Saturday, January 21, 2006

Campaign: Tech and Stuff

Well, my GURPS order is terminal now, and will probably ship on Monday. My plans are almost solid enough to play. I have a few plot ideas, but this is open, and I won't address them here. All I'll say is that I have a fantastic idea for the opener.
My tech ideas were very basically described in the terms of the grid, transportation, and a few other sundry things. As far as overall tech level goes, the setting is quite advanced compared to today in some respects, equal or backwards in others. There are a few transhumanist bits I plan to include, though somewhat understated, despite some crazy shit about borgs and such. First, about cybernetics:
Cybernetic "augmentation" did not become too common, with a few exceptions. Sensory implants were the only body replacement type cybernetics that superceded their biological counterparts. Ocular enhancements are common for very certain professions, but tend to be too sensitive for everyday use, where loud noise could destroy parts of your biological ear, as well as weakening the device. However, the implants are extremely popular with the deaf and the hearing impaired. Visual implants are somewhat limited in vision enhancement per se, with the technology to produce 20/10 vision or better existing since 2005 (a Popular Science article exists on this, I'm not joking). What the sensory implants do well is feed new data to the optic nerve, like IR or UV spectra, and grid devices that transmit GPS and other data as well. The implants come in two forms: expensive eye replacements, and slightly less expensive plate implants that are more visually obtrusive.
Limb replacement implants do well to help amputees mobilize, but are only dominant in that field because biovat limbs are restrictively expensive. The cybernetic limb generally has response delays that make the legs restrictive, and the arms severely so. Because of the strength of the human body's bone structure, any increase in strength through limb replacement was unlikely to begin with. However, the linear frame and exoskeleton both significantly improve strength, and when connected to neural jack hardpoints, there is virtually no reflexive delay.
Neural jacking has become popular among punks, but the utility is limited to equipment operation and system access. Braindance stimulation and VR are both common uses for equipment like neural uplinks, but operating cars and heavy machinery are the primary reasons people get jacks installed. Also, using CAD and 3d design software is purportedly significantly easier and faster with a neural coprocessor. Hacking and the like can be done with a neural processor, but the only benefit is the slight reflexive increase over using a keyboard.
The big thing that the neural processor opened the way for was cumulative reflex exoskeletal powered armor, CREPA, or Creeps, and also body-borg conversions. CREPA is the main tool of the military and police to show force, since the 8 foot CREPA units are imposing and tough, as well as much more deployable than even the most versatile riot control units. Exoskeletal boost allows a unit to "sprint" at up to 30-40 mph using spring assisted strides, though the armor is to heavy to sustain this, mainly due to the stress exerted on the person inside, as well as the fact that the person inside is sprinting as well inside, only the spring assists increasing speed. The borg units are more interesting, but due to the controversial and dangerous process that is a brain-body transfer, borgs are outlawed by the political and corporate governing bodies. That being said, some exist, or are at least rumored to. Some five or six borg conversions were made by several labs, but the experiments were terminated very early. The story circulated most often was of a military borg that, taking advantage of his .50cal machine guns and grenade launchers, as well as a Chobham/Titanium armoured body, took over the facility used to make him, and made the staff build him 5 additional bodies and a few other gadgets before either releasing or killing them, depending on who tells the story. No one confirms this, but no one expressly denies it either. There is no real doubt that the odd "Truck Stop" complexes exist, and whether they are degenerate orgies of escapist adolescents, communes, or secret labs, they are definitely autonomous zones within middle America, and that makes it hard for anyone to confirm or deny any definition of their existence, since not only do very few people visit and live, but the ones that do aren't generally believed.
All in all, tech has advanced, but the only places you'd really see it would be in communications, and transhumanist areas, like cybernetics and bioware. Astropolis itself is a proof of infrastructural technology, and there are definitely certain advances in agriculture and energy production as well. However, with the exception of such things as Astropolis, the more ubiquitous technological areas have kept up a very similar appearance, even despite a possible underlying overhaul.

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