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Message no. 1
From: Angelkiller 404 angelkiller404@**********.com
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 17:55:07 -0400
OK guys, here's a topic I've been wondering about. I'm beginning a
fanfic about a character who just happens to be HIV-positive (not
full-blown AIDS, just HIV-positive). Interesting thing is, he's a
physical adept. Some questions (right now, I'm just pulling these out
of my butt; when I get the time to actually elaborate on these
questions, then I'll ask them if these aren't answered by then):

1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
cases, or completely cured due to magic?

2) If a character has HIV, does this still qualify as a "Borrowed
Time" flaw at the start, when it starts to develop into AIDS, or when
he actually catches something? Would AZT (or something more advanced)
push back the six-month time limit?

3) Would any spells or physical adept abilities cure or slow down the
disease?

-----
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class of '99:

Do...not...gun down your high school. If I could offer you
only one tip for the future, not gunning down your high
school would be...it. The long-term benefits of not gunning
down your high school have been proved by scientists,
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis and is no
reliable than my own meandering experience. I will
dispense this advice now...

Angelkiller 404

http://www.mindspring.com/~angelkiller404/
http://www.gibbed.com/parasiteve/

ICQ: 2157053
Message no. 2
From: Nexx Many-Scars nexx@********.net
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 20:38:16 -0500
----- Original Message -----
From: Angelkiller 404 <angelkiller404@**********.com>

> 1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
> or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
> sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
> cases, or completely cured due to magic?

I think it's still around, but curable by magic... it's a tough bugger,
though, so I would make curing it more difficult, and perhaps even give it
a resistance test.

> 2) If a character has HIV, does this still qualify as a "Borrowed
> Time" flaw at the start, when it starts to develop into AIDS, or when
> he actually catches something? Would AZT (or something more advanced)
> push back the six-month time limit?

HIV, not full-blown AIDS, would be a lesser version of Borrowed Time IMO,
and then only if the character has some reason he cannot get it cured.

> 3) Would any spells or physical adept abilities cure or slow down the
> disease?

I would allow Body Control dice to fight diseases. I think that the proper
effect for AIDS is to reduce a person's Body attribute with regards to
resisting diseases... Body Control power could offset that loss.
Message no. 3
From: Wordman wordman@*******.com
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Sun, 09 May 1999 23:10:07 -0400
> 1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
> or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
> sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
> cases, or completely cured due to magic?

It would be cured, but not by magic. Zeta-interferon (see Shadowtech) can be
built to fight HIV. In fact, I'd wager that the research that led to
Zeta-interferon was probably AIDS related. An anti-AIDS zeta-interferon was
probably one of the first ones developed. (Well, maybe anti-VITAS came
first).

Wordman
Message no. 4
From: Patrick Goodman remo@***.net
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 22:17:08 -0500
>1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
>or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
>sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
>cases, or completely cured due to magic?

http://members.aol.com/talonmail/faeries.html

Not canon, by any means, but considering the source (that's Steve Kenson's
site), I'm inclined to follow his lead.



Possible spoilers for Steve Kenson's "Radical Faeries" article follow. I
don't think they're necessary, but I'm trying to be polite.





Reader's Digest Condensed Version: Seretech announces an HIV vaccine in
2008. The AIDS plague ends, to be replaced with VITAS a few years later.

He also tells us how VITAS works, something not terribly well covered in
canon sources.

--
(>) Texas 2-Step
El Paso: Never surrender. Never forget. Never forgive.
Message no. 5
From: Danyel Woods 9604801@****.ac.nz
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 15:59:45 +1200
Quoth Angelkiller 404 (1755 9-5-99):

>OK guys, here's a topic I've been wondering about. I'm beginning a
>fanfic about a character who just happens to be HIV-positive (not
>full-blown AIDS, just HIV-positive). Interesting thing is, he's a
>physical adept. Some questions (right now, I'm just pulling these out
>of my butt; when I get the time to actually elaborate on these
>questions, then I'll ask them if these aren't answered by then):
>
>1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
>or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
>sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
>cases, or completely cured due to magic?

In Nigel Findley's novel _Lone Wolf_, a supporting character winds up at a
street doc with a weird disease. While talking with the dying man's
associates, the doctor mentions that the disease acts somewhat similar to
AIDS 'before the T-5 phage treatment was discovered'. I took that to imply
that the disease, while it still exists, is treatable and/or curable, and is
an isolated occurrence.

>2) If a character has HIV, does this still qualify as a "Borrowed
>Time" flaw at the start, when it starts to develop into AIDS, or when
>he actually catches something? Would AZT (or something more advanced)
>push back the six-month time limit?

I'd consider it 'borrowed time', all right, but since there are many HIV
patients out there who have had the disease for some years, I'd say the time
limit would apply only from when it developed into full-blown AIDS.
Catching a secondary infection would cut the patient's time dramatically or
not at all, depending on how much intensive treatment they can obtain. Off
the top of my head, inhibitor drugs like AZT might buy the patient some more
time - call it (1d6 x 5)%, or 5d6 +/- 5 months if you're feeling generous.
Of course, this would necessitate intensive RP from a PC; buying off the
flaw with karma might represent the disease going into remission, or even a
full-blown magical cure.

