Paradigm Shift

Humanity is quickly approaching a precipice. In the year 2052, we will reach… Something. Something that will change the lives of every human being on the planet. Now it requires only a catalyst, to begin the realization. That catalyst has finally been added: The death of a 17 year old high school student, someone who, the day before he died, was just another person living in this old world. Now, his death has set into motion the series of events that will lead to a conclusion many have considered impossible. What will be your role in the Paradigm shift?

This RP is sourced from various media (Deus Ex, Total Recall, etc.), set in a dark, near future world. Players will work solo or in a team to unravel the mystery surrounding this case, and ultimately come face to face with the unknown. Some rules, before you consider joining the RP:
1. This RP is somewhat free roam. While you may be given clues as to where you should probably head next, you are free to try other possible leads and encouraged to explore the world to your leisure. However, there is a time limit for certain events, so tread lightly, or you may miss out on vital information.
2. Try to get along with your fellow players OOC. We’re all here to have fun, after all. This, however, doesn’t extend to your characters. If, for obvious reasons, your characters might not get along (Say, a police investigator and a street thug), then role play that. Try to refrain from killing each other, though.
3. As for character death… It’s permanent. No do-overs, no God Modding, etc. If you get yourself into a tough situation, and you can’t come up with a reasonable line of thought to get out of it, then that’s it. You may make another character though, for just such an event, and keep playing.
4. This RP is fraught with peril, and you must choose your actions wisely. Teaming up with other players may help, but if you want to try to play solo, then do it. There is no right or wrong path to take, and who knows? You might just discover the clue you need to reach the end of this RP.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the world and lore of this RP:

Location: Los Angeles, California
With the advances made over the last fifty years, Los Angeles has seen many changes, and is now at the fore front of many new and exciting innovations. These changes include robotic drone assistants for all areas of industry, to near perfect prosthetics and genetic enhancement. The most interesting invention, however, is the fabrication of the internet into a ‘real’ place known as the Cloud, using VR to access various forms of media, from home shopping to gaming to ‘darker’ areas of the internet.
However, there are still many social conflicts about. Poverty is at an all-time high, crime is rampant, and many hacker organizations exist throughout the city, from petty scammers to freedom fighters actively trying to bring the corporations and government to its knees.

People/groups of interest:
Meridan Conglomerate: A big investor of various Cloud properties and other cutting edge technologies, their reach and influence is truly gargantuan. From pharmaceuticals to robotics to Cloud usability, Meridan has lately shown great interest in Cloud utility software, presumably for it’s powerful effect on advertising and mass communication.

Church of the First Deity: The recent evolution of various technology worshippers, they are fanatical believers in trans-humanism, and believe that God is not eternal, but will be a machine created by man who will deliver them unto a new age. While mainly a peaceful, if not cultist like, gathering of people, occasionally extremists will perform attacks on what they call Savages, bombing or taking hostages who threaten their cause. This organization is under active monitoring from Federal Services.

Silver Lining: A gathering of hacktivists and general trolls specializing in illicit internet dealings, Haven griefing and Shell jacking, as well as causing general mayhem on Cloud services and robbing or ransoming small businesses and large corps alike. While being pursued by law enforcement and federal agencies alike around the world, they are illusive, and arrests are rare.

TransHuman Enforcement and Retrieval Unit: A specialized taskforce extension of the LAPD and funded by SecSol Corp, these officers specialize in dealing with dangerous and rogue TransHumans, utilizing state of the art weaponry and equipment to apprehend threats too powerful for the standard forces. With a high death count and few recruits, this unit is unsurprisingly small.

The Akimitsu Cartel: A recent crime family emigrated from Japan, these goons are a small yet powerful mafia group that are currently in control of the Southerrn Los Angeles Downtown, and are making moves to extend their influence. While mostly operating in the real world performing extortions, drug dealings and warfare with other gangs, their Cloud services are still highly sought after, with specializations in TransHuman smuggling and cheap illicit augmentations.

