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Dreamscapes, The
Dreamscape
Image from Steve Bowers
A citizen of the Zoeific Biopolity stands on a cliff while viewing the local Dreamscape
The Zoeific Biopolity, in its commitment to exploring the phase space of organic life, has structured its cybercosm to be an integral and interactive part of the biosphere.

The virches of the Biopolity, known as the Dreamscapes, are most often semi-double virch worlds in that they loosely replicate the physical environments in which their processor nodes are based. Rather than being true representations these virtual spaces' dreamscapes have an ethereal quality to them with an aesthetic drawn from the experiences of the physical. A parkland that becomes popular with courting sophonts may take on amorous overtones with a rose tinted spectrum, a serenading wind and non-euclidean adjustment to the woodland to create many secluded pockets. Dreamscapes almost always overlap with the Ril environment through the presence of lucid zones.

In order to facilitate this most Biopolity habitats and biomes use a system that relies on virtual and utility fog avatars in order to seamlessly blend the experiences for the experiences for both physical and virtual sophonts. Because virch inhabitants often outnumber their ril life compatriots by a great magnitude The dreamscape is coordinated by The Flow in order to dynamically decide which physical locations gain a dreamscape and where best to place lucid zones. When a biont enters a lucid zone they are instantly able to view utility fog eidolons of virchers and other alifes in the area corresponding to where they would be if they were embodied in the local environment. A similar process occurs for the digital inhabitants as the biont is now represented with a digital avatar in the virch.

The primary effector in the real world is bionanotech utility fog that serves to create eidolon avatars for digital residents to interact with other residents and the biosphere. These foglets are generated from flowering plants in a manner similar to the dispersion of pollen. Lucid zones therefore typically appear in a constant state of flowering bloom, though the plants used vary considerably. Physical sophonts entering a lucid zone have their senses augmented by chemical, optical and acoustic messages between the zone and their exoself. This allows them to perceive the dreamscape and interact with its members and features.

Lucid zones are not simply shared meeting areas; they are also used to allow sophonts to make the transition from the physical world to the dreamscapes and vice versa. Sophonts are able to make this transition both at will or through the encouragement of The Flow. If a digital resident is needed in the ril biosphere ve will enter the ludic zone on the side of the dreamscape and step into virtual representation of an "Engenetree". Doubled with an organic engenerator on the physical side the former digital sophont soon emerges with the appropriate or desired body. If a biont needs or wants to enter a virch ve simply steps into the physical side of the engenetree to have ver mind uploaded into the digital environment. In accordance with biopolity practices physical bodies are rarely stored but are instead recycled.

Less frequently than the reverse Dreamscapes can also influence the physical biosphere. Like chaotic waves merging to form a powerful force the snippets of embodied experience that mould the dreamscape can coalesce into a concept so firm it is expressed in the Ril. For example, a dreamscape of a lovers' parkland may generate new patterns of mating ritual that are expressed in the Ril in the form of a creature that identifies potential mates and showers them with pheromones. This process is interlinked with the Flow which can strengthen or inhibit the likelihood of a virtual phenomenon being expressed as a Ril organism or behaviour. This is to ensure that its incarnation is harmonious and enriching to the environment. Said organism maybe incarnated via a number of methods depending on what it is. If it is some kind of plant life its seeds will be replicated by another plant and dispersed until it is capable reproducing on its own. Animal neogens will usually be born via the production pods of engenetrees in a juvenile form, but may also be born to other animals and sophonts with appropriate reproductive organs. A great honour in many biopolity habs is to be responsible for the creation and rearing of a new life form. Digital sophonts native to the dreamscape may even incarnate for the purposes of giving birth to organisms coalesced by the dreamscape.
 
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Development Notes
Text by Ryan B
Initially published on 01 April 2018.

 
 
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