Meetup: The transmortality symposium
Log Info
- Title: The transmortality symposium
- Emitter: Zenia Petroni
- Characters: Demelsa, Arubesh
- Place: A04 - Flame's Hope Theatre
- Time: December 28th, 2016
- Summary: A public forum on the possibility of improving mortality via artifice and other means.
The transmortality symposium. An event hosted by Petroni Gearworks to discuss the concept of mortality, its limitations, and the ethics surrounding exceeding them. Many people have filed in, including a few guards and clerics just to make sure that this isn't the start of some new undeath cult. Even when Zenia had submitted the proper forms and everything! A sad day for a less-than-sensible artifcier, but nevertheless she's accepted the terms.
As many have filed in, Zenia has decided to make a rather impressive entrance. It's a vault directly over the outer walls, seven feet clear into the air as she lands with a pair of sparking devices on her boots while she dusts herself off. Some of them are clearly shocked, but she does approach the stage that has been set up.
"Ladies. Gentlemen. Constructs and non-gendered entities of varying nature. The world is a large place. Many of us have seen individuals and devices well beyond the capacity of mortals. Take the display of the kinetic burst amplifier for my entrance." she observes, as the crowd seems to fall silent. "...The jumping device." she explains as a murmur of understanding spreads. "We have so much we could improve on. Disease, inborn defects like those born blind or lame. Extension of age for shorter-lived races... Such as myself, of course. Even the infirmities of old age. Of course, many take quick and dirty routes to this sort of thing. Liches, scourge upon the world seek nothing but to destroy in service of dark gods to continually bolster themselves. I cannot condone that and say affirmitively that I do not endorse their path."
"Yet look at dragons. Immortal, some malicious and others benign. It's not a stretch to say that they've a number of advantages over mortals including the benign metallic dragons which manage to balance immortality with morality." Zenia says, "Or sorcerers, who develop abilities outside of the realm of your average arcane spell once they hone their own supernatural natures to a sufficient degree. I ask that you join me in an open discussion on what it means to be mortal, and how we might all if in a small way, improve upon our own shortcomings and frailties as individual sapients."
Demelsa is seated near the front with her gloved hands in her lap as she watches the opening of the event. Her mask hides whatever reaction she might otherwise give at Zenia's entrance, aside from a slight flaring up of the cold flame that flickers out from the mask's eye sockets. Her gaze shifts to the others in attendance, as if either looking for someone in particular, or just seeing who else is in the crowd, before she focuses back upon Zenia.
When the discussion is open to the group, he rises to his feet. "I am Acolyte Arubesh," he introduces. "So to clarify, we here are seeking a life extension for the shorter lived races, but avoiding the, as you put it, easy path of lichdom?" His hands fold before him, held at waist level. "What options are open then in this discussion? Artifice? Stealing life from dragons themselves?"
"Artifice primarily." Zenia says, "Stealing life from dragons is a morally dubious prospect. Certainly one could target the chromatic dragons as they strongly tend towards malice, but what then? How easy would it be for someone to abuse the methods we had developed and turn it on the metallics? Not to mention the fact that we would have to contend with the fact that we would be habitually perpetrating a wrong on those who have wronged us... Is it right for us to do so? Are we within our rights to turn the wicked into glorified batteries for our own ends? I don't think so. I may lack the ability to make good calls, but it's not like I'm about to endorse that kind of... Torture. Besides, who knows what the side-effects of draining chromatics could be."
"It also strikes me a methodology that would never meet demand, once it has been perfected." says the young voice of the masked girl near the front. She stands up so that others could see who had spoken, and continues with her gloved hands clasped before her. "Agriculture has had millenia to learn what is sustainable, but I can already see that theft of whatever draconic essence provides them their power would anything but; we tell jokes of the rarity of a dragon's egg, after all. So, ethical or not, we would only run out before achieving what we desired."
