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Art by the story so far.
► C H A P T E R 1: A R A I N S O A K E D E V E N I N G
The Year is 2047, the place is the Guangdong Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) within the city of Hong Kong. Here on the island of Ap Lei Chau, in a skyscraper, on the 35th floor, lay a lab run by Loingsech Solutions. Within the confines of this space gray and sterile white interior there is a girl. Once, she may of had a name; today she is only referred to as 0826-9. For as long as she can remember all she has known is the lab. Today, as a spring swell draws in and the rains with it, that will change.
Not far from the lab, at the extravagant Kinmokusei Hotel are a group hired by Loingsech. An email having appeared in their inbox; a secure communication from a server in Dublin. That's how the big companies worked these days, you don't contact them, they find you. The contract promised a lucrative payout, half at acceptance, half at satisfactory completion. The job itself was simple - transport a girl from Hong Kong to Dublin, the only stipulation was to avoid air travel at all costs.
For those in the "biz", such an offer would've triggered half-a-dozen red flags. The old hands always warned that you never took a job with one of the big ones. You're too expendable, they keep too many secrets, things aren't ever what they seem. Sometimes though it doesn't matter: maybe your desperate for cash, maybe you want to test yourself, and maybe you have a death wish. Sometimes you just have to go along for the ride.
Not far from the lab, at the extravagant Kinmokusei Hotel are a group hired by Loingsech. An email having appeared in their inbox; a secure communication from a server in Dublin. That's how the big companies worked these days, you don't contact them, they find you. The contract promised a lucrative payout, half at acceptance, half at satisfactory completion. The job itself was simple - transport a girl from Hong Kong to Dublin, the only stipulation was to avoid air travel at all costs.
For those in the "biz", such an offer would've triggered half-a-dozen red flags. The old hands always warned that you never took a job with one of the big ones. You're too expendable, they keep too many secrets, things aren't ever what they seem. Sometimes though it doesn't matter: maybe your desperate for cash, maybe you want to test yourself, and maybe you have a death wish. Sometimes you just have to go along for the ride.
loingsech database.
Pertinent lore information will go here.
► Loingsech Solutions
Loingsech's humble origins trace back to its days as a simple private defense contractor whose primary clientèle were African and South American warlords. Ireland itself wasn't hit too hard by the Exchange, but they received a flood of refugees from Northern Ireland as food riots in the United Kingdom began to escalate. The influx of refugees stretched the Irish Government's forces, and soon enough old violence between Ulster Unionists and Nationalist began anew. Loingsech would offer its services to the Government to help calm the unrest; the Private Intervention Act being signed into law by the President.
In the years that followed, Loingsech would slowly expand its enterprise, swallowing more typically state-run operations and various competitors. When the Republic collapsed in 2013 and splintered into the Unified Irish Counties, Loingsech stood as the greatest power on the isles. Without competition to slow it down and seeking greater reach in the global market, Loingsech begin to diversify its assets. Branching into robotics, software and hardware development, medical technologies, and eventually AI development.
AI would be where Loingsech would makes it name, particularly in what they call Simple Sequence Artificial Intelligences or SS-AI for short. They are able to recognize new situations and make pre-programmed decisions to account for unexpected events, but lack the creativity, intuition, and ingenuity of a "true" AI. Additionally, they cannot learn anything that is outside of their set limits of dynamic memory processing matrix. While this puts them steps away from true machine sapience, these SS-AI are able to run many day-to-day operations like managing factories, to operating a city's public transport network.
Through their numerous contracts wither for the development of SS-AIs, or their various other projects Loingsech has emerged as a leader on the global market. What's in store for them next? Only time will tell.
In the years that followed, Loingsech would slowly expand its enterprise, swallowing more typically state-run operations and various competitors. When the Republic collapsed in 2013 and splintered into the Unified Irish Counties, Loingsech stood as the greatest power on the isles. Without competition to slow it down and seeking greater reach in the global market, Loingsech begin to diversify its assets. Branching into robotics, software and hardware development, medical technologies, and eventually AI development.
AI would be where Loingsech would makes it name, particularly in what they call Simple Sequence Artificial Intelligences or SS-AI for short. They are able to recognize new situations and make pre-programmed decisions to account for unexpected events, but lack the creativity, intuition, and ingenuity of a "true" AI. Additionally, they cannot learn anything that is outside of their set limits of dynamic memory processing matrix. While this puts them steps away from true machine sapience, these SS-AI are able to run many day-to-day operations like managing factories, to operating a city's public transport network.
