Name: Thalamic Interdiction Microdose Emitter (T.I.M.E.) AKA: Dreamy, Mind-meld, Morpheus, Sominous Description: A clear, innocuous fluid most often applied by patch to the neck, leaving a distinct square ‘bite’ mark behind from the suction used to keep the device in place and inject the fluid. Abilities: -Generic drug euphoria -Mild paralysis -Shared, vivid hallucination in a dream-state among other nearby (within 30 feet) users -Effects last 10 minutes to 1 hour depending on purchased dosage (though perceived duration varies, as it is a dream-like state) Conditional Abilities (Optional): -Takes roughly 1 minute to kick in -Physically non-addictive (though potentially psychologically addictive) -Dosage managed by injector to prevent overdose -Active reagent in drug breaks down under high-resolution ENDI scan (an anti-reverse engineering feature) -Active reagent breakdown also fries the controller (an anti-reverse engineering feature) Limitations: -Can’t move while active -Though nearby stimuli will influence ‘dreams’, impossible to determine what is actually happening in surroundings while active -EMPs brick the controller, causing the dream to end instantly (same as ripping it off someone's neck) Conditional Limitations (Optional): -If the injector is removed early, it will terminate the high instantly and cause disorientation (like being woken during a REM cycle) -Active reagent in drug breaks down under high-resolution ENDI scan (makes smuggling in some places very difficult) -Each unit must be specially manufactured for different species, so non-core races risk inaccessibility or increased prices -If one were to crack open the device and drink the fluid inside, there will be no dosage control- so the diaphragm will be paralyzed and the user will suffocate to death while incredibly high on the hallucinogens. No brain-radios formed when taken this way -With highly specialized equipment, the peer-to-peer connection could be intercepted and recorded (it uses short-wave radios to communicate) and potentially reconstructed, or modified with alternate signals (such a device would probably require another app) -A radio jammer would disrupt the peer-to-peer connection, which would not end the dream but would isolate the dreamers How does it work: TIME primarily has two features. One, simple and easy to reproduce, is to place users in a dream-like state with a combination of hallucinogens, sedatives, and other safe euphoria-inducing compounds. The other, complicated and very difficult to reproduce, is a series of engineered molecules which enter the brain through the bloodstream and form small organic molecular radios. Powered by neural electricity, these produce short-wave radio signals which connect and communicate sensory data with each other, allowing ‘dreams’ to be shared by creating and connecting an active, linked hallucination. This data is assisted in processing into a mutually semi-coherent experience by the injectors themselves, which also control dosages. The dosage controller also ensures that, even if a user did not need all of the packaged compound to remain in this state for the intended duration, they will not be under for longer than planned. The organic radios formed safely dissolve and are cleaned out with other brain waste during the next sleep cycle. The dose controller is in charge of the coherency protocols, and does the encoding and decoding of dreams. It is one of the ENDI-sensitive components which breaks down under high-intensity scans, though it can be examined with other methods. Flavor text: “Inspiration. Perhaps I should take your advice more often… It’s outside of what we normally do. It’s a drug with nothing like it on the market.” There was a moment of silence before the Board replied, words burning bright on the solitary screen of this dark lab. [CONTINUE.] In an unexpected business move, Chemical Core, a company purchased by Synapse Automation Solutions, announced a new product. A drug from a company traditionally known for its organic, unorthodox, and relatively cheap flesh-automata. It claims to do the impossible, to allow users to share dreams together. It sounds too good to be true, a sort of ‘dream drug.’ But then, would a company that sells flesh-mechs lie to you? Referenced Technologies (Optional): Attainability: Semi-closed (only sold by Chemical Core) Tags: Civilian Category: Medical
I think I just have a couple of questions for you real quick. Given the microscopic nature of these molecular radios within the user's brain, are they relatively simplistic in their communication of sensory data? Or are these communications complex/heavily encrypted? Could it be possible for someone to interfere with these communications or artificially interject into the group-hallucination with artificial means?
Relatively simple- it's encoded, but not strictly encrypted. If you were to crack one of these open without breaking anything and somehow actually interpret what the radio signals were carrying, you could reverse-engineer a dream from that. And, if your understanding was that good, you could have a device that modified the signals traveling. With the right amount of blockage, you could give one person one dream and another person another. And, of course, if you have a radio jammer you can isolate someone. On a related note, EMPs! These devices are not shielded. An EMP would fry it, triggering a failsafe that ends the trip early. Same as if you were to rip one off someone's neck. Like being shaken awake from a dream. Comes with disorientation and grogginess.
Alrighty. Just ensure that these details are written in there, and then afterward I'll give this a pass.
-Clarified that the dose controller is also in charge of encoding and decoding of dream-radio signals. Part of the coherency protocls
