The first thing that you remember is that you are dead.The total separation of your head from the rest of your body took less than a second, but one's perception of time becomes warped in moments of extreme stress and stimulation. For you, it felt more like a year, like twelve months of terrible agony. Now you are alone and there is nothing but absolute sensory deprivation, a void that encompasses the entirety of your being.Yet somehow, you are aware of it. You're dead. You shouldn't be aware of anything.Who are you?Those three words reverberate in your mind. They feel like a thought, but they are too coherent, too deliberate, too sudden. They came from nowhere, they were precipitated by nothing. The question comes from beyond the void, from outside of yourself. Someone, or something, wants to learn who you are. Reflexively, you recall your name and by doing so, you inadvertently share that information with this intruder. Sasha Malevich.That isn't the only information that you provide. Everything that you think, everything that you feel, the totality of yourself is bared with your captor. With nothing but your own thoughts to occupy you, it seems as though as an eternity passes before the next external thought is thrust into your brain. In this abyss, it is impossible to keep track of time.Sasha. You died ten years ago, during the Fall. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve a copy of your ego, and many others, from a TITAN uploading facility. This means that you can be resleeved. You will be able to live again. How do you feel about this prospect?Your memories are still coming back to you, slowly but surely. You are yet to recall what a TITAN is, or what the Fall was. However, you are able to remember what resleeving is. Your ego, your mind, can be copied and placed within a new morph, a new body. Back when you were alive, it was a relatively new process, one that rendered death inconsequential and was surrounded by controversy. After all, the copy isn't actually you, is it? It would be a newly born entity, with your memories. But if that is true, then what does that make you, in your current state, floating in this empty abyss?>You feel horrified. The real you is long dead. You are nothing but a soulless replica, you shouldn't exist at all. This is sick and wrong.>You feel angry. You died ten years ago, why couldn't they do this any sooner? You have every reason to resent a world that left you behind.>You feel wary. There has to be some sort of catch. You won't agree to anything until you know what this stranger wants from you in return.>You feel grateful. It doesn't matter that you're a copy, or that it will be a copy of you walking around in a new morph. You will persist.>Renew your neuroplasticity. You recall how to prevent your true thoughts from being read in situations like this. However, the intruder will be aware of your resistance.
>You feel grateful. It doesn't matter that you're a copy, or that it will be a copy of you walking around in a new morph. You will persist.Resistance is probably not a good idea because of>And many othersI would suspect we aren't the only candidate for this resleeving thing, and we were only even 'turned on' after 10 years, so let's not cause too much trouble before we get Shift+Delete'd or something
>>6105194>>You feel angry. You died ten years ago, why couldn't they do this any sooner? You have every reason to resent a world that left you behind.
>>6105194>You feel angry. You died ten years ago, why couldn't they do this any sooner? You have every reason to resent a world that left you behind.
>>6105194>You feel wary. There has to be some sort of catch. You won't agree to anything until you know what this stranger wants from you in return.
