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| The Shadowrun Supplemental #6 The Man-Machine Interface Jon Szeto <JonSzeto@aol.com> The Man Machine Interface By WOTAN »With some of the recent developments in rigger technology, it's been brought to my attention that our technical files have fallen somewhat out of date. So I thought it was time that to do an update of the technical directory. I asked a couple of street docs I know, and WOTAN (who specializes in neurocybernetics) was more than happy to comply. As always, keep your posts relevant, on-topic, and possessing at least a modicum of politeness. Those who break the rules will be nuked mercilessly. »Captain Chaos Transmitted on 18 May 2058, at 00:43:39 (EST) Since the beginning of the Cold War in the previous century, as vehicles of all types - air, land, sea, and space - advanced further and further in sophistication, so too did they grow more complex and difficult to maneuver. By the turn of the millenium, it was impossible to pilot any type of aerial craft without at least three years of training. Engineers and technicians sought to design computers capable of regulating most automatic functions and thus simplifying the task of piloting; nevertheless, computer technology could not keep pace with the growing complexity of vehicle technology. Initially engineers investigated in the use of early virtual reality technology to reduce the complexity of the system. Doing away with mechanical controls and instruments, engineers began using an enclosed helmet and digitized gauntlet, which allowed the wearer to manipulate virtual controls and call up system reports by opening display windows and manipulating system icons. Later developers replaced the bulky helmet and gauntlet controls with the datajack in the 2020's following the development of simsense in 2018. While this helped to flatten the learning curve and make it easier to control a vehicle, it did not prove more of an edge in terms of performance. »This system, the virtual console, is still around. Mostly it's designed for the casual driver by allowing him/her to "customize" the dashboard to their preference, by allowing them to rearrange meters, buttons, and switches. Also, it allows us riggers a slight degree of bodily control we can't normally get in the full VX. »Josie Cruise » VX? What the frag is VX? » Jaxon » Virtual experience. The actual simsense output of any ASIST system. » The Micro Kid The first real vehicle control rig, though, would not occur until several years after the unveiling of simsense. While conducting research into the development of ASIST technology in the 2010's, Dr. Hikita's research team delved deeply into the processes of the human brain. Their goals naturally caused them to study the functions of the middle brain. They soon realized that the coordination of sensory and motor impulses was an intricately complex process; even an action so simple as walking called into play hundreds of different stimuli and even more responses, which would overwhelm all but the most sophisticated supercomputers. Nevertheless, the brain, or more 5 The Shadowrun Supplemental #6 specifically, the midbrain and cerebellum, handled all of this without sending a single conscious thought to the higher intelligence centers. Here lay an answer to the problem of increasing vehicle complexity: connect the human brain directly to the vehicle itself. Merely translate the various instrumentation readings into stimuli the brain could understand, and the middle brain would take care of the rest. In 2022, Northrop-Marietta introduced the first vehicle control rig with the unveiling of the XF-106 Advanced Performance Fighter; the simsense system later became the basis for developing the standard vehicle control rig of today. A few years later Ares Macrotechnology announced its patent of the first vehicle control rig cyberware, which enhanced the middle brain reaction to ASIST signals. The Metahuman Brain Talking about the vehicle control rig means starting at the very center of it all: the human brain. Everything we all do, whether rigging, decking, thaumaturgy, or just simply eating and sleeping, involves this quintessential organ. » Oh, please. What does a biology lesson have to do with vehicles? »Jaxon » For once, why don't you just shut up and read? Maybe, just maybe, you might actually learn something useful. » Gromit There are approximately a dozen distinct regions of the brain, each serving a special function. However, in general, one can generalize them into three primary regions: the prosencephalon or forebrain (in which all higher intelligence functions take place), the mesencephalon or midbrain (which monitors most autonomic and unconscious bodily functions, such as heartbeat and breathing), and the rhomboencephalon or hind brain. It is primarily the hindbrain which we are concerned about (although parts of the mid- and forebrain also come into play), for the hindbrain provides coordination between sensory inputs and muscular movement. What follows below are the areas of the brain most relevant to rigging: ¨ Cerebrum Cerebrum: This wrinkled mass of gray matter at the top of your brain is the focus of higher intelligence and functions, as well as the nervous system's central memory storage. ¨ Cerebellum Cerebellum: Located at the rear and the bottom of the brain, near the brain