Information
 
Knowledge is Power. Every Word in the Symphony flows from understanding some form of Information. Become one with that Information and you become one with the World.


Ask any Balseraph and they’ll tell you a fundamental truth about the world - say something enough times and people will start to believe it. It doesn’t really matter if it’s the truth or not, because as soon as someone really starts to believe it, then they begin to make it true for themselves. Of course, a Balseraph also knows the mutability of the truth anyway, and so it’s somewhat doubtful that anyone in their right minds is going to listen to them spout their ‘lies’ and listen to them.

The thing that so many people seem to forget is that a Balseraph is always telling the truth as they see it, and would no sooner lie about it than a Seraph would. If people would pay attention to them, they’d begin to notice one particular detail - no matter how delusional the particular Balseraph, they all have that one belief about them. But then again, all Balseraph are crazy...

Doesn’t matter if you’re crazy. If you’re right, you’re right.

People over the past hundred years have taken a particular phrase to heart - Knowledge is Power. Over time, more and more focus has been given to military intelligence, spying, technological advancement, and a general feeling that as understanding of the universe grows, almost anything is possible. People spending thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime on education, parents berating children for low academic scores, people automatically gaining a level of respectability due to titles they gain for spending years in learning institutions - all these things have contributed to a particular mindset in the popular culture.  Those who possess information and knowledge seem to somehow have surpassed those who lack it...

Sometime within the past century, this attitude and belief came to a head - no one is particularly sure of the date - culminating in the creation of an Ethereal spirit, not born from the mind of one gifted person, but through the mindset and attitudes of an entire culture bent on the pursuit of knowledge. At first, nobody noticed... after all, people wishing to better themselves was considered a beneficial pursuit, which could pay dividends to both sides of the war. Had people been paying more attention, they might have begun to wonder at the lengths that people were going to in order to gain an education. This sort of fanatical fervor to learn hadn’t been seen since the death of Raphael... whose word had never been reassigned, incidentally. The Halls of Progress were still running under Jean’s supervision, but while he had taken in the servitors of Knowledge and had continued to help humanity progress, the Word, the very concept of Knowledge, had been left unattended...

Someone should have heard warning bells in the back of their head, but everyone knows what they say about hindsight...

 

Personality

Information takes very little for granted - although she has great power now, there is always so much more to learn. She’s barely scratched the surface, and she knows it. Also, she’s aware of her origins to a certain extent - although she believes that she existed in potential for centuries, it’s only been within the past century that she’s truly begun to expand her horizons, thanks mainly to humanity. As a result, she is very supportive of the mortal world, and while the number of soldiers that she has is small, the numbers are growing quickly.

Outwardly, Information appears most often as an attractive female in her early to mid-twenties. Her dress can vary, from being like the pin-up girls you see in pornographic websites to matronly librarians to the latest in ‘geek-chic’. More often than not, her eyes are covered by mirrored sunglasses - several Lilim have commented that this is probably as a defense against themselves, as her Need to learn more is so overwhelming. One of the other strange quirks that have been noticed is that, in any form that Information takes, she always wears gloves when around those who are not her servitors.

Information is very friendly and engaging, although not so much in a physical sense. She is always willing to talk to anyone about nearly any subject, and is apparently incapable of becoming bored with a conversation. This extends to all creatures, including members of the Horde and Host. If asked what her personal interests are, she typically chuckles a bit, and then will mention several topics, at least two or three of which will coincide with the questioners interests. Space exploration, art, and emerging technology and scientific discoveries seem to be constants, however.

To her Servitors, Information is a demanding taskmistress, albeit in an odd way. Where Jean micromanages projects, and Vapula has been known to go decades without checking what his servitors are doing, Information always wants to know what her people have learned, always looking over their shoulders. This might seem stifling, possibly even intimidating to someone outside Information’s ranks, but to those on the inside, after a while they barely even notice - as long as they’re working on something, Information doesn’t seem to worry about it. She offers suggestions where necessary and moves people back on track if they’re slacking off, but very rarely removes someone from a project or tells them how to run things. After all, replication of experiments by different people can result in different insights into the nature of things. She already knows how she sees something, and either she will learn more about the subject, or more about her servitor by allowing research to continue the way it sees fit.
 
