(Homo sapiens captiosus)
The ultimate meshing of the mind and technology.
Avg. Height: M - 5'9" F - 5'7"
Avg. Weight: M - 130# F - 120#
Hair Color: Brown, black, blonde, red
Eye Color: Brown, hazel, blue, green
Blood Pressure: 130/85
Life Expectancy: 70 years
Dist. Marks: Thin, wiry, hyperactive, jumpy, often tattooed and scarred
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Daemons can mesh their minds with computers. Able to translate thoughts into
programs and commands, they are highly competent on-the-fly hackers.
Daemons represent the next level of mental interface between man and
technology. The product of a human father and a savant mother, their unique
genetic background gives them the ability to mesh their minds with computers
and highly sophisticated technology. Able to project their minds into the
Matrix with minimal hardware, and to translate their very thoughts into
programs and commands, they are highly competent on-the-fly hackers. Daemons
are usually quick learners, and while possessing little physical combat
ability, once in the 'Net they surpass even the most sophisticated
anti-intrusion programs.
For various reasons which will be explained later, daemons tend to be seen
as rather anti-social, and will spend most of their time either alone or
gathered among a select few other daemons of their choice. Socially, they
prefer the Matrix as a gathering place, which makes it far easier to find
one another since there are only 3 to 5,000 daemons alive today, most
gathered in or around the city of New Aurora. Their tendency to be involved
in all things computer-related, including crime, also has the unfortunate
side effect of them being labeled "hackers" en masse. But despite the
stereotypes, not all daemons are hackers, nor are all hackers daemons.
Anyone can learn to manipulate computer systems--daemons just happen to be
better at it than most. And the daemon ability to communicate and interact
directly with computers and electronic equipment also offers them a wide
array of "legitimate" job opportunities: the ultimate auto mechanic is one
who knows exactly what is wrong with your vehicle, and there is no end to
the number of jobs available for daemons in the military, police and
security fields. It is partly because they are willing to take almost any
job involving computers that they have been called "mind whores," willing to
sell their mind for an hour or two to whoever bids the most. But to daemons,
an unceasing string of one-hour jobs is the ideal way to live.
A daemon's enhanced central nervous system (CNS) enables their system to
operate at up to 100 times the efficiency of an ordinary human's. This is
in part due to improved genetic "wiring": daemon nerves are much wider than
in normal humans (though still far too thin to be seen by the naked eye),
and the thicker the nerve fiber, the faster information travels. In
particular, the daemon's "A-alpha" and "A-beta" nerve fibers (which carry
information related to muscle sense and touch) are up to 10 times wider,
with action potentials traveling faster than the speed of sound. (It is
worth noting that the nerves which transmit pain, temperature and itch
sensations are not any more sensitive than in normal humans). In addition,
the daemon's spinal column contains more "white matter," enabling it to
communicate at higher speeds with the daemon's brain, which in turn contains
up to 100 times as many "glial cells" as a human brain.
But the most important genetic addition is the daemon's booster, a unique
organ which stretches from the coccygeal vertebra to the fourth sacral
vertebra at the base of the spine. Although they share this organ with
savants and psychos, the daemon cannot influence the minds of other people,
or their own bodies. Instead, thanks to the genetic influence of their human
fathers, the daemon's booster is tuned into frequencies beyond the range of
the human CNS, and well into the range of modern computers. It is this which
gives daemons the ability to interpret raw computer data as if it were their
own thoughts, allowing them to actually interface directly with computers,
without the use of any input device. Of course, this means that they are
susceptible to neural attack, and while computer viruses won't kill them
outright they can slow a daemon down, overload him with white noise or make
him forget things. But this also means that daemons are literally built for
the type of data that is transmitted through cybernetic implants. Without
cybernetic augmentation, their minds tend to outstrip their bodies, but a
full-conversion cyborg daemon is a scary sight. He carries all his hardware
with him and can move as fast as it can.
However, it is important to note that a daemon can only operate as fast as
the slowest portion of the system he's interacting with. Tapping interface
jacks directly into the booster, spine, brain stem or major nerves can
enhance speed, as can using specially shielded wires and direct links to
systems, and since daemons are virtual antennas, they can, and often do,
operate systems remotely by touch or even by broadcast. This is especially
easy to do in a large city, where there's literally a network on every
corner and antennas and satellite links all around. However, speed and
integrity are greatly compromised when broadcasting is involved, and a
daemon on a slow link is a pathetic sight. Sure, their brains instinctively
understand most data protocols, and they can watch television or talk on the
phone or listen to radio without hardware, but it can be slow, and if
there's one thing daemons can't stand, it's lag.
