====================================================================== FIXION: An Experiment in Virtual Culture FIXION.FAQ v1.2; (nc) 1993 aleph@pyramid.com ====================================================================== Q: What, in brief, is the FIXION project? A: The FIXION project is a multi-media project which has as its fundamental medium that familiar "e.mail" form. Done in the "Grand Old Tradition" of round-robin storytelling, FIXION creates an ongoing, multilinear story which becomes all the more compelling through its realistic use of the available media of the Net. Q: Who would be interested in it? A: Well, hopefully any *reader* who enjoys a compelling yarn will enjoy the progress of the FIXION. As for those wondering about working on the project: writers, programmers, actors, and thinkers who have interests in science-fiction, the works of William Gibson, Philip K. Dick, Douglas Adams, William S. Burroughs, Timothy Leary, Aleister Crowley, H.P. Lovecraft, Jorge L. Borges, Robert Anton Wilson and others are already working on it. Those with experience in MUDs and Role-Playing Games will enjoy the direct participation, as will all those interested in such arcane plot elements as "CyberPunk," "undergrounds," "mysticism," or "metaprogramming." Q: Who wrote it? A: Well, no-one has "written" it; the FIXION may never be "completed," as it is an ongoing project which is being worked on right now. People writing resource material and plot elements for the FIXION come from a variety of backgrounds and interests. Several Alephians first negotiated the idea into existence, but the structure is designed to support the addition of any number of "FIXIONeers." There is no end to the amount of detail that may be added to the FIXIONal world. Already there are some formative principles in the plot, but even these are perpetually open to negotiation. FIXION is a fusion between literature, drama, net.working and role-playing games. Q: What is the basic plot? A: As an experiment in writing and cultural exploration, it is an open-ended plot device at present. The basic idea is this: "CyberPunk" fiction and science fiction tales in general are interesting in that they offer ideas on the future and speculate on things that could be. Their drawback is that they are usually placed so far into the future that they begin to become distant from our everyday reality and our concerns. Additionally, the limited, linear format of the book doesn't allow for relativistic development as real life (or even virtual life!) does. The Net allows us a new medium to use for the exploration of ideas. It has also shown many of us that the future is advancing on the present at an increasingly accellerated pace. The approach of the FIXION is to write FIXIONal posts and plot out FIXIONal events that relate the Net to the real world. FIXION "occurs" on a perpetually-updated date of 24 months from . For instance, work being done on the FIXION today, 5.27.93, is being written to fit into what is FIXIONally occurring on 5.27.95. As we draw closer to that date in reality, we will be able to negotiate out the details of the plot and post FIXIONal elements in the form of posts. That way, when 5.27.95 actually arrives, we will be all set for a real live net.event based upon the (by then) two-year old work; a "figure/ground reversal" of sorts. Life meets Art. And by that time, of course, FIXIONeers will be writing FIXIONal posts and simulating events occurring on 5.27.97... Q: With such an open-ended approach, how are you keeping FIXION internally consistent? A: The backbone of the FIXION is drawn from a most unusual source. While still very questionable when applied to its original intention, it serves as a tremendous guide for a self-organizing and perpetual body of "fiction." Terence McKenna has created software called "TimeWave Zero" which he sets forth as a fractal pattern to history and time. Its premise is that human beings are "novel" and negentropic creatures, who are inclined to produce more and more novel things and events. Culture and technology, he postulates, are the most extreme forms of this sort of novelty; this nicely suits the needs of social science-fiction, CyberPunk, and in our case FIXION. What he has produced reads like a chart of peaks and troughs which are said to measure "novelty." The time-span corresponding to the impact of an asteroid with the earth, speculated to have wiped out the dinosaur population, for instance, is characterised by a vast graphic descent into novelty. The high renaissance is marked by another deep descent into novelty. The explosion of the first atomic device is likewise graphed as being very "novel." As TimeWave Zero unfolds, the patterns of novelty and habit on earth ebb and flow. What is interesting about TimeWave Zero, and what makes it useful for our FIXION, is that it projects those trends into the future, based upon the patterns set in motion by the past. This we can "time out" the occurrance of a "novel" event