Truthsayer

Dark anti-heroes of the street pitted against the smooth plastic noir of a corporate world on the verge of breaking down the barrier between Science and Metaphysics.

Set in the year 2024, early Cybernetic and Nano-technology, advanced Bioengineering, and Genetic Manipulation will constitute the level of enhancement. The theme will be a mystery/sci-fi blend with the paradox of dark heroes of the street versus a smooth plastic noir of a corporate world where technology is on the verge of breaking down the barriers between Quantum Mechanics and Metaphysics. Discreet Outlaw, Engineer, Doctor/Healer, Entertainer, Investigator, Clergy, Scientist and Military ‘Quiet-kill’ concepts encouraged. “Battlewagon” characters targeted with Extreme Prejudice.

We are a race so overwhelmed in chaos that we can barely detect that there is a cold war raging in the collective consciousness of our culture. Voices pull at us from the worlds of consumerism and marketing, but their disparity is as the clamor of the din and lacks real power. There are voices focused as a lens, coloring our perceptions and seeking to control the collective consciousness.
They create Truth in their own image on a massive scale with single-minded zeal, poisoning the masses that listen blindly or even absently to an insidious subliminal monotone in the background of our lives.
We are being sinisterly and subtly programmed by that unrelenting, unwavering influence. It pulls at our emotions, alters our instincts, and attempts to divide us from each other and our inner selves. Our race is expanding into the cosmos of time and possibility and many schools of thought are vying to be the controlling voice. Have we become so accustomed to the background hum that we let it mutter quietly at the underside of our psyche, like a madman in the dark, subliminally programming our values and building our consensual reality for us? That force must be resisted and our minds opened to the whole of human potential.
We can no longer fear being wrong or different from an ideal, as the evolution of science and technology shrinks the world and peels away the vast unknown. Ignorant refusal of new truths does not make them go away, nor does blind acceptance of mass deception make it legitimate. We must fearlessly seek genuine Truth and not accept what is given under the veil of false authority. We must open our minds and forge reality in our own image!
We exist on the edge of excess due to our conscious choice to separate from the way things are and live in the gray noir balance of true paranoia. The Machine will be after you and it just keeps coming, it’s only a question of when. We must walk the fine line of a personal code of ethics in a lifestyle that forces split second decisions between survival and sanity. We push the boundaries of static reality in a battle that must be won at any price. Addictions, withdrawal, and physical damage are a small price for temporary invulnerability, enhanced perception, and boundless strength. Cutting edge hardware is a must to push the advantage. The New Tech requires a sacrifice in blood and bone and we throw ourselves on that altar. We seek maximum advantage regardless of the drawbacks of pharmaceutical assistance, moral indiscretions, or technical dependence.
It’s a cycle. Buy the gear. Power up on the medicinal. Break their rules. Make the tough calls on life and death. Power down with more drugs to get over it. Keep your head down and stay on the move. More pills and more gear, push harder and further in search the edge of tolerance. It is hard to find the true edge until you’re balanced on it and maintaining it is a gamble. One more dose, one more implant, one more Op, which one will be too far?

To reflect the effect of implanting technology that bestows super human abilities, the following cyberpsychosis rules will be used. For every 250 points of implanted cybernetics, the character gets a -1 to a WILL test against a Bid of 1 to 5, that is performed each time a new piece of hardware is installed or when the character performs an inhuman act; Murder, Imprisonment, Torture, Persecution, or any behavior that would lead to feelings of Alienation, Egotism, Obsession or Paranoia. If the test is failed, the character must select a mental Quirk that fits the circumstance (Addiction, Paranoia, Phobia, Delusions, etc.) for which they receive no points. These Quirks will increase in severity with repeated failures.
“...Over the years, we've had thousands of clients get pierced or tattooed, and comments such as, ‘I feel so much stronger now,’ ‘I know it’s just a little ring in my belly, but I feel much better about myself now’ were not uncommon. And many of these people were discriminated against because of their appearance. Many of these people were marking their belonging to a certain subculture or group, and thus distinguishing themselves from other groups. Once they got one piercing or tattoo, they would come back for more saying how ‘addictive’ they were. Whenever they had a photograph taken of them, they'd have to stick out their tongue to show their piercing or roll up their sleeve to show their ink. Others would play constantly with their tongue jewelry to the point of pissing off friends or coworkers. Some would scrimp and save every paycheck so they could get more metal, better metal, shinier metal, or more ink, brighter colors. They'd start to come into the shop more than once a week worried that their piercing was getting infected. Or come in and moan and groan about how they got fired because they had a piercing or tattoo (not because they were chronically late or lazy). Is it just me, or does this sound like classic Egotism, Alienation, Obsession, and Paranoia?”
Quoted from http://www.ambient.ca/cpunk/change2.html