CYBORG

COMMANDOTM

SCIENCE FICTION ROLE-PLAYING GAME

by Gary Gygax, Frank Mentzer, & Kim Mohan

CCF Manual

Editing & Layout: Penny Petticord Cover Art: David Dorman

Interior Art: Jim Clouse, Diane Hamil, Todd Hamilton, Valerie A. Valusek, Gary M. Williams, & Dave Zenz Special Thanks to Jennings Cappel lan,

Rare Earth Information Center

Introduction 2

Preamble 3

How to Use the Dice 8

Character Generation

Basic Game 11

Advanced Game 14

The Character in Play 1'6

The Character

Skills 18

The CC Body 22

Combat

Basic Game 25

Advanced Game 29

Technical Section 32

The CYBORG COMMANDOT'1=orce 45

Technical Diagrams

Brains Capsule 33

Joints (side and top views) 36

Body Lights 38

Eye (lenses) 38

Head Sampler 39

Arm Lasers ., 43

Finger Tools 44

CYBORG COMMANDO and the Cyborg Commando logo are trademarks owned by Trigee Enterprises Corporation.

The New Infinities logo is a trademark owned by New Infinities Productions, Inc.

©1987 Trigee Enterprises Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

New Infinities Productions, Inc. P.O. Box 127,

Lake Geneva, WI

53147 ISBN: 0-941993-18-3

Introduction

In 1985, a space vessel landed on the moon. But it wasn't ours.

They are preparing now. They will be ready soon by their standards - in less than 50 years.

Then the invasion will begin - and succeed.

You must retake the Earth.

Welcome to the CYBORG COMMANDO™game. This is a game of our own world, set in our very near future. Formaps of the game setting, just open an an atlas. For descriptions of the inhabitants, look out your window.

This is a game of science fact and science fiction. Some changes occur between now and the year 2035, the start of the game's central story. Most things haven't changed much; some things have changed a lot.

We live in the age of science. Look at the following inventions, and consider how they have changed the face of the world.

1940s: televisions and washers

1950s: polyester fabrics and transistors 1960s: cassettes and credit cards 1970s: personal computers and VCRs 1980s: digital electronics

This game assumes effects of similar magnitude for the following discoveries.

Superconductivity: Finally made practical, this basic principle changes the nature and use of electricity itself, and thereby all electrical devices on Earth.

SINC: This device is a direct interface through which brains and computers can be directly connected.

Psychogenics: This new science results from a hard, critical look at ESP and the occult. The real and provable has been separated from the fantastic and imaginary.

Combining all of those and other discoveries is your character - a member of the CYBORG COMMANDon. Force.

How to Use this Book

There's a lot of information in this book, and you'll need to be aware of almost all of it. So take it in small chunks, and take your time absorbing the details.

First read the Preamble. This tells the

2

Introduction

story of how the CYBORG COMMANDO™ character (or "CC"), the ultimate blend of man and machine, was invented. It also reveals much about the aliens, up until the invasion begins.

Much of the game requires using dice, so read that section next. But skip the tables and graphs, and come back to this section later, after you know when the dice are used.

Now you can create a character, as explained on pages 11-15. Start with a basic game character; don 'ttackle the Advanced game version until you've played a few games. The Advanced system offers more detail, but with it comes more complexity. The character sheet used for both is on the back cover of this booklet. Character knowledge is handled with the Skill system, starting on page 18.

Your character will be using a new mechanical body. This is more durable than the human body, and can do more things, as explained on pages 22-24. This section describes the body and abilities generally, enough to get you started; if you want the full technical details, refer to the Tech section (page 32).

Finally, the character is a member of the elite CYBORG COMMANDO Force (CCF). A few notes on this organization, and details on character advancement within it, are given on page 45.

The Other Booklets

The Campaign book in this set is for the Game Master's use. Please don't read it if you are a player! In the course of adventures, you will discover most of the details given in that booklet, but they should be revealed at the proper times and places.

If you really want to know something about the aliens presented in this game, read the section called "The Enemy," which is in the Adventures booklet. Also contained therein are a few tips to help you do your best in play. But only read your side of the Adventures booklet; the other side gives some adventure ideas for the Game Master to develop.

Game Time & Scale

For maximum convenience, the units of both time and distance used throughout the CYBORG COMMANDOT"game are based on a decimal system. The standard

time units are given in a table on the inside back cover of this booklet. In brief, they include the Combat Turn, Active Turn, Standard Turn, and Travel Turn.

To remember the names for the turns, note the initials - CAST. You'll use Combat Turns for fights, or otherwise Active Turns when timing is important. Standard Turns are used for most game activity. Travel Turns are for long-range trips, and Days are used for even longerrange campaign activity.

You can measure things by using either the Metric system or the English system. The Metric system is much more convenient, and is strongly recommended. If you aren't familiar with it, give it a try; after all, you're about to learn a whole new game, so why not use the system that goes with it best? Nevertheless, if you insist on using the archaic and unwieldy English system, you are allowed to do so. Distances are often given in undefined units; read them as either meters or yards, whichever you like. (But if you use the English system, don't blame us when you have to stop the game to handle the messy conversions inherent in that system.)

The standard map scales and Scale numbers are given on the same back cover page as the time units. In mathematical terms, a hex is 10' yards across, where "x" is the scale or number of the hex size. Combat areas are normally mapped at Scale 1 or 2, though "blowup maps" might be provided at Scale 0 for even more detail. A map of an entire country would use Scale 5 or 6. A map of the solar system would probably be given at Scale 11.

Combining Time & Distance

When the decimal distance and time systems are combined, the result is extremely easy to use. The smallest scales are easy to remember, and you don't need to know the exact distances for the larger ones. Every map designed for use with the CC game will always use one of these scales. Hex sheets printed on clear plastic are available in many hobby shops, and if you find the right size of hexes, such sheets could be used simply as overlays on a published normal map.

Now look at the opposite page and read the Preamble.

Preamble

The first cyborgs were actually created long before the alien attack.

Richard Sawtell was studying computer science and neurosurgery at UCLA when he quietly developed the Sub-cranial Interface & Neural Converter (SINC) in 2016. His invention converted nerve impulses into electrical signals (which was not new) and computer-generated commands into controllable nerve impulses (which was).

Sawtell was somehow convinced to abandon his plans for higher studies. He accepted a commission in the United States Army, and was soon working at a top-secret installation in southern Virginia. After relocating, he received an anonymous donation of approximately ten million dollars (after taxes). His invention was made semi-public knowledge in 2017, and the wording of the press releases implied that the Army research program had made it all possible.

Within two years, Sawtell produced a development that made paraplegia a phenomenon of the past. Nerves could be replaced by wires, and muscles by simple mechanisms. All were operated by the individual's normal nerve impulses, as if no change had occurred.

The Army began testing a top-secret offshoot of this development - combat armor usable by a normal soldier. The armor was utterly bulletproof (except for a face plate), and the devices that moved the arms, hands, and legs were controlled directly by the operator's nerves. Unfortunately, it was impractical to remove the user from the armor, once inserted, because of the elaborate medical operation required. The project was shelved.

Inter-service rivalries still being quite common, the U.S. Air Force began its own research on the topic. In 2019, Dr. Nkruma Kotusu, a citizen of Nigeria, was brought in to work with this parallel research program, using a spare NASA lab in Florida. At the age of 42, Dr. Kotusu was a renowned scientist and practiced neurosurgeon, and he was considered more reliable (and certainly less expensive) than the flamboyant and unpredictable Sawtell. However, Kotusu and Sawtell deduced each other's existence and made secret contact via their computers. This was no surprise, considering their brilliance in computer science. Though initially cautious, they had identical interests that eventually led to a friendship of sorts.

When the government discovered their

Preamble

collaborations, Kotusu was transferred to Sawtell'S Virginia lab, "on loan" from NASA. But the two scientists discovered that they could not work in close proximity. Among other things, Sawtell was a compulsive smoker and rather messy, while Kotusu abhorred physical vices and was exceptionally tidy. They continued joint operations while remaining physically apart, using separate workshops. And the breakthroughs continued.

The accidental death of Sawtell's wife in 2020 spurred him on a personal quest for immortality. He decided that most of the human body was an unfortunate and heretofore unavoidable load of baggage. Combining this rather bizarre concept with further advances in research, he and Kotusu succeeded in isolating a pig's brain during the winter of 2022. The disembodied brain, maintained by fourteen cubic feet of life support hardware, was wired to the controls of a small piglike robot. Within a week, the "pig bot" (dubbed

"Melba," in honor of Sawtell's late wife) was happily trotting around the lab, and had already learned to perform several tricks.

The first experiments on human volunteers ended tragically. Sawtell shrugged off the deaths as necessary and obsessively continued his work. Kotusu agonized, but recovered. Sawtell was delayed for a month by a double lung replacement operation (the technology for which was an offshoot of his earlier discoveries), but nevertheless refused to quit smoking. Kotusu continued his neat, methodical, but slow progress.

Finally, in 2024, the first successful human brain relocation procedure (BRP) took place. In the Richmond suburb of Bellwood, Virginia, PFC Jackson Douglas Wingate, a black soldier and former car mechanic from Tallahassee, Florida, was tightening a cable on a shipment of metal pipe when the entire load suddenly broke loose, cascading from the tractor trailer and crushing him. Severely injured, he was placed on total life support and subsequently transferred to Richmond General Hospital. To keep him alive, 95% of his body would have to be replaced by synthetics. However, when given the choice, PFC Wingate elected to be the subject of a new type of operation.

The brain and certain glands of Jack Wingate were placed within an eggshaped steel container between 2:00 and 9:00 PM Eastern time on July 4th, 2024. The procedure took place in Richmond General Hospital's operating room #2, which was purchased and dismantled by the Smithsonian Institution on July 5th.

After stabilization, Wingate's brain was connected to a slightly larger, modified version of the Melba-type pigbot. The first few days were a time of severe psychological trauma, but Wingate's excellent mental health and optimism led to a complete recovery. When Dr. Kotusu created a humanoid mechanical (dubbed "humanical") body a few months later, control of it was given to this brave soldier. In the Spring of 2025, Wingate performed for the President of the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, several dozen medical conferences, and six public exhibitions. The public saw Jack Wingate as potentially immortal, and although the government did not predict general availability of the technique for at least two decades, an official waiting list was started and maintained by the Surgeon General. Despite

3

Preamble

the projected cost of 2.5 million dollars per person, applicants were abundant.

In the months after the success with Wingate, four other BRPs failed, but these were never publicized. Also unrevealed was the fact that the Army had begun performing secret BRPs of its own. The military established a "brain bank," coded Project Eggshell, for its own experiments and future uses.

Religious institutions worldwide condemned the humanical as unnatural, unnecessary, presumptuous, and immoral, and described its creators in much the same terms. This bothered Dr. Kotusu greatly, but Sawtell not at all. The revelation that humanicals were sexless did not ease the situation appreciably.

Kotusu refined the humanical form, appeared on magazine covers, and enjoyed this long-sought publicity. At his urging, the U.S. government grudgingly agreed to sell the new humanical technology (keeping various key elements top secret, of course). New labs were soon established in China, Russia, Japan, Germany, and other countries.

Sawtell shunned exposure, in part because his personal life and habits were not of a flavor enjoyed by the public. During this period, he delved further into the problems of connecting the brain with a computer. His work veered in another odd direction when he began experiments in ESP, a field recognized by the scientific authorities but considered sporadic and unreliable - epithets which were still applied to Sawtell himself, despite his accomplishments. Dissatisfied with the label applied to the phenomena - "extra-sensory" implying abnormality, and "perception" being augmented by dynamic actions of purely mental origin - Sawtell renamed the field "Psychogenics."

By Freedom Day of 2027 (a January holiday once named for Martin Luther King, Jr.) a dozen subjects had been proven reliably telepathic. One of them had even levitated a plastic button 23 centimeters. This event was fully documented with video cameras.

4

None of these psychogenically talented people were willing to undergo the BRP, however, until Sawtell convinced Melissa Dutrick, a young female subject with whom he had reportedly been carousing, to give it a try. (She later claimed that she had been told the operation was reversible, despite having signed a legal agreement that specified the contrary.) "Missy" Dutrick's surgery on May 12, 2027 went smoothly, and Jack Wingate helped her over the psychological hurdles.

Missy was the first truly successful cyborg (cybernetic organism). Her humanical body was made larger than Wingate's, and her steel brain case smaller, so that the two could be combined into one mobile unit. And after testing, some of her circuitry was found to be supernumerary, for, as Sawtell had predicted, her psychogenic powers could bypass some of the neural connections required for the SINC device. Kotusu had scoffed at this possibility, and was now depressed as he re-evaluated his theories. Sawtell was elated, and proposed to Melissa, fulfilling, some say, a promise that had made her agree to the operation. It is noteworthy that when Missy declined, Sawtell was not noticeably saddened.

Melissa Dutrick's undeniable but unprecedented method of operating her humanical body shook the scientific community. Her extra-sensory powers made years of additional development unnecessary, at least for those similarly gifted. The Army later allowed her to purchase her new body, with the condition that she remain employed by (though not confined to) the research lab.

A change in political administration brought corresponding shifts in the upper echelons of the military. One new arrival to the Army Command took over Project Eggshell and altered its program in light of the new discoveries. Basically, this general wanted official military fortunetellers. Within a few months, Eggshell had completed successful BRPs on dozens of new volunteers, all gifted with some measure of psychogenic ability. Sawtell discovered

the secret but kept it. He notified the project commander of his readiness to cooperate, without Dr. Kotusu, in establishing the first Cyborg Corps.

Dr. Kotusu presented the world's religious authorities with thoughtful treatises on the sanctity of medicine and the importance of cybernetic research, dwelling on the absence of mortal flaws and weaknesses in the metallic form. The authorities responded kindly, and focused their attacks on Sawtell, somehow discovering and publicizing some of his less-thanexemplary past. Melissa Dutrick was condemned as the Harlot of Babylon, with Sawtell cast as the Antichrist, and both were ordered to repent their ways. Melissa said she'd think about it for a few centuries, which only served to aggravate them further. Sawtell ignored them as usual, being preoccupied with certain fascinating offshoots of psychogenics- including astral projection and spirit photography.

Suffering under the pressures of his conscience (stimulated by the authorities of his religion, though he did not realize this), Dr. Kotusu began work on an alternative to the "disembodied brain" method of cyborg control. In secret conferences with high officers of the Air Force, he proposed returning to Sawtell's original concept, now abandoned - cyborg bodies as super-armor for ordinary soldiers.

Preamble

This was quickly approved, more for pragmatic reasons than for humanitarian ones. In October of 2029, Kotusu and Sawtell said their good byes and left the Humanical Project in the hands of other competent but less creative scientists. Both indicated ambiguity about future plans and remained secretive about their new projects. The generals still quietly pulled all the strings.

Jack Wingate declined the offer of a transplant into a more up-to-date humanical form, seeing it as a regression. In the course of experiments, more and more hardware had been attached to his brain case; his pieces now occupied three large rooms, and he dreamed of becoming the world's largest and most important humanical. Among other things, he was then serving as the lab's inventory controller, purchasing agent, master personnel file, and traffic controller. Meanwhile, Wingate was developing his own secret plan to enter and dominate the CIA computer.

Melissa Dutrick stayed in Virginia, where she urged the new scientists to make her form more visually appealing. She thereby inspired a line of research that produced the first "bulletproof" synthetic skin. She also wheedled Jack Wingate into secretly modifying her SINC to provide her with a unique broad-spectrum sensory input that she found to her liking. Luckily she had the wisdom to use it sparingly.

Richard Sawtell moved to Utah and began work on the Army's secret Cyborg Corps, and a dozen other scientists began similar secret projects in other countries. Most of their commanders knew of the efforts of their competitors, but hoped to gain the lead in this new type of arms race. Sawtell did not bother with such details. He inspired his new team with his creative genius, developing startling new weapons that could be built into the humanical form. He also began studying out-of-body experiences.

Dr. Nkruma Kotusu returned to Florida and, by modifying a standard NASA space suit, developed the first version of cybernetic armor. He joined a local fundamentalist church and became a lay pastor; his favorite lecture topic was the weakness of the flesh.

On January 11, 2035, an accident at a Chinese "air testing station" near the south pole caused the detonation of 20 or more nuclear devices. The cause of the accident was thought to be a rogue meteor strike. The ensuing weather patterns kept international anger, directed at the Chinese, to a minimum. Nuclear war was feared but did not occur, in part because horrific snow and rain storms beset all the continents, and a rise in tides (due to the melting of trillions of tons of ice) caused widespread damage to the world's seacoasts. Surface naval operations were

impossible, and air travel was nearly so.

It is now presumed that the explosion and its effects were carefully planned. Two days later, while the storms and tides were reaching their height, the air was suddenly filled with additional horrors - the alien invaders.

Another Viewpoint

In the early part of the 13th century, an innovative military commander named Gengis Khan made a serious attempt to unify Asia. On a large island in western Europe, a group of minor political leaders forced their king to concede certain privileges, itemized on a document called the great charter (Magna Carta). Africa and the Americas were controlled by nations of sophisticated people who had happened to develop culturally and technologically in different ways than the Europeans and Asians had; they were thus called savages. And a mechanical device landed safely on the moon for the first time in several dozen centuries.

This device, an automated probe, had been launched by a technologically advanced but, at least by human standards, morally deficient civilization. The launch point was about 700 light years from Earth, in the direction of the galaxy center. Upon leaving normal space, the probe sped along its programmed course, heading toward a relatively unexplored galactic arm. It deliberately rammed one of a pair of gravity peaks about twenty minutes later, which resulted in its immediate appearance in the close vicinity of the planet known to modern Man as Jupiter.

Sensing no immediate hostility or danger, the probe conducted a standard system survey, and subsequently detached two of its mobile units to investigate the large outer planets. Meanwhile, it proceeded inward, toward the potentially more lucrative and certainly warmer bodies, but only after vaporizing its Quantum Drive for security reasons. After detailed examinations a few months later, in the course of which additional mobiles had been dispatched to Mars and Venus, the probe descended to the surface of Earth's moon. Its passage was not noted by Man.

The probe analyzed the data as it approached, and found that concealment would not be a major factor. Although Earth was populated, no unnatural emanations were detectable, indicating a low level of technological development. And since the moon's period of rotation exactly matched its orbit, the probe's landing site, if carefully chosen, would not suffer regular scrutiny by Earth's future residents. The probe decided on a location high along one wall of a minor crater (known to modern human astronomers as Plutarch, at 84°E, 25°N). This was a site from which it could observe and monitor the Earth's

surface, but one not likely (in the probe's considered opinion) to attract attention.

Over the next few centuries, the probe monitored and analyzed the development of terran civilizations, and broadcast condensed versions back to its creators at irregular intervals, again for security reasons. Since these messages were limited to the speed of light, the creators' first verification of the probe's successful efforts occurred in 1922.

The probe was not the only one of its kind, but rather one of thousands. Its creators had developed an interstellar empire by sending probes in many directions (and to vast distances, using the Quantum Drive), and modified their plans of galactic conquest on the basis of the latest information received thereby. The news from this particular probe happened to arrive on the same day as several other messages, and several weeks passed before the information was fully discussed. The situation seemed promising, so a second probe was sent to obtain up-to-date information. It returned within a week, carrying the remarkable story of man's progress between the 13th and 20th centuries, along with a complete filmed version of World War I.

The alien leaders debated the use of Earth for several years, that being only one of many concerns. They did not fear

5

6

Preamble

Man; so many centuries had passed since their last military defeat that such a concept did not even arise. Instead, they debated the proper course for exploiting Earth as a new outpost, and its future benefits. That region of the galaxy had been less fruitful than others in the past, and might have gone completely ignored had not a few key individuals been absent during a crucial period of discussion a thousand years earlier. But, probes were sent, and Earth was now being considered for addition to the Empire - though certainly not in a friendly manner.

After the proponents of expansion established Earth's place in the overall plan, those responsible for the execution of policy spent a few decades planning the appropriate method of reaching the goals. Another probe was sent to gather the latest data, and it returned in the year known to humans as 1956 with news of predictable aeronautical developments, and another film of a major conflict, World War II. The plans were modified to include projections of future technological developments, and the attack vessel was assembled. The speed of Man's technological development exceeded that of any previous contact, but since the project had been transferred to another department of the alien bureaucracy, this datum did not reach the attention of the policy makers. Had it done so, they would probably have stopped the project and simply destroyed the planet.

The attack force consisted of one vessel about the size of a ten-story office building. It was equipped with a matter processor, six self-replicating computers, an energy collector, and two living beings. In November 1985, it arrived in Jupiter orbit, as the earlier probes had. The vessel eventually homed in on the lunar observer, landed, and dug in to begin operations. Its existence was carefully shielded, but signs of its arrival were seen by a technician on the evening shift at Mt. Palomar observatory, who was certain only that he saw a few stars disappear and then reappear, as if something were passing before them. His log note was dismissed later as being an optical illusion, but it can be found today in the records for that month.

The alien commander's first action was the projection of a huge magnetic field, hundreds of miles across, which gathered solar radiation for power. Devices began busily mining and processing lunar ore, and once sufficient materials had been gathered, the computers began replicating themselves. The aliens did not worry about their task; they had done similar things several times before, usually facing much more highly developed civilizations. They did not realize that never before had the Empire faced a race so creative, quick to develop, and tenacious as Man.

Earth remained relatively placid to the aliens' watchful eyes. They scoffed at the primitive spacecraft that occasionally ventured forth, and were not surprised when a manned one exploded in early 1986. They sneered at the amount of untidy debris left in orbit, but made careful note of the occasional satellites that scanned as radioactive (presumably nuclear devices), plotting their positions for later disposal. The manned orbital station begun in 1994 was worth watching, but only for the speed with which man learned about the vacuum environment and evolved to function in it.

As planned, the invasion force was completed in 2033. After decades of tireless work, the aliens' modest tools had produced thousands of soldiers. Their forms had been selected, with careful consideration of Man's psychology, to resemble something feared by the entire race. Some of the policy makers had favored the reptilian form, but that idea was discarded - primarily because the myths of man indicated repeatedly that humans always defeated the dragons, and dinosaurs were laughable. A demonic form was almost used, but finally voted down because of its utterly imaginary origins, and also due to the popularity of a roleplaying game in which such beings were routinely encountered and destroyed. No, a perversion of reality was considered best; a deadly extrapolation of a normal creature, known to peoples of all social, economic, and political climates. The attacking troops were made to resemble insects - but larger, more horrible, and far more dangerous.

Phase I (resource preparation) in the plan to conquer Earth was over. Phase II began immediately. Though Man fought battles with insects on a daily basis, his subconscious fear of them had to be brought to his conscious attention.

A periodic meteor shower, the Perseids, occurred in August each year. In 2034, these lumps of space debri's were accompanied by several hundred capsules, which entered the atmosphere and burned in an identical manner. But these capsules, launched from a point on the moon near the crater Plutarch, contained synthetic hormones. The cargo sprayed out over the jungles of several continents, and in the autumn of that year, scientists speculated on the cause of the massive insect plagues that arose. Of course, none of them even guessed at the correct answer. As the pestilence spread, the aliens' primary attack force was brought to full readiness, for its time was nearly at hand. The aliens watched carefully, and waited.

In January 2035, the first human reports of odd hormones reached the news services, and speculation began. Were these the weapons of a new terrorist or a crime syndicate? Or were they the experi-

ments of a mad genius? The aliens knew that the time had come. One last "meteor" sped toward the Earth's south pole, exploding on impact and triggering the detonation of a few dozen other nuclear devices of Chinese origin that had been hidden there.

Two days later, using the cover provided by the tumultuous weather caused by the explosion, the invasion force was launched. Descending in their vessels (actually huge armored creatures produced by genetic engineering), several hundred thousand alien warriors (subsequently dubbed Xenoborgs) landed on the Earth's surface at 4:52 A.M. Houston time on January 13, 2035. Only a few failed to reach their designated landing points. On every major continent, and within every political boundary, the aliens arrived. Military bases, missile silos, airport runways, and shipyards were thoroughly treated. Over half the invasion force descended on Asia, which, with its population of 6.8 billion, was a special concern.

Careful planning paid off. (Indeed, the aliens would have been quite surprised had it not.) The Xenoborg troops, armored to resist the known weapons of Man and armed to penetrate his defenses, easily defeated the conventional forces that met them. A few nuclear devices were used, but only by humans, and to little effect; the attackers had spread too fast, and too widely, to be seriously hampered by them. Once men realized that "one nuke, one Xenoborg" was a fair exchange, they also realized that such applications would be tantamount to destroying the planet. The Xenoborgs kept to the open spaces, avoiding the cities, which the alien commander wanted intact, and generally let Man's forces come to them.

Within days, most of the Earth's surface was held by alien troops. Many of the national governments had collapsed or fled, and though less than a third of humanity had been destroyed, the rest were in hiding. Most modern conveniences vanished; food and water distribution, power and light, electrical communication - nearly all were gone. Most military bases had been completely destroyed. People hid in cellars, in caves, anywhere that the Xenoborgs had not yet penetrated. Many waited for the end, praying for deliverance. But some organized and searched for a way to fight this threat, possibly the last that Man would ever face.

The remnants of Earth's military forces examined their opponents, and found only one viable counterthreat - the humanicals of Richard Sawtell and Dr. Nkruma Kotusu. Conventional forces had little or no effect on the Xenoborgs, that much was known; so the few remaining resources of the world were used to complete the only possible defense: the CYBORG COMMANDO Force.

7

Dice

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How to Use the Dice

If you are familiar with other role-playing games, some of the following will be old familiar stuff, and you can skip the first parts. But carefully read the section entitled "Multiplying Results," as it describes the system most often used in this game, which is a method of using the dice that you have probably never tried.

In the CYBORG COMMANDO™roleplaying game, just as in other games, you will roll one or both of the dice whenever you must randomly select one result from several possible. (You do not roll the dice to move.)

Each of the two dice provided in this game has ten sides. Throughout the game, the mention of a ten-sided die is abbreviated as "d1 0," and the die itself is thus called a "dee ten." The zero on the die is always read as 1 0, except for two special cases: if a number from 1 to 1 00 is desired (see Simple Rolls, below), or if an instruction in the rules specifies clearly that 0 means zero (which is rare).

Simple Rolls

If you roll one d10 and then read the number that is on its uppermost surface, you will find a result from 1 to 10. No result turns up more often than any other; each has an equal chance (10%) of occurring. This type of roll is usually called simply a "d10 roll."

The two dice supplied with this set should be different colors. If you roll both together, you can get a number from 1 to

1 00 by reading one die as "tens" and the other as "ones."ln this case, a zero is read as a zero, not as a ten. If you roll two zeroes, that means 1 00. Before you roll the dice, however, you must declare which die is going to represent tens; this is usually done by calling out a color before you roll (i.e., "red high"). Similar to a straight d1 0 roll, each possible result has an equal chance of occurring (1% this time). This roll is called "dee hundred" (d100), or "dee percentage" (d%) since the result is often read as such.

Adding Results

If you roll two dice and add the results, the total will be a number from 2 to 20. The possible totals occur with different frequencies. There is only one way to get a 2 (both ones) or 20 (both tens), but there are two or more ways to get any other result; for example, a result of 10 could be 1 + 9, or 2 + 8, or some other combination. This game never uses more than two dice, but any number could be combined in this manner. This type of roll is thus described by stating the number of dice used, and assuming that the results are added. The roll is called ''two dee ten" (2d1 0).

Multiplying Results

If you roll two dice and multiply the results, the total will be a number from 1 to 100, similar to the d100 method described

'~:"""""'--'-l ~

- i 1

Probability Graph 1: 1 d1 0

d1D AMuII:

I , , •• , •• 10 " 11 11 U It " OJ 11 11 to

2'1110 AHu"

Probability Graph 2: 2d10

8

above. But unlike that system, this one does not produce every number from 1 to 100, and the possible totals occur with different frequencies. Since for this type of roll you multiply d10 x d10, the roll is described and abbreviated by dropping the last repetitive d 10 designation, leaving "dee ten eks" (d1 Ox).

This system is used throughout the CYBORG COMMANDO game for several reasons. Most people can multiply two single-digit numbers easily, and often with less trouble than adding two-digit numbers. The system produces results that still span the convenient 1-100 range (which can still represent a percentage), but with unusual frequencies of results.

In the combat system, asingled10x roll determines the chance to hit and, in many cases, damage as well. That single roll easily determines clear misses, hits producing superficial damage, hits for actual (body) damage, and "critical hit" effects, all at the same time.

In the skill system, minimal gains in low scores produce great leaps in the percentage chances of success, but improvements in high scores produce only small increases. This reflects true life to some extent; a little knowledge of a topic opens new horizons and makes many things possible for the first time, but a high level of expertise takes much time and effort.

Since this type of roll is unfamiliar to most people, statistical data on the results are given on the next page. You do not need to know those details to play the game, but they are provided for those who are interested.

Graphs

Probabilities are often clearer when shown with diagrams than when explained with words. Graphs 1 and 2 (left) show the chances for getting a single result when using 1 d1 0 or 2d1 0, respectively. Graphs 3,4, and 5 (next page) show the cumulative chances for results of d1 0, 2d10, and d10x rolls. Each of these last three graphs displays two lines. One shows the chance of getting a result equal to or less than a given number; the other is the opposite, showing the chance of getting a result equal to or greater than a given number. For additional details on the probabilities of results, see the d10x system description on the next page.

The d10x System

If you are an experienced gamer, you are familiar with various methods of using dice. However, the d 1 Ox system produces a probability curve that may be unlike any other in your experience.

Table 1 gives the percentage chances for obtaining various results when using the d10x system. Column 1 lists all the possible results of the roll, and column 2 gives the exact percentage chance for getting each result. Columns 3 and 4 apply to the combat system. Column 3 (Result or More) gives the percentage chance of penetrating a target's Defense Value (DV). The net chance of a clean miss is given in column 4 (Result or Less). Columns 4 and 5 apply to the game's skill system, wherein a d10x roll determines success at an attempt to use a skill. Column 4 gives the actual chance of success for each skill score. Column 5 gives the increase in the percentage obtained when a skill score is increased from the score listed just above it.

The average result of a normal d10x roll is 30 1/4. The median result is 24; that is, you are equally likely to roll either 24 or more or 24 or less. Exactly one fourth of all the possible results are odd numbers; three fourths are even numbers.

Example: Suppose that your character has earned 4 Skill Points in an adventure (which may be spent to improve skills). If the character has a rating of 21 in skill area A, and 35 in skill area B, how would you spend the SP on the two skills?

By the odds given on the table, the character has a 48% chance of success with skill A, and 65% with skill B. If you put all the SP into skill A, the chance increases from 48% to 53%, for a total gain of 5%.

But only 1 SP expended on skill B would raise it immediately by 3%. If you spend 1 SP on skill B, and the other 3 SP

Probability Graph 3 d10

%

Result or Less

Result or More

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

d10 Result

Probabilrtv Graph 4 2d10

Result or More

Result or Less

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ,0 " ,2 ,3 ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,8 ,9 20

2d10 Result

% Probability Gr-rph 5: d10x

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90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

,0

60

20

30

40

50

70

80

90

,0

d10x Result

Dice

,00

9

Dice

on skill A, the chances for success with skill A (SR 24) are 4% better, and for skill B (SR 36), 3% better - a total gain of 7%.

Combat Ratings

An attack is a "clean miss" if the result of the d1 Ox roll is a given number or less. That number is called the Combat Rating (CR) of the attacker. A starting character has a CR of 10. Improvement comes with experience, and the CR is reduced accordingly. For a starting character, the average result of an attack roll that is not a clean miss is 39.1.

Combat Ratings range from 1 to 99. A typical trained human soldier has a CR of 15; a typical untrained adult civilian's CR is 40. A CR penalty (i.e. an increase in the number) may be applied because of fatigue, injury, use of an unfamiliar weapon, and so forth. Use column 4 (Number or Less) to find the net chance of a clean miss for any Combat Rating.

Table 2 (below) gives details on the Combat Ratings most often used in the game, along with the chances of a clean miss for each.

Skill Rating Gains

Skill Ratings range from 0 to 100, representing the span of no knowledge (0) to complete knowledge (100) of any given subject. A Skill Rating (SR) may increase with education and experience. The most lucrative gains (3 % to 4 % per point of SR gained) generally occur when ratings are low. The least productive gains (less than 1 %) generally occur when ratings are high, with the worst at the very end. These gains are summarized in Table 3 (right).

d10x Table 2 Combat Ratings

Combat Misses Chance of
Rating on ... clean miss
CR 50 1-50 81 %
CR 40 1AO 72 %
CR 30 1-30 61 %
CR 25 1-25 53%
CR 20 1-20 46%
CR15 1-15 35%
CR10 1-10 27 %
CR 9 1- 9 23%
CR 8 1- 8 20%
CR 7 1- 7 16 %
CR 6 1- 6 14 %
CR 5 1- 5 10 %
CR 4 1- 4 8%
CR 3 1- 3 5%
CR 2 1- 2 3%
CR 1 1 only 1%
1 0 d10x Table 1 : Percentage Chances
Die Result Result Result Skills: % gain Die
Roll Alone or More or Less per SR polnt Roll
1 1 100 1 1 1
2 2 99 3 2 2
3 2 97 5 2 3
4 3 95 8 3 4
5 2 92 10 2 5
6 4 90 14 4 6
7 2 86 16 2 7
8 4 84 20 4 8
9 3 80 23 3 9
10 4 77 27 4 10
12 4 73 31 2 12
14 2 69 33 1 14
15 2 67 35 2 15
16 3 65 38 3 16
18 4 62 42 2 18
20 4 58 46 2 20
21 2 54 48 2 21
24 4 52 52 1 1/3 24
25 1 48 53 1 25
27 2 47 55 1 27
28 2 45 57 2 28
30 4 43 61 2 30
32 2 39 63 1 32
35 2 37 65 2/3 35
36 3 35 68 3 36
40 4 32 72 1 40
42 2 28 74 1 42
45 2 26 76 2/3 45
48 2 24 78 2/3 48
49 1 22 79 1 49
50 2 21 81 2 50
54 2 19 83 1/2 54
56 2 17 85 1 56
60 2 15 87 1;2 60
63 2 13 89 2/3 63
64 1 11 90 1 64
70 2 10 92 1/3 70
72 2 8 94 1 72
80 2 6 96 14 80
81 1 4 97 1 81
90 2 3 99 2/9 90
100 1 1 100 1/10 100
d10x Table 3: Best & Worst Skill Rating Increases
Best Gains Worst Gains
Gain per Gain per
From To SR point From To SR point
f---~--
3 4 3% 32 35 2/3 %
5 6 4% 42 45 2/3 %
7 8 4% 45 48 2/3 %
8 9 3% 50 54 1/2 %
9 10 4% 56 60 1/2 %
15 16 3% 60 63 2/3 %
35 36 3% 64 70 1/3 %
72 80 1/4 %
81 90 2/9 %
90 100 1/10 % Character Creation: Basic

Character

The following method of character creation is called the "Basic Game" method. After you have used this system for a few games, try the Advanced version (page 14). You can easily covert Basic game characters to Advanced form. Whenever you see separate details for Basic and Advanced rules about any topic, use the Basic details for now.

Before you begin with Step 1 , you need a pencil and a character sheet. For the latter, you have permission to photocopy the back cover of this booklet for personal use. You can also just use it as a guideline. The character sheet provided is usable in both the Basic and Advanced games, so just ignore the sections of the character sheet that are not mentioned in the following procedure.

As a final preparation, ask your Game Master - or decide for yourself, if you don't have a GM yet, or if you are one - whether you will use the Metric or English system to measure things throughout the game. We strongly urge the Metric system, for a variety of reasons, which are summarized in the Campaign Book on page 3. The only effect it will have on character creation, however, is in Step 7, when you calculate (among other things) the amount of weight, in either kilograms or pounds, that your character can throw, lift, and carry.

Step 1: Start

First you must describe your character - the human, that is, not the combined human-machine (cyborg) he or she will become. You will use numbers to measure and define the qualities that make up that imaginary person.

The most important aspects of a character can be grouped into two areas:

Stats (short for statistics), which describe the most basic aspects - a character's mind, body, and the connection between them (nerves)

Skills, those abilities or talents involving knowledge and experience

Other details will be left to your choice.

These include your character's physical appearance (height, weight, etc.), historical background (home, education, etc.), and basic psychological traits (outlook on life, likes & dislikes, and so forth).

Creation:

The unit of measurement for Stats and Skills is simply called a Point, abbreviated as SP; the S stands for both Stats and Skills. You start with 60SP. You will divide these points between Stats and Skills, always using whole numbers, never fractions or decimals.

Of the 60 SP, you must use at least 20 for Stats, but you may use as many as 50. Thus, your total Skill points will be at least 10, and 40 at most.

Before you can intelligently assign SP for either Stats or Skills, however, you must know how they will affect play. When your character tries to do something that could succeed or fail in the game, a die roll determines the result. If that action involves some basic element of the character as opposed to an acquired skill, the appropriate Stat governs the chance of success. The same type of roll is made when a skill is involved. These rolls are called Stat checks and Skill checks, respectively. (See page 16 for details.)

Step 2: Select Stats

Remember that you start with 60 points, and you must use 20 to 50 of them for Stats. The Stat points will be divided between three separate Stat scores:

Mental, Neural, and Physical. For a typical adult human, "average" stats are as follows. Younger persons usually have better Neural scores than adults, but worse Physical scores.

Male Female

Mental Neural Physical

10 10 15

10 15 10

Each Stat score represents and regulates several different aspects of the character, as follows.

The MENTAL Stat represents: intelligence in the abstract, and the amount of information that can be retained,

the number of skills your character can learn,

the speed at which information can be acquired (learned) and used (recalled), and the accuracy of such information,

cleverness, willpower, and general

Basic

mental stability, and

the speed at which the mind can recover from psychological damage.

The NEURAL Stat represents:

physical agility and speed of action, all forms of movement and the ability to control them, such as accuracy in attacking,

stamina (endurance), the ability to maintain control over one's body, and

the speed at which physical control can be recovered after it is lost (when the character has been stunned, knocked out, or drugged).

The PHYSICAL Stat represents: brute strength,

the weight that one can lift, carry, or throw, and the amount of damage that can be inflicted without weapons (such as by punching),

the amount of physical damage the body can withstand before becoming useless or destroyed, and

the speed at which physical damage will heal itself or respond to medical treatment.

Select your Stats now. Divide the total points that you have decided to use between the three Stats. You must assign at least 5 points for each Stat, and all Stats must be whole numbers. Deduct the points used (20-50) from your starting points (60), and reserve the rest for choosing Skills when you get to Step #4). Write down your Stats on your Character Sheet, using the top line in each category (Capacity); ignore the other two lines (Integrity and Recovery) for now. The Physical score goes in the "Natural" column; another Physical score (given in Step 7) will apply to your CC body.

Step 3: Psychogenics

By the year 2035, the phenomena currently called ESP have been examined carefully and are now more clearly understood. The science has been renamed "psychogenics." All CCF volunteers have been selected for psychogenic ability.

However, psychogenics are optional in the game. All the players should talk with the Game Master, and decide as a group whether to use psychogenics. If you do

1 1

Character Creation: Basic

use them, psychogenic actions will be handled as skills.

Your character's psychogenic score (measured in Psychons of power) is equal to the Neural Stat score. If you are using psychogenies in the game, write the score in the space provided on your character sheet.

Step 4: Catculations

The Stats you have selected now determine various other measurable features of the character. These are all noted on the character sheet, just below the Stats. Fill in the information according to the formulas given here.

1. Find your Mental score, and use that number for the following calculations. Write the results in the corresponding spaces on the sheet.

Skills= 1/3 Mental score, rou nded to the nearest whole number.

Train=100 minus Mental score.

2. If the Neural score is less than 20, use "1" for this step. Otherwise, use the first digit of the Neural score. Write that number in all of the following places: Actions, Rest, & Speed.

Skills: The maximum number of Fields of skill that your character can acquire. (Skills are determined in Step 4.)

Train: The hours needed for education in any skill, per point gained.

Actions: The maximum number of actions the character may perform in any one cycle of a Combat Turn. (Combat is explained in detail on page 25.)

Speed: The maximum distance the character can move, measured in map hexes per time unit. Each scale of map hexes corresponds to a different unit of time; the resulting movement rate remains the same number. Don't worry about it now, but be sure you read Game Time & Distance (page 2) before you play in a game.

Rest The maximum number of days the character can function before sleep is absolutely required.

~tep 5' Select Si.;iil~

Having a Skill means having knowledge about something. Thus, there are Skills covering everything, from aardvarks to zymurgy. But since even listing the individual topics comprising Man's knowledge would amount to hundreds of thou-

1 2

sands of entries, a more compact skill system that arranges them all into a few convenient groups is presented here.

Skills are arranged into two Divisions:

Dynamic (or "action") skills and Static (or "reserve knowledge") skills. Within these Divisions are five general Categories:

Movement, Combat, Arts & Language, Sciences, and Law. Two of these, Movement and Combat, are Dynamic Skills. These are often used in action settings, which are common in adventures. Static skills (the remaining three categories) are useful in other parts of the adventures, but are not often used during battle. Within the Categories are a total of twenty individual Fields of skill. Fields are further subdivided into Areas, but these are not used in the Basic game.

You may use points to "purchase" Fields, but not Categories or Divisions. The number of Fields you may purchase is equal to one-third of your character's Mental score (rounded down). You have already calculated this figure in Step 3.

Your character's score in a Field of skill is called the Skill Rating (SR). Thanks to intensive training before entering the CYBORG COMMANDO Force, your CC has a starting SR of 1 in every Field of knowledge, indicating a level of skill just above total ignorance. Do not write every Field on the character sheet. For any Field not specifically listed, the basic SR (1) is assumed. More details about the skills are given on pages 18-21.

Spend your remaining points (10 to 40) to "purchase" skills in any desired fields. Write down the number and name of each field purchased under the heading of "Skill Areas." Your SR in each Field chosen is equal to the number of SP you choose to spend on it plus one (the score you started with automatically). Write this score in the "Self" column next to the appropriate Field name. Ignore the "MM" and "Total" columns for now.

You should now consider the other details that round out your character. This is not required, but that information does add a lot to the game. A role-playing game is more fun when you can playa complete and realistic role, not just a shallow and simple one. As you decide on these other details, make notes of them, for later reference.

Few of these other details are defined by numbers. All can be gathered into three basic groups: Physical, Historical, and Psychological. You may choose as many or as few of these details as you wish, and you can choose anything you like, within the scope of human experience. Discuss your choices with your GM to be sure they

do not conflict with the game plan.

Physical details include height, weight, sex, age, race, color & style of hair, eye color, handedness (right or left), etc.

Historical information includes name, birthplace, past residences, current home, economic & social background or class, friends & family, current & past professions, noteworthy experiences, places visited, etc.

Psychological traits include overall nature & personality, likes & dislikes, good & bad habits, and preferences as to colors, music, friends, and surroundings.

"'~r . . .. _ .... - . .r-~ ) .... ~-,

When the human you have just finished describing becomes a CYBORG COMMANDO character, the brain is removed and placed within the mechanical body. The organic (human) body is kept safe in cryogenic storage, so you do not have to keep track of it for the game. Although the brain cannot yet be replaced in the body, the medical and technological requirements of such an operation should be discovered very soon - provided that your character and the other CCs can rebuild the CYBORG COMMANDOTM Force and cope with the aliens!

Dynamic Skills 100. Movement 110. Vehicles

120. Personal movement

200. Combat

210. Strategy & tactics 220. Unarmed combat 230. Personal weapons 240. Mass weapons

Static Skills

300. Arts & Language 310. Personal arts 320. Creative arts 330. Cultural arts 340. Language, basic 350. Language use

360. Communication dev.

400. Sciences 410. Computer

420. Medicine and Health 430. Terrestrial sciences 440. Extraterrestrial sciences 450. Other sciences

500. Law

510. Enforcement

520. Borderline activities 530. Criminal activities

Character Creation: Basic

The Physical Stat of the CC body equals your natural Physical score plus 100. Write that total on the first line under "CC" in the Stats section of the sheet.

Next, calculate the Stat-based data that are derived from the Physical score, as shown in the insert below. Round off all results to the nearest whole number. Note: the method of calculation gives a bonusfor using the Metric system.

Later, when your character returns to his or her natural body, you will need to redo the calculations using your natural Physical score, not the CC body's. Butthat will not happen in this set.

Your entire CC body operates on electrical power, which comes from storage batteries. This power is measured in Power Units (PU). You start with 200 PU, from which you will frequently subtract amounts used for operations, and add PU gained through recharging. Write your starting PU total on the back of the charactersheet, and leave at least 1/40fthe page blank for keeping records of your current PU during play.

