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In [5]: print parsetext(text(26)) ------> print(parsetext(text(26))) \subsection{WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE?} While Eclipse Phase is set in the not-too-distant future, the changes that have taken place due to the advancements of technology have transformed the Earth and its inhabitants almost beyond recognition. As players dive into the universe, they'll generally encounter one of the following settings. \subsubsection{HUMANITY'S HABITATS} The Earth has been left an ecologically-devastated ruin, but humanity has taken to the stars. When Earth was abandoned, so too were the last of the great nation-states; transhumanity now lacks a single unifying governing body and is instead subject to the laws and regulations of whomever controls a given habitat. The majority of transhumanity is confined to orbital habitats or satellite stations scattered throughout the Sol system. Some of these were constructed from scratch in the orbit or Lagrange points of planetary bodies, others have been hewn out of solid satellites and large asteroids. These sta- tions have myriad purposes from trade to warfare, espionage to research. Mars continues to be one of transhumanity's largest settlements, though it too, suffered heavily during the Fall. Numerous cities and settlements remain, however, though the planet is only partially terraformed. Venus, Luna, and Titan are also home to significant populations. Additionally, there are a small number of colonies that have been established on exoplanets (on the other side of the Pandora Gates) with environments that are not too hostile towards humanity. Some transhumans prefer to live on large colony ships or linked swarms of smaller spacecraft, moving nomadically. Some of these rovers intentionally exile themselves to the far limits of the solar system, far from everyone else, while others actively trade from habitat to habitat, station to station, serving as mobile black markets. \subsubsection{THE GREAT UNKNOWN} The areas of the galaxy that have felt the touch of humanity are few and far between. Lying betwixt these occasional outposts of questionable civilization are mysteries both dangerous and wonderful. Ever since the discovery of the Pandora Gates, there has been no shortage of adventurers brave or foolhardy enough to strike out on their own into the unknown regions of space in hopes of finding more alien ar- tifacts, or even establishing contact with one of the other sentient races in the universe. \subsubsection{THE MESH} While not a “setting” in the traditional sense, as the sections describe above, the computer net- works known as the “mesh” are all-pervasive. This ubiquitous computing environment is made pos- sible thanks to advanced computer technologies and nanofabrication that allow unlimited data storage and near-instantaneous transmission capacities. With micro-scale, cheap-to-produce wireless transceivers so abundant, literally everything is wirelessly connected and online. Via implants or small personal comput- ers, characters have access to archives of information that dwarf the entire 21st-century internet and sensor systems that pervade every public place. People's entire lives are recorded and lifelogged, shared with others on one of numerous social networks that link everyone together in a web of contacts, favors, and reputation systems. \subsection{EGO VS. MORPH} The distinction between ego (your mind and per- sonality, including memories, knowledge, and skills) and morph (your physical body and its capabilities) is one of the defining characteristics of Eclipse Phase. A good understanding of the concept right up front will allow players a glimpse at all the story possibilities out of the gate. Your body is disposable. If it gets old, sick, or too heavily damaged, you can digitize your conscious- ness and download it into a new one. The process isn't cheap or easy, but it does guarantee you ef- fective immortality—as long as you remember to back yourself up and don't go insane. The term morph is used to describe any type of form your mind inhabits, whether a vat-grown clone sleeve, a synthetic robotic shell, a part-bio/part-synthetic “pod,” or even the purely electronic software state of an infomorph. A character's morph may die, but the character's ego may live on, assuming appropriate backup measures have been taken. Morphs are expendable, but your character's ego represents the ongoing, continuous life path of your character's mind and personality. This continuity may be interrupted by an unexpected death (depending on how recently the backup was made), but it represents the totality of the character's mental state and experiences. Some aspects of your character—particularly skills, along with some stats and traits—belong to your character's ego and so stay with them throughout the character's development. Some stats and traits, however, are determined by morph, as noted, and so will change if your character leaves one body and takes on another. Morphs may also affect other skills and stats, as detailed in the morph description. \subsection{WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?} Now that you know what this game is about, we sug- gest that you next read the Time of Eclipse chapter (p.  30), to get a feel for the game's default setting (which you are, of course, free to change to suit your whims). Then read the Game Mechanics chapter (p. 112) to get a grasp of the rules. After that, you can move on to Character Creation and Advancement (p. 128) and create your first character!

krank wrote:

Sound good. Is your script handling \textbf{} as well? Lists?