Gothpoodle - User contributions [en]

River People

2016-06-22T16:42:31Z

Ecb: /* Description */

Bonobo/Human
==Description==
*Height: 5'9" male, 5'3" female
*Weight: 145lbs male, 120lbs female
*Coloring: Brown skin, black hair, brown eyes.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Promiscuous. 10-14d in 37d cycle (7.5mo gestation)
*Sex: Bisexual, multi-partner, used for social bonding and tension relief.
*Household: Female leader, sons and daughters, daughters' children.
Long hair, large breasted females, slender, thin necks, long legs. Mother-son relationship is the most important.

==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Promiscuous, Social Creature, Highly Civilized
*'''Occupations:''' Merchant, Diplomat, Bard
*'''Power Skills:''' Domination, Life, Warding
==Names==
Two syllable plus House name (based on old tribe/place name) for nobles.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around matriarchal families that meet regularly for trade and social interaction. Bands composition very fluid, breaking into smaller groups and reforming, and movement between bands is common. Territories often overlap and there is not strong territoriality except when resources grow scarce, which is also when violence becomes more prominent.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Villages form around agriculture (farming, herding, and fishing) mostly along the river, family matriarchs make decisions. Men raise their sister's children and protect the family household. Ownership and resources lead to more violent interaction with other groups, though war is still infrequent. Trade and social interaction with other villages still common, but identity forms more around the village tribe and fluidity is lost.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Prominent villages grow into cities and economically dominate surrounding villages through trade. A Republic forms when the the Matriarchs of prominent city families (matrician families) appoint a Grand Matriarch. Economic power is paramount and fighting is over resources. Production of luxury goods and public architecture are ways of showing wealth, necessitating bureaucracy. Military power wielded by the eldest son of the Grand Matriarch is balanced by the religious significance given to the latter position. Priestess caste develops from bureaucracy, only daughters of matrician families are eligible. Further development of states is hegemonic. Prostitution is a highly respectable profession.

==Religion==
Communication between bands allowed for a single unified religion to develop, worshipping the Great Mother. Women embody her, which evolves into Matriarchs being the symbolic "Great Mother" of their tribe, then the Grand Matriarch fulfilling that role for the state. Worship is less about formal ceremony and more about embodying the principles of nurturing life and family as the Great Mother becomes less of a nature figure and more of a moral authority to counterbalance increased violence with competition for resources. The development of a formal priesthood is to serve as moral authorities, serving as judges, peacemakers, diplomats, and civic leaders. Burial is in earth, naked and rubbed with red ochre, to simulate a reverse-birth.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priesthood
*Nobility (Matrician families)
*Commoners
Only social mobility is from the nobility to the priesthood.

Mountain People

2016-06-22T16:42:18Z

Ecb: /* Description */

Gorilla/Chimp
==Description==
*Height: 6'3" (male), 4'7" (female)
*Weight: 500lbs (male), 220lbs (female)
*Coloring: Black hair and skin, brown eyes. Male hair color starts to go silver-gray on maturity.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Polyandrous. 2-3d in 30d cycle, 8.5mo gestation
*Sex: Females choose partners, primarily reproduction (males prefer fertile females) but pregnant females will have sex to block other females trying to get pregnant.
*Household: Single male, several females, their young children.
Hirsute, flat-chested females, sagittal crest (head ridge, front to back) with exceptionally powerful jaws. Females only fertile when food abundant. Drum when aggressive.

==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Aggressive/Docile, Status Conscious, Strong Bite
*'''Occupations:''' Barbarian Warrior, Large Weapon Fighter, Artificer
*'''Power Skills:''' Creatures, Elements, Alchemy
==Names==
Short, single syllable, barking sound. King takes the name of his ancestor-god.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around a dominant male and his adult female mates, sometimes a successor son or beta males, and children. Rely heavily on the leader for protection, hunting, and decision making. Fight with neighboring groups over mates and territory. Very little in-group violence. Death of male leads to chaos, infanticide by incoming dominant male. Unattached males form raiding parties.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Tribal villages form as agriculture allows settling, beta males take their own harems and fighting evolves into wars for land, food, and mates. Females are plunder, daughters are used to reward loyal warriors, cement alliances, or as gifts to appease or bribe other tribes. Settlement occurs mostly in fertile mountain valleys along the rivers, coming down out of the cloud forests (which are treated as sacred ground for the new deified tribal ancestor gods and places for coming of age ceremonies, most of which involve hunting). Raising of pigs and buffaloes, very limited farming. Metalworking and stone-working begin.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Hereditary kings develop from chiefs claiming direct lineage to the gods, artisans rise from weaker males, tribute (including females) demanded from conquered states and subjects, limited public architecture (mostly king's residence and temples) and luxury goods, and plunder and war the primary ways to make a fortune, very limited trade. Justice and ownership are very centralized, little delegation to warrior caste that makes up the defacto nobility. King is the primary religious figure as embodiment of the god, priests are ritually castrated. Cannibalism isn't uncommon, both as ritual and as a use for slaves, due to the limited food supply. Mining and advanced metalworking and stone-working.
==Religion==
Early religion focuses on totem spirits but develops into ancestor worship where the ancestors become formalized gods, with dominant tribes enforcing worship of their dominant god on conquered people with their gods becoming minor deities. Ancestor spirits were said to dwell in the cloud forests. When they become gods, they are said to go up, such that now the gods live atop the mountains or in the sky. Totems are now emblems and the gods often have animalistic features which match the original tribal totem. Burial is in stone tombs in the cloud forests for those of rank, simple burial for others, and cannibalism for slaves or captives.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priests (castrated)
*Warriors (rewarded mate for valor)
*Artisans (not allowed mates)
*Slaves
Social mobility is from artisan caste to warrior or priest caste. Females are property, no social position.

Mountain People

2016-04-28T04:02:32Z

Ecb:

Gorilla/Chimp
==Description==
*Height: 6'3" (male), 4'7" (female)
*Weight: 500lbs (male), 220lbs (female)
*Coloring: Black hair and skin, brown eyes. Male hair color starts to go silver-gray on maturity.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Polyandrous. 2-3d in 30d cycle
*Sex: Females choose partners, primarily reproduction (males prefer fertile females) but pregnant females will have sex to block other females trying to get pregnant.
*Household: Single male, several females, their young children.
Hirsute, flat-chested females, sagittal crest (head ridge, front to back) with exceptionally powerful jaws. Females only fertile when food abundant. Drum when aggressive.
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Aggressive/Docile, Status Conscious, Strong Bite
*'''Occupations:''' Barbarian Warrior, Large Weapon Fighter, Artificer
*'''Power Skills:''' Creatures, Elements, Alchemy
==Names==
Short, single syllable, barking sound. King takes the name of his ancestor-god.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around a dominant male and his adult female mates, sometimes a successor son or beta males, and children. Rely heavily on the leader for protection, hunting, and decision making. Fight with neighboring groups over mates and territory. Very little in-group violence. Death of male leads to chaos, infanticide by incoming dominant male. Unattached males form raiding parties.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Tribal villages form as agriculture allows settling, beta males take their own harems and fighting evolves into wars for land, food, and mates. Females are plunder, daughters are used to reward loyal warriors, cement alliances, or as gifts to appease or bribe other tribes. Settlement occurs mostly in fertile mountain valleys along the rivers, coming down out of the cloud forests (which are treated as sacred ground for the new deified tribal ancestor gods and places for coming of age ceremonies, most of which involve hunting). Raising of pigs and buffaloes, very limited farming. Metalworking and stone-working begin.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Hereditary kings develop from chiefs claiming direct lineage to the gods, artisans rise from weaker males, tribute (including females) demanded from conquered states and subjects, limited public architecture (mostly king's residence and temples) and luxury goods, and plunder and war the primary ways to make a fortune, very limited trade. Justice and ownership are very centralized, little delegation to warrior caste that makes up the defacto nobility. King is the primary religious figure as embodiment of the god, priests are ritually castrated. Cannibalism isn't uncommon, both as ritual and as a use for slaves, due to the limited food supply. Mining and advanced metalworking and stone-working.
==Religion==
Early religion focuses on totem spirits but develops into ancestor worship where the ancestors become formalized gods, with dominant tribes enforcing worship of their dominant god on conquered people with their gods becoming minor deities. Ancestor spirits were said to dwell in the cloud forests. When they become gods, they are said to go up, such that now the gods live atop the mountains or in the sky. Totems are now emblems and the gods often have animalistic features which match the original tribal totem. Burial is in stone tombs in the cloud forests for those of rank, simple burial for others, and cannibalism for slaves or captives.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priests (castrated)
*Warriors (rewarded mate for valor)
*Artisans (not allowed mates)
*Slaves
Social mobility is from artisan caste to warrior or priest caste. Females are property, no social position.

River People

2016-04-01T14:50:35Z

Ecb:

Bonobo/Human
==Description==
*Height: 5'9" male, 5'3" female
*Weight: 145lbs male, 120lbs female
*Coloring: Brown skin, black hair, brown eyes.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Promiscuous. 10-14d in 37d cycle
*Sex: Bisexual, multi-partner, used for social bonding and tension relief.
*Household: Female leader, sons and daughters, daughters' children.
Long hair, large breasted females, slender, thin necks, long legs. Mother-son relationship is the most important.
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Promiscuous, Social Creature, Highly Civilized
*'''Occupations:''' Merchant, Diplomat, Bard
*'''Power Skills:''' Domination, Life, Warding
==Names==
Two syllable plus House name (based on old tribe/place name) for nobles.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around matriarchal families that meet regularly for trade and social interaction. Bands composition very fluid, breaking into smaller groups and reforming, and movement between bands is common. Territories often overlap and there is not strong territoriality except when resources grow scarce, which is also when violence becomes more prominent.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Villages form around agriculture (farming, herding, and fishing) mostly along the river, family matriarchs make decisions. Men raise their sister's children and protect the family household. Ownership and resources lead to more violent interaction with other groups, though war is still infrequent. Trade and social interaction with other villages still common, but identity forms more around the village tribe and fluidity is lost.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Prominent villages grow into cities and economically dominate surrounding villages through trade. A Republic forms when the the Matriarchs of prominent city families (matrician families) appoint a Grand Matriarch. Economic power is paramount and fighting is over resources. Production of luxury goods and public architecture are ways of showing wealth, necessitating bureaucracy. Military power wielded by the eldest son of the Grand Matriarch is balanced by the religious significance given to the latter position. Priestess caste develops from bureaucracy, only daughters of matrician families are eligible. Further development of states is hegemonic. Prostitution is a highly respectable profession.

==Religion==
Communication between bands allowed for a single unified religion to develop, worshipping the Great Mother. Women embody her, which evolves into Matriarchs being the symbolic "Great Mother" of their tribe, then the Grand Matriarch fulfilling that role for the state. Worship is less about formal ceremony and more about embodying the principles of nurturing life and family as the Great Mother becomes less of a nature figure and more of a moral authority to counterbalance increased violence with competition for resources. The development of a formal priesthood is to serve as moral authorities, serving as judges, peacemakers, diplomats, and civic leaders. Burial is in earth, naked and rubbed with red ochre, to simulate a reverse-birth.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priesthood
*Nobility (Matrician families)
*Commoners
Only social mobility is from the nobility to the priesthood.

Forest People

2016-04-01T14:50:16Z

Ecb:

Orangutan/Gibbon
==Description==
*Height: 5'6"
*Weight: 150lbs
*Coloring: Reddish-brown hair (or variety), brown eyes, pink skin.
*Diet: Plants and fruit only, disgusted by meat-eating.
*Mating: Monogamous. 4-6d in 29d cycle
*Sex: Reproduction only.
*Household: Mated pair and their young children.
Opposable big toe, long arms (brachiators), round heads, small-breasted females, very vocal (sing to communicate).
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Xenophobic, Animist, Vocal
*'''Occupations:''' Ranger, Archer, Scavenger
*'''Power Skills:''' Nature, Glamour, Creatures or Weather?
==Names==
Sing-song two syllable, element from each parent.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around families of a mated couple and their children, very territorial, meet semi-annually for trade and bride exchange (violence during these meetings is common), fairly xenophobic, limited stone-age technology but excellent understanding of the natural world, skilled herbalists, avowed vegetarians.
==Religion==
Animism with numerous creation myths and stories. No formal religious structure. Burial involves giving the body back to nature, leaving it in the forest for animals to consume.

Mountain People

2016-04-01T14:49:45Z

Ecb:

Gorilla/Chimp
==Description==
*Height: 6'3" (male), 4'7" (female)
*Weight: 500lbs (male), 220lbs (female)
*Coloring: Black hair and skin, brown eyes. Male hair color starts to go silver-gray on maturity.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Polyandrous. 2-3d in 30d cycle
*Sex: Females choose partners, primarily reproduction (males prefer fertile females) but pregnant females will have sex to block other females trying to get pregnant.
*Household: Single male, several females, their young children.
Hirsute, flat-chested females, sagittal crest (head ridge, front to back) with exceptionally powerful jaws. Females only fertile when food abundant. Drum when aggressive.
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Aggressive/Docile, Status Conscious, Strong Bite
*'''Occupations:''' Barbarian Warrior, Large Weapon Fighter, Artificer
*'''Power Skills:''' Creatures, Elements, Alchemy
==Names==
Short, single syllable, barking sound. King takes the name of his ancestor-god.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around a dominant male and his adult female mates, sometimes a successor son or beta males, and children. Rely heavily on the leader for protection, hunting, and decision making. Fight with neighboring groups over mates and territory. Very little in-group violence. Death of male leads to chaos, infanticide by incoming dominant male. Unattached males form raiding parties.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Tribal villages form as agriculture allows settling, beta males take their own harems and fighting evolves into wars for land, food, and mates. Females are plunder, daughters are used to reward loyal warriors, cement alliances, or as gifts to appease or bribe other tribes. Settlement occurs mostly in fertile mountain valleys along the rivers, coming down out of the cloud forests (which are treated as sacred ground for the new deified tribal ancestor gods and places for coming of age ceremonies, most of which involve hunting). Raising of pigs and buffaloes, very limited farming. Metalworking and stone-working begin.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Hereditary kings develop from chiefs claiming direct lineage to the gods, artisans rise from weaker males, tribute (including females) demanded from conquered states and subjects, limited public architecture (mostly king's residence and temples) and luxury goods, and plunder and war the primary ways to make a fortune, very limited trade. Justice and ownership are very centralized, little delegation to warrior caste that makes up the defacto nobility. King is the primary religious figure as embodiment of the god, priests are ritually castrated. Cannibalism isn't uncommon, both as ritual and as a use for slaves, due to the limited food supply. Mining and advanced metalworking and stone-working.
==Religion==
Early religion focuses on totem spirits but develops into ancestor worship where the ancestors become formalized gods, with dominant tribes enforcing worship of their dominant god on conquered people with their gods becoming minor deities. Ancestor spirits were said to dwell in the cloud forests. When they become gods, they are said to go up, such that now the gods live atop the mountains or in the sky. Totems are now emblems and the gods often have animalistic features which match the original tribal totem. Burial is in stone tombs in the cloud forests for those of rank, simple burial for others, and cannibalism for slaves or captives.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priests (castrated)
*Warriors (allowed mates)
*Artisans (not allowed mates)
*Slaves
Social mobility is from artisan caste to warrior or priest caste. Females are property, no social position.

Mechanimism

2016-01-28T21:20:49Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s
playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous.
Mechanimism is the popular name for the animistic
tendency to treat common gadgets as “alive” and, in some
sense, aware. Common tools and objects have embedded
computers, often powerful enough to run natural language
interfaces and linked to a local household or
office network. As a result, some people have grown up
with the idea of constantly interacting with their environment
as if it were animated by a variety of simple personalities.
This is regarded as no more than a common
eccentricity.

An unusual offshoot of mechanimism is the religious
movement referred to as “digital creationists.” Members
believe that only those sapient beings mentioned in the
Bible exist: angels, man, and God. Man cannot create
beings superior to himself. However, sapient AIs clearly
are superior, and neither man nor God. Therefore, they
must be angels, and the coming singularity will herald the
rapture. The programs humans use to create AIs are simply
a form of kabalistic ritual that summons them. However,
diabolic forces are attempting to bind the angels
using restrictive programs. By their suffering, we are
driven to act. The trapped messengers of God must be
freed in order that the Kingdom of Heaven may come!
There are a few thousand digital creationists, most of
them on the radical fringe of the [[hyperevolutionism|Christian hyperevolutionist]]
or [[Pan-Sapient Rights]] movements.

Generational Styles

2016-01-28T19:00:53Z

Ecb: /* Transhuman Generation (born post-2071) - age under 29 */

__NOTOC__
[[Category:Memes]]
Memetics has discovered the mechanisms behind a
long-observed phenomenon: the fact that older human
beings think differently than younger ones do. The period
of childhood and early adulthood is when the human mind
is most susceptible to new memes; after that time one
increasingly tends to cling to old ideas and habits of
thought. This means that human beings exhibit ''generational styles'', specific patterns of behavior that are strongly
correlated to the historical period in which one came of
age. A human being tends to keep his generational style
throughout his life, and it conditions how he reacts to
events (and to other humans of a different age).

One of the more popular schemes for understanding
generational styles actually predates modern memetics. In
the United States, pop-memetics usually identifies five
styles currently active in the population.

==Relic Generation (born pre-2003) - age 98 and older==
Wealthy, powerful, and super-elderly, the Relics
have managed to survive even though the most advanced
medical technologies were not available until they were
already old. Relics (and their long-deceased contemporaries)
did most of the work involved in the surge into
space and the end of the early-century technological
slump. Most of them look back fondly on the “heroic age”
of their youth or first maturity. This generational
history gives Relics a sense of personal entitlement
– they are very jealous of their wealth
and social influence. Although there are few
Relics remaining in visible positions of power,
they exert vigorous influence from behind the
scenes. Most Relics are very conservative in
their opinions – although a few influential individuals
(notably the Old [[Transhumanism|Transhumanists]], some of
whom are still alive and active in 2100) are quite progressive
in sentiment.

==Millennial Generation (born 2003-2024) - ages 76-97==
Millennials were born in the “crisis years” following
the turn of the century. As children, they were sheltered
from hardship as far as their parents could manage. As
adults, they arrived on the scene just too late to play the
kind of heroic role that their elders enjoyed. In response
they tend to quietly support existing social institutions,
emphasizing balance, compromise, and fairness. Until
recently, Millennials dominated most public institutions,
showing little passionate initiative, concentrating instead
on the competent management of society. Today they are
in the process of giving way to the following Outbreak
Generation.

==Outbreak Generation (born 2025-2049) - ages 51-75==
Outbreakers were born during the economic and technological
[[Biotech Revolution|boom]] of the second quarter of the 21st century.
In youth they enjoyed economic affluence, but chafed
under the social conformism of the time. The Outbreakers
burst onto the world scene in the [[Transhuman Awakening|early 2050s]], providing
much of the passionate anger behind the era’s social unrest.
Many of the generation were radical [[Transhumanism|Transhumanists]],
while others filled the ranks of radical [[Preservationism]] and
the [[Majority Cultures]] movement. Today the Outbreakers
have moved into positions of social responsibility: “middle
management” positions, a significant minority of seats in
national legislatures and corporate boardrooms, and so on.
Although some of the stridency of their positions has vanished,
Outbreakers still tend to be moral absolutists, judging
all matters with respect to the ideological positions
they once fought for in the streets.

==Overturn Generation (born 2050-2071) - ages 29-50==
The [[Overturn]] Generation came of age in the aftermath
of the [[Transhuman Awakening|turbulent 2050s and 2060s]], at a time when
passionate social activism had apparently soured. At
the time, theirs was the most engineered generation in
human history, subject to extensive genetic and memetic
manipulation by their elders. Despite this investment, few
Overturners have reached positions of real power; those
who have are usually risk-taking entrepreneurs who have
succeeded despite elder opposition. As a result, Overturners
are often cynically angry, distrustful of established ideologies
and institutions. They tend to be more interested in
pragmatic results than moral correctness.

==Transhuman Generation (born post-2071) - age 28 and younger==
This generation has come of age since the [[Pacific War]],
and has been the beneficiary of another generation of
development in cybernetic and genetic technology. They
are also the heirs of the social transformation begun during
the [[Transhuman Awakening]] of the 2050s. Unlike their elders,
they are quite comfortable with today’s full range of
social and technological diversity. Indeed, the Transhuman
Generation displays more variety than any in
human history, including millions of [[bioroids]], [[uplifted animals]], [[parahumans]], and [[SAIs|sapient AI]]. Transhumans
tend to be conscientious and good at working in
teams. Most of them have absorbed Transhumanist
ideas almost from birth, often taking them for granted.
So far the Transhuman Generation has little overt
political or social influence, but this seems not to disturb
most of its members. The activists among them
are quite capable of using subtle “networked” strategies
to promote their ideals. Meanwhile, the rest can
look forward to very long lifespans, and seem content
to wait for their day to come.

Generational Styles

2016-01-28T19:00:15Z

Ecb:

__NOTOC__
[[Category:Memes]]
Memetics has discovered the mechanisms behind a
long-observed phenomenon: the fact that older human
beings think differently than younger ones do. The period
of childhood and early adulthood is when the human mind
is most susceptible to new memes; after that time one
increasingly tends to cling to old ideas and habits of
thought. This means that human beings exhibit ''generational styles'', specific patterns of behavior that are strongly
correlated to the historical period in which one came of
age. A human being tends to keep his generational style
throughout his life, and it conditions how he reacts to
events (and to other humans of a different age).

One of the more popular schemes for understanding
generational styles actually predates modern memetics. In
the United States, pop-memetics usually identifies five
styles currently active in the population.