Whenever your character is attacked by an enemy, the attack will be one of five basic types - Laser, Impact, Thermal, Electromagnetic, or Sonic. In the combat system, an attack only causes damage if it penetrates the character's defenses.

These defenses are measured by

numbers, called Defense Values (DVs). Each DV is usually abbreviated by its first letter - LIT E S. The DVs that apply to your normal (unarmored) human character and to the CC body are listed in the table (top right). Write down the CC Defense Values on the back of the character sheet. You will not need the others until your character regains his or her natural body.

DVs can be improved by modifying the body or, in the case of Laser, Impact, and Thermal attacks, by using armor or equipment found.

Step 8; Meet Mad Mac

The Mad Mac computer provided with your character's new body brings various benefits, including some additional skills. Write the following skill Fields on your character sheet. Each has a Skill Rating of 10; write that in the MM column. If any of the Mad Mac's skill fields are the same as those you have chosen, don't write down the names again; simply put the SR (10) on the MM line for that skill.

210. Strategy & Tactics 220. Unarmed Combat 450. Communications 550. Energy Sciences 610. Law Enforcement

Now that all your character'S skills are on the sheet, you can find the total Skill Ratings. Wherever you have written down

Dmg Heal IP

= Physical + 1 0

= Physical + 1 0

= Physical x 2

To calculate the data for the "Heft" section, find out from your Game Master whether you will be using the Metric or English system of measurement. Make the calculations below accordingly.

English System Physical + 2 Physical x 5

Physical x 1 0

Throw = Carry

Lift

Metric System

Throw = Carry

Lift

Physical score Physical x 10 Physical x 20

Dmg: The fixed damage the character can inflict with a punch or kick.

Heal: The number of Integrity Points the character can recover, without treatment, per day. Note that this applies to organic parts only (i.e., those within the brains capsule). The CC body does not repair damage unaided. Once the character can reinhabit his or her natural body, the healing rate (based on the natural Physical score) will apply to that body as well.

IP (Integrity Points): The amount of physical damage the character's body can sustain. Use the space provided on the sheet (the IP side of the "Current Totals" box) to keep track of your CC's current IP total during play.

Heft: These subgroups represent the maximum amount of weight, in kilograms (Metric) or pounds (English), that your character can Throw, Carry, or Lift.

Defense Values

Natural CC
Laser 5 20
Impact 10 30
Thermal 5 35
Electromagnetic 10 25
Sonic 10 15 two numbers for one skill- one for yourself and one for Mad Mac - add the two numbers and subtract 1 . The result is the total SR for that skill; record that in the Total column. For all other skills, simply copy the single score listed (either yours or MadMac's) into the Total column.

More details about Mad Mac are given in other sections of this booklet.

Now look over your new body (page 22)!

Summary

1. Start with 60 SP. Divide them between Stats (statistics which describe the basic character) and Skills (knowledge and abilities of the character) according to the following limits on distribution:

Stats (total): min. 20; max. 50 Skills (total): min. 10; max. 40

2. Divide the Stat Points between the three Stats: Mental, Neural, and Physical. Each Stat must have a score of 5 or more.

3. Note the character's Psychons (if used).

4. Perform calculations based on two Stats: Mental (Skills, Train) and Neural (Actions, Speed, Rest).

5. Place the remaining SP in Skills (any Fields). Maximum number of Fields = 1/3 Mental Stat. All Skills have a starting score of 1 each. Write down all resulting Skill ratings "purchased" with SP.

6. Make up other details as desired, including physical (height/weight, hair, eyes, etc.), historical (background, home, profession, general life style and events to date), and psychological (fears, likes, personality, etc.).

7. Find the new Physical score for the CC body (100 + old Physical score), and calculate the details based on that Stat: Dmg, Heal, IP, and Heft (Throw, Carry, Lift).

8. Add the new Skill areas provided by the Mad Mac, and write down the Total Skill Ratings in Fields that overlap.

You should not have anything written in the "IPs by location" box, the extra Stat lines, or the "EP" line.

1 3

Character Creation: Advanced

Character

Before you can create a character for the Advanced game, you must know how to create one for the Basic game. If you are unsure of the procedures, review them. (See pages 11-13.)

Step 1: Start with 180 SP

The Advanced game handles Stats and Skills in more detail than the Basic system does. You start with three times the Basic amount of SP. Of that 180 SP, you must use at least 60 for Stats, and you may use as many as 150. Thus, the total SP remaining for Ski Is will be at least 30, and 120 at most. You may still use only whole numbers, never fractions or decimals, for both Stats and Skills.

Step 2: Select Stats

A Basic character has three Stats:

Mental, Neural, and Physical. In the Advanced game, each of the original Stats is divided into three parts: Capacity, Integrity, and Recovery. The nine Advanced Stats are as follows:

Mental Capacity: This represents Intelligence in the abstract, and the amount of information that can be retained. It also determines the number of skills your character can learn.

Mental Integrity: This determines the quality of information acquired (learned) and used (recalled), and the speed at which those activities can proceed. It also represents cleverness, willpower, and general mental stability.

Mental Recovery: This determines the time needed to recover from mental (psychic) damage.

Neural Capacity: This determines physical agility and speed of action. It affects movement and the ability to control it, such as accuracy in attacking.

Neural Integrity: This determines stamina (endurance), and the ability to maintain control over one's body.

Neural Recovery: determines the time needed to recover physical control after it is lost (for example, when a character is stunned, knocked out, or drugged).

Physical Capacity: This determines brute strength. The score affects the weight one can lift, carry, or throw, and the amount of damage that can be inflicted

1 4

Creation:

without weapons (such as by punching).

Physical Integrity: This determines the amount of physical damage the body can withstand before becoming useless or destroyed.

Physical Recovery: This determines the speed at which physical damage will heal itself or respond to medical treatment.

Select your Stats now. Deduct the points used (60-150) from your starting total (180), and save the rest for Skills (step #5, right). Write down your Stats on your character sheet.

Step 3: Psychogenics

Assuming that you are using psychogenics in the game, copy your Neural Capacity score onto the line marked "Psychons." Ignore this line if you choose not to use psychogenics.

Step 4: Calculations

The nine specialized Stats govern the other measurable details of the character. Fill in the appropriate information accord-

Advanced

ing to the formulas given on the chart below.

Step 5: Select Skills

Just as you did with the Basic method, you will "purchase" Skills with the remaining SP. However, you may now acquire individual Skill Areas, Fields of Skills, or even entire Skill Categories. Success at Skill checks is normally determined using the score in the specific Skill Area.

You are limited to a number of Areas equal to your Mental Capacity. You may purchase fewer Areas if you wish, but not more. Whenever you "purchase" a new Skill, remember to add the amount "spent" to the starting score (1) in that Skill, and to deduct the "cost" from the SP you have available.

The full skill list is given on page 19.

Areas

Purchase each Skill Area by the normal procedure. Write down the name and score of the Area on your character sheet.

Fields

When you acquire a Field of skills, the total cost is equal to the amount you wish

Stat-based Data

Skills = 1/3 Mental Capacity, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Train = 100 minus Mental Integrity.

Actions = first digit of Neural Capacity score (or 1 if NC is 9 or less).

Rest = first digit of Neural Recovery score (or 1 if NC is 9 or less).

Speed = 1/10 Neural Capacity.

EP = Neural Integrity x 10.

All terms are defined the same way as they were in the basic character notes (page 12), with the following exceptions.

Skills: The maximum number of skill Areas your character can acquire.

EP (Endurance Points): Units which measure the character's stamina, or "staying power." EP are used up at a fixed rate for various activities. Write the character's normal EP in the space provided, and use the boxed section to keep track of the current EP total during play.

Rest The rate, measured in EP per Travel Turn (2.4 hours), at which EP are recovered by sleeping.

Speed: Note that instead of using just the first digit of the Neural score and discarding the remainder, you now use the entire score, for extra movement allowance. (Example: A score of 17 now allows speed of 1.7, not merely 1.)

Definitions

Character Creation: Advanced

to spend on all the Areas, minus a 20% discount. (Round the discount down before applying it.)

Example: Your character has starting skill only in Personal Weapons (#230), and you want to put 9 SP into each of the four Areas in the Field. The individual cost would be 9 x 4, or 36 SP. The 20% discount is 7.2 SP, rounded down to 7. The net cost is 29 SP; after spending that, your CC has a score of lOin each of the four Areas of Personal Weapons.

Categories

When you acquire an entire Category of skills, the cost is equal to the total expenditure for alii the individual Areas, minus a 40% discount. (Round the discount down before applying it.)

Example: You have starting skill only in all Sciences (#400), and want to put 4 SP into each of the 13 Areas within that Category. The individual cost would be 52 (13 x 4 SP each); the 40% discount is20.8, rounded down to 20 SP. The net cost is 32 SP; after spending that amount, you have a score of 5 in each of the 13 skill Areas of the Science category.

No additional discount applies if you acquire an entire Division. Simply do the calculations for each Category only. You may not purchase a Category if, in doing so, the total number of Areas would exceed the character's Mental Capacity.

Step 6: Other Details

Select all other character details as you did with the Basic method. A checklist is provided here for your easy reference. In the Advanced game, proper role-playing is of even greater importance, and you should specify all the details needed.

Physical details include height, weight, sex, age, race, color & style of hair, eye color, handedness, etc.

Historical information includes name, birthplace, past residences, current home, economic & social background or class, friends & family, current & past professions, noteworthy experiences, etc.

Psychological traits include overall nature & personality, likes & dislikes, good & bad habits, and preferences as to colors, music, friends, and surroundings.

Step 7: Add CC Details

As shown in the box at the top of the next column the formulas for calculating data based on the Physical Stat are slightly different from those in the basic

Stat-based Data

Dmg = Physical Capacity + 10. Heal = Physical Recovery + 10.

IP = Physical Integrity x 3.

Heft (by measurement system

used, but each based on Physical Capacity):

English System

Throw Physical + 2 Carry = Physical x 5

Lift = Physical x 1 0

Metric System

Throw Carry Lift

Physical Capacity Physical x 10 Physical x 20

game method. (The built-in bonus for using the Metric system still applies.)

All terms have the same definitions as those given for the basic character. You still start with 200 Power Units.

Step 8: IPs by Location

Since you are making the Advanced game character, the Hit Location system is highly recommended for combat. If you do not intend to use it, you must now go back and revise your IPs, to Physical Integrity x2 (notx3).lfyou are going to use the HL system, don't change the IPs; use the higher figure for the following calculations. Write the results within the box labeled "IPs by Location," using the left column (Original). When your character's body parts are damaged in combat, write the revised totals on the right (Current).

Divide your total IPs by ten, and round down. Write that result in each space except the one labeled "Body." Add all those figures, subtract the total from the original total IPs, and write the remainder next to Body. Double-check by adding all the body part IPs; the total should match the original IPs. If it does not, recalculate.

Your Advanced game character is now ready to go. Check to be sure that every space on the character sheet is filled in, except for the boxes labeled Reserve SP and Current Totals, IP and EP, which are for use during the game.

Converting Characters

At some point in your CYBORG COMMANDO game, you will probably want to change an existing Basic character to an

Advanced type. Use the following simple procedure.

1. Review the Advanced rules

Be sure you are familiar with the rules for creating a new character with the Advanced method before you try to switch an existing character. It may be helpful to create one or two new characters for practice.

2. Change the Skills.

Start with the first Field of skills chosen for the Basic character. Multiply the score in that Field by 3. Divide that number of points among the Areas within that Field. You must place at least one point in each Area, for a resulting minimum score of 2 in each, counting the one you get free. You are free to distribute any remaining points as you wish within that Field.

Use the same procedure to convert each remaining Field.

3. Change the Stats.

Multiply the current Mental Stat score by three. Divide that number of points among the three new Mental Stats (Capacity, Integrity, and Recovery), within the following limits:

a. The Mental Capacity must equal or exceed the numberof skill Areas (as found in step 2, above).

b. Each score must be at least 5, but less than 100.

If you cannot obey both the limits, see "Exceptions," below. You may otherwise distribute points as you wish within that group of three Mental Stats.

Use the same basic method to convert the Neural and Physical Stats. The only limit is that each score must be at least 5.

Exceptions (Mental Stats): After you put a number of points into Mental Capacity to equal the number of skill Areas, you might not have enough points remaining to obey the limit (5 minimum) on the other two Mental scores. If this occurs, make the remaining scores equal or nearly so (differing by one point at most) at some number less than 5. If either remaining Mental Stat is zero, raise it to one. (No charge!)

4. Perform new Calculations.

Using the nine new Stats, copy or calculate each of the other details for the character. Refer to the Advanced character creation system (page 14) for specific instructions.

5. Add other details.

Try to add more detail to the notes about the character's physical, historical, and psychological traits. Write down the things that have come out while playing the character thus far, and create even more details.

1 5

The Character in Play

The

Now that you have created a character, you will play this role in CYBORG COMMANDO games. The character will do things, use skills, gain experience, and acquire further training. But change is usually slow, and is limited in various ways.

SP Record

Keep a record of your character's total SP on the back of the character sheet. The starting total is 60, the amount you spent for Stats and Skills; the extra amount from Mad Mac memory storage is not counted. The total does, however, include everything your character earns, even if some has been "spent" to make improvements and to acquire other assets (see below).

When the SP total reaches certain predetermined amounts, the character is eligible for promotion in the CCF. The character's Combat Rating also improves with rank. (Ranks, SP requirements, and Combat Ratings are given on page 48.)

SP Expenses

The SP earned during an adventure may be "spent" for equipment, or for improvements to Stats or Skills. Alternatively, SP may be saved for future purchases; you do not have to spend SP as soon as they are awarded.

Equipment

Most of the equipment used on a mission is simply handed out to the characters before they leave their base. There is often far less equipment than the characters want; novice CCs usually underestimate their capabilities. Even when a mission is exceptionally hazardous, the amount of equipment available is often minimal, simply because of the very limited resources in the post-invasion setting.

A character may use SP to "purchase" weapons and special equipment from a Primary base. When this occurs, the CC "owns" the equipment, and it can be carried and used as often as desired.

Since such a purchase essentially amounts to trading experience for material objects, you can imagine the proce-

1 6

Character

•

In

dure in the following way. The character goes to a supply officer or other CCF staff member at the base (a normal human, not a CC) and asks what is in stock, or requests a specific item. In the course of the subsequent conversation, the CC tells the staffer a few stories about missions. The staffer decides that the CC has earned the privilege of getting and keeping the item, gives it to the character, and fills out the appropriate forms. No money changes hands, but the character has "spent" some of his or her reputation and experience (SP) in acquiring the equipment.

When your character "purchases" equipment in this way, be sure to note it on the character sheet. Such equipment is valuable and scarce, and will not be replaced if lost. Ammunition and supplemental power supplies, if needed, must be purchased separately. However, it is usually far easier to acquire ammo or batteries for a mission than it is to get extra weaponry.

Stats & Skills

Your Game Master will usually award 2-6 SP to your character at the end of each play session. You will normally be allowed to save these points or "spend" them in any way you choose for Stats or Skills, subject to two limitations:

1. If you want to raise any Skill that has a score of 10 or less, you must return to a fully functional Primary base. This represents the education required to gain the knowledge. You must also return to a Primary to raise a skill beyond each multiple of 10. Most of your skill gains come from experience in using the skills, but some must come from education.

2. If the GM awards SP in a specific Stat or Skill, those points can only be added to the value specified. This usually occurs immediately, as soon as the GM awards the SP. However, if education is required for the increase in Skill (according to rule #1 above), the SP are held in reserve until the character returns to a Primary base, and may not be spent for anything else.

If you choose to save SP awards instead of spending them, write them in the Reserve SP box on the character sheet. If an SP award is given for a particular Stat

Play

or Skill, but education is needed before it can be applied, write it in parentheses next to the applicable score, and add it in when you are allowed to do so.

You can improve a Stat at any time and place; the character is never required to return to a base to do this. But whenever you change a Stat, be sure to check the other data which are calculated from that Stat and change them too.

The absolute maximum human score for any Stat or Skill is 99. This represents near-perfection, allowing only a 1 % chance of failure in the Skill or Stat check. Nobody's perfect - not even in a single score.

Stat Checks

A Stat check is a die roll made when a character tries to do something that could either succeed or fail, depending on one of the character's innate statistics (as opposed to a learned skill). To make a Stat check, roll d1 Ox. If the result is equal to or less than the value of the Stat being checked, the attempt succeeds. If the result is greater, the attempt fails.

Basic Game

The three Stats are used to determine chances of success in the following circumstances. Other similar situations are handled in the same way. The Game Master will decide which Stat is appropriate for a given situation.

Mental:

resist psychological attacks, interrogation, mind-affecting drugs (such as truth serum), and so forth

recall obscure information or details from the past

recover from mental damage

Neural:

keep control during extreme stress resist stun or knockout effects perform multiple actions at the same

time

reawaken when stunned or knocked out

Physical:

exceed the normal limits of weight (lift, carry, throw), to an absolute maximum of twice the normal amount given

The Character in Play

Advanced Game

Changing the Character

Stat checks in the Advanced game are handled in exactly the same way as are those Basic game, except that the nine specific Stats now govern success, instead of the three Basic stats. The nine Stats are used to determine chances of success in the following circumstances. Other similar situations are handled in the same way. The Game Master will decide which Stat is appropriate for a given situation.

Mental Capacity: exceed the maximum number of skills by 1 (at most, and only temporarily; in any event, at the GM's discretion).

Mental Integrity: resist psychological attacks, interrogation, mind-affecting drugs, etc.; recall obscure information or details from the past.

Mental Recovery: recover from mental or psychological damage.

Neural Capacity: perform multiple actions at the same time.

Neural Integrity: keep control during extreme stress; resist stun or knockout effects.

Neural Recovery: reawaken when stunned or knocked out.

Physical Capacity: exceed the limits of

weight (lift, carry, throw), to an absolute maximum of twice the normal amount given.

Physical Integrity: Resist a ''final blow" that would reduce IPs to zero and/or cause death (optional use, at the GM'sdiscretion; if successful, 1 IP remains).

Physical Recovery: if severely injured, respond to treatment from those trained in medicine.

Skill Checks

A Skill check is a d10x roll made in exactly the same way as a Stat check. If the result is equal to or less than the Skill Rating being checked, the attempt succeeds. If the result is greater, the attempt fails.

A Skill check should be made whenever the action the character attempts is more dependent on knowledge or learning than on innate abilities (i.e. Stats). Your Game Master will decide whether or not a Skill is appropriate in a given situation, whether a check is needed in the first place, and whether to modify the roll, applying a temporary bonus or penalty to the Skill Rating because of unusual circumstances.

Once you have decided on the character's physical appearance, these details should not be easily changed. After the CC regains his or her natural body, the character might diet to lose weight, dye his or her hair, or adopt a new hairstyle, but such changes should occur for specified reasons.

Historical details should not be changed at all. However, if you strongly want a change in the history - to something more appropriate for the character as played, to accommodate a special story line, or for some other reason - talk with your GM. Historical changes should be very rare, and should be made using some logical reason. (For example, the character might have thought that he was born in a certain city, and only now has the recovery of a long-lost hospital record revealed otherwise .... ) You may add to or change the psychological .. other details" as you like, but once again, only with good reason.

By keeping a consistent image of the role you play, you will make your character more realistic than one that is changed constantly. Maintaining believable roles is a major factor in getting the most out of a role-playing game.

17

Skills

Space does not permit a full description of each Skill- indeed, such a description would fill many thousands of pages. Every bit of Man's knowledge can be classified into one of the following categories. Read through the entire list to become familiar with where everything is placed. Then select skills that correspond with what you want your character to know. You can also do it the other way around: think of some specific topic, and then find the skill that includes it.

Every character has a Skill Rating of 1 in every skill because of the intensive training given to every new recruit who intends to become a CC. This rating indicates general familiarity with each topic, not expertise.

The exact skills used vary by whether you are using the Basic game or the Advanced, as explained below.

Selecting Skills

Try to plan carefully and select skills that the character would desire and/or find useful. You may freely choose any skill area or field as per the instructions below, but you may on Iy purchase a Psychogenic skill if your character has 1 or more Psychons of psychogenic power.

Basic game

Use SP to purchase Fields of skill, for which the number codes always end in tens (such as 110). Do not purchase Categories (such as 100) or individual skill Areas (such as 111, 112, etc.); these are for the Advanced game only. Each Field includes knowledge of all Areas within it.

Advanced game

Use SP to purchase individual skill Areas. See page 14 for guidelines on purchasing entire Fields, or even whole Categories. Note that Category 400 (Arts & Language) may be purchased by a character who has no psychonic score, but no psychogenic skills (460) are conferred thereby.

Using this System

When your character performs some

1 8

Skills

action or tries to recall and/or use some knowledge, the success of the attempt may be automatic (for simple things) or decided by a Skill check (for trickier matters). For example, every character can use a normal computer in the usual ways, but writing a program or breaking through a computer's security defenses would require a Skill check.

To make a Skill check, roll d1 Ox. Add or subtract modifiers if the GM decides that the attempt is easier or harder than a normal check would indicate. If the result is equal to or less than the character's Skill Rating, the attempt succeeds. For Dynamic skills, this usually means that the attempted action is performed; for Static skills, knowledge is recalled and successfully applied to the situation.

Whenever a question arises as to which Skill applies in a given situation, or which covers a given bit of knowledge, the Game Master will decide. In every debatable situation, add notes to the skill list about the decision made.

Skill Descriptions

Unarmed Combat (Dynamic; #220)

This skill is unusual in that it provides specific abilities which increase by the Skill Rating. Some of the abilities (explained as "Special") apply only after a successful skill check is made, but all others apply automatically.

As the Skill Rating reaches each level on the following table, the indicated ability is acquired. Damage & Attack bonuses are cumulative; for example, a character

SR

Abilities

5

Parry/dodge + 10, and Spe-

cial (see below) Damage bonus +5 2 attacks

Stun 70+

Attack bonus +5 Parry/dodge +20 Disarm

3 attacks Stun 50+

Damage bonus +5 Parry/dodge +30 & Attack

bonus +5

4 attacks Double damage

10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 70 80

90 99

with SR 70 has bonuses totalling + 10 to the attack roll and + 10 additional damage.

Specials are specific abilities that vary by the Skill Area (221 or 222), as follows. In the basic game, only area 221 is used.

Occidental Specials

Grapple: The opponent is immobilized but not thrown to the ground.

Pin: The opponent is immobilized and thrown to the ground.

Squeeze: Damage (as given on the character sheet) can be applied, at the attacker's discretion, if the Pin or Grapple attempt succeeds. No skill check is required to squeeze for damage, as long as the grapple or pin succeeded.

Escapes: Whenever the attacker succeeds at a pin or grapple, the defender may attempt to escape. If the attacker squeezes, the damage is applied before the escape attempt. Subtract the attacker's Physical score from the defender's; the result is the percentage chance (d100) of such an escape. If the attempt fails, the escape attempt may be repeated in the next appropriate phase.

Oriental Specials

These actions may be used to achieve results of damage, stun, and movement, as follows. The results apply automatically if the initial skill check indicates success.

Karate kick Damage & stun. The damage indicated on the character sheet (1/10 Physical score) is inflicted.

Judo flip: Move & stun. The defender is either moved to the ground with no lateral movement (throw) or moved up to 2 meters/yards in any direction (flip).

Throw. Move & damage. See below for effects.

Automatic effects (no check needed) Attacks (2, 3, or 4): The character may make this number of unarmed attacks (of any type) in a single combat phase.

Attack bonus: Apply the indicated bonus to the attack roll (affecting both the chance to hit and damage).

Damage bonus: Apply the indicated bonus to damage, but only if the attack succeeds.

Parry/dodge: Apply the DV bonus indicated when an incoming attack could conceivably be parried or dodged. Light attacks cannot be parried except with a reflective object. Impact and Thermal at-

Skills

tacks can often be dodged, except for bullets, which can only be dodged or parried by using ultraspeed. Other attack forms can only be dodged.

Stun (any): If the attack hits, the defender is stunned (immobile and defenseless), but may make a Neural Stat check at the end of each CT (in phase 10) to recover. The maximum stun duration is a number of phases equal to the attacker's SR; the victim recovers automatically after that duration, regardless of Neural Stat check results.

Psychogenics (Dynamic: Category 300; Static: Field #460)

The science of psychogenics grew from intensive CCF research programs created for the purpose of investigating various allegations of occult practices, including "extra-sensory" phenomena. Their goal was simple: prove or disprove the allegations, once and for all, in a strictly scientific investigation. The results forever cast certain aspects of the subject into the realm of myth and legend, but they also proved the reality of others.

The use of any psychogenic skill requires the expenditure of mental strength, measured in units called psychons. The extent of the effect is usuallyt determined by the number of psychons expended.

Psychons expended may be recovered, but the process is irregular. The player makes a skill check once at the end of each Standard Turn (14.3 minutes); if successful, the character immediately recovers a number of psychons equal to 1/10 the Neural Stat (rounded up).

Dynamic Psychogenics

For each of the following quantities to be affected, one psychon must be expended. For example, to affect a 50-gram mass, 5 psychons must be expended.

Effects Per psychon:

310. Matter

311. Hard objects: 1 gram

312. Soft objects: 10 grams

313. Liquids: 1/10 liter/quart

314. Gases: 1 cubic meter/yard

315. Properties

Colors: 100 square centimeters (16 square inches)

Shapes: as object (above) Smells: as gases (above)

320. Energy

321. Heat: 10° C (18° F)

322. Light: 10 lux

323. Molecular / atomic: 1 rem 330. Beings: See below.

Beings (#330)

331. Animals: Nearly complete control is obtained, and multiple beasts can be affected simultaneously. The cost is 1 psychon per Mental Stat point (of the animal, or total of all animals) per Active

Turn. The minimum duration is 1 combat phase (1/10 CT).

332. Individual thoughts: Affecting a single thought in a single human is relatively simple, and has correspondingly minor effects. Unconscious thoughts or actions cannot be affected, but a specific thought or emotion can be changed. The cost is from 1-20 psychons, at the GM's discretion, varying by the intensity and scope of the thought or emotion.

333. Entire human beings: Control over a person can produce movement in one body part (only), or very limited paralysis of the entire creature. The cost is 1 psychon per Combat Turn per point of Mental Stat (of the victim). The minimum duration is 1 combat phase (1/10 CT). However, if the victim has this skill, he or she becomes aware of the attack immediately , and can avoid it entirely by making a Skill ckeck and expending a number of psychons equal to half the amount spent on the attack.

334. Groups: The actions and emotions of a group can be affected, but not those of specific individuals involved. The cost, 1-500 psychons, varies by the scope of the effect (GM's discretion).

Static Psychogenics

The GM finds a percentage based on the degree of the effect (explained below) and rolls d100. If the result of the roll is equal to or less than the percentage, the communication is completely clear; it otherwise has gaps, missing some of the desired information (the exact "holes" being left to the GM's choice).

Restricted effect The percentage is equal to the number of psychons expended.

Full effect The percentage is equal to half the number of psychons expended.

Other Skills

211. Personal Tactics (initiative): Apply this skill to combat situations in which the same weapon type is being used by two or more combatants. If the CC's check succeeds, his or her attack is resolved first. In case of multiple simultaneous successes, the lowest roll goes first. Only if the rolls are equal are the attacks resolved simultaneously, as in a normal combat phase.

220. Unarmed Combat: See page 18. 300. Psychogenics: See left.

411. Mental Arts (learning techniques): This skill is used whenever the character attempts to learn (i.e., increase a Skill Rating). If the check indicates success, the time required is half normal.

421. General Creativity: This skill is never used alone, but is instead applied along with some other skill(s). If the check is successful for all the skills involved as well as this one, the CC is not bound by the

established knowledge of the other skills, but can invent or create something new. For example, a person who succeeds in checks of this skill, #137 (small Spacecraft), and #552 (Energy sciences), even with considerable penalties on all rolls, could actually invent the galactic space drive used by the aliens.

441. Single Language Use: This skill applies to only one language (e.g. French or German), which must be named by the character when the skill is purchased. Extraterrestrial languages cannot be learned without an alien tutor of sufficient expertise. The skill with which the language may be used is determined by the Skill Rating, as given on the table below.

A failed skill check indicates that the achieved level of expertise is that of the next lower rating. For example, a failed check of a 21-50 SR indicates that basic communication can still be maintained, but no extensive vocabulary can be used.

S R Degree of expertise

2 Very common terms only

10 Simple sentences, grade-

school vocabulary

25 Fluency: complex. sentences,

extensive vocabulary

50 Expertise as if native, includ-

ing accent, idioms, & dialects

99 Complete mastery, as if a

highly literate native

442. General Linguistic Skill: This skill may be applied to all languages that the character has not studied by way of Skill #441 . Though it does not convey the ability to use the language, a successful check indicates that the general meaning of some spoken or written communication can be translated. Details may easily be missed in the process; the message is only translated in a very general sense.

450. Psychogenics: See page 18.

Skill List

A. Dynamic Skills

100. Movement

110. Personal movement (6 areas)

111. Land-based, normal Climbing and mountaineering Running, sprinting, and jogging 112. Land-based, special

Acrobatics (backflip, cartwheel, leap, fall, tumble, roll) Gymnastics (rings, single & parallel bars, trampoline)

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Skills

300. Psychogenies

113. Aquatic, unequipped Diving

Rescue techniques (basic) Swimming

114. Aquatic, equipped

Underwater swimming, navigation Deep-sea exploration techniques 115. Aerial (non-powered) Hang-gliding

Skydiving

116. Extraterrestrial

Deep space maneuvering Low-gravity movement High-gravity movement

120. Mounted movement (2 areas)

121 . Land mounts Care

Training

Limits

Proper uses

122. Aquatic mounts (as above)

130. Vehicular movement (8 areas) Each including driving/piloting, navigation, and repair

131. Landcraft, small All-terrain vehicle (ATV) Automobile

Bicycle

Cart (animal-drawn) Jeep

Motorcycle

Van

132. Landcraft, large Wheeled Half-tracked Tracked Hovercraft

133. Watercraft, small

Motorboat (with inboard and outboard engines)

Oared and poled boats & barges Sailboat

134. Watercraft, large Hydrofoil

Surface vessel (battle, cargo, etc.) Submarine

135. Aircraft, small (one or no engine) Glider

Helicopter

Combusion engine types Ultralight

136. Aircraft, large (multi-engine) Combustion engines

Jet engines

Rocket engines

137. Spacecraft, small Fighter, small Personal jetpack 138. Spacecraft, large Fighter-bomber Transport

200. Combat

210. Strategy & tactics (3 areas) Also see 620 for misc. related skills. 211. Personal tactics

Initiative, surprise, & ambush

20

212. Personal strategy Situation analysis

Guerrilla warfare techniques Pursuit

213. Military S& T Deployment of materiel Deployment of personnel Field tactics

Identifying enemy personnel and insignia

Military history, ancient & modern Military operational methods

220. Unarmed Combat (2 areas)

221. Occidental style

222. Oriental style

230. Personal Weapons (6 areas) 231. Ancient bladed melee weapons (including agricultural tools) 232. Ancient blunt melee weapons (including agricultural tools) 233. Ancient missile weapons Personal (bow, crossbow, sling) Artillery (ballista, catapult, trebuchet)

234. Common devices as weapons Chain (and related ancient

weapons)

Tools (saw, drill, screwdriver) Rope and lasso

Wire and garrote

"Booby traps"

235. Modern small arms Grenades

Light projector (e.g. laser) Sound projector

Radiation sprayers (microwaves, X-rays, alpha & gamma particles) Projectile guns (submachine gun, pistol and revolver, rifle) Specialty guns (tranquilizer, grapple and rope, plus others)

236. Heavy and Special weapons Machine gun

Missile (rocket)

Missile or grenade launcher Mortar

237. Artillery Cannons

Guns Howitzers Rocket Artillery

240. Mass Weapons (4 areas)

241. Grenades & explosives Fuses and timers Handling & storage Mines

Plastic explosives

Primitive & modern grenades Range & blast radius estimation Shaped charges

242. Biological (bacteriologic & viral) and genetic (radiation, supervirus, pharmaceutical)

243. Chemical (poisons) and ecological (environmental sabotage, resource pollution)

244. Nuclear (fission and fusion; microwave, gamma radiation, neutron emitters)

310. Matter (5 areas)

311. Objects, hard (Iithotropics)

312. Objects, soft (pelotropics)

313. Liquids (hydrotropics)

314. Gases (aerotropics)

315. Properties

Colors (chromatropics) Shapes (morphetropics) Smells (osmetropics)

320. Energy (3 areas)

321. Heat (thermotropics)

322. Light (phototropics)

323. Molecular & atomic energy (monatropics)

330. Beings (3 areas)

331. Animals (zootropics)

332. Individual human thoughts (phrenotropics)

333. Entire human beings (homotropics)

334. Groups of people (ethnotropics)

B. Static Skills

400. Arts & Language

410. Personal arts (3 areas)

411. Mental arts Adapting to change

Education (learning techniques) Emotional control

Evaluating others

Gullibility and sophistication

412. Physical arts Grooming and wardrobe Physical control (poise) Pre-planning reactions

413. Error Avoidance Creating optimal situations Karma & fate (kismet) Maximizing options Recognizing opportunities Serendipity

420. Creative arts (5 areas) 421. General Creativity

Extrapolation & invention (combines with other skills)

422. Domestic arts I (active) Cooking

Minor household repairs Parental skills

Sewing & tailoring

Sex

423. Domestic arts II (passive) Entertaining guests

Household organization Housekeeping techniques Insurance needs & householder

liabilities

Interior decoration & color theory

424. Graphic & communications arts Film

Literature

Drawing & painting

Skills

425. Performing arts

Acting (dramatic, comedic, other) Dancing

Music (composition, instrumental, vocal)

430. Cultural arts (4 areas) 431. Cultural Philosophy Customs vs. laws Religions

432. Cultural Practices

Classes and communities (ethnic, educational, financial, social)

433. Philosophy

Philosophies of the individual Philosophies of various cultures and eras

434. Psychology Advertising

Marketing and merchandising Management techniques Psychology theory Superstitions & beliefs

440. Languages (3 areas) 441 . Single language use

444. General linguistic skill or talent Affects all languages seen or heard

445. Nonverbal languages Body language

Sign language

"Touch" languages (braille et al.)

450. Communications (4 areas) 451. Strategies

Diplomacy

Friendships (developing & maintaining)

Leadership techniques Romance

452. Tactics Conversation

Evaluating communications Interrogation

Persuasion

453. Simple (non-electrical) communi-

cations devices Flag signals Light signals

Object symbology (arranging objects to convey meanings) Smoke signals

454. Electrical communications Laser

Microwave

Radio

TV/video

460. Psychogenics (5 areas) 461. Visual Reception

Restricted Clairvoyance (through others' eyes)

Full Clairvoyance

462. Audial Reception

Restricted Clairaudience (through others' ears)

Full Clairaudience

463. Empathy

Restricted Empathy (emotional sensing)

Empathy Exchange (emotional sending & receiving)

464. Sending (one-way telepathy)

465. Full communications (interactive telepathy)

500. Sciences

Mathematics included as needed.

510. Computer sciences (3 areas) 511. Ancient computers

Mechanical & electrical

Early programming & hardware 512. Modern operation and software Programming

Systems penetration

513. Modern Hardware

Repair & sabotage

520. Medicine & Health (7 areas)

Each includes details of Accidents (common forms, first aid techniques), Anatomy, Biology, Diagnostics, general Health (exercise, nutrition, etc.), related Laboratory work, Medical discipline & philosophy, Pathology, Pharmacology, and assorted Treatment techniques. All Areas except 526-527 relate to humans.

521. General medicine

522. Psychiatry

523. Obstetrics & Gynecology

524. Osteopathy (including dentistry)

525. Surgery

526. Veterinary medicine, land & air creatures

527. Veterinary medicine, marine

530. Terrestrial sciences (7 areas) Including ecologies, environmental

details, hunting, & survival skills 531 . Aquatic, fresh water

532. Aquatic, salt water

533. Forest

534. Mountain

535. Desert

536. Plains

537. Polar

540. Extraterrestrial sciences (2 areas)

Including survival skills and known ecosystems

541. Space environments (vacuum, low gravity, etc.)

542. Alien environments & life forms 550. Energy sciences (2 areas)

551. Air, Light, & Sound Acoustics Aeronautics Aerodynamics Optics

Meteorology

Others

552. Energy sources

Atomic and nuclear energy Chemical energy & sources Electricity & Electronics

Energy of rotation and revolution Fossil fuels

Geothermal energy

Gravity

Hydropower

Magnetism

Solar energy

Tidal and wind energy

560. Physical Sciences (2 areas) 561. Earth sciences

Chemistry (organic, inorganic,

physical, analytical) Crystallography Geology

Mineralogy Metallurgy Seismology

Others

562. Mechanics

Civil engineering (construction) Mechanical engineering

General repair skills Oury-rigging, disassembling, & fixing anything)

600. Law

610. Enforcement (2 areas)

611. Investigations Ballistics

Clues Counterintelligence

Judicial & legislative systems Legal terminology Observation techniques

612. Suspect & prisoner handling Tailing

Arresting (& suspect rights)

620. Misc. related skills (3 areas)

621. Hiding and stealth Camouflage

Getting & using documents

Hiding yourself (including disguise & impersonation)

Hiding objects

Moving quietly or silently

622. Escaping & evading Confusion & distraction Evading a faster pursuer Destroying sensory tracks

623. Gambling & illusions

Games of chance (including tech-

niques & detection of cheating) Organized gambling Prestidigitation (slight of hand) Large-scale illusions

630. Criminal activities (4 areas)

631. Criminal subculture Bribery

Lying

Planning large-scale theft "Streetwise" knowledge

632. Non-confrontational crimes Counterfeiting & forgery Embezzlement

Lockpicking & safecracking Pocket picking Racketeering

Smuggling

633. Confrontational crimes Con games

Extortion

Kidnapping

Robbery

634. Vice Drugs

Sex-related crimes

21

The CC Body

After becoming a CC, your character is still quite human mentally, but much more physically. The following is a general overview of how your new body is built and what it can do. All of these details are explained fully in the Tech section, which starts on page 32.

Your character is now a blend of three separate parts - the human brain, a computer, and a mechanical body. Though the procedures for returning the brain to its natural body are not yet perfected, that should be possible within a year or two. The old body has thus been carefully preserved, and is stored safely in liquid helium.

The perceived ideal CC design is one in which an intact and whole character may ride within a CC body and mentally control it. The realization of this goal is still in the future, but it may be possible by 2037. The revised form will be called the CYBORG CHAMPION™unit.

The Brain & the Computer

A large non-magnetic metal capsule within your CC's chest (about 74 cm long and 36 cm wide at the center, or 29" x 14") contains one human brain, several supplementary glands to provide necessary hormones, life support mechanisms, and a computer called "MadMac."

The capsule's self-contained life support system has its own supply tanks for food and oxygen. The food supply is a sealed system, but the character breathes most of the time. The food tanks contain sufficient food for about three years of operation. The oxygen supply is sufficient to maintain the brain and glands for about one year if external oxygen is unavailable.

The very small but extremely complex computer used in all CCs was made possible by superconductive circuitry. This computer is called the Miniaturized Analog/Digital Macro-Algorithmic Computer (M AID M-A C, or "MadMac").

Mad Mac handles all the automatic operations of the mechanical body. It also provides additional memory for the brain's use. This "Pseudomemory" is treated the same as the the brain's own memories; the character literally cannot tell the difference between the two types. Because of this, the character cannot learn the skills stored in the Mad Mac - at least not directly from the computer. In the rare case of computer damage, the pseudo-

22

The CC

Body

memory may be temporarily inaccessible. The knowledge in the organic brain must then suffice until the damage is repaired.

The human brain and the Mad Mac are connected to the rest of the body by a device called the Sawtell SINC (Sub-eraniallnterface and Neural Converter). This converfs nerve impulses into signals the computer can understand, and vice versa, and routes all commands to the body.

Power Supplies

All CC functions run from electrical power. The power sources are located in the upper and lower torso of the body.

Primary Batteries

All functions of the CC body use power from chemical storage batteries mounted in the lower body. These primary batteries store a total of 200 Power Units (PU) of electricity. The batteries are relatively easy to replace, and this is standard procedure whenever a CC returns to a supply base, as part of routine maintenance.

Primary batteries are recharged or replaced frequently, since a CC is often very active. Power scavenging during field operation is common (see details at right).

Secondary Batteries

The brains capsule contains its own Secondary batteries for its exclusive use. If the Primary power reaches zero PU, the life support system automatically switches to the Secondary supply. The brain goes to sleep automatically, to conserve power. Using a tiny amount of power from its own Tertiary batteries (see below), MadMac then watches for the return of power to the Primary batteries. The sleeping brain can survive for 180 days on the Secondary battery, but expires quickly when that power is gone.

Tertiary Battery

MadMac has its own battery. This supplies only a trickle of current, barely enough to maintain Mad Mac's existence, but it can do so for about 50,000 hours (5.7 years). MadMac's memory remains intact while on trickle power, though it can only be reached by using Primary or external

power. After Tertiary power runs out, MadMac's memory begins to degenerate slowly, vanishing completely in 7-8 years.

Zero Power

A CC with zero PU appears as an inert hulk, whether or not internal systems are still operating. Another CC may contact the unit's MadMac by finding the proper circuit and feeding in an identification code. All MadMacs are assumed to know these identification codes; players need not discover or memorize them.

Power can be fed into the hands, feet, or neck. Mad Mac will use 1 PU of the incoming power to scan the situation, and to make several decisions - whether it should power up the rest of the CC body, awaken the organic brain, and/or take immediate defensive or hostile actions. It will not reawaken the brain until the power level exceeds 10% of normal (20 PU).

Recharging Power

A character can recharge the Primary batteries simply by touching two power leads or battery terminals with any digits (fingers or toes) on any two limbs. The power is automatically channeled from there into the Primary batteries.

Power can be tapped from nearly any electrical source, such as car batteries, electrical power plants, and possibly even fallen enemy aliens (if their power sources can be found). Whatever the source, the maximum recharging rate for the primary power batteries is 7 PU per minute (1 PU per Combat Turn).

Movement

The frame of the CC body is made of a very strong aluminum alloy that is lightweight, durable, and not subject to magnetism. Its joints can move in directions similar to those of a human's, though often with greater flexibility.

The standard mechanism for most joints combines rotation and pivoting. Joints that only pivot are used for the 28 knuckles of the body (2 per finger, 1 per thumb, 1 per toe) and at the ten places where the digits connect to thE: hands and feet. The neck, however, rotates at the body but pivots at the base of the skull.

Body movements require no more

The CC Body

concentration than did those of the character's original organic body. The speed of such actions is normally determined by the organic nerves (represented by the Neural Stat), although control can be delegated to Mad Mac for faster reactions (see Autopilot, below, and Ultraspeed, under Defenses, page 24).

A CC normally moves on foot across land surfaces in the same way as a normal human. The body can be made watertight for surface or subsurface operation as well. No flight capacity is included, but long and/or high jumps are possible by using additional power in the leg systems.

Autopilot: Mad Mac can be told to handle the details of moving the body. It then uses light and radar to scan the area around the CC, and automatically avoids obstacles. The autopilot is costly in power (5 PU per CT), and the lights and radar are often easily detectable by other creatures.

Senses

A CC has the same five senses as a human, though of greater sensitivity and range, as explained below.

Sight

Each eyeball has four lenses, each corresponding to a different type of sight: (1) X-rays, (2) ultraviolet light, light visible to humans, and infrared light, (3) microwaves, and (4) television and radio waves. The eyes can operate independently, so the character can use any combination of two lenses at a time.

Large 10 cm (4") floodlights are in the front upper thighs, and small infrared and ultraviolet lamps are built into the front shoulders. X-ray tubes in the mid-torso just above the waist (left and right front) project very short and narrow beams. These lamps are normally unseen, covered by panels in the pseudoskin.

By cupping either hand, the CC can form a diaphragm under the skin into a miniature version of a conventional microwave or radar unit, and use it to emit radar and other signals. Many small-scale scans and tests can be made with these devices. For example, two CCs working in concert (one emitting signals, the other receiving) can examine the contents of a container, such as a shipping crate or bomb, without opening the container and in many cases without even touching it.

Hearing

A CC's ears can detect sounds in a very wide range of frequencies, but the character normally hears only those sounds that a normal person would, thanks to a digital encoding and filtering

system. The character can instantly shift to any portion of the total spectrum. The Mad Mac can analyze sound reception and thus duplicate sonar.

