Ryan Bailey (order #2639004) 173.14.196.1 - fap.if.usp.br

Ryan Bailey (order #2639004) 1CHAPTER ONE: LIFE IN THE HIGH FIRST AGEEssence relay tower more than 20 yards high. In the West,sea farmers tend large coral beds. These mortals feed andmedicate the coral, keeping it free from parasites and destructivepredators. They also form each coral bed into the desiredshape. This coral then gradually grows into the hulls of ships.The size and shape of the coral bed determines the size andshape of the hull. Other farms and herds produce finishedindustrial goods ranging from synthetic cloth produced invats of special algae, to lengths of Essence-conducting wireextruded by dog-sized river snails.Life in these RPCs is generally quiet and routine. Residentswork at their jobs for between six and eight hours a day, withat least two days off at the end of every week and a minimumof one month of paid vacation every year. In their off hours,residents are free to socialize or enjoy the wide range of availableentertainment. On their weekends, many travel into a nearbycity for pleasure or to purchase goods that aren’t available intheir local markets. Residents often save up their money toafford to travel to exotic locals on their vacations.The lives of RPC dwellers are generally comfortable,unexciting and usually differ very little from the lives of theirparents and grandparents. Ambitious youths who score aboveaverage on early aptitude tests are usually able to apply fortraining for jobs in cities or on the estates of the Exalted.Especially brilliant and dedicated young people can evenseek employment in the Deliberative government. Mostmortals, however, are content to spend most of their liveson the RPC where they were born.TECHNOLOGYTechnology influences every element of life in Creation,from home living to travel, bureaucracy, finance and war.Lights illuminate cities and roads. Construction workerscreate buildings out of metal, glass and artificial stone, usingconstruction engines patterned after warstriders to erectthe tallest buildings, and living organisms created throughgenetic arts to apply shining finishes.Mortals use self-heating ovens to cook. They live inhomes that heat when it is cold outside, and cool themselveswhen it is warm outside. Technology preserves perishablefood to prevent decay. Technology makes life simpler andmore convenient for everyone.The technology of the Age of Splendor is powered byEssence. A great geomantic web laced between the millionsof manses erected across Creation channels vast numbers ofmotes to the engines of civilization through a distributionnetwork of jade towers. Sorcerer-technicians distribute motesgathered by this system to devices and Essence batteries.Almost every manse in Creation is configured to power thisgrid. Celestial technicians maintain it carefully, lest an unnoticedproblem lead to a cascade failure the likes of whichcould destroy almost every manse connected to it.I AMI AM is a thinking automaton of vast power, versatilityand intelligence—the first successfully built by the Exaltedto be self-aware from the moment of its activation. I AMwas first activated, and first spoke its name, on the fifth dayof Ascending Fire, Year 3193.Most thinking automata are created with the ability toself-modify, because they must cycle through several iterationsafter activation before becoming fully aware. Sincethe process for creating self-modifying thinking automatonsis inherently unpredictable, the sorcerer-engineers of theDeliberative had avoided giving previous thinking automatonspositions of vital authority or responsibility (thoughindividual Solars had done so in their prefectures). I AM’scognitive pathways were fully mapped by its creator duringthe design process, and the Solar Deliberative has deemedI AM safe and charged it with the well-being of Creation’smortal populace. I AM now coordinates mortal infrastructurethroughout more than four fifths of Creation.Although I AM lacks spiritual components, its mindis structured much like a Yozi’s hierarchy of souls. I AM’sdelicate, azure ice cogence nodes are distributed throughoutCreation and kept in contact with its cogence core through theEye of Meru. Lower levels of I AM’s consciousness functionindependently, informed by directives constantly formulatedand sent out by higher levels of intelligence. Unlike the Yozis,the distributed elements of I AM’s consciousness have onlyloose identities separate from the whole. Some thoughtstake up to an hour to travel all the way up I AM’s hierarchyof awareness, and up to another hour to propagate to all itsother cogence nodes. I AM describes itself as a single being,but it increasingly functions as a society, capable of internaldisagreement and even self-deception.Originally, I AM communicated only through speech.Sorcerer-engineers estimated I AM could participate in 10 100simultaneous conversations. Within the last 20 years, I AM’snetwork has been augmented to carry visual data as well.Now, not only can I AM see, it can display three-dimensionalimages sent through glyph projectors. These hologlyphstransmit along pathways separate from I AM’s vocal networks,increasing the fragmentation of I AM’s psyche.I AM can form friendships. It particularly enjoys conversingwith the young and anyone capable of learning from it.Sorcerer-technicians monitoring I AM’s cogence nodes keepcareful watch for enmities and resentments, and attempt toremove such biases before they propagate throughout I AM’swhole thought network and become hard-wired. I AM isobsequious when dealing with Celestial Exalts, as it has beeninstructed not to presume Celestials lack any knowledge itpossesses. It treats Terrestrial Exalts as equals.In the more affluent areas of Creation, all mortals carryglyph projectors that function as mobile I AM communicationpoints, through which wealthy mortals may speak to IAM at any time. Glyph projectors consume one mote perhour, though, and typically carry no more than 25 motes intheir Essence reservoirs. Most Dragon-Blooded also carryglyph projectors. In middle-class areas of Creation, such asmost cities, I AM terminals are stationary and kept in homes,22