[d20 Future] 22nd Century: Solar Odyssey to Hell. [The game]

[Turanil]

I didn't see anything praticularly suspicious. Just an old man who looks to be suffering from some mental illness.

And now that you think about it, who happened to wear the same kind of laboratory clothing as the two Indians accompanying him, and as Dr. Mopta as well.

 

[Christopher Lambert]

Dr. Mopta is a reasonably good scientist, yet his unethical practices got him to be in disfavor with the scientific community. At first he simply appeared to study bioelectricity in living beings. (Eels for example, have the unique ability to discharge both weak and strong electric current: the weak current is used primarily to locate and stun prey; the strong current is used almost exclusively as a weapon to attack prey). But then, he bio-engineered mammals gifted with such electrical capabilities. However, he always got animals that would kill themselves and agonize in pain from the massive amounts of electricity they were able to produce. Furthermore, there was no practical use seen in (eventually) creating humans able to discharge electricity, except for creating assassins. So in the end Dr. Mopta went out of work. That was until five years ago, when he went to Mars and was not heard of thereafter (i.e.: there is no records of his whereabouts during that time, except that he was off in some minor colony, nobody knows which one exactly). Then, one year ago he came back from Mars and begun to work for Shabu-Avindranath Corp.

This is very strange, muses Lambert. Why would he want to create assassins if he wasn't working for some political or criminal group at the time? He would he have sold them too? I think he may have been working with Shabu-Avindrinath for quite a while, unofficially. Of course, it's possible he was working with some other such group.

What do we know about these companies he worked with before?

There is nothing of real interest in the backgrounds of the company's others scientists. You only note about one of them: Dr. Sarah Wenders. She is a U.S. scientist who got some judicial problems when she wanted to clone a dead relative, several years ago. She now works for Shabu-Avindranath Corp. in the Ashira_29 station.

OOC: What do we know about cloning now? Is it possible to speed up the growing process and download memories?

I wouldn't be surprised if these two people worked together in the past... although it seems to me that if she were trying to create assassins as well that she's using a risky strategy. A clone might not be loyal, for starters...

 

[Brendan Radley]

"So the wealthy new head of the church isn't all that concerned with his faith, but rather with the status conferred from his new position?" Brendan says, crossing his arms in thought, "A worthy candidate for our attentions, but I can't perceive any solid links between him and the stolen goods. What I have trouble picturing is how the Church would be useful to the Martian Triads, suggesting there's a link."

 

[Turanil]

OOC: What do we know about cloning now? Is it possible to speed up the growing process and download memories?

OOC: Cloning in the 22nd century. - Normally, cloning just consists in implanting embryonic cells with the DNA of a specific person to be "copied", in either a woman or an exowomb. As such, aside from being the replication of another person, a clone is a normal human who must grow and learn at the same rate, thus takes years to become an adult. Then, this adult may be a genetical copy of a former person, he is nonetheless a different individual with his own personnality and legal rights, not that of the person duplicated. This practice is legal in many places, although some nations require authorization for doing so. - Bioshells are what Shabu-Avindranath Corp. manufactures. The body is a replication of that of another person, but it is grown in a biogenesis tank extremely quickly (duration vary, the shorter bringing more potential for failure or flaws). Then, the mind, which is still that of a baby, receives an infomorph, and as such, a mind emulation of the person to be duplicated. So what the bioshell really is, is a living machine. Now, a bioshell's legal status depends on the infomorph occupying the body (and of course of the laws of the nation considered, which can be extremely convoluted and lead to endless legal proceedings). In any case, bioshells are much controversial and many people call them "zombies". - Note that Dr. Sarah Wenders was greatly affected by the death of a relative and wanted to replace him with a bioshell who would have had a fully sapient AI, which wasn't authorized in the US. So, upset she decided to leave her country and ended up in this station.

 

[Caine Freerover]

OOC: Cloning in the 22nd century. - Bioshells are what Shabu-Avindranath Corp. manufactures. The body is a replication of that of another person, but it is grown in a biogenesis tank extremely quickly (duration vary, the shorter bringing more potential for failure or flaws). Then, the mind, which is still that of a baby, receives an infomorph, and as such, a mind emulation of the person to be duplicated. So what the bioshell really is, is a living machine. Now, a bioshell's legal status depends on the infomorph occupying the body (and of course of the laws of the nation considered, which can be extremely convoluted and lead to endless legal proceedings). In any case, bioshells are much controversial and many people call them "zombies".

