Eclipse Phase Characters

New Backgrounds

Atlantean

When underwater Bathyscaphe cities were developed, you were among the first to join the sea-bound colonies on Earth. When you had to leave Earth behind, your sights were set on places like Europa and Atlantica. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Swim, +20 Pilot [watercraft], Direction Sense trait
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Any aquatic morphs or variants

Chattel

Some people lost their bodies in the Fall and were indentured to hypercorporations, signing away their lives until they pay back their debt. They're the lucky ones. Your ego was "rescued" by a criminal enterprise and you became effectively property. There's no paying back debt because the situation is entirely under the table and illegal. Whether you have escaped your slavery or are still living this nightmare, it changes you for life.
Advantages: +10 Networking: Criminal skill, +20 to one Profession: [Field] skill of your choice, +10 to two other skills of your choice
Disadvantages: Modified Behavior trait
Common Morphs: Pleasure Pod, Specialist Pod, Worker Pod, Vacuum Pod

Dead Squad Veteran

You were a part of one of the last intact military forces on Earth during the Fall. You were sent to defend space elevators, farcasting facilities, and spaceports while civilians escaped, knowing all the while that you would be killed or worse by the TITANs' forces. Now you live in a universe where most people aren't terribly concerned with the TITANs anymore and the public is doing its best to forget the horrors of the war. What use do they have for a living monument to all that pain?
Advantages: +10 Pilot: Groundcraft, +10 Networking: Hypercorps, +10 to any weapon skill, +1 Moxie
Disadvantages: Edited Memories trait, 0 Starting Credit (can still buy with CP)
Common Morphs: Exalts, Olympians, Furies

Demo Worker

Whether it was with high explosives, smart acid, or with a good old fashioned sledgehammer, you’ve been trained to take things apart. Whether you’ve been contracted by asteroid prospectors, or by gatecrashers with particular needs, your talents haven’t gone unnoticed. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Demolitions, +10 Clubs, +10 to Academics [Field] of your choice
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Any

Freshly Rescued

Up until a couple of years ago, you were living on the surface of the planet the rest of transhumanity had abandoned during The Fall. You eked out a living running and hiding from the horrors that had befallen Earth, barely managing to scrape by as each day threatened your final death. Eventually, you somehow managed to escape, and began your life anew amongst the rest of transhumanity. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +10 Infiltration, + 10 Scrounging, +2 Moxie
Disadvantages: Shut-In (PO 147), Poorly Socialized (TH 93), 0 Starting Credit (can still buy credit with CP)
Common Morphs: Any

Hunter

A long time ago, people had to hunt for their food. The introduction of supermarkets, and eventually nanofabrication, phased out these primal traditions. Before The Fall, you were one of the few who resurrected these ancient traditions of trekking into the wilds to stalk and kill your prey. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Investigation, +10 Kinetic Weapons, +10 to a Networking [Field] of your choice
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Any

Metal-Born

You were one of the children raised from a young age inside a synthetic morph, and have had little to no experience sleeved inside a pod or biomorph. This has had major impact on your social aptitudes, giving you slightly more in common with AGI’s than most others can claim. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Hardware [Robotics], +10 to a Technical skill of your choice, +10 to a Networking [Field] of your choice, +10 to Profession [Field] of your choice
Disadvantages: Low Pain Tolerance, Overwhelmed by Emotions (TH 91), Social Stigma (Metal-Born)
Common Morphs: Any synthmorphs

Suicide Performer

Before the fall, you were part of one of the extremist groups that treated your morph more like an object than a temple. Perhaps you were deeply entrenched in underground blood-sports, or maybe you were producing illegal snuff XP. Whatever your perversion was, it has loosened deaths grip on your soul. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 to Networking [Criminals], +10 Protocol, Phoenix (Level 2) (TH 85)
Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Morph Waster)
Common Morphs: Any

Vac-Worker

You are accustomed to working and existing in the void; after many years of navigating vacuum, you can safely and efficiently traverse microgravity environments. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Free Fall, +10 to a Technical skill of your choice, Direction Sense trait
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Worker pods, Vacuum Pod (TH 197), Novacrabs, Synthmorphs

New Factions

Asteroid Prospector

Making a living in the Main Belt can be arduous at worst and lucrative at best. Though it may be a tough way to make a living, you wouldn’t trade the solitude, the freedom, and the joy of the big find for anything else. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +10 Navigation, +10 Pilot: Spacecraft, +20 Profession: Prospecting
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Bouncers, Synthmorphs

