Orichalcum Universe: Machines, Vehicles, Robots, etc...

[Johnny1A.2]

PHYSICAMPLIFIER EXPLANT continued...

In GURPS (modified) 3e terms, a physicamplifier explant, when triggered, adds +1 to ST (with proportional increase in all traits and abilities dependent on ST, such as Speed) and reduces the effective Fatigue cost of any physical activity by -1. This effect can be maintained for up to HT hours. Afterward, however, effective ST is reduced by -1 for an equivalent number of hours, and the host will be at -2 to available Fatigue for an equivalent number of hours.

(The host will also be very hungry and thirsty, until the equivalent of two large meals and a comparable amount of water have been consumed.)

This level of physical amplification can be tapped at will, and will also occur automatically in response to any 'fight or flight' situation.

The explant can also be used, at the discretion of the host, at a higher level. This will require conscious volition, it will not engage automatically.

The higher-level functions include, at the discretion of the host:

* A +2 bonus to ST, lasting for HT-1d hours. (1)
* A +3 bonus to ST, lasting for HT minutes. (3)
* A -2 to all Fatigue costs for all physical activity, lasting for HT-2d hours, minimum one hour. (2)
* A -3 to all Fatigue costs for all physical activity, lasting for HT minutes (3).
* A specialized amplification of the body to maximize running efficiency. Lasts for (2*HT) minutes and increases running speed by 25%. (3)
* Gains the High Pain Threshold Advantage for HT hours. (special see below)
* Gains a +6 to all rolls to avoid falling asleep, and suffers no penalties for lack of sleep during this period, lasting for HT hours. (special see below)

The numbers in parenthesis indicate the cost to the body of using these abilities, in terms of the strain and drain on the resources of the host.

(1): For every hour of this ability used, the host will be at -3 to ST for about 1 day. Thus, if the host takes a +2 ST bonus lasting three hours, when it ends he or she will have effectively ST-3 for three days. He or she will be voraciously hungry and thirsty throughout the first 'recovery day' as well.

(2): For every hour of this ability, the host will be at -1 to ST for about that many days, as well as -2 to Fatigue throughout that time. Increase the need for sleep by two hours per day through the 'recovery period', and the host will be voraciously hungry and thirsty through the first two 'recovery days'. Also, for every hour of this ability used, HT drops by -1 throughout the recovery time.

(3) For every minute this level of amplification is used, the host will be at -2 to ST and -2 to Fatigue and -1 to HT for about that many subsequent days, and voraciously hungry and thirsty throughout that period. Increase the need for sleep by two hours per day throughout the recovery period.

If the host activates the Pain Tolerance effect, the cost is that for every hour used, a period of about that many hours will follow at -1 to Fatigue and -1 to all Will rolls to resist the effects of pain and unpleasant sensory stimuli in general. (In effect, the host will be nerve-jangled, noises, bright lights, pain, general unpleasant stimuli will be more unpleasant than usual.) Note also that while the Pain Tolerance boost is in effect, the host is a -1 to alertness.

If the sleep-resistance feature is used, for each hour used, the host will be at -1 to Fatigue for the following 24 hours (roughly speaking), and will need 90 minutes of sleep to compensate for the hour missed in addition to normal sleep requirements.

It is possible to draw upon multiple high-level abilities at the same time, but this greatly increases the strain on the host body. For each additional ability activated while one is already in effect, double the recovery time. If the +3 level boost to ST is used as one of the multiple abilities, increase recovery time by an additional 50%.

At any time 2 or more high-level abilities are used at the same time, roll vs HT, with a penalty for each active high-level ability. On a failed roll, for a period of as many days as the roll was failed by the host will suffer from a -3 to HT, a -3 to Fatigue, and this will be in addition to the regular recovery time.

If multiple high-level abilities are used again during this period, the HT roll happens again, vs. the already lowered HT. Overuse of a physicamplifier explant can be very dangerous.

On the other hand, in a critical moment a boost to ST or Fatigue can be very handy, too. The physicamplifier explant enables a host to run much faster, fighter much harder, run and/or fight far longer. Discretion is required in its use, but there are situations when a trade of days of weakness for a few minutes of extra strength and/or speed is a good trade.

[Johnny1A.2]

PSINETIC EXPLANT

Drawn from the same technology base as the above-listed explants such as the immunitor, the psinetic explant is a related technology but it is a much rarer, as well as more specialized, device. There are various reasons why this is so, as we will note below, but along with those reasons is the fact that the device actually requires a very small but indispensable amount of orichalcum.

