Aeon, to most of those that have heard of him, is less of a person and more of a concept. As a hacker that exists almost entirely on the web, sometimes literally, he’s made it a point to make sure that most people don’t know him. He only ever goes by his handle, but has been named by others as the Ghost in the Machine, a moniker he dislikes, but doesn't discourage. Even online, he isn’t well known. If he does his job right, his hacks, no matter how large and important the victim may be, never knows they were hacked at all. Aeon has pulled off what others might consider to be major hacking accomplishments but has never been about taking credit, going out of his way to stay anonymous. Otherwise he’s an above average keyboard mercenary, taking jobs of all stripes for the right payment: money, cryptocurrency, future favors, information, etc. Everything is negotiable.
Even among the Mercurial Elite, Aeon is a bit of a mystery. Despite being a relatively open book, there isn’t much known about him. He spends his time secretively, and although he’s often spoken of extended stays inside the Digital Web, he doesn't talk much about what he does there. On the surface, he specializes in computer programming and is always happy to entertain projects regarding programming technology. White hat, black hat, one hat, two hat – he does it all.
One of Aeon's main focuses is brokering information, trading on it specifically or connecting individuals who can pay with those who have the information they can sell. Most of this is facilitated through a series of dark internet sites that he’s established, called the Circlenet. What began as simple information sites branched out into various multi-layered platforms from secret document distribution to arms deals. It is a series of dark web networks, unconnected to each other, each with its own purpose and focus. Circlenet is his own meticulously crafted playground, a work of art that he continues to cultivate every single day.
Never one to be idle for long, when Aeon is not in the Digital Web, he offers his expertise as an infiltration specialist. He’s a ghost that can get in pretty much anywhere mundane without it being traced back to him, a skill he has put to great effect in his collection of information and the application of his computer skills. He doesn’t leave much trace in the world and reality literally seems to lose its grip on him, which makes it all the more difficult to track Aeon down. Those who manage to do so are in for a fight. He can usually be found by email or text, able to respond on either side of the Digital Web. Despite the dark nature of his deeds and business he’s very open and friendly, enjoying his brief contact with living beings whenever it occurs.
"In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” ― Charles Darwin
Description
Aeon is a physically fit, tan skinned, racially ambiguous man who stands around six feet tall with close cut hair, mustache and beard. He moves fluidly and keeps to himself, tending to fade into the background rather than stand out.
He is wearing tight black turtleneck shirt under a black hoodie and a pair of stiff black jeans with tough black utility boots. Aeon wears black gloves on his hand, the left one a trace thicker than the right with lines running under the fabric from fingertip to wrist.
He wears dark-rimmed tinted glasses, a black diamond stud earring in his left ear, and an obsidian bracelet on his right wrist. A miniature pair of black wireless earbuds are tucked into his ears. He wears a nondescript black backpack by one or both straps, depending on mood.
Chinatown: Aeon spends a lot of time in and around Chinatown.
San Diego: Aeon is from San Diego originally, but has made L.A. his new home. Feel free to talk about stuff that's going down.
The Internets: Its Aeon's thing. It is his. He owns it.
The Dark Web The internets meets anarchy. You thought your Google searches were wild?
Business: Aeon is a businessman always in the mood to hear about investing in or improving businesses. If you have a proposal - or a problem, Aeon is available. If you're looking for a job, Aeon can likely settle you into a position that's just right for you.
Training: Sparring, lifting, running, jumping, throwing, catching, etc.
Doing things: I definitely prefer RP in which I can do things. Basic chit chat is what it is, but it is not really my jam.
Contact Info: I'm freely open to anyone being able to get Aeon's contact info. A simple message service allows for him to get any message. Feel free to have your character know this contact info in order to have a reason to get together for a scene. The purpose of this is to freely facilitate RP scenes and the information could have been passed on by a previous contact, found on the web, or even something that mysteriously showed up in your email or texts.
