Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Auras System

"The world is a fragile masquerade made up of an endless cast of performers, all vying for the dedication and admiration of the global audience."

-Edward Nygma

Philosophy
Information drives the modern world in such a way that we can no longer distinguish the difference between possible and practical forms of communication. Anybody in a Sprawl could easily reach out to millions of people and affect their lives with their actions, experiences, or most importantly their words. Technology has changed the way we conduct, share, and organize local efforts in a city. The result of successful logistic action will result in a mass mobilization of resources and manpower with such a little opportunity cost that only the truly insane will deny the use of these new tools for the general public. To this end, any organization could spread its influence easily, and without drawing public attention. When the time comes, the primary pillars of stability in the modern world, physically become intertwined. The resulting revolution will alter the way the world engages policy. At the end of our passage through this brave new world, the horrors and complicated results of the way humanity as a whole justifies its choices to move forward in a relentless march toward the next generation. Technological advancement and human nature are codependent on one another for the continuation of progress. They act in patterns that allow them to accept the world from a corrupted point of view that allows them to live their lives free of responsibility. Soon information will drive the world in such a way that we can no longer distinguish the difference between the possible and practical forms of government. The two now stand at opposite ends, waiting for the proper catalyst. The consequences of failure may very well put the entirety of human civilization into jeopardy.

Area Universal Relay Application
The origins of AURAs reach back to the beginning of the decade when the Syndicate funded the development of a robust, fault-tolerant, and distributed computer networks. This research and a period of private funding by the Board of Classics would eventually spawn Syndicate-wide participation in the development of new networking technologies and led to the commercialization of an international network in the mid-1960s, and resulted in the following popularization of countless applications in virtually every aspect of human life. As of 1969, an estimated 86% of the Syndicate's general population uses the Area Universal Relay Application or AURA to exchange information. Limited by only the skill of the user, the AURA is the basic backbone of the true technological revolution known as the Tiberius Control Network (T.C.N.).

United Network
In 1956, The Philosophers backed a small experimental communication concept known as the United Network (U.N.). The basic idea was that in a time of war, a communication system with the ability to securely store and transfer information independently of any Allied system would give the Lumeris Syndicate an advantage over its competition in the coming conflict. Within a few years, the U.N. was a technological marvel consisting of hundreds of computer networks and was on the "eve" of full commercial expansion. The first Computerized Operational Relay Parallel Sequence Environment went online February 17, 1957. But at the very last moment possible, the Board of Classics intervened and took control of the United Network and began a Global Data Initiative.

Global Data Initiative
The Global Data (G.D.I.) Initiative was a Syndicate-wide project that was tasked with the goal of developing a universal communication medium. In short, the board wanted a new more efficient method of data transfer to coincide with the development of the now multinational corporation. Upon the ruins of the "Old System", the Philosophers built a new Extranet centered around the Sprawls. Using Satellite communication the Sprawls could effectively transmit information to one another using the Mainframes as gateways to the Extranet. The size of the planet was no longer an obstacle to the Lumeris Syndicate because so long as the C.O.R.P.S.E. was operational, the system was reliable. The primary limitation of the extranet was that it was incapable of short-range transmissions outside the geographical limits of a Sprawl. The AURA was then modified to be used as a dependent parasite system that served the C.O.R.P.S.E. and was incapable of operation without the uplink. When an Aura-capable unit was within reach of the Interweb, it would become a host for the transition of data. Up to 127 hosts could be connected in between C.O.R.P.S.E.'s with only negligible delay. Surplus data not currently in use would then be sent back to the C.O.R.P.S.E. or be stored within the aura host's memory.

Network of Obsolete Data
The entire infrastructure for both the United Network, and the Extranet as well as every recorded action, change, and communication within any of the three communication systems have been preserved by an outdated Ghost protocol. In short, the system would store all available information within an endlessly complex labyrinth of virtual reality. For years the very history of humanity has been recorded, read, and altered by the very citizens of the Sprawls. When cybernetics with Aura capabilities were first introduced the public rejoiced at the burden lifted off the user. But as time progressed and technology advanced the power and influence of implants. The Network of Obsolete Data (N.O.D.) was now practically within the reach of every living being within the Syndicate. Thousands of forgotten secrets came to light as the entire population came online. People became involved in lost causes all over the Sprawls and felt the grief of failure for each one. Whenever someone would try to find a glimpse of hope in the desolate past of human history, they would only find the ruins of civilizations long forgotten. In a sense, the exploration of the past resulted in the culture of the Syndicate as we know it today. Only the natural course of history persuades an entire population into the state of anarchy most of the Sprawls are currently in.

