Sapere aude (Imperial Russian Mythos Organization Quest)

Winning Votes:

[X] Establishment
[X] Dogma

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Francis sighed as he leaned back, watching the blood wash down the drain installed at the bottom of his basement. The body of the hired laborer slumped in the chair, the life finally draining out of him. Turning to the servant, he nodded. "Feed it to the pigs."

"Of course, sir." There was a pause. "I believe your appointment is coming up. Shall I set the green room to receive him?"

Pulling free a pocket watch, Francis frowned. "Quite. That took longer than I thought it would. I do hate uncooperative test subjects." He paused. "Have Old Hugh watch the material as it cools, alert me if it begins to eat through the floor."

A pile of green, glowing, and pulsating material on top of an alter marked with strange symbols stood at the center of the room as Francis got up to leave, small curls of alien light streaming from the amalgamation like smoke would from a churning pit of embers.

Francis paused, turning back to where a heavy leather sack was being pulled up around the corpse by his faithful worker. "Oh, and try to fish out what bones you can, I might have a use for them."

The man nodded, grunting with exertion, then raised his head to reply. "Yes sir, very good sir."

Excellent.

Rising from the basement of the new home, Francis walked into the 'green room,' a reception area set with large paintings of rural vistas on each wall. Combined with the deep old-growth wood flooring, one might mistake it for a forest if they happened to be in a drugged haze. Barely a moment later, a knock at the front door interrupted his musings, another servant quick-stepping to answer it.

"Ah, young Adrik! Very punctual indeed! Please, come in from the cold. I'll have Jegor here pour you something to warm you up." He rubbed at his chin, stroking his stubble. "Alternatively, I have opiates if you'd prefer."

The young man paused, frowning as he shook Francis' hand. "Perhaps? I've never had the opportunity to partake given my upbringing."

Francis grinned sharply and snapped his fingers at the servant. "Something we shall simply have to fix, in that case. Just a bit to see how your system copes with it, many of our peers find it to be an intellectual lubricant of significant quality."

Adrik chuckled, taking an offered chair. "You know, I hadn't anticipated such a warm welcome given how we disagreed during the meeting."

Francis laughed shortly as well. "Ah, that... well, while I may hold political ideas and cleave to certain philosophies, they are not who I am. That is true for all of our fellows, to a greater extent than most. We fancy ourselves, after all, scientists of some stripe."

Adrik nodded slowly. "I see. I'm glad of that, I think. In hindsight, I overstepped to the point of rudeness when I asserted my position so forcefully. I'd like to apologize for that and-"

Francis held up a hand. "Nonsense. It's clearly a subject you are passionate about and that same passion convinced many of our fellows to support an ideological structure over, or at least before, a hierarchical one. For that matter, I-"

A loud thump sounded, causing both to snap their heads around to a closed door.

"One moment, please." The Frenchman sighed and stood, taking a few steps out of the room while Jegor returned with a bottle of wine.

Perhaps two minutes later, Francis reappeared in the doorway, looking somewhat embarrassed. "My most sincere apologies, Adrik. I'm brewing some diamonds in the basement and you know how costly those formulations can be."

Realization dawned on the younger man's face. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry for interrupting. Do you need help cleaning up? I'm not afraid of getting my own hands dirty."

Francis smiled and waved him off. "Oh no, that's what I have my happy little helpers for." He cut a glance to the door to make sure Jegor had firmly shut it on his way out. "You see, everyone I've hired... they're all criminals. The only thing standing between them and a gruesome death is my good graces. When you add to the fact that I know where their families live..."

Adrik smiled. "I see. Impressive indeed. Faina and I had wondered how to go about acquiring some discreet help around the house. I hope you don't mind if I ask for details?"

Francis shook his head. "Not at all, but perhaps later? Although it does neatly dovetail into our discussion of political power..."

Adrik sipped at his wine as he gestured to the ornate pipe which had been brought in with the drinks. "What say we partake and I outline some possibilities I've thought out for how we might organize a philosophy to better bind our brothers together?"

Francis barked a laugh. "Quite right, quite right! An excellent idea..."

DOGMA:

Nationalism
"The achievements of the state are secondary to our work, true, but greater wealth and glory for the empire would reflect well on us, especially if we curry favor properly in the deployment of such technologies. To that end, we should focus on the most desired and needed developments for the throne, the army, and the navy. It's true we would be catering to a temporal authority, but they, in turn, would be inclined to cater to us. Granted, this would necessitate a greater involvement in political squabbling, but things we could achieve with that kind of support would certainly make it worth our while."