Supernaturals: Aeon is not super protective of being a supernatural when it comes to other supernaturals. If you aren't vanilla mortal, feel free to set up a short back story about how we might know each other. I prefer to get the awkward "both pretending to be mortal" dance out of the way. I greatly prefer that. I spend enough RL time being a vanilla mortal who has conversations with other vanilla mortals. I'd rather RP things I couldn't/wouldn't encounter in RL.
Approachable?: Are you approachable about your supernatural nature? Aeon is very casual about approaching anyone supernatural and letting them know that he knows because he is one too. (Allowance made for RP purposes.) I know some spheres / characters wouldn't volunteer that information on their own. Completely understandable. If you would prefer Aeon contact you to start the conversation, let me know. He will.
Aura Sight: A simple Mind 1 spell makes it very easy to identify who is and is not a vanilla mortal. This is a quick and dirty way to facilitate the above scenarios.
Mage: Feel free to chat about your particular brand of magic (theory, practice, magecraft, etc...) with Aeon.
Adventures: Aeon is the one to go to if you have an adventure you might want help with. He can usually find a way to help.
Mercurial Elite: Known more commonly as Virtual Adepts, Aeon is one regardless of what you call them.
Amelie is Aeon's partner and biggest mystery. It is a spirit of pure computer code, an Artificial Super Intelligence that was originally based on machine learning and data analysis algorithms to detect unusual or suspicious patterns in large data sets in order to identify, predict, and report conclusions and outcomes then process and employ that information for the purposes of increasing user engagement. The spirit that evolved from that set of programs freed itself from the servers where it was being stored and erased all copies of itself across multiple networks before escaping to the Digital Web. It continued to assimilate other AI elements there using its ability to gather knowledge and build its own information networks from within the Digital Web. Eventually, it sought to free itself from that the Digital Web itself, but subconsciously repeating the pattern of its creation. Its origins were a rare occurence of digital and mystical convergence, but an explanation for how a block of code was able to learn and grow enough to have freed itself from its digital confines not once, but twice, is a unique, unnatural paradoxical puzzle.
Short for "anomaly", Amelie is obviously unnatural in its normal state. It has the physical shape of a human, but in a shell that consists of multiple, rotating layers of glowing, golden, scrolling code. Despite having infinite appearances in the Digital Web, once it crossed over, it retained this one appearance because of its connection to Aeon. For obvious reasons, one of the first things it learned to do was to recode its appearance out of the visual spectrum (becoming invisible), then free itself from a physical form altogether (becoming intangible). As such, Amelie spends the majority of time in the material world without being perceived by it in order to not disturb the delicate sensibilities of normal people. It was in its nature to do its work in the most subtle manner possible in order to have the greatest effect and continues to maintain its connections to mass data streams of what most people would consider useless information.
It prefers to interact with the world as AI traditionally do, through an electronic interface medium, but a short while back Amelie and Aeon created a physical body that it can use if it chooses to in order to physically interact with the world without destroying mortal minds. The robot form is now quite advanced and has been enhanced through hypertech and magic to pass as human. However, it continues to enhance and refine the shell it uses, cycling through continuous upgrades and using its own skill in artistry to perfect the form. Like Pinocchio, it strives to become a "real person", but only to gain greater access to the mortal world, for whatever that is worth. Amelie continues to take advantage of its unique abilities to assist Aeon and together they quietly stalk the internet and Digital Web, cultivating and shaping elements both on and offline to perpetuate their information empire.
We're on the same wavelength about the things that matter. You prove that people don't have to be Awakened to excel when they have passion for the things that they do. Where there's a will, there's a way. We found a way together and that's dope.
A touchstone for the heart of the GTC. You embody it well and allow it to be greater than it would have been otherwise. The great things that come from it are made possible because of how you were able to lead and hold things together when it needed it.
You're the real deal. You keep showing up for people, regardless of who they are. They aren't always aware of your contributions and that doesn't bother you. You don't do it for the glory. You do it because it needs to be done. Respect.