In addition to their skill with computers, the daemon's enhanced CNS gives
them some distinct physical advantages. Actions requiring reflex arcs
(direct pathways from muscle to spine and back to muscle) will be performed
at lightning fast speed, since they skip the brain and utilize the enhanced
portions of the daemon CNS, and daemons who practice physical arts make
goths and spectres look like clumsy oafs. They can calculate the trajectory
of a ball speeding at them at 300mph, and catch it (sure, their arm might
get torn off, but it'd be cool at the time). And of course, since they can
catch it, they can also get out of the way, meaning that a daemon's ability
to dodge things and quickly analyze trajectories and paths is exceptional.
Also, thanks to a corruption of their savant ancestors' brains, daemons have
hyper-efficient left lobes, making them distinctly "left-brained," and far
superior when it comes to making logical and mathematical calculations,
often in seconds or microseconds (albeit at the expense of giving daemons
the reputation of being calculating and distant, with a level of humor that
only other daemons can appreciate).
Daemons also have eidetic memory--totally photographic--with instant access
and no degradation, but because of everything they encounter and the speed
at which they process information, they sometimes have a hard time recalling
it when they need to. Quite often, they will remember perfectly the
million-character passphrase needed to disable the missile launch sequence,
albeit days after the missiles have launched and struck their targets. After
all, there were so many other more interesting things to think about at the
time. Give them a true-false quiz and they'll have it done, perfectly, in
seconds, but make them write a 500-word essay and they'll give you a blank
stare. Ask a daemon to sit still and do one thing for an hour, and they
either enter deep hack mode or flake out 5 minutes into it because they're
bored. Unless, of course, there's a new security program that nobody could
POSSIBLY hack. Then they'll easily devote days at a time to bringing it
down, foregoing eating and drinking and sleeping to get the job done.
This general outlook on life applies to picking up new experiences as well;
they can easily do a million things at once at a shallow level, but they
can't concentrate deeply on one thing without a lot of effort. Thus, while
they can learn quickly, it takes them a long time to understand, and most
don't have the patience to bother to understand. Their "faster is better"
attitude gives them a reputation as wiry, hyperactive twits prone to jumping
to conclusions, noted for their short attention spans and short tempers.
Combined with their rather high level, logical sense of humor, this tends to
make daemons rather poor house guests. And no daemon could tolerate reading
a book--the normal data would just flow by way too slowly.
Rushing around while not paying attention to where you're going can also be
dangerous, and shutting off your vision so you can focus on the Matrix
through your booster can be a problem, especially when you haven't eaten in
four or five days. For this reason, many daemons hire bodyguards, commonly
called "deckhands". These people, paid by the hour, day or week, see to it
that nobody messes with the daemon or his gear while the daemon is all
glassy-eyed and busy off in the Matrix somewhere. Some are even paid to feed
the daemon, change IV tubes and more, depending on the length of time the
daemon feels is necessary to be "away" from his senses.
Despite the fact that daemons can easily pass for human, as their GOTH
mutations are almost entirely internal, many boldly go out of their way to
make themselves look weirder, tattooing their bodies, getting odd piercings
in even more odd locations, wearing neon signs and computer chips, and
implanting various devices about their persons. A few retain small claws and
slightly enlarged canines, although they often have these removed for
aesthetic reasons. Since they cannot physically merge with technology,
something morphs can do, many will even make it appear physically that they
can by "wearing" circuit boards and wires.
INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS
Music: nine inch nails, Skold, KMFDM, Lords of Acid, techno, house, trance, trip-hop, goa, etc.
Stories: "Hackers," "Tron," "Sneakers," "Wargames," "The Matrix"
Quote: "Lo, soul, seest thou not God's purpose from the first?
The earth to be spann'd, connected by network...
The oceans to be cross'd, the distant brought near,
The lands to be welded together." --Walt Whitman
Stats:
* Higher than average Mental Agility.
* Below average Physical Endurance & Strength.
Pros:
* In a technological society, daemons are born to succeed.
* Daemons are in high demand on both sides of the legal fence.
* Daemons blend into society more easily than many other goth genotypes.
Cons:
* Small and frail by nature, daemons do not perform well in combat.
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