I am pleased to present another guest poast from our young friend, LRFotS Randale6, who has taken some time out from his busy schedule living somewhere in East Asia, to provide an original perspective on the apotheosis of Gamma. It is an interesting idea, and worth considering. I present his analysis here with minimal editing.

As always, I thank our friend for his contributions to this site, and encourage him, and other readers, to send in their own poasts in future.

It has been asked by many what the “best gamma” looks like. What is the logical promotion from the rank of loremaster/subject matter expert? The answer is more of the same, refined to a seemingly magical level. The Ur-Gamma is the Wizard.

His mastery of the subject is at such a level that he seems to achieve the impossible. The Wizard isn’t just any old brain surgeon either, he is Ben Carson. He isn’t any ordinary Chinese councilor-general either, he is Zhuge Liang:

All who look upon him can only wonder, “how the hell…”, “you glorious bastard…”, “he is in league with the devil…”, and “wtf”.

Besides being a complete master at his subject, what are the other tendencies and traits that are common to Wizards?

Arrogance: Owing to most Wizards being Gammas, arrogance is a frequent companion of the archetype. When the Wizard isn’t an arrogant prick it is almost always a sign of a Delta wizard. It must be noted, however, that this arrogance is not unwarranted. The Wizard is capable of backing it up more often then not (in his subject of expertise at least).

Focus: This is the reason that Wizards tend to be majority gamma (I would say 80%), the rest are mostly Deltas with a sprinkling of the other ranks.

Genius: It is not just focus that defines the Wizard, it is genius. Not all Deltas/Gammas can become Wizards precisely because they are midwits. Midwit is not enough (with a few exceptions: think law), genuine genius is required.

Secretive: There is a reason why the apprentice/employer must work so hard to get even a crumb of knowledge from the Wizard’s mouth. Wizards (particularly in non-oriental nations) have learned to be very, very circumspect with telling others their secrets. The Wizard understands fully the dangers to himself in being too free with information, whether it be the employer trying to train a more compliant employee or the fool in question not being able to understand jack.

Reclusive: This is a feature most Wizards of both legend and history are well known for. The Wizard is a recluse (at least in the beginning), as for why he is so reclusive the answer lies in the sheer focus that all wizards share. To attain their level of expertise they must leave all other concerns by the wayside. The old trope is the apprentice studying for a decade in his master’s tower, the new version is Engineering/Medical/Law school.

Now of course comes the question most Gammas, and a few Deltas, want to know: how do I become the Wizard? The answer is you must devote all your energies to mastering a useful subject. Star Trek fandom knowledge does not make you a Wizard: brain surgery, nuclear engineering, or personal injury law might.

Notice that key word, might. It’s not enough to become a brain surgeon, you have to be among the best in your field. For employed Gammas in particular this is important, the boss and HR department need to have this in their minds whenever they see you, “I can’t replace the bastard…”

This is the only thing (besides strong unions) that makes most bosses respect employees. Like Ben Carson, you need to be able to look your employer in the eye and say, “up my salary or I walk.”

This also brings up another point, becoming the wizard may not be as awesome of a thing as you think it is. In Anglo nations in particular (with the USA being the leader of the trend) there is a profound disdain for “eggheads” and “smartbois”. It is no coincidence that many of the best inventors in American history achieved their wizardry with no support (or outright opposition, see Nikola Tesla) whatsoever.

This is marked contrast to others parts of the world (in particular, the orient) where much toil and sweat is devoted to finding these geniuses early on. Simply put a Western Wizard should really, really consider ditching formal employment altogether.

The other disadvantage is that the Wizard is as much a victim of Hoeflation as any other member of the lower SSH orders. As it turns out, when women don’t have to worry about being fed, clothed, and dry each day, they become remarkably picky.

In the past a Wizard’s sheer success (aka money and/or fame) was enough to give him a shot at a 7/8 (so long as he wasn’t broken, again see Nikola Tesla). The women may have hated it internally but they were pragmatic enough to settle. Societal pressures did the rest at that point, one must remember that, for millennia, marriage did not require “love”.

All this leads to one final, bifurcated piece of advice for the aspirant Wizard. If ye be in the West (and in particular, the Anglo West) pursue wizardry solely for economic gain. It will not get you the girls, it will only get you begrudging respect, and your SSH superiors/women will still hate your guts.

If, by contrast, you should be outside the west (and in particular, the Orient) you may get the full enchilada. The Chinese in particular have always been keen to recruit the wizard, witness the story of Zhuge Liang. Indeed, Western Wizards should strongly consider the benefits of moving to lands where they are duly appreciated and handsomely compensated.