Returner

The Returners are radical fundamentalist Isos and quasi-military organization who are primarily known for harboring deep anti-Technica sentiments. Returners are branded a terrorist organization by LEIGH&CO. Returners get their name from their "back to the land" sentiments where they hope to "return to a more natural way of life".

History

Origins of the Returner movement are largely unknown, but it is surmised that at least some sentiment arises from suspicion about the nature of the Great Crash and the role Technica had to play in it. Some believe that trusting in Technica is what lead to being stranded on New Eden in the first place. Returners emerged early after the founding of New Eden City, as early as Y1.

Some historians believe that the movement goes even further, prior to the Great Crash, and originated with old Earth movements such as the Luddites, who were deeply resentful of machine automation taking away human jobs. Furthering that, the industrial revolution and general rise of technology contributed greatly to environmental damage and the resulting colonization of the stars.

Beliefs

Some Returners believe that their own efforts and hard work are cheapened when others are able to obtain the same products for less work. "Why should I chop down trees and hand mill logs into planks when I can just purchase them at commodity prices on the open market", they ask. Returners believe that this general lack of appreciation of hand-worked materials is a sign of, and directly contributes to, the decay of society.

Returners call for the abolition of all Technica Arcanum, and the wholesale dismantaling of LEIGH&CO. This includes all current products of Arcanum, such as the Land Office system and the protections it affords, including anti-monster protection. New Eden City will not be free, they claim, until once again creepers lurk in the dark corners of the city while griefers feel the safety to operate in broad daylight wrecking builds.

Returners believe that the Central Bank should be abolished and the marble currency removed, so that Survivors return to trading natural materials, such as diamonds and emeralds. Players can trade just fine, Returners argue, they don't need the bank as any sort of intermediary.

Especially offensive to Returners is LEIGH&CO technica material generation, which they claim is generally a crime against the natural order. "Logs should come from trees" is a common phrase heard at Returner locations. It is the Returner belief that making materials more accessible for artisans to create Great Works cheapens the experience for everyone and represents a great social harm.

It goes without saying that powered flight, teleportation, and the LEIGH&CO jump drive for moving ships is off the table, as these are considered to be deep perversions of the natural order and physics.

Criticism

Critics of the Returner movement have pointed out that the ideology that ones own accomplishments are cheapened by the behavior and works of others is a deeply individual (rather than societal) crisis, and one that is rooted in pinning the value of expression and building into externalities and commodity value exchange (the value of a block). One analogy given would be of a painter who throws down his brushes upon the invention of the camera, claiming that now that since anybody can cheaply make a picture, his hand-made paintings are worthless and their is nothing to be gained in the further practice of the art.

It is true that there is no requirement for a Survivor to lead any particular lifestyle in New Eden. The planet is vast and has resources seemingly enough for all, forever. Critics claim it should be enough that a person can decide for themselves how and what they want to do, and their personal satisfaction gained by achieving their own goals, in their own manner, within their self-imposed restrictions. This is personal agency and freedom. There is no reason for the Returners to enforce or subject others to their ideology the way they do, when all can co-exist. The toxicity of the Returner outlook is therefore that the Retuerner lifestyle only works if everyone is a Returner and the culture is truly homogenous. It is therefore exclusive and hateful, not to mention, impossible, because there are always other outlooks, other places, other worlds, and the attendant rich diversity of human ambition and expression. Diversity finds a way.

Critics have also raised the issue that a belief that the manner of construction of a work will not be considered is cynical and disrespectful of the intelligence of other Survivors. For example, it is widely known that the World Tree in New Eden City was built naturally, by hand, and any reasonable viewer will take this into consideration when evaluating and enjoying this impressive work.

Notable Returners

• scotchbroom
• smilkduds