Perfectionism
"Science is much like art. The advantage, or at least the personal value, of a specific advancement decreases as it becomes more widely available. It is better to have fewer, more impressive pieces of eldritch technology than to produce a greater variety or amount of toys for the masses or the throne or whomever deigns to throw coinage in our direction. Perhaps we might release a few trinkets once we have trumped them ourselves, but the lion's share of our work should remain just that: our work."

Utopianism
"Science and technology enable the bending of the eldritch to the will of humanity, for the advancement of humanity, for the benefit of humanity. Obviously we will have to make sacrifices in order to achieve these ends, but they will all be for a brighter world, a world where mankind is unburdened by troublesome preconceptions regarding how the world works. We will show the great masses huddled in ignorance a better way, and they shall reap the fruits of our labors as our disciples in the revelation of the great truth."

Usurpationist
"We have seen, though the words of our predecessors, the ultimate fallibility of mortal institutions. Empires rise and fall, great leaders grow old and die, dynasties end. This is the tragedy of humanity and one which we might finally avert. Those who are most fit to hold power are, and have always been, those most capable and intelligent. The tools we make will enable us to seize the reigns of power so that we might guide those we select into our personal vision of the future."

Abstractionist
"Worldly concerns are just that. There are higher, more ephemeral ideas and concepts which should be the forcus of our efforts. Forgo practicality, pursue the impossible. Even if we fall short, the results will certainly be astounding. This path may not provide us results for decades, or even beyond our lifetimes, but we have always worked slowly, in the shadows. Even with this new age, there is no reason why we should change our methodology."

ESTABLISHMENT:

School
"An educational institution will be one amongst many, allowing us to hide in a crowd. Russia is a growing land and schools of higher education have sprouted like wheat in the fertile farmlands to the south. Much like that same fertility, those who seek to learn and teach within our halls will be open to new ideas. Not all will be of a suitable temperament for recruitment, but there will doubtless be some. The primary decision lies in whether or not we wish to fund a new wing in an established institution or build a new one whole-cloth, ourselves? There are advantages to both routes, of course, as well as potential hindrances."

Private Library
"As a habit of our research, almost all of our brethren are collectors of literature. While much of it is unsuitable for display, there is still a large portion of our collections which can be lent out or put on display, for a price of course. This likely won't generate much in the way of profit, but it will be more than enough to camouflage our movements, meetings, and provide us some ritual space beneath the main body of the building."

Factory
"Although Moscow is the heart of the imperial economy, there are no rules against building some kind of manufacturing facility here in St. Petersburg. Or, well, right outside the city, at least, where the nobility will not have to put up with the sight of workers coming and going. This, perhaps, offers the greatest opportunity for profit as we can rent out the space to anyone who wishes to produce goods for sale. If their enterprise goes under, we can simply move on to the next applicant. Still, if we ever design something to be mass-produced, we will have the capacity to do so. As business investors, we can also occupy a nearby building to host our meetings. It might be slightly odd for us to be so involved in the running of our property, but I can't imagine anyone making a real issue of it."

Apothecary's Yard
"We lack the expertise or training to open a full hospital, but this is well within our capabilities. Purchasing a plot of land, erecting greenhouses, and hiring skilled laborers to operate the facility is something we have the funds and connections to accomplish with relative ease. We can reserve a second or third floor room for our private operations and potentially even one of our greenhouses should we acquire specimens we can grow for our experiments. Revenue... will be middling, but likely very constant. It depends on whether the future bends to the current obsession with the sciences as is so popular now."

The Greatest Trick
"...the devil ever pulled is convincing the world he doesn't exist. We are viewed by many as similarly evil, so why should we not adopt similar tactics? Granted, it is unlikely for us to make any significant income on this path, but what we lack in gold we will make up for in secrecy and security. Instead of large meetings, we can divide the whole of our membership among smaller groups which will operate semi-independently, cross-pollinate experts as needed, and otherwise obscure even the existence of our larger organization."

[ ] Nationalism
[ ] Perfectionism
[ ] Utopianism
[ ] Usurpationist
[ ] Abstractionist

[ ] School
-[ ] Independent Institution
-[ ] Fund a New Wing of St. Peter's University
[ ] Private Library
[ ] Factory
[ ] Apothecary's Yard
[ ] The Greatest Trick

ONE HOUR MORATORIUM! Please do not vote for one hour!