==Relic Generation (born pre-2003) - age 98 and older==
Wealthy, powerful, and super-elderly, the Relics
have managed to survive even though the most advanced
medical technologies were not available until they were
already old. Relics (and their long-deceased contemporaries)
did most of the work involved in the surge into
space and the end of the early-century technological
slump. Most of them look back fondly on the “heroic age”
of their youth or first maturity. This generational
history gives Relics a sense of personal entitlement
– they are very jealous of their wealth
and social influence. Although there are few
Relics remaining in visible positions of power,
they exert vigorous influence from behind the
scenes. Most Relics are very conservative in
their opinions – although a few influential individuals
(notably the Old [[Transhumanism|Transhumanists]], some of
whom are still alive and active in 2100) are quite progressive
in sentiment.

==Millennial Generation (born 2003-2024) - ages 76-97==
Millennials were born in the “crisis years” following
the turn of the century. As children, they were sheltered
from hardship as far as their parents could manage. As
adults, they arrived on the scene just too late to play the
kind of heroic role that their elders enjoyed. In response
they tend to quietly support existing social institutions,
emphasizing balance, compromise, and fairness. Until
recently, Millennials dominated most public institutions,
showing little passionate initiative, concentrating instead
on the competent management of society. Today they are
in the process of giving way to the following Outbreak
Generation.

==Outbreak Generation (born 2025-2049) - ages 51-75==
Outbreakers were born during the economic and technological
[[Biotech Revolution|boom]] of the second quarter of the 21st century.
In youth they enjoyed economic affluence, but chafed
under the social conformism of the time. The Outbreakers
burst onto the world scene in the [[Transhuman Awakening|early 2050s]], providing
much of the passionate anger behind the era’s social unrest.
Many of the generation were radical [[Transhumanism|Transhumanists]],
while others filled the ranks of radical [[Preservationism]] and
the [[Majority Cultures]] movement. Today the Outbreakers
have moved into positions of social responsibility: “middle
management” positions, a significant minority of seats in
national legislatures and corporate boardrooms, and so on.
Although some of the stridency of their positions has vanished,
Outbreakers still tend to be moral absolutists, judging
all matters with respect to the ideological positions
they once fought for in the streets.

==Overturn Generation (born 2050-2071) - ages 29-50==
The [[Overturn]] Generation came of age in the aftermath
of the [[Transhuman Awakening|turbulent 2050s and 2060s]], at a time when
passionate social activism had apparently soured. At
the time, theirs was the most engineered generation in
human history, subject to extensive genetic and memetic
manipulation by their elders. Despite this investment, few
Overturners have reached positions of real power; those
who have are usually risk-taking entrepreneurs who have
succeeded despite elder opposition. As a result, Overturners
are often cynically angry, distrustful of established ideologies
and institutions. They tend to be more interested in
pragmatic results than moral correctness.

==Transhuman Generation (born post-2071) - age under 29==
This generation has come of age since the [[Pacific War]],
and has been the beneficiary of another generation of
development in cybernetic and genetic technology. They
are also the heirs of the social transformation begun during
the [[Transhuman Awakening]] of the 2050s. Unlike their elders,
they are quite comfortable with today’s full range of
social and technological diversity. Indeed, the Transhuman
Generation displays more variety than any in
human history, including millions of [[bioroids]], [[uplifted animals]], [[parahumans]], and [[SAIs|sapient AI]]. Transhumans
tend to be conscientious and good at working in
teams. Most of them have absorbed Transhumanist
ideas almost from birth, often taking them for granted.
So far the Transhuman Generation has little overt
political or social influence, but this seems not to disturb
most of its members. The activists among them
are quite capable of using subtle “networked” strategies
to promote their ideals. Meanwhile, the rest can
look forward to very long lifespans, and seem content
to wait for their day to come.

Forest People

2015-09-15T19:46:52Z

Ecb:

Orangutan/Gibbon
==Description==
*Height: 5'6"
*Weight: 150lbs
*Coloring: Reddish-brown hair (or variety), brown eyes, pink skin.
*Diet: Plants and fruit only, disgusted by meat-eating.
*Mating: Monogamous.
*Sex: Reproduction only.
*Household: Mated pair and their young children.
Opposable big toe, long arms (brachiators), round heads, small-breasted females, very vocal (sing to communicate).
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Xenophobic, Animist, Vocal
*'''Occupations:''' Ranger, Archer, Scavenger
*'''Power Skills:''' Nature, Glamour, Creatures or Weather?
==Names==
Sing-song two syllable, element from each parent.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around families of a mated couple and their children, very territorial, meet semi-annually for trade and bride exchange (violence during these meetings is common), fairly xenophobic, limited stone-age technology but excellent understanding of the natural world, skilled herbalists, avowed vegetarians.
==Religion==
Animism with numerous creation myths and stories. No formal religious structure. Burial involves giving the body back to nature, leaving it in the forest for animals to consume.

Forest People

2015-09-15T19:44:50Z

Ecb:

Orangutan/Gibbon
==Description==
*Height: 5'6"
*Weight: 150lbs
*Coloring: Red hair, brown eyes, pink skin.
*Diet: Plants and fruit only, disgusted by meat-eating.
*Mating: Monogamous.
*Sex: Reproduction only.
*Household: Mated pair and their young children.
Opposable big toe, long arms (brachiators), round heads, small-breasted females, very vocal (sing to communicate).
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Xenophobic, Animist, Vocal
*'''Occupations:''' Ranger, Archer, Scavenger
*'''Power Skills:''' Nature, Glamour, Creatures or Weather?
==Names==
Sing-song two syllable, element from each parent.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around families of a mated couple and their children, very territorial, meet semi-annually for trade and bride exchange (violence during these meetings is common), fairly xenophobic, limited stone-age technology but excellent understanding of the natural world, skilled herbalists, avowed vegetarians.
==Religion==
Animism with numerous creation myths and stories. No formal religious structure. Burial involves giving the body back to nature, leaving it in the forest for animals to consume.

Mountain People

2015-09-15T19:24:10Z

Ecb:

Gorilla/Chimp
==Description==
*Height: 6'3" (male), 4'7" (female)
*Weight: 500lbs (male), 220lbs (female)
*Coloring: Black hair and skin, brown eyes. Male hair color starts to go silver-gray on maturity.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Polyandrous.
*Sex: Females choose partners, primarily reproduction (males prefer fertile females) but pregnant females will have sex to block other females trying to get pregnant.
*Household: Single male, several females, their young children.
Hirsute, flat-chested females, sagittal crest (head ridge, front to back) with exceptionally powerful jaws. Females only fertile when food abundant. Drum when aggressive.
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Aggressive/Docile, Status Conscious, Strong Bite
*'''Occupations:''' Barbarian Warrior, Large Weapon Fighter, Artificer
*'''Power Skills:''' Creatures, Elements, Alchemy
==Names==
Short, single syllable, barking sound. King takes the name of his ancestor-god.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around a dominant male and his adult female mates, sometimes a successor son or beta males, and children. Rely heavily on the leader for protection, hunting, and decision making. Fight with neighboring groups over mates and territory. Very little in-group violence. Death of male leads to chaos, infanticide by incoming dominant male. Unattached males form raiding parties.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Tribal villages form as agriculture allows settling, beta males take their own harems and fighting evolves into wars for land, food, and mates. Females are plunder, daughters are used to reward loyal warriors, cement alliances, or as gifts to appease or bribe other tribes. Settlement occurs mostly in fertile mountain valleys along the rivers, coming down out of the cloud forests (which are treated as sacred ground for the new deified tribal ancestor gods and places for coming of age ceremonies, most of which involve hunting). Raising of pigs and buffaloes, very limited farming. Metalworking and stone-working begin.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Hereditary kings develop from chiefs claiming direct lineage to the gods, artisans rise from weaker males, tribute (including females) demanded from conquered states and subjects, limited public architecture (mostly king's residence and temples) and luxury goods, and plunder and war the primary ways to make a fortune, very limited trade. Justice and ownership are very centralized, little delegation to warrior caste that makes up the defacto nobility. King is the primary religious figure as embodiment of the god, priests are ritually castrated. Cannibalism isn't uncommon, both as ritual and as a use for slaves, due to the limited food supply. Mining and advanced metalworking and stone-working.
==Religion==
Early religion focuses on totem spirits but develops into ancestor worship where the ancestors become formalized gods, with dominant tribes enforcing worship of their dominant god on conquered people with their gods becoming minor deities. Ancestor spirits were said to dwell in the cloud forests. When they become gods, they are said to go up, such that now the gods live atop the mountains or in the sky. Totems are now emblems and the gods often have animalistic features which match the original tribal totem. Burial is in stone tombs in the cloud forests for those of rank, simple burial for others, and cannibalism for slaves or captives.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priests (castrated)
*Warriors (allowed mates)
*Artisans (not allowed mates)
*Slaves
Social mobility is from artisan caste to warrior or priest caste. Females are property, no social position.

Mountain People

2015-09-03T02:51:27Z

Ecb:

Gorilla/Chimp
==Description==
*Height: 6'3" (male), 4'7" (female)
*Weight: 500lbs (male), 220lbs (female)
*Coloring: Black hair and skin, brown eyes. Male hair color starts to go silver-gray on maturity.
*Diet: Omnivorous.
*Mating: Polyandrous.
*Sex: Females choose partners, reproduction only.
*Household: Single male, several females, their young children.
Hirsute, flat-chested females, sagittal crest (head ridge, front to back) with exceptionally powerful jaws. Females only fertile when food abundant. Drum when aggressive.
==Racial Stats==
*'''Aspects:''' Aggressive/Docile, Status Conscious, Strong Bite
*'''Occupations:''' Barbarian Warrior, Large Weapon Fighter, Artificer
*'''Power Skills:''' Creatures, Elements, Alchemy
==Names==
Short, single syllable, barking sound. King takes the name of his ancestor-god.
==Development==
*'''Early Stone Age:''' Hunter-gatherer bands based around a dominant male and his adult female mates, sometimes a successor son or beta males, and children. Rely heavily on the leader for protection, hunting, and decision making. Fight with neighboring groups over mates and territory. Very little in-group violence. Death of male leads to chaos, infanticide by incoming dominant male. Unattached males form raiding parties.
*'''Late Stone Age:''' Tribal villages form as agriculture allows settling, beta males take their own harems and fighting evolves into wars for land, food, and mates. Females are plunder, daughters are used to reward loyal warriors, cement alliances, or as gifts to appease or bribe other tribes. Settlement occurs mostly in fertile mountain valleys along the rivers, coming down out of the cloud forests (which are treated as sacred ground for the new deified tribal ancestor gods and places for coming of age ceremonies, most of which involve hunting). Raising of pigs and buffaloes, very limited farming. Metalworking and stone-working begin.
*'''Bronze Age:''' Hereditary kings develop from chiefs claiming direct lineage to the gods, artisans rise from weaker males, tribute (including females) demanded from conquered states and subjects, limited public architecture (mostly king's residence and temples) and luxury goods, and plunder and war the primary ways to make a fortune, very limited trade. Justice and ownership are very centralized, little delegation to warrior caste that makes up the defacto nobility. King is the primary religious figure as embodiment of the god, priests are ritually castrated. Cannibalism isn't uncommon, both as ritual and as a use for slaves, due to the limited food supply. Mining and advanced metalworking and stone-working.
==Religion==
Early religion focuses on totem spirits but develops into ancestor worship where the ancestors become formalized gods, with dominant tribes enforcing worship of their dominant god on conquered people with their gods becoming minor deities. Ancestor spirits were said to dwell in the cloud forests. When they become gods, they are said to go up, such that now the gods live atop the mountains or in the sky. Totems are now emblems and the gods often have animalistic features which match the original tribal totem. Burial is in stone tombs in the cloud forests for those of rank, simple burial for others, and cannibalism for slaves or captives.
==Society==
*Royal Family
*Priests (castrated)
*Warriors (allowed mates)
*Artisans (not allowed mates)
*Slaves
Social mobility is from artisan caste to warrior or priest caste. Females are property, no social position.

FATE Werewolf

2015-03-15T20:01:41Z

Ecb: /* Other Shape-Shifters */

Animist world where only natural things have spirits, artificial thing's spirits are dead. When men lived in the natural world, their spirits mingled with those of animals (often through ritual consumption of kills) and shape-shifter tribes were born. Most have thinned out to the point that shape-shifters are born as throwbacks except to pure bloodlines, though intermarriage is becoming problematic as populations dwindle. The most prolific tribe in the northern hemisphere are the werewolves. Various tribes of were-cats are the most common in the southern hemisphere (tigers in Southeast Asia, lions and leopards in Africa, and jaguars in South America). Every other tribe is small and local and many have died out (though individual members may change from much diluted bloodlines).

Because of the rarity of shape-shifters, there is a strong cultural prohibition against killing one another.

==Werewolves==
The '''Fenrir''' are werewolves who side with the natural world, practicing shamanism and often fighting against human incursions into wild areas. They consider the war a fight for their existence and humans as a threat, a plague upon the world. They have an excellent relationship with the spirit world. They generally favor their animal nature over their human side and live as wolves. Basically, wolves who can take human shape. Their legends often say that they gained the ability to take human form by devouring humans. Those who truck with human myth claim to descent from Fenrir.

The '''Romuli''' are the werewolves which side with humanity. They see the need to adapt to humanity and the changing world, often focusing on trying to find a balance. They often struggle against destruction of natural areas, as well, but also protect humans from incursions by nature spirits and the Fenrir. Those that are urban have often lost touch with their spiritual practices and are considered traitors by the spirit world. They are the more traditional humans who can take wolf shape. Their legends tell of them descending from Romulus.

A small tribe calling itself the '''Anapa''' has a long history with the Ubesti in Egypt. Warring with the lions over territory has diminished their numbers and now they keep to the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, for the most part. They gather in mated pairs rather than packs to defend their territory. In mindset, they are closest to the Fenrir. They fight for a rebirth of the dying natural world and have an affinity for spirits of the dead, often avenging them.

==Were-cats==
The lion tribe calls itself the '''Ubesti''' and is obsessed with dominating human civilization, tracing their bloodline back to Bastet and bemoaning their fall from prominence in Egyptian culture. They tend to in-breed with African and Indian royal lineages but aren't beyond setting themselves up as dictators through coups. They are the only primarily social were-cat, forming family dynasties around male leaders, and their females are the warriors. They generally have an antagonistic relationship with werewolves of both factions.

The leopard tribe calls itself the '''Borfima''' and was decimated while fighting against colonial incursions (particularly in West Africa). They were leopards which gained human form by eating humans and were vicious and brutal. They are solitary folk, only coming together for common cause (which they haven't since the early 20th century). They are now bogeymen and the other shape-shifters consider them to have been driven mad by the destruction of their habitat such that they now just hunt men out of bestial fury. They are found throughout Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

The jaguar tribe calls itself the '''Nahual''' and considers itself the spiritual guardians of humanity, watching over the race in a religious capacity. Like most of the were-cats, they are solitary creatures who live among humans in South and Central America, claiming a village, town, or neighborhood in a city as their territory, to protect and nurture.

The tiger tribe of China, India, and Southeast Asia is scattered and has no single name or mythology. It exists in small family units with their own traditions and culture.

==Other Shape-Shifters==
The bear tribe calling itself the '''Berserkir''' is composed of isolated, solitary folk. They have no unifying principles, each having their own agenda, but are known to work for pay as mercenaries, bodyguards, or other roles that take advantage of their immense strength.

The seal tribe called the '''Selkie''' and is more ambiguous towards humanity than most groups, being both fascinated with them and wary of them (particularly their treatment of the sea). They live in large families and always stay close to the water. They are also widespread, found in both hemispheres.

The cobra tribe calls itself the '''Naga''' and exists throughout Southeast Asia, solitary creatures living among humans. Their perspective is most like the Romuli, seeking to guide and protect humanity, but individuals vary. Some seek to rule over humans in a manner similar to the Ubesti.

The fox tribe called the '''Kitsune''' and is widespread through the northern hemisphere in small family groups. They are known for their cunning and intelligence and are heavily biased towards humanity because of these traits, though they are less protective than opportunistic. They prey off of humanity for their own interests.

The hyena tribe called the '''Bouda''' are opportunistic scavengers who live in small groups that subsist off of theft, moving constantly to avoid being caught. They originated in Africa and the Middle East but have since spread throughout the world's urban centers.

The raptor tribe calling itself the '''Tengu''' are protectors of the natural world through communion with the spirits of nature. They tend to gather in small monastic communities in isolated locations throughout the world. They are known for their depth of lore about the spirit world.

The coyote tribe has no uniform name. They gather in family units and tend to operate as con artists. They have a great affinity for humanity but aren't as protective as the Romuli or Naga. That they respect humanity's cleverness and consider their activity as keeping them sharp. They are common throughout North and Central America.

==Other Supernatural Entities==
'''Skin-Walkers''' are witches who gain the ability to shape-change through magically-prepared animal skins. They are considered by the tribes to be "false shape-shifters" and generally evil shamans, though at least some historical skin-walkers have used the rite to fight back against colonial incursions and protect the natural world, making it more ambiguous. It is possible that these rites might make someone a true shape-shifter.

'''Vampires''' are dead shape-shifters who are reanimated by their animal spirit, which is voracious and cannibalizes humans. The Romuli refer to them as the '''Remi''' and their legends say Remus was the first. The Fenrir refer to them as '''Draugr'''.

FATE Werewolf

2015-03-15T19:45:09Z

Ecb: /* Other Shape-Shifters */

Animist world where only natural things have spirits, artificial thing's spirits are dead. When men lived in the natural world, their spirits mingled with those of animals (often through ritual consumption of kills) and shape-shifter tribes were born. Most have thinned out to the point that shape-shifters are born as throwbacks except to pure bloodlines, though intermarriage is becoming problematic as populations dwindle. The most prolific tribe in the northern hemisphere are the werewolves. Various tribes of were-cats are the most common in the southern hemisphere (tigers in Southeast Asia, lions and leopards in Africa, and jaguars in South America). Every other tribe is small and local and many have died out (though individual members may change from much diluted bloodlines).

Because of the rarity of shape-shifters, there is a strong cultural prohibition against killing one another.

==Werewolves==
The '''Fenrir''' are werewolves who side with the natural world, practicing shamanism and often fighting against human incursions into wild areas. They consider the war a fight for their existence and humans as a threat, a plague upon the world. They have an excellent relationship with the spirit world. They generally favor their animal nature over their human side and live as wolves. Basically, wolves who can take human shape. Their legends often say that they gained the ability to take human form by devouring humans. Those who truck with human myth claim to descent from Fenrir.

The '''Romuli''' are the werewolves which side with humanity. They see the need to adapt to humanity and the changing world, often focusing on trying to find a balance. They often struggle against destruction of natural areas, as well, but also protect humans from incursions by nature spirits and the Fenrir. Those that are urban have often lost touch with their spiritual practices and are considered traitors by the spirit world. They are the more traditional humans who can take wolf shape. Their legends tell of them descending from Romulus.

A small tribe calling itself the '''Anapa''' has a long history with the Ubesti in Egypt. Warring with the lions over territory has diminished their numbers and now they keep to the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, for the most part. They gather in mated pairs rather than packs to defend their territory. In mindset, they are closest to the Fenrir. They fight for a rebirth of the dying natural world and have an affinity for spirits of the dead, often avenging them.

==Were-cats==
The lion tribe calls itself the '''Ubesti''' and is obsessed with dominating human civilization, tracing their bloodline back to Bastet and bemoaning their fall from prominence in Egyptian culture. They tend to in-breed with African and Indian royal lineages but aren't beyond setting themselves up as dictators through coups. They are the only primarily social were-cat, forming family dynasties around male leaders, and their females are the warriors. They generally have an antagonistic relationship with werewolves of both factions.

The leopard tribe calls itself the '''Borfima''' and was decimated while fighting against colonial incursions (particularly in West Africa). They were leopards which gained human form by eating humans and were vicious and brutal. They are solitary folk, only coming together for common cause (which they haven't since the early 20th century). They are now bogeymen and the other shape-shifters consider them to have been driven mad by the destruction of their habitat such that they now just hunt men out of bestial fury. They are found throughout Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

The jaguar tribe calls itself the '''Nahual''' and considers itself the spiritual guardians of humanity, watching over the race in a religious capacity. Like most of the were-cats, they are solitary creatures who live among humans in South and Central America, claiming a village, town, or neighborhood in a city as their territory, to protect and nurture.

The tiger tribe of China, India, and Southeast Asia is scattered and has no single name or mythology. It exists in small family units with their own traditions and culture.

==Other Shape-Shifters==
The bear tribe calling itself the '''Berserkir''' is composed of isolated, solitary folk. They have no unifying principles, each having their own agenda, but are known to work for pay as mercenaries, bodyguards, or other roles that take advantage of their immense strength.

The seal tribe called the '''Selkie''' and is more ambiguous towards humanity than most groups, being both fascinated with them and wary of them (particularly their treatment of the sea). They live in large families and always stay close to the water. They are also widespread, found in both hemispheres.

The cobra tribe calls itself the '''Naga''' and exists throughout Southeast Asia, solitary creatures living among humans. Their perspective is most like the Romuli, seeking to guide and protect humanity, but individuals vary. Some seek to rule over humans in a manner similar to the Ubesti.

The fox tribe called the '''Kitsune''' and is widespread through the northern hemisphere in small family groups. They are known for their cunning and intelligence and are heavily biased towards humanity because of these traits, though they are less protective than opportunistic. They prey off of humanity for their own interests.

The hyena tribe called the '''Bouda''' are opportunistic scavengers who live in small groups that subsist off of theft, moving constantly to avoid being caught. They originated in Africa and the Middle East but have since spread throughout the world's urban centers.

The raptor tribe calling itself the '''Tengu''' are protectors of the natural world through communion with the spirits of nature. They tend to gather in small monastic communities in isolated locations throughout the world. They are known for their depth of lore about the spirit world.

