The Sons of Ether (renamed the Society of Ether in M20[1]) are a group of technomancers aligned to the Council of Nine. Originally part of the Order of Reason and the Technocracy, they abandoned their former compatriots after the Union aided the expulsion of the Luminiferous Ether from the Consensus. Since then, the Sons have adopted several outdated technologies and incorporated them into their Paradigm.
Paradigm[]
Key to the Sons' paradigm is Science (the word is always capitalised to distinguish it from the science of sleepers). Exotic theories of orgone fields, hypercombustion chambers and etheric transmission matrices enable the Etherites to create even more weird and wonderful devices. Their Science almost always has a baroque feel, as if it leapt from the pages of pulp fiction or Victorian sci-fi – death rays, robotic servants built of brass and powered by clockwork and fantastic space or aquatic vehicles spring to mind when others discuss the Sons of Ether.
The Sons of Ether see the science of the Technocracy with disdain, abhorring its static view on the nature of things. Scientific practices are not predictable mechanisms that can be recombined in a near endless rate, but a dynamic and chaotic process. As the Kitab Al-Alacir teaches: Everything is true. Anything is possible.
The Sons believe that the Spheres are actually different aspects of Ether: Correspondence is the Contiguous Ether, Entropy describes Ether dynamics, Forces are the Energetic Physics of the Ether, Life is Etheric Biology, Matter is Etheric Chemistry and Engineering, Mind is Noetic Science, Prime is Metaphysical Ether, Spirit describes the Etheric and Memetic Dimensions, and Time is the study of Causality. All Sons of Ether work to touch the True Ether, the legendary Tenth Sphere.
History[]
The Sons of Ether attribute their origins to the teachings of the Trojan philosopher Aretus, who had ostensibly learned from refugees of lost Atlantis. According to the Sons, Atlantis was an ideal society that harnessed the Ether to its full potential, before an unknown cataclysm struck it down. Aretus recorded their knowledge of Etheric Science in the Kitab Al-Alacir, which survived the sacking of Troy thanks to his pupil Parmenesthes, who fled to Athens and whose recordings were later translated by Aristotle, who deduced the fifth element out of the scriptures.
The text remained forgotten in a library until the Arabs translated the book and young Italian mage Lorenzo Golo found an exemplar through travel, while the Templar Simon de Laurent found a copy while he joined the First Crusade. Both met in Paris and tried to decipher the book, founding House Golo within the Order of Hermes in 1171, Europe's dominant scholarly magical institution of the Dark Ages. Due to internal strife with House Verditius, House Golo was disbanded only 17 years later and the two founded the Natural Philosopher's Guild.
Renaissance[]
During their studies, both Golo and Laurent came in conflict with the Church, and Laurent was excommunicated in 1190 for heresy. As a reaction, the guild searched for a patron who would protect them and their studies from mortal authorities. They found an ally in the nascent Order of Reason, whose Ars Praeclarus was similar to the outlinings of the Kitab Al-Alacir. Both joined forces and the Guild dissolved in the various Conventions of the new Order, spreading their knowledge of the Ether. Golo himself died at an accident when he tried to create an airship.
In 1283, a scroll fell into the hands of a Spanish scribe. He founded a secret society based on its precepts, which some accounts call the Pupils of Parmenides, which was outside the Guild's influence. They would later join the Celestial Chorus and eventually reunite with the Voltarian Order.
The disciples of Aretus prospered in the era of the Renaissance when it seemed that Science knew no boundaries. The enemy was clearly defined by its archaic, unsophisticated rites and barbarianism and most followers of Aretus were proud to fight against the hordes of Unreason.
Victorian Age[]
In 1806, the formation of the Voltarian Order on the precepts of Alessandro Volta reassembled the followers of Aretus' book in one Convention. It was a time of upheaval for the Order of Reason, and in 1851, when the Order was reassembled as the Technocratic Union, they were renamed as the Electrodyne Engineers, who focused on the transmission of energy in all its forms. One of their popular theories was the existence of luminiferous Ether, as stated in Aristotelian works.