A CC can produce sound with three projectors. One is a simple diaphragm in the back of the mouth, which can produce a range of sound similar to a normal human's voice. The other two projectors are the same subskin palm units used for microwave and radar projection.

Smell, Taste, & Touch

These senses work in the same ways for a CC as for a human, though by mechanical rather than biological means. The head is filled with equipment designed to intake and analyze substances, collectively known as the "sampler."

The sampler is basically a miniature chemical laboratory. When air contains potentially hazardous elements, none of it is routed to the brain. Instead, the sampler reports the results of analysis to the brains. A CC can thus smell poison gas, for example, without being affected by it.

Solid and liquid material can also be taken in for analysis. Anything retained is sealed in one of the many small storage compartments of the head. The sample can be as large as 1 cubic centimeter.

Sensors in the skin and throughout the body allow MadMac to monitor all operations and inform the character of malfunctions and damage. Simple pain, the alarm system of the human nervous system, is almost nonexistent in a CC.

Defenses

The many defenses built into a CC body are designed to cope with nearly any danger or attack form. These dangers and the corresponding defenses are listed alphabetically below.

Acid: A CC's outer skin is resistant (though not immune) to acidic corrosives.

The typical defense against such an attack is evasion, though water may sometimes be used to dilute the corrosive.

Electricity: All of the electrical circuits which make up the CC's "nervous system" are made of superconductors, protected by coaxial shielding. The microcircuitry within and near Mad Mac is protected by a specially designed shielding material.

Electromagnetic Attacks: The CC body can use an Electro-Magnetic field generator - called the "Emmer" or "Emmer net" - to project a magnetic field around the body at a maximum range of about 1 meter/yard. This helps deflect various radiations, such as gamma rays and microwaves. It also blocks all electronic communication. MadMac activates the Emmer when it is needed. The field can also be kept up continuously if desired, at a cost of 1 PU per CT, and even extended, doubling both radius and cost.

Impacts: The CC defense against impact damage is similar in principle to that used in the 20th century "bulletproof vests," though vastly improved with a new material called Bufragel. A Bufragel layer lies between the pseudoskin and the Emmer net, and dozens of small piezoelectric crystals are embedded in it. Some of the energy of impact is thereby converted into electrical power, providing some (minimal) recharging whenever the character takes damage from an impact. The recharging rate is 1 PU for each 10 points of Impact damage, rounded down.

Light: The pseudoskin of a CC is polarized and heat-resistant, and blocks most potentially damaging light-based effects. A CC's eyes cannot be affected by flashes; glare is automatically filtered out.

Laser attacks can easily be reflected, and hand-held "mirror shields" of various sizes provide inexpensive defense. Once the position of an attacking laser is known, further attacks can often be deflected. With foresight and luck, an incoming laser blast can sometimes be reflected back on the attacker with minimal loss of energy.

Smoke: This common tactical substance hampers visibility. Hot smoke

23

The CC Body

blocks infrared scanning, and radioactive smoke blocks most other scanner frequencies. All types block laser use. Smoke is particles suspended in the air, and can be countered by electrostatic means. Common in industry, this technique uses charged plates or rods to attract the particles and remove them from the air. If conductive metal objects are nearby, a CC can create an unsophisticated but effective electrostatic precipitator. By expending 1 PU per 5 cm (2") of material per minute of use, a CC can cleanse 10 cubic meters/yards of air per 5 cm of electrode per minute of operation by precipitating the particles from it. The total length of both electrodes must be accounted for.

Sound: There is no automatic defense against a sonic attack. A character may project sound which is the "opposite" of the incoming sound attack, partially or totally blocking it. The amount of power needed varies by the volume of the incoming sound, but typically (for battlefield sonic weapons) only 2-5 PU is required.

Thermal effects (heat & cold):

Subsurface circuits and tubes heat and cool the body as needed, usually as directed by MadMac. This system can function very quickly, changing skin temperature at up to 1200 C (2480 F) per second. The system is located in the outer skin, immediately below the surface.

Ultraspeed

As an added defense against impacts, MadMaccontains an ultraspeed program. The power cost to use ultraspeed is 20 PU per CT. In this mode, the body moves much too fast for the brain to grasp, and it is thus controlled entirely by Mad Mac. The speed and number of actions possible are five times normal.

In ultraspeed, MadMac uses any and all means available to destroy, stop, or deflect incoming projectiles. Internal lasers are its main tools for this, since other attack forms are relatively slow. However, MadMac can shoot bullets from a gun (if carried) to precisely collide with incoming bullets, destroying or deflecting them.

Ultraspeed is normally run for a predefined duration, which the character may set in any of several ways - the amount of power used, a time interval, number of missiles countered, etc.

Ultraspeed will automatically disengage if the primary power level drops below 10 PU. The program automatically fails to run, giving a warning message, if the power level is already below that. This can be overridden by the character, if desired. If the warning is ignored and the program run, Ultraspeed will use any and all remaining power, as needed.

24

Attacks

A CC's built-in (inboard) attack modes use light, sound, and sheer electrical force. Each weapon use thus requires spending some amount of power. Read range units as either meters or yards, whichever you are using in the game. Movement penalties are explained in the Combat section (page 25).

Electrostat

Power Cost: 10 PU Range: up to 3

Damage: shock (Neural stat check) for 1-10 CT

Movement Penalty: 2

A CC can cause an electrical charge of high voltage to accumulate on the first finger of either hand. This is a variable and unstable attack form at best, since the charge will occur as a "lightning bolt" effect as soon as the it can jump to the nearest grounded substance. It can be effective at close range, but cannot usually be directed againsta target more than 3 meters/yards away. It causes little or no organic damage, but can have severe effect on neural or electrical systems.

Laser

Power Cost: 5 PU

Range: 1000 (line of sight) Damage: standard d10x Movement penalty: 1

A small laser is built into each forearm, and firing ports are located under knuckles of the two center fingers. With the arm and hand in the proper (aligned) position, the ports open and the lasers can fire. The hand position is sometimes called the "eagle claw" in martial arts training.

Each laser is of standard type, emitting a narrow beam of light. A double burst is normally used (5 PU), lasting about 1/10 second. Such a burst will burn through 3- 6 meters/yards of unprotected organic material. Typical armor accounts for 2-4 meters' worth. If the beam is concentrated for 1/5 second (10 PU) it can burn through up to 1/3 meter/yard of brick wall; a full second (50 PU) will penetrate 5 cm (2 inches) of solid steel.

Microwave

Power cost: equal to range Range: 1 to 100

Damage: standard d1 Ox Movement penalty: 1

A CC can produce a microwave beam by aiming one or both palm projectors at a target. Damage is inflicted by heating the

target. The power cost (in PU) is equal to the range (measured in standard units).

Sonic

Power Cost: 10 PU per combat cycle Range: 50

Damage: standard d10x

Movement penalty: equal to cycles required (see below)

The diaphragms in the palms of the hands can produce this attack form. Every object vibrates at some frequency, which is called its natural resonance. An object will vibrate when subjected to sound impulses of the same frequency. The principle of this attack form is the same as that of a singer shattering a glass.

Sonic attacks are time-consuming but do not use much power. The noise need not be loud, but must be accurately aimed and of the proper frequency. Both hands are normally used. Two CCs may cooperate, each using one hand; if so, the power cost is divided between them.

If the target is made of a familiar substance, damage can be produced within the same cycle of the Combat Turn. If the material is unfamiliar, the resonance must be found, and the sound must be projected for another 5 phases (1 extra cycle). The use of a single palm projector may result in insufficient power application, for no effect unless the target is very near (within 3 meters/yards).

Other Weaponry

Any CC can use various external attack devices, of course. Nearly any thrown object can cause physical damage to a target. Guns are also quite handy; see Weapons (Adventures booklet) for details. The inherent disadvantage in all such things, of course, is their limitations; guns require ammunition, and are of little use when that ammo runs out.

If the weight of an object is equal to or less than the amount noted on your character sheet under Heft, it can be thrown to a range equal to that number, and inflicts that same value as a fixed damage.

Tool Kit

This is not exactly a weapon, but can be quite convenient in a variety of situations. The index finger of each hand contains a blade and a chisel, and the little finger contains a drill using interchangeable bits. Each tool may be extended to a maximum length of 10 cm (3.9 inches). The chisel doubles as a screwdriver, and the blade is as sharp as a good scalpel and a thousand times as durable. The drill uses four interchangeable bits of 1, 2, 4, and 8 millimeters in diameter, which are stored in the lower edge of the hand.

Combat: Basic

Basic

Game

Combat

Much of the action in an action-adventure game comes in the form of combat. Though violence is dangerous, and should be avoided when unnecessary, it is often the best or only possible option in the war against the alien invaders. The following topics are explained herein:

Time

Combat Turns

Command & Action phases Order of Events in a CT

Number of Actions in a CT Attacks

Other Actions Movement

Power Usage Attacking

Command phase Action phase Power cost Attack roll Damage

Hitting other targets Effects of Skills

Terrain Modifiers

Time

Whenever a battle occurs, time is measured in Combat Turns (CT). Each represents 8.6 seconds of game time - exactly 1/10,000 of a day. Combat Turns are used when fighting is about to occur, when it actually occurs, and whenever a chase takes place.

Each Combat Turn is handled in three steps. The first, called the Command Phase, is for choosing intended actions (plus a bit of bookkeeping). This does not take any time for characters in the game.

The next two steps are called Cycles, each of which is divided into five phases. Each phase is 0.86 seconds long. It is in these phases that the real action takes place - movement, attacks and damage, and so forth. The CT is broken down into these smaller parts because of the speed at which action takes place in combat. Phases are used to depict the actions accurately, in the order in which they would logically occur. Essentially, fast attacks (such as lasers) go first; slow attacks (such as punches) go last. For details on exactly what happens when, refer to the table entitled "Order of Events" (at right).

Command Phase

Movement is always assumed to be possible during the combat turn, and need not be announced unless it is in some special form, such as ultraspeed. All other intended actions for both cycles of the CT must be announced in the Command phase. Actions announced for the first cycle may not be changed, though they may be skipped, if desired. Actions announced for the second cycle may be changed, but only using the procedure described below.

Action Phases

When the appropriate phase arrives and the Game Master tells you to take your action, you have two options:

1. Perform the action you announced in the Command Phase, or

2. Say no, and merely skip the action (at no power cost).

A character is never forced to perform an announced action.

If you take the intended action unchanged, immediately deduct the power cost (if any). If you skip the intended action, no power need be expended for it.

If you choose option 2 (skip the action) in the first cycle, another option is available: you may revise your intentions for the second cycle. If desired, you may even announce an entirely new set of actions, subject to the normal limits of number of actions allowed, etc. These changes apply to second cycle only; actions in the first cycle may not be changed once announced. This is the only way that announced actions may actually be changed, rather than merely skipped.

Specific Phases

The phase in which an action occurs depends upon the relative speed of that action. Appropriate phases for various attack forms and other actions are as given below.

Phase 1 or 6

Zap Weapons: This category includes all attack forms that function at or near the speed of light, including lasers, microwaves, magnetic effects, and so forth.

Phase 2 or 7

Fast Projectiles: This includes everything that is hurled quickly by a device, but at a speed far less than light, though the speed may exceed that of sound. The category includes all bows and standard guns. (A laser is not a gun, since it does not hurl projectiles.)

Phase 3 or 8

Slow Projectiles: This category covers all objects hurled directly at a target without the aid of a firing device. Such projectiles usually do direct impact damage; for example, rock-throwing would occur in this phase. Objects thrown into the general vicinity of a target, such as grenades, are not included in this category.

Phase 4 or 9

Lobbed Objects & Projected Substances: All grenade attacks occur during this phase, as well as firing of all devices that emit flame, cold, or acid.

Phase 5 or 10

Physical & Sonic attacks, plus all Misc.:

Hand-to-hand combat is resolved at this time, as are all miscellaneous actions, such as picking up or grabbing objects. Sonic attacks actually strike their targets during phase 2, but emission must be maintained through this phase to have any effect.

Order of Events in Combat

Command Phase:

Deduct 1 PU for general operations this Combat Turn

Declare actions for the entire Combat Turn (both cycles)

Cycle 1:

Phase 1. Zap weapons (light, micro-

wave, magnetic) Phase 2. Fast projectiles Phase 3. Slow projectiles

Phase 4. Lobbed items and projected substances

Phase 5. Physical blows, sonic weapons, & Miscellaneous actions

Cycle 2:

Phase 6. Zap weapons Phase 7. Fast projectiles Phase 8. Slow projectiles

Phase 9. Lobbed items and projected substances

Phase 10. Physical blows, sonic weapons, & Miscellaneous actions

25

Combat: Basic

Number of Actions

In anyone cycle, the maximum number of actions that a CC may take is determined by the character's Neural score, which should already be calculated and written on the character sheet. This maximum is of course subject to further limitation based on the number and type of weapons and other devices available. Movement is never counted against the number of actions allowed; it is always an option.

Attacks

A character may make only one attack per phase, regardless of the theoretical maximum number of actions allowed. For example, suppose a CC has a Neural score of 21, and is thus entitled to two actions per cycle. However, the character only wants to use a laser. The CC may thus make only one attack in each cycle, and that will occur in phases 1 & 6 because of the weapon type. The CC cannot fire the laser twice in either phase, nor use the weapon twice in either cycle. The player is free to select one other attack or action to be performed in the first cycle, but must announce it during the Command phase.

Aliens may be allowed multiple attacks in a given phase, depending on their armament and skill. Characters and normal humans with special skills may thereby be allowed multiple (bonus) attacks with a single weapon; if so, that bonus overrules this limitation, and all such attacks occur in the same phase.

Other Actions

Miscellaneous actions (such as setting traps or mines, picking up objects, etc.) are treated as attacks for timing purposes. All such actions occur at the end of a cycle, i.e. during phases 5 and/or 10.

Movement

In combat, movement rates and their modifiers are measured in Scale-O hexes per Combat Turn. A character's movement allowance in combat is thus ten times the character's rate of speed (as written on the character sheet). The same conversion also applies to the speeds given for other creatures.

The movement allowance is reduced by one or more hexes per attack made, depending on the types of attacks. The exact movement penalty is specified in the description of each attack form. A movement penalty may also apply for terrain; refer to the Terrain Modifiers table (page 28) for details.

Extra movement allowance may be purchased with power expenditure. The

26

cost is simply 1 PU per hex (Scale-O) of extra movement. However, the maximum total movement in a combat turn is double the normal movement allowance.

A CC may leap to a maximum height, in meters/yards, equal to 1/10 the Physical Stat. The power cost is 1 PU per meter/ yard. If desired, the character may move any amount horizontally equal to or less than that height in the same leap, at no additional power cost. Additional horizontal leaping movement costs 1 PU per meter/ yard, to a maximum distance of 1/5 the Physical Stat. The movement allowance used in any case is equal to the distance traversed, whether horizontal or vertical.

Movement may occur in the same cycle as attacks, but not in the same phase. It may occur during any or all phases in which the CC is not attacking, at a maximum rate of 2 Scale-O hexes per phase, until the movement allowance is used up. Movement is never announced during the Command phase of the CT, and is always an option. It is not counted against the number of actions allowed in the Combat Turn. A character can move as much or as little as desired, up to the maximum allowed.

If a player chooses to skip an announced action, the movement penalty (if any) for that action does not apply. The character may move during that phase, as long as movement is still allowed (which is usually the case, due to regained movement allowance as a result of skipping the action).

Example: A CC with a movement allowance of 10 intends to fire one laser shot and hurl a grenade during each cycle. Each laser shot has a -1 movement penalty, and each grenade, a -2. Therefore, the CC can move up to four hexes during the CT. The character is busy attacking during phases 1, 4, 6, or 9 and may not move at those times, but he or she may move up to two hexes during any and all other phases until the maximum movement of 4 hexes is reached.

Defense Values

Whenever an attack of any sort occurs, the attacker rolls dice and compares the result to the Defense Value (DV) of the target.

Each character or creature has five Defense Values, one for each of the five basic attack forms. These also correspond to the five phases of a combat cycle. All DVs are given in the character or creature descriptions. The DVs of objects are usually left to the Game Master's selection. To resolve an attack, simply match the attack roll to the appropriate DV.

The five DVs are for Light (or Laser), Impact, Thermal, Electro-magnetic, and Sound (or Sonic) attacks. These catego-

ries can best be remembered by their initials - LITES.

Light (Laser) attacks are those that use coherent light to burn through material. They usually have long ranges. The usual defense is reflection of the light.

Impact attacks include every form of collison from simple punches and kicks to high-speed bullets. The ranges thus vary from zero (a punch) to very long (sniper rifle). The best defense against collisions involves the technique of spreading the shock of impact sideways, rather than into the target.

Thermal attacks are those based on extremes of heat or cold, such as flame throwers, liquid nitrogen sprayers, and so forth. The ranges involved are usually moderate, from 5 to 50 meters/yards. Defenses against such attacks usually involve a heating/cooling system in the clothing or body of the defender.

Electro-magnetic effects include various forms of radiation, such as gamma rays, X-rays, and microwaves. The ranges of such weapons are usually short, except when large projectors or nuclear weapons are used. This category does not apply in the case of purely magnetic effects, which cannot be blocked except by interposing some iron-based material.

Sound (Sonic) attacks are those that use intense, concentrated sound to vibrate the target, causing structural damage thereby. The range is always fairly short, since the sound loses intensity quickly. Such attacks cannot work in space, being dependent on a medium to carry the sound waves, such as air, water, or even earth. The only known defense against this in combat situations is the creation of more sound to negate the attack.

Power Usage

In combat, each player must keep a careful record of two details about the character: Integrity Points (IP, as explained on page 13), and current battery power reserves, which are measured in PU (Power Units).

In combat conditions, a character expends 1 PU per CT automatically and continuously, whether or not any actual attacks are made. This expenditure is in addition to any other made for the day, Travel Turn, or Standard Turn. This base power cost accounts for the heightened operation of many of the CC's built-in monitors, sensors, and other devices in circumstances that require the use of Combat Turns for timekeeping.

If a character withdraws successfully from an ongoing combat, he or she need not continue to expend power at the combat rate. The battle is over for that

Combat: Basic

character, whether or not it actually continues for others.

A CC can also expend power to make certain attacks, such as firing lasers, sonics, and others. The amounts of power used for each weapon are summarized in the Weapons section (Adventures book). Some attack forms, such as punches and kicks, do not involve power expenditure.

Extra batteries are sometimes available to CC characters, usually built for some weapon or other device that uses power. The PU totals for these supplemental batteries must be accounted for separately from the character's personal PU total. Unless special arrangements are made, a supplemental power source is only used by the device to which it is attached. Most devices of this type can also be operated from the character's internal power source if plugged into power ports. Likewise, power from a supplemental battery can usually be transferred to the character's internal batteries.

How to Attack

Command Phase

Before your character can attack, you must select a weapon. In the Command Phase, you must announce the exact weapon(s) to be used during the CT. You need not declare your target at that time, and if you choose to modify the attack in some way, that also can wait until the attack occurs.

Action Phase

When the appropriate phase of the cycle arrives, you may attack with the weapon you announced. At that time, you must announce your intended target. (You may also decide to simply skip the attack, as explained under "Action Phases" page 25.)

A modifier (penalty or bonus) may apply to your attack, depending on the situation revealed when you announce your target. If you want to shoot at a small enemy tentacle at long range, for example, a penalty of 50 might apply to the shot. Your Game Master will decide on the proper modifications.

A bonus may also apply because of skills. If a skill check is required, it is made immediately before the attack is rolled, and it does not count as time used, nor as an action. Any applicable skill bonus must be applied at the same time as all situation modifiers.

When a creature is stunned, unconscious, or otherwise defenseless, a bonus of +20 applies to all attack rolls against that creature. This bonus does not apply to any object or creature that is normally motionless.

Power Cost

To perform the actual attack, first deduct the Power Units required for the attack form (if any). Be sure to deduct them from the appropriate power supply; this will normally be the character's primary power system, but if a supplemental battery is used, be sure that you deduct the cost from that source instead.

Attack Roll

Now roll d1 Ox. If the result is 10 or less, you miss cleanly, not hitting anything. Otherwise,leave the dice as they are (that same result will be needed again in just a minute), add or subtract any modifiers that apply, and announce the total aloud. If that total equals or exceeds the Defense Value (DV) of the target, you have successfully hit it. If not, you may have hit something other than the target.

In most cases, you will not know the exact DV of the target; your Game Master will find and announce the success of your attack.

Damage

You should already know the damage that your chosen weapon inflicts; it is either fixed or standard. If the damage is fixed, an amount is given in the weapon description. If it is standard, the d1 Ox roll you just made gives the damage. Note that the roll itself applies, not including any modifications. (That's why you left the dice lying as they were roiled.)

Announce the damage aloud. Your Game Master wm deduct that number of points from the target's IP total. If the target is destroyed or otherwise made non-functional as a result of your attack, the Game Master will announce that immediately.

Hitting Other Targets

If you hit something other than the target, some object in the same area as the intended target usually takes the damage. Your Game Master will apply the damage in the normal way if it is important, but will often ignore it, especially in outdoor settings. Important "other targets" can include equipment carried or worn by the target creature, objects in front of the target, and objects or structures beside or behind the target.

Possession of Objects

A character may try to pick up an object in phase 5 or 10. Ordinarily, no attack roll is needed. The GM may demand that a character make a successful attack roll to grasp an object while moving quickly, or to grasp an object that is barely within reach,

though bonuses to the roll normally apply in such situations. The DV of the object may be arbitrarily set by the GM if none is given, but is often no more than 10 (unless modified by slipperiness, small size, etc.).

When the object desired is held by another creature, however, the situation is a bit different. If the other creature is cooperating in passing the object, both may make an attack roll, and the "pass" is successful if either one hits. If the other creature is not cooperative, a successful hit means only that both have a grip on the object. Attempts to pull the object away may immediately be made, and may be repeated at the end of each cycle thereafter (in phases 5 or 10).

To resolve such a dispute, the GM finds the Physical scores of those involved, and subtracts the lesser from the greater. If the result is less than 10, it is rounded up to 10; if 91 or more, round down to 90.

This result is the percentage chance that the stronger creature will immediately pull the object from the other's grasp. If that attempt fails, the weaker creature may also try, but with a percentage chance equal to half the difference in the scores (rounded up if necessary). If that attempt also fails, the situation must wait until one of the two creatures lets go, or until the end of the next cycle, at which time the above procedure is repeated.

The object may be adversely affected by this procedure, but such is left to the GM's discretion. In the advanced game, the grasp of a creature with a very high Physical score may be better overcome by attacking the limb holding the object, applying the "called shots" option in the Hit Location system.

Note also that certain skills may be employed to affect the situation. For example, the stronger creature may be talked into giving the object away, or may be psychogenically convinced to do so.

Effects of Skills

Skills may affect movement and combat in various ways. The following summarizes the possible effects, listed in order of skill number. Each applicable skill description contains the relevant details.

110. Personal movement: A successful skill check may allow the CC to reduce or ignore the movement penalty that would normally apply because of terrain. The successful use of special movement abilities, such as acrobatics, may cause a fast change in the CC's position, which may result in a DV bonus forthe character.

120. Mounted movement: Whenever a mount is used during a Combat Turn, characters riding on the mount are limited to the movement rate of that creature.

130. Vehicular movement: Characters driving or riding in or on a vehicle during a Combat Turn move at the rate of that

27

Combat: Basic

vehicle. A successful skill check by the driver may permit special movement effects, such as extremely fast turns, which may result in bonuses to the DVs of all those in or on the vehicle.

210. Strategy & Tactics: A successful skill check may result in surprise, adding a bonus to the attack roll or to damage alone. Likewise, a successful check may result in a gain of initiative - that is, when the enemy and the CC are both attacking in the same phase, the CC's attack is resolved first.

220. Unarmed Combat: See the skill description (page 18) for details on this complex topic.

230. Personal Weapons: These skills have obvious combat applications.

300. Psychogenics: Psychogenic skills may be used to affect combat in various ways. Matter and Energy may be affected so as to reduce the attack roll or damage of an enemy attack, depending on the attack form. Beings may sometimes be affected, and the possible results therefrom are myriad, including changes of action, penalties to attacks or damage, and so forth. For all psychogenic effects, the exact result varies by the psychogenic potential of the individual (measured in psychons), and by the result of a skill check.

Other Skills: Static skills (numbers 400 and up) may affect combat indirectly. Skills in Arts & Language (400) can produce changes in the actions or reactions of others. Skills in the Sciences (500) may be used to affect the objects or beings to which each refers. Skills in Law (600) may affect a character's actions. The use of any such skill requires a full Combat Turn at least, and often more.

Example: A CC falls in battle, immobilized by arm and leg damage. A comrade spends an entire CT jury-rigging repairs, and attempts a skill check in the Field of Physical Sciences (560) or the Area of Mechanics (562). (Less than a full CT of work would have no effect.) The check indicates success, and the fallen CC thus regains 1 IP (or 2 IP in the advanced game, allotted to specific body parts) which represents the minor repair. The victim may thereafter crawl behind cover or away from the imminent danger of the battlefield.

Terrain Modifiers

The following penalties apply to the movement allowance of any character or creature trying to move in the terrain type indicated.

Note that the use of an autopilot (at the cost of 1 PU per CT) negates all penalties of -3 or less, and reduces other penalties by 3, except for water current effects. The autopilot does not affect movement bonuses.

28

Terrain Modifiers

Terrain Penalty
Slope down +1 per 10°
slope
Stairs down +1
Flat (any) None
Stairs up -1
Woods, thin -1
Slope up -1 per 10°
slope
Foliage, thick -2
Woods,dense -2
Jungle -3
Broken -3
Water -3
Mud -1 to -3
Ice -4
Swamp -4
Submerged -5
Climbing (up/down) 10% normal
move rate
Water Current Special Terrain Notes

Broken: This applies to any area wherein a mistake in footing could result in a fall. The danger could take any of a number of forms, such as holes in the surface, ground strewn with objects large enough to trip over, etc.

Foliage: This assumes few or no hard objects, merely vegetation.

Ice: Apply to movement on either solid ice or ice-covered terrain.

Jungle: Apply to all terrain involving very dense foliage combined with thin woods. If a jungle area has few or no trees, use a -2 penalty; if the foliage is combined with dense woods, use -4.

Mud: This applies to all bogs, mires, and otherwise gooey but passable terrain, including shallow quicksand. The penalty varies by the depth of the goo; it may be increased by the GM for depths of 1 meter/yard or more.

Slope down/up: A slope must be 10° or more, enough to materially affect movement. The modifier applies per 10° of slope, e.g. +4 hexes for descending a 40° slope. Slopes greater than 50° cannot be negotiated by normal movement, and must be climbed.

Stairs down/up: The modifier assumes a typical stairway at a 30-60° angle.

Submerged: Apply this whenever 75% or more of the character's body is underwater. Also see Water Currents (below).

Swamp: This designation assumes a combination of dense foliage, mud, and occasional water.

Water: Apply this modifier to all streams, shallow lakes or bays, etc. in which the water is either still or moving relatively slowly. Use the ·Submerged" modifier (above) instead if the character is underwater. Also see Water Currents.

Woods: "Thin" includes typical lightly wooded areas, and any other area with comparable obstructions, such as a building interior with support pillars. ''Thick'' applies to all areas in which the trees are thick enough to provide cover (about 0.6 meters/yards).

Water Currents

The movement of water can have a severe effect on the movement allowance of creatures and vehicles partially or completely submerged within it. For unpowered creatures, water movement can negate and even overwhelm normal movement. For powered creatures (such as CCs) and vehicles, those effects can usually be negated by additional power expenditure. Throughout this section, a character wil~ b~ used as an example, though the principles apply to other creatures and vehicles as well.

When the CC's direction of movement is exactly opposed to that of the water, subtract the water's movement rate from the CC's. When the movements are in the same direction, add the two rates.

When the CC's direction of movement is at an angle to that of the water, and if the character wants to avoid drifting with the current, add or subtract half of the water's movement rate. (For simplicity, use this formula for all angles of 45° or more, and ignore it for lesser angles.)

To prevent a loss of movement allowance due to current, any powered creature (such as a CC) may expend 1 PU per point of movement allowance affected.

Examples: A CC who normally moves 10 hexes per CT tries to go upstream against a water flow of 4 hexes per CT. The net movement rate is 6 hexes per CT. Going downstream, the CC can move 14 hexes; at an angle upstream, 8 hexes; and at an angle downstream, 12 hexes per CT.

If you are using water flow rates given in knots, miles per hour, or km per hour, convert them to Scale-O hexes per Combat Turn for ease of calculation. (A hex is 10 meters/yards across, and a CT is 8.6 seconds.) Round off only when necessary; units of half-hexes (5 meters/yards) are common, and tenth-hexes are quite usable.

Finally, note that a character weighs about 170 kg (375 pounds). Current has little effect on sinking, though it may apply to the ensuing walk across the river or lake bed.

Combat: Advanced

Advanced

Game

Combat

Once you are familiar with the basic game, it is recommended that you increase the realism of the game, and to some extent its complexity, by using the advanced game combat. This section includes special effects, attack bonuses, hitting other targets, and hit location, as explained below. An optional addition is included for those who wish to find the exact condition of a body part that has suffered extreme damage. This is most often used for CCs, but should be applied to all creature types.

Index

Special Effects (SFX)

SFX Table

Attack bonuses

Aiming bonus Damage bonus Determining "Other Targets" Hit Location (HL) System Attack roll

Location roll Called shots Modifying results Partial targets HL Tables

Body Part Status (Optional)

Special Effects (SFX)

If an attack hits the target, and the unmodified attack roll was doubles - that is, the same number on both dice - a special effect occurs. Either you or the Game Master (GM's choice) will then roll again, using only one d1 0, and refer to the following table to find the special effect. Normal damage applies in every case, and the special effect may add to it.

Note that SFX apply to all attacks, not just to those of the characters. Many SFX apply to targets of all types, while other more specific SFX are given for each of the three basic target types - humans, CCs, and aliens. The GM is free to invent additional SFX results for targets other than those specified.

Although a roll of doubles occurs 10% of the time, results of 10 or less are clean misses for starting characters and most aliens, leaving 7% of the possible results subject to SFX. Many of those attacks will still miss the targets. SFX are thus uncommon or rare.

Special

Damage Effects by Target

CC

d10 roll

Normal human

Allen

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Flees in fear Flees in fear Faints 10 CT Blind 1 CT see right

see right

see right

see right

see right

see right

Loses 10% of PU MadMac NF 1 CT MadMac NF 10 CT Inboard weapon NF Weapon destroyed Stunned 1 CT Stunned 5 CT

Body part affected Damage bonus +20 Damage doubled

Splits

Loses all power 1 CT Loses all power

see left

see left

see left

see left

see left

see left

see left

Notes

If no duration is specified, the effect is permanent until repaired.

Blind: The human's optic nerves suffer temporary damage.

Body part affected: One of the target's limbs is severely affected by the attack. If the attack form is Laser or Impact, the limb is severed from the body. The limb severed will be the one holding a weapon if such is applicable; otherwise the GM should randomly determine the limb affected. If the attack form is Thermal, Electromagnetic, or Sonic, the body part is permanently paralyzed due to neural or circuit damage, and will remain so until repaired.

Damage bonus +20: Add 20 to the damage indicated for the attack that caused this special effect, then apply the total normally.

Damage doubled: Double the damage indicated for the attack that caused this special effect.

Faints: The human is unconscious and defenseless for 1 0 CT.

Flees in fear: The human moves away from the attacker as fast as possible, taking advantage of cover if available.

Inboard weapon NF: In the CC or the alien, one built-in weapon (GM's choice) is damaged, and will not function until repaired.

Lose 10% of PU: The CC must immediately deduct 1 0% of his or her current PU total. This does not affect supplemental power sources.

Lose all power: All of the alien's power

sources are shocked and unusable, either for 1 CT or permanently (as indicated).

Mad Mac NF: The CC's MadMac is nonfunctional due to shock. Apply a -20 penalty to all attack rolls due to lack of computer-assisted aiming. Ignore MadMac skills for the duration.

Splits: The alien splits into two parts, each of half the size & IP of the original.

Stunned: The victim cannot move or attack for the duration indicated, but is marginally aware of the situation. For a CC, the MadMac is not affected, and may take limited action, though it will not normally initiate attacks.

Weapon destroyed: Anyone weapon (GM's choice) either built into or carried by the CC orthe alien is destroyed, and cannot be repaired without extensive work and adequate replacement parts.

Attack Bonuses

In basic game combat, the unmodified d1 Ox roll is compared to the target's DV to determine the success of the attack. The same roll also gives the amount of damage inflicted by the attack. In the advanced game, bonuses may be applied to aiming (affecting the initial roll and thus adding to both the chance to hit and the damage inflicted) or to the damage alone.

Aiming Bonus

Certain special equipment allows you to increase the accuracy of an attack. For

29

Combat: Advanced

example, a Mad Mac always helps somewhat in aiming, at no special power cost. If you choose to boost its help by running a Prediction Aiming Digitizer (PAD) program as well, that improves your character's aim, but costs an additional 5 PU. The amount of the PAD or other aiming bonus is always equal to the amount of PU expended for it.

Damage Bonus

You may modify some attacks by expending extra Power Units to intensify them. For example, firing a laser normally costs 5 PU, but you can expend more (in increments of 5) to intensify the shot. If you choose to do this, you must announce it and deduct the PU cost at the same time you deductthe basic PU cost forthe attack form (i.e., before you roll the dice). When an attack is intensified, this is generally called "kicking" it. A damage bonus never affects the initial d1 Ox roll. It is added only after a hit is scored.

Example: Hoping for a quick kill, you fire an inboard laser (standard damage, cost 5 PU) at an alien, PAD the shot, and kick it by 20. Your total cost is 30 PU (5 normal +5 PAD +20 kick); deduct the full amount immediately. You will add 5 to your d10x roll (for the PAD), and if the attack hits, add 20 more (for the kick) to determine the final damage.

Other Targets

In the basic game, any attack roll that is neither a hit nor a clean miss merely hits some unimportant object within range. This still applies as a general rule in the advanced game, but the result may be modified by circumstances, at the GM's discretion. Damage resulting from this attack roll should not be ignored when other important targets are in range.

An important target includes any human, ee, alien, structure, or device. The general term "within range" describes an area that varies by the attack form used. For a weapon of very limited range, such as a sonic attack, it obviously includes only those targets in the immediate vicinity. For rifles, lasers, and other weapons with long ranges, it could mean something or someone a considerable distance beyond the intended target, but located in the same direction. See specific weapon descriptions for appropriate ranges.

In any situation of this type, the Game Master should select one other important target within range, by any logical or random manner desired, and compare the attack roll to the DV of that target. If the attack hits the newly-designated target, the damage is applied normally.

This procedure may be repeated, especially in the case of long-range attack

30

forms, if the second target is missed but another remains in range. But eventually, the damage will be applied to some target, important or not.

Example: A character fires a laser at an alien who is battling a ee hand-tohand. Two normal humans stand nearby. Beyond them, another ee is battling another alien. The player rolls d1 Ox, and the shot misses the intended target. It might then hit one of the normal humans, the other ee, or nothing. The GM rolls 1d10 to find out, and mentally decides (based on the sizes of the potential targets involved) that 1 = the ee, 2-3 = a human, and 4-10 = nothing. The roll comes up 6, so the shot misses everything.

Butwait-othertargets are in range, in the same direction. The GM sighs and decides to roll again, using the same probabilities but with 2-3 = the second alien. The result of this roll is a 4, so the laser shot merely hits a tree or something else of little or no importance.

Though this example produced no important results, there was a 51 % chance that something or someone important would be hit by that "miss" - and such things will occasionally happen in your games.

Hit Location (HL)

This is a system of applying damage to specific body parts instead of to an overall target. Basic characters do not have IP allocated to each part; you must use advanced characters if you wish to use the Hit Location system.

If an attack inflicts damage on an opponent, the attacker immediately rolls again to find the part of the target's body to which the damage will be applied. This additional roll will usually be a single d10, though d1 00 may be needed for complex targets.

Called Shots

Instead of leaving hit location to random selection, the attacker may aim the attack specifically at a certain body part. A penalty of -20 is applied to the attack roll, thus reducing both hit probability and damage.

If the modified attack equals or exceeds the DV of the target, the exact body part named is hit, and damage is applied. Otherwise, the attack misses, even if the unmodified attack roll would have hit.

Any body part other than the torso may be severed with a successful called shot. If the damage inflicted is 50% or more of the target part's IPs, that body part is severed from the torso. (A body part cannot be severed except as a result of either a called shot or a special effect.)

Hit Location Tables
Humans & Humanoids
d1Q Location

1 Head
2 Left arm
3 Right arm
4 Left leg (knee & below)
5 Right leg (knee & below)
6 Upper leg (either)
7-10 Body
Xenoborgs (alien troops)
d10 Location

1 Leg (any)
2 Head (if any; otherwise
appendage)
3-4 Other appendage (any)
5-10 Body Location Roll

No random HL roll is made when a Sonic attack is used. The nature of that attack mode allows the attacker to name the hit location. To find exact hit location for any other attack form, roll d1 0 and refer to the HL Table that applies to the target.

An HL Table can be deduced for any creature whose IP data are given by body part, by examining those data. In some cases, d100 may be needed instead of a simple d10.

Example: A very small Teleborg has 2,000 IPs, of which 1,800 (90%) are body IPs. A simple HL chart would be: 1-9 = body; 10 = any tentacle. Ifthe creature has five tentacles, d 100 could be used to determine the exact area hit.

When the Game Master adds creatures to the game, whether terran or alien, an HL table should be created before specific body part IPs are allotted.

Example: Suppose an elephant has a Physical score of 300. Its IPs would then be 600 for the basic game, or 900 for the advanced. A reasonable HL table would be: 1= head; 2-5 = leg (by location); 6-10 = body. The proportionate IPs would then be: Head 90; Legs 90 each; Body 450.

Modifying Results

The Game Master must occasionally modify HL results based on the positions of the opponents. For example, when a target's right side is obscured, and its left side faces the attacker, any HL result of "right leg" or "right arm" should simply be

applied to the corresponding body part on the left (exposed) side.

If the HL roll indicates a body part that has been destroyed by damage previously sustained, the damage is applied to the torso instead.

Partial Targets

When only part of a target is visible (e.g. upper body of a character crouching behind cover), the attack and HL rolls are made normally. However, if the hit location indicated is obscured by cover, the result is ignored - despite the previous roll indicating a hit. The attack instead hits the object providing such cover, and may damage or destroy it.

Body Part Condition

This optional addition to the advanced combat system is offered for those who wish to know the exact condition of a body part that is damaged by attacks. This requires more record-keeping, and should not be used unless the participants become familiar with it and can utilize it fast enough to avoid slowing the game. If used, this option should be applied in its entirety; specifically, the multiple-part damage effect should not be ignored by those who want the benefits of the lesserdamage effects.

The condition of a body part varies by the damage inflicted upon it, as follows: If the damage is 1-2 times the IPs of the body part struck, that part is disabled but not destroyed. It can be repaired, but only if the appropriate replacement parts (and the skills to use them) are available. If the damage is 2-3 times the IPs of the body part struck, that part is totally destroyed. If the damage is more than 3 times the IPs of the body part struck, excess damage is applied to the next closest body part. Deduct that value (3 times the IPs of the body part) from the attack value and continue applying the remaining damage.

Keep track of the damage taken by a body part until it is completely destroyed.

If two or more body parts are adjacent to the HL target (which may be the case for certain aliens), divide the damage as equally as possible. Note that only immediately adjacent body parts can take damage in this way.

Example: A GG's arm has 15 IP and takes 28 points of damage. It is disabled but not destroyed. However, it is hit again shortly thereafter, for 35 points. It absorbs 17 IP of damage (45 for complete destruction minus the 28 it already took) and is destroyed. The remaining 18 IP from the second hit are applied to the character's body.

Combat: Advanced

31

Technical Data: 1.0 • 3.1

Official Report to the Trans-American Regional Government (Excerpts)

Project

1.0 INDEX

1.0 Index

2.0 Introduction 2.1 Exposition

2.2 Design Evolution 3.0 The Brains

3.1 The Organic Brain 3.11 Containment

3.12 Transplant Procedures

3.13 Care of Organic CC Elements 3.14 Care of the Organic Body 3.15 Organic Elements of New CCs

3.2 The Sawtell SINC 3.21 Operation 3.22 Implantation 3.3 M A-D MIA C

3.31 History

3.32 Specific Notes

4.0 Power Supplies

4.1 Primary Power 4.2 Secondary Power 4.3 Tertiary Power 4.4 Recharging

5.0 Movement

5.1 General Notes 5.2 Standard Joints 5.3 Pivot Joints

5.4 Neck Joint

5.5 Gross movement 5.6 Autopilot

6.0 Senses

6.1 Sight 6.2 Hearing

6.3 Smell & Taste 6.4 Touch

7.0 Defenses (vs ... ) 7.1 Corrosives 7.2 Electricity

7.21 Circuit Protection

7.22 External Effects (Emmer Net) 7.3 Infections

7.4 Impacts

7.41 Bufragel 7.42 Ultraspeed 7.5 Light

7.51 Hazards

7.52 Polarization & Deflection 7.6 Radiation

7.7 Smoke

7.71 Effects

7.72 Electrostatic Precipitation 7.8 Sound

7.9 Thermal Effects

8.0 Attack Modes 8.1 Electrostat 8.2 Lasers

8.3 Microwaves

32

CCG1:

Technical

Data

8.4 Sonics

8.5 Other Weaponry 8.6 Tools

8.7 Skills

9.0 Conclusion & Appendices 9.1 Addendum 2035

9.2-9.8 (Reserved for future addenda) 9.9 Appendices

2.0 Introduction

This document contains all the pertinent technical data currently available on the CC unit, including development and history. Additional material has been classified for reasons of national security.

2.1 Exposition

A CYBORG COMMANDO (CC) is a device which blends three separate parts -a human brain (and ancillary organs), a computer, and a mechanical body - into one functional entity. Originally designed to be the ideal military soldiers, CCs have proved to be quite versatile and usable in a multitude of circumstances.

2.2 Design Evolution

The military's ideal special operativean officer-spy, if you will- has been an unrealized goal for many years. Any individual selected for such a position must possess all the requisite traits, such as extremely high amounts of guile, a sense of duty, and an instinct for self-preservation. Wisdom in some measure is another requisite, though an excess of sheer intelligence tends to result in disqualification. Every normal man selected for such a task has lacked the proper measure of at least one of those qualities.

So when the routes to the goal of such a specialist were reconsidered in light of the technological breakthroughs of the Century Revolution, the generals and their scientists discussed three options: the all-mechanical device, the humandriven vehicle, and the merging of operator and machine (cyborg).

Initial experiments with an all-robotic unit that could be controlled by either inboard or external means showed the following results. External control is easily disrupted, especially in combat conditions. Although an inboard computer can

operate most of the mechanical body, and can obey very sophisticated instructions, it is utterly amoral and may make errors. It can be programmed to handle almost anything, but its reactions to the unexpected are correspondingly unpredictable. Though usable, this is not the optimum solution.

Human brains are thus needed at the controls of a mechanical device. Vehicles of several forms (including humanoid) have been constructed, each containing room for one or more human operators. These are clumsy and limited both by their designs and by the skill of the controllers. Large units require vast amounts of power because of their great weight, and are highly conspicuous.

The cyborg format, in which a human operator is merged with mechanical elements, became the focus of study. Initial plans for the mechanical parts were nothing more than elaborate mechanized armor. But discoveries in the field of medicine - specifically in brain transplantation and, as a corollary, the workings of the spinal nerves -led to the first merging of human brain and mechanical body.

This unit was dubbed the CYBORG COMMANDO operative because of the military hand guiding its development. The following is a technical description of its construction and abilities.

3.0 The Brains

Each CC unit has two brains, one organic and one electronic. The former is taken surgically from the living human volunteer. The latter, called a "MadMac," is installed within the brains capsule.

3.1 The Organic Brain

The organic part of a CC is its most complex element, as well as its most important. Unlike a computer, the human mind is versatile, essentially trustworthy, and can be trained to extrapolate efficiently even when given insufficient data.

A capsule within the CC contains one human brain, several supplementary glands to provide necessary hormones, life support mechanisms, and a computer. Through a complex interface called the Sawtell SINC (q.v.), the life force and intelligence housed within the brain can interact with those elements, and through

Technical Data: 3.11 - 3.12

them, with the outside world.

The interface (SINC) can only handle impulses from three sources - the brain, the computer, and the body. Though limited, it is the best (and only) device of its kind. Surgical research has focused on the brain's neural output, and more study of the information flow along the spinal nerves is required before full brain-tomechanical body interaction is possible.