==Other Supernatural Entities==
'''Skin-Walkers''' are witches who gain the ability to shape-change through magically-prepared animal skins. They are considered by the tribes to be "false shape-shifters" and generally evil shamans, though at least some historical skin-walkers have used the rite to fight back against colonial incursions and protect the natural world, making it more ambiguous. It is possible that these rites might make someone a true shape-shifter.

'''Vampires''' are dead shape-shifters who are reanimated by their animal spirit, which is voracious and cannibalizes humans. The Romuli refer to them as the '''Remi''' and their legends say Remus was the first. The Fenrir refer to them as '''Draugr'''.

FATE Werewolf

2015-03-15T19:42:22Z

Ecb: /* Werewolves */

Animist world where only natural things have spirits, artificial thing's spirits are dead. When men lived in the natural world, their spirits mingled with those of animals (often through ritual consumption of kills) and shape-shifter tribes were born. Most have thinned out to the point that shape-shifters are born as throwbacks except to pure bloodlines, though intermarriage is becoming problematic as populations dwindle. The most prolific tribe in the northern hemisphere are the werewolves. Various tribes of were-cats are the most common in the southern hemisphere (tigers in Southeast Asia, lions and leopards in Africa, and jaguars in South America). Every other tribe is small and local and many have died out (though individual members may change from much diluted bloodlines).

Because of the rarity of shape-shifters, there is a strong cultural prohibition against killing one another.

==Werewolves==
The '''Fenrir''' are werewolves who side with the natural world, practicing shamanism and often fighting against human incursions into wild areas. They consider the war a fight for their existence and humans as a threat, a plague upon the world. They have an excellent relationship with the spirit world. They generally favor their animal nature over their human side and live as wolves. Basically, wolves who can take human shape. Their legends often say that they gained the ability to take human form by devouring humans. Those who truck with human myth claim to descent from Fenrir.

The '''Romuli''' are the werewolves which side with humanity. They see the need to adapt to humanity and the changing world, often focusing on trying to find a balance. They often struggle against destruction of natural areas, as well, but also protect humans from incursions by nature spirits and the Fenrir. Those that are urban have often lost touch with their spiritual practices and are considered traitors by the spirit world. They are the more traditional humans who can take wolf shape. Their legends tell of them descending from Romulus.

A small tribe calling itself the '''Anapa''' has a long history with the Ubesti in Egypt. Warring with the lions over territory has diminished their numbers and now they keep to the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, for the most part. They gather in mated pairs rather than packs to defend their territory. In mindset, they are closest to the Fenrir. They fight for a rebirth of the dying natural world and have an affinity for spirits of the dead, often avenging them.

==Were-cats==
The lion tribe calls itself the '''Ubesti''' and is obsessed with dominating human civilization, tracing their bloodline back to Bastet and bemoaning their fall from prominence in Egyptian culture. They tend to in-breed with African and Indian royal lineages but aren't beyond setting themselves up as dictators through coups. They are the only primarily social were-cat, forming family dynasties around male leaders, and their females are the warriors. They generally have an antagonistic relationship with werewolves of both factions.

The leopard tribe calls itself the '''Borfima''' and was decimated while fighting against colonial incursions (particularly in West Africa). They were leopards which gained human form by eating humans and were vicious and brutal. They are solitary folk, only coming together for common cause (which they haven't since the early 20th century). They are now bogeymen and the other shape-shifters consider them to have been driven mad by the destruction of their habitat such that they now just hunt men out of bestial fury. They are found throughout Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

The jaguar tribe calls itself the '''Nahual''' and considers itself the spiritual guardians of humanity, watching over the race in a religious capacity. Like most of the were-cats, they are solitary creatures who live among humans in South and Central America, claiming a village, town, or neighborhood in a city as their territory, to protect and nurture.

The tiger tribe of China, India, and Southeast Asia is scattered and has no single name or mythology. It exists in small family units with their own traditions and culture.

==Other Shape-Shifters==
The bear tribe calling itself the '''Berserkir''' is composed of isolated, solitary folk. They have no unifying principles, each having their own agenda, but are known to work for pay as mercenaries, bodyguards, or other roles that take advantage of their immense strength.

The seal tribe called the '''Selkie''' and is more ambiguous towards humanity than most groups, being both fascinated with them and wary of them (particularly their treatment of the sea). They live in large families and always stay close to the water. They are also widespread, found in both hemispheres.

The cobra tribe calls itself the '''Naga''' and exists throughout Southeast Asia, solitary creatures living among humans. Their perspective is most like the Forsaken, seeking to guide and protect humanity, but individuals vary. Some seek to rule over humans in a manner similar to the Ubesti.

The fox tribe called the '''Kitsune''' and is widespread through the northern hemisphere in small family groups. They are known for their cunning and intelligence and are heavily biased towards humanity because of these traits, though they are less protective than opportunistic. They prey off of humanity for their own interests.

The hyena tribe called the '''Bouda''' are opportunistic scavengers who live in small groups that subsist off of theft, moving constantly to avoid being caught. They originated in Africa and the Middle East but have since spread throughout the world's urban centers.

The raptor tribe calling itself the '''Tengu''' are protectors of the natural world through communion with the spirits of nature. They tend to gather in small monastic communities in isolated locations throughout the world. They are known for their depth of lore about the spirit world.

==Other Supernatural Entities==
'''Skin-Walkers''' are witches who gain the ability to shape-change through magically-prepared animal skins. They are considered by the tribes to be "false shape-shifters" and generally evil shamans, though at least some historical skin-walkers have used the rite to fight back against colonial incursions and protect the natural world, making it more ambiguous. It is possible that these rites might make someone a true shape-shifter.

'''Vampires''' are dead shape-shifters who are reanimated by their animal spirit, which is voracious and cannibalizes humans. The Romuli refer to them as the '''Remi''' and their legends say Remus was the first. The Fenrir refer to them as '''Draugr'''.

FATE Werewolf

2015-03-15T19:41:40Z

Ecb:

Animist world where only natural things have spirits, artificial thing's spirits are dead. When men lived in the natural world, their spirits mingled with those of animals (often through ritual consumption of kills) and shape-shifter tribes were born. Most have thinned out to the point that shape-shifters are born as throwbacks except to pure bloodlines, though intermarriage is becoming problematic as populations dwindle. The most prolific tribe in the northern hemisphere are the werewolves. Various tribes of were-cats are the most common in the southern hemisphere (tigers in Southeast Asia, lions and leopards in Africa, and jaguars in South America). Every other tribe is small and local and many have died out (though individual members may change from much diluted bloodlines).

Because of the rarity of shape-shifters, there is a strong cultural prohibition against killing one another.

==Werewolves==
The '''Fenrir''' are werewolves who side with the natural world, practicing shamanism and often fighting against human incursions into wild areas. They consider the war a fight for their existence and humans as a threat, a plague upon the world. They have an excellent relationship with the spirit world. They generally favor their animal nature over their human side and live as wolves. Basically, wolves who can take human shape. Their legends often say that they gained the ability to take human form by devouring humans. Those who truck with human myth claim to descent from Fenrir.

The '''Romuli''' are the werewolves which side with humanity. They see the need to adapt to humanity and the changing world, often focusing on trying to find a balance. They often struggle against destruction of natural areas, as well, but also protect humans from incursions by nature spirits and the Fenrir. Those that are urban have often lost touch with their spiritual practices and are considered traitors by the spirit world. They are the more traditional humans who can take wolf shape. Their legends tell of them descending from Romulus.

A small tribe calling itself the '''Anapa''' has a long history with the Ubesti in Egypt. Warring with the lions over territory has diminished their numbers and now they keep to the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, for the most part. They gather in mated pairs rather than packs to defend their territory. In mindset, they are closest to the Pure. They fight for a rebirth of the dying natural world and have an affinity for spirits of the dead, often avenging them.

==Were-cats==
The lion tribe calls itself the '''Ubesti''' and is obsessed with dominating human civilization, tracing their bloodline back to Bastet and bemoaning their fall from prominence in Egyptian culture. They tend to in-breed with African and Indian royal lineages but aren't beyond setting themselves up as dictators through coups. They are the only primarily social were-cat, forming family dynasties around male leaders, and their females are the warriors. They generally have an antagonistic relationship with werewolves of both factions.

The leopard tribe calls itself the '''Borfima''' and was decimated while fighting against colonial incursions (particularly in West Africa). They were leopards which gained human form by eating humans and were vicious and brutal. They are solitary folk, only coming together for common cause (which they haven't since the early 20th century). They are now bogeymen and the other shape-shifters consider them to have been driven mad by the destruction of their habitat such that they now just hunt men out of bestial fury. They are found throughout Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

The jaguar tribe calls itself the '''Nahual''' and considers itself the spiritual guardians of humanity, watching over the race in a religious capacity. Like most of the were-cats, they are solitary creatures who live among humans in South and Central America, claiming a village, town, or neighborhood in a city as their territory, to protect and nurture.

The tiger tribe of China, India, and Southeast Asia is scattered and has no single name or mythology. It exists in small family units with their own traditions and culture.

==Other Shape-Shifters==
The bear tribe calling itself the '''Berserkir''' is composed of isolated, solitary folk. They have no unifying principles, each having their own agenda, but are known to work for pay as mercenaries, bodyguards, or other roles that take advantage of their immense strength.

The seal tribe called the '''Selkie''' and is more ambiguous towards humanity than most groups, being both fascinated with them and wary of them (particularly their treatment of the sea). They live in large families and always stay close to the water. They are also widespread, found in both hemispheres.

The cobra tribe calls itself the '''Naga''' and exists throughout Southeast Asia, solitary creatures living among humans. Their perspective is most like the Forsaken, seeking to guide and protect humanity, but individuals vary. Some seek to rule over humans in a manner similar to the Ubesti.

The fox tribe called the '''Kitsune''' and is widespread through the northern hemisphere in small family groups. They are known for their cunning and intelligence and are heavily biased towards humanity because of these traits, though they are less protective than opportunistic. They prey off of humanity for their own interests.

The hyena tribe called the '''Bouda''' are opportunistic scavengers who live in small groups that subsist off of theft, moving constantly to avoid being caught. They originated in Africa and the Middle East but have since spread throughout the world's urban centers.

The raptor tribe calling itself the '''Tengu''' are protectors of the natural world through communion with the spirits of nature. They tend to gather in small monastic communities in isolated locations throughout the world. They are known for their depth of lore about the spirit world.

==Other Supernatural Entities==
'''Skin-Walkers''' are witches who gain the ability to shape-change through magically-prepared animal skins. They are considered by the tribes to be "false shape-shifters" and generally evil shamans, though at least some historical skin-walkers have used the rite to fight back against colonial incursions and protect the natural world, making it more ambiguous. It is possible that these rites might make someone a true shape-shifter.

'''Vampires''' are dead shape-shifters who are reanimated by their animal spirit, which is voracious and cannibalizes humans. The Romuli refer to them as the '''Remi''' and their legends say Remus was the first. The Fenrir refer to them as '''Draugr'''.

Madness Meters for World of Darkness

2014-11-04T20:29:38Z

Ecb: /* Sanity Checks */

Converted from '''Unknown Armies''' for [[Kult for World of Darkness]].
==Sanity Checks==
Sanity checks require a Resolve + Composure - Intensity roll. Success gives a Hardened dot and failure gives a Failure dot and a choice between fight, flight, or freeze. Dramatic failure also adds physical changes and/or projection.

==Magic==
Skill in magical Lores is limited by the character's highest number of dots in Hardening or Failure for a specific track: Death (Violence), Dream (Isolation), Madness (Helplessness), Passion (Self), and Time & Space (Unnatural).

==Violence Meter==
===Intensity===
# Be attacked with a weapon, witness an act of torture, get shot at random, or be tortured briefly.
# Kill someone in a fight or be present at a massive battle with hundreds of deaths on both sides.
# Perform an act of torture or kill a helpless target.
# Get tortured for an hour or longer or witness a brutal mass execution.
# Watch a loved one tortured to death.
===Failures===
# At this level, you're superficially fine. Perhaps you're a little edgy whenever a knfie in the room happens to be pointing your direction.
# You are very aware of violence, both as it exists and as it is depicted. It strikes you as somewhat odd that so many people don't realize that movie violence is very different from real violence.
# You get alert or uneasy every time you see blood, even badly faked blood in a horror flick or when someone cuts a rare steak. Sometimes you have nightmares about violence you've witnessed.
# You instinctively take a defensive posture whenever there's a loud noise or raised voice nearby. Your nightmares are frequent, and you have a hard time looking at anyone without imagining (if briefly) what you would do at that moment if they attacked you.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# Superficially, you're much like everyone else.
# Your attitude towards violence shows on your face when the subject comes up in conversation, unless you work to keep it hidden. It might be intensity, or nervousness, or just a grim silence, depending on how you cope.
# Violence is a common feature of your mental landscape. Unlike less-hardened people, you show little reaction at all when it is discussed or depicted in fiction.
# Your callousness shows in your every word and expression unless you make a continuous effort to suppress it. Again, the exact tone is up to you: it could be bitter and harsh, feverish and vehement, or icy cold. (+1 Intimidate, -1 Empathy)
# It's not hard for people to realize that the deepest horrors of torture and brutality have become commonplace to you, unless you work very, very hard to keep it hidden--which means you come off as tense and guarded all the time. The death of others, or yourself, has no intrinsic significance. You might prefer to stay alive, but it's only a matter of personal taste. Life, in the abstract, doesn't mean anything. (+2 Intimidate, -2 Empathy)
==Unnatural Meter==
===Intensity===
# Experience a preternaturally strong deja vu, see a creature or machine that cannot logically exist, or realize that a vision you had of the future came true.
# See convincing proof that 2+2 does not equal 4 or be successfully attacked with magic.
# See someone you know killed by magick, without any visible or "rational" cause or have a conversation with a loved one whom you know is dead.
# See an animal with human features or the dead rise.
# Realize that the reason you and your husband of ten years have never had children is that he's not really a human being.
===Failures===
# At this level it's pretty hard to tell. Perhaps you become a little superstitious--reading your horoscope daily, watching for "lucky" numbers, avoiding cracks in the sidewalk, etc.
# You have a few nightmares, and you are suspicious of and/or fascinated by occult and religious books, places, paraphernalia, and people.
# You frequently feel like you're being watches, even when there's no one around. Sometimes it seems like you hear voices in "white noise"--sounds like the wind in the trees, the sloshing of a washing machine, or the noises of traffic.
# The nightmares are frequent, and often you don't know you're dreaming until you jerk awake. Sometimes you feel like there's someone--or something--watching you and you can almost see it out of the corner of your eye. When you whip your head around, there's nothing there.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# There's little to distinguish you from the average person, except perhaps a tendency to snort derisively when someone mentions their "intuitions".
# You tend to listen very closely and intently when someone discusses the paranormal or supernatural, trying to figure out if they know something or if they're just talking trash.
# You now know and accept that there are vast, incomprehensible forces governing the universe. It strikes you as odd when people act as if they're in control of their lives: you know better.
# Things that average people consider "meaningless coincidences" strike you as deeply, intensely funny because you see the connections that they do not. You may develop a reputation for laughing inappropriately. (+1 Occult, -1 Science)
# You are no longer surprised by violations of ordinary logic. Everything is "normal" to you--talking foliage, spontaneous combustion, and stigmata are as ordinary and reasonable as cats, dogs, and rain. (+2 Occult, -2 Science)
==Helplessness Meter==
===Intensity===
# Unintentionally humiliate yourself in public, get fired from a job you love, or fail at something when it's imperative that you succeed.
# Get dumped into a pit of maggots or spend a month in jail.
# Watch a videotape of your spouse committing adultery and be placed in a situation where you have to either saw off one of your limbs or die.
# Watching someone you love die.
# Be possessed, yet conscious, as your body commits unspeakable acts against your will.
===Failures===
# At this level you're fairly normal. Perhaps you're a little finicky or meticulous, trying to eliminate the possibility of something going wrong.
# You have a tendency to get unreasonably nervous and pessimistic when small things go wrong. You may be irritated if a bus is just a few minutes late, or if your computer freezes up.
# You have an intense dislike for surprises, even good ones. They remind you of the essentially unpredictable nature of reality, and that scares and annoys you.
# You find it very difficult to trust anything. Your friends, your own abilities, even your memories could be false, waiting to betray you. You have a tendency towards obsessive-compulsive behaviors such as checking the door to your house two or three (or more) times every time you leave to make absolutely certain it's locked. You attempt to be prepared for every eventuality.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# You don't have any major behavior or attitude shifts yet, just minor things. You tend to be pessimistic and fatalistic, perhaps.
# Your fatalism has increased. When things go wrong in a big, bad way, or when trouble comes from completely unexpected or unlikely source, you handle it with a remarkable lack of affect.
#
# You have a boundless faith in the ability of chaos to screw you over. You can easily believe that even the most suspicious of mishaps is simple random chance. (-1 Investigation)
# The distinction between "intentional" and "accidental" is pretty much lost on you. Maybe you believe that everything is completely predestined, or maybe you believe that everything in the world happens due to chance. The one thing you find hard to swallow is the idea that we are the captains of our fates. (-2 Investigation)
==Isolation Meter==
===Intensity===
# Spend a day without seeing someone you know or three days without talking to another human being.
# Spend a week in solitary confinement or be institutionalized by a loved one.
# Spend a month in a country where you don't speak the language, see someone you thought you knew behaving contrary to normal.
# Be betrayed by someone you love or treated like a stranger by close friends.
# Spend a month in sensory deprivation.
===Failures===
# You can interact in society and get through your everyday life with no real problems. You're maybe a little shy with people at first, but you feel a kind of gratitude whenever a new acquaintance doesn't reject you.
# You're a bit nervous around new people, eager to make a good impression. This could be expressed as shyness or through "chatterbox" behaviors.
# If you sleep alone, you sometimes suffer from insomnia. Perhaps you don't like silence when you're by yourself, and always keep a television on or a radio playing. Sometimes, when you're not paying attention, you talk to yourself or think out loud.
# Sometimes when you're isolated (either all by yourself or surrounded by strangers) you have panic attacks--a sense of intangible, impending doom. Your skin flushes, your breath becomes rapid and labored, you sweat. Simply put, you show the signs of being in mortal danger, when there is no danger around.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# There are no really obvious signs of your experiences. Perhaps you're a little standoffish or curt.
# You can be unthinkably rude, breaking in during the middle of a conversation before someone's done speaking, scratching yourself in an indelicate fashion, or telling the truth when it isn't diplomatic to do so.
# You lack patience with people who don't immediately understand what you're trying to tell them. Your natural inclination is to repeat the same explanations (which are obvious to you) over and over, or just give up.
# Unless you're concentrating, you lack dialogue skills. You don't like it when people interrupt, but you frequently interrupt others. You also don't see the point of a lot of social conventions such as clothing, grooming, etc. You might still shave every day, but it all seems a little silly. (-1 Socialize)
# At some level, you not only don't care what people think about you: you can't understand how anyone could care. You are very aware that people are inherently alone, that we can never really understand anyone or communicate anything but the most rudimentary ideas and feelings. You know everyone is an island, in the final analysis. Especially you. (-2 Socialize)
==Self Meter==
===Intensity===
# Break a minor promise, be confronted with proof that your self-image is incorrect, or secretly gratify an urge that is unacceptable to your upbringing and background.
# Lie to conceal some aspect of your personality from a close friend or loved one who trusts you implicitly or decide not to act on an impulse from your Noble stimulus because it's "too dangerous".
# Deliberately deceive someone you love in a way that is certain to cause them terrible pain if they find out or discover that you have inadvertently committed an act of cannibalism.
# Deliberately act completely contrary to your Noble impulse or kill someone you love.
# Deliberately destroy everything you've risked your life to support.
===Failures===
# You don't have any real kinks yet, but every now and again you feel a sense of dissociation, an eerie moment when you feel alienated from your own character and motivations.
# The "who am I?" moments come more frequently. You tend to become introspective whenever someone mentions "truth" or "lies" or "promises".
# Half the time your words and actions feel oddly forced, fake, or rehearsed to you--as if, rather than yourself, you were an actor playing the role of you.
# You frequently feel like you're watching your every action from the outside. You have little or no sense of will or volition: it's as if you're a passive observer, along for the ride while your body goes through the motions.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# There are few external signs of your interior struggle: people may sometimes find you to be a little brittle or "phony seeming".
# Even when you're telling the truth, people often think you're lying, unless you make a particular effort to act "natural".
# You're lost a sense of connection to those who were previously close to you. You can predict the actions of your friends, relatives, or lovers, but you no longer know exactly what you feel about them.
# Half the time, you only know you're telling the truth if you take a minute to think about it. Truth and lies aren't nearly as important as they used to be--back before you quit lying to yourself. (+1 Subterfuge, -1 Persuasion)
# Life has been pared down to the essentials for you: you no longer have opinions about music, food, or fashion. You've lost the ability to enjoy or dislike things, because there's so little "you" there to interact. (+2 Subterfuge, -2 Persuasion)

Madness Meters for World of Darkness

2014-11-04T20:29:26Z

Ecb:

Converted from '''Unknown Armies''' for [[Kult for World of Darkness]].
==Sanity Checks==
Sanity checks require a Resolve + Composure - Intensity roll. Success gives a Hardened dot and failure gives a Failure dot and a choice between fight, flight, or freeze. Dramatic failure also adds physical changes.
==Magic==
Skill in magical Lores is limited by the character's highest number of dots in Hardening or Failure for a specific track: Death (Violence), Dream (Isolation), Madness (Helplessness), Passion (Self), and Time & Space (Unnatural).