CS:
Real Name and Appearance: (You can use a pic, or describe your appearance, here)
Shell Name and Appearance: (Your avatar on the Cloud. Not applicable if your character doesn’t use the Cloud)
Age:
Gender:
Occupation: (Cop, highschool student, thug, etc)
Weapon: (If applicable. Keep to one per character)
Bio:
Relationships: (Relationships are permitted if both parties agree beforehand. Explain the type of relationship here)
Other: (Anything else you want to share? Precious items, favorite color, quirks?)

Useful Terms:
Transhuman – A person who has been augmented either genetically or mechanically, because of injury, sickness or work requirements, etc. These augmentations can range from good looks and intelligence to physical limb replacement or advanced hardware.
Drone – Any robotic laborer, personal assistant, etc. Generally radically different looking to humans.
The Cloud – The virtual web, as opposed to the standard and still present internet.
Haven – A locale on the Cloud, usually populated by Shells and a specific environment reflecting its purpose and nature.
Shell – Any person’s avatar on the Cloud. These are extensive and varied, and no two Shells look the same.
----
So, the RP is {finally} up, and people can begin to make their CS to be approved. I know this is a bit basic atm, so if you have any questions or think something should be added to the OOC guideline, let me know and I will consider it. Hoope to see you guys here ^^

Real Name and Appearance:
Cain Johnson


Shell Name and Appearance:
(If it's okay this is his anonymous helper's shell)
Trojan


Age: 32
Gender: Male
Occupation: Freelance PI (with a dark reputation)
Weapon: Pistol and rifle(used interchangeably)
Bio: (TBA)
Relationships: None
Other: with the situations his job puts him in he has a few tricks and reflexive reactions when fighting.

I know this guy kinda bends some rules, but I can fix it up if you want.

Kyelin said
3. As for character death… It’s permanent. No do-overs, no God Modding, etc. If you get yourself into a tough situation, and you can’t come up with a reasonable line of thought to get out of it, then that’s it. You may make another character though, for just such an event, and keep playing.

Not to be a stickler, but I would like to be contacted should you believe my character is getting too deep. I'd rather be able to talk about it and figure out a course of action prior to something simply happening and blindsiding either of us.

Also, what is the status of AIs? In addition, are some people replacing neural parts with cybernetics?

@UnseenShade

You will know when you're entering a dangerous scenario, the signs will be there. I'm not going to throw the "Suddenly ten cyber death ninjas jump the 16 year old high school student", that'd be just unfair XD AS for AI, it is highly illegal to create unshackled true AI's, and no one has (reportedly) done it, though many shackled rudimentary 'dumb' ones exist (They run things like train lines, TV Programming, etc.) As for neural implants, they are known to happen, but are rare, as the invasive surgical nature of the process means it is generally avoided unless necessary.

What about armored exoskeletons?

Exoskeletons are manufactured, but they are usually only seen in construction and/or special military forces.

Is my character okay or do I need to fix something?

Kyelin said
Exoskeletons are manufactured, but they are usually only seen in construction and/or special military forces.

Opposed to a mechanic that refitted a construction exo into a fighting one?

@Master Crim
Yeah, your character is fine ^^

@Unseen SHade
That is acceptable yes.

Real Name: Kalastra (Kala to friends)

Appearance: Kala stands at about 6'4" tall and sports a fit build, though she does not appear musclebound. Her dark brown hair reaches about halfway down her back and she either keeps it in a long braid or, if time doesn't permit, in a long ponytail. Her skin has only the barest hints of a tan and it lacks blemishes aside from a light scar from a blade cut running down her left cheek and across her jawline. The second scar, a continuation of the same cut, resumes along her collarbone for a few inches where the blade glanced off of her jaw. If she aligns her face properly, one could readily see the whole cut. She wears combat boots, long khaki colored cargo pants, and a black tank top. Over her tank top, if she is not elbow deep in some machine, she wears a khaki colored jacket over the tank top, keeping it unzipped and open. On her hands, she wears brown leather sap gloves with a kevlar layer to protect from lacerations. The gloves cover to the knuckle closest the fingertips. Her boots follow similar form, having a kevlar layer and an articulated steel plate over the kevlar. Both are made to have the fabric conceal the metal and kevlar portions, thus looking like normal gloves and boots to the casual observer. When at home, Kala never wears the jacket, gloves, or boots, and she tends to walk around in a tank top and loose fitting capris. She wears her hair loose and down, not bothering to style it.