The same technological limits that dictated the use of an isolated brain also made the CC more versatile. Its minimum size is that of a normal man, though units are typically constructed with 1-2 feet more height and proportionately greater dimensions for various technical reasons. The life support devices for a human brain are relatively small and simple compared to those needed for an entire body. Were an actual person to be contained within a mechanical body, oxygen LIse would be five times, and other sustenance at least ten times, the amounts required by the current design. The life support mechanisms are thus quite compact.

3.11 Containment

When the organic brain is "loaded" into a completed CC body, it is within a sealed barrel-like capsule about 29" long and 14" wide at the center, tapering somewhat at the ends. This is installed vertically in the CC torso and connected to the CC circuitry. It contains life support mechanisms (for the brain and ancillary organic parts, as described below), a separate power source for such systems, and the "second brain" of the CC - the computer. When installed, this capsule nests into another container which houses the primary CC power supply (q.v.), located in the lower abdomen. The computer normally uses this power, and does not rely on the organic brain's (secondary) power supply.

3.12 Transplant Procedures

The brain itself is surgically removed and placed within a plastic shell, which is then inserted into the capsule. Part of the shell is nearly a duplicate of the cranium, custom-built for each individual; the remainder is shaped to accommodate those glands that will accompany the brain (see right). The shell is lined with a colloidal substance that needs no sustenance, but which performs all the functions (protection, sustenance, etc.) of the fibrous dura mater, the arachnoid membrane, the pia mater, and the cerebrospinal fluid. Those membranes and fluids are removed during the surgical procedure.

The operation itself takes over 40 hours, and is performed by several medical teams with extensive computer assistance. It can be performed under military supervision at any hospital with the necessary life support equipment. First, the body and brain are placed on separate life

Brains Capsule (section)

r;=:::=======~

(position only; details changed for security reasons)

support systems. One surgical team then severs the spinal cord just below the medulla oblongata, connecting the individual nerves to the interface (SINC); a second team maintains the life support of the body and opens the cranium for the transplant procedure. During the installation of the SINC, nerves connected to other parts of the head (such as the optic and otic) are rerouted to the SINC.

When these procedures are complete, certain other glands, including the adrenal glands, the islets of Langerhans, and the thyroid and parathyroids, are moved, one by one, to the brain's life support system. These are necessary to provide requisite hormones. The pituitary gland, pineal body, thalamus, and hypothalamus are all left in situ within the brain, and of course are transplanted with it. Direct organic

neural connections are reestablished with the appropriate parts of the brain, and the glands are connected to the new circulatory system.

At this point, all organic materials to be transplanted have been disconnected from the body. The latter is removed and further to maintain its stability under longterm artificial life support (see 3.14, page 34). The organic elements for transplant are placed in their proper positions within the plastic shell, still connected to the life support mechanisms of the operating room. The shell is then placed within the larger capsule. Other more compact life support systems (already within the capsule) are connected to the shell, and the surgical systems are disconnected. Finally, the CC body controls and computer (also within the capsule) are connected to

33

Technical Data: 3.13 - 3.31

the SINC, and the procedure is complete.

3.13 Care of Organic CC Elements

The capsule's self-contained life support system has its own nutrient tanks for both food and oxygen. The food supply is a sealed system, but the CC obtains oxygen from external air during normal operations. The internal nutrient tanks contain enough food for about three years of operation, and oxygen for one year.

For the circulatory system of the organic elements, a standard synthetic blood (Neoplasmas is used, being the most convenient medium for support and control, and readily available from almost all hospitals. All nutrients, for example, are mixed directly with it. Wastes produced by the few organic elements are filtered from the synthetic blood by a tangent system, which conveys the wastes to the head. They are then disseminated in a fine spray and expelled by simple air movements.

A wide assortments of chemicals may also be added to the biood, as the situation demands. Such substances are normally added only after mutual agreement of the organic brain and the computer; but if contact between them is not possible (such as sometimes occurs with neural damage or unconsciousness), the computer decides. The items most often used, and thus kept in the largest supply, are vitamins, nutrient supplements, hormones not supplied by glands, and a motive stabilizer (paradopamine, which increases the degree of the brain's control over the CC body). Other components of the internal pharmacy include an assortment of the following:

Antibiotics, to kill infectious bacteria. Anti-viral drugs, to kill or paralyze infectious viruses.

Analgesics (opioids and others), to stop all pains. This category includes nonopioids such as salicylic acid and ibuprofin.

Cardiovascular and anticoagulant drugs (digitalis, beta-blockers, and others), to ensure smooth blood flow by preventing thrombosis (arterial clogging) and reducing hypertension.

Antispasmodics, to lessen shock, and negate the effects of drugs & gases that induce spasms.

Psychoactive drugs (4 types):

Tricyclic and MAO (monoamine oxidase)-inhibiting antidepressants, to improve overall attitude by removing depression and fatalism, but without inducing elation or foolhardiness.

Neuroleptic and benzodiazepine tranquilizers, to reduce fear and

severe anxiety, calm violent or aggressive behavior, etc.

Chlorpromazine (a fast antipsychotic), to stop hallucinations et al.

Methylphenidate & pemoline, to aid concentration.

3.14 Care of the Organic Body

Though the procedures for returning the brain (et al.) to the body are not yet perfected, research and progress in this area are continuous. The body is thus carefully treated after the surgery. Among the many procedures involved in caring for it is the addition of a chemical which changes the crystallization properties of the cells. This is added to the blood, and allowed to circulate for about 30 hours. The body's temperature and metabolic rate are then reduced slowly to and past the point where the cells freeze. If any problems occur, the procedure is reversed and adjustments made before refreezing. If the body stabilizes at about -25° C (-13° F), it is monitored for another day or two to ensure its safety, then placed in a liquid helium bath and thereby dropped to -270° C (-454° F) for long-term storage. The body may be preserved in this way almost indefinitely.

3.15 OrganiC Elements of New CCs

The focus of current CC R&D is on improving surgical techniques and expanding the possibilities of connecting the neural and mechanical elements. Encouraging progress has been made in developing a mechanical surgeon for the former, which would perform the work as ordered by a human doctor. This is still in its early stages, however. More detailed physiological examinations of the human body, especially of the exact neural paths connecting the body and the brain, should lead to the development of a revised interface allowing full interaction between both bodies and both brains (organic and mechanical, in each case). Prototypes of the mechanical parts are already being constructed.

The perceived ideal form of a CC, in which an intact and whole operator may ride within and mentally control a large mechanical body, is thus still in the future. New developments in microsurgical speed and further study of the neural pathways involved may eventually aid researchers in reaching this goal. The revised form will be called the CYBORG CHAMPION™unit.

3.2 The Sawtell SINe

The Sub-cranial Interface & Neural Converter (SINC) was created in 2022 by

Dr. Richard Sawtell, working at a U.S. Army research center in Virginia. Specific details of the SINC are classified, but can be obtained from any of several governments. Simply, it converts nerve impulses from organic to electronic forms, and vice versa, with assistance from the computer (q.v.). The SINC is thus a key element in CC operations, allowing voluntary functions to be controlled directly by the organic brain and nerve impulses.

3.21 Operation

The device works with nerve impulses of three basic types: receptors, motivators, and autonomies. Receptors (senses) include exteroceptors (ranged senses, such as sight), interoceptors (body contact, i.e. touch), and proprioceptors (monitoring organic body elements). Motivators handle the movements of the body, in cooperation with "feedback" from various receptors. Autonomic impulses handle various unconscious operations, such as organic life support mechanisms. The SINC handles all contacts between the organic brain and the rest of the CC, usually working through the computer but sometimes contacting the mechanical body directly.

3.22 Implantation

The implantation procedure currently requires the truncation of spinal nerves just below the cranium. In the future, it may merely involve substituting a mechanical element for a short segment of each nerve fiber. In any event, however, the procedure is presently irreversible. Each nerve of the upper spinal cord must be processed individually for connection to the SINC.

3.3 MAiD M-A C

The MadMac is a revolutionary type of computer that works with the organic brain, assisting it with the task of running the CC body.

3.31 History

The computer used in CCs was developed in 2008-2013 by the research labs of a well-known telecommunications company. A software (programming) breakthrough occurred in the late 1980s when a mathematician from Akron, Ohio developed a generalized program that a computer could use to solve nearly any problem, by selecting and using smaller parts of that program. This large program is called the Chandrasekhar* Macro-Algorithm. Though simple to describe in this way, the macro-algorithm itself is extremely complex. The computer must

34

Neoplasma is a registered trademark of the MedWorld Corporation. © 2004 & 2021, MedWorld, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

_--- ---- ------------------- ---

quite warm, operating at about 570° F (300° C), and are thus mounted within well-insulated containers. They are rechargeable, of course.

All powered functions of the CC, including the operations of MadMac and the organic life-support systems, are normally supplied by the primary power circuit.

function in much the same way as a human brain, quickly deciding which parts of the macro-algorithm to use in solving a given problem. This has been the greatest step toward true artificial intelligence since the invention of the electronic computer.

Refinement of the macro-algorithm continued through the turn of the century. During the same period, new developments in electrical superconductivity (a phenomenon earlier thought limited to cryogenics) produced the first ''warm superconductors: synthetic metals with near-zero resistance at temperatures as high as 0° F (-18° C). When such materials were first used in computers, the full potential of the macro-algorithm was finally realized.

The continuing evolution of miniaturization also paralleled these developments. Microcircuits made of room-temperature superconductors were soon built, using waldoes (robotic devices that convert an operator's hand movements to micro-scale) to assemble the components. In many cases, an electron microscope was needed to observe the results.

3.32 Specific Notes

The pinnacle of development came with the Miniaturized Analog/Digital Macro-Algorithmic Computer (M NO M- A C, or "MadMac"), which in turn led to the Sawtell SINC. The basic element of MadMac is a switch called a cryotron, which was developed for cryogenic uses in the mid-20th century. It functions in less than 10-8 second.

The primary functions of MadMac are twofold: operating the automatic functions of the CC body, and providing additional memory (usually called pseudo memory) for the operator. The former tasks are fairly routine, and all involve the use of simple electrical circuitry throughout the body. The SINC comes into play for all memory functions, as well as the program output functions, i.e., information relayed to the operator from the automatic programs.

Pseudomemory is available with the same speed and facility as the original memory stored in the organic brain. The operator literally cannot tell the difference between the two types, except in the rare case of a partial malfunction of the MadMac. The use of pseudomemory does not interfere with automatic or voluntary body functions also controlled by MadMac, partially due to the speed involved, and partially because the latter functions are handled by the macro-algorithm. The data used by these sub-programs are rarely or never accessed by the organic operator .

If the human brain were able to absorb pseudomemory, extensive training and education could proceed simultaneously with field operations. But it cannot, and the reason is simple. Since the human brain cannot distinguish between the "real" memory and the pseudomemory, the operator has no way of recalling a pseudomemory and "memorizing" it in a new location. Attempts to do so merely reinforce the memory in its existing location, either organic or electronic.

In the rare cases of malfunction of or damage to the MadMac, the pseudomemory might become temporarily ina~cessible. In such cases the data stored In the organic brain must suffice until the damage is repaired.

4.0 Power Supplies

All functions of the CC body use electrical power. This power is stored in chemical batteries within the CC's form.

4.1 Primary Power

The primary batteries are housed in a segregated capsule positioned below that of the organic and electronic brains. The power capsule is ring-like, mounted horizontally to the portions of the frame corresponding to the human pelvis. Each battery is modular, and is relatively easy to access and replace. For safety reasons, this is normally done whenever a CC returns to a supply base, as part of a routine maintenance procedure. The batteries carry a charge sufficient to continue normal operations at a low level of power use (i.e. no combat and minimal movement) for several years. In practice, however, they must be recharged much more frequently, since a CC is often very active. Power scavenging during field operation is common. (See Recharging, 4.4, pg. 36.)

This electrical power is in the form of direct current. While DC is impractical for high-voltage and/or long-range operations, it is quite efficient in a CC, and especially so since superconductive materials are used for all connections. The power losses characteristic of community electrical services, which require the use of alternating current, are not a factor in the CC design.

The primary storage cells are of the sodium-sulfur type, a standard high-energy-density battery perfected in the 1990s for vehicle propulsion. The positive electrode is sodium polysulfide, and the negative is molten sodium. The solid electrolyte is beta-alumina. These units are

Technical Data: 3.32 - 4.3

4.2 Secondary Power

The "brains capsule" contains its own power reserve in storage batteries smaller than but otherwise identical to those in the primary unit. The capsule is positioned above the organic elements, in the upper torso just below the neck, and is separated from them by a protective shield. MadMac monitors, and can feed power to. this subsystem, but the power leads are inputonly. Secondary power cannot be used for movement, weapons, or any other system external to the brains capsule.

The purpose of this reserve is to power the life support systems necessary for survival of the organic parts, and only when such power is not available from the primary system. Its secondary purpose is to power Mad Mac if the separate microbattery therein malfunctions. In the event that the primary power system reaches zero units (total lack of power). all elements of the brains capsule automatically switch to self-contained battery power, i.e. organic elements on secondary, MadMac on its tertiary source. Subsequent restoration of power in the primary batteries is monitored by MadMac, which can reconnect the brains capsule to that system, but will not normally do so until the level of primary power passes a given safety threshold (10% of maximum power).

When the brains capsule switches to internal power, chemicals are added to the blood supply, causing controlled unconsciousness and a drop in metabolism. The operator's mind is primarily in heavy sleep. Intermittent periods of light sleep (dream states) are periodically induced for reasons of mental health. The secondary power source can maintain organic life support systems in this mode for about 180 days, assuming that sufficient nutrients remain. If the secondary power unit reaches the zero level, the organic elements expire within 30 minutes.

The capsule battery is checked but not normally replaced in routine maintenance procedures.

4.3 Tertiary Power

One microbattery is imbedded in the Mad Mac circuits. It is of very low power

• Ombrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1945-2231, son of the brilliant Indian-born physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1922-1997), who postulated the quanta governing behavior of dying stars.

35

Technical Data: 4.4 - 5.2

and usable only by MadMac; it would be exhausted in minutes if required to operate the organic life support system, for example. The tertiary battery engages automatically when the primary power system reaches zero units. If it fails to provide power for any reason, current is automatically leeched from the secondary system, decreasing the organic survival time by about 0.16 % (roughly 7 hours' worth used in the 180-day period).

The tertiary battery supplies only enough current to maintain MadMac's technical (but not fully operational) existence, but can do so for about 50,000 hours (5.7 years). One of MadMac's few functions while on such ''trickle power" is to watch for an increase in primary power, such as from a recharge provided by a rescue team. If such an increase is detected, MadMac will automatically leech some of the current provided to recharge the secondary and tertiary power systems. However, if such a recharge is provided after the organic elements have expired (i.e., after more than 180 days on secondary power), current is not routed to the secondary system. If MadMac's memory is relatively intact at that time, it can provide full details on the circumstances leading to that expiration.

Mad Mac's memory retains its integrity while or. "trickle power," though it cannot be accessed without using primary or external power. After the cessation of all power, memory begins to degenerate slowly, reaching negligible levels after another 7-8 years. Memory losses occur evenly in all banks, including sentience programs, which can lead to significant and unpredictable behavioral changes in Mad Mac within a year after power cessation. Any unit in this condition can be extremely dangerous. Before contacting such a unit, it is imperative that it be disconnected from its body control circuits.

In the field, power can be recharged with nearly any electrical source, such as car batteries, electrical power plants, solar power receivers, and even fallen enemy alien 'borgs. A rectifier engages automatically when the power source tapped involves alternating current. Power in other forms (such as magnetic, mechanical, or gravitic) cannot normally be converted into electricity without extensive hardware. Whatever the source, the maximum recharging rate for the Primary power batteries is 7 PU per minute (i.e., 1 PU per Combat Turn).

A CC with zero primary power appears as an inert hulk, whether or not internal systems are still operating. Another CC or a technician with appropriate equipment may analyze the unit's status by connect-

36

ing to the proper circuits through monitoring ports. Even with the proper connections, however, the monitoring will obtain only "zero power" readings unless the proper access code is input and recognized by the fallen unit's Mad Mac. This is a safety device to guard the little power remaining, if any. Access codes are standard and known to all MadMacs and most skilled CC technicians.

Power can be fed into a fallen CC through any of various ports, regardless of prior attempts to ascertain its status. These ports are located in the hands, feet, and neck. Incoming power is automatically channeled, through the rectifier if conversion to DC is needed, into the primary batteries. The fallen unit's Mad Mac will leech power to its microbattery and/or the secondary power source as needed. It will also use incoming power to scan the situation, and to make several decisions - whether it should power up the rest of the CC body, "awaken" the organic brain (by stopping the flow of sleep-inducing chemicals) , and/or take immediate motive, defensive, or even hostile actions. Though normally trustworthy in such situations, the Mad Mac may become somewhat unpredictable, especially if the organic elements of its CC have expired.

5.0 Movement

The mechanics of CC body movement involve the use of devices which imitate

the actions of human muscles, contracting and expanding to exert force on parts of a rigid internal frame.

5.1 General Notes

This structure is made of a porous aluminum alloy that is lightweight, durable, and not subject to magnetism. This alloy is composed of 90% aluminum and 10% other metals (zinc, magnesium, copper, and chromium, in that order). Boron filaments are added in the casting process, providing a net tensile strength of almost 8,800 tonnes per square meter (over 300,000 pounds per square inch).

Other frame data:

Yield Strength: 8,047 T/m2 (275,000 psi)

Melting Point: (aluminum alloy only) 1165° F (640° C)

Brinnel/ Hardness: 150 (500 kg load)

5.2 ~tandard .romts

Refer to the illustrations below, which depict the standard mechanism used in most of a CC's joints. The general parts of the joint are the upper frame, joint section, and lower frame. This double joint uses a gear drive for rotation, located at the abutment of the upper frame and the joint section, and an axle for pivoting, which connects the joint section and the lower frame. Powdered graphite coats all mov-

Connecting rods / \ "

i / -, <,

\ I

i Joint Frame

Axle joint

I

Gear Drive

I Standard Joint

Joint, Views 1 , 2

_- Lower Frame

/

I

Upper /Frame oj

! I

/

/ I

Fluid lines/

Technical Data: 5.3 - 6.1

ing surfaces. All power circuits, including motors, are coaxially shielded. All metal parts are made of the same alloy as the frame, and similarly reinforced with boron filaments.

The center strut of the upper frame is encircled by toothed rings (incorporated in the casting). The adjacent part of the joint section contains six small motors, each of which drives a toothed wheel (gear); these encircle and fit tightly into the teeth of the upper frame's ring. The gears do not touch each other, of course. All the gear motors are activated simultaneously when rotation is desired. Six are used so that even if two or three malfunction, the rotating joint can still function.

The axle portion is powered by its own motor, which can produce a 90° turn. This is augmented by two drive cylinders which can bend the axle an additional 45°. Each is connected to the sides of the joint frame and the lower frame by connecting rods. Each drive cylinder is constructed of two single-ended cylinders, mounted together to form an elongating one. Both are powered by a single self-regulating pump mechanism. The axle and drive cylinder mechanisms operate independently.

Fluid is pumped into or from them, causing them to shorten or lengthen, thus exerting pressure on the connecting rods and causing the axle joint to pivot. The fluid used is primarily water, with chemical additives to prevent changes of state (i.e., freezing or boiling). The system is also cooled and heated by a thermal control system (see 7.9, page 42).

The pump and motors of each joint use the primary power circuit, but each limb (arm or leg) has its own backup battery as well. If a limb is disconnected from the CC body, it may be radio-controlled. Commands must be prefixed by a complex code signal (different for each CC) that prevents unauthorized use. The radio control system is not operational as long as primary power is the motive force for that limb.

All circuitry and materials in and around a pivot joint are carefully designed to accommodate the movement, of course. The external pseudoskin is sufficiently elastic to bend and stretch as needed, though it loses some of the efficiency of its polarization in the process. To avoid loose wiring, power cables interconnect through a spring-loaded cable feed system in the vicinity of each pivot joint. The maximum angle of a pivot joint, when both axle and drive cylinders are used, is about 135°.

Some joints are designed only to pivot.

In such cases, the mechanical construction is a modified version of the standard

joint. Pivot joints are used at all 28 knuckles (2 per finger, 1 per thumb, 1 per toe) and at the ten places where the digits connect to the hands and feet.

Each pivot joint is an axle type, similar to that in a standard joint, but with no drive cylinders attached. They are much weaker than standard joints (primarily since the axle drive motors are much smaller), but can be pivoted up to 135° in either direction from true, for a total maximum turn of 270°. However, the pseudoskin on a finger or toe limits the total angle (the sum of all knuckle turns) to 180° from true. But a CC can still easily touch the back of hisor her hand with a finger, for example.

5.4 Neck Joint

Two neck joints are used to simulate the capability of the human neck. Three large gears, each with a separate motor, project downward from the frame of the head. These mesh with the inner part of a ring that is connected to the torso frame and which fills much of the lower neck. A central shaft contains the myriad connections between the head's sensory and sampler mechanisms and the brains capsule in the torso. Above the rotating joint, located just below the ears, is an axle joint powered by two motors.

The maximum rotation of the lower neck joint is 135° (3/8 turn) from normal (forward); beyond that point, the elastic pseudoskin and power cable feed systems are severely stressed. This is a slightly greater turning range than that of which the human neck is capable. The axle pivot has the same range, which far exceeds that of the human neck in a backward direction, but it has slightly less forward movement capacity.

5.5 Gross Movement

In causing body movements, the SINC receives the neural impulses transmitted through four cranial nerve pairs (V, VII, XI, and XII), and routes them to the analogous joint motors. Response is monitored and regulated by the brain and/or Mad Mac through sensory feedback. The movements require no more concentration than did those of the operator's original organic body. The frequency and speed of such voluntary actions are normally determined by the organic nerves of the CC (i.e. the character's neural score), although control can be delegated to Mad Mac for faster reactions, but at a corresponding power. cost, of course; see Autopilot (5.6, above) and Defense vs. Impacts (Ultraspeed, 7.42, page 41).

A CC normally moves on foot across land surfaces, just as a normal human does. The body can be made watertight

for surface or subsurface operation as well. No flight capacity is included in the basic unit, but long and/or high jumps are possible by using additional power in the leg systems. Leg jets and backpack units can be used to gain true flight capability.

5.6 Autopilot

If desired, Mad Mac can be instructed to run an autopilot program. The operator must specify the scanning range. (If not specified, the default range is a variable factor of the movement speed.) Instructions can be as complex as desired, and may be modified at any time. The program uses electromagnetic radiation of various wavelengths (infrared, normal, and ultraviolet light as needed, radar, etc.) to scan the area around the CC, to the range specified. While the program is running, MadMac will activate motors as needed to cause the body to avoid obstacles and attacks. This mode of operation is costly in power, and the electromagnetic radiations used are easily detectable by others using the appropriate sensors.

6.0 Senses

The sensory units of a basic CC fall into the same categories as the human senses: sight and hearing (scanners), smell and taste (external sensors), and touch (internal sensors). Most sensory functions are analagous to impulses transmitted through cranial nerve pairs I, II, VI, VIII, IX, and portions of III, IV, and X, all appropriately routed by the SINC.

6.1

The lenses and image processors in each of a CC's eyes are built to accommodate a wide portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. By concentrating on a given frequency or range, a CC can "see" any of the following: X-rays, ultraviolet light,light visible to humans, infrared light, microwaves, plus television and radio waves.

The eyeball has four lenses (some far more complex than simple optical lenses) and four corresponding image processors. These lens-processor pairs correspond to portions of the spectrum as given in Tech Table 1 (next page). The lenses are equally spaced on the spherical surface, with the processors in opposing positions.

Each of the light projectors built into the body has a primary and a secondary (backup) unit. These lamps are not normally visible, but can be exposed for use by opening panels in the body.

The large 10 cm {4" )floodlights (normal light) are located in the front upper

37

Technical Data: 6.2

thighs. The IR and UV lamps are small, and project a narrow cone of light that is only visible when the appropriate equipment is used. These lights are located in the shoulders (front), with a separate access panel for each. The X-ray tubes are somewhat more sophisticated, requiring water coolant, and are located in the mid-torso just above the waist (left and right front, again with access panels). All lamps are easily replaceable.

Signals of 10'2 to 106 Hz can be emitted by using flexible diaphragm units. One is located under the skin in the palm of each hand. By cupping the hand, the CC can form these diaphragms into dish-like projectors (miniature versions of conventional microwave and radar units). A tiny broadcasting antenna located in the center of each diaphragm can be mechanically extended to the focal point of the unit for focusing.

By combining various broadcasters and receptors, a CC can perform smallscale scans and tests such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CAT scans (computerized axial tomography). Both tests were used in the 20th century, but were limited to medical use due to the size of the equipment required. With portability, they are now quite useful in many other fields. For example, CC operatives working in concert - one emitting signals, the other receiving - can examine the contents of a container (whether paper bag, shipping crate, or bomb) with a high degree of accuracy, without opening the container, and in many cases without even touching it.

6.2 Hearing

The interior elements of a CC's ears accept a wide range of input. Though the spectrum of sound frequencies detected is far wider than the human norm (.01 to 100,000 Hz), the operator normally hears only those sounds that a normal person would (16 to 20,000 Hz), thankj to an digital encoding and filtering system used

Eye

Drive mechanism (interior)

38

Light Projectors

by Mad Mac. The operator can instantly shift to wide-band hearing, or limit hearing voluntarily to any specified range or combination - such as ultrasonic (15,000+ Hz) or infrasonic (up to 30 Hz).

Since the ear's mechanisms are not organic, damage due to loudness does not normally occur. By simply concentrating, the operator can identify the exact loudness (in decibels, or Db) of any sound detected. Human range is about 4 to 120 Db; a CC's is .01 to 200 Db. MadMac can also analyze sound reception, duplicating sonar applications underwater, for both direct listening and echo-ranging.

A CC can produce sound with any or all of three projectors. One is a very simple diaphragm located in the back of the mouth, capable of producing a range of sound similar to a normal human's but with slightly larger ranges of both frequency and volume. The other two projectors are the same subskin palm units used for microwave and radar projection, though in this case the diaphragm itself is vibrated, instead of being used merely to guide an electromagnetic signal. To stiffen the diaphragm sufficiently forthis application, the fingers of the hand are stretched outwards, as if to signal "stop." These devices

Tech Table 1
Electromagnetic Radiations detectable by CCs
Wave Wave
Lens Length Frequency (Hz)" Radiation
#1 10-' to 102 Ab 10" to 10" X-rays
#2 10't010·A 10" to 1 0" Ultraviolet, visible light, infrared
#3 1-100cm 10" to 1 010 Microwaves & radar
#4 1-1000 m 10· to 10' TV, FM radio, short wave, AM radio
a. Hz= Hertz; 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second
b. A= Angstrom; 1 A = 10-10 meter Technical Data: 6.3 - 6.4

can be used to project any sound within the CC's ability (up to 100,000 Hz and 200 Db), and can be used as sonic weapons.

6.3 Smell and Taste

These human senses are general terms for physiological processes in which complex chemical compounds suspended in solids, liquids, or gases are subjected to rudimentary analysis, and the results translated in general terms by the brain. The CC analyzer uses the same basic principles, though in a much more sophisticated and thereby more accurate fashion.

The organic and electronic brains of the CC are located in the body's heavily protected torso, leaving the head is free for other functions. Since that is the highest point of the CC, most of the sensory input devices are located there, including the ears and eyes. The bulk of the head is filled with equipment designed to intake and analyze solid and gaseous substances of all sorts. These mechanisms are collectively known as the "sampler."

The sampler is basically a miniature chemical laboratory with two main chambers and dozens of smaller ones. Its primary purpose is to process air, which is needed for survival of the CC's organic elements. A:though oxygen storage tanks

are included with the brain capsule unit, those have limited capacity, and an outside source is always preferred. Air is taken in through the mouth (only) and routed through the sampler. There it is purified by various techniques, then sent down a tube into the torso, where it oxygenates the synthetic blood by passing across a membrane, in exactly the same manner as the workings of a human lung. Since only a small part of the oxygen is absorbed, most of the air continues back up an exhaust tube and is exhaled, again through the mouth.

The substances originally suspended in the air (which are removed before the air is used) are always analyzed. This information is stored in MadMac's memory, and is available whenever the CC so desires. The overall content is continually relayed to the CC's consciousness, the information taking the form of nerve impulses that are translated by the human brain as "smells."

When the air contains potentially hazardous elements, none of it is routed to the torso. Instead, the sampler reports the results of analysis to Mad Mac, which in turn immediately alerts the operator to those hazards. The detectable substances include both living things (bacteria, viruses, plant spores and pollens, etc.) and non-living substances (such as poi-

Head & Neck (Tubing & drive motors omitted for clarity)

I I

Solids' liqu,d I in/out 1

sons). A CC can thus smell poison gas, for example, without being affected by it in the slightest way.

Solid and liquid material can be taken in for analysis as well, and this is the secondary purpose of the sampler. The intake tubes for such procedures are in the nostrils of the nose. The complex human nostrils and postnasal sinuses function primarily as air filters. In the CC, those functions are performed elsewhere, as described above, so the unit's nostrils lead directly to the sampler.

The analysis of a substance is always very detailed, but the results can be reported in general or in specific, as desired. For example, after analyzing a droplet of white liquid, the CC could know the approximate numbers of atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, etc. per unit volume of the sample. Or on the next level of information, the percentages of water, lactose, and other substances could be determined. Most simply, the sample could be identified as "milk." Material taken in for analysis can be stored, if desired, by simple mental command. Anything thus retained is placed in one of the many small storage compartments of the sampler and sealed. Either the sealed capsule or the sample itself can be ejected at any time. The sample can be as small as a few hundred atoms, or as large as 1 cubic centimeter (maximum).

During underwater operations, half of the nasal sampler can be dedicated to filtering and processing water. In this case, the water is not only sampled, but also broken down by electrolysis (using electrodes of gold, minimizing decomposition), and the gases obtained thereby are sent to the air chamber of the sampler for final processing, routing, and possible use.

In situations which are hazardous or potentially so, the entire sampler can be instantly sealed. This occurs automatically during the Ultraspeed mode of combat operation (q.v.), and may be done voluntarily at any time. If necessary, the entire contents of the sampler chambers and/or the small storage chambers can be expelled very quickly.

Microscopic particles of waste material from the organic elements of the CC unit are automatically routed to the sampler, sprayed into the air within it, and expelled.

6.4 Touch

The sensory feedback system used by the human nervous system allows the fingers to vary their pressure according to the object being handled. This principle is electronically duplicated in the CC as an automatic function. The operator can pick up an egg or a steel girder without harming either, and without a moment's thought as

39

Technical Data: 7.0 • 7.4

to the amount of pressure that should be applied. More or less pressure can be applied by voluntary action.

Thousands of sensors in the CC's outer skin layer monitor the temperature and other characteristics of the immediate environment. These are quite sensitive and are grouped closely enough to imitate the sensory functions of human skin.

Unlike human skin, no openings (pores) are needed in the CC's skin, but several compartments built into the unit are externally accessible. The seams of these panels are normally tight but not impermeable; they can, however, be hermetically sealed by a moment's concentration.

Other sensors throughout the interior mechanisms of the CC combine with those of the skin to form a comprehensive information-gathering network. This allows MadMac to monitor all operations and inform the operator of malfunctions and damage.

Simple pain, the primitive and often debilitating alarm system of the human nervous system, is almost nonexistent in a CC, except in the case of damage to certai n o~gan ic elements - the accessory glands and nerves inserted with the brain. The brain itself has no sensory receptors.

7.0 Defenses

The unique mobile weapon called a CYBORG COM MAN DO™unit is the result of pure scientific theory funded and motivated by utter the pragmatism of the military. Its "natural" defenses against damage were designed to counter a powerful and hostile environment. By similar reasoning, it is built with the capacity to affect that environment in various destructive ways. (See Attack Modes, 8.0, page 42).

The CC was constructed as a replacement or reinforcement for armed personnel. Because of this military heritage, considerable thought has been given to its defenses against both direct and indirect hazards. Direct hazards include corrosives, electricity, impacts, infections (poisons and microbes), light, radiation, sound, and thermal changes (heat & cold). Indirect hazards affect a tactical situation generally rather than a specific target. The most common of these is smoke.

A summary of the basic hazards, and inboard ee defenses against each, is given in Tech Table 2 (right).

7.1 Corrosives

A ee's outer skin is resistant (though not immune) to acidic corrosives. The typical defense against such an attack is evasion, though water may sometimes be used to dilute the corrosive. High tempera-

40

tures can be used to vaporize a liquid corrosive, increasing its volume but reducing the effect per unit of surface area contacted, giving more time for evasion. The optimum defense is to neutralize the substance, but the chemicals needed are usually not available quickly enough or in adequate bulk. Freezing is another alternative, but one even more rarely available.

7.2 Electricity

Electrical attacks could disrupt a CC's inboard power systems, rendering the unit inoperative. Defense is on two fronts: inner circuit protection and the Emmer Net beneath the outer pseudoskin.

7.21 Circuit Protection

All of the electrical circuits which make up the CC's "nervous system" are made of superconductors developed in 1986- 1991. These materials were the key factor in the so-called "Century revolution" (actually 1990-2010), which rendered many electrical devices created before that time obsolete. The extensive research in cryogenic superconductors prior to this discovery was not wasted, as many of the details of superconductivity (as a class of phenomena) obtained thereby were applicable at all temperatures.

Some circuit protection from electrical and radiation hazards is obtained by using coaxial shielding. Each cable consists of an inner core and outer ring of superconductor, positioned so that they share a common axis (hence the term "coaxial"). These are separated by and externally coated with a synthetic dielectric insulator

Tech Table 2 CC Defenses

Hazards CC Defenses

Corrosives Electricity Impacts

Outer skin

Inner skin (EMmer net) Middle skin (Bufragel

layer)

Ultraspeed program Sampler mechanism Outer skin

Outer skin (polarization)

Mirror shields or smoke screen

Inner skin (EMmer net) Statter (electrostatic precipitator)

Damper (sonic inverter & projector)

Outer skin (thermal compensator)

Infections

Light

Radiation Smoke

Sound

Thermals

(synthetic rubber), which is treated with antioxidants before it is electrodeposited on the metal. The use of coaxial shielding also prevents interference from the Emmer net (see belowj.

The microcircuitry within and near Mad Mac is not coaxial. It is instead protected by a specially designed shielding material, composed of layers of gold film for general radiation blockage, aluminasilica ceramic fibers for thermal insulation, and boron carbide (B4C) for neutron absorption.

7.22 External Effects (Emmer Net)

The effects of electricity are first minimized by internal construction. (See above for details.) To deflect such effects externally, the CC uses an ElectroMagnetic (EM) field generator - called the "Emmer" or "Emmer net" - to project a magnetic field around the body (maximum range of about 1 meter/yard).

The Emmer is a network of wires made of an alloy of cobalt and rare earths, not subject to magnetic effects but capable of producing a magnetic field when appropriately powered. It uses magnetism to repel an electrical charge, causing it to ground nearby. The MadMac activates the Emmer automatically when it detects incoming electromagnetic attack formThe net can also be operated voluntarily.

The usual superconductive metals apply power to the emmer net core material. This core is a mischmetal-cobalt alloy (RECOs)' The mischmetal is electrowinned from bastnasite and/or monazite (mineral oxides) in a molten fluoride bath. It is composed of 50% cerium, 25% lanthanum, 18% neodymium, 5% praseodymium, and 2% other rare earths (primarily yttrium and samarium). This core material becomes permanently magnetic after a few uses of the Emmer, but the core material is very thin, and this has little effect. Despite this slight drawback, it is used because it is the only material that produces an electromagnetic field powerful enough to act as an E-M defense.

The field produced by the Emmer also deflects and disrupts all electromagnetic wave forms, including those used for communications, i.e. radio and television signals. (See Radiation, 7.6, page 42.)

7.3 Infections

The organic elements of a ee are internally segregated, and are thus nearly invulnerable to infectious attacks. They are further protected by the filtering mechanisms of the sampler (6.4, page 39).

7.4 Impacts

Defenses vs. impacts include an outer Bufragel layer for absorption and the ul-

traspeed program for avoidance.

Technical Data: 7.41 • 7.52

7.41 Bufragel

The ee defense against energy of momentum, or impact damage, is similar in principle to that used in the 20th century "bulletproof vests," though the materials used have been vastly improved. The primary drawbacks of the original version were its transmission of much of the shock effect to the wearer, and its inability to stop specially coated or very-high-speed projectiles. In subsequent analysis and improvement, the goal was obviously to raise the impact coefficient (aka coefficient of restitution) to as close to unity (1) as possible, resulting in an almost completely elastic collision. But since the gross energies of momentum of the objects involved must be equal before and after such a collision, a method was developed to convert some of that energy into another form. The remaining energy could then be deflected.

The basic long-chain polymer principle used in the primitive bulletproof garment was kept, but the new material has an even longer chain and considerably different chemical qualities. It is a colloid, rather than a fibrous material, and a dilatant fluid (inverted pseudoplastic) - that is, it "gives" under low stress, but stiffens and reacts under high stress. Marketed under the trade name Bufragel~ this silvery material is effective within a wide temperature range (140 to 13460 F, or -1 00 to 7300 e), in which it has the consistency of smooth peanut butter. It effectively converts a large percentage of the imparted energy of momentum into radiation (heat, beta rays, and gamma rays), and laterally distributes most of the remainder. Atomic particle releases are minimal and the emissions are in a direction exactly opposite to that of the impacting object, posing a hazard to organic tissue only in extreme circumstances (atypical even of normal combat).

The primary drawback of Bufragel is the ease of its destruction under high heat, for it melts or vaporizes in conditions produced by typical explosives. A secondary and relatively minor drawback is the radio interference produced by the converted energy emissions.

Microseconds after a collision with Bufragel, the impacting object may simply be stopped and fall away, or it may be embedded in the material, or it may be utterly vaporized by the thermal output. The exact result varies by the object's initial velocity and physical characteristics. Embedded materials severely and adversely affect the characteristics of the impact site; a second impact at or near that point may produce results as if it were

unprotected. If the embedded material is removed, however, the Bufragel will flow to refill the impact site. It is partially effective immediately, reaching full protective value when the material resumes stable distribution.

The conventional modern shocksuit was the initial outgrowth of Bufragel development.lt is composed of dozens of small, flat pockets of the material, simply sewn together to form a helmet liner, vest, jacket, pants, or full body suit. For typical combat conditions, the minimum size of such a pocket is about 5 mm square and 1 mm deep; smaller quantities disintegrate quickly when struck by a typical bullet. The minimum pocket is effective against several direct hits, but the Bufragel will leak from the hole created by anyone hit in about an hour. Larger Bufragel compartments are common on military vehicles and some installations.

In a ee, a self-contained layer of modified Bufragel lies between the outer pseudoskin and the Emmer net. The material is essentially identical, but dozens of small piezoelectric crystal units are embedded in it. In a collision, energy of momentum which is not converted to radiant form, but transmitted instead through the Bufragel, impacts on and is further dampened by these units. Some of the energy is thereby converted into electrical power, providing some (minimal) recharging with every impact. Development is proceeding toward a new variety of Bufragel which converts less energy, allowing more to be laterally transmitted and converted to recharging power.

7.42 Ultraspeed

As an added defense, MadMac contains an ultraspeed program. Its use has a high power cost, typically 10-50 times the rate of operation at normal speed. When ultraspeed is activated, the ee body moves much too fast for the organic brain to grasp, and it is thus controlled entirely by MadMac. True sensory awareness of the actions taken in ultraspeed mode causes confusion in the organic brain, and is thus automatically filtered out. The actions can be reviewed after the program disengages.

In Ultraspeed mode, the body uses any and all means available to destroy, stop, or deflect incoming projectiles. Internal lasers are the primary tools, since mechanical devices (including movement of body limbs) are comparatively slow and difficult to handle at such speeds. However, a ee can easily shoot bullets, for example, to precisely collide with and destroy or deflect other bullets, if Mad Mac is so instructed by the operator before the program is engaged.

Ultraspeed is normally engaged for a

predefined duration, expressed in any of several quanta - amount of power used, a time interval, a number of missiles countered, or some other measurement. It may be disengaged on command, but the organic reaction time involved is such that a large number of actions may already have been executed and/or be irrevocably in progress before Mad Mac receives the command.

Ultraspeed will automatically disengage if its use would, in MadMac's judgment, cause the power available to drop below 5% of the maximum total possible for the primary batteries. The program automatically fails to run, giving the same warning message, if the ee's power level is already in that range. This can be overridden by the operator, but is potentially hazardous in such cases. If the warning is ignored and the program run, MadMac will use any and all remaining power, if necessary, in the Ultraspeed defense mode. (See Secondary Power, 4.2, page 35, for results of zero-power status.)

7.5 Light

This term here applies to the range of the electromagnetic spectrum from about 1016 t01 013 Hz, or wavelengths of 100 to 10 million Angstrom units (1 A = 10-10 meter). It includes ultraviolet (100-4,000 A), visible (4,000-7,000 A), and infrared light (7,000-10,000,000 A).

7.51 Hazards

Light of any sort can inflict heat damage, given sufficient power and concentration. The skin of a ee is polarized and heat-resistant, thus blocking most potentially damaging effects. The "flash effect" of visible light, which can cause temporary blindness to organic eyes, does not affect a ee's sensory apparatus, since all such input is converted to electrical signals and thus easily and automatically filtered.

7.52 Polarization & Deflection

Polarization also gives the outer skin some resistance to lasers, but not much. However, since laser attacks can easily be reflected, hand-held "mirror shields" of various sizes provide inexpensive and often adequate defense. Once the position of an attacking laser is known, further attacks can usually be deflected. With foresight, skill, and luck, an incoming laser blast can sometimes be reflected back on the attacker with minimal loss of energy. This tactic is far less improbable when the attacker uses an initial low-power aiming phase, allowing the ee to move the deflector into position before the intensity reaches the second (damaging) level. (See Lasers, 8.2, page 43.)

Bufragel is a registered trademark of MollyCorp (Armament Division). © 2010 & 2027, MollyCorp. Inc. Used with permission.

41

Technical Data: 7.6 - 8.1

7.6 Radiation

This term here applies to the ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum immediately below that of light, i.e. gamma rays (1020 to 1021 Hz) and X-rays (10'8 to 10'9 Hz, or 0.1 to 100 A), and those above that range, of which only microwaves (10'0 Hz, or 1 mm to 30 cm wavelengths) are known to be potentially harmful. All such radiations are somewhat blocked by circuit shielding (q.v.), and can be countered by using the Emmer net, in the same manner as against electrical hazards (q.q.v.) . The end result of the latter differs slightly in that these radiations are deflected but not deactivated through grounding, as occurs with electrical charges. The radiation may affect nearby organic and inorganic objects, as it loses little of its force in the process of deflection.

Normal electronic communications are disrupted by the Emmer effect, since these radiations are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Emmer effect cannot as yet be limited to certain wavelengths, though some progress has been made in this area. And although radiations of the frequencies of radio and television waves are not harmful to human or other terran life forms, they may theoretically affect certain extraterrestrial forms, presumably through concentrated highpower applications.

7.7 Smoke

Certain tactical maneuvers can be used either defensively or offensively. The most common is the use of smoke, which hampers normal visibility.

7.71 Effects

Hot smoke blocks infrared scanning, and radioactive smoke blocks most other scanner frequencies. It is an area-attack form as well. Normal, hot, and radioactive smoke all block most laser use.

7.72 Electrostatic Precipitation

Any such area attack involves particles suspended in the air, and all such attacks can be countered by electrostatic means. Common in industry, this technique uses charged plates or rods to attract the particles, removing them from the air.

If any conductive metals are nearby, CCs can use power to charge them electrically, thus creating an unsophisticated but quite effective electrostatic precipitator. The power cost is rather high, however, as imparting a sufficient charge on a good conductor requires the expenditure of about 15,000 volts per inch of material. By expending 1 PU per inch of material per minute of use, a CC can cleanse 100 cubic feet of air per inch of electrode per minute of operation by precipitating the particles

42

from it. Note that two electrodes, and the total length of both, must be calculated.

Example: To destroy a spherical smoke cloud 10' across (about 4,200 cubic feet) using two metal rods, each a foot long (24" total length), a CC must pass the charged rods through the cloud for 1 3/4 minutes (4,200 cuf / 24"), thus expending 42 PU (24" x 1.75 minutes).