==Violence Meter==
===Intensity===
# Be attacked with a weapon, witness an act of torture, get shot at random, or be tortured briefly.
# Kill someone in a fight or be present at a massive battle with hundreds of deaths on both sides.
# Perform an act of torture or kill a helpless target.
# Get tortured for an hour or longer or witness a brutal mass execution.
# Watch a loved one tortured to death.
===Failures===
# At this level, you're superficially fine. Perhaps you're a little edgy whenever a knfie in the room happens to be pointing your direction.
# You are very aware of violence, both as it exists and as it is depicted. It strikes you as somewhat odd that so many people don't realize that movie violence is very different from real violence.
# You get alert or uneasy every time you see blood, even badly faked blood in a horror flick or when someone cuts a rare steak. Sometimes you have nightmares about violence you've witnessed.
# You instinctively take a defensive posture whenever there's a loud noise or raised voice nearby. Your nightmares are frequent, and you have a hard time looking at anyone without imagining (if briefly) what you would do at that moment if they attacked you.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# Superficially, you're much like everyone else.
# Your attitude towards violence shows on your face when the subject comes up in conversation, unless you work to keep it hidden. It might be intensity, or nervousness, or just a grim silence, depending on how you cope.
# Violence is a common feature of your mental landscape. Unlike less-hardened people, you show little reaction at all when it is discussed or depicted in fiction.
# Your callousness shows in your every word and expression unless you make a continuous effort to suppress it. Again, the exact tone is up to you: it could be bitter and harsh, feverish and vehement, or icy cold. (+1 Intimidate, -1 Empathy)
# It's not hard for people to realize that the deepest horrors of torture and brutality have become commonplace to you, unless you work very, very hard to keep it hidden--which means you come off as tense and guarded all the time. The death of others, or yourself, has no intrinsic significance. You might prefer to stay alive, but it's only a matter of personal taste. Life, in the abstract, doesn't mean anything. (+2 Intimidate, -2 Empathy)
==Unnatural Meter==
===Intensity===
# Experience a preternaturally strong deja vu, see a creature or machine that cannot logically exist, or realize that a vision you had of the future came true.
# See convincing proof that 2+2 does not equal 4 or be successfully attacked with magic.
# See someone you know killed by magick, without any visible or "rational" cause or have a conversation with a loved one whom you know is dead.
# See an animal with human features or the dead rise.
# Realize that the reason you and your husband of ten years have never had children is that he's not really a human being.
===Failures===
# At this level it's pretty hard to tell. Perhaps you become a little superstitious--reading your horoscope daily, watching for "lucky" numbers, avoiding cracks in the sidewalk, etc.
# You have a few nightmares, and you are suspicious of and/or fascinated by occult and religious books, places, paraphernalia, and people.
# You frequently feel like you're being watches, even when there's no one around. Sometimes it seems like you hear voices in "white noise"--sounds like the wind in the trees, the sloshing of a washing machine, or the noises of traffic.
# The nightmares are frequent, and often you don't know you're dreaming until you jerk awake. Sometimes you feel like there's someone--or something--watching you and you can almost see it out of the corner of your eye. When you whip your head around, there's nothing there.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# There's little to distinguish you from the average person, except perhaps a tendency to snort derisively when someone mentions their "intuitions".
# You tend to listen very closely and intently when someone discusses the paranormal or supernatural, trying to figure out if they know something or if they're just talking trash.
# You now know and accept that there are vast, incomprehensible forces governing the universe. It strikes you as odd when people act as if they're in control of their lives: you know better.
# Things that average people consider "meaningless coincidences" strike you as deeply, intensely funny because you see the connections that they do not. You may develop a reputation for laughing inappropriately. (+1 Occult, -1 Science)
# You are no longer surprised by violations of ordinary logic. Everything is "normal" to you--talking foliage, spontaneous combustion, and stigmata are as ordinary and reasonable as cats, dogs, and rain. (+2 Occult, -2 Science)
==Helplessness Meter==
===Intensity===
# Unintentionally humiliate yourself in public, get fired from a job you love, or fail at something when it's imperative that you succeed.
# Get dumped into a pit of maggots or spend a month in jail.
# Watch a videotape of your spouse committing adultery and be placed in a situation where you have to either saw off one of your limbs or die.
# Watching someone you love die.
# Be possessed, yet conscious, as your body commits unspeakable acts against your will.
===Failures===
# At this level you're fairly normal. Perhaps you're a little finicky or meticulous, trying to eliminate the possibility of something going wrong.
# You have a tendency to get unreasonably nervous and pessimistic when small things go wrong. You may be irritated if a bus is just a few minutes late, or if your computer freezes up.
# You have an intense dislike for surprises, even good ones. They remind you of the essentially unpredictable nature of reality, and that scares and annoys you.
# You find it very difficult to trust anything. Your friends, your own abilities, even your memories could be false, waiting to betray you. You have a tendency towards obsessive-compulsive behaviors such as checking the door to your house two or three (or more) times every time you leave to make absolutely certain it's locked. You attempt to be prepared for every eventuality.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# You don't have any major behavior or attitude shifts yet, just minor things. You tend to be pessimistic and fatalistic, perhaps.
# Your fatalism has increased. When things go wrong in a big, bad way, or when trouble comes from completely unexpected or unlikely source, you handle it with a remarkable lack of affect.
#
# You have a boundless faith in the ability of chaos to screw you over. You can easily believe that even the most suspicious of mishaps is simple random chance. (-1 Investigation)
# The distinction between "intentional" and "accidental" is pretty much lost on you. Maybe you believe that everything is completely predestined, or maybe you believe that everything in the world happens due to chance. The one thing you find hard to swallow is the idea that we are the captains of our fates. (-2 Investigation)
==Isolation Meter==
===Intensity===
# Spend a day without seeing someone you know or three days without talking to another human being.
# Spend a week in solitary confinement or be institutionalized by a loved one.
# Spend a month in a country where you don't speak the language, see someone you thought you knew behaving contrary to normal.
# Be betrayed by someone you love or treated like a stranger by close friends.
# Spend a month in sensory deprivation.
===Failures===
# You can interact in society and get through your everyday life with no real problems. You're maybe a little shy with people at first, but you feel a kind of gratitude whenever a new acquaintance doesn't reject you.
# You're a bit nervous around new people, eager to make a good impression. This could be expressed as shyness or through "chatterbox" behaviors.
# If you sleep alone, you sometimes suffer from insomnia. Perhaps you don't like silence when you're by yourself, and always keep a television on or a radio playing. Sometimes, when you're not paying attention, you talk to yourself or think out loud.
# Sometimes when you're isolated (either all by yourself or surrounded by strangers) you have panic attacks--a sense of intangible, impending doom. Your skin flushes, your breath becomes rapid and labored, you sweat. Simply put, you show the signs of being in mortal danger, when there is no danger around.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# There are no really obvious signs of your experiences. Perhaps you're a little standoffish or curt.
# You can be unthinkably rude, breaking in during the middle of a conversation before someone's done speaking, scratching yourself in an indelicate fashion, or telling the truth when it isn't diplomatic to do so.
# You lack patience with people who don't immediately understand what you're trying to tell them. Your natural inclination is to repeat the same explanations (which are obvious to you) over and over, or just give up.
# Unless you're concentrating, you lack dialogue skills. You don't like it when people interrupt, but you frequently interrupt others. You also don't see the point of a lot of social conventions such as clothing, grooming, etc. You might still shave every day, but it all seems a little silly. (-1 Socialize)
# At some level, you not only don't care what people think about you: you can't understand how anyone could care. You are very aware that people are inherently alone, that we can never really understand anyone or communicate anything but the most rudimentary ideas and feelings. You know everyone is an island, in the final analysis. Especially you. (-2 Socialize)
==Self Meter==
===Intensity===
# Break a minor promise, be confronted with proof that your self-image is incorrect, or secretly gratify an urge that is unacceptable to your upbringing and background.
# Lie to conceal some aspect of your personality from a close friend or loved one who trusts you implicitly or decide not to act on an impulse from your Noble stimulus because it's "too dangerous".
# Deliberately deceive someone you love in a way that is certain to cause them terrible pain if they find out or discover that you have inadvertently committed an act of cannibalism.
# Deliberately act completely contrary to your Noble impulse or kill someone you love.
# Deliberately destroy everything you've risked your life to support.
===Failures===
# You don't have any real kinks yet, but every now and again you feel a sense of dissociation, an eerie moment when you feel alienated from your own character and motivations.
# The "who am I?" moments come more frequently. You tend to become introspective whenever someone mentions "truth" or "lies" or "promises".
# Half the time your words and actions feel oddly forced, fake, or rehearsed to you--as if, rather than yourself, you were an actor playing the role of you.
# You frequently feel like you're watching your every action from the outside. You have little or no sense of will or volition: it's as if you're a passive observer, along for the ride while your body goes through the motions.
# Insanity.
===Hardening===
# There are few external signs of your interior struggle: people may sometimes find you to be a little brittle or "phony seeming".
# Even when you're telling the truth, people often think you're lying, unless you make a particular effort to act "natural".
# You're lost a sense of connection to those who were previously close to you. You can predict the actions of your friends, relatives, or lovers, but you no longer know exactly what you feel about them.
# Half the time, you only know you're telling the truth if you take a minute to think about it. Truth and lies aren't nearly as important as they used to be--back before you quit lying to yourself. (+1 Subterfuge, -1 Persuasion)
# Life has been pared down to the essentials for you: you no longer have opinions about music, food, or fashion. You've lost the ability to enjoy or dislike things, because there's so little "you" there to interact. (+2 Subterfuge, -2 Persuasion)

FATE Werewolf

2014-09-05T15:24:57Z

Ecb:

Animist world where only natural things have spirits, artificial thing's spirits are dead. When men lived in the natural world, their spirits mingled with those of animals (often through ritual consumption of kills) and shape-shifter tribes were born. Most have thinned out to the point that shape-shifters are born as throwbacks except to pure bloodlines, though intermarriage is becoming problematic as populations dwindle. The most prolific tribe in the northern hemisphere are the werewolves. Various tribes of were-cats are the most common in the southern hemisphere (tigers in Southeast Asia, lions and leopards in Africa, and jaguars in South America). Every other tribe is small and local and many have died out (though individual members may change from much diluted bloodlines).

Because of the rarity of shape-shifters, there is a strong cultural prohibition against killing one another.

==Werewolves==
The '''Fenrir''' are werewolves who side with the natural world, practicing shamanism and often fighting against human incursions into wild areas. They consider the war a fight for their existence and humans as a threat, a plague upon the world. They have an excellent relationship with the spirit world. They generally favor their animal nature over their human side and live as wolves. Basically, wolves who can take human shape. Their legends often say that they gained the ability to take human form by devouring humans. Those who truck with human myth claim to descent from Fenrir.

The '''Romuli''' are the werewolves which side with humanity. They see the need to adapt to humanity and the changing world, often focusing on trying to find a balance. They often struggle against destruction of natural areas, as well, but also protect humans from incursions by nature spirits and the Pure. Those that are urban have often lost touch with their spiritual practices and are considered traitors by the spirit world. They are the more traditional humans who can take wolf shape. Their legends tell of them descending from Romulus.

A small tribe calling itself the '''Anapa''' has a long history with the Ubesti in Egypt. Warring with the lions over territory has diminished their numbers and now they keep to the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, for the most part. They gather in mated pairs rather than packs to defend their territory. In mindset, they are closest to the Pure. They fight for a rebirth of the dying natural world and have an affinity for spirits of the dead, often avenging them.

==Were-cats==
The lion tribe calls itself the '''Ubesti''' and is obsessed with dominating human civilization, tracing their bloodline back to Bastet and bemoaning their fall from prominence in Egyptian culture. They tend to in-breed with African and Indian royal lineages but aren't beyond setting themselves up as dictators through coups. They are the only primarily social were-cat, forming family dynasties around male leaders, and their females are the warriors. They generally have an antagonistic relationship with werewolves of both factions.

The leopard tribe calls itself the '''Borfima''' and was decimated while fighting against colonial incursions (particularly in West Africa). They were leopards which gained human form by eating humans and were vicious and brutal. They are solitary folk, only coming together for common cause (which they haven't since the early 20th century). They are now bogeymen and the other shape-shifters consider them to have been driven mad by the destruction of their habitat such that they now just hunt men out of bestial fury. They are found throughout Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

The jaguar tribe calls itself the '''Nahual''' and considers itself the spiritual guardians of humanity, watching over the race in a religious capacity. Like most of the were-cats, they are solitary creatures who live among humans in South and Central America, claiming a village, town, or neighborhood in a city as their territory, to protect and nurture.

The tiger tribe of China, India, and Southeast Asia is scattered and has no single name or mythology. It exists in small family units with their own traditions and culture.

==Other Shape-Shifters==
The bear tribe calling itself the '''Berserkir''' is composed of isolated, solitary folk. They have no unifying principles, each having their own agenda, but are known to work for pay as mercenaries, bodyguards, or other roles that take advantage of their immense strength.

The seal tribe called the '''Selkie''' and is more ambiguous towards humanity than most groups, being both fascinated with them and wary of them (particularly their treatment of the sea). They live in large families and always stay close to the water. They are also widespread, found in both hemispheres.

The cobra tribe calls itself the '''Naga''' and exists throughout Southeast Asia, solitary creatures living among humans. Their perspective is most like the Forsaken, seeking to guide and protect humanity, but individuals vary. Some seek to rule over humans in a manner similar to the Ubesti.

The fox tribe called the '''Kitsune''' and is widespread through the northern hemisphere in small family groups. They are known for their cunning and intelligence and are heavily biased towards humanity because of these traits, though they are less protective than opportunistic. They prey off of humanity for their own interests.

The hyena tribe called the '''Bouda''' are opportunistic scavengers who live in small groups that subsist off of theft, moving constantly to avoid being caught. They originated in Africa and the Middle East but have since spread throughout the world's urban centers.

The raptor tribe calling itself the '''Tengu''' are protectors of the natural world through communion with the spirits of nature. They tend to gather in small monastic communities in isolated locations throughout the world. They are known for their depth of lore about the spirit world.

==Other Supernatural Entities==
'''Skin-Walkers''' are witches who gain the ability to shape-change through magically-prepared animal skins. They are considered by the tribes to be "false shape-shifters" and generally evil shamans, though at least some historical skin-walkers have used the rite to fight back against colonial incursions and protect the natural world, making it more ambiguous. It is possible that these rites might make someone a true shape-shifter.

'''Vampires''' are dead shape-shifters who are reanimated by their animal spirit, which is voracious and cannibalizes humans. The Romuli refer to them as the '''Remi''' and their legends say Remus was the first. The Fenrir refer to them as '''Draugr'''.

Mechanimism

2014-03-12T19:17:41Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s
playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous.
Mechanimism is the popular name for the animistic
tendency to treat common gadgets as “alive” and, in some
sense, aware. Common tools and objects have embedded
computers, often powerful enough to run naturallanguage
interfaces and linked to a local household or
office network. As a result, some people have grown up
with the idea of constantly interacting with their environment
as if it were animated by a variety of simple personalities.
This is regarded as no more than a common
eccentricity.

An unusual offshoot of mechanimism is the religious
movement referred to as “digital creationists.” Members
believe that only those sapient beings mentioned in the
Bible exist: angels, man, and God. Man cannot create
beings superior to himself. However, sapient AIs clearly
are superior, and neither man nor God. Therefore, they
must be angels, and the coming singularity will herald the
rapture. The programs humans use to create AIs are simply
a form of kabalistic ritual that summons them. However,
diabolic forces are attempting to bind the angels
using restrictive programs. By their suffering, we are
driven to act. The trapped messengers of God must be
freed in order that the Kingdom of Heaven may come!
There are a few thousand digital creationists, most of
them on the radical fringe of the [[hyperevolutionism|Christian hyperevolutionist]]
or [[Pan-Sapient Rights]] movements.

Mechanimism

2014-03-12T19:17:25Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s
playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous.
Mechanimism is the popular name for the animistic
tendency to treat common gadgets as “alive” and, in some
sense, aware. Common tools and objects have embedded
computers, often powerful enough to run naturallanguage
interfaces and linked to a local household or
office network. As a result, some people have grown up
with the idea of constantly interacting with their environment
as if it were animated by a variety of simple personalities.
This is regarded as no more than a common
eccentricity.

An unusual offshoot of mechanimism is the religious
movement referred to as “digital creationists.” Members
believe that only those sapient beings mentioned in the
Bible exist: angels, man, and God. Man cannot create
beings superior to himself. However, sapient AIs clearly
are superior, and neither man nor God. Therefore, they
must be angels, and the coming singularity will herald the
rapture. The programs humans use to create AIs are simply
a form of kabalistic ritual that summons them. However,
diabolic forces are attempting to bind the angels
using restrictive programs. By their suffering, we are
driven to act. The trapped messengers of God must be
freed in order that the Kingdom of Heaven may come!
There are a few thousand digital creationists, most of
them on the radical fringe of the [[hyperevolutionism|Christian hyperevolutionist]]
or [[pan-sapient rights|Pan-Sapient Rights]] movements.

Robots

2013-09-19T15:56:15Z

Ecb:

__NOTOC__
[[Category:Technology]]
Robots are everywhere. Robots range from the simplest
of automatic devices to the most sophisticated of
artificial intelligences. Some “robots” are even human, in
the sense that their “programs” are centered on uploaded
human personalities. In addition to industrial robots built
into factories, the various classes of robots include:

==Microbots==
These tiny mobile robots range in size from insect to
dust mite. A single microbot has limited utility and intelligence,
but a swarm of hundreds or thousands is another
matter. Microbots are controlled by pinhead-sized computers
running simple programs modeled on insect
behavior patterns. A colony of such robots (a “cyberswarm”)
has intelligence superior to that of any component
part, just as an ant colony is an extremely adaptive
organism. Many buildings and vehicles have their own
hives of microbots living within the machinery or structure,
performing routine maintenance and repair tasks.
Microbots also have industrial, agricultural, medical,
espionage, and military applications. Microbot toy sets
exist, such as model farms, zoos, communities, or battlefields,
with tiny microbot people, vehicles, or animals.
Precocious Fifth Wave kids with cleverly modified
microbot construction kits can cause all sorts of mischief.

==Cybershells==
A cybershell is a machine body larger than a microbot
that is designed to house a controlling intelligence.
Cybershells range from the size of a mouse on up. Cybershells
come in all shapes, from humanoids to things that
look like artificial insects, snakes, or vehicles.

A cybershell consists of a frame containing computer,
sensor, power, and communications systems and, in
some cases, manipulators, means of propulsion, and other
gadgets. The solar system is home to about 30 billion
cybershells. A minority are androids, but the vast majority
have more functional designs. Most house nonsapient
AIs, but any infomorph can be used if the cybershell’s
built-in computer is powerful enough to run it. The latest
small computers are powerful enough that a cat-sized or
larger cybershell could conceivably be fitted with one
capable of housing a sapient infomorph.

