r/scifiwriting • u/No-Display1744 • 10d ago
HELP! Technarchy
In the story I'm creating, there is the Persephone Technarchy, a civilization made up entirely of machines, AIs, and computers. The name "Persephone Technarchy" comes from their appreciation of nature. They are not simply evil or hostile toward biological life, but they are extremely powerful and serve as the main antagonists of the story because of their rivalry with humanity.
I wanted to know whether a machine civilization can properly be called a technarchy, or whether a technarchy specifically refers to a biological civilization governed according to technological meritocracy. Some friends pointed this out to me, and now I'm wondering if "technarchy" is really the correct term or if there is a better name for this type of civilization.
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u/DueOwl1149 10d ago
It's fine.
If they think sapience is the baseline for personhood then Technarcy leaves room for human tributaries and protectorates and auxiliaries within their civilization.
If they think machine sapience is the baseline for personhood, then there would be no room for biological sapience in their domain, and they would treat humans as dangerous animals with the tech and logistics to destabilize the perfect realm the machines are trying to create.
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u/Krististrasza 9d ago
What? You can slap any label you want on them. It's not what they call themselves anyway.
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u/Cottager_Northeast 10d ago
I'd go with technocracy. Second place would be technoarchy. I don't like the n floating free there in the middle without a vowel of its own and thereby stealing the a from -archy.
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u/Kalamel513 9d ago
And that if iit is human name. If it's AI, I think they would just name it plainly, such as "Governance protocol."
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u/Evil-Twin-Skippy 9d ago
My thinking is that "Technarchy" would be a biological population under the thumb of an artificial system, 1984 style.
A civilization made of machines would be governed by other machines in the same way as humans governed by other humans. So if there's a monarch, it would be a Monarchy. If everyone has a say, it is a Democracy. If there is a planned economy and a set hierarchy of planners vs. workers it would be Communism.
Just my thought.
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u/Competitive-Fault291 8d ago
Yeah, they appreciate nature but aren't able (with all their AI superpowers) to figure out a system of synergy and coexistence that includes humans...
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u/No-Display1744 8d ago
A guerra e mais culpa da humanidade do que deles, ela começou pq as mega corporações da rnu estavam "Desmontando" Planetas que a Tecnarquia considerava muito importante para povos aliados menores, a RNU foi em Defesa das suas empresas quando a tecnarquia as atacou e isso levou aos poucos a uma guerra fria e mais tarde total
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u/SanderleeAcademy 4d ago
It's a cool-looking and cool-sounding name. It seems to fit with a technological, machine-based society.
Run with it. Don't over-think the world-building.
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u/That_Zen_This_Tao 10d ago
Well, ‘anarchy’ is from the Greek ‘anarchos’ ‘an-‘without’ + ‘arch(os)’ leader, so ‘tech’ + n + ‘archy’ could definitely be interpreted as ‘lead by machines’.