Making a Living
Becoming a Juicer is expensive; prices range from 50,000
credits (in the few kingdoms where the Juicer process is readily
and legally available) to 400,000+ credits in areas like the Coali
tion States, where only underground labs can perform the neces
sary operations. Furthermore, the drugs needed to keep the
Juicer in top shape are very expensive: although the dispensing
system usually has enough "juicer" for 1 0- 1 2 months of opera
tions, refills cost 2,000 to 50,000 credits, depending on their le
gality and availability. Consequently, Juicers have to make more
money than most people in North America ever see (a common
farmer or unskilled worker makes less than 2,000 credits a year;
a skilled worker may make as much as 1 0,000 credits; advanced
cities can raise these averages by 1 00-200%, but most people
live under much poorer conditions). Since Juicers are designed
for combat, most of their occupations will be in the secu
rity/military fields. Among them are the following:
Mercenaries:
Some 50%+ of all Juicers pay off their conver
sion by serving in a kingdom' s army for 1 -3 years. Many con
tinue selling their services after their "tour of duty" is over. See
Rifts Mercenaries for more information and ideas on the merce
nary occupation. Juicers are considered to be elite soldiers, and
command pay rates 1 00% to 300% as high as regular troops.
Adventurers:
One might consider this a mercenary occupa
tion, but while the Juicer and his comrades may occasionally
hire themselves out to perform jobs for others, they are more
often explorers, freebooters and opportunists in search of adven
ture and glory, as much as wealth. These characters make most
of their money from the booty they acquire along the way.
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Bodyguards:
Rich merchants and landowners often hire
these super-soldiers as house guards and/or bodyguards. In some
places, a Juicer bodyguard is considered to be a status symbol,
and a Juicer who knows how to handle himself can expect to
make in excess of 1 00,000 credits a year. Such a job requires
more than combat skills, however. Since the Juicer will be "mix
ing-in" with the rich and powerful, his/her manners will be al
most as important as his skill with the gun or the knife. Trusted
bodyguards are also used as troubleshooters (often literally) and
sent out on missions similar to the ones assigned to spies/assas
sins (see below).
Spies and Assassins:
Juicers in pre-Rifts times were almost
always used as secret agents and assassins, and that tradition
continues to the post-apocalyptic days, although with less fre
quency. A number of highly-trained Juicers hire their services
for covert operations. Some wealthy kingdoms and city-states
have a small group of Juicer secret agents (often partnered with
Crazies, D-Bees, psychics or men of magic), used for missions
where overt force would lead to war or worse. Some nations use
them to deal with political enemies, rival kingdoms, and "secu
rity threats." Among their tasks are simple espionage (stealing
national secrets, acquiring intelligence data on enemy troops,
equipment or development), assassinations, kidnappings, etc.
In addition to kingdoms, some large corporations also use
Juicers for their own secret purposes. Industrial espionage is
common, although Juicers are most commonly used to sabotage
the operations of rival corporations. In recent years, the rise of
Naruni Enterprises, a transdimensional weapons dealer, has
prompted several Earth weapon manufacturers to send spies,
saboteurs and assassins to steal Naruni ' s secrets, or, failing that,
to weaken or destroy the company and its employees. For more
information on Naruni Enterprises and their role in Earth' s af
fairs, refer to Rifts Mercenaries and the Rifts Dimension Book
Two: Phase World.
A well-trained spy (see the
juicer Assassin O.C.C.)
can ex
pect to make 1 20,000 to 200,000 credits a year, plus bonuses for
dangerous or tricky missions and/or a percentage of booty. On
the down side, if killed or captured, his employer will disavow
any knowledge of the Juicer or his mission.
Crime:
Why work for a living if one can just take what's
needed from the weak and defenseless? Many evil and anarchist
Juicers will do just that, resorting to a number of criminal activi
ties to get money and other valuables. The most common Juicer
related crime is plain banditry. Gangs of Juicers and other
outlaws prowl the countryside of many regions, robbing trading
caravans or raiding villages and towns. The more daring bands
venture into the Coalition States' territory; although there is
more booty to be had in the CS, there is also a much greater risk
of being captured and typically, executed on the spot. Other
common crimes include "protection rackets" in which the Juic
ers threaten store owners into paying them a monthly fee in re
turn for "protection." People who refuse to pay soon find
themselves beaten, robbed, or worse. Some of these groups will
actually try to honestly protect their "customers" from other
criminal gangs, but many are just concerned with terrorizing
their victims and taking their money. A few Juicers are also in
volved in the Black Market as bodyguards and enforcers. Link
ing with the B lack Market is also a sure way to have access to
the expensive and illegal chemicals they need to survive. Al
though it is said that crime does not pay, a successful criminal
can make millions of credits - or he can get killed by the
authorities, other criminals, or can vengeful victims.
