TEXT: Welcome to the Dark Future.
  Enter the World of
  CYBERPUNK v3
  
  CYBERPUNK 2
  SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E
  2
  The View From the Edge
  “I’m not a man /or a machine.
  I’m just something in between.
  I”m all love / a dynamo
  So push the button and let me go.”
  Lovin’ Every Minute of It
  1984 Zomba Enterprises Inc. (ASCAP)
  S
  o you wanna be a Cyberpunk? Or maybe just
  look like one?
  Before you shrug off your bivvy bag and jump in,
  t h e r e ’s a few things we need to tell you. First of all,
  the name. Cyberpunk comes from two words.
  C y b e r —from the term cybernetic, or a fusion of
  flesh and machine technology. P u n k—from an
  early 1980’s rock music style that epitomized vio-
  lence, rebellion and social action in a nihilistic way.
  The term was popularized in the Pre-Collapse days
  by a group of writers who specialized in writing sci-
  ence fiction with this kind of techno-melange. Their
  works featured a streamlined blend of rock, pop,
  sex, drugs and the highest, hippest technology—
  usually grafted onto your body somewhere. The
  a rchetypical Cyberpunk heroes of the 80’s ranged
  from technobarbarians roaming a Postholocaust
  world, to cyberchipped jet setters with designer
  bodies. 
  Of course, from our enlightened viewpoint here in
  the Dark Future, this all looks pretty dated. After all,
  you probably accessed this article from your per-
  sonal Agent, swilling down gigabytes of data like a
  Riptide goldfish on steroids. Or maybe you used a
  Kojiru Alpha interface with a direct link from your
  artificial cyber bodyshell. If you’re squatting in a
  Desnai parkology, you’re used to remote wiring
  Soul & The
  New Machine
  Soul & The
  New Machine
  Section 1: Welcome to the Dark Future
  Section 1: Welcome to the Dark Future
  U TH O U G H T TH I N G S WE R E BA D I N UR NE I G H B O R H O O D?
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  3
  CYBERPUNK 3
  SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E
  into the appliances to make coffee; “studding” into your ridear-
  mor to haul down to the corner Vendit. But understand—in
  1987, this was all considered pretty visionary stuff. No one had
  i n t e rface fields. You couldn’t dial Luna on your phone. Designer
  drugs were illegal. You could walk down most city streets with-
  out an armor jacket. There wasn’t even a DataPool. Or even a
  N e t .
  Now we know better. History books can tell you in detail about
  the Crash of 1994, when the Euro-Combines established the
  World Stock Exchange and the economies of the United States
  and Old Sov Russia collapsed. Or the bad old days of the last
  Corp Wa r, when the Megacorps went mano-a-mano with the
  Cyberpunks to end in an apocalyptic stalemate. 
  Back then, everything was run by the M e g a c o r p s , which were
  pretty much governments in themselves— at least, there
  w e r e n ’t many governments that tried to stop them. There was
  still a world-wide Internet, with digital commerce and trade hap-
  pening at the speed of light. There were giant computer brains
  that ran industries and charted the course of civilizations.  Yo u
  could go anywhere on one passport—one worldism at its best.
  The economies of most nations were tied to each other, and the
  Euro was pretty much the world currency. There was plenty of
  cheap, synthetic food to eat.  Huge international media-nets
  made sure that every apartment, cube and streetcorner had
  direct cable access to TV, radio and sensory feed, so there was
  always some mindnumbing crap on the tube to keep you enter-
  tained. Sweet.
  O k a y, sure there was a bad side too. Sixteen people to an
  apartment, sharing ration chips every week to buy food, with
  eight thousand apartments per city block. Sure, it wasn’t the
  best life, what with the boostergangs roaming the mallplexes
  and the major-league crime problems, but it beat being on the
  Street. And at least you knew where things were at. The Man
  and his corporate renta-cops were keeping you down, corrup-
  tion was rampant, the U.S. Government was a third world
  banana republic that kept getting bogged down in wars over-
  seas, and the entire planetary ecosystem was going to hell in a
  global warming handbasket. But it all made sense, neh?
