Preface
There used to be a stretch in time when people feared how capable Artifical Intelligence or AI could had become, or how much danger it could pose against humanity itself. Nobody had never thought about the idea of fusing both—the direct byproduct being the resilient, morally superior Bionics. The main idea of Bionics first came to emerge from the Renaissance. Intellectual men & women desperate to mitigate physical defects turned towards technology and mechanical principles to compensate for these problems. A handful of bright scientists, engineers & alchemists delved around the topic not to combat these mundane problems—rather to mechanically fabricate physical power—through the idea of embedded steel plates and alchemy. However, for unknown reasons—the research came to a halt & the research group were never heard of again.
The Bionics of today had become amassed in population. Unlike their traditional enemy, the Chimera—the Bionics enjoy the privilege of acceptance within human society. Not many of the regular human population are aware of their previous atrocities with the Sanctuarymen & Elysium—but despite such a surge of immorality in their history—the Bionics generally retain a sense of moral superiority, as well as the need to play the hero and become soldiers of salvation—either from banditry, or from the sharp mutant claws of the Chimera—their biggest threat yet.
Elysium Corporation and the labs of the Sanctuary were the common manufacturing ground for the Bionics. The idea of doubling the physical prowess of a human through technology and AI came to a rebirth in the USSR's attempt to manufacture deadly biological weapons. However, not every Bionic came to genesis under these labs—some were created in unconventional laboratories—those mainly funded by the United States government after the DEA raids. These micro laboratories backed by the United States were usually under the mask of conventional companies—big pharma names such as Aciderm & Clinodene, and even computer manufacturers such as Cognitech Corporation were widely believed to have had Bionics in production.
The Technocracy & History
After the civil war within the sectors of the Sanctuary—most of these Bionics that were synthesized by Elysium went into hiding to deflect from their traditional enemies—integrating within human societies and utilizing their technical prowess and ingenuity for either the good, the bad or the moral ambiguity. Others that were made in unconventional laboratories mostly embarked on the same path as well—putting their gifts to use to benefit their respective groups or camps. Some had chosen to abhor humanity—putting the blame on them for making them what they are, seeing their abilities as a worthless expense for the humanity they dearly held—inclined to sacrifice everything to garner it back. Many Bionics chose different paths—they were, after all, sentient beings that differed from one another.
However, the absence of a true purpose prompted them to adopt hostilities with one another—they were designed to become instruments of war after all. The aftermath of the civil war and the short period of conflicts that ensued after it called for the need of organization & stability. This predicament gave birth to the Order of Reason—the legendary union that vowed to unite all of the Bionics to levy a war against the Chimera and evil—protect their own kind—eliminate hostilities between their own race & return normalcy to the world. The Order of Reason comprised of a group of powerful Bionic engineers who called themselves the Circle of Pure Thought. Many theories within the Bionic society emerged—some would argue that these men were prominent former Elysium and/or Sanctuary engineers—many would argue that they were manufactured in unconventional laboratories—while most would deny their existence.
In this day & age, it is widely speculated that the Order of Reason, known to many Bionics as the Technocracy operate under the shade and in utmost secrecy—much like the Inconnu of their traditional rival. They are comprised of Bionics with Conviction Ratings surpassing 4—and are believed to be the primordial engineers credited with the progeny of the first ever batch of Bionics. The Technocracy are mostly placed in scrutiny by the Bionics—mainly due to their mysterious ways of governing their kind. Instead of being upfront and public to convey their governance—the Order of Reason chooses to engulf the principle of proxy wars and puppet factions—one of these puppets speculated to be the National Guard. This, however, is yet to be confirmed.
The Creeds
Many Bionics had chosen different paths & embarked on many different ideologies that many of them had made their purpose to sustain their lives. Some aspired to become the righteous, others chose themselves—and a good number routed towards evil & entropy. The Order of Reason then established a way to engulf a broad classification of these Bionics—providing them a sense of identity & selfness.
Creed: Unionism
The Unionist will always aspire to be the hero in every scenario. They subconciously believe within their inner selves that they were manufactured to become soldiers of salvation. Unionists thrive out of peacekeeping—likely imbued in them by the Technocracy. The Unionist Bionic will never tolerate the existence of evil & entropy—and are mostly believers and apprentices of the Order of Reason. They are repulsed by the idea of a Bionic civil war—and most of these Unionists deny the civil war embedded in their history. They also deny the events in Operation Hivemind— the massacre of Sanctuarymen in an effort to test the Bionic's deadliness.
Creed: Ascendance
The Ascendants are blinded by their narcissism. They crave nothing but self-benefit and power—they adhere to nothing, not even the Technocracy. The Ascendants were comprised of highly intelligent engineers that had descended into madness in the desire for power and dominance—and are more likely to resort towards extreme violence to put a point across. They are credited to be the archetypes that had manufactured the CHIRP system—the Computer-Brain Interface (CBI) process of telepathy.