Jean and Vapula

Information knows that she has ‘competition’; although that isn’t the way that she views it. Both Heaven and Hell have people assigned to increasing the level of understanding of the universe. Which is good, and she cannot argue with their reasoning - the problem comes in when you start dealing with the people that Heaven and Hell have picked to do this most important of tasks...

Jean has certain issues with the idea of an Ethereal Superior of Information. Information has never truly known God, or been a part of God’s plan, and therefore may be furthering Hell’s objectives by advancing humanity at a pace that they are not prepared for. She has already thrown the timetable off by several years with certain key developments, and there is a reasonable chance that even more disruptions will be inevitable as long as she continues with her plans. Furthermore, she is in violation of the concordance that states that Ethereals shall not interfere with humanity, and if she is not stopped, it may send the wrong message to others. If Ethereals wish to help humanity, then there are established channels through which they may do so, notably through the Archangel of Dreams.

Personally, Jean likes Information. He truly does - in her he sees an inquisitive mind and sharp instincts the likes of which he has never seen in an ethereal, and the pursuit of knowledge is hardly an evil act. Information herself has never given him any reason to believe that she would directly side with evil, and he doubts that she would knowingly do so. However, there are rules that must be followed, appearances that must be kept up... and no matter how he personally feels, his duty is clear to him. Besides, there is too much of a possibility for trouble, what with her association with a madman and all...

Vapula likes Information. Loves her. Loves the idea of her - the very notion that humanity would create an Ethereal to help drive them on in the process of learning is proof of their self-optimizing nature. God alone knows what sort of effect she could have on the whole of the masses were she given additional support and a freer rein. Fascinating creature. Of course, she hasn’t quite mastered the art of helping people bring the fruits of their research into realization just yet. But she’s young, and she’s only an Ethereal, and can’t really be expected to have mastered the methods of the Great Work.

Vapula is afraid that she’s not going to advance much further, though - Lesser Archangel Jean has begun her testing in a way that is just wrong. Idiot should know better, but what’s to be expected from someone that couldn’t cut it where he was needed? No, if she’s truly going to pass her testing, she’ll need to be coddled a little bit longer. After all, she shows potential... as an Ethereal, she’s managed to indirectly support a Word that was held by the Lesser Archangel of Knowledge - and Vapula’s quite certain that Raphael would have cut it and made her transformation to Greater Archangel in no time, if Legion hadn’t forced her to cut her life short. And if an Ethereal, someone who isn’t technically part of the Great Work, can get this far, imagine where she could go if she lives long enough for him to figure out how to help her make the transformation from barest Initiate to Greater Archangel...

For Information’s part, she’s trying to avoid both of them as much as she can. Both of them are very interesting people, and she would welcome the opportunity to work with them, but there are too many differences for her to be comfortable with them. Jean... Jean is a good man, but he has ordered his servitors to oppose hers. She understands - it’s politics, but that doesn’t mean that she appreciates it one bit. Besides, the idea of withholding information from people is a foreign concept to her, and one that she finds repugnant. And as far as Vapula goes... as friendly and as helpful as he has been thus far... she’s heard quite a bit about him. He’s charming... he’s intelligent... he has passion that truly entices her... but from everything she’s heard, when Vapula finds something fascinating (which is a term she’s heard he’s used in reference to her) he has this tendency to take it apart and find out how it works. Somehow, being dismantled into her component forces is something that she doubts is going to be pleasant. Oh, she knows that he’d never mean to hurt her, but what he means to do and what he inevitably does are two different things. Best thing she can do at the moment is to try to keep both of them at arms length...

 

Tactics

 

Information’s organization is very seldom aggressive, except when you do something foolish – and anyone who has ever heard the hacker’s creed that Information wants to be free should take this into consideration when dealing with her. Security systems, passwords, locks, and classification of Information – all these things have one of two tendencies, depending on the servitor. Either it really upsets them, and makes them want to get to their objective all the more, or it excites and intrigues them, and makes them want to get to their objective all the more.

