State Of The Art

Technology never stands still. Researchers are constantly pushing against the frontiers of knowledge in their quest to understand. Eventually, the profits of their studies falls downwards to the street ... and the street finds its own use for things. The following is a list of technological wonders for Directors to augment their campaigns with.

Titanium Lacing

Titanium lacing is a metallic honeycomb veneer deposited on the surface of bone to help protect against bad fractures. Characters with lacing recover faster from such injuries and are less likely to suffer from them in the first place. Titanium lacing also grants a "natural" armour value of 0.1 in the head and upper torso. Lacing takes four weeks to deposit during which time the character is incapacitated. It costs Lv4000.

Subdermascale

A layer of small ceramokevlar scales just beneath the skin which lend it a slight reptilian look. These scales provide an armour value of 0.1 in the locations protected. While this might be useful in combat, it hinders surgery. Subdermascale costs Lv450 for the torso, Lv200 for each limb and the head.

Biosculpting

Biosculpting refers to the modification of the client's body to include such features as horns, tusks, fangs, fur, tails, etc. Exact costs vary on the extent of the transformation, but prices normally range from Lv50 for a simple implant to Lv8000 for complete bodyshaping. Biosculpted individuals ( usually called Exotics or Transforms ) may need immunosuppressives regularly to prevent their bodies rejecting the foreign tissue. Biosculpted individuals attract everything from admiration through amusement to "racial" hatred. Public opinion is very mixed, to say the least.

Stingers

Stingers are based on wasp stings and are placed under fingernails. The stingers have a DPV of 0.01 and do damage on their own. However, they may contain a small dosage of a harmful chemical. Stingers cost Lv1500 to install and may retracted when not in use. They are, of course, illegal.

Conditioning

The so-called BrainLock has only one effect - to provide a feeling of nausea and fear under given circumstances in order to prevent someone doing a particular activity. Originally used on criminals, Conditioning has found commercial applications with such things as the Chastity Lock, especially popular with parents worried that their children might be upto no good, and the Corporate Loyalty Lock, used to ensure non-disclosure contracts.

It is illegal to place a BrainLock on an unwilling adult. A BrainLock costs Lv500 and consists of psychochemical therapy. To overcome an active Lock is Formidable, Psychology, Det, Instant. Locks can be permanently reversed - the cost is again Lv500.

SimStim

SimStim is short for Simulated Stimulation, and refers to the artificial sensorium created by feeding computer generated signals directly into the brain. The result can only be described as "really being there". The user is literally in a virtual reality where they can experience anything they choose. SimStim is a popular form of R&R and there are countless stars of this new media who record their experiences for mass distribution. Of course, these can be edited to create a sensory utopia where no one ever has a headache or feels fatigued. SimStim has serious uses in medical therapy and personnel training.

A SimStim unit costs Lv3500. A neural jack is needed since sensory information is relayed to the brain in much the same way as a decker's console generates images of the matrix in his mind. SimStim cartridges sell for anything from Lv50 to Lv1000 depending on contents. Blank cartridges, for recording, cost Lv25 and hold maybe a couple of hours of data.

It is possible to broadcast live SimStim. In this way one person can feel the experiences of another as they happen. SimStim units can be connected to standard communicators for this purpose. The link is normally one-way only.

The Pentapods have shown considerable interest in SimStim as a means of more direct communication between humanity and themselves. A joint research venture has been undertaken to investigate the possibilities of such a device.

Potential hazards for the SimStim user include -

Sympathetic Injury
Any injuries felt while in a SimStim reality cause shock and stun results, even fatalities, just as they would in real life. A user of SimStim could die from virtual wounding ...

SimStim Delusion
Sometimes people withdraw into the fantasy world, unhappy to dwell in the real one. Such people, called Fugues, spend almost all of their lives in the virtual reality, hopelessly addicted.

Disorientation
Typically, the SimStim user takes several seconds to adjust to the change in sensory information when entering or leaving the virtual reality. This is normally not a problem. However sensitive people might be in shock if not expecting a rapid change ...

Unprotected Body
While in SimStim, perception of the real world is almost neglible. Therefore the SimStim user is unable to feel pain or notice the movements of people nearby. More than one user has awoken to find himself being robbed ...

NewsReader

A newsreader is a small receiver implanted in the skull which, when connected to cybernetic eyes, relays the current newsflashes from network television in the form of a scrolling "tickertape" message in the lower field of vision. The user can disable or enable such messages as desired. In addition, the current time in a selected timezone is also displayed, for reference purposes. Cybernetic vision in at least one eye is required. The NewsReader costs Lv500. A subscription to a news service typically costs Lv4 per month. Note that, given the correct frequency, anyone could transmit to the PC ...

Engram

Another term for a Cold Storage recording. ( See the adventure Deathwatch Program ). Also referred to as a ROM Construct.

Neural Cut-Out

A neural cut-out is implanted in the base of the neck, on the spine. It reduces the sensation of pain so that the user is able to withstand terrible agonies just by mentally engaging the implant. Originally developed for those unfortunates suffering from long term pain, cut-outs have found applications everywhere from surgery to street fighting. Price for a neural cut-out is Lv250.

Director - If a PC is using a cut-out, keep a track of his wounds secretly. This should represent the character's ignorance about his own physical state.

Gelshells

A splash round which comes in a variety of calibres to fit a number of modern firearms, the gelshell is designed to penetrate porous armour and clothing and pass through the skin to release any chemical or biohazard desired into the bloodstream of the target. Gelshells use Dimethyl Sulphoxide ( DMSO ) to open the molecular gates in the skin. Gelshells cost Lv10 each, plus the cost of the active substance. They have a DPV of 0.1, but will penetrate Chainmail, Nonrigid, and Inertial Armour.

Xenon Targetter

An ultrafine light source than projects a twenty centimetre wide cross section at a range of fifty metres. Since the source is so narrow it is hard to see where the incoming fire is from. Cancels out penalties for shooting in poor light. Costs Lv 40 and increases weapon bulk by one.

Mimetic Polycarbon

Mimetic polycarbon is a complex material which has the unique property of changing its colour depending on electrical impulses. The surface acts like a flexible TV screen, and can be made to display anything desired. Originally, it was developed to provide camouflage for troops. However, although the technology worked, the cost was prohibitive and the project was abandoned. A cloak or suit of mimetic polycarbon connected to a "chameleon" unit renders the user almost invisible to the naked eye when still. When moving, the cloak "blurs" as it tries to keep up with its surroundings - the faster the motion, the more it blurs. Cloaks cost Lv500.

Chameleon Devices sell for Lv20000+ when available. Mimetic Polycarbon clothes are considered the height of fashion. One major fashion house even sells clothes with a neural interface, so the wearer can change the displayed imagery by thought.

Vehicles may be camouflaged used Mimetic Polycarbon tarpaulins. These cost Lv800 for a motorbike sized sheet to Lv1500 for one large enough to cover a civilian car.

Derms

A derm is a small sticky patch about two centimetres in diameter and a few millimetres thick. Derms are applied to bare skin and slowly release drugs or other chemicals through the skin without the risks of syringes or other injectors. Derms vary in price depending on their purpose. Most drugs, legal and illegal, are available in derm form.

2300AD

This page was last updated on the 30^th June 1997.