Do you have examples of these alternative philosophies?
There are many people who focus on seeking fame mostly for its own purpose. Then there are those who seek happiness without resorting to “hacks” like neural enhancements or drugs. Some people focus on creative pursuits out of a desire for creation. These philosophies have in common that they are mostly about personal challenges without actually conforming to the concept of personal growth as defined by the Exaltation. Finally, there are all kinds of more or less crazy religions and spiritual philosophies.
I presume that our religions are not so prevalent in that time, since the promise of heaven can be fulfilled by technology.
Well, the religions stress the point that the world presumably still has a finite duration and that afterwards we may enter some “true” heaven or hell. In this sense, their reasoning is similar to that of the Exaltation, but they are generally based on some more or less arbitrary assumptions. People may adopt the religion that they resonate most with. Nevertheless, only a relatively small minority of humans follow any religions in the V era.
Wouldn’t the V factions try to convert those “alternatives” so that they increase their own rating?
Yes, of course they do, but the Prestige Accords define strict limitations of how humans may be manipulated by the V factions. Additionally, most humans use specialized AI symbiotes called “protectors” which protect them from most kinds of manipulation.
So, in a sense it’s this enforced balance of power between the V factions that enables human freedom.
Yeah, in the era before the proof of the Universal Value System Theorem the Prestige Accords represent a kind of universal constitution for everyone. But how that proof changes the world is a topic for another interview.
Certainly! I think the V factions are really fascinating. And I guess we were just scratching the surface here. What about doing a deep dive interview for each of those five main V factions?
That sounds like a really good idea!
Do you have a favourite V faction?
Actually, my preferences have shifted somewhat over time. At first I preferred the Exuberance, but then shifted to the Exaltation. More recently, I have become rather fond of the Unity. But the Freedom is also pretty fascinating. Lastly, I couldn’t really develop a passion for the Balance, because it seems rather generic and “impure”. However, in a certain sense, it’s the most “reasonable” V faction. Without this faction seeking the middle ground, the world of the V factions would be unreasonably polarized.
I see. I’d certainly like to read more stories exploring the ideas behind the V factions in depth.
I’ve actually planned the write about confrontations of Adano with the different V factions in Guidance Withdrawal. Until now, I’ve only covered the very beginning in which the Exaltation is explored.
Then I hope you will find some inspiration to continue writing your stories. They are certainly worth reading.
Thank you very much! I think that’s a fitting conclusion for this interview.
I agree. Thank you again for your time and effort.
As always, you are welcome.
How are they deactivated? Will all individuals of a school of thought be killed?
It’s interesting that the exuberance influenced the unity to compensate for suffering. But why is heaven expensive? Does every being that has suffered get its own heaven?
It would be interesting to know how the balance balanced it all.
Can you explain this?
They are put into a state of enforced hiberation until the get woken up in a safe space.
No, but there is the necessity to store the neural patters of all deceased individuals and to keep them active. This by itself consumes much more resources than simply deleting the individuals in question.
Yes, I agree. The simplest approach would be to use a quarter of the total budget of the Balance into each of the four main projects of the other V factions. But of course that would be way too simple. I will expand on this topic in the upcoming interview with Sockrad on the Balance.
The Exuberance doesn’t strive for individual ecstasy, but for the greatest total happiness. That isn’t necessarily the same. The latter is much harder to maximize intellectually.
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