  Now we’ve got total anarc h y. No federal government, unless
  you count those rump enders back in the Boswash corridor and
  their armies for hire. Between the mess of the Fourth Corporate
  War and the DataKrash wiping out the Net, even the mighty
  Megacorps have been blown back to square one. Every damn
  I t ’s about Yo u
  >Recorder on.
  It's about Culture. Six civilizations in
  constant, uneasy balance, not a
  stones' throw from each other, each
  as different as the ancient Romans
  on their seven hills were from the
  Incas of the MesoAmerican Plateau.
  They are joined by a common point
  of origin; an incident that occurred a
  decade or more ago—and here I'm
  talking about the infamous destruc-
  tion of the Arasaka Towers in 2022.
  E v e rybody knows about the To w e r s .
  Not that many know what really
  happened there—and why it
  became the defining moment of a
  culture war that continues to this
  d a y. I do. But I was there.
  It's about History. It's been some-
  where between ten and twenty
  years since it all went down on that
  fateful day. God knows, I've tried
  keeping track, but it's been a busy
  time. Two wars, at least, several eco-
  nomic collapses, a Carbon Plague, a
  DataKrash, a massive earthquake,
  worldwide global flooding. Stuff
  adds up. And I'm not getting any
  y o u n g e r. Meaner, yeah, but not
  y o u n g e r. The world changed in an
  instant. Morgan Blackhand, Adam
  Smasher—two godlike icons of the
  Age we now call the Early
  Cyberpunk, clashing in mortal com-
  bat like comic book heroes in the
  skies over Night City. Metal vs Meat,
  hurtling to deadly collision and final
  nuclear devastation. This is the his-
  t o ry we bequeath to you now; the
  legends upon which you now
  bedrock your future.
  C O N T. O NP G. 1 0
  
  CYBERPUNK 4
  SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E
  4 C
  y b e r p u n k s
  are 
  sur-
  vivors in a
  tough, 
  grim
  world, faced with
  life and death
  choices. 
  How
  they make these
  choices will have
  a lot to do with
  whether they end
  up as vicious animals roaming a ruined world,
  or retain something of their basic humanity. 
  Cyberpunks are also the heroes of a  bad situation,
  working to make it better (or at least surv i v a b l e )
  whenever they can.  Whether it takes committing
  crimes, defying authority or even outright revolu-
  tion, the quintessential Cyberpunk is a rebel with a
  cause.  As a Cyberpunk r o l e p l a y e r, it’s up to you to
  find that cause and go to the wall with it.
  This is the essence of C y b e r p u n k—playing your
  character with the proper disaffected, cynical-yet-
  idealistic style. Whether you’re a biker with
  leathered skin and metal claws, or a debutante in
  satin sporting the latest in designer cyberoptics,
  you’re going to need a certain panache—a certain
  f l a i r, in portraying yourself.  To achieve the essence
  of 203X, you need to master three concepts:
  1) Style over Substance
  It doesn’t matter how well you do something, as
  long as you look good doing it. If you’re going to
  blow it, make sure you look like you planned it
  that way.  Normally, clothes and looks don’t mat-
  ter in an adventure—in this world, having a
  leather armor jacket and mirrorshades is a serious
  c o n s i d e r a t i o n .
  2) Attitude is Every t h i n g
  I t ’s truth. Think dangerous; be dangerous. Think
  weak; be weak. Remember, everyone in the
  2000's is carrying lots of lethal hardware and
  high-tech enhancements. They won’t be
  impressed by your new H&K smartgun unless
  you swagger into the club looking like you know
  how to use it—and are just itching for an excuse.
  Never walk into a room when you can stride in.
  Never look at someone unless you can make it
  your best "killer" look. Use your best "I'm bad and
  you aren't." smile. Don’t sit around the flat or
  cube waiting for the next job. Get on out and hit
  the clubs and hangouts. Make sure you’re where
  the party starts.
