Medical Care
From Gothpoodle
2100-era medicine is extremely effective. If a person can be kept alive, and Fifth Wave medical care is available, then only injuries and diseases that rapidly destroy the brain or nervous system are likely to be fatal.
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Limb and Organ Replacement
Transplants are tissue-engineered rather than provided by donors. It takes 6 weeks to custom-grow tissue using tissue-engineering techniques, or a week to do the same using biogenesis. Typical cost to grow a single limb, eye, or organ is $5,000 (doubled for biogenesis). The actual transplant operation might cost another $10,000 per part replaced. With limb transplants, full functionality is not attained for 6 weeks following the operation.
See also Biomod Transplants.
Cloning
A clone is a genetic duplicate of a person. It normally has a slightly different appearance, since many features develop after conception (such as fingerprints). The GM should decide which advantages and disadvantages reflect heredity and which represent acquired characteristics.
A human or animal clone can be created by taking a live tissue sample of a person, removing cells, and carefully starving them until they become still living but quiescent. The donor cells are then fused with an egg cell taken from a female of the same species; the egg cell’s own nucleus (with its DNA) is removed. This procedure takes about 3 days and costs $500. Now awakened, the egg cell, with donor nucleus, forms embryonic cells that can be implanted after a week or so in the donor (if female), or a surrogate mother or exowomb. It then develops like any other embryo, becoming a fetus and then a baby. Clones do not grow unusually fast or share an original’s memory.
Cross-Sex Clones: Chromosome manipulation can change a clone’s sex but keep it otherwise identical. This takes 1 week and costs $10,000 for a male-to-female change, or 3 weeks and $35,000 for female-to-male change.
Clones and the Law: Human clones have full civil rights; it is usually legal to clone oneself, but cloning another requires his permission (or that of his estate). Rights of parents to clone their children vary. Genetic upgrades, parahumans, bioroids, and sapient uplifts may have copyrighted genomes.
Medical Equipment
Medical Microtech and Nanotech
These are injected into a patient’s body.
- Bionet: This is a network of microbots with acoustic transmitters, designed to spread through the body and serve as a communications relay system, receiving biochemical signals from smaller medical nano. It takes an hour to circulate through the body. It must be installed before radical nanosurgery or the use of programmable immune machines. It allows diagnostic nano to report without having to retrieve them; this lets the nano remain in the patient, providing constant updates. $1,000/dose. Will degrade harmlessly within a month.
- Diagnostic Nano: Tiny robots used to determine what is wrong with a patient. Can also identify nanomachines, such as the proteus virus. Takes two hours to circulate through body and diagnose problems, and another hour to retrieve. The patient must be attached to a diagnostic bed, cyberdoc, or ESU. Alternatively, a bionet can be established and the diagnostic nano can report more rapidly and constantly. $2,000/dose. Can be retrieved using an ESU or cyberdoc, or will degrade harmlessly in a month.
- Programmable Immune Machines: These are nanomachines that can be programmed to destroy specific viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections, cancers, or nanosymbionts. The target must have been correctly diagnosed for them to function. A Physician roll is needed to program them for a target (this takes half an hour). If the roll was a success, they will destroy their target within an hour; if it failed, they have no effect (try again). $500/dose.
- Surgical Microbots: Miniswarm of microbots optimized for internal procedures, controlled through a bionet. Allows internal surgery that is otherwise impossible. Not usable for nanosurgery or brainpeeling. Reusable. $15,000, 0.1 lb.
Exowomb
An artificial womb tank that can be used to grow a multicellular animal (such as a human) from gametes to healthy adulthood. This is no faster than natural growth. An organism developing in an exowomb has the same awareness as a baby in its womb. If kept past the fetal stage, it will not develop mentally in the absence of stimuli. An exowomb requires a computer to monitor life support. A womb for a human-sized organism is $100,000, 250 lbs., 50 cf. It runs on building or vehicle power (0.1 kW). Renting an exowomb costs $3,000 per month.
Hypersensitive Magnetic Resonance Imager (HyMRI)
A high-definition magnetic resonance imager, commonly used to see inside the body and diagnose problems. HyMRI uses superconducting magnets and spin-polarized gases for maximal contrast enhancement. The gases (xenon-129 or helium-3) are hyperpolarized, using laser light to increase the proportion of atoms spinning in the same direction. They are then inhaled or injected. The HyMRI is further enhanced by exploiting intermolecular quantum effects, giving resolutions far better than 20th-century designs (down to 2 nanometers). AHyMRI can also be used in psychiatry, focusing intense fields on areas of the brain. $250,000, 500 lbs., 10 cf. Runs off building/vehicle power.
