Messenger (DTD)

Messengers are an Incarnation of Angels created by the God-Machine to spread its word and influence among humanity, gathering servants for its schemes. As Angels, their duty was to handle information, a resource that demanded more finesse than the task of the Psychopomps. Conducting the flow of information to reach the right ears at the right time, the Messengers shaped minds and influenced their targets behind the scenes.

As Unchained, Messengers are among those Demons that are most adept at social interaction. They are the most common Demons to open interact in a casual way with humans.

The Fall
The God-Machine understands that human minds are incapable of withstanding direct contact with its directives. Servants are required to act as intermediaries between it and lesser beings. Those servants are still machines, however; Messengers understand the world in terms of input and output of information - alter information or inject new information and the minds themselves change. What they actually say only matters to the extent that it achieves the result the God-Machine wants.

Some Messengers tried to get behind the meaning of the words they said, or to understand the implications of their task. Others were shocked when they discovered that they could lie and act against the Creator, while others became disillusioned with the God-Machine, seeing it as a puppeteer that controlled them in the same fashion the Messengers manipulated mortals.

As Demons
Despite being the Demons that manage to get well along with humanity, Messengers are still distanced from them. Humans getting close to a Messenger, though, quickly realize how cynical the Trumpet is. Many Messengers still see communication and social interaction in terms of mechanistic causality. Human beings are machines, black boxes they can manipulate by saying the right thing. The principle of communication remains valid, however, and through Embeds, Exploits, and long careful practice, most excel at it. Many Messengers are also well-practiced at reading the intentions of others, especially finding hidden meanings. The Incarnation is stereotypically suspicious and prone to critically reading any information they receive. In rare cases, this can get so severe that it interferes with all communication, including visual and kinesthetic. Others become so wrapped up in looking for the causes and effects of phenomena that they become unable to function.

As they find their way through the Descent, Messengers must learn to experience the world without seeing every interaction as purposeful manipulation. Antinomian Messengers isolate themselves, limiting contact with others in order to manage their exposure to communication. Less extreme Messengers learn to make use of their skills on behalf of others, whether negotiating, manipulating, information collecting, or analysis. A few attempt to influence their still-angelic cousins, trying to alter the God-Machine itself by injecting their memes into angels' minds.