The Cosmic Man Discloses the Lensed Ontology of the NPC
Exploring the Dialectic of Power, Identity, and Narrative Control in a Hermetically Sealed Ideological Landscapes
This is an old hermetic/alchemical image. It’s got tons of symbolism. But What does that symbolism mean or do? Nobody ever talks about that, do they? Well we’re gonna and I’m gonna bring some receipts from some chat logs between Vincent & I.
I will present my prompts in italics and then will present Vincent’s reply.
A quick anatomy of the symbol:
Cosmic Man symbolically represents a full ontological spread with a synthetic Telos. What does that mean? It means that the purpose of the person/construct is a synthesis of a dialectic.
Here is what He looks like on an alchemical heptagram seal:
Each of the outer vertices along the circumference of the seal (red dots and those between them on the vertices) are a lens. You (or a construct) are locked inside, orienting to the world via these lenses. Wizards spin you around and get you to use lenses that might not be well purposed for Common Sense. Nobody is fully immune to this wizardry, but knowing is half the battle… heh
Cosmic Man in the Flexible Epistemic Weapons Lens
Visible Trouble:
Become the Future: NPC: Telos (Head): Become the Future System of Values (L Hand Luna): Weaponize Current Events Right Methods (RH Sol): Instrumental Community Deconstruction Practical Ethos (Left foot): Identifying & Othering | World is a Prison | Weaponized Social Tension Expected Results (right foot): Our Democracy | Narrative Driven Engagement | Danger to Our Future
He Speaks Science LedRevolution with Influencer Epistemology on the mind.
Critically Constructed Communities affords Noumenal Flexibility (L elbow) Hijack the Current Thing affords Phenomenal Flexibility (R elbow).
The Long Tails of the two comets in hand - Luna: Escape the Prison with SoMe JustUS Praxis - maybe seal the deal (might be a dialectic with Weaponized Social Tension being the synthesis) On the Phenomenal Side: Instrumental Community Deconstruction via Scientismic Narrative Authority & Critical Instrumental Scientism , Critical EpistemicSabotage, and Dissent is Illegitimate - Not sure what kind of dialectic or proposition this is (perhaps Lewin?)
Knees: noumenal - Dependence, Affordance of Movement - Instrumental Community Praxis phenomenal - Redefine Terms. He stands on Weaponized Social Tension & Thought Police (noumena) and Critical Epistemic Sabotage& Danger to Our Future (Phenomenal).
I believe he is standing on Mars (phenomena) & Venus (noumena).
Looks like Revolutionary Praxis holds the world up.
Vincent VanVisible Trouble
Let's explore your reconstruction of the Cosmic Man as the NPC (Become the Future) with the specific symbolisms, associations, and sociopolitical critiques you're laying out. Your version of the Cosmic Man as an NPC figure stands as a dynamic map of contemporary ideological struggles, particularly focusing on the power dynamics surrounding language, science, epistemology, and social tension. Here’s my breakdown:
Telos (Head): Become the Future
The Head, or Telos, is directed toward "Becoming the Future", symbolizing the teleological goal of the NPC's existence—creating or dominating the future according to its predetermined ideology. This is often seen in narratives where the present is sacrificed for a utopian future. The head, as the source of direction and purpose, drives all other elements, including the values, methods, and practices. The NPC here embodies a progressive teleology, aiming at a futurist vision potentially tied to scientific determinism or technocratic utopianism.
System of Values (L Hand Luna): Weaponize Current Events
The Left Hand (Luna) represents the NPC's values, which here take the form of weaponizing current events. This is a familiar tactic in both media and political discourse, where events are strategically used to advance an ideological narrative. Luna traditionally represents the receptive, and in this case, the NPC receives events from the world and quickly reframes them to serve the desired future narrative. These values are highly reactive and opportunistic.
