For most of the normal people out there who go to the doctor, either because they’re sick, need a prescription or possibly for some surgery there is the comfort of knowing that they probably covered by the physicians health insurance. The operating room will be nice, neat, sterile and after its all done you get to kick back for a few days in post-op on the happy drugs, decent meal and friendly nurses.

You’ve never been to a ripper-doc have you?

Well you know all those nice things I told you about doctors, well forget it.

Chances are, unless you’re lucky to get into one of the Orienta surgeries, roaming Thresher traders who have a mobile choppy shop and surgeon with them or a TechTrex lab and engineers.

And who’s say they want to know you, they’ll need more than money just to even speak to you…

Then well, it’s your arse.

Literally.

You walk in, pay up front and no ‘insurance’ in the form of some hard-hitting mates then don’t expect to wake up. Either that or do some poking around and checking if the surgeon is ‘legit’, meaning he might actually have some formal training and might not sell your organs or to skin traders.

People don’t walk out of major surgery either and go bounding off down the road to tear a squad of SHIVER apart with their bare hands before breakfast. Healing takes time and no you fucking moron, jamming yourself full of Kickstart and knitters isn’t going to make it happen quicker either. Expect to pay anywhere between 1000 to 3000u a day for intensive care in-house, if you’re lucky you might find someone who can look after you for cheaper, house calls by someone to make sure its taken properly and diagnose any problems are around 500u and up depending on where you are and where they have to go.

Needless to say, with the amount of money passing hands, they might not have the most obvious protection, but ripper-doc’s aren’t someone you want to steal from or welch on a deal, especially if they’re a good doc, because they’ll also have a whole heap of tooled up ‘friends’ they can call on.

Cybernetics

The day of the ‘chrome warrior’ might be over (if you work for SLA), but that’s not to say that it isn’t out there in some form or another.

TekTrex are making inroads again into this market which has lain fallow for some time. Taking a hint from Thresher, they're opting for minor systems that support, augment and refine the senses. Rather than the big approach of making whole replacement bones and muscles which tended to use more materials. So far the lines they're making seem to be of excellent quality, relatively affordable and very long lasting, the actual surgery involved in putting them in is less invasive and quite simple. This alone should make TT very popular in the public eye for supplying medical technology at cut-rate prices.

Thresher never stopped using Cybernetic systems, they are so far ahead in this field in conjunction with their use of the alien nanotechnology it leaves the rest in the dust. While they're systems are never very obvious, they are extremely potent and gives them such an edge in combat it makes SLA look like they're wandering around in the Stone Age. Unfortunately, they really super stuff never hits the streets for sale, even when you do actually manage to approach them for trade, chances are they aren’t carrying any to implant for sale. If there is enough request they do export some excellent organ and limb replacements in bulk orders that can be patched in by a good doc. The very advanced Neural tech stuff we’ll never see down here though.

For a lot of folks who loose a limb, eye, internal organ either through misfortune, disease or accident and don’t have the option to walk into a Karma facility, expensive Orienta biogenetics lab or anywhere else that could grow or ‘collect’ a replacement.

It’s their only option.

Prosthetic Limbs and Organs

Power supply lasts for 300,000hrs on TechTrex implants, the Thresher ones have a 500,000hr power supply and both are rechargeable. Recharging jacks cost 200u and will run off mains, fusion or solar power supplies and charge the device up to full in a matter of hours.

Thresher limbs come with a tough covering of biogenetic skin that will heal and repair itself, making it look and feel like the real appendage, if somewhat cooler to the touch and dyed by the surgeon to match the skin tone. Eyes are also tailored with a set of controls prior to implantation which will match them to the user’s original. TT products are finished in plain titanium and quite obvious. Tactile sensors in limbs can be turned off if the owner so chooses. They have the same hits as the user and tuned to match their original stats.

#-1 to any skill roll requiring the use primarily of the prosthetic limb(s) as the control is not quite as good as a natural limb.

Sensory Tech

These puppies are the real cutting edge of cyber technology that everyone wants and only a few ever manage to find in the blackmarkets, being able to see and hear where no one else can makes these potent little items. TT use small turbines along the major arterial walls to power the systems as they don’t use a lot of power, Thresher use a chemical catalyst system which processes chemicals such as glucose in the bloodstream for theirs.

Unless someone is packing X-ray equipment they aren’t visible either unless part of a more obvious piece of cyber ware. You buy the rating you want. Want a higher rating later then you pay for it all over again.

Hearing Amplifiers

TT E90 1-5
22500u per level

TH Zenker 1-5
22800u per level

Visual Acuity Systems

TT E400 1-5
45000u per level

TH Sulky 1-5
47000u per level

Each Rating of implant gives a +1 to either good-vision or good-hearing, they do to some extent replace the users own attributes so are not cumulative with any natural good vision or hearing. Both TT and TH equipment comes with flare compensators in the eyes and automatic 110db cut-out systems in the ears to prevent neural damage.

