Cybernetic Research Institute

Cybernetic Research Institute is one of the factions and sects within the Sons of Ether.

## Nicknames

Cybernauts (common, misleading), CRI, The Mechanics, EtherGeeks.

## History

Despite practically being the archetypal Sons of Ether, the Cybernetic Research Institute was constantly misrepresented by the other Traditions. Contrary to popular belief, the Institute has never been exclusively focused on computer technology, even though a close working relationship with the Virtual Adepts in the 1970s and ’80s led many to believe that it was all about EtherOptic cables and bizarre programming. Other Cybernauts were mistaken for “generic Sons of Ether,” their love of mechanisms submerged into general impressions of the Traditions.

Impressed with the success of assembly line manufacturing, a group of former Electrodyne Engineers met in 1910 to discuss ways to wrest its power from the Technocracy. Each Scientist specialized in complex machinery, from automatons to steam-driven calculators. They decided that by sharing their research and developing a set of general principles, they could produce prototypes that the Masses could easily reproduce. Thus would they charm the Henry Fords of the world right from under the Union’s nose

Together, they formed the Cybernetic Research Institute, using the now-dated (but still correct) usage of “cybernetic” to mean any mechanical control system. Computation was an important element of the Institute’s work, but not the only one.

Unfortunately, the dream of the assembly line was no match for the disparate goals of the Institute’s members. In 1921, plans to construct a prototype robot to market to major industrialists quickly broke down. The team argued over the number of arms, power source and even the color of the automaton.

Despite this failure, the early Cybernauts agreed that working together had been immensely valuable. The Institute remained, dedicating itself to developing automated systems based on Etheric principles and sharing them with the public. Cybernauts believed that the public should have access to an Ether Science alternative to every Technocracy-influenced innovation.

From 1925 to 1960, the Institute rode high on public speculation about (and, during the war years, fears of) technology’s potential. Naturally, the Technocracy also benefited from this. For every Cybernautic mind-control robot (falsely attributed to Albert Einstein) that the FBI kept a file on, the Technocracy had an H-Bomb.

In 1961, the Virtual Adepts joined the Traditions. Reestablishing contact with the Sons of Ether, they were surprised to find that members of the Institute had maintained — and even improved — designs dating from the Difference Engineers. Exchanging ideas, the Cybernauts decided to expand their computing forays beyond robot brains and smart machines and develop an alternative information architecture. The Difference Engine Group declared that “information is Ether” and began its work in earnest. As the Virtual Adepts developed the Digital Web, Cybernauts compared the Odyllic currents of virtual and physical space. The Virtual Adepts incorporated the parallel innovations of Institute computers into their own Trinary systems, establishing a fruitful relationship that lasted until the Great Whiteout of 1997. The Web’s crash ruined years of work, encouraging Cybernauts to keep to their own intranets.

The Institute weathered the Avatar Storm well. With the exception of proving grounds for their war machines, their operations were Earthbound. While the computer experts are refocusing their efforts on alternative computing and control systems, the rest of the faction has actually become more popular; independent Etherites visit their labs to improve their engineering skills.

## Science

The Cybernauts divide their work into three categories: what they jokingly call “Brains,” “Brawn” and “Blam.”

“Brains” are a machine’s control systems. This includes telepresence, psychic control systems, memory materials and even rousing “the Platonic consciousness of the machine’s form” as foci for Mind, Correspondence and Spirit Effects. In addition, the Difference Engineering Group concentrates on the quantum and Etheric properties of information to create computers that are capable of affecting reality through calculation alone.

“Brawn” is the machine’s body. Robots, cars, helicopters, exoskeletons and other devices are constructed according to exacting standard. Refined alchemy, designs reverse engineered from ancient civilizations, unique alloys and other Etherite methods. Matter Science is most helpful, but all the Spheres have, at one time or another, been used to create machines. More and more Scientists are using the Life Sphere in particular to create organic components and even entire machines, to the point where the distinction between living and mechanical entities becomes blurred.

“Blam” is an abstract measurement of a machine’s tolerances, power reserves and secondary systems, including weapons. “It works, but not enough Blam” is a common Professorial criticism. It’s not enough that the device works, it has to be able to far exceed the stresses of normal use, pump twice as much power as it needs and, if armed, pack a telling punch.

## Organization

The Cybernetic Research Institute is a private think tank and research group that is partially funded by subscriptions to its journal, Helmsman. The magazine discusses whatever aspects of the Institute’s research that it chooses to share. While this venture generates enough income to plausibly maintain what it reports in Helmsman, the fact of the matter is that to pursue more intensive Ether Science, the Cybernauts are forced to scrape and scrounge. (The unofficial motto is, “Bring the money in and don’t tell us how.”) Most members donate a portion of their regular salaries and work for the Institute pro bono. A few use their Science to illegally acquire the money. The Institute cuts them loose as soon as they discover this, but it’s only a matter of time before other Etherites tire of bank robber robots and shady arms deals. Members hope that with the fall of Paradigma, Helmsman will become a popular replacement.

The financial situation is just one symptom of the Cybernaut’s chaotic organization. The only set meetings are quarterly symposia, where each research group discusses its progress, new groups form, and overall policy is decided by direct democracy. Chair holders have a veto, except in the case of a unanimous vote. Aside from the Pythagorean Chair for Systems Technology, the Institute holds none of its own. Master-ranked Scientists must achieve recognition elsewhere. The Institute does recognize Chairs granted elsewhere.

The Institute is still the preserve of a number of independent-minded scientific cliques. Scientists work alone or in small groups, meeting only to compare machines or assemble a collective design. Otherwise, research groups meet at least monthly. Each group must also contribute an article to Helmsman.