  3) Live on the Edge
  The Edge is that nebulous zone where risk takers
  and highriders go. On the Edge, you’ll risk your
  cash, your rep, even your life on something as
  vague as a principle or a big score. As a
  Cyberpunk, you want to be the action, start the
  rebellion, light
  the 
  fire. 
  Join
  great causes and
  fight 
  for 
  big
  issues. 
  Never
  drive slow when
  you can drive
  fast. Throw your-
  self up against
  danger and take
  it head on.  Never play it too safe. Stay committed
  to the Edge.
  Remember: The world of Cyberpunk is a violent,
  dangerous place, filled with people who’d love to
  rip your arm off and eat it. The traditional concepts
  of good and evil are replaced by the values of
  expedience—you do what you have to do to sur-
  vive.  If you can do some good along the way,
  great.   
  But don’t count on it.
  Cyberpunk Essence
  Cyberpunk Essence
  The best Cyberpunk games are a combina-
  tion of doomed romance, fast action, glitter-
  ing parties, mean streets and quixotic quests
  to do the right thing against all odds. It's a
  little like Casablanca with cyberware..."
  —maximum  mike 
  GE T T I N G PU N K E D
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  5
  CYBERPUNK 5
  SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E
  1 9 9 0
  Start of first Central American Conflict. U.S.
  engages in interventionist actions in Panama,
  Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador. Military forces
  are sent to secure the Canal Zone from an ex-U.S.
  puppet dictator. 
  West, East Germany reunited. Warsaw pact breaks
  up into separate nations.  
  Breakup of Soviet mega-state. From this point, the
  USSR begins a new era of reapproachment with
  Western Europe; by the 2000’s, the Soviets are the
  Eurotheatre’s most powerful allies.
  Soviet president Gorbachev appoints party suc-
  cessor, Andrei Gorborev.
  Fall of South Africa. For the next  4 years, there is
  little or no communication, although terrible atroc-
  ities and genocidal wars are rumored.
  1 9 9 1
  Eurospace agency launches Hermes spaceplane
  Gorborev regime purges last of old hardliners
  CHOOH2 developed by Biotechnica
  First arcology built  on ruins of Jersey City. 16
  “arcos” begin construction over the next 5 years,
  until the collapse of 1997, leaving the huge struc-
  tures half completed, filled with squatters and
  h o m e l e s s .
  Artificial muscle fibers developed at Stanford
  Research Center.
  1 9 9 2
  The Treaty of 1992 establishes the European
  Economic Community. Zones of control and pro-
  tective tariffs regulate the activities of member
  nations, France, Britain, United Germany, Italy. A
  common currency unit (the eurodollar) is estab-
  lished, based on average value in gold of all cur-
  rencies combined. Trapped in paranoid isolation-
  ism, the U.S.. declines to enter.
  The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) develops
  and spreads several designer plagues worldwide,
  targeting coca and opium plants. 
  Governments of Chile, Ecuador collapse.
  A savage drug war breaks out between  Eurocorp-
  backed dealers and DEA all over the Americas.
  First use of high energy laser lift arrays in  USSR.
  Simple massdriver established in Canary Islands by
  eight member Eurospace Agency.
  1 9 9 3
  First TRC biologic interface chips developed in
  Munich, United Germany.
  AV-4 aerodyne assault vehicle developed to deal
  with increasing riots in U.S. urban zones.
  Columbian druglords detonate small  tactical
  nuclear device in New York.  15,000 killed. 
  1 9 9 4
  World Stock Market Crash of ‘94. U.S. economy
  teeters, then collapses.
  1 9 9 5
  Kilimanjaro massdriver begins construction, under
  joint agreement between ESA and Pan-African
  A l l i a n c e .
  1 9 9 6
  The Collapse of the United States. Weakened by
  losses in the World Stock Crash, overwhelmed by
  unemployment, homelessness and corruption,
  many city governments collapse or go bankrupt.
  The U.S. Government, snarled in a staggering deficit
  and the machinations of the Gang of Four, is total-
  ly ineffective.