in our story-line with an accordingly extreme descent into novelty in the TimeWave. This allows us to construct the future of the FIXION as we go along, adding and negotiating detail as we draw nearer and nearer to it. Q: It seems, though, like there would be no "dramatic tension" in such an ebb and flow. How do you plan to make the FIXION interesting for people to keep up with? A: One approach will be to create various multi-media stories and subprojects that, although set within the FIXION, are written just like any other dramatic theatre piece in that they have conflict and resolution. But the basic premise of the FIXION, one which provides built in "dramatic tension," has to do with the structure of TimeWave Zero. Although it does indeed ebb and flow in its exchanges of novelty and habit, it is also a wave which has a termination point. For instance, the asteroid hitting the earth would have been a HUGE point of novelty, and would have marked off the end of a cycle. The next cycle, as indicated by TimeWave Zero, was shorter by half than the one before it. This process continues, until the point at which the explosion of the first atomic device corresponds in the wave to the "big bang" in its importance as a novel event. The cycles of time set in motion by human endeavors and technologies tighten in their re-iteration of novel events until, according to TimeWave Zero, the entire wave of culture and time "collapses" at dawn, December 22, 2012. Of course, as a real device for thinking about history, this is as dubious as anything. On the other hand, as a device for constructing the FIXION, it provides us with our favored theme of "what significance is human culture, and what effect is it having on the world?" which is so important to CyberPunk fiction and to good science-fiction. Also, TimeWave Zero provides built-in dramatic tension in the form of the "singularity" of 2012. What could possibly happen? Will it be some religious advent or apocalypse, perhaps the product of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Will it be a period of biological and ecological transformation as the human race becomes integrated with "Gaia?" Will it be a world war? Does the existence of the Net herald the possibility of a cultural climax in virtuality averting catastrophe in reality? Or will the date pass without incident? These are the themes which adopting TimeWave Zero as the backbone of the FIXION will allow us to explore, and turn into compelling reading, to boot! Q: It sounds interesting; a good idea for a continuing story, if nothing else. Aren't there any other elements to the plot of the FIXION? Who are the major characters? Are there any major organizations? A: There are indeed several plot devices which are already being fleshed out. We have Secret Societies, Government Foils, Arcane Qabalists, Trickster Comedians, Idealistic Aeonians, Dour Physicists, Artificial Intelligence Engineers, as well as a whole host of other characters and organizations being whipped up from the flotsam and jetsam of the whole of humanity's cultural mythology. Simulations are being prepared, and a new form of virtual performance art is being created. We can't, of course, reveal the major players in this FAQ (nor can we do more than jestfully hint at the archetypes being employed), because that would ruin the surprise for those who would rather watch the FIXION unfold than work on its production. Q: Let's say I just want to sit back and watch the show: how do I know FIXION when I see it? A: Well, bits and pieces of the larger FIXION story will be released exclusively to the Net (it's one of the first examples of net.performance.art!) in the form of simple posts to UseNet NewsGroups. You will know a post that is part of the FIXION storyline by two things: 1. Its "SUBJECT:" line will be prefixed with "[FIX]" ... thusly: SUBJ: [FIX] Press Release: ENYDYNE releases GraviTron{tm}!!! 2. Initial posts will refer to "events" taking place in 1995 in the FIXIONal story line! Q: Let's say I want to play the role of FIXIONEER: how do I get involved? A: Plotting and brainstorming on the plot-at-large is occurring on the "aleph" e.list. Send "SUBSCRIBE" to to join. Because most of us are anticipating the fun and excitement of informational overload in the form of traffic, the flow of plot elements and discussion may be intense: simply watch the flow and jump in, asking questions about characters or plot elements at any time. We're not too worried about our plot ideas "getting out," because they change so rapidly anyway, and "leaks" will only add to The Mystique{tm}! There will be an internal FAQ floating around in the flux, as well, that details procedures on characters and plot elements for the new FIXIONEER. Q: When is the FIRST fit of FIXION supposed to come? A: A mass initial posting is scheduled for Some Time *Very* Soon... For more details, consult Aleph or your own copy of TimeWave Zero... ======================================================================