IXE Psitech
Age: 7 weeks
Physical appearance: A cybernetic chassis comprised of the remains of Codec’s custom power armour combined with parts scavenged from fallen combat drones. He appears somewhat rough and unfinished as a result, and continually looks for ways to upgrade himself. As the architect of his own form it reflects his internal conflict and is geared primarily toward combat and survival.

Profile: IXE is an unfinished being. He is the product of the minds of both The Subject and Codec, the shards of which were digitised and stored in the Mortalitech procedure during their conflict. IXE himself is a super ego construct that was called into being as a necessary mechanism to mediate the otherwise-irreconcilable psyches of these two mortal enemies. IXE recognises that unless the mind shards are unified into a singular consciousness their enmity will undermine any attempt at individuality he tries to create. As such IXE seeks to understand himself by understanding who it was that made him. This leads him to seek out the Sky Fortress – The Ultræon Precept – and later The Subject himself. IXE’s potential is almost limitless; his ability to integrate new technology into his physical form, as well as the superego’s ability to actively manage and control his constituent personality constructs means that he has the capacity to become almost anyone or anything. He represents the first true post-human; an entity with the ability to guide its own evolution. This also makes him either greatest hope for a better future, or a nightmare worse than the greatest excesses of The Subject and Codec combined. Who IXE chooses to become, shaped by the actions of the other characters, will form the essence of the next chapter of the Mortalitech Story.

The Subject
Age: 34
Physical appearance: Slightly taller than average with a good physique, the result of an intensive personal training regime. He does not have any remarkable features, aside from his dreadlocked hair, and blends easily in to a crowd. He looks intense, but slightly strung out, the product of too many late nights. He does not sleep easily. His movements are infused with a kinetic energy, even the smallest action carries force and weight.

Profile: The Subject works for one of the major Implant manufacturers. He has a background in neuroscience and cybernetic interfaces. His knowledge is hard-won, the result of years of experience in the field. Outside of work he is a loner, shunning other company. He narrowly avoided a trip to the detention units after almost killing a man that broke in to his home. Despite his isolated nature he is an idealist at heart, in part rejecting the current world because he believes it could be so much better. Over the last decade he has suggested multiple improvements to the implant that would improve its integration with the human mind, and in turn the efficiency of function of the implant. These gains in efficiency derive from making better use of the neural structure itself. Fundamentally these improvements would be of most benefit to those reliant on the state for their implant, as they do not have access to the expensive hardware that provides the top tier of cortical process enhancement. As such his employer has dismissed his ideas as they will not enhance shareholder value. These rejections have contributed to The Subject’s current state of obsession. He has always felt apart from others; his powerful ego telling him that he was better and therefore above those that chose differently, or did not see how he sees. This sense of alienation, combined with his desire for change leads him to decide to take unilateral action to save or change mankind. He does not care what the change is, seeing anything as better than the current bureaucracy and failed democracy. He sees nothing of worth in those that have risen to power above him – their values are not his – and he will tear them down.

Codec
Age: Early 36
Physical Appearance: A trained mind in a trained body, he is slightly under 6 feet tall, well dressed, groomed, and with an intimidating demeanour that enhances his relatively short statures. Codec is obsessive and egomaniacal, endless comparing himself to others and seeking to raise himself higher. His physical appearance reflects this, and he trains compulsively to advance and improve himself.

Profile: works for Roth-Harkild, one of the largest implant corporations, as an operations assurance specialist – in essence he ensures that their critical processes remain functional. This job title belies his real activities, which involve enforcement of the Corporation’s objectives by whatever means he deems necessary. While not strictly black ops he certainly works outside the usual hierarchy of the corporation. He is highly skilled, well trained and equipped, and ambitious. When he encounters The Subject he sees in the chaos that follows an opportunity to re-order the hierarchies of the world with him at the top. Ruthless and highly intelligent he pursues his goals with clarity and focus. Interaction with the Mortalitech Procedure unbalances his mind to a point of insanity, but only adds to his capabilities.

Aos
Age: 24
Physical appearance: Slim, with a body that has known exercise without currently being highly toned. She has no special training but takes care that her body is sufficiently well prepared to handle the environment she is currently in. Blonde haired and with a tendency to move slowly, she nevertheless is more than capable of pushing herself physically if she feels it necessary. Aos has in the past focused on outward appearance but in her current iteration she tends to dress practically in response to the situations she finds herself in.

Profile: Aos is an anomaly – a population outlier with no clear explanation for her origin. She never fully integrated with her Adjunct and this left her on the outside of society. Unlike The Subject this was not a place she particularly wanted to be and has at times felt intense loneliness and despair. Despite trying a variety of Adjuncts none of them ever allowed her to fully mesh with the city around her. Her response to this was to allow the software of each Adjunct to trigger a change in her outlook, adopting a cyclical model of thought. As she encounters new technology she continually changes her mind set and outlook in response to her circumstances – a survival strategy to avoid the pain of trying to integrate in to a world she can never join. The personalities linked to the cycles do not retain many memories of previous incarnations (a product of the interference from her implant), although some sense of who she was remains, and any skills learnt remain accessible. She sees herself as an outsider but has at times been able to maintain friendships and relationships. Control is important to her, as succumbing to the volatility of her condition is to her the worst kind of failure. Time passes strangely for her due to her dissociation but the conflict between the Subject and Codec is sufficiently disruptive that it anchors her to the present. She is forced to be more focused to survive and this results in her wishing to take a more active role in shaping her environment than usual. As such she actively seeks to understand both Codec and The Subject, and seeks to influence the outcome in the way that favours her. She finds herself doing far more than that and ends up in control of the most powerful resource in existence. Having rejected both Codec and the Subject she then encounters IXE, and has a chance to influence who he becomes, and by extension what will happen to the nascent post-Adjunct society.

Credits:

The Subject
Rhythm, Programming & Backing Vocal.

Aos
Orchestration & Atmospherics.

IXE Psitech
Lead Synth & Lead Vocal.

Codec Prime
Literature

Trotula
VJ

IXE Psitech: Codec Prime: The Subject
Lyrics and Artwork

Nexereid
Makeup and Costume

Roy Tide: Victor Kurzweil: Salamanca Industries: Luke Burnsright: Agata Vamp: Rob Cheatlin.
Photography

Plex and Unimatrix 01, Tom Chips Bond and Dee
Technicians

Static Pulse Promotions: Decompression Magazine: Unrepresented Music
Promotion

Scylla Vex: Xenos: Codec Prime: The Subject: IXE Psitech and Nexereid
Spoken Material