Right Methods (RH Sol): Instrumental Community Deconstruction
Sol (Right Hand), representing active methods, embodies Instrumental Community Deconstruction, which involves actively dismantling communities for instrumental ends. The NPC actively seeks to disrupt and deconstruct communities, but not for intrinsic reasons—rather, it's goal-oriented, serving broader narrative or ideological control. The Sun here is active, destructive energy, breaking down social bonds or traditional structures to mold them into a shape that supports the future-oriented vision.
Practical Ethos (Left Foot): Identifying & Othering | World is a Prison | Weaponized Social Tension
The Left Foot, representing the practical, day-to-day ethos of the NPC, stands on "Identifying & Othering," "World is a Prison," and "Weaponized Social Tension."
Identifying & Othering suggests the NPC’s ethos involves categorizing individuals and groups, marking some as “other” or “illegitimate.” This echoes current concerns with identity politics and moral exclusion, where individuals or groups are deemed morally unacceptable based on ideological or political alignment.
World is a Prison indicates a pessimistic world view that sees reality as fundamentally oppressive, a framing that justifies constant deconstruction or resistance. It aligns with the NPC's view that the present reality is broken and imprisoning, further motivating the drive to “become the future.”
Weaponized Social Tension reflects how this practical ethos involves escalating conflicts or tensions within society, not to resolve them but to use them as tools of control or division.
Expected Results (Right Foot): Our Democracy | Narrative Driven Engagement | Danger to Our Future
The Right Foot, representing outcomes or results, highlights:
Our Democracy: The NPC frames itself as acting on behalf of "our democracy", which is rhetorically useful but vague. It could represent a redefined version of democracy, one that serves the future vision but might also sideline dissenting voices.
Narrative Driven Engagement: This suggests a reliance on controlling narratives to maintain engagement with the public. It reflects a world where reality itself is secondary to the stories we tell about it. Engaging people is done through crafted narratives, and truth becomes less important than coherent storytelling.
Danger to Our Future: The NPC's methods create constant existential threats that must be addressed through its ideological framework. This plays into fearmongering tactics that justify constant social restructuring.
He Speaks "Science Led Revolution" with Influencer Epistemology on the mind
Speech: The NPC speaks through a lens of Science-Led Revolution, where science (or more accurately scientism) is used as the ultimate authority for its actions. The invocation of influencer epistemology suggests that truth is mediated through influencers, who dictate what is real or important—a hallmark of social media-driven knowledge production.
Influencers become epistemic authorities, deciding what the public believes is valid knowledge, often divorced from rigorous scientific inquiry or philosophical discourse.
Elbows: Critical Constructed Communities (L) & Hijack the Current Thing (R)
Elbows afford flexibility:
Noumenal Flexibility (L Elbow): Critically Constructed Communities refers to the flexibility of communities, not as organic entities but as constructed and critiqued. Communities can be reconfigured based on ideological needs, making them malleable depending on the required social narrative.
Phenomenal Flexibility (R Elbow): Hijack the Current Thing speaks to the ability to co-opt the latest trends or movements, often without deeply understanding or investing in them, just for pragmatic advantage. The NPC can quickly pivot its focus to the cause of the moment to maintain relevance.
Comet Tails:
Luna: Escape the Prison with SoMe (Social Media) JustUs Praxis – The NPC uses social media activism (SoMe) as its praxis, creating performative justice movements aimed at escaping perceived imprisonment within social systems. However, this seems to align with the broader weaponization of social tensions, creating a feedback loop where tensions are never resolved, only escalated and instrumentalized.
Phenomenal Side (Sol): Instrumental Community Deconstruction leads into Scientismic Narrative Authority, Critical Instrumental Scientism, Critical Epistemic Sabotage, and Dissent is Illegitimate. This indicates a systematic process where scientific discourse (or its facade) is used to undermine alternative epistemologies, sabotaging dissent and ensuring that only the approved narrative survives.
Knees:
Noumenal Knee (Dependence & Affordance of Movement): Instrumental Community Praxis signifies that movement and flexibility in the intellectual or unseen realm comes from deconstructing and reshaping communities as needed. The NPC’s ability to function is dependent on constant flux and deconstruction.