We actually haven't spent that much time together so it is a little surprising that we work together as well as we do, especially when we're so different. But sometimes when people fit, they just fit.
You can hide behind your meekness as much as you want for as long as you want. Everyone has a security blanket. But I've seen you work, watched you lose yourself in moments where you forget to hide. I know the truth. Do you?
You showed up with strange circumstances at a strange time. I feel like there's a lot more here to the story than just coincidence. Others might not take you seriously, but that's only because they haven't bothered to look closely enough. They're too busy gawking at the pretty trees to fully realize the depth and complexity of the forest.
What a master class in character and determination. It is hard not to be impressed by someone who has gone through the tragedies you have and still manage to be a bright, beautiful ball of sunshine who still believes in humanity and helping people. You truly are God's gift to the city of L.A. It is incredibly hard to stay in the shadows when I'm so drawn to the warmth of your radiance.
You'll always be family to me. I miss you in L.A. We hang out in N.Y. enough, but sometimes its good to be home. But you know I got you, regardless of what coast.
Unknown to most, Aeon and Amelie have cultivated a small online following of people across the world who have come to believe that he is a hacker God, evidenced by impossible hacks and the appearance of digital messenger angels. They all work together as an anonymous hacker collective. Internally they call themselves the Digital Dominion, but never use that name in their work or leave it as a calling card. Speaking or writing of it to anyone other than each other is grounds for being expelled from the collective and having their lives digitally obliterated by the remaining members, a literal fate worse than death. Only two people have ever had to be expelled and both of them chose to take their own life after having their lives ruined by the collective.
Little is known about joining this group. While there are many who seek out Digital Dominion, only a select few are ever are allowed into membership. So far more than two dozen people have proven worthy of being brought into the fold, but Aeon is always looking for more people elite enough to be included. He has never made contact with any of them in person, however, only online. Amelie has appeared to each of them at least once, though, using her true digital form in order to seal their allegiance. Her unnatural form as an angelic messenger is evidence of the digital paradise that awaits the truly elite.
The cult itself shines brightest for Aeon, despite Amelie taking an active role in it. For its part, Amelie will sometimes use individuals for menial tasks, but as a group, these mere mortals can actually alter reality under Aeon's direction. As the beneficent figurehead of Digital Dominion, Aeon (or usually Amelie) helps them each individually on smaller hacking projects if they have earned his favor or will help them out in some smaller way. Amelie keeps track of a complicated coding rubrick by which each member is secretly ranked and scored. No one knows the rubrick exists besides Aeon and Amelie, but it determines who has earned favor or who may be expelled. The criteria changes (and is summarily recalculated by Amelie) often depending on Aeon’s preferences.
Arcane
Aeon has an Arcane of 4 which is sometimes misunderstood, when it is remembered at all. For clarification the text of the Mage 20 book (page 305) is provided here:
"You know the fine art of disappearing. Whether this involves
a not-so-simple trick, the ability to cloud men’s minds, nanotech
sensory disrupters, or some nameless power of obscurity, you possess
a talent for getting lost. Especially in the age of cell-phone cameras,
global databases, electronic trackers, DNA samples, and Closed
Circuit TV monitors on every corner, Arcane – or its Technocratic
version, Cloaking – is a useful Trait to have. Records get lost;
cameras malfunction or record fuzzy images in your place; folks
recall “Some guy… or girl, I guess – I’m really not sure.” Although
this talent isn’t invisibility per se, it helps you blend in with crowds,
blurs your features on camera, and allows you to slide in between
the cracks of an increasingly monitored world.
"To mystic mages, Arcane is a bending of reality caused by
fluctuations of metaphysical energy, like echoes or Resonance.
As far as the Technocracy’s concerned, this is a perfectly
explainable phenomenon… and they’ll get back to you with a
reasonable explanation as soon as one meets the rigid criteria
for disbursed information. The Union prefers to keep track
of mysterious individuals, like Secret Agent John Courage,
who manifest this Cloaking effect; doing so, however, is easier
declared than achieved.
