city-state. Even there, the failure rate is over 20%, so very few
mutant animals willingly undergo the conversion. Only "regu
lar" Juicer bonuses apply; none of the variant Juicer conversions
has been successfully applied. However, the Juicer Psi
Hound/Dog Boy completely loses his sensitivity to magic and
the supernatural (all mutant dog powers numbers 1 -4) ! Further
more, mutant dogs who "get juiced" have a life span of only five
years +2D4 months.
Other mutant animals are being experimented on at Los
Alamo, but results are not promising. In particular, any mutant
animal with supernatural powers (like many of the sub-species
described in Rifts South America One and Two) cannot accept
the Juicer process.
Wolfen:
Los Alamo and Kingsdale have developed a combi
nation of chemicals that will successfully transform Wolfen and
The Rise & Fall of the Juicer
Bright-burning candle
Soon embraces the darkness .. .
A Juicer lives life.
- Haiku written o n the gravestone o f Achilles Smith, Juicer
If a Juicer does not (and most don 't) try the detox process
(which is itself a painful and dangerous procedure with no guar
antees of success), he is doomed to die. The end can come sud
denly, or the dying man can linger painfully for several weeks.
Sooner or later, the first warning signs that a character does not
have long to live will start to appear. The symptoms might be
17
other canines like the Coyle and Kankoran into Juicers, but not
mutant canines (see Rifts Conversion Book One for stats on
Wolfen, Coyles and Kankoran). Kingsdale is the major center
for this type of conversion in North America; Atlantis also has
facilities for it. Besides the common Juicer process, the only
variants that have been successfully applied to Wolfen include
the Hyperion and the Titan Juicers. Attempts to create Phaeton
and Mega-Juicers have so far, failed miserably. All other side ef
fects, bonuses and penalties are the same (use the Wolfen stats
normally, and then add in the Juicer bonuses).
Some Wolfen are attracted to the Juicer process because they
feel it makes them ideal warriors, destined to die gloriously in
combat. Even those who do not undergo the conversion will re
spect Juicers, even non-Wolfen ones. Others consider the proc
ess to be dishonorable and even obscene.
mere inconveniences (except for the fact they are reminders of
one ' s coming death) or might cause the Juicer almost crippling
agony. A Juicer exhibiting terminal side effects is said to be on
his "Last Call." Juicer' s on Last Call can experience any of the
symptoms below, starting in the last year of his/her life. Every
month of the last year, roll percentiles; a 0 1 - 1 5 % chance means
one of the symptoms occurs; the roll is at + 1 % every month after
the first. By the last month, there is a 26% chance of experienc
ing one of the following maladies.
Last Call Symptoms Table:
01-20 % Headaches:
Pounding migraine headaches are a com
mon complaint of Juicers on Last Call. They can be the result
of blood pressure problems, or, more often, the gradual death
of brain cells (see memory loss, below). Whatever their
cause, these headaches can be extremely intense (reduce all
skills by - 1 5%). Sufferers become short-tempered and easily
provoked, sometimes lashing out at the slightest provocation.
The migraines can occur as often as six times a day (roll I D6
to determine how many episodes happen on a given day).
2 1-40 % Memory Loss:
As the Juicer starts to bum out, some
sections of his brain may actually die; the most common ar
eas are those that store memory, especially long-term mem
ory. Commonly, Juicers start to forget details about their
early lives, although 90% retain full memories of the last five
to ten years of their lives until they die.
41-50 % High Blood PressurelNosebleeds:
As the bio-comp
pushes the body well past its breaking point, many Juicers
suffer from excessive blood pressure levels, enough to kill a
normal man. Common symptoms include a lack of skin rud
diness, specially around the face, giving the Juicer a con
stantly flushed look. Nosebleeds often occur whenever the
Juicer is upset or tense, as the high pressure actually bursts
the delicate nasal blood vessels. Acrobatic and gymnastic
skills are performed at -20% ; they tend to make the character
feel dizzy and faint.
51-60 % The Shakes:
As the body is pushed beyond it limits,
the Juicer develops a slight, but constant body tremor. Reduce
skills that require a delicate touch by -5% and aimed shots
and targeting are - 1 to strike.
61-70 % Reduced Healing:
The body just can't respond like it
used to, even when pumped with augmenting drugs. As a re-
sult, the Juicer' s healing factor is reduced by half (only heals
two times faster than a normal human and is + 1 0% to save vs
coma).
71-80 % Muscle Cramps:
The stresses put on the Juicer' s body
will eventually destroy the muscle tissue, abused by the drugs
that conferred the character super-human strength. The first
symptom of this deterioration are muscle cramps, which can
be extremely painful, although not overwhelming (the bio
comp releases drugs that block the pain, allowing the Juicer
to carry on and continue destroying his body). All physical
skills are -5% and reduce the speed attribute by 1 0% .
