Certain unorthodox technomancers understand that “mysticism” is just another form of science whose principles may be understood by a properly Enlightened mind. Although you pursue a technological practice and employ tech-based instruments, you can employ instruments that are traditionally considered to be “magic” once you’ve had an opportunity to study them and fit those tools into your scientific paradigm.

The Scientific Mystic Merit lets a dedicated technomancer – that is, a member of the Society of Ether, the Virtual Adepts, a tech-based “orphan,” or perhaps even a rogue Technocrat like the Disparates of Navalon – study metaphysical princi­ ples from mystic-paradigm mages for no extra point-cost if that technomancer has the focus practice Weird Science.

(For details, see Can a Mage Who Uses One Type of Focus Learn Magick from a Mage Who Uses a Different Kind of Focus?, Chapter Three, p. 174, and the Weird Science entry in

Mage 20, p. 584.) That technomancer can also choose tradi­ tionally “mystic” tools as up to half of her required instruments

(as detailed under Arete, Focus, and Instruments in Mage 20,

p. 329), and can discard those instruments as a mystic instead of as a technomancer (again, see Mage 20, p. 329). Essentially, this means that your approach to Enlightened science is flexible enough to embrace bizarre approaches to your metaphysical pursuits. Other scientists might consider such things impos­ sible, but you realize that “possibility” is what you make of it.

On the other side of that metaphysical coin, the Techgnosi Merit allows a dedicated mystic to do the exact same things, but with technological instruments and no extra cost involved

in studying magick from technomancer peers, regardless of your practices. (See the Chapter Three entry cited above.) Yes, your soul belongs to the Mysteries, but you’ve recognized that technology has a place in those Mysteries as well.