Cybernetics

The pinnacle of modern medicine pertains to the augmentation or replacement of sections of the body with high-tech equivalents. Beyond the standard benefits of resistance to diseases, more durable materials, and faster healing ability these masterpieces of science usually include many enhancements to the speed, strength, or overall usability of the body part in question.

There are several classes of cybernetics in existence, which are vastly different in their performance and make-up. In general, though, the internal workings of a piece are vastly more simple than the connecting pieces that deal with the original body part or the surrounding organic or cybernetic tissue. Usually cybernetic components have the component core - the actual functioning device without the connecting parts, and a multitude of different component interfaces - specialized parts that connect the core to the rest of the body and are specialized to deal with the individual's unique aspects. When being installed the doctors will match the core to the interfaces needed by the patient to properly use it without complications.

The most basic of cybernetics are usually termed Slum Implants and are commonplace in technologically backwards nations and the impoverished people of even the richest cultures. Often simple to the extreme, many do not even have synthetic skin. They also rarely include advanced software and may suffer from imprecise handling; the worst only have on-off operation. Used primarily by laborers to augment their lifting capacity and endurance, they are often installed by less-than-reputable doctors in warehouse clinics. Many employers in lower class areas will only hire people with work-related replacements to increase productivity. Slum Implants may be looked down upon, or even illegal in certain areas, but for the desperate people that use them, they are usually the only thing that keeps them from starving.

Most civilian components fall into Medicinal Implants and are installed in local hospitals around the industrialized world. They get their name from their original purpose in replacing diseased or disabled body parts. While many enhance people's physical abilities, they are often installed for convenience or fashion reasons. Medicinal Implants are also unique in that they focus on the synthetic skin and other aesthetic details instead of the raw efficiency of the unit. They also usually feature high strength composite frames and advanced synthetic muscles for precise and fluid control.

Militaries around the world also use cybernetics, which are termed Weaponized Implants. They are installed in military labs with the most sophisticated equipment, and contain more exotic materials to push their abilities as far as possible. Cybernetics are but one part of the arms race that militaristic nations compete in, and soldiers that have them installed often do so for the promise of promotion or other rewards. Weaponized Implants are utilitarian to a fault, but usually have some semblance of aesthetics so soldiers can still interact with the populations that they support.

The appearance of cybernetics varies greatly depending on quality and function, but the usual rule is that the higher the quality of implant, the more it is designed to look “human.” In the early days of mass cybernetic enhancement implants were metallic, uncovered, and quite unnerving to most people. This is believed to have fed the prejudice and fear that many at that time felt towards cybernetics' earliest embracers. By the year AE200, however, advances in the field of Aesthetic Cybernization had reached a point that high quality implants could not be visually recognized against real human flesh. This has been credited in doing much to bring cybernetics into mainstream society and reduce anti-cybernetic sentiments, even among more traditional societies.