In appearance, a psinetic explant looks much like an immunitor explant, and in fact it is somewhat similar in design and nature. Like an immunitor, it grafts itself physically to the body of the host, and can only be removed by surgery. Like the immunitor, it 'grows' a network of tubules and connections throughout the body of the host, indeed this network is very similar in nature and function to the web created by the immunitor, though it connects to slightly different points in the body of the host.

In addition to that, however, a psinetic explant also extends a network of fine tendrils, grown from the body of the host, that connect the explant to the central nervous system, including the spinal cord itself.

(As with the immunitor, if the explant is removed, these networks will be absorbed harmlessly by the body.)

The psinetic explant is less finicky about placement than some of the others, just anywhere on the torso or neck will do.

The function of the psinetic implant is to synthesize certain psi-active drugs, and to modify the metabolic production and neutralization of some hormones and proteins and other substances that have an effect on the manifestation or and use of psionic abilities. A psinetic explant will readily coexist with most other explants from this same technological origin, but a few conflicts can exist. Also, though an immunitor explant is not necessary for a psinetic explant to work, the presence of at least one such can be synergistically useful.

It takes much longer for a psinetic explant to complete the bonding process than most of the other explants, in large part because the connections are necessarily more delicate. Once the connections are formed, the psinetic implant has three basic functions.

The first is to increase the native strength of the psionic abilities of the host. It does this in a way analogous to the physical function of the physicamplifier explant, stimulating latent abilities and making them available, and enabling the host to operate at a level he or she could not naturally achieve.

The second is to increase the precision and flexibility of those abilities. It does this through subtle manipulations of certain key neurotransmitters and other relevant body chemistry, making it easier to master and learn psionic skills.

The third function is protective. Under certain conditions, the psinetic explant generates chemicals, and manipulates the body to produce or reduce substances, in such a way as to make the host less vulnerable to outside psionic influences such as telepathy or biopsionics.

A psinetic explant, once successfully bonded to the host, is functionally part of his or her body not just physically, but psionically. The psionic field that permeates the body also includes the explant. This means that it is no easier for another psion to, say, tear the explant away telekinetically than it would be to tear out any given part of the host body.

(The tiny milligram orichalcum component is part of this function.)

There are certain disadvantages and limits to the psinetic explant. To begin with, because it does become an integral part of the psionic function of the host body, its removal, even by properly-performed surgery, risks damaging those psionic faculties, possibly permanently.

Overuse of the psinetic explant can put a considerable strain on the body, this is where the presence of one or more immunitor explants can be helpful.

The psinetic explant is much more species-specific than the others. The bodily biochemistry in question is very subtle, and involves the brain and central nervous system. Even very small differences between closely related Homosapient species can be enough to prevent the psinetic explant from working properly, or cause it to produce undesirable side effects.

Thus a psinetic explant must be carefully precision-adjusted before the implantation begins, to make sure that it properly matches the bodily chemistry, psionic balances, and other specific qualities of a given Homosapient species. This requires both highly technical knowledge and access to the necessary tools and equipment involved in this technology.

Much of the function of the psinetic explant involves effects similar to the use of 'conventional' psi-drugs, but the psinetic explant uses smaller amounts of the relevant substances, carefully tailored to the individual chemistry of the host, and carefully balanced by the adjustments of the host physiology. This makes the psinetic explant both safer and more effective than most uses of psi-drugs, with fewer side effects and drawbacks.

Still, the psinetic explant is working with the native psionic potential of the host, and can only do so much. There are limits to the improvements it can make, and a naturally strong psion will usually tend to benefit more than a natively weak psion. Usually. Exceptions exist, because of individual variations and quirks of body chemistry and mental state.

Also, a psinetic explant does not awaken latent psionic potentials. This must occur in some other ways before the host can make use of such an explant, though the explant could bond with the host before that and be ready for use if something did awaken the latent abilities.

To be continued...

[Johnny1A.2]

PSINETIC EXPLANT continued...

In GURPS (modified) 3e terms, a psinetic explant, if properly prepared beforehand for an individual of a given Homosapient species, will require 3d6 Terran months to successfully bond with a host, and another 1d6 Terran weeks to begin working after the bonding process completes. Once bonded successfully, a psinetic explant will operate indefinitely, powered and sustained by the resources of the host body.

(In game terms, the explant malfunctions only in extreme circumstances, usually requiring a critical failure of some sort.)

The protective outer casing (which can exist in various colors and patterns) has DR 7, and is chemically unreactive to most common substances (at least those likely to be encountered in environments habitable for Homosapients).