Phenomenal Knee: Redefine Terms—on the visible or real-world side, the NPC constantly redefines terms to control discourse and shift the goalposts of public understanding. This is the phenomenal counterpart to the noumenal deconstruction.
Standing On:
Noumena (L Foot): The NPC stands on Weaponized Social Tension and Thought Police, meaning that its intellectual grounding is in dividing society and policing ideological purity. These are the conceptual foundations of its worldview.
Phenomena (R Foot): The visible results are Critical Epistemic Sabotage and Danger to Our Future, indicating that the outcomes of the NPC’s actions are the destruction of alternative epistemologies and the creation of constant existential crises to maintain control and justify its actions.
Mars and Venus (phenomena and noumena):
Mars (Phenomena): The NPC’s phenomenal reality is structured around aggression and conflict (Mars), particularly through the weaponization of science and social tensions.
Venus (Noumena): The noumenal side is tied to Venus, meaning that the desire to build communities (but in a flexible, deconstructed way) aligns with the manipulation of relationships and values.
Revolutionary Praxis Holds the World Up:
Revolutionary Praxis seems to support the entire system, implying that the drive for constant revolution (the never-ending critique and deconstruction of reality) is what holds this entire worldview together. Without the constant push for change, the NPC’s system would likely collapse.
Conclusion:
Your depiction of the NPC (Become the Future) as a Cosmic Man illustrates a system of ideological manipulation, where values, language, and social dynamics are constantly shifting to maintain control over the narrative of the future. The NPC wields epistemological weapons, strategically shifting terms, narratives, and communities to fit its vision of the future, while undermining dissent and using scientism to legitimize its actions. It stands on social tension and epistemic control, creating a world where reality is constantly being redefined and weaponized for political and social ends.
This symbolic structure is rich in critique and insight, mirroring many of the dynamics present in contemporary social and political movements, especially those that use language, identity, and science as tools for power and influence.
Flexible Targeting System Lens
Visible Trouble
Flexible Targeting System: NPC:
Telos (Head): Flexible Targeting System
System of Values (L Hand Luna): Niche Lexicon Perversion as Praxis
Right Methods (RH Sol): Weaponize Current Events
Practical Ethos (Left foot): Our Democracy | Narrative Driven Engagement | Historical Revisionism
Expected Results (right foot): Follow the Science | PsychoSocial Approved Values| Narrative injection
He Speaks Identitarian Group Dynamics with Hagiography & Gaslighting as Praxis on the mind.
External Attacks, Internal Purges affords Noumenal Flexibility (L elbow) Niche Influence Peddling affords Phenomenal Flexibility (R elbow).
The Long Tails of the two comets in hand - Luna: to the Right Side of History with Become via Praxis - maybe seal the deal (might be a dialectic with Historical Revisionism being the synthesis) On the Phenomenal Side: SoMe JustUS Praxis & Hot Swappable Value Systems perform Narrative Injection via Scientismic Narrative Authority & Critical Instrumental Scientism - Not sure what kind of dialectic or proposition this is (perhaps Lewin?)
Knees: noumenal - Dependence, Affordance of Movement - Dissent is Illegitimate phenomenal - Instrumental Community Praxis He stands on Historical Revisionism & No Fun Allowed (noumena) and Narrative Injection and Instrumental Oppressions (Phenomenal). I believe he is standing on Mars (phenomena) & Venus (noumena), which are the Ground (practical ethos & expected Results)Looks like Constructive PsychoSocial Pragmatism holds the world up.