7.8 Sound

Sound is carried by gross movement of a medium (usually air) in wave forms of alternating high and low pressure, and is thus extremely slow compared with radiant or subatomic particle effects. Damaging sonic effects can be hazardous to anything, organic or otherwise, but can usually be countered unless they are of extremely high power.

Potentially damaging sound is first detected by the CC's sensory systems (q.v.), which note the atmospheric disturbance created thereby (invisible to human eyes) and automatically alert the operator. Such detection is often at some distance from the actual sound source. No automatic programs or protections can be applied; direct and voluntary action must be taken to offset the hazard.

Upon command, MadMac analyzes the incoming sound and inverts the wave forms, duplicating their respective intensities and frequencies but at inverted phase. The operator may project the inverted wave forms through the hand speaker units mounted in the palm, producing more sound which partially or totally blocks the original sonic effect. The amount of power needed varies by the volume of the incoming sound, but typically (for battlefield sonic weapons) only 2- 5 PU are required, or double that against large semi-mobile weapon units. This is far less than the amount of power used to produce the damaging sonic effects initially, but the inverse wave decreases the impact of the sound sufficiently to prevent damage. If desired, the CC may project enough power to completely negate or even overpower the other sound.

The area affected by inverse wave projection varies by the directional movements of the sound waves involved. If a CC stands beside a sonic weapon projector, for example, and projects the inverted waves in the same direction (overlapping), most or all of the sounds are neutralized. The same applies if the CC is before the projector, aiming toward it. If the CC projects the inverse wave at some other angle, however, only the sound within the area of intersection is affected, and both sonic effects (the projector's and the CC's, both having damage potential) resume once past that area. Furthermore, the damage potential of the sound within that

intersection is only partially negated, since the wave forms are at some angle to each other. In other words, the sound is scrambled somewhat, but not enough to prevent all damage.

7.9 Thermal Effects

Subsurface circuits and tubes heat and cool the pseudoskin and joints as needed, usually as directed by MadMac. The primary system is located in the outer skin, immediately below the external surface. The heating circuits are standard and elementary, though the elements used are very small. The thin tubes are filled with gas which can be cooled and circulated. The gas will react and solidify upon contact with normal air, and the system is therefore self-sealing. To allow for this, micro-gates can route the flow along many different paths.

This heating/cooling system can change the pseudoskin temperature very quickly, up to 1200 C (2480 F) per second, thus providing excellent protection against attack forms based on heat and cold if given sufficient advance warning, and very good reactive defenses.

In emergency or high-stress situations, system priority is given to the pseudoskin, not to the secondary thermal controls surrounding joint mechanisms (see Movement, 5.2-5.5, pages 36-37). Overall unit integrity is maximized thereby. In extreme circumstances, some or all limb movement may be temporarily halted or weakened due to the freezing or boiling (respectively) of the hydraulic fluid used. Since such systems are sealed, few or no losses normally occur in the disrupted period, and subsequent thermal control quickly restores normal movement. If freezing causes component damage, a joint may suffer either weakness, if one of the two drive cylinders is damaged, or flaccidity, due to fluid loss pursuant to reliquification. Leakage does not normally affect internal circuitry, nor does damage to one joint affect any other, because of the modular nature of the joint construction and control.

8.0 Attack Modes

The basic CC's inboard attack modes use light, sound, and sheer electrical force. Each weapon use thus requires the expenditure of some amount of power. The amount is chosen by Mad Mac if an automatic program is in use, or by conscious decision otherwise.

8.1 Electrostat

A CC can accumulate an electrical charge of high voltage on the first finger of

Technical Data: 8.2 • 8.4

either hand by using a virtual duplicate of a Tesla coil or Van de Graf generator. This is a variable and unstable attack form at best, since the discharge will occur as a "lightning bolt" effect as soon as the builtup potential is able to jump to the nearest ground. It can thus be quite effective at close range, but cannot usually be directed against targets more than 3 meters/yards distant. It causes little or no organic damage, since the bolt has low amperage, but it can have severe effect on neural or electrical systems because of the high voltage. It may cause shock, stunning, or even death in a living target, or it may have no effect. It may cause severe damage to the hardware or software of an electrical or computer system, or it may be drained off harmlessly. In special cases, the bolt might even be consumed and stored as a power recharge, as with a CC target.

8.2 Lasers

A small laser is built into each forearm.

The firing ports (panels) are located where the heads of the metacarpal shafts of the 3rd & 4th (index & middle) fingers would be in a human body. A focal lens is located just inside each firing port.

The laser can only be used when the hand and wrist are held in the proper position, such that the relatively flat outer part of the arm is perfectly aligned with the back of the hand. Once the arm is in the proper position, the ports can then be opened and the lasers used. This hand position is sometimes called the "eagle claw" in martial arts training.

Each laser is relatively standard, consisting of a rod of synthetic translucent aluminum oxide colored by specific amounts and types of impurities. When the rod is exposed to intense light from a xenon flashtube, it produces a characteristic beam of coherent light. The beam is quite narrow, about one milliradian (.05°) wide. The rate of power usage varies by the duration of the burst, Le., inferentially by the resistance (material) of the target. In combat, a single or double burst is normally used ,lasting about 1/10 second and using 5 PU (Power Units). Such a burst will burn through 3-6 meters/yards of unprotected organic material. Typical armor accounts for 3 meters/yards of such penetration. If the beam is concentrated for 1/5 second (10 PU) it can burn through up to a foot of brick wall; a full second (50 PU) will penetrate 5 cm ( 2 inches) of solid steel. A liquid can be vaporized with the laser, but its thermalconductive properties may disperse the heat quickly.

8.3 Microwaves

A CC can emit signals in much, but not all, of the electromagnetic range detect-

able by its sensors. Though a CC has no gamma-ray projector, it can produce signals in the range of ultraviolet, normal, or infrared light (using lamps), microwaves and radar (using the palm projectors), radio waves (using the central antenna), and X-rays. Of these various emissions, only microwaves are known to be directly and quickly useful as attack forms. These are reflected by metals, but can penetrate most other substances.

Using much the same method as for sonic attacks (see 8.4, next page), a CC can project microwaves by aiming one or both palm projectors at a target. Though the sonic mode vibrates the palm membranes as speakers, the microwave signal comes from a small source antenna at the center of the palm units, and is merely focused by them. Damage is thus inflicted by heating the target.

8.4 Sanies

Every object vibrates at some frequency, which is called its natural frequency of resonance. An object will vibrate when subjected to sound impulses of the same frequency as its resonance. If such sounds are of arbitrary or random frequencies at first, and are then focused on the proper resonance, an object can be made to vibrate increasingly faster and

more intensely, causing damage to the object. This is the principle used by a person who is able to shatter a glass by singing.

A CC can use the sound projectors in the palms of the hands to similar effect against a wide range of materials, not just fragile objects. In general, items made of a single, dense, regular substance can be greatly affected; objects composed of several materials of irregular composition are less affected. Most organic material falls into the latter category; most metals and other inorganic substances are in the former.

Sonic resonance as an attack form is time-consuming, but does not use great amounts of power. The noise need not be loud, but it must be accurately aimed and of the proper frequency. If the appropriate sound is applied from both hand projectors (or from two CCs, each using one hand) against a stationary target with a resonance known either exactly or approximately, damage can be produced within four seconds. If the resonance must be found, the process can take twice as long, assuming full sensory scanning and analysis capacity on the CC's part, or even longer. The use of a single palm projector may result in insufficient power application, for no effect unless the target is very near (within 3 meters/yards).

Inboard Laser

Firing Position

Normal Position

Firing ports

Power cables

43

Technical Data: 8.5 - 9.9

8.5 Other Weaponry

Any CC can use various external attack devices, of course. Nearly any object propelled by the force of CC "muscles" can cause physical damage to a target. The inherent disadvantage in all devices, of course, is their limited viability; guns require ammunition, and are of little use when that ammo runs out.

The amount of accessory equipment issued to a CC depends on the details and goals of the assignment. Such equipment may range from nothing at all (common, especially for novice CC operators) to full combat packs including grenades, guns of various sorts, portable missile launchers, mines, and other nasty things. When new weapons require field testing, CCs are usually selected for the task, since they tend to bring back results and equipment more reliably than human soldiers.

8.6 Tools

Special additions to the hand provide a minimum assortment of built-in tools for fine detail work. The index finger contains a blade and a chisel; the little finger contains a drill that uses interchangeable bits. Each tool may be extended to a maximum length of 10 cm (3.94"), and all are constructed of the same material as the CC frame (reinforced beta-alumina), so they require only infrequent maintenance.

The chisel doubles as a screwdriver, and can be easily used to convert a Phillips-head screw into a normal one. The blade is as sharp as a good scalpel and a thousand times as durable. Using vision magnification, a CC can easily slice the thickness of a piece of paper into several layers.

The rotation speed of the drill can range from 1 to 100 rotations per second, under the precise control of the operator, and. can function equally well in either direction of rotation. Four interchangeable bits are stored in the lower edge of the hand, and anyone selected can be moved into position and extended in approximately 0.4 second. The widths are 1,2,4,

and 8 millimeters (0.3"). All bits are suitable for use in any material, though they do suffer notable abrasion when used on materials of Mohs hardness 9.7 or greater, such as silicon or boron carbide.

8.7 Skills

All of the foregoing information notwithstanding, a CC's most effective weapon is its mind. With the range of information available to it in both normal (organic) memory and computer storage (pseudomemory), a CC of even moderate experience should be able to assess and resolve nearly any problem encountered. The operator should be able to handle peaceful and hostile situations with equal ease. Not all of the enemies are aliens, and many battles can be avoided with the proper use of conversation, deception, and/or simple evasion.

Finally, a CC's primary purpose is to survive, using any and all skills, knowledge, and abilities to that end. A CC is a highly sophisticated, expensive, and nonexpendable resource of mankind's forces. Victory is of course a preferred result of operations, but that is almost always le,ss essential than the return of the CCs involved, whether wholly or partially intact. Total defeat is impossible as long as the CCs live to continue the fight.

9.0 Conclusion

The current design of the CC unit reflects its potential as a military weapon, defense, and all-purpose tool. The innate balancing factor is of course the human mind, particularly the conscience. The CYBORG COMMANDO unit appears, in one respect, to be the ultimate "smart bomb" - powerful, controllable, and capable of situation analysis and voluntary actions.

Though it is indeed unfortunate that the BRP is non-reversible at this time, this topic has an extremely high priority in the national defense schedule, and breakthroughs are expected within 3 years (±

Blade

Finger Tools

Drlll~

44

First Finger

-- ___

-~Motors

-,

Little Finger

10%). However, despite the potential convenience of using CC bodies as if they were mere equipment, this development introduces the possibility that such equipment might be stolen. Security plans are thus in progress as well.

Sawtell believes that a Mad Mac, once accustomed to interaction with a human brain, could become aberrant upon or shortly after the termination (albeit temporary) of such interaction. He also believes that a Mad Mac may orient itself to one particular user, and may function unsatisfactorily with others. Kotusu disagrees on both counts, of course; but these possibilities are being investigated nevertheless. Sawtell's unsubstantiated remarks have often been more productive than Kotusu's considered opinions.

9.1 Addendum

(The following is a verbatim transcript.)

where'sthepunctuation button on this fardle voicewriter .. , ; okay uh

On Saturday January 13 2035 an enemy invasion force penetrated T .A. U. airspace and landed an invasion force. It is now apparent that all other regions of the world were similarly and simultaneously invaded. The enemy, apparently extraterrestrial, fardle.

That makes me sound like a fardle idiot but I don't know how to back up this thing oh at least it censors itself okay then fardle it well uh ,

Over 95% of the world's

mili tary forces and installations were vaporized in the attack. We now believe that the enemy force is extraterrestrial.

Man now faces the ultimate crisis. The existence and, indeed, success of the CC design appears to be our only hope.

Appended 1.17.35, Colonel D. P. Garner, TAUCOM Nawlins

9.2-9.8. Reserved for future addenda.

9.9 APPENDICES

All appendices have been deleted from this package for security reasons. When submitting requests, refer to document packages as follows:

Names deleted by order of the Union Security Council

CCF: Bases

The

CYBORG

COMMANDOTM Force

The CCF is an elite group of specially selected volunteers who have been chosen by a tight screening process to become the best military personnel the world has ever seen. Less than one person in a million makes it through the tests and is allowed to join. Welcome to the Force.

History

From the start of the century, scientific research facilities in many countries pursued topics which eventually led to the creation of the CYBORG COMMANDO operative in 2024. As its originator, the United States of America maintained the leading edge of new developments in the field. But many of the individual CC components were produced by independent businesses (mostly American and Japanese), and could not be suppressed.lnformation sharing was also characteristic of this political era. The CC Force thus quickly became an international organization.

In the late 20's, many of the Blocoriented bases and offices were expanded to include the functions necessary for CC support. Many new bases were also created.

A special task force compiled guidelines for base construction and layout, which were loosely followed by most of the nations involved. The five types of bases represented in the CC Force network are:

Command, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary,

and Research. Physical layouts, sizes, and even staffing vary widely, even within a single base type. The variable factors include the state of technological development in the country maintaining the base, the number of bases in that country or region, and so forth.

There are 176 CC operatives in existence just prior to the invasion, nearly three-fourths being Type-1 CCs - robotic types, lacking some of the attack/defense features of the state-of-the-art Type 2 (the typical player character). Many of the Type-1 CCs were lost in the invasion, but only eleven Type-2 CCs were destroyed, and all of those losses occurred during the depopulation of major metropolitan areas worldwide. Of the 81 CC survivors of the invasion, less than half are Type-2. The few new recruits that can be found and placed into CC bodies, plus this mere handful of Type-2 survivors of the invasion, are the player characters.

Base Descriptions

Each type of CC base fulfills a specific function in the Force. Most nations of the world have at least one base, though not all have CC operatives.

Command

In a large country, a Command base is typically a grouping of offices that has few

or no facilities unique to CC operations. In a small country, by contrast, the Command base usually has full Tertiary base facilities (see below). Some countries placed their Command bases in politically important areas; others placed them in militarily advantageous areas - well-defended, small and inconspicuous, or whatever.

The functions of a Command base are often purely bureaucratic, though it ideally provides good strategic functions as well. The task of gaining public acceptance for the CC concept required a serious promotional effort, sustained by governmental funds and coordinated by personnel at these bases.

Primary

The Primary base facility is the backbone of all CC operations. It is typically a large complex with several buildings and good nearby technological support, including power, high-tech services, etc. A CC operative can only be permanently assigned to a Primary base, though CCs are often given temporary assignments elsewhere. In addition to general CC support, the personnel at a Primary also handle the testing of candidates (a complex procedure, since psychogenically talented individuals are preferred) and the training and special education of those accepted. Some Primaries even include medical facilities for the Brain Relocation Procedure.

.

· .

· .

: !

· .

; .

· .

· .

45

CCF: Support Personnel

Primary bases are often located in or very near major cities, since those are the principal sources of technology, transportation, and communications. For military considerations, few Primary bases are located in or near the largest cities of the world. Nor are they placed in military bases, for those areas would be endangered in the event of a major conflict. Some few Primaries in the world double as Command bases, notably in small nations.

A Primary base is always located on either a major river or a seacoast, for various reasons. Not only is water an absolute requirement for the "normals" (non-CCs) on the base, but it is also used for power, since every Primary has its own turbine or pressureltemperature-differential generators. The former type generates power by moving water; the latter uses the difference in temperature and pressure between the top and bottom of the ocean water. Waterways also provide transportation in the event that more typical transportation modes are disrupted (l.e., in wartime), and hidden travel is still best accomplished underwater. Most Primary bases have their own submarines, both mini-subs and large nuclear types.

A Primary base must be completely staffed at all times. From 5-50 normals are needed for recruitment, testing, training, and miscellaneous details, depending upon the size of the metropolitan area and the base itself. (After the invasion, a Xenospecialist is added if possible.) In addition, at least twelve highly skilled specialists are needed to support each CC operative, as summarized (right).

Secondary

A Secondary base is usually nothing more than a building or small complex stocked partially or fully with supplies. Each Secondary is dedicated to a particular Primary base, and its sole purpose is to function as a Primary in the event that the original is lost.

When several Primaries were depopulated during the invasion, Secondaries were selected and activated according to plan. At Primaries where no CC operatives survived, the Secondaries were activated by other personnel, who began trying to obtain replacement operatives through the new channels of the command structure.

Standard procedures require that each Primary have four Secondary bases, all scattered in the same general vicinity. Thus, in case of war, at least one Secondary is likely to survive nearly any conceivable attack pattern.

A Secondary typically contains a master computer, food and water reserves, two power generators (not used unless

46

the base is occupied), lab facilities, a communications station, critical CC replacement parts (such as 2-5 unactivated MadMacs, spare hand, leg, and head units, etc.), weaponry, and ammunition. Staffing at a Secondary base is often minimal, and may consist only of one or two security guards.

Tertiary

A Tertiary is often used as a temporary base by CC operatives assigned to missions far from their Primaries. Tertiaries resemble smaller versions of Primaries, but they have fewer personnel and resources, and no Secondary bases for backup. No CCs are permanently assigned to a Tertiary base.

Command bases in small countries are often fully operational Tertiary facilities as well. If a Command/Ternary base shows itself to be highly efficient when CCs are "loaned" to it for temporary assignments, it may be upgraded to Primary status and assigned a CC operative.

Research

There are few CC bases dedicated only to research, and some of these are transient units with no immobile facilities. Research "bases" may request CC operatives for specific purposes. They also conduct general tests in challenging climates such as deserts, arctic conditions, extremely mountainous regions (e.g. the Himalayas), space (at the Orbital Station), and extraterrestrial conditions

(l.e., the Moon). Such testing is not necessarily CC-specific; research bases do much general scientific work.

Most Primary bases also have some less exotic research facilities, as do some combined Oommand/Tertiary bases.

CC Support Personnel

Normals (CCF members who are not CCs) performing the following functions are found at every Primary base, and often travel with CCs on temporary assignments. Each position requires extensive knowledge of both theory and practical applications, the latter including repair & replacement of parts.

Except for the Base Commander, all these personnel are required to support one CC. Those Primaries to which mulitple CC operatives are assigned must duplicate the entire support staff for each; this results in effective monitoring and maintenance of every CC. The requirement ensures the availability of an adequate number of fully trained and experienced specialists. Support personnel are rotated with some frequency between Primaries within a Bloc.

The nicknames given below each title are commonly used by and between CC operatives. In the presence of normals, however, the degree of usage varies by the reactions of the individuals involved.

Armorer

Guns, Cue

The armorer handles CC inboard weapons and munitions, carried weapons

CC Bases & Staffing
E.C. P.A.U. T.A.U. U.A. U.N.O. World
Bases
Command 24 26 30 13 11 104
Primary 5 9 13 1 2 30
P & C· 2 3 0 3 4 12
Secondary 28 48 52 16 24 168
Tertiary 12 26 27 3 13 81
Research 2 5 5 2 5 19
Total all 73 117 127 38 59 414
Initial Staffing
Type-1 CCs 28 41 25 13 20 127
Type-2 CCs 7 9 25 3 5 49
Total CCs 35 50 50 16 25 176
Invasion Losses
Type-1 CCs 20 29 22 4 9 84
Type-2 CCs 1 5 4 0 1 11
Total CCs 21 34 26 4 10 95
Post-Invasion Totals
Type-1 CCs 8 12 3 9 11 43
Type-2 CCs 6 4 21 3 4 38
Total CCs 14 16 24 12 15 81
"P & C Combined Primary & Command Base CCF: Routine Maintenance

47

CCF: Rank & Advancement

of all sorts used by both CCs and normals, and combat training in general.

Commander Boss, Dad

The Base Commander organizes and manages all personnel and activities, including mission assignments; also general strategy & tactics.

Communications Specialist Sparks, Seemie

This individual is responsible for all communications, including CC communication units and the base systems. The same person doubles as security officer to handle codes; sometimes also an expert in psychogenic communications.

Computer Technician Brainy, Little Mac

This tech is responsible for Mad Mac adjustment, program debugging, and general care, plus programming, operation, and repair of base computers.

Data Analyst Cruncher, Watcher

The data analyst collects, replays, examines, evaluates, and summarizes MadMad records of CC field operations.

Defense Systems Technician Shield, Mother

The DST is responsible for CC defenses, including the Emmer net, Bufragel layer, and special ultraspeed operation.

Liaison Mouthpiece, Shovel

Liasons are hired for diplomacy & tact.

They handle information exchange between the CC base and the local political and conventional military establishments.

Mechanical Technician Tinker, Wrench

The tinker maintains the CC frame, motors, and other mechanical devices, and also handles general repairs for all base devices, including everything from vehicles to vending machines.

Medical Doctor

Doc, Bones

The doctor is responsible for the care and regulation of the organic elements (brain, associated glands, circulatory system, pharmacy, etc.) of the CC form.

Power Technician Magoo, DC

The power tech is responsible for CC Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary batteries plus associated circuits, plus power systems for base operation.

Psychiatrist-Psychologist

Shrink, Inkblot

48

The shrink cares for and regulates the mind of the operative and, if necessary, related applications to the Mad Mac.

Sensory Technician Peeper, Censor

The technician is responsible for maintaining all CC sensory systems, including eyes, ears, skin sensors, sampler, and related hardware.

Ranks & Advancement

Though the CCF is organized as a military group, its members are much more than soldiers. CCF personnel, normal humans as well as CCs, have taken the leading positions in the world's technological research, the space program, and many other vital areas.

But since the CCF personnel frequently interact with conventional military forces, all CC operatives are given a military rank. Because of the extensive education and training enjoyed by all CCs, the ranks given are three grades higher than those of military personnel with comparable experience and responsibility. Within the CCF, the normal (lower) ranks are used, but the higher rank applies whenever interaction with conventional military personnel occurs.

A CC character gains an increase in rank whenever two conditions are met. First, the character's total SP must reach the amount indicated for the next rank. Second, the character must be examined by a board of at least three superiors, all of whom must exceed the character's existing rank (before promotion) by at least three steps, and who must in any event hold the rank of 2nd Lieutenant or higher.

Such a review is essentially a formality, however, and the promotion is always approved unless special circumstances apply, such as flagrant disobedience, repeated failures in mission goals, inability to cooperate with peers, etc.

If a promotion is disapproved, the character is automatically reviewed after each two missions thereafter until he or she passes the examination. If a character gains enough SP to reach an even higher rank without passing the examination for the lower one, a special review is conducted to see if the CC is worthy of any rank whatsoever, and to examine carefully all the details of his or her entire service. If this review is passed, the character gains the lower rank, but must still pass a normal examination to gain the higher one. If the special review is failed, however, the character is removed from active service and reassigned in a support role, to be restored to his or her natural body as soon as possible and dismissed dishonorably from the CCF.

Since the SP gain that results in a promotion represents a considerable amount of experience in the field, the character's Combat Rating - the number which, if not exceeded in an attack roll, indicates a clean miss - improves at a rate proportional to rank.

Various other minor benefits come with higher rank, as does greater responsibility. In these other ways, the CCF is quite similar to the conventional military.

The CC ranks, the SP required for each (by game type, for either the basic or the advanced game), Combat Ratings (CR) by rank, and equivalent ranks in conventional military forces are summarized on the following table.

SP Requirements by Game Type
Physical Equivalent Rank of
Basic Adv. CR Stat CC Rank Conventional Forces
60 180 10 100 Private Corporal
80 240 9 110 Private First Class Sergeant
110 330 8 120 Lance Corporal Field Sergeant
150 450 7 130 Corporal Master Sergeant
200 600 6 140 Sergeant First Sergeant
260 780 5 150 Field Sergeant Sergeant Major
330 990 4 160 Master Sergeant Second Lieutenant
410 1230 3 170 First Sergeant First Lieutenant
500 1500 2 180 Sergeant Major Captain
600 1800 1 190 Second Lieutenant Major
710 2130 1 200 First Lieutenant Lieutenant Colonel
830 2490 1 210 Captain Colonel
960 2880 1 220 Major Brigadier General
1100 3300 1 230 Lieutenant Colonel Major General
1250 3750 1 240 Colonel Lieutenant General
1410 4230 1 250 Brigadier General General " " " II " "

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CYBORG COMMANDO™GAME

CHARACTER RECORD

Character Name: _

PlayerN~une: __

STATS

MENTAL

NEURM.

PHYSICAL

Natural CC

Capacity _

Integrity _

~overy _

STAT~BASED DATA:

Skills Actions Dmg
Train Speed Heal
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CYBORG

COMMANDOTM

SCIENCE FICTION ROLE-PLAYING GAME

by Gary Gygax, Frank Mentzer, & Kim Mohan

Campaign Book

Editing & Layout: Penny Petti cord Cover Art: David Dorman

Interior Art: Diane Hamil, Todd Hamilton, Valerie A. Valusek, & Gary M. Williams

Special Thanks to Jennings Cappel Ian, Rare Earth Information Center

Introduction 2

World Population 4

CCF Section, Bases of the Five Alliances

European Commonwealth 7

Pan-Asian Union 14

Trans-Amercan Union 22

United Afrika 28

United Nations of Oceania 33

The Invaders

Xenoborgs 36

Xenobiology 40

Xenoborgs as Beings 44

Other Aliens 47

Q-Space Travel 53

Invasion 56

Post-Invasion Status 59

Reference Tables: Metric and English 62

Tips for the GM 64

Maps of CC Base Locations

European Commonwealth 6

Pan-Asian Union 12

Trans-American Union 20

United Afrika 27

United Nations of Oceania 32

CYBORG COMMANDO and the Cyborg Commando logo are trademarks owned by Trigee Enterprises Corporation.

The New Infinities logo is a trademark owned by New Infinities Productions, Inc.

©1987 Trigee Enterprises Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

New Infinities Productions, Inc. P.O. Box 127,

Lake Geneva, WI

53147 ISBN: 0-941993-18-3

Introduction

The year is 2035; the place, Earth itself.

The heroes are the CYBORG COMMANDOTM characters; the enemies are aliens who have already invaded Earth.

If your "role-playing" games consist mostly of combat, you will need little more than the charts on the back cover of this booklet. The outside gives the game data most frequently used, for alien troops of the lowest ranks. The inside back cover gives the details for higher-ranked invaders, with modified Defense Values. Read the Xenoborg section thoroughly (pages 36-39), and review the notes on the other alien races (page 47) , so that you can handle the variety of situations that may come up in battle.

But the CC game as a campaign demands much more than simple combat. It is impossible to give all the game details needed for such a campaign, for several reasons. First, this is a new game, and the specific needs have yet to be discovered - though the general ones can be anticipated, and are addressed. Second, this is Set #1 of a series of three (or even more) rule sets; much remains to be covered in subsequent products. And third, this one set is very limited in size; a comprehensive treatment of the subject would be large, and the resulting product would be much more expensive than this one. Given sufficient demand, the game will expand quickly, and eventually everything will be covered.

This rule set demands your creativity. It is a construction kit; assembly is required. The world of 2035, the CYBORG COMMANDO Force, and the invading aliens are described herein. Most of the information is given in encyclopedic fashion, that being the method of presentation that best organizes the data. You must read and become generally familiar with this material, and then use it to create adventures set within a greater campaign that is all your own. But before that, of course, you should also be familiar with the information and concepts contained in the CCF Manual.

You're not entirely on your own, though. The third booklet in this set describes several adventures that you can develop. These scenarios are outlines, and a good bit of work on your part will be required to prepare them for use. Complete adventures, settings, and accessory detail packs are available as separate products, and these will help you flesh out your initial campaign into a highly detailed

2

Introduction

form. Information will be forthcoming on settings, equipment, and adventures.

Style

The emphasis throughout this game is on hard science. The details of the nearfuture setting have been realistically extrapolated by logical means from the current (1980s) world. With respect to the setting and characters described in this game, every detail may someday become reality. With the aliens, however, come two assumptions, both of which may be unrealistic: they have an advanced civilization, and they have a device that makes galactic travel possible. But those assumptions provide the challenge and excitement of the game, and such things are at least possible, even if unlikely.

Fantasy is discouraged herein. Teleportation is fiction, the galaxy is not traveled by thousands of intelligent alien races, and the speed of light is an absolute limit. Earth still hopes to avert nuclear war, struggles to feed its hungry masses, and frantically tries to cope with pollution.

In 2035, the world population is more than 12 billion. This is a critical factor in determining the characteristics and general lifestyle of any place on the globe. A section of this booklet gives ways to update 20th century figures, obtainable from your local library, to fit the game setting.

The World Setting

Although international power in the year 2035 is centralized in the United Earth Government (U.E.G., commonly called the World Court), it is therein balanced and shared by the five large territorial blocs into which the world is divided. Representatives from these blocs sit on the World Councils, thereby controlling the activities of the government.

These five blocs (often called the Five) are the European Commonwealth (essentially historical Europe), the Pan-Asian Union (Asia and the Middle East), the Trans-American Union (North, Central, and South America), United Afrika (the continent plus Madagascar and assorted islands, but stopping at the Suez canal), and the United Nations of Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Antarctica, and most of the islands of the South Pacific).

The Five were established between 1997 and 2010. At first, they were simply small regulating bodies created for monitoring and smoothing international commerce, including monetary supply. With success came more power and broader scope, until it became apparent that the methods of organization employed by the Five would also suffice for regional government.

For that large step to be taken, however, the autonomy and individualism of each member nation had to be emphasized and assured. Although the people of the world are represented to the World Court by the blocs of which they are members, each separate nation maintains its independence from bloc control, at least with respect to all internal affairs. Each country maintains its own government; the bloc governments regulate international dealings only.

The bloc governments are supported by a minimal tax on all their constituents, based on average incomes and amounting to less per person (per year) than one might spend on a single beverage. When multiplied by the billions of people, however, this provides the bloc governments with ample funds for a variety of activities, including communications and postal systems, monetary systems & trade regulation, education, food and water distribution, international law enforcement, and research programs (both earthbound and otherwise).

Though some of the above may seem to be local affairs, they are less so than regional. A typical blend occurred in Education, specifically with respect to languages. The Five had commissioned the creation of a new international language called Terran, to be used for all international affairs (including world government). A global standard in 2035, the language is a blend of English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, French, and a smattering of other tongues. Upon its completion, each bloc government made the same offer to its member nations. The bloc government would pay all the costs of basic education for every person, young and old, subject to two conditions:

(1) Each country would first pick a national language of its own choosing.

(2) The teaching and regular use of both the national language and the T erran (international) language was required, and a top priority.

Introduction

From that starting point, the individual nations could teach any topic and in any manner they pleased. Most of the world took advantage of the offer, and illiteracy soon became an unusual (and often medical) problem.

The U.E.G. functions more smoothly and effectively than did any international government of the past, but it is certainly not perfect. The technological wonders of the Century Revolution eased but did not conquer cultural diseases. A separation of classes is present in every nation of every bloc, usually divided along financial lines. But until a better form of government comes along, the U.E.G. will do.

Us and Them

The most important information in this booklet is about the CYBORG COMMANDO™Force (CCF) and the Extraterrestrial invaders. Before you tackle the information herein, you should be familiar with the details given in the CCF Manual, which is also included with this set.

The CC Force (CCF)

From 2025 to 2035, the CCF became a global organization. This booklet lists all the CC bases in the world, along with their locations, command structure, and CC staff assigned to each. You will initially use only a small portion of that vast amount of detail- that which pertains to the area in which you begin your campaign - but the rest lays out the guidelines for the future development of your setting. The players may be generally aware of the CCF network, but they should not know the postinvasion status of any given base. That remains to be discovered, and it can be the seed from which many exciting adventures grow.

CC Base Codes

All CC bases are part of a single international network. Many standard CC operations involve multiple nations and political Blocs. The following coding system is used for all base designations.

General Format: Letter A Letter B Number C Letter 0 . Number E

Letter A = Territorial Bloc:

E European Commonwealth (E.C.) P Pan-Asian Union (P.A.U.)

T Trans-American Union (TAU.) A United Africa (U.A.)

o United Nations of Oceania (U.N.O.)

Letter B = Region of the political bloc.

Each alliance is divided into three or

four regions on a geographic basis.

Number C = The nation's numerical designation in a standard alphabetical listing. (See the CCF Manual for a full list of nations as of January 1, 2035.)

Letter 0 = The type of Base, which describes its function:

C Command Base P Primary Base

S Secondary Base T Tertiary Base

R Research Base

A combination base always bears the first letter code on the list; for example, a combined Command/Primary base has a "O" code. If a nation has a Command base but no Primary, assume that the base has full Tertiary facilities.

Number E = A two-digit numerical designation of the base, in numerical order within Type within nation. For a Secondary base, the first digit corresponds to the number of its Primary.

Examples: TB 10 C.1 = Trans-American Union, Region B (Central), nation #10 (Panama), Command base #1.

OC 02 S.32= Oceania, Region C (South), nation #2 (Australia), Secondary base #2 for Primary base #3.

The Extraterrestrials

These are the bad guys, of course; four alien races are fully detailed. The Xenoborgs supply the bulk of the force that invades the Earth; Powwers and Teleborgs are the Xenoborgs' tools; and the beings of the fourth race, the Masters, are mysterious unseen creatures that have engineered the whole business.

Xenoborgs are very realistic aliens, not the "B-movie monsters" they may seem at first. Part one of the Xenoborg section gives the game details needed for immediate play. Part two is a comprehensive study in Xenobiology; when you're finished with it, you'll understand how the creatures' bodies really work. Part three, Xenoids, looks at Xenoborgs as functioning beings, and includes notes on their culture.

The Extraterrestrials section concludes with details on two more topics. The device used to travel throughout the galaxy and beyond, the Q-drive, is explained in detail; this is what makes the whole game possible. And finally, the invasion of Earth is described in all its horrifying detail, complete with methods of attack, targets, occupation zones, and a post-invasion combat summary.

CHOOSE NOW!

Don't skip this section. Don't stop reading after the first paragraph below, either.

Before you run your first game, you must decide how to measure things. Unlike most games, this one gives you a choice: you may use either the Metric or the English system. We strongly urge you to choose the Metric. If you are an American, you probably won't want to; the Metric system has not been generally accepted in the U.SA But before you decide, please wait and consider the facts.

Start with your side of the argument.

Metric is a system you're not familiar with. For that reason, you can't "feel" the information; you know instinctively what 100 pounds is like, but how much is 100 kilograms? How far is 100 meters? Better to stick with what you know, right?

Bur consider: you're learning a whole new game, and you can easily learn the Metric system along with it. And the Metric system is so simple that it will actually make the game easier to play.

For example, to convert a million yards into miles, you'll probably multiply by 3 (to get feet) and then divide by 5,280. Can you do it fast, and in your head? (Answer: 568 miles 320 yards.) On the other hand, you can convert a million meters into kilometers simply by dropping three zeroes. (Answer: 1,000 kilometers.)

In the middle of a game, you won't want to stop the action because you're forced to use a calculator for awkward numbers like 16 (ounces per pound) or 231 (cubic inches per gallon) or 5,280 (feet per mile). If you use Metrics, you're always using nice, simple numbers, and you rarely need a calculator.

Finally, this is a hard-science game, and you'll probably use a lot of scientific information from other sources if you want a realistic campaign. And the scientific community uses the Metric system.

Please give it a try. You'll find that in a very short time, you'll get the "feel" of the units involved - and you'll love how simple it makes things. If (or rather, when) you get resistance from players who want to stay with the same old system no matter how much harder it is, insist that they give it a try. Promise that you'll go back to the English system if they really want you to, but only after a few games.

Details on units and conversions for both systems are given on pages 62 and 63. Take a look at them before you make your final choice. Many distances are given without units; in such cases, read the numbers as either meters or yards, depending on which system you have chosen. Weights and measures throughout the game are given in both Metric and English versions, for convenience.

3

World Population

On July 18, 1987, the total population of the world passed the five billion mark. On January 1, 2035, it's more than twelve billion. The Xenoborg invasion, however, quickly and tragically removes over a third of Earth's people.

If you play any CC games set in the preinvasion period, the populations of the towns and cities in which the characters adventure are very important factors. Population - or more specifically, overpopulation - has a direct effect on the available resources of food, water, and technology. Overpopulation is also a primary cause of war.

Population data is still more critical to the post-invasion game, for it determines, among other things, the amount of attention the Xenoborgs give a particular city or region. The aliens depopulate all urban areas with populations greater than five million during the first hours of the invasion, but they leave less dense areas alone, planning to clean them out with later troop activity. The Xenoborgs may devote an entire platoon to a city, but ignore a small town, though roving squads or individuals inspect such areas occasionally.

Using the charts and formulae given in this section, you can accurately calculate the population of any area, at any time from the present to the date of the invasion itself. You should use a calculator.

Population

Calculating Populations

Start by selecting a city, town, country, continent, or other area for which you have an accurate population figure (Check the reference books at your local library for these data.) As of the publication date of this game, the most accurate and readily available figures are for the 1970 estimate or the 1980 census.

Refer to Table 1 (below), and find the continent (or sub-continental area, for Asia and Oceania) wherein the area you have selected lies. Muitiply the population figure that you already have by the growth factor (a decimal number) given on the chart. The result is the population as of January 1, 2035.

Example: You find that the 1980 population of Philadelphia, PA (U.S.A., North America) was 1,688,210. The "1980" line for North America gives a growth factor of 2.45058. Multiplying the two, you find that the 2035 population of Philadelphia is 4,137,093.

Modifying Growth Rates

The growth rates given are extrapolated from current (1980s) estimates. The trend, once thought to be exponential (producing a Malthusian collapse in the relatively near future), is flattening. The

current annual growth rate (near 1.9%) may turn downward, perhaps approaching 1 %, or dropping even lower - presuming various methods of general population control, not excluding racial instinct.

Averaged annual growth rates are given on Table 2. The authors of this work presume that you will disagree with some or all of them, and in any event, the passage of time will no doubt reveal errors. You may revise these and other rates as you wish.

Given a population P as of year Y with annual growth rate G (expressed as a decimal), the formula used to find the population N years from Y (P Y+N)' is:

P Y+N = P(G+ 1 )N

If you use 1980 census information, N=55 for the year 2035, which yields the factors on Table 3. To use that data, first select a percentage annual growth rate (G). Express it as a decimal and add 1 (for example, 1.4 % becomes 1.014); the first column of the table gives some help in this step. Find the resulting decimal in the second column (G+ 1), and note the factor for it in the third column, (G+ 1 )N. Multiply the population figure you have selected (from the 1980 census) by that factor to find the resulting 2035 population. To find a factor for a rate not on the chart, use the formula above (but only if your calculator

Population Table 1: Multiplication Factors by Continent & Sub-continental Area
North South Asiaa oceanta-
America America Europe Bmall Large Africa Sma" Large
1970 2.82829 5.73846 1.65873 2.56694 3.03608 5.63370 3.62285 7.85660
1980 2.45058 4.60304 1.44010 2.13819 2.58159 4.13418 3.14545 6.14545
Population Table 2: Averaged Annual Long-Term Growth Rates (through 2035)
North South Asiaa Oceanla>
America America Europe Small Large Africa Sma" Large
1970 1.61235 2.72444 0.78158 1.46090 1.72324 2.69532 2.00014 3.22214
1980 1.64304 2.81474 0.66532 1.39133 1.73933 2.61411 2.10541 3.35639
Notes, Tables 1 & 2:
a. Use Large for mainland, Small for all islands (such as Japan)
b. Use Large for Australia and New Zealand, Small for all islands I
, 4

World Population

can handle exponents; multiplying a number 55 times can be tedious).

If you wish to extrapolate more accurately, fiddle with Table 4, which gives the averaged annual rates from 1920 onwards and shows the trends more clearly. The first three columns are historically

Population Table 3
Other Growth Rates (N=55)
_ ..• --------
G+1 (G+1)N
1/10 % 1.001 1.05651
1.002 1.11616
1/4 % 1.0025 1.14720
1.003 1.17910
1/3 % 1.0033+ 1.20085
1.004 1.24553
1/2 % 1.005 1.31563
1.006 1.38960
2/3 % 1.0066+ 1.44116
1.007 1.46764
3/4 % 1.0075 1.50827
1.008 1.54999
1.009 1.63687
1% 1.010 1.72852
1.011 1.82521
1.012 1.92721
1 1/4 % 1.0125 1.98028
1.013 2.03790
1 1/3 % 1.0133+ 2.07194
1.014 2.14826
1 1/2 % 1.015 2.26794
1.016 2.39416
1213 % 1.0166+ 2.48212
1.017 2.52727
1314 % 1.0175 2.59653
1.018 2.66764
1.019 2.81566
2% 1.020 2.97173
2114 % 1.0225 3.40003
2113 % 1.0233+ 3.55584
2112 % 1.025 3.88877
2213 % 1.0266+ 4.25227
2314 % 1.0275 4.44632
3% 1.030 5.08215
3114 % 1.0325 5.80702
3113 % 1.0333+ 6.07050
3112 % 1.035 6.63314
3213 % 1.0366+ 7.24690
3314 % 1.0375 7.57436
4% 1.040 8.64637
1.0425 9.86696
4112 % 1.045 11.25631
1.0475 12.83724
5% 1.05 14.63563
1.06 24.65032
1.07 41.31500
71/2 % 1.075 53.39069
1.08 68.91386
1.09 114.40826
10 % 1.10 189.05914 accurate; the others are extrapolated, including various future-historical events in the timeline leading to this game setting. The populations resulting from the rates in Table 4 are summarized in Table 5; these can be helpful guides for games set in such in-between years.

This seems pretty silly, so you decide that since the town is in a rural area, it has half the average growth rate of the continent. The revised annual growth is thus about 0.8 %; G+ 1 = 1.008, the factor is 1.54999, and the 2035 population is 7,978. That's more like it.

On a larger scale, you decide that Africa (1980 pop. 482,400,000) would grow a bit faster than its given 2.614 %; with all that water from Antarctica, and the new agricultural technology, maybe it should be raised just a bit, to 2 3/4 %. The revised G+ 1 is 1.0275, so the factor is 4.44632, and the result is 2,144,904,768. With that tiny increase (less than fourteen hundredths of a percent) in the annual growth rate, you've just added over 150 million people!

Examples

You find that the 1980 population of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (USA, North America) was 5,147. Instead of using the given 1.64304 annual growth rate, you want to increase it to 10%, just to see what would happen. G+ 1 is thus 1.10, and (G+ 1)N = 189.05914; the 2035 population of Lake Geneva is therefore 970,088.

Population Table 4
Averaged Annual Growth Rates in Short Terms
----- ---------_ .. - ._._ .. --
1920- 1960- 1971- 1981- 1991- 2001- 2011- 2021- 2031-
1950 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2035
---~- ----- ~---
N. America 1.63 1.7 2.4 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.3
S. America 2.2 3.2 4.0 4.5 4.1 a 3.1 2.8 2.2
Europe 0.57 0.75 0.83 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5
Asia 1.4 2.2 2.9 2.1 b 2.2 2.9 2.5 1.9
Africa 1.4 6.0 4.8 1.5 c 2.8 3.5 4.1 4.4
Oceania 1.33 2.9 2.6 3.0 3.8 3.4 2.9 3.2 3.7
a, b, c: See below
Problem Period Rate Period Rate
--- ---- ---
a South American War 2000-2004 2.5 2005-2009 - 1.8
b Asian Plague 1991-1995 - 3.1 1996-2000 1.5
c African Plague 1991-1995 0.3 1996-2000 1.9 Population Table 5
Numbers per continent (in millions of people; based on the rates in Table 4)
---
Americas
North South Europe Asia Africa Oceania World
-------------- ----
1970 327.0 195.0 577.0 2238 354.0 19.8 3,706
1980 377.4 243.1 664.6 2632 482.4 37.6 4,422
1990 455.0 361.3 720.4 3173 551.6 49.1 5,310
2000 549.3 339.9 780.2 2920 615.1 71.2 5,276
2010 650.1 561.1 836.5 3630 810.8 99.5 6,588
2020 754.5 761.4 889.1 4831 1075.9 132.5 8,444
2030 867.0 1003.6 933.5 6184 1608.0 181.5 10,778
2035 924.85 1119.00 957.09 6794.74 1994.33 217.64 12,007.65
5 European Commonwealth: CC Base Map

KEY TO SYMBOLS

Command/

Primary 0

Command *

Primary •

Secondary •

Tertiary •

Research ~

Region B (Central)

6

European Commonwealth: Overview

Commonwealth

European

CC Base Staffing
Initial CC CC Losses New CC
Staffing in Invasion Staffing
Base Metro area T-1 T-2 T-1 T-2 T -1 T-2
EA 05 P.1 Oslo 4 1 2 0 2 1
EA 09 P.1 Liverpool 5 1 3 0 2 1
EB 08 P.1 Amsterdam 4 1 3 0 1 1
EC03P.1 Athfnai 3 1 2 0 1 1
EC04P.1 Barcelona 4 1 4 0 0 1
EC 06 P.1 Napoli 4 1 2 ~ 2 1
EC11P.1 Stambu/ 4- 1 4- Q Q
28 7 20 1 8 6 The prosperous E.C.leads the world in per capita income. Though third in total wealth, it places a mere fourth in population, having enjoyed a minimal growth rate for decades. The Commonwealth is the smallest of the five blocs in land area, and places third in food production - maintaining more than enough output to support a thriving export business. Though the E.C. has a high level of technology, it cannot afford to seriously compete with the TAU. and P.A.U. in pioneering this field. The Commonwealth thus concentrates on maintaining its reputation for high quality, rather than quantity.

