Media and Education

As communications and computers get better at processing information, technology finds better ways to store, present, and disseminate it. This section covers devices for recording, playing back, and imparting information of all kinds, for all purposes – including education and entertainment.

Voice Processor: A smart voice-interactive word processing suite, with dedicated AI editing capabilities. It converts ordinary speech to text, giving +1 (quality) to Writing skill for composition, and +2 for editing. Voice processors are very common programs. Complexity 5, 10% of typical software cost.

Ultra-tech data storage and retrieval is usually digital. Many people do not bother with dedicated recorder or playback systems – computers can store digital recordings, and wearable displays or terminals play back audio and video. However, various specialized equipment is also available.

Modular digital media are similar to earlier computer disks and digital video disks, but use three-dimensional data storage with greater capacity.

Data Bank: This is a large unit used as a modular backup or expansion for computers. It has a cable jack. It is $100, 1 lb. per 100,000 TB.

Datachip: A standard chip the size of a modern SD card. Chip readers may be built into many other electronic devices. It holds 1,000 TB. $1, 0.01 lb. A datachip drive is built into many devices; purchased on its own, it’s $5, 0.02 lbs., AA/100 hr.

Data Dot: Used for covert information storage, this tiny unit holds 1 TB. $0.1, neg. A data dot drive accessory is $5, 0.01 lb., AA/200 hr.

Passive visual sensors can be used as digital cameras, but camera systems produce higher-quality images. They have a removable datachip (above), plus internal data storage capacity with the same capacity. Each terabyte of storage holds about 12 hours of uncompressed, studio-quality imagery, or two weeks of compressed imagery (which is good enough for most purposes). Use Photography/TL skill to take good pictures. All systems include a datachip drive (above), a microphone jack, and a display that can be used for simple editing tasks; treat as improvised equipment for any complicated audio-video production.

Flatcam: A palm-sized digital audio-visual recorder. It has a Night Vision 7 image-intensification lens and 4x optical magnification. This is basic equipment for Photography skill. $50, 0.1 lb., A/10 hr.

Pocketcam: A high-quality digital audio-video camcorder with 16x optical magnification and Night Vision 8 image intensification. It gives a +1 (quality) bonus to Photography skill. $200, 0.25 lbs., B/10 hr.

Portacam: A professional-quality movie camera for news gathering, intelligence work, or video production. It provides 16x parabolic audio magnification, 64x optical magnification, and Night Vision 9. It gives a +2 (quality) bonus to Photography skill, and can be mounted on a tripod for extra stabilization. $2,000, 4 lbs., C/40 hr. LC4.

3D Cameras: These are built with specialized lenses to capture the depth needed for 3D imagery. They can also be used to record holotech projections. The cameras listed above are available in 3D at roughly the same cost. 3D images use 100 times as much storage space as flat images.

Book Reader: The size of a slim paperback, this dedicated device is built as a digital text display, with a screen optimized for maximum readability. It can also read texts aloud. It stores 1,000 TB of text internally and has a datachip drive, a cable jack, and a radio microcommunicator. $20, 0.1 lb. 2A/100 hr.

Data Player: An inexpensive palm-sized viewing screen and speaker for audio, video, text, or other data. It has a datachip drive (above), a cable jack, and a radio microcommunicator for connecting to a HUD, computer, or ear phones. $5, 0.05 lb., A/100 hr.

Entertainment Console: This Complexity 6 computer is +1 Complexity when running computer games, virtual reality, and sensie programs. It includes a datachip drive, portable terminal, and cable jack. $500, 1 lb., 4B/5 hr. or external power. LC4.

Video Wall: A flat, flexible, low-wattage video display pasted or painted on a wall. $10 and 0.05 lb. per square foot. Uses external power.

Multi-Media Wall: As above, but also ripples to generate sound, allowing a directional speaker effect. Many residences have these; they are also used for ad walls and other displays. $20 and 0.05 lb. per square foot. External power.

3D Media Wall: Higher resolution, providing realistic depth. $50, 0.05 lbs. per square foot. External power. LC4.

A programmable odor generator used for air conditioning, parties, and art, with a specialized molecular assembler that produces realistic scents. Programming a known scent from the library takes one minute; creating a new one takes at least an hour and a Chemistry roll. Original or artistic scents may require days to perfect. It cannot generate biochemical agents such as pheromones or sleep gas, but it can create odors that mask other odors (-5 on rolls to detect things by smell), or produce a nauseating odor (treat as a mild form of riot gas; roll vs. HT at no penalty to resist).

