comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

technoMancers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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of robotic toys (including an anthroform companion in which
a sprite could be detected), which he had all named and treated
as companion pets. While using his abilities, we detected some
remarkable neuronal activity in regions usually employed for rigging.
Additionally, he was able to display some impressive tricks
with drones and machines on the testing ground.
Volunteer 4 is a 40-year-old female Afro-American
dwarf. Her psychological profile shows a severe lack of emotional
responses, almost to the point of suppression. Her mind
is strictly organized. Logic governs her responses to all situations,
even dealing with trauma-like injury or shocking input. Of all
four subjects, she seems the most rational, viewing her abilities
as an unusual skill that enables her to deal with the source code
underlying the technical operations she conducted in her role
as an engineer at a local power plant. She refuses to think of her
technomantic abilities as something special, claiming she was
just able to “program code on the fly real fast.” Even though she
Emerged during the Crash 2.0, her gift was not discovered until
very recently. Volunteer 4 shows amazing cognitive ability and
scored excellent results in all tests.
Based on our knowledge on the traditions of magicians, it can
be concluded that the different philosophies displayed by these
technomancers are possibly an analogy to those traditons. If that
is case, we are not only dealing with one class of technomancer, but
with a diversity of virtuakinetic traditions.
// end attachment //
> Though I think they’re making an interesting point—that both
magical traditions and technomancer practices are influenced and
even shaped by the practitioner’s worldview—I’m not sure that I
would agree they are the same. Most magical traditions have developed
from long-lasting cultural customs and religious praxis,
developed over centuries. Some might even claim that these traditions
date back to previous ages of magic! Technomancers, on the
other hand, seem to lack that cultural grounding.
> Glasswalker
> Sez you. I fully expect to meet technomancers who recite code
in Klingon, worship sprites that look their fave idoru, and experience
the Matrix through their personal Neil the Ork Barbarian reality
filters. The Matrix is so bloated with “culture” that makes me want
to gag.
> Slamm–0!
> Though technomancers may not have the weight of tradition to
ground their philosophies, the differences in outlook are no less
severe—though given their newness, it may take some time for
those differences to become clear. One example of how deep their
beliefs range, however, is the differing viewpoints on the metaphysical
(meta-digital?) source of Resonance. Some believe in a Deep
Resonance, others believe in an Architect, where still others worship
spirits of the machine. Given time, I’d expect these and others
strong currents of technomancer philosophy to develop into unique
and individual branches, much like magical traditions.
> Winterhawk
> This is already happening. My blog, the Undernet Prophet, became
a meeting place for technomancers of all stripes when our existence
was made public. Technomancers from all over the world have gathered
there, and many of them wield their abilities in ways that I do
not. Lacking a term for our distinctive styles (the term “tradition”
seemed too shopworn and inappropriate for such a recent phenomenon),
some technomancers began using the phrase “riding the
stream” to express their differences in philosophies. Cyberadepts like
Netcat and I and technoshamans like those that run KivaNet seem
the most prominent, though there are many more.
> Otaku-Zuku
> For what it’s worth, I consider myself a vehicle empath, though a
lot of my kind refer to themselves as dronomancers.
> Inbus
reSonating SHadowS
Posted By: Inbus
Although the mass witch hunts have declined, the corps still
desire to turn our insides to the outsides, to cut us open in order to
understand how we tick—so they can exploit our talent for their
own machinations. With a choice of being hunted or shunned,
many of us have chosen a third path: taking to the shadows.
> This is an exaggeration. Thousands of technomancers live unmolested
normal lives—especially if they remain discreet. Many
thousands more have embraced what they are and sold themselves
into corporate service. If you believe that there are no technomancer
spiders, you are quite mistaken.
> Puck
There are many examples of how one could make a living
with our skills and special gifts, but most of them involve
keeping our abilities a secret, masquerading as hackers instead.
Even among the shadows there are people who won’t work or
even deal with us because they fell for the lies and misinformation
that the corporate propaganda machine disseminated.
Fortunately, there are those that appreciate the assistance we
can provide, virtually and also physically on the spot. Although
we have our limitations when it comes to securing a team’s
networked defenses, in terms of programs and hardware, our
complex forms and sprites can stand up to tough opponents.
Our greatest advantage is, of course, our versatility and adaptability,
which is one of the reasons why Technicolor Wings
hired my talent.
> I had someone call me a Swiss knife of the Matrix, since I am able
to adapt to situations I was not prepared for in a very short time
just by improvising.
> Netcat
I am wiz with drones and machines, and I can bring out the
best of them, when it is necessary. Plus I can play hide and seek
with border sensors, which is why they also like me around when
we do a border shuffle with some smuggled goods. The same is true
for technomancer hackers, who excel at intrusions, data sniffing,
and shaving IC. Sure, a regular hacker or rigger could do my job,
but we technomancers (and our sprites) have a few tricks up our
virtual sleeves that they could never pull off.
Unwired
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9