Mil-spec Visual and Hearing Systems

TT IR system 30000u
TT UV system 40000u
TH 20-20 Lowlight 70000u
TH Thermo 90 120000u
TT Dammar E1011 20000u
TH Sun-7 40000u

It does what it says on the can, the Dammar E1011’s and Sun-7’s are hearing implants that increase the spectrum of noise that would be beyond a species ability to hear, from sub bass rumbles to the high pitched whine of electronics and turbines.

The Thresher Thermo and Lowlight systems are highly refined variations of IR and UV neither of which incurs any penalty for use in darkness but the Lowlight will need a few lumens to be functional, both are incredibly rare on the blackmarket.

Advanced Sensor Systems

TT-Squid MM 80,000u
TH Arc-light 18 160,000u

The Squid MM is a 1mm radar sensor and sonar located in the forehead under the skin, range of 30m and can see through smoke and heavy atmospheric pollution, the sonar also functions underwater up to 300m. The Arc-light is a multi spectrum Doppler radar and sonar system with a range of 100m and 1000m respectively, it is also so rare it’s more or less never seen on the streets.

Reflex Recorders

These are some brutal pieces of kit my brothers and sisters, lurking away down there underneath the skin, you wont know someone has them under their skin until they fire them up and it’s all over. They take some time to get used too as the system tunes itself to the user over a week or so of normal activity and then, bang. Off they go and you're faster than anyone else on your block. Thankfully they also come with a neural cut-out which means you can turn them off, otherwise you're likely to have hauled out or handed someone their arse while they where only going to shake your hand or give you your change down the shops. Keep well away from veterans who have these, chances are they’ll gun you down or snap your spine before they even know you're not hostile.

You literally move faster than you can think.

Great, all well and good if you have a handle on them, otherwise you're a walking razorblade to everyone around you and a menace to your allies and enemies alike. Like the sensor tech, you buy the rating you want, want a higher one later you pay for it all over again.

TT 10.30 1-3
200,000u per level

TH White Zeta 33x 1-3
250,000u per level

These add a flat +1 to initiative per Rating of implant.
(eg: Bob has Dex 10, he get three levels of TT10.30, he now Reacts in combat at 13 with all normal bonus actions in phases granted as if he had Dexterity 13)

In a situation requiring the user to react to opponents and friendly personnel in a surprise situation, the user has to make a CONC roll equal to their total initiative otherwise they don’t discriminate between targets.
(Modifiable by wounds, drug use and behaviour.)

These do not add to skills which are based off dexterity.

Neural Tech

Often overlooked by some of the younger guns, these bits of gear are a black science in of themselves that are lifesavers in a combat situation or against ebb users. They will keep you up and running long enough to either get yourself clear or deck the guy who jumped you.

Trauma Dampers

TT DR12 1-5
30,000u per level

TH Mariah 7X 1-5
32,000u per level

Add to the PHY roll to resist, shock, stun, physical wound penalties and stay conscious.
Users ignore wound penalties and pain modifiers to their actions, can be turned off.

Ebb Dampers

TH Carmella JA 1-5
65,000u per level

Add to CONC rolls to resist ebb attacks on the mind, these cannot be turned off.

Inertial Dampers

TT FD 11 1-5
24,000u

TH Jaci-5 1-5
25,000u

Add to PHYS rolls to stay conscious under high G-forces, disorientation and extreme athletic manoeuvres at high speed. A combination of inbuilt gyroscopic and reflex technology, they cannot be turned off. They also add their rating as a bonus to Athletics and Gymnastics skills.

Reflex Chips 2,000u
Control chips, manufactured by a handful of soft companies for bulk sale into the Skin Trade, sweatshops, slave labour operators and sex industries, they essentially force the brain to take a backseat while the body acts out a set of pre-recorded commands of its own after a trigger word is said to turn it on and off. More than one can be implanted into the brain-stem.

Combat Cybernetics

Some people don’t mind advertising the fact they're wired up and it does make TekTrex look good on the TV when someone pops one of their implants and tears the head off some SLA contract killer. Most everyone else though knows these things are dangerous, very dangerous and would do best to keep away from anyone with these things in them.

Problem is, by the time you figure out that they do have them it’s probably too late…

TT Sliver 02.1
The first step of an internal combat system that involves the implantation of sharp, retractable vibro claws on the hands and toes of the user giving them a +2 PEN and +2 DAM to unarmed combat attacks.
50,000u

TT Slasher 03.2
A major upgrade of the Slivers which makes them longer and also includes retractable vibro-spurs on the forearms and shins of the user capable of dealing terrible wounds.
Gives a +4PEN and +4 DAM to unarmed combat attacks.
65,000u, 15000u upgrade from 02.1

TT Severance 04.3
Retractable Vibro-spurs on the forearms, knees, feet, elbows, shoulders in addition to the claws on the fingers and toes.
Gives +5 Pen and +6 DAM to unarmed combat attacks, anyone attempting to wrestle or pin the owner of such a system can find themselves taking damage automatically with no to-hit roll required by the owner.
80,000u, 15,000u upgrade from 03.2, 30,000u upgrade from 02.1