Odor Synthesizer: Fills a medium-sized room or vehicle; affects a five-yard radius outdoors. $500, 1 lb., B/100 hr. The cartridge is good for 100 mixes (each lingers for a minute). LC4.

Programmable Perfume: A wearable unit. Some scents may be complementary, but it is a good idea to wash off one before trying another. Affects a two-yard radius, including the wearer. $200, 0.1 lb., A/100 hr. LC4.

This uses acoustic heterodyning technology to transform a spoken or recorded message into a directional sound beam. The sound appears to emanate from the location the beam is directed at, rather than the projector. It has a microphone for voice transmission, and a datachip drive for playing recorded sounds. It can be used for communication, so that the recipient hears a voice that seem to be right beside him, even if the sender is hundreds of yards away. Personal, theater, or concert sound systems often integrate sound projection technology to create 3D audio that emanates from multiple locations around the listener. Stores, billboards, or vending machines can use a sonic projector to address targeted ads to individuals passing by (cameras and AI programs identify the most likely customers).

It’s also useful for covert operations – for example, a softly-spoken message can be beamed to a distant target without anyone noticing. This can be used for psychological manipulation. Complex effects (e.g., beaming a recording of someone walking behind a subject, so he thinks he’s being followed by invisible footsteps) require an Electronics Operation (Media) skill roll. Focusing on a moving target requires an attack roll: it is Acc 6, Bulk -2; use Beam Weapons (Projector) skill.

A sonic projector requires an atmosphere to conduct sound, and is not designed for underwater use (for that purpose, see Sonar Communicator). The signal travels at about 0.2 miles per second (at sea level). Various projector sizes are available:

Large: 300-yard range; can project up to four signals simultaneously. $500, 2 lbs., 2C/10 hr. LC4.

Medium: 150-yard range. $200, 0.5 lbs., 2B/10 hr. LC4.

Small: 10-yard range. $50, 0.05 lbs., 2A/10 hr. LC4.

This is a set of portable gear including multiple directional sonic comms, spotlights, and 3D media screens designed for sound stage, dance floor, etc. Use several for large venues. $20,000, 200 lbs., 10D/20 hr. LC4.

This is the superscience version of holography – the ability to project three-dimensional images at a distance, into empty space or around objects. This technology allows projection of images, movies or still shots. Most devices also use sonic projectors (above) to create sounds that appear to emanate from the holographic image. All holoprojectors incorporate cable jacks and radio micro communicators, allowing them to be remotely controlled for use as displays, entertainment systems, or decoys.

Holoprojector: The projection range is 12 yards. The visual projection can fill up to 216 cubic feet (2 x 2 x 2 yards). The projection area can also be moved at up to 12 yards/second, although doing so without disrupting the illusion requires an Electronics Operation (Media) skill roll. $8,000, 4 lbs., C/1 day. LC4.

Small Holoprojector: This pocket-sized holoprojector has a range of seven yards, filling an area up to 54 cubic feet (1 x 1 x 2 yards). The projection area can be moved at seven yards/second, but doing so without disrupting the illusion requires an Electronics Operation (Media) skill roll. Small holoprojectors are often built into other devices, such as a computer, a helmet, a “magic wand,” or an implant. $2,000, 1 lb., B/1 day. LC4.

Mini Holoprojector: A smaller, more affordable holoprojector, capable of filling 27 cubic feet, or 1×1×1 yards. $1,000, 0.5 lb., B/2 day. LC4.

Holoscreen: A holoprojector that produces a flatter volume to use as a projected screen. Capable of filling 13.5 cubic feet, or 0.25×1×2 yards. This can act as an interface, taking the normal weight and cost modifiers for interface options. $500, 0.25 lb., A/1 day. LC4.

Pocket Holoprojector: A tiny holoprojector often used as a children's toy, wrist-mounted display or interface. Capable of filling 2.5 cubic feet, or 0.5×0.5×0.5 yards. $125, 0.125 lb., AA/1 day. LC4.

Super Holoprojector: This powerful projector has a range of 33 yards, and can fill up to 5,000 cubic feet (e.g., 25 x 20 x 10 feet). Super holoprojectors may be used for entertainment, but are also popular for government propaganda, “playing god” with low-tech natives, and delivering villainous ultimatums. The zone can move at up to 33 yards/second, but doing so without disrupting the illusion requires an Electronics Operation (Media) skill roll. $2,000,000, 100 lbs., D/6 hr. LC4.

