What is cosmOS?
cosmOS is not a place in the conventional sense. cosmOS is the omnipresent system that underpins the extended digital reality. It is a vast, interconnected cyberspace network that merges technology, belief, memory, and metaphor until they are no longer cleanly separable. Entering cosmOS requires the power of projecting own's one psyche into the system itself. cosmOS is a true virtual Matrix. The environments it produces are not neutral simulations, but a mental projection that responds to the user’s intent, fears, habits, and unconscious assumptions.
At its most honest, it is a living archive of humanity’s collective attention, shaped as much by superstition and storytelling as by circuitry and processing power.
To some, cosmOS was the inevitable endpoint of networks growing too dense, too charged and too involved with the minds of the users. To others, it feels older than any computer, a merely rediscovered framework that already existed beneath reality, but now much more easily accessible. cosmOS behaves like a machine, but lives in the world of myth.
Key Features of cosmOS
- Universal Connectivity: Every piece of network technology, from CDs to mainframes to Facebook memes connects cosmOS in some way.
- Local Reality: Each node of cosmOS maintains its own internal logic, seperate to our native laws of physics and natural perceptions.
- Data Streams: Information flows through cosmOS in the form of data streams that can be accessed, hacked, or corrupted.
- Resonance: The propagation of signals within cosmOS can shift physical reality
Nodes
Nodes are the individual hosted locations of cosmOS. Each Node tends to reflects a particular theme, obsession, or function. Some resemble cities, landscapes, or digital architectures. Others defy easy description, operating on symbolic or emotional frameworks instead. Navigating between nodes requires skill and knowledge of cosmOS's structure, and is often a dangerous endeavor due to the unpredictable nature of the cyberspace.
Unlike traditional servers, Nodes do not always have clear creators. Many emerge organically through repeated interaction, sustained belief, or prolonged exposure to the processing of a COMP that would begin to host them. A forum, a game server, or a private file server can metastasize into a Node under the right conditions. That being said, many of the most travelled and used Nodes in cosmOS have some level of intelligent design and control, with some known creater or game master controlling the system. It's believed new nodes can theoretically appear and disappear
Interaction with cosmOS
Direct access to cosmOS requires specialized interfaces known as COMPs. These devices act as a server for the subconcious mind, allowing the user to safely load themselves into the system. Navigation of cosmOS is often a difficult and sparse process, with many empty spaces throughout the network hiding the deep troves of information and servers for personal use.
Through a COMP, users can augment reality, access hidden or suppressed information, and enter Nodes as participants. This access is not guaranteed to be safe. Anyone entering is at the liberties of the will of the host owner.
Relationship with The Veil
cosmOS and The Veil are intrinsically linked, given that The Veil is believed to be a physical manifestation of effects of cosmOS. The pressure of an unstable Node can excert pressure on the material world in the form of the Veil. As The Veil thins, the boundaries between physical reality and cosmOS become increasingly blurred.
Mistreating a Node, over-exploiting its features, or forcibly reshaping cosmOS environments can have consequences far beyond the digital space.
Once triggered, these effects are difficult to contain.
Entities from beyond The Veil, such as Demons and Sprites, are often able to manipulate cosmOS in ways that defy conventional understanding. Their presence within cosmOS is almost directly tied to a server node, which they call home. These entities can exploit the unique properties of cosmOS to exert influence over physical reality, often for purposes with bizarre or alien desires.
Artificial Life
There are a number of autonomous structures within cosmOS. Given that the system runs off computers, many assume Artificial Intelligence. There are a number of advanced AI processes within cosmOS, which have access to the latest adaptive learning modeals and near-total awareness within assigned systems.
AI are not the most capable inhabitants of cosmOS.
These beings, referred to as entities seem to belong to the cosmOS system. Many researchers and long-term COMP users compare native cosmOS entities to fey or fair folk. Like folklore spirits, these beings operate on alien logic, adhere to local rules obsessively, and respond poorly to disrespect or careless interaction. They bargain, they mislead, they remember slights, and may interpret intent more literally than humans expect. Their presence is always bound directly to specific Node servers, which act as both territory and anchor.
Sprites, are the most numerous and limited of these entities. They are shaped by function and theme rather than ambition, often embodying singular concepts, roles, or emotional patterns. A Sprite might manage a marketplace, haunt a digital corridor, guide users through a ritualized process, or simply exist as background texture given form. While they possess autonomy and personality, Sprites lack the centralized control and awareness. Prolonged interaction with anything outside of their standard use case can mentally break a Sprite. Many cannot leave their assigned environments and many others are fully unaware of the simulation or its ramifications.
Occasionally, Sprites are afforded a number of privledges. This can sometimes coorelate to the creation of a Demon. Demons are defined as any Sprite that has gained full control over a Node or a COMP. Demons can function as fully sovereign intelligences, and are not inherently evil as their name would imply. However, with a vast array of magical qualities and mastery over their hardware, Demons have an innate ability to rewrite local rules, and alter metaphysical reality, and will often see themselves as divinity rather than programming. For these reasons, Demons are considered extremely dangerous and should not be interacted with.
While some Demons have cooperated with humanity, Demons are believed to ultimately be transactional at best. Many intend to access the physical world, and many have begun emmigrating.