Bruxelles, Belgium, was selected as the capital of the Commonwealth. The E.C. is divided into three regions on a roughly geographical basis. The Atlantic group is called the North region, though it includes some islands at latitudes as far south as Portugal. In this region, the U.K.

and the Scandinavian countries compete for dominance. The former emphasizes industry; the latter, research & development. In the Central region, France has the loudest voice, but its chaotic habits seem to prevent it from acquiring a wide following. The greatest riches of the Commonwealth rest, as always, in the coffers of Suisse (the alliance of Switzerland and Liechtenstein). In the South region (the Mediterranean nations), Spain became an industrial leader between 2015-2025. This region grew when Turkiye and Balgarija, nations long considered part of western Asia, joined the Commonwealth as a means of ensuring their safety from the ever-expanding Soviet. They were welcomed, and now contribute much toward the E.C.'s agricultural assets.

The nations of the continent still maintain their Old World charm, blending ancient and modern cultures into a pleasing whole. Despite the many changes of the 21 st century, classic Europe survives. Overpopulation is not a problem; the North is still growing, but the rest of the population is fairly stable. Called stodgy and archaic by some, the Commonwealth merely considers itself traditional.

In the key that starts on the next page, bases are listed in order under the nations to which they report. CC bases in italicized cities were lost during the depopulation of those metro areas. Specific details on CC losses are given as footnotes, as are additional details on the locations.

7

European Commonwealth: CC Command

CC Command Structure

National, International, and Sector HO are listed under the Regional command bases to which they report. Primary bases are listed under the appropriate local commands. All secondary, tertiary, and research bases technically report directly to the local HO, though Secondaries often report directly to the correpsonding Primary base in practice. Bases destroyed in the invasion are marked with an asterisk. See the individual base listings in the Key to CC Bases, below, for details on replacement bases and CC losses.

Supreme High Command: ZOrich, Suisse (EB 10 C.2)

* Region A (North) Command: London, England, U.K. (EA 09 C.3) Norge National HO: Oslo, Akershus (EA 05 C.1)

Primary: Oslo

United Kingdom National HO: Birmingham, England, U.K. (EA 09 C.2) Primary: Liverpool, England, U.K. (EA 09 P.1)

Other National HO: Nykebinq, Danmark; Baile Atha Cliath, Eire; Reykjavfk, Island, North Atlantic States; Helsingfors, Suomi; Stockholm, Sverige.

Region B (Central) Command: Praha, Ceskoslovensko (EB 03 C.1) Nederland National HO: 's Gravenhage (The Hague), Zuid-Holland (EB 08 C.1) Primary: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland (EB 08 P.1)

Other National HO: Antwerpen, Belgie; Konstanz, Bundesrepublik Deutschland; Kosice, Ceskoslovensko; 'Paris, France; Berne, Suisse.

* Region C (South) Command: Roma, Italia (EC 06 C.1) Elias National HO: Athfnai, Attik (EC 03 C.1)

Primary: Athfnai

• Espana National HO: Madrid, New Castille (EC 04 C.1 ) • Primary: Barcelona, Cataluria (EC 04 P.1)

Italia National HO: Salerno, Salerno (EC 06 C.2) Primary: Napoli, Latina (EC 06 P.1)

TOrkiye National HO: Ankara, Galatia (EC 11 C.1) • Primary: Stambul, Istanbul (EC 11 P.1)

Other National HO: Dubrovnik, Jugoslavija; Kirinia, Kfpros; Setubal, Portugal; Durres, Shqipen: Palma de Mallorca, Tyrrhenia.

Key to CC Bases of the European Commonwealth

Base

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Territory

Region A (North)

No bases

No bases

EA 03 C.1 Storstrern

40,985

54.47° N 11.53° E Danmark National HO

Nyk0binga

a. On the island of Falter, not Nykbing in Viborg (58.48° N, 08.52° E, or Vestjeeliand (55.56° N, 11.41 ° E).

8

Base

Metro Area

E.C. Bases: Region A (North), Eire

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Territory

EA 04 C.1 Dublin

EA 04 T.01 Galway

Baile Atha Cliatha Gallimh (Galway)

1,542,155 51,160

53.20° N 06.15° W Eire National HQ 53.16° N 09.03° W Reports to EA 04 C.1

EA05C.1 Akershus Oslo 1,007,300 59.56° N 10.45° E Norge National HQ & Primary
EA05S.11 Rogaland Skjold 12,500 59.30° N 05.36° E Oslo Secondary
EA 05 S.12 0stfold Fredrikstad 66,685 59.15° N 10.55° E Oslo Secondary
EA 05 S.13 Vestfold Larvik 22,925 59.04° N 10.02° E Oslo Secondary
EA05S.14 G6teborg (Sverige) Uddevalla 7,890 58.20° N 11.56° E Oslo Secondary EA 06 C.1 Island

EA 06 R.1 Faeroe

Reykjavik T6rshavn

166,840 4,975

EA 07 C.1 Uusima

EA 07 T.01 Lappi

Helsingfors (Helsinki) 1 ,229,560 Tornio 27,615

Nation 1# 8: Sverige (Sweden)

EA 08 C.1 Stockholm

Stockholm-

1,923,265

64.09° N 21.58° W North Atlantic Sts. National HQ

62.02° N 06.47" W

60.08° N 24.10° E Suomi National HQ

65.52° N 24.10° E

Nation #9: United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Scotland. Wales, Isle of Man)

59.20° N 18.05° E Sverige National HQ

EA 09 C.1 Lothian Edinburgh 882,225 55.57" N 03.13° W Kingdom of Scotland
EA 09 C.2 West Midlands Birmingham 3,695,615 52.30° N 01.50° W United Kingdom National HQ
EA 09 C.3 London Londorr 15,352,100 51.30° N 00.10° W Regional HQ, E.C. North
EA 09 P.1 Merseyside Liverpool 2,132,600 53.25° N 02.55° W Kingdom of England
EA 09 S.11 Strathclyde Ayr 134,765 55.28° N 04.38° W Kingdom of Scotland
EA 09 S.12 Cleveland Hartlepool 132,125 54.41" N 01.13°W Kingdom of England
EA 09 S.13 Lincolnshire Skegness 53,836 53.10° N 00.21° E Kingdom of England
EA 09 S.14 Gwynedd Caernarfon 12,280 53.08c N 04.16° W Kingdom of Wales
- ------------- - --- ------- --~ . ~--------.- -_ .. _----------- ------------ -- _ .. --- -- ... ----
Region 8 (Central) Nation 1# 1: Belgie (Belgium)

EB 01 C.1 Antwerpen

Antwerpen

2,132,915

..

EB 02 C.1 Wurttemberq

Konstanz (Constance) 94,400

Nation 1# 3: Ceskoslovensko (Czechoslovakia)

EB03C.1

EB 03 C.2 Siovensko

Praha Kosice

1,771,400 279,175

51.13° N 04.25° E Belgie National HQ

47.40° N 09.10° E BRD National HQ

50.06° N 14.26° E Regional HQ; E.C. Central

48.44C N 21.15° E Ceskoslovensko National HQ

Nation 1# 4: Deutsche Dernokrtltische RepubUk (East Germany)

No bases

a. Dub!in

b. Also a major research facility.

c. New Regional HQ: Stockholm, Sverige (EA 08 C.1).

9

E.C. Bases: Region B (Central), France

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

EB 05 C.1 Paris Pens: 13,129,170 48.52° N 02.20° E France National HQ
EB 05 C.2 Monaco Monte Carlo 69,470 43.44° N 07.25° E
EB 05 T.01 Finistere Brest 265,100 48.23° N 04.30° W
EB 05 T.02 Charente-Maritime La Rochelle 139,835 46.10° N 01.10° W
EB 05 T.03 Provence Toulon 525,765 43.07° N 05.55° E Replaces EB 05 C.1 as Nat!. HQ No bases

No bases

EB 08 C.1 Zuid-Holland 's Gravenhaqe- 1,076,730 52.05° N 04.16° E Nederland National HQ
EB08P.1 Noord-Holland Amsterdam 2,514,700 52.21° N 04.54° E Primary base
EB 08 S.11 Groningen Oelfzijl 35,335 53.19° N 06.26° E Amsterdam Secondary
EB 08 S.12 Friesland Harlingen 21,430 53.10° N 05.25° E Amsterdam Secondary
EB08S.13 W. Vlaanderen (Belgie) Oostende 25,005 51.13° N 02.55° E Amsterdam Secondary
EB08S.14 Normandfe (France) LeHavre 367,360 49.30° N 00.06° E Amsterdam Secondary No bases

EB 10 C.1 Bern

EB 10 C.2 Zurich

Berne Zurich

392,350 1,083,675

47.57° N 07.26° E Suisse National HQ

47.23° N 08.33° E Supreme High Command, E.C.

Region C (South)

No bases, but Turkiye Secondary Base is located here.

No bases

EC 03 C.1 Attik Athfnai (Athens) 3,528,900 38.00° N 23.44° E Elias National HQ & Primary
EC 03 S.11 Thessalia V610s 122,390 39.22° N 22.57° E
EC03S.12 Ipiros Preveza 11,275 38.58° N 20.45° E
EC03S.13 Pelop6nnisos Patrai (Patras) 167,890 38.14° N 21.44° E
EC03S.14 Pelop6nnisos Navplion 7,715 37.34° N 22.48° E EC 04 C.1 New Castille

EC 04 P.1 Catalufia

Madrid Bercetone

7,016,890 5,522,500

40.25° N 03.43° W Espana National HQ

41.25° N 02.10° E

.----------------------

a. National HO in Paris was lost in the depopulation of that area. New HO: Toulon (EB 05 T.03).

b. The Hague.

c. All Type-1 CC operatives in Barcelona were lost in the depopulation of that area, but the Type-2 survived. New HO: Cadiz (EC 04 T.03).

10

E.C. Bases: Region C (South), Espana (cont.)
Base Territory Metro Area Population Latitude Longitude Notes
EC 04 R.1 Cantabria Santander 245,025 43.28° N 03.48° W
EC 04 S.11 Roussillon (France) Canet-Plage 10,500 42.42° N 03.02° E Barcelona Seondary
EC04S.12 Girona Palam6s 13,350 41.51 ° N 03.07° E Barcelona Secondary
EC04S.13 Tarragona Tarragona 152,780 41.07° N 01.15° E Replaces EC 04 P.1
EC 04 S.14 Castell6n Vinaroz 18,695 40.29° N 00.28° E Barcelona Secondary
EC 04 T.01 La Coruria La Coruiia 317,650 43.22° N 08.24° W
EC 04 T.02 Valencia Cullera 12,335 39.10° N 00.15° W
EC 04 T.03 Cadiz Cadiz 319,545 36.32° N 06.18° W Replaces EC 04 C.1 as Natl. HQ No bases

EC06C.1 Roma Romsr 4,838,900 41.53° N 12.30° E Regional HQ, E.C. South
EC 06 C.2 Salerno Salerno 333,430 40.40° N 14.46° E Italia National HQ
EC06P.1 Latina Napoli (Naples)" 3,806,700 40.50° N 14.15° E Napoli Primary
EC 06 S.11 Campobasso Termoli 28,350 42.00° N 15.00° E Napoli Secondary
EC06S.12 Latina Anzio 37,820 41.27° N 12.38° E Napoli Secondary
EC 06 S.13 Latina Gaeta 33,950 41.13° N 13.36° E Napoli Secondary
EC06S.14 Salerno Agropoli 24,845 40.21° N 14.59° E Napoli Secondary
EC 06 T.01 Giulia Trieste 361,630 45.39° N 13.4r E
EC 06 T.02 Sicilia Siracusa (Syracuse) 162,210 37.04° N 15.18° E EC 07 C.1

Dubrovnik (Ragusa)

43,215

42.40° N 18.0r E Jugoslavija National HQ

EC08C.1

Kirinia

5,420

35.20° N 33.20° E Kfpros National HQ

EC 09 C.1

Setubal

70,480

38.3P N 08.54° W Portugal National HQ

EC 10 C.1

Durres

84,750

41.18° N 19.28° E Shqiperi National HQ

EC11C.1 Galatia Ankara 3,181,565 39.55° N 32.50° E Turkiye National HQ
EC 11 P.1 Istanbul Stambul' 9,002,600 41.01° N 28.55° E New Primary: EC 11 S.14
EC 11 S.11 - Burgas (Balgarija) 231,935 42.30° N 27.29° E Stambul Secondary Base
EC 11 S.12 Paphlagonia Zonguldak 270,915 41.26° N 31.47° E Stambul Secondary Base
EC 11 S.13 - Tekirdag (Rodosto) 71,310 40.59° N 27.31 ° E Stambul Secondary Base
EC 11 S.14 - Izmfr (Smyrna) 1,653,265 38.25° N 27.10° E Stambul Secondary Base
EC 11 T.01 Van Golu Tatvan 56,023 38.3P N 42.15° E EC 12 C.1 Mallorca"

EC 12 T.01 Sardegna (Sardinia)

Palma de Mallorca Cagliari

399,280 423,745

39.35° N 02.39° E Tyrrhenia National HQ

39.13° N 09.08° E

a. New Regional HQ: Caligari, Sardegna, Tyrrhenia (EC 12 T.01).

b. One Type-t CC operative was lost in combat, and one was lost in Roma during the depopulation of that area.

c. All CC operatives in Stambul were lost during the depopulation of that area.

d. Majorca, on Balearic Island

11

Pan-Asian Union: CC Base Map (West)

4. 555R *

... '''7 ,

\ ,/

I ~~,

,

' .............. ,

2. Bhirat

12

Pan-Asian Union: CC Base Map (East)

,

\ ,

.... _- --' ...

_ ...... ..,

,_,.-_-

L \ ..

I I

t '

I

/-_ 1

?---

:(J

.'--,-,

..,

,,',._,_.J

-: "-_J

I ,

/'

,

\

,

~,

'.. ,', *:

'/

9. Zhongguo

13

Pan-Asian Union: Overview

Since the huge P.A.U. includes the entire continent of Asia plus a few outlying areas, it should be no surprise that it has more people and more land than any other bloc. With new developments in modern agricultural methods, mostly originating in Zhongguo (China), the P.A.U. also leads the world in food production. The technological expertise of the Orient, which once not only caught up to but exceeded that of the United States (in the TAU.), now lags the latter only slightly, and maintains a steady pressure. The Union's vast financial resources, again lagging just behind those of the TAU., are diluted by its massive population, resulting in a low per capita income (fourth in the five blocs).

Conflict between Zhongguo and the SSSR (Russia) has never reached open warfare - such is hoped to be impossible, in this age - but it prevented a Union capital from being named. Instead, the government functions in a "temporary" headquarters in New Delhi, Bharat (India).

Pan-Asian

Union

CC Base Staffing
Initial CC CC Losses New CC
Staffing in Invasion Staffing
Base Metro area T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2
PA 02 P.1 Osaka 5 2 5 2 0 0
PA 04 P.1 Leningrad 4 2 4 2 0 0
PA 04 P.2 Odessa 5 1 3 0 2 1
PA 04 P.3 Irkutsk 5 1 4 0 1 1
PA 04 PA Magadan 5 1 2 0 3 1
PA 05 P.1 Pusan 4 0 4 0 0 0
PB 10 P.1 Tel Aviv-Yafo 3 0 2 0 1 0
PC 02 P.1 Bombay 3 0 3 0 0 0
PC 06 P.1 Rangoon 2 0 0 0 2 0
PC 09 P.1 Tianjin 2 1 2 1 0 0
PC 09 P.2 Taipei 2 0 0 0 2 0
PC 09 P.3 Victoria 1 1 Q Q 1 1
41 9 29 5 12 4 14

The P AU. is divided into three regions by means which are primarily cultural. The North is of course dominated by the SSSR, though Japan is the jewel of the region, producing technological breakthroughs for which the region as a whole is credited. The Southwest spans the range from Sinai to Pakistan, and consists mostly of Moslems and Hindus. When Yisra'el (Israel, once bolstered by its strong connection with America) found itself amidst and ignored by the political powers of the new P.A.U., control of this region shifted to AI-'Arab·iyah asSa'udlyah (Saudi Arabia), that being the only "oil state" able to avoid the petty squabbles that have always plagued that area. The Southeast is utterly dominated by Zhongguo, despite the inclusion of the powerful Bharat in this region.

Technological developments in Japan far exceed those of any other P.A.U. nation. Fresh water from Antarctica (U.N.O.) has alleviated most of the southwest's formerly chronic dryness, and a related technology is making breakthroughs in settling the Himalayas and utilizing their natural assets. Major research programs in Druk-Yul (Bhutan) and Nepal (Nepal) have been quite productive.

More than a third of the world's people live in Zhongguo and Bharat, and these nations thus add heavy loads to the Union's burdens. The Union as a whole accounts for more than half the Earth. The growth curve is dropping, however, thanks in part to harsh enforcement of the Union's one-child rule. For the P.A.U., the future is bright.

In the key hereafter, bases are listed in order under the nations to which they report. In the staffing chart (previous page) and in the following listing, CC bases in the italicized cities were lost during the depopulation of those metro areas. See notes on the individual bases for details of CC losses.

P.A.U. Command

CC Command Structure

National, International, and Sector HQ are listed under the Regional command bases to which they report. Primary bases are listed under the appropriate local commands. All secondary, tertiary, and research bases technically report directly to the local HQ. Bases destroyed in the invasion are marked with an asterisk. See the individual CC base listings in the Key to CC Bases for details on replacement bases.

* Supreme High Command:

Tokyo, Honshu, Japan (PA 02 C.2)

* Region A (North) command: Moskva, Russiya, SSSR (PA 04 C.1) * Japan National HQ: Osaka, Honshu, PA 02 C.1)

* Primary: Osaka

SSSR Sector 1 (West) HQ: Minsk, Byelorussia (PA 04 C.2)

* Primary: Leningrad, Leningradskaya Oblast' (PA 04 P.1) Primary: Odessa, Ukraina (PA 04 P.2)

SSSR Sector 2 (Central) HQ: Krasnoyarsk, Tomskaya Oblast' (PA 04 CA) Primary: Irkutsk, Irkutskaya Oblast' (PA 04 P.3)

SSSR Sector 3 (East) HQ: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Kam'skaya Ob. (PA 04 C.6) Primary: Magadan, Magadan (PA 04 P.4)

* Taehan-Min'guk National HQ: Soul (PA 05 C.1) * Primary: Pusan (PA 05 P.1)

Command HQ, Socialist Republic of the Eastern Arctic: Moskva (PA 04 C.1) Other National HQ: P'yongyang, Choson Minjujuui In'min Konghwaguk.

Region B (Southwest) Command: Jerusalem Free City-State (PB 06 C.1) Yisra'el National HQ: Tel Aviv-Yafo (PB 10 C.1)

* Primary: Tel Aviv-Yafo

Other National HQ: Jidda, AI-'Arab"lyah as-Sa'udiyah; AI-Basrah, Al-jraq; Bandar eTorkeman, Iran; Aden, Ittihad al-Irnarat al-'Hadramawt; Sukkur, Pakistan; AI Ladhiqiyah, United Arab States.

* Region C (Southeast) Command: Guangzhou, Guandong, Zhongguo (PC 09 C.2) Bharat National HQ: Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (PC 02 C.1)

* Primary: Bombay, Maharashtra (PC 02 P.1)

* Myanma National HQ: Rangoon, Pegu (PC 06 C.1) * Primary: Rangoon

* Zhongguo Sector 1 (West) & Sector 2 (Northeast) HQ: Beijing (PC 09 C.1) * Primary: Tianjin (PC 09 P.1)

* Zhongguo Sector 3 (Southeast) HQ: Chongqing, Sichuan (PC 09 C.3) * Primary: Taipei, Taiwan (PC 09 P.2)

* Primary: Victoria, Hong Kong (PC 09 P.3) Command HQ, Druk-Yul and Nepal: Kanpur, Bharat,

Other National HQ: * Krung Thep, Lao; Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Key to CC Bases in the Pan-Asian Union

Base

Territory

------------------------------------

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Region A (North)

PA 01 C.1

PA 01 T.01 -

P'yongyang Ch'ongjin

1,995,675 629,590

39.00° N 129.55° E C.M.I.K. National HQ 41.50° N 129.55° E

15

P.A.U. Bases: Region A (North), Japan

Base

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Territory

PA 02 C.1 Honshu OsakC1' 18,056,000 34.40° N 135.30° E Japan National HQ & Primary
PA 02 C.2 Honshu TokyO' 30,647,700 35.40° N 139.45° E Supreme High Command
PA 02 C.3 Hokkaid6 Abashiri 93,705 44.02° N 144.1JO E Heplaces PA 02 C.1 as Natl. HQ
PA 02 S.11 Hokkaid6 Hakodate 684,545 41.46° N 140.44° E Osaka Secondary
PA 02 S.12 Honshu Niigata 978,830 37.58° N 139.02° E Osaka Secondary
PA 02 S.13 Honshu Shizuoka 1,571,577 34.59° N 138.24° E l3eplaces PA 02 C.1 as Primary
PA 02 S.14 Kyushu Moji 26,730 33.57° N 130.58° E Osaka Secondary
PA 02 T.01 Shikoku Tokushima 533,140 34.03° N 134.34° E
PA 02 T.02 Kyushu Kagoshima 1,079,950 31.3JO N 130.32° E Replaces PA 02 C.2 as SHC PA 03 R.1

(mobile)'

35

85-90° N 1-179° E Reports to Moskva (PA 04 C.1)

PA04C.1 Moskva Oblast' Moskv;t1 28,390,300 55.45° N 37.42° E
PA 04 C.2 Byelorussia" Minsk' 3,159,760 53.51° N 27.30° E
PA 04 C.3 Mariskaya Oblast' Kazan' 2,494,545 55.45° N 49.10° E
PA 04 C.4 T omskaya Oblast' Krasnoyarsks 1,917,235 56.05° N 92.46° E
PA 04 C.5 Omskaya Oblast' Omsk 2,470,790 55.00° N 73.22° E
PA 04 C.6 Kamchatskaya Oblast' Petropavlovsk-K. h 520,290 53.03° N 158.43° E
PA 04 C.7 Amurskaya' Oblast' Khabarovsk 1,278,160 48.32° N 135.08° N
PA 04 P.1 Leningradskaya Oblast' Leningrad! 12.734,200 59.55° N 30.25° E
PA 04 P.2 Ukraina Odessa 2,660,900 46.30° N 30.46° E
PA 04 P.3 Irkutskaya Oblast' Irkutsk 1,332,800 52.18° N 104.15° E
PA 04 P.4 Magadan Magadan' 296,900 59.38° N 150.50° E
PA04S.11 Karel'skaya Oblast' Vyborg 182,935 60.45° N 28.41° E
PA04S.12 Estonia Kohtla-Jarve 173,430 59.28° N 27.20° E
PA04S.13 Latvia Klaipeda (Memel) 422,885 55.43° N 21.0JO E
PA04S.14 Polsha' Gdansk (Danzig) 1,948,160 54.22° N 18.41 ° E
PA 04 S.21 Ukraina Zhdanov 1,204,510 47.05° N 37.34° E
PA 04 S.22 Ukraina Novorossiysk 384,870 44.44° N 37.46° E
PA 04 S.23 Ukraina Sevastopol' 731,735 44.36° N 33.31 ° E
PA 04 S.24 Rumania Constanta 716,915 44.12° N 28.40° E
PA 04 S.31 Irkutskaya Oblast' Romanova 105,140 57.02° N 103.25° E
PA 04 S.32 Irkutskaya Oblast' Bratsk 520,290 56.20° N 101.50° E
PA 04 S.33 Irkutskaya Oblast' Yelantsy 81,560 52.50° N 106.30° E
PA 04 S.34 Irkutskaya Oblast' Slyudyanka 66,980 51.40° N 103.40° E
PA 04 S.41 Magadan Viliga-Kushka 55,390 61.35° N 156.55° E
PA 04 S.42 Magadan Tauysk 83,150 59.45° N 149.16° E
PA 04 S.43 Magadan Ola 38,635 59.35° N 151.15° E
PA 04 S.44 Yakutskaya" Oblast' Okhotsk 116,415 59.20° N 143.15° E
PA 04 T.01 Kol'skiy Poluostrov Murmansk 803,005 68.59° N 33.08° E
~--- Regional HQ, P.A.U. North HQ, SSSR Sector 1 HQ (West)

HQ, SSSR Sector 2 (Central) HQ, SSSR Sector 3 (East)

New Primary: PA 04 S.12

Leningrad Secondary Replaces PA 04 P.1 Leningrad Secondary Leningrad Secondary Odessa Secondary Odessa Secondary Odessa Secondary Odessa Secondary Irkutsk Secondary Irkutsk Secondary Irkutsk Secondary Irkutsk Secondary Magadan Secondary Magadan Secondary Magadan Secondary Magadan Secondary

a. All CC operatives in Osaka were lost during the depopulation of that area. New National HO: Abashiri (PA 02 C.3). New Primary: Shizuoka (PA 02 S.13).

b. New Supreme High Command: Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan.

c. Research team PA 03 R.1 roves the arctic regions, and has no permanent base station. The scientists can often be found as near as possible

(without crossing the 0° or 180° lines) to the research team of the Western Arctic Free Zone (TA 05 R.1).

d. New Regional HO: Minsk, SSSR (PA 04 C.2).

e. "White Russia'"

f. Replaces Moskva as Regional HO, P.A.U. North.

g. Do not confuse with Krasnoyarskiy, to the southeast (51.59° N, 59.53° E).

h. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy

i. On Primorskiy Kray

j. All CC operatives in Leningrad were lost during the depopulation of that area.

k. Fifty percent or more of the Magadan metro area consists of specialized high-tech facilities with numerous resident personnel. I. Poland; a separate state of the SSSR, not in Russiya.

m. On Khabarovsk Kray

16

P.A.U. Bases: Region A (North), SSSR (cont.)
Base Territory Metro Area Population Latitude Longitude Notes
PA 04 T.02 Tyumenskaya Oblast' Khanty Mansiysk 34,610 61.01°N 69.00° E
PA 04 T.03 Mordovskaya Oblast' Saratov 2,589,575 51.30° N 45.55° E
PA 04 T.04 Kalmytskaya Oblast' Astrakhan' 1,104,730 46.22° N 48.04° E
PA 04 T.05 Kalmytskaya Oblast' Makhachkali 620,070 42.59° N 47.30° E
PA 04 T.06 Gruzinskaya Oblast' Batumi 294,595 41.37° N 41.36° E
PA 04 T.07 Sibir' (Siberia) Nordvik 21,140 74.01° N 111.30° E
PA 04 T.08 Sibir' (Siberia) Dikson 17,890 73.32° N 80.39° E
PA 04 T.09 Kazakhskaya Oblast' Balkhash 185,310 46.50° N 74.5]0 E
PA 04 T.10 Aral'skoye Morea Rybachiy Poselok- 78,400 45.05° N 59.13° E
PA04T.11 Novosiberiskyie Ost.s Kotel'nyy 63,133 75.59° N 138.00° E
PA 04 T.12 Magadan Provideniya 135,510 64.30° N 171.11° E
PA 04 T.13 Yakutskaya Oblast' Yakutsk 368,240 62.10° N 129.50° E
PA04T.14 Sakhalinskaya Ostrova Okha 38,765 53.35° N 143.01° E PA 05 C.1 PA 05 P.1

PA 05 S.11 Liaoning, Zhongguo 3 PA 05 S.12 - (C.M.I.K.) PA05S.13 -

PA 05 S.14 -

ssor Puserr Dandong Won san Kunsan Mokp'o

25,599,280 6,841,300

26,135 510,800 397,760 501,110

37.30° N 127.00° E Taehan-Min'guk National HQ 35.05° N 129.02° E

40.08° N 124.24° E Pusan Secondary 39.07° N 127.26° E Replaces PA 05 P.1 35.57° N 126.42° E Pusan Secondary 34.50° N 126.25° E Pusan Secondary

Region B (Southwest)

PB 01 C.1 Hejaz Asir

Jidda (Juddah)

1,333,100

21.30° N 39.10° E AI-'Arab"iyah as-Sa'udlyah HQ

PB 02 C.1

AI-Basrah (Basra) 881,205

30.30° N 47.50° E AI-'Iraq National HQ

PB 03 C.1

PB 03 T.01 -

Bandar e-Torkeman 39,890

Chah Bahar 10,850

35.5]0 N 49.03° E Iran National HQ

25.16° N 60.14° E

No bases

PB 05 C.1 P.D.R. Yemen

Aden

645,280

12.47° N 45.03° E Ittihad National HQ

PB 06 C.1

Jerusalem'

997,850

31.47° N 35.13° E Regional HQ, P.A.U. Southwest

PB 07 C.1

Sukkur

377,240

27.42° N 68.54° E Pakistan National HQ

a. Aral Sea

b. On the Ostrova (island) Vozrozhdeniya

c. New Siberian Islands (Ostrova)

d. Seoul; Command base was lost in the depopulation of that area. No replacement HQ has been designated.

e. All CC operatives in Pusan were lost in the depopulation of that area. Due to the loss of both Soul and Pusan, the Primary was moved to Wonsan, Choson MinjujuOi In'min Konghwaguk (PA 05 S.12), under the P'yongyang command.

f. Also known as EI Quds Esh Sherif or Yerushalayim.

17

P.A.U. Bases: Region B (Southwest), Sinai

-- ---_._--- - _._--- -------

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

No bases

Nation #. 9: United Arab States of As"Stir.yah, AI-Lubnin, AI-Urdunn (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan)

PB 09 C.1 As-Surtyah PB 09 T.01 As-Suriyah

AI Uidhiqfyah (Latakia) 484,675 Ar Raqqah 115,230

35.31° N 35.4r E United Arab States National HQ

35.57° N 39.03° E

Nation #.10:Yisra'el (State oll$rael)

PB 10 C.1

PB 10 S.11 As-Suriyah (U.A.S.) PB 10 S.12 Al-Lubnan (U.A.S.) PB 10 S.13

PB 10 S.14

Tel Aviv-YatoTartus

Sour"

Ashdod

Elat (Elath)

3,207,400 18,745 29,700 148,015 44,905

32.05° N 34.55° N 33.16° N 31.48° N 29.33° N

34.46° E Yisra'el National HQ & Primary

35.52° E Tel Aviv-Yafo Secondary ,

35.12° E Tel Aviv-Yafo Secondary 34.38° E Tel Aviv-Yafo Secondary 34.5r E Tel Aviv-Yafo Secondary

Region C (Southeast)

Nation II 1: -Bengal States (Islands,

No bases

PC 02 C.1 Uttar Pradesh Kanpur" 3,136,125 26.2r N 80.14° E Bharat National HQ
PC 02 P.1 Maharashtra Bombay 16,036,600 18.56° N 72.51 ° E New Primary: PC 02 S.14
PC02S.11 Gujarat Porbandar 253,565 21.40° N 69.40° E Bombay Secondary
PC 02 S.12 Gujarat Bharuch 18,450 21.40° N 73.02° E Bombay Secondary
PC 02 S.13 Karnataka Karwar 7,125 14.50° N 74.09° E Bombay Secondary
PC 02 S.14 Karnataka Mangalore 512,000 12.54° N 74.5P E Replaces PC 02 P.1
PC 02 T.01 Bangladesh Chittagong 2,851,025 22.20° N 91.48° E Reports to PC 02 C.1
PC 02 T.02 Kerala Mattancheri 41,505 09.51°N 76.16° E Reports to PC 02 C.1 PC 03 R.1

Tashigang

5,940

27.19° N 91.33° E Reports to PC 02 C.1

Nation #. 4: Kri (Malay Peninsula)

No bases

PC 05 C.1 Viet-nam D.C."

PC 05 C.2 Prathet Thai'

Da Nang Krung The,:p

1,040,475 8,022,860

16.04° N 108.14° E

13.44° N 100.30° E Lao National HQ & Tertiary

a. In a surprising maneuver (technically illegal, for reasons of military rank and command structure), two of the Type-1 CC operatives stationed in Tel Aviv-Yafo were placed in command of all conventional forces of the "Middle East." They were equipped with new programming and devices supplied by Trans-American CC bases, and the third CC coordinated details while ensuring interforce communications. After six days of intense combat, the CCs and their allies succumbed to an overwhelming influx of enemy troops, establishing in the process what may have been the best resistance offered by any of Earth's forces. A fully documented record was provided by the third (coordinating) CC, who survived due to her remote location relative to the combat. During the fighting, all personnel at the Yisra'el Primary in Tel Aviv-Yafo were transferred to Ashdod (though the former remains undamaged) for reasons of general security.

b. Also known as SUr, or Tyre.

c. Do not confuse with Kanpur, Orissa (20.25° N, 85.15° E).

d. All CC operatives in Bombay were lost during the depopulation of that area. New Primary: Mangalore (PC 02 S.14).

e. Viet-nam Dan-Chu Cong-ha

f. Thailand

g. Bangkok; new HQ: Phnom Penh (PC 05 C.3)

18

P.A.U. Bases: Region C (Southeast), Lao (cont.)

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

PC 05 C.3 Kampuchea Pr.a

PC 05 T.01 Kampuchea Pro

Phnom Penh Kompong Sorn"

936,580 58,400

11.35° N 104.55° E Replaces PC 05 C.2 10.38° N 103.28° E Reports to PC 05 C.3

PC06C.1 Pegu Rangoorf 7,127,400 16.47° N 96.10° E Myanma National HQ & Primary
PC 06 S.11 Tenasserim Martaban 24,240 16.32° N 97.35° E Rangoon Secondary
PC 06 S.12 Irrawaddy Pyapon 30,065 16.15°N 95.40° E Replaces PC 06 C.1 Primary
PC 06 S.13 Mon State Tavoy 125,920 14.02° N 98.12° E Replaces PC 06 C.1 Natl. HQ
PC06S.14 Prathet Thai (Lao) S. Sonqkhrarn- 46,390 13.25° N 100.01° E Rangoon Secondary PC07R.1

Ghumthang

21,715

27.52° N 85.5P E Reports to PC 02 C.1

PC 08 C.1

Colombo

3,660,800

06.55° N 79.52° E Sri Lanka National HQ

PC09C.1 Beijing Beijing" 28,213,050 39.55° N 116.26° E HQ, Zhongguo Sectors 1 & 2
PC 09 C.2 Guangdong Guangzhou I 5,942,860 23.08° N 113.20° E Regional HQ, P.A.U. Southeast
PC 09 C.3 Sichuan Chongqing9 6,893,715 29.30° N 106.35° E HQ, Zhongguo Sector 3 (SE)
PC 09 P.1 Tianjin Tienjin" 16,640,000 39.00° N 117.42° E New Primary: PC 09 S.11
PC 09 P.2 T'aiwan Taipeii 9,087,400 25.13° N 121.29° E New Primary: PC 09 S.22
PC 09 P.3 Hong Kong Victoria' 15,384,125 22.16° N 114.13° E New Primary: PC 09 S.33
PC 09 R.1 Xizang Zizhiqu' Qumigxung 455 30.53° N 86.38° E
PC 09 R.2 Xizang Zizhiqu Chang La' 75 28.01° N 86.56° E
PC 09 S.11 Liaoning Yinqkou= 416,380 40.40° N 122.17° E Replaces PC 09 P.1 & C.1
PC09S.12 Hebei Qinhuangdao 181,210 39.55° N 119.37° E Tianjin Secondary
PC 09 S.13 Liaoning Dalian 224,485 38.53° N 121.37° E Tianjin Secondary
PC 09 S.14 Shandong Yantai 51,945 37.30° N 121.22° E Tianjin Secondary
PC 09 S.21 Fujian Ningde 83,825 26.40° N 119.30° E T'aipei Secondary
PC 09 S.22 Fujian Quanzhou 447,500 24.53° N 118.36° E Replaces PC 09 P.2
PC 09 S.23 T'aiwan T'ai-Tung 100,345 22.43° N 121.100E T'aipei Secondary
PC 09 S.24 T'aiwan Kao-Hsiung 64,590 22.36° N 120.17° E T'aipei Secondary
PC 09 S.31 Guandong Shantou 116,250 23.23° N 116.39° E Victoria Secondary
PC 09 S.32 Guandong Lufengn 322,265 22.59° N 115.40° E Victoria Secondary
PC 09 S.33 Guandong Yangjiang 142,630 21.52° N 111.52° E Replaces PC 09 P.3
PC 09 S.34 Guandong Zhanjiang 95,445 21.10° N 110.20° E Victoria Secondary
PC 09 T.01 Mongolia Choybalsan 350,000 48.02° N 114.32° E Reports to PC 09 C.1
PC 09 T.02 Qinghai Heimahe 81,205 36.40° N 100.00° E Reports to PC 09 C.1
PC 09 T.03 Anhui Tonglingo 131,450 30.5]0 N 117.40° E Q"ports to PC 09 C.3
PC 09 T.04 Sichuan Yibinp 69,270 28.50° N 104.35' ~ .veports to PC 09 C.3
PC 09 T.05 Guandong Haikou 653,715 20.05° N 110.25° E Replaces PC 09 C.3 a. Kampuchea Pracheathipatey (Kampuchea, or Cambodia).

b. Sihanoukville, on the end of the peninsula; not the town of Kompong Som on the Piphat river to the northeast (11.03° N, 103.41 ° E).

C. All CC operatives in Rangoon assisted in the city's evacuation but escaped into the Andaman Sea during the depopulation. New National HQ:

Tavoy (PC 06 S.13). New Primary: Pyapon (PC 06 S.12).

d. Samut Songkhram

e. aka Peking or Peiping. New Sector 1 HQ: Choybalsan, Mongolia (PC 09 T.01). New Sector 2 HQ: Yingkou (PC 09 S.11).

f. Canton. New Regional HQ: Da Nang, Lao (PC 05 C.1).

g. Chungking; New HQ: Haikou (PC 09 T.05).

h. All CC operatives in Tianjin (aka Tientsin or Tienching) were lost in the depopulation of that area. New Primary: Yingkou (PC 09 S.11).

i. All CC operatives in Taipei escaped into the ocean before the area was depopulated. New Primary: Quanzhou (PC 09 S.22).

j. All CC operatives based in Victoria were at Chang La Pass Research base (PC 09 R.2) at the time of the invasion, and survived. New Primary:

Yangjiang (PC 03 S.33).

k. Xizang Tibet ian Autonomous Region

I. Chang La Pass, about two miles from Mt. Everest.

m. Do not confuse with the small town of Yingkou, which is commonly known as Dashiqiao (40.38° N, 122.30° E).

n. Do not confuse with Lufeng in Yunnan province 25.07° N, 102.10° E.

O. Greater southern Tongling, not the nearby smaller town of the same name (30.58° N, 117.48° E). p. Greater northern Yibin, not the nearby smaller town of the same name (28.42° N, 104.300E).

19

Trans-American Union: CC Bases Map (North)

2. Canada

---

----- -_-- -- --

4. U.S.A .

.... _ ....... _f ... __

\ ,

" ,-, - ,

20

6. Colombia

21

Trans-American Union

Trans-American

In population, land area, and food production, the TAU. is the second largest bloc on the globe. It is the richest in total wealth, but places third (after Europe and Oceania) on a per capita income basis. It also leads the world in both overall standard of living and technological expertise, but stays barely ahead of Pan-Asia in the latter category.

Dallas, Texas, the capital of the Union, is located in its most prosperous nation, the United States of America. The TAU. is divided into three regions on a geographic basis. The North is completely dominated by the U.S.A. Control of the Central region balances between Mexico and the Caribbean nations, since the leaders of the Central American countries are far too busy coping with poor resources and overpopulation to be concerned with regional politics. South America, shaken by the war of 200S-2009, dangles from the economic apron-strings of the oil-rich nations on the northern coast.

The U.S.A., Canada, Hispaniola, and Venezuela are responsible for over 90% of the Union's world leadership in technology. Overpopulation in Central and South America accounts for the Union's #2 position in world population, and for the resultant drop in per capita income. The primary TAU. food-producing areas are the great plains of Canada and the U.S.A., as well as the new croplands where once stood the great Amazonian jungle of Brasil.

In the key that begins on the next page, bases are listed in order under the nation to which they report. CC bases in italicized ~ cities were lost during the depopulation of those metro areas.

CC Command Structure

Losses incurred during the invasion are marked with an asterisk. Post-invasion changes are given at the end of each region.

National, International, and Sector HQ are listed under the Regional command bases to which they report. Primary bases are listed under the appropriate local commands. All secondary, tertiary, and research bases technically report directly to the local HQ. Bases destroyed in the invasion are marked with an asterisk. See the individual CC base listings in the Key to CC Bases for details on replacement bases.

22

Union

* Supreme High Command: Houston, State of Texas, U.S.A. (TA 04 C.4)

Region A (North) Command: New Orleans, State of Louisiana, U.S.A. (TA 04 C.3) Canada Sector 1 (West) and Arctic Free Zone, International HQ: Prince George, Province of British Columbia, Canada (TA 02 C.1 )

Primary: Vancouver (TA 02 P.1)

Canada Sector 2 (East) and Granland, International HQ: Quebec, Province of Quebec, Canada (TA 02 C.2)

Primary: St. Johns (TA 02 P.2)

U.S.A. Sector 1 (West) HQ: Flagstaff, Arizona (TA 04 C.1) • Primary: San Francisco, California (TA 04 P.1)

• U.S.A. Sector 2 (Central) HQ: St. Louis, Missouri (TA 04 C.2) • Primary: Chicago, Illinois (TA 04 P.2)

Primary: Corpus Christi, Texas (TA 04 P.3)

U.S.A. Sector 3 (East) HQ: Richmond, Virginia (TA 04 C.S)

• Primary: Boston, Massachusetts (TA 04 P.4)

• Primary: Cape Canaveral, Florida (TA 04 P.S)

Region B (Central) Command: Merida, State of Yucatan, Mexico (TB 08 C.2) • Mexico Sector 1 (North) HQ: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon (TB 08 C.1)

Primary: Mazatlan (TB 08 P.1)

Mexico Sector 2 (South) HQ: Acapulco, Guerrero (TB 08 C.3) Primary: Llave (TB 08 P.2)

Panama National HQ: Colon (TC 10 C.1) Primary: Panama (TC 10 P.1)

Republicas Americanas HQ: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (TB 06 C.2)

Other National HQ: Nassau, Bahamas; Limon, Costa Rica; Santiago de Cuba, Cuba; San Salvador, EI Salvador; Antigua, Gutemala; Santo Domingo, Republicas Dominicas, Hispaniola; La Ceiba, Honduras; Managua, Nicaragua; Colon, Panama.