Micro Holoprojector: This simple holoprojector is the size of a sugar cube, and can project a single image or short sequence (up to 30 seconds) with a range of one yard; the sequence or image is permanently stored in the device. It is often built into lockets and other keepsakes. $10, 0.1 lb., A/1 day. LC4.

Holotech Editing Program: Software for creating or editing holotech and 3D camera images. It can be used to produce computerized holographic animation, special effects, etc. Use Electronics Operation (Media) skill. Complexity 6 software, normal cost. LC4.

This artificial intelligence software lets a holoprojector user control projections “on the fly,” usually via a neural input device or direct neural interface. The operator combines objects from an image library with various pre-programmed and artificially-intelligent behavior sets. All imagery must remain in the projector area.

The operator takes a Concentrate maneuver to project animated, three-dimensional images of anything he can visualize. The images and sounds can occupy any frequency range, including spectra that are beyond human perception. They persist for as long as the device is operating.

In combat, a holoprojection can deceive and distract. Roll a Quick Contest of Electronics Operation (Media) against the Perception of anyone in a position to notice it. (GMs may roll once for multiple foes with the same Per.). Success means the projection seems real to that individual (although if he knows it’s a holoprojection, he’ll just be impressed!)

To make a holoprojection disturbing enough to cause a Fright Check, win a Quick Contest of Artist (Holoprojection) against the higher of IQ or Perception for each victim. To trick someone into believing in an projection of someone he knows, roll the lower of Acting, Electronics Operation (Media), or Artist (Holoprojection) skill against the higher of a target’s IQ or Perception. Roll a new Quick Contest when someone fooled suddenly changes how he’s interacting with the projection; e.g., he attacks a holographic monster, or falls through a chair that isn’t there. If he wins or ties, the operator can’t simulate a believable response to his action (such as the monster dodging, or the chair slipping) and the victim catches on.

Modifiers: A victim gets +4 if someone who knows about the projection warns him, or if you critically fail in a Quick Contest against someone else. He gets +10 if you create the holoprojection unsubtly and in plain sight, or if he examines it with a sense you can’t deceive – most often touch. Inappropriate projections give a further +1 to +10, while believable ones (e.g., you pull out a holographic gun) give from -1 to -5.

It’s hard to animate a convincing semblance of a holographic person for direct, personal interaction, such as dueling or conversation. Multiple fake people are progressively more robotic and unresponsive; anyone rolling a Quick Contest to spot the projection is at +4 per construct after the first. Holotech projections obstruct vision but are otherwise intangible. They glow in the dark; apply a -1 penalty on rolls to fool or otherwise distract someone per -1 darkness penalty (unless the object would ordinarily be glowing in the dark).

Once images have been created, the user can hand off control to the program’s AI. Such holoprojections can respond in simple ways, but can’t change or respond to other’s actions unless the user concentrates. In particular, illusionary people can’t converse.

Interactive holoprojection requires a computer running Complexity 6 software plus an interface for controlling the holoprojector. Apply a -6 to skill if attempting to control interactive holoprojection through anything other than a neural interface! LC4.

A virtual reality rig simulates the sensory input of a computerized environment and transmits it to the user. Virtual reality may be used for socializing, meetings, entertainment and gaming, sex, educational and training simulations, art, advertising, shopping, court sessions, and as a sophisticated control interface.

The simplest form of virtual reality is a visual display. The user dons goggles or a helmet that blocks out the real world and replaces it with a wrap-around view of computer-generated imagery. VR displays are popular means of receiving sensor input from computer games or simulations, from scientific and other sensors, and from sensors and instruments on vehicles or robots. Most remote-control drones use some form of VR display as part of their control system.

VR often serves as a symbolic interface between a user and a set of controls or instruments, “superimposing” itself on normal reality. This is augmented reality. For instance, a computer operator can use a VR rig to dispense with a physical keyboard. The user dons goggles and gloves plugged into a computer, which generates the virtual image of a keyboard in front of him. The user moves his fingers as if typing, the gloves sense the finger movements, and keystroke input is generated in the computer. Feedback may give the user a tactile sensation of typing. The same can apply to control of other electronic systems.

Virtual reality also permit social interaction over a distance. If a computer user has a VR rig, he can interact with people and objects in a virtual-reality environment as if they were real. Phone conversations and face to face meetings often give way to encounters in shared virtual realities.

When someone enters a VR environment of this sort, his appearance will depend on the nature of the environment program and his own interface program. Service providers have a library of avatars on line that the user can choose from, if he hasn’t taken the time to design his own. Most multi-user VR environments resemble a computer-generated version of reality. People can move about it and interact with the other denizens as they would in the real world. It may be hard to distinguish between other VR users and computer programs.