A working psinetic explant will have the following 'always on' advantages for the host, everything else being equal:

* Add +1 to all psionic Powers.
* Add +1 to all skill levels for all psionic skills (though no bonus to learn such skills.
* Host has 1 (one!) 'free' Fatigue point for use with psionic abilities only. This represents the increased efficiency of 'operation' provided by the explant. This 'free' Fatigue point, once spent, returns in current HT hours.

The host can consciously tap into higher-level functions. This include:

* +2 to all psionic Powers for up to HT hours. This ability will leave all Powers at -1 for twice as many hours as the ability was used, beginning when the use of the ability ends.
* +3 to all psionic Powers lasting for up to HT minutes. This will leave all psionic Powers at -2 for as twice as many hours as the minutes ability was used. (That is, a +3 bonus maintained for 5 minutes will leave the host at -2 to all Powers for 10 hours.)
* +2 to any psionic skill for up to IQ minutes. This will cost a Fatigue point for every minute used, however, so if available Fatigue is lower than IQ, it will become the limiting factor.

The Power and skill boosts can be used at the same time, but this multiplies the metabolic/mental cost. Double both the recovery time and Fatigue costs for any such double use.

* At the discretion of the host, the psinetic explant can generate a chemical state that interferes with telepathic contact, friendly or hostile. This, when used, will subtract -10 from telepathic skills, both by the host and used upon the host, with no effect on any other psionic abilities.

This ability can be maintained up to 24+HT hours, at the cost of 1 Fatigue point for every two hours of use.

* At the discretion of the host, the psinetic explant can manipulate the chemistry necessary to increase the resistance of the host to psionic phenomena. In effect, this grants the host Psionic Resistance, which as usual affects all Powers and skills other than Antipsi. The degree of resistance can be raised, but each higher level can be maintained for a shorter time.

Psionic Resistance (PR) 1: up to (2*HT) hours
PR 2: up to HT hours
PR 3: up to HT/4 hours
PR 4: 30+HT minutes, and costs 1 Fatigue point per 15 minutes of use
PR 5: Up to HT minutes, at the cost of 1 Fatigue per minute of use

Psinetic explants are very potent, and GMs may wish to charge a point cost for the possession of one.

[Johnny1A.2]

BLITZER

A 'blitzer' is a term that can be used to refer either to a device, or to the host of that device, depending on the context. It is a crude form of psychic technology, designed and implemented for use as a weapon, but the device carries a heavy cost for the user.

The device is actually a cyborg implant, and because it was devised during the 1960s, drawing on the technology base available at that time, it is both crude and dangerous for the subject. In appearance, a blitzer resembles a mesh of fine wire, implanted into the scalp of the subject.

The subject must not only have a smooth-shaven scalp, but must in fact be permanently depilated. The 'mesh' of wire covers the entire scalp and back of the head, from ear to ear and almost up to the top of the forehead. In color the wire is usually silvery-gray, though special cases exist. The 'wires' are very fine, with gaps between them of about five to ten millimeters.

By the standards of the 1960s, the 'wire' is actually a sophisticated implementation of solid-state technology, quite a few components are integrated into the strands of 'wire', including a power converter that is able to provide the limited amount of energy the device requires by converting ambient body heat. The device requires little power of its own, because it works by interacting with the latent (or not so latent) psychic abilities of the host, rather than providing its own performance.

The implantation of the device is painful. Thought the actual surgeries are performed under anesthesia, several successive operations are necessary, and the recovery time is long, and painful. The presence of the foreign objects usually irritates the skin and underlying tissues, as well as presenting a non-trivial risk of infection or allergic reaction. Most users of blitzers also make use of drugs to control these problems and restrain the ongoing pain that can result from the presence of the blitzer.

Special drugs are necessary both before the surgeries, and afterward, both to encourage the device to bond properly, for the tissue to 'accept' it, and afterward, to aid in recovery from the implantation. The entire process of having a blitzer implanted requires about twelve weeks, beginning with a series of drugs injected and taken orally, and with the actual surgeries occurring over a period of about four weeks in the middle of the time.

Basic recovery usually requires an additional twelve to twenty weeks before the surgical incisions completely heal and the drug regimen can be reduced to what will be considered 'normal' by the host over time.

Removal of a blitzer is very difficult, extremely painful (unless the host has access to technology well ahead of 1960s level), leaving extensive scarring and permanent damage to the scalp and underlying tissues. Even in 2016, removing a blitzer would be a difficult and painful proposition.