Shell Name: R.O.U.S

Shell Appearance: Appears as an anthropomorphic rat with black fur covering her head and running in a wide line down her back. The rest of her fur is white and her eyes are a deep, dark red. She wears clothes and mostly looks like a furry human with a rat head and tail. Wears the same clothing as she does at work.

Age: 24

Gender: Female

Occupation: Mechanic/Tech

Weapon: Modified exoskeleton (Bio has its abilities)

Bio: Kala was born mute. Her parents had not opted for genetic engineering and she was born with the condition. However, she did thrive in her childhood. Her parents worked with her and she developed a means to communicate, taking to writing as easily as most humans take to speaking. In addition, she is fully ambidextrous and sometimes plays tricks with well-known customers by switching what hand she writes with just to see if they notice. Her childhood was not easy, though. School was a problem. Kids bullied her since she couldn't make any noise to get the attention of an adult. After one day of bad beatings, she came home covered in bruises. Her mother promptly began teaching her how to fight after that. She learned how to punch and kick as well as grapple. Her mother was not formally trained, but she was a skilled and experienced brawler. That fighting style passed on to Kala and she used it to stave off bullies. Occasionally, teachers would try to get her in trouble, but the administrators would not allow it as she had no way to vocalize the events, so she needed a way to defend herself until staff saw it.

Her mother also trained her to not be violent, to only use her skills in defense of something. Kala does not seek fights, instead she simply ends them to prevent even more damage. In addition to fighting and writing, she displayed early aptitude in mechanical engineering. She could disassemble and reassemble items easily as well as enhance some items. She was by no means a savant or prodigy, but she simply had an affinity for technology. This led to her going and learning the trade of being a mechanic as well as training under a programmer. She took the training and began a career as a freelance mechanic and tech. Despite her lack of speech, her skills brought customers back. She even charged only enough for payments and a slight profit, which gave her customers more incentive to go back since they knew she would not ask for unfair prices.

To this day, she still owns and works the shop. She finally made the last payment and now truly owns the building, so she lowered her prices slightly to reflect her change in financial needs. Her expendable income went into her getting her beloved pet rat and also in buying a scrapped industrial exoskeleton. This exo became her pet project. She modified its chassis to move more fluidly and gave it increased flexibility. She even modified it to be completely enclosed and provide a HUD for her. Sensors in it indicate where damage is sustained and it is fitted to her specifically.

Until one night where she was almost robbed, the exo existed only as a novelty. It had no weapons or armor. It was simply an exo that worked like a second skin that enhanced her strength and speed. Then, the attempted robbery took place. She had locked up for the night and was finishing up a few things in her books. The robbers assumed she had left and broke through the front door. She assumed they wanted her money, though she knew weapons were possibly involved. She looked at her exo and decided quickly that she needed to set up an ambush to prevent losses. She hopped in and did all preparatory actions to get it ready to act. She left its silent until her HUD detected a robber in front of her. He called back for the others to take a look and she jumped on the lack of attention. She revved it up and delivered a bone-crushing punch to his face. The first robber crumpled to the ground with a grunt of pain. She stepped over him and dashed into the next room, blindsiding another one, knocking him unconscious easily. The third tried to run, but she quickly caught up with him and swept his legs, catching him mid-air and throwing him into the nearby wall. With all the perpetrators unconscious, she walked back to her desk and exited the suit, hog-tying the would be robbers. The police arrived soon after her call and the robbers had since woken up, one of them unable to speak properly due to the crushed jaw. All three would not say what happened and were identified as psychologically traumatized. Kala herself could not speak, so the officers simply took the perps away to be jailed.

