[Mage: the Ascension 20th] Advancing the timeline to 2025

[Not a Decepticon]

the 20th Anniversary edition of Mage: the Ascension has been published in 2015 and gives only vague descriptions of how would timeline advance from previous editions, with possibilities for either ignoring the metaplot, declaring total Technocratic victory or a more mixed bag, which sounds interesting. To quote, page 135 of 20th Anniversary edition

The Technocracy’s victory party was premature: Sure, the Union got the upper hand, but the Traditions and Disparates have survived worse. Hubris leads most Technocrats to consider the fight more or less over… and to miss the Nephandic leadership now governing their every move. The Masses surprise everyone with their combination of self-indulgence, fanaticism, and hope for a better tomorrow. The Traditions rally once again, and the Disparates band together to take back their world. Loyal Technocrats who’ve discovered the Inner Circle’s corruption stage a shadow-war within the Union, possibly allying with Tradition and Disparate sects in an effort to rescue the ideals of science from Nephandic infiltration. At the moment, though, the Fallen are winning what’s left of the Ascension War. It’s like WWII all over again, with even higher stakes.

Now, whenever I try to advance the timeline to current day, it does look very bleak for everyone except the Nephandi. Let us look at real world events in last decade

1. Several figures that once inspired people to dream and promote imaginations turned out to be colossal pieces of manure and are either face-front of bigotry movements or facing horriffying allegations. This clearly hit people's belief in the fantastic and open-midness towards such ideas, strenghtenign the Consensus against magic.
2. Generative AI feels like an outright technocratic plot, considering how it is a tool that offers to replace your creativity and ability to think for yourself. (NOTE: Anyone willing to defend it, MAKE YOUR OWN THREAD, I don't want any of this here). Addo to this enviromental cost of runnign this crap, that feels more Pentex-y and it also begins to smell of Nephandi within Technocracy, same with crypto and NFTs before it.
3. We had huge rise of anti-scientific movements, like Flat-Earth, Hollow-Earth, Anti-Vaxxers, alternate medicine. President of USA was calling for persecution of doctors involved in anti-pandemic vaccine. Education and science are now under constant attack, especially from religious zealots. Technocracy doesn't feel like it is winning, more liek the Consensus is slipping from their grasp every day.
4. There is an increased rise in propaganda towards becoming worst version of yourself, just see what damage was done by people like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson or bad faith online critics like Critical Drinker, MAULer or Lily Orchad, because of whom we're now talking of death of media literracy. We had whole harassment campaign in online spheres and hating everything by labeling it "woke" became profitable grift. You cannot tell me Nephandi do not benefit from the world being daily told to become worst version of themselves. I wouldn't be surprised if some Nephandi saw grifters doing their job for them and started helping.
5. While the 20th anniversary book has a sidebar about how queerness and challenging of gender norms were always associated with magic and early 21st Century benefit from icnreased awareness and progress for Queer Rights, now it feels like we're constantly being brute-forced into walking it back and increased persecution. It feels at very least much more LGBTQ+ people would Awaken due to being put in stressful situations.

It all tells me that in 2025 nephandi are winning. Technocracy has been compromised (as there is too much overlap between techbros, conspiracy theorists and grifters), and is probably in midst of Civil War, likely many loyalists siding with Traditions against their corrupted friends and allies. Wouldn't be surprised if we saw both increased power and influence, as well as more infighting and schisms within The Sons of Ether, Virtual Adepts and Celestial Chorus, maybe also the Verbena. At the same time there is probably huge attack on Cult of Ectasy, with all current sex-negative discourse and increasing intolerance agaisnt anything LGBTQ+ or kink. As for Disparates, I suspect both Sisters of Hippolyta and Templar Knights are being torn fro mthe inside by Nephandi influence, wouldn't be surprised if the former had an outright schism with a TERF-adjecent group deflecting outright to the Nephandi, while the latter may be getting increasingly infiltrated and corrupted, seeing how religious doctrine and militarism are being associated with far-right ideologies more and more.

What else would you add to this concept of advancing the timeline?

Also, if you have any plot hooks that could fit this vision of Mage (Let's call it Mage 2025), they're also welcome.