comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

y default can be used repeatedly and are typically much more
expensive. Some criminal syndicates have started selling cheaper,
one-shot amps.
Breakdown
Unlike the other amplifiers, Breakdown amplifiers were not
designed to be used by soldiers. Instead, Breakdown amplifiers
were intended to be applied to prisoners against their will. A
Breakdown amplifier boosts pain signals in the brain and enhances
signals from the amygdala that control reward- and fear-related
motivational decisions. The effect is that it makes the prisoner
more pliable to intimidation and interrogation. If a Breakdown
amp is active, the user suffers a –2 dice pool penalty on Willpower
+ Intimidation Tests made to resist intimidation and interrogation
(p. 120, SR4).
focus
Focus amplifiers are the opposite of Red Alert amps. Focus
activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which causes the
fight-or-flight response to end and returns the body to a calm state.
A Focus amp can be activated to eliminate dice penalties due to
distracting or stressful situations. With a Focus amp running, a
hacker can calmly write code while taking heavy fire. A Focus amp
cannot be running at the same time as a Red Alert amp, even if the
user has more than one datajack.
oracle
An Oracle amplifier boosts exteroceptive sensory data before
it reaches the brain. The sensory information taken in is the same,
but it is processed by the brain at a much higher clarity. The ef-
Unwired
fect is that the user’s senses
of touch, taste, sight, smell,
and hearing are improved
while the amp is active. An
Oracle amp adds +2 dice
to all physical Perception
Tests made while it is active.
Oracle amps come with safety
breakers, so in the case of
overwhelming sensory input
(very bright lights, loud
noises, etc.) the amplifier
will shut off. Oracle amps
do not add dice to Astral
Perception Tests or Matrix
Perception Tests.
red alert
Normally an outside
stimulus is required to trigger
the fight-or-flight response
in the sympathetic nervous
system. A Red Alert amplifier,
however, activates the sympathetic nervous system as soon as it is
slotted, putting the user at a constant alert state. Red Alert amps
add +1 dice to all physical Initiative Tests, including the Initiative
Test used to determine Surprise. Red Alert does not benefit Astral or
Matrix Initiative Tests. While a Red Alert amp is active, it is difficult
to concentrate on sustained tasks. Any Extended Tests have their
thresholds increased by three as long as the amp stays active.
BrainwaSHing: prograMMaBLe
aSiSt BiofeedBack
Take one solid look at a beetlehead and you can see that simsense
can be bad for the brain. ASIST manipulates and fools the
brain, removing the barrier between reality and fantasy. To some,
ASIST had too much potential to be limited to entertainment
or be held back by ethics and regulations. For decades, powerful
militaries, shadowy intelligence agencies, and anonymous corporate
laboratories conducted ASIST experiments on prisoners, psychiatric
patients, and other undesirables. It was discovered that carefully
controlled and specific application of ASIST would leave an imprint
on the brain even long after the signal was shut off, forming false
memories and experiences. Programmable ASIST Biofeedback—as
the technique is known—is far more than traditional brainwashing;
it is the clinically precise reprogramming of a metahuman being.
Setting tHe Stage
The key piece of any ASIST programming session is the
Programmable ASIST Biofeedback (PAB) unit. The dark cousin
of the simsynth, a PAB unit takes a lossless DIR-X signal and dissects
it, looping certain sequences, removing peak controls at key points,
and amplifying channels that build memory, such as the sense of
Software/Chip Availability Cost
Reality Amplifier 14R 500¥
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9
189
siMsense and skillware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .