Simsense is a multimedia technology based on ASIST that allows the recording of a person’s experiences and sensory input when recorded using a Simsense Recorder. Simsense is most commonly known for its commercial use in the entertainment industry- as a popular medium for full-immersion entertainment. Other Simsense applications include:

  • Cyberterminals, where data is converted into easily-interpreted icons and interfaces, enabling full use of the users senses to enhance VR and VIGOR experiences;
  • Skillsofts, which are informational experience-based databases of Simsense recording. This is used as a teaching and instructional tool to teach a variety of technical skills that use complete immersion to enhance the learning experience;
  • Smart-guns, in which a weapon link is used to feed body states and weapon positioning to the ballistics processor, triangulating fire, and enhancing accuracy through Simsense reading technology.

A Simsense user can play such a recording to see, hear, smell, taste, touch and feel everything the recording actor experienced- refined and modified in post-production, of course. Simsense is a very profitable market and Simsense actors/actresses are as revered as their movie and music colleagues.

The Dark Side

Simsense chips allow escapism to a previously unknown extent. You’re not just watching a movie showing you a life of romance and adventure, distant lands, money and fame—you are there, a part of it! Until the recording ends.

Consequently, Simsense sees a lot of abuse, especially in the lower classes of society. These escapes can be just as addictive as any drug, especially when those experiences simulate drug use or addictive behaviors.

Beetles, Mindbenders, Playback, Tracers, and Zombie Chips, are a highly addictive form of Simsense programs. BTLs are known for their lack of peak controls, the legally-recommended limits to ASIST signal levels and modulation, resulting in a more intense experience than commercially available Simsense, and direct stimulation to the limbic area, or “pleasure center,” of the brain, wreaking havoc with brain biochemistry and leading to addictive behavior. This addictiveness combined with a limited longevity on most BTL chips provides a lucrative market for organized crime. BTLs have become the modern drug of choice and junkies, called “Dreamers,” are becoming a more and more common sight.

Most countries have standardized peak control limits, although some, such as the California Free State, thanks in part to lobbying from the entertainment industry, and a few other countries commonly have higher peaks than the generally accepted industry standards. These high-peak chips are popular on the black market and are commonly known as California Hots, Calis or Cal-hots.

The most widespread form of BTL is the Dreamchip, which is a standard Simsense recording that has the been modded into a BTL. Most dreamchips are private Simsense recordings, while some are studio-produced versions with the peak controls simply removed. Pornographic one-shots, recorded crimes and heroic fantasies, known as Street Tales are popular. There is also a growing market for snuff chips, in which the recording individual dies.

A common form of BTL is the Moodchip, which heavily focuses on the emotive track, sometimes to the point that other sensory input is edited out. Popular moods are euphoria, aggression, and sexual desire. Street names reflect the nature of the Simsense experience, such as Blue Passion, Red Meanie, and Cool White. These simsense chips have the Reality Augmented Stabilizer , or RAS override disabled so that users can move around under the influence of the chip.

A variant form of BTL is the Personafix, which transforms the personality, thoughts, and memories of the user to a particular personality, usually famous. A person running a Personafix of Maria Mercurial, for example, believes that he or she is Maria Mercurial, and reacts with the emotions and personality of the starlet. These chips are popularly used in Bunraku Parlors or Meatpuppet Parlors, where the prostitute, commonly called the Puppet, can take on any personality the buyer desires. Modified Personafix chips are also used in covert infiltration, to enhance the acting and disguise of a mole.

There are some rumors that crime Syndicates can control Chipheads with Mind Control Programs which they use to turn them into their hired muscle. These types of preprogrammed chips are can be activated remotely.

Mind Control programs, like most illegal Simsense programs, can be deactivated if the user is stunned or lose consciousness.


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