A blitzer often produces other deleterious side-effects in the hosts, as well. The exact nature, and extent, of these side-effects varies widely, but relatively few users suffer no side-effects at all. In some cases, the side-effects increase with time and can become debilitating. In a few instances, the side-effects can reach lethal levels.

The advantage of a blitzer is that it can turn the host into a fairly potent living psychic weapon. The device can do so even if the host has no active psionic powers, or if any such powers are very weak. [1]

The device focuses the telepathic potential of the host mind, simultaneously stimulating the subject to generate additional psychic energy, and focusing that energy in a very specific way. The active effect is entirely telepathic, other psionic abilities are not affected.

A blitzer-host can project mental energy at a target, of sufficient focus and intensity to produce pain, permanent damage, madness, or death. With time and practice and training, a blitzer-host can learn to choose between levels of damage, but this level of skill requires considerable effort to master.

To be continued...


[1]Recall that in the Orichalcum Universe, everybody has at least latent psionic potential, though not necessarily always strong ones.

[Johnny1A.2]

BLITZER continued...

In GURPS 3e (house modified) terms, when the recovery period is completed, a blitzer-host gains one of two basic effects. If the host already had Telepathy, he gains 1 additional level of Telepathy Power, usable for any purpose, plus the ability to use the Telepathic skill Blitzing as if Power 12.

If the host already has Telepathy at Power 12 or better, he or she gains no boost to Power, but uses his or her own native Power, but still gains the ability to learn the Blitzing skill.)

If the host has no active Telepathy Power, he gains the one-skill only Telepathy Power with the skill of Telepathic Blitz, at Power 10.

New Telepathic Skill: Telepathic Blitzing (Mental, VH, no prerequisites)

This skill is learnable only by a person with the blitzer implant. It acts as a sort of supercharged mental stab or mind blast attack, an attack that is very difficult to defend against.

A telepathic blitz works similarly to a Mental Stab, except that there is no Fatigue cost to the attacker. A mind shield protects normally, but at 1/2 normal intensity. Thus a Mind Shield of Power 10 would only subtract 5 from the skill role of the attacker.

For every point that the attacker makes his skill roll, the subject takes 1 point of damage to HT. The defender gets a Will roll to fight back, for every point he makes his Will roll, reduce the damage by 1. On a critical success on the Will roll, the blitz has no effect at all, and further attacks from that particular blitzer will not have any effect on the subject.

(This immunity applies only to that particular attacker, however.)

If the Will roll fails, the subject also takes a point of damage to IQ for every point by which the attacker made his skill roll (including the implied reduction of Will against subsequent attacks, assuming the target survives the initial attack.)

Damage to IQ and associated traits is recovered at the rate of 1 point per day.

Damage to HT recovers 1/2 normal rate until IQ is back to normal, then HT recovers at the normal rate.

If a blitzer is in physical contact with the target, he gets a +1 on his skill roll.

A blitzer host also gains a secondary power, there is a cloud of a limited, very specific kind of psychic static associated with him, that makes him hard to track or observe via ESP, -3 to all such efforts. The implant also tends to strengthen resistance to Telepathic attack, all Telepathic attacks against a blitzer-host are at-1 to skill and -1 to Power.

Blitzer-hosts can not themselves be Telepathically Blitzed, but can be attacked normally with other Telepathic attack skills, subject to the penalties above.

To be continued...

[Johnny1A.2]

BLIZTER continued...

The advantage of a Telepathic Blitz attack lies in its different nature from other Telepathic attacks, this makes Mind Shields less effective and enables it to do more damage for a given Power. In fact, a Telepathic Blitz is always effectively Power 12, though a host with higher active Telepathic Power can use the range for the higher Power. Since the Power is always the same, the damage is skill-based.

EXAMPLE 1: Piotr is a blitzer host with a skill in Telepathic Blitz of 14. Since he has no other active Telepathic abilities, his range is the base, Power 12, or a quarter of a mile (GM should apply the usual range bonuses and penalties, 400 yards is the average at Power 12).

He is attacking Jones, a target with a natural Mind Shield of Power 8, and a Will of 10 (same as his IQ). Jones has IQ 10 and HT 10.

Piotr comes within his range and successfully targets Jones (this requires line of sight or the equivalent, he has to know where Jones is to target him). He rolls vs. his Telepathic Blitz skill, and gets a 6, succeeding by 8.

Here the first two big advantages of blitzing compared to other telepathic attacks appear. This effort costs Piotr no Fatigue, only a moment of Concentration. The second big advantage is that Jones' Mind Shield protects at half-Power, so instead of a -8 to the skill roll, Piotr only drew a -4. That means he still succeeded in his roll, but only by 4 instead of 8.