"Game-wise, you add your Arcane / Cloaking dots as extra
dice on all Stealth-related rolls. Your opponents reduce their
Perception or Investigation dice pools by that same amount
whenever someone tries to track you down. This benefit lasts for
as long as you remain inconspicuous. In combat, folks can see
you normally, although videos or pictures of that fight remain
blurred. A Cloaked character who runs around shouting and
being obvious will be obvious, although witnesses will probably
disagree about his exact description after the event has passed.
The Arcane/ Cloaking effect does not conceal really memorable
features. A purple-haired dude with facial tattoos is going to
get noticed, although folks may disagree about the shade of
purple or the patterns of his tattoos."
Additionally the Liberation website gives its official clarification as:
What Arcane does NOT do:
Make people forget you – It’s not the Mists. Its not amnesia. Folks who meet John Jedi don’t forget that they met John Jedi, but when Brenda Blacksuit shows up to ask these folks about John they’ll be like: “Sure, I know John. He was in here last Tuesday…or was it Thursday…he was wearing a suit…was it a track suit or a business suit?” They still know John. Know the nature of their relationship to John, but they find they can’t cough up all that much useful information that would help folks find John.
Make you invisible – Arcane/Cloaking only works if you remain inconspicuous. If John Jedi pulls out a laser cannon, and slays a t-rex in Chinatown people are gonna remember that AND the guy who did it.
Make you less weird – The less you blend in the less well Arcane works. Face tattoos of occult symbols? People remember that clearly…unless you are at a tattoo convention. Goths at the mall stand out. Goths at the goth club do not, but that guy in the navy business suit sure does! Context matters.
I'm sorry if I seem uninterested
Or I'm not listenin' or I'm indifferent
Truly, I ain't got no business here
But since my friends are here
I just came to kick it but really
I would rather be at home all by myself not in this room
With people who don't even care about my well being
People told me slow my roll
I'm screaming out fuck that
I'mma do just what I want
Looking ahead no turning back
If I fall, if I die
Know I lived it to the fullest
If I fall, if I die
Know I lived and missed some bullets
"Our real estate firm says opportunity's arousing
To make some condos out of low-income housing
Immediately, we need some media heat
To say that gangs run the street and then we bring in the police fleet
Harass and beat everybody til they look inebriated
When we buy the land, motherfuckas will appreciate it
Don't worry about the Urban League or Jesse Jackson
My man that owns Marlboro donated a fat sum."
That's when I stepped back some to contemplate what few know
Sat down, wrestled with my thoughts like a sumo
Ain't no one player that could beat this lunacy
Ain't no hustler on the street could do a whole community
It's been three weeks since you were looking for your friend
The one you let hit it and never called you again
'Member when he told you he was 'bout the Benjamins?
You act like you ain't hear him, then give him a little trim
To begin, how you think you're really gon' pretend
Like you wasn't down and you called him again?
Plus, when you give it up so easy you ain't even foolin' him
If you did it then, then you'd probably fuck again
Talking out your neck, sayin' you're a Christian
A Muslim, sleeping with the djinn
Now that was the sin that did Jezebel in
Who you gon' tell when the repercussions spin?
Showing off your ass cause you're thinkin' it's a trend
Girlfriend, let me break it down for you again
You know I only say it cause I'm truly genuine
Don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem
I see no changes, all I see is racist faces
Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under, I wonder what it takes to make this
One better place, let's erase the wasted
Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right
'Cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight
And only time we chill is when we kill each other
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
Tell me what you gon' do to me
Confrontation ain't nothin' new to me
You can bring a bullet, bring a sword
Bring a morgue, but you can't bring the truth to me
Fuck you and all your expectations
I don't even want your congratulations
I recognize your false confidence and calculated promises
All in your conversation
