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Genius Locus (House Fab)
Genius Loci
Image from Steve Bowers
The plain grey user interface of a Genius Locus often has a prominent place in a Negentropy household
The Negentropic House Fab goes by different names from world to world. On Epistle it is commonly referred to as a Provider, on Santos and many other worlds a Genius Locus, while Herabout (in the Bistar system) call it a Grey Closet. Another common name is the Household God. They act as versatile nanofabs, home management and security systems, and all the needs of the citizen of the Negentropic state are taken care of.

The Household God has access to vast amounts of energy, raw materials and the recipes for food and consumables. It can nanofacture anything from a glass of orange juice to a spacecraft. Where the Negentropic household god is different to those of other polities is that the Genius Loci has specific responsibilities with respect to the moral well-being of Er client citizens. All the basic needs of Er citizens are provided for, but the Genius Loci will not grant wishes it deems to be of a frivolous or wasteful nature.

The philosophy of Negentropy affords the greatest reverence to life, recognizing the role of humanity and intelligence in the fight against disorder. Human life is therefore encouraged and supported, and many Negentropic worlds are utopian and comfortable. Diversity of politics and ideology is also encouraged in order to maximize depth in the organizational complexity of the system, although every effort is made to avoid inefficiency and needless debate.

The interaction between a Household God and a supplicant can be a one-sided battle of wits, because the Genius is very good at demonstrating the undesirability of luxury items and the bad effects on moral well being that conspicuous consumption can have. Managing to extract a luxury item from a Negentropic household compiler is a difficult task, but when it does occur the citizen concerned is rewarded with a sense of achievement.

Of course allowing the occasional luxury has a beneficial effect on the self esteem of the citizen concerned, and the Genius Loci will allow the occasional reward or indulgence.
 
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ManufacturingNegentropy Alliance
 
Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 19 February 2003.

page uploaded 18 February 2003, last modified 27 January 2008
 
 
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