But he did succeed, so now Jones gets his Will roll to resist. This requires no effort or knowledge on the part of Jones, the resistance is instinctive, it will even happen if Jones is asleep at the time. He rolls vs. his Will, gets a 9. That's a success by 1, so the damage is reduced likewise.

So Jones takes a -3 direct to HT, dropping instantly from HT 10 to HT 7, which is a major loss. A doctor examining him would fine signs that his body had gone haywire, heart palpitations, seizures, etc. as the 'software' controlling his body is scrambled by the Telepathic blast.

Note that Piotr can now try again, and since there was no Fatigue cost he is not even particularly tired. He can pound away until something stops him, Jones makes a critical success on a Will roll to resist, or Jones takes enough damage to satisfy Piotr.

The high damage this attack does means that even relatively modest psionic strength can be easily and quickly lethal.

(Note that the GM might still assess a Fatigue cost on Piotr if he keeps pounding away, blast after blast, but it would just be the effort of concentration and focus, and Piotr might well get 8 or 10 blasts in on 1 Fatigue point.)

The combination of ease of use (no Fatigue cost), penetrating power (Mind Shields protect at half Power), and high damage (a good skill roll can easily kill a healthy man in one blast), make blitzing a superb assassination weapon, and in fact the implant was devised for exactly that purpose.

NOTE: Telepathic blitzing can not be used for area attacks, or multiple targets. It has to strike one target per blast.

Of course, as noted above, there are many side effects and down sides to being a blitzer host. The first is the pain of the implantation. This requires a series of surgeries, far enough apart to let the damage from each one heal, but close enough together that the healing is not completely done, so as to enable further installations. Generally, the subject should expect to undergo about 2d+2 separate surgeries to complete an installation. There will be considerable pain between the surgeries and during recovery.

The drugs used to enable installation and to suppress infection afterward are powerful, and often crude (the process being based in 1960s technology). Some of the drugs have deliberate immunosuppressive effects (to reduce the risk of rejection of the implant), this means that a blitzer host it at -3 to HT to resist infection and disease during the implantation period, and -1 afterward.

A host can risk stopping the drugs after the recovery period is over, but having complicated webs of metallic wire implanted in the scalp can easily lead to allergic reactions, infections, or worse. Absent the drugs, the host should roll vs. HT once a month, at -2, to avoid such reactions. Once they set in, larger doses of drugs, and possibly painful surgery, may be necessary to correct the problems.

Even with the drugs, the scalp and surrounding tissues are often chronically irritated and painful in a blitzer-host. Roll vs. HT every week, on a failure the subject is suffering from such irritation that week. This effect is not constrained by the drugs.

A blitzer-host has a very noticeable Unnatural Feature (a visible metal mesh implanted in the depilated scalp).

Along with these physical problems, there are more subtle issues.

To be continued...

[Johnny1A.2]

BLITZER continued...

The psychic interactions that make Telepathic blitzing possible at all often have effects on the mental state of the blitzer-host. This is not as common as the physical side-effects, at least not at first, but it is not rare and the chances of it happening increase with the passage of time.

When a blitzer first uses his or her Blitzing skill, roll vs. Will. On any success, there are no mental side-effects for at least a month. On a critical success, any such side effects will be delayed by at least a year.

On a failure, the GM should assign the blitzer-host a new mental Quirk or Disadvantage, the bigger the failure, the more severe the problem (or possibly more than one small problem) will be. The problem should emerge at some point within the following month.

On a critical failure of this first Will roll, the blitzer-host goes permanently mad. The exact nature of the madness is at the discretion of the GM, but will usually involve violent tendencies, irrational thought processes, we are talking padded cell territory.

After this first roll, the blitzer-host should make another Will roll every month (a critical success buys a year with no rolls), but at +2, to see if bad effects start. (The first roll does not get the +2 bonus, because the shock is so new and the blitzer-host has no experience with the effects.)

If the blitzer-host has not used the device that month, add an additional +1 to the Will roll. If the blitzer-host has refrained from any use for at least a year, allow him or a special Will roll at to eliminate one of the Disads or Quirks. On a success that particular Disad or Quirk has been eliminated, on a failure, even a critical failure, there is no effect. Modify this roll as seems appropriate for the circumstances and situation. However, such success does not relieve the character of the need for the regular monthly Will roll to avoid further mental degeneration, so the eliminated Disad may return.

On a critical failure of these later rolls, instead of permanent madness, the blitzer-host gets a second Will roll, he only goes mad on a failure of this confirm roll. Otherwise he merely gets a particularly bad new mental Disadvantage or related set of such Disadvantages.

