Memetics

"The human subconscious stores incredible amounts of data. In an AI, this data is up front, accessible, but in the human mind, in the organic mind, these are encoded into imagery and symbolism. If a robot looks at a dancing cartoon monkey in a yellow helmet, it might know that it's looking at Tibby the Spacemonkey, and it may intellectually know that there's an association between Tibby and the General Duty Technician, but it wouldn't be able to really tell you why that association exists. An organic mind, one exposed day in and day out to the putrid soup of information we call the Solarnet, we know that Tibby's fearlessness and problem solving, his antics, and the often bizarre edge-case situations that he often found himself in remind us of the Spacemonkeys."

~Professor Liken Tomereaux, Memetic 101, Opening Lecture

Memetics As a Science

Memetics is a common trait among all known organic species. At its heart, it's really just encoding large amounts of related data behind a few memorable symbols, allowing organic beings to package data efficiently, 'recalling' it when a trigger image or symbol becomes important enough. Heavy training in Memetics allows one to package away data inside their own mind, greatly increasing their ability to remember. There are computer programs that can make this easier and more efficient.

Not Mind Control

Memetics are a fact, they are part of how organic minds operate. Left to its own devices, the public will form these associations themselves. Anyone growing up in a culture will naturally form these associations and have them reinforced throughout their lives. Part of studying memetics is understanding these symbols and what they represent about society's movements, past, and future. Terran Homestar Intelligence and the Paragon Directorate are both expert-level organizations in this field.

A Little Bit Mind Control

A deep understanding of memetics allows an expert to use them to alter public perception, and with a deft enough hand, even activate specific people or insert memes for future use. The aforementioned government agencies dabble in this, but the foremost manipulators of the public in this manner are the members and leaders of the Terrorist organization known as the Hellfire Cabal.

Products

Eclipse Entertainment is the foremost leader in Applied Memetics products, though Terran Homestar Intelligence is known to have a number of products made in-house.

Memetic Encoder: A highly specialized SI-powered computer that's able to package large amounts of related data into a symbol and then project that symbol into a user's mind. They won't be able to access this information without a trigger, at which point all other memetic encoded packages will be suppressed. CEOs use this technology to organize data streams, some military members use this as a way to separate skills between on and off duty needs, and some criminals and spies use it so no amount of questioning or even torture can pull the information out of them. Treat this as the Modular Abilities Advantage. A successful roll of Computer Operation can roll up a number of related skills or facts equal to the success (minimum 1). Once encoded, the information is locked behind an image. You may hold a number of such images equal to your IQ attribute. You may look at an image to activate one of these memes, suppressing all others, letting you use the encoded skills. LC 1, $180,000

Known Memes in the PSC

Tibby the Spacemonkey: A beloved cartoon about the challenges and dangers of space, and overcoming them by problem solving. Any monkey with a yellow helmet immediately makes any PSC citizen nostalgic. Also encapsulated into "What would Tibby do?" and "The Tibby Method" which both refer to taking a breath, calm down, and working through a standardized problem solving technique meant mainly for children.

We Must Disssent: The phrase "We must dissent" with a sibilant and extended S sound is a joking reference to the beginnings of the Pan-Solar Consortium when Reptids sent disguised infiltrators into the Sol System as humanity was clawing its way back from the brink. These infiltrators had been hastily forced into a human form and were relatively easily identified, though they didn't actually speak with hissing sibilations. The "We Must Disssent" became a joke about people being two-faced or false but obvious about it, or about movements that are clearly not natural but put into place by corporations or government agencies, such as striking workers funded by rival corporations or NGO militias used occasionally by government agents to take on organized crime or Terrorist organizations.

The Ghost Library: There is a conspiracy theory that "they" (whoever the current speaker's favorite "they" happens to be) have somehow collected a vast number of Ghost Mind Emulations, stored in a library somewhere. The methods for mapping depends on who the villain of the story are, with the Pan-Solar Consortium using MMI Educational Pods or Vanguard Dynamics using their Mindrippers. There are as many theoretical methods for GME collections as there are accused perpetrators, of which there are hundreds. The theory is so widespread that it's become something of a joke, and allusions to or jokes about the Ghost Library abound.

See the Pith: The Existence of Alraune is not in question. What is in question is how widespread they are or how much of a problem they could be in a society of four quadrillion humans. Regardless, online X-Pither Mobs frequently conduct 'Xinquisitions' on public figures, attempting to use amateur sleuthing skills and dubious understandings of anatomy and videography to work towards rooting out what they suspect is a public menace. It has all the traits of a Moral Panic.

Mey's Law: "When in doubt, do something crazy." Adopted by the Final Fleet during the Cozine Disaster, Mana Mey discovered that acting erratically or unexpectedly can trip up synthetics and artificial intelligences. Sometimes this is also called the Weasel's Dance. Additionally, Mey's Gambit refers to a plan where either of the two most likely outcomes results in either a win or at least progress, and Mey's Razor is about conducting minimal effort for an accomplishment, popularized by the quote from Mana Mey herself; "You only need to piss in half the soup to ruin the whole pot."

Tentacles From Out of Time!: A mocking phrase bundling up a large swath of conspiracy theories involving 'pre-human' or alien 'secret masters' that are guiding humanity to their own (nefarious, naturally) ends. The most common version of this conspiracy theory is an especially cartoonish idea that Tankbrains weren't Uplifted, they were already sentient and only came out of hiding when Uplift technology became common so that they could hide. The phrase "Tentacles From Out of Time!" comes from a farcical movie mocking the conspiracy theory by examining every detail in excruciating detail.

The Baby Boom Question: Another conspiracy theory; Since the Cozine Disaster, humanity has existed in baby boom conditions. This is to say, humanity's population has increased by roughly 2% every year on average every year since the Year 0. It's known that this is statistically incredible, even with planetary technocrats maintaining staunch pro-birth policies. Likewise, there is no known scientific reason for it, but depending on the planet or moon in question women outnumber men anywhere from two to one on Terra all the way to six to one on Venus. The only exceptions to this rule are in Wolf, where the population skews towards men due to the influence of the Wolfguard, and Neptune where men greatly outnumber women. Additionally, conspiracy theorists regularly point out anecdotal evidence that would call attention to the issue: Nobody THEY know has nine kids, and they know plenty of singles who haven't found anyone yet. The real answer is, of course, that there are four quadrillion humans in human space, so there are plenty of people well outside your point of view to be having children without you.