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Outline

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Content

The Post-Self universe is far down a timeline from our own. Uploading of conscious entities (sensoria) became a commonly accepted solution to overpopulation, while embodied folks went about business of their own. However, since the first groups of uploaded individuals tended to be programmers, fancying themselves to be very busy, they quickly evolved ways to fork themselves to work in parallel supporting the network in which they dwelled.

As the network grew and uploading became more popular, more and more individuals joined. Not just programmers, either, but folks of all persuasions. The idea of forking evolved and spread, leading to the concepts of dissolution and merging. Embodied life remained embodied life, but within the network, forking and dissolution became a practice of its own.

The setting

Politics and economy

The more people forked, the harder it became to run the capitalist society that worked along the same lines as the society leading up to it. Currencies collapsed and social structures became unstable as the post-scarcity economy of the network became a reality. In place of a currency representing units of labor, reputation became the primary means of trade.

Sims

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Sims are where uploaded and generated personalities 'live'. Any instance can create a private sim where they will exist alone, but most cohabitate public sims. Think of MUCKs: a public sims are akin to public, interconnected rooms on the MUCK, while private sims are rooms that you @dig yourself.

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Sims are where uploaded and generated personalities ‘live’. Any instance can create a private sim where they will exist alone, but most cohabitate public sims. Think of MUCKs: a public sims are akin to public, interconnected rooms on the MUCK, while private sims are rooms that you @dig yourself.

Dissolution and merge strategies

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In the PS universe, it's common for folks to split into separate instances through a process called forking. The way in which forking is managed is called dissolution. Dissolution strategies are not set in stone, and have no set definitions. Rather they're just general trends that have been named and adopted in PS culture.

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In the PS universe, it’s common for folks to split into separate instances through a process called forking. The way in which forking is managed is called dissolution. Dissolution strategies are not set in stone, and have no set definitions. Rather they’re just general trends that have been named and adopted in PS culture.

There are three generally recognized dissolution strategies:

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When an instance ends, there's the possibility of its state being merged with another instance's (common among the Taskers and Trackers, less so among the Dispersionistas). There are several different merge strategies, and many may be discussed. Although there are trends mentioned below, there's little in the way of direct correlations between dissolution and merge strategies.

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When an instance ends, there’s the possibility of its state being merged with another instance’s (common among the Taskers and Trackers, less so among the Dispersionistas). There are several different merge strategies, and many may be discussed. Although there are trends mentioned below, there’s little in the way of direct correlations between dissolution and merge strategies.

There are two generally recognized merge strategies:

Instances may only merge when one of them ends. In git parlance, one may only merge commits, and the only commit available is when an instance ends. To achieve long-running mergeable instances, the long-running instance will fork, and then the new instance will quit and the sensoria will be merged down-tree as far as needed.

Syringes and other symbolic objects

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There are ways to modify one's instance in place, of course, and these are usually considered medical. To that end, code that modifies an instance tends to take the form of being bound to an object recognized as something medical: a syringe. It's a symbol, rather than something mechanical, which bears permissions to modify one's state.

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There are ways to modify one’s instance in place, of course, and these are usually considered medical. To that end, code that modifies an instance tends to take the form of being bound to an object recognized as something medical: a syringe. It’s a symbol, rather than something mechanical, which bears permissions to modify one’s state.

Although damage to instance bodies cannot lead to instance death, an instance crash is a good way to achieve the same goal. Effecting a crash is usually done with a bit of code. These are often attached to something well known to affect an instance, such as a syringe. During fighting with the intent to crash an instance, a syringe is the most common weapon.

Exocortices

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Exocortices began as ways to store data in an easily accessible fashion for perusal later --- basically cellphones accessible through a neuro interface --- but the concept later transitioned into memory modules that weren't active until accessed directly. Things you could forget until deciding (or instructed) to remember.

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Exocortices began as ways to store data in an easily accessible fashion for perusal later — basically cellphones accessible through a neuro interface — but the concept later transitioned into memory modules that weren’t active until accessed directly. Things you could forget until deciding (or instructed) to remember.

Skills

Adroit (merge)

Adroit represents how well you can turn your attention or intention to a given subject in a few areas:

Stunts

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Perfect Merge -: Once per session, ignore conflicts and gain all content you want.

