, I can not understand. We have opened a breach, a gate to nameless times. Phantoms and monsters get through sometimes, coming to show what the future will look like without us. I have to fight, as any Astyr citizen, to prevent this horrible world from happening. Above all, we must cease observing the abyss of impious knowledge stagnating in the depths. He spared me, and I'll never know why. But these faces, these expressions of fear and suffering hanging at his side like blood-covered rags... I know them. Stay away from the Raven. [Unknown identity - Unclassified memory entry] |
| NOAH THE APOCRYPHAL'S MEMOREM Let's stop to reflect on a paradox brought to light by recent history and its numerous tragedies: The last war, during which we triumphed over the Shahn empire at the cost of many lives and much destruction, was one of the greatest obstacles the Astyr have ever faced. One could understand why the Dualists consider this vile, cruel, dictatorial, torturing and exploitative race, to which more adjectives could be added, to be the incarnation of absolute Evil. Primordial, even. With hindsight, they could be grouped together with those who once drove us against the Ones from Elsewhere, the Outsiders, cursed be their name, although our records are slim on the subject. In conclusion, if the Universe is filled with many species that demonstrate aggressive instinct towards us and would annihilate us for millennia, should we not link their existence, as we do with everything that ever was, is and will be, to the King's wishes? If we accept this as true, we may then question whether His kindness is absolute. How could a merciful and benevolent God wish or allow for such calamities to befall His children. except to test us under some terrifyingly cynical kind of logic. If it is false, then His power is not absolute and the Universe and its darkness is not His sole creation. This would mean that our wise men and holy texts have long made use of a consecrated lie that we must deconstruct if we hope to survive. We are facing the threat of terrible forces of unknown numbers that lay hidden in dark corners of time and space. It is clear that these forces could one day overwhelm our courage and science, but it seems even more evident that we have been governed by mystical tyrants and a false God that would keep us prisoners of their terrible obscurantism. Noah arh Gheri |
| DEVAR'S MEMOREM I am losing my senses. Standing alongside Promethean Choronzon is a long and daily march tittering on the edge of the abyss. A journey half- promised by a sleeping guide whose consciousness drifts between worlds behind closed eyelids. I am adrift on the edge of the void. Devar the Arrogant Engineer |
| ANDRAS' MEMOREM Everything is perfect. Such beauty and peace. These mountains will guard my remains, and this volcano my last words. What great sentries for such insignificant heritage. I have remained loyal to our Creators until the end, despite the Anagnoresy. Contrary to what the Apocryphals think - and I still cannot understand their obstinacy - the Prometheans had... or rather have a bigger goal. A grand scheme that transcends our understanding. I know they see beyond our individual realities. If one day someone gets a hold of these fragments of memory, know this: The Astyr were a great civilization. Our leaders were just and loving. The limitations of our understanding kept our eyes on the path and away from the horizon. Stranger, know this: You do not matter. At the end of Time, They will live on forever. Andras Legiarch of the Fourth Legion |
| NETWORK RECORDING - IDENTIFICATION IMPOSSIBLE -... - What did you see? - Fire, always. - What does it mean? - There is still time. - You've said that before. After all we did, nothing changed. - You doubt. - Is it not my purpose? I lack Choronzon‘s apathy or Eibon's faith. I believe in you, but I am scared of this future only you can see. What if you're wrong? - Mistakes imply choice—or subjectivity. - You think you‘re infallible. - I do not matter. Only you can decide what to do with my visions. - And so you're never responsible... You remain sited on your throne, no matter what happens? Why reject your own free will when you could accomplish so much? You could change it all. - Your vision is linear, so that you may act, free from knowledge. Your will alone shapes the world. Me, I cannot be both omnipotent and omniscient. You understood that, as they all did, but long before them, and that knowledge now aches you. I understand your resentment. - I'm scared. I fear the pain past and the one still to come. The sadness. the anger. The loss. All those deaths, brother... So many lies hidden under the surface of civilization. I'm scared I will fail despite our efforts and sacrifices. - You are scared to be human. Calm your heart. Nothing else can save us. » Network recording - Identification impossible |
