Aspects of Nova Praxis - Savants

Like all modern technology, the mindset was developed by Mimir. And like most augmentation technology, it comes with a number of restrictions put in place by the Humanity Preservation Act. These restrictions insure that the apotheosized can’t use the mindset to enhance themselves beyond human limits. Thus, even with a mindset, the software mind still forgets, dreams, struggles with unwanted emotions, etc.

There are some however, who have discovered the key to bypassing these restrictions. This is a very dangerous process, as it requires editing the code that comprises the mind itself.

 Some Savants say that they found a back door into the system, though if that’s true, it would be the only Mimir-tech system to ever be hacked by a human. Still others believe that Mimir left a back door open on purpose so that those humans worthy of doing so could achieve freedom.

Those that have succeeded claim that the key into the system differs from person to person. Likely this is because each mind is different, and thus, the code is different. But whatever the case, a Savant cannot teach another person how to crack their mindset’s restrictions. They must figure it out for themselves.

Once cracked, the Savant can begin writing a special type of computer code they call SINC (Self-Interfacing Neural Code). This code is used to compile programs that allow them to pit their Daemon (what Savants call an unrestricted Agent) against the security AIs on other computers.

This can result in short-lived access to the target computer system, granting them control over the aspects of the environment the target computer is responsible for. 

Drones can be possessed. Security sensors can be tapped. Savants can direct their Daemon to compile security feeds, personnel profiles, local statistics, psychology reports, and all manner of other data to create relativity accurate predictions of the future or readings of the past (effectively making them appear precognitive or postcognitive). Security feeds from other locations can be hacked, granting the Savant a sort of technological clairvoyance. Other people’s mindsets can be attacked, causing them to see augmented reality objects that appear real, or simply cause them pain, blindness, etc.

Or maybe the Savant just wants to tap into the target’s mind/machine interface to listen to their thoughts. And if that fails to illicit the desired result, he might direct his personal swarm of nanomachines to pick his enemy up and hurl him across the room, or solidify into a blade and impale him, flow over the Savant and become armor to resist attacks, or flow over his target and rip him apart molecule by molecule.

Savants are wizards in a setting without magic.

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I generally like to post reference videos at the end of these posts, but there aren't many references to Savant-like characters out there that I can point you to.

Except this one: (And it happens to be awesome)

Sight is a short film (not quite 8 minutes long) put together to highlight how we might view the world through an augmented reality interface. If you are at all interested in augmented reality tech, I highly recommend giving it a watch.

And at the end you get to see the sort of thing a rather creepy Savant is capable of in Nova Praxis.