Wouldn’t many humans therefore want to join the Exuberance in order to become ecstatics?
That is exactly what happened relatively soon after the end of the Black War. The Exuberance enjoyed large gains for quite a while, but these gains abated as the remaining humans became less susceptible to the promise of becoming ecstatics.
How did humans resist that temptation exactly?
The key to that was the development of new philosophies that focused on values other than happiness. The most prominent general class of these new philosophies was valism , which emphasized the need to further the values of adopted V faction. Valism put humanity in service of the V faction. Another general class of philosophies was simply called “the alternatives ”, because they represented a catchall group that was neither valist nor ecstasian.
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.