Re: Request for Traveller Tech

In message 551 of TML, [email removed] (Steven J. Owens) writes:
> 	One thing I'd like is an idea of what kind of stuff is
> available, mainly at TL12, with some stuff edging up into TL13.  The
> rules I have aren't too detailed, and I definitely remember things
> like holocameras, etc, which aren't detailed in my rules.

Well, in our 2300AD campaign, we have some tech stuff which is quite useful
to us:

Subderma-Talk

	These are small, multichannel communicators implanted in the
	body. The main radio unit is located somewhere in the left shoulder,
	with the antenna running down the back. The radio is connected to a
	throat implant mike and an implanted ear-piece. It draw power from
	the contraction and dilation of the blood vessels in the shoulder,
	and from shoulder movement. You turn the transmitter/receiver on/off
	and select channels using unusual jaw movements.

	Range is quite short and power is low (easy to jam), but the throat
	mike is capable of detecting minute vibrations and amplifying them
	so that you can 'whisper without any sound' and still be picked up.
	For this reason, the system has been named Telepathy; you can read
	other PC's minds!

Subderma-Comp

	This is a computer (processor and static memory) implanted in the
	back of the neck. It has the same capabilities of a standard
	portable computer. It 'displays' information by interfacing directly
	with either the optic nerve or the visual processing centers of the
	brain (I'm not sure which); the effect is similar to a heads-up
	display. You communicate with the computer by typing on an imaginary
	keyboard (there is a pressure switch to disable this...). There is
	also a jack located on the surface of the skin which allows direct
	connection to a portacomp for software transfers and easier use.

	Having a powerful computer always available to you (even when
	stripped of all equiptment) is useful...

Subderma-Modem

	Naturally, we quickly came up with a way to link the computers to
	the radios so that we can communicate large amounts of data between
	implanted computers and otherwise interface with the outside world
	in situations where using the implanted jack is impossible.


An alien race in 2300AD grows various useful devices. One that all PCs wear
constantly is bio-contacts. These are like ordinary contact lenses (they
will correct your vision if necessary). However, by using various different
squint commands, you can get up to 5X magnification, light intensification,
infra-red sight, etc. Also built in are brightness dampers; you never need
sunglasses and they are fast enough to react to most sudden flashes (e.g.
explosions, lasers in the eye, etc).

> Getting into the Rat Race...
>
> 	A series of rodent-sized robots.  They would be equipped with
> certain capabilities, the range increasing with the TL and the
> development. At first they'd basically be little programmable rodents
> that go around and record stuff and carry out orders (through their
> computer, or from a comlink) and can self-destruct with a demolitions
> charge to destroy the evidence or a target.

Two of our PC's, the robotics expert and the explosives expert got together
and built a bunch of these. They are (of course) programmable with commands
sent from the subdermacomps via subdermatalk. They can transmit low-res
pictures, move around, and can carry small explosives packs. They can also
be programmed to act autonomously (i.e. drive to this location, record for 5
minutes, then destruct). They are incredibly useful; the GM is regetting the
day he let us design them.


Other useful low tech stuff:

	Ceramic knives (hold a *very* sharp edge almost forever, and don't
	show up in airport/spaceport detectors),

	portable neutrino detectors (great for locating fusion power
	sources, e.g. space planes, reactors, grav-sleds, etc).

	'God Gambit' transmitters: a radio that is powerful enough to rattle
	garbage can lids, fillings, and building supports across one face of
	a planet. Useful for getting low tech worlds to think that you are
	omnipotent...

Also see James Bond movies for lots of neat gadgets, and any cyberpunk
novels you can get your hands on.

- --
          C. Harald Koch          NTT Systems, Inc., Toronto, Ontario
     [email removed],  [email removed],  [email removed]
"There is no problem, no matter how large or how small, that cannot be solved
by an appropriate application of high explosives."            -Leo Graf, 2298