stem, this distinct area of white matter is the primary control center for coordinating balance and movement. Augmentation by the vehicle control rig (VCR) cyberware is most extensive in this area, with neuro-enhancers and artificial neurotransmitter boosters installed to speed up reaction time and processing capability. ¨ Mesencephalon Mesencephalon: Commonly known as the mid-brain, this region, known in medicine as the "bottleneck of the brain," interfaces between the cerebellum and the midbrain and provides secondary balance and movement coordination. Like the cerebellum, it too undergoes extensive augmentation by the VCR cyberware. ¨ Pons Pons: Taken from the Latin from "bridge," this lump of brain tissue jutting out from the medulla oblongata has been shown to play a role in the coordination of highly complex motor/sensory functions, such as playing a musical instrument, dance, and piloting a regular vehicle. Though not as extensively as with wired or boosted reflexes, this area receives some augmentation from rig cyberware, primarily in providing direct interface with the datajack, rather than indirectly through other parts of the brain, as is typical in the standard datajack.. 6 The Shadowrun Supplemental #6 ¨ Thalamus Thalamus: Located near the brain's center of mass, the thalamus plays a central role in the vehicle control rig, for the thalamus regulates the flow of neural traffic, routing sensory stimuli to the relevant centers of the brain and directing output responses to the relevant parts of the body. In the structure of the vehicle control rig, the thalamus is the CPU of the VCR system, automatically monitoring and adjusting the different controls in a vehicle in response to the situation, all without a conscious blink from the higher intelligence in the cerebrum. ¨ Medulla Oblongata, Hypothalamus, and Reticular Formation Formation: These areas of the brain control the autonomic systems of the body and regulate unconscious functions, ranging from heartbeat and breathing, to body temperature, to the very basics of emotions. Although these areas play no part in the vehicle control rig, their intertwined connection to those areas that do mean that the VCR cyberware must take these areas into account, lest the body atrophy while the mind is jacked into the vehicle. Principles Of Operation The basic operating principles of the vehicle control rig are relatively straightforward. the VCR interfaces with the lower part of the brain, specifically the thalamus, cerebellum, pons, and parts of the medulla oblongata. These regions of the brain are the balance, sensory, and motor coordination centers of the brain. Working together, these parts of the middle and lower brain work together to coordinate hundreds, possibly thousands, of individual neural stimuli and matching muscular responses. When the rigger attempts to access the rigged system, she interfaces with a reinforced container in the engine compartment housing a sophisticated computer; riggers refer to this in common jargon as the "black box." The computer performs only two functions: first, it acts as a compiler, translating inputs from vehicle systems into simsense signals mimicking bodily and sensory stimuli. In the opposite direction, it converts motor responses into vehicle commands. Although the black box does most of the work of translating the signals, the cyberware in the midbrain and cerebellum also share in the work by compiling the vehicle input into biochemical neutransmitter ions. » This is the reason normal datajacks don't work in a vehicle control rig system; they lack the biochemical injectors necessary to translate the electrical signals into the appropriate neurotransmitter biochemical ions for the lower brain. Datjack cyberware only induces a current in the brain, which the cerebrum translates as neural impulses. To maximize the data-handling capabilities of the cerebellum and thalamus, it is necessary to provide the precise neurochemicals for transmitting either a sensory or a motor stimulus. Anything else the thalamus interprets as merely interference. » The Smiling Bandit Striking Again! Ha! Ha! Ha! » Well, what about wired and boosted reflexes? Doesn't the cyberware for those systems also affect the lower brain? » SimmR3@xsys.di.txnet.com » Yes they do, but you're forgetting the other part of the equation: the datajack. Wired and boosted reflexes enhance the information flow between the midbrain/cerebellum and the spinal cord ONLY. Rigging works through a datajack, which is extraneous to the wired/boosted reflex system; wired/boosted reflexes do nothing to enhance the datajack connection. » Project A.P. » So why bother with all that? My reflexes make me the fastest razor with a gun, so I should be the fastest driver behind the wheel. » Colby 7 The Shadowrun Supplemental #6 » Haven't you been listening to a word I've said? When you're driving without a jack, your response time takes the slowest route possible. It goes from eye to cerebrum to spinal cord to arm, all through neural pathways. In contrast, in a rigged system, when the Sensors detect the car, the signal goes straight to the computer, through the jack into the thalamus, which automatically processes it and shoots it back down to the computer. All of this travels along fiber-optic cable and electrical wiring, which is pretty much near the fragging