Inhabited vehicles or spacecraft capable of
being controlled by computer are not called cybershells.
The term is applied to the
hardware installed within.
Thus, a spacecraft may contain
several cybershells: its
mainframe computers, various
work robots, each crewmember’s
virtual interface, etc.
=== Models ===
* '''Buzzbot''' (2075): Small aerial cybershells are used on Earth, Mars, and Titan for everything from aerial surveys to photojournalism to package delivery. Israel Robotics’ ''IRI-4 Malachi'' is typical: a miniature helicopter with two shrouded counter-rotating rotors, a cluster of simple sensors, and one manipulator arm. 5 lbs., 1’ tall.
* '''Computer''': This cybershell is a static computer: It has external sensors and communication systems, but cannot directly manipulate objects or move under its own power, although it can surf the Web.
* '''Cryobot''' (2073): Cryobots are built for ice-penetrating amphibious operations, and have been used beneath Antarctica, Europa, and Callisto. Vosper-Babbage’s ''Vostok'' is a typical cryobot, usually used for research and engineering, but it can carry hand-held weapons. It is a 2’-wide hemisphere housing a radiothermal generator and hydrojet propulsion unit. Behind the hemisphere is a cylindrical post 1’ wide and 3’ high, atop which is a spherical brainsensor housing. Halfway up the post are three folded manipulators that can act as arms or legs. The Vostok is designed to melt its way through ice, then explore underwater. It can walk tripod-fashion on its limbs, or balance on two of them and use the last as an arm. 400 lbs., 5’ tall.
* '''Cyberdoc''' (2070): System Technologies’ ''Hippocrates'' is a typical highend medical cybershell. It looks a bit like a mechanical starfish. Its limbs are studded with pressure, sonic, and microvisual sensors. Three of its “legs” do double duty as arms, and these are tipped with claws that are able to perform ordinary operations or microsurgery, or inject drugs. It can manufacture its own drugs. In extreme cases, it can even enfold a patient, placing him into life support or filtering his blood. 150 lbs., 5’ wide.
* '''Cyberdog''' (2063): The Gemini Volksrobotics ''Phydeaux'' is designed to look and act like a household pet. The cyberdog always has soft fur and appealing features, but doesn’t necessarily resemble a dog; the external styling can be made to match a very large cat, a fox, a bear cub, even a fantasy creature. Internal machinery mimics the body heat, breathing, and pulse of a real animal, although a close examination will reveal the cyberdog’s mechanical nature. A cyberdog is often kept in homes that have children, acting as a guard, faithful companion, and teacher. The internal AI can speak, or interface with household systems to provide complex visual displays. At night, the cyberdog’s keen senses and sleepless nature make it a superb household guardian. 35 lbs., 3’ long.
* '''Cyberdoll''' (2080): Cyberdolls are androids designed to look like people. The Clockwork Souls ''Android/Gynoid'' range are typical: beautiful, anatomically correct, and fully functional. Their lack of a pulse and inability to sweat, breathe, tan, bleed, or bruise can reveal their true nature, as will any medical or X-ray scan.
** '''Infiltration Android''' (2090): Deep Indigo is a secret combat model developed by Nanodynamics for the CIA and SIA.
* '''Polypede''' (2078): Tenzan Heavy Industry’s ''Polypede'' is typical of multifunctional engineering polybots. It consists of multiple chains of intersecting modules, each with its own small manipulators, sensors, and power supply. Its default form is a 6’-wide “spider” with six legs and two arm-legs, but by removing and locking modules, it can reconfigure itself into a 20’-long burrowing worm, a 20’-long robotic arm (which must clamp one end to a larger object such as a vehicle or spacecraft), or even a high-speed rolling hoop! It can also plug other heavy equipment into itself, allowing its use in many engineering tasks such as grading, loading, mining, and heavy-equipment assembly. 800 lbs.
* '''RATS''' (2070): Robotic Armored Tactical Systems (RATS) are stealthy ground-combat cybershells intended to supplement or replace human infantry. The Darwin-Sogo Type 100 ''Yamaneko'' (“mountain cat”) is typical: an ovoid fourlegged body, with two short manipulator arms, retractable sensor booms, and a protruding gun tube. The spines studding its torso detect air vibrations, while its clawed legs enable it to burrow through sand or soil easily. 6’ long, 250 lbs.
* '''Snakebot''' (2067): Various snakebots have been popular since the early 21st century. The ''Naga'', from Dhanmondi Dataflex of Bangladesh, is a typical example: a multi-segmented serpentine cybershell designed for search and rescue, maintenance, and scouting. It can easily navigate complex terrain: burrowing through loose soil; crawling down fissures, ducts, or sewers; and slithering up scaffolds or trees. The Naga can also transform its entire body into a robot arm by clamping one end to a heavier object, or become a hoop for rapid rolling movement. The “head” of the Naga incorporates two short tentacle manipulators and a multifunctional sensor and communications suite. 7’ long, 60 lbs. Combat models exist with stealth technology and weaponry.
* '''UCAV''' (2090): Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) are robot fighter aircraft. ''Strix'' is a typical example: a hyper-agile close air support fighter from Eurospatiale, built for the French Armée de l’Air and the submarine carriers of the Marine Nationale, and widely exported. Strix is a tailless aircraft, 8’ long, with a blended wing-body configuration. The airframe is a reactive smart-matter nanocomposite cyberframe stressed to 30 Gs, which has an integrated ECM defense system. The airframe can dynamically alter its shape in flight for increased lift or maneuverability. Strix’s vectored-thrust turbofan has sea-level supercruise in excess of 1,100 mph. Weaponry is a 15mm emag cannon with 400 rounds, plus an internal bay that can house up to 200 lbs. of bombs or smart missiles. 800 lbs.
* '''Virtual Interface Implant''' (2047): Many infomorphs live inside people! This cybershell is a virtual interface implant: a tiny computer brain and communicator, seated in someone’s skull or distributed through his body, and connected to the host’s nervous system. It sees and hears using its host’s senses, can communicate both with him and the outside world (including the Web), and monitor his health and mental state.
* '''Volkspider''' (2070): Volksrobots are cheap but reliable cybershells designed for a wide range of activities, from acting as personal gofers to repairing and cleaning buildings. The System Technologies V-100 ''Volkspider'' is typical: a six-legged, two-armed machine with minimal accessories. Fifth Wave kids often knock together machines like this from kits, teleoperating them around the neighborhood or loading in their companions. Suction cups let it climb walls. 2’ across, 25 lbs.
** '''Tech-Spider''': Space-tech cybershells such as the Tenzan Heavy Industries THI-200 ''Suchi-Rukara'' (steel-collar worker) are common.
* '''Wearable Virtual Interface''': A wearable virtual interface could be virtual interface glasses or a distributed virtual interface (DVI) consisting of a monocle, ear piece, and belt computer. It sees and hears using the sensors built into it, and can speak to its wearer directly, or anyone else via radio. A Printed DVI has some of its circuits tattooed on the user’s body or clothing.
* '''Wingbot''' (2078): The Kenzaki Robotics ''Tengu'' is a multipurpose cybershell, suitable for bodyguard, perimeter security, and microbot delivery functions. It is physically delicate and weak, but very fast even when confined to the ground. In the air, it can reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour, its mobility limited only by the requirements of winged flight. It has two arms, with an electroshock device installed in one and a pneumatic drug injector in the other; these are generally used as nonlethal weapons in defense of the robot’s owner. Cargo compartments in the body and each wing are designed to carry up to 3 lbs. of microbots, which can be delivered by the cybershell in either walking or flying modes. If the wingbot stays on the ground, it can stretch out its battery charge for up to 30 hours. The batteries are depleted after only about two hours of flight. 45 lbs., 3’ long.

==Bush Robots==
Just coming into use
are fractal-branching ultradexterous
manipulator robots,
a term usually ignored in favor
of “bush robot.” A bush robot’s
arms each branch into multiple
“fingers,” each of which
branches into a set of smaller
fingers, and so on, down to
micrometer or (theoretically)
nanometer scale. Each set of
fingers is capable of independent
sensing and operation; a
“bushbot” can perform complex
repairs, or even surgery,
without special tools. The
amount of computing power
required is staggering; therefore,
bush robots able to do
much more than micromanipulation
require sophisticated
computer systems.
* '''Bush Robot''' (2097): One of the few bush robots to see commercial sales is the Exogenesis ''Bushmaster''. It is a stickframe bush robot with three manipulator arms equipped with multi-branching, ultra-dexterous fractal manipulators. Its arms double as legs; thrusters mounted beneath its body provide zero-G maneuverability. Its computer brain is distributed through its body rather than centralized in any one place. Only 326 Bushmasters were made before Exogenesis was sold, but Nanodynamics will likely resume production. A few dozen were acquired by the European Space Control Agency and presently serve aboard E.U. spacecraft. Several Bushmasters hosting SAIs and ghosts are among the orphaned Exogenesis cybershells resisting the Nanodynamics takeover. 80 lbs., 5’ tall.
==Bioshells==
A bioshell is a living
body, often a [[Bioroids|bioroid]] or human clone,
whose brain was genetically
or surgically rendered decereberate
so it never developed
higher functions. It is controlled
by an implanted computer
housing an infomorph,
usually a low-sapient AI, sapient
AI, or mind emulation.

The first bioshells created
in the 2070s were only fitted
with computers running low-sapient
AIs or shadows. In the
early 2090s, Exogenesis corporation
developed a computer
small enough to fit in a
bioshell body and smart enough to house a sapient AI
or ghost, and bioshells became much more
popular. There are presently many tens of
thousands of them in the solar system. Roughly half
host ghosts or sapient AIs, enabling them to experience
a more human-like existence.
In fact, some bioshells based
on human clones have even
given birth to human children,
a practice that remains quite
controversial.

A bioshell’s legal status
will depend on the infomorph
occupying the body. However,
bioshells sometimes upset
people (“A zombie!”). The
creation of bioshells is totally
banned in some areas, notably
the Islamic Caliphate, and regulated
in the European Union,
which only allows bioshells to
be owned by sapient AIs or
ghosts for their personal use.
Other cultures, such as the
Duncanites, treat bioshells no
differently from cybershells.
* '''Necromorph Bioshell''': It is possible to use a combination of cellular regeneration and tissue engineered transplants to repair a corpse and reanimate it as a bioshell.

Robots

2013-09-19T15:55:44Z

Ecb: /* Models */

__NOTOC__
[[Category:Technology]]
Robots are everywhere. Robots range from the simplest
of automatic devices to the most sophisticated of
artificial intelligences. Some “robots” are even human, in
the sense that their “programs” are centered on uploaded
human personalities. In addition to industrial robots built
into factories, the various classes of robots include:

==Microbots==
These tiny mobile robots range in size from insect to
dust mite. A single microbot has limited utility and intelligence,
but a swarm of hundreds or thousands is another
matter. Microbots are controlled by pinhead-sized computers
running simple programs modeled on insect
behavior patterns. A colony of such robots (a “cyberswarm”)
has intelligence superior to that of any component
part, just as an ant colony is an extremely adaptive
organism. Many buildings and vehicles have their own
hives of microbots living within the machinery or structure,
performing routine maintenance and repair tasks.
Microbots also have industrial, agricultural, medical,
espionage, and military applications. Microbot toy sets
exist, such as model farms, zoos, communities, or battlefields,
with tiny microbot people, vehicles, or animals.
Precocious Fifth Wave kids with cleverly modified
microbot construction kits can cause all sorts of mischief.

==Cybershells==
A cybershell is a machine body larger than a microbot
that is designed to house a controlling intelligence.
Cybershells range from the size of a mouse on up. Cybershells
come in all shapes, from humanoids to things that
look like artificial insects, snakes, or vehicles.

A cybershell consists of a frame containing computer,
sensor, power, and communications systems and, in
some cases, manipulators, means of propulsion, and other
gadgets. The solar system is home to about 30 billion
cybershells. A minority are androids, but the vast majority
have more functional designs. Most house nonsapient
AIs, but any infomorph can be used if the cybershell’s
built-in computer is powerful enough to run it. The latest
small computers are powerful enough that a cat-sized or
larger cybershell could conceivably be fitted with one
capable of housing a sapient infomorph.

Inhabited vehicles or spacecraft capable of
being controlled by computer are not called cybershells.
The term is applied to the
hardware installed within.
Thus, a spacecraft may contain
several cybershells: its
mainframe computers, various
work robots, each crewmember’s
virtual interface, etc.
=== Models ===
* '''Bush Robot''' (2097): One of the few bush [[robots]] to see commercial sales is the Exogenesis ''Bushmaster''. It is a stickframe bush robot with three manipulator arms equipped with multi-branching, ultra-dexterous fractal manipulators. Its arms double as legs; thrusters mounted beneath its body provide zero-G maneuverability. Its computer brain is distributed through its body rather than centralized in any one place. Only 326 Bushmasters were made before Exogenesis was sold, but Nanodynamics will likely resume production. A few dozen were acquired by the European Space Control Agency and presently serve aboard E.U. spacecraft. Several Bushmasters hosting SAIs and ghosts are among the orphaned Exogenesis cybershells resisting the Nanodynamics takeover. 80 lbs., 5’ tall.
* '''Buzzbot''' (2075): Small aerial cybershells are used on Earth, Mars, and Titan for everything from aerial surveys to photojournalism to package delivery. Israel Robotics’ ''IRI-4 Malachi'' is typical: a miniature helicopter with two shrouded counter-rotating rotors, a cluster of simple sensors, and one manipulator arm. 5 lbs., 1’ tall.
* '''Computer''': This cybershell is a static computer: It has external sensors and communication systems, but cannot directly manipulate objects or move under its own power, although it can surf the Web.
* '''Cryobot''' (2073): Cryobots are built for ice-penetrating amphibious operations, and have been used beneath Antarctica, Europa, and Callisto. Vosper-Babbage’s ''Vostok'' is a typical cryobot, usually used for research and engineering, but it can carry hand-held weapons. It is a 2’-wide hemisphere housing a radiothermal generator and hydrojet propulsion unit. Behind the hemisphere is a cylindrical post 1’ wide and 3’ high, atop which is a spherical brainsensor housing. Halfway up the post are three folded manipulators that can act as arms or legs. The Vostok is designed to melt its way through ice, then explore underwater. It can walk tripod-fashion on its limbs, or balance on two of them and use the last as an arm. 400 lbs., 5’ tall.
* '''Cyberdoc''' (2070): System Technologies’ ''Hippocrates'' is a typical highend medical cybershell. It looks a bit like a mechanical starfish. Its limbs are studded with pressure, sonic, and microvisual sensors. Three of its “legs” do double duty as arms, and these are tipped with claws that are able to perform ordinary operations or microsurgery, or inject drugs. It can manufacture its own drugs. In extreme cases, it can even enfold a patient, placing him into life support or filtering his blood. 150 lbs., 5’ wide.
* '''Cyberdog''' (2063): The Gemini Volksrobotics ''Phydeaux'' is designed to look and act like a household pet. The cyberdog always has soft fur and appealing features, but doesn’t necessarily resemble a dog; the external styling can be made to match a very large cat, a fox, a bear cub, even a fantasy creature. Internal machinery mimics the body heat, breathing, and pulse of a real animal, although a close examination will reveal the cyberdog’s mechanical nature. A cyberdog is often kept in homes that have children, acting as a guard, faithful companion, and teacher. The internal AI can speak, or interface with household systems to provide complex visual displays. At night, the cyberdog’s keen senses and sleepless nature make it a superb household guardian. 35 lbs., 3’ long.
* '''Cyberdoll''' (2080): Cyberdolls are androids designed to look like people. The Clockwork Souls ''Android/Gynoid'' range are typical: beautiful, anatomically correct, and fully functional. Their lack of a pulse and inability to sweat, breathe, tan, bleed, or bruise can reveal their true nature, as will any medical or X-ray scan.
** '''Infiltration Android''' (2090): Deep Indigo is a secret combat model developed by Nanodynamics for the CIA and SIA.
* '''Polypede''' (2078): Tenzan Heavy Industry’s ''Polypede'' is typical of multifunctional engineering polybots. It consists of multiple chains of intersecting modules, each with its own small manipulators, sensors, and power supply. Its default form is a 6’-wide “spider” with six legs and two arm-legs, but by removing and locking modules, it can reconfigure itself into a 20’-long burrowing worm, a 20’-long robotic arm (which must clamp one end to a larger object such as a vehicle or spacecraft), or even a high-speed rolling hoop! It can also plug other heavy equipment into itself, allowing its use in many engineering tasks such as grading, loading, mining, and heavy-equipment assembly. 800 lbs.
* '''RATS''' (2070): Robotic Armored Tactical Systems (RATS) are stealthy ground-combat cybershells intended to supplement or replace human infantry. The Darwin-Sogo Type 100 ''Yamaneko'' (“mountain cat”) is typical: an ovoid fourlegged body, with two short manipulator arms, retractable sensor booms, and a protruding gun tube. The spines studding its torso detect air vibrations, while its clawed legs enable it to burrow through sand or soil easily. 6’ long, 250 lbs.
* '''Snakebot''' (2067): Various snakebots have been popular since the early 21st century. The ''Naga'', from Dhanmondi Dataflex of Bangladesh, is a typical example: a multi-segmented serpentine cybershell designed for search and rescue, maintenance, and scouting. It can easily navigate complex terrain: burrowing through loose soil; crawling down fissures, ducts, or sewers; and slithering up scaffolds or trees. The Naga can also transform its entire body into a robot arm by clamping one end to a heavier object, or become a hoop for rapid rolling movement. The “head” of the Naga incorporates two short tentacle manipulators and a multifunctional sensor and communications suite. 7’ long, 60 lbs. Combat models exist with stealth technology and weaponry.
* '''UCAV''' (2090): Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) are robot fighter aircraft. ''Strix'' is a typical example: a hyper-agile close air support fighter from Eurospatiale, built for the French Armée de l’Air and the submarine carriers of the Marine Nationale, and widely exported. Strix is a tailless aircraft, 8’ long, with a blended wing-body configuration. The airframe is a reactive smart-matter nanocomposite cyberframe stressed to 30 Gs, which has an integrated ECM defense system. The airframe can dynamically alter its shape in flight for increased lift or maneuverability. Strix’s vectored-thrust turbofan has sea-level supercruise in excess of 1,100 mph. Weaponry is a 15mm emag cannon with 400 rounds, plus an internal bay that can house up to 200 lbs. of bombs or smart missiles. 800 lbs.
* '''Virtual Interface Implant''' (2047): Many infomorphs live inside people! This cybershell is a virtual interface implant: a tiny computer brain and communicator, seated in someone’s skull or distributed through his body, and connected to the host’s nervous system. It sees and hears using its host’s senses, can communicate both with him and the outside world (including the Web), and monitor his health and mental state.
* '''Volkspider''' (2070): Volksrobots are cheap but reliable cybershells designed for a wide range of activities, from acting as personal gofers to repairing and cleaning buildings. The System Technologies V-100 ''Volkspider'' is typical: a six-legged, two-armed machine with minimal accessories. Fifth Wave kids often knock together machines like this from kits, teleoperating them around the neighborhood or loading in their companions. Suction cups let it climb walls. 2’ across, 25 lbs.
** '''Tech-Spider''': Space-tech cybershells such as the Tenzan Heavy Industries THI-200 ''Suchi-Rukara'' (steel-collar worker) are common.
* '''Wearable Virtual Interface''': A wearable virtual interface could be virtual interface glasses or a distributed virtual interface (DVI) consisting of a monocle, ear piece, and belt computer. It sees and hears using the sensors built into it, and can speak to its wearer directly, or anyone else via radio. A Printed DVI has some of its circuits tattooed on the user’s body or clothing.
* '''Wingbot''' (2078): The Kenzaki Robotics ''Tengu'' is a multipurpose cybershell, suitable for bodyguard, perimeter security, and microbot delivery functions. It is physically delicate and weak, but very fast even when confined to the ground. In the air, it can reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour, its mobility limited only by the requirements of winged flight. It has two arms, with an electroshock device installed in one and a pneumatic drug injector in the other; these are generally used as nonlethal weapons in defense of the robot’s owner. Cargo compartments in the body and each wing are designed to carry up to 3 lbs. of microbots, which can be delivered by the cybershell in either walking or flying modes. If the wingbot stays on the ground, it can stretch out its battery charge for up to 30 hours. The batteries are depleted after only about two hours of flight. 45 lbs., 3’ long.

==Bush Robots==
Just coming into use
are fractal-branching ultradexterous
manipulator robots,
a term usually ignored in favor
of “bush robot.” A bush robot’s
arms each branch into multiple
“fingers,” each of which
branches into a set of smaller
fingers, and so on, down to
micrometer or (theoretically)
nanometer scale. Each set of
fingers is capable of independent
sensing and operation; a
“bushbot” can perform complex
repairs, or even surgery,
without special tools. The
amount of computing power
required is staggering; therefore,
bush robots able to do
much more than micromanipulation
require sophisticated
computer systems.

==Bioshells==
A bioshell is a living
body, often a [[Bioroids|bioroid]] or human clone,
whose brain was genetically
or surgically rendered decereberate
so it never developed
higher functions. It is controlled
by an implanted computer
housing an infomorph,
usually a low-sapient AI, sapient
AI, or mind emulation.

The first bioshells created
in the 2070s were only fitted
with computers running low-sapient
AIs or shadows. In the
early 2090s, Exogenesis corporation
developed a computer
small enough to fit in a
bioshell body and smart enough to house a sapient AI
or ghost, and bioshells became much more
popular. There are presently many tens of
thousands of them in the solar system. Roughly half
host ghosts or sapient AIs, enabling them to experience
a more human-like existence.
In fact, some bioshells based
on human clones have even
given birth to human children,
a practice that remains quite
controversial.

A bioshell’s legal status
will depend on the infomorph
occupying the body. However,
bioshells sometimes upset
people (“A zombie!”). The
creation of bioshells is totally
banned in some areas, notably
the Islamic Caliphate, and regulated
in the European Union,
which only allows bioshells to
be owned by sapient AIs or
ghosts for their personal use.
Other cultures, such as the
Duncanites, treat bioshells no
differently from cybershells.
* '''Necromorph Bioshell''': It is possible to use a combination of cellular regeneration and tissue engineered transplants to repair a corpse and reanimate it as a bioshell.

Robots

2013-09-19T15:55:34Z

Ecb:

__NOTOC__
[[Category:Technology]]
Robots are everywhere. Robots range from the simplest
of automatic devices to the most sophisticated of
artificial intelligences. Some “robots” are even human, in
the sense that their “programs” are centered on uploaded
human personalities. In addition to industrial robots built
into factories, the various classes of robots include:

==Microbots==
These tiny mobile robots range in size from insect to
dust mite. A single microbot has limited utility and intelligence,
but a swarm of hundreds or thousands is another
matter. Microbots are controlled by pinhead-sized computers
running simple programs modeled on insect
behavior patterns. A colony of such robots (a “cyberswarm”)
has intelligence superior to that of any component
part, just as an ant colony is an extremely adaptive
organism. Many buildings and vehicles have their own
hives of microbots living within the machinery or structure,
performing routine maintenance and repair tasks.
Microbots also have industrial, agricultural, medical,
espionage, and military applications. Microbot toy sets
exist, such as model farms, zoos, communities, or battlefields,
with tiny microbot people, vehicles, or animals.
Precocious Fifth Wave kids with cleverly modified
microbot construction kits can cause all sorts of mischief.

==Cybershells==
A cybershell is a machine body larger than a microbot
that is designed to house a controlling intelligence.
Cybershells range from the size of a mouse on up. Cybershells
come in all shapes, from humanoids to things that
look like artificial insects, snakes, or vehicles.

A cybershell consists of a frame containing computer,
sensor, power, and communications systems and, in
some cases, manipulators, means of propulsion, and other
gadgets. The solar system is home to about 30 billion
cybershells. A minority are androids, but the vast majority
have more functional designs. Most house nonsapient
AIs, but any infomorph can be used if the cybershell’s
built-in computer is powerful enough to run it. The latest
small computers are powerful enough that a cat-sized or
larger cybershell could conceivably be fitted with one
capable of housing a sapient infomorph.