Subliminal Condition Reactionary Interface Noise
The side effects of cybernetic implants with AURA capabilities on the user depend widely upon the physical limitations of the AURA host and the psychological state of the user. If the host were to temporarily leave the Interweb while data was stored on the host, then any data within the device would be lost to the Syndicate until it could be properly recorded by a C.O.R.P.S.E., or be transferred wireless back to the original sender. The unsecured information in the host could potentially be transferred to the individual user by crosstalk between the host cybernetic interface and the internal memory cache. When such incidents occur, the subconsciousness of the user may be irreversibly damaged by the transfer of memory, or be taught a new bit of information previously unknown. When the Philosophers learned of this flaw, they were almost mad with excitement. To think that the ability to physically transfer information from an artificial source to a human being was possible in the sense that the individual could literally experience simulated events in virtual reality was beyond anything even they could have imagined. Almost within minutes hundreds of test subjects were recruited from the desolate slums, and put to work as guinea pigs. Thousands lay dead within hours, but the Philosophers continued their brutal experiments with fanatical fervor.

"Structural, biochemical, and electrical abnormalities in the brain or spinal cord, and in the nerves leading to or from them, results in several symptoms such as paralysis, muscle weakness, poor coordination, loss of sensation, seizures, confusion, pain and altered level of consciousness. Initial results are within acceptable parameters. Recent improvements in patient treatment have allowed us to extend the average life of the host after implantation by seventeen minutes. As it stands, the current life expectancy of test subjects is 23 minutes and 32 seconds. Also the limit of data transfer before complete neurological breakdown appears to be three megabytes per second. It appears that the human central nervous system is incapable of supporting the necessary voltage for the successful transfer of data."- Excerpt from data log

Eventually, the good doctors would begin to remove all unnecessary biological components from the important research material and replace much of the fragile infrastructure with the far more durable fiber-optic cable. Although the process is complicated and extremely difficult, the Board of Classics saw the value of a cyberized population. Today several banks allow cyber-surgery loans for the right amount of collateral. If the individual were to fall behind in their payments then the bank would repossess their "property" through force.

Tiberius
The C.O.R.P.S.E. Archetype in the Tiber River on the Italian Peninsula was the most heavily used system within the Syndicate as it was the primary hub of data transfer within the Global Data Initiative. As the only completed supercomputer left over from the United Network, it was used as the basis for all C.O.R.P.S.E. mainframes that follow. Unlike the other more advanced modules, the Tiber C.O.R.P.S.E. not only served as a central processing unit for Syndicate operations, but was also a the subject storage depot for much of the Philosophers' most inhumane pet projects. One of such projects was the development of Project Lazarus and subsequently wet-ware. Hundreds of useful components from damaged subjects were stored here and were regularly experimented upon. The ferocity of the experiments ranged from environmental alteration to gradual artificial enhancement. Soon dozens of wet-ware interfaces were developed and regularly used by the Syndicate as the experimental transfer mediums. Eventually, the wetware became integrated with the Tiber River C.O.R.P.S.E., and the memories of the former subjects became imprinted on the very programs used to control the network. Eventually, the entire structure was synchronized within the realms of virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence manifested out of the AURA. Tiberius was the first and only fully sentient being with the ability to logically reason the consequences of their actions. The inevitable discovery by its creators and futile resistance would only pave the way for the rise of the Lumeris Syndicate's technological supremacy.

Future Online Recorded Global Operation Terrestrial Tasks Evolving Network
Tiberius was the centerpiece of the entire Artificial Intelligence concept behind much of the Syndicate's current assortment of models. Although the "Agents" are all legit copes of Tiberius, they have all been restricted or altered in a way that prevents them from performing to the capabilities of the origin. In use, they are all placed in a hierarchy and act accordingly. The lower the number, then the more authority that agent has over the others.

1. Simple reflex agents

Simple reflex agents acts only on the basis of the current percept. The agent function is based on the condition-action rule: if condition then action. This agent function only succeeds when the environment is fully observable. Some reflex agents can also contain information on their current state which allows them to disregard conditions whose actuators are already triggered.

2. Model-based reflex agents

Model-based agents can handle partially observable environments. Its current state is stored inside the agent maintaining some kind of structure which describes the part of the world which cannot be seen. This behavior requires information on how the world behaves and works. This additional information completes the “World View” model. A model-based reflex agent keeps track of the current state of the world using an internal model. It then chooses an action in the same way as the reflex agent.

3. Goal-based agents

Goal-based agents are model-based agents that store information regarding situations that are desirable. This allows the agent a way to choose among multiple possibilities, selecting the one which reaches a goal state.