  Nomad Riots. By now, 1 in 4 Americans are home-
  less. hundreds of thousands riot for living space
  throughout the u.s. , Nomad packs spring up on the
  west coast and spread rapidly through the nation. 
  First appearance of boostergangs.
  O
  nce upon a time, there was a Dark
  Future. A Cyberpunk future.
  The Megacorps ruled the world then, estab-
  lished in a nearly bloodless coup that had over-
  turned many of the world's governments and
  established a ruthless, bottom-line oligarc h y.
  Through violence, treachery, stealth and a subtle
  rewriting of history, these vast international com-
  panies were the most powerful entities of the
  new millennium. They ruled almost absolutely,
  through economic power, teams of assassin
  e n f o rcers, and, when required, private armies
  numbering in the millions.
  Packed like sardines into the largest urban
  regions on earth, humanity combined the high-
  est level of technology ever achieved with the
  deepest, grinding poverty. Beyond
  Hell Bent For
  2 0 3 X
  Hell Bent For
  2 0 3 X
  A TIMELINE FOR T H E D A R K FUTURE 1990-203X
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  CYBERPUNK 6
  IN S I D E TH E AL T C U L T S
  6
  “ S o m e
  g o b o y s
  t h i n k
  C o m p a n i o n s
  a re
  l i k e . . . y o u
  k n o w. . .
  pets or
  s o m e-
  t h i n g .
  F r a c k
  that, man.
  T h a t ’s like
  c a l l i n g
  your 
  partner a
  pet. Yo u
  and your
  C o m p a n i o n s
  a re  a
  c o m b a t
  team, and
  you 
  b e t t e r
  n e v e r, 
  ever 
  f o rget it.”
  — L a n i I w a s e
  C i t y F i g h t e r
  SECURITY CAM  1422  8/20/3X
  S t a t s
  I N T R E F T E C H D E X C O O L W I L L S T R C O N M O V E B O D Y
  Stat Value
  7
  6
  3
  6
  7
  8
  4
  5
  5
  6
  DERIVED S T A T S L U C K H U M R E C E N D R U N S P R S W I M L E A P H I T S S T U N
  Stat Value
  6
  8 0 4
  1 0
  1 0
  1 5
  5
  5
  1 2
  3 0
  K E YS K I L L S
  L V L K E YP E R K S / T A L E N T S
  L V L
  Melee (katana)
  7
  Combat Sense
  4
  Kung Fu (karate)
  6
  B e a u t i f u l
  4
  LIFEPATH  Beautiful enough to be an Idol, Lani has chosen
  instead to become a City Fighter to defend her home.
  OUTFIT  Enzyme Bonding, Raptile, Plesiodragon, Hopper,
  Armored Bodysuit, Agent, Tr i p h i b i a n
  Lani Iwase, City Fighter
  h t t p : / / w w w. t a l s o r i a n . c o m / l a n i b l o g
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  7
  CYBERPUNK 7
  IN S I D E TH E AL T C U L T S
  Ocean Nomads &
  Masters of
  G e n e t i c s
  T
  here was a time when your
  people were a part of the land.
  That was many years ago,
  when the great Kanto Floating
  C i t i e s were still moored to Tokyo. But
  the War changed all that,  casting the
  Cities adrift and forcing you to become
  a separate people. Tossed by storms,
  harried by pirates, protected by only a
  few brave defenders, you learned how
  to fight back, survive, and eventually
  p r o s p e r. Now the “Lost Cities” are
  nations in themselves. Webs of steel
  and cryptoplan plastic mesh with
  abandoned ships, floating platforms
  and the original Kanto structures to
  make each City a unique environment
  tailored to its thousands of inhabi-
  tants. 
  But steel and cryptoplan aren’t what
  really holds Rip together. What really
  holds Rip together are the b i o f o r m s. In
  203X, you’ve been dubbed the “beast-
  masters”—the Altcult that bends the
  laws 
  of 
  genetics 
  to 
  its 
  whim.