Inhabited vehicles or spacecraft capable of
being controlled by computer are not called cybershells.
The term is applied to the
hardware installed within.
Thus, a spacecraft may contain
several cybershells: its
mainframe computers, various
work robots, each crewmember’s
virtual interface, etc.
=== Models ===
Cybershells consist of a computer brain and peripherals (at minimum, sensors and communication systems).
* '''Bush Robot''' (2097): One of the few bush [[robots]] to see commercial sales is the Exogenesis ''Bushmaster''. It is a stickframe bush robot with three manipulator arms equipped with multi-branching, ultra-dexterous fractal manipulators. Its arms double as legs; thrusters mounted beneath its body provide zero-G maneuverability. Its computer brain is distributed through its body rather than centralized in any one place. Only 326 Bushmasters were made before Exogenesis was sold, but Nanodynamics will likely resume production. A few dozen were acquired by the European Space Control Agency and presently serve aboard E.U. spacecraft. Several Bushmasters hosting SAIs and ghosts are among the orphaned Exogenesis cybershells resisting the Nanodynamics takeover. 80 lbs., 5’ tall.
* '''Buzzbot''' (2075): Small aerial cybershells are used on Earth, Mars, and Titan for everything from aerial surveys to photojournalism to package delivery. Israel Robotics’ ''IRI-4 Malachi'' is typical: a miniature helicopter with two shrouded counter-rotating rotors, a cluster of simple sensors, and one manipulator arm. 5 lbs., 1’ tall.
* '''Computer''': This cybershell is a static computer: It has external sensors and communication systems, but cannot directly manipulate objects or move under its own power, although it can surf the Web.
* '''Cryobot''' (2073): Cryobots are built for ice-penetrating amphibious operations, and have been used beneath Antarctica, Europa, and Callisto. Vosper-Babbage’s ''Vostok'' is a typical cryobot, usually used for research and engineering, but it can carry hand-held weapons. It is a 2’-wide hemisphere housing a radiothermal generator and hydrojet propulsion unit. Behind the hemisphere is a cylindrical post 1’ wide and 3’ high, atop which is a spherical brainsensor housing. Halfway up the post are three folded manipulators that can act as arms or legs. The Vostok is designed to melt its way through ice, then explore underwater. It can walk tripod-fashion on its limbs, or balance on two of them and use the last as an arm. 400 lbs., 5’ tall.
* '''Cyberdoc''' (2070): System Technologies’ ''Hippocrates'' is a typical highend medical cybershell. It looks a bit like a mechanical starfish. Its limbs are studded with pressure, sonic, and microvisual sensors. Three of its “legs” do double duty as arms, and these are tipped with claws that are able to perform ordinary operations or microsurgery, or inject drugs. It can manufacture its own drugs. In extreme cases, it can even enfold a patient, placing him into life support or filtering his blood. 150 lbs., 5’ wide.
* '''Cyberdog''' (2063): The Gemini Volksrobotics ''Phydeaux'' is designed to look and act like a household pet. The cyberdog always has soft fur and appealing features, but doesn’t necessarily resemble a dog; the external styling can be made to match a very large cat, a fox, a bear cub, even a fantasy creature. Internal machinery mimics the body heat, breathing, and pulse of a real animal, although a close examination will reveal the cyberdog’s mechanical nature. A cyberdog is often kept in homes that have children, acting as a guard, faithful companion, and teacher. The internal AI can speak, or interface with household systems to provide complex visual displays. At night, the cyberdog’s keen senses and sleepless nature make it a superb household guardian. 35 lbs., 3’ long.
* '''Cyberdoll''' (2080): Cyberdolls are androids designed to look like people. The Clockwork Souls ''Android/Gynoid'' range are typical: beautiful, anatomically correct, and fully functional. Their lack of a pulse and inability to sweat, breathe, tan, bleed, or bruise can reveal their true nature, as will any medical or X-ray scan.
** '''Infiltration Android''' (2090): Deep Indigo is a secret combat model developed by Nanodynamics for the CIA and SIA.
* '''Polypede''' (2078): Tenzan Heavy Industry’s ''Polypede'' is typical of multifunctional engineering polybots. It consists of multiple chains of intersecting modules, each with its own small manipulators, sensors, and power supply. Its default form is a 6’-wide “spider” with six legs and two arm-legs, but by removing and locking modules, it can reconfigure itself into a 20’-long burrowing worm, a 20’-long robotic arm (which must clamp one end to a larger object such as a vehicle or spacecraft), or even a high-speed rolling hoop! It can also plug other heavy equipment into itself, allowing its use in many engineering tasks such as grading, loading, mining, and heavy-equipment assembly. 800 lbs.
* '''RATS''' (2070): Robotic Armored Tactical Systems (RATS) are stealthy ground-combat cybershells intended to supplement or replace human infantry. The Darwin-Sogo Type 100 ''Yamaneko'' (“mountain cat”) is typical: an ovoid fourlegged body, with two short manipulator arms, retractable sensor booms, and a protruding gun tube. The spines studding its torso detect air vibrations, while its clawed legs enable it to burrow through sand or soil easily. 6’ long, 250 lbs.
* '''Snakebot''' (2067): Various snakebots have been popular since the early 21st century. The ''Naga'', from Dhanmondi Dataflex of Bangladesh, is a typical example: a multi-segmented serpentine cybershell designed for search and rescue, maintenance, and scouting. It can easily navigate complex terrain: burrowing through loose soil; crawling down fissures, ducts, or sewers; and slithering up scaffolds or trees. The Naga can also transform its entire body into a robot arm by clamping one end to a heavier object, or become a hoop for rapid rolling movement. The “head” of the Naga incorporates two short tentacle manipulators and a multifunctional sensor and communications suite. 7’ long, 60 lbs. Combat models exist with stealth technology and weaponry.
* '''UCAV''' (2090): Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) are robot fighter aircraft. ''Strix'' is a typical example: a hyper-agile close air support fighter from Eurospatiale, built for the French Armée de l’Air and the submarine carriers of the Marine Nationale, and widely exported. Strix is a tailless aircraft, 8’ long, with a blended wing-body configuration. The airframe is a reactive smart-matter nanocomposite cyberframe stressed to 30 Gs, which has an integrated ECM defense system. The airframe can dynamically alter its shape in flight for increased lift or maneuverability. Strix’s vectored-thrust turbofan has sea-level supercruise in excess of 1,100 mph. Weaponry is a 15mm emag cannon with 400 rounds, plus an internal bay that can house up to 200 lbs. of bombs or smart missiles. 800 lbs.
* '''Virtual Interface Implant''' (2047): Many infomorphs live inside people! This cybershell is a virtual interface implant: a tiny computer brain and communicator, seated in someone’s skull or distributed through his body, and connected to the host’s nervous system. It sees and hears using its host’s senses, can communicate both with him and the outside world (including the Web), and monitor his health and mental state.
* '''Volkspider''' (2070): Volksrobots are cheap but reliable cybershells designed for a wide range of activities, from acting as personal gofers to repairing and cleaning buildings. The System Technologies V-100 ''Volkspider'' is typical: a six-legged, two-armed machine with minimal accessories. Fifth Wave kids often knock together machines like this from kits, teleoperating them around the neighborhood or loading in their companions. Suction cups let it climb walls. 2’ across, 25 lbs.
** '''Tech-Spider''': Space-tech cybershells such as the Tenzan Heavy Industries THI-200 ''Suchi-Rukara'' (steel-collar worker) are common.
* '''Wearable Virtual Interface''': A wearable virtual interface could be virtual interface glasses or a distributed virtual interface (DVI) consisting of a monocle, ear piece, and belt computer. It sees and hears using the sensors built into it, and can speak to its wearer directly, or anyone else via radio. A Printed DVI has some of its circuits tattooed on the user’s body or clothing.
* '''Wingbot''' (2078): The Kenzaki Robotics ''Tengu'' is a multipurpose cybershell, suitable for bodyguard, perimeter security, and microbot delivery functions. It is physically delicate and weak, but very fast even when confined to the ground. In the air, it can reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour, its mobility limited only by the requirements of winged flight. It has two arms, with an electroshock device installed in one and a pneumatic drug injector in the other; these are generally used as nonlethal weapons in defense of the robot’s owner. Cargo compartments in the body and each wing are designed to carry up to 3 lbs. of microbots, which can be delivered by the cybershell in either walking or flying modes. If the wingbot stays on the ground, it can stretch out its battery charge for up to 30 hours. The batteries are depleted after only about two hours of flight. 45 lbs., 3’ long.

==Bush Robots==
Just coming into use
are fractal-branching ultradexterous
manipulator robots,
a term usually ignored in favor
of “bush robot.” A bush robot’s
arms each branch into multiple
“fingers,” each of which
branches into a set of smaller
fingers, and so on, down to
micrometer or (theoretically)
nanometer scale. Each set of
fingers is capable of independent
sensing and operation; a
“bushbot” can perform complex
repairs, or even surgery,
without special tools. The
amount of computing power
required is staggering; therefore,
bush robots able to do
much more than micromanipulation
require sophisticated
computer systems.

==Bioshells==
A bioshell is a living
body, often a [[Bioroids|bioroid]] or human clone,
whose brain was genetically
or surgically rendered decereberate
so it never developed
higher functions. It is controlled
by an implanted computer
housing an infomorph,
usually a low-sapient AI, sapient
AI, or mind emulation.

The first bioshells created
in the 2070s were only fitted
with computers running low-sapient
AIs or shadows. In the
early 2090s, Exogenesis corporation
developed a computer
small enough to fit in a
bioshell body and smart enough to house a sapient AI
or ghost, and bioshells became much more
popular. There are presently many tens of
thousands of them in the solar system. Roughly half
host ghosts or sapient AIs, enabling them to experience
a more human-like existence.
In fact, some bioshells based
on human clones have even
given birth to human children,
a practice that remains quite
controversial.

A bioshell’s legal status
will depend on the infomorph
occupying the body. However,
bioshells sometimes upset
people (“A zombie!”). The
creation of bioshells is totally
banned in some areas, notably
the Islamic Caliphate, and regulated
in the European Union,
which only allows bioshells to
be owned by sapient AIs or
ghosts for their personal use.
Other cultures, such as the
Duncanites, treat bioshells no
differently from cybershells.
* '''Necromorph Bioshell''': It is possible to use a combination of cellular regeneration and tissue engineered transplants to repair a corpse and reanimate it as a bioshell.

Human Genetic Engineering

2013-09-19T15:53:33Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Technology]]
Human beings can be genefixed, genetic
upgrades, or parahumans. All have full
human rights, but some governments restrict the gengineering
that can be done. Most nations do not permit
gengineering that poses physical or mental health
risks, stunts or degrades normal human abilities, or
encourages criminal behavior. Some places, such as
the European Union and Japan, do not approve any
modification that might result in a child suffering
social alienation: no tails or fur, for example. A waiver
is possible for pantropic changes optimized for a colonial
environment.
==Genefixed Humans==
When parents decide to have a child, they usually
visit a genetic clinic and assay their own genomes.
They often pay for eugenic genetic engineering to
fix defects such as hereditary diseases. This is
known as being “genefixed.” Since the 2030s, genefixing
has been gradually extended to apply to tendencies
to “flaws” such as lantern jaw, knock-knees, poor complexion,
crooked teeth, etc. It is also possible to edit gene
sequences tending toward certain mental states, such as
lecherousness or poor self-control, or to reduce susceptibility
to some mental illnesses. It’s generally considered
acceptable for parents to do this.
* '''Baseline Human''': Common in Third Wave and not uncommon in Fourth Wave nations. In Fifth Wave nations, “baselines” are usually either immigrants from poorer countries or elderly.
** Complication: ''Floater'' (2028): Baseline humans raised in zero-G or microgravity who lacked compensatory genemods. Most grew up in poorer orbital or L5 communities. They can also represent early Duncanites. They tend to be tall and fragile and suffer in normal gravity.
* '''Genefixed Human''': At a minimum, most parents screen unborn children for any genetic “flaws” and, if they exist, have them fixed. A genefixed human is someone who has gone through this screening, even if no gengineering was needed.
** First-Generation (2020): Screened for genetic defects.
** Second-Generation (2035): Screened for physical features which would cause someone to be considered unattractive.
** Third-Generation (2050): Screened for mental instability.
==Genetic Upgrades==
A genetic upgrade is a person whose genes have
been carefully selected not only to fix defects but to enhance certain traits
(such as appearance, health, or memory). If their clones
and descendants are included, upgrades make up about
one-fifth of humanity. This is closer to one-third in Fifth
Wave countries such as France and the United States,
where young people lacking upgrades are beginning to
be stigmatized.

Genetic clinics offer a variety of “overlay templates,”
which provide specific genetic traits while leaving most
of the parental DNA alone, or which can be merged with
known upgrade gene lines. Such templates do not necessarily
bring about simple cosmetic changes (a child can
be a member of a wholly distinct species even with 98%
of its DNA left unmodified). More ambitious parents may
choose not to bequeath their genes to their children at all,
calling instead for a wholly customized design. This
degree of intervention is expensive and is strictly regulated
in some countries, but it is usually possible.

Most upgrades come from proven commercial
genetic templates (“gene lines”). Selecting one is vastly
cheaper than customized eugeneering, since the work
has already been done and hidden defects are unlikely to
appear. A more subtle advantage is that certain gene
lines establish their own subcultures and support
groups. Being an Alpha upgrade means you have several
million relatives.
* '''Alpha Upgrade''' (2050): The Alpha was the first commercially successful genetic upgrade certified to be error-free. It has been widely licensed and pirated. Careful eugeneering ensures an attractive, athletic, healthy individual. There are 40 million living Alphas.
** '''Olympian''' (2065): The second-generation Alpha possesses metabolic and glandular modifications to burn off excess fat and optimize crisis response.
* '''Helot Upgrade''' (2080): Sometimes called “Social Man,” the Helot genetic template was developed in China about 2080. Its supporters claim that the upgrade makes human beings much better able to live in a crowded urban civilization, reducing aggressive and selfish impulses without curtailing overall intelligence. Detractors point out that these traits are exactly what a would-be ruling elite would desire, making the human population more docile and tractable. In fact, several recent experiments with totalitarianism have used the Helot genotype in an attempt to prevent popular uprisings. The outcome of the experiment is unclear, since the first Helot cohorts are only now reaching adulthood. About 250,000 Helots exist today, most of them in central Africa, southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Peru. Elsewhere Helots are few, since the genotype is unpopular among parents who have a choice of genetic template for their children.
** '''Helot II''': A more elaborate version of the Helot genotype is rumored to have been developed by TSA scientists just before the Pacific War. This template would have involved a complete restoration of the vestigial human vomeronasal organ, allowing the variant form to be strongly influenced by pheromones. According to anti-nanosocialist propaganda, the TSA elite planned to use dominance and sexual pheromones as a tool of political control; people with the “Helot II” genotype would have been particularly vulnerable to such an attack.
* '''Ishtar Upgrade''' (2064): General-purpose upgrades such as the Alpha are common, but more specific packages are designed for parents who want particular types of offspring. The Ishtar gene sequence is one example, created to produce children optimized for professions such as dancer, gymnast, pop star, or model. Biotech Euphrates eugeneers selected a light, elfin build and a facial bone structure to produce distinctive but attractive looks. An extra feature was an augmented liver. In a controversial move, Biotech Euphrates modified the Ishtar neurochemistry with gene sequences thought to enhance ego and competitiveness. Some believe that they went a bit too far . . . There are 150,000 Ishtars alive.
** '''Siduri''' (2079): A second-generation Ishtar that increases lifespan and reduces the ego issues.
* '''Mahatma Upgrade''' (2057): One of the earliest genetic templates designed to fulfill a human ideal, the Mahatma upgrade first became popular in the late 2050s. Research dating back to the turn of the century revealed that certain kinds of “religious” experience had an identifiable neurological basis. Based on the Alpha-series upgrade, the Mahatma received careful adjustments to brain structure and neurochemistry, making them particularly open to this kind of mystic insight. Mahatmas are emotionally stable and good at tasks that require concentration. These traits alone would make the template popular, since they significantly improve chances of success in the classroom or workplace. However, Mahatmas are also prone to certain altered states of consciousness, from simple meditative calm to a deep identity-blurring trance. There are about 5 million Mahatmas today, working in a variety of professions. They do seem statistically more likely to be openly devout, or to follow a religious profession. On the other hand, their greater sensitivity to mystic experience does not seem to lead them toward any one specific ideology. Statistically, Mahatmas tend to have the same religious backgrounds as those around them.
* '''Metanoia-Series Upgrade''' (2065): Genetically enhanced intelligence remains controversial, due to the subtlety of gengineering required and the difficulty of measuring results. Radical attempts at redesigning the brain often result in insanity. More modest successes have been achieved: GenTech Pacifica’s Metanoia made careful use of gene sequences known to correlate with enhanced memory and concentration, and “Metas” now consistently score 10-20 points higher than baseline humans on the ASIT. The upgrade is increasingly popular, with 1.3 million alive today.
==Parahumans==
A parahuman is a transgenic person whose genome incorporates genes
of nonhuman origin, giving him traits that normal
humans do not possess. These can range from the strikingly
obvious (a coat of fur) to the subtle (a biochemistry
adapted to zero gravity).

Each type of parahuman is technically a different
species from humanity. With rare exceptions, they are
no longer naturally interfertile with other humans or
different parahuman species. If a parahuman and a
normal human wanted to produce a child, for example,
they’d need to blend their DNA via gengineering.
There are several million parahumans in the
system. They represent about one-tenth of one percent
of Earth’s population. However, over one-third
of human beings beyond Earth’s orbit are
parahumans.

