The augmented world of today is a pioneered field of genetics and cybernetics ranging from commercial use to Military grade technology. Both to enhance human standards and exceed them exceptionally. The average human is usually augmented from birth and the technology is so integrated in the fabric of modern society the distinction between what it is to be human and machine has been blurred. We live in a time when machines are not just assembled they are grown.
there remains a versatile market of augmentations and their implication in the human anatomy. while augmentation has revolutionized the tools and techniques at our disposal it has allowed corporations a dominating hold in the average citizens life. Debt incurred by expensive implants and next generation augmentations are not uncommon and on average a corporate employee is owned partially by the company they work for.
While modern cybernetics have been incorporated into every day life and mainstream media there is however a higher tier of augmented evolution in play which thanks largely to the AGIS corporation has seen a major breakthrough in development within the modern culture and medical technology.
through manipulating biological mechanisms and cellular functions, biotechnicians engineer predetermined products. Such as protein engineering, monoclonal antibody production, gene therapeutics, functionalized nanoparticles and engineered augmentations.
Biological evolution is nothing new and has been developing over billions of years adapting to environmental changes, modern biotechnology is still in its fundamental stages of understanding the architecture of life. Modern Biotechnicians and geneticists work in a competitive field to create replacements for our living systems.
AGIS seems to have specialized primarily in clone technology and genetically designed life forms. Indeed the majority of the companies workers are composed primarily of these engineered life forms. Unlike robotic workers these bio-engineered life forms have been tailored to not only mimic humans in appearance as complex organisms but also share similar psychological construct making them nearly indistinguishable from a human being.
Of course the purpose of these fabricants is for commercial use from entertainment to industrial with intelligence levels equal to or exceeding their original human creators. This comes with its own inherent dangers and while the AGIS corporation produces these sentient machines at an alarming rate they also take special care regulating their use and lifespans.
While a clone is merely a copy of its genetic counterpart, fabricants are engineered from scratch and the biotech industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few centuries. One of the main drawbacks of genetically engineered life is its lack of experience, their construction and growth rate reaching up to six times that of a normal human can hinder its ability to cope with new experiences. Memories have served as a means to help give these fabricants the ability to reference imprinted experiences. This in part has allowed the market for buying and selling organic engrams for commercial use.
The memory market while widely viewed for its inherent entertainment value has a much deeper affect on machines. The AGIS corporation has for many years been buying up vast majority of memories for sale to be cataloged and re purposed for their future product. This has become a controversial topic among purist believing that machines inheriting memories poses a metaphysical dichotomy. Others simply view it as a violation on the human experience while the majority of public belief leans towards an understanding that if people want to market their memories they have forfeit the right to them altogether.
Regardless of the view, the biotech industry has been using marketable memory engrams for decades to imprint their products with false memories. Some incidence has gone as far as making the machine believe it is human for the purpose of efficiency in performance or social interactions. While some view this as a violation of human rights, profiteers has cornered the market making it readily available for commercial uses.
The use of biotechniques into modern fields has revolutionized the pharmaceutical and nanotech industries. has lead to the production of new drugs and improved quality efficiency of genetic products.
nanotechnology remains largely in part credited to the advancement of the biotech field and modern genetic engineered couldnt exist without the use of nanotech. It could be said that both technologies have advanced together and work in direct relation to one another.
This of course only applies to the world of the genetically engineered. Cybernetics by its very nature has its limitations when it comes to mimicking human traits and characteristics. While there are still pleasure androids and cybernetic machines that can mimic human beings they are merely for economic purposes and not true facsimiles.
The major draw back of modern biotechnology remains its price tag, the construct of a multicellular organism is not a cheap one and these genetic augmentations while on par with their cybernetic counterparts remains economically unfeasible to the average citizen. The AGIS corporation has worked hard to monopolize and control all genetic products on the market and as such has inflated the costs out of reach of anyone but the most wealthiest of individuals.
There remains a black market for biotech but when the AGIS corporation controls the market on much needed nano technology and genetic work to make the non intrusive augmentations function properly it remains a small one. Organs and body replacements are some of the most common genetics you can find on the black market while full fabricants remain rare.
However when it comes to affordable and stylish augmentations cybernetics remains the way to go and even though genetics and its next generation medical breakthroughs are clearly the future, cybernetics isn't going anywhere. You may not be able to get a genetic augmentation that can pass any security scanner but you can afford a cybernetic one at a modest price.
What does this mean for roleplay? Well aside from being able to grow replacement organs from your own cells or have augmentations that enhance your speed, strength and other such attribute, there remains a market for biotechnology. Clone and android are highly regulated by the AGIS corp and while it is possible to play either race as a character it comes with its own limitations as imposed by this faction. Clones and fabricants are all designed and sold by the AGIS corporation while memories remain a marketable enterprise. Buying, selling and stealing organic memories for commercial or black market use is encouraged and while cybernetics is obvious at first glance genetic modifications are not.
Feel free to visit the AGIS medical center in east to inquire in character about purchases in clone technology, genetic modifications or fabricant sales. Working as a geneticists, doctor or even an android itself comes with its own perks within the company.
We encourage players to try these avenues of roleplay and as any other questions concerning this lore feel free to ask in the roleplay group or the mods