The Confessionals of Celes is one of the marvels that has become so commonplace they are barely noticed.
Sometimes searching for a needed answer can be a very exasperating, time-consuming experience. Dozens of them dot the cities of Celes. Anyone with a question need only locate a Confessional, key his question in or speak the question, and the amazing machine searches through hundreds of volumes of encyclopedia, dictionaries, and other references to produce a clear and concise answer in mere seconds. Confessionals serve to provide access to the stored knowledge of civilization and to analyze and interpret sensor data.
Or so it is assumed (see below).
Resorting to an Confessional for general research of basic, easily defined facts (“What is the average rainfall for the past 20 years?” “What is the text of the Treaty of such and such?”) is commonplace to any citizen of Celes over the age of 10 or so. It is a part of the cultural background, much akin to dialing a phone or changing the channel in Prewar years.
Using an Confessional requires a I.Q check, as the question must still be “carded in” in the correct format, and the possibility of error always exists. Basic requests should get a bonus of +1 to +4 on the check. Extremely complex requests that require the Confessional to search multiple databases and cross-correlate information might have a penalty of -1 to -4, to simulate the increased chance of formatting the answer incorrectly. The Confessional has poor “error checking” features, and it treats a malformed request in an indeterminate fashion, either spitting out an error message or a stream of useless data.
Though seemingly benign, this device allows Caspian and his minions to interact with and influence mortals on an even broader scope than would otherwsie be possible.
Limits and Capacities: The Confessionals seemingly contain vast quantities of knowledge. Public Confessionals hold all the data found in the reference section of a good-sized modern public library, encyclopedias, and dictionaries, but only information that will either do no harm to the rulers will be displayed, or the information will be altered in subtle ways to match the beliefs and ideals of Celes.
Those with higher security access can consolidate, edit, and filter information to match user requests. Data on the Confessionals comes from qualified reference works and ultimately linked to the Dauphin and general citizens do not contribute to it. Indeed, at any point, the Confessional can be controlled directly by the Citadel, and any answer may be given. This is usually done to subtly influence the beliefs and knowledge of the populace.
Used imaginatively, user requests can provide the Dalphin with useful information or sow discord and chaos. Innocent victims can be lured from the safety of their homes and into the arms of waiting authorities, or vulnerable mortals can be indoctrinated over a period of time.
Control the mind - control the world, and the Confession is one of the most sinister mind control device ever invented. The Confessional will be there to help, and it is there take care of your special needs. People need immediate answers, and this Confessional will be your virtual comforter and companion. It knows everything. It knows all your life’s records, along with your star charts. It will know your demons, and it will guide your goals. It will help you sort out your life. It will teach you that the future is what you make of it - “take control and stop looking for other people to blame.” It will help you expand your horizons, and it will share the burden of achieving them. It will help you pinpoint your character flaws and remove them. “There is no cost too great if it means your success - only the strong survive.” It will teach you that one must master the life-force, and let it guide you into a profound phase of awareness. It will counsel you, “… in all the universe there is nothing more important then the human being. You are the center of the universe and you are what counts. You are the foundation for the future. It’s your new world, see the big picture, think of what you want to achieve, and focus on it.” “If you want to achieve something, then you must eliminate what stands in the way.” Loyalty to the “the order” will be a lifetime mission. It will demand commitment, and it will demand motivation. It will expect greater things from you - so you must work harder. It will be there to remind you that your destiny awaits, “…you must rise to consciousness and power.” Each day you will grow more thankful for the opportunities it provides, and in return…, lets just say you don’t want to disappoint him.
Hacking Confessionals
Confessionals consist of a user interface (resembling a phone booth with a keyboard, headphones, microphone and punch-card slot) plus a data store (which is a massive collection of coded information and systems to scan and process it). Several Confessional booths could be hooked up to any given data store. It is possible, though difficult, to alter the connection, to “hack” a public Confessional to, say, read from the data store of a bank or military base. This is a Computer Hacking (6+3) skill check, with penalties ranging from -1 to access non-public, but non-secure, data stores (such as the academic records of a university) to -6 to access highly secure data stores. This requires physically altering the connections and rewiring parts of the booth, so accomplishing this necessitates total access to the booth and 1d6 hours of time.
If one has the necessary security clearance, then the person may be able to access higher security levels and ultimately access more information from the Dauphin.
There is a highest level, designated Onyx, which is restricted for the God-King’s use alone.