| From: | Ereskanti@***.com Ereskanti@***.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | On Cybereyes |
| Date: | Mon, 13 Sep 1999 13:05:15 EDT |
cpenta@*****.com writes:
> On a lark, I brought up (and described as best I could) Shadowrun's
> cybereyes. After I finished, he asked (Nothing here's verbatim Been
> over a month, and I just thought of it.): 'Now, besides essence, are
> there any penalties to those? Such as, say, psychosis?' OK....one thing
> he brought up that struck me: As great as stuff like cybereyes
> sounds....*Anybody* who gets something like that, especially if they
> were born blind, would likely go incurably and permenantly insane. No,
> more than likely...certainly. The difference is too VAST. Past a certain
> age (like, 1 year old), you become wired to handle a certain situation,
> like blindness. Psychologically, emotionally, and in a lot of cases,
> physically. You would suddenly recieve a STREAM of new information, that
> your mind and your body would be UNABLE, as adaptable as the human being
> is, to adapt to. You'd get the info, but it'd be mishmash you couldn't
> interpret or corroborate with anything else you're getting. Permenantly.
> CONSTANTLY. 24/7. You'd go nuts. Anybody have any opinions, perhaps, on
> IF that little hurdle got beaten? And if so...how? (FASAtypes and such
> want to comment, maybe? Is this explained or covered in M&M?)
I have to admit John, bringing the topic up to an Optometrist is an
interesting approach to things for "Office Chatter". However, there is
something to consider with regards to Cybereyes (and Shadowrun in general).
The psychological impact aside (THAT is a topic not handled all that well IMO
either), there is still the expansions/changes in medical science in
Shadowrun. The technology simple *does* allow for such interfaces to come
into being. Please understand, the research into these advancements is
happening right now (and, to my understanding, they've had loads of luck with
artificial hearing, but the vision thing is still a distance off). I know
that M&M will explain a bit more the "interface" concept of cybertechnology
(long details, too long to go into here even if I could).
And, btw, in most cases the information is NOT new, it is merely being
received in a new manner (the eye "hardware" itself). And, if you think a
bit more about, one way that Shadowrun Game Mechanics do take *some* of the
drawbacks into effect is with the consideration of "Essence Loss". Every
expanded/range of sensation equates to more essence loss somewhere (there is
still a limit to the artificial eye itself even when you think about it).
In all honesty, I think I'd like to have that kind of conversation about the
"Impact of Cybereyes" with an Optimologist or similar medical professional.
I think a lot of insight could come of that.
-K
