[All4BigGuns]

>>>>>[I wouldn't worry about a taser pistol on the slippery slopes thing, Card. You should see the troll adept I worked with a few times. Good at punching a hole in a brick wall and pretty smart for a troll, but geez. He was always going off on tangents about keeping his body as a temple. Even looked down on people calling themselves Street Samurai if they didn't follow the old Bushido code.]<<<<<

     --Predator (00:45:18/11-26-2074)

[Kylen]

>>>>>[I got no problems with those who use some metal. Gods know if I end up losing an arm or a leg I'll likely get something to replace it so I'm still a functional fighter, but I (for medical/magical reasons) can't exactly just go replacement happy with out a decent reason.

Hell, my best friend uses his prosthetic left forearm/hand as an interchangeable amalgamation of mechanics tools. Guy always has the right wrench when he needs it. Or a sledge hammer. Heheh....good times.]<<<<<

     --Card (22:52:30/11-26-74)

[All4BigGuns]

>>>>>[Yeah, I can't say much, myself with how much metal I have. I definitely understand the medical/magical reasons for forgoing it from talking with my cousin the mage. From what she tells me, just a little bit seriously kills someone's Talent.]<<<<<

     --Predator (00:58:26/11-26-2074)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Fortunately, even if you lose a limb or two, you can get replacements easily enough. Type O or cloned organs go in, and don't leave a hole in your aura like a cyberarm would. Personally, I wouldn't get any implants, myself. I mean, of course I've looked at some of the options. On some of the more magic-centric boards, there have been discussions about what kind of 'ware would be "worth it". I'll admit that I've thought about what it would be like to get skillwires and be able to load up new skills on the fly, but to get good enough wires that they wouldn't put a large hole in your aura, and still be able to take the high end skillsofts, you're talking a lot of nuyen, and a couple favors just to find someone who can do the surgery. Not worth it, so far. Same goes with the tailored pheromones or symbionts. There are some transgenics and nanoware that look interesting, but again, I haven't seen anything that was effective enough to risk damaging my aura over, and cheap enough to be affordable.

That said, I heard from a drinking buddy in the Peace Forces that while there is that new genetic treatment to restore your aura if you've got a hole (like when you get some ware removed, or if you are recovering from a hardcore addiction, or ran into a vampire that got a little too friendly), it doesn't recover any Talent you've lost. Now, this costs a drekload of nuyen, but it is possible to 'stagger' your treatments with getting ware put in, allowing you to 'fill' the hole that was already there without losing any more of your aura. But as I said, it costs a ton of money, so you'd have to either have significant reserves on hand, or be ready to owe someone a whole lot of favors.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (03:37:22/11-27-74)

[All4BigGuns]

>>>>>[I'm not Awakened, myself, but personally, I wouldn't think it was worth the risk to a person's magical ability just for a few tidbits of 'ware. Seems to me like it'd be something akin to gouging out one's own eyes.]<<<<<

--Wheeler (03:42:41/11-27-2074)

>>>>>[As someone with cyber eyes, I'm not sure if I should take offense or not. I'll overlook it this time.]<<<<<

--Predator (03:50:13/11-27-2074)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[I agree that going the full street samurai route is a stupid move if you've got Talent, but there are a lot of little bits of 'ware that can make a difference in your work, especially in certain fields. For a simple example, take the genetweaking that makes it so any genetic material you leave behind can't be tracked to you. I've heard that it also makes such things useless as a ritual link, as well as meaning that you don't need to worry if you leave a bit of blood behind at a run gone sideways. A Speaker's Way adept with some tailored pheromones could do incredible things. And a combat mage like me, who relies primarily on blades, could do worse than having a cyberspur, so I'm always armed. But there is always a balance between risk and reward. And speaking of cybereyes, if you get some, then the senses you have through them can be used to sight targets, even if you didn't have the sense originally, like a human being able to use infrared through his cybereyes. Really, though, unless your aura's already been damaged, I wouldn't recommend anyone with the Talent get ware, unless they made damn sure it was worth the cost. Because this is one of those transactions that you can't take back.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (04:03:22/11-28-74)

