The Disposable Future

The Sprawl is a world of have and have nots, mostly have nots. It is a world of rapidly evolving technology. In this hack I need technofetishism. Tech is more than just color. It is an integral part of the questions I want to ask.

In the tangential moves, under Economy of Greed, the BURN CREDIT move handles the biggest issue I've had with technology, how to price and aquire it.

One of the things that I love most about Richard Morgans Takeshi Kovacs series, and the whole Ghost in the Shell complex is the idea of a digitized soul. From here comes the idea of the Ibrain, and the disposable body. This thread is about my exploration of this.

The future is disposable, in the Brave New Order, all the operators have a choice between a Sleeve (biological body) or a Shell (cyborg body). The advent of the Ibrain saw the departure from birth-sleeves. Only drones and desperate still walk around in their original bodies. Only drones and the poor still die.

And this opened a whole new download of worms.

Ibrain.

It began as an accessory. An implanted link to the Floating World, with extended memory banks for quick data retrieval, and eventually to record experiences sold as the ultimate sensory trip. Porn was never the same again. It didn’t take long before the emergence of A.I. led to the digitization of the human mind. What began as a techno-fashion accessory, became the key to immortality. For those that could afford it, naturally.

Irrespective of the philosophical and theological implications, the Ibrain became the next step in human evolution. Now there are countless laws, some states forbid transfers and Re-integration outright, and everyone regulates copying, but the soul is digital in the modern human. An Ibrain is a part of the UW.
 
Re-integration in a new sleeve or shell isn’t. So the key to immortality is in everydrone’s hands, the door, the new body when the old flesh fails, well that isn’t.

Transients.

The sampling rate of the Ibrain is ridiculously high, but even so there is information loss. This loss causes digital noise, or transients. Extreme brain activity, particularly that of traumatic events, seem to trigger transients. The Ichiko-Oeverland rapport found a high degree of Transients in Ibrains that had been through the following traumatic triggers:
•   Re-Integration (extensive VR-therapy and transition training reduces this).
•   Massive sleeve trauma (the morphic-dissociation associated with Shell integration seems to protect the Resident to some degree) [when your body is a toaster, you don’t care that much]
•   Sleeve/Shell Destruction (the animalistic response to imminent death seems to be the trigger here)
•   Ghost Hacks, Meme-bombs and Viral-code (included because they are a source of Transients, though more through direct corruption of Source Code than through sample-loss).

If your operator EXPERIENCES A TRAUMATIC EVENT, then add hir Sleeve/Shell’s Transient Rating to the Transient Accretion Bar.

Transient Overload

When an operator’s Accretion reaches:
1-3 Managable. The Ibrain’s noise correction and redundancy filters allow for error free correction. These Transients will be corrected automatically given time and rest.
4-5 Sample Loss. The Ibrain can no longer compensate and there is an immediate danger of SOURCE CODE CORRUPTION. Correction and reduction procedures are required to lower the Accretion level.
6+ Core Memory Code Errors. The amount of sample noise in the Ibrain is high enough to interfere with Ibrain functions, and SOURCE CODE CORRUPTION is likely. Further transient accretion will provoke Ibrain shutdown. Correction and reduction procedures are required to lower the Accretion level

When you are in danger of SOURCE CODE CORRUPTION roll + [Transient Accretion – 3]. On a:
1-6 Error filters and firewalls have protected code integrity.
7-9 The controller picks one:
•   One Lifepath Event detail are permanently altered. Hir Choice.
•   One Lifepath Event becomes corrupted and any development associated becomes temporarily unavailable. Your Choice.
•   Meme implanted. Follow, add XP. Resist you need to KEEP COOL.
10+ The Controller picks one:
•   One Lifepath Event is corrupted, isolated and deleted by integrity protocols. All developments remain, but the details are gone.
•   New Lifepath Event is created. Either latent file, suppressed or implanted memory, impossible to tell what. No Developments, Liability acquired.
 
When you need CODE INTEGRITY MAINTENANCE to reduce your Accretion or correct source code corruption, ROLL + HACK. You need to enter the Floating World and Time. It is expensive as hell, you do take a – 1-Credit. On a 10+ pick three, on a 7-9 pick two:
•   Your Accretion drops one segment (may be chosen more than once).
•   Lost development comes online.
•   Implanted meme removed (counts as two choices).
•   You kept the cost down ignore the Credit loss.

Dig it.

Building a better you

In Source Code your body is just another piece of kit. Either a glorified toaster or a custombuilt piece of vatflesh. The more credit you are willing to spend, the better the product. Switching between shells and sleeves (aka: RESurrection, REShell, RESleeve, RE-Intergration) is a part of life for the active operator. At the beginning of a session, as long as you’re not picking up from where you left of, an operator may have changed hir sleeve/shell.
 
