Name: The Anura (called a "Gloss" more generally, or just a "frog tongue" for the unpretentious and/or racist, considering its hylotl origin) Description: Being a prosthetic tongue, the device itself is implanted in the lower jaw, and requires the replacement or reinforcement of the user's jaw and neck bones to bear the weight of its function. For aesthetic reasons, the Anura by default settles into the typical tongue shape of its user's race, programmed by the prosthetics clinic before installation. Both a specialized tool and a fashion accessory, the Anura model prosthetic comes in a variety of colors and patterns ranging from utterly mundane to garish and glowing. Since the device's release, for instance, the smiles of many celebrity singers have become softly-backlit pearls, though at least a few hip-hop artists appear to have a sun behind their metal teeth. Users without the status or wealth to excuse such bad taste tend to select unusual but charming metallic tones, unlit. Abilities: Originally developed as a humble linguistic aid, the Anura is uniquely suited to enabling users to more gracefully speak alien languages for which their vocal apparatuses did not evolve. A floran with an Anura could purposefully choose to stop hissing, for instance. The Anura is, in effect, a prehensile, synthetic frog tongue, with all that entails. Though it connects at the back of the mouth like a normal tongue, it can whip out with speed and strength comparable to one of the user's arms, typically to just beyond their reach. When in motion, the slick surface becomes sticky, allowing the user to pluck up objects. This feature is widely regarded to be an eccentric, but occasionally useful trick. Most users who can afford Glossolalia prosthetics can also afford the kinds of neural implants with which they interface. The most basic neural computers allow the Anura to transmit tastes to the brain as a natural tongue would, while more robust systems give users access to speaking tools such as phoneme databases for known languages and speech therapy to overcome stammering. Conditional Abilities: It is hypothetically possible that a technician with the proper knowledge could alter the Anura's taste sensors from their racial defaults to detect other substances, such as scents in the air or poisons, or just change them entirely to cause druglike effects in the brain. For most users, attempting any of this would be an awful idea, and likely only serve ruin their expensive prosthetics and void their warranties. Provided a synthetic user has mechanisms to interpret taste in the first place, the Anura can grant them the sensory input required to do so and even allow them to perceive tastes more or less as other races would. However, it's unclear whether or not the taste of food is an experience such a user would value, and Glossolalia makes no guarantees of health or safety in these cases. Accidentally biting an Anura doesn't hurt. Limitations: Just because the Anura makes it physically easier to learn and practice alien languages doesn't mean it teaches them or prevents any other verbal idiosyncracies. A floran with an Anura may still struggle to stop referring to themself in third person. While the requisite jaw and neck augmentations do not necessarily require electronics, the Anura itself will go limp and numb in the event of an EMP, unfortunately muting its owner (and making them look very silly with their swollen tongue hanging out) until it can be reconfigured at an external computer. Being a soft mass, it would be remarkably difficult to use an Anura as a concealed weapon, even with warranty-voiding aftermarket modifications taken into account. If weaponized Glossolalia prosthetics exist, they're currently black projects in the mouths of augmented hylotl assassins, impossible to find in the Fringe until successfully apped by another writer. If an extended Anura is grabbed (which is "only" as difficult as catching an arm out of a swift lunge, and easier when expected), it can be used against its owner as a leash. Glossolalia prosthetics are relatively tough and won't transmit real pain, but being pulled around by the tongue is still uniquely unpleasant. A user can, at least, manually detach their own tongue from their mouth in the event that freedom is preferable to keeping their expensive prosthetic and ability to speak. If a user's neural computer is hacked, then the hacker would likely gain control of their Anura, too. To avoid the risk of remote suffocation by malicious actors, it's recommended to only use Glossolalia prosthetics with the most advanced neural systems available. How does it work: The Anura is made of a proprietary dielectric elastomer developed by Glossolalia, covered with chemical sensors and capable of changing shape and size based on imperceptible currents of electricity administered by an advanced computer at the base of the tongue. The prosthetic is designed to work with whatever centralized prosthetic system a user may have implanted, with modular power and neural connectors to ensure compatibility with all modern platforms. As such, whether or not a user's battery remains properly charged is really just a matter of personal responsibility. The device comes with synthetic saliva glands that produce a non-Newtonian fluid with incredible adhesive strength only when force is being applied to it, allowing users to snatch up objects as if they had a third arm. This feature requires a reinforced or completely prosthetic jaw and neck, and installing it without such augments voids its warranty and risks personal injury. Flavor text: Glossolalia, an ancient word that means "speaking in tongues", is a relatively popular prosthetics company based in the Axolotian Empire, originally founded by a group of engineers who were commissioned to create a means for hylotl missionaries to speak alien languages more naturally and directly, without the need for automatic translators. Their devices still serve linguistic purposes, but in modern times, Glossolalia prosthetics have become more of a status symbol - a show of wealth and style, however tasteful. Regardless of their flagship fashion models, the company is still one of the most reliable producers of mouth prosthetics in the galaxy. Attainability: Open Tags: Civilian Category: Prosthetics