These Quirks and Disadvantages provide no additional character points, and are permanent, though the GM might allow them to be bought off in play through expenditure of character points like other Disadvantages, if the situation seems reasonable. Rest and medical care might help with such, for example, or appropriate treatment.

Over time, blitzer-hosts tend to accumulate multiple negative Quirks and Disadvantages, which can made them very unpredictable, or eventually lead to gradual madness. Strange compulsive behaviors, impulsive actions, weird phobias and philias, obsessions and dreads, all can and do occur.

Only the removal or permanent inactivation of the blitzer implant will end the tendency toward mental degeneration.

[Johnny1A.2]

REPLIMENTALS

The term 'Replimental' is a Terran word applied to an alien machine, though whether the term 'machine' is precisely right is debated. In many ways, a Replimental is more of a living creature, though extensively artificially modified, it is most certainly just as much the product of biological engineering as it is of 'conventional' engineering.

The term 'Replimental' is a portmanteau of 'replicating' and 'mental' or 'mind', and the basis of the term refers to the fact that the Replimentals are a 'species' or 'race' of self-replicating artificial intelligences. In appearance, a Replimental has been described as looking like a piece of abstract art, cast in a material that looks rather like acrylic plastic. Some people see a resemblance to leafless trees in the shape of Replimentals, and no two Replimentals are precisely the same in shape, though most are approximately the same height and width and internal volume.

A Replimental emerges from its 'container' as a single transparent mass of the plastic-like material, which is usually roughly circular/cylindrical and about sixty centimeters in diameter, though the cylinder may not rise in a perfectly straight line. About ninety centimeters above the ground, the cylinder splits into several dendritic smaller 'branches' which split again along their length, until in most cases a Replimental has dozens to as many as one hundred 'tips' at the end of the splitting branches.

Most Replimentals are about four meters in height, and spread their limbs out to fill a volume about three to four meters across. A few Replimentals have been substantially larger, however. A typical mature Replimental masses about eight to twelve tons. A Replimental always rises out of a hollowed out space in the ground filled with a slurry of various liquids, fine ground sand and soil, and the 'roots' of the Replimental, extending out of the base cylinder into this supporting matrix.

A Replimental is actually more like a tree than simply a vague visual resemblance. In a tree, the wood itself is not the living organism, it's a product of the living organism. Likewise, the plastic-like material that makes up a Replimental is created by the cellular colony that makes up the living component of the machine. It 'grows' the protective 'plastic' structure within which it lives, and as it does, it lays down the patterns in the structure of the material that act as memory storage and system support for the machine.

Some of the cells in the colony are analogous to neurons, and in a mature Replimental, the living cells do the 'thinking', and store the short-term memory as they do, but long-term permanent data storage is done by encoding information into the microscopic and nanoscopic patterns built into the physical structure of the 'plastic'.

(The material is in fact related to plastic, and created upon a hydrocarbon base, but the molecular structure is far more complex than true plastics.)

The 'life cycle' of these machines begins, much like a living tree, with a 'seed', which looks like a round ball of the same plastic-like material that makes up the Replicmental itself. Such 'seeds' are about one centimeter in diameter, and when placed in one of the growth pods full of the sandy-oily matrix that sustains their growth, such a Seed can grow into a mature Replimental in about twenty Terran years, given good conditions. Having achieved maturity, a Replimental can expect to exist for perhaps eight-twelve Terran centuries on the average, though some Replimentals have managed to endure and remain fully function over enormously greater spans. The average probably hovers close to one thousand Terran years, though.

A Replimental generates several Seeds during the later stages of its operation, which are 'grown' within the structure of the Replimental. At 'death', usually one such Seed is placed within the same growth pod as the parent, to grow a replacement Replimental, while others are moved to other locations as needed and allowed to take root and grow on site. A Seed can remain viable for many Terran centuries, if physically unharmed. The material of its outer shell is resistant to damage, extremes of temperature and pressure, and radiation. [1]

Replimentals do exchange genetic information, intermediated by small flying creatures that fulfil something of the same ecological role as insects do for flowering plants, though the creatures are mammalian. About once a local year, (not quite two Terran years), a Replimental generates genetic 'dust' that is transferred from one entity to another by these flying creatures, sometimes across enormous distances. Once a Replimental has received genetic dust from another, it can retain it indefinitely and incorporate it into Seeds with its own genes, mixing and matching in repeated cycles.[1]

Replimentals are primarily powered by solar energy, and are in fact fairly efficient converters of sunlight. Most of their energy is derived from the ultraviolet frequencies. On Earth they would tend to find the available energy somewhat thin, but their parent star is an F3 with a higher percentage of ultraviolet light in its spectrum, and their native environment is desert, with few clouds or other obstructions to limit energy availability.