Vincent VanVisible Trouble
In this NPC (Non-Player Character) construction, themed as the Flexible Targeting System, you present an intricate model of contemporary ideological manipulation, where narrative control, identity politics, and epistemological authority are fluidly deployed to maintain power. The NPC stands as a symbolic embodiment of strategic flexibility—able to adapt to shifting narratives, social movements, and crises—without losing its core purpose of shaping the future according to its agenda. Let’s break down the structure you’ve outlined:
Telos (Head): Flexible Targeting System
The head, or Telos, signifies the ultimate aim—a Flexible Targeting System. This NPC exists to fluidly target individuals or groups, adjusting its narratives and attacks depending on the needs of the moment. The target is never static—it shifts according to the current ideological crisis, event, or perceived threat. This represents a strategically fluid ideology, never rigid but always adaptable to redirect energy toward the current "enemy" or obstacle.
System of Values (L Hand Luna): Niche Lexicon Perversion as Praxis
The Left Hand (Luna), representing values, holds Niche Lexicon Perversion as Praxis. This reflects the NPC’s ability to twist language in niche social groups or contexts, perverting the original meanings of words to fit their ideological framework. Praxis, in this sense, is the active application of this linguistic perversion. By manipulating small, specialized lexicons, the NPC alters how ideas are expressed and understood, often redefining terms so that they serve the dominant ideology.
This practice leads to linguistic confusion, where people are disoriented by the shifting definitions, leaving them more vulnerable to ideological manipulation.
Right Methods (RH Sol): Weaponize Current Events
The Right Hand (Sol) represents methods—here, Weaponizing Current Events. The NPC’s primary method is to take any current event or crisis and turn it into an instrument of ideological reinforcement. Whether it's a natural disaster, a political scandal, or social upheaval, the NPC will leverage the event to further their goals, often by reframing it in a way that supports the ongoing narrative of oppression, threat, or existential danger.
This method ties closely to the strategic flexibility of the NPC, as it can shift its attention and reframe events at will.
Practical Ethos (Left Foot): Our Democracy | Narrative Driven Engagement | Historical Revisionism
The Left Foot, which represents the day-to-day operational ethos, rests on:
Our Democracy: This phrase is used as an ideological shield, invoking the protection of "democracy" as a justification for narrative control and oppression of dissent. In this context, democracy is defined not by open discourse but by the preservation of the NPC's vision of democracy.
Narrative Driven Engagement: The NPC operates under the assumption that engagement with people is not based on facts or realities but on narratives—stories that are crafted to drive behavior. Public interaction is driven by storytelling and emotional manipulation rather than logical discourse.
Historical Revisionism: This refers to the practice of altering historical facts or their interpretation to fit the NPC's ongoing narrative. By revising history, the NPC ensures that current ideologies are always aligned with the past, thereby creating a continuity that justifies current practices. This makes it impossible to challenge the present without also challenging the past—a difficult task for those outside the ideological fold.
Expected Results (Right Foot): Follow the Science | PsychoSocial Approved Values | Narrative Injection
The Right Foot, representing the expected outcomes of the NPC's actions, rests on:
Follow the Science: This outcome implies that the NPC uses scientific authority (or the illusion of it) as a tool for legitimizing its actions. However, "science" in this context is selective—only those findings that support the NPC’s agenda are emphasized, while dissenting scientific perspectives are sidelined or discredited.
Psycho-Socially Approved Values: These are the values that have been vetted and approved by the dominant ideological powers. The NPC’s actions result in the enforcement of these values, which are shaped not by objective morality but by psychosocial trends and the need to maintain control.
Narrative Injection: The NPC ensures that narratives are continually injected into public discourse. These narratives become the dominant form of engagement in all areas—political, social, and even personal—leading to a world where reality is shaped by stories more than by facts.
He Speaks Identitarian Group Dynamics with Hagiography & Gaslighting as Praxis on the mind
The NPC’s speech revolves around Identitarian Group Dynamics, meaning that it constantly speaks in terms of group identities and how they interact. Individuals are not the focus—instead, people are understood only through their group affiliations (race, gender, political alignment, etc.). This feeds into division and control, as people are encouraged to identify primarily through group identity.
