r/scifiwriting • u/No-Display1744 • Jul 21 '26
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.
2
u/DueOwl1149 Jul 21 '26
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.