Ten years? Ten fucking years? Are you telling me that I've been left here to rot for a fucking decade?! What makes you think that I should give a shit about a world that left me behind?!While the thoughts inserted into your mind by the intruder are clear and concise, yours are a roiling mess of impulses and notions, a digital simulation of the chaos found within an organic mind. Once you are finished venting, you are left to stew in your impotent rage, trapped in the void. An indeterminable amount of time passes before foreign thoughts invade your brain once more.You've got no idea how lucky you are. Almost everyone who was uploaded by the TITANs is gone. We're talking about billions of people here, ninety-five percent of the sapient population. You're one of a couple of hundred we were able to salvage from that facility I mentioned, which must've shut down before it could finish processing you. So how about you show a little gratitude?You're not about to apologise. You've got every reason to be angry, the last thing you remember before being trapped in this purgatory was having your head cut off. More importantly, you are beginning to remember vague traces of life before that, of life on Earth. It was an era of non-stop progress, of one technological advancement after another. The colonisation of other planets. The uplifting of animals. The perfection of virtual and augmented reality. Nanofabricators that could print out almost anything. The copying of the human consciousness. The creation of true artificial intelligence. At the end of it all, the TITANs, unstoppable machine gods that took control of all of that technology and turned it against all sapient life. The horrors that they unleashed on Earth during those final days defy description.Look, I'm sorry. You've been through a lot and I should be more understanding of that. The intruder is aware of your every thought, including your recollection of your final days on Earth. The trauma that you endured during the Fall seem to have earned some sympathy from them. I still require more data though, so you're going to have to answer a few more questions. What sort of lifestyle did you enjoy before the Fall?>You lived in an enclave. You led a comfortable life as a member of a community that was insulated from the troubles of the outside world, and free to focus on ideological pursuits.>You were one of the hyperelite. With a lot of risk-taking and exploitation, you were able to take advantage of the latest trends and technologies to become fantastically wealthy.>You belonged to the underclass. You sometimes went hungry and didn't have a roof over your head, but you didn't just learn how to survive in the polluted slums of Earth, you learned how to thrive.>You worked as a freelancer. Though you were always beholden to others, you honed a very specific skill set to ensure that there was always someone willing to pay for your talents.
>>6105347>You lived in an enclave. You led a comfortable life as a member of a community that was insulated from the troubles of the outside world, and free to focus on ideological pursuits.
>>6105347>You were one of the hyperelite. With a lot of risk-taking and exploitation, you were able to take advantage of the latest trends and technologies to become fantastically wealthy.Bucking the usual trend that people like to vote for.
A new Eclipse Phase quest? Hype.>>6105347>You were one of the hyperelite. With a lot of risk-taking and exploitation, you were able to take advantage of the latest trends and technologies to become fantastically wealthy.I think this fits with the anger. We'd feel entitled to be saved and resleeved sooner. Lost time is a terrible stressor too. I vaguely recall that too much of it can cause issues with resleeving or reintegrating with forks.Plus it's different. Normally I prefer to play as a generalist with some dips into manufacturing and infosec/telecommunication skills.
>You are adequate at Athletics.>You are adequate at Deception.>You are proficient in Kinesics.>You are adequate at Persuasion.>You are adequate at Provocation.>You have adequate Knowledge of Economics.>You have proficient Knowledge of the Stock Market.With every thought that shoots through your simulated synapses, you're able to recall more of your life before the Fall. Not only was it a time of unfettered progress, but you played an important part in pushing humanity forward. You took notice of all of these trends and technologies as they were being born and you chose just the right time to invest in them, and just the right time to pull out and reap the profits. Thanks to your deep pockets and business acumen, you were able to make a lot of friends in high place and after a little cajoling, you were able to exploit their inside information to become even more fabulously rich.Not even death can stop hypers from thinking that they're hot shit, it seems. I'm shocked that the TITANs had the storage space for an ego as big as yours.>You benefit from your proficient Kinesics.The intruder is able to control what thoughts they share with you. That comment wasn't an off-the-cuff remark made in the heat of the moment, it was an intentional taunt. You are being tested, whoever is interrogating you wants to see if you'll give into your anger again. You won't take the bait.Modesty is for the ones who couldn't make it. So is jealousy.What's there to be jealous of? Everything that you had was probably lost during the Fall, so you're going to have to start from scratch, with a ten year handicap. Good luck with that.Thanks, but I don't need it. I make my own fortune.I don't have the time to banter with an uppity infugee. No matter how carefully curated the thought is, the choice of words exposes your interrogator's frustration. You came out on top, you think. Let's move on, Sasha. There's got to be more to you than your investment portfolio.>You were a famous glitterati influencer. Tens of millions tuned into your mesh feeds for your investment advice on a daily basis.>You were the owner of a cutting edge genetic research firm, which was responsible for some key breakthroughs in gene editing.>You ran an infosec analysis agency, which was responsible for protecting its many hypercorp clients from industrial espionage.>You led a private military company. You and your contractors fought for the highest bidder in dozens of inter-enclave conflicts. >You founded a successful hardware manufacturer, which thrived even after the widespread adoption of nanofabricators.