| MEMOREM OF A LOGICIAN PRIEST The 4 Cardinal Lords must be maintained, no matter the cost. As a Logician Priest, I hereby lay down my knowledge: the Astyr shall never forget the crucial significance of the quartet. To those who come next, no matter the brutality of the cataclysm that befalls my contemporaries, Remember. If they stop, our civilization falls. I already see it going up to the edge. The Decahedron can no longer calm the Agora down. Even Yiamal the Great Dream and her Artist squadrons can only bring harmony to our hearts through accidental splutters. (It is said that the Medarch's pupil gathers his troops in Ishtar while the Logician Exarch II stays silent, unbothered by the calls of the High 1. I don't know where we are headed.) I ignore the origin of the wrath. Preserve the Four Lords, no matter the cost. They handle gravity and magnetic fields. They allow our engineering to evolve quickly enough for bliss to endure. And for our sciences to thrive with our minds as the only limit. If they become separated, regather them. If they become destroyed, rebuild them. Their matrices allow for our cities to function. If my life were to serve only one purpose, let it be this. AI OMEGA V Matrices = core heart of Devesh 657863613657875I321354798764124156478641354798614 Remember the Golden Age. Logician Priest Tallenos, the Over-Watcher. |
| RAS'SAMRAH'S MEMOREM Nothing can prepare us for the harrowing feelings that gnaw at our bones when the greater good entails decisions condemned by the world. The virion is ready. The ambition of our evolution requires heavy sacrifices. And yes, these ambitions are theirs too, no matter what they say. The generations replaced will be celebrated, forever. And while a cursed chosen few will carry this memory, all others will bloom under the peaceful light of ignorance. I envy the naive. Do not be mad at me, for my work brings us closer to bliss. Hypnos will reign forever. Ras'Samrah First Genesist Exarch |
| MEMOREM ABOUT QUIN DOLOSS I knew Quin Doloss. Met him a few times would be more accurate. He always seemed honest, gentle,jovial and determined, less serious than most Archons his rank. His relationship with Yantra is old, and seems to remain somewhat infantile, competitive with chivalrous accents. For long they were a balanced duo, leaving their mark on history in the best way. They were living examples for many. Something has changed. We ran into each other recently in Qmran, for the Daggerant unveiling. Kovah greeted him, and I wouldn't have recognized him without it. His behaviour was troubling, all tense and seductive. His eyes were sharp but cold, his intonations strangely smooth and deep. When he spoke, I listened carefully, but the fascination on Kovah's face made my unease grow. She was drinking his words, and I felt like a terrible seed was hiding there. Seeing him later in the assembly, taking his place back at Yantra's side and murmuring something in his ear, I saw him as he was: a true eminence grise with insidious power held entirely in his soft whispers. |
| MEMOREM OF AN APOCRYPHAL GEODESIST I believe there are in the academic circles fundamental questions that remain rarely asked. I do not discount the possibility of a form of censorship beyond holy reverence. My research has brought forward but rare instances of non- poetic doubt or questioning regarding the Ancient Truth. Our scientific knowledge grows at incredible speeds in every area, and yet a quick survey is enough for me to question certain paradigms. It is said in our holy texts that Hypnos, the Uncreated, made the world in a gesture, initiating the causal mechanisms that led to our birth and evolution. I may not be casting doubt upon the King and Prometheans' parenthood towards us, but I am suggesting we might be giving undue credit to false certitudes. Regarding the Universe, the Cosmodesists have long since dated its birth to 9.8 billion years ago. We can imagine that its long structuring process, carefully overseen by Hypnos and the Prometheans as to be ready to welcome life, is something we cannot possibly comprehend. However, according to late Geodesist Hennach arh Qoth, the mineral composition and primal engravings found in Narayana would date the city to just three thousand years, when our liturgy claims it was built soon after Creation. Even if we consider the possibility of miscalculation, which would be surprising coming from a Medarch, I am surprised by the lack of serious studies that would counter such claims on a scientific basis, rather than religious. Memorem of Selim arh Qoth, Geodesist |
| PROHIBITED APOCRYPHAL MEMOREM I have discovered something, although I do not know if my mind can handle such knowledge, or if I am already doomed to inescapable madness. I feel myself slipping. As if the floor, no, the entire planet was crumbling under my feet, ready to drop me down into the infinite chasm of the void. I am losing my senses. This Memorem shall be my last. Down the farthest depths of the network, there are ancient sectors hiding in digital darkness no one is meant to explore. The only way to get there is through the use of a Cardinal Key, and I shall overcome the challenges and pains that were necessary for me to acquire this artifact. Those mean nothing in comparison to the metaphysical terror I find myself facing now. I shall overcome these visions of vertiginous digital temples, of non-Euclidian fortresses inset within other structures that would shatter the boundaries of anyone's imagination. Endless libraries and archives sheltering the knowledge of millennia, of lost civilizations, of future existence. Their barbaric and impious knowledge is watched over by nightmarish creatures—distorted specters torn away from time itself. I survived long enough to gaze into the tesseract, inside Eibon's heart. I have seen the face of truth. Our ideals are pathetic—our dreams are abject. The knowledge and progress we have pursued for so long are but chimeras leading us to absolute terror. The future is dead and its ghosts reign over us. Everything is red. Apocryphal Memorem - Prohibited |