Everything is only as real as the program and hardware makes it. Avatars may be insubstantial, or react as if solid. Many environments are designed so their physics mirror the real world, but others have different physical laws where everyone is weightless, or people have “magical” powers, or water is solid, or whatever. Depending on the level of access granted by the system’s operator, some users may be able to do things others cannot, or even control the overall VR program from within the simulation. Within a large simulation, different sites may have different rules.

Service providers may offer a mix of private VR spaces and open public forums, such as virtual parks, bars, shopping malls or streets. Virtual malls may sell physical goods and services. They can incorporate simulations that allow the user to try out the goods in question – to test drive a virtual car, or try on virtual clothes. (Caveat emptor: what looks good in VR may not be as good in reality.) If the goods are software, they can be delivered immediately; if they are hardware, they come by courier. In some cases, a purchase order may signal a local fabricator to manufacture the goods.

Travel speed in a virtual reality may be limited to walking, but some users may be granted the ability to teleport, fly, etc., or board virtual public or private transportation. Many service providers allow subscribers to design and rent their own personalized locations, either in public forums or in private-access areas. Corporations may have VR offices. Individuals should take care before using VR for confidential meetings. A system operator can design software to monitor or record events in “private” spaces.

Access to large “public” VR environments may be free (perhaps sponsored by corporations, or treated as the equivalent of public parks). Other VR sites may have dues ranging from $1 per month to $1 per minute, although the latter charge is likely only for sophisticated game sites or private clubs. Price may depend on how congested communications bandwidth is.

How a user interacts with a virtual reality depends on his VR rig. All VR rigs must be linked to a computer that is running a virtual-reality program.

VR Gloves: This simple set of gloves, used in conjunction with a HUD, allows a user to manipulate virtual objects using the gloves. It requires a computer of at least Complexity 2 to use. $20, 0.3 lbs. (plus a HUD). LC4. VR gloves can also be incorporated into any set of body armor or other suit gloves.

Basic VR Suit: The user has VR gloves, plus small movement “tracers” attached to various points on the body. He can move around a virtual reality and have a “body” there, but only experiences full tactile stimulation in his hands. The suit takes 10 seconds to put on or remove, and requires a Complexity 3+ computer. It can be worn with any armor or clothing. $200, 1 lb. LC4.

Basic Neural VR: Someone with a direct neural interface (pp. 48-49) can omit the suit and run the equivalent of basic VR through a Complexity 4 program. Standard software cost. LC4.

Full VR Suit: This consists of a sealed helmet, gloves, and a sensor-equipped body stocking. The helmet blocks out the real world, creating 3-D images, sound, and scents. The body stocking and gloves house feedback sensors and pressure devices. The suit allows the user to move about a virtual reality and manipulate objects as if they were real (subject to the constraints of the program). The suit will sense the user’s movements and provide tactile force-feedback (including sexual stimuli, if this feature is enabled), although not strongly enough to suffer any injury. It takes a minute to put on, 30 seconds to remove. It requires a Complexity 5+ computer. $2,000, 5 lbs. LC4.

Full Neural VR: Someone with a direct neural interface can omit the suit and run full VR through a Complexity 5 program. Standard software cost. LC4.

Total VR: This is only available as a computer program accessed through direct neural interface. It provides the same effects as a full VR suit, with the difference that all the user’s senses are engaged. The only limit is whatever safety factors are programmed into the system. If safety interlocks are engaged, the user may feel discomfort or dislocation, but not pain. If they are not engaged, a person in a total VR simulation can feel real pain. He won’t suffer injury, but psychological damage can result if he is hurt, killed, or tortured in VR. This is best simulated by requiring Fright Checks.

Some total VR systems include “consent-level” protocols limiting how much “reality” (in terms of discomfort or pain) the user is willing to take. Another standard feature is a “safeword” function. If the user speaks a specific code word, he is immediately pulled out. Sabotage or system operator connivance might neutralize such features. Total VR is a Complexity 6 program. Standard software cost. LC4.

VR Manager: This program manages the interactions of multiple users within a shared virtual reality. The VR manager must be run on whatever computer is maintaining the virtual environment. Each program can handle about 10 users. For more people, run more programs. The manager can grant varying degrees of access to individual users to design characters or places within the environment. Its Complexity and cost depends on the most complex virtual reality interface it can support:

Complexity 4: Supports VR gloves or basic VR.

Complexity 5: Supports up to full VR.

Complexity 6: Supports up to total VR.