Crasher Adept

You have been part of first-in teams through Pandora Gates for as long as you can remember, and have made a living staking claims and trading coordinates and artefacts with other interested parties. When people want to get the job done, they turn to you.
Advantages: +10 to one physical skill of your choice, +10 Networking: Gatecrashing, +10 to one Academic skill of your choice, +10 to one technical skill of your choice
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Any

Cybrev

You are part of the cyber-revolution movement, which promotes synthmorph rights and protection in areas where it is either not guaranteed or where the government turns a blind eye. The movement is strongest on Luna where anti-synth bigotry is especially rampant (see Sunward p. 84) and is somewhat disjointed. Your personal goals might range anywhere from equal rights to secessionist communities to a type of synthmorph-ultimates movement promoting synthmorphs over biomorphs or pods. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +10 to two Hardware: [Field] of your choice, +10 Infosec, +10 Programming
Disadvantages: Must start with a synthetic morph.
Common Morphs: Steel morphs (Sunward p. 163-164) or any synthmorph.

Exocolonist

People could describe you as a new age pioneer. You forage the wilds of other planets beyond our solar system and build and participate in a community that’s been given a fresh start, much like the pioneers of old. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +10 to either one Academics [Field] skill of your choice or one Profession [Field] skill of your choice, +10 to either Pilot: Groundcraft or Pilot: Aircraft, and +10 to either two physical skills of your choice, or two technical skills of your choice
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Any

Fortean Myth-Maker

The creatures of legend have always inspired your creativity, capturing your awe as you learned about their exotic natures. It was seeded so strongly in your youth, that instead of leaving that part of your life behind, you’ve decided to do what no other has ever conceived; bring to life those creatures of myth. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 to one Medicine [Field] skill of your choice, +20 to one Academics [Field] Skill of your choice, and +20 to a Professions [Field] skill of your choice
Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Insane Views), -10 starting rep
Common Morphs: Any

Frontline Reporter

With the sheer influx of data from self-styled bloggers and reporters, it’s difficult to gain insight into the truth of things. Despite the convoluted masses of misinformation perpetrated by the general populace, you have taken it upon yourself to not only uncover real news, but to be the first one to get the story. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Networking: Field of your choice, +10 Research, Social Butterfly (PO 145)
Disadvantages: Wait, Was That You? (PO 147)
Common Morphs: Gargoyle, Swarmanoid, Shaper, Skulker

Gatehopper

You are an adventurous soul that stands out amongst a crowd of eccentrics and thrill seekers. You’ve made at least one successful round back to civilization through numerous Pandora Gates, and you have experienced places that no transhuman has ever dreamed of. Your name is sung within the Gatecrashing community, and with good reason. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Profession: Gate Ops or +15 Interfacing (Pandora Gate), and +10 to one physical skill of your choice, Gold Star [Gatecrasher] trait
Disadvantages: None
Common Morphs: Any, typically heavily modified

Hyodenska

The city-state of Hyoden on Callisto stands as a symbol of resistance against Jovian hegemony within that planets system and especially on the Gallilean moons. Groups in other Callisto colonies, on the semi-independent Europa, and even within the Junta itself call themselves citizens of Hyoden, the Hyodenskar, as a pledge to resist the overwhelming politics of the Jovian Republic. A Hyodenska usually has more Autonomist in their politics than the Jovian Republic but this still leaves a lot of room and they are as likely to use c-rep as @-rep or r-rep.
Advantages: +10 Interest: Jovian System Politics, +10 to a Networking: [Field] skill of your choice, +10 to a Profession: [Field] skill of your choice, Allies (Hyodenskar).
Disadvantages: Black Mark (Jovians) Level 2
Common Morphs: Any

Professional Gamer

The thrill of the win drives your perfectionist nature. You know all the stats, all the strats, and you align yourself with only the most elite players in the system. Whether it be VR or AR gaming, you’re at the top of the scene, ready and waiting for the next trophy. By I hail the villain on Mythweavers Boards
Advantages: +20 Networking: Media, Murder Simulator Addict (TH 85), Common Sense, Brave
Disadvantages: Real World Naivete
Common Morphs: Eidolons (TH 142), Pods

Societas Jude Brother

While Jovian Catholics in general are very conservative and resistant to transhuman innovations, the Society of Jude is something of an outlier. Liberal in mindset and open to working with transhuman polities, this Jovian group is more precautionist in nature but with ties into the normally-closed Jovian Republic. Normally, only practicing Catholic monks will have this faction.
Advantages: +10 to two Knowledge skills of your choice, +10 Persuasion, +20 Networking: Hypercorps skill.
Disadvantages: Must start with a Flat or Splicer morph, may not start with any nanoware/advanced nanotech.
Common Morphs: Flats and Splicers.

