157: Metis

ENTRY 157: Metis

Death is a disease. Not every disease has a cure.

Glick Metis and life-partner Oleksander Oryes were part of the first wave of colonizers to the Belt. Young, in love, and with first-generation cortical stacks they were living lives of adventure that they thought would go on forever. On a trip to harvest hydrocarbons from an icy asteroid, forever ended with the premature detonation of a mining charge. Oleksander dragged Metis’ body back into the ship, and undertook heroic measures in an effort to save his lover’s life. It wasn’t enough. Debris from the blast had driven the pick of a mining axe straight through Metis’ face, shredding roughly a third of her brain, damaging the proto-cortical stack. Oryes arrived back at Luna with Metis’ body maintained by little more than the brain stem, in an irreversible coma and steadily failing. Surgeons did what they could to map what was left of the damaged brain and extracted the damaged backup unit, letting the meat body of Glick Metis to cease functioning.

The first fork attempt failed; the data corrupted. So did the next fifty. Oleksander gave up mining, took up programming. For the next eight years, Metis was his obsession. He maps the damage done to the cortical stack, invented new algorithms to extrapolate where data was missing or corrupted, filled in chunks of Metis’ memories and recordings from journals, public records, and his own recollections. Most of his efforts were inherently unstable, incomplete, prone to severe cognitive damage and mental disorders, barely able to interact before drifting off into virtual insanity. It took three thousand attempts to produce a stable fork.

By the time Oleksander was done, Metis was virtually a new ego. The cost of this new life was Oleksander’s health, long neglected. So Metis does what they can to care for the half-remembered stranger who brought them into being.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
15	15	18	15	10	15	15	-

Morph: Infomorph

Skills: Academics: Physics 30, Art: Electronic Music 35, Hardware: Electronics 20, Hardware: Robotics 25, Infosec 30, Interests: Experimental Music 50, Interests: Health Care 40, Interfacing 40, Language: Native Greek 90, Language: Russian 85, Medicine: Nursing 45, Networking: Criminal 25, Perception 50, Profession: Caregiver 60, Programming 35, Research 25

Disadvantages: Social Stigma (AGI)

Using Metis

Metis probably works best as a bit character with a bit of depth and enough skill to be useful in their given role, but not much more than that. Oleksander’s care is somewhat draining in resources and favors, so Metis hires out as a nurse, caregiver, or medical assistant, which is where the player characters are likely to meet them. Alternately, Metis could approach the player characters for help. If running Metis as a villain, the PCs are likely marks in some part of a larger scam, set up to deal with violent forces that Metis cannot handle. It is important to play up Metis as confused and somewhat lonely, still trying to figure out what they are and their relationship to Oleksander and the person that was Glick Metis.