Technophobia

A thread of 2 messages, 13 April 1994 to 14 April 1994, in the order they were sent.

#7269 Technophobia

Joni M Virolainen · 13 April 1994

Howdy!

So you have trouble accepting that technophobia (and techno worshipping)
in TNE. I have a little trouble with this technophobia thing too.
In my game technophobic planets are those planets which had high TL before
the collapse and a (very) low TL now in the new era. I can't imagine a TL 7
planet with technophobia. Those planets doesn't worship technology either.

But I think that technophobic planets are possible, even probable.
For example let's assume you had a dog when you was a child, you really loved
it and felt very sad when it died. But you decided not to buy a new dog. After
several years from your dog's death you walk in the street minding your own
business when a BIG DOG (maybe even rabies infected) attacks you! It really
beats you up tearing half of your face to unrecognisable mass, eats your
right arm and piss on your back. Then you wake up in a hospital and recover
slowly and even if you recover fully you will fear dogs or at least feel very
nervous when you see one again. I'm *not* hoping that this ever happens to
any of you guys and I don't even hate dogs that's just an example, right?

With this example I wanted to tell you how irrational phobias are. And what
comes to that point that most grand fathers remember that glorious time when
technology was people's friend, they also remember their
friends who were killed by Virus infected machines. How about that technology
worshipping? If there are a living Virus infected computer controlled military
base or high port which can affect the people's life for example making it very
short, can be a very possible subject of worshipping. Heck, people worship
even abstract things which somebody claims to be gods.  I suppose that
nobody worships a microwave owen, on the other hand why not?

I'd like to hear about that Earth Colony campaign and more about that
bodysnatcher adventure.

Well, I suppose that's it...

And remember...

 ... Mercenaries don't die, they just go to Hell to recruit

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* WARNING      / Joni Virolainen  *
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#7279 Re: Technophobia

Steven M Bonneville · 14 April 1994 · reply to #7269

Joni M Virolainen [email removed] writes:

>But I think that technophobic planets are possible, even probable.
 . . . [example comparing to nasty dog attack] . . .
>With this example I wanted to tell you how irrational phobias are.

Hear, hear!  And in the case of Virus, technophobia is a damn rational
response -- assuming that anyone is left rational afterwards.  Living
through a Virus attack on an unprepared, unsuspecting world would be
like a movie by Steven King (or another wild horror author) on a real
bad acid trip.  The problems start small, but get worse and worse as
Virus takes hold.  Anything that's automated can and will be used
in the most destructive way the controlling Virus can think of (at
least in the case of the secondary Viral strains).

Not only would survivors of such an attack be pretty screwed up for a
long time afterward, they might never find out why all their machinery
turned against them.  This could lead to all sorts of crazy speculation,
and the idea that a controlling spirit residing in a computer decided
to visit itself on humaniti to make it suffer for the sins of the
Rebellion, in the absence of any other plausible explanation, might
carry the day.  (Besides, the concept of Virus isn't exactly all that
rational either...considering all the debate on the TML on how to
explain how it can possibly work.)

>I'd like to hear about that Earth Colony campaign and more about that
>bodysnatcher adventure.

I agree.  No reason to limit discussion to the GDW universe here,
after all.  It would definitely be interesting to hear about some
of the variants people have come up with.

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 Steve Bonneville                | "Beware the tablespoon my son,
                                 |  The teeth that bite, the Claus that catch,
 [email removed]                 |  Beware the Subjects bird, and shred
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