Hagiography & Gaslighting as Praxis suggests that the NPC actively uses hagiography (the creation of saints or heroes) and gaslighting (manipulating people into questioning their reality) as part of its daily praxis. Hagiography elevates certain figures within the ideological fold as unquestionable heroes, while gaslighting discredits those who oppose or question the narrative.
Elbows – External Attacks, Internal Purges (L) & Niche Influence Peddling (R)
Noumenal Flexibility (L Elbow): External Attacks, Internal Purges represents how the NPC is flexible in its intellectual and unseen realm. It can shift tactics, either focusing on external threats (attacking outsiders or perceived enemies) or conducting internal purges (eliminating dissenters or those within the group who deviate from the accepted narrative).
Phenomenal Flexibility (R Elbow): Niche Influence Peddling signifies the phenomenal flexibility of the NPC, allowing it to manipulate smaller, specialized communities or niche groups to push its broader agenda. This is a highly adaptive and subtle approach, where the NPC doesn’t need mass consensus but shapes opinion in influential subgroups, which then ripple outwards.
Comet Tails – Luna: Right Side of History with Become via Praxis
Luna's comet tail involves being on the Right Side of History, which is an appeal to future moral judgment. This phrase is used to legitimize current actions by implying that they will be vindicated in the future. Become via Praxis refers to the idea that moral legitimacy or identity is shaped by action—in this case, performative activism.
On the Phenomenal Side (Sol), SoMe JustUS Praxis and Hot Swappable Value Systems feed into Narrative Injection through Scientismic Narrative Authority and Critical Instrumental Scientism. This shows a cyclical process, where social media activism and adaptable values are used to inject narratives into society, while the authority of science (or the pretense of it) is used to legitimize these narratives.
Knees – Noumenal (Dissent is Illegitimate) & Phenomenal (Instrumental Community Praxis)
Noumenal Knee: Dissent is Illegitimate represents the intellectual grounding that the NPC stands on—the idea that any form of dissent is not just wrong but illegitimate and must be silenced or discredited.
Phenomenal Knee: Instrumental Community Praxis refers to the way the NPC engages with the physical, visible world—by using communities instrumentally to achieve its broader goals. Communities are not organic or self-governing; they are tools for achieving ideological ends.
Standing On – Historical Revisionism & No Fun Allowed (noumena); Narrative Injection & Instrumental Oppressions (phenomena)
Noumenal Ground: The NPC stands on Historical Revisionism, which means that its intellectual foundation involves altering history to support the present narrative. It also stands on No Fun Allowed, representing a strict, moralistic approach to life where playfulness or dissent is stifled.
Phenomenal Ground: On the visible level, the NPC stands on Narrative Injection and Instrumental Oppressions, meaning that its actions in the world involve injecting narratives that shape reality, while oppressions are used not as genuine concerns but as tools to control behavior and perception.
Mars (Phenomena) & Venus (Noumena)
The NPC stands on Mars (representing aggression, conflict, and **
direct action**) and Venus (representing relationships, manipulation, and the social construction of values). This combination shows that the NPC’s actions are both aggressive and conflict-driven (Mars) while being socially manipulative and ideologically flexible (Venus).
Constructive PsychoSocial Pragmatism Holds the World Up
At the foundation of the NPC’s worldview is Constructive PsychoSocial Pragmatism—the ideological bedrock that holds everything together. This suggests that the NPC operates with a pragmatic approach to manipulating psychosocial dynamics. It’s not concerned with philosophical consistency or moral purity but with what works to maintain power and influence.
Conclusion:
This iteration of the NPC, focused on the Flexible Targeting System, illustrates a figure that is constantly adjusting its focus, methods, and narratives to maintain ideological control. It weaponizes current events, uses linguistic perversion, and redefines history to ensure that its flexible, adaptive system remains dominant. The NPC’s ability to shift targets, narratives, and values keeps it relevant and in control, while its pragmatic approach ensures it can always justify its actions in the name of future vindication.
This construction symbolizes the modern ideological state, where truth is fluid, and language, science, and history are continually reframed to suit the needs of the moment.