| NOTH THE EMPTY'S MEMOREM I am sometimes unaware of the hate that drives him. He shared his findings with the eloquence and charisma he's known for, and yet I feel some things have yet to be said. His illusory gaze speaks louder than words. He has changed so much, now that he leads us down such strange paths... ... and we stand with him, although we sometimes question the scope of his wrath. But it does not matter. His anger is justified. The truth must be known. Noth the Empty Apocryphal Legiarch Entry 1545 |
| HIDDEN MEMOREM OF A SENTIENTIST I hang on to one last hope. Might be folly, but it is my duty... My entire life was dedicated to protecting life, consciousness... at the very least. I have this deep feeling that this was present in my genes from the start, as maybe were my entire personality and choices up to this point. This thought unsettles me, so I prefer to chase it away. Only the present matters. Everything else is false. What's left of my group is made up of other Genesists, Sentientists and even one Logician who's still capable of thinking for himself. Some of them are brilliant... Together, we have the resources and knowledge to carry out this project before... All the Codices still intact that are scattered across the solar system remain connected to the Network. If we manage to channel enough energy through the station to amplify their areas of effect and trigger them all simultaneously, it would create a limbic siphon of astronomical proportions. Every single Codex would become a “well" of entry. This could perform a memory save on upwards of thousands, maybe even millions of individuals... and archive them within the Network. I do not know whether the servers will survive the destruction of our worlds, or if this method will succeed in the reproduction of complete digital consciousness—for as many people as possible to be granted a second life. A second chance. The software is meant to automatically erase the memory of this war—the memory of the Anagnoresy—forever. We are aware of the implications: this puts us on the same level as those who previously manipulated and deceived us. However, this is our only chance to save our people and to avoid this tragedy from repeating. We will pay for this crime by not partaking in the process. This room is sealed. The siphon will not reach us. We will not live long enough to see our plan succeed, but I dare to hope. This Memorem is for you, my love. To Eternity. May you find peace, wherever you are. Yashin the wise, Sentientist Project Limbic Wells — Single Entry |
| MEMOREM OF AN ENGINEER The superluminal portals are once again functional. I hope my work is over soon so that I can finally transcend this stagnant technology. Yred Engineer |
| MEMOREM OE A CAPTAIN It's interesting, this compulsion [corrupted data] superior. This makes me think of a perception deviance, especially coming from someone who will always be Second. My blade is his out of duty rather than faith, yet I am skeptical of my position. I thought my role was neutrality. But after all, what is an Archon without convictions? I will not fight, this time. I know the “Enemy" will hear me out. Yrda the Virtuoso Jupiterian Captain |
| MEMOREM ABOUT THE ANAGNORESY As war has been raging for months across the Sol system, bringing us to the brink of complete annihilation, there are still those who wish to discuss philosophical matters. Lud Heghel had theorized about the End of History five hundred years prior, claiming that the Great War and the Golden Age would mark the pinnacle of our society. Having demonstrated our material, spiritual and moral supremacy, we would enter an era of everlasting stability and progress. And today, both his opponents and successors awaken to debate over his line of thinking, in the light of a collapse so violent it could never have been foreseen. And all of it is pointless. Someone suggested we call this final event the Anagnoresy, in reference to a concept from the formless mass of data of the past future that both sides' Logicians are desperately working at deciphering. Since the Network was hacked and opened up, the amount of crazy false information and fabricated truths flooding it has been consistently growing, to the point where we are falling into complete hysteria while the world crumbles around us. Our sick, morbid curiosity - our greed - has destroyed us. It does not matter that our civilization was built on fiction, that we were manufactured from eugenics, that we are but new versions of an unknown primitive species. It does not matter that democracy and liberty are in fact illusory, that our leaders are corrupt and genocidal, that they changed history and who knows what else. It does not matter that God doesn‘t exist. This imperfect world was beautiful and pure. It was ours, and we lost it. I leave early, for I cannot stand to watch more of this agony. Hypnos forgive us. Jin arh'Eliss |
| MEMOREM OF A GENESIST ... to justify the unforgivable and explain today what was unthinkable yesterday. I think I have exclusively heard it as part of the Genesist Exarch's speeches. Another reason to stop lingering on our individual paths and look towards the common horizon. The worst thing is I can't fault him. Today, I share his guilt. I will stand by him and fight the inevitable. Ksana Genesist |