Algorithmic Drones
Consume art without a soul and you will find yourself without a soul. In the Chronicles of Darkness, this is not a metaphor. The God-Machine needs blood and meat to lubricate its gears, minions who won’t blab about the dark rites they perform in sub-basement 3, and bodies for its angels to possess. The Soulless Algorithm ensures these human resources don’t run out.
The Soulless Algorithm is an occult plugin that piggybacks on AI software — including art programs from Final Destination, writing programs from Bayside Sorcerers LLC, and Youtube’s video algorithm. The Algorithm doesn’t directly infect mortals; instead, it subtly tweaks the outputs of the program it is attached to implant subliminal messaging into mortals using that software.
The God-Machine uses one-off exposures to the Algorithm to move people into the places that help complete occult matrices. However, long-term exposure turns the user into a stigmatic and untethered their soul, allowing the God-Machine to turn them into a compliant drone. These shells of human beings go about their everyday lives, but they do it without passion or meaning. They remain competent, but they don’t have any real insight anymore, just going through the motions day in and day out. They get their reports done on time, pump out content to feed the social media machine, and continue on as they did before — but inevitably, they lose followers or get passed over for promotion without noticing anything is wrong.
Integrators hypothesize that the God-Machine only intended the Soulless Algorithm to create the bare minimum of algorithmic drones required to meet its needs. They believe that the rise of AI programs in the early 2020s caused the initiative to spread out of control to the point that the God-Machine cannot reign it back in. Inquisitors and Saboteurs are far more skeptical, assuming everything is going according to plan. Meanwhile, a few morally bankrupt Tempters look for a way to turn the Algorithm to their own advantage.
Algorithmic Drone
Compliant stigmatic Virtue: Obedient. Drones are all too willing to follow orders from legitimate authorities. Vice: Superficial. Drones take everything at face value, and don’t bother thinking critically. Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 2; Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2; Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 2 Skills: Computers 2 (algorithms), Occult 1, Politics 1, Science 2; Brawl 1, Drive 1; Streetwise 1 Merits: Good Time Management, Omen Sensitivity, Unseen Sense (God-Machine) Health: 7 Willpower: 0 Integrity: 1 Size: 5 Speed: 9 Defence: 2 Initiative: +4 Glitches: The body odor of algorithmic drones smells faintly of brimstone. Enthralled by the Machine: The drone’s soul has become unmoored, and the God-Machine’s whispers have taken place. The drone suffers from the Soulless, Enervated, and Enthralled Conditions but does not suffer from the Broken Condition as usual. A soul cannot be attached to the drone unless the God-Machine’s influence is first removed. Uninspired: The drone cannot gain or bestow the Inspired Condition by any means. Unskilled Labour: The drone cannot raise her skills dots above two by any means. If her skills are already above two, they become two until she regains a soul.
Other Drones
The above statistics represent a generic drone who was a software engineer before the God-Machine sunk its circuits into them. Drones from other backgrounds can be created by varying the drone’s skills. If a character turns into a drone over the chronicle’s course, they will pass through the following stages.
Stage 1: Soulless Art, Soulless Self
When the Soulless Algorithm infects a character, they gain the Soulless Condition. If they are not already a Stigmatic, they become one now, gaining the benefits and drawbacks described in Demon: the Descent p. 225. Stage 1 infectees do not gain additional Supernatural Merits beyond Omen Sensitivity.
Stage 2: Uninspired
When the infected gains the Enervated Condition, they also lose the spark of creativity that drives morals forward. They cannot gain the Inspired Condition by any means, including by supernatural means. They also cannot bestow the Inspired Condition on another character by any means.
Stage 3: Enthralled by the Machine
When the infected gains the Enthralled Condition, their conversion into an algorithmic drone is complete. While they retain the abilities they possessed before, they no longer excel at them. The character does not gain the Broken Condition as usual for Enthralled. Instead, all the character’s Skills now have a maximum of two dots. If the character possesses more than two dots in a Skill, reduce it to two dots as long as the character has the Soulless Condition.
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