17 KiB
Polyhistor Quest[RST][MK][TH][NSFW]
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Author: u/desertfudge *
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/3vpjrx/polyhistor_questrstmkthnsfw/
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Score: 18
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Created: 2015-12-06T21:50:02
Post:
link: NSFW, requires creating an account
(If the idea of creating an account puts you off, please check the excerpts down below.)
The main character attends a magical school where the top 10% are allowed to graduate and go on to enjoy unlimited funding for whatever projects they wish, while everyone else either dies or is enslaved and turned into a "Lab Assistant". Killing your fellow students is expected and normal. Think harry potter crossed with Battle Royale/Hunger Games.
Please be aware that topics like torture, rape, and pedophilia are brought up. The author handles these serious topics with respect and maturity, but if these things bother you I would highly encourage you to give this fic a miss.
The setting is original, very well done, and is the most detailed world I've seen in a long while. Roughly 20% of the wordcount is devoted to classroom time, where various professors lecture on the details of this intricate, reductionist, rational, magical, and utterly fascinating world. Roughly 10% of the wordcount goes to interludes, where the larger world is shown from the POV of various other characters. The rest of the time the main character spends socializing, training, and getting into fights he ends up regretting.
The story is a quest, meaning players vote on what actions they would like to occur, and the character is only as rational as the readers are.
Some spoiler-free excerpts:
The players of the quest voted for the main character to cast a spell that alters his fate.
“You see everything. Everything. A cloud of worlds of possibilities of futures. Each infinitesimal point is grander than the sum total of all you had ever gazed with true sight. Your twin consciousnesses, resting in virtual minds built to house this information, still stagger under the weight of it all.
It is beautiful, grandiose, disgusting. This fog of worlds of worlds that itself is but a speck in the cosmos, but your destiny is but a speck to it. Infinite in scope, incomprehensible to man and beast alike. Impossible improbabilities laid out in forever.
In the peripheral of your mind's god's eye you witness a shadow slink between the lights. In the distance beyond you mind's god's eye's reach, you see the scales of a gargantuan being.
In revulsion/in fear, both your minds turn away, hiding in their own insignificance.
A flash more of willpower and the fog of starry worlds becomes a web. An artificial tree of links to force comprehension on this alien world. You witness futures, your futures, in vast sweeps.
And in your self that is a reflection of this map of world, your minds make the smallest tweaks. And the web of worlds reflects your changes.
When the both of you are satisfied, when your energy is fleeting, when you can no longer stand in the presence of this world's true inhabitant, you flee your self back from the virtual mind and collapse it.”
A classroom lecture:
"Welcome to First Year Aeromancy. This semester we will be exploring two major subdomains of the field. Extraplanar Topography and Conceptual Theory, otherwise known as Conceptual Logic." She writes each in large, clear lettering. "The former deals with the existence of realities beyond our own, the nature of magic external to ourselves and Gaea, as well as the question of why personal manifestations come about. The latter deals with the commonalities between said personal manifestations, as well as their interactions with the physical and, to a smaller extent, mental existence. As this is an introductory course, we will not go into great detail within either subject, instead focusing on overarching ideas. Specific explanation will be left to later years."
She underlines 'Extraplanar Topography.' "For today, we will start with the most cursory introduction to the first subdomain. If you have experience with Set Theory, some of these equations and diagrams will look familiar to you."
She draws a large square box and labels it with a 'Σ*'. "This field represents the sum totality of all, the omniverse as it is sometimes known. It is beyond infinite in size and each point within represents the sum total of all that ever was and ever will be for a particular universe." She draws a single point within the box, labeling it 'I0'. "This dot is our universe. All of our native space-time is contained within, and, for the vast majority of individuals, it may as well be the all of existence.
She draws a circle around the dot and labels it 'I'. "This set represents our universe's locality, or multiverse, according to some. We will get into the precise definition of localities at a future date, but for now consider them the set of alternate realities and decision trees. This contains infinitely many universes like ours, and there are infinitely many localities in Sigma Star."
She draws a second circle, one that almost entirely overlaps with the first, and lables it 'G'. "This set is defined to be Gaea, each point within a universe under Gaea's influence. You will notice that there are regions within our locality that are outside of Gaea, and that there are regions within Gaea that are outside of out locality. Again, the scope of this set is such that there are infinite universes contained within G, and that G itself is infinitesimal to Sigma Star."
