Enlightened Science is the term used by the Technocracy to describe the magical effects they achieve within the boundaries of their Technocratic paradigm.
Overview[]
Enlightened Science consists in the alteration of apparent reality models based upon advanced scientific principles and understanding; but there are those who would prefer to describe it merely as technomagick instead.
Since the technocratic goal is a static, scientific paradigm, eliminating magic and the supernatural from the world, any Awakened effects they produce must be justified within the strict scientific rules they espouse. They thus characterize these effects not as magic, but as the product of "Enlightened Science": science which is beyond the boundaries of the mainstream, but which at least pays lip-service to the scientific laws known and accepted by Sleeper scientists. Thus, they could not animate a golem, but they can create sophisticated cyborgs and robots; they cannot blast a fireball from the end of a staff, but they could construct a high-tech plasma cannon which would do much the same thing.
Despite this justification, and its reliance on technological Devices, Enlightened Science is fundamentally the same as Awakened magic: non-technocratic agents can seldom use most technocratic tools, since they have no Awakened will or store of Quintessence to create the magical effects. Most agents never understand this; they think instead that their devices are fitted with sophisticated safety measures that do not allow them to work for unauthorized individuals, or that they cannot be operated without advanced knowledge of the cutting edge science (what Tradition mages might refer to as Spheres) behind them - which of course is kept a secret from Sleeper society.
In effect, Enlightened Science is simply a paradigm shared by all technocrats. It is important to note that the paradigms of the Sons of Ether and Virtual Adepts do not fit into the bounds of Enlightened Science; the former often construct theories that wildly disagree with currently accepted mainstream science, and the Virtual Adepts are often technomancers, well aware that what they do is magic, just focused through technology.
References[]
- MTAs: Guide to the Technocracy, p. 26, 32, 37, 40, 49-51, 80, 203-216
- MTAs/cMET: Laws of Ascension Companion, p. 21
- MTAs: Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 24