Through their numerous contracts wither for the development of SS-AIs, or their various other projects Loingsech has emerged as a leader on the global market. What's in store for them next? Only time will tell.
► Guangdong Free Economic Zone | GFEZ
China would collapse like many in the wake of the Exchange. Splitting once more into an eclectic collection of warring states. Throughout China's history Guangdon had always been a place of economic prosperity and fortune, and various parties sought to ensure such prosperity remained. Marshalling their economic might together, these parties would hire out a mercenary army that was able to keep the warlords out of Guangdong. This alliance of mutual protection would be the first building block of the GFEZ.
Today, the GFEZ is a global economic powerhouse. The zone is ruled by a Council of CEOs from some of the largest companies and corporations operating in the GFEZ. Four of these CEOs hold permanent seats and symbolically represent the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, and Hong Kong respectively, and hold special veto powers. the other 11 seats are held by CEOs that are elected by their peers on a ten year cycle. Currently the head of the Council is Huan Li, the current CEO of Auyong Medical based out of Hong Kong.
Today, the GFEZ is a global economic powerhouse. The zone is ruled by a Council of CEOs from some of the largest companies and corporations operating in the GFEZ. Four of these CEOs hold permanent seats and symbolically represent the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, and Hong Kong respectively, and hold special veto powers. the other 11 seats are held by CEOs that are elected by their peers on a ten year cycle. Currently the head of the Council is Huan Li, the current CEO of Auyong Medical based out of Hong Kong.
► The Net
In the world of today, the Net is around you, surrounds you, and breaths through you. Unthinkable in its complexity. Nearly everybody is connected to the Net and those that don't end up getting left behind in the dust. Traditional forms of accessing it still exist in the form of computers and other smart devices. But more, and more the world has begun to shift towards the more mobile lifestyle. Virtual reality while engrossing and finding its home in better-than-life Programs is slow and stationary, looking down at a phone takes time, and nobody has time to log into a computer anymore. Instead the world has moved towards augmented reality.
Computer-generated graphics appear as translucent images, icons, or text in the user’s field of vision. While visual AR data is the most common, other senses may also be used. AR input includes acoustic sounds and voices, odors, tastes, and even tactile sensations. This sensory data is high-resolution and seemingly “real,” though it is usually presented as something ghostly or otherwise artificial so as not to be confused with real-world interactions. User interfaces are customized to the user’s preferences and needs, both graphically and content-wise. Filters allow users to access the information they are interested in without needing to worry about extraneous data. Nevertheless, icons, windows and other interaction prompts can be layered, stacked, toggle, hidden, or shifted out of the way if necessary to interact with the physical world.
Typically access to the Net is provided through cranial implants, though less commonly the use of peripherals such as goggles and glasses is not unheard of. For those that are interested in more illicit pastimes. They have to either have to purchases these implants and peripherals on the black market or disengage the user locks built into the products themselves. Either way once such restrictions were bypassed, the user now had access to functions usually kept out of the reach of the average consumer.This was of a particular boon to inflirantion teams for this allowed their hackers and other security specialists to remain on the move with the group, rather than being confined to a room somewhere.
Computer-generated graphics appear as translucent images, icons, or text in the user’s field of vision. While visual AR data is the most common, other senses may also be used. AR input includes acoustic sounds and voices, odors, tastes, and even tactile sensations. This sensory data is high-resolution and seemingly “real,” though it is usually presented as something ghostly or otherwise artificial so as not to be confused with real-world interactions. User interfaces are customized to the user’s preferences and needs, both graphically and content-wise. Filters allow users to access the information they are interested in without needing to worry about extraneous data. Nevertheless, icons, windows and other interaction prompts can be layered, stacked, toggle, hidden, or shifted out of the way if necessary to interact with the physical world.
Typically access to the Net is provided through cranial implants, though less commonly the use of peripherals such as goggles and glasses is not unheard of. For those that are interested in more illicit pastimes. They have to either have to purchases these implants and peripherals on the black market or disengage the user locks built into the products themselves. Either way once such restrictions were bypassed, the user now had access to functions usually kept out of the reach of the average consumer.This was of a particular boon to inflirantion teams for this allowed their hackers and other security specialists to remain on the move with the group, rather than being confined to a room somewhere.
► Augmentation
What is most commonly called cybernetic augmentation is the process that involves the use of cybernetics in order to improve or replace human body parts. This augmentation process is set aside from general basic limb prosthetics in that they interface directly with the central nervous system, as opposed to just the ends of peripheral nerves.