Imagine a silhouette on the character sheet. With each location given four boxes linked with diagram arrows and the Ibrain on its own, with a box linked to the base of the silhouettes skull. Building a sleeve/shell model is just a question of picking up the proper catalogue and copying the wanted options onto the silhouette, with brand names and all.

No worries about want or greedy little players. The more shit the players put in their operators, the more shit they will get into due to the SOTA and Transient rules.

RESurrection – RESleeve/REShell

RESurrection clinics, either Pancorp, white or black market, treat/repair and RES sleeves and shells. These can either be handled with a simple BURN CREDIT move, or developed into an NPC with an agenda and treated like a threat. An operator is extremely vulnerable when the Ibrain is transferred, so it is a brilliant moment for the Controller to fuck with hir. Copying, embedding, faulty transfer, SOURCE CODE CORRUPTION, are some of the unknowns you risk.

Sleeves are biological and require time to heal (though steroid and nanoknitters speed this process up). Shells, may if you have the Credit, just simply replace the broken parts.

Prosthetics (constraint mechanical sleeve) – Replacing lost limbs with cybernetics. +1 SOTA buys three slots, +1 Base Transient pr slot used. MDC with regards to this limb only.

I am not going to post the tenataive catalouges here, but here is how the sleeves and shells work.


Sleeve Catalouge
[sponsored by Biomega – we build a better you.]
Grown (cue constraint sleeve) – A sleeve is vat-grown. Its upgrade options are integrated in its DNA profile. They can not be changed or upgraded.
Human Norms (constraint sleeve) – Morphic-dissocation syndrome limits the size of the sleeve. Sleeves built outside the norms of human scale seem to generate an inordinate amount of static in a resident’s Ibrain as well as being inordinately expensive to maintain. + 1 transient and +1 Sota for such a shell.
Customization:   
Custom Model (constraint mechanical sleeve) – moving the slots to non-default locations cost +1 SOTA, can only be done when ordered. Only applicable in play and note that a custom model takes time to vat-grow.
Expanded DNA profile (constraint mechanical sleeve) – additional slots to a given model. +1 SOTA buys three slots, +2 Base Transient.
Limits of flesh (constraint mechanical sleeve) – a sleeve can only hold one extra option pr location. Location available slots +1.


Operator sleeve – pro grade.
Why settle for less. This is the base package used by personnel in high threat positions within any part of your active assets department. A combination of affordability and performance that won’t get you into trouble with HR and accounting. If you freelance, going for anything less is inviting trouble.
Base SOTA – 2
Base Transient – 1
Upgrade slots – 6
Location:
Ibrain - 2
Systemic – 3
Head – 1
Arms – 0
Legs – 0

Shell Catalouge
[sponsored by Kuiper Cybernetics – Versatile bodies for versatile people]
MDC (cue constraint shell) – Morphic-dissonance, the shell is not natural. Non shelled humans react instinctively negatively to a shell, the lack of subtle body movement, facial cues, and pheromones. Not to mention the fact that a shell is a glorified, albeit powerful, toaster associated with violence creates negative reactions in almost everydrone. The operator is subconsciously aware that the body is a mechanical tool, thus does not experience a transient accretion when subject to massive shell trauma.
Ablative (cue constraint mechanical shell) – An operator in a shell may sacrifice locations to prevent function loss of the systemic and Ibrain locations, i.e. damage. + 3-armor and remove one limb, torso or head. Given that the location is destroyed it no longer can be used for anything it must be replaced.
Adaptive (cue mechanical shell) – upgrade options may be interchanged and replaced.
Hard Wearing (cue mechanical shell) – all shells have a base 1-armor systemic.
Digital Footprint (constraint mechanical shell) – a shell is harder to camouflage +1 noise.
Customization:
Rewired Model (constraint mechanical shell) – moving the slots to non-default locations cost +1 SOTA, can only be done when ordered.
Extended equipment package (constraint mechanical shell) – additional slots to a given model. +1 SOTA buys three slots, +1 Base Transient.

Trooper shell – Standard combat model.
Immortalized by V-sims like Kombat/Kombat and DMZ TV, this is default shell of the majority of armed forces, both pancorp or governmental. Battlefield survivability never been this easy and affordable.
Base SOTA – 1
Base Transient – 3
Upgrade slots – 8
Location:
Ibrain - 1
Systemic – 3
Head – 2
Arms – 1
Legs – 1

The shell/sleeve function in the game may be a bit hard to follow in the pure text format presented her. So here is the current iteration of the Blank Product sheet for a female shell.