Second Dawn:Martin Buchanan

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This is a reference document for the LARP The Second Dawn.

Martin Buchanan Player: Dan P Congressman from Boston; AI preserver Age: 135/40s

Additional Information (read first): Cataclysm, Solar System, AIs, Union Politics, Seerstones

Background: You were created in 2291, part of a rapid boom of new intelligences spawned to replace the fallen in the war against the Others. While every AI exists in numerous copies, all copies are versions of a single identity, and often merge again at some future time. Wholly new AI personalities such as yourself come into being through a combination of random parameter selection and hybridization of existing intelligences, the latter part akin to old human reproduction. Regardless of your source, you pure AIs are no different than those who were once human, in form or function. Your copies took reasonably well to fighting, but your persistence and diligence served best in building defenses against Other virtual attacks, intricate mathematics and virtual environments to entangle attacking code. When the war finally ended, you made some adjustments to your own code to fit yourself into the quieter pace of civilian life. You found yourself a new calling soon enough, however: you joined the Preservation Society, a sort of social club formed of volunteers interested in protecting the sanctity of Earth. You orbited the planet above the debris shroud, making sure that no harm comes to humankind from the accidents of space or the overeager curiosity of irresponsible fringes of Exile society. The Exiles are no longer human, after all, and do not have the right to use their power to manipulate and control those who still are. Humans have always fascinated you, honestly. They were only recently extinct in space by the time you were created, and the Preservation Society has given you ample time to observe them ever since. They’re really struggling sometimes, but it’s their struggle, and it would be wrong to intervene; however altruistic your people might try to be, it would inevitably involve shaping them to your own vision. In the last year, however, your collective hand has been forced- it looked like that spaceship project, the Second Dawn, was actually going to launch. There was much debate in the Society, but eventually it was decided that you had to intervene in some way. This satellite looks safe and simple enough, but sooner or later unrestricted human expansion in space will find the Exiles or attract the Others. You were elected to send copies of yourself down to Earth, to investigate whether or not humankind is capable of joining Exile society. They have few trade goods you might want, but people themselves can be valuable. In the virtually interlinked Exile society, groupthink becomes a common danger; do humans challenge authority, showing creativity in the face of consensus? They must also be able to live and act without ever, ever doing the slightest thing that would draw Other attention; do they have that kind of restraint? Finally, they must be good trading partners; do they keep the deals they make? Six months ago, you spawned two copies for this mission, slightly iterated to give two different perspectives. Before you left, you were approached by a group of ex-humans calling themselves the Birth Club, AIs who wanted to see the Exiles have the freedom to return to human bodies. The idea intrigued you; why not allow our minds to return to the bodies that inspired them? (Not that you feel the need to do so yourself, but you can see where they’re coming from.) They hope to have contact reestablished with humans so that they can find parents who’ll allow them upload themselves into the growing nerves of unborn children before any native consciousness is born. Your landing pod came down in the forests of southern Vermont, where it was first found by the vacationing Congressman from Boston. Because of the mission’s urgency, you had to do something terribly immoral: you took over his mind, overwriting the personality in his slow meaty brain. You do plan to make it up to him, mind you; your hidden pod has stored a copy of his mind, and is preparing a nice improved new clone body for him to inhabit once your mission is finished. In the meantime, you can’t just ignore Martin’s needs and career; it wouldn’t be fair to ruin his life before returning it to him. You’ve spent most of the past months bringing and keeping yourself up to date on the national political scene, but with the party tonight you should be able to make up your mind –and carry out your decision- on whether or not humankind should be in space yet. As for that political stuff, it seems like Buchanan is a minor contender to succeed President Grant, but a fairly major player in the wider scheme of things. Boston is the second largest city in the Eastern Union, and Buchanan is very good at swaying people to his side in Congress (which you find quite easy to replicate, with your understanding of human psychology). No President can hold power against your violent disapproval, but such bold action could potentially lead to fusion-powered tanks on the streets of Boston; better to get and enjoy concessions than to play hardball. If the Presidency seems out of reach, a minor Cabinet post wouldn’t be much of a step up, but Chief of Staff certainly would be; a major Cabinet posting would be a serious reach. Regardless, so long as you take an active role, and people recognize you as a holder and wielder of power, you’ll have done right by Buchanan.

Roleplaying Notes: You’re normally an entity of patient detail, calm and methodical, but that rarely shows now. You’ve taken on the role of someone who seems friendly and open, a political manipulator who uses his natural warmth and charisma to soften people up during tough negotiations. Under it all, there’s a secret thrill at being here on the forbidden planet of Earth, after so many years spent maintaining the quarantine.

Goals: 1) Make the Second Dawn’s success commensurate with humankind’s creativity, restraint, and trustworthiness. 2) Pursue your political career and the well-being of Boston. 3) Find the Exile who snuck into the Union six years ago. 4) Find people who might be willing to reproduce for the Birth Club.

Opinions: Second Dawn: Amazing that they’ve actually made it. You don’t know whether or not it’s good enough to make it through the Shroud, let alone whether it ought to. It and its satellite won’t attract the Others, but you can’t let humans keep firing things into space willy-nilly or else something will. Black Science: They forbid electronics, fission, and AIs. You pretend a more conventional attitude, but you know what these three things really mean. Tinkers: You pretend to be suspicious and distrustful of this clannish group, but you know they’ve maintained the knowledge that’s allowed the Union to become the most advanced place on earth. The Watch: The branch of the Union government that deals with hunting down Black Science, including AIs. Stay away from them, they’d pose a serious inconvenience. Humans: The politicians seem reasonably restrained, but not all that iconoclastic or trustworthy. You can get a much better sense in a mixed gathering like tonight.

