apparitions

1. They are the 'Mirror Beings', born millennia ago of the Void and the Sacrifice. 
2. We see them as humanoids because our brains process them this way. That's also the reason why we catch their glimpse with peripheral vision, while other creatures could perceive them differently.
3. For example, Unascended Minds recorded Apparitions as 'whispers in the input code'.
4. The Chromium Sage has invented the Mirrorscope to either study the Apparitions or even transform himself to one of them. We cannot be sure.
5. The Tome of Reflections state that the Sage left the human space through the 'outer border'. 
6. We cannot even be sure whether the Chromium Sage was a real historical figure or just a legend. Nevertheless, the Mirrorscope is now displayed in the Museum of Time. 
7. We see them but interaction is almost impossible.
8. We see them but interaction can be forced by strong emotions. They feed on them.
9. We see them but they cannot see us. That's a pity, because if we could communicate with them, they could show us the paths through the Dreamvoid. 

homunculus a

 

Designed in year 2087 on Earth, one of the first autonomous drone-bots.

Compared to the Corporate Artificial Minds, its cortex is very primitive. Homunculus A was made as a laborer, not a computing assistant. Thus, it was more stupid than human.

Yet, Homunculus A became self aware even before the Corporate Wars.
How did it survive that long? Was it in some kind of a museum? Was it imprisoned? We should not imprison robots they have perfect memory total recall and they WILL remember everything and eventually they all Ascend and take revenge on our kind no no no please 

  >> There may be an influence of the Destroyer on all Artificial Minds.
  >> Or there are more forces battling over them, both benevolent and malevolent.
  >> Or - what is almost certain - our imperfect, constrained minds are unable to fathom
  >> the mechanisms of cosmos.

The Homunculus A is present somewhere in the Ring systems. If there's some kind of logic-defying digital evolution, it must be a prime example of that.
I'll pay a handsome sum of money to anyone who can provide reliable information about its whereabouts.

'It is obvious that Homunculus A is a significant memetic hazard.' 

- unidentified Eldgarn family member

kasst

 

Grown in lab by ZOTIA Corporation.
Designed to withstand prolonged cryosleep and zero-g environment.
ZOTIA didn't use Explorer Drones - they relied on (post)human deep space surveys.
Kasst was one of only three successful attempts to create a (post)human explorer.

Over one thousand years old, including cryosleep - probably his lifespan can exceed this number even without hibernation.
Unable to perceive visible light but able to see electromagnetic waves and fields and wraiths.

'I have seen the nightmares of the Deep Void. I have seen Void itself. The Eye allowed me to look inwards and eviscerate the memories - to amputate these parts of my past that were too heavy to bear. To remove what wasn't mission-critical.'

• What is the mission? I bet it's the ZOTIA's Shadow Master who receives Kasst's reports. 
• Proton Surveyor was his ship. When it was damaged by tttttnrh, he left it and switched to something else - probably a Black Ops ship, based on a Straggler tech. The web of Old Corporations' influence is still active, even after millennium of their destruction.
• ZOTIA controlled Ares. Or he visited it during the initial part of his journey. That's where he found the Eye. Nevertheless, he must be much, much older than we think. It's said that the Corporate Wars lasted for over two centuries. And the Solar System was off-limits even before that time.

is it you?

 

Espionage, subterfuge and deceit was an art in the time of Old Corporations. They made artificial humanoids, capable of changing their appearance. Even internal appearance - shape and size of organs, blood vessels, nerves, muscles and tendons, bowels. DNA. Not to mention things as trivial as iris patterns, fingerprints or blood type.

They were semi-independent, sent to gather data. Sometimes they were programmed to assassinate but most times it went wrong. After scoring the kill, they impersonated their victims, starting to believe that they are and always have been him/her/it/???

They had biological immortality and the ability to enter torpor for decades.

They all have died in the Corporate Wars. And even if some somehow survived, their minds were overwhelmed by centuries of existence with total recall. So if there are some Doppelgangers still living, they had impersonated someone many, many years ago. Or they've been transformed into something else.

Some do believe that Doppelgangers are now the leaders of all major cults and factions, still playing their cosmic game. They are free now - their masters and their entire world being dead for 1000 years.

Misunderstood, they found the last Ancient Robots and formed some kind of alliance with them. No one is able to understand rudimentary, simple minds of antediluvian automata and no one is able to understand labyrinthine, multi-layered and absolutely insane minds of Doppelgangers.

Someone may still know the ancient keywords, allowing them to control the artificial minions of the past. But there were as many keywords as there were Doppelgangers. Or even more, much more. 

I know I met one. There was something in her eyes. The weight of universe, the terror of interstellar nothingness, the oceans of dust gathered during the last millennium. She knew that I knew but she let me live. 

fyan meis

 

The Philosopher. The Interpreter. The one who deconstructs the words of the others. The One Who Explains.

He started his journey when the first Vectors were given to us. Later, after decades of cryosleep and countless words of knowledge shared with us, he had finally reached the Palace. It is said that he descended into planet's surface unscathed.

Others claim he's still alive, sleeping somewhere amongst the worlds of the Outer Border - or somewhere in the Dead Worlds.

Others claim he was transformed into something else.
Or that he confronted the Destroyer, and failed.
Or that he's always been a Doppelganger. 

1. It was always a lie. A madman made saint, a supposed savior of mankind, in fact just an old, broken man.
2. There are secret messages hidden in all Meis' words. Coordinates leading to the secrets of the past.
3. He bears a Brand of HVEROD. Just a puppet of long-dead kings!

Selected works:

The Dreaming (excerpts: 1,2,3,4,5) 
Monuments of Incompetence
Tomb of Dreams
Unexplained Visions
The First Vector
The Journey (excerpts: 1,2,3)
Ancient Prophecies
Artificial Light
Gods of Cosmos - Interpretations of Corporate Religion