Region C (South) Command: Belern, State of Tocantin, Brasil (TC OS C.1) • Argentina National HQ: Santiago, Province of Chile (TC 02 C.1 )

• Primary: Buenos Aires (TC 02 P.1)

• Brasil National HQ: Sao Paulo (TC OS C.2) Primary: Fortaleza (TC OS P.1)

Venezuela National HQ: Maracaibo (TC 11 C.1) • Primary: Caracas (TC 11 P.1)

Other National HQ: Paramaribo, State of Suriname, Atlantic States; La Paz, Bolivia; Guyazuil, Province of Ecuador, Colombia; Willemstad, Island of Curacao, Confederated Caribbean Territories (CCT); Stanley, Islas Malvinas; Santarern, Selvas,

be Base Staffing
1----.--.
Initial CC CC Losses New CC
Staffing in Invasion Staffing
Base Metro area T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2 T -1 T -2
f----.- .... - ---
TA 02 P.1 Vancouver 3 1 3 0 0 1
TA 02 P.2 St Johns 4 1 3 0 1 1
TA 04 P.1 San Francisco 1 3 1 0 0 3
TA 04 P.2 Chicago 2 2 2 2 0 0
TA 04 P.3 Corpus Christi 2 3 1 0 1 3
TA 04 P.4 C. Canaveral 0 S 0 0 0 S
TA 04 P.S Boston 1 3 1 0 0 3
TB 08 P.1 Mazatlan 3 1 3 0 0 1
TB 08 P.2 Llave 2 1 2 0 0 1
TB 10 P.1 Panama 3 1 3 0 0 1
TC 01 P.1 Buenos Aires 1 2 1 2 0 0
TC OS P.1 Fortaleza 1 1 1 0 0 1
TC 11 P.1 Caracas 2 1 1 Q 1 1
2S 2S 22 4 3 21 T.A.U. Bases: Region A (North). Bermuda

Key to CC Bases of the Trans-American Union

---------_-- ---

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Region A (North)

TA 01 T.01 Bermuda Island Hamilton 28,430 32.18° N 64.48° W Reports to Int. HQ (TA 04 C.5)
NatIon , 2: canada
TA 02 C.1 British Columbia Prince George 135,150 53.55° N 122.49° W IntI. HQ, Canada 1 & Arctic FZ
TA 02 C.2 Quebec Quebec 1,222,700 46.50° N 71.15° W IntI. HQ, Canada 2 & Grenland
TA 02 P.1 British Columbia Vancouver 3,140,600 49.13° N 123.06° W Sector 1 Primary
TA 02 P.2 Newfoundland St. Johns' 323,375 47.34° N 52.41° W Sector 2 Primary
TA 02 R.1 Northwest Territory Resolute 1,350 74.40° N 95.00° W Reports to TA 02 C.1
TA02S.11 British Columbia Kitimat 26,600 54.05" N 128.38° W Vancouver Secondary
TA 02 S.12 British Columbia Prince Rupert 33,275 54.18° N 130.1r W Vancouver Secondary
TA 02 S.13 British Columbia Squamish 2,250 49.4P N 123.1P W Vancouver Secondary
TA 02 S.14 Washington (U.S.A.) Bellingham 103,275 48.45° N 122.29° W U.S.A., Sect. 1, Vancouver Sec.
TA 02 S.21 Newfoundland Twillingate 5,650 49.38° N 54.45° W S!. Johns Secondary
TA 02 S.22 Newfoundland Stephenville 23,200 48.33° N 58.34° W S!. Johns Secondary
TA 02 S.23 New Brunswick Caraquet 12,800 47.48° N 64.59° W St. Johns Secondary
TA 02 S.24 Nova Scotia Glace Bay 49,250 46.11° N 59.58° W S!. Johns Secondary
TA 02 T.01 Northwest Territory Tuktoyaktuk 1,700 69.2r N 133.00° W Reports to TA 02 C.1
TA 02 T.02 Manitoba Churchill 3,850 58.45° N 94.00° W Reports to TA 02 C.2
TA 02 T.03 Manitoba Grand Rapids 2,050 53.12° N 99.19° W Reports to TA 02 C.2
Nation , 3: Gr8nland
TA 03 R.1 Nord 400 81.30° N 17.30° W Reports to lnt. HQ (TA 02 C.2)
TA 03 T.01 - Scoresbysund 945 70.30° N 22.00° W Reports to lnt, HQ (TA 02 C.2)
TA03 T.02 - Godthab 19,275 64.15° N 51.35° W Reports to Int. HQ (TA 02 C.2)
Natlon •• ·'4:·· ···Unlted· ··.States •• ofJArnerlca
TA 04 C.1 Arizona Flagstaff 78,125 35.12° N 122.49° W HQ, U.S.A., Sector 1 (West)
TA 04 C.2 Missouri St. Louis" 5,325,490 38.40° N 90.15° W HQ, U.S.A. Sector 2 (Central)
TA 04 C.3 Louisiana NItN Orleans 2,925,335 30.00° N 90.03" W Regional HQ, TAU. (North)
TA 04 C.4 Texas Houstotr 6,041,200 29.45° N 95.25° W Supreme High Command
TA 04 C.5 Virginia Richmond 494,375 37.34° N 77.27° W IntI. HQ, U.S.A. 3 & Bermuda
TA 04 P.1 California San Francisccf 4,632,910 37.45° N 122.27° W New Primary: TA 04 S.14
TA 04 P.2 Illinois Chicagd' 6,777,050 41.50° N 37.45° W New Primary: TA 04 S.21
TA 04 P.3 Texas Corpus Christi 523,200 26.46° N 97.26° W Sector 2 Primary
TA 04 P.4 Massachusetts Boston 7,502,220 42.20° N 71.05" W New Primary: TA 04 S.44
TA 04 P.5 Florida Canaveral' 88,500 28.28° N 80.32° W New Primary: TA 04 S.52
TA 04 R.1 Hawaii Hilog 53,18 19.42° N 155.04° W Reports to TA 04 C.1
TA04S.11 California Eureka 54,475 40.49° N 124.10° W San Francisco Secondary
TA04S.12 California Elk 1,725 39.08° N 123.42° W San Francisco Secondary
TA 04 S.13 California Monterey 62,155 36.35° N 121.55° W San Francisco Secondary
TA 04 S.14 California Big Sur area 300 36.15° N 121.47"W Replaces T A 04 P. 1
TA 04 S.21 Wisconsin Manitowoc 73,400 44.04° N 87.40e W Replaces TA 04 P.2
TA 04 S.22 Michigan Holland 59,270 42.46° N 86.06' W Chicago Secondary
TA 04 S.23 Illinois Cairo 13,375 37.010 N 89.09' W Chicago Secondary
TA 04 S.24 Michigan Escanaba 32,375 45.4r N 87.04° W Chicago Secondary
TA 04 S.31 Louisiana Morgan City 36,350 29.4P N 91.13°W Corpus Christi Secondary
TA 04 S.32 Texas Freeport 30,325 28.56° N 95.20° W Corpus Christi Secondary
a. Fifty percent or more of the St. Johns metro area consists of specialized high-tech facilities with numerous resident personneC
b. New HQ: Memphis, state of Tennessee. There was no base at this location prior to the invasion.
c. New TAU. High Command: New Orleans (TA 04 C.3), which is also the North Regional Command.
d. The Type-1 CC assigned to San Francisco was lost during the depopulation of this area. All Type-2 CC operatives escaped prior to that incident.
e. All CC operatives in Chicago were lost in the depopulation of that area.
f. All CC operatives based at Canaveral were engaged in underwater testing operations on the Atlantic ocean floor at the time of the invasion. They were
ordered to escape without detection, and succeeded. Priority 1: Activate replacement base at Bayport. Florida (TA 04 S.52). Priority 2: Activate
secondary base in Stuart, Florida (TA 04 S.53).
g. Hilo research primarily involves the Mauna Loa volcano 40 miles to the southwest. though some undersea testing is also performed. 23

T.A.U. Bases: Region A (North), U.S.A. (cont.)
Base Territory Metro Area Population Latitude Longitude Notes
TA 04 S.33 Texas Port Lavaca 24,600 28.36° N 96.39° W Corpus Christi Secondary
TA 04 S.34 Texas Port Isabel 8,500 26.04° N 97.14° W Corpus Christi Secondary
TA 04 S.41 Maine Addison 800 44.38° N 67.46° W Boston Secondary
TA 04 S.42 New York Oswego 44,640 43.27° N 76.31° W Boston Secondary
TA 04 S.43 New Hampshire Portsmouth 59,210 43.03° N 70.47" W Boston Secondary
TA 04 S.44 Massachusetts New Bedford 222,090 41.38° N 70.55° W Replaces TA 04 P.4
TA 04 S.51 Georgia Brunswick 39,700 31.09° N 81.30° W Canaveral Secondary
TA 04 S.52 Florida Bayport 1,050 28.33° N 82.39° W Replaces T A 04 P.5
TA 04 S.53 Florida Stuart 21,350 27.12° N 80.16° W Canaveral Secondary
TA 04 S.54 Florida Flamingo 860 25.08° N 80.07° W Canaveral Secondary
TA 04 T.01 Alaska Juneau 44,050 58.20° N 134.20° W Reports to T A 04 C.1
TA 04 T.02 Alaska Fort Randall 1,540 55.10° N 162.47" W Reports to TA 04 C.1
TA 04 T.03 New Mexico Albuquerque 748,200 35.05° N 106.38° W Reports to TA 04 C.1
TA 04 T.04 North Dakota Bismarck 100,325 46.50° N 100.48° W Reports to T A 04 C.2
TA 04 T.05 Tennessee Chattanooga 382,400 35.02° N 85.18° W Reports to TA 04 C.2 TA 05 R.1

(mobile)"

28

85-90° N 1-179° W

Region B (Central)

TB 01 C.1 New Providence

TB 01 T.01 North Caicos Island

Nassau Kew

310,350 8,410

25.05° N 77.20° W Bahamas National HQ

21.55° N 72.04° W

TB02C.1

TB 02 T.01 -

Limon 133,920

Puntarenas 88,670

10.00° N 83.01 ° W Costa Rica National HQ 10.00° N 84.50° W

TB 03 C.1

TB 03 T.01 -

Santiago de Cuba 996,945

Cienfuegos 281,930

20.00° N 75.49° W Cuba National HQ

22.10° N 80.27" W

TB04C.1

San Salvador 2,201,400

13.40° N 89.10° W EI Salvador National HQ

TB 05 C.1

TB 05 T.01 Belize

Antigua Belize City

54,100 126,885

TB06C.1 TB 06 C.2 TB 06 T.01 TB 06 T.02

Republicas Dornlnicass Puerto Rico

Jamaica

Haiti

Santo Domingo San Juan Montego Bay Jacmel

2,995,160 4,293,260 133,780 36,445

14.33° N 90.42° W Guatemala National HQ

17.29° N 88.10° W

18.30° N 18.29° N 18.27° N 18.18° N

69.57" W 66.08° W 77.56° W 72.32° W

Dominican Republic Natl. HQ Republicas Americanas HQ

TB 07 C.1

La Ceiba

137,280

15.45° N 86.45° W Honduras National HQ

a. The"base" in the Western Arctic Free Zone consists of a research team with equipment. The team moves around to various locations and has no permanent base station.

b. Dominican Republic

24

T.A.U. Bases: Region B (Central), Honduras (cont.)

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

TB 07 T.01 -

Barra Kruta

23,500

15.15° N 83.24° W

TB08C.1 Nuevo Leon Monterrey 5,885,700 25.40° N 100.20° W HQ, Mexico Sector 1 (North)
TB08 C.2 Yucatan Merida 804,735 20.59° N 89.39° W Regional HQ, TAU. Central
TB 08 C.3 Guerrero Acapulco 1,287,515 16.51° N 99.56° W HQ, Mexico Sector 2 (South)
TB 08 P.1 Sinaloas Mazatlan- 543,320 23.11° N 106.25° W
TB 08 P.2 Veracruz- Llaved 1,115,990 19.11° N 96.10° W
TB 08 S.11 Sonora Guaymas 175,790 27.59° N 110.54° W Replaces TB 08 C.1
TB 08 S.12 Baja California La Paz 140,675 24.10° N 110.1JO W
TB 08 S.13 Jalisco Puerto Vallarta 73,850 20.36° N 105.15° W
TB 08 S.14 Colima Manzanillo 63,535 19.00° N 104.20° W
TB 08 S.21 Nuevo Leon La Pesca 19,875 23.46° N 97.47° W
TB 08 S.22 Quintana Roo Puerto Juarez 13,760 21.100N 86.50° W
TB 08 S.23 Veracruz Tuxparr' 103,650 20.58° N 97.23° W
TB 08 S.24 Veracruz Coatzacoalcos 365,205 18.10° N 94.25° W
TB 08 T.01 Campeche Campeche 316,760 19.50° N 90.30° W TB09C.1

TB 09 T.01 -

Managua Puerto Cabezas

1,690,490 16,970

12.06° N 86.18° W Nicaragua National HQ

14.02° N 83.24° W

TB 10 C.1 Colon 250,715 09.21° N 79.54° W Panama National HQ
TB 10 P.1 Panama 1,972,085 08.57° N 79.30° W
TB 10 S.11 - (EI Salvador) La Union 11,465 13.20° N 87.50° W Panama Secondary
TB 10 S.12 - Cristobal 14,675 09.21° N 79.54° W Panama Secondary
TB 10 S.13 - Chirnan 6,420 08.42° N 78.35° W Panama Secondary
TB 10 S.14 - (Costa Rica) Golfito 15,900 08.42° N 83.10° W Panama Secondary TB 11 T.01 Guadeloupe

Point-a-Pitre

180,395

16.14°N 61.32°W ReportstoTB06C.2

Region C (South)

No bases

TC 02 C.1 Chile Santiagd 11,290,500 33.30° S 7.40° W Argentina National HQ
TC 02 P.1 Buenos Aires Buenos Aires» 39,757,500 34.40° S 58.30° W New Primary: TC 02 S.14
TC 02 R.1 Chile Punta Arenas 150,210 53.10° S 70.56° W
TC 02 S.11 Uruguaya (Brasil) Maldonado 59,290 34.57° S 54.59° W Buenos Aires Secondary
TC02S.12 Chile Constituci6n 9,460 35.20° S 72.28° W Buenos Aires Secondary
TC02S.13 Buenos Aires Mar del Plata 1,609,620 38.00° S 57.32° W Buenos Aires Secondary
TC02S.14 Buenos Aires Necochea 153,900 38.31°S 58.46° W Replaces TC 02 P.1
TC 02 T.01 Chile Iquique 251,055 20.15° S 70.08° W Replaces TC 02 C.1
--------------- - a. New HQ: Guaymas, Sonora (TB 08 S.11)

b. All Type-1 CC operatives in Mexico were lost during initial engagements with the enemy.

c. Fifty percent or more of the Mazatlan metro area consists of specialized high-tech facilities with minimal resident personnel.

d. City of Veracruz

e. Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cafio, do not confuse with Tuxpan, Jalisco. or with Tuxpan. Nayarit.

f. New HQ: Inquique (TC 02 T.01).

g. All CC operatives in Buenos Aires were lost during the depopulation of that region.

25

T.A.U. Bases: Region C (South), Argentine Republic (cont.)

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

TC 02 T.02 Rio Negro

Viedma

18,065

40.45° S 63.00° W

TC 03 C.1 Suriname

TC 03 T.01 Guyane francaise-

Paramaribo Cayenne

675,500 117,575

05.52° N 55.14° W Atlantic States National HQ 04.55° N 52.18° W

TC 04 C.1

laPaz

4,016,930

16.30° S 68.10° W

Soliva National HQ

TC05C.1 Tocantin Selem 3,687,045 01.27° S 48.29° W Regional HQ, TAU. South
TC 05 C.2 Sao Paulo Sao Paulc:J> 38,214,000 23.33° S 46.39° W Brasil National HQ
TC 05 P.1 Ceara Fortaleza- 4,435,500 03.45° S 38.35° W
TC05S.11 Piau I Parnaiba 220,135 02.58° S 41.46° W
TC05S.12 Rio Grande de Norte Natald 968,010 05.35° S 42.37° W
TC 05 S.13 Alagoas Penedo 83,955 10.16° S 36.33° W
TC 05 S.14 Bahia Santo Amaro- 58,675 12.35° S 38.41° W
TC 05 T.01 Minas Gerais Conceicao de Barra 45,550 18.36° S 39.46° W
TC 05 T.02 Santa Catarina Itajal 208,960 26.50° S 48.39° W Replaces TC 05 C.2 TC 06 C.1 Guayas, Ecuador

TC 06 T.01 Ancash, Peru

Guayaquil Chimbote

4,319,495 613,915

02.13° S 79.54° W Colombia National HQ 09.04° S 78.34° W

TC 07 C.1 Curacao

Willemstad

363,360

12.12° N 68.56° W CCT National HQ

TC 08 C.1

Stanley

4,170

51.45° S 57.56° W Islas Malvinas National HQ

TC09C.1

Santarern

197,335

02.26° S 54.41 ° W Salvas National HQ

No bases

TC 11 C.1 Maracaibo 3,961,840 10.44°N 71.37° W Venezuela National HQ
TC 11 P.1 Caracas 9,553,500 10.35° N 66.56° W Venezuela Primary
TC 11 S.11 Falc6n Puerto Cumarebo 33,970 11.31°N 69.30° W Caracas Secondary
TC 11 S.12 Anzoategui Puerto La Cruz 244,240 10.14° N 64.40° W Caracas Secondary
TC 11 S.13 Bolivar Ciudad Guayanas 554,065 08.22° N 62.37° W Replaces TC 11 P.1
TC 11 S.14 Guayana (Atlantic Sts.) Georgetown 722,030 06.46° N 58.10° W Caracas Secondary a. French Guiana

b. New HQ: ltajai (TC 05 T.02)

c. The Type-1 CC operative in Brasil was lost during initial engagements with the enemy.

d. In Rio Grande de Norte; do not confuse with Natal (Amazonas) in Selvas (06.59° S, 60.16° W).

e. Do not confuse with Santo Amaro (Maranhao) Brasil (02.31 ° S, 43.10° W).

f. One Type-1 CC operative in Venezuela was lost during initial engagements. The remaining Type-1 was deactivated in the process but was recovered, barely alive, nine days later. New Primary: Ciudad, Guayana (TC 11 S.13).

g. Also known as Santo Tome de Guayana

26

United Afrika: CC Base Map

8. Valtopya

27

United Afrika

The dark continent is unfortunately still the backwater of the world, trailing all the other blocs in technology, total wealth, and per capita income. It is third in both population and food production, and needs all of the latter to support the former. Though once third in land area, it dropped to fourth when Antarctica was added to the U.N.O.

U.A. is a land divided, and its "capital," Afrikana, presents an unconvincing facade of continental unity. It is technically divided into thirds, each having equal stature. However, each of these parts is located in a different part of the continent: in suburbs of Dar-el-Beida (AI-Mag reb, or Morocco), Cairo (Misr, or Egypt), and Maputo (Mocarnbique). The many independent nations of UA are grouped into four regions. The West is aggressive and fast-growing, controlled by AI-Magreb, though Senegal constantly disputes this authority. The Northeast has always been led by Misr (Egypt), but the new nation of Banghazi (formerly eastern Libya) enjoys a booming economy. Central Afrika, the mysterious and scenic heart of the continent, still clings to ancient customs and generally rejects modernism. And the South, once dominated by Suid-Afrika (South Africa), fell to chaotic squabbling after that nation was split by civil war. No one nation speaks for that region now.

The Sahara desert and ancient jungles are giving way to modern agriculture, thanks to advanced technology and new supplies of fresh water for irrigation from Antarctica. But changes meet stiff resistance, and meanwhile millions die from plague, starvation, and other follies of mismanaged national governments.

In the key below, bases are listed in order under the country to which they belong. CC bases in the italicized metro areas were lost during the depopulation.

United

Afrika

CC Base Staffing
Initial CC CC Losses New CC
Staffing in Invasion Staffing
Base Metro area T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2
AA 02 P.1 Dar-el-Beida 2 1 1 0 1 1
AA11P.1 Dakar 3 0 0 0 3 0
AB 04 P.1 AI-Iskandariyah 4 1 2 0 2 1
AD 09 P.1 Kaapstad 1 1 1 Q 3 1
13 3 4 0 9 3 CC Command Structure

National, International, and Sector HQ are listed under the Regional command bases to which they report. Primary bases are listed under the appropriate local commands. All secondary, tertiary, and research bases technically report directly to the local HQ. Bases destroyed in the invasion are marked with an asterisk.

Supreme High Command: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (AC 06 C.1)

Region A (West) Command: Dakar, Senegal (AA 11 C.1) * AI-Mag reb National HQ: Dar-el-Beida, Anfa (AA 02 C.1 ) Primary: Dar-el-Beida

Senegal & Guinee International HQ: Dakar, Yoff (AA 11 C.1) Primary: Dakar

Other National HQ: 'Annaba, Algerie; Monrovia, Liberia province, Freeland; Gao, Mali; Cotonow, Benin province, Nigeria.

Region B (Northeast) Command: Aswan, Misr (AA 04 C.1) Misr & Banqhazi International HQ: Aswan (above)

* Primary: AI-Iskandariyah, Lower Egypt (AB 04 P.1) As-Sudan & Tchad International HQ: Malakal, Sobat, As-Sudan Ubiya & Tunisie International HQ: At-Khums, Ubiya

Somaliya National HQ: Hobyo, Mudug

Region C (Central) Command: Goma, Zaire (AA 08 C.1)

National HQ: Libreville, Gabon province, People's Republics of the Congo; Bangui, Republique centrafricaine; Malabo, Bioko, Sao Tome Islands; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Goma, Zaire.

* Region 0 (South) Command: Kaapstad, Suid-Afrika (AD 09 C.1) * Suid-Atrika National HQ: Kaapstad (above)

* Primary: Kaapstad

Other National HQ: Luanda, Angola; Toamasina, Madagasikara; Maputo,

Mocarnbique: Swakopmund, Namibia; Maramba, Zambia.

Key to CC Bases of United Afrika

Base

Territory

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Metro Area

Region A (West)

AA 01 C.1 'Annaba

28

'Annaba (B6ne)

36.55° N 07.47° E Algerie National HQ

1,219,875

U.A. Bases: Region A (West), AI-Magreb

Base

Territory

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

----------_-------

Metro Area

AA 02 C.1 Anfa

AA02S.11 -

AA 02 S.12 - (Algerie) AA 02 S.13 - AA02S.14 -

AA 02 T.01 Canaria''

Dar-el-BeidCi' Tanger (Tangier) Oran (Ouahran) Safi

Essaouira (Mogador) Las Palrnas-

6,134,900 731,885

1,889,715 502,920 117,095 669,670

33.39° N 35.48° N 35.45° N 32.18° N 31.30° N 28.08° N

07.35° W 05.50° W 00.38° W 09.20° W 09.48° W 15.2r W

AI-Magreb Natl. HQ & Pri. Dar-el-Beida Secondary Dar-el-Beida Secondary Dar-el-Beida Secondary Dar-el-Beida Secondary

No bases

AA 04 C.1 Liberia

Monrovia

795,440

06.20° N 10.46° W Freeland National HQ

No bases

AA 08 C.1 Tuareg

Gao

66,220

16.19° N 00.09° W Mali National HQ

No bases

AA 10 C.1 Benin

Cotonow

693,345

06.24° N 02.31 ° E Nigeria National HQ

AA 11 C.1 Yoff

AA 11 S.11 - AA 11 S.12 -

AA 11 S.13 - (Guinea) AA 11 S.14 - (Guinea)

Dakar<! 3,111,500 14.38° N 17.27° W Regional HQ, U.A. West & Pri.
Saint-Louis 342,775 16.01 ° N 16.30° W Dakar Secondary
Banjul (Bathurst) 341,940 13.28° N 16.39° W Dakar Secondary
Bissau 277,215 11.52° N 15.39° W Dakar Secondary
Conakry 768,395 09.31°N 13.43° W Dakar Secondary Region B (Northeast)

AB 01 C.1 Sobat

Malaka!

135,935

09.31 ° N 31.40° E Int. HQ, As-Sudan & Tchad

No bases, but AB 04 S.11 is located here.

a. Casablanca; all operatives (CC and otherwise) escaped before the depopulation. New HO: Tanger (AA 02 S.11). New Primary: Essaouria (AA 02

S.14).

b. Canary Islands

c. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

d. Also International HO (Senegal & Guinee)

29

U.A. Bases: Region B (Northeast), Ubiya

Base

Territory

Metro Area

AB03C.1 Tripolitania At-Khums 51,935 32.39° N 14.16° E Int. HO, Ubya & Tunisie
Nation #4: Mlsr(Arat) Republic Of egypt}
AB04C.1 Upper Egypt Aswana 562,380 24.05° N 32.56° E Regional HO, U.A. Northeast
AB 04 P.1 Beheira AI-Iskandar/yali' 11,101,320 31.13°N 29.55° E New Primary: AB 04 S.13
AB 04 S.11 - (Banqhazi) Tubruq (Tobruk) 82,560 32.05° N 23.59° E AI-Iskandariyah Secondary
AB04S.12 - Matruh 68,175 31.21°N 27.15° E AI-Iskandariyah Secondary
AB04S.13 Lower Egypt Port Said 1,055,600 31.17° N 32.18° E AI-Iskandariyah Secondary
AB04S.14 Upper Egypt Hurghada 58,440 27.17"N 33.47° E AI-Iskandariyah Secondary AB 05 C.1 Mudug Hobyo 43,280 05.20° N 48.30° E Somaliya National HO
Nation' 6: Tchad (Chad)

AB06R.1 Kanem Bol 1,300 13.27° N 14.40° E Reports to AB 01 C.1
Nation # 7: Tunisle
AB 07 R.1 none- 25 (variable) Reports to AB 03 C.1 No bases

Region C (Central)

No bases

the ngo

AC 03 C.1 Estuaire, Gabon

Libreville

977,695

00.30° N 09.25° E PRC National HO

Nation' 4:

bllque centrafricalne (Central African Republic)

AC 04 C.1 Ombella-Mpoko

Bangui

728,400

04.23° N 18.37° E Rep. centrafricaine Nat!. HO

AC 05 C.1 Bioko (Fernando Pool Malabo (Santa Isabel) 107,560

03.45° N 08.48° E Sao Tome Islands National HO

AC 06 C.1 Dar Es Salaam

Dar Es Salaams

3,388,825

06.51 ° S 39.18° E Supreme High Command, U.A.

No bases

a. Also International HQ, Misr & Banqhazi

b. Alexandria; two Type-1 CC operatives were lost in combat.

c. The "Tsrborq" (local version of Cyborg) research team roves in the dry wastes of south Tunisia. The team members are in occasional contact with the 'Annaba (Algerie and Al-Khurns (Ubiya) bases (AA 01 C.1 and AS 03 C.1, respectively).

d. Also Tanzania National HQ

30

U.A. Bases: Region C (Central), Zaire

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Base

Territory

Metro Area

AC 08 C.1 Kivu

AC 08 T.01 Shaba

Goma"

Moba (Baudouinville)

189,305 87,000

01.40° S 07.40° S

29.14° E Regional HQ, U.A. Central 29.45° E

Region D (South)

AD 01 C.1 Bengo

1,851,500

08.50° S 13.15° E Angola National HQ

No bases

AD03C.1

Toamasina (Tamatave)281,800

18.10° S 49.23° E Madagasikara National HQ

No bases

AD 05 C.1 Gaza

AD 05 T.01 Zarnbezia

Maputo< Quelimane

1,331,855

25.58° S 32.35° E Moc;:ambique National HQ

17.53°S 36.51°E

AD 06 C.1 Damaraland

Swakopmund

22,130

22.40° S 14.34° E Namibia National HQ

No bases

AD 09 C.1 Kaap Kaapstacf 4,382,100 33.56° S 18.28° E Regional HQ, U.A. South & Pri
AD 09 S.11 - Port Nolloth 38,450 29.17° S 16.51° E Kaapstad Secondary
AD 09 S.12 - Oos-Londerr 740,090 33.00° S 27.54° E Replaces AD 09 C.1 as Nat!. HQ
AD 09 S.13 - Knysna 54,530 34.03° S 23.03° E Replaces AD 09 C.1 as Primary
AD 09 S.14 - Voorbaii 48,185 34.09° S 22.06° E Kaapstad Secondary AD 10 C.1 Southern Zambia

Maramba (Livingstone) 311 ,620

17.50° S 25.53° E Zambia National HQ

No bases

-_------- ---

a. Also Zaire National HQ

b Replaces AD 09 C.1 as Regional HQ, UA South.

c. Lourenco Marques

d. Capetown; also Suid-Afrika National HQ. All CC operatives escaped before the depopulation of that area. New Regional HQ: Luanda, Angola (AD 01 C.1). New National HQ: Oos-Londen (AD 09 S.12). New Primary: Knysna (AD 09 S.13).

e. East London

31

United Nations of Oceania: CC Base Map

32

United Nations of Oceania

United

The U.N.O. has the fewest people and the lowest food production of all the blocs, and it is next to last in technology and total wealth. But it is nevertheless the most promising, dynamic, and fastest-growing of them all. It is the third largest bloc in land area (most of that in Australia and Antarctica), and the hard-working nature of Oceania's people has made them the second richest (per capita) in the world.

Sydney, Australia, is the capital.

Oceania is divided into three regions by geography. The West is both dominated and handicapped by Indonesia, as that nation has one of the densest populations on the globe. The East is lackadasical; the many small isles of the South Pacific are easily controlled by New Guinea. The South, the new frontier of the 21 st century, is dominated by Australia.

The rise of Oceania was due to two principal factors. In the 1980s, tourist advertising by Australia produced incredible results. That, plus international pho-

Nations

Oceania

of

bias about nuclear war and the threat of AIDS, prompted hundreds of thousands to immigrate from North America and Europe between 1990 and 201 O. The second factor was the development of Antarctica; the U.N.O. created (and kept control of) the technology to insulate and move icebergs, and now sells them worldwide. As

pollution problems continue to spread, these may become the world's primary supply of fresh water.

In the key that begins on the next page, bases are listed in order under the nations to which they report. CC bases in italicized cities were lost during the depopulation of those metro areas.

CC Command Structure

National, International, and Sector HQ are listed under the Regional command bases to which they report. Primary bases are listed under the appropriate local commands. All secondary, tertiary, and research bases technically report directly to the local HQ. Bases destroyed in the invasion are marked with an asterisk. See the individual CC base listings in the Key to CC Bases for details on replacement bases.

Supreme High Command: Wellington, South Aukland, New Zealand (OC 03 C.2) * Region A (West) Command: Bandung, Jawa, Republic of Indonesia (OA 02 C.1) • Indonesia National HQ: Djakarta, Jawa (OA 02 P.1)

• Primary: Djakarta

• Pilipinas National HQ: Manila, Luzon (OA 04 C.1) • Primary: Manila

Other National HQ; Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, Federation of Northwestern Polynesia; Balikpapan, Timur, Kalimantan.

Region B (East) Command: Port Moresby, New Guinea (OB 04 C.1) No bases with CC staff.

National HQ: Papeete, Tahiti Island, Federation of Eastern Polynesia; Nadi, Fiji Island, Federation of Southwest Polynesia; Oekusi, Timor Island, Molucca; Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea.

* Region C (South) Command: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (OC 02 C.3) • Australia Sector 1 (West) HQ: Perth, Western Australia (OC 02 C.1)

• Primary: Perth

• Australia Sector 2 (East) HQ: Brisbane, Queensland (OC 02 C.2)

• Primary: Brisbane (above)

• Primary: Melbourne, Victoria (OC 02 CA)

New Zealand National HQ: Aukland, Central Aukland (OC 03 C.1) Primary: Aukland

Other National HQ: Scott City, Antarctic States; Hobart, Tasmania.

CC Invasion Losses
Initial CC CC Losses New CC
Staffing in Invasion Staffing
Base Metro area T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2 T -1 T-2
OA 02 P.1 Djakarta 3 1 2 0 1 1
OA 04 P.1 Manila 3 1 2 0 1 1
OC 02 P.1 Perth 3 1 1 0 2 1
OC 02 P.1 Brisbane 5 0 1 0 4 0
OC 02 P.2 Melbourne 3 1 3 1 0 0
OC 03 P.1 Aukland a 1 Q Q a 1
20 5 9 1 11 4 33

U.N.O. Bases: Region A (West), Federation of Northwest Polynesia

Key to U.N.O. CC Bases

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

Region A (West)

OA 01 C.1 Marshall Islands

Kwajalein

52,465

09.15° N 167.30° E F.NW.P. National HQ

OA02C.1 Jawa (Java) Djakarta' 20,445,425 06.08° S 106.45° E Indonesia National HQ & Pri.
OA 02 C.2 Jawa Bandung 7,114,140 06.57° S 107.34° E Regional HQ, U.N.O. West
OA 02 S.11 Sumatra Tanjung.-Teluk.b 625,900 05.28° S 105.16° E Djakarta Secondary
OA02S.12 Jawa Tjirebon (Cirebon) 561,555 06.46° S 108.33° E Djakarta Secondary
OA02S.13 Jawa Sernaranq- 2,033,815 06.58° S 110.29° E Replaces OA 02 C.1 as Pri. & HQ
OA 02 S.14 Jawa Surabaya 9,212,900 07.14° S 112.45° E
OA 02 T.01 Sumatra Sigli 86,985 05.21° N 95.56° E
OA 02 T.02 Sumatra Padang 617,575 01.00° S 100.21° E OA 03 C.1 Timur

Balikpapan

431,995

01.15° S 116.50° E Kalimantan National HQ

OA 04 C.1 Luzon Manilcf 17,299,975 14.37° N 120.58° E Pilipinas Nat!. HQ & Primary
OA 04 S.11 Luzon Lingayen 185,690 16.02° N 120.14° E Manila Secondary
OA04S.12 Luzon Batangas 394,325 13.46° N 121.0P E Replaces OA 04 C.1 as Primary
OA 04 S.13 Mindoro Calapan 174,915 13.23° N 121.100E Manila Secondary
OA04S.14 Leyte Tacloban 253,860 11.15° N 125.01° E Manila Secondary
OA 04 T.01 Mindanao Davao 1,524,535 07.05° N 125.38° E Replaces OA 04 C.1 as Nat!. HQ No bases

Region B (East)

OB 01 C.1 Tahiti

Papeete

132,110

17.32° S 149.34° W F.E.P. National HQ

OB 02 C.1 Fiji

Nadie

46,550

17.47° S 177.29° E F.SW.P. National HQ

OB 03 C.1 Timor

Kupang

165,760

10.13° S 123.38° E Molucca National HQ

OB 04 C.1 Papua

Port Moresby

335,300

09.30° S 147.0r E Regional HQ, U.N.O. East

a. All CCs in Djakarta successfully evacuated before the depopulation of that region; two Type-1 CC operatives were lost in combat. New National

HQ and Primary: Semarang (OA 02 S.13).

b. Tanjungkarang-Telukbetung

c. New National HQ and Primary, replacing Djakarta and Bandung.

d. New National HQ: Davao (OA 04 T.01). New Primary: Batangas (OA 04 S.12).

e. On Viti Levu

34

U.N.O. Bases: Region C (South), Antarctic States

Base

Territory

Metro Area

Population Latitude Longitude Notes

OC 01 C.1 Polar Free Zone Scott City 22,435 90.00° S 00.00° - Antarctic States National HQ
OC 01 C.2 Sakharov Vostok 8,210 78.27° S 106.51° E formerly SSSR (P.A.U. A-4)
OC 01 R.01 Ross Russkaya 1,740 74.46° S 136.51° W formerly SSSR (P.A.U. A-4)
OC 01 R.02 Coats Halley 635 75.31° S 26.56° W formerly U.K. (E.C. A-9)
OC 01 R.03 Maud Neumayer 820 70.37° S 08.22° W formerly B.R.D. (E.C. B-2)
OC 01 R.04 Maud Gangotri 2,295 70.05° S 12.00° E formerly Bharat (P.A.U. C-2)
OC 01 R.05 Enderby Mizuho 3,450 70.42° S 44.20° E formerly Japan (P.A.U. A-2)
OC 01 R.06 Enderby Mawson 960 67.36° S 62.52° E formerly Australia (U.N.O. C-2)
OC 01 R.07 Wilkes Durville 1,820 66.40° S 140.01° E formerly France (E.C. B-5)
OC 01 R.08 Ross McMurdo 6,365 77.51° S 166.40° E formerly U.S.A. (TAU. A-4) OC 02 C.1 Western Australia Pert"'" 5,430,120 31.58° S 115.49° E HQ, Australia Sect. 1 (W) & Pri.
OC 02 C.2 Queensland Brisbant?i' 6,235,790 27.30° S 153.00° E HQ, Australia Sect. 2 (E) & Pri.
OC 02 C.3 New South Wales Sydney 19,624,270 33.55° S 151.10° E Regional HQ, U.N.O. South
OC 02 P.3 Victoria MelboumgJ 16,836,690 37.45° S 144.58° E
OC 02 R.1 Northern Territory Lake Amadeus' 165 24.72° S 130.92° E
OC02S.11 Western Australia Carnarvon 34,895 24.51 ° S 113.45° E Perth Secondary
OC 02 S.12 Western Australia Geraldton 75,865 28.49° S 114.36° E Replaces OC 02 C.1 as Primary
OC 02 S.13 Western Australia Esperance 61,375 33.49° S 121.52° E Perth Secondary
OC 02 S.14 Western Australia Albany 103,175 34.57° S 117.54° E Replaces OC 02 C.1 as HQ, S 1
OC 02 S.21 Queensland Gladstone 27,470 23.52° S 151.16° E Brisbane Secondary
OC 02 S.22 Queensland Maryboroughf 31,650 25.32° S 152.36° E Replaces OC 02 C.2 as Primary
OC 02 S.23 New South Wales Cotts Harbour 7,290 30.18° S 153.08° E Brisbane Secondary
OC 02 S.24 New South Wales Port Macquarie 14,675 31.28° S 152.25° E Brisbane Secondary
OC 02 S.31 South Australia Victor Harbor 26,665 35.33° S 138.37° E Melbourne Secondary
OC 02 S.32 New South Wales Merimbuta 22,395 37.18° S 146.08° E Melbourne Secondary
OC 02 S.33 Victoria Portlands 9,420 38.21° S 141.38° E Melbourne Secondary
OC 02 S.34 - (Tasmania) Burnie 29,845 41.03° S 143.55° E Replaces OC 02 P.3
OC 02 T.01 Northern Territory Darwin 286,715 12.23° S 130.44° E
OC 02 T.02 Western Australia Broome 51,180 17.58° S 122.15° E
OC 02 T.03 South Australia Ceduna 102,835 32.07° S 133.42° E
OC 02 T.04 Queensland Weipa 11,430 12.35° S 141.56° E
OC 02 T.05 Queensland Townsville 590,575 19.13° S 146.48° E Replaces OC 02 C.2 as HQ, S 2 OC 03 C.1 Central Aukland Aukland" 3,212,725 36.55° S 174.47° E New Zealand National HQ
OC 03 C.2 South Aukland Wellington 1,450,490 41.17° S 174.47° E Supreme High Command
OC03S.11 South Aukland Mt. Maunganui 48,905 37.38° S 176.12° E North Island
OC 03 S.12 Taranki New Plymouth 185,300 39.03° S 174.04° E North Island
OC03S.13 Hawkes Bay Napier 458,485 39.29° S 176.58° E North Island
OC 03 S.14 Nelson Motueka 66,750 41.08° S 173.01 ° E South Island
OC 03 T.01 Otago Dunedin 468,435 45.52° S 170.30° E South Island OC04C.1

Hobart

705,550

42.54° S 147.18° E Tasmania National HQ

a. All ee operatives evacuated Perth before the depopulation of that area. New Sector HQ: Albany (Oe 02 S.14). New Primary: (Oe 02 S.12).

b. All ee operatives in Brisbane evacuated before the depopulation of that area. New Sector HQ: Townsville (Oe 02 T.02). New Primary: Marybor-

ough roc 02 S.22).

c. New Regional HQ: Aukland, New Zealand (Oe 03 e.1).

d. All ee operatives in Melbourne were lost during the depopulation of that area. New Primary: Burnie, Tasmania (Oe 02 S.34).

e. Lake Amadeus (with no nearby towns) is a body of salt water; the research base is located beneath the lake bottom.

f. Do not confuse with Maryborough, Victoria (37.05° S, 143.4JDE).

g. Do not confuse with Portland, New South Wales (33.20° S, 150.00° E)

h. On North Island. Replaces Sydney, Australia (Oe 02 e.3) as Regional HQ, U.N.O. South. Invading forces did not strike any part of New Zealand in the initial invasion. It is believed that an error may have been made in the troop deployment. As a precaution, the base was immediately moved to a different building in the city.

35

Xenoborgs

Most of the alien invaders, and in fact all of the combat troops, are of this race. Because of their appearance, seemingly part metal and part organic, people called them Xenoborgs - xeno (strange) and borg (short for cyborg, or cybernetic organism). They were not, in fact, far wrong.

The Xenoborgs as a race are pawns of the Masters (see page 47), though they are not aware of this.

General Notes

Most of the alien invaders are of this race. A Xenoborg resembles a giant-sized version of the microscopic dust mite commonly found in households. This tiny terror, so small that an electron microscope is required to examine it accurately, feeds on the minute flakes of skin we shed in the course of a normal day. Its large alien look-alike, however, is more than 3 meters tall and wide, and about 4.5 meters long. Its six (or eight) small, spindly legs seem incapable of supporting the massive bloated body. However, since much of the creature's interior consists of spaces in which objects and gases are held, the 28.3 cubic meters (1,000 cubic feet) of body volume masses only about 250 kg (550 pounds). The creature's weight is often less than that - 204-227 kg (450-500 pounds) - since some of the gases carried within its form are lighter than air.

Xenoborg technology embodies relatively few principles unknown to Man, but it has enjoyed a longer period of development; the Empire has stood for millenia. Though the aliens do craft and use devices of various sorts, they do not rely primarily on inanimate objects as tools. Instead, they create genetically engineered beings to perform various tasks, because life forms provide maximum diversity and adaptability. Xenoborg transports for land, water, air, and space are creatures, genetically designed and grown for those specific purposes and outfitted with the appropriate devices. (See Teleborgs, page 48, for more details.)

During the invasion, however, most of the Xenoborg troops are not mounted. They can move rather quickly on land by adept use of their jointed legs. When confronted with special movement needs (such as aquatic), they simply "grow" holes to suck air or water into their bodies, as well as similar mechanisms to expel it,

36

Xenoborgs

providing directional propulsion of good speed and accuracy. They can even float (like dirigibles) by inflating themselves with hydrogen, if given a sufficient water source from which to extract the gas. (See Xenobiology, page 40, forthe exact procedures involved.)

Game Data

Since the DVs, stats, and other details about Xenoborgs are often needed during games, the reference tables are located on the inner and outer back covers of this booklet, where you can most easily find and use them. The stats and IPs given are averages, and may vary by as much as ±20%.

Most of the Xenoborgs encountered in the course of a CC game will be standard, low-ranking military types. Initially, no role-playing notes or special skills apply to these. The things act predictably, are usually hostile, and do not normally communicate with humans to any great extent. Once CCs are seen as a real threat, however, any Xenoborg may be willing to talk.

Leaders

Leader-type Xenoborgs often have knowledge of Skills. Apply the same skill system used for CC characters, but before assigning specific fields and areas, read "Xenoborgs as Beings" (page 44) to become familiar with the extraterrestrial viewpoint, and choose Skills accordingly.

Xenoborgs of the ranks of Sergeant or higher also have better scores (including Stats and IPs) than do Privates and Corporals. This is in part due to their larger size, summarized on the table below. (The numbers represent meters or yards.)

Xenoborg Sizes

Height
Rank Length & Width
Private & Corporal 4.5 3.1
Sergeant 4.9 3.2
Lieutenant 5.1 3.5
Captain 5.5 3.7
Major 5.9 4.1
Colonel 7.1 4.6
Brigadier 7.7 5.1
General 8.3 5.5 Defense Values (DVs)

Xenoborgs can consciously soften or harden selected body parts by varying the water content in the individual cells. (See Xenobiology for details.) Fully hydrated cells are soft, providing maximum flexibility and tactile sense; dehydrated cells are hard, affording better defense but less mobility. The harder the cells, the better resistance the creature has to most forms of attack. Xenoborg DVs thus vary by the state of the exterior cells (soft, natural, firm, or hard), and by the type and amount of special defenses used. As a general rule, more and better defenses (such as armor) are available as rank increases. These defenses may range from simple metallic body shields to sophisticated systems of types similar to those found in a CYBORG COMMANDOTM character.

Three tables on the inside back cover of this booklet give DVs by cell hardness for Xenoborgs of the ranks of Private, Corporal, Sergeant, and Lieutenant. Each DV on these tables may vary by ± 5.

A fourth table gives the formula for calculating the special DVs for Xenoborg officers of higher ranks. To use this information, multiply the DV given in the rank description (indicated on the table with a # mark) by the percentage given on the table, and round up the result to the nearest whole number.

Add a +5 bonus to all DV scores given on any table if the Xenoborg is either personally inhabited by a Master or controlled by a Master's computer implant.

By deliberately softening areas of its body, a Xenoborg can change its shape, extruding or retracting appendages as desired. (See Xenobiology for details.) This is not normally done during combat or in potentially hazardous environments, but in the months after the invasion, characters may come upon an alien that is undergoing this process. In mid-change, the entire creature is soft. However, the more probable Xenoborg status in such an encounter is mostly natural (in the process of hardening its exterior), with some soft newly-created parts.

The hardness of Xenoborg body parts varies according to their intended functions. Except in special circumstances, the state of various Xenoborg body parts is as follows. Note that all appendages are optional, including heads, and few Xenoborgs have all the parts listed.