Many of the Engineers were offended when the Union moved against the young and brilliant Serbian Nikola Tesla via the more predictable Thomas Edison. To the Invisible College, Tesla represented all the dangers of the scientific paradigm without proper control and procedure, while to the Electrodyne Engineers, he was a figurehead for the innovative nature of Science and an inspiration. His ruination already set tensions high, and when the higher echelons turned against the Engineers for their attempts to advance the Time Table too quickly by moving the concept of luminiferous Ether out of the Consensus in 1904, a short time after the Invisible College had become Control (the shadowy force that nowadays guides the Technocracy), the Engineers left, renaming themselves Sons of Ether in order to honor the concept that was central to their doctrine.
The Sons joined the Council of Nine, claiming the Seat of Matter, vacant since the Solificati had been banished from the Traditions. They provided much information on the enemy and finally allowed the Council of Nine to actually act as a Council with full members.
Modern Nights[]
In 1900, Czar Vargo, one of the most infamous Sons of Ether, attended the Paris Exhibition, intending on proving that Ether actually existed and breaking the Technocratic paradigm in one great feat of Science. Instead of his energy device, however, weapons were the main focus, which enraged the mage greatly, for he believed that the purpose of Science was peace and cooperation, not conflict. In 1914, only a short time before the outbreak of World War I, he manifested himself in Paris in an airship announcing his intent to bring world peace if all governments would step down under his benevolent rule.
Vargo was stopped by the Technocratic Union, and his deeds were erased from humanity's collective memory thanks to Paradox and the Union's coverup, but it proved the determination and loyalty of the new Tradition to their peers. In World War II, most Sons turned against Hitler when his involvement in the occult became apparent (let alone the concentration camps). Others continued to support the Axis, hoping to use the Third Reich to combat the Technocratic paradigm. It did not end well for both sides and the Tradition as a whole was damaged.
Modern Science has brought some relief for the paradigm of the Sons. The Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Theory, and the discovery of "Dunkle Materie" or Dark Matter has given the Sons a hold in modern sciences and they intend to exploit it before the Technocracy can close the leak. The Avatar Storm, however, has proven to be problematic, since it trapped many Etheritic agents in the Umbra.
Organization[]
Initiates of the Sons of Ether are often recruited from the halls of academia, where a prospective Etherite is surreptitiously given a copy of the Kitab al Alacir. Should the student show an ability to break through the barriers of conventional logic, he or she will then be guided into a mentorship.
These new students are lead by their mentor through extensive cram sessions of conventional and Awakened science. This is sometimes augmented by Life and Mind magic so the student can study for days on end with stunning recall of the information later. The goal is for the student to gain a PhD level in their best field of research and a wide range of knowledge in other fields the mentor feels will be helpful. This doesn't also equate to formal scientific training. But students should at least have practical skills to back up their Awakened Genius and know how to move through a lab without ruining experiments or harming themselves.This usually takes between two to six years based on prior education and rate of progress. Once that is completed the student creates a thesis or an invention that must stand up to scrutiny by three Society of Ether members. If they deem it sufficient, the student progresses to a Researcher.
Researchers are encouraged to travel and pursue their own interests, but often check in with their mentor. They are expected to bear the responsibility of taking Etherite research and inventions, and disseminate it down to sleepers. They are also tasked with alerting the tradition of any promising students, though Researchers are expected to allow a Professor or Chair handle their training if they Awaken. However some Researchers give the prospective student a head start on training and knowledge. Their final duty is to act as assistants to any Professor or Chair who requires the aid for a project be it funding, as a lab assistant, or anything else within the Researchers power to offer. It is allowed for one to turn down extended or onerous requests for aid, but if they too easily deny requests they find other etherites too busy to offer them assistance in the future.