Early augmentations projects began in the later 2000s, as a new way to address degenerative diseases such as Muscular dystrophy. The true breakthroughs though would come by way of a Canadian biotech company Simard Industries which would create a biocompatible matrix device called Biological Interface Chips or BICs. The BICs allowed the use of an organic conducting polymer, for the electrodes, which were attached to artificial neurons grown specifically for the device. The entire biochip would then be implanted into the host's brain allowing for it to serve as an interface device between flesh and machine.
Augmentation is the style of the day. For those that can afford it they will probably have at least a couple of enhancements to give them the edge. Partly serving as a status symbol, and partly as a necessity these days to keep up with everyone else. These Augmentation range vastly in style, form, and function. Some are barely noticeable - a chip that helps you calculate equations quicker or faster. Some are much more obvious - mechanical limbs that are able to rip doors off hinges and the such. Either way it's addicting, it's exciting and it's all the rage.
There is of course backlash to augmentation and what it represents. It’s sources of origin, typically coming from religious fundamentalist groups that say such procedures go against the design of the divine. Later the movement began to expand including the disenfranchised and left behind who cannot afford such procedures, those who suffered at the hands of poorly performed augmentation procedures, and the rest. The movement today, despite the near ubiquity of augmentation technology, has surprising traction across the globe especially in more traditionally conservative and religiously focused areas.
Early augmentations projects began in the later 2000s, as a new way to address degenerative diseases such as Muscular dystrophy. The true breakthroughs though would come by way of a Canadian biotech company Simard Industries which would create a biocompatible matrix device called Biological Interface Chips or BICs. The BICs allowed the use of an organic conducting polymer, for the electrodes, which were attached to artificial neurons grown specifically for the device. The entire biochip would then be implanted into the host's brain allowing for it to serve as an interface device between flesh and machine.
Augmentation is the style of the day. For those that can afford it they will probably have at least a couple of enhancements to give them the edge. Partly serving as a status symbol, and partly as a necessity these days to keep up with everyone else. These Augmentation range vastly in style, form, and function. Some are barely noticeable - a chip that helps you calculate equations quicker or faster. Some are much more obvious - mechanical limbs that are able to rip doors off hinges and the such. Either way it's addicting, it's exciting and it's all the rage.
There is of course backlash to augmentation and what it represents. It’s sources of origin, typically coming from religious fundamentalist groups that say such procedures go against the design of the divine. Later the movement began to expand including the disenfranchised and left behind who cannot afford such procedures, those who suffered at the hands of poorly performed augmentation procedures, and the rest. The movement today, despite the near ubiquity of augmentation technology, has surprising traction across the globe especially in more traditionally conservative and religiously focused areas.
rules and regulations.
► Follow all pre-established Guild rules.
► For the love of all things holy don't be That Assholetm.
► If you have any questions please ask them.
► Don't be arguing with everybody and causing problems. And before you get up in arms, don't worry there is a difference between friendly discourse and discussion and being That Assholetm. I know the difference and so do you.
► Your characters are people not superheros. Any blatant Mary & Gary Sues, cases of god-modding, et cetera, and I will have to drag you out back and tell you to think of the rabbits.
► In the same idea, PC death is not out of the question per say, but highly unlikely. That being said, if you go into a firefight where there is one of you and fifty five of the other guys and you think your going to come out without a scratch please think again. Injuries are a thing cause they present interesting story choices.
► To put expectations of posting frequency into the simplest terms possible. Post at least once week in the OOC to be like, "Hey Gurl I'm still alive." I can also set up a Discord for such purposes and the sharing of dank memes if that is something you would prefer. In terms of IC production, I would prefer if you were able to post the IC at least once a week, but to keep things realistic I'm going set the hard cap at once every two weeks. If you can't meet such demands for whatever reason illness, hard work week, or whatever please just tell me. Cause if you tell me and I know what's up, then I won't have to worry that you are going to vanish on us.
► In terms of posting length and content. This RP is going to be following Advance standards. Though if you can't hit that level with every post don't sweat it, as long as I see your trying we gucci fam. I'm basically giving you enough rope to hang yourself with here, there is a difference between I tried my best and I wrote a single paragraph that adds nothing to the greater context of the story of the whole. I know the difference and you know the difference. Don't make me proud, make yourself proud.