The level of “reality” experienced is the lower of the VR interface or the VR manager. Someone with a deluxe VR rig running in an environment maintained by a Complexity 4 VR manager would participate as if he only had a basic VR rig – the software can’t handle the full capabilities of the hardware. On the other hand, a user who connects a basic VR rig or program to a Complexity 6 total VR sim will miss most of the details.

VR Environmental Database: This stores a virtual environment, which is accessed by a VR manager. Users of interactive networks might also store their own environmental databases (e.g., personal character avatars) on their own systems, to be uploaded to the VR manager. Memory requirements vary widely depending on the number of different objects stored in it and their level of detail. A forest of identical trees is much smaller than a small room with a hundred different knickknacks. Some typical database sizes are:

Virtual wilds, streets, malls, cities, and worlds include simulations of animals or people as well as live users, but they are not really “alive” until someone else encounters them. Large areas may also use “generic scenery” to fill in backgrounds. A virtual city may only have a few thousand specific building interiors, assembling other rooms from “cut and paste” programs whenever individuals visit them.

Divide the required database space by 10 for a “cartoon” level of imagery; multiply by 10 for “lifelike” imagery with fewer generic details. “Lifelike” imagery experienced with full or total VR is nearly indistinguishable from reality.

Packaged Characters and Settings: Prices are about $1 per TB for off-the-shelf realities or standard character avatars. However, customized settings and characters, may cost 10 times as much as generic material. Many system managers prefer to program their own characters and environments or use programs that use procedural generation to create them given specific rules of behavior.

Some commercial computer networks will allow users to construct (or rent) private VRs on the network that only they are allowed to access. See Planetary Network for a price per terabyte per month.

Many software programs support a VR interface, including repair programs and games. See Augmented Reality.

These are interactive total VR games and simulations. The user connects and is plunged into the setting and fiction genre of his choice. Suddenly he is Colonel Orion of the Imperial Marines leading a battlesuit assault, or the richest person in the world, or an English noblewoman captured by pirates in the Caribbean… and he can direct the action.

The most popular sorts of such games are action-packed adventures, romances, pornographic odysseys, and “horatios” (dramas where the character rises from humble beginnings to vast wealth, and enjoys the fruits of his labors).

Some of the stories have preset lengths – usually 10 minutes of real time – but each real-world minute seems like 10. More elaborate setups have stories that can go on for hours of real-time. Players participate in 20- and 30-minute sessions, picking up each time where they left off.

Dreamgames may also be used for education and training, or to rehearse for missions or operations. They vary widely in the degree of interactivity that the user is allowed, depending on the sophistication of the program and any built-in or directing artificial intelligence. It’s possible that dreamgames will be among the most sophisticated types of ultra-tech software.

The realism of dreamgames varies wildly; most make concessions so that the games are more cinematic, exciting, and action-oriented. Depending on the availability of the necessary computer systems and direct neural interfaces, people may own their own dreamgames, visit parlors, or play them over the net.

Playing dreamgames can be addictive. Use the rules for non-chemical addictions: addiction to dreamgames is generally cheap, legal, and incapacitating [-10]. (Dreamgame addicts might also have the Delusion that one or more of their games is the real world, and “reality” is the game, or that a character from the game is real.) Addiction can be especially serious if running the dreamgame using a computer implant.

By this time, direct neural interfaces are relatively inexpensive, and even cheap computers have the processing power to run dreamgames. Much informational and instructional software uses dreamgame-style interactive techniques. Since anyone can plug one into his own home computer, dreamgame addiction could become a serious social problem.

Individual dreamgames are usually Complexity 6+ programs, but due to massive distribution, commercial games are usually one-tenth standard cost. Specialized corporate, government, or military training sims will be full cost. Some high-end programs may be Complexity 7+, and correspondingly more expensive. Most dreamgames are LC4.

This superimposes information onto a user’s perception of the real world. It requires a video display linked to a digital camera or other imaging sensor, and a networked wearable or implanted computer. An augmented reality system recognizes objects (including faces) and situations, and provides a helpful stream of context-appropriate data, often as audio messages or text boxes in the user’s visual field.

Augmented reality is usually presented with vid glasses or with a computer implant. A HUD and a camera is also sufficient equipment; either or both could be part of a helmet. A cyborg with bionic eyes and a computer implant running optical-recognition and database programs could keep everything in his skull. Digital minds can use augmented reality without any special interface: it’s the world they live in.