[All4BigGuns]

>>>>>[Gotcha. Must take a pretty good grasp of yourself to not go for those small power sacrifices for a little extra edge. Luckily, if I want to get more of an edge, I just need to get enough cred together for a new drone.]<<<<<

--Wheeler (04:06:16/11-27-2074)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[One of the things my master beat into me as a kid was that there were no shortcuts to power. Anything that appears to give you a quick boost almost always comes with a heavy price tag, whether you know it or not. 'Ware might help you in the short run, but it steals power from you later. Blood magic and the toxic path may give you a boost in power, but going down those roads can have terrible consequences. And you don't want to know about the stories I've heard of people deliberately contracting HMHVV or making pacts with evil spirits in order to gain 'immortality'. Think of it this way. Someone with the Talent not only has to deal with all the dangers and pitfalls the Sixth World has to offer Mundanes, but they also have to guard against a whole host of dangers on top of that.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (08:14:22/11-27-74)

[Smiley]

>>>>>[Back to Seattle baby! And a few hundred thousand nuyen richer as well as with enough weapons and ammo to arm a small army. We're ready for the next phase in Project Carrol.

But for now, I'll go with booze, women and rock'n'roll for a while and let the little guy handle the details. God I missed the Powerline! Ooh, hey Cherryl! Wow, breathtaking as usual my dear! How have you been?

Oh! Sorry for that. Well anyway gotta go. But first, I brought a little souvenir... As promised!

// upload encrypted image file :: user Smiley :: 04/14/74 //
//encrypted file :: d0wNtH3r4661tH013 //
// end file // ]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (20:01:01/11-29-74)

[Kot]

>>>>>[For those who sold me out to that silver apple gang: I'm still not dead, you know? Wanna see who'll stay on his feet, when the dust settles?

Oh, and if anyone wants some good second hand 'trix gear and ransom for that ex-spider who tried to get me, I've uploaded his whereabouts to the node. Consider it an early Christmas gift. Don't worry, he'll be paralysed for a while, I've loaded his implants with enough W.E.B. to keep him like this till he dies of exhaustion.
As for the gang, scan this - they're a part of some seriously effed up eden-on-Earth-only-for-us cult. It has a lame-ass cover that screams universal brotherhood all over their matrix casts. They're not bug-people though, just a bunch of fragged up bastards. I think they're meddling in the manaline flow to aspect a background count, but the stuff they do to achieve that are confusing at best. Crucifying pigeons in one place, and then feeding the homeless there a few hours later. Any thoughts on that? I admit I don't know that much about geomancy to guess.]<<<<<

--NiSayer (00:00:16/11-30-74)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Geomancers are a strange lot. And given what you've said, you have to consider the possibility that these geomancers have gone toxic. Watch your back, Ni, and clean up any viable ritual samples you have lying around.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (13:03:22/12-03-74)

[Kot]

>>>>>[Drones don't leave ritual samples. It's even better than Astral Projection, if you're a mundane. And I have people watching my back. One of them is drawing silly stuff with a marker pen on my feet. The other will get a bonus, because he's actually doing his job.]<<<<<

--NiSayer (13:23:05/12-03-74)

[Smiley]

>>>>>[I dabble a little in geomancy. Feng shui isn't just a pretty set words for us, wujen sorcerers. Training and knowledge in the arts helped me quite a bit setting up my, well let's call it by the "universal" word, my lodge. Two bad I haven't let anyone to see it, I'm quite proud of it!]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (21:27:39/12-04-74)

[Kot]

>>>>>[I have one of my own in the Matrix, so I can understand your point of view. Oh, and looks like I was right - there's an agent of the silver apples here. He's lucky I play by the rules, and won't track him down from over here. Anyway, when Bull, or any other of our oldtimer-admins finds out, we'll have one user less.]<<<<<
     -- NiSayer (23:45:19/12-04-74)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Assuming, of course, that your information is reliable, and not a ploy to frag with your head. Convincing people that potential allies are enemies is a time-honored psywar tactic.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (03:31:22/12-05-74)