3.6 KiB
Rational/ist fiction in Lovecraft's Mythos
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Author: u/callmebrotherg now posting as /u/callmesalticidae*
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/2yeiny/rationalist_fiction_in_lovecrafts_mythos/
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Score: 16
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Created: 2015-03-09T02:56:11
Post:
What are some rational/ist stories that aren't just Lovecraftian (as, for example, I've seen Peter Watts' Blindsight described to be) but explicitly draw on Lovecraft's mythos and not just his themes.
And how would you do it, if you wrote such a story yourself?
Comments:
u/clawclawbite [+13] (56 minutes later)
Have you read Charles Stross's Laundry Files?
If many Lovecraftian elements are defined by geometry of the universe that is more complex than we can see, then developing higher level math lets is interact with those elements, and puts us at higher risk of consequences.
If you then add in having computational devices that can manipulate symbols, you magnify the above effects.
u/Charlie___ [+10] (14 hours later)
You learn that the universe is not lawful, instead it is ruled by a mad god that is but briefly sleeping. You attempt to understand the nature of the mad god and use Its terrible power to run generators. This wakes It up, and It changes physical law in a way that turns the earth into a star.
u/derefr [+3] (a day later)
TIL Queen Zeal is a rationalist.
u/Nighzmarquls [+3] (a day later)
I'm actually planning out a project (But it will be a few years now before I'm done training up my visual and story telling skills for it) based on the premise of a world of 'pragmatic cosmic horror'.
Which fits rather closely to this idea.
The broad jist is that knowledge/awareness/contemplation on the nature of the universe holds extremely high probability of turning anyone and anything into a horrific monstrosity that generally fits well into any number of horror movie/ghost/monster/ghost tropes.
A very small percentage of those that go through this process survive with something similar to their own goals, perspectives and memories intact.
Civilization pragmatically builds itself around preventing people from ending up becoming these monsters as carefully as possible.
u/callmebrotherg [+2] now posting as /u/callmesalticidae (a day later)
I would really like to see that.
Would you be able to let me know when you're at a point where you'd like some feedback?
u/Nighzmarquls [+1] (a day later)
I could start describing the massive knot of world building on the setting right now but that would probably take a small word document to even begin to explain half of what's going on.
Think a thread would be worth while?
u/callmebrotherg [+1] now posting as /u/callmesalticidae (a day later)
Yes.
u/Nighzmarquls [+2] (a day later)
u/callmebrotherg [+1] now posting as /u/callmesalticidae (a day later)
Thanks!
u/Nighzmarquls [+2] (a day later)
Also of more existent example, the Cthulhu punk table top game has a rather clever methodology of dealing with researching cognition hazardous mathamatics and technology AKA lovecraft country magic.
They break up any given problem/project between LOTS of researchers so that no one person has to hold the entire idea in their head at once and thus risk going mad.
u/callmebrotherg [+1] now posting as /u/callmesalticidae (a day later)
I like this.