Pegasus has just today revealed the new cover artwork for the German translation of Augmentation ("BodyTech").

I'd post a link to the artwork but it depicts a nude female elf (breasts visible) floating in a "bacta tank" (to use a Star Wars analogy) and I'm not sure if I'd violate Dumpshock's rule #3 (the picture is in no way explicit, at least by German standards, but you never know...).

So, should an admin give his/her OK I'll post a link, otherwise not.

Cool picture!

Yes indeed. Cool pic.

Well, the decision has been taken from me - the link was posted in the German Shadowrun art thread.

Fellow posters: a pest like roommates, co-workers or husbands.

Not that I'd love the original artwork, but I find neither of the new covers better. And what's with the title? "Bodytech" is not really a German word.

Yeah, gotta admit I'm not enamored with the new cover.

Granted at least no one will be knocking on the covergirls "crotch plate" and asking if anyone is home...

I agree. I guess I'll keep the English book there.

The cover isn't very in tune with the setting (Bacta tanks?), it's not very well composed, and the girl looks ... odd. like a puppet. strange positioning of arms and legs. also, the tank's far too large for her, and makes the image seem ... empty. Nice colours though.

Gene Augmentations?

wonder if there will be new toys in there like in the german arsenal?

Syringes and ambulant treatment, as described in the book?

Besides, gene modding doesn't grow you mechanical parts, as it seems to have happened to this elf there.

In the intro story to genetech, one such tank is mentioned (in which the Japanese woman changes to a caucasian woman).

Could have had the parts before? And isn't Tomas Roxborough (sp?) supposed to hold alive in a vat-tank or something like that?

Roxy isn't human, least of all in form. He's a fairly straightforward adaption of Neuromancer's (or, mor eprcisely, Mona Lisa Overdrive's) Josef Virek. Basically, a huge, huge tumor. More a Soggoth than human.

Even if, I doupt these tanks are usually kept in borg ship-ish environments in the SR universe.

Wasn't he a human guy who later suffered from a serious illness/ infection/ whatever?
And can't you imagine a row of tanks in a sterile environment, with steel stairs and all that?

Yes. NOT, however, in a borg ship. Well, of course I can imagine that, but not in conjunction with SR.

I don't see a borg ship at the cover.

No, because it's a boirg ship's interior. Could also be something out of Matrix or SLA, though, you're right.

Borg aside, this picture is way better than the dog-faced, armed to the teeth, clad in dark clothing, surrounded by shadows, because it's so cool to be dark, thing on the german arsenal cover.

Art... why even bother?

I have to say that this is pretty much how I have always pictured genetic (and even some bioware) treatments being administered in Shadowrun.

Well, it's pretty much how genetic treatmens were picture in Shadowrun before.

Are not vats mentioned as part of the recovery proses for all augmentations. Hench the term Vat job see pg 47 BBB.

I ignore all references to vats. Vats are silly early SciFi story products that are totally unsupportable in real life with the treatment time lengthes given in the book (what kind of opressive megacorp is going to give you a month of vacation time so you can get yourself suped up). Honestly, I see it as going down to your clinic for a comprehensive examination, a discussion with your treatment provider and a shot or two with another such session scheduled some time in the next few weeks to review progress and progress to the next stage of your treatment.

Plus, the fact that you will be expected to attend work whilst dealing with raging fever and whatnot from the virus they're using to insert your genemods is more in line with the tone than "you sit in an oddly lit tank for a month and come out smarter". Even nanite-based insertions will make you feel extremely fatigued from all the extra activity.

The tanks could only be a day or two thing even more so with nanites and what not.

They're completely unnecessary. You can just inject the insertion agent into their bloodstream and send them off. Space multiplied by time equals money, and corps optimise out inefficiencies. People do it as well; why sit motionless in a boring tank when you could at least be at home watching the trid? There would be a demand to remove all the tank-sitting that is possible. I don't think it's necessary in the first place and I think it smacks of silly.

Tell us how you really feel.

Seriously though, although the tanks are not required for every single augmentation, I think they are quite fine for certain treatments.

well, with good DNI Tech, who says you have to be in there all comatose?
you can be awake and watch trid in the trix, if your work permits it, you can even work from in there O.o
Cyber does not take long to install, if it isn't some mayor surgery . . you can get a comlink, datajack and eyes in your lunch-break for example . .
things like Bonelacing will take longer, but not require you to stay in the hospital the whole time, while such things as MUSCLE-Stuff and really invasive things like wired reflexes and move by wire will take the longest . .
you need to cut open the body, insert and connect and then even WITH healing magic you will need some days at least to get used to being faster and stronger . .
bioware is just implantation. you go to your doc, you give your gene-sample, the doc creates your specified piece of bio/gene-tech, you come back when he's done, and he puts it in . . and again, only some days rest required at most . . yes, genetech and nanotech should take just as much time as the programming the stuff and poking you with a needle once or twice . .

i'd leave the tanks for stuff where you get put into a healing coma and your body has to be completely withouth any disturbance . .

What genetic modification could possibly require suspension in a vat of liquid?


It's still expensive and any developments that reduce vat time would be far preferable for both sides of the transaction. There's no demand for vat-time. And vats are silly.

why would this be so hgorribly expansive anyway?
trode nets for the DNI-Connections are cheap as dirt, you only need good filtration technics to reuse the liquid again and again, and you won't need any personal because most of it is done by computers through sensors . . and you don't need much space, as you could basically just pile one tank over the other without anyone complaining, because the people inside basiacally are comatose . .

Rent. You're not going to get all that many customers if you're not in a convenient place and convenient places have higher rents. Not to mention that all devices that meet medical standards are massively more expensive because those standards are more stringent.

Then there's the fact that there are at least 5 major chains of geneshops all competing for the same market. Any increase in price over the standard for the treatment is going to be expensive in terms of lost customers. The standard price is, essentially, the lowest on the market. Any major chain which can deploy some technique which reduces vat time gets to redefine the standard price and steal many customers from their competitors.

Shrug. As a GM, among other things, I'd use them for almost all Delta augmentation.

rent?
i imagine such vat-houses to be like coffin hotels only with higher standards in security and technology o.O

I prefer my 'ware comes shrinked wrapped and chilled to a crisp 8 degrees. I prefer sitting in a bed to a tank of fluid, too.


Coffin motels are cheap because they require minimal upkeep. Fluid needs to be filtered and recirculated, human waste and nutrition needs to be hooked up for long term stays. Fluids also require more care in storage. You can't even use the space-efficient coffin-motel horizontal-box design without more expensive pumping systems to evacuate and refill each "coffin" for each patient. Pumps and seals break and your clientele are going to be situationally unaware. The greatest discount in the world is that people take care of themselves, which unconscious people do not do.

Liquids also pose a greater hazard for infections and hygiene given that they are prime growing conditions for micro-organisms.

Seeing that delta wear is custom built for its owner I can see a vat being used to install the bigger wares it is 10s the cost and 0.5 times the essence.