- Invitation Status
- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- Writing Levels
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Preferred Character Gender
- Female
- Genres
- Fantasy, Modern Fantasy
[ Synopsis ]
Taking place in a familiar cyberpunk context, Infinity is the story of anotherwise unrelated lot of unfortunate individuals whose humanity is taken from them by the curse of unwilling circumstance. Each becomes silently and inexplicably ordained with the capacity to forgo the accepted laws of nature in favor of their own unique laws. They are neither psions nor supersoldiers; they are as the very infinities that describe the universe.
Each protagonist is spontaneously thrust into the spotlight when something about them is changed. They develop an absolute law which outright dismisses the conventional intuition of day-to-day life. What they possess is no biological function, and it relies on no technological crutch; instead, what they have is the realization of a dream, something which in many ways is representative of their psyche and in others of something deeper within.
The nature of a law is precise and unyielding, but abstract and unexploitable. As if the powers themselves conspire to limit their charges, the protagonists are forced to take advantage of their unique law in very specific ways and in others must rely on their own resourcefulness and human ingenuity. What defines and enforces these laws is totally devoid of immediate explanation, but the structure of each is fairly uniform.
A law is first defined by an assertion and then its caveats. The assertion is an absolute fact for which the forces of nature will bend, break, and conspire to uphold, while the caveats describe those situations for which the law does not apply. There is no force which can defeat a law, except another law.
Some are tactile — a character who shrugs off the impact of a locomotive, or one for which distance is of no concern — while others are more abstract — somebody with an uncanny degree of luck, or another that always manages to make spare time — but all are exceptionally potent; and equally limited, for each is subject to exceptions which often contradict their most intuitive uses. The indestructible is vulnerable when there is intent to harm; the omnipresent cannot appear where they are unwelcome; the lucky is a doomed gambler; the early bird is late when they are missed.
In the end, the laws are only as good as their charges. These everyday victims of circumstance will become involved in a boiling pot of conflicting interests when their laws catch the eyes of those who could benefit from their exploitation, and when those responsible attempt to reclaim their creation.
Recently, an organisation was founded that appealed specifically to Exceptions. Entrance conditions were very tight and only those who experienced physics differently ever got recruited. This organisation takes the guise of a private investigation company. The head of this company is the mysterious Director, who only rarely shows himself, preferring to communicate through a speech only conference call, with a voice modifier applied. This company has ulterior motives however. They watch the Exceptions they employ very carefully, trying to learn the nature of this hypothetical code, so that they can figure out how to control it. How to make custom-order Exceptions. Some of their clients may be good, some may be evil. They don't care. Be it infinite renewable energy by opening a portal to another universe or an army of supersoldiers who can teleport and repel all incoming attacks, as long as they get paid, they can't lose.
(We still don't have a name for the city, though.)
As for characters - it's a sufficiently mysterious setting that backstories aren't necessary. As long as you put down a name, an appearance, be it description or image, and of course, the mechanics of how their law works, it'll be fine. Don't forget that all laws have their limits.
Taking place in a familiar cyberpunk context, Infinity is the story of anotherwise unrelated lot of unfortunate individuals whose humanity is taken from them by the curse of unwilling circumstance. Each becomes silently and inexplicably ordained with the capacity to forgo the accepted laws of nature in favor of their own unique laws. They are neither psions nor supersoldiers; they are as the very infinities that describe the universe.
Each protagonist is spontaneously thrust into the spotlight when something about them is changed. They develop an absolute law which outright dismisses the conventional intuition of day-to-day life. What they possess is no biological function, and it relies on no technological crutch; instead, what they have is the realization of a dream, something which in many ways is representative of their psyche and in others of something deeper within.
The nature of a law is precise and unyielding, but abstract and unexploitable. As if the powers themselves conspire to limit their charges, the protagonists are forced to take advantage of their unique law in very specific ways and in others must rely on their own resourcefulness and human ingenuity. What defines and enforces these laws is totally devoid of immediate explanation, but the structure of each is fairly uniform.
A law is first defined by an assertion and then its caveats. The assertion is an absolute fact for which the forces of nature will bend, break, and conspire to uphold, while the caveats describe those situations for which the law does not apply. There is no force which can defeat a law, except another law.
Some are tactile — a character who shrugs off the impact of a locomotive, or one for which distance is of no concern — while others are more abstract — somebody with an uncanny degree of luck, or another that always manages to make spare time — but all are exceptionally potent; and equally limited, for each is subject to exceptions which often contradict their most intuitive uses. The indestructible is vulnerable when there is intent to harm; the omnipresent cannot appear where they are unwelcome; the lucky is a doomed gambler; the early bird is late when they are missed.
In the end, the laws are only as good as their charges. These everyday victims of circumstance will become involved in a boiling pot of conflicting interests when their laws catch the eyes of those who could benefit from their exploitation, and when those responsible attempt to reclaim their creation.
- The universe is one big collection of codes. Each entity has a separate line of code from each other entity. These lines are held together at the center of the universe by a massive four-dimensional energy mass. This mass is quite unstable, and shifts occasionally. When it shifts, it damages a few lines of code. Usually, a damaged line of code will replace the damaged section with a working section, but in the case of some items, it does not, and continues to read the damaged section of code.
- This means that these items do not obey certain principles of physics in quite the same way as normal items, and can use this to their advantage. These items are known as Exceptions. Most items will not ever know they are exceptions, and will dismiss their strange experiences as being tired or hallucinating, or simply fantastic luck. Exceptions need not be sentient, and can be normal objects, such as an unbreakable glass. If the code is damaged twice, it is possible for items to become Exceptions of multiple Laws or to have the amplitude of their one exception be magnified, although both of these are very rare.
- This means that these items do not obey certain principles of physics in quite the same way as normal items, and can use this to their advantage. These items are known as Exceptions. Most items will not ever know they are exceptions, and will dismiss their strange experiences as being tired or hallucinating, or simply fantastic luck. Exceptions need not be sentient, and can be normal objects, such as an unbreakable glass. If the code is damaged twice, it is possible for items to become Exceptions of multiple Laws or to have the amplitude of their one exception be magnified, although both of these are very rare.
Recently, an organisation was founded that appealed specifically to Exceptions. Entrance conditions were very tight and only those who experienced physics differently ever got recruited. This organisation takes the guise of a private investigation company. The head of this company is the mysterious Director, who only rarely shows himself, preferring to communicate through a speech only conference call, with a voice modifier applied. This company has ulterior motives however. They watch the Exceptions they employ very carefully, trying to learn the nature of this hypothetical code, so that they can figure out how to control it. How to make custom-order Exceptions. Some of their clients may be good, some may be evil. They don't care. Be it infinite renewable energy by opening a portal to another universe or an army of supersoldiers who can teleport and repel all incoming attacks, as long as they get paid, they can't lose.
(We still don't have a name for the city, though.)
As for characters - it's a sufficiently mysterious setting that backstories aren't necessary. As long as you put down a name, an appearance, be it description or image, and of course, the mechanics of how their law works, it'll be fine. Don't forget that all laws have their limits.