  Bioengineered creatures process ele-
  ments from the sea to supply your aut-
  ofactories. Gene tailored meat-beasts,
  fish herders and vegetation mats pro-
  vide all the food you need. Mutated sea
  monsters defend your territories from
  pirates and aggressive corporations.
  Personal servant creatures and bio-
  morphed protectors work in tandem
  with humans in a symbiotic fusion that
  rivals anything mere cybernetics can
  achieve. 
  Like the rest of your people, you have
  learned to ride the tiger, surf the open
  seas, master the riptides of change.
  Bioforms at your side, you’re ready to
  take on the future and anyone who
  stands in your way had better watch
  out. The Lost Cities are no longer lost.
  Welcome to Rip.
  B a c k g round 
  The core Rip drift cities were constructed as vast
  floating spaces moored offshore in Tokyo Bay.
  Constructed primarily of cryptoplan plastics, they
  were used to absorb the overflow population of the
  heavily populated Kanto Plain, and were dubbed
  the “Kanto Floating Cities.” During Arasaka Corp’s
  abortive attempt to take over Japan, the Kanto
  Cities lay between the renegade corporation’s
  stronghold and the Japan Self Defense Fleet. To
  save thousands of civilians, JSDF Adm. Masumaru
  Hattori had a portion of his fleet tow the Cities far
  out to sea where he hoped they would be safe. 
  As the battle for Japan raged, a vast typhoon
  arose and scattered the Kanto Floating Cities far
  into the Pacific. For several months, defended
  only by a four elderly JSDF destroyers and a light
  c a r r i e r, the Cities fought off pirates, starvation and
  the remnants of Arasaka’s navy. By the time help
  finally arrived from Japan, they had banded
  together with other floating cities abandoned
  during the 4th Corporate War and established the
  independent Confederation of the Riptide, or Rip.
  Tu rf
  Drift Cities are not part of land cities; they are
  moored in the ocean adjacent to a city, connect-
  R i p t i d e
  R i p t i d e
  
  CYBERPUNK 8
  IN S I D E TH E AL T C U L T S
  8
  “ G u n s
  a n d
  B i k e s ,
  Bikes and
  G u n s .
  T h a t ’s
  how we
  hold the
  line out
  h e re. Yo u
  come to
  my R o a d
  C i t y, you
  s c re w
  with m y
  F a m i l y,
  and I’ll
  c o m e
  lookin’ for
  you, bike
  ru n n i n ’
  balls to
  the wall,
  and all
  guns 
  b l a z i n g . ”
  — Tr a c e
  S a n t i a g o ,
  G - To w n
  R o l l e r b o y
  S c o u t
  S t a t s
  I N T R E F T E C H D E X C O O L W I L L S T R C O N M O V E B O D Y
  Stat Value
  7
  7
  4
  5
  6
  6
  6
  5
  6
  7
  DERIVED S T A T S L U C K H U M R E C E N D R U N S P R S W I M L E A P H I T S S T U N
  Stat Value
  7
  6 0 5
  1 2
  1 2
  1 8
  6
  6
  1 4
  3 5
  K E YS K I L L S
  L V L K E YP E R K S / T A L E N T S
  L V L
  D r i v i n g
  8
  Contact (The Aldecaldo)
  9
  R i f l e
  6
  Direction Sense
  LIFEPATH  Grandson of the legendary Aldecaldo de Santiago
  Trace is a seasoned scout and leader of a Family pack.
  OUTFIT  Adaptive Healing, Urban Warrior, Armored
  Trenchcoat, ACS Nano Rifle, Roadbike, Fission Blade.
  Tr a ce Santiago, Sco u t
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  CYBERPUNK 9
  IN S I D E TH E AL T C U L T S
  The Nomads take
  to the Roads.
  F o re v e r.
  W
  heels and speed. Speed
  and wheels. This is your
  world. The horizon is
  always 
  moving; 
  at
  100mph, the dust hasn't got time to
  gather under you. You're the eyes and
  ears of your people, the Scout who
  finds the trade routes, arranges the
  passages, and spots danger when it's
  still a missile flight away. 
