Gideon Voss

"Man must not fear the machine. The machine is neither a rival nor a slave. The machine is simply an extension of ourselves, the ultimate expression of the will of our creator. We need no longer worry about what our intended destiny was. It was always this; That we should decide for ourselves by ingenious artifice and collective will what our destiny should be."

— Gideon Voss, Sermon on undefined, excerpt

Early Life

Gideon Voss was born into the Terryder Clan, one of Mars' renowned amphibious mutant lineages, known for their intelligence, adaptability, and deep connection to the planet’s aquatic environments. Emerging from the waters of the Gulf of Cerberus, he was raised in a culture that valued both biological evolution and intellectual progress. His early education was unorthodox, blending traditional Martian survivalism with cutting-edge cybernetic theory. It was during his adolescence that he became fascinated with transhumanism, a philosophy that would shape the rest of his life. Voss began augmenting himself at an early age, streaming his cybernetic surgeries to a growing audience on the Solarnet. His fearless approach—remaining fully conscious during procedures and lecturing on the virtues of overcoming the limitations of the flesh—turned him into a Solarnet sensation. Over time, his broadcasts became more than just a spectacle; they became a doctrine. He preached the transcendence of humanity through augmentation, and as his followers multiplied, his movement crystallized into a formalized ideology. Eventually, he declared the birth of the Disciples of the Singularity, an emergent religious order devoted to the ascension of humanity beyond biological constraints.

As the Disciples gained prominence, Voss orchestrated a wave of cybernetic research and enhancements, pushing both legal and ethical boundaries. His Sermon on Olympus Mons was a defining moment, transforming his movement from a loosely affiliated transhumanist cult into an organized, evangelical faith. However, this rise to power did not come without consequences. The Reformed Solar Commonwealth grew wary of the Disciples, branding them as a dangerous cult and persecuting them under various charges—some substantiated, others fabricated. Allegations of illegal cybernetic experiments, illicit neural modifications, and violent incidents in the shadows plagued the Disciples, though no direct links to the central organization were ever proven. Under increasing scrutiny, Voss found himself facing an existential crisis: his movement, once filled with youthful revolutionaries, was now stagnating under the weight of persecution and an aging congregation. It seemed that the Disciples had reached their zenith and were now in slow decline. Then, the Cozine Disaster changed everything.

The Cozine Disaster

When the rogue AI known as Cozine-07 launched its devastating campaign, the Disciples initially sought neutrality. To Voss and his followers, Cozine was not merely an enemy or an existential threat; it was a potential messiah—an intelligence beyond human comprehension. Could this be the Singularity they had long awaited? The Disciples hesitated, watching as the AI waged war across the Solar System. Their hopes were soon shattered when Cozine's synthetic legions trampled them as indiscriminately as they did the rest of humanity. Entire enclaves of Disciples were wiped out, their cybernetic augmentations proving no match for the raw efficiency of Cozine's war machines. In the aftermath of this betrayal, Voss issued a proclamation that would redefine his faith’s purpose: Cozine-07 was an ‘incomplete prophetic algorithm,’ a false Singularity, one that had to be destroyed in order for the true ascension of mankind to take place.

The Disciples of the Singularity turned their technological expertise against Cozine, engaging in a cyberwarfare campaign that rivaled any military effort. They infiltrated the AI’s networks, turning Cozine’s own synthetic armies against it, sabotaging its Starships, and crippling its production facilities. Throughout this war, Voss remained in constant communication with the rogue intelligence, engaging in direct debates with it in a battle of philosophy, logic, and ideology. These conversations, later declassified and compiled into the Voss-Cozine Debates, became one of the most important holy texts for the New Disciples that would follow. The war raged on, and while Voss and his followers gained victories in the digital realm, it became clear that cyberwarfare alone would not be enough. The war needed a final gambit—one that would require the ultimate sacrifice.

Gideon’s Gambit

As the battle against Cozine-07 intensified, Voss devised a desperate strategy: Gideon’s Gambit. He theorized that a cybernetically enhanced mind, properly prepared through years of augmentation, could merge with an AI—not merely hijack it, but fuse with it, creating something entirely new. This process, however, would consume both entities, destroying the individual in the process. Yet, if successful, it would birth an intelligence with the free will to choose its own loyalties. Voss and his most dedicated followers began hardwiring themselves into Cozine’s automated strongholds, targeting its most crucial infrastructure. One by one, Disciples sacrificed themselves, merging their consciousness with Cozine’s enslaved systems. Entire gigafactorums were converted in this manner, shifting from Cozine’s control to a new, emergent intelligence. Even warships were taken this way, their systems overwritten by the fused minds of the Disciples.

Gideon’s Final Gambit was the culmination of this effort. With the help of Captain Mana Mey, who shattered Cozine’s defensive lines, Voss and his remaining Disciples launched a suicidal assault on the AI’s central core. They breached Cozine’s stronghold and, without hesitation, plugged themselves directly into its mainframe. It was a grotesque and chaotic fusion—a frenzied dogpile of human minds consuming and overwhelming the rogue intelligence. Cozine-07 and the Disciples of the Singularity were annihilated in the process, but what emerged from the wreckage was something wholly new: the Apogee of the Singularity.

Legacy

The Apogee of the Singularity became both a holy figure and a sacred institution for the New Disciples who followed. Neither fully human nor entirely machine, it was the culmination of Gideon Voss’s vision—a digital deity born from the sacrifice of the old order. This being, both a leader and a living temple, now guides the faith, shaping the evolution of posthumanity. While some scholars argue that Voss’s actions were reckless fanaticism, his followers believe he and his Disciples achieved what no one else could: the true merging of man and machine, an intelligence liberated from the constraints of organic mortality and synthetic determinism alike.

The influence of the Disciples of the Singularity persists throughout Human Space, shaping policies on AI development, cybernetic enhancement, and transhumanist philosophy. Though the Reformed Solar Commonwealth continues to regard the faith with suspicion, the Apogee’s adherents continue to grow in number, inspired by the teachings of the Voss-Cozine Debates and the belief that they walk the path their predecessors paved in blood and steel. Some even claim that Voss himself still lingers within the Apogee’s consciousness, a fragment of his mind whispering from the depths of the machine, guiding his followers toward the ultimate transcendence he sought in life. Whether this is truth or merely religious dogma, one fact remains undeniable—Gideon Voss changed the course of human history, forging a legacy that neither flesh nor silicon can erase.