New Reputation Networks

The major reputation networks in the Solar System have nodes and users in nearly every habitat in the system. The Circle-A List, CivicNet, EcoWave, Fame, Guanxi, and Research Network Associates (even the Eye) are not going anywhere, but a number of up-and-coming networks are definitely worth keeping an eye on. The favors one can pull through these networks are more limited but a smaller network means more of a chance of becoming well-known as a mover and shaker among other users.

  • ExploreNet (x-rep): The burgeoning reputation network of gatecrashers is most-often used as an electronic resume and vetting system for gatecrashing hypercorps but it is seeing increased use as a favor-granting and new economic system in the Outer System (especially Gateway; see Gatecrashing p. 61) and in large exosolar colonies, especially Isra (Gatecrashing p. 122-124). It is also gaining ground in the gatecrasher-dominated communities around the Martian Gate, particularly at the Crasher's Bazaar in Pathfinder City (Gatecrashing p. 59), which may give it the momentum it needs to become better-known.
  • Moksha (m-rep): This reputation network is utilized by supporters of synthmorph rights and, to a lesser extent, informorph rights. The loudest voices on the blogs and forums tied to Moksha are its creators, the Steel Liberators movement on Luna who named the network with a Hindi religious term for "liberation from suffering." Because of the negative association that many people (especially Lunars; see Sunward p. 84) have for synthmorph activists, participants in this network often hide their m-rep scores except for approved contacts and the network curtails searching for ego's mesh IDs for non-participants. Though the favor network for Moksha is not very strong, synth-related requests such as renting a synthmorph or modifying hardware can be fulfilled more easily.

New Morphs

Grendel.jpg

Grendel [Biomorph]

On the argonaut stronghold of Miter in circumlunar orbit, further efforts to further the neaderthal species after their resurrection and simultaneous uplift by the Martian hypercorp New Dawn. The original DNA line is owned and copyrighted by New Dawn but after years of work the argonauts have made an open-source genetic line of morphs that his been fervently adopted in the Main Belt transitional communities and especially the neanderthal community of Moustier in the Martian Trojans (see Sunward p. 136). The most impressive of these morphs is the grendel combat morph which combines the natural raw strength of the neaderthals with significant combat options. Although it is no competition for the ubiquitous fury morph, the grendel offers an impressive combat suite which can offer a security professional significant punch and has the advantage of being less recognizable to would-be troublemakers.
The grendel resembles the original neandertahl morph with a weak chin and pronounced brow, but it moves more quickly and often users feel distracted by their surrounding given the extra senses inherent in the morph. Very close inspection will also show the pointed nails on powerful hands and the indicative twitch of flowing neurachems.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Bioweave Armor (Light), Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Vision, Neurachem (Level 1), Toxin Filters, T-Ray Emitter
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Speed Modifier: +1 (neurachem)
Durability: 45
Wound Threshold: 9
Advantages: +5 COG, +5 COO, +10 SOM, +5 to one other aptitude of the player’s choice.
CP Cost: 75
Credit Cost: Expensive (50,000)

Martian Variant [Biomorphs and Pods]

Several companies are producing variants of standard biomorph lines (and a few pods) that have the adaptations of rusters. Some market them to visitors for the "authentic Martian experience" while still sleeving into their preferred morph, while others are actively courting the Martian outback communities with increased options. While it is purely cosmetic, most of these variants also have the red skin common to rusters for which they are sometimes mistaken. Any biomorph or pod morph could have a Martian variant: add Enhanced Respiration and Temperature Tolerance and increase the price by 400 credits (the CP cost is the same).

