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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chrysalis" data-source="post: 2536531" data-attributes="member: 24060">Man/MachineApologies for the lousy spelling and bad punctuation. I just wrote this on the train over. So its not all great.In the beginning there was godAnd god created manAnd man created machineAnd machines merged with manThe uncomforting reality of Ghost in the Shell.I have decided that the best way of approaching the possiblity of creating d20 Ghost in the Shell, is by putting away the rulebook and looking at what is the goal. I hope over the next few pages to create a sense of how the world of Ghost in the Shell ticks.The NetThe Net in Ghost in the Shell is an organism of information, through an analogy of viruses, antibodies, nervous systems, the Net exists. The Net is not a mechanical organism except when looked at from hardware perspective, hardware is immaterial in the vast sea of knowledge. Through this network everything flows. There are military, and industrial nets, but they all tie into the larger existance of the Net. With the right keys or knowledge these barriers disappear.The CyberbrainedTo traverse the Net all you need is either a cyberbrain or the cumbersome gear of a brain scanner. The cyberbrain reacts more swiftly, understands more than the crude aids of information can ever achieve. Most often the division between those who have cyberbrains and those who do not is starck. The world is an informational hyper age. The amount of information needed to maintain a competitive edge in this post-modern society cannot be achieved through the crude method of visual assimilation. HackersThere is a darker side though with having a cyberbrain. A man need only have a cyberbrain to access informational nodes of the Net. Some of those nodes are people. Even though every cyberbrain comes with an attack barrier to prevent unauthorised usage, the more skilled hackers can pass beyond the defences. When inside a persons mind, the only limitations are those of what is connected to the cyberbrain. Inside they possess the body of the infected host, are able to change memories, overlay personality engrams, or destroy the very physical mind of the host.The GhostThe ghost is what defines what a person is. It is his soul. The whisper in the machine, encased in a cyberbrain unit. It is intangible, but can be quantified, and proven of its existance. Animals, and sometimes machines can be said to possess a ghost. While possible, it does break away from the comfort of human superiority. It is possible to copy the ghost. As a hacker exists longer in the Net, he can create a copy of himself. Upload all his experiences into secure locations throughout the Net that eventually converge back to creating himself. In addition to the slow method, a persons cyberbrain can be copied using a braindubbing machine. This machine often rips out the essence of what makes that a person, and can copy it into software form.Beyond the GhostOutside the ghost are the experiences that create the person as he is. The skills he has learned, the memories, the acquaintances, that all plug him into the social/informational system of society. Those with a cyberbrain are not limited to learning through doing, but can through teaching mechs learn valuable skills, and through specialist software be able to do what other find impossible. External memory modules, beyond those incorporated in the cyberbrain can be utilized. Information far wider than any human a hundred years before could possess is at their fingertips. Databases, skills, and AI, help the cyberbrain in reaching its true potential. Artificial IntelligenceWith the advent of cyberbrains, cyberpsychology came into existence. Enabling the creation of more humanlike AIs. An AI is an expert system devoted a narrow purpose. Whether it is an automous information gather system, a love doll, or a mannequin. They can be as machinelike or as lifelike as desired. Nonetheless, an AI has limited in its responses, understanding, and personality. Often, though AIs are said to contain ghosts even though no such ghost patterns can be discerned, although as AIs become more advanced they begin to inherenet characteristics not of AI, but of artificial organisms.RobotsRobots possess an AI the same way a cyborg possesses a ghost. Although some robots do not look in the slightest humanlike, others can appear perfectly human. Humanity constantly strives for the creation of what is in its own image, and there is the fear that the robot may look back and pluck out that which offends them. A robot, as a syntethic organism is far superior to the human body. It does not need to sleep, drink, or eat. It is able to withstand stresses that a human body could not. However, the robotic mind is fragile and can snap due to the stress of being unable to understand. when that happens, a robot will rarely go on a rampage. Sometimes a hacker, or a saboteur will infiltrate and tweak the programming to make the robot snap. Sometimes combat software is overlayed into the robot, making it alone a deadly match against most heavily armed police units. DecotsDecoy Robots, or decots. Cyberntics and robotics, are permanently twined together. It is hard to say even among experts when a cyborg begins and a robot ends. With decots this blurring of distinctions is enhanced, as these artificial bodies do not have a cyberbrain, but can be manipulated from afar, often being controlled by the original owner. Often used to prevent assassinations or to simply pose as someone who does not exist as a being.CyborgsThe quintessential expression of power. Heads of State become them, soldiers are transformed into them, and the crippled gain new lives. Most full cyborgs live their lives happily never knowing how much untapped power they possess. Others seek to maintain their edge through a body that can be stronger, faster, more versatile than the human body. HumansHumans still exists, but without a cyberbrain they do not have the capacity to maintain their position in the post-modern market place. They have essentialiy become obsolete in the information age.</blockquote>

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