Information, as an Ethereal creation, is mostly composed of Ethereal forces – which has several effects that those that oppose her have come to count on. One, while Information is far from omniscient, if given time to analyze what is happening she will catch on to what is happening and will probably figure out the flaws in the plan that is being used against her. Two, Information has a flawless memory – if a tactic has been used against her before, she will remember it instantly. Third, while not as powerful as many of her potential opponents, she has made an existence of being able to improvise and adapt to situations that she encounters. Having an intelligence that doesn’t even come close to rating on the charts makes her extremely flexible.

Finally, and most importantly, is that Information will always make sure that her servitors know that they have her support - her direct support. Anyone who finds themselves in a situation that they can not handle who succeeds in contacting her will either find themselves withdrawn to a safe location, will find themselves totally healed and recharged, will find help teleporting in quickly or… other extreme measures may be taken. It has been documented at least half a dozen times where a petitioner for aid who was on the verge of dying and for some reason could not be withdrawn had forces (in one well-documented case, over half a dozen) bound to it until it was capable of escaping.

Attunements

 

Information, as an Ethereal, cannot create Celestials, and therefore does not have Choir or Band attunements. She does create Ethereals and does have other servitors that have come into her service. As such, she has created a decent number of Servitor attunements that her servitors can acquire over time. Those with asterisks (*) can be found in non-servitors, as a reward for good service over an extended contract, while those without can only be found in her bound servitors.

Administrator

This attunement works in a manner similar to Yves’ Library Card Attunement, with the provision that it will only work on electronic systems. In the event where the filing system is electronic but the information itself is hardcopy, the system will tell the Administrator where the information is, but will not retrieve it or give them special clearances to get it.

Access Denied *

The holder of this attunement can make a particular person’s form of identification not be accepted for CD x Essence Spend hours. Driver’s Licenses will not come up in the DPS database, computer passwords will not be recognized, magnetic card keys will not open doors, etc…

Master Database

The holder of this attunement can, for a cost of 6 essence, ask any question of Information and have a relatively high probability of getting it answered. This attunement has a similar affect to the songs of Symphony, however it takes much more time – an answer will be forthcoming in 6- CD hours, with a CD 6 having an instant result. There is always the possibility, particularly in Celestial matters, that Information may not be able to find anything. However, if there is something available, the knowledge imparted will be correct, and usually more will be given. The DM can impart up to 10 seconds worth of speech, which can include Information’s own theories, as well as potentially giving pictures or sounds as well.

Teach *

The holder of this attunement can, over the course of 6-CD hours, impart Level 1 of any skill or song that they know at Level 5 or higher to anyone that would normally be capable of using that song or skill. This attunement is very similar to the Songmaster attunement, and as such is given out very rarely.

Edit Memory *

This attunement allows the holder to enter a subject’s mind while they are unconscious and craft memories that will seem completely real. Well, most of the time, anyway. Roll an intelligence check with a –1 for every point of intelligence over 4 that the victim possesses. If the check succeeds, the memories are implanted successfully. If the roll fails, the memories are implanted, however over time the victim may notice small irregularities and inconsistencies, possibly even having real events and the implanted ones running together. This attunement is mainly given to Outcast Kyriotates and Renegade Shedim that enter Information’s service, but can be found in others.

Warranty

The very existence of this attunement is classified by Information, as certain… ‘Technologically inclined’ Superiors might possibly take it as an affront. This attunement allows its holder to reverse any critical failure with any piece of mechanical hardware, short of an Intervention, at the cost of 2 essence. At a cost of 4 essence and CD soul hits, this attunement can even make Vaputech hardware work according to design specs for CD days. In the case of Vaputech hardware, however, the DM rolls the CD in secret.

Zeroed

This attunement is only rumored to exist, and is in its own way more of a distinction/ curse than anything else. The holder of this Attunement can no longer be detected by any celestial means, other than direct Superior intervention. This ability comes at a cost, however – the holder of the attunement loses the ability to regain essence other than through Resonances, Rites or direct essence transfer. All regularly gained essence goes to the fueling of this attunement. The holder of the attunement can end the attunement at any time, however once it is dropped, it can not be restarted unless the attunement is bought again.

