192. Smalls

Neotenics are resource efficient, requiring less space, food, water, and air than full-sized morphs, a valuable advantage in space. Their small size and general agility lends itself well to low and zero-g environments, and the youth-like plasticity of the brain lends itself well to augmentation. But no matter how many convincing arguments neotenic advocates use, it seems unlikely that they will ever overcome the stigma and assumed weirdness of sleeving as a child.

To overcome that stigma, Skineasthesia presents "smalls", reduced size versions of adult biomorphs. Skineasthesia's patented biological miniaturization techniques ensure the best of both worlds: the well refined genetic superiority of exalts with the small size, agility and resource efficiency of neotenics (for those looking to recreate neotenic advantages entirely, we recommend plasticity treatments).

Mecahnics

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical
Stack
Aptitude Maximum: 25 (SOM), 30 (all else)
Durability: 30
Wound Threshold: 6
Advantages: +5 COG, +5 COO,+5 to two aptitudes of the player’s choice; smalls count as a small target (–10 modifier to hit in combat)
CP Cost: 25
Credit Cost: Expensive (25,000+)
Notes

Inspired by the smalls from Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312.

142. Livestock

Cannibalism has lost its luster. Human meat is as easily acquired as any other type, at least if you'll settle for vat-grown. Once the interest in the taboo wanes, however, most prefer the carefully engineered meats; no reason to settle for human when impeccable veal is cheaper. Still, there are always fetishists and connoisseurs.

Among those who maintain a romantic attitude towards cannibalism, vat-grown simply won't do. The very best meat is free-range. This doesn't mean they want to be murderers, however, and to this end a group of well-to-do cannibals have crowd-funded a new morph, the livestock model.

Livestock are designed to be eaten. Some sleeve their livestock with simple AIs, capable of carrying out dietary plans and exercise regimens. Criminal outfits use tasped slaves, as relaxation leads to a higher quality product. Livestock are also a not-uncommon choice of morph for infugees, as some patrons will subsidize the cost of the morph in exchange for the rights to eat it in a few years.

Mechanics

Livestock are biomorphs [High +5,000]

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack
Movement Rate: 4/20
Aptitude Maximum: 25
Durability: 30
Wound Threshold: 6
CP Cost: 5
Credit Cost: High

141. Neo-Canines

Man's best friend might seem like the obvious choice for uplifting. Smart and friendly, their ability to coexist with humanity has been stress tested for thousands of years. This is, perhaps, why they have not been uplifted. For many people, re-engineering this old relationship would feel wrong in ways that don't apply to avians or octopuses. These same people were greatly disturbed when it became apparent that an exhuman project had uplifted dogs, creating neo-canines.

Socially, neo-canines instinctively form into tight packs of up to a dozen individuals, which can include non-neo-canines. Trust and loyalty within these packs is absolute, but no bonds will be formed with anyone outside it. Non-pack members are treated in a business-like fashion at best, and will not be shown either empathy or mercy. Mentally, neo-canines are smart, smarter than many humans, but their intelligence is focused in some unusual ways. Their ability to understand the motives and predict the actions of their pack-mates is almost perfect, leading to great feats of cooperation. They have difficulty with long-term thinking, however, typically having to work methodically to build formal plans.

Neo-canine physiology has not been changed from that of normal dogs, at least on the surface: they are mammalian quadrupeds. The only visible differences are that their tails are longer, stronger, and prehensile, and their tongues are similarly longer, and have been turned into an effective tentacle, at the cost of their sense of taste. Neo-canines typically use their tails to for tasks requiring strength, and their tongues for tasks requiring finesse. They are incredibly perceptive, with enhancement suites for all senses.

Mechanics

Neo-canines are biomorphs [Expensive 25,000+]

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 30
Wound Threshold: 6
Advantages: +5 COG, +5 to an attribute of the player's choice, +20 Kinesics
Disadvantages: Quadrupeds have a difficult time in microgravity (–30 to Free Fall Tests)
Notes: Reduced size trait
CP Cost: 25

Plot Hook: Most neo-canines currently living are members of exhuman-led packs, although it is rumored their will be an auction on Extropia selling their genetic data for recreation. Firewall would like the players to attend the auction. They are to take note of the high bidders, counter a predicted exhuman attack, and either steal or buy the data.

88. Metamorph

Metamorphs are the current pet project of Gloria de la Poer, one of her personal visions of immortality. Gloria does not believe in immortality as preservation; to her mind change is always necessary and stagnation to be feared. Her metamorphs are designed not to fit a single purpose, but to fit themselves to many purposes as may be needed. A metamorph can survive on Mars, in the seas of Europa, and in the Venusian skies, or act as an effective socialite, savant, or combatant, as long as it is given time to prepare itself.