Arubesh furrows his brow and tilts his head to the side. "Wise, though I believe the morality would more be in the taking, than it would be in the taking it from the good." A thumb and forefinger rubs at the light scruff of his beard as he listened to the masked woman's thoughts. "As one that was raised by a being with an un-naturally extended life, I suppose my real interest lies in the question of quality of life. What long term effects could one expect ? Would the possibility," he says as he motions to the masked woman. "Of one being harvested for parts? One would suppose that artifice could be taken and re-purposed for another."
"Suggesting that a sapient individual, if made purely of artifice, would be cannibalized in such a manner?" Zenia asks, "...Not an appealing prospect, but one that may have to be contended with in the event of artifice taking center stage as a means of prolonging life." she says, "And yet, consider that others are still willing to resort to methods such as necromancy if they truly wish to take life at the expense of others. Could we not, by providing legitimate means of life extension, stem that usage at least a bit?" she asks.
"Quality of life!-" exclaims the masked woman, causing an unmistakble roar of cold, blue flame to erupt from her mask's eye sockets, until she clears her throat and the fire subdues. "Pardon me. Quality of life is an excellent goal that he has mentioned; any method of extension diminishes the very..." she explains, pausing as she seeks to find a suitable word or idiom. "... joy that our bodies provide - via all manner of senses and experiences - is flawed and not worth our efforts. But I feel I am digressing from your subject matter somewhat - at least for the moment, but it will lead into something I wish to discuss later that is relevant to the goal of this talk."
"Then let us continue to look at a different angle, if we cannot find a suitable approach to the idea of life extension... However limited an appropriate amount might be." Zenia says, "Prevention and, as you said, quality of life. Quality of life is sometimes impeded by mortal frailty. Prevention of these things, or compensation for them in addition to preventing diseases is important. Perhaps artifice may provide an answer to the blind, to the lame, perhaps greater focus on it may provide cheaper and less resource-intensive means. Why, I wouldn't even put it past arcane or-if the gods permit, divine magic to create such replacement appendages."
"What would you two say, then?" she asks.
The mahogany skinned man pats a small book hanging at his waist by a chain. The book is marked by the scales of Vardaman. "I assure you," he says with a bow to the masked woman. "My question seems odd. But the man who raised me was risen again against his will. I undid the mistake myself. But that he passed peacefully was important to me." His hands lift and waggle back and forth like a scale. "Similarly a careful line between artifice and the magics that effect life need be delineated. As you say," he says to Zenia, "What of other means? Necromantic Magitech once existed, and it was stomped out by the good and just." A deep breath rises from his chest. "Perhaps the idea of life extension smacks too much of that sort of abomination. Enhancing quality of life, for the blind, disabled, or diseased would be a route that the public would find more palatable."
"Not all." interjects the masked woman, and she turns her masked visage to face Arubesh. "Necromantic Magitech - or Blacktech, by another name - is still alive and well in the world. I have met one of its practioners and seen some of his most experimental craft firsthand, before he moved on. I suspect more dwell in Charn, where they can perform their research without people like us telling them they are unethical, immoral, and abberrant." she explains further.
"My condolences, both of you, for your interactions with necromancy in its myriad and disgusting forms." Zenia says, "Let us not approach these things, but rather understand that we may accomplish both goals at once... Does it not indeed, extend life to cure diseases that may shorten it otherwise? To replace a failing organ with one of artifice-if such a thing is possible is also an extension of life, merely one that would not destroy one's own mortality and life itself in favor of a necromantic mockery."
"And we come to another topic if I may breach it, the idea of regulating artifice. How is such a thing to be done?" she asks, "How would we do something like that, to find the ethical balancing point of our own works? Obviously one could phrase a device strangely to conceal malign workings. How would we regulate, if such were to be needed?"
Arubesh lifts a hand in apologies. "I of course misspoke. I do mean stomped out for the most part. It did cover much more of our world than it does now." The priest draws his hand back and rests the hand to his chest. "Regulating it within some territories may be possible, though truth be told Charn will always be an exception. I would suggest following the Convocation of Rune as a ground work for artifice regulation. True Necromancy is forbidden, but not all necromancy is abhorred. There are many types of spells whose use is not of a profane use, but still draws on the powers of death. Regulating what individuals can do to their own bodies would be very different."