After that night, she began to develop her suit into an armored fighting suit. She added ballistic armor to it and enclosed vital areas. She gave it retractable built-in claws on the fingers and added extra reinforcement to the knuckles and feet to add more power to her punches and kicks. For added utility, she added grapple cables to each arm, allowing her to shoot and then retract the cables as she climbed up an object. The motors cannot pull her up without her climbing, but they do have strong brakes to allow her to freely swing if her grip is lost. She can wield firearms in the suit and added targeting functionality to its HUD, but she has to either use specially modified guns or rip off the trigger guard as her exo fingers are too large. She does not carry firearms by default and prefers to beat enemies to a pulp. The most recent addition, though it is still a prototype in testing, is a shock absorption system she developed to mitigate falls. Currently, she can consistently reduce shock from 25ft drops to safe levels, but it is unpredictable beyond that height. The exo itself looks sleek and has specially formed armor to mostly confrom to her body, granting it the appearance of a heavily armored soldier. She gave it a special paint job that made it a deep, almost black purple. The face of it is stylized to look like an African elephant with long tusks that can be used to ram and impale if needed. She figured the elephant face fit the massive bulk and brute strength of her exoskeleton, in addition to its added weapon in the form of foot long tusks that curve upwards near the ends.

Relationships: None

Other: Mute. Incapable of any vocal noise at all. Tends to communicate through motions, writing, and expressions. In exo, she has macros that the suit will project in a robotic voice, but she still mostly motions to get points across.

Has a pet rat that has fur color and markings matching her Shell avatar. Rat's name is Felix and he tends to be carried in her jacket pocket. if she goes to fight, she normally cages him with food and water. If not fighting, she hand feeds him and he likes to perch on her shoulder or on her chest if she is laying down.

Real Name: Boris Drebin (His name was changed, original identity unknown)

Appearance: Light skin, 5'9", slender build. Has medium length black hair that goes unstyled. Typically wears black jeans or sweatpants and a black sweatshirt. When not wearing a sweatshirt, he wears plain colored t-shirts and either shorts or blue jeans.

Shell Name: b0v3rfl0w

Appearance:

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Occupation: Freelance Hacker

Weapon: N/A

Bio: Boris was born into a world at war. He was one of the last descendents of a Bratva sect in Chicago that was at war with a much more powerful mafia group. The war was waged for five years and the outcome was a bloodbath. The Bratva sect was all but eliminated, they left only the small children of this group alive, as they would cause no problems. Those children would grow up with him and be some of his greatest friends. Some fell into new mafia groups, others lived a life of petty crime, but none of them grew up to be anything good for the world. He would be no different.
At the age of 14, he was drawn into the world of hacking. His best friend had invited him to a hacker group who's focus was carding rackets. Boris saw great fortune for a few years as carding could move large quantities of money in a very short time. However, someone in his group slipped up and soon after got the attention of federal agents. The group, including his best friend, made a deal with these agents so they could get away free with him as a sacrifice. Boris found out the plan and was able to get out of town before they were going to make the drop on him.
He changed his identity and drifted around the states for several years. He worked freelance doing many jobs, such as carding, doxxing, and even some 'pen testing'. At the age of 21, he found a more permanent location in LA. He had come here with one goal in mind, survive and thrive.

Relationships: N/A

Other: He has a strong dislike for organised crime and hacktivist groups. He realizes the importance of such contacts however, and he keeps on good terms with these groups. He has many contacts in Silver Lining and a few in the Akimitsu Cartel.
Due to his betrayal, he is very untrusting and paranoid of people around him.
Despite being paranoid and untrusting, he tends to play with people who try to get dirt on him. He makes crude jokes and insults directed to people who don't pass his secret 'tests'.
He doesn't take contracts and will only occasionally look at leads. Due to his paranoid personality, he is always fearful of traps laid for him.

Real Name and Appearance:

Essa Ronnell

Essa has short black hair and pale skin from lack of sunlight. Her eyes are big and brown, sort of giving her a puppydog-like face. She wears a crooked pair of glasses and stands at 5'2". She has a weak frame and tends to hunch over. Her main wardrobe consists of large sweaters or hoodies, and jeans. She looks much younger than she is and seems as fragile as a porcelain doll.

