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     If you've read the Virtual Adept Tradition Book you've
probably noticed that the view painted of V-depts is rather
narrow.  This is not surprising when you consider that the entire
chapter describing V-dept society is written in the character of
a Verbena!  Now, I have nothing against the Verbena.  As a matter
of fact I think they make damn good allies, which is why I wish
my fellow Adepts had been a bit more forthcoming.
     It is obvious that our Verbena friend spoke mostly with
'Elites' - the more popular and more daring of our membership, 
they are also the most powerful, at least politically.  There's
actually more to the society of the Virtual Adepts than just the
relative top operators.  In fact they're really just the tip of
the iceberg when you consider the breadth of philosophies, goals,
and styles that our Tradition embraces.  The following is a brief
examination of the Elite 'Legions' and the cliques, clubs,
styles, and cabals of their lesser brethren:


THE ELITES

     The Virtual Adept Tradition Book detailed some of the Elites
very well.  However, it missed what I think is a better way of
grouping them, and failed to notice some of the less directly
active - but very important - elites.

Hardware Elites:
     Hardware elites customize their systems by physically
modifying them.  The delight in cutting edge research and are
constantly upgrading their computers.  Some use variant types of
computers (analog instead of digital, for instance), some of
which are of such bizarre design as to draw Paradox.  The
Hardware Elite mages get along terribly well with the Sons of
Ether, seeking mastery of Matter and Forces as well as
Correspondence and using Electricity as their focus for prime
instead of hooking into the net.
     The legions of the Hardware Elite are small and tend to
consist of older mages.  They include the 'Elite Cabal,' 'Alpha
Computing,' and the 'Grandmaster' Chantry - legions that build
trinary computers for use by other virtual adepts.


Software Elites:
     By the time the Virtual Adepts split from the Technocracy,
the Software Elites (originally the 'Programming Methodology')
had become the dominant force within their ranks.  These V-depts
like to take credit for the Digital Web, though Turring actually
belonged to no particular methodology.  
     These mages customize their computer foci by writing
numerous programs on them, often going so far as to create their
own operating systems and programming languages.  
     The Lords of Algol:  This legion believes that it is the
algorithmic nature of software that is the key to Virtual Magick. 
Adherents to this philosophy quickly abandon their foci (freeing
up one sphere per point of Arete over 1) as they learn to devise
and execute algorithms 'in their heads' rather than on a
computer.  They claim that their accomplishments were the first
'heresy' that started the Convention's split with the
Technocracy.  Some even suspect that they secretly influence the
course of the Ascension War.  They are certainly known for
complex and subtle schemes excelled only by the byzantine
intrigues of the Kindred.
     The Privateers:  While many Virtual Adepts hoard their rotes
and programs, the Software Privateers believe that ALL software -
even that of a magickal nature - should be universally available. 
To them, the most important effect of the computer revolution is
not ever increasing power of hardware or software but the ease
with which information can be copied.  By distributing
information and programs as widely as possible, the Software
Privateers hope to provoke mass awakenings.  They are notorious
for leaving magickally active programs posted on sleeper BBSs and
are considered by many to be little better than Marauders.

The Hacker Elite:
     These Virtual Adepts are currently the dominant faction - or
at least the most numerous and most active of Elites.  They tend
to be the ones who take 'Eliteness' most seriously.  They
customize their computers using a combination of home-grown
hardware and software upgrades, making their foci unique even by
V-dept standards.
     The Hacker Elites account for most of the Legions listed in
the Virtual Adepts book, including the Reality Hackers, the
Cyberpunks (who often get classed as 'Wetware Elites') and the
Cypherpunks (who would prefer to be considered Software Elites).

The Wetware (Cyber) Elite:
     It is believed that the older legions of the Cyber Elites
were founded by defectors from Iteration-X.  Even if not true, it
is an understandable misconception, as the central tenant of that
group is the belief that greater power and enlightenment can be
gained by closely integrating technomancer and technology.  Cyber
Elites never really abandon foci.  Instead they make them so much
a part of themselves that there is no difference.  Starting at
Arete 5, a Wetware Elite can 'integrate' one of her foci -
usually by directly implanting a chip in her brain.  They are
also known to use CyberWare that superficially resembles that of
Iteration-X.  Though they claim the key enabling technology - the
Direct Neural Interface - is fundamentally different from that
used by the Technarcs, they achieve similar results and risk the
same Paradox as the Iterators.


