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Dust Technology

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Dust Technology

Kind: Nano-artform / nanotechnology Discovered/invented: Independently developed by Ist within the empire era; presumed to exist elsewhere Based on: Unstated; advanced use requires mental bands

Summary

A nano-artform — nanotechnology capable of fine-scale matter manipulation — classified as illegal throughout the empire except for use by high officials. The text calls it “that strange nano-artform, illegal throughout the empire, save for use by high officials.” Advanced practitioners operate it via mental bands: a mental interface that allows the user to manipulate the physical world with apparent pure will. On Ist, adepts who mastered this technique were called “wizards” or “dust gods.” They could level entire villages and tear opponents apart where they stood.

Ist pursued dust technology research secretly for a generation, became highly adept, and then destroyed itself in the resulting nanotechnological war between feudal factions who had gained access to it. Nothing of Ist survives.

Not to be confused with Dust-image, which is the empire’s standard volumetric display layer — a different and legal technology with a similar name.

Effects / capabilities

  • Fine-scale matter manipulation via nanotechnology.
  • Advanced use via mental bands: adepts (“wizards”) could level villages, tear people apart, and reshape environments with will alone.
  • Weaponisable at individual and mass-destruction scales.

Limitations / dangers

  • Empire-illegal except for high officials.
  • At population scale under feudal governance: inevitable nanotechnological warfare (see Ist).

Appearances

  • Ist — the colony world destroyed by its own dust technology
  • Willtech — the empire’s legal intent-driven interface; dust technology’s unlicensed, illegal analogue
  • Galactic Human Empire — classifies dust technology illegal empire-wide; high officials are exempt
  • Dust-image — an unrelated volumetric display technology with a similar name; not nanotech weaponry

Open questions

  • What counts as “dust technology” legally — any nanotechnology, or only the mental-band-controlled variant?
  • Why are high officials exempt from the ban?
  • Are there other colonies that independently developed dust technology and did not destroy themselves?
  • Does the empire itself use dust technology officially? If so, in what capacity?

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