A Researcher advances to the Professor rank after proving themselves in the field and impressing his fellow Etherites. (In game and tradition terms becoming an Adept in a sphere.) They require one Chair or two Professors in good standing to officiate the elevation, and thus most Professors lead a somewhat settled life to keep in better contact with the tradition at large. They gain the ability to request Researchers aid in their personal projects, and can amass a good deal of personal power. However they are expected to regularly demonstrate new scientific theories and inventions or fade into obscurity.
The second highest position are the Chairs. They oversee a specific field of study and direct the traditions research within it. An Emeritus or a council of Professors can appoint someone to a Chair. Being a master of a sphere is a requirement for consideration. They were first created in 1878 and are limited in number, each focusing on tradition affairs or specific aspects of etheric science. Only a Quorum of existing Chairs or an Emeritus can create a new Chair. The focus of some Chairs do overlap, which can lead the members to either become staunch allies or bitter enemies. Because of the vague boundaries, sitting Chairs often encourage Professors under them to declare what field of science a given project is under. They have power of approval over all scientific innovations under their purview, and can ban dangerous experiments or demand specific protocols, with only the the Council for the Enforcement of Scientific Ethics being able to overrule them.
The highest members are the Emeriti, Archmasters of the spheres. Other Emeriti can promote a scientist to their ranks even if they have refused Chair or Professor duties but have the necessary might and understanding to experiment upon the Tellurian itself. They are above overrule any Chair or Professor, but rarely do so. Most reside off within the Ether Space, focusing on their own research projects that are reputed to include creating antimatter stars, deliberate time paradoxes, and living spaceships.
Advancement among the Sons is much like academia. Etherites correspond and publish journals and papers on their theories, and those that are useful, interesting, and have shown practical application are given the most acclaim- especially those published in the Etherites' most prestigious journal, Paradigma.
Factions[]
Ethernauts[]
Since the mid 1850's, the Ethernauts have been building ships and charting expeditions into etherspace. In 1892 they successfully landed on the moon, stunning the Queen's Privy Council and the Order of Reason. But with the Order deciding to remove Luminiferous Ether from the consensus, the Ethernauts were the ones leading the etherite walk out. Since then they have engaged in complex space battles with the Void Seekers, using Etherspace as shortcuts into real space to ambush and attack their projects. They currently divide their efforts into three fields. Propulsion Sciences and the movement of spacecraft, Material Sciences to create and construct vessels that can withstand the stresses of experimental propulsion systems, and Human Sciences to prepare Ethernauts for the rigors of travel and to modify them so they require less resources such as food and oxygen. They lost many in the Avatar Storm and are working on vessels that can withstand it so they can launch search and rescue missions. The headquarters are still based in London, however secret research labs are scattered around the world including old russian space program facilities, and makeshift training labs in Canada.
Cybernauts[]
Originally formed in the early 1900's with the goal of creating an etheric version of the assembly line to compete with the Technocratic Union, the Cybernauts decided to continue working together despite the failed mission. In 1961 when the Virtual Adepts joined the Council of Nine, they were excited to see their old friends the Cybernauts and the updates they'd made to old shared designs. The Cybernauts then decided that Information Is Ether, and collaborated with the adepts on alternative information architecture. Since the Great Whiteout and the Avatar Storm, the Cybernauts have begun to refocus on their own projects again. They divide their work into three categories of Brains, Brawn, and Blam. Brains oversee machine control systems, such as psychic control systems and memory materials. Brawn oversee the body, creating the physical form of items ranging from vehicles to robots, using unique alloys and refined alchemy, And finally Blam oversees the machines power reserves, secondary systems, and weapons if it has any. The Cybernauts have quarterly Symposia where research groups discuss their progress and findings, new groups form, and overall policy is decided by democratic vote.
