Machine Worship: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

[[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul]], but for some, it sounds like a good trade. These characters admire the sleek lines and shining chrome of machinery, and idolize the purity of purpose and cold logic of artificial intelligences. Compared with the frailties of mortal flesh and the frivolities of human emotions, robots and AIs can come across as superior beings - after all, they are effectively immortal, and certainly don't seem to war amongst each other as much as humans.

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' has an episode which evolves around a cult obsessed with [[Brain Uploading|uploading your mind into the internet]]. The cult leader thought this was a better alternative to life in the flesh because {{spoiler|he was hospitalized and totally immobile.}}

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'': Protocol droid C-3PO ends up in the Ewok village, where at first the villagers worship him as if he was some sort of god.

 

== Literature ==

* The Construct Council in [[China Mieville]]'a ''[[Perdido Street Station]]''. A massive AI in a scrapyard with worshipers. However it still has to communicate through a dead body hooked up to it. {{spoiler|As they leave Isaac notes that for the spokesperson to work, they must have ''been alive'' when they were hooked up.}} Also in the gap between this and the sequels ''[[The Scar]]'' and ''[[Iron Council]]'', there is a [[Robot War|purging of all constructs]] from the city for fear of what they could become.

** The implication in the early books was that enslavement by machines was a bit more metaphoric: by delegating basic and complex tasks to machines, humanity was weakened rather than enlightened. The target of the Jihad "was a machine-attitude as much as the machines". With the abolition of computers, man was forced to develop his own potential, leading to the rise of the [[Charles Atlas Superpower|specialised skill-sets]] of [[Awesomeness By Analysis|Mentats]] and the [[Compelling Voice|Bene]] [[Muscles Are Meaningless|Gesserit]].

* [[Greg Egan]]'s novels often make the whole thing sound very attractive indeed, most particularly ''Schild's Ladder''.

* The Rix, of [[Scott Westerfeld]]'s ''[[The Risen Empire]]'', worship artificial intelligences, and slowly upgrade themselves, replacing organs, limbs and connective tissues.

* Doctor Trintignant from [[Alastair Reynolds]]'s novella ''Diamond Dogs'', set in his ''Revelation Space'' verse.

** The Conjoiners from the same verse might be seen this way too, though they're more interested in intellectual rather than physical [[Transhumanism]].

* ''[[Star Trek: Ex Machina]]'', a book in the [[Star Trek Novel Verse]], posits a faction like this in the post-colonization society of [[Cargo Cult|Yonada]], which makes a fair amount of sense. This faction regards Kirk as a "god-killer" for his frequent destruction of artificial intelligences, and interprets V'Ger as having escaped him, not understanding that V'Ger was only able to [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]] by incorporating humanoid emotion.

* In [[Ian McDonald]]'s ''Desolation Road'' there is a cybernetic cult. They get pretty disturbing...

* The ''[[Berserker (Literature)|Berserker]]'' is a series of space opera science fiction short stories by American author [[Fred Saberhagen]] in which robotic self-replicating machines intend to destroy all organic life. The machines are known as Berserkers. Most are giant spaceships the size of Manhattan Island. There are a very few people who actually worship them.

* In the novel of ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', the Builders of the Monolith went through a phase where they uploaded their consciousness to starships, before evolving into pure energy.

* The future society in Aldous Huxley's ''[[Brave New World (novel)|Brave New World]]'' elevates Henry Ford into a god-like figure.

 

** And still he just whines about it, instead of actually trying to augment himself, despite of all the technology at his disposal...

*** [[Word of God]] says Cavil probably wouldn't be happy as a full machine either. His resentment is directed at his creators themselves rather than having the form of a human (though it is certainly a factor). The "machine" business is mainly his way of justifying his hatred to himself.

 

== Music ==

* Several characters take this view in Tod Machover's opera [[Death And The Powers]] ("The Robot Opera"). It forms an important thematic conflict.

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Most of them are also kleptomaniacs who have to be dissuaded at ''gunpoint'' from taking whatever piece of technology they like - be it a holy relic or ''a tomb full of frakking Necrons''.

** Sometimes [[Too Dumb to Live|the gun isn't enough incentive for them to keep their hands to themselves]].

{{quote|'''One of Our Own''': "...not only do they occasionally replace half their brain with a computer to free themselves from emotions, but they're one of the most powerful forces in the Imperium. This wouldn't be so bad until you consider how many of them are horrible, horrible people - Archmagos Khobotov from Soul Drinker basically thinks "The Soul Drinkers have an ancient right to the Soulspear, since it's their holiest relic. I don't. I'm going to take it anyways." They literally do not care about anything other than the technology - no honour, no justice, definitely not other people's lives. They will gladly put an entire world's population at risk in order to have a chance to loot a Necron tomb, and tend to act offended when people wall off Necron tombs rather than letting themselves get annihilated by psychopathic robot skeletons. And they're so powerful no-one will ever be able to do anything about it."}}

** The Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter are similar, sharing the Mechanicus' heavy use of bionics and their reverance for all things mechanical, and unusually for an Astartes Chapter enjoy close links with Mars. Instead of Chaplains, they have Iron Fathers, who combine the role of Chaplain with Techmarine. They despise the flesh as weak, and tend to view other Imperial forces and civilians with contempt - in at least one case summarily executing one third of the population of a retaken sub-sector to demonstrate the price of weakness. Even their battle cry is "The flesh is weak!"

* The ''[[D20 Modern|D20 Apocalypse]]'' featured an Order of the Machine, which was contemptuous of religious faith and instead wanted to rebuild society in a more logical, orderly form inspired by the machine. They make extensive use of cybernetics.

* ''[[Gamma World]]''. The "Followers of the Voice" Cryptic Alliance worshiped and obeyed (often insane) AI computers that survived the [[After the End|civilization-destroying apocalypse]].

* [[BattleTech]]'s technological cult of fanatics, (Pre-Reformation) ComStar/Word of Blake, ironically started as just the fallen Star League's communications bureau, but eventually became a cult whose creed is to preserve technology (read: hoard technology and destroy that of the Successor States) from those who would abuse it (the above mentioned Successor States and really anyone that isn't ComStar or under their <s> thumb</s> guidance) at all costs (including theft, arson, assassination of scientists, and even nearly triggering war between the 'States).

** And to ramp it [[Up to Eleven]], the Word of Blake's elite troops, the Manei Domini, have taken it steps further, receiving extensive cybernetic augmentation (And in a universe where cybernetics are incredibly rare and almost solely for repair of grievous injuries, even scorned and reviled in some areas, that's saying something) to a degree that would make Robocop look like a patchjob. Of course, these augmented soldiers look down on the unaugmented, even their fellow WOBbies, with epithets such as Frails. Of course, the whole cult angle is also ramped up a few notches as well, with the MDs taking up biblical names upon induction to the higher rankings, and even their high-end [[Humongous Mecha|OmniMechs]] are called Celestials and given reporting names corresponding to various classes of angels.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* The Cybernetic Consciousness faction of ''[[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri]]'' seeks to use cybernetics to purge themselves of irrationality and humanity frailty. More a case of Ego Machina, though, since the faction consists of formerly human beings literally possessed by artificial intelligences, who don't get human stuff like procreation by nature.

* The Vanu Sovereignty of [[PlanetSide]] seek to monopolize the continents of Auraxis and the ancient alien artifacts hidden on/in them for this very reason.

* The Meklar in the [[Master of Orion]] series are an entire race of cyborgs.

* The Core in ''[[Total Annihilation]]'', and the Cybran Nation in the [[Spiritual Successor]] ''[[Supreme Commander]]''.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Cyberpunk Tropes]]