Medical Matrix, Going to a happy place Options

[PlainWhiteSocks]

For the length of time I’ve been playing SR I’ve been working under the assumption that when you log into the matrix you are unable to feel things happening to your body. It is with this assumption that one of the players in our regular game thought of getting an operation without the use of anesthesia. Just hook him up to the matrix and have that arm replaced by a cool new cyber one.

For various reasons the game never really got to that point so the GM didn’t have to make a ruling on it. It did make us all wonder if this was actually a possibility, and if anyone else has come up with this.

[LilithTaveril]

There's plenty of evidence for it in the earlier editions. By jacking into the Matrix, a person could end up tying up so many of their brain's resources that certain things, such as feeling pain, have no room to get through.

[mintcar]

In some old rules for simsense (which full AR matrix is) there was a term for the technology used to block out the physical senses of a person. RAS Override, is what it's called. This is also what makes the body limp. Some types of BTL chips have this function bypassed so that you walk around like a crazy person while under the influence of the chip. So yeah, it's not just a byproduct of you being in the matrix: There's technology in place specificly intended to put your body into a state of paralysis. Therefore I would assume this is the way most hospitals do it. Though they would use more stable technology than a commlink, I'm sure.

[Sicarius]

are there any rules about injuries or wounds knocking people out of the matrix that might answer the question.

[mintcar]

[Shrike30]

The thing is, most serious surgery (anything where they flay your chest open and remove an organ, for example...) probably qualifies as a full Physical damage track. If you're trying to look for a rules justification here, there really isn't much of one.

My recollection is that RAS overrides allowed you to interact with the real world, but at a -8 or something like that. If you decide that "having your ribcage jacked apart with retractors" is enough pain to make it through that -8, you're probably better off using anaesthesia.

[hyzmarca]

Im pretty sure that characters in VR can feel pain. It would be too dangerous if this wasn't possible. I think that physical wound modifiers apply to matrix actions, but I can't find a specific rulling.

[ShadowDragon8685]

I would allow you to cut your VR mind off from your body completely, but you'd need some special gear to do it. This would certainly allow you to use the 'matrix as an escape from surgery-related pain...


But it woulden't be too safe. What if the patient did something really stupid and got dumped during the operation? All of a sudden they're on the table in the middle of an operation, in excruciating pain.


So I'd say they would probably simply be anesthesized.


Now, for the outpatient recovery, that's another matter entirely.

[PlainWhiteSocks]

Thanks for all the replies. :)

I looked up RAS overide, and having a person walking around while in a BTL could be hilarious to watch.

We had also thought the hospital would have their own host for people to be in without letting letting them on the matrix proper. The possibility of the whole rig being a BTL device was also discussed. It might be that the hospital would need to use BTL technology to keep a person under. I could imagine someone stealing a hosptal BTL that simulates having to sit through waiting room with Musak in the background. :)

[TonkaTuff]

According to Man and Machine, most surgical proceedures in SR are performed laproscopically with nanites and surgical drones - which means less "damage" and faster recovery for the patient. As for anesthesia, the printed rules only say you have to put the patient at D stun and keep them there - which probably puts simsense-based techniques right out. You have to be conscious for simsense to work (which is why getting knocked out by non-lethal IC will kick you offline). RAS only turns off your neuro-muscular system, it doesn't render you unconscious. Though they probably couple it with whatever they use to knock you out so you don't thrash around unvoluntarily while they're poking you. So it's more likely that non-chemical anesthesia would rely on a non-implant version of the neural cut-out they use in bunraku parlors. The tech had to have come from somewhere, and organized crime generally lacks the resources to develop new technologies.

[Fix-it]

I recently went under to have my wisdom teeth removed, and let me tell you, modern drugs are damn effective.

it's kinda fuzzy, but the last thing I remember is the surgeon putting a second small syringe into my IV.

then I wake up and kinda stumble out the door, giggling my ass off.

with another 70 years, I bet they can make it so you don't even have inebriated aftereffects (eg, you can drive yourself home. I certainly couldn't)

[HullBreach]

Oh gawd dont remind me. I had mine out at 16, and they used Sodium Penathol to do it. My mom decided to play 20 questions with me on the way home while I was still whacked out of my mind on what is essentially truth serum. I was grounded for a month and didn't even remember the interrogation.

For about a week I was convinced one of my friends had ratted me out. LOL