Memory Augmentation: This “mug shot” database is a common AR program. It uses stored or net-accessible databases ranging from the commonplace (such as celebrities) to the job-specific (a cop’s database of wanted criminals). Most people accumulate personal databases of people they meet or expect to meet, co-workers, and so on. If the user’s wearable camera (or eyes, if he uses a brain implant) spots someone whose face is in the database, the program will automatically display that person’s name and a brief identifier. The program can be told to ignore - or highlight - relatives and other constant companions. Similar remembrance-agent programs and databases can be acquired for other tasks, such as recognizing artwork, wildlife, and vehicles.

For instance, a bounty hunter’s computer might be linked to a database of “America's Most Wanted.” If he saw someone on that list, the computer would make a match and instantly send him the file, which would appear before his eyes. Then he might zero in on the weapon his target was carrying and upload its specs.

Memory augmentation can be used with data-mining programs that continually search private or public networks for content relevant to the user’s current situation, then present that information as appropriate. For example, if the user encounters a person who isn’t in his standard database, that person’s picture and identity are very likely to be available online.

Video and Sensory Processing: Augmented reality can digitally process what the user sees, improving his vision. For example, enhancing the edges in an image helps in face recognition. It can also replace what he sees and hears, immersing him in a virtual reality (see below).

Visual Enhancement: This gives +1 to Vision rolls. Complexity 4, $1,000. LC4.

Cosmetic Filter: A common augmented reality program, this controls the audio-video display on a communication system. When activated, the video uplink picks up the user’s image as usual, but filters it through a preprogrammed “ideal” of beauty before transmitting it to the receiver. The user still looks like himself, but the program tightens sagging jowls, erases crow’s feet and wrinkles, and removes or minimizes blemishes. The user’s video Appearance rises by one level, but cannot exceed Very Handsome. Any enhancement above Attractive has the Off-the-Shelf Looks modifier applied. Cosmetic filters designed for one species often produce very strange results for another species! A cosmetic filter is Complexity 4, $400. LC4.

Video Masking: This works like a cosmetic filter (above), except that it can change the user’s features and voice. The user may resemble another person, or adopt a persona created by the program. Complexity 5, $800. LC4.

Smart Diagnostics: Many objects incorporate built-in sensors to monitor their own status. This could be a milk carton checking to see if the milk is spoiled, or a precision machine measuring microstresses in its components. The data from these sensors can be continuously uploaded to local (or planetary) networks, and accessed by looking at the object.

These systems simplify tasks such as repairing a car engine or building a prefabricated house. A mechanism may have dozens (or thousands) of different parts tagged with microcommunicators and positional sensors. Integral databases know where each part goes, and virtual tutoring software can track both the parts and the user’s own hand movements, aiding in assembly, disassembly, preparation, or maintenance.

For example, when a repair technician (human or machine) walks up to a broken device, the device’s components transmit diagnostics and positional information to the tech’s computer. The computer then presents step-by-step guides for the technician to follow. Since all the parts and tools are tagged, often with additional sensors that monitor things such as stress, current flow, etc., an object-specific “virtual repair manual” can warn the technician if he is taking apart or putting the object back together the wrong way, or if there are internal faults.

The same technology can apply to other tasks requiring rote manual actions. Each widget, brick, pipe, or module has a chip and sensor in it that knows where it goes and whether it’s been installed correctly. Augmented reality has enabled a resurgence in unskilled labor, since these technologies permit untrained individuals to perform complex tasks.

Virtual Tutor: This augmented reality program coaches the user in a specific task, such as assembling electronics or fixing a car engine. The user has an effective skill of 12. Complexity 3 if the task normally uses an Easy skill, Complexity 4 if it uses a harder skill or if it uses several skills in concert (such as building a house). Any necessary parts must be purchased as instructor kits. Normal cost. LC4.

Computers may be inhabited by digital minds. If so, it may be popular to have a computer manifest through augmented reality as a virtual companion standing or sitting a few feet away from its owner. The “invisible friend” might truly only be visible to the user, or the image could be transmitted to anyone else sharing the same network who would be in a position to see the person.

Sensies are recordings or transmissions of another person’s sensory experiences. They are sensory telepathy, transmitted through total virtual reality media. Users require direct neural interfaces and experience full sensory input as if they were really there. Transmitting or recording a sensie requires a specialized device that picks up the subject’s sensory experiences. If it’s recorded, a sensie can be replayed by anyone with a direct neural interface; they’ll see and feel everything the original subject did.

Sensies don’t have to be made from humans. Recording a nonhuman allows a user to “become” a cat, a bird, or any other sort of creature for a while. (Commercial sensies of very simple creatures like butterflies or worms usually have more understandable virtual reality experiences dubbed over the simple-minded experience of the actual creature).

