From:	Dave The Shade <IZZYUX2@*******.BITNET>
Subject:	A Word On Everything
Date:	Mon, 10 May 1993 14:15:00 PDT

Hey ho,chummers. O.K. heres the deal. Astreal perception comes from the mages
inate magical ability - it is a "special" sense tied to a mages connection to
astral space and magic. Although this perception is described as "visual" it re
ally has nothing to do with eyes. A mages eyes are essentially the same as anyo
ne elses - a mages mind is not. Astral sense is "seen" because thats the way
mages want to interpret the info they get from astral space. As for the IR -
thermo debate. IR is obtained by compacting and increasing density of sensing r
ods in the retina (this can be done by means of bio or cyber ware), thermo is a
nother sense entirely. Viper's have heat pits on their snouts that can detect
minute gradiatins in thermo (.01 of a farenheit at 100 yards) which they "see"
but viper's actually have very poor eyes. Also all senses are broken down into
data to be fed in the brain, thats why many cybernetists unraveled the code of
transmission of different senses before creating real cyberware. We already had
ultra-micro cameras years ago that emulated the function of eyes - so what, yo
u couldn't just plug them in!!!
Invisibility - merely wrapped some portions of the erm spectrum around the bo
dy. This of course did not stop directional-focus soundwave sensors from spotti
ng people who were invisible.
On the opt/ec mag debate- you must realize that opt ag eyes use multistage
lenses and micro telescoping features. Because of the intricasy of these device
s they can easily attain high resolution magnification. After all the lenses ar
e orbital pure crystal fiber optic - which in themselves, on a nanotech level,
act to modify, enhance, and transmit visual data. Electronic eyes are also very
powerful, they are special nano cameras with a surprisingly powerful array of
enhancement features and computer - but because of the extremely small space of
the eye they are not as effective. In the longrun and with bigger equipment
electronics are superior.
Just remember that mother nauture created regular, lowlight, thermo, and mag
sight first in her creatures (no, I'm not a shaman) but my motto is - whatever
mother nature created, neotech can do better and cheaper.

In the Shadows, On the Edge
KHANx

See'ya at The Urban Predator