Pareidolia Complex

One of the many images used as a logo for the Pareidolia Complex.

The Pareidolia Complex is a global group which centers around the beliefs that reality as we know it is not real, and cannot be perceived by the human psyche until humanity learns to embrace emotions and feelings that have been deemed as negative or bad by society, such as anger, hatred, fear, greed, jealousy, and so forth. The group believes that those with mental health issues are humans that have embraced such feelings and have unlocked a higher state of existence on the astral plane, and perceive the universe as it truly is, rather than the diluted, warped kaleidoscope-like perception that normal humans see.

The group has been deemed as a dangerous cult by hundreds of nations, and even as a terrorist group by a few dozen, due to the beliefs that humanity must descend into madness and anarchy to transcend into a higher form of existence. Investigations into the group have been limited due to the dangerous nature of attempting to infiltrate it, and as such information is scarce. However it is believed that the cult employs tactics such as brainwashing, mind control, psychic augmentation, and even lobotomy to control and manage it's massive amount of followers across the world.

The group is known to follow a god-like, extradimensional being referred to simply as "Saint Veronika". Saint Veronika is described as being an unimaginable creature of horrors, that consumes all life, and will eventually devour the universe itself, and whatever lies beyond. It's described as a Savior that will bring about the End of Times and as such allow the mortal coil to go beyond to the next state of existence.

## History

Pareidolia would gain his powers after a failed experiment by Tóngzhì Corp, and as a result Silas became the host of an unknown, interdimensional entity.

The Pareidolia Complex was formed sometime between 2020 and 2021 by Silas Burke. Initially he seemed content on Dystopia, but for unknown reasons Silas' activity began to liven up again. He was reported in various urban metropolises across the world. With each new area he visited, he would quickly amass a new following. It's been noted that each city Silas has appeared in has resulted in the formation of a local chapter of a wider organization, which is the Pareidolia Complex. The members are extremely loyal and trusting of Burke, in some cases naturally, in others it would appear far more forced.

Silas's philosophy centers around the idea that reality is malleable, and that it can be reshaped, or destroyed by the mortal soul. However, according to Silas' humans have lost this ability by denying themselves of a higher state of being, and in order to unlock that ability again, humans must not confide by the pre-conceived notions of right and wrong.

His followers have begun to rally around Silas as he has begun preaching of a belief that death and negative emotions will lead to the transcendence of the human soul, and granted god-like status by an incomprehensible deity referred to as Saint Veronika by Silas himself. Silas claims that Saint Veronika exists in every faucet of existence, expect our world. He claims that Saint Veronika cannot exert her power in our universe due to the human conscious locking her out by deluding themselves with the idea that the emotions that have been perceived as negative are bad, when in fact they are vital aspects of the soul. As such, Saint Veronika can only exert her power in limited quantities, through an avatar. Silas claims to be that avatar, and through the combined efforts of himself, and his followers, the world can be reborn in Saint Veronika's image.

## Goals

* To destroy the current state of society and human civilization so that the world can be rebuilt anew.
* To create a door into our universe so that Saint Veronika can enter.

## Trivia

* The term Pareidolia refers to the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none to be found.
* The group take it's namesake directly from it's founder and leader, Pareidolia.