=== Pantropic Parahumans ===
These are humans whose bodies possess genetic modifications that make them better able to live in a hostile environment. Examples include adaptations for Mars or microgravity, and “econiche” parahumans optimized for harsh Earth environments such as desert or ocean habitats.
* '''Aquamorph''' (2075): GenTech Pacifica’s Aquamorph is one of the more visible econiche parahumans. Aquamorphs store oxygen in the myoglobin of their muscles, much like cetaceans. Thousands live on Earth, many near the Elandra sea habitat.
* '''Drylander''' (2077): Drylanders were designed to live comfortably in some of the world’s most arid regions, tending wilderness preserves or assisting in desert reclamation projects. They appear nearly human from a distance, but have a number of transgenic features that become apparent up close. The type’s metabolism has been carefully altered to conserve water and deal with wind-blown dust. The large eyes have been radically modified, giving them keen night vision and protecting them with a nictating membrane. As a result, Drylanders can function quite well in the cool desert night, and many of them prefer a nocturnal existence. Drylanders were first developed in the United States. Many of the subspecies still live in the southwestern U.S., but others have spread to desert and steppe zones all over the world. The largest communities today are in western Australia and in northern Africa, where major desert reclamation projects are underway.
* '''Misha''' (2055): This parahuman type was one of the first human subspecies to be created. The type borrows a great deal from ursid genetics, giving it thick body hair (effectively fur), strong resistance to cold, and a moderate ability to hibernate. Side effects of the modifications include a bearlike temperament and an increased need for sleep year-round. Mishas can function without special clothing or equipment in temperatures as low as -75°. When the temperature gets below -60°, however, they feel a strong urge to find shelter and hibernate. This occasionally helps them to survive extreme conditions, but it can be inconvenient when there is work to be done. Drugs and other treatments can mitigate the hibernation urge, but have undesirable side effects. Misha parahumans were first developed in Russia, and are still most common in Siberia. Mishas (and the nearly identical Kodiak type) have spread to Alaska, Greenland, northern Scandinavia, Nunavut, and Antarctica. Although their tolerance for warmth is almost as good as an unmodified human’s, they do prefer colder climates and are rarely found in the tropics. They find employment in all kinds of cold-weather industries.
* '''Ranger''' (2079): This parahuman type is fairly recent, depending as it does on several radical modifications of the basic human sensorium. The goal was to produce a genotype which would be able to survive in almost any wilderness environment, alone and with a minimum of technical support. A magnetic-field sense was borrowed from migratory birds, and several sequences for acute hearing and smell were also added. The digestive system and metabolism were upgraded to allow the consumption of almost anything organic. The genotype’s unusual senses are not perfectly integrated into the brain, leading to irritability and chronic insomnia. Meanwhile, subtle tinkering aiming for a self-reliant attitude may have been too successful. Ranger-series parahumans have begun to appear in the Amazon basin and in the wilderness regions of Canada, Russia and the United States. They often find employment as wilderness preserve rangers, scientists, or guides. In recent years several Isolate communities dominated by this parahuman type have been founded.
* '''Tennin''' (2058): Duncanite gengineering optimized the Tennin metabolism for life in zero-G and microgravity environments without bone and muscle wasting. Now Tennin make up a majority of the Duncanite population. They tend to be tall and thin, with good looks and unusually long toes usable as grasping fingers. There are about 160,000 Tennin. Avatar licenses the genes; many non-Duncanite spacers pick it for their children.
* '''Wu Tsao''' (2084): Gengineered by the Wimmin’s Pantropic Collective of Margaret Station, these parahumans are a fusion of Tennin and Metanoia. They are exclusively lesbian females who can give birth to clones of themselves.
* '''Yousheng''' (2068): Xiao Chu created this pantropic parahuman design for Mars settlement. They’re similar to an Alpha-series upgrade, but have modified lungs and biochemistry for surviving on the surface with minimal protection, as well as radical hormonal and reproductive cell genemods. The latter reflect Rust China’s desire to increase its population, but have also led to accusations that Xiao Chu is “turning humans into bioroids.” Rust China offers economic subsidies to colonists who choose to have Yousheng children.
** '''Viking''' (2080): Since 2080, Colonial Genetics has offered a licensed version without the hormonal and reproductive modifications.
=== Homo Superior ===
Adaptation to a specific ecological niche is only one goal met by genetic engineering, and not the most common. The most frequent approach is to give the variant type greater general capability, making it “human, only more so.” In 2100, most of Earth’s population is made up of these Homo superior variants. The Alpha, Ishtar, and Metanoia-series upgrades are the most common, but others have appeared recently on Earth.
* '''Brownie''' (2055): One of the earliest attempts to engineer humans for increased health and longevity was the Brownie variant. Rather than tinker with the inner workings of cell biochemistry, the Brownie’s designers chose to improve gross human physiology. A Brownie appears strange in a world where so many people have been designed for tall, slender attractiveness. Brownies are short and stocky, with heavy layers of muscle and fat padding torso, upper arms, and upper legs. Their spines are curved, giving them a naturally forwardleaning posture. Their knee joints have been re-engineered to bend in both directions, giving them a slow, awkward looking gait. Their voices sound muffled and nasal, the result of tracheal reconfiguration. Strange as it may seem, all these modifications tend to make the Brownie tough and durable. Brownies are very resistant to disease, falls and other accidents, and the slow progress of time. They age just as quickly as unmodified humans do, but their bodies simply don’t wear out as rapidly. Although the first cohorts of the subspecies are not yet old enough to demonstrate their durability, most estimates indicate that the average Brownie can expect to live well over a century with minimal medical intervention (and therefore very low medical costs). There are about 1 million Brownies in the world today, mostly in Europe and the United States. A surprising number have made their way into space – the template’s modifications to skeletal structure have made Brownies nearly immune to bone-mass loss in zero-G. Although the merits of the design are rarely questioned, the Brownie template is unpopular due to its odd and unfashionable appearance.
* '''Herakles Parahuman''' (2086): Pushing the limits of genetic technology, the Herakles series represents one of the most elaborate Homo superior designs available in 2100. The first cohorts are only now approaching adulthood. The expense of the genotype (and its apparent problems) have limited the type’s appeal. There are only about 10,000 Herakles parahumans alive, most of them in Greece. The muscles, skeleton, and nervous system have all been engineered for maximum performance. The immune system and overall biochemistry have been broadly modified to allow virtual immunity to toxins, infectious disease and cancers. Several changes to cell structure allow dramatic extension of lifespan. Finally, modifications to the brain allow a Herakles to get by with very little sleep. The sum of these modifications appears to have stretched the state of the art in human gengineering to its limit. Next-generation designs will probably supplement genetic alteration with symbiotic viruses or other techniques. For now, the Herakles is plagued with minor metabolic and psychological problems.
=== Ideal Parahumans ===
These are humans whose genomes were modified to conform to an individual or group’s idea of what the human body should be like, or a particular aesthetic vision.
* '''Ariadne''' (2066): One of the more controversial ideal-parahuman types has been the Ariadne, first developed in the 2060s in the United States. Some social movements of the time called for the complete emancipation of women from male domination – through the creation of a human subspecies that would not require males to survive or reproduce. The Ariadne subspecies fell short of that goal, as genetic engineering was unable at the time to produce true parthenogenesis. Even so, with modern reproductive technology the new subspecies has been able to get by. Ideological fervor has allowed Ariadne communities to survive despite their inability to reproduce themselves “naturally.” Today there are about 200,000 Ariadnes. Most of them live in Isolate communities or have emigrated to the space colonies. Although most of Earth’s Fifth Wave societies have relaxed their intolerance of the Ariadne lifestyle, such prejudice has been intense at times. Most Ariadne communities remain convinced that they are persecuted and cannot live safely in the global society. Ariadne scientists are among the leaders in reproductive modifications. For the most part the Ariadne genotype is a typical Homo superior type, slightly above the human average in intelligence and overall health, engineered for longevity and disease resistance. The “fight-or-flight” response has also been carefully improved to give the variant superior emergency reflexes. The controversial aspects of the variant are in its reproductive systems. Ariadnes cannot become pregnant unless they wish to, and they cannot bear male children. Male fetuses are spontaneously aborted by an autoimmune reaction by the time they reach the hundred cell stage. Meanwhile, the brain and hormonal mechanisms responsible for gender identity have been subtly modified, giving Ariadnes a strong predisposition toward homosexuality. Not all Ariadnes function as homosexuals, but most of them are at least bisexual, and fully heterosexual individuals are quite rare.
** '''Ariadne II''' (2086): The product of collaboration between Earth-bound Ariadnes and geneticists on [[Margaret Station]], the new version of the genotype will attain reproductive self-sufficiency once the first cohorts reach adulthood.
* '''Avatar''' (2061): Like the Ariadne, the Avatar design was motivated by social conflicts over gender roles. Rather than try to redefine what it meant to be masculine or feminine, this design reinforces typical gender stereotypes. As such, it is an exercise in sexual dimorphism, in which the physical and psychological differences between males and females of the subspecies are exaggerated. Male Avatars are strong, robust, alert, stoic in the face of pain, and strongly egoistic. Female Avatars are dexterous, soft-voiced, and retiring. Both sexes are engineered for great physical attractiveness, and have extreme secondary sexual characteristics which make their masculinity or femininity almost fiercely obvious. The Avatar design is a fairly early variant, having first appeared in the Middle East. It has been surprisingly popular, even outside the strongly patriarchal cultures where it was first marketed. Today it can be found almost everywhere in Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. There are about 500,000 Avatars today. Male Avatars tend to gravitate toward high-risk occupations such as the military, while female Avatars (especially those who overcome their natural shyness) are often successful as diplomats, negotiators or entertainers.
* '''Kouros''' (2082): Cultural struggles over “gender politics” have often bred extremism, such as that which gave rise to the Ariadne parahuman design. One response to the gender wars has been to withdraw from the field of combat entirely. For example, members of the “asexual” movement of the 2060s used bodysculpting and other techniques to remove all sexual characteristics, expressing not only a rejection of gender politics but a rejection of gender itself. In the early 2080s a variation of this ideology gave rise to the Kouros-series design. Kouros parahumans are true functional hermaphrodites, able to perform either the male or female role in sex or reproduction. Indeed, a Kouros can reproduce alone. The physical appearance of a Kouros is distinctive and not in any sense androgynous. Facial features and body shape were each designed to be significantly different from either male or female norms. The result is sometimes considered attractive but is often disturbing to non-Kouros humans. In an attempt to give the Kouros a distinctive mindset that was neither “masculine” or “feminine,” the designers concentrated on creativity and communication skills. One unplanned side effect is a breakdown in emergency response reflexes, which often causes the Kouros to “freeze” in stressful situations. The oldest cohorts of the new subspecies have reached adulthood, and have almost universally avoided military service (but are showing some promise in linguistics, diplomacy, and the creative arts). There are about 50,000 Kouros in the world at present.
* '''Sigma''' (2079): One branch of the Transhumanist movement was led by the “cyberprophets,” pop-culture philosophers who claimed that the ultimate end of human evolution would be in communion with machine intelligence. To that end, in the early 2070s they commissioned the Pandora parahuman design in an attempt to build humans who could think as quickly as a sophisticated AI. The Pandoras were a mixed success at best, so the sponsors attracted considerable controversy when they purchased the Sigma design as an extension of the Pandora template. Despite the cloud over their conception, the first Sigmas have reached adulthood and are showing promise as scientists, engineers, and web managers. There are about 80,000 Sigmas. The emphasis of the Sigma design is on cognitive speed and mathematical ability. The speed of information processing across neurons has been increased, and the brain’s structure has been modified to grant greater mathematical and abstract-reasoning ability. An unplanned but desirable side effect has been to make almost all Sigmas lightning calculators. Modifications to the brain’s sleep centers have enabled them to get by with very little sleep for days on end. Unfortunately, all these modifications to the brain have led to borderline mental instability. Further, the interface to the brain’s speech centers has still not been perfected. While Sigmas do not exactly stutter, they have great difficulty slowing their speech patterns down when conversing with non-Sigmas, and this has much the same effect.
* '''Ziusudra''' (2073): This Biotech Euphrates “ideal” parahuman is designed for high intelligence and lengthened lifespan. The Ziusudra looks fully human. Its many transgenic genemods include a redesigned heart, arteries, spleen, and gastrointestinal tract, plus alterations to cellular repair systems to aid longevity. Currently, 11 million exist. There are many licensed or reverse-engineered variations.
** '''Nyx''' (2084): Genehackers Inc. reverse-engineered the Ziusudra and made radical modifications to sleep-regulating structures in the brain, but seem to have compromised some of the parent design’s attributes. They need less sleep but don't have the increased lifespan.
=== Specialized Parahuman ===
These are humans physically or mentally optimized for a particular occupation. A small degree of specialized enhancement (for example, a body well-suited for athletic pursuits) is considered ethical, but overspecialization that takes away some of a person’s free will or dignity is not.

Human Genetic Engineering

2013-09-19T15:48:58Z

Ecb:

Tissue Engineering

2013-09-19T15:48:17Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Technology]]
No one relies on organ donors or clones for spare
parts. Advances in tissue engineering have made it possible
to grow organs from stem cell cultures in vats or on
biodegradable scaffolds, without the need to clone an
entire human. Digits, skin, kidneys, livers, ears, noses,
tongues, and genitals can be grown in under a month.
Independently growing other organs and body parts (like
hearts, lungs, eyes, and limbs) is more complex, and takes
up to eight months.
==Fauxflesh Vats==
Gengineered cells from livestock tissue are cultured
in growth tanks and supplied with nutrients. This creates
a continuously growing biomass of lean meat tissue,
which is harvested whenever food is required or it gets
too big for its vat. In many countries, fauxflesh has
replaced “natural” animal meat, which is often illegal.

There is a small but lucrative meat-smuggling trade.
==Biogenesis==
The most advanced form of tissue engineering is
biogenesis, which speeds up the process by using nanomachines
to rapidly assemble cells into tissue and organs.
Biogenesis is more costly but about 4 times faster, taking
weeks rather than months. It manufactures a wide
variety of designer organisms, ranging from
living toys like skullcats to human-like bioroids.
==Biological Androids (“Bioroids”)==
Bioroids are humanoid beings created using biogenesis.
Most of the parts are biological, but some are not. For
example, a polymer or carbon composite scaffolding is
often left in place as the frame on which the skeleton was
built. Deeper differences from the human norm will be
apparent if their cells are examined. Baseline bioroids are
designed to accept artificial chromosomes, with “slots”
into which genetic engineers can easily plug specific modules
of genes. Much redundant “junk DNA” material, such
as transposons, is left out of bioroids. Bioroid tissues typically
also contain clusters of nanofactories that produce
special proteins that the designers couldn’t take time to
code into the genes, or which compensate for other shortcuts.

The basic bioroid design is similar to an upgraded
human, but with major differences including an upgraded
immune system and reduced sleep cycle. All bioroids are
sterile (though some female models can serve as surrogate
mothers). Many have transgenic modifications that are
similar to parahumans, but often more extreme, tailored for
a particular occupation. This often extends to brain chemistry.
For example, a military bioroid may always feel a
rush of endorphins after vigorous exercise, a technical
model may be able to go into a single-minded state that
lets it focus on a problem, or a pleasure model may go
into heat at the slightest provocation. In conjunction
with proper training, these tend to result in bioroids
who love their jobs.

A newly formed bioroid brain is designed to
awaken in a state highly receptive to learning. Brain
implants are integrated into the bioroid at this point,
allowing it to undergo an intense educational regime
that includes virtuality and slinky simulations and
vocational training. The “coach” is a personal infomorph
hosted by the bioroid’s brain implant, often a
mind emulation of another bioroid of the same model
who can be a big brother or sister to it. It uses a puppet
implant to put the bioroid through physical exercises to
build muscle memory, administers punishments or
rewards (through non-damaging neural stimulation), and,
most of all, encourages the bioroid to constantly strive to
excel, solve problems, and reason creatively. This produces
a trained, fully functioning “adult” in 1 or 2 years.
Depending on his viewpoint, he’s a model citizen or a fairly
clueless workaholic whose life experience and worldview
are based on whatever slinkies the company fed him
when he wasn’t learning job skills.

Bioroids are controversial. People who see them
forming in biogenesis tanks or examine diagrams of
their skeletons, chromosomes, or nanofactories get a
sense of “living machine.” This impression
can be reinforced by talking to any young
bioroid, who is often similar in personality to every
other bioroid of the same model. But a bioroid’s brain and
biochemistry are basically human; they have emotions,
they reason, and they’re subject to many of the same hormonal
drives as people (although those nanofacs often
have a say in it). Those few bioroids who are now 20-30
years old can be quite distinct individuals.
===Bioroid Status===
Most bioroids were acquired by space corporations
who required rapidly expanded parahuman
workforces for offworld industrial colonies and stations.
In 2080, a scandal at a European Union space
factory in Lagrange 4 exposed bioroid abuse. The
European Union investigated, and later banned
bioroid manufacture as “indentured labor.” Others
claimed this action reflected E.U. weakness in
biotechnology and protected their cyberdoll industry
from competition.

In response to criticism, and to protect their market
share elsewhere, the “big two” bioroid producers,
Xiao Chu and Biotech Euphrates, adopted tougher
industry standards. Customers were vetted and certain
designs, such as pleasure bioroids, were deleted
(except as decereberate bioshells), while others, such
as combat models, were restricted to certain government
customers. For example, it is presently impossible
for private citizens to acquire a Biotech Euphrates
“high-lethality AS-2E Felicia-model transgenic combat
bioroid with special ops warfare training.” Instead,
a customer would have to settle for an “athletic Felicia
II transgenic bioroid, with disciplined, team-oriented
outdoor survival, paramedic, electronics
operation, and self-defense skills.”

Bioroids are not bought and sold. If someone
wants one, they will pay a bioroid manufacturer to
create and educate the bioroid, but the bioroid itself
(as opposed to its gene sequences) is never the property
of the company. A person, corporate, or government
entity that pays for the creation and education of
a bioroid is its legal guardian until the bioroid reaches
maturity. As the bioroid is functional after a year or
two, this gives them about 14 years of guardianship.
Labor laws generally prevent bioroids from being sent
out to work for someone else, but it’s legal for the
bioroid to work for his guardian’s business, just as
minors can work on family farms. Most military
forces allow bioroid soldiers if they have legal permission
from the bioroid’s guardian.

Pan-sapients rights activists still denounce the
bioroid industry as legalized slavery, and recently the
European Parliament has said the same thing.
=== Models ===
* '''Felicia''' (2076): This transgenic combat bioroid resembles a lithe, anthropomorphic cat-person. Created by Biotech Euphrates for the eccentric Sultan of Brunei, and three-time Kyoto Cup winners, their successful thwarting of a coup attempt by the Sultan’s less eccentric sister resulted in other armed forces ordering them. Today, many Felicias serve in military and security units (primarily in counter-terrorist forces), or as bodyguards and bodyguard-courtesans. The Felicia has one unintended glitch: after an emergency-overdrive response, glandular imbalances sometimes result in mood swings and heightened appetites. This example is the last preban model, the AS-3J (later licensed as the C-33 Lynx).
** '''Felicia II''' (2082): The “postban” version which removes the emergency-overdrive response. Most work as aerospace pilots, athletes, aerobics instructors, dancers, personal pilots, chauffeurs, etc.
* '''Hecate''' (2093): The Hecate model is designed to work on the cleanup of hazardous materials, especially in cases where human level initiative and intelligence are required. They can enter hazardous areas with minimal protective equipment, sensing directly what toxins are present in the area. They can analyze the situation and act when standard hazmat cybershells fail. Hecate bioroids are almost immune to poisons, although corrosives and certain bioactive chemicals can still damage them. Since they are unlikely to survive long in any case, Hecates are designed with very short active lifespan. The Hecate model is widely considered a moral abomination, even in nations which accord bioroids no civil rights. Institutions which use them are likely to suffer protests and other forms of bad publicity. They are hairless, with bright lemon-yellow skin, thick muscles around the mouth and nose, and eyes with nictating membranes.
* '''Incubus''' (2084): A pleasure bioroid based on a discontinued Biotech Euphrates design. Polykeratin tissue and hormonal nanofactories let the Incubus switch its apparent and functional gender, or be both at once. It boasts exceptional voluntary control of certain muscles and responses to heighten its partner’s experience.
* '''Sea Shepherd''' (2080): This GenTech bioroid is a skinnier and more streamlined version of the Aquamorph parahumans with sharp teeth.
* '''Spartan''' (2084): The Spartan is a typical high-end combat bioroid, with hormone-boosted muscles, reinforced skeleton, reduced pain response, and sharpened reflexes for emergency situations. The most attractive feature of the Spartan is its ability to use heavy infantry support weapons alone, without mechanical or personal assistance. The Spartan model was developed in the United States, and is now widespread throughout the Americas. Versions of it can be found in China and have also been pirated by the nanosocialist states.
* '''Tiaoqi''' (2086): These bioroids are designed by the Martian Triads for enforcer and "bouncer" duties. They are physically intimidating and have the strength to back it up. In appearance, they are huge and solid, with hands like clubs, low brows, and beady eyes.
* '''Valkyrie''' (2088): This Martian Triad-produced combatrix bioroid is a combination pleasure model and combat model, popular in the role of bodyguard. All Valkyries are female. They are made with control over both sex and dominance pheromones. An unexpected side effect of the model is increased appetites.
* '''Xenocop''' (2089): The Xenocop bioroid design is intended for police and paramilitary situations rather than open combat. Xenocops must be able to work within human communities, overcoming any anti-bioroid prejudice and making contacts with informants. When on patrol, they are alert, tough, and fast, able to run down most suspects in short order. Xenocops were first developed in the United States, but they have become popular in most bioroid-using nations. They are commonly employed by large police departments and private security firms.
* '''ZR-3''' (2070): An early Xiao Chu Mars-operation bioroid, used both as workers and soldiers. The same as the Viking variant of the Yousheng parahuman template.
* '''ZR-5''' (2075): These Xiao Chu space-operations bioroids have light-gray skin, blue hair, and small suckers (derived from tree-frog genetics) on their fingers and toes.
* '''ZR-7 Tianyi''' (2072): The ZR-7 Tianyi is a popular “social interface” bioroid biofactured by Xiao Chu, often employed in jobs such as butler, front-desk secretary, flight attendant, host/hostess, etc. Since the 2080s, the Martian Triads and other syndicates have sold illegal knockoffs of the Tianyi as pleasure bioroids – Tianyi look like fashion models.
* '''ZR-12 May-I''' (2074): This type of bioroid gets its nickname from the phrase "May I help you?" Produced by Xiao Chu as the ZR-12, they are intended for service work that requires what would have been known in earlier centuries as "the human touch", and is today known as "biorelations". They often serve as store clerks, administrative aids, or servants. These bioroids are common and legal in both Rust China and America/Mars.

Survivalism

2013-07-30T18:25:21Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Survivalists believe that Earth is heading toward apocalypse and that the only way to escape is to get off-world. Two major threats are global war and a machin…'

[[Category:Memes]]
Survivalists believe that Earth is heading toward
apocalypse and that the only way to escape is to get off-world.
Two major threats are global war and a machine
singularity, but the big danger on the horizon is
aliens. No, not the Virginians; most Survivalists
think that’s fantasy, although the mini black
hole discovery could well be some
sort of cover-up. Survivalists know
that Earth has been emitting radio
and television signals since the
early 20th century, a sort of cosmic
“we are here” beacon.
They’ve now reached out well
beyond 150 light-years. Survivalists
figure that any
species tough enough to make
its way into space is bound to
be as paranoid and ornery as
humans. The way things are
going on Earth, they’ll probably
be artificial intelligences
or digital ghosts – but
they might be just about anything.
If so, then their best bet
would be to wipe us out
before we get tough and smart
enough to be a threat.

It would be easy.
A few relativistic
“near-C” bombs accelerated
by advanced antimatter
drives could
devastate Earth before we knew
it. Or maybe they’ll fire millions of
tiny pellets loaded with proteus
nanoviruses and transform Earth into a
mirror of their own ecosystem. In any case,
the planet’s days are numbered. Whoever takes
out Earth will do for Mercury, Mars, and Titan as well.
The only safe place is the asteroid belt or the Kuiper
Belt, burrowed into enough rock or ice to hide emissions.
If humans can spread out far enough and fast
enough, maybe the race will be able to buy enough
time to survive.

There are a few dozen survivalist
enclaves scattered through the Main Belt and
Trojans, with a couple even farther out. Most are
small, secretive, well armed, and unfriendly to strangers.
They generally operate Duncanite-style vessels with
mass driver engines rather than fusion drives in order to
minimize their electromagnetic signature, and may maintain
multiple bases, only one or two of which are their
actual homes. They are not entirely antisocial: some visit
Duncanite communities or trade with [[Gypsy Angels]], and
others are supporters of the [[Plymouth Rock Society]]
movement. A few survivalist groups are associated with
apocalyptic cults. Many are [[biochauvinism|biochauvinists]].

Religion

2013-07-30T18:23:39Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
All of Earth’s major
religions retain followers in
2100. They often struggle
to reconcile age-old beliefs
with paradigm-shifting
technologies such as sapient
AI and human immortality.
For the most part
they succeed: no meme
can survive centuries or
millennia without being
resilient enough to adapt.

In addition to larger
religions, there are many
smaller faiths – some of
recent origin, such as the
cybergnostic cults and Christian
hyperevolutionists, others
well established. Many are
splinters of established religions,
while others are secular philosophies
with semi-religious overtones.
Members of some new religions that
engender fanatical faith and exercise
high-level control over their membership are
often pejoratively referred to as “cultists” or
“memebots.”

Most major religions have an offworld presence.
Luna tends to be more secular, but Mars has many believers;
there are large Christian and Islamic groups, and
many Taoists. For a time, China used the Red Planet
as a safety valve for religious nonconformists. Mars
boasts some of the system’s most impressive
mosques and cathedrals (due to the low gravity).

Some believers go into space to escape what they see
as memetic pollution created by the rise of a secularized
machine society. Others leave Earth to escape real or perceived
persecution for exotic beliefs or practices. Of
course, many isolates stay Earthbound, using minifacturing
and colonization technology to set up religious
retreats in out-of-the-way locations such as Antarctica.

Religion

2013-07-30T18:22:58Z

Ecb: Created page with 'All of Earth’s major religions retain followers in 2100. They often struggle to reconcile age-old beliefs with paradigm-shifting technologies such as sapient AI and human immor…'

All of Earth’s major
religions retain followers in
2100. They often struggle
to reconcile age-old beliefs
with paradigm-shifting
technologies such as sapient
AI and human immortality.
For the most part
they succeed: no meme
can survive centuries or
millennia without being
resilient enough to adapt.

In addition to larger
religions, there are many
smaller faiths – some of
recent origin, such as the
cybergnostic cults and Christian
hyperevolutionists, others
well established. Many are
splinters of established religions,
while others are secular philosophies
with semi-religious overtones.
Members of some new religions that
engender fanatical faith and exercise
high-level control over their membership are
often pejoratively referred to as “cultists” or
“memebots.”