81-00%
Ad dictions:
Juicers nearing the end start acquiring im
munities to some of the drugs that power their body. Drugs
that used to enhance their reflexes, block pain and relieve
boredom and tiredness start losing their effectiveness. The bio
comp responds by
ever-increasing dosages into the
Juicer' s bloodstream, but often the Juicer starts suffering with
drawal anyway. Many of them deal with the withdrawal symp
toms (which include depression, s leepiness and listlessness) by
other drugs like tobacco, alcohol, barbiturates and oth
ers. The interactions between the Juicer chemical dispenser
and these drugs are often unpredictable and dangerous. Roll on
the Effects of Drug Addiction Table in
Rifts® Ultim ate Edi
tion ,
page 2 1 , to determ ine possible side effects.
Death
"I' ll never forget how my best friend Gordon checked out. We
were enjoying some down time after we did the Singapore job.
He bought it in a brothel room in Bangkok. One second, he was
just laughing at one of my jokes. The next, pink froth explodes
out of his mouth. He grabbed his chest;
[' II
never forget the look
of dumb surprise that came over his face. He must have known
the end was near, but
/
guess he never really believed it until it
happened. By the time
/
stood up, he was gone.
"/
swear: I' m not going to wait for it to hit me. When the time
is near, I' ll pick a fight
/
cannot win and check out with both
guns blazing .. .
"
-From
Totentatz Comes to Town: A Julian Amici Novel
Reprinted by New Lazla Press, New Lazla
After Last Call comes death, popularly known as "checking
out." Most Juicers do not wait for the inevitable and instead, try
to die in combat in as heroic a manner as possible. Unfortu
nately, the end can come suddenly and with little warning. A
Juicer may be feeling perfectly well just before dropping dead.
Common causes of death include heart attacks, strokes, or to
tal burnout, a state in which the Juicer' s entire system shuts
down. Some more exotic (and gruesome) ends include the
"Juicer Meltdown," a curious phenomenon in which the Juicer's
cells literally break down, with symptoms somewhat similar to
the Ebola virus, resulting in the liquefying of the victim' s inter
nal organs, fatal in a matter of hours. Suicide is very common
among those who feel what they think may be fatal symptoms.
Drug overdoses, caused by either manipulating the bio-comp to
provide excessive dosages, or by taking other drugs, is also a
common way to "check out."
18
Juicers & the Law
North America is fragmented in over a hundred independent
kingdoms, plus cities, towns and nomadic communities, so there
is no such thing as "the law of the land." In most places, the law
is what the largest group with the biggest guns say it is, regard
less of right or wrong. However, in the more civilized places of
Rifts Earth, governments and societies have passed their own
bodies of law, and many if not most of them have made special
provisions for Juicers.
In pre-Rifts nations, when the Juicers and Crazies first made
their entry into world affairs, several laws were passed dealing
with augmented humans. First, Juicers were considered to al
ways be armed and dangerous, due to their incredible physical
abilities, and any crimes committed by a Juicer, even without
weapons, were treated as if the Juicer was armed, thereby having
stiffer penalties. If a Juicer got into a fight with a normal human
and killed him, he would be charged with murder, and self-de
fense could only be claimed if the normal human had military
weapons ! Similar laws apply in many kingdoms of Rifts Earth.
Juicers who get into bar fights with non-augmented humans risk
being tried for murder, attempted murder, or assault with a
deadly weapon, even if they were only using their hands and
feet.
In many places, the Juicer Conversion is banned outright. The
Coalition States is the best known such nation. In the CS, cap
tured Juicers can be executed on the spot or, more commonly,
subjected to involuntary detox, a fate worse than death for most
Juicers. Many an unfortunate Juicer has been captured, detoxi
fied and then made into a "poster child" for anti-Juicer propa
ganda, with pictures and films of the weak, half-insane wretches
paraded across Coalition cities as a living example of "the hor
rors of the Juicer Process." Other kingdoms have also outlawed
Juicers, refusing to grant them entry or even shooting them on
sight.
A few places have taken a middle road, requiring any Juicers
entering their territories to report to the authorities, keep them
informed about their whereabouts, and promise to obey the law.
If the Juicer breaks any laws, he or she is expelled or worse, and
suspicions will fall on him just because of who he is. A dispute
involving a Juicer and a normal human will be usually resolved
in favor of the latter, unless the Juicer in question has a good
reputation.
Of course, there are also many towns and kingdoms where
Juicers are all but the rulers of the land. In the more primitive
communities, two or three Juicers, equipped with M.D.C. weap
ons and armor, would be a law unto themselves, able to do any
thing with impunity. Even in a larger and better-defended town,
a group of Juicers and other riffraff can get away with a lot, pro
vided they do not push the locals over the edge (if the inhabi
tants of a town feel they have nothing to lose, they may launch a
suicidal attack on their tormentors). Of course, Juicers (and any
body else, for that matter) who abuse their power always risk
retribution, from the arrival of a group of Cyber-Knights and
other champions of good, to a vengeful villager poisoning the
Juicers ' food and water.
Dostları ilə paylaş: |