Shell Name and Appearance:

Khayos

Khayos is a total enigma. They're a tall figure with a scrawny build. No one has seen their face thanks to a gas mask that fully covers their head. Their attire consists of a fancy black suit, black leather gloves, and black dress shoes. Most, if not all, assume that Khayos is a male.

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Occupation: Highschool student/Hacker

Weapon: N/A

Bio: Essa was born in a lower-class home. Due to a childhood illness, she spent many days stuck in bed. Her only parent was her mother who worked endlessly to pay for Essa's medication, leaving the child alone most of the time. The illness caused Essa to be home schooled until she reached age 14 when her illness had eased away. At that point, her isolation had caused her to be unused to interaction among other people. This resulted in her remaining quiet and making very little friends.

At age 16, she spent more and more time online, experimenting with codes and gradually learning how to hack. It mainly began as trolling people for fun, but as her expertise grew, so did her confidence. She soon aimed towards bigger businesses, stealing hundreds to thousands of dollars. For once, she was actually powerful. And she's going to make sure things stay that way.

Relationships: N/A

Other: Online, she tends to call people 'child' no matter the age.
Essa is skilled with imitating voices, which also helps conceal her identity.
She's required to take specialized pills to help her cope with her illness. If she doesn't take one, she'll be reduced to a coughing, choking mess.
Khayos is also a well known member of the Silver Lining.

UnseenShade said
After that night, she began to develop her suit into an armored fighting suit. She added ballistic armor to it and enclosed vital areas. She gave it retractable built-in claws on the fingers and added extra reinforcement to the knuckles and feet to add more power to her punches and kicks. For added utility, she added grapple cables to each arm, allowing her to shoot and then retract the cables as she climbed up an object. The motors cannot pull her up without her climbing, but they do have strong brakes to allow her to freely swing if her grip is lost. She can wield firearms in the suit and added targeting functionality to its HUD, but she has to either use specially modified guns or rip off the trigger guard as her exo fingers are too large. She does not carry firearms by default and prefers to beat enemies to a pulp. The most recent addition, though it is still a prototype in testing, is a shock absorption system she developed to mitigate falls. Currently, she can consistently reduce shock from 25ft drops to safe levels, but it is unpredictable beyond that height. The exo itself looks sleek and has specially formed armor to mostly confrom to her body, granting it the appearance of a heavily armored soldier. She gave it a special paint job that made it a deep, almost black purple. The face of it is stylized to look like an African elephant with long tusks that can be used to ram and impale if needed. She figured the elephant face fit the massive bulk and brute strength of her exoskeleton, in addition to its added weapon in the form of foot long tusks that curve upwards near the ends

Not to say you can, cuz I habe no authority to, but your character is a mechanic with a modified suit that is just about military grade battle ready armor. I would not think that a civilian woyld be able to legally own such a suit.

Master Crim said
Not to say you can, cuz I habe no authority to, but your character is a mechanic with a modified suit that is just about military grade battle ready armor. I would not think that a civilian woyld be able to legally own such a suit.

How so? Just get industrial grade cables, a couple small motors, fashion a good set of brakes, add a lot of plating, etc. You could junkyard this. I never said it was uber high tech. The most advanced part is its HUD, which can be programmed and used in AR. Most of it looking sleek and having the elephantine head is aesthetic. The prototype shock absorbers are finicky. She can currently reduce broken bone falls of 25 ft to normal falls, but anything beyond that height is a crap shoot. The armor is ballistic level to stop small arms save for high caliber (.338 and above can penetrate it, so snipers can hurt her if she encounters them), but it is not explosive reactive armor or flak protection. (Bascially, metal plates. Take a look at a few shootings. The shooters used steel plates which stopped all small arms up to 7.62) So, she is far from milspec, but she put time and effort into it to make it look good and also function in combat. Later on, if she gets her hands on it, she will milspec it out, but for now it is basically a junkyard titan type of exo with one really cool HUD system she made. Now, i could reduce the HUD to not have the firearm targeting system so she has to blindfire any time she has one, but that seemed an unfair restriction on an already restricted exo.

