From:	Robert Watkins <bob@**.NTU.EDU.AU>
Subject:	Re: Cyber-psychosis
Date:	Wed, 14 Jun 1995 11:28:22 +0930

Stainless Steel Rat wrote:
> I've dealt with multiple amputees, para- and quadrapalegics, cancer and
> MS patients, and a variety of others who'd benefit from cybernetics,
> some of whom have a variety of prosthetics today. Prosthetics do NOT
> make these people feel "less human". To the contrary, being enabled by
> what devices we have tody makes them feel that much better about
> themselves. Belive me, there's nothing more dehumanizing than being
> confined to a wheelchair or hospital bed; anything that breaks these
> people out of their confinement is going to have a completely opposite
> effect than these crocked "cyberpsychosis" mechanics.

Hear, hear... I can't see why having a limb replaced would make you less
human. I can understand why someone mentally unbalanced would be more
likely to volunteer for it, though...

The only justification I can see for the cyberpyschosis syndrome is that
you do end up fiddling with the brain. This could be bad if you didn't know
what you were doing. But, as far as the Shadowrun Cyber system goes, it
doesn't matter how many things you get installed, you're only going to have,
at most, something like 4 interfaces. Things like headware cost more
essence than other things, because your brain is affected more, but it's
still not likely to be a problem.

--
Robert Watkins bob@**.ntu.edu.au
Real Programmers never work 9 to 5. If any real programmers
are around at 9 am, it's because they were up all night.
*** Finger me for my geek code ***