► Romance is not one of the core pillars of identity for this RP. That having been said it is still allowed, giant big old trip across thousands of miles feelings might flair and stuff. That's fine. But for you horn dogs out there please keep what I would call scenes not safe for the children to the PMs. Alright? Cool.
► Cyberpunk as a genre is steeped in the veneer of Dystopia. Rectifier is no different and as a result has what some might describe as darker themes within its blood. I'm not aiming for grimdark here and there is still light in the world, but every light has to cast a shadow as they say. But what I'm asking is that y'll have the maturity to treat these themes with the respect that they deserve. And that is all I'm gonna say about that.
►Last but not least. By submitting a character sheet to this RP, you are in a way, signing a strange mythological contract that states that you agree to follow these rules.
► For the love of all things holy don't be That Assholetm.
► If you have any questions please ask them.
► Don't be arguing with everybody and causing problems. And before you get up in arms, don't worry there is a difference between friendly discourse and discussion and being That Assholetm. I know the difference and so do you.
► Your characters are people not superheros. Any blatant Mary & Gary Sues, cases of god-modding, et cetera, and I will have to drag you out back and tell you to think of the rabbits.
► In the same idea, PC death is not out of the question per say, but highly unlikely. That being said, if you go into a firefight where there is one of you and fifty five of the other guys and you think your going to come out without a scratch please think again. Injuries are a thing cause they present interesting story choices.
► To put expectations of posting frequency into the simplest terms possible. Post at least once week in the OOC to be like, "Hey Gurl I'm still alive." I can also set up a Discord for such purposes and the sharing of dank memes if that is something you would prefer. In terms of IC production, I would prefer if you were able to post the IC at least once a week, but to keep things realistic I'm going set the hard cap at once every two weeks. If you can't meet such demands for whatever reason illness, hard work week, or whatever please just tell me. Cause if you tell me and I know what's up, then I won't have to worry that you are going to vanish on us.
► In terms of posting length and content. This RP is going to be following Advance standards. Though if you can't hit that level with every post don't sweat it, as long as I see your trying we gucci fam. I'm basically giving you enough rope to hang yourself with here, there is a difference between I tried my best and I wrote a single paragraph that adds nothing to the greater context of the story of the whole. I know the difference and you know the difference. Don't make me proud, make yourself proud.
► Romance is not one of the core pillars of identity for this RP. That having been said it is still allowed, giant big old trip across thousands of miles feelings might flair and stuff. That's fine. But for you horn dogs out there please keep what I would call scenes not safe for the children to the PMs. Alright? Cool.
► Cyberpunk as a genre is steeped in the veneer of Dystopia. Rectifier is no different and as a result has what some might describe as darker themes within its blood. I'm not aiming for grimdark here and there is still light in the world, but every light has to cast a shadow as they say. But what I'm asking is that y'll have the maturity to treat these themes with the respect that they deserve. And that is all I'm gonna say about that.
►Last but not least. By submitting a character sheet to this RP, you are in a way, signing a strange mythological contract that states that you agree to follow these rules.
misc.
1x Like
GM
@Mara
Noted! Generally, I feel that everybody is a fan of such things. Though, I'm gonna probably hold off making one until after sheets are accepted. Because than you might have people that don't get accepted in the Discord and that gets awkward and me being aggressively Canadian, I don't really want to deal with such things because then I feel bad. Et cetera et cetera. lol
That being said for all the peoples! I would like your votes on yay or nay on the creation of a Discord, cause I'm a kind dictator that likes to know the consensus of his people. So you can tell me here in the OOC, or like sneak it into your CS. Whatever works for you!
Noted! Generally, I feel that everybody is a fan of such things. Though, I'm gonna probably hold off making one until after sheets are accepted. Because than you might have people that don't get accepted in the Discord and that gets awkward and me being aggressively Canadian, I don't really want to deal with such things because then I feel bad. Et cetera et cetera. lol
That being said for all the peoples! I would like your votes on yay or nay on the creation of a Discord, cause I'm a kind dictator that likes to know the consensus of his people. So you can tell me here in the OOC, or like sneak it into your CS. Whatever works for you!
Red Coil Energy Storage
Member
Seen
6 yrs ago
Jumping into the discussion, I like the idea of a Discord once the IC thread starts.
I'm not quite sure what sort of character I'll write yet, but as soon as I have an idea I'll post a concept here. :)
I'm not quite sure what sort of character I'll write yet, but as soon as I have an idea I'll post a concept here. :)
1x Like
Insatiable 𝚁 𝙴 𝙼 𝙴 𝙳 𝚈
Member
Seen
4 yrs ago
Well, I guess joining two RPs can't be that bad despite my horrendous work schedule. Anyway, I like the idea you've put together. I'll come up with a CS soon-ish.
