Paranoia
The Computer is Your Friend. Not trusting The Computer is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
Paranoia is not a humorous roleplaying game about a distinctly Orwellian, dystopian future and living in a sealed city run by a psychotic computer. On the contrary, Alpha Complex is a utopia. Friend Computer is wise and benevolent and not at all murderous. There are no communists, mutants, traitors, or secret societies. Technology is more advanced than it has ever been in the history of civilization, and research and development does not routinely involve handing out prototype weapons which will of course never let loose a nuclear explosion if dropped. There is nothing of note outside of Alpha Complex, and all its citizens are completely happy to live inside it and never leave. Happiness is mandatory. Unhappiness is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
Players of Paranoia play Troubleshooters who find trouble and shoot it. Thankfully, due to Friend Computer's all-seeing benevolence, trouble is scarce. Citizens who become aware of trouble are asked to report it to Friend Computer, who will dispatch friendly neighborhood Troubleshooters to deal with the trouble. The existence of trouble is impossible due to Friend Computer's omniscience. Claiming that Friend Computer cannot prevent or eliminate all trouble is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
Editions
There are three editions.
- The original edition, by Costikyan et al., from West End Games.
- The second edition, also by Costikyan et al., from West End Games.
- Paranoia XP, by some guys and also Costikyan, from Mongoose Publishing.
There is no fifth edition. Belief in the existence of a fifth edition is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
The second edition is the best edition. Membership in secret societies promoting other editions is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
Paranoia XP is the official edition. Membership in secret societies promoting other editions is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
If you are reading this, please report to Friend Computer for reassignment, as it is clear to Friend Computer that your schedules of fun and satisfying duties as a Troubleshooter are not filled to capacity with joy. Failure to report for reassignment is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
It should be obvious to any citizen that this document is classified level BLUE. If your clearance level is INFRARED, RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, or GREEN, please escort yourself to the nearest confession booth for immediate execution. Failure to arrive at your execution is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
You are a Troubleshooter. You work with a team of Troubleshooters. As a Troubleshooter, you certainly are not a part of any secret societies, and you obviously don't have any mutations, and you have NEVER committed treason. Most certainly not! You also can rest well, knowing that your Troubleshooter allies could never plot against you OR Friend Computer! After all, they are Troubleshooters! Traitors are trouble! So if a Troubleshooter was a traitor, obviously they would have shot themselves, so they could remove their trouble from our beloved and perfect Alpha Complex. Not doing otherwise is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
Security clearances
Paranoia features a security clearance system based on colors of the visible spectrum which heavily restricts what the players can and cannot do; everything from corridors to food and equipment have security restrictions. The lowest rating is infrared but the lowest playable security clearance is red. Attempting to play with infrared is treason. Treason is punishable by death.
The full order of clearances from lowest to highest is Infrared (visually represented by Black), Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and Ultraviolet (visually represented by White). Within the game, infrared-clearance citizens live dull lives of mindless drudgery and are heavily medicated, and those with Ultraviolet clearance are almost completely unrestricted and have a great deal of access to The Computer; in fact, they are the only citizens that may (legally) access and modify the Computer's programming, and thus Ultraviolet citizens are also referred to as "High Programmers". Higher level citizens, especially those of Blue and above, can demote and or even summarily execute properly re-allocate lower level citizens. Security clearance is not related to competence or even authority, though there is often a correlation; clearance is instead a measure of The Computer's trust in a citizen. If The Computer does not trust you, then it is probably because you committed treason. Treason is punishable by death.
External Links
- Paranoia-Live - Fansite featuring a Java application for playing Paranoia. Not visiting this site is treason. Treason is punishable by death.