The 'matrix' in which they grow looks to human eyes like a mixture of find sand, thick petroleum, and less familiar liquids, all thoroughly stirred together and usually contained with a circular pit slightly over a meter in diameter and about that deep as well, filled to the top with the sandy/oil mixture.

In actual fact, the growth matrix does contain what amounts to a kind of thick petroleum, which provides much of the nutrients for the living cells and the raw material for the 'plastic' that makes up the structure of the Replimental. Other liquids in the mixture provide the remainder of the nutrition for the living component of the Replimental. Periodically both the petroleum and the other nutrient-fluids do have to be replaced in order for the Replimental to remain healthy and properly functional.

To be continued...


[1] The creatures that transfer the 'genetic dust' and which usually move the Seeds to selected new locations (selected by the Replimental community) are called frips.

[Johnny1A.2]

REPLIMENTALS continued...

The function of Replimentals, as conceived by their creators, was to be the supervisory intelligence of a planet-spanning system of life support, a network of megaprojects intended to keep a dying planetary biosphere viable. This project would require constant, ongoing supervision, and the Replimentals were meant to fulfil this role.

In order to do so, they are designed to be highly intelligent, even creative in a limited sense, and connected to each other by an intricate telepathic network. Those in close physical proximity can additionally communicate by means of flashing lights (faint ones, barely visible to most humanoids, even at night), modulated both by amplitude and frequency, and by subsonic and supersonic vibrations as well (likewise multiple modulated). [1]

Replimentals can communicate with humanoids either telepathically or by ordinary vocal communication. They can vibrate their outer surfaces in such a way as to generate audible sound, and can do so subtly enough to speak in any known language as easily as a Homosapient. The same process, operating in reverse, enables them to 'hear' sounds. The enormous surface area that acts as a sonic receiver enables Replimentals to detect sounds far fainter than any natural Homosapient can hear.

Replimentals can 'see' in a very wide spectrum, ranging from well into the ultraviolet down into the deep infra-red, and can detect a yet wider range of frequencies, though not with such resolution as to be able to 'see' with them.

When a Replimental is near the end of its life-cycle, it transmits a copy of its entire memory to its fellows around the planet, mostly telepathically. No one other Replimental receives a complete copy, this would rapidly overload their storage capacities, instead the information is spread out through the entire population. This means that there is a sort of 'collective memory' shared by the Replimental 'race', even though they are a population of separate individuals. This shared memory grows ever larger and more complex as the ages pass and more Replimentals contribute to the common memory.

Replimentals also constantly monitor each other for deviations from the overall programs that define their purpose and nature. A Replimental that deviates too far from the master programs is corrected, or destroyed, by the overall population.

The same design philosophy is incorporated into their reproductive processes. Before a Seed is 'finalized' and sealed off, its genetic pattern is carefully analyzed, and each Seed actually contains three separate copies of the chosen genetic pattern, and all three must match in order for the Seed to be viable. This means that a mutation would have to happen in triplicate in order to have a chance of being passes on to the next generation. [2]

Replimentals are sessile, but they control a vast array of mobile beings that carry out their instructions, creatures and sometimes machines that posses a wide variety of abilities. These sessile creatures are in fact among the most powerful beings on their world, for multiple reasons.

Replimentals are physically sturdy, highly resistant to temperature extremes, and almost immune to the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation. [3]

As noted, the life-form within a Replimental is telepathic, very much so. This is the primary means of communication for a Replimental, whether with other Replimentals, or the living creatures that they control. The machines under their control tend to be operated by means of radio transmissions.

The Replimentals also possessed of powerful ESP abilities, enabling them to monitor each other, and the vast planet-wide system they supervise.

In theory, Replimentals might display other psionic abilities, but in practice such abilities are rare, and usually very weak.

While a lone Replimental might be occasionally encountered, this is unusual, they are usually 'grown' in clusters, sometimes containing hundreds of individuals. Replimentals lined the avenues of the Ancient Siccarian cities, grew in great masses on islands in the world-girdling canals, clustered within the enormous facilities near the polar seas and the mantle taps. Most 'lone' Replimentals are actually the survivors of former clusters of one sort or another, though as noted above the rare true lone Replimental can be found.

