From:	Midn Daniel O Fredrikson <m992148@****.NAVY.MIL>
Subject:	Re: Sr Companion
Date:	Tue, 3 Dec 1996 11:07:11 -0500

>
> > The SOTA rules are, IMO, nonsense. Consider: if the SOTA advances on
> > Wired Reflexes, why should your character get *slower*? Normal, unwired
> > people are still moving at the same speed. Just because someone came out
> > with a better version doesn't mean you should slow down. Similarly,
> > why should advances in magic theory make your libraries less useful and
> > reduce your ability to invent spells? Why should your body armor be less
> > able to defend against attacks that didn't get affected by the SOTA?
>
> That's what I got thinking about yesterday as well (amazing, the things
> you do to avoid thinking about the wind you're pedalling against on your
> bike... :) Cyberware could degrade over time due to general wear, like a
> car that doesn't get maintained properly will start breaking down more
> often, but if the ware is kept in good working order, it should last a
> lifetime, if not longer. Same thing for body armor -- a ceramic plate that
> stops a rifle round is a ceramic plate that stops a rifle round, whether
> it was manufactured in 1996 or in 2056. (Except, of course, if the rifle
> rounds get more powerful in the mean time.)
>
I don't know about cyberware degration, but I could see using SOTA for
armor, though it would be a much longer time period than for software. As
both the armor and the armor piercing technology advances, the old stuff
would gradually become obsolete. There is also degredation from repeated
bullet hits. (Read somewhere that after a bullet proof vest gets shot, it
is supposed to be discarded. Something about weakening and displacing the
kevlar fibars.) Also a ceramic plate made in 2056 should be much better
than one in 1996 due to advances in ceramic bonding technology, quantem
physics, ect. Just compare the armor on the M1A1 to the armor on the M60.
Or the main gun for that matter. Big differences. One last possibility
for armor denegration is 'awakened' or accidently releaced
micro-organisms. Who knows what bacteria will be eating in 2056. If they
can eat through the London dome, why not ballistic armor as well.