Genius:Introduction

Playing a Genius
"People say, “I’m going to sleep now,” as if it were nothing. But it’s really a bizarre activity. “For the next several hours, while the sun is gone, I’m going to become unconscious, temporarily losing command over everything I know and understand. When the sun returns, I will resume my life.” If you didn’t know what sleep was, and you had only seen it in a science fiction movie, you would think it was weird and tell all your friends about the movie you’d seen. “They had these people, you know? And they would walk around all day and be okay? And then, once a day, usually after dark, they would lie down on these special platforms and become unconscious. They would stop functioning almost completely, except deep in their minds they would have adventures and experiences that were completely impossible in real life. As they lay there, completely vulnerable to their enemies, their only movements were to occasionally shift from one position to another; or, if one of the ‘mind adventures’ got too real, they would sit up and scream and be glad they weren’t unconscious anymore. Then they would drink a lot of coffee.” So, next time you see someone sleeping, make believe you’re in a science fiction movie. And whisper, “The creature is regenerating itself.'"

The Secrets of the Universe
What happens when a mere mortal's inner intellect becomes sufficient to nullify the laws of existence as we know it? Is this still a human being, or an instrument of something more divine? In a world of darkness, the Inspired are a blazing torch of power that could lead humanity to a future free of problems and predation... ...if they weren't completely insane and if the mere touch of a rational human weren't enough to rend their delusions and the magnificence they produce asunder. Nevertheless, without the meddling touch of reason and reality, Geniuses build and employ the most powerful and cunning inventions a fevered imagination can produce

Madness Made Fact
Not even Geniuses understand the nature of their own Inspiration. Their experiments cannot be repeated, and neither can their results. Instead of the amazement and admiration of those below them, the Inspired are subject to the derision of all who hear of their works. For this reason, their work dissolves under the scrutiny of light and human attention. They need not uphold some elaborate masquerade. No lunacy renders their work invisible to unaccepting minds. The mere idea of their mania-fueled creations earns them unimportance in the eyes of humanity at best. And yet, in the confusion, the mystery, and the sublime and infinite shadows of this world lurks creatures that are not the products of reason. These have reason to fear the machinations of the mad Geniuses.

The Recolonization
All Geniuses who remain on this Earth for long have an obligation to their fellow man: one to protect the ignorant and not harm them. There are many things in the World of Darkness that seek to harm humanity, other things that wish to remain hidden, and these things require investigation, scrutiny, and the least sane varieties of research. They can't tell the difference between a normal, cunning human and one filled with the light of Inspiration. In fact, one might easily mistake an Inspired being for a plump and delicious snack. Will you light the way for other genii moving into the area? Will you get to the bottom of the disaster that wiped out so many of your peers? Or will you use your brilliance towards selfish ends?

Related Pages
Paradox Bardo