ranx wrote:

So I'm writing a mercenary's guide to the transhuman solar system (working title 'seven habits of highly efficient posthuman pirates') as a sort of In-character/Out-of-character guide to help people who aren't great at rules-knowledge make effective professional killers. I've run into a little question: on page 335 it is mentioned that smartlinks are included in all modern firearms 'by default'. Does this mean you don't have to pay for them? Since a smartlink system costs as much as an automatic rifle, this is a reasonably meaningful cost break.

It's a common modification, near the point of ubiquity, but not something that you don't have to pay for. You still have to pay the price to have a smartlink system. The line was intended to tell you that a majority of guns out there are mesh-wired (which they are... you're more likely to find a gun with smartlink than without in wealthier parts of the system). The price for the weapons in the book is the "no frills" price-point. Do pay attention, though. While that is the "no frills" price-point, you have to check the description because certain weapons will have certain mods stock. For instance, seeker weapons [b]always[/b] have the smartlink system installed (and it says just that on page 339), so you don't have to pay extra for it. It's a component of the product.