(psssst, change the .webp in the URL to .gif for the image to work)
1x Thank
Plank Sinatra the reaper won't come when you're ready for him
Member
Seen
11 days ago
the reaper won't come when you're ready for him
1517 posts
Seen
11 days ago
in 3526 days
What a stylish OOC. I should have my sheet done within the first few days of this coming week.
(Also I'm all for a Discord)
(Also I'm all for a Discord)
1x Like
Insatiable 𝚁 𝙴 𝙼 𝙴 𝙳 𝚈
Member
Seen
4 yrs ago
<Snipped quote by Insatiable>
(psssst, change the .webp in the URL to .gif for the image to work)
Idk, I thought it was working. Damn laptop.
<Snipped quote by Mara>
Idk, I thought it was working. Damn laptop.
Giphy is really weird when it comes to letting you embed their images on forums, don't worry about it
Hey, this seems like an awesome time. Are you accepting interest from people that missed the interest check?
GM
@Cairo
Indeed we are! I'm not a first come, first serve type. The interest check is just there to see if I'd get any traction at all! Anybody can submit an application as long as its before the deadline! If you get accepted though that's a whole 'nother story, but we will cross that bridge when we get there! ^_^
Indeed we are! I'm not a first come, first serve type. The interest check is just there to see if I'd get any traction at all! Anybody can submit an application as long as its before the deadline! If you get accepted though that's a whole 'nother story, but we will cross that bridge when we get there! ^_^
1x Like
Mirandae Prisk
Member
Seen
0-24 hrs ago
Looks cool. The formatting looks familiar. That's nice, though. I'll ponder a character and see if it turns out any decent.
Looks cool. The formatting looks familiar. That's nice, though. I'll ponder a character and see if it turns out any decent.
oh my god it's actually you
the players of RPG past are returning
if you don't remember me it's ok, I was Wade Wilson around the time you disappeared
I missed u tho
Red Coil Energy Storage
Member
Seen
6 yrs ago
-
1x Like
Well, if we're posting WIP, (which I think is wise, so we'll know we're not trampling each other's character concepts too much)...
A French mercenary loaded down with experimental cybernetic augmentations with a wide range of nasty side effects that he needs pills to suppress. Former employee of the PMC that governs France and makes up the largest private military and security firm in the world.
J O N D U R A N D
⟁ 27 ⟁ Male ⟁ 6’1” ⟁ A+
A P P E A R A N C E
B A C K G R O U N D
P E R S O N A L I T Y
S K I L L S
E Q U I P M E N T
A U G M E N T A T I O N S
WIP UPDATE: Finished backstory, did skills, personality and equipment. Will finish later.
A French mercenary loaded down with experimental cybernetic augmentations with a wide range of nasty side effects that he needs pills to suppress. Former employee of the PMC that governs France and makes up the largest private military and security firm in the world.
J O N D U R A N D
⟁ 27 ⟁ Male ⟁ 6’1” ⟁ A+
A P P E A R A N C E
Words go here.
B A C K G R O U N D
Jon was born in the city of Lyon, France, in the year 2020, at the dawn of the nation’s new golden age. Western Europe had been among the regions most affected by the Exchange - a combination of national tensions, bread riots, border skirmishes and refugee crises had resulted in the collapse of most sovereign governments. Spain was a lawless ruin, Germany and Belgium a collection of warring states, the United Kingdom a starving puppet of Ireland. Of the once-great European powers, only France remained a strong and stable nation, thanks largely to the efforts of the Maginot Corporation, a PMC that rose to prominence and power by providing the most valuable of services, that which no government could supply: security. As Maginot forces returned order to France, pushed the invaders out of its borders and established peace in a chaotic time, the civilian government was forced to bend to the wishes not only of their saviors, but of their people – democracy had failed, and the modern corpratocracy was born.
Jon came of age in a nation ascendant. He was proud to be French – where others were splintered, they were divided. Where others were weak, they were strong. His parents were soldiers of Maginot, fighting for the prosperity and security of France in battlefields across the world, as Maginot had become the most prominent PMC on the globe. He and his younger sister Emily were educated in Maginot schools, taught from a young age to be strong, brave, and always loyal to Maginot Corp. He lived in decent circumstances, as his parents had distinguished themselves well in their service – and in Maginot’s employ, courage and skill were always rewarded with a generous holiday bonus. When he was sixteen and his public education was concluded, he enrolled in basic training to become a mercenary, just like all the other children. Jon was still in basic when his father caught a German bullet while on patrol in the Black Forest, but that was nothing special – practically everyone he knew had lost a parent or two on some foreign battlefield or another. It was a part of life.