Utopians[]
The Utopians believe that science should benefit sleepers as much as possible as soon as possible. They are largely made up by psychologists, sociologists, historians, and political theorists who use their backgrounds to try and find ways to integrate etherite inventions into consensus and society and bring improvements. The original Utopians saw the benefit that Ether could bring to humanity, such as free energy and universal health. So the Order of Reasons decision to pull it from consensus struck them as an extreme betrayal of their original goal. They encourage the development of non lethal weapons such as stun rays and knock out drugs, and discourage the creation of lethal weapons, though concede in areas of self defense. During World War 1 many etherite scientists got pulled into the conflict and weapons on both sides grew in cruelty and damage. The Council of Nine ordered the Etherites to create an internal code of justice to deal with criminals or else be subject to Euthanatos "corrections." The Utopians formed the Council for the Enforcement of Scientific Ethics, who went on to prosecute Awakened criminals in the Second World War, as well as root out Nephandi and Infernalists who had attempted to infiltrate the Society of Ether.
Adventurers[]
Not a formal faction, connected Etherites know what the label means or at least have a personal idea. Etherites who go beyond the lab are renowned for not only the unsettling habit of saving the tradition from inconvenience or doom, but also for offering only marginal contributions to ether science. The first known Adventurer was Mathieu Hullebusch who tried to overthrow the colonial government of the Belgian Congo. Since then other Etherites have taken up his example, stepping out the lab and working to be daring and impose their consciousness with force. Some examples are Czar Vargo's airship corp trying to stop the Great War, and Doc Eon and Doctor Mondial fighting Nazi's. Despite the Etherite belief that adventurers aren't taking things seriously, the truth is the journeys they go on take them off the traditional path, opening them up to new ideas and methods that can be incorporated into scientific research. Their tools are portable, their bodies and minds are refined for peak performance, and the Effects are instantaneous. They have little organization and often operate alone or in mixed tradition cabals. When necessity dictates the need for multiple adventurers to work together, if they find camaraderie and compatibility, they stick together for a long time.
Mad Scientists[]
A small faction of Etherites, they first formed in response to the creation of the Council for the Enforcement of Scientific Ethics. They felt that they should be able to research whatever they like regardless of the suffering or consequences that come from it. They work isolated or in very small groups in hidden laboratories creating weapons, berserker robots, mutant diseases, and other frown upon investigations. They work to avoid the Utopians, the Enforcement council's agents, and other so called "meddlers" into their work. Since the Avatar Storm, the Mad Scientists have seemed to grown bolder.
Progressivists[]
The Sons of Ether began with noble goals, but with a desire to help the planet, they were notably lacking in diversity of membership and those in leadership positions. The traditions business often took place in mens only lounges and segregated faculty lounges, cutting off a number of bright minds. The rise of women's suffrage and brilliant female scientists like Marie Curie began more serious conversations, and made it harder for them to be label as "aberrant intellectuals". Then an anonymous article written in Paradigma revealed some crucial information that deeply shook the tradition. It unveiled that some of the most important and celebrated inventions of the Tradition had been created by their partners and colonial servants. This was initially brushed off as a hoax, but then those same anonymous partners and colonial servants refused to aid the scientists who had taken credit. Two chairs and several prominent scientists and Professors could no longer execute or run the inventions attributed to them, the Enforcement of Scientific Ethics officially removed all ethnic and gender based criteria for positions within the tradition. The Progressivists are usually members of other factions, keeping the mindset of striving forward and not letting arbitrary divisions impede that. They are the driving force behind the change of name from Son to Society of Ether. Many also advocate more involvement in Sleeper politics. They look into the innovations of often disregarded populations, keep a watchful eye over promising social scientists, and root through other Etherites research to look for bias. Nowadays the Society of Ether has advanced considerably since the Progressivists first formation, and most of the conflict is now more personal or political and less systemic than before.
Aquanauts[]
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References[]
| The Council of Nine Mystic Traditions |
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| Akashayana (Akashic Brotherhood) · Celestial Chorus · Cult of Ecstasy · Euthanatoi · Kha'vadi (Dreamspeakers) · Mercurial Elite (Virtual Adepts) · Order of Hermes · Society of Ether (Sons of Ether) · Verbenae · Hollow Ones |