For a point of reference, any time she took a fall from more than 25ft, I planned to roll d% to determine what happened. i also planned to roll d% each time to determine if the mechanism broke or became damaged. 1" thick steel that weighs in at 800 pounds plus another 100 ish for hydraulics and such, plus the 5/32" cables would weigh in at just under half a ton and the cables individually would hold the weight up, though she would use both at the same time to guarantee. All of that is publicly available to citizens and the steel would stop non-armor piercing rounds up to 7.62, would selectively stop armor piercing 7.62 rounds, and would slow things above that only. (On perpendicular impact of course. Glancing and angled blows are far less likely to pierce or even go through straight) [Assuming 20 sq. feet of plating and 7x19 steel rope]

I am not arguing that it is OP or unreasonable to have constructed the suit. The thing I am saying is that I am not sure it would be legal for a civilian to own something of that nature. Sure you could find the parts and pieces to make it all, but I could as well make an RPG with household items this does not mean I /legally/ can do such things. (NSA this is an example I have no clue how to make an RPG xP.) I really like the attention to detail with this and all the thought that went into it, I just don't know if the government/authorities of the game would let you keep it.

Master Crim said
I am not arguing that it is OP or unreasonable to have constructed the suit. The thing I am saying is that I am not sure it would be legal for a civilian to own something of that nature. Sure you could find the parts and pieces to make it all, but I could as well make an RPG with household items this does not mean I /legally/ can do such things. (NSA this is an example I have no clue how to make an RPG xP.) I really like the attention to detail with this and all the thought that went into it, I just don't know if the government/authorities of the game would let you keep it.

Unless there was a law stating that no mech suits can be developed that can potentially be used to kill, then she cannot be charged at all as the finger blades are extremely small knives technically and the sap glove setup is legal.

@UnseenShade

Such a suit is borderline illegal, as it tends to have the appearance of a modified combat suit, and probably would not be sanctioned or approved for construction. However, because you can allow it to hide it's knives, as well as opt to put it on only for fighting (and since fighting outside of organized and legitimate tournaments is illegal in itself), it's fine. Just remember that the knives are against the law, and should you be seen by law enforcement with them out in public, it could cause trouble. Just be careful, okies? Also, you are approved as is.

@Dalipose, RC Master
Your characters are approved.

I'm actually surprised no one decided to align themselves with a faction (not that it really matters or anything). I didn't actually explicitly say that was allowed, so that's my bad XD You all have a little while to modify your characters, if you want. I am going to start writing up the starting post, plus I will place each player in their own personal situation. Or maybe have all your Shells in one place, like a popular chat room. That might take a while. Also, we might need a couple more people, though I already have some useful NPC's lined up. Are their any questions on how the game will be structured, or anything relating to that?

I don't have any pressing questions now but should we for Crim to get a bio in before we start?

I can't think of any questions right now, but I'll let you know if I have any. And I didn't really know we.could join factions. :O That's one thing to alter about my character...

Yeah, I want to try and get some more people in as well, before we start. However, it's not hugely necessary, as this RP will be ongoing, and I expect players to drop in, drop out, and die off regularly, So, for now, I can make do with NPCs, and other players may want to pick them up as time goes on.

Now, how the story will start: There will be a main 'event', which will get the ball rolling and let everyone know about the events currently going on. Then, each character shall receive a 'Catalyst' of sorts. This will start them on their own adventure. As the game progresses, I will post summarizing events in the OOC, so others can keep track of what is going on and plan their next move. One final thing: It may be a good idea to team together, but I am a sinister GM, and will be PMing all of you guys special information that you may share in IC or choose to keep to yourself. Remember, some people may not appear to be who they are, and I am forbidding the posting of this stuff in OOC, to keep things interesting Don't worry, you will know when I give you info that you cannot share normally, and it will never be dirt on other players. So don't ask for it ^^