Page 217 - Chronicles of Darkness

A GLIMPSE OF

MESMERIZING

COMPLEXITY

One major cause of auto accidents in the US, Europe, the God-Machine.
and other nations with nationwide highway networks is the And what, in fact, is the function of the gear constructs?
fact that complex moving constructs of gears fly through the They are collecting data for the God-Machine. This data
air along some of these highways. These constructs appear, is related to cars, machines, human travel and traffic, or
fly rapidly, and then disappear, but anyone who sees them is possibly even emissions. For purposes of this story, it isn’t
mesmerized and can easily crash because they aren’t paying strictly necessary to decide what the God-Machine is looking
attention to their surroundings. for, but when the characters find the factory (see below) it
Infrastructure might be effective to discover that the workers are keeping
tabs on bizarrely-specific information — how many cars have
personalized plates, bumper stickers, red-haired drivers, empty
Strange moving constructs of gears fly through the air pop cans in the back seat, etc. What could the God-Machine
all over the planet. They are usually intangible, invisible to possibly gain from learning this data?
most people, and almost impossible to photograph. However,
people who are intoxicated, exceedingly tired, or otherwise Interchangeable Parts
in an unusual state of mind can often see them. The first
sight of one of these flying gear constructs mesmerizes The characters should be people who drive regularly, and
anyone who sees it. Viewers find themselves briefly unable all of them should recently have been involved in an auto
to look away or to think clearly about anything other than accident caused because one of the drivers involved saw the
how fascinating it appears. People who see a gear construct gear constructs. Characters might also be frequent travelers
while driving or walking across a street are far more likely that hear stories about “blips,” odd lights on the highways
to lose control of their vehicle or not notice the presence of that act as modern-day will-o’-the-wisps, confusing drivers
another vehicle than someone able to pay attention to the and leading them off the roads.
world around them.
The Truth: As with the portal-creating mechanisms in Blueprints
Missing Persons (p. 210), the God-Machine has concealed
the factory creating the gear constructs. Unlike that other The gear constructs are approximately six feet in diameter.
facility, however, this one is in Twilight, which does have a They are composed of a brilliantly polished and exceedingly
set of understandable and consistent rules for interacting complex set of interlocking metal gears and strange decorations
with people and their world. Hiding the factory in Twilight that appear to be made from brightly-colored stone or glass, and
is, therefore, concealment Infrastructure. they fly between two and eight feet above the ground. Although
Unfortunately for the God-Machine, building things in they can appear anywhere, most often the gear constructs fly
Twilight means, of necessity, that they will take on spiritual along major roads and other long, relatively-straight paths.
aspects. The gear constructs are not just complex because of Gear constructs are most often found flying along U.S.
their craftsmanship, they carry with them the spiritual essence interstate highways and large motorways and autobahns in
of complexity. This, perhaps, is why people are becoming so Europe. Flying along these roads simplifies their navigation
fascinated with them. slightly, and many of the freeways, highways, and motorways
Astute players might wonder why the blips are only show- in the developed world were specifically designed to provide
ing up now, if the constructs have been following (and may navigation paths for these gear constructs. Anyone who re-
indeed have influenced) the formation of the US highway searches the history of large highway networks in any nation
system? The answer is that they have been here all along, finds that plans are always changed partway through the
it’s just that before, when people noticed them and got design process and that perfectly-straight roads are strongly
into wrecks, they were more likely to be seriously injured preferred over gently curving roads, even if the latter would
or killed. The accident fatality rate on the highways is lower make more sense for the terrain. The movement of the gear
than it ever has been, because cars are getting safer. But at constructs significantly improves the reception and trans-
the same time, more cars are on the road. That means more mission of all types of radio signals and the God-Machine
people are seeing the constructs, and living to tell about it. created this network because it found out that people were
This has the potential to become an untenable situation for using many more radio signals.
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Tales of the God machine