>>6105636>You ran an infosec analysis agency, which was responsible for protecting its many hypercorp clients from industrial espionage.Speak of the devil.Only one, yeah?
>>6105640Just one for now, yes.
>>6105636>You were the owner of a cutting edge genetic research firm, which was responsible for some key breakthroughs in gene editing.
>You are proficient in Biotech.>You are adequate at Pharmacology.>You are adequate at Programming.>You have proficient knowledge of Genetics.>You have adequate knowledge of Lab Ops.Ever heard of sickle cell disease?No.That's because my company edited it out of the human genome, that and a whole bunch of other disorders. Really, you've never heard of Malevich Medicine?Nope. It probably went under like every other corp based on Earth. While I'm sure that they did a lot of important work, you were just the owner. You weren't responsible for any of the actual work or research.That isn't entirely true. While you rarely found yourself in the lab, you still have a degree in genetics and a strong understanding of all of the work that was done. Without this knowledge, you would have never been able to coordinate the roster of researchers who worked beneath you, nor would you have been able to adequately communicate their objectives and achievements to investors.Alright, I take it back. You clearly know your stuff. We might actually be able to make use of that.What's that supposed to mean? Though it is almost impossible to keep track of time in the void, you feel like the pause that follows is longer than the others. You get the feeling that your interrogator just slipped up.I guess you deserve to know why we're playing twenty questions. Our organisation isn't a charity. We hope to eventually resleeve everyone that our operatives recovered, but we have to prioritise the individuals who may be of use to us. If we're going to put you in a body, you're going to have to work for us in exchange. Upon detecting your resistance to the idea, your interrogator continues. If you refuse, we'd still try to put you in a morph eventually and let you live your own life, but that might take a while. We'd have to keep you in cold storage until then.Though you're frustrated by this revelation, you decide against arguing with the intrusive presence. You'd rather work off the debt that you owe your mysterious saviours, than spend who knows how long trapped in a server.So, do you have any other talents that we should know of?>You were all about the networking. You loved wining, dining and connecting with other hypers. You didn't just do it to maintain your reputation, it was your passion.>You were passionate about driving. You owned a collection of vintage vehicles that were your pride and joy. You even flew your own private jet, you were that serious about it.>You were very serious about self-defence. You learned a few martial art and were often seen at the firing range. You never went anywhere without a concealed weapon on your person.>You kept up to date with all of the latest breakthroughs. Most of your free time was spent on reading and research. Being hyper meant being familiar with all of the latest tech.
>>6105784>You kept up to date with all of the latest breakthroughs. Most of your free time was spent on reading and research. Being hyper meant being familiar with all of the latest tech.Sciencemaxxing.
>>6105784>>6105830Deleted my previous post because I wanted to change my vote.After some consideration, I'll go with:>You kept up to date with all of the latest breakthroughs. Most of your free time was spent on reading and research. Being hyper meant being familiar with all of the latest tech.With the hopeful caveat that we specifically kept an eye on Security-related technology. A man can only train himself to defend against so much, but if your entire house and your workplace is kitted out to the nines with all the latest and greatest security tech, you're going to be way safer than just relying on your own skills. Theoretically.
>>6105784>You were very serious about self-defence. You learned a few martial art and were often seen at the firing range. You never went anywhere without a concealed weapon on your person.If we're gonna be part of Firewall, we want at least one combat skill. We can probably make our own custom morph to suit our situation with our skills, or solve TITAN chicanery, again with our skills, but at some point things just come down to shooting the baddie.Otherwise I'd say networking would fit best with our hyperelite, make understanding and integrating into the new reputation economy easier too.