After that, times got a little rougher. Maginot’s generous condolence package covered the family’s financial needs for a little while, as did Jon’s new career as a mercenary, but with once source of income gone and their mother rapidly reaching the age of mandatory retirement, Jon and his sister began to struggle to make ends meet. Not helping the matter were Emily’s student loans, of course; she had shown a brilliant mind for engineering and was studying at a university in Paris in the hopes of a lucrative career in Maginot R&D, but the cost of the education was astronomic, and the family quite simply wasn’t making enough to cover it.
That was about when the nightmares started, of course. Jon was halfway through his first contract of duty in Germany, and nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. It was one thing to learn how to fight, another to kill a stranger from thirty yards away, to burn down a rebelling village, to hold your comrade in your arms as his life bled out his neck. He was so close to his home, and yet he was in another world, a place of death and chaos and madness. When the offer came to get away from it all, it is no wonder he jumped at it.
It came when he was on leave in Verdun – a pretty young woman with a Maginot badge came and sat across from him at a café. She told him that he qualified for the program because he was one of the best, and that may well have been true – even among Maginot’s elite forces, Jon had distinguished himself for his prowess, an accomplishment that brought him more shame than pride. She called it Project Diana, a new step forward in experimental combat cybernetics that would shape the twenty-something candidates into peerless warriors. He would be among the greatest Maginot warriors to ever live – and of course, the fact that his salary would be almost tripled if he went through with it was a bonus. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse, and one month of preparation later, he and the nineteen other candidates he’d by then come to know went under the knife.
The project was a disaster. The augmentations were powerful, yes, but nobody had told them about the side effects. The neural augs brought too much strain on the human nervous system, resulting in psychosis, hallucinations, and often fatal seizures. Those few who survived, Jon among them, were abandoned – they were a failed science experiment, a lesson in how far the human body could be pushed. Unemployed and unable to work or even really to function, Jon became another financial burden to his family, with his mother as his full-time caretaker. Nobody would even try to treat him – all the hospitals in France were run by Maginot, and company policy was to deny the existence of Project Diana. Officially, he was just another burnt-out soldier who had invested in shoddy augmentations and paid the price for it, another good lesson in why you should always buy Official Maginot Products. Jon spent a few months screaming at shadows, trembling and punching holes in the wall, as his family slid further and further into debt.
Finally, after a lot of research and a few deals with some very shady people, Emily found a solution. An experimental seizure medication from a GFEZ biotech company could be used, in regular doses, to suppress the symptoms of augmentation rejection, and though the pills were very expensive, she managed to secure him a supply. His capacity to work restored, Jon saw no luck in getting his old position at Maginot back; with the company’s new Artemis-Class Augments going into production, there was no need for the company to take the risk on the prototype model, and the more questions he asked his old superiors the more he was met with coldness and often hostility. It was when he learned that the family home had come under 24/7 surveillance by unmarked vans – the kind used to monitor potential ‘threats to the state’ – that he resolved to get out while the getting was good. Maginot may have had a stranglehold on the private military market, but there were always people in the world looking to pay good money for hired muscle, and there was no shortage of jobs Maginot wouldn’t take. He hopped on the first plane to the GFEZ he could, promising to send money home.
He’s lived as a mercenary and private security specialist in the GFEZ ever since, working as a hired thug or bodyguard for whatever two-bit crime boss was willing to pay top-dollar for an augmented attack dog. Try as he might, he could never seem to save anything – all the money he earned went to cover the cost of his medication or was sent home to help keep the family afloat in the face of their limitless debt. That’s why he was in no position to ignore the Loingsech offer when it came to him – the half payment on acceptance was enough to seal the deal on its own, since he was strapped for cash and his meds would need a resupply by the end of the week. Sure, it was bad news, but the money they were offering would go a long way towards digging his family out from the mound of crap they’d been buried in since his father’s debt – there was no way he could refuse that.
