The current news of Elon Musk’s attempt to take over Twitter Inc. make me think of the different philosophies pursued by the two Conventions with the most influence in the Technocracy. The NWO (New World Order) and the Syndicate have always represented two very different approaches to pursuing control of Sleeper society. Published Mage books have long referred to the tensions that exist between these 2 factions within the Technocracy. I see these tensions as being a natural result of their very different philosophies. I have mentioned this in past episodes of Tomes of Magick. I should preface this piece by saying my understanding of the Syndicate’s philosophy is not mentioned in any published Mage material but nonetheless I see it as an intrinsic part of their nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NWO seeks to concentrate power over Sleepers into one authority and then be the power behind the throne. The NWO directs that authority from the shadows and survives if that power is struck down. It is simple and direct. Only one puppet to manage. Fast results & challenges to that puppet are easy to identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syndicate is another beast entirely. They think the NWO’s approach is simple-minded and limiting. The Syndicate would tell you the most obvious approach is rarely the best. There are too many factors, too many possible outcomes in a large, complicated world. Direct control of individuals or particular institutions will involve one too directly to the situation on the ground and limit one’s view. Rather than back the biggest player in the game the Syndicate believes it is best to step back and influence the game itself. It is human nature to desire direct power but centuries of experience show the enlightened players set the rules of the game. Regardless who wins, the game will go your way. Best of all, you don’t have to babysit any stupid Sleepers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief advantage to the NWO’s approach is speed. Direct control allows specific tasks to be accomplished quickly. If asked, a Syndicate member would no doubt say the patience their approach requires is always worth it in the end. The chief disadvantage for the NWO is the authority they back has a target painted on its chest. The biggest player is the most visible. There will always be a challenger. It’s just a matter of time before the king is knocked off his throne and then the NWO has to hustle to set up another one. To go one further, those who go looking for the power behind the throne don’t have to search long. To find the ones influencing the whole system is a much more difficult undertaking. The NWO is always on the lookout for their enemies. The Syndicate eschews such paranoia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To bring this back to Elon Musk and Twitter, I don’t think the NWO cares about Twitter and I don’t see any connection worth mentioning between Elon Musk and the Syndicate. Elon Musk is too noisy to be a desirable pawn of the Syndicate. Book of the Fallen has already connected Elon Musk to the Nephandi anyways. (Wow, Brucato. Real subtle.) However, I think the struggle in the headlines is a good example of the two Conventions’ principles. One group wants to concentrate influence over the public discussion in one social media application. By doing so, they are putting a target on themselves and inviting a challenger. Even if Elon Musk fails how long will it be before another high roller (or government department) comes along? Even though it takes longer, controlling the language people use and the values people hold is a better way to direct the public discourse and more difficult to challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The current news of Elon Musk’s attempt to take over Twitter Inc. make me think of the different philosophies pursued by the two Conventions with the most influence in the Technocracy. The NWO (New World Order) and the Syndicate have always represented two very different approaches to pursuing control of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,7],"tags":[47],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}