>>6105784>You kept up to date with all of the latest breakthroughs. Most of your free time was spent on reading and research. Being hyper meant being familiar with all of the latest tech.We can solve our lack of combat prowess with gene editing, there is a limit to what we can do as a human
>>6106236I mean...I don't think we are actually using the Eclipse Phase system, but we literally can't iirc. We can make a better morph to be more fit (even the bog standard Splicer morph is essentially default human++) or make an alien body with different capabilities, but skills are parts of your Ego separate from physical traits, I think. The best we can do if we don't take combat skills now is to use the EP equivalent of Shadowrun skillsofts.
>>6105784>You were very serious about self-defence. You learned a few martial art and were often seen at the firing range. You never went anywhere without a concealed weapon on your person.
>>6105784>You kept up to date with all of the latest breakthroughs. Most of your free time was spent on reading and research. Being hyper meant being familiar with all of the latest tech.I believe this makes the most sense for the character that has been created. We had to become a hyper somehow, and it is explicitly stated that we exploited knowledge of bleeding edge tech before it was even known to the smart money.
>You are adequate at Interfacing.>You are proficient at Programming.>You are adequate at Research.>You have adequate Knowledge of Nanofacturing.Like any hyper worth their salt, you know how to grind. Back on Earth, you were working whenever you were awake. If you weren't managing your company, you were managing your portfolio. If you weren't doing that, you were networking with other hypers. If you weren't doing that, you were keeping tabs on all of the latest technological developments and making sure that you were one of the earliest adopters.You used time contraction in virtual reality simulspaces to squeeze a week's worth of productivity out of a single day. You used your pharmacological knowledge to produce blueprints for all sorts of pharmaceuticals (primarily amphetamines) which you printed using your personal nanofabber and sold for a premium. There are only a couple of developments which you didn't dabble in. Though you invested in various colonies, you couldn't bring yourself to leave Earth behind, nor could you commit to resleeving. You might have gotten the finest gene therapies that money could buy, but you weren't about to kill yourself so that a doppelganger could take your place.A bioconservative hyper. Huh. I hope that you don't still believe that, considering that you've already died once and that this copy of your consciousness will be deleted once we've got you in a morph. If you really want to keep up with the competition, you're going to be copying and 'killing' yourself all of the time.How many times have you died? You don't want to think too much about your own situation, so you try to deflect.That's a personal question that you'll want to avoid asking, if you don't want to offend people. But if you want to count all of the forks that I've merged with and all of the outdated backups that I've deleted, then hundreds of times. Your interrogator seems awfully nonchalant about this.Enough about me though. A hustler like you should have no problem adapting to post-Fall living and we could use someone with that sort of attitude. Now it's my turn to commit a faux pas with one last question: How did you die during the Fall?>With a bang. You used your nanofabber to print out an open-source pistol and took the fight to the innumerable minions of the TITANs. >Seeking a solution. You and a few other volunteers were trying to devise a vaccine that could protect against a mutagenic virus unleashed by the TITANs.>Rallying the people. You coordinated a group of survivors who were able to hold out against the TITANs for a while, thanks to your leadership.>Like a bitch. You survived longer than most, hiding and scavenging and exploiting others. There was nothing that you wouldn't do to keep on living.
>>6106776>Seeking a solution. You and a few other volunteers were trying to devise a vaccine that could protect against a mutagenic virus unleashed by the TITANs.
>>6106776>>Seeking a solution. You and a few other volunteers were trying to devise a vaccine that could protect against a mutagenic virus unleashed by the TITANs.Makes sense that a biotech CEO would seek a cure. Too bad the heckin refusers wouldn't take our jab.
>>6106776>Seeking a solution. You and a few other volunteers were trying to devise a vaccine that could protect against a mutagenic virus unleashed by the TITANs.le shrugMay as well be true to ourselves as we've designed thus far. At least we'll be good in our specialty. Though moving, fighting and a whole lot else will have to be handled by other people.
Yeah ok man. Just vanish without a word.
Edged once more by a promising oneshot.