Sensies operate at real-time speed. That is, one second experienced in a sensie is a second in the real world. Some edited sensie programs come with multiple viewpoints, so that you can try out the show or story line from the perspective of more than one character in it. Most such programs limit the user to a choice of the male or female lead characters.

Sensies may be a new form of entertainment media (see below). But they’re also useful for surveillance and control. Although they can’t read thoughts, an implanted sensie recorder can monitor exactly what a person sees, hears, smells, etc. – see Braintaps. Those seeking to keep tight control of subordinates, children, prisoners, slaves – or entire populations – may require the use of sensies.

Sensies could rival total virtual reality as a future media, since they offer the added realism of experiencing what a person actually felt. This may make them popular for news reporting and various forms of live “reality” programming. Ordinary people may also distribute their experiences, much as bloggers write about their daily lives online.

Commercial sensies may come in many varieties. Pornography, drama, and travel and sports shows are all very popular. The most popular programs treat the user to sunbathing, eating exotic food, scuba diving, skiing, skydiving, zero-gee free-fall, and so on.

Many sensies are edited to remove any unpleasant sensations the viewpoint character may experience, such as sunburn, pain, hunger, or cold. However, black-market sensies may feature injuries, painful deaths, rape, or torture. These find a market with jaded masochists, or as torture devices. Normally these are illegal, since the person making the sensie was harmed or killed. (Violence against other actors in the sensie can be simulated, but what the viewpoint character experiences must be real.) A sensie of this sort will impose one or more Fright Checks on the user, at a penalty determined by the GM.

Anyone using a sensory uplink can make a sensie transmission, but some people have a gift for recording a satisfying sensory experience. These individuals make good “sensie stars.” High HT attributes and Acute Senses are valuable traits to have.

A sensie is experienced from a live or recorded transmission of another individual’s sensory experiences. Someone accessing a sensie experiences all the sensory data of the original subject: seeing through his eyes, hearing what he hears, sharing tactile sensations, etc. There are two ways to experience a sensie:

In immersion mode, the user is unable to use his own senses and is submerged in the transmission. If the transmission includes pain or physical afflictions, the user also feels pain and suffers shock effects, but takes no damage. The GM should require Fright Checks if the experience includes terrifying events, severe injury, torture, or death. Since the user’s own senses are immersed, and he might miss almost anything that didn’t wreck the headset or media player, a common safety measure is to make sure the computer is programmed to turn off the sensie in the event of a fire or burglar alarm!

In surface mode, the receiver experiences the transmitted sensory perceptions, but they are muted. The receiver can still function, but he will be distracted. This imposes a -3 on other activities, unless the task is one that would benefit from intimate knowledge of what the subject is feeling; e.g., attempting to interrogate or seduce him. The user suffers only half the transmitter’s shock penalties, and makes any required HT, Will rolls or Fright Checks at a +4 bonus.

Most commercial sensory interface experiences are transmitted in surface mode.

Experiencing a real-time sensie in immersion mode requires a transmission speed of at least one gigabyte per second; surface mode requires at least 0.1 gigabyte per second. This generally means that one has to “jack in” to experience a sensie.

Creating or experiencing sensies require a neural interface and appropriate software.

Sensie Player: This software lets someone experience sensie media. They must use a direct neural interface to connect their mind to a computer running this program. This lets them access recorded or live sensie feeds stored on their computer, or transmitted over networks or via communicator. Complexity 6, standard software cost. LC4.

Sensie Uplink: This software lets someone transmit or record his sensory experiences as sensie media. The link requires a direct neural interface that is in communication with a computer running this program. The data is then sent to a recorder, or broadcast using a communicator or net connection. Complexity 7, standard software cost. LC4.

Braintaps: These specialized cybernetic implants only record and transmit sensies; see Cybernetics. Anything with a digital mind – AIs and mind emulations – can record its experiences without the need for any kind of sensie player, since it experiences everything in digital form already.

A typical sensie program occupies about 100 GB/hour, recorded in standard digital media. Cost is about $10 per hour for mass-market entertainment sensies, but may be considerably more for specialized ones such as tutorials. Sensie-rental fees are usually about 20% of the purchase price.

Sensie Editor: This is a software suite that someone who can play sensies (see Sensie Hardware, above) can use to edit raw sensory recordings. The user can wipe portions of a recorded sensie, compress time with smooth jumps, fadeouts or transitions, tone down sensory experiences, or splice several recordings together. It also can be used to analyze a sensie recording to tell whether it is “raw” or edited, what kind of equipment was used, etc.

