Artificial Eye (⊡)
One of the most popular and ubiquitous augmentations among civilians, artificial eyes replace organic orbs with precision-manufactured optical replacements which provide perfect sight within the full range of human vision, and a much greater degree of cosmetic options than nature allows, from eyes that appear completely natural to those that appear to be made of solid black marble streaked with gold to three-lobed irises of cut gemstones floating in sclera that glow like green neon seas. Artificial eyes represent some of the most complex augmentations yet designed, given their small size and intimate connection to the human nervous system, and require extensive “infrastructure” work to be safely anchored in the flesh.
In addition to providing normal vision, an artificial eye comes with four sub-slots; each sub-slot may be filled with one of the following upgrades:
Alphanumeric Display: An alphanumeric display is set up to project onto the character’s field of vision, visible to them but no-one else. By default these are usually connected to a timer circuit to function as a clock, or to display incoming text messages or phone calls, although they can be slaved to any alphanumeric readout from a device capable of sending a radio signal. Special: A character may have multiple alphanumeric displays in a single eye; each display occupies a separate sub-slot.
Camera: These tiny video cameras are the pinnacle of Federation micro-manufacturing, able to take advantage of all of the character’s vision modifications (infravision, low light vision, microvision, radiovision, and/or telescopic vision), and record up to six hours of high-quality video footage onto internal data crystals. If the character aso has the Television upgrade, they can replay the footage from the camera’s memory at will.
Infravision: This upgrade extends the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum to infrared, wavelengths of light are most usually emitted by heated objects, and is thus able to perceive the relative temperature of objects emitting heat, and the reflected infrared light from heat sources on nearby objects. Infravision is popularly known as “heatvision” or “thermographic vision,” and is usually described as the addition of different colors, shades, and depth when compared to normal human vision.
Low Light Vision: This upgrade slightly extends the range of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans can normally perceive, into the near-infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths, and physical construction which causes the eye to absorb and process more ambient light as it gets darker. The result, often called “night vision,” is that users can perceive normally in low-light conditions, such as nighttime on Earth, Mars, Saturn, or Venus. Characters are still dependent on light sources however, and cannot see in total darkness.
Microcompartment: This upgrade provides one cubic centimeter of storage space; enough for a small data-crystal or a pill or two. The storage space is typically accessed by a concealed latch that causes the iris to swing out on a hidden hinge; the character cannot see out of this eye while it is being accessed.
Microvision: Like having a microscope in your eye, this upgrade includes a series of fine magnifying lenses and polarizing filters which can expand the character’s vision from x10 to x1000. Aside from benefits to many fields, microvision is necessary for certain very fine wand applications (see Wand Functions: Orgone (Level 4: Finer Manipulations).)
Radiovision: The space humans exist in abounds with invisible waves, most harmless; at high frequencies, this electromagnetic radiation can even pass through what we normally consider “solid” objects. With this upgrade, this invisible radiation is perceived by receptors within the eye and passed along to the optic nerve, resulting an an ability to “see” through many objects, to a depth of up to five or six centimeters—enough to penetrate many thin walls, through clothing, or even beneath the skin. Radiovision cannot see through metal (even microscopically thin sheet of metal foil), and the receptors may be overwhelmed by strong radio-sources, such as broadcasting units, exactly as if staring into a lamp.
Telescopic Vision: Using a variable set of magnifying lenses, the maximum range of sight can be extended, bringing far objects into sharp focus. There are practical limitations because of the physical anatomy of the human eye limiting the diameter of the aperture—maximum magnification is about x10, or ten times closer than it would appear to the naked eye. Characters with Telescopic Vision may treat ranges of Long or higher as one range lower for all purposes.
Television: A marvel of miniaturization, a tiny television screen may be implanted in the eye, although it will block normal vision while in use. An antenna beneath the skin can usually tune in to local channels. If combined with a Headphone implant, the character can receive videocalls and hear sound from the transmission; if combined with a Socket implant, the character cen read and view video data directly from a data crystal.
Unless otherwise specified, each upgrade occupies one sub-slot, and characters may only have one of each upgrade per eye (i.e. no putting two cameras in one eye, although you could have one camera in one eye and one camera in another eye). Artificial eye upgrades do not have a conversion cost, but each has an associated CLP cost. All artificial eyes occupy the same equipment slot, no matter how many the character has. Upgrades may be changed, added, or removed between adventures.
Extra Eyes
Artificial eyes do not have to be implanted in the same position as traditional organic eyes. Characters may choose to install an eyeball anywhere on their body—such as the back of the head, or in the palm of the hand so that a character can peek around corners without exposing themselves.
Different Ways of Seeing
Artificial eye upgrades of infravision, low-light vision, microvision, radiovision, and telescopic vision do not provide bonus dice or modify Target numbers directly, rather each of these upgrades extends the character’s sensorium to some degree, and thus provides or augments a character’s ability to operate in different environments and conditions. Each of these upgrades also carry with them certain realistic drawbacks: bright ultraviolet light might temporarily blind a character with low-light vision, for example.
Okay, quite long, but I'm relatively happy with that for the basics on artificial eyes and their upgrades without getting into charts full of vision magnifiers. Thoughts?