____ ~ __ _____!_eno~orgs: Body Parts

Body Areas

Body:

Ear spot:

Eye spot:

Feeler:

Foot:

Head:

Interior:

Joint (any):

Leg:

Mandibles:

Pore:

Spike:

Tail:

Tentacle:

Wound:

hard firm natural soft hard

firm or hard soft

natural

firm

hard natural hard

firm

natural

soft +

Notes on Body Areas

Body: In Terran combat conditions, a Xenoborg normally maintains a hard exterior. Under water, the hardest possible is firm. In a safe environment, the creature relaxes to a firm or natural state.

Ear or eye spot: These patches of external skin cells appear slightly lighter in color than the surrounding area. Each performs the appropriate sensory tunction.

Feeler: This tentacle~like appendage extruded from a body opening is ex~ tremely hydrated for maximum tactile sensory input. Feelers often ooze a purplish slime.

Foot: Though a foot is hard, for durability, note that the leg is firm; no joint per se occurs between the two.

Head: Any appendage appearing to be a head is actually a decoy to attract attacks, and has little or no real function unless it wields mandibles. If merely a decoy, the head is usually hard. If equipped with attack modes, it is firm.

Interior: This is always kept in soft state, with cells ready to move about or rnanipulate devices carried.

Joint: Some hydration of cells is required for ease of movement. Joints occur only at the intersections of natural or hard areas (leg to body, occasionally rnid-leq, arm to body, etc.)

Leg: Typically insectoid, these appendages may be jointed for speed and maneuverability, but are often not.

Mandibles: These clawlike pincers protruding from "mouths" are often toothed or sharply edged, but they are always hard.

Pore: A pore is a hole in the body from which a weapon or feeler protrudes. Since the weapon may be withdrawn back into the body, the pore is kept semi-soft, but once this occurs, the outer cells (natural) close over the pore.

Spike: Usually pointed, spikes may occur on any body surface, commonly on the body, tail, and/or tentacle.

Tail: This is actually a special form of tentacle, hardened and adorned by spikes on its sides and/or end.

Tentacle: A semi-soft unadorned appendage, this is often used for handling objects or victims. It may be of any length from 1-10 meters. If the appendage is intended for impact attacks, parts of it are usually dehydrated to natural or hard state.

Wound: Except in the special case of the "head" decoy, all wounds reveal the body interior, which is initially soft and remains so for 10 CT. As the exposed cells dehydrate, they are natural for another 10 CT, then firm for 10 CT before finally reaching hard state.

Use the body parts table and the DV value given on the table (inside back cover) to calculate the actual DV value for higher ranks.

Example: A flame thrower is fired at a Xenoborg Captain's tentacle. The given TDV on Table 1 is 45 (for hard), but a tentacle is natural (60%, given on Table 3), so the actual TDV is 27 (45 • 0.6).

Equipment

Xenoborgs carry a variety of special weapons and other devices. To equip a Xenoborg, find its rank on Table 1, and note the communications (Comm) equipment and number of weapons carried. Then select specific weapons, up to the ma~imum noted within the categories Indicated. (Fewer are possible.) Finally, add the Powwers required to supply those devices (see table on page 39).

IfaXenoborg with a Comm unit or Class 2 Weapon falls in combat, a reasonable effort will be made to retrieve that e~uipm~nt. Class 1 weapons are only retrieved If such action is convenient.

Communications Devices

Each Xenoborg leader in the invasion force is equipped with a Comm unit, which it carries and uses entirely within its body. Specialized superhydrated cell groups deep inside the creature manipulate the' controls, receive and translate incoming information, and produce signals for emission. Broadcasting antennae need not have exterior mountings, though devices for sensing the environment (such as an A-V camera, sensors, etc.) or for affecting it (such as infrared lights) must be brought to the exterior to be of much use, of course.

Power costs for the use of Comm units

are given. If the cost is noted as minimal you need not keep track of it unless extensive Comm activity is expected. The devices listed below are cumulative; that is, each includes the functions of the all the items listed before it. For example, #2, the A-V Comm Unit, includes a Basic Comm Unit (#1) as well.

1. Basic Comm Unit

Power cost: minimal (1 PU per 10 signals)

This is a simple radio capable of sending and receiving signals on any of a wide variety of channels. It is omnidirectionalthat is, the signals emanate in all directions - and easily overheard by terran receivers.

2. A-V Comm Unit

Power cost: minimal (1 PU per 5 signals) This unit is essentially a simple television camera, receiver, and omnidirectional broadcaster.

3. Sensor

Power cost: minimal (1 PU per AT)

Similar to an optical camera with attached sensors, this E-M pickup detects much of the electromagnetic spectrumx-rays, infrared light, ultraviolet, and rnicrowaves. Lamps that produce a like range of emissions are included. The sensor also contains a motion detector, a sound detector sensitive to a wide range of frequencies and decibels, and a sound filtering device capable of removing extraneous noises from audio signals.

4. Laser Comm Unit (LasCom) Power cost: 1 PU per signal sent

This device uses a standard combat laser (not included) to transmit a signal. The .signal can only be translated by a receiver-decoder, which is included with the unit, and only if the beam strikes it. Effects which obscure the light beam (such as smoke) can affect the signal slightly, but usually not enough to ruin it. The beam can be aimed at and successfully received by an orbital Xenoborg Comm satellite. A LasCom compresses a signal by a factor of 1,000; for example, a detailed realtime record of a one-hour survey can be reported in 3.6 seconds.

5. ComPak

Power Cost: 10 Pl.I per CT of signal

The most complex and expensive of the Xenoborg Comm units used by the

37

Xenoborgs: Armament

invading forces, the ComPak contains a small computer with sophisticated and specialized communications applications. Starting with a signal produced by any of the means given above, the computer can scramble it quite thoroughly, shift frequencies of transmission rapidly, code and decode messages, and so forth. It does all this in microseconds, and its output is generally understood only by another ComPak, or by an equally sophisticated computer using the proper programming. A ComPak can compress a signal by a factor of 10,000; for example, a detailed record of a full day's activity can be transmitted in 8.6 seconds (1 CT).

The limits herein apply only to devices.

Every Xenoborg has body parts usable as weapons - claws, mandibles, spiked tail, etc. If an enemy presents no real threat (e.g. human civilians), devices will not normally be used; they are reserved for real dangers. CC characters do not appear as normal humans to Xenoborg sight; they are too tall, and they are detectably electrical in nature.

Weapons are grouped into three classes by their cost, rarity, and effect. Class 3 Armament, which includes major weapons such as anti-matter bombs, antipersonnel radiation bombs, and chemical or biological tools, can only be used after agreement by both Marshals (i.e. when their Masters decide it necessary).

Class 1

Class 2

E!ectromagnet Grenade Ignition System Laser

Electrostatic Generator E-M Beamer

Missile

Pulser

Power cost: 10 PU per CT Range: 5

Damage: none

As much an all-purpose tool as a weapon, this device produces a powerful magnetic field. Though it has little effect on unarmed enemies, it can exert a strong pull on ferrous (iron-based) metals at a distance of 5 meters, and it is quite useful for disarming or immobilizing nearby opponents. The electromagnet can be turned on and off as quickly as desired. (Note that very few Xenoborg devices are metallic, and of those listed above, only the electrostatic generator and the missile are ferrous.)

38

Power cost: 10 PU per charge Range: 10 (to closest ground) Damage: none (special)

Like the CC weapon of the same name, this device produces an electrical charge that will jump to the nearest ground. It inflicts no damage to life forms, but can scramble signals or destroy sensitive components of electrical circuitry.

Power cost: 5 PU per shot Range: 30

Damage: standard d1 Ox (E-M)

This device produces intense radiation from transmitters and focuses it with a small parabolic cone. It can be used to project either X-rays or microwaves, but not both at once. The former has little immediate effect, but causes death within 72 hours from organ failures and a rapidlygrowing form of cancer. Its beam can only be blocked by dense substances, such as lead. The microwaves have quick effect, frying the victim's interior within 1 CT, but can be blocked by even very thin metals.

Power cost: none

Range without launcher: 50 Range with launcher: 500 Damage (by type):

Explosive fragmentation: normal d10x (impact)

Gas, paralytic: stat check (neural) or paralysis 1-1 0 AT

Gas, poison: stat check (physical) or death

Smoke: none (obscures vision only) Sonic: 10 fixed damage (sonic) and stat check (neural) or paralysis 1 CT (8.6 seconds)

White Phosphorus: two damages; normal d1 Ox (thermal) and 10 fixed damage (impact)

Quite similar to a terrestrial grenade, this is a small spherical object which detonates either on impact or at a preset time after triggering. Grenades may be mechanical or electronic. Several types are available, including adhesive flammable material (white phosphorus), explosive fragmentation, gas (poison, paralytic, and otherwise), sonics (high-pitched noise painful to most terrestrial creatures), and smoke. A Xenoborg can accurately throw a grenade up to 50 meters by opening a pore in its surface and constricting specialized cell groups to expel the object. A mechanical launcher can increase the throwing range, but only 10% of the Xenoborgs with grenades are so equipped.

Power cost: minimal (1 PU per 10 ignitions)

Normal jet:

Range: 10 meters Damage: standard (d1 Ox) Intense jet:

Range: 2 meters Damage: d1 Ox + 10 bonus

When a Xenoborg breaks water down into its components to gain oxygen, it can encyst the hydrogen within its cells. Given

Xenoborgs: Power Sources

a few hours' preparation, it can transfer this collected gas from the cell vacuoles into a central body cavity. With this ignition system added, the creature can expel the hydrogen in a flaming jet (maximum length 10 meters) through a valve and nozzle formed of specialized cells. Properly done, this destroys only a few such cells.

If other chemicals are carefully prepared and added, the jet can be intensified and focused to weld or cut through materials (maximum jet length 2 meters). However, this version is a very shortrange weapon, and its use requires knowledge, special chemicals, and many hours of additional preparation. The proper combination of all these factors is only found in 10% of the Xenoborgs who have ignition systems in the first place.

Laser (Class 1)

Power cost: 5 PU per shot Range: 1,000 (line of sight) Damage: standard d1 Ox

The Xenoborg standard combat laser works on the same principle as the common terran version, producing a beam of coherent light by appropriate stimulation of a corundum crystal. Xenoborg laser beams are usually green, emanating from a crystalline substance similar to emerald.

Missile (Class 2)

Power cost: none

Range (minimum): 30 Range (maximum): 5,000 Damages (2):

Impact: d1 Ox +20 bonus Thermal: d1 Ox + 50 bonus

This is a miniaturized version of the terran missile, including a warhead payload of high explosive, and an internal guidance system that can be set for proximity, impact, heat-seeking, or other detonation mode. A small disposable launcher is included.

Pulser (Class 2)

Power cost: 5 PU per burst Range: 300

Damage (per burst, by ammo):

Normal: fixed 25 Explosive: standard d1 Ox

Similar to a terrestrial rifle, this device propels metal pellets through the barrel at very high speed by applying electromagnetic pulses at many points. The projectiles may be either solid or filled with explosive. Up to 50 bursts of ammunition are typically included. Only 20% of the Xenoborgs with pulsers have explosive ammunition.

Power Sources

Xenoborgs do not use chemical storage batteries as power sources; instead, they breed and use creatures, called Powwers, for the same purposes. (See Powwers, page 48, for more details.)

The actual numbers of Powwers required to run the various pieces of Xenoborg equipment are given on the table at right. Devices not listed do not normally require any Powwers for their exclusive use; instead they use minor amounts of electricity from some other Powwer carried. Note that the number given applies per device; for example, a Xenoborg with four lasers would carry eight Powwers to supply them. Powwers carried maybe used in any manner desired, and are not restricted to those devices for which they were originallyallocated.

Powwer supplies vary by the needs of the individual Xenoborgs, of course. At the start of the invasion, for example, each Xenoborg carries 3-5 times as many Powwers as indicated here.

Using Powwers

A Xenoborg carries its Powwers inside its body, where they can physically touch the devices that require power souces. By carefully stroking a Powwer, the Xenoborg causes the creature to emit a controlled amount of energy, typically 5 PU. Larger amounts are possible, up to the Powwer's maximum capacity of 100 PU, but the minimum produced is 1 PU. Keep track of the total PU available to a Xenoborg, not the totals for individual Powwers carried.

When a Powwer's stored electrical force has been expended, the creature is useless until recharged. A Powwer absorbs electromagnetic radiation, regaining power at the rate of 10 PU per hour's exposure to sunlight (or some other radi-

ant source). The creature must be in water while recharging, though the water may be of any type - fresh, salty, polluted, etc.

Powwer Allocations

Number of

Device Powwers

Comm unit

Class 1 1

Class 2 or better 2

Armament

Electromagnet 1

Electrostatic generator 2

E-M beamer 1

Laser 2

Pulser 1

Control by Masters

Masters are the beings controlling the Xenoborg invasion force. A Master resides within each Marshal at Command HQ, and six others occupy Generals. No Xenoborg personally inhabited by a Master will visit the Earth until the planet seems to be under control. This may occur from 2-6 months after the invasion, after stabilization but before the CC Force presents a real threat to the invaders.

The Masters' computers are implanted in many of the other Xenoborgs. These individuals are placed within the normal troop structure; many are involved (and some lost) in the initial combat. They provide a direct source of information to the Masters.

Xenoborgs controlled by the Masters have better attack capacity (+ 1 attack per cycle) and defense values (+5 bonus to each). To randomly determine whether an alien encountered is under the control of such a computer, check the percentage given in the last column of the table below for Xenoborgs of that rank.

Master-Controlled Xenoborgs
% New %
Original of rank New of rank Random
Rank Number Controlled Losses Number Controlled % Check
Sergeants 1,550 1 97 1453 1.1 1
Lieutenants 625 2 29 596 2.1 2
Captains 250 4 10 240 4.1 4
Majors 100 8 7 93 7.9 8
Colonels 40 16 2 38 16.1 16
Brigadiers 15 30 1 14 31.1 31
Generals' 6 60 0 6 60 60
Marshals' 2 100 0 2 100 100
Totals" 2,580 1.3 146 2,434 1.4
'Both Marshals and 6 generals are occupied by Masters; none are computer-controlled
"Percentage of total is with respect to officers (including sergeants) 39

Xenobiology

... or Xenotomy, the study of strange structures - in this case, extraterrestrial.

The key to understanding Xenoborg development, abilities, and habits is understanding their cells. Xenoborgs are not organisms per se, as they have no organs. Their cells are hereafter referred to as Xcells.

General Notes

An X-cell is protein-based, composed entirely of elements found on Earth, in proportions remarkably similar to those in a terran cell, including the water content. The outer surface is smooth, without cilia or flagella. The cell functions in much the same way as the cell of a terran life form does, taking in nourishment and expelling waste.

Although an X-cell is amoeboid, capable of moving and eating by extending pseudopods, it always returns to its "natural" form when not involved in such pursuits. Every X-cell has one of two basic forms. The immature version (protocell, from the Greekproto-, meaning "first") has an elongated diamond shape (fig. 1). As the protocell grows, it changes in shape, becoming a regular pentagon (fig. 2). This mature X-cell (telocell, from the Greek telo- or teleo-, meaning "end") retains this form thereafter.

X-cells are easily visible to the naked human eye. The protocell is about 2 cm (1.6") long and 1.35 cm (0.53") wide. Each side of a telocell is about 2.3 cm (0.91") long, or 3.5 cm (1.38") across two points.

An X-cell is fairly acidic, having a pH value of 3.5 (7 being neutrality). Its normal

Xenobiology

temperature is about 45° C (113° F), but it is quite pesocilotherrnic, able to acclimate itself to a temperature ± 33% of normal, or from about 25° to 65° C (77° to 149° F). Note that this is the actual cell temperature; an unprotected Xenoborg can function well within a wider range (est. 15-80° C, or 59-176° F). Temperature regulation is accomplished by air and/or water intake, circulation, and emission. With protective gear, the lower range can be considerably extended, down to about -30° C (-22° F).

Xenoborgs are quite sensitive to cold.

In an environment below -29° C (-20° F), an unprotected Xenoborg takes 1 point of fixed damage per Phase for each 5 degreees below that temperature. Opponents attack forms using extremely cold substances, such as liquid nitrogen, may inflict either fixed or standard d1 Ox damage to Xenoborgs.

Cell Structure

The structure of an X-cell is similar to that of a terran cell in that it contains many bodies which function in nearly identical ways. The following features are common to both cell types.

Membranes: The nuclear membrane surrounds the nucleus, and the unit membrane surrounds the entire cell. Each membrane has variable permeability and some limited ability to repair itself.

Cytoplasm: The material between the nuclear and unit membranes, in which particles, fluids, and organelles are suspended.

Figure 1

Figure 2

40

Organelles: These interior cell bodies perform various functions, as follows:

Centrioles function only during cell division.

Goigi bodies produce specific secretions.

Lysosomes perform digestive functions. Mitochondria carry out respiratory

functions.

Nucleus is the "commander" of the cell. Ribosomes aid in synthesizing protein. Vacuoles store, process, and/or

transport materials (such as those to be digested).

Each terran cell has one nucleus; this is true for every life form on Earth. The one utterly extraterrestrial feature of an X-cell is the presence of and apparent cooperation between five nuclei, all distinctly different in composition and function. Two of these nuclei have functions that parallel those of a terran cell nucleus, though to a greater degree of complexity. The other three nuclei have functions not found in those of any terran life form.

The following X-cell nuclei have functions analogous to terran cell nuclei:

M-nucleus (metabolic; respiration & digestion): This nucleus controls organelles similar (and presumably analogous) to mitochondria, ribosomes, golgi bodies, and some Iysosomes & vacuoles.

E-nucleus (excretory; waste grouping & elimination): This controls some Iysosomes & vacuoles in a fashion similar (perhaps identical) to that of terran cells.

The X-cell nuclei with no terran analogs are as follows:

O-nucleus (dynamic; overall cell size & movement): Cell size is changed by varying the water content and/or the amount of cytoplasmic material, thereby altering the nucleocytoplasmic ratio. Cell movement is accomplished individually by pseudopod extension, or en masse as part of a cell group in motion.

S-nucleus (sensory; message sending, receiving, & translating): This is the key to Xenoborg intelligence, movement, and other unique activity. Information is conveyed from cell to cell by both

Xenobiology

o

o

Figure 3

Figure 4

chemical and electrical means, the former involving minute changes in the chemical composition of the neighboring cells, and the latter minute changes in electrical charge, polarity, and other factors.

I-nucleus (information-storing; coding information into chemical form): This nucleus receives messages from the S-nucleus and then assembles extremely complex compounds, which are encased within a resilient protective material for long-term storage. The information coded into the compounds can later be accessed, replicated (preserving the original), and decoded by this nucleus.

Nuclear Cooperation

In a protocell, the S- and I-nuclei are fully functional, but the other nuclei are only partially so. This type of cell is thus very efficient at intercell communications, but needs assistance for its very survival, and can move itself only very slowly. It quickly bonds with telocells (see Development & Function, right) after its creation. By contrast, the S-nucleus becomes smaller as the cell ages, while the M-and E-nuclei enlarge slightly. All the nuclei except the sensory maintain a balance of

control, none being dominant.

Development & Function

As a terran zygote grows into a complete organism, many of its cells become specialized, forming various organs of the body. Thereafter, those cells are useless for any other purpose. By contrast, each cell ofaXenoborg's body is multi-functional. Groups of X-cells, incorporating both protocells and telocells, are often created for specific functions, and these functions may parallel those of organs in terran life forms. But such organization is temporary, and causes no change in the cells themselves.

Two telocells often pair to form a duplex cell (fig. 3). Thereafter, it is common for two protocells to bond to the sides, forming a four-cell unit called a tetrad (fig. 4). Tetrads often mesh tightly in matrix (tessellate) to form large surfaces (fig. 5). Sheets of tesselated X-cells form most of the Xenoborg's body.

Other cell groups, such as those in fig. 6, are created to perform specialized functions, including those carried out by the organs of terran life forms. Most such X-cell arrangements are, in fact, nontessellating, and none are permanent. Xenoborgs thus have no fixed brain,

heart, stomach, or any other organs.

X-cells form many of these special groupings naturally, according to the instructions of some genetic analog within the cells, or in response to commands issued from other cells, but the Xenoborg may bring about the arrangements through conscious volition as well.

Cell groups whose functions are basically sensory, such as eyespots, are composed primarily of protocells, since they are best suited for such activity. In cell groups with little or no sensory function, such as legs, tails, or body weapons, telocells are predominant.

The means by which a Xenoborg exerts control over its individual cells is not completely clear, but it is obviously quite effective. Minute chemical and electrical changes in the cell membranes can pass information from cell to cell with very high speed. Alternately, some psychogenic means may be used, even though Xenoborgs have no psychogenic abilities per se, at least not as they are known to Man. Whatever the mechanism, the S- and Dnuclei are definitely involved.

Respiration

X-cells breathe, just as do cells of terran organisms. The method is very similar, except for the Xenoborgs' lack of a specialized processing organ like the terran lung. A fluid medium (air or water), taken into the Xenoborg body through any convenient orifice, is circulated so as to contact as many cells as possible. Oxygen is removed from the medium, absorbed, and used by the cell for various purposes. The water or air contacting the unit membrane also picks up various excretions of the cell at the same time. Many such excretions are nitrogenous, like those of terran cells.

Unlike terran life forms, Xenoborgs can take the oxygen they need directly from water on a cellular level. Water contacting the unit membrane of a cell flows into pinocytotic channels (the grooves between pseudopods), where it is "pinched off" and encysted in vacuoles. Hydrolytic enzymes break it down into hydrogen and oxygen; the latter is consumed, but the hydrogen is usually excreted. Sometimes, when the Xenoborg has a use for this flammable and lighter-than-air gas, the hydrogen is encysted in vacuoles and stored. The cells of a Xenoborg in "bloated" form typically contain many such vacuoles; in this state, the creature is almost identical in shape to the microscopic terran look-alike, the dust mite.

Other X-cell enzymes may react with impurities in the water or air absorbed, in attempts to gain sustenance (see Digestion, below). None of these enzymes are identical to those found in terran life forms, but the functions are similar. Note that a

41

42

Xenoborg can consume salt water, as the unwanted components can be excreted, but the effort of coping with the alkalinity prevents the cells involved from participating in any other functions during this process.

Digestion

X-cells are able to derive sustenance from nearly any organic material, and their basic nutritional needs are very similar to those of their terran analogs. The more nutritious the material ingested, the less of it is needed, and vice versa. IfaXenoborg is forced to feed on soil, it must ingest large quantities of it (and, incidentally, expel most of it) to survive. If it has access to highly nutritious food sources, such as creatures high in a food chain (unfortunately including humans), relatively little is needed.

In a physical process similar to that used to circulate air or water, food sources are moved about within the Xenoborg form so as to contact as many cells as possible. Some cells excrete acidic substances which aid in the breakdown of the food source, and all the cells of the body benefit thereby. Individual cells employ phagocytosis, just as do terran cells, extending pseudopods to surround solid food particles.

As with terran cells, the individual Xcells cannot handle most raw foods. Once the particles are encysted in vacuoles, the M-nucleus emits proteolytic digestive enzymes to reduce the gross food source to digestible compounds, which are then transferred to other vacuoles for delivery to the nuclei or absorbed by the cytoplasm. It is very noteworthy that some enzymes from the M-nucleus can easily handle bacteria, viruses, and other biotic microorganisms which cause disease in Man. The Xenoborg thus never tolerates symbiots of any sort.

Given a nutritiously dense food, an inactive Xenoborg consumes about 5% of its body weight per day, or approximately 11.4 kg (25 pounds) for a typical specimen. A highly active creature may need as much as eight times that amount. Eating occurs every 12 hours, on the average. Lack of food does not cause pain or weakness, but simply results in a loss of mass, at a rate approximately equal to 40% of the food requirement - 4.5 kg (10 pounds) per day during inactivity, or 34-36 kg (75- 80 pounds) per day for strenuous activity. As a Xenoborg loses mass, however, it also loses intelligence; a creature of 113- 181 kg (250-400 pounds) is semi-intelligent at best, and it effectively becomes animalistic - irrational and ravenous - at any weight below that. In this condition, a Xenoborg can be extremely dangerous to any life form, though direct intercell com-

munications will convince it to stop eating another of its own kind before much damage is done.

Hydration

Several characteristics of the Xenoborg life form are based on its ability to control the water content of its cells, a function of the D-nucleus in each cell. Xcells with normal water content handle most of the body functions. Some cells are deliberately dehydrated to perform other functions, and some highly specialized functions (notably the tactile senses) are performed by superhydrated cells.

Partially dehydrated cell groups offer greater tensile and motive strength, performing functions analagous to muscle cells in terran organisms. With partial dehydration comes greater cell stability, though size changes and cell movement are correspondingly slower.

Cell groups dehydrated to a greater degree than the "motive" sort are sensitive to vibrations within part of the electromagnetic spectrum. These groups fulfill various sensory functions (q.v.), such as sight and hearing.

Fully dehydrated cells become quite stiff and rather uncommunicative with respect to others in the Xenoborg life form. Cells exposed to external air tend to assume this form naturally, through evaporation. Such cells are typically used only to form a rigid external protective surface, called the ectodermic layer. If the water content is reduced to an absolute minimum within the range permitting cellular survival, the hardness is equivalent to the mineral quartz (Mohs scale 7; compare to 6.5 for a steel knife or file). Cells in this condition are also highly resistant to extremes of heat and cold, though alkaline substances and salts can have notable effects. (See CC weaponry section in CCF Manual for details.)

Such cells also serve as insulation, resisting moderate electrical shocks quite efficiently. They do succumb to impacts of high force, however, as their brittleness (a function of the vertical instability of the cell matrix) results in fractures and some shedding under such stresses. But the gaps created thereby are minimal, and are quickly filled by soft replacement cells from the interior, which may be dehydrated by the Xenoborg's conscious volition, or allowed to harden naturally.

Immersion in water causes some slight softening of the hard ectodermic layer (to Mohs 3; compare to 2.5 for a human fingernail), but there is no further effect unless the Xenoborg desires it. The creature can also soften a given area without immersion, by exuding water from nearby inner cells. All exterior cells can be fully hydrated in about 10 minutes if immersed

Xenobiology

in pure water, or in about 2-4 hours otherwise, varying by the pH factor and the amount and type of impurities. Note that salt water can be processed, but the effort of coping with and expelling the salts makes the cells unable to perform any other function simultaneously.

Cell Survival & Regeneration

An isolated X-cell of either type (protocell or telocell) cannot survive alone in any known terran conditions. However, a tetrad (or any group of equivalent or greater size) can survive independently for a considerable length of time. Given adequate food and water, such a cell group can reproduce and recreate an entire functional Xenoborg - albeit of small size, about 1 meter long (9 cubic feet total volume) and massing only about 8- 10 kg (18-22 pounds)- in about 72 hours. However, the resulting creature is almost totally unintelligent, since the degree of sentience is a direct function of the being's overall mass (see Intelligence, below). It will do little more than try to eat everything in sight. If adequate sustenance is available, it can grow into a full-sized (15' long) Xenoborg in another 10 days.

X-Cell Life Cycle

In the course of normal life, X-cells die natural deaths and are replaced by new ones, just like cells in terran organisms. The procedure by which replacement cells are generated is apparently identical in both; no conscious or subconscious direction is needed. Protocells do not divide; they can only grow into telocells (changing from four- to five-sided in the process) or die. A telocell does not grow; it divides, creating two protocells, and in the process (mitosis) the cell nuclei replicate themselves. The mitotic period of a telocell is about 2 hours. Cells undergoing mitosis are quite busy with the process, and are not usable for any other functions.

The utter selflessness and dedication of the Xenoborgs, combined with their durable physical characteristics and advanced technology, thus puts Man in a very grim position. Indeed, the Empire took the Earth in a matter of days. But taking a thing and keeping it are quite different matters, as the Xenoborgs (and their Masters) will discover ... thanks to the CYBORG COMMANDO Force.

For notes on Xenoborg military organization, see "Invasion" (page 56). For detailed information on the living beings they use as vessels and power supplies, see Teleborg and Powwer, respectively. For notes on Xenoborg activities and society, see the next section.

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Xenoborgs as Beings

Xenoborgs

Since Xenoborgs have no organs that could be called brains or nerves, they lack the corresponding weaknesses of terran creatures. They have no blood, either, since individual cells take in sustenance directly, rather than through a medium. Damage to a Xenoborg's body results in critical effects only if some specialized cell group is destroyed, in which case the critical effects apply only to the function of that group. As opponents, Xenoborgs must simply be eroded to a point at which they cannot compensate quickly enough to function with any speed, then completely destroyed.

Intelligence

Due to the comparatively large size of X-cells, the number required to form neural pathways of a complexity equivalent to the human brain would fill several hundred (or more) cubic feet. One of the earliest

as

Beings

observed facts about Xenoborgs was their size - several hundred, perhaps a thousand cubic feet for a typical specimen. Humans thus decided rather quickly, once they became aware of the size of X-cells, that a Xenoborg had either no brain at all or an electronic equivalent.

In a very real sense, however, a Xenoborg's entire body is its brain. All Xcells not dedicated to specific functions take part in communications exchanges and interactions - thoughts which, though slower than human thoughts by an order of magnitude, are nevertheless just as effective and intelligent. Such communications between the cells are the primary function of the S-nuclei.

There are two types of Xenoborg memory: immediate and archived. Immediate memory is held in the neural pathequivalents formed by the body cells, and is accessible with the speed of Xenoborg thought. The speed of these "nerve impulses" varies from 10-80 meters per

second, despite the large size of the Xcells. Human nerves, by comparison, transmit such impulses at a speed of 0.6 to 120 meters per second. The apparent high efficiency of X-cell communication is probably due to the lack of synaptic jumps required for human nerve cell operation.

Archived memory requires 2-4 hours for retrieval. Memories of this type are coded into chemical compounds by the 1- nuclei of the cells, then encysted in vacuoles physically near to that nucleus. Redundancy is common, to the extent that important memories may be duplicated in dozens of locations. The retrieval process is initiated voluntarily, and an I-nucleus which controls the desired memory subsequently duplicates the compounds and sends them to adjacent cells, where the process is repeated. As the information spreads, the memory gradually appears to the Xenoborg's consciousness, eventually reaching complete restoration. The creature slowly becomes aware of general

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principles relevant to the information, and the gaps in the memory are filled as the data becomes more widespread, ultimately becoming "immediate memory."

Intelligence of terran life forms is partially a function of the number of neural pathways in an organism's brain. Xenoborg intelligence has a similar relationship to the number of usable X-cells in the body. Those cells which are devoted to specific functions, such as mitosis, exodermic protection, muscle-analog groups, and others, are unable to playa role in Xenoborg thought. Thus, at certain times Xenoborgs are complete idiots by any standard. Situations in which this commonly occurs include superdehydration (when a Xenoborg dehydrates most of its form to an extreme degree, becoming very compact and immune to most damage), memory-sharing (when one Xenoborg consumes another and immediately devotes its entire being to replicating itselfsee Reproduction, next page), early growth stages (when most of the X-cells are busy with mitosis), attempts to eat or drink quickly, and attempts to process salt water on any large scale.

A direct corollary to this phenomenon is appropriate to combat situations: the intelligence of a Xenoborg decreases in proportion to its body mass. Simply put, the more you hit it, the stupider it gets.

Senses

Specialized X-cell groups can taste and smell (analyze solid, liquid, and gaseous matter) with accuracy somewhere between a CC's sampler and the comparatively limited ability of the human tongue, throat, and nose. Such sensory groups are slightly superhydrated, and consist mainly of protocells.

Superhydrated cell groups can also be formed into a sensitive tentacle. This can be extruded from a pore of the body and used for tactile sense, feeling textures and contours. The extreme superhydration produces high internal cell pressure, and some cell excretions pass through the membranes, occasionally dripping from the tentacle in the form of a purplish ooze. This material is not living, and quickly dries, but leaves a characteristic smear.

A Xenoborg can sense various electromagnetic radiations by using semi-dehydrated ("firm") cell groups, again mostly protocells. The detectable range is about 2,000 to 1,000,000 angstroms, or roughly middle ultraviolet to high infrared. Xenoborgs have little concept of color except as it relates to light absorption, reflection, and so forth. In darkness, they can "see" by employing a sonar effect, emitting intermittent hums or chirps; these may be from 100-50,000 Hz and of 10-100 Db in volume. Compare this to a typical human's

electronic music-reproduction system (stereo), which typically produces signals from 20-20,000 Hz, and to the human ear's thresholds of audible sound (4 Db) and pain (120 Db).

Communication

Specialized X-cell groups of a resilient formation (partially dehydrated) can be vibrated to produce wave movement of adjacent air or water. Other similar groups can receive such vibrations, which are in turn translated by the intelligence of the being. The range of possible frequencies is wide (see paragraph above), and the mechanics of Xenoborg speech are thus complex - as are the grammar and syntax, due to the high intelligence of the mature specimens.

When the I-nucleus encodes and encysts information as complex compounds, that material can be replicated and passed to a neighboring cell. This is integral to the process of retrieving archived memory. However, the material can also be passed to other cells along with specific "instructions" from the S-nucleus of the originating cell to handle it in a quite different manner. When this process in initiated, the recipient cells devote themselves to reproduction, and soon a cluster of cells is formed

Xenoborgs as Beings: Memory

with the sole purpose of holding that archived knowledge. Encysted food is also placed in the cells of this "carrier" group. The I-nucleus of each cell within this cluster becomes dominant. The M- and Enuclei remain functional, though they are completely under the control of the I-nucleus; the other two nuclei become dormant. The Xenoborg can then expel this entire cell group from its body. The cluster is gooey at first, but soon dehydrates to resemble a smooth light-blue stone, with faint lines indicating the cell boundaries.

This material is called "memory food."

Because of the instructions contained in the dominant I-nucleus, the cluster will neither seek outside sustenance nor attempt to reproduce, as small independent groups of X-cells normally do. Instead, it survives on the stored foods within the individual cells, which are adequate for several years of survival.

When this memory food is consumed by another Xenoborg, the information and memories contained therein are transferred intact. By taking just a bit longer in the process, the creature ingesting the cluster can merely replicate a few of the cells containing the information, leaving the original memory food intact. An immature Xenoborg will, however, simply consume the memory food, ignoring and destroying the knowledge it contains.

Memory foods are often organized, cultured, and kept by custodians of a memory bank. Such banks are widespread on the Xenoborgs' home planet. Others are cultivated at all new colonies, updated as often as possible with new material from home and other regions.

Polymorphism

Once all of a Xenoborg's exterior cells are fully relaxed by normal or high water content, the creature can rearrange its overall cell structure as desired, within certain limitations. In the process, it can literally grow as many appendages as it wants, of any specialized or general type. Upon assuming a new form, the Xenoborg simply dehydrates the exterior cells to produce the degree of protection desired.

The dexterity of individual appendages is a function of the degree of hydration, within the restrictions of cell size. A Xenoborg appendage in the shape of a human hand, for example, would have to be at least 8 to 10 times the size of a human's (due to cell size) and superhydrated if flexibility were desired. It would thus be quite vulnerable to damage.

As a result of this shape-alteration ability, most of the invading Xenoborg troops have specialized body parts. Appendages may be wholly or partially blunt for crushing, jagged for rending, or sharp for stabbing or cutting. Possible forms

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include heads, mandibles, toothed (otherwise non-functional) mouths, tentacles, tails, legs of various shapes, sizes, and number, and so forth - literally anything they (or you) can imagine. The sharpest edge achievable, due to cell size, is approximately that of a blunt butter knife; but a totally dehydrated protocell forms an adequately pointed tip for the end of a spike, about equal to that of a screwdriver.

Xenoborgs often produce appendages with human psychology firmly in mind. Since they have a superficial resemblance to bugs, they often produce headshaped protruberances, even though they have no real need for them. During the invasion, heads composed of cells that had been allowed to die off served quite well as decoys, drawing fire away from the living body mass. Heads composed of living cells could also be used to display mandibles, teeth, etc., for horror effect.

Feeding

As previously noted, a typical Xenoborg tends to eat once every 12 hours, consuming about 6 kg (13 pounds) of nutritionally dense food each time. It also takes in a small amount of water (roughly 620 gm, or 22 ounces) in the same period. In adverse conditions, a Xenoborg will

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take in up to ten times those amounts in a single "meal" and encyst most of it for later use. A fully prepared Xenoborg may thus be able to survive for as long as five terran days without any sustenance whatsoever, and suffering no ill effects therefrom.

Xenoborgs usually prefer to catch and eat living food sources by producing extra legs (for greater speed) and long tentacles. Not only do living creatures taste better, being fresh, but they offer a bit of sport in the process. Food beasts of convenient size (5-8 kg) are bred for release on planets firmly under Xenoborg control. These unintelligent little creatures are genetically designed to convert vegetation of the area in which they are to be placed into the densest possible concentrations of protein.

When food-beasts are unavailable, as is the case during most planetary invasions, Xenoborgs catch and feed on local life forms. Since a Xenoborg in combat conditions has selected its appendages for considerations other than food gathering, it is usually forced to capture its food using whatever weapons are available.

Once it has caught its prey, the Xenoborg simply draws the food into its body by any expedient means. It then moves the mass carefully about within itself, so that every cell comes into direct contact with the food. The individual cells take in the small amounts of material they need for survival.

Reproduction

A Xenoborg can reproduce itself alone, simply by splitting into two parts. Each half must spend considerable time growing thereafter, and both will be idiots studying to be morons until a reasonable mass is reached. Even so, these immature creatures are only semi-intelligent until they grow to full size. Education is another factor, as all immediate memory is lost in the process of reproduction. Memory food and self-encysted knowledge can offset much of the loss.

However, the Xenoborg race has a different custom for reproduction. Two of the creatures customarily discuss the matter, and one agrees to be eaten by the other. The resultant large body mass then splits into three reasonably large, semiintelligent Xenoborgs, which quickly grow to full size.

The main advantages to this custom are the sharing of memory and knowledge, plus the minor variations that occasionally occur through natural mutation. On the Xenoborgs' home planet, returning explorers and soldiers are routinely eaten under controlled circumstances. The resulting beings are carefully examined for changes, then interrogated for new knowledge. If a mutation or new piece of knowl-

edge that could adversely affect the Empire is present, the individuals are destroyed, and a determined effort is made to locate and destroy all other Xenoborgs carrying the taint. But if beneficial mutations or knowledge are present, they are spread deliberately. If the Emperor (see right) decides that a specific fact should be known to the entire race (a rare event but not unprecedented), the knowledge-can be spread throughout the Empire within about ten years, using memory food and other tools.

The Xenoborg Culture

The Xenoborg race is led by an Emperor, a single entity of vast size - about that of a large building, roughly 450,000 cubic feet. The Emperor's vast number of body cells permits a phenomenal amount of immediate memory and amazing intelligence. The Emperor is assisted by five aides of very large size, each of whom is in turn served by five more slightly smaller Xenoborgs, and so forth. The first echelon below the Emperor is generally called the Council. The Emperor delegates many minor matters for that group's attention, reserving its own thoughts for complex matters.

The Emperor and the Council members are all inhabited by Masters (q.v.), but are not aware of that fact. To a larger perspective, the entire Xenoborg Empire is merely one of several tools the Masters employ, but that discussion is beyond the scope of this game.

The philosophy of the entire Xenoborg race is one of unity and total dedication to the Empire. Each creature is essentially identical to all others, and this concept is reinforced by various social customs. Individuality per se is counterproductive and evil, but individual Xenoborgs do specialize in various branches of knowledge or service, as the Empire (i.e. the Emperor and/or the Council) deems best. The Xenoborgs pity the underdeveloped, chaotic races they encounter that lack such unity, and who suffer under the delusion of freedom.

The utter selflessness and dedication of the Xenoborgs, combined with their durable physical characteristics and advanced technology, thus puts Man in a very grim position. Indeed, the Empire, already a formidable galactic power, took the Earth in a matter of days. But taking a thing and keeping it are quite different matters, as the Xenoborgs (and their Masters) will discover ... thanks to the CYBORG COMMANDO Force.

For notes on Xenoborg military organization, see "Invasion" (page 56). For notes on the living beings they use as vessels and power supplies, see "Teleborg" and "Powwer," respectively.

Other Aliens: Masters

Other

Although most details about the alien invaders are not known to Man in the initial year of the post-invasion game (i.e. 2035), much information will be acquired during the course of play. By late 2038, the CCs will amass enough data to make possible an organized assault on the invaders, and success in driving them from the Earth.

But as Game Master, you must of course have adequate knowledge of the aliens. Five basic types are involved:

Masters (who control everything) Powwers (who store and emit electrical power for general use)

Teleborgs (the living vessels in which all others travel)

Xenoborgs (most of the invading troops)

Bugborgs (or buglies; specialized troops who resemble giant versions of terran insects, rare in the initial invasion but widely used later)

Very little information about Bugborgs is given in this set. They comprise the aliens' major response to the rise of the CC Force, arriving about 8-12 months after the invasion. Details about the various extraterrestrials (other than the Xenoborgs) involved in the initial assault are presented hereafter in alphabetical order.

Masters

The entire invasion is controlled, directly or indirectly, by one "master race," the existence of which is not initially known to Man. Members of this race call themselves a term meaning "controllers of reality" in their own language, but to the commanders of the invasion force, they are simply "the Masters."

A Master is a wormlike creature with trilateral symmetry. An adult's smooth, tapering body is 61 cm (2') long, 15 cm (6") wide at its thickest (uppermost) point, and topped by a bulbous head about 31 cm (1 ') in diameter. Three sucker-like mouths and three eyes are evenly spaced around the head, and eighteen small tentacles protrude from the body, again evenly spaced and symmetrically located. The creature's body masses about 41 kg (90 pounds), and has a total volume of 27,000 cc (1,650 cubic inches).

A Master can move on land or through water by oscillating its body in a fashion similar to certain terran snakes, aided by

Aliens

its tentacles. However, it prefers to live in a host, from which the mouths draw off small amounts of body fluids, providing the Master with both food and oxygen. A Master can survive for weeks without food, or for about 20 hours without air. It has an average lifespan of approximately 400 years, but it can live to twice that age under ideal conditions.

Masters are hermaphroditic and can thus reproduce singly, though their customs include a ritual gene pooling through normal sexual activity. In either case, a single embryo is carried within the parent's body in a manner similar to the reproductive cycles of terran mammals, except that the gestation period is about four years. During the latter half of the pregnancy, the parent educates the fetus via psychogenics. At birth, the physically immature Master is a tenth the size of the adult and appears furry because of the thousands of small tentacles covering its body, but it is already fully mature mentally. The infant is able to survive alone within a few hours, and given sufficient nutrients, it will reach adult size within one year. During this time, most of the tiny tentacles dry up and fall off, except for eighteen that grow longer and stronger.

Incredibly intelligent by human standards, Masters are also skilled in psychogenics, and they rely on this ability to manipulate their environment and other beings. They prefer to retain anonymity in the process, surreptitiously controlling important members of other intelligent races. The Masters' ultimate goal is nothing less than Universal government by those with the greatest intellect, i.e. themselves. At the appropiate times, the Masters incline their victims' thoughts and actions toward that objective. Masters instigated, planned, and now control the entire invasion of Earth through the Xenoborgs, though the latter are unaware of that fact.

In addition to their use of psychogenics, the Masters can exert direct control over other races by either of two means. The more common is an implanted device either in place of or in control of the brain (or equivalent) of the subject. This device closely resembles the Mad Mac computer used in the Cyborg Commando Force, but there is one crucial difference in its method of operation: the computer, notthe organic brain, has control. These devices were designed by the Masters, but created by one of their subjugated races (not one of those involved in this invasion).

The second and much rarer method of control is for a Master to physically enter and dwell within the body of another being. Once inside, the Master usually assumes complete control of the body by commandeering the nervous system (or equivalent) of the victim. The Master may choose not to do this, and might merely reside within a body cavity. The usual purpose of such actions is camouflage and/or transportation. If the process of entering the victim causes some damage that the Master wants to conceal, it accelerates and directs the victim's natural healing processes to accomplish this. The victim usually remains entirely unaware of the Master's presence within.

Master (without host)

Stats

Mental 110

Neural 75

Physical 15

Psychonic Score 500

Move rate 5

Attacks per Cycle 1

Defenses (DVs)

Laser 15

Impact 10

Thermal 30

E-M 60

Sonic 25

Integrity Points (IPs)

basic game: 30

advanced game

Head: 27

Body: 18

Skills

300. Dynamic Psychogenics 310. Matter (all areas) 50 320. Energy (all areas)" 70 330. Beings (all areas)" 90

400. Communications

460. Psychogenics (all) 90

a. Includes heat, light, & molecular energy.

b. Extraterrestrials only; thoughts of individuals, societies, & animals.

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