Sensie editors are necessary to make commercial-quality sensies from raw recordings. For instance, if sensie superstar Selena Usagi records her latest travel sim “Beautiful in Bali,” and takes an hour-long walk down a moonlit beach before skinny-dipping in the warm tropical ocean with her co-star, the editor might condense it to the most stimulating 10 minutes. The quality of the sensie-editing job matters as much as the actual experience that generated the sensie; experiencing a poorly edited sensie can be disorienting and unpleasant! Electronics Operation (Media) skill is used to operate a sensie editor. Complexity 6 program; $5,000. LC4.

Mass media are designed to reach large audiences. It’s likely that old media such as printed matter, television, musical recordings, and online text-and-graphics will continue to be popular. Advances in computer and digital recording and storage technologies will also make it simpler to translate between media – books can be scanned rapidly, text can be converted into spoken words or vice versa, etc.

Major new media may include:

Augmented Reality: Traditional text, video, audio, and other media may be delivered at all times as an overlay on daily life.

Total VR and Sensies: Fully-interactive sensory experiences offer high levels of realism and excitement, and create new frontiers for artistic effects. Their main limitations are high bandwidth requirements (which make laser or cable the most practical delivery systems), and the need for expensive and invasive neural interfaces. They might be too addictive or disorienting, although a generation that grew up with them may have no problems!

Media Walls: Cheap audio-video walls may create a renaissance in billboard technology or (with spray-on or paint-on screens) video graffiti.

Holotech Projections: Using super holoprojectors, giant-sized images may tower over entire communities.

Depending on society, mass media could be dominated by individuals (like much of the contemporary Internet), media corporations, criminals, or governments. In totalitarian societies, some or all forms of mass media may be controlled by the state. An oppressive government could use sensies and augmented reality to control not only what you read or watch, but your entire sensory environment.

Virtual reality, augmented reality, and sensies provide excellent teaching aids. In addition, various specialized teaching equipment is available.

Perhaps the biggest advancement in education is the use of AI software to provide a tutor for children and adults. AI tutors can train the user in mental skills, languages, or learnable mental advantages. By using full or total VR, they can train the user in any skill. Non-Volitional AI is less useful than a human teacher: teaching proceeds at half the normal speed (equivalent to self-study). Volitional AI is equivalent to a human teacher.

AI tutors need Teaching skill and the trait or skill the user will study. See Purchasing Machines for the cost of skilled AI software. An AI tutor may also serve as a child’s personal assistant and companion. A volitional AI might even learn and grow with the child, gaining in intelligence and personality as the child matures. It might become a life-long partner – a virtual parent, sibling, or lover.

Robots can be used as training aids in everything from sports to combat training to medicine. For some, they provide more realism than virtual reality, and are particularly useful for dangerous situations – for example, as opponents in live-fire combat training, or as victims for rescue teams to practice their skills upon.

It may be common to employ sapient robots for young children; a child’s robot pet or toy may also be his AI tutor (above), babysitter, playmate, and bodyguard. As the child matures, the same software may be moved to robots appropriate for a teen or adult.

Virtual reality allows the user to study IQ-based skills or languages with a distant teacher as if he were present. If the user has access to a Basic VR rig or better system, DX-based skills can also be learned. HT-based skills require total VR.

This is an advanced form of total virtual reality. It transforms the user’s dream-state into a teaching environment via direct neural interface; it is sometimes known as a “dream sensei.” The user goes to sleep (or is sedated) while connected via direct neural interface to a computer that is running a dream teacher program. As he sleeps, the program interfaces with his dreams to create lifelike simulations that reinforce rote aspects of a skill and teach new situations. A dream teacher will interact with the user’s sleeping mind to create new scenarios that are exciting and relevant to him.

Dream teacher programs allow the user to perform Intensive Training while sleeping in any IQ-based skill or language. DX- and HT-based skills are not quite as effective; although they do actually “program” the nervous system, the learning speed is the same as Education, since efficient training in these skills also requires the development of muscle memory.

Like total virtual reality and sensies, dream teachers require the user to have a neural interface connected to a computer running appropriate software. The software requires an individual program for each skill or disadvantage.

Programs are Complexity 6 for Easy skills, 7 for Average skills, 8 for Hard skills and languages, or 9 for Very Hard skills. Behavior modification programs are Complexity 7 for -1 point disadvantages, Complexity 8 for -2 to -10 point, Complexity 9 otherwise. Use standard software costs. Most dream teacher programs will be LC4. Behavior modification programs and programs that teach military or espionage skills will be LC3 or lower.