Cyborg Abolition Network

Cybernetics have been in use since long before the Exodus. However, unlike most other gnome technology, cybernetic replacements are expensive and aggressively patented. Even after the Pan Exodian Accord enforced consumer rights of weapon and startship owners, cyborgs were an exception. And as the harsh realities of space made cybernetic enhancements necessary, manufacturers escalated prices and jealously regulated the use of their products with proprietary interfaces, self-expiring driver software, and remote shutdown codes.

While people who could afford these cybernetic enhancements found many more opportunities among their professions, many less-fortunate people were forced to accept cybernetics as an alternative to disability or terminal illness. Without the ability to pay for the enhancements, such cyborgs were forced into indentured servitude to the manufacturer, or to their employers.

This injustice soon inspired cyborgs to consider what society would be like where cybernetics were cheap and the freedom to customize or design these parts were left to the cyborgs who used them. These activists united to form the Cyborg Abolition Network and together they find ways to hack cybernetic technology and grant full administrative privileges. In addition, they steal schematics, allowing independent manufacturers to create bootleg cybernetics, making it both cheaper to install and maintain.

However, the rise in black-market cybernetics, corporate espionage, and unregulated functionality, has forced Schema to declare the CAB a dangerous criminal organization. Bootleg cybernetics containing patented technology are subject to