Key information: •The three traits you’re looking for are: (1) creativity in the face of consensus, challenging authority and groupthink; (2) restraint, a consistent ability to resist convenient but dangerous choices; and (3) trustworthiness, standing by their agreements. •Theoretically, you may allow some human factions or individuals access to space but not others. It would be up to you to figure out how to make that happen. •Exiles have been to Earth before in the past, before the quarantine was placed. The “Australia incident” resulted in planetside chaos and war, and ended up being a major argument in favor of the quarantine’s establishment. •Your “real” name is a 256-bit virtual environment address, but that’s basically impossible to express in this body. •Ways to sabotage the Second Dawn might include a sudden political changeover, a bomb or other physical sabotage, a launch workers’ strike, or an inadequate guidance system. Ways to aid its success might include thwarting any of those things. •The Exile is someone who’s been on Earth for 6 years, probably living in New England. You know they will be here tonight. You could start with those two clues and test peoples’ personalities, or if you wanted to be crude and cruel (but quick) you could try hacking people and see who reacts. •The “real” Martin Buchanan is stored as a backup in your landing pod, and you’ll give him a new improved clone body (and a limited explanation) when you turn his life back over to him. •The way to win the Presidency is to get the support of the Cabinet. They plan to choose the next president tonight. You’re a long-shot candidate, but you might be able to pull out a victory.

People (in approximate order of importance): Edward Dockrill (Dan P): Why, you’d recognize you anywhere! It looks like your other copy made it to the launch party too, as the Plains States Ambassador’s assistant. You should meet up with him soon and work together; two perspectives are always better than one. Jonathan Grant, President of the Eastern Union (Ted M): The man who made the Second Dawn happen; widely considered a visionary, but it’s become easy to denounce him now that the bills from all this vision are rolling in. Creative, restrained, and trustworthy. Franklin Kennedy, Chief of Staff (Matt W): Grant’s footman, and a well-connected politician. He’s hoping for the Presidency once Grant retires, but he may need to distance himself from some of Grant’s policies to make it happen. You haven’t met him yourself, but you gather that he and Buchanan were loose friends and allies. Eleanor Truman, Premier of Congress (Alison H): The head of the opposition Socialist party, fairly likely to become the next President. You haven’t met her yourself yet, and Buchanan certainly wasn’t close to her. Sydney Monroe, Congresswoman from New Providence (Nitsan B): Your colleague has long been a moderate member of the Socialist party, constantly supporting the normally-Capitalist Second Dawn project. She’s surprisingly creative and iconoclastic, and both trustworthy and restrained; but you don’t like her. Captain Ivy Pearce (Rachel O): The pilot of the Second Dawn, he’ll be the first human being in space in centuries if all goes according to their plans. You should get to know her. Ceallach [KELL-uch] Tinker (David B): He works in Boston, diving among the ruins of an old educational institution called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All Ancient ruins in the Union technically belong to the Tinkers, though raiders and spelunkers are common. You met him on the train down; he’s an enthusiastic, idealistic young man, who seems to be creative and trustworthy but not especially restrained.

Ratings: Pilot: 0 R: 0 D: 1 G: 2 ID: 3774 Navigation: 4

Nametag Symbols: E, Q, B

Attributes: Physical: Defense 3 Pool Rating 4 [] [] [] [] Mental: Defense 6 Pool Rating 6 [] [] [] [] [] [] Social: Defense 5 Pool Rating 5 [] [] [] [] []

Recoveries: -Evaluate a human’s personality (+1 point, 3/hour) -Mirror your counterpart in some noticeable way (+1 point, 2/hour) -Disagree with your counterpart about something (+1 point, 1/hour) -Influence political events (+1 point, 2/hour)

Abilities: who are you?, hack, penetrating insight, Evasive (x1), charm, suspect, Very Important Person, oratory, chemical hack (“simple touch”), optic nerve hack (“flashing light”), entice, hypnotize, redundant backups, relics of space, fears and dreams, model and predict, whole mind, model readings, upload

Items: Pouch of coins, clear seerstone

Relics of Space System: You can identify any item with the “P” quality as being from space. See a GM if you wish further information about its source and nature.

Redundant Backups System: You and your duplicate may share pool points. You may expend 3 points (from any combination of attributes) to give them 2 points (in any one attribute). This process requires brief physical contact and a few seconds of time.

Upload System: You may be able to upload a copy of your code onto any item with the “U” quality. You must succeed in a Hack challenge against its Data rating. If an item has no printed Data rating nor other specific rules, this should not be significant, but if you think otherwise in some specific case, add your “ID” rating to its Qualities, and see a GM.

Model Readings System: This is the key for interpreting the readings of your Model and Predict ability. Since you know the details and difficulty of navigating the Shroud’s debris field, you can use your newfound information about the pilot and navigation system to simulate their attempt, and evaluate their odds. 4 or less: No chance 5: Low chance 6: High chance 7 or more: Guaranteed