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Message no. 1
From: Ben Acosta <BACOSTA1@*****.BITNET>
Subject: A totally loony munchkin idea (And bizzare too)
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 00:28:30 CST
Here's a really weird thing for a Rigger to try.

Take a living but brain-dead body. Either a natural one or a clone, it doesn't
matter as long as it is mindless. Install any cyberware you want, but
especially a headware radio, a simsense rig, and skill wires. Install those
three things in such a way that signals can be relayed to and from the simsense
link and skill wires via headware radio. Also be sure to put in some sort of
processor which would translate radio commands into input which the skillwires
could understand. Now give the Rigger a remote unit and let him take control
of the body. He should recieve all the sensory input he needs from the
simsense rig and should be able to control the body like it was his own via
the skill wires.

Now you have yourself your very own Drone Street Samurai


P.S. A variation on the theme would be to have a computer program or Persona
Chip (Ala Dreamchipper) controling the body. Instant android. I here a corp.
called Cyberdyne is going to try something like this :-)

+-------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
:Benjamin J. Acosta : "When dog bites man, it's not a story. :
:BACOSTA1@*****.UA.EDU : When man bites dog, it's a story. :
:Science Fiction Fan : And when man and dog slug it out for :
:Comic Book Reader : twelve issues and the dog turns out :
:Role Playing Gamer : to be a mutant and Wolverine has a :
:Renaissance Man : guest appearance, It's a Marvel story!" :
:THIS SPACE FOR RENT : --A saying in the Marvel Comics Bullpen :
+-------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
Message no. 2
From: cabanc@******.WKU.EDU
Subject: Re: A totally loony munchkin idea (And bizzare too)
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 14:56:03 EST
Ben Acosta <BACOSTA1@*****.BITNET> writes:
>
>
>Take a living but brain-dead body. Either a natural one or a clone, it doesn't
>matter as long as it is mindless. Install any cyberware you want, but
>especially a headware radio, a simsense rig, and skill wires. Install those
>three things in such a way that signals can be relayed to and from the simsense
>link and skill wires via headware radio. Also be sure to put in some sort of
>processor which would translate radio commands into input which the skillwires
>could understand. Now give the Rigger a remote unit and let him take control
>of the body. He should recieve all the sensory input he needs from the
>simsense rig and should be able to control the body like it was his own via
>the skill wires.
>
>Now you have yourself your very own Drone Street Samurai
>
>
Hmmm, a lot of the automatic responses would be hard for a
computer to do. Walking, breathing, heartbeat, might be hard for a
computer to do.
Not saying it wouldn't work though.
Now...., why?
__-, ___ _________
__(__)|___ _______/ |________|
`----------|_______________---/ `----_____|___
( ___+-----------------<---------_____________-----_
`----- `-----------' | +---_/
candi cabaniss ____/__/___/_____
9780 morgantown rd. | ====== ||
bowling green, ky 42101 |_________________||
cabanc@******.wku.edu
-
Message no. 3
From: Ben Acosta <BACOSTA1@*****.BITNET>
Subject: Re: A totally loony munchkin idea (And bizzare too)
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 20:52:38 CST
Ben Acosta <BACOSTA1@*****.BITNET> writes:
>
>
>Take a living but brain-dead body. Either a natural one or a clone, it doesn't
>matter as long as it is mindless. Install any cyberware you want, but
>especially a headware radio, a simsense rig, and skill wires. Install those
>three things in such a way that signals can be relayed to and from the simsense
>link and skill wires via headware radio. Also be sure to put in some sort of
>processor which would translate radio commands into input which the skillwires
>could understand. Now give the Rigger a remote unit and let him take control
>of the body. He should recieve all the sensory input he needs from the
>simsense rig and should be able to control the body like it was his own via
>the skill wires.
>
>Now you have yourself your very own Drone Street Samurai
>
>
Hmmm, a lot of the automatic responses would be hard for a
computer to do. Walking, breathing, heartbeat, might be hard for a
computer to do.
Not saying it wouldn't work though.
Now...., why?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, what I meant by mindless is that the body has no concious mind. It can
still have enough brain activity to do the breathing, heartbeat, living stuff
automatically. However, with the absence of a sentient mind the body would be
easily controllable via the above method.

As to why, think of it as the ultimate drone. It could allow the Rigger to go
everywhere the rest of his team could while waiting in the safety of the get-
away vehicle. It also would make a very effective combat unit because you
could probably stuff it to the max with cyberware and bioware without having to
worry about essence cost or body index (Well, maybe you'd have to worry about
body index). You wouldn't even need to put in wired reflexes for initiative
boosts because all the gains would be provided by the Rigger's VCR.

Fill it to the max with attribute augmentation, give it a smartgun link, throw
in orthoskin and titanium bonelacing and what have you got? The Terminator.

It would also be willing to soak up more damage than the other team members
would because there is no risk of death (At least for the Rigger that is).
And it would probably pretty hard to effect it would spells because it would
probably be considered highly processed material, and it proabably wouldn't
have an aura. In fact, all illusion spells probably would have to be the cyber
version in order to have any effect on the rigger.

