((Welcome to The Lab! Please read. OOC))

This thread is OOC.

We finally have it, a message board forum for TMP (The Meeting Place) which is of course our new Modern setting in ISRP.

Set in New York City in the beginning year of 2030, TMP as a room is a nightclub on the Upper East Side. The world is our real world, so it is human and has human prejudices and concerns. Aliens, mutants and supernatural/mythical creatures may exist but for the sake of the setting as well as the character's own safety, such beings should be somewhat hidden. For more information including a map of the TMP neighbourhood, check out the TMP pages of the ISRP websites.

This forum is for IC TMP related stories/threads. For example, they may be a story played within the TMP room setting, IC advertisements, notes, or parts of dealings outside TMP but nonetheless in the setting such as in other local businesses.

Big thanks to the OOC/real life staff members that gave us our forum!

Enjoy!

- Pounamu

(reposting of PM to pou)

WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! *does a variety of dances, some slightly inappropriate, all making him look like a psychopathic idiot*

Quick question

What kind of cybornetics would be available, and would a cyborg charactor be apropriate?
thanks in advance for your help.

If I recall correctly, cybernetics had advanced some so far as replacing missing limbs or the like, but was still in its infant stages so to speak. For example, my character, Arcia, had her legs replaced with cybernetic-type limbs after having to have them amputed from a car wreck, however the legs dont function as fully and completely as if they were her own.

So a cyborg character might be possible, but it wouldn't be very advanced.

I'd suggest PMing Magi_Pounamu. She's the TMP setting coordinator and should be able to work with you to give you a definite answer one way or another.

-Arcia

On Cyborgs...

Artificial replacements for limbs or organs would not be uncommon anymore. Most of the replacements would be small, unseen parts such as a joint or a kidney in need. Cyborg technology is a continuation of these developments, sometimes away from "need" and into "improve".

Cyborg technology exists. It has been improved upon by the technology exchanged between Earth and the few nations of visiting extra-terrestrials. Most of the time it isn't perfect, the more precise you attempt to make something the more expensive it becomes. Arcia's legs are a good example. The organisation that owns TMP could pay a good deal for the medical wellbeing of its employees but her legs aren't as exact as she'd probably like them to be. The general person on the street is unlikely to be given anything anywhere near as good as hers.

Theoretically, enough cyborg technology would exist to create a functioning, independant unit such as a robot or android. It would not be the most graceful of things and it would be difficult to disguise entirely as human.

A character with a lot of cyborg work would cost a lot of money to create. It would be a serious investment for a family helping a relative or friend, or a business helping a particularly worthwhile employee. A big question about whether or not a cyborg character would work is "why would it be wandering around uptown NYC"? TMP itself is not set in a highly prosperous area, it's in El Barrio. The area is known for the occasional street gang and odd attacks, not to mention the prejudices in society against things that are too unusual. A character with obvious cyborg technology may be treated as some sort of freak, considered dangerous by people who wouldn't know better. One whose cyborg elements include weaponry would have to be registered with local authorities and in fact may not be allowed to wander the streets at all.

Now, just because they're rare doesn't mean they don't exist. So long as a character is at least plausible and isn't an outright disruption, there's no restriction against them in the setting. There are aready a few characters with cyborg technology around - Arcia's only one of them. Just be ready for the questions if you choose to use one.
For example:
- Your cyborg gets injured or intoxicated and someone calls an ambulance. Would they be able to go to hospital or would they have to carry the appropriate documentation to overrule the paramedic's authority to take them?
- How obvious is the cyborg technology, would it affect things around your character?
- How much of the body is actually affected by the technology? Just an eye? An arm and the heart? The entire left side of the body? Does that mean the character can only eat certain types of food?
- How on Earth did your character get like that?
- How far can a person's body be repaired and replaced before it becomes a "thing" that is owned by whoever paid for the work? An android or robot is property. It has no legal rights of its own and is not considered to have emotions.
- Would the cyborg smell any different than a "normal" person?

Things to think about...

- Pounamu

Thanks for the help, both of you. I will take all those points into consideration. I hope to see you in chat!

a query on the setting

not sure how to word this exactly, so I'll try my best. I use a character called kojiro. His job is to investigate the 'weird' cases for the police, or at least that's the cover for the press and media. His main job (the investigations being a lesser aspect of it) is to protect any and all non-human sentients from violent acts wether they be commited by human or other beings. I was wondering, does this make sense to anyone other than me?

Hi Sagetim/Kojiro,
Yes, it makes sense. I get the feeling it could be better worded, but I can't think what.
That night of the dunk tank, I got the impression your character dealt primarily with the odd cases, over anything else.

- Pounamu

Sorry I have to post this here, but my Private Message thingy won't work.
I was wondering the ture power of tech. I myself ask if you could add abnormal items to your person through prosthetic limbs. Specifically (no one go stealing my idea) I was wondering if "someone" could install Working wings on a humanoid. If I can fully explain how to do it, using muscles, genetic research, nerve systems, lasers, materials, and weight factors (important), would this level of technology be possible? (even if only a few people know how to do it, as the methods are... a little extreme.) It would turn out slightly akin to a cross between Deathwing's wings and an Inevitable's.

And I would word it: Kojiro works as a criminal investigator as well as robot-rights activist, maybe?

Hi Waara Eligre Ai'Loki,
You wouldn't be the first to add unusual things to a character through technology. someone showed up in the first fortnight of TMP being opened with some form of very obvious tech wing grafted to his body. If I remember correctly, he was immediately treated as a dangerous freak by the public, perhaps an escaped scientific experiment and probably valuable on the black market.

I don't know the examples you're used, but I imagine the wings would be rather cumbersome. Necessary wingspan to weight ratio for a human would cause that, humans aren't very well designed for flight and are far heavier for their size than birds or bats are. Its also unlikely that the wing would be perfect. One of the biggest questions would be how the body would generate enough power/energy to use them much...

Why would Kojiro be a robot-rights activist? His situaion doesn't strike me as being towads robots in particular...

- Pounamu