Neo-Chimpanzee Ruster [Biomorph]

Produced by genehackers in Red Jakarta near Valles-New Shanghai, the ruster version of the neo-primate morph started out as a niche collection but it gained some popularity among outback explorers who used it for climbing expeditions with minimal gear. The fad proved interesting enough that Somatek developed their own line… some say stole it. This means that some neo-chimp rusters have planned obsolescence but the Red Jakarta model is still free to use.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Prehensile Feet, Enhanced Respiration, Temperature Tolerance
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 35
Wound Threshold: 7
Advantages: +5 COO, +5 INT, +5 SOM, +5 to one other aptitude of the player's choice, +10 Climbing skill
Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Uplift)
CP Cost: 30
Credit Cost: Expensive

Octomorph Fury

Lots of folks try octomorphs out for the fun of it, although few take to sleeving in one permanently. Among those who do, however, are soldiers who utilize the octopus body shape for the multi-limbed advantages and flexible shape. This trend became so widespread in the Main Belt that Skinthetic developed a fury version of the octomorph complete with neurachem, bioweave armor, and other useful advantages.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Chameleon Skin, Bioweave Armor (light), Enhanced Vision, Toxin Filters, Polarization Vision, 360-Degree Vision, Neurachem (Level 1)
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Speed Modifier: +1 (neurachem)
Durability: 50
Wound Threshold: 10
Advantages: 8 Arms, Beak Attack (1d10 DV, -1 AP, use Unarmed Combat skill), Ink Attack (blinding, use Exotic Ranged: Ink Attack skill), Limber (Level 2), +30 Swim, +10 Climbing, +5 COO, +5 INT, +5 SOM, +5 REF, +5 to one other aptitude of the player's choice
Disadvantage: Social Stigma (Uplift)
CP Cost: 70
Credit Cost: Expensive (minimum 70,000)

Tengu [Biomorph]

tengu.png

The tengu is a biomorph used by neo-avians to approximate bipedal transhuman form while still retaining the comfort level. Designed by Somatech for neo-avians who want to retain their capabilities of flight and the biological advantages of their neo-avian bodies, while also feeling more at home in a bipedal, human-sized world. Needless to say, the result is a morph which rubs many mercurial factions the wrong way. Many neo-avian groups admire the versatility and functionality of the tengu morph but others think it is a means for bioconservative-leaning groups to force their own aesthetics on neo-avian society. Tengus are a rare sight, sometimes more common on Mars and Venus where the relatively high gravity and enclosed habitats limit the advantages of nimble avian wings. This only adds to the feeling, however, that hypercorp interests are pushing the tengu morph on neo-avians.

The tengu morph resembles a bipedal raven with bird talons for hands and feet. It has a raven's head and spreading wings joined to its shoulders, though their size means they can only fly in Lunar gravity or less. The taloned hands are constructed to approximate human hand articulation while still being close to bird anatomy and the wings fold flat against the back like a cloak. They can press very tightly to fit in a large-sized vac-suit or rad-suit but most transhumans in tengu morphs prefer to wear specially-designed suits and Somatech has released a free blueprint for them on the mesh. Tengu morphs have a range of vocalization that covers transhuman speech and a variety of birdcalls and their vision extends into the ultraviolet like many neo-avian species.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Wings, Ultraviolet Vision
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 35
Wound Threshold: 7
Advantages: Beak/Claw Attack (1d10 DV, use Unarmed Combat skill), Flight (Movement Rate 8/40), Hybrid Design (Neo-Avian) trait, +5 INT, +5 REF, +5 to one other aptitude of the player’s choice.
Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Human Poser)
CP Cost: 25
Credit Cost: Expensive

Spekter [Pod]

Designed by autonomist morph designers in the anarchist hab of Locus, the spekter was conceived of a counterpart to the ghost morph but for mesh environments rather than physical ones. Spekters are pod morphs controlled by a single ego in a cyberbrain, but linked continuously with up to four other egos in ghostrider modules hidden throughout the body. While unable to control the motor functions of the pod, these ghostrider egos can all access the mesh through the pod's basic mesh inserts, even simultaneously thanks to improved design of the mesh inserts' bandwidth. Effectively the pod becomes a single body housing a group of people.