>3) Would any spells or physical adept abilities cure or slow down the
>disease?

Without my books to hand, things like Increased Body and Rapid Healing would
probably buy extra time, and Suspended State (SR3) certainly would.
Something like Immunity to Pathogens might work to prevent initial
infection, but I'm not sure if that's actually a legal (phys)adept power.
Spells... I'll get back to you after I've had time to check.

Danyel Woods - 9604801@****.ac.nz <mailto:9604801@****.ac.nz>
_Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you._
Message no. 6
From: Starrngr@***.com Starrngr@***.com
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 05:25:55 EDT
In a message dated 5/9/99 6:35:06 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
angelkiller404@**********.com writes:

> 1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
> or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
> sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
> cases, or completely cured due to magic?

As of 2061 if one has the resources AIDS would not be a threat, due to the
creation of Zeta interferon and Gene therapy. It would probobly still be out
there, but by this time would be restricted to the sinless of the barrens who
would not have access to the sort of resources needed to kill it. Treat
Disease would also proboly stop it in its tracks, but would not repair any
damage done to a person by it.

> 2) If a character has HIV, does this still qualify as a "Borrowed
> Time" flaw at the start, when it starts to develop into AIDS, or when
> he actually catches something? Would AZT (or something more advanced)
> push back the six-month time limit?

I'd say it depends on the setting of the game in question. If your running
in an area where all he would need to do is just earn enough nuyen and drop
by a hospital, thats one thing. If he moves in other circles where high tech
medical treatment is very rare, thats another. In the first case, I'd say
having "borrowed time" means he's moved from HIV-positive to AIDS, while in
the second he is just HIV positive. In either case, its up to YOU the gm to
decide what happens when. AZT would no longer be used at all. Zeta
Interferon will cure AIDS by stoping its ability to reproduce. Gene therapy
will undo the damage done by the disease.

> 3) Would any spells or physical adept abilities cure or slow down the
> disease?


Treat disase would cure it totaly, but none of the pysad powers Ive seen so
far would really be of any use. I'd also use a different mechanic for AIDS
than other toxins/diseases. If I (as a gm) were going to handle this, I'd do
it like this:


After it becomes Full blown AIDS it when "borrowed time" starts. At that
point, every time your exposed to a disease or toxin, each success those
nasties get removes one block of damage from your condition monitor (starting
with overdamage). Once you no longer have overdamage, it permanantly crosses
one box off your condition monitor AND you loss one point of Str, Bod or
Quick (players choice). Note that this is in addition to any damage these
nasties do during the course of thier infection anyway. Clearly, the further
along the disease is, the easier it is to take lethal damage from just about
anything! This damage can only be "healed" through the use of reconstructive
healing gene therapy, which takes a month and costs $100,000Y, or more if
your feeling particularly evil. (For those of you who want to be really
nasty, consider this 1 day & $10,000Y per box of damage AND per point of
Str/Bod/Quick that must be recovered, minimum time 1 week, min cost $50,000
as per the book. Increadibly EVIL GM's might also note that the charecter is
effectivly HOSPITALIZED for this period, and add the appropriate lifestyle
cost to the treatment!)
Message no. 7
From: Peter Nicol peter@*******.freeserve.co.uk
Subject: AIDS and the Sixth World
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 22:49:05 +0100
> OK guys, here's a topic I've been wondering about. I'm beginning a
> fanfic about a character who just happens to be HIV-positive (not
> full-blown AIDS, just HIV-positive). Interesting thing is, he's a
> physical adept. Some questions (right now, I'm just pulling these out
> of my butt; when I get the time to actually elaborate on these
> questions, then I'll ask them if these aren't answered by then):
>
> 1) I haven't seen any mention of a cure for AIDS (or how it's spread,
> or if anything worse (and related) ever came up) in any of the
> sourcebooks. Do you think it'd still be rampant, a set of isolated
> cases, or completely cured due to magic?
>
> 2) If a character has HIV, does this still qualify as a "Borrowed
> Time" flaw at the start, when it starts to develop into AIDS, or when
> he actually catches something? Would AZT (or something more advanced)
> push back the six-month time limit?
>
> 3) Would any spells or physical adept abilities cure or slow down the
> disease?

According to the cyberpirates sourcebook there is a repressor
treatment for HIV from JHIH (formerly the John Hopkins Institute of
Health) but no cure from this, and the text in the book, I would
surmise that a person with HIV would have to take a daily dose of
the repressor to avoid the disease becoming active.
As for the borrowed time i would allow it but for a lesser value say
2/3 of the value listed as it is potentailly fatal but as long as the
treatment is continued the disease is realtivly harmless. Though I
would also rule that the character would have to be careful about
picking up secondery infections as this could interfere with the
repressor.

P.S. they also have repressor treatments for VITAS I and II.


Hope this helps
PETE

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Thwap!