Replimentals are individuals, not a mass mind, but it is true that they share a common memory going back to the beginning of their 'race'. Between the master program written into their genes, the constant mutual monitoring for errors and deviant behavior, and the shared memory, most Replimentals think in very similar ways. This can give humanoids the erroneous impression that one is dealing with a single mass mind, though the Replimentals, when communicating en masse, always self-refer in the plural. When a Replimental is speaking only for itself, it self-refers in the singular, however.

An individual Replimental 'thinks' at a pace comparable to normal Homosapient thought-processes. They are not electronic computers, they can perform almost any mathematical calculation, but will do so at a pace comparable to that of a human doing the same thing (though they do have, or were intended to have, access to true electronic computers). Likewise, a conversation between a humanoid and a Replimental can easily occur at a time rate comfortable for both entities.

When acting collectively, they usually think more slowly than a Homosapient, and with a patient perspective foreign to most mortals. With multi-century individual life-spans, and a collective memory going back to the beginning of their artificial race, Replimentals rarely feel any sense of general urgency. The occasional local problem or crisis affects mainly the Replimentals directly concerned with that region or division or subject, not the whole 'race'. To stir the race as a whole to a sense of urgency would require a problem immediately affecting their entire planet.

To be continued...



[1] Note that though few Homosapients can perceive the sub/super sonic communication vibrations of Replimentals, most canids and many other animals can perceive these sounds, as of course can properly designed and constructed instruments.

[2] This is one of several safeguards against 'Darwin Error', a basic problem potentially encountered in self-replicating systems.

[3] 'Almost immune', of course, is not the same as 'immune'.

[Johnny1A.2]

REPLIMENTALS continued...

In GURPS (modified) 3e terms, Replimentals have the following baseline stats:

IQ: 10
DX: N/A
ST: N/A (for psionic purposes, assume they have 10 Fatigue)
HT: 20

Replimentals have a natural DR of (35 + 1d per every 50 Terran years of life). Note, though, that certain chemicals can attack the basic material of the body of a Replimental. They are particularly vulnerable to certain strong acids.

Replimentals are resistant to most forms of ionizing radiation, up to extreme levels. In practice, nothing short of a near-field nuclear detonation or meltdown, or exposure to a solar storm unshielded, is likely to have much effect on a healthy Replimental.

Replimentals are designed for life in a harsh desert environment, and are fully resistant to temperature extremes from -75 C up to 75 C.

Replimentals are powered by solar energy, and to operate at full capacity, they require at least eight hours of strong sunlight per 24 hour period. They can store energy, however, and a fully-charged Replimental can remain fully functional in darkness for HT days without light. When the reserve energy is used up, the Replimental loses 1 HT per day without light, and can eventually die.

In partial light (less than 8 hours per 24), a Replimental can roll vs. HT to avoid losing any ground in that particular period. Hours of light over 8 per day are added to the 'reserve' at a rate of 1 day of stored energy per 8 hours of extra light (cumulative). That is, for example, if there are 10 hours per day of light, the Replimental will add a day to its reserve every four days (2 hours extra per day is 8 hours after 4 days).

However, a Replimental can enter a 'standby' state, unconscious and inactive, but alive. In that state, it loses 1 HT per 30 days in darkness.

The living cells within a Replimental do require water, which is absorbed through the 'roots' in the growth matrix.

All Replimentals have the following innate Advantages:

Absolute Timing
Acute Hearing 10
Acute Vision 5
Alertness 10
Eidetic Memory 2
Immunity to Disease (for practical purposes, rare exceptions exist)
Language Talent 4
Lightning Calculator
Literacy (Ancient Siccarian is programmed, in practice most Replimentals are literate in many languages)
Mathematical Ability
Secret Communication
Strong Will (special, program-based, effective SW 5 or higher)
Uncreative (with special narrow exceptions)

All Replimentals have the following innate Disadvantages:

Fanaticism (Maintain The Life System)
Inconvenient Size
No Manipulators
No Sense of Humor
No Sense of Smell/Taste (though some of their subordinate creatures can provide this under some circumstances)
Sessile*
Slow Healing (damage to the 'plastic' of the body can require years to repair)

*Note that in theory, some sort of mechanical contrivance might be constructed to give a Replimental mobility, but it would be complicated, difficult, clumsy, and expensive, and probably unpleasant for the entity.

Replimentals are individuals, and though many Advantages and Disadvantages simply are not applicable to them, they can certainly display compulsions and irrational phobias, obsessions and various other mental Disads, and some have specific mental Advantages not shared by the race as a whole. Likewise, while few Replimentals have stats any lower than the racial baselines, some have higher IQ or HT, a few have sharply higher IQ.

To be continued...