293: Voice of One

ENTRY 293: Voice of One

"My beat is Aspis to Starwell, Nova York to Pallas...I find the news that doesn't make your Mesh feed, the stories below the fold, behind the paywall, and just plain off the grid. Hello, I am the Voice of One. I want your story."

- VoO, column 3866: "The Names and Addresses of that Shitheel Rapist Gang on Legba"

The Main Belt has its share of newsmedia. Bored editors and hyper little wordsmiths spin facts and events into a constant stream of infomush to keep the great crowd Audience fed and sedated. On the flipside are the so-called outlaw reporters - operating without major financial backing, insurance, and much in the way of credentials beyond their willingness to ask questions. Some of them wave guns around, others go "undercover" a little too convincingly for the local authority's tastes; most sell out and get out at some point. Somewhere near the front of the current crop is the vivacious, scar-faced bouncer known as Voice of One.

Specializing in "transhuman interest" stories, Voice of One has a reputation for picking up the small stories that the big media drops quickly, pursuing them relentlessly, and seeing that everything gets uncovered and the people in them get everything that's coming to them. Of course, she gets a piece of everything - from the advertising to the XP-of-the-week dramadocumentaries - that comes after, but she has to make a living somehow. She blows through habitats quickly, leaving bleeding bodies, broken lives, and bruised egos in her wake, often seeming unconcerned about the damage she does - like the time she did the expose on the Blue Ring in Legba, a sex trafficking ring that took turns resleeving into a series of underage morphs each week, while the child ego was out in a digital playground oblivious to what their meat bod was getting up to. That led to the expulsion (often by airlock) of all the adults and most of the kids bodies retained as evidence, leaving their egos as orphaned AGIs stuck in the Mesh.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
15	17	15	13	15	16	15	-
INIT	SPD	LUC	TT	IR	DUR	WT	DR
5	1	30	6	60	40	8	60

Morph: Bouncer

Skills: Academics: Physics 30, Academics: Statistics 32, Art: Writing 50, Climbing 34, Free Fall 46, Interests: Rival Networks 45, Interests: Zero-G Sports 60, Interfacing 54, Intimidation (Blackmail) 45, Kinesics (Lying) 40, Language: Native English 90, Language: French 80, Language: Wu 80, Networking: Autonomists 44, Networking: Criminals 29, Networking: Media 66, Perception (Visual) 48, Profession: Reporter 53, Programming 54, Research 45, Unarmed Combat 30

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Grip Pads, Oxygen Reserve, Prehensile Feet
Traits: Addiction (stimulants, moderate)

Using Voice of One

One of the nice thing about reporters is that they are some of the few individuals whose job is a justification for poking around in other people's business, especially when they're not wanted, and they have little to no requirement to report to or act under any authority. The Voice of One is such an enthusiastic (and occasionally violent) individual, and will happily pursue any lead if there's a credit or a noyo attached to it, and is more than willing to badger, harry, harass, heckle, bindle, blackmail, and extort the player characters for their help, assistance, or just for the fun of it. VoO's investigations are a good place to drop the seed for a new adventure, or she might hire the PCs (i.e. promise a cut of the eventual monies she might one day receive) to help her during an investigation, or she might turn up dead (again) on the PC's doorstep with a scrap of evidence on her and they'll have to figure out what she's gotten them into this time. Alternately, if the gamemaster prefers a more adversarial relationship, local authorities, private citizens, and hypercorps could hire the PCs to derail or halt her investigations - either by beating her to the punch, dropping false clues, causing small personal crises (she will never again discuss her second marriage, the resulting sex recording, or why she has a hallway on Legba named after her), etc.

024: Makankana

ENTRY 024: Makankana

The demand for top-grade athletes for zero-g and microgravity sports has led to designs combining the pinnacle athleticism of Olympian morphs and the special adaptations of Bouncer morphs. From a technical standpoint, these designs are difficult: each morph has contradictory traits which can be difficult to reconcile at the level of individual biological subsystems, with Olympians being mainly designed to grow and develop in ideal conditions of normal gravity and plentiful oxygen to achieve their potential. As a result Olympian Bouncer morphs, sometimes called Voidstars, require specialized training and environmental conditions in addition to genetics to achieve the heights of transhuman biological potential, and are generally restricted to some of the wealthier or better-connected transhumans in the larger zero-g and microgravity habitats. The results, however, are astonishing.

Makankana is a prime exemplar, a free agent in zero-g jai alai and monstrously deformed by old human standards—their bandy legs and wiry, overlong arms and barrel chest give them a distinctly simian appearance that serves Makanaka astoundingly well in the court, able to maneuver with an ease, precision, and speed that many synthmorphs have difficulty matching. Makankana currently works as something of an itinerant player, signing short contracts for a few games with teams like the New Olympians out of Titan and the Three Righteous Dragons from Quin Long. The neuter Voidstar lives for the next game. Makankana's muse Xi Shi doubles as Makankana’s agent, and sees to the traveling star’s physical needs and continual training.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
15	30	25	30	15	30	15	-
INIT	SPD	LUC	TT	IR	DUR	WT	DR
11	1	30	6	60	40	8	60

Morph: Olympian/Bouncer

Skills: Academics: Physics 60, Academics: Statistics 72, Art: Dance 60, Climbing 90, Free Fall 93, Interests: Gambling 45, Interests: Zero-G Sports 90, Intimidation 67, Kinesics 40, Language: Native Esperanto 90, Language: English 80, Language: Chinese 80, Networking: Autonomists 66, Networking: Criminals 39, Perception 88, Profession: Athlete 93, Throwing Weapons 65, Unarmed Combat 60

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Grip Pads, Oxygen Reserve, Prehensile Feet

Traits: Ambidextrous, Brave, Limber (1)

Using Makankana

As something of a mercenary player, Makankana is more likely to be a living macguffin than a regular contact or antagonist—someone that the player characters are likely to kidnap, bribe, injure, play against, bodyguard, train, or babysit as the needs dictate. The credits and rep surrounding Makankana's performance in a given game attracts all sorts of attention, from Triad gamblers looking to fix a game to hypercorp reps eager for an endorsement, and all of these provide opportunities for gamemasters to ensnare PCs in Makankana’s world of zero-g and microgravity athletics.

Given Makankana’s focus on the next game, interactions for anything else will probably have to go through their muse, Xi Shi. The AI is an androgynous parent-figure to the Voidstar, and also their agent, negotiating business deals, managing their assets, making reservations, reminding Makankana to eat, etc. In the event that Makankana is threatened with injury or imprisonment, Xi Shi will try to bribe or negotiate with the malefactors so that Makankana comes out as whole as possible—though if this comes at the cost of throwing a game, Makankana will overrule the muse.