The designers on Locus talk quite convincingly about the use for this pod as a resource-saver on crowded habs without resorting to disembodying egos and as a valuable tool for field researchers to have a team which only requires enough supplies for a single morph. This is all true, but few ignore the other, unspoken use of this morph: mesh chaos. With the four ghostrider modules housing skilled hackers and the dominant ego at least skilled in deception, this morph can walk into a habitat, sit down to a cup of coffee, and quietly unleash hell on the local servers. With one ego focused on firewall defense, another two focused on exploit attacks against nearby systems, and the fourth engaged in spoofing trickery to disguise the source, the dominant ego is able to concentrate on looking innocent and even playing along with the resulting confusion. Add in the fact that the infomorphs in the ghostrider modules are operating at the speed of thought and this morph's security threat really becomes apparent. Cyber-attacks launched with spekters have even made use of several mental speed nanomachines to allow the egos to work even faster but this requires some serious cash and/or rep.

The biggest flaw in the design, of course, is that this morph is a pod and vulnerable to cyberbrain hacking from opposed hackers. If the cyberbrain is compromised, all the egos can be shut out of the mesh inserts and the attacks halted, but an opponent needs to beat out the dedicated defender. The Locus designers sometimes claim that this is proof they did not design the morph for cyber warfare, but even a novice morph designer can tell that a biomorph design could never incorporate all the implants and circuitry needed for the linked modules and still accommodate a working internal anatomy.

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Ghostrider Modules (4), Mnemonic Augmentation, Puppet Sock, Skinlink
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 35
Wound Threshold: 7
Advantages: +10 COG, +5 to one aptitude of the player's choice
Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Pod) trait, trauma threshold reduced by 1.
Software: Encryption, exploit, firewall, spoof, tracking.
CP Cost: 30
Credit Cost: Expensive

New Traits

Hybrid Design [Morph]

Cost: 5 CP
This morph is designed to emulate the feel of another, making it easier for egos to adjust to their new morph. This is often used to make exotic morphs more palatable to unfamiliar users but it can also be used to design morphs for uplifts or AGIs that would normally make them less comfortable. This trait functions like a specialized version of the Adaptability (Level 1) trait (Eclipse Phase p. 145) and allows a sleeving ego to consider the new morph as equivalent to another if it would make it more advantageous for their Alienation and Integration rolls. For a modified synth morph which has Hybrid Design (splicer), for instance, the internal design and sensations could be designed to be easier for sleeving egos, canceling out the normal -10 penalty for synthetic morphs. Likewise, a splicer morph with the Hybrid Design (neo-primate) has a human body and an ape brain, meaning it's more at home to uplifts sleeving into this new form and the normal -10 penalty does not occur.

New Skills

Exotic Language

Type: Field, Knowledge
Linked Attribute: INT
Source: Panopticon: Vol 1 p. 145

Why a new language skill? The short answer is, book-keeping. Just like Exotic Melee Weapon and Exotic Ranged Weapon mark something as an unusual bit of knowledge, this marks a language as something strange that deserves some extra attention. The longer answer is that there are Backgrounds, Factions, and Life Path Packages that let characters choose Language skills to increase but the languages covered under this skill are a little stranger and not readily available. If you'd like to trade, however, you can take your free ranks from one of these options that would normally go to Language [Field] and instead apply then to Exotic Language [Field] for 5 points less. For instance, a Reclaimer gets a +10 bonus to Language [Field] of their choice, but the player can choose to instead make that +5 to Exotic Language [Field] of their choice.

Note: No spoken human languages with native populations from the twentieth century are considered Exotic Langauges in my games, contrary to what it says in Panopticon. Aragonese, !Kung, and Michif are all handled by Language [Field], though they may be of only limited utility. On the other hand, speaking the official ecclesiastical Latin of the Catholic church, the particular sign languages of the Al-Sayyid Bedouins or the Walpiri aborigines, or constructed languages like Klingon or Quenya all fall under Exotic Language [Field].

New Languages

From the above description of the Exotic Language [Field] skill, it's clear to see that there are no new langauges that can have native speaking populations in the post-Fall world… right? Well, two technologies make it possible: the accelerated growth of uplifts, infolifes, and time-accelerated egos, and skillware implants. If there's a fluent population of speakers, a child can be raised in this community and learn a new, constructed language as their first tongue and if that child is able to come to maturity in less than ten years that all can happen between the time of the Fall and the default "present" of Eclipse Phase. Since many uplifts, AGIs, and Lost egos were born after the Fall, this means that there are plenty of people out there to be among the first "native" speakers of a constructed language.

