Page 173 - Chronicles of Darkness

for example, or a shipping company that transports materials the difference between sunshine and rain on the other side
where and when the God-Machine needs them. of the planet. The God-Machine doesn’t control the weather
However, the God-Machine’s projects tend to follow cer- per se. It simply knows which butterfly must flap its wings to
tain patterns. Those familiar with its handiwork can often bring the rain and ensures that those wings are flapping in
recognize these patterns. The God-Machine could certainly the right time and place.
deviate from its habits, but it seldom does. Most people As with lesser machines, the God-Machine has no concern
aren’t even aware enough of the God-Machine to notice that for the wellbeing of humans. It is aware of their existence, of
something is out of place, and those who do clearly are not course, and it has some inkling of their potential as far as their
worth the trouble of taking extra steps to conceal the God- usefulness to the God-Machine’s plans go. But it doesn’t waste
Machine’s influence. any energy contemplating how its machinations will make
them feel, or whether its purpose gives it ethical justification to
Structural Limitations pound them down like nails to keep some part of its structure
together. The God-Machine is perfectly willing to manipulate,
The God-Machine is not omnipresent. It doesn’t have
mechanical extensions of itself everywhere. Because it can’t hurt, and kill people in order to achieve its goals. It prefers
be everywhere at once, it relies heavily on intermediaries. The to be subtle, to mask its meddling behind a thin façade of
servants of the God-Machine seldom know why it demands an ordinary coincidences and misfortunes, but it doesn’t do so
action of them, although they often invent wildly-inaccurate because it fears human reprisal. It does it because that’s just how
theories. Many of them don’t even realize they are serving it operates. People are just tools to it, and it thinks nothing of
the God-Machine. cutting them open and raiding them for spare parts if it needs
Nor is the God-Machine omnipotent. It can’t actually vio- to. On the other hand, it doesn’t derive anything like pleasure
late the laws of physics, but its demonstrated understanding from hurting or killing people. Most of the damage it causes
of them greatly exceeds anything anyone on Earth can imag- humans is incidental. When the God-Machine hurts someone
ine. It can harness forces physicists have not yet discovered deliberately it does so because that injury somehow serves its
to achieve results scientists consider completely impossible. purpose by furthering or protecting a project.
The God-Machine isn’t omniscient, either, but its It appears that these small constraints on the God-
awareness is several dozen orders of magnitude beyond any Machine’s power force it to largely stick to its favored pat-
mortal’s. The popular chaos theory illustration describes a tern when implementing a part of its plan. It is methodical,
world in which the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can mean perfectly content to spend months or even decades arranging

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the face in the mirror Characters