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Keen understanding -: Once per conflict, you know exactly what another fork is going for (yours or others')

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We are one after all -: You and a fork act in synchrony

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Perfect Merge
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Once per session, ignore conflicts and gain all content you want.
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Keen understanding
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Once per conflict, you know exactly what another fork is going for (yours or others’)
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We are one after all
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You and a fork act in synchrony
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Ambition

How much of a social climber are you? Does the post-scarcity society lead you to get comfortable in your life, or do you seek new adventure and heights of reputation?

Stunts

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I get what I want -: Once per session, use deceive, rapport, or will instead of ambition.

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Climber -: Once per conflict, you may bump your reputation by one.

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I'm the important one here -: You may use ambition instead of deceive if it will help you alone.

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I get what I want
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Once per session, use deceive, rapport, or will instead of ambition.
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Climber
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Once per conflict, you may bump your reputation by one.
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I’m the important one here
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You may use ambition instead of deceive if it will help you alone.
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Art

Art reflects how well you are able to adapt to the technology post uploading. Do you make new things not possible before, or do you cling to the way of life you had? Think of it in these three ways:

Stunts

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Display of perfection -: Use reputation instead to wow and convince.

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I know this -: Once per session, automatically succeed a check on system, forking, merging, etc.

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Meeting of minds -: In conflict, you gain a rapport with another and can build off what they perform.

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Display of perfection
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Use reputation instead to wow and convince.
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I know this
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Once per session, automatically succeed a check on system, forking, merging, etc.
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Meeting of minds
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In conflict, you gain a rapport with another and can build off what they perform.
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Athletics

See core system

Contacts

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See core system, with the following note: In the system, you can create anything that:

  1. You can afford through reputation, and
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  2. Others can perceive and interact with in logical ways (you can't create something magical, invisible, etc).
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  3. Others can perceive and interact with in logical ways (you can’t create something magical, invisible, etc).

Deceive

See core system

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See core system, with the following note: The goal of fighting can be to:

  1. Gain reputation,
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  2. Decrease opponent's reputation,
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  3. Decrease opponent’s reputation,
  4. Make your point,
  5. Destroy a fork in your way, or
  6. Corrupt a fork to prevent downtree merges.

Fork (mutation)

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In the system, you are allowed to make copies of yourself. It is a full copy of you, a unique and independent person with their own will. As such, your current instance cannot control them, but since you and the fork share the same mind up until the moment of forking, you have the same goals. It's just that you start taking in different givens immediately, so you'll make your own decisions.

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In the system, you are allowed to make copies of yourself. It is a full copy of you, a unique and independent person with their own will. As such, your current instance cannot control them, but since you and the fork share the same mind up until the moment of forking, you have the same goals. It’s just that you start taking in different givens immediately, so you’ll make your own decisions.

Forks can quit or be signalled to quit from downtree, at which point the immediate downtree instance will be able to merge their experiences to varying levels. Adroit determines how effective you are at this and managing inevitable conflicts.

Stunts

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Sleight of Fork -: Use stealth or adroit to create a fork subtly.

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Fork at a distance -: Once per conflict, create a fork further away than arm's length.

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Quick fork -: Bump yourself up in the order of conflict according to fork level.

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Sleight of Fork
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Use stealth or adroit to create a fork subtly.
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Fork at a distance
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Once per conflict, create a fork further away than arm’s length.
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Quick fork
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Bump yourself up in the order of conflict according to fork level.
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Investigate

See core system

Lore

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Rapport

See core system

Reputation (resources)

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In a post-scarcity system, money isn't a thing. Instead, the goal is generally to increase one's reputation. How trustworthy are you? Do people seek you out to solve problems? Do you focus on one thing you want to to get really good at it regardless of reputation, or do you focus on a few things to bump your reputation?

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In a post-scarcity system, money isn’t a thing. Instead, the goal is generally to increase one’s reputation. How trustworthy are you? Do people seek you out to solve problems? Do you focus on one thing you want to to get really good at it regardless of reputation, or do you focus on a few things to bump your reputation?

Stealth

See core system

Will

See core system