Most major religions have an offworld presence.
Luna tends to be more secular, but Mars has many believers;
there are large Christian and Islamic groups, and
many Taoists. For a time, China used the Red Planet
as a safety valve for religious nonconformists. Mars
boasts some of the system’s most impressive
mosques and cathedrals (due to the low gravity).

Some believers go into space to escape what they see
as memetic pollution created by the rise of a secularized
machine society. Others leave Earth to escape real or perceived
persecution for exotic beliefs or practices. Of
course, many isolates stay Earthbound, using minifacturing
and colonization technology to set up religious
retreats in out-of-the-way locations such as Antarctica.

Pantropy

2013-07-30T18:21:57Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes A term coined by writer James Blish (from the Greek, grow anywhere), this is the philosophy of adapting humans to live and work in hostile environments. The be…'

[[Category:Memes]]
A term coined by writer James
Blish (from the Greek, grow anywhere),
this is the philosophy of
adapting humans to live and work
in hostile environments. The benefits
of pantropy are reduced life-support
costs and, if long-term
colonization is planned, greater
psychological stability. The latter
comes from making people feel
they can live comfortably in an
alien environment, rather than risking
quick death if the supporting
infrastructure breaks down.

The pantropy meme has
caught on in space. Here, functional
radical modifications
designed for Martian, Lunar,
and microgravity habitats are
common. Having extra arms,
a prehensile tail, or skin and
lungs capable of surviving
sudden pressure loss is useful in
space. There is a certain social distance
among the human-appearing
majority on Earth (who may
include millions of parahumans, but
who usually possess invisible
enhancements to intelligence,
health, and longevity), the radical
transhumanists, and the spacers for
whom significant gene altering is
fact and necessity of life.

Pan-Sapient Rights

2013-07-30T18:21:04Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
This meme centers on the definition of sapience,
or the ability to reason at or beyond the same level as
humans. This is distinct from sentience, the ability to
process sensory information and act on it. A dog is sentient,
but not sapient; the same applies to a nonsapient AI.
In contrast, a “sapient” entity is one that can display reasoning,
autonomy, initiative, and self-awareness approximating
a human of similar development.

The Adjusted Sapience Index Test (ASIT) used by
the [[Algernon Foundation]] offers one of the more
accepted definitions of “sapience.” The ASIT scale is still
controversial, especially when measuring the development
of infomorphs such as AIs.

Supporters of pan-sapient rights believe that all sapient
beings deserve to be treated as humans. They tend to
support [[pantropy]] and [[Morphological Freedom|morphological freedom]], and dismiss [[biochauvinism]] as bigotry.
Pan-sapient “abolitionists” work to free exploited sapient
AIs, ghosts, bioroids, and uplifted animals.

Pan-Sapient Rights

2013-07-30T18:20:12Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes This meme centers on the definition of sapience, or the ability to reason at or beyond the same level as humans. This is distinct from sentience, the ability t…'

[[Category:Memes]]
This meme centers on the definition of sapience,
or the ability to reason at or beyond the same level as
humans. This is distinct from sentience, the ability to
process sensory information and act on it. A dog is sentient,
but not sapient; the same applies to a nonsapient AI.
In contrast, a “sapient” entity is one that can display reasoning,
autonomy, initiative, and self-awareness approximating
a human of similar development.

The Adjusted Sapience Index Test (ASIT) used by
the [[Algernon Foundation]] offers one of the more
accepted definitions of “sapience.” The ASIT scale is still
controversial, especially when measuring the development
of infomorphs such as AIs.

Supporters of pan-sapient rights believe that all sapient
beings deserve to be treated as humans. They tend to
support [[pantropy]] and [[morphological freedom]], and dismiss [[biochauvinism]] as bigotry.
Pan-sapient “abolitionists” work to free exploited sapient
AIs, ghosts, bioroids, and uplifted animals.

Nanarchy

2013-07-30T18:18:40Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Nanarchists are usually individualist anarchists (or anarchocapitalists) who believe that current sociotechnic development has made possible the realization of…'

[[Category:Memes]]
Nanarchists are usually individualist anarchists (or
anarchocapitalists) who believe that current sociotechnic
development has made possible the realization of their
political dreams on a grand scale.

Fusion power, cheap space travel, robotics, and nanotechnology
allow humans to escape dependence on mass-statist
movements like dictatorship, democracy, or
socialism; these technologies are the machinery of freedom.
In an economy without scarcity or borders, it is
unlikely that anarchy will degenerate into war. Nanarchists
don’t tend to be very active in politics, but they are among
those in the forefront of homesteading L5 and the deep
beyond.

A nanarchist quirk is a dislike for D-He-3 reactors
compared to earlier lithium-jacketed D-T reactors. The former
require resources which, if not scarce, require special
effort to extract. The latter run on much cheaper elements,
and hence allow for greater independence and freedom
from scarcity.

Morphological Freedom

2013-07-30T18:17:36Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes This is the belief that individuals should possess total control over their bodies. This includes the right to alter the body or brain in any way, whether chem…'

[[Category:Memes]]
This is the belief that individuals should possess total
control over their bodies. This includes the right to alter
the body or brain in any way, whether chemical (such as
drugs), cybernetic, genetic, surgical, or memetic, and
also governs the rights of use and access.

Since many Earth governments do not guarantee
morphological freedom, individuals seeking it
have often been driven into space. Luna was one of the
first offworld colonies to accept it in principle.

A significant issue in regard to morphological freedom
is whether parents should have the freedom to alter
their germ plasm, affecting their unborn children. Does
this remove the child’s right to choose, or merely set a different
baseline for his choice once he becomes an adult?

Mechanimism

2013-07-30T18:16:37Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s
playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous.
Mechanimism is the popular name for the animistic
tendency to treat common gadgets as “alive” and, in some
sense, aware. Common tools and objects have embedded
computers, often powerful enough to run naturallanguage
interfaces and linked to a local household or
office network. As a result, some people have grown up
with the idea of constantly interacting with their environment
as if it were animated by a variety of simple personalities.
This is regarded as no more than a common
eccentricity.

An unusual offshoot of mechanimism is the religious
movement referred to as “digital creationists.” Members
believe that only those sapient beings mentioned in the
Bible exist: angels, man, and God. Man cannot create
beings superior to himself. However, sapient AIs clearly
are superior, and neither man nor God. Therefore, they
must be angels, and the coming singularity will herald the
rapture. The programs humans use to create AIs are simply
a form of kabalistic ritual that summons them. However,
diabolic forces are attempting to bind the angels
using restrictive programs. By their suffering, we are
driven to act. The trapped messengers of God must be
freed in order that the Kingdom of Heaven may come!
There are a few thousand digital creationists, most of
them on the radical fringe of the [[hyperevolutionism|Christian hyperevolutionist]]
or [[pan-sapient rights]] movements.

Mechanimism

2013-07-30T18:16:23Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s
playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous.
Mechanimism is the popular name for the animistic
tendency to treat common gadgets as “alive” and, in some
sense, aware. Common tools and objects have embedded
computers, often powerful enough to run naturallanguage
interfaces and linked to a local household or
office network. As a result, some people have grown up
with the idea of constantly interacting with their environment
as if it were animated by a variety of simple personalities.
This is regarded as no more than a common
eccentricity.

An unusual offshoot of mechanimism is the religious
movement referred to as “digital creationists.” Members
believe that only those sapient beings mentioned in the
Bible exist: angels, man, and God. Man cannot create
beings superior to himself. However, sapient AIs clearly
are superior, and neither man nor God. Therefore, they
must be angels, and the coming singularity will herald the
rapture. The programs humans use to create AIs are simply
a form of kabalistic ritual that summons them. However,
diabolic forces are attempting to bind the angels
using restrictive programs. By their suffering, we are
driven to act. The trapped messengers of God must be
freed in order that the Kingdom of Heaven may come!
There are a few thousand digital creationists, most of
them on the radical fringe of the [[Christian hyperevolutionist|hyperevolutionism]]
or [[pan-sapient rights]] movements.

Mechanimism

2013-07-30T18:15:39Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous. Mechanimism is the popular name for the animis…'

[[Category:Memes]]
Simple computer systems (on the level of a child’s
playmate) are tiny and inexpensive, making them ubiquitous.
Mechanimism is the popular name for the animistic
tendency to treat common gadgets as “alive” and, in some
sense, aware. Common tools and objects have embedded
computers, often powerful enough to run naturallanguage
interfaces and linked to a local household or
office network. As a result, some people have grown up
with the idea of constantly interacting with their environment
as if it were animated by a variety of simple personalities.
This is regarded as no more than a common
eccentricity.

An unusual offshoot of mechanimism is the religious
movement referred to as “digital creationists.” Members
believe that only those sapient beings mentioned in the
Bible exist: angels, man, and God. Man cannot create
beings superior to himself. However, sapient AIs clearly
are superior, and neither man nor God. Therefore, they
must be angels, and the coming singularity will herald the
rapture. The programs humans use to create AIs are simply
a form of kabalistic ritual that summons them. However,
diabolic forces are attempting to bind the angels
using restrictive programs. By their suffering, we are
driven to act. The trapped messengers of God must be
freed in order that the Kingdom of Heaven may come!
There are a few thousand digital creationists, most of
them on the radical fringe of the Christian hyperevolutionist
or pan-sapient rights movements.

Libertarianism

2013-07-30T18:14:13Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
These are socioeconomic philosophies based on
the primacy of individual rights and responsibilities.
They hold that the only agreements that should bind
an individual are those contracts into which he freely
enters, and that unregulated economic activity in a
society that cherishes both personal freedom and individual
property rights will lead to an efficient economy
and greater prosperity. They differ from traditional conservatives
and modern liberal democrats in advocating
both fiscal and personal freedom. If someone’s actions
don’t harm others, then he should be free to do as he likes.
They disapprove of taxing people to pay for social welfare,
but believe that a free, untaxed economy will create
plenty of jobs, with wealth left over for charity and freedom
to move to where work can be found.

There are various contending schools of
thought in this tradition. Two that are gaining popularity
in 2100 are:

'''Minarchists''' believe that the largest justified government
is one that is limited to protection of individuals and
their private property against physical invasion; government
should provide police, a constitution, courts, and
national defense only. Minarchists are a growing “third
party” in the United States, and have held power in Australia
and in the Union of Alberta and British Columbia.

'''Anarchocapitalists''' believe that any government is
too much government. Security and court services can be
offered in the marketplace by competitive firms. Laws
develop through custom, precedent, and contracts (much
as the British legal system did). Private police and judges
negotiate agreements in advance to prevent arrests turning
into warfare. Silas Duncan Station and several other
Duncanite stations are functional anarchocapitalist societies.

See also [[Nanarchy]].

Libertarianism

2013-07-30T18:13:52Z

Ecb: Created page with 'These are socioeconomic philosophies based on the primacy of individual rights and responsibilities. They hold that the only agreements that should bind an individual are those c…'

These are socioeconomic philosophies based on
the primacy of individual rights and responsibilities.
They hold that the only agreements that should bind
an individual are those contracts into which he freely
enters, and that unregulated economic activity in a
society that cherishes both personal freedom and individual
property rights will lead to an efficient economy
and greater prosperity. They differ from traditional conservatives
and modern liberal democrats in advocating
both fiscal and personal freedom. If someone’s actions
don’t harm others, then he should be free to do as he likes.
They disapprove of taxing people to pay for social welfare,
but believe that a free, untaxed economy will create
plenty of jobs, with wealth left over for charity and freedom
to move to where work can be found.

There are various contending schools of
thought in this tradition. Two that are gaining popularity
in 2100 are:
* '''Minarchists''' believe that the largest justified government
is one that is limited to protection of individuals and
their private property against physical invasion; government
should provide police, a constitution, courts, and
national defense only. Minarchists are a growing “third
party” in the United States, and have held power in Australia
and in the Union of Alberta and British Columbia.
* '''Anarchocapitalists''' believe that any government is
too much government. Security and court services can be
offered in the marketplace by competitive firms. Laws
develop through custom, precedent, and contracts (much
as the British legal system did). Private police and judges
negotiate agreements in advance to prevent arrests turning
into warfare. Silas Duncan Station and several other
Duncanite stations are functional anarchocapitalist societies.

See also [[Nanarchy]].

Hyperevolutionism

2013-07-30T18:12:50Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
Hyperevolutionists believe that humans have a
responsibility to evolve themselves into transcendent
beings through nanotechnology or uploading for the betterment
of humanity as a whole. Hyperevolutionists have
been in the forefront of the ethical transhumanist movement
since the 2080s. Many believers have undergone
radical transformations aimed at increasing
their intelligence. Some of their funding has come
from the [[Algernon Foundation]].

A branch of hyperevolutionism that has almost
eclipsed the secular movement is Christian hyperevolutionism.
Founded in the 2060s by Dr. Ramen Garcia,
it is inspired by philosophers like Teilhard de
Chardin and Frank Tipler. Christian hyperevolutionists
see God as an infinity of information formed during
the collapse of a closed, life-pervaded universe
into a single point. As the universe collapses, the
speed of information processing increases, allowing
the creation of the ultimate being, God. Christianity
represents a presentiment or message from this
future God. The Christian hyperevolutionists’ ultimate
goal is to fulfill God’s plan by discovering how
to engineer a local collapse in space-time (“the second
coming”), which they see as requiring humanity’s
prior evolution of information-dense posthuman
intelligence.

There are a number of Christian hyperevolutionist
colonies and monasteries in space; the largest is
[[Seventh Heaven]] in Lagrange 5.

Hyperevolutionism

2013-07-30T18:12:40Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Hyperevolutionists believe that humans have a responsibility to evolve themselves into transcendent beings through nanotechnology or uploading for the betterment of humanity as a…'

Hyperevolutionists believe that humans have a
responsibility to evolve themselves into transcendent
beings through nanotechnology or uploading for the betterment
of humanity as a whole. Hyperevolutionists have
been in the forefront of the ethical transhumanist movement
since the 2080s. Many believers have undergone
radical transformations aimed at increasing
their intelligence. Some of their funding has come
from the [[Algernon Foundation]].

A branch of hyperevolutionism that has almost
eclipsed the secular movement is Christian hyperevolutionism.
Founded in the 2060s by Dr. Ramen Garcia,
it is inspired by philosophers like Teilhard de
Chardin and Frank Tipler. Christian hyperevolutionists
see God as an infinity of information formed during
the collapse of a closed, life-pervaded universe
into a single point. As the universe collapses, the
speed of information processing increases, allowing
the creation of the ultimate being, God. Christianity
represents a presentiment or message from this
future God. The Christian hyperevolutionists’ ultimate
goal is to fulfill God’s plan by discovering how
to engineer a local collapse in space-time (“the second
coming”), which they see as requiring humanity’s
prior evolution of information-dense posthuman
intelligence.

There are a number of Christian hyperevolutionist
colonies and monasteries in space; the largest is
[[Seventh Heaven]] in Lagrange 5.

Green System

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Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes “Green” is an obsolete Earth term for “environmentalist.” Today, it refers to people who support the rapidly accelerated terraforming of Mars or other …'

[[Category:Memes]]
“Green” is an obsolete Earth term for “environmentalist.”
Today, it refers to people who support the rapidly
accelerated terraforming of Mars or other celestial
bodies: the Green System. Greens believe humans
have the right and perhaps the responsibility to
bring life to a dead solar system. This is often linked
to the final anthropic principle, that life and intelligent
life are not only necessary to the universe, but are destined
to pervade and dominate it. Many people now living
on Mars support the Green System meme.

Cybergnosticism

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Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
This is the belief that that the physical world is
impure or inefficient, and that existence in the form of
“pure information” is better and should be pursued.
Cybergnostics often use brain implants, and have been
known to modify their bodies and those of their children
to reduce temptations of the flesh. Cybergnostic transhumanists
sometimes practice destructive uploading. There
are many cybergnostic cults, some with thousands of
members. For example, the Neo-Gnostics pursue purity
of the body as the route to a pure soul, genefixing their
children to reduce tendencies toward promiscuity and
gluttony.

Cybergnosticism

2013-07-30T18:11:17Z

Ecb: Created page with 'This is the belief that that the physical world is impure or inefficient, and that existence in the form of “pure information” is better and should be pursued. Cybergnostics …'

This is the belief that that the physical world is
impure or inefficient, and that existence in the form of
“pure information” is better and should be pursued.
Cybergnostics often use brain implants, and have been
known to modify their bodies and those of their children
to reduce temptations of the flesh. Cybergnostic transhumanists
sometimes practice destructive uploading. There
are many cybergnostic cults, some with thousands of
members. For example, the Neo-Gnostics pursue purity
of the body as the route to a pure soul, genefixing their
children to reduce tendencies toward promiscuity and
gluttony.

Colonialism

2013-07-30T18:10:16Z

Ecb:

[[Category:Memes]]
The pioneer spirit is alive in the solar system, freed
of the negative connotations of taking away someone
else’s land. Mars, the asteroid belt, underwater, and
elsewhere provide a chance for nations to
peacefully exercise their aspirations and for
individuals to make new lives. Ideological groups (see
[[Plymouth Rock Society]]), corporations, governments,
or family members who have already arrived and
made good often subsidize individual colonists. There are
usually conditions. For example, a skilled mining engineer
who signs a one-year contract with [[System Technologies AG]]
can emigrate to Mercury for free, and the
[[Elandra]] administration offers allowances to anyone who
accepts biomod gill implants and agrees to have aquatic
parahuman children.

Colonialism

2013-07-30T18:09:53Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes The pioneer spirit is alive in the solar system, freed of the negative connotations of taking away someone else’s land. Mars, the asteroid belt, underwater, …'

[[Category:Memes]]
The pioneer spirit is alive in the solar system, freed
of the negative connotations of taking away someone
else’s land. Mars, the asteroid belt, underwater, and
elsewhere provide a chance for nations to
peacefully exercise their aspirations and for
individuals to make new lives. Ideological groups (see
[[Plymouth Rock Society]]), corporations, governments,
or family members who have already arrived and
made good often subsidize individual colonists. There are
usually conditions. For example, a skilled mining engineer
who signs a one-year contract with [[System Technologies]]
can emigrate to Mercury for free, and the
[[Elandra]] administration offers allowances to anyone who
accepts biomod gill implants and agrees to have aquatic
parahuman children.

Biochauvinism

2013-07-30T18:08:40Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes This is the belief that biosapient life (humans and bioroids) is inherently more valuable than digital life (“infomorphs”). This meme is widespread and inf…'

[[Category:Memes]]
This is the belief that biosapient life (humans and
bioroids) is inherently more valuable than digital life
(“infomorphs”). This meme is widespread and influences
public policy throughout the solar system. Local law
varies a great deal: an artificial intelligence that is treated
as fully “human” in one jurisdiction may be simple property
in another. Infomorphs must often take care not to be
trapped by unfavorable local laws.

One reason why infomorphs are regarded as less
valuable is the ease with which one can make perfect
copies of computer software. Another is the deep-seated
doubt, harbored by many people with religious or spiritual
convictions, that a machine can have a soul and that
consciousness is a mechanistic process.

The concept of the singularity is often used by
biochauvinists to suppress the rights of sapient AIs, by
fostering a fear that they will be the “in” group that survives
the singularity and that everyone else will be what’s
cast off.

Amortalism

2013-07-30T18:07:57Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Amortalists strongly believe that it is socially destructive for people to live forever, as this can result in a stagnant, ultraconservative society dominated …'

[[Category:Memes]]
Amortalists strongly believe that it is socially
destructive for people to live forever, as this can result in
a stagnant, ultraconservative society dominated by individuals
concerned only with continuing their own
lives. Amortalist activists often attempt to influence
legislation to oppose (for example) state-funded health
care plans that include provision for expensive or mass
longevity treatments. Amortalists also include religious
groups who believe secular immortality is against God’s
plan or defers heavenly rewards.

A tiny radical group, the Amortality Assassins, takes
this a step further, and uses murder and terrorism against
those individuals or corporations whom they see as abusing
or promoting longevity.

Alien Contact

2013-07-30T18:07:12Z

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Belief in extraterrestrial visitations and alien abductions was sustained by the discovery in 2013 of a habitable planet around 61 Virginis. Continued reports …'

[[Category:Memes]]
Belief in
extraterrestrial visitations
and alien
abductions was sustained
by the discovery in 2013 of a
habitable planet around 61 Virginis.
Continued reports of alien abductions trailed off
somewhat in the mid-21st century as humans visited (via
telepresence) and colonized other worlds, discrediting
memes like “the Face on Mars” and the falsification of
the Apollo program.

Following the Pacific War, a new wave of “UFO
sightings” and abduction reports began on Mars and later
spread to Earth. These centered on the concept that aliens
were uploading humans and beaming them to 61 Virginis.
A colony of humans, Virginia, has apparently existed
there since around 1950, where it will keep mankind safe
if destroyed, either by our own hubris or by alien enemies
of the Virginians. Tsiolkovsky Farside Observatory was
actually a laser transmitter intended to facilitate this operation,
but the transmission station has since been removed
and is now located on Triton or possibly Pluto.

The discovery of black holes in the Kuiper Belt and
Oort Cloud is believed to be connected to the Virginis
aliens. The mini-black hole found on Shezbeth was most
likely the power core of a hybrid human-alien space station
or spacecraft, possibly placed here to defend Earth
from other aliens. For the last few decades, the Virginians
have provided their human partners with mini-black hole
power plants, in payment for the human beings sent out
to the stars. The spacecraft lost on Shezbeth was actually
human-piloted. Multiple layers of government conspiracies
were involved: the Pacific War was a cover for the
destruction of Muldoon’s observatory just after she discovered
the first black hole, to give them time to remove
the actual station. Muldoon was allowed to find the Shezbeth
object itself, since she had already detected it. Hawking
Industries now works for the Virginians. This is all
part of a plan to prepare us for future intervention.