Servitors

 

Most people, when thinking of an Ethereal, would assume that the only servitors that Information could reliably get would be other ethereals. Information will not speak on the matter, saying that the rolls of those who serve her are private. If they choose to reveal themselves, they will. She will admit freely that compared to other Superiors, the number of servitors that she possesses is small. Seraphim that have heard this statement have claimed that this is apparently the truth…

The trick is, Information knows quite well about conversational misdirection – especially when dealing with Seraphim. After all, if you think about it, most Superiors have Relievers, Imps, Gremlins, servants staying in their Cathedrals doing the menial work and so on. While Asmodeus and Dominic may need people to sort, collate and organize the information that they gather, she has no need to categorize information. She is Information, after all – everything that her servitors learn goes directly to her.

All of her servitors are agents and researchers, working to learn as much as they can about their chosen subject matter. As there is very little central organization, there can be the appearance of little to no organization to those who are outside her ranks. In truth, there are quite a few chat rooms, blind email relays, and meetings at coffee shops and the like – but since only those who have been brought into the organization can find them with any regularity, the appearance of chaos remains.  No one is really held back to defend a cathedral, as there really is none. This has its advantages and disadvantages. 

One of the other things that people have not caught on to is that Information has a very diverse assortment of servitors. Pretty much anyone who wants to learn more about the world and the secrets it holds is welcome to work for her, so long as Information gives the go-ahead. Granted, the go-ahead typically consists of Information picking their brain about everything they know, but once that’s done, they’re in. Renegades, Outcasts, Ethereals, disenfranchised soldiers and sorcerers – anyone is welcomed with open arms into her ranks.

The Future

 

On the surface, the future of Information and her organization looks very bright – she has a great deal of resources available to her, a sizable number of near-fanatical servitors, and no one that seems dead-set on opposing her. Nothing is ever that easy.  If you look closer, the brightness that her people shine with is coming from the glares of all the people that are about to sit up and pay attention. After all, while the Symphony is a pretty large pond so to speak, if you drop a big enough rock into it eventually the ripples will hit the sides.

Up until now, Michael, Laurence and Baal really haven’t heard much about Information. Oh, they’ve heard that there’s an Ethereal on the Corporeal plane than interacts with humanity more than it should, but that doesn’t really rate their personal attention. They may even have heard stories that this Ethereal has a few human soldiers, and has a very good head on its shoulders. Once the word hits them that this thing has Celestial servitors, they’ll perk up a bit. Once they hear that this thing has hit Superior status, their heads will definitely snap up. And once they hear its name and its concept, well… Depending on how they end up learning about her, a small three-sided war is probably going to start up.  Michael and Laurence will be trying to bring her in to Blandine, Baal will be trying to bring her down to Beleth, and Information is going to be trying to pit the two sides against each other to give her enough time to escape.

On another front, Information takes servitors from wherever she can find them, and almost never turns someone away. As very few celestials are ‘free agents’, the majority of Celestials that work with her are Outcasts and Renegades. Dominic will most likely be livid when he finds out that there is an Ethereal Superior (which isn’t supposed to exist) that is harboring Outcasts. Any Outcasts that are found to be servitors of Information are going to find themselves on the executioner’s block, just a few moments after Dominic (painfully) strips their Ethereal forces to find out everything they know on this subject.

Asmodeus isn’t too thrilled about this either – and his frustration is compounded by the fact that Vapula has taken an interest in her. On one hand, she should be killed to show that the Game has the power to do so, and to send a message to anyone else who would think to harbor Renegades. On the other, if she could be convinced to work with Vapula and would agree to accept a few ‘advisors’ from the Princess of Nightmares, it would give Hell a valuable new tool. In the meantime, all Game operatives that come into contact with servitors of Information are instructed to keep them under surveillance. This order has come directly from the Prince himself, so servitors of the Game will not take dissonance from allowing a Renegade to escape if it furthers this investigation.