Jon came of age in a nation ascendant. He was proud to be French – where others were splintered, they were divided. Where others were weak, they were strong. His parents were soldiers of Maginot, fighting for the prosperity and security of France in battlefields across the world, as Maginot had become the most prominent PMC on the globe. He and his younger sister Emily were educated in Maginot schools, taught from a young age to be strong, brave, and always loyal to Maginot Corp. He lived in decent circumstances, as his parents had distinguished themselves well in their service – and in Maginot’s employ, courage and skill were always rewarded with a generous holiday bonus. When he was sixteen and his public education was concluded, he enrolled in basic training to become a mercenary, just like all the other children. Jon was still in basic when his father caught a German bullet while on patrol in the Black Forest, but that was nothing special – practically everyone he knew had lost a parent or two on some foreign battlefield or another. It was a part of life.
After that, times got a little rougher. Maginot’s generous condolence package covered the family’s financial needs for a little while, as did Jon’s new career as a mercenary, but with once source of income gone and their mother rapidly reaching the age of mandatory retirement, Jon and his sister began to struggle to make ends meet. Not helping the matter were Emily’s student loans, of course; she had shown a brilliant mind for engineering and was studying at a university in Paris in the hopes of a lucrative career in Maginot R&D, but the cost of the education was astronomic, and the family quite simply wasn’t making enough to cover it.
That was about when the nightmares started, of course. Jon was halfway through his first contract of duty in Germany, and nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. It was one thing to learn how to fight, another to kill a stranger from thirty yards away, to burn down a rebelling village, to hold your comrade in your arms as his life bled out his neck. He was so close to his home, and yet he was in another world, a place of death and chaos and madness. When the offer came to get away from it all, it is no wonder he jumped at it.
It came when he was on leave in Verdun – a pretty young woman with a Maginot badge came and sat across from him at a café. She told him that he qualified for the program because he was one of the best, and that may well have been true – even among Maginot’s elite forces, Jon had distinguished himself for his prowess, an accomplishment that brought him more shame than pride. She called it Project Diana, a new step forward in experimental combat cybernetics that would shape the twenty-something candidates into peerless warriors. He would be among the greatest Maginot warriors to ever live – and of course, the fact that his salary would be almost tripled if he went through with it was a bonus. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse, and one month of preparation later, he and the nineteen other candidates he’d by then come to know went under the knife.
The project was a disaster. The augmentations were powerful, yes, but nobody had told them about the side effects. The neural augs brought too much strain on the human nervous system, resulting in psychosis, hallucinations, and often fatal seizures. Those few who survived, Jon among them, were abandoned – they were a failed science experiment, a lesson in how far the human body could be pushed. Unemployed and unable to work or even really to function, Jon became another financial burden to his family, with his mother as his full-time caretaker. Nobody would even try to treat him – all the hospitals in France were run by Maginot, and company policy was to deny the existence of Project Diana. Officially, he was just another burnt-out soldier who had invested in shoddy augmentations and paid the price for it, another good lesson in why you should always buy Official Maginot Products. Jon spent a few months screaming at shadows, trembling and punching holes in the wall, as his family slid further and further into debt.
Finally, after a lot of research and a few deals with some very shady people, Emily found a solution. An experimental seizure medication from a GFEZ biotech company could be used, in regular doses, to suppress the symptoms of augmentation rejection, and though the pills were very expensive, she managed to secure him a supply. His capacity to work restored, Jon saw no luck in getting his old position at Maginot back; with the company’s new Artemis-Class Augments going into production, there was no need for the company to take the risk on the prototype model, and the more questions he asked his old superiors the more he was met with coldness and often hostility. It was when he learned that the family home had come under 24/7 surveillance by unmarked vans – the kind used to monitor potential ‘threats to the state’ – that he resolved to get out while the getting was good. Maginot may have had a stranglehold on the private military market, but there were always people in the world looking to pay good money for hired muscle, and there was no shortage of jobs Maginot wouldn’t take. He hopped on the first plane to the GFEZ he could, promising to send money home.
He’s lived as a mercenary and private security specialist in the GFEZ ever since, working as a hired thug or bodyguard for whatever two-bit crime boss was willing to pay top-dollar for an augmented attack dog. Try as he might, he could never seem to save anything – all the money he earned went to cover the cost of his medication or was sent home to help keep the family afloat in the face of their limitless debt. That’s why he was in no position to ignore the Loingsech offer when it came to him – the half payment on acceptance was enough to seal the deal on its own, since he was strapped for cash and his meds would need a resupply by the end of the week. Sure, it was bad news, but the money they were offering would go a long way towards digging his family out from the mound of crap they’d been buried in since his father’s debt – there was no way he could refuse that.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
Cynical. Sarcastic. Disillusioned. Alienated. All of these words could be used to describe him, a man who was raised to love his country and his employer with all his heart, only to be betrayed by it. He projects a veneer of cold bitterness and world-weary realism, convinced that everything will be a disaster, that everyone will betray him. He’s haunted by the violence he has inflicted, but he would never show it to anyone or admit to any crack in his armor of sarcasm. Family is the most important thing in his life – he would do anything to protect his mother and sister and to help them lead the prosperous life they deserve, feelings that were only enhanced by his guilt at the time he spent as a medical liability to the both of them. Deep down, he has the soul of a moral philosopher buried under all the metal and electronics – it’s said that within every cynic lives a betrayed idealist, and Jon is living proof of that.