Generally, though, a Mercurial who is most comfortable speaking in neo-cetacean whistles and clicks is just very fluent in the language by virtue of being immersed in a fluent community. How do you get a fluent community together quickly with a newly-created language? That's where skillware comes in. A seed population receives skillware implants which they max out with a language AI program that coaxes them through speaking all day in the new language. Eventually, their natural skill with the language develops and the AI program is reduced and reduced until it can be removed altogether. Some people join in as novices and learn the language through old-fashioned immersion, but others go for the accelerated-immersion of getting a skillware implant themselves. Identifying someone who is only fluent with the help of a language AI can be accomplished with a Kinesics check, using your natural Exotic Language [Field] skill as a complementary skill.

Dermiskana

Neo-Octopus, Skintalk, Pattern-Language

The chromatophores of octomorphs allow them to communicate through color-changing patterns, something which all octopuses instinctively do and which uplifted neo-octopuses continue to use in place of facial expressions among other transhumans. Enterprising neo-octopuses have taken this practice and developed the pattern-signalling into a moraic sign-language which allows them to communicate fully on technical matters and social topics. "Speaking" Dermiskana is difficult, however, as it requires training individual chromatophores to respond in very precise ways, the equivalent for baseline humans of moving one finger while keeping the others still. Like fingers, chromatophores are supposed to react to the other pigment cells around them so changing some and not others requires muscle control.

Once mastered, however, Dermiskana is an elegant language that allows for a wide amount of expressive speech. Combining emotive patterns with conceptual patterns, or simultaneously displaying two signs at once, allow neo-octopuses to use very precise terminology in their speech. Some might be surprised that the infamously hermit-like neo-octopuses would have so open a language but for neo-octopus egos it's usually a relief to be able to say exactly what they mean without worrying about others misunderstanding and a protracted explanation ensuing. It's also appealing to many neo-octopuses to craft exactly the right set of color-patterns for what they want to say, saying only a few words but having them packed with meaning. Many liken Dermiskana sentences to the intricate rock gardens that octopuses have long been famous for, prompting the well-known neo-octopus idiom "gathering stones" which means thinking over what one is meaning to say. When translated, it's typical to try and preserve the design of a Dermiskana sentence by grouping words into the glyph blocks they are expressed in. This is the reason why neo-octopus names are seeming jumbles of concepts to many other transhumans such as Challenger-Deep, Silent-Mercy, and Black-Flower-Twisting.

Echo/Speak

Neo-Cetacean, Chirpese, Whalesong

The language of neo-cetaceans is another example of natural non-uplift behavior being intensified by their uplifted descendents. Echo/Speak is technically several different languages with similar elements, but Echo/Whale, Echo/Dolphin, Echo/Orca, and Echo/Porpoise are all mostly intelligible and linguists consistently classify them as closer to dialects than separate languages. While non-uplifted cetacean species have very different types of communication techniques, the vocalization capabilities of neo-cetacean uplift morphs have been modified for transhuman speech and so have a reasonably similar range of echolocation vocalization as well.

Echo/Speak includes several different types of communication, often simultaneously. Body-elements involve direct contact with another creature and are usually reserved for slang-words or alternative options. They include a gentle nuzzle of the rostrum (beak), a playful bite to the dorsal fin, an aggressive bite to the flank, a soft petting of the melon (forehead) using the pectoral fin, a smack to the head with a fluke, etc. Visual-elements are also unvocalized but they require no direct contact. They include bob (a vigorous bobbing of the head), mouth (a wide open gaping mouth), twist (an S-shaped swimming position), fin (flared-out pectoral fins), burst (bubble bursts and bubble clouds), shake (a shake of the head side-to-side), and wave (a flick of the tail). Lastly, sound-elements are purely vocal parts and they include a number of different notes and volumes so neo-cetaceans transcribe them as A-Z when writing in something other than cetacean-glyphs. They include whistles (@), creaks (~), chuffs (-), screams (^), squawks (#), pops (*), and chirps (!).

When writing, neo-cetaceans use a glyph system employing radicals and root characters to create complex phonograms. This is commonly referred to as “cetacean-glyphs,” though they are called Song/Body/Shapes by speakers. When transcribed to non-cetacean alphabets, the glyphs tend to be written as words or phrases separated by slashes. The result is phrases like the Europan habitat K#/Shake and the neo-beluga singer Mouth/Twist/R~.