speed of light. NO wired reflex system is so responsive as to approach the speed of light. » The Smiling Bandit Striking Again! Ha! Ha! Ha! The other primary function of the computer is to isolate the brain from the rest of the body. It includes a reticular-activation system (RAS) override, which suppresses sensory signals from the spinal cord into the brain. Additionally, the box contains an autonomic regulator, which transmits a stasis signal into the medulla oblongata and lower brain. This stasis signal interfaces with the autonomous system, which regulates involuntary functions and consciousness, and reassures the system that the brain is still on-line by sending input which would normally come from the brain. This ensures the continued rhythm of breathing and sleeping, while lowering the body's metabolic cycle. In short, it puts the body to sleep. » Why does it do that? » Blake 6 » Sleep enhances the body's regenerative capabilities. During slow-wave sleep the body produces essential hormones, and body repair takes place. After all, since the body isn't actively doing anything, it might as well take this opportunity to make itself useful. » Project A.P. » Riggers need to treat this box with the utmost respect. Wannabes think that there's no danger of a brainburn, like there is for a decker who has the misfortune of encountering Black IC. They couldn't be any more wrong. Because the autonomic regulator ensures the continued functioning of your vital signs, any sort of electrical disruption can result in nasty biofeedback. I once knew a guy who developed a heart attack, due to a fused circuit caused by Ram spell. The worst case, though, is a raw high-voltage discharge, from a zapper warhead; this will literally fry you from the inside out. » Josie Cruise The second part of the system, the cyberware, is necessary to make full optimal use of the control rig system. In a normal datajack, the jack connects with the cerebral cortex in the frontal lobe, which regulates consciousness and intelligence. A control rig system, however, makes use of the lower brain, not the cerebrum; therefore, the jack must be rewired to provide direct linkage with the lower brain, specifically the thalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum. You can always tell a rigger from a decker; because of the direct linkage with the middle brain, riggers generally install their datajacks underneath and behind their ear, instead of at the top of the temple. » It also makes it easier to jack in and out when you're wearing a flight helmet, too. » Josie Cruise 8 The Shadowrun Supplemental #6 Once the rigger has jacked into the control rig, it switches all control from the vehicle to the rigger. From this point on the thalamus, cerebellum, and midbrain are no longer in control of the human body; all their efforts are directed towards controlling the machine, until the jack is removed. Enhancements provided by the rig cyberware work to enhance the performance of the lower and middle brain areas. These consist of artificial neurotransmitter boosters and axon/dendrite enhancers, as well as localized adrenal injectors designed to stimulate specifically the lower and middle brain areas. Rigging Vs. Decking A number of both riggers and deckers have asked me why a vehicle control rig doesn't function inside the Matrix. "After all," asked one, "in both systems you're using your brain to directly interact with a simsense simulation of reality, right?" Wrong. What you have to understand is this: rigging and decking may share some strong similarities, in that both work with an ASIST virtual simulation, and both rely on pure mental brain power to do the job. That, however, is where the similarities end. Decking the Matrix uses virtual reality in a way to interpret visually complex computation and mathematical problems. It transforms a stream of numbers and code into a three-dimensional model the decker can see and understand better. In the former mode (numbers and code), much of the brain's work centers on the frontal lobe, where calculation, reasoning, and analysis take place. In the latter, (visual model) part of the work transfers to the transverse and occipital lobes, the centers for audio/visual recognition. More of the brain is at work, so it arrives at a solution faster. Note that in all of the example above, all the brain's work centers solely on the cerebrum, the center of higher intelligence. If you'll remember what I said in the previous section, the cyberware enhancement of the vehicle control rig focuses almost exclusively on the middle and hind brain, the traffic control center of neural activity. Rigging a vehicle is much more reflexive and instinctive than decking. In a way, it's almost like a simsense or trideo game, in that the majority of mental activity takes place in the lower brain. Consequently, because of this difference, deckers tend to be slow and clumsy riggers, as they lack the neural enhancement in the proper areas. (Never mind the fact they lack the burned-in firmware to interface with a vehicle control rig's ASIST protocols.) Conversely, riggers tend to be very sloppy deckers, as their enhanced thalami encourage knee-jerk reactions, versus the intense cerebral concentration necessary for surfing the Matrix. |
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| RunnerPaul, here is a cut and paste. |