S K I L L S
Jon is a soldier, through and through. Maginot taught him how to fight and how to kill, and he’s proficient in squad-tactics, hand-to-hand combat, as well as the use of most firearms, though he prefers submachine guns or automatic rifles. But of course, Maginot employees aren’t just mercenaries, but also private security, meaning that he also has a good bit of experience in securing and protecting high-value targets, and his primary role on this upcoming job is actually as a security specialist and bodyguard for ‘the girl’. He speaks French, English and Mandarin, with a choppy command of German communication from his time on contract there.
E Q U I P M E N T
Two SMGs of Russian manufacture, a vibro-knife, a 12-shot pilot’s sidearm, and a Maginot-made sniper rifle make up his weapons collection, which he usually transports in a black duffelbag. He’s also got his helmet, a black carbon-plated mask which, while low on bells and whistles, he purchased in the hopes that it would help his image as a cyber-merc and allow him to drive his prices up. He also keeps on him a white bottle of pills with enough doses for a month and a half at two pills a day, a crumpled picture of his mother and sister, a set of travel chess that’s missing two pawns and a French-translated copy of ‘Waiting for Godot’.
A U G M E N T A T I O N S
The last of the words.
WIP UPDATE: Finished backstory, did skills, personality and equipment. Will finish later.
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I don't have anything on my CS but a name and and picture, so I'll hold off from posting a WIP, but I will share my concept.
I'm making JJ - a troubled delinquent in his early 20's who, thanks to an implant he can't or doesn't want to remove, can't feel any negative emotions. In fact, he rarely feels any positive emotions except pure euphoria. The implant is supposed to remove the ability to have thoughts that could be considered negative, but thanks to a malfunction in JJ's implant, it works a little different - he can have negative thoughts, but they don't register as negative. He could think of someone brutally dying and it just won't register as a horrible thing in his mind. Some may call him 'quirky', but he's really just a scared kid who can't even feel his own fear. I'm not sure what to make him specialise in just yet, I'm leaning towards a hacker but that trope is just so overdone in cyberpunk. I'll think of something.
I'm making JJ - a troubled delinquent in his early 20's who, thanks to an implant he can't or doesn't want to remove, can't feel any negative emotions. In fact, he rarely feels any positive emotions except pure euphoria. The implant is supposed to remove the ability to have thoughts that could be considered negative, but thanks to a malfunction in JJ's implant, it works a little different - he can have negative thoughts, but they don't register as negative. He could think of someone brutally dying and it just won't register as a horrible thing in his mind. Some may call him 'quirky', but he's really just a scared kid who can't even feel his own fear. I'm not sure what to make him specialise in just yet, I'm leaning towards a hacker but that trope is just so overdone in cyberpunk. I'll think of something.
DeadDrop Good Faith Player
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My cs is in the mail...
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Cybermail
Mirandae Prisk
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<Snipped quote by Prisk>
oh my god it's actually you
the players of RPG past are returning
if you don't remember me it's ok, I was Wade Wilson around the time you disappeared
I missed u tho
Why the name change?
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He's rogue thats why
Plank Sinatra the reaper won't come when you're ready for him
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the reaper won't come when you're ready for him
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in 3526 days
I'm thinking of a mid-twenties fixer type of character. He's not someone with a whole lot of augmentations (aside from maybe your basic combat chassis/cybernetic arm, because why not) but brings a strategic mindset to most of his jobs. We're talking someone who has survived through skill with a gun, obsessive stalking and tracking of patterns weeks in advance of a job, running routes in advance, and who at least has savvy enough to cover his digital footprint in case of reprisal. I like the idea of going more Luddite and stacking up tactical knowledge and old-time street smarts versus some more advanced augmentations or financial clout.
A CS first draft should be up soon enough.
A CS first draft should be up soon enough.
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