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What gear do you need to perform psychosurgery?

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Fri, 2012-12-28 13:46
#1
Pale_Enchantress Pale_Enchantress's picture
What gear do you need to perform psychosurgery?
Just a question that I can't seem to find the answer to. The rules do say how it's performed but not what you have to have to perform it. First you generally do it to an alpha fork rather then the original. What piece of gear would store the forced alpha fork for altering? What is needed to go into it and start editing it? Finally is anything special needed to use it on an unwilling subject instead of a willing subject? Edit: Oh and what's some gear that isn't necessary but is useful. The paragraph about the speed of psychosurgery was a bit odd to me. It says it's based on the subjects perception of time? Does that mean storing someone as an infomorph first would speed it up?
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Fri, 2012-12-28 19:03
OneTrikPony OneTrikPony's picture
Good Question.
Good Question. Not necessary but useful; Simulspace subscription, AR Illusions, Drugs, Narcoalgorithms, Medical AI, Standardized cognome patches for common maladies, Standardized cognome patches for common personality modifications. Necessary; Ego Bridge (for biomorphs) I've never encountered any details in my readings but I can't imagine that psychosurgery happens outside of some virtuality. Perhaps the Jovians have some type of psychosugery that happens physically through some combination of drugs, electro shock(or the magnetic thingy), AR illusions, and talk therapy. But; "your mind is software..." so I think common methodology involves running the mind software on some clean hardware and entering a simulspace where software tools and AI assistants are applied. It probably also involves the use of specialized narcoalgorithms.
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Mea Culpa: My mode of speech can make others feel uninvited to argue or participate. This is the EXACT opposite of what I intend when I post.

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Sat, 2012-12-29 03:09
DivineWrath DivineWrath's picture
To perform psychosurgery on
To perform psychosurgery on an ego, I imagine that the very minimum you would need is a device that could store an ego and be able to run the required programs to modify it. I think you would be able to do this using just an ecto or mesh inserts (both can run an ego + extra programs). Mind you, this would be like doing brain surgery using the tools out of someone's garage. Surely you could be bothered to do such delicate work in a proper environment. To do better, you really should have the following: -Access to a detailed data base to the subject's ego to. You can compare ego fragments to other fragments in the data base and get a list of known problems and solutions. Find better ego fragments to replace old ego fragments. So on and so on. A good data base should be able to provide bonuses to test rolls. -Access to a powerful computer capable of running multiple egos at once. This would be useful as it would allow you to run forks of the ego and test the changes being considered. Helps to prevent you from brain damaging your patient by shifting the risk to the patient's forks. -Access to a simulspace server. A large number of people live out in the real world, sleeved in physical morphs as apposed to infomorphs. Any tests done on forks might work out better in a world that resembles the one they intend to live in. Alternatively, you run other simulations to test other changes. For instance, combat simulations for combat related changes. -Access to a computer capable to running egos at accelerated rates. A double edged sword. You can get test results quicker, but the quality tends to suffer (leading to a penalty to the test rolls). -The ability to store multiple back ups. *Really Important* If you screw something up, its important that you are able to undo such mistakes. I think that ectos and mesh inserts should be able to store multiple backups of egos though. -Some place calm and quiet to do work in. You don't want to be doing brain surgery while distracted, or heaven forbid, during a firefight. ---- Keeping an ego against its will and doing stuff to it shouldn't be too difficult with the right gear. If you can keep the ego off, any ecto or mesh insert should suffice. If you intend to have the ego running, then the ego needs to be stored in a device that could keep an ego prisoner (a device probably not commonly available on the market). That means that the ego must not be allowed to transfer itself to other devices nor should it be allowed to access any of the devices programs. Being stuffed into a simulspace simulation may work if it is carefully designed (must not be hackable from the inside). You would also want to deprive the ego of all of its programs and files as the ego may have programs that could be used for hacking. From there, you should be able to do any psychosurgery operation you want on the unwilling subject.
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Fri, 2013-01-04 09:37
Xagroth Xagroth's picture
Mmmm... Everything depends.
Mmmm... Everything depends. If you want to go for quick & dirty (specially if it is what the game needs at that moment), some credits spent into a "psychosurgery software package" for a +0 roll, or even without it at a -30. That would be like reprogramming one of Asimov's robots like R. Giskard or R. Daneel Olivaw: you use logic and carefully phrased instructions to alter the mind of your target. It's manipulation when done to people (short term) or brainwahsing (long term). It takes time, of course, so to speed things, a simulspace and some means to get in there for both you and your target are needed. You don't need a subscription, though, but the required computer capability (an isolated system might be the best). Inception is a good example of this method of "live" psychosurgery where the process itself is nor only relevant but central to the game session. Now if you want it to be something really important (like turning someone crazy or change the core of its personality), long-term and professional with a crazy hi-tech feel to it, get the shopping list: - First you need the ego, in a easy to modify support (that means cyberbrain morph or even better, an infomorph). An Ego Bridge might be required. - Second, you need a simulspace with maximun acceleration. You don't need anything fancy if you want a rough work that might barely hold together for some time, but you might need a complete simulspace of an existing place if you want to deceive the target and make subtle alterations. In any case, it will be a non-online simulspace (it would be very shaming to see the ego running away into the Mesh... XD). - Third, you need backup. Not a Backup for your ego, but help: something akin to the Matrix Architect able to turn everything off if needed and which will keep an eye on things, and one or two expert muses to help you with the psychosurgery itself. - Finally, some drugs or programs from the gear list might be useful, but only if the psychosurgery is going to be very important to the game session. It is not fun to use one hour to make the plans on how to snatch the password for the spaceport's service gate when the actual deed takes just two or three rolls once you are doing it!
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Fri, 2013-01-04 21:08
Pale_Enchantress Pale_Enchantress's picture
I was thinking I might see if
I was thinking I might see if my ST agrees that Tools (Shop) (Psychosurgery) and a simspace could give me the basics for DIY surgery then anything on top of that is just extra for ease of use like drugs, muses, ego bridge, ect. Good suggestions everyone.
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Sat, 2013-01-05 05:41
DivineWrath DivineWrath's picture
????
???? You referring to tools on (core rulebook, p. 326)? I don't think tools are what you are looking for. The section on psychosurgery says its almost always done on a digital mind state, not an actual organic brain. I think tools are intended for physically building or repairing stuff (using the hardware skill). However, a proper lab for psychosurgery hasn't been listed in any of the books (yet), so I suppose you could use a tool shop as a base and modify the details so you get what you want. Maybe allow it to run a single ego at 10x acceleration or run multiple egos at once (up to 10 at 1x acceleration), do editing of egos, and be able to produce a good simulspace environment (realistic so long as the people don't try to look too closely at anything).
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