I know the above sounds extremely munchkin (In fact I acknowledged that in my
subject line). However, they're are other uses one can put this process to use
besides combat. For example, Android duplicates. Or, as a useful tool for
exploring places which other drones might have a problem moving around in (like
places with lots of stairs and ladders). Also, for the jaded rich it makes for
interesting toy (I have to be in a party in Germany. But I can't leave the
hospital/office/house. I know. I'll jack into my body at my summer home and
attend through it. Or I want to go on a shadowrun, just to see how the other
half lives, but I don't want to risk my life. I know, I'll go in my spare
body).

I know this is probably a crazy and impractical idea. But hey, a lot of
Shadowrunners are crazy and impractical (not to mention a few corp employees).
It's still possible to do.

+-------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
:Benjamin J. Acosta : "When dog bites man, it's not a story. :
:BACOSTA1@*****.UA.EDU : When man bites dog, it's a story. :
:Science Fiction Fan : And when man and dog slug it out for :
:Comic Book Reader : twelve issues and the dog turns out :
:Role Playing Gamer : to be a mutant and Wolverine has a :
:Renaissance Man : guest appearance, It's a Marvel story!" :
:THIS SPACE FOR RENT : --A saying in the Marvel Comics Bullpen :
+-------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
Message no. 4
From: Ryan Brooks <rlbrooks@***.EDU>
Subject: Re: A totally loony munchkin idea (And bizzare too)
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 01:19:45 EST
>
> Ben Acosta <BACOSTA1@*****.BITNET> writes:
> >
> >
> >Take a living but brain-dead body. Either a natural one or a clone, it doesn't
> >matter as long as it is mindless. Install any cyberware you want, but
> >especially a headware radio, a simsense rig, and skill wires. Install those
> >three things in such a way that signals can be relayed to and from the simsense
> >link and skill wires via headware radio. Also be sure to put in some sort of
> >processor which would translate radio commands into input which the skillwires
> >could understand. Now give the Rigger a remote unit and let him take control
> >of the body. He should recieve all the sensory input he needs from the
> >simsense rig and should be able to control the body like it was his own via
> >the skill wires.
> >
> >Now you have yourself your very own Drone Street Samurai
> >
> >
> Hmmm, a lot of the automatic responses would be hard for a
> computer to do. Walking, breathing, heartbeat, might be hard for a
> computer to do.
> Not saying it wouldn't work though.
> Now...., why?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Well, what I meant by mindless is that the body has no concious mind. It can
> still have enough brain activity to do the breathing, heartbeat, living stuff
> automatically. However, with the absence of a sentient mind the body would be
> easily controllable via the above method.
>
> As to why, think of it as the ultimate drone. It could allow the Rigger to go
> everywhere the rest of his team could while waiting in the safety of the get-
> away vehicle. It also would make a very effective combat unit because you
> could probably stuff it to the max with cyberware and bioware without having to
> worry about essence cost or body index (Well, maybe you'd have to worry about
> body index). You wouldn't even need to put in wired reflexes for initiative
> boosts because all the gains would be provided by the Rigger's VCR.

(deleted long sig)

Like I posted before, If you go to teetot.acusd.edu, it gives the
discription of a sleepwalker. I don't know why you couldn't use the over
cybered body as the rigged non sentient body.
Comments welcomed.

Killian.
Message no. 5
From: Boehme Christian <boehmec@******.UNI-MARBURG.DE>
Subject: Re: A totally loony munchkin idea (And bizzare too)
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 12:41:25 CST
On Thu, 17 Mar 1994 20:52:38 CST, Ben Acosta wrote:

>>Take a living but brain-dead body. Either a natural one or a clone, it doesn't
>>matter as long as it is mindless. Install any cyberware you want, but
>>especially a headware radio, a simsense rig, and skill wires. Install those
>>three things in such a way that signals can be relayed to and from the simsense
>>link and skill wires via headware radio. Also be sure to put in some sort of
>>processor which would translate radio commands into input which the skillwires
>>could understand. Now give the Rigger a remote unit and let him take control
>>of the body. He should recieve all the sensory input he needs from the
>>simsense rig and should be able to control the body like it was his own via
>>the skill wires.

Hm. IMHO this can't be done. If it would be possible to remote control
all the complex movements, the human body is capable of, there would be
no reason to use one. You could easily build a robot then, which has got
a lot of advantages.
But, as I said before, I don't think it is possible. The amount of I/O-data
that is neccessary to translate all sensory data and all commands between
the rigger and the body is IMHO far beyond the capabilities of 2053's
remote controls. Additionally from my understanding of skillwires (I don't
own Sam's catalog) they don't enable you to use as many skills at once
as you want. And remenber : for a mindless body walking, turning around,
jumping etc. are skills which have to be processed via the wires.
No way, I think, unless you're a gamemaster and need it for a good plot
idea. Then just don't let the players get the stuff...

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