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Psions Unite! : Psi Tech


Rorx

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Ok people, the biotech as written in Trinty is just not going to fit this setting, after all how long do you think it would take to get any biotech past FDA, animal rights and public perception ("It's alive? That's gross!") to get to market.

 

So any suggestions for alternate methods of Psi tech? That is tech that either uses Psi to power it, duplicates a Psi power and/or enhances a Psi's use of his/her powers.

 

Also up for debate/design are such devices, good ones that might get introduced later into the game could earn people XP!

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When it comes to Psi-tech, it might be important to "Synch" the object to the user's unique psychic aura. It's great for security as no one else can use a synched PT gadget, and what's more it takes some time and effort to set it to a new aura. I'm thinking externally it might look like something you'd expect as a piece of technology but internally it would have alligned crystals as part of the structure, not to mention some black boxes that keep the observer for exerting influence on the goings on of the tech.

 

In fact Psi-tech should be vulnerible to the observer's paradox. Only Psions some how are able to look at a Psi-gadget as they can lock it down. Any normal person looking in the black box portions of a piece of tech would be dooming it to the recycling bin.

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well realistically there shouldn't be any psitech at all not for a very very long time. Unless you have a plot device in place and psion's have secretly been around for decades, or the aliens caused the whole thing and then gave us a box of goodies to play with. your looking at years if not decades before there is any sort of true psionic tech and even then the cost would be prohibitive only government and corporations will have it. now what you might have is the first baby steps as scientist and medical engineers adapt current cybernetic tech  to study. but real psitech. not for a long time.

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I was under the impression that we were going into this game at the very beginning of psions, which would naturally preclude such tech, but if you want some theories here's some.

 

They're going to focus on two things once noetic science emerges enough to allow them to seriously experiment;

 

Psi-wave augmentation- Since Psi emanates from the user, a specific wave-pattern can be extrapolated from the user's personal energy field.  If paired with an emission device that resonates with the user and bolster their own psi emanations, this would effectively shoulder half the burden FOR them (and either cutting the psi cost in half or cutting the difficulty in half).  Easy example of this; a device similar to Cerebro that augments a telepath's range.  Another example; an "energy pack" that syncs up with the bioelectric field of an electrokinetic and gives them more energy to work with.

 

Psi-detection- Fluctuations in the subquantum medium can be detected by other psions, so a device will quickly be made to mechanize that process.  All kinds of organizations will want one of those devices so they can at least detect psionic meddling.

 

I disagree with the idea of non-user paradox in a psi device on the grounds that Psi isn't Mage-spheres and is not subject to consensual reality.  Trinity always portrayed psi-use in a clinically observable scientific light, making it an objective force like gravity or magnetism.  If a Psi device relies on consensual reality in any way then logically all Psi would fall apart from random norms observing it.

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I think Osprey OOC's idea of crystals is great. It can also accelerate psitech significantly (if that is what we and/or Rorx want). Once someone notices a psionic echo (a clear mayby? finding there own signiture in the area while dowsing maybe?) coming from a crystal, the research will take off.

 

Maybe the crystalline lattice needs to be grown for the specific signature. Currently, some crystals oscillate when provided power (used in watches and computers), so providing them power could reinforce a psi pattern (as darksol-aeternium said) making it cheaper. Maybe an enemy getting hold of your device would find the crystal next to useless except for use AGAINST you (eg draining power from the crystal makes that mode a little harder).

 

There also could be a crystal that dampens the local psi field. Not a problem with just a couple, but go over tolerance....

These crystals could be used to power novel devices (and generate lasers off course). So if it was "formatted", it would have a custom grown crystal, otherwise it has a less useful generic crystal.

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I do at least like the concept of crystals being a important part of the technology. As psychic powers probably would need some form of tuning to work with technology, and certain crystal types would be perfect. Quartz would be the first, but others might be just as good (or better). I could imagine in 10 years time there would be some price wars surrounding certain precious gems. That and the quest for making a mechanically produced artificial crystal would be underway.

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I would think that the bioware assimilation issue would be unaffected.  Already in D&D psionics you can absorb inorganic items into your body, and theirs are made of psionically active crystal as well.  By the time bioware is available it should be a moot point as they'll be growing organic-based crystals attuned to each psion anyway.

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well realistically there shouldn't be any psitech at all not for a very very long time. Unless you have a plot device in place and psion's have secretly been around for decades, or the aliens caused the whole thing and then gave us a box of goodies to play with. your looking at years if not decades before there is any sort of true psionic tech and even then the cost would be prohibitive only government and corporations will have it. now what you might have is the first baby steps as scientist and medical engineers adapt current cybernetic tech  to study. but real psitech. not for a long time.

 

Ok Nina, I see two things that could easily be done to speed up the development of Psi tech.

 

1. It has natural origins. People have believed for years that crystals aid healing, help energy levels or other outlandish claims. What about they now find that some of these are correct, certain types of crystal do help some Psi activities....