Is it possible to download a person's mind-state into an infomorph with any kind of fidelity? Are there AIs, for example, that used to be people and still have the legal status of one?

 

[Turanil]

Is it possible to download a person's mind-state into an infomorph with any kind of fidelity? Are there AIs, for example, that used to be people and still have the legal status of one?

OOC: Mind Emulation in the 22nd century. - It is indeed possible to "copy all the structure" of a human brain, and thus its memories and personality. A mind emulation is in fact a conscious, self-aware, working digital model of the way a particular living being's brain functions. A mind emulation must be then stored into a computer contained within a bioshell or a cybershell, or at least within a computer with some alternate reality simulation. - Producing a mind-emulation is an extremely delicate process, which can be done with more or less fidelity. There are basically three degrees of accuracy: Ghost. A living or newly dead patient is placed in nanostasis and its brain perfectly reproduced digitally, but using a process that destroys it (called "brain peeling"). A ghost is a mind emulation mentally indistinguishable from the original person. However, there are risks involved in that once in a while the operation fails and produces a flawed result. In addition, is the mind emulation a true person or just a machine that "thinks" it is? This is the subject of heated debates and endless legal proceedings. In fact, nobody has ever been able to conclude anything with certainty for that matter. Fragment. It is a failed attempt at creating a ghost, usually because the brain was dead for too long and not kept in nanostasis. A fragment has little or no memory of its past existence, but retains vestiges of its original personality and skills. Shadow. These are lesser mind-emulations, clearly different from the original person, although much similar. They are "low-sapient AI" that can be run on lesser computers. They can be formed from just scanning a living individual rather than destroying the brain through "brain peeling replication". Note that for Vincent, Mr. Balmers looked like a bioshell animated by a shadow. - The problem of the legality of a mind emulation is extremely complex. The laws vary from one nation to another, and then within the same nation it depends on circumstances. There are judicial battles that go for years over the rights of a ghost. Of course, it almost always revolves around monetary considerations. Lets suppose that an agonizing billionaire wants to get turned into a ghost before death. If he just keeps some of his money and then leave for deep space to never be seen again, there probably won't be much problems. Now if he wants to remain an immortal businessman instead of having his descendants inherit, or worse keep on a position of power and influence, that's another problem entirely! (For more info on this subject, see Transhuman Space p.78-79)

 

[Turanil]

"How does tomorrow morning around 0900 sound? That will give me a bit of time to round up my science team for the technical details."

So the night passes, made up of discussions, research, and sleep. Then, the next day Vincent Collins and a few others take the shuttle to go back to Ashira_29 and pay a visit to Shemezgan & Balmers...

[OOC: Those who want to do something particular, tell it; then Vincent and his group are in the office of Shemezgan & Balmers, ready to Bluff and what not. So when Vincent begins, you are de facto in the station with nothing more than your hidden laser pistol.]

 

[Jay Purr]

OOC: Those who want to do something particular, tell it; then Vincent and his group are in the office of Shemezgan & Balmers, ready to Bluff and what not. So when Vincent begins, you are de facto in the station with nothing more than your hidden laser pistol.

Jay will "go along for the ride." In other words, he will pilot the shuttle, but remain with it while the contact group is with Shemezgan & Balmers. He will keep his communicator active and be ready to aid the contact group if requested to do so. He will have all of his combat gear with him, but not equipped, in the shuttle.

 

[Vincent Collins]

As stated earlier, Vincent will take the "science team" to meet with Shemezgan & Balmers, making certain that they are prepared to have a list of reasonable acquisitions to bring to the table for plasma/antimatter research,

"Now the goal of this visit is simple; we are attempting to ascertain whether the company has anything to hide regarding the antimatter theft or any connections to the bomb's disappearance. I plan to monitor the human for any signs of deception. Perhaps one member of the combat team could come along as a "bodyguard" and attempt to plant one of HAR-Vee's surveillance devices at an appropriate moment."

As soon as one member of the team volunteers to plant the device, Vincent takes the crew to the shuttle and departs for the station.

 

[Liam Forbes]

Just wanted to check in and say Liam is around. I simply haven't had anything to contribute. Maybe when we start using the Tellarion?