She draws a third, much larger circle that encompasses the other circles and labels it 'Ω*'. "Omega Star represents the set of all universes that are capable of ontology. In some circles it is known as the multiverse, using the name meta-verse for localities instead. In order to prevent confusion, we will avoid using the term for either. For the purposes of this class, you may consider Omega Star to be the omniverse, as we will not be dealing with universes outside of it. Simply know that Omega Star is just a subset of Sigma Star, and that Omega Star is much smaller than its complement.
"There are many more important regions in Sigma Star, but this class will not cover them. Our focus will be on these four groups: Sigma Star, Omega Star, Gaea, and our locality. Please memorize their relationships."
Comments:
u/Transfuturist [+9] Carthago delenda est. (2 hours later)
I should not take up space in Σ*, it should be the point in Σ*. Localities are the universes. I^0 should be a subset of I's own space, it contains its own share of alternate futures. G should then be a region in Σ* (that wholly covers the point I) of all localities that contain some part of it.
Killing your fellow students is expected and normal.
Topics like torture and rape are handled in a serious and mature manner.
Why the hell do they even have to be handled? Sounds like a fetish thing.
Is aeromancy the name for magic in general? The physics sounds delightfully Tegmarkian.
u/None [+11] (5 hours later)
[deleted]
u/Transfuturist [+2] Carthago delenda est. (7 hours later)
I'm not just talking about sexual fetishism, but whatever.
u/FuguofAnotherWorld [+2] Roll the Dice on Fate (18 hours later)
I'm not sure I understand?
u/alexanderwales [+9] Time flies like an arrow (19 hours later)
Two definitions of the word:
- a course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment.
- a form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the body, etc.
So if I wrote a bunch of books that all had critiques of capitalism in them, you might say that I had a fetishistic urge to deal with that topic, meaning it in the first sense rather than the second sense (with the connotation that I'm doing this because I have a compulsion rather than because I'm doing my job as a writer).
I think /u/Transfuturist is thinking that the author is irrationally and/or excessively drawn to torture and rape as topics, rather than taking sexual gratification from writing about them (though I don't think I'd preclude that without having read any of Polyhistor). A writer brings torture and rape into the story because they want to; they control the circumstances that make it necessary to be dealt with.
Whether it's fetishitic is largely a matter of taste.
Edit: A widely agreed upon example would be the overly elaborate (and long) descriptions of food in Redwall, which I think could safely be described as fetishism (in the first sense).
u/FuguofAnotherWorld [+3] Roll the Dice on Fate (19 hours later)
After all these years I still don't know what hot root pie and mash is, but I've always kinda wanted it.
u/Transfuturist [+3] Carthago delenda est. (a day later)
A writer brings torture and rape into the story because they want to; they control the circumstances that make it necessary to be dealt with.
Yes.
u/FuguofAnotherWorld [+2] Roll the Dice on Fate (3 days later)
Hmmm, having read further into the story I am more inclined to agree with your assessment.
u/Transfuturist [+2] Carthago delenda est. (3 days later)
I feel a tiny grain of vindication. I still haven't read past the first post, though.
u/desertfudge [+5] (3 hours later)
Why the hell do they even have to be handled? Sounds like a fetish thing.
It is not a fetish thing. Some people are simply interested in exploring the more unpleasant aspects of human nature. If this is not to your taste, I would encourage you to give this story a pass.
Is aeromancy the name for magic in general? The physics sounds delightfully Tegmarkian.
The setting is too immense for me to describe in here. Suffice it to say that there are three branches of magic, one of which is Aeromancy.
u/RMcD94 [+3] (18 hours later)
I presume you don't wonder why almost every book on here "handles"/includes murder?
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (a day later)
The torture and rape were what I was referring to, first of all, and second of all, the kind of bloodsport that these stories (The Long Walk, Battle Royale, The Hunger Games, and now this) are about differs greatly from warfare. In these settings, the bloodsport isn't even necessary, as it is imposed by a unified authority instead of as a reaction to a genuine militaristic threat.
u/RMcD94 [+2] (a day later)
I haven't read the story yet but presumably this is a choice made by students in order to increase their chances of success. If there's only 10% left then everyone gets funding.
In that case you have a self selecting population of people willing to murder to get ahead, if there was no rape or torture or other psychopathic tendencies I would be more surprised then.
Enders Game for example has the whole watching thing to select out too sadistic people.
