Carcosan Technology

 

The words "Carcosan technology" rendered by the Gallifreyan Translator (resized) courtesy of BBC Studios

It took several aeons for Carcosans to conclude that each universe has its own physics, and so far, no two have been completely alike. Every iteration has had differences in rules, constants, and applications to some degree, somewhere along the line. This means each aeon must first be studied so its laws are understood. It also means that current science doesn't apply universally to the eldritch. Lovecraft only touched on this incongruence with the non-Euclidian architecture of R'lyeh.

Many Carcosan devices were designed and built under rules that simply don't apply to later aeons. That doesn't mean it stops working, but adaptations must be made each time a new universe forms. Adjusting for strange new constants has been relatively simple, but Carcosans also appreciate a challenge so if constants aren't in place due to chaotic "laws," their scientists find new ways to proceed. They also benefit from being able to explore the next universe long before sentient life takes shape. By the time Carcosa emerges, its inhabitants know much more about the environs than natives do.

Gravity

At the core of Carcosan technology is control of gravity. Their mastery of it began with personal experience: upon becoming energy-based beings, they gained a new understanding. In their raw form - the final stage of their evolution - a Carcosan is a constellation of nine stars, each one pulling on the others as elements shift in their lives. They began to have a similar experience with one another and across their communities. Eventually, they developed ways to sense this phenomena and study it and what they learned informed nearly everything else in their society. Gravity is an aspect of the force they call Resonance, and it defines Carcosans as much as their technology.

The Shell

There is no greater technological achievement in Carcosa than what they call The Shell. Surrounding their star system is a gravitational barrier that, to outside observers, appears as a naturally-occuring black hole. The simplest reason for this ruse is stealth: it's easier not to interfere with an aeon (or vice versa) when its inhabitants don't know you exist. It also serves as a cosmic refueling system. When stray elements draw close, they are crushed into dark matter. This matter not only powers The Shell but is transferred to Carcosa's three remaining stars - Caerdroia, Aldera, and Hyades - through a series of orbital outposts, keeping them burning indefinitely. Gravitational control also keeps their stars and planets in perfect orbit, rotation, and timing.

Advanced Automation

As devices became more efficient, robotics took over most menial labor. Instead of trying to produce genuinely intelligent or sentient machines, however, Carcosan scientists opted for limited automation. Their machines are designed for specific roles, with reduced abilities outside of their main parameters. They include significant knowledge bases to help them adapt to changes in circumstances, but they follow rote programming. Agriculture, infrastructure maintenance and repair, custodial needs, and many functions in other fields are served by robots, often with all the required tools built right into their bodies. Since they are tailored to tasks, few are humanoid; though they may respond to inquiries, they do not pose as sentient life. This ultimately keeps everything guided by Carcosan desires.

Masks

Masks are how Carcosans slip into other aeons, experience physical pleasures, and participate in a reality that is still all too based in mass. These reusable, unaging vessels are usually humanoid in appearance, though exceptions exist. Some are basic models with the same features; these are usually given to new arrivals. Custom Masks can be bargained for later and offer a wide variety of options, including the ability to breed outside of The Shell. Younger Carcosans may use them to establish an identity, but that tends to end once they abandon one for another - for while Masks don't age, they slowly show signs of wear and must eventually be retired.

Regardless of the type, some things remain true: only one Actor (or soul) can inhabit and operate a single Mask at a time and no Actor can operate more than one Mask at a time. Every Carcosan experiences a period of adjustment as they learn to smoothly handle their Mask, as well. Over many cosmic cycles, Masks have been finely honed, so while they might resemble species outside The Shell, they aren't made to be exactly like them. They are actually solitary systems that don't depend on microorganisms. They require regular nutrition but make full use of it, so they don't produce waste like feces. Physical anomalies that lead to health conditions have been eradicated and they are highly resistant to external threats like parasites.

While they are not perfect, they serve Carcosans at home and abroad very well and they are always being improved further by experiments in the House of Masks, which oversees their design, development, and storage.

Food

Mask technology also allowed for new and humane methods of obtaining protein through synthetically grown meat. Upon escaping its original universe, Carcosa lost all less-developed life forms like animals and insects and has not sought to replace them. Instead, the House of Masks designed basic fleshly, nonhumanoid bodies with nutritious tissues but no Actors inside them. These structures lack the organs necessary for self-awareness, pain, or sentience. They may also lack organs for different senses such as touch or taste and limbs. Since they're made for peak efficiency in labs, they're rarely pretty to look at and may horrify visitors. Grown more like plants, they emulate many flavors and textures of beasts that have been eaten across the aeons.

A few Carcosans maintain that "the real thing" still tastes better, but as a matter of chemical composition, the differences are negligible. Most importantly, pain isn't part of the process and no sentient creature has to suffer so Carcosans can enjoy meat. In general, they don't judge other beings who must kill for subsistence and to obtain enough nutrients. They do find it unacceptable when those with the means to reduce harm refuse to do so.

Ships

Through a combination of robotics, gravitational mastery, and replaceable physical forms, Carcosans have created some of the most advanced starships the aeons have known. Since Carcosans would rather go unnoticed and be as efficient as possible, their crafts are generally small in size. If they don't need to be manned, they aren't; if they can be made smaller and lighter, they will. Carcosans also use gravitational pathways to accelerate to FTL speeds before breaching The Shell. This means of locomotion negates the need for bulky drives and energy reserves.

Small automated probes map massive amounts of the universe; then, unmanned probes collect data from the further depths. After transmitting their findings, they collapse into just enough of a gravity well to leave only a stray atom of iron, which is then lost to the void. The few inhabited crafts are comparable to a broad tour bus instead of the monumental ships humans imagined as cities in the sky. They aren't meant to be lived in for extended periods and have limited missions, and since Carcosans rarely need or want to bring much outside material home, extensive cargo space isn't needed.

Gates

The last great mastery that defines Carcosan civilization crosses too many lines to be called mere technology, and that is the Gate. Gates are as much an artform as a skill, magic as much as technology, and talent as much as knowledge. Gates can be constructed, willed into being, or even found with little to no relation to Carcosan expeditions. The art of the Gate predates Carcosa, possibly by many aeons, though eldritch knowledge has whispered the name of their true creator: Yog-Soggoth.

A Gate can cross between worlds, not just between distances within physical reality, but into alternative spaces. For this reason, metaphor is highly regarded among the House of Gates, as crossing a threshold - not only of distance but through any obstacle - is considered a step over a threshold into something different.

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