Demelsa lets out a girlish giggle after Zenia's words, her eyes dancing with fire for a moment before she raises a hand in an apologetic gesture. "My apologies, I was just amused at your assumption that the 'necromancer' disgusted me; he was not a necromancer in the conventional sense, more of a surgeon than anything else, and exceptionally gifted from my limited understanding of his experimental craft." she explains, before turning her focus to Arubesh. "And your own fascinating experience - may I use the word fascinating? I do not wish to be rude, but your upbringing does interest me - anyways, your experience has also made you more open to this art, as my experience has, in a way most cannot. Kulthus placed a black mark on Artifice in much the same way that necromancers - eager to make corpses mimic life - foul their own art."
"Yeah, I know what you mean..." Zenia says, "But that's why I want to stress the principle of ethics above all." she explains, "We, that is to say artificers, failed massively before. The trust we were given by the world was squandered and I can't possibly say we did well before. We must use what we can for good, not for power, not for personal advancement. The world can benefit, and I want to show everyone that we can contribute. That's part of why I've hosted this." she explains.
The priest nods his head. "It is as apt a word as any. My past and lineage taints my experiences in a way my fellow Vardamans are not keen on." Removing his glasses he wipes the lenses with a soft cloth. "I do feel that my view point is different. If we were just discussing the replacement of organs. Perhaps those that could not be healed by traditional means? It does happen." Lifting the lenses he inspects them for smudges. "If that is the route, I would then suggest having artificers working directly with surgeons and clergy. The regulation falling to the replacements being a worse case scenario." His shoulders rise and fall as he puts the lenses back on the bridge of his nose. "I feel that the artficer tendency to work alone or only with other artificers, much like necromancers, causes most of the distrust. If work is hidden, then it must be indecent."
"My own viewpoint is similarly different." Demelsa begins, as she slowly moves away from her seat and steps out into the aisle. "You see, I was born a cripple who could not walk, had the function of only one arm, a bent spine that made it impossible to sit in a conventional chair, and other infirmities that - were it not for the comfort of landed title and family fortune - would have certainly made my life short. A few years ago I sought out the aid of artificers to rectify that situation."
"And that explains why you two aren't trying to burn me at the stake! Yay!" Zenia says, then pauses as the crowd seems to murmur in apprehension once more, "...That was a joke, I have absolutely nothing against clergy and execution is not something I truly anticipated as a result of this, pardon the poor choice of humor." she notes, "...Anyway, I think we've covered life extension, preventive measures, and ethics. Are there any other topics anyone would like to bring up?" she asks, "...Oh right, we also covered regulation, too."
Arubesh offers a slight bow at the waist with a hand pressed to his belt. "I do believe many issues were touched upon. Not solved, but at least voiced." As he straightens he pushes his glasses back up on to the bridge of his nose. "I do suggest communication with the clergy... Clergy besides that of Reos. Though they should be involved. The Altheans and Vardamans would be a good starting point. You both are welcome to the temple of the Gray Lady should you wish to discuss regulations," he looks to Zenia, "Or just the past," he says to Demelsa.
Demelsa suddenly looks a bit confused for a moment - at least in posture and the movement of her hands and head, if not in hidden expression - as Zenia jokes. It looks for a moment as if she is about to speak up, but then finds a seat to settle into it instead, "Ah, yes, regulation is covered, I believe. We can... move on, then?"
"I think that about wraps it up then unless anyone would want to bring up some other points." Zenia says, "I'll be sure to check in with the clergy and some more neutral healers in developing my artifice... For the best, I think." she says, "Thank you all for coming. This dialogue, and the turnout, has been a good way to show how artificers and those who have encountered the good and bad of magic think. Or so I hope, anyway. Best wishes for all of you, truly." she says, stepping down from the stage.