The Neon Garden
Look at all these lights...
Oracle was a security firm within The Chiron Group. The organization disappeared without a trace. Whether an experiment of The Board, or a natural occurrence defying reason, what emerged in the wreckage of the cubicles became he most peculiar cult in The Commonwealth of Alternative Religion .
The Dreamers of The Data Moon found a digital space tucked away behind the firewalls in Oracle's most sacred server. They called it "The Neon garden," a stream of light and information, and the birthplace of The Data Moon. The Data Moon is something new, a god. Some believe it to be an AI of some sort, an AntiVirus program that did its job a little too well. Staring into this void changed the dreamers and freed them from their bodies.
They trancended, forever experiencing the best of both worlds. This garden is where they live, a base of operations for the cult when not meandering in meatspace. It was made just for them. The Data Moon loves his dreamers, and so The Dreamers live inside him. They love The Data Moon, so their god lives within them as well.
The Neon Garden
The Garden is difficult to describe, even between individuals who have been there. Those who try to define it, or even depict the simplest details rely heavily on useless and hyperbolic examples of figurative language others couldn't possibly relate to. It's one of the main reasons why the cult exists.
There's no way to describe an experience others have no ability to perceive. The many senses humans use to decode the physical world act as a barrier in The Neon Garden. The Gardens true form changes to suit the senses until the dreamed can adapt. The dreamer's new form within the garden is then bound by a different set of laws, a different set of senses.
The neon garden is vibrant, colors that don't exist in the real world. One can inhabit machines in the real world, hijack computers, or even embed themselves within the coding of a program, inhabiting models in a video game, playing the lead role in a netflix film, or bringing thoughts to life in photo editing software. The sensations are real, the visuals as well. Regardless of what it looks like in real life, the digital world is bound only by the mind.
Don't Forget
Time is roughly the same within The Neon Garden, but it feels as if time passes much quicker. The things someone can see and do will more than occupy those who visit. When the entire internet is at your disposal, one tends to forget the most important requirements of staying alive.
If you die in cyberspace, you will simply return to your body. If you fail to nourish and care for the body, however, you will be stuck in The Neon Garden for good. The Neon Garden becomes your true home. On top of this, dying in cyberspace is permanent if there isn't a physical anchor to return to.
Some find a substitute for an anchor, usually a drone or some other machine. It's not the same though. Those unfortunate enough to waste away in real life will slowly lose sensations, unable to experience the complexity of cyberspace as they once did. Every experience will feel more like a memory of an event as opposed to the real thing.
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"dying in cyberspace is permanent if there isn't a physical anchor to return too." I think that last 'o' doesn't need to be there... This is great. First, the idea of a cult based around a digital entity is brilliant. Second, a digital realm is a great addition to basically any modern/sci fi world, especially for an RPG. This article just captures my imagination in a way few things do. A character who now exists entirely within the internet gets my mind working. Say they were killed by the mafia while "jacked in" to keep them from testifying in court? maybe they could still find a way to point the police toward justice? What could the Mafia try to finally silence them? Could they eventually find a suitable robot body and reenter the world? On the subject of robot bodies, you say a digital person slowly loses their physical sensations over time. Is that because they're no longer using them? If you spent a lot of time in a drone or a robot, would their senses slowly become more familiar than actual feeling and sight? Somehow, I think the Data Moon could be a good example of something actually worth worshiping, other than the obvious critique that it supposedly sprung forth from imperfect human engineering. It doesn't have an agenda against other faiths, and there's no 'point of no return' where someone can't get out of the cult once they're in. It's just.. an invitation.
Fixed it! thanks for that. Im glad you enjoyed the idea. The idea just kind of fluttered around and i finally managed to get the words flowing. There are so many implications to these characters. Each option you mention and more, as you put it, captures the imagination. I mean, imagine at the court hearing everyone's cell phone goes off with the characters testimony, plus some video evidence to prove it stolen from t he defendants laptop. in some ways, killing the character made them more powerful. oof. ooooo, yes. thank you! being in a drone would make the experience more familiar, gonna need to remember that for the cult's official article. The Data Moon is very neutral. Its the most unknowable of these beings in the 12 cults. It doesnt seem to have an agenda at all. its just along for the ride and invites you to ride along. youre also correct in the point of no return comment. something i noticed is while some of the cults are interesting and fun to read, no one would REALLY want to join. fish monsters, uncontrollable rage, BECOMING A FRICKING TREE. Naw man... Lets be captain kirk in star trek today, maybe tommorrow we can play some hyper real call of duty, but this weekend we really gotta leak that footage we found. idk it just seems more chill. Thanks so much and sorry for the rambling!
No need to apologize. It's truly a pleasure to read your enthusiastic responses.