The primary feature of the metamorph is its ability to metamorphose. The morph can begin metamorphosis as a conscious decision, with control over what changes occur. In the first stage, the morph begins to secrete large amounts of fluid from all pores and orifices. This fluid hardens into a tough, tight shell. Once this has been done, the morph releases specialized, symbiotic retroviruses, rewriting the changing genetic code. Accelerated apoptosis and mitosis occurs, rapidly replacing old cells with those expressing the new modifications, and building new tissues and organs as needed. Once this process has been completed, the morph secretes an enzyme, dissolving the shell, and emerging. The brain and continuity of the ego are carefully maintained, unless brain altering modifications are chosen, in which case no promises can be made. The ego remains in a dreamless sleep during metamorphosis.

Mechanics

Metamorphs are biomorphs.

Enhancements: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 40
Wound Threshold: 8
Advantages: Metamorphosis*, +5 to two aptitudes of the player's choice
CP Cost: 50
Credit Cost: Expensive (75,000+)

*The metamorph is capable of metamorphosis, secreting a hard shell (treated as carapace armor (11/11)), and altering its form. The metamorph may re-select its aptitude bonuses, and shift between up to 25,000 credits worth of bioware. The metamorph may also heal itself, as if in a healing vat. This process takes 24 hours, plus 1 hour per cost category of gained or lost enhancements (as with nanofabrication) as well as aptitude bonuses. Any healing time is added to this total.

77. Neotenic Elephants

Elephants had always been on the short list for uplifting. Their natural intelligence and sociability made them seem like obvious candidates. Their long gestation periods, and requirements for space, as well as their low numbers and associated genetic homogeneity, however, made uplifting difficult in practice.

One Somatek team had a clever solution. A neotenic elephant, never developing beyond childhood, will stay small, around one meter tall and 140 kg in weight. The trunk can be both strengthened and made more dexterous, giving them an agile, grasping limb. Their general cuteness is an added bonus: it was predicted they would be more accepted by society than other uplifts.

It was as the team was moving from physiological work to mental and social, the beginning of the uplifting process proper, that the Fall occurred. Some of their members and data were evacuated from Earth, but the elephant uplifting process had been dealt a mortal blow it has yet to recover from. Only the physiological blueprints remain, in the form of a neotenic elephant morph.

Mechanics

Neotenic elephants are biomorphs [Expensive 20,000+]

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 50
Wound Threshold: 8
Advantages: +5 SOM
Disadvantages: 1 arm, quadrupeds have a difficult time in microgravity (–30 to Free Fall Tests)
CP Cost: 20

1. Whistling Spider

This morph was recovered from an abandoned exhuman brinker hab and dubbed "the whistling spider". Grip pads, ball-jointed limbs and vacuum sealing indicate that it was designed to live in space, yet its echolocation requires an atmosphere. In a vacuum, the spider would be forced to feel its way with its longest arms.

The form is broadly similar to arachnids, specifically of the order Amblypygi. It has ten limbs in total: two pairs of arms and three pairs of legs. Compared to a typical spider the front most pair of legs have been turned to long, strong grasping arms, and the pedipalps to shorter and weaker but more dexterous arms. Ball joints maximize flexibility despite the rigid exoskeleton. Additionally, it is symmetrical along two axes. Left and right are mirrored like most animals, but top and bottom are also symmetrical: all of its limbs are centered along the equator and capable of 360 degree rotation.

The face reveals one of the most intriguing design choices. The morph has no eyes, but four flared, furry-bottomed craters in its exoskeleton act as excellent ears. The mouth, in the center of the face, is capable of echolocation pulses and complex whistling, but not speech. It is assumed the original designer had, or intended to make, a whistling based language.

The arachnoid appearance is only exoskeleton deep, however. The morph is built entirely on human genes and tissues. The exoskeleton is keratin, reinforced with a lattice of cartilage, and internally, the basic layout of human physiology is maintained, with major organs in approximately the same relative positions as a human body.

Plot Hook: An exhuman in a whistling spider morph has been taken in by the exoglots of Locus. Firewall would like the players to investigate, requiring them to negotiate with the exoglots (in itself a difficult task) and gain an interview with the spider and assess whether it or whatever forced the abandoning of its hab are threats.

Mechanics

Whistling Spiders are biomorphs.

Enhancements: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Echolocation, Enhanced Hearing, Carapace Armor, Grip Pads, Vacuum Sealing
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 40
Wound Threshold: 8
Advantages: 4 arms, 6 legs, Carapace Armor (11/11), +5 COO, +5 REF, +10 Freefall, +10 Freerunning
Disadvantages: Blind
CP Cost: 25
Credit Cost: Expensive (25,000+)