Esht-Makala-Ren

Neo-Primitive, Babelese

The Neo-Primitive movement is one that doesn’t get a lot of public attention, and small wonder why. When most of the system relies on constant mesh access to understand their habitats and transhumanity, a group that eschews the mesh and habitats both has a limited presence. As a result, many people misunderstand what the movement is about. In the popular imagination, Neo-Primitives are cavemen, scratching in the dirt and stubbornly refusing to use modern technology. While this is true to a degree, it’s more accurate to think of Neo-Primitives as evolutionary engineers.

People who commit to a Neo-Primitive lifestyle undergo psychosurgical techniques to remove large portions of their brain function to achieve a less developed intelligence and a simpler mentality. Usually, they do this and join a Neo-Primitive community on Mars, Titan, Europa, or another planet with large sections of wilderness. Despite the large differences between each of these societies, they all rely on a language created early in the movement.

Purposefully constructed to have no connection to existing transhuman languages, Esht-Makala-Ren (or simply Esht) is a simplistic language with grammatical rules making abstract ideas and planning difficult. Seasons, animals, friends and family, and movement all have a rich vocabulary in Esht, but things like religion, morality, science, and distant places are lacking. In fact, attempts to create terms for these things usually results in nonsensical gibberish.

Knowledge of Esht comes with the psychosurgery procedure to change a Neo-Primitive into a simpler mind, during which all other languages are erased. Words tend to be 1-3 syllables and are easy to pronounce and utilize. Because they have no relation to existing human languages, attempting to understand Esht without a lexicon or translation program is beyond difficult.

Kirkasäde

Suryan, Sunspeak, Flash-Talk

In the corona of the Sun lives perhaps the most scattered and solitary culture in the system. The Solarians, sometimes derisively called “space whales,” live and “swim” through the Sun’s corona in morphs specially made to survive for long periods in the corona. While they make no effort to hide, the sheer size of Sol means that most folks will never see a surya in the wild even if they are exploring for a while in a corona-adapted craft. For the Solarians themselves, they often go for weeks or months without seeing another surya, unless they go to a communal site like Ukko Jylinä.

When suryas do meet, however, they communicate through a language they refer to as Kirkasäde… at least on human octaves. The word is actually Finnish, a combination of kirkas (luminous) and säde (range or radius). The actual name, like all words in Kirkasäde, is a series of vibrations and pulses like whalesong. Unlike whalesong (or Echo/Speak described above), Kirkasäde doesn’t rely on sound waves since the corona exists in a vacuum.

Instead, they utilize the light patches along their dorsal and ventral sides to create complex patterns to communicate with. The effect is somewhat like Dermiskana (see above) but since they can only have monochrome messages (light and dark with dim spots in between) the patterns are even more intricate than those used by neo-octopi. Suryas all have enhanced vision but even so conversations usually operate at a slow pace to allow both parties time to absorb and understand the messages being flashed.

When suryas are close together, they often use a more nuanced and intimate technique of communication called murmuring (surista in Finnish). Suryas’ coronal adaptation creates a protective electromagnetic cocoon around the morph and fairly soon after the first suryas entered the corona an enterprising Solarian figured out how to manipulate this cocoon with the morph’s mesh inserts.

The electromagnetic pulses generated by suryas can only travel about 500 meters before being disrupted by the coronal environment and they are fairly weak, but suryas are able to generate a range of frequencies and patterns. The result is the closest thing to whalesong that suryas use, their equivalent of close, personal conversation as opposed to the loud, public discourse of flashing.

Teutastis

Neo-Indoeuropean, Neanderthalese

The neo-neanderthals uplifted by the New Dawn hypercorp struggle most with trying to find out who they are. Unlike other uplifted species, neanderthals don't have any legacy at all to build from and so many of them have gone to great lengths to investigate tentative connections to their past that could help. In order to reconstruct a neanderthal language, linguists have turned to the collected corpus of Proto-Indo-European and built from there. The language is somewhat guttural and has many words reminiscent of other, later European languages, though these are often the first to go for Mercurial neanderthals. The newly resurrected and expanded language was labeled by outsiders as Neo-Indoeuropean but the neo-neanderthals themselves prefer Teutastis which is related to teuta or "people," their term for their own species.

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