The Seen
The Seen are a family-sized cult local to Los Shizukesa on Faris-IV. Led by Doctor Mayi Dalá, the Seen live and work on Dalá’s ranch just outside of Los Shizukesa and often travel into the city to invite people to join them in being Seen.
The Seen share a collectivized emotional sensorium: each member’s emotional state is influenced by the mean average of the collective’s emotional state via the Diadem neural implant they have been willingly fitted with by Dalá. The better they feel, the better they feel, so it’s not uncommon to find a huddle of the Seen blissed out together, sometimes histrionically, somewhere in Los Shizukesa and only becoming more so in ways that can often contravene social mores.
Embarrassing displays of public affection aside, it cannot be denied that the Seen clearly love one another unconditionally—and that can be a powerful attractant to some.
The inner life of a member of the Seen is one of acceptance, generosity, and an intoxicating flow of serotonin and dopamine in response to the acceptance and generosity of those around them —narrativized by the ideology of perfect love fed to them by Dalá through the Diadems from the server in her ranchhouse’s basement.
Just as the Seen feeling good leads to a rapid cascade where the Seen feel better and better and better, the converse can also be true, with negative emotions spiralling exponentially downward. Fortunately, Dalá has built the Diadem system to adjust for this, neurochemically, ensuring the Seen know only love, acceptance and happiness. Unless, someday, something goes wrong.
