AMCO
I'm Sorry Dave
- Intent: A mind-machine interface well-suited for simulations, industrial use, and even dogfighting!
- Image Source: Virtual Mechanics - 001 by Matt Betteker and SAPONA - Zeta by Kez Laczin
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: Cognition-Hoods & Neural Interface Device | TMMI "Aperture" NeuroLink
- Manufacturer: Draxin Biomedical
- Affiliation: Open-Market
- Model: DB-NT-M4 Overseer-pattern Neurocrown
- Modularity: Moderate; high-end models are sleeker and generally better protected from Ion weapons and EMPs.
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Tridurium, Platinum, Vonium, and various electronic components.
- Utilising biomechanical neural cusp analogues fused with sophisticated processors, Neurocrowns are able to translate the thoughts of an organic into a medium understandable by computers and return feedback in a similar manner. Most Neurocrowns cover the eyes so as to prevent a potential distraction - what with overstimulation already being a problem - and gain another medium of communication, some Neurocrowns do the same with the ears as well.
- In addition to "shallow" use, i.e., making use of a Neurocrown while remaining in full control of one's body, Neurocrowns are capable of "Immersion", that being the term Draxin's engineers use to describe the phenomenon in which most physical sensations and functions are suppressed in order to fully focus on a simulation, a starfighter one is controlling, or really any particularly intense use.
- Neurocrowns can operate through both a physical link - by attaching a cable to the back of the helmet itself - or wirelessly. The uninitiated might assume a wireless connection to be superior, but the truth is more nuanced; a wireless link is unable to sustain full Immersion and potentially vulnerable to being sliced, whereas a physical link is obviously impractical for anything but stationary use.
- Mind to Machine: Neurocrowns allow their users to directly communicate with (compatible) computers through thought alone; neat, huh?
- Too Much Information: As it turns out, most Sapients did not evolve to think as a computer does, and so the incoming stimuli can quickly become overwhelming to the point where Immersion is necessary when engaged in complex tasks such as piloting a starfighter.
- Zero to
HeroZero: Merely wearing a Neurocrown does not confer any abilities the user did not already have - quite the contrary, as a certain familiarisation period is required to properly make use of the technology for anything beyond entering simulations and the like. - Size Matters: Even high-end models are bulky enough to render the use of helmets and the like all but impossible.
The end result of years of research and development, numerous failures, and quite a few unethical medical trials, the Neurocrown is, in the words of its Project Manager, "a marvel of engineering, a wondrous product that will forever change the relationship between men and machines". Inspiring words, if perhaps a bit self-aggrandising, considering that this was hardly the first of its kind... or even necessarily the best of its kind.
All that said, the Neurocrown remains an incredibly useful tool, under the right circumstances and in the right hands, as they allow properly trained individuals to operate machinery at the speed of thought... or for just about anyone to delve into immersive simulations for the purposes of training or recreation.
