This'll be fun.
Speechcraft is the use of the
psionic interlink between human
verbalization and the
symbolic representation of
ideas contained within
language, applied to alter the structure of the
universe.
[1] Speechcraft is recognized by the
United Nations as one of the
Prime Threats under the
degeneration and
ruination categories, and is correspondingly illegal in all places, though certain local authorities have varied in their enforcement of the ban.
[2] Several
non-governmental organizations believe that speechcraft restrictions should be loosened or eliminated; these groups generally refer to speechcraft as
Freedom of Speech and are classified as
phrase terrorists in
official listings.
[3] Some nations are considered by the UN to be sympathetic to phrase terrorist groups or otherwise engaged in
inadequate enforcement of the ban on speechcraft, notably including the
United States,
Canada,
Spain,
Somalia, and
Australia.
[4] The applications of speechcraft are as varied as the concepts carried within human speech, and with sufficient
power can be used to carry out any effect which can be expressed as an action or proclamation of fact. Fortunately, in practice, there are two main limitations that prevent speechcraft practitioners from destroying humanity. Firstly, the power of speech is diluted by the population of its users, the more humans drawing from any form of mundane speech the weaker the effect of any speechcraft rendered in this language. Though this would seem to allow any practitioner to invent their own language, there is in fact a baseline of living or dead speakers required to establish the connection between words and their symbolism in the first place. Correspondingly, this makes
dead or
nearly-dead languages very dangerous, and efforts to eliminate existing "
terror languages" are tasked to the
United Nations Linguistic Consolidation Mission.
[5] Secondly, the degree of power gained from boosting speechcraft via
blood consecration is very small, as the
symbolic dissonance between the two forms of ritual creates high inefficiency. Most individuals attempting speechcraft have access to no ritual forms beyond speech and blood, and this barrier to entry allows only well-funded groups to be a threat.
[6] In spite of this, speechcraft remains one of the greatest common threats due to its ease of use. Though common words do not function as speechcraft, it is relatively easy for even an untrained person to discover the required
mindset, especially if involved in a form of art that makes use of speech. Worse still, the nature of speechcraft causes it to be more effective on human beings than other forms of life or inanimate objects, and so even the low degree of power available to most practitioners can be used to ill ends. It is for this reason that most nations have a
Declared Overton Window. Uses of minor
mind control within this region are still politically stable, while positions outside the window are universally suppressed to make mind control irrelevant. Outside of political usage, most legal traditions prescribe
silencing as a punishment to any criminal activities employing speechcraft.
[7] A notable exception to these norms is the United States. Though the United States has avoided formal sanction through use of its position on the
UNSC, it is frequently criticized for having no national Overton Window nor any national use of silencing outside the provisions of the
Patriot Act. Though
several state jurisdictions apply both and the platforms of both the
Democratic and
Republican parties support the establishment of an Overton Window,
progress has been stalled by most
Presidents.
[8]With the evolution of the digital age, speechcraft has become increasingly dangerous, as the
symbolic legitimization of the internet as a mode of speech grows stronger. Though only high-power, low-effect uses of speechcraft have been demonstrated online, it is expected that online speechcraft will become equally functional to that of a major language by 2025 as more people used to the internet continue to mature.
[9]
>_
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Topic: AmeriPol thread (Read 4464337 times)