Blood Sports:
In some parts of North America, Juicer com
bat sports have become extremely popular. Many people now
work off their frustration and anger by watching Juicers and
other enhanced humans do battle like the gladiators of old.
Blood sports like Deadball, Murderthon and Juicer Football are
seen by large crowds in such kingdoms as Los Alamo, Fort EI
Dorado and Old Bones. Video disks of these events are also sold
throughout the continent; they are illegal in the Coalition States,
but can be purchased through the Black Market or in the 'Burbs.
In fact, some Juicer sports are held in the 'Burbs of Chi-Town,
right under the noses of the CS security officers (many of whom
are bribed to look the other way). Occasionally, a Coalition offi
cer will spearhead an attack against such places and practices,
but only a few events are ever disturbed by police action. In
other nations, like Lazlo, blood sports are also forbidden, and
also still practiced in secret.
Fame and fortune are possible, as is an untimely (even for
Juicers) death. A successful sports figure can earn hundreds of
thousands of credits in salaries, purses, and even advertising en
dorsements. Successful gladiators are pampered and showered
with praises and luxuries. They are still risking their lives, in
some cases more often than a veteran mercenary, and the mortal
ity rate among these athletes (many of whom are forced to com
pete without armor and other protection) is very high. For more
information about Juicer sports and the people who participate in
them, refer to the
juicer Gladiator O.C.C.
and the
juicer
Sports Section.
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Others:
Other occupations where Juicers participate include
entertainers (in wandering carnivals, as described in Rifts World
Book One: Vampire Kingdoms), test subjects used to experiment
with the Juicer chemicals and to create new variants, scouts and
guides (see the
juicer Scout O.C.C.),
and almost any occupa
tion that could benefit from the increased strength and reflexes
common to most Juicers.
The Juicer Culture
"If it' s dangerous, do it. If it' s suicidal, do it NOW!"
- Graffiti painted outside a Juicer Bar
Tragic heroes or psychopathic villains, the Juicers have be
come a part of North American culture. The Juicers themselves
have adopted their own "sub-culture," where toughness and
recklessness are considered to be virtues, and living on the edge
is seen as the only way to truly live. "You are not truly alive un
til you dance with Death" is a common Juicer saying. Taking
chances is, for the Juicer, a form of self-expression.
Over the years, Juicers have developed their own group mys
tique and ideals. Among them is the desire to skirt on "the
edge," constantly risking their lives for glory and money, the
creation of an establishment that caters only to Juicers and other
augmented beings, and even the growth of gangs of Juicer
Wannabes who imitate their idols and often get themselves
killed before managing to become Juicers themselves.
The Edge
It' s like this.
Imagine you ' re walking down the street, minding your own
business, and then two street scum decide to screw with you.
Maybe they don ' t notice the drug harness - myself, I hide it un
der my cloak; I don' t like to advertise - or maybe they are just
high on something, or just plain crazy. They ask you for money,
you tell them to go play with themselves, and one of them
reaches for a gun or a vibro-blade.
That' s when it starts to happen.
That little computer they built into you starts pumping chemi
cals into your bloodstream. The world slows down around you,
and everything feels sharper, clearer, more real than anything
you' ll ever feel, before or after. You can count every hair in the
young punk's face, you can smell his fear and anger, you are
aware of everything around you. I guess that' s how a god would
feel.
You have all the time in the world. The punk's weapon is only
halfway out of its holster, and you still have time to think of a
battle plan, enjoy the scenery, and even think of a snappy joke,
before you need to make your move.
Finally, you decide it' s time to act. The punk is ten feet away.
You close in. To the punk and his friends, it' s like you just tele
ported. They are flies trying to swim through molasses, and you
are a hawk soaring through the sky. What to do, what to do . . .
You could draw your gun and drill the punk between his eyes,
but you are feeling artistic, so you just wind-up and give him a
good haymaker, powerful enough to dent ballistic armor. So the
punk manages to clear his weapon, but you just batted his head
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