| From: | Karl Low <kwil@*********.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Cyberware and Essence (was Regeneration) |
| Date: | Tue, 12 May 1998 10:58:45 -0600 |
>>IMO, cyberware does affect your aura. At the time you lose essence, it
>>becomes an integrated part of you (IMO since there's no clear quote on this
>>subject in SR).
To which David Thompson replied:
>I buy all that, especially about essence loss and cyberware, and it
>becoming integrated into your aura. The question then is: if a
>shapeshifter is in human form, and has cyberware installed (and it is clear
>this is possible), do they not lose any essence. When they transform back
>to animal form, it is canon that the cyberware is rejected. Do they lose
>essence and get it back, or never lose the essence, or lose the essence and
>reject the cyberware anyway.
>
>If they don't lose essence, then you can install as much cyber as you want
>in a shifter, and they won't die, so that seems like a very bad solution.
>
>Regaining essence is always a tricky issue, and it seems clear that FASA
>has stated it isn't possible.
>
>That leaves that they lose essence, and reject the cyberware anyway. That
>would invalidate our idea that essence loss integrates the modifications
>into the aura, thereby preventing regeneration from expelling anything.
>
My own personal feelings on this is that I don't like the idea that cyberware
gets integrated with your aura at all. The way I see it is when you lose a
piece of your meat, you (will) lose a piece of your essence. It takes some
time to fade, but it goes away, and isn't "paid" to anything.
"How do cyber-eyes work then?" people ask, my answer is that in the physical
world, they work as normal. On the astral world, they don't work at all.
However, since we know from SRC that someone who is blind still has no trouble
on the astral, this isn't a big deal. (see Blind flaw)
I've always looked at LOS as LOS on the astral. That's where spell's come
from. That's where your will directs them, that's what they travel through.
Some of them only have effects in the physical world, but I look at it as they
either move through the astral until reaching their destination where they
become physical, or they move through the astral casting a physical reflection
(your fireball).
The trouble is those adepts who don't have astral perception who are chucking
spells around. I don't have a good explanation for that I'll admit, but I
like to think of it as even if you don't have astral perception, you do have
an "awareness" of what's going on on the astral. Not enough to be of any
conscious use, but enough so that when a spell is targeted with what you see
(seeing is done in the mind, remember, the (cyber-)eyes are just the squishy
things used to interpret the light) on the physical, you know how to aim it on
the astral.
Hmm.. thinking about it, if you don't buy the LOS is LOS astral, that
explanation of seeing is done in the mind explains why Cybereyes work for
spells *without* them being integrated into your aura. It also explains why
if you were seeing things (say a mind-manip was causing you to see something)
that had no actual reality, you could still target it for a spell.
I think this way leads to a more coherent system. No exceptions for certain
pieces of cyberware, it keeps the definite division between magic and tech,
and it certainly explains why regeneration would reject cyberware.
Thoughts?
-Karl
Describe blue to a person blind from birth.