  Once, 
  as 
  Nomads, 
  your 
  people
  crammed into huge, ragtag fleets of
  cars, vans, buses and RV's, following
  the road as you sought out food, jobs
  and spare parts. You were despised by
  the rooted city dwellers, the gaijo, w h o
  doled out scraps and spat on you while
  you picked their crops, tended their
  junkyards. You were hounded by other
  nomadic outcasts; the Raffen Shiv; the
  bikegangs; feral beasts who looted
  your homes and killed your kinsmen.
  Mostly for fun.
  But that was yesterday. Now you ride
  to scout and protect your Road City---
  the huge rolling complex that is both
  home and fortress to ten thousand like
  you. Whether it's Big Apple, El Lay o r
  Little Seattle, each Road City is a self
  contained urban zone on treads, sup-
  porting 
  factories, 
  trade-centers,
  defense bases and living modules as it
  rumbles ever onward. The Road City
  can amass enough firepower to oblit-
  erate a small county. Its web of aero-
  dynes, battlecars and roadbikes range
  far beyond sight to destroy any rem-
  nants of the Raffen Shiv or dirtgrubber
  army that might cross your path.
  You're no longer victims. Now you're a
  f o rce to be respected—and feared. Like
  a modern day cowboy, you ride to pro-
  tect the wagon train. But you've got a
  gun, a bike and the attitude to back it
  up. 
  You're no longer "just a nomad." 
  Now you're a Roller.
  B a c k g round 
  The Rolling State Altculture developed out of the
  scattered Nomad packs of the early 2020's. After
  an abortive attempt to make a home in the ruins
  of abandoned Chicago, the seven Nomad
  "nations" were driven out of their new home by
  the fierce inter-corporate battles of the Fourth
  Corp Wa r. Led by their charismatic leader,
  Santiago Aldecaldo, the Nomads decided to put
  what they had learned about megastructural
  engineering to good use, essentially looting
  Chicago and putting the rebuilt city on huge
  banks of caterpillar tracks. From this beginning
  developed a culture strong on technical compe-
  tence, independent action, close familial ties and
  the need to be constantly on the move. 
  Tu rf
  There are now roughly a dozen Road Cities sup-
  porting a total population of around 126,000
  between them. Most are banded together in
  groups of three or four, connected through cat-
  walks, ground mobile units and constant aero-
  dyne bus service. Road Cities support themselves
  Rolling State
  Rolling State
  
  CYBERPUNK 10
  PU T T I N G T H E CY B E R. . .
  10
  W
  ant a cyberarm?. First, start by cut-
  ting off your arm at the bicep, seal-
  ing off the main arteries, trunk
  n e rves and bleeding meat. Dope the whole
  stump with a potent cocktail of anti-rejection
  drugs so it won’t rot, then join on a metal cap
  that splices directly to the naked femur to sup-
  port a titanium alloy replacement. Hook the
  remaining nerves into the endcap with micro-
  surgical precision, allowing you to move a lac-
  ing of plastic muscles, metal joints and light
  metal sheathing that gives your new
  appendage a semblance of a real arm. You still
  can’t lift a car, but now you can crush a steel I-
  beam in one hand and pack an armory from
  fingertip to bicep on top. And while you’re at
  it, watch out for the cyberpsychosis that devel-
  ops when you take on the voluntary amputa-
  tion of a major body part, and the two to three
  weeks it takes to heal from the surgery.
  T H AT was the way your father did it. But this is
  203X. This ain’t your dad’s ripperdoc chopshop.
  We have much better ways to get you cybered
  up.  This time we leave your meat arm just where
  it is. Instead, we cap the upper bicep with a metal
  band called a b r a c e r, that rings the arm like a
  thick, flexible cuff. We tap into the main nerv e
  trucks through several nearly microscopic con-
  ductance ports inside the bracer; no pain, barely
  any skin penetration—less than piercing your
  ears. You concentrate on activating your new
  c y b e rware, and the surface of the bracer explodes
  into a series of flexible, interlocking segments that
  seamlessly coat your meat arm in a metal sleeve.