Nanodrugs
Drugs may come as pills, injectable liquids, aerosols, patches, etc. Most are available in multiple forms. Many are actually encapsulated nanofactories that manufacture proteins and nanoviruses to adjust the user’s biochemistry. Those that affect the user’s brain chemistry are commonly known as “brainbugs.” Developments in neurochemistry allow safe drugs to be designed deliberately to produce varied effects.
Mnemotropins
Drugs taken to assist in memory. An mnemotropic regime allows acquisition of skill points at twice the normal rate. Costs $100/week.
Popular Brainbugs
- Hobbes: This suppresses the user’s reasoning ability; the user regresses to a more animalistic behavior pattern. Often taken deliberately as a form of therapy.
- Kujang: This brainbug causes the user to experience the flow of time as if everything were slightly slowed down. Excessive use can produce effects similar to post-traumatic stress syndrome.
- Metatron: This jacks up the user’s mystical faculties, leaving him feeling that revelation is around the corner.
- Nepenthe: The most popular “feel-good” brainbug. The user is unable to feel really sad or afraid, regardless of what happens to him.
- Zero: The user becomes a sociopath.
Nanosymbionts
Nanosymbionts are colonies of bionanomachines installed in a host’s body to perform useful services. Nanosymbionts may be permanent residents or temporary lodgers. They can be used by anyone with a biological body. Bioshells can use any nanosymbionts that affect the body, but not those that affect the brain.
Ephemeral nanosymbionts (“Temp Nanomods”) are the usual form of Fifth Wave medical care. A doctor will analyze someone’s condition, then prescribe appropriate nanomods. A typical temp nanomod comes in a sterile package housing a bee-sized capsule. This contains the applicator-programmer and billions of tiny nanomachines.
The user may set a temp nanomod’s duration for anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks. Once set, it cannot be changed. The user then swallows the nanomod capsule, which takes effect within 1 hour. (Exception: respirocytes take effect within 1 minute.) The applicator-programmer capsule will be excreted normally, while the nanosymbionts remain within the body for the set duration.
Permanent Nanosymbionts (“Perm Nanomods”) are a more expensive version of temp nanomods, since they must be designed with long-term durability and self-repair capabilities. They operate for an indefinite period, but otherwise function as temp nanomods.
Various nanosymbionts are described below. The lower of the two prices given is for temp nanomods; the higher price is for permanent nanomods. Updates to permanent nanosymbionts that destroy “known” bacteria, viruses, or whatever are regularly available, costing about 1% of the original purchase price.
- Artery Cleaners: Use tiny biomechanical brushes, cilia, and rotors to clear plaque and fatty deposits from arterial surfaces, reducing the risk of heart disease. $100/$5,000.
- Bacteriophages: Patrol for and destroy known bacterial and parasitic pathogens (no effect on viruses). $200/$10,000. Updates cost $100.
- Brain Boosters: Increase nerve-firing rates and improve neural connectivity. $2,250/$112,500.
- Carcinophages: Patrol for and destroy any cancers in the body. $150/$7,500.
- DNA Repair: Repair damage to cellular genetic material from aging processes and radiation. $200/$10,000.
- Guardians: Seek and destroy any nano not already resident in the body when they were implanted. $150/$7,500.
- Immune Machines: Enhanced-immune system nanobots. $100/$5,000.
- Lung Cleaners: Roam the lungs to remove inhaled debris and harmlessly encapsulate and recycle it. $250/$12,500.
- Metabolic Regulators: Allow the user to regulate his metabolic rate by transmitting commands to the nanomods. He must have a virtual interface implant to do so. $500/$25,000.
- Microgravity Biochemistry: Make metabolic adjustments to prevent degeneration in microgravity or zero gravity. $300/$15,000.
- Nerve Boosters: Replace neural myelin sheaths with synthetic material to speed up nerve impulses. Not available as a temp nanomod. –/$125,000.
- Pore Cleaners: Clean skin pores and eliminate sweat. $10/$500.
- Respirocytes: These function like oxygen-carrying red blood cells, but with many times the transport capability. They store extra oxygen and carbon dioxide, transport it, and release it in intelligent fashion in response to need. $1,000/$50,000.
- Tooth Cleaners: These keep the user’s teeth clean without any need for brushing or toothpaste. $20/$1,000.
- Virus Hunters: These detect and eliminate known viral pathogens. $200/$10,000. Updates cost $100.