THE L-USERS
     L-user is supposed to mean 'enLightened user,' indicating a
state midway between that of Sleeper and Awakened.  In general
parlance, it is pronounced 'loser' and indicates a non-Elite V-
dept or other Tradition mage.  Lusers, of course, dislike the
term, but there is no other besides simply non-elite.  In
addition to the general mass of V-depts who have yet to attain
'Eliteness' there are some factions within the Tradition whose
odd or suspicious ideas keep them permanently outside the 'Elite'
legions.
     The Two-Bit Adepts:  Other Traditions have a hard time
telling the difference between the '2-Bit' & the 'true' Virtual
Adept, but it is a difference that represents a deep division
within that Tradition.  As their name suggests, the Two-Bit
Adepts use binary computers to focus their Magick.  This is seen
by most as dangerous 'backsliding' to the Virtual Adepts' days as
a Convention.  The reality is less sinister.  V-depts who choose
to use or make do with binary computers see their electronic foci
much as the non-Technomancer traditions see their own:  as
symbols, items of mystical significance that serve only as aids
to the practice of True Magick.  
     Many of these poor cousins among the Virtual Adepts actually
have meaningful advantages over their Elite brethren.  Their foci
are not unique and it is often possible for them to use any
device that contains a micro-processor as a focus for some
magickal effects.  And, since they are not true Technomancers,
they abandon foci as easily as do other Tradition mages. 
However, they also do not have the same ability to use Static
Magick as other Virtual Adepts.
     The Zen Programmers:  These characters have adapted the
Akashic idea of seeking Perfection as a path to enlightenment. 
However, they do not work on perfecting themselves physically,
but on perfecting their mastery of computer science.  Zen
Programmers always have a computer skill high enough to
specialize, and are extremely capable even when not using magick. 
     Like the Lords of Algol, the Zen Programmers often
concentrate on the algorithmic nature of computer programs.  But,
they search not for the most powerful or useful algorithm but for
the ultimate, most elegant, solution to every challenge.  With
such a mystical approach, the Zen Programmers easily abandon foci
as quickly as other Tradition mages, however, they often manage
to do so without sacrificing the inherently coincidental nature
of some of their magick (when they do choose to use their
computer foci).
     The Sons of Glitches:  These are electronic pranksters who
are just too unsophisticated, childish, or plain over-the-top to
get into the Elite, Hacker Legions.  They often go to great
lengths trying to prove their Eliteness, sometimes with comical
and, sadly, even fatal, results.
     The Sons of Glitches tend to use foci, and evince attitudes
consistent with one or the other of the more Elite Legions.  Most
mages who would fall into this category are anxious indeed to
graduate to the big time, but there are a few - those few who
freely identify themselves as 'Sons of Glitches' - who revel in
their lowly status, accomplishing much more than anyone expects.
     The Vidiots:  Many sleepers are deeply enamored of the
entertainment applications of computer technology.  Though some
of us insist that computer and video games are a Technocracy plot
to co-opt the Virtual Adept paradigm, each year, some new mages
awaken to the true potential these games represent.  To the so-
called Vidiots, games are the purest expression of the potential
of Virtual Reality: Worlds created solely for the enjoyment of
mankind!
     Obviously, these guys have a little in common with the Cult
of Ecstasy.  However, they are not really mystics, rather they
manage to lose themselves in the alternate reality of the machine
- a near-mystical experience to be sure, but one that doesn't
lend itself to abandoning the machine itself.  Vidiots often
self-awaken, and can be thought of as Orphans adopted by the
Virtual Adepts, rather than true members.
     The Informers:  In spite of the unfortunate colloquial
designation, the Informers do not spy on anyone.  Instead, they
are dedicated to the idea of Information Technology, and it's
practical applications, rather than the sheer cool factor of
Computers! (say it way the SoE says Science!) that enchants the
Hacker Elite.  The Informers are very interested in getting
technology to the sleepers, the fact that this entails starting
companies and getting embarrassingly rich is just an added bonus,
really.  
     Obviously, the Elites think that the Informers skate far too
close to the $yndicate.  So, Informers are almost universally
distrusted by the other Legions.  They don't care.  The society
of other mages is of little importance to them, they're busy
spreading the paradigm to sleepers - and, incidentally
accumulating wealth and influence to rival their former brethren
in the $yndicate.  Informers often cling to their foci almost as
fiercely as Convention Technomancers, but, their foci are never
unique and often much easier to come by.  Plus, the Informer is
far more likely than any other Virtual Adept to have backgrounds
like Resources and ties to Sleeper power structures.

THE LAMES:
     Any Virtual Adept who steps over 'The Line' is considered
Lame (Notorious) and suffers appropriately in Virtual Society. 
However, some of these jerks actually get together and form
'Legions' of their own.  Even less cohesive than the Elite
Legions, the Lames are the dregs of their Tradition.  Don't trust
them.
     Crackers:  The Elite Legions delight in breaking into
systems and, when appropriate reeking havoc.  The Crackers take
this over the edge, even by the flexible standards of Virtual
Ethics, spreading viruses, trashing systems, and committing the
unforgivable sin of *destroying* data.  Many V-depts consider the
Crackers a step or two away from the Marauders.
     Sell-Outs:  The Sell-Outs really are what the Informers
often appear to be:  Virtual Adepts who have been seduced by the
wealth and power attainable to an Awakened computer expert. 
Though they haven't actually thrown in with the $yndicate, Sell-
Outs are so deeply involved in the material world that many may
well be in danger of losing Arete.  The Elites watch the Sell-
Outs very carefully, and act precipitously at the first clear
evidence of Convention involvement.
     The Daves:  Some Virtual Adepts are very dependent on their
computer foci.  Some few eventually lose something of themselves
to their electronic companions.  It may be a deep psychological
dependency, a domineering AI program, a spirit-possessed focus
with a will of it's own, or self-inflicted Quiet.  Whatever the
exact circumstances, the Daves are no longer free mages, they are
the slaves - or at least unequal partners - of the machines they
depend on.  Obviously, Daves never overcome their dependence on
foci....
     Some Daves eventually go barrabi - if their foci have been
possessed by Nephandic spirits for instance.  These lost souls
are no longer considered 'just' Lames, and are mercy-killed at
the first opportunity.

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