Either way Battle Royale doesn't fit because it's everyones first time. Hunger Games I would expect sadistic behaviour from careers and in those type of games where it is a short period you have less time for indulgence. If careers aren't monsters outside then I am surprised.
u/Bowbreaker [+1] Solitary Locust (3 days later)
If careers aren't monsters outside then I am surprised.
I don't know. Outside they are with their people. And they haven't actually been in any Hunger Games, only prepared for them. And whoever teaches them would probably try and discourage sadistic behavior as it limits the sympathy gifts getting send in by the rich viewers.
u/None [+7] (5 hours later)
[deleted]
u/EliezerYudkowsky [+7] Godric Gryffindor (12 hours later)
Don't keep us in suspense, what's the one other quest?
u/FuguofAnotherWorld [+2] Roll the Dice on Fate (18 hours later)
u/desertfudge [+2] (a day later)
I've read that one, and yeah, it's pretty well done, though not personally to my taste. Hand-holding Mami while she worked through her PTSD got old for me pretty quick.
I'd say Panopticon Quest is probably my second favorite.
u/IomKg [+5] (an hour later)
is the reason such a system exists explained? doesn't make too much sense to me. I mean sure there have been cultures where that was accepted a long time ago (though i doubt it was quite that high of a death rate), but humanity generally averts such ideas. and magic doesn't really make it go away. there should be some pretty good reason for a world to exist where it is expected that 90% of the kids going to school are going to die..
u/Transfuturist [+8] Carthago delenda est. (an hour later)
The setting is on the Babyeater homeworld?
u/desertfudge [+9] (3 hours later)
There is only one murder-school; all the other colleges are normal. People attend because outside this school information about magic is carefully hoarded, and because graduates are given unlimited funding for personal research as well as a million a year for living expenses.
The school itself exists because in this world, trauma, insanity, and immense magical power often go hand in hand. Kroll, the founder and funder of Polyhistor, is a scientist, and Polyhistor is his personal experiment in using sadism and cruelty to motivate people to accomplish great things (Kroll is not a nice man). Other reasons become obvious as you read the text.
u/Transfuturist [+2] Carthago delenda est. (3 hours later)
It says the top 10% of graduates are given unlimited funding, not top 10% of attendees. So at most 1% of attendees are given unlimited funding.
u/desertfudge [+3] (3 hours later)
Let's say 100 people attend Polyhistor.
At the end of their fourth year, 30 people are left alive to graduate. Of those 30 people, the top 10 all receive unlimited funding and go on to do whatever they want with their lives. The other twenty are "employed" by the Hydromancy division whether they like it or not, and by employed I mean they are broken and enslaved to Kroll, a fate worse than death.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (3 hours later)
Spoilers, please. But the part that was confusing was actually your explanation. You gave the impression that it was an elimination-style thing, where only 10% of attendees would be allowed to graduate, which I combined with the text's '10% of graduates are given unlimited funding.'
u/desertfudge [+2] (4 hours later)
Spoilers, please.
Not actually a spoiler. Anyways, I edited the main post to be more clear.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (4 hours later)
Not actually a spoiler.
Is it in the second post or something? I haven't moved past the first.
u/FuguofAnotherWorld [+5] Roll the Dice on Fate (19 hours later)
Post 12 or so, but it's not really a twist or anything, just regular backstory.
u/None [+4] (4 hours later)
[deleted]
u/desertfudge [+1] (a day later)
I tried to pick a good quote that showcased character interaction, but they all felt like spoilers. Or they were too long. Also, the worldbuilding is a large part of why people like this quest, so I figured a world-building heavy excerpt would be a good idea.
Looking back... you're right, it is technobabble. I think it's well done technobabble though.
u/Rouninscholar [+1] (a day later)
Why can I not view the thread?
u/desertfudge [+3] (a day later)
You have to make an account on the site.
u/Rouninscholar [+1] (a day later)
My issue I learned was I missed the part that said "check your email for confirmation" lol
u/RMcD94 [+1] (3 days later)
Reading quests is always just so bothersome. 1st is the awkward broken up nature of the story, one part has Time 1, Time 3, Time 5 the next has Time 2, 4, and 6. Just really awkward.
The second biggest thing is the author includes information in non-story posts with which the readers vote. Missing this information detracts from the story and the experience.
At this point I've read up to the first time skip and I just don't understand why they haven't gone back and sorted it all. It's not exactly like he's just started and so catching up would be easy.
There's also all the not time specific stuff that I have no idea when I should read.
Plus there are way too many typos for my liking.