 

Or 

 

2. Something had to have caused the activation and deaths and this will be investigated as a priority by numerous private, corporate, governmental and international groups across the world. From this they may find evidence of the cause that hints to developing technology that is Psi related.

 

I agree it will take years before understood experimental/prototype psi tech would be about, and probably another year before it goes commercial but since I would like this game to arc over anything up to 20 game years or beyond it seems reasonable to start the discussion and get some ideas together.

 

I even have some thoughts about how someone could discover a biotech form of Psi tech without invoking the Doyen giving Orgotek the basic vats and designs....

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For now I think that the BK Assimilation will have to be deleted or relegated to a potential alternate. I'll look at the alternate in Terre Verde and/or make one up based on ideas from the free form rules.

 

 

Crystals might be fine for finding one that resonates with a particular Aptitude and gives some bonus to its use but how to produce a device that duplicates a Psi effect, or is powered by Psi? Could we duplicate any of the current biotech devices with crystal tech?

 

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i don't like crystals as the focus or origin of psytech. I would stick to organic, we make thing which can inter act, and mechanic, we make things which can amplify. go from there. imo your still talking years and years. this isnt aberrant where you have mega minds solving every problem in the world while sitting on the toilet.

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No I agree there is no mega-minds as you put it, but given a couple of years there could be some Superior minds. Psi's with Enhanced Potential in INT...

 

There is nothing to say there can't be two or more routes to Psi tech, perhaps with different abilities.

 

Biotech might work better, as laid out in Trinity, but as was briefly mentioned in chat it would be a difficult job to get it approved for research let alone for public use. So although I do have a route to this, I'm not certain about using it....Perhaps a PC could fight its corner through regulation...

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Or split the difference. North America pursues crystals - due to certain corporate lobbies pushing the CDC and FDA to restrict or ban organic psiware. Another country without such obstacles ends up looking at the organic idea to get a jump on the Americans - say Russia, China, Germany, or someone else.

 

Both could be pursued at the same time, an effective arms race - with the same goals in mind, just different methods of reaching them.

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Good call, this might help to inform that further....

 

"In August 2010, Scientific Amercian ranked the top 5 biotech countries in a "Worldview Scorecard" as being USA, Singapore, Canada, Sweden and Denmark, using the following criteria: IP and ability to protect it, intensity, being defined as spending on R&D, availability of venture capital and support, availability of expert manpower and the overall country's ranking in terms of entrepreneurship and other foundations. Countries doing well are those with strong incentives for technology development, and a range of options forobtaining research funding."

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if America sees an advantage to biotech they will pursue biotech. any psi tech would have military application the us would pursue that and attempt to undermine ANY other nations pursuit.

 

since we are determined to have psitech defined from the get go instead of allowing it to come about organically as the game progress. there are a couple of things that have to be defined/decided before any real determination of what form of psitech we should have.

 

1. The actual origin of Psionics. is it a natural evolutionary step that got jump started by something or is it an mutation caused by the "event" or by design.

 

2 how catastrophic was the event. did it disrupt the social and geo political dynamic for a lengthy period of time, months or years even, or was it a slight hiccup that only caused a few days worth of disruption. this will effect how "free" psions are and what direction/manner of development  psitech will initially follow.

 

 

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Assuming we are going down the crystal path, and assuming a YAG is going to be one of them, it wouldn't take long for them to discover. There are plenty of YAGs out  there, and all you need is a suitable psion to notice the "resonance". It could be potentially decades before they understand what is happening, but it wouldn't take much to get a generic crystal from its discovery. So, for quite a while, the only crystals available would be "low hanging fruit", things people can already find.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, having given it more thought and looking at other game, literature and movie sources I've worked at out three types of psi tech that will be developed in this game world.

1. Drugs - these will be things like suppressants, energy boosters (increase psi points temporarily ), things that boost an area of psi (an Aptitude or Mode) but with drawbacks. These will be the quickest thing to be developed in at least the experimental stage, some will be side effects on psions of current drugs/medicines.

2. Hardtech - I have an idea worked out for how this is discovered and developed and is the next method to go to experimental stage, and possibly first to go officially commercial. It is not going to be crystal based other than loosely and certainly not new age style crystals. Because this is going to work by either using psi as a power source or channelling the psi through its circuitry (for want of a better term) it will not be able to duplicate psi effects or generate its own psi effects. So hardtech psi technology will either be real tech powered by psi (hand lasers, air taser, jet/hover packs of useable range? ), or provide a boost to particular powers by channelling the psi more effectively (reducing the psi cost, increasing range or damage, giving extra dice on rolls, increasing mass/no of targets/area of effect)

3. Biotech - slowest solution both to be discovered and in getting through regs and popular opinion to be released commercially but most versatile. This will be able to boost psi like hardtech initially, but also in a wider field like a whole Mode or eventually an Aptitude(?), but in the long term also be able to generate its own psi effects.

One exception to the no-crystal rule.... focal crystals (Clear subliminal communication ) will be found to be naturally occurring.

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