Creed: Anarchism
The Anarchist will abhor every kind of authority—human or Bionic. They have a severe problem with trusting any form of government or hierarchy and are known to be commonly comprised of avant garde practitioners. They resent the idea of labels, brands and ranks—they innately believe to be free thinkers and free spirits. The Anarchists love to take credit for the Technocracy's decision to stay hidden—claiming that their immense Bionic prowess had caused these corrupt hypocrites, as they called them—to lay low. This is unproven.
Creed: Ascetism
The Ascetic is a jack of all trades. These are Bionics that had mastered balance, resilience and versatility. They are, in a way, the ideal creed among the Bionics—usually disciplined and infused with utmost wisdom and rationalism. They remain neutral and prefer peace for themselves and the wider Bionic diaspora—but are also ready to embark in a battle if need be. This archetype also encompasses the most sincere and genuine of all—they do not deny the existence of Operation Hivemind, nor the civil wars.
The Conviction Rating System
Conviction is the term that the Technocracy uses to measure a Bionic's chip power. They are the core specifications of a Bionic in principle—which directly correlates to their Bionic power level. The higher the rating is—the more powerful and efficient a Bionic is. Many of the Bionics, especially the Anarchists believe that this is the Order of Reason's way to hierarchize their kind—but in essence, the Conviction Rating System, or in Bionic slang: the core specs—are nothing but a way to measure their Bionic prowess. A Bionic with a Conviction Rating of 1 can have a subordinate of a Bionic holding the Conviction Rating of 4—and vice versa.
Conviction Rating 1: (Level 3 to 5)
CHIRP System (Can max)
Retractable Claws (Cannot max, dots capped at 1/4)
Ocular Implant (Can max)
Conviction Rating 2: (Level 6 to 8)
CHIRP System (Can max)
Retractable Claws (Cannot max, dots capped at 2/4)
Ocular Implant (Can max)
Enhanced Armor (Cannot max, dots capped at 5/10)
Phalanx Injector (Cannot max, dots capped at 2/6)
Conviction Rating 3: (Level 9 to 11)
CHIRP System (Can max)
Retractable Claws (Cannot max, dots capped at 2/4)
Ocular Implant (Can max)
Enhanced Armor (Can max)
Phalanx Injector (Cannot max, dots capped at 4/6)
Conviction Rating 4: (Level 12 and above)
CHIRP System (Can max)
Retractable Claws (Can max)
Ocular Implant (Can max)
Enhanced Armor (Can max)
Phalanx Injector (Can max)
Appearance & Specifications
The Bionic, unlike the Chimera—do not hold an objective appearance. There is a gargantuan variety of Bionic looks—and how they appear and look like correlate heavily to their abilities and their Conviction Rating. For example—a Conviction Rating 4 Bionic can look like a regular human—but are abnormally sturdy once touched (if Enhanced Armor is at its maximum). It heavily depends upon the player on how they portray their abilities—the eye color are necessarily not always distinct from a human's. Some players can roleplay a Bionic manufactured in an unconventional lab—or some players can roleplay having Ocular Implants that do not flicker a distinct, inhuman color. The possibilities are endless.
CHIRP System
The Bionic's infamous CHIRP system is the result of a process called the Computer-Brain Interface or CBI. The main principle with the CBI is the transfusion of computer data with the human brain. This allows the Bionics to transmit and receive radio signals from the very flesh and biological fabric of their brains, allowing an engineered form of telepathy. The CHIRP system is widely assumed to be the creation of the Ascendants.
Retractable Claws
Claws made out of titanium steel were embedded deep beneath a Bionic's knuckle for effective assassinations—and garner a big advantage when it came to hand to hand combat. Retractable Claws at 1/4 are typically weak and unpolished—while fully maximized Retractable Claws are razor sharp & hold the capacity to cut through steel. Retractable Claws were widely assumed to be the creation of the Anarchists.
Ocular Implants
These powerful vision enhancements were designed to allow a Bionic to see through solid objects. The ability makes use, yet again, of the infamous CBI or the Computer-Brain Interface processing. Data from surrounding buildings are collected in the brain and dimensions are thoroughly calculated and examined—allowing the Bionic to see through objects in the form of lines and geometry. This X-ray esque vision are not colorized. Ocular Implants are widely assumed to be the creation of the Unionists.
Enhanced Armor
Plate carriers made out of carbon infused titanium steel were manufactured and embedded beneath the skin of Bionics to heighten their defense system. Initially, these skin plates were synthesized to protect the Bionic brain's CBI system—but it eventually progressed to serve as the Bionic's full body armor. Enhanced Armor at its maximum means that a Bionic's entire body is covered with armor, including the fingers—while a Bionic with the lowest Enhanced Armor dot only protects the Bionic's vital organs.
Phalanx Injector
Phalanx Injectors are a Bionic's escape from death—their birth given guardian angels. Whenever a Bionic falls into incapacitation—their CBI commands their limbs to release the serum from beneath their chests and rope back to a full revival. This happens even when the Bionic is unconcious—as the CBI data detects a hazard warning whenever a Bionic's conciousness shuts off. This ability served to be one of the greatest Bionic abilities that had ever been given to them—and are widely believed to be the creation of the Ascetics.