  The bracers instantly lace monomolecular rein-
  f o rcements and plastic pseudomuscles through
  their entire structure, giving your metal clad arm
  the rigidity of a 57 Chevy fender and the strength
  of a backhoe. 
  Various modules seamlessly join into the main
  bracers; normally disguised as everyday bracelets
  and rings, they automatically seek pre-set hard-
  points and extrude weapons, sensors and even
  specialized fingercaps. You slap on a few extra
  “modds” you’ve stashed on the belt; the heavy
  smartgun, the mini-flamethrower, and you’re
  ready to rock. Every couple of days, you power
  down the entire thing; it folds back into the brac-
  ers and rings; the modds drop off, and you catch
  up on your truck driver tan. The small metal but-
  ton in the middle of the bracer holds a biological
  power cell good for a month—sure, not as long-
  lasting  as the old atomic-decay batteries your
  dad wore, but there’s no radiation cascade effects
  to screw up your genes. 
  You can slap a bracer on almost anything; arms,
  legs, shoulders, wrists; there’s even removable
  ones to enhance your sexual prowess. You don’t
  NuCybe 
  N u C y b e
  CY B E RT E C H: ED G E R U N N E R
  REC
  
  11
  CYBERPUNK 11
  PU T T I N G T H E CY B E R. . .
  I
  t used to be full body cyborgs were just
  that—cyborgs. They were amalgamations
  of cybernetic parts layered in and over the
  original meat body, which bled and aged as all
  flesh does. The metal parts were patches;
  street cybertech brought together in a sem-
  blance of unity. And since the result required
  the subject to cut off parts of his own living
  b o d y, the ever-present danger of “cyberpsy-
  chosis” lurked just behind the eyes of every full
  body ‘borg. 
  No wonder your ancestors called themselves
  “ f r a n k e n s t i e n s . ”
  T h a t ’s not the way you play fullborg in 203X.
  Now you’ve got Livemetal™—bodies constructed
  in complete pseudo-organic perfection. Unlike
  the clunky metal frames of 2020, your skeleton
  has carbon-filled bones wrapped in a titanium
  coating, and your advanced myomar muscles
  and pseudoflesh accurately replicate flesh with far
  greater strength and resiliency. You have organs
  that throb and beat, artificial blood that lubes
  your joints, skin that is warm to the touch, yet
  never ages. You even heal when you’re hurt. 
  Your Livemetal™ body is carefully fitted to you for
  maximum psychological comfort.  The new body
  no longer just replaces the meat body, but instead
  is designed to augment your original body’s  basic
  capabilities (in short, the new body’s stats are based
  on the old one’s). Between this careful matching of
  mind and body—and the supportive environment
  of a society where everyone is a full cyborg, the
  threat of cyberpsychosis has been reduced to as
  low as .01% of the population. A Livemetal™
  cyborg is no longer a robot steered by a human
  brain— it’s a living, albeit non-breathing person
  who just happens to be made of silicon-based
  materials instead of meat. 
  C y b e rtech Brief
  In 203X, full body cyborgs are no longer scraps of
  c y b e rware tacked onto a meat body. Instead,
  they are fully integrated artificial persons, with
  only their organic brain and nervous system
  remaining intact. These Livemetal™ bodyshells are
  not only capable of mimicking human form, but
  are also designed to reflect the original body
  image of the wearer (thus reducing the threat of
  c y b e r p s y c h o s i s , a homicidal mental illness that
  occurs when a human alters his body with too
  much cyberware). The result is that stats listed
  below for each bodyshell are designed to be
  added/subtracted to the original stats for the char-
  a c t e r.
  L i v e m e t a l™
  L i v e m e t a l™
  CY B E RT E C H: CE E- ME TA L
  REC
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Cyberpunk/Unsorted/CyberPunk v3 - Source - Inside the AltCults (Web Enhancement).pdf