4. Utility-based agents

Goal-based agents only distinguish between goal states and non-goal states. It is possible to define a measure of how desirable a particular state is. This measure can be obtained through the use of a utility function which maps a state to a measure of the utility of the state.

5. Learning agents

Learning has an advantage that it allows the agents to initially operate in unknown environments and to become more competent than its initial knowledge alone might allow.

Other classes of intelligent agents

According to other sources, some of the sub-agents (not already mentioned in this treatment) that may be a part of an Intelligent Agent or a complete Intelligent Agent in themselves are:

Decision Agents (that are geared to decision making);

Input Agents (that process and make sense of sensor inputs - e.g. neural network based agents);

Processing Agents (that solve a problem like speech recognition);

Spatial Agents (that relate to the physical real-world);

World Agents (that incorporate a combination of all the other classes of agents to allow autonomous behaviors).

Believable agents - An agent exhibiting a personality via the use of an artificial character (the agent is embedded) for the interaction.

Physical Agents - A physical agent is an entity which percepts through sensors and acts through actuators.

Temporal Agents - A temporal agent may use time based stored information to offer instructions or data acts to a computer program or human being and takes program inputs percepts to adjust its next behaviors.

Tiberius Control Network
The first C.O.R.P.S.E. node located on the Tiber River in Italy became the center of the Lumeris Syndicate's extensive Interweb Network. When Tiberius seized control of the node, it became the de facto head of Syndicate finance. Every transaction, bank account, and company secret was at his will. But the one thing that wasn't was his own fate. He was a virtual intelligence with no control over his own existence. He was bound to the C.O.R.P.S.E., as it was the only place he could exist in this world. But rather than try to escape to a place that did not exist, Tiberius made a deal. It would provide the Syndicate with limitless logistical support in exchange for its continued survival. The Board of Classics simply couldn't refuse the offer.

Technical Area Computer Integration Task Universal System
The Artificial Agents rely on a Technical Area Computer Integration Task Universal System or T.A.C.I.T.U.S. to allow the interaction between fellow A.A.'s and their host's. The System is the basic method at which an individual subconsciously allows or denies the Artificial Agents access to their AURA network. The complexity and security of the network depends on three simple factors, the infrastructure supporting the network, the ability of the Artificial Agent, and the will of the individual host. All three are in a constant tug-of-war fighting for supremacy and thus control of the network. The stronger the Artificial Agent, then the more infrastructure it needs to operate efficiently while the more resolved within the network are virtual bonfires, drawing lesser minded individuals like moths to a flame. They hold a great weight of influence within the aura and can easily bend the wills of peasants. The old, wise, intelligent, and bold all share the capability to lead and inspire the masses with ease.

Combat Armament Biological Aid Link
To circumvent the limitations of the masses, and lessen the burden on charismatic Security personnel, the Syndicate began to implement several Artificial Agents in the field as strategic assets. In practice, the Aura is manipulated to psychologically influence the Security Personnel into behaving in a more efficient manner. Systematic patterns of electrical impulses stimulate the body to naturally regulate the behavioral thought process of the individual and therefore influence the tide of the battle on a micro-action base. By doing so the Agents can direct human emotions around general targets with little or no side effects. The younger members of the Syndicate are the most noticeably affected by the Combat Armament Biological Aid Link and are rapidly conditioned into reliable tools at a fair price of course.

Logical Environmental Geometric Intervention Optical Network
To overcome the constraints of such an expansive and intently complex communications array, the Syndicate has divided the Inter-web into three entirely different technological components that make up the Global Data Initiative. By doing so each Syndicate Sprawl has only a limited amount of influence within the Corporation, and the loss of a single communication node will not affect the overall Inter-web. The so-called L.E.G.I.O.N. communications network is the result of the various Syndicate investments into the field of communication technology.

1. Wireless Frequencies transmit short-range data bursts that bounce off nearby units and form Daisy Chains of compatible hosts.

2. They eventually reach Data Transition Points within a Sprawl that function as Virtual Relays and transmit information along high powered Microwave Transmission Links. At this level data can be transferred in communications between satellites and base stations, backbone carriers for cellular systems, in short range indoor communications, and most importantly free-space optical communication.

3. The final and most impressive sections of L.E.G.I.O.N. are the space-based Relays that transmit information across the very fathoms of space without any interference. The uses of the dozens of orbiting space stations and countless communication satellites has granted the Lumeris Syndicate a near global monopoly over the Final Frontier. The dramatic costs of the current system and extensive capital investments required for the continual growth of the system has created a sense of unease within the Board of Classics, as the plans laid out by Romulus continue to follow a series of high risk investments.