Trans-Human Project, part II
“Now, on Xia Galactic News, our top story focuses on Azure,” announces the news anchor. The scene switches to a crowded hospital ward with numerous patients restrained by medical equipment. “With a population of over 6 billion, Azure was on the brink of disaster until a cure for SARS-39 was discovered. However, the planet now faces a new challenge as nearly five percent of its citizens have developed a condition being referred to as lock-in after exposure to the virus. This new ailment causes irreversible paralysis of all voluntary muscles, though brain scans show that these individuals are still mentally active. Researchers are desperately searching for a solution to this issue.”
The scene then shifts to a researcher in a white lab coat, who explains, “Those affected by lock-in remain fully conscious but unable to move or react to external stimuli.”
As the newsroom segment returns, the anchor mentions, “We’ll be taking a brief pause for our sponsors, but stay tuned to hear the Super Class Glocken scores when we come back from break.”
Before the commercial rolls, you turn off the holo projector. As you ponder why this problem seems specific to Azure, Charles Truman from the Trans-Human Project contacts you through a tight beam communication.
“Based on my current line of work, I may have a potential solution to assist the countless individuals struggling with Lock-in. My research aims to transfer human consciousness into a crystalline matrix and create a mechanical body for it. While my progress in transferring thoughts and memories to the matrix has been promising, I still have years of development left before the matrix can fully integrate with a chassis. In my original timeline, this was not an urgent issue, but circumstances have changed and I must accept that there are others with more experience in high-end robotics. I have reached out to Dr. Merv Arken, who has successfully created various robotic minions, but we both agree that something crucial is missing – an interface that allows the matrix to control the physical actions of the chassis. This task is far more complicated than our animal trials thus far. We need an advanced AI to bridge the gap between the brain’s desires when contained in a crystal matrix and the actions of the chassis being developed by Dr. Arken based on my research. There used to be a company called HAL, which focused on advanced AI for robotics and starships. Unfortunately, they went defunct years ago and their owners and researchers seem to have disappeared. However, we suspect that much of their valuable research is buried in archives on Lunari. We need you to retrieve this data while I work on etching a consciousness onto a crystal matrix. Once you have both the crystal matrix and the AI data, take them to either Merv’s Missiles or Arken’s Arsenal for integration into the chassis. Then, we will need to quickly increase production capacity beyond what Dr. Arken and I are capable of handling alone. This will involve negotiating with a manufacturing union, so we would like you to go to the Kiln and help us facilitate these discussions with a union boss.”
If the active player accepts this task (and yes, they could be any species) hand them a new [Goal] card titled Trans-Human Project for them to track their progress. The first location they need to travel to in order to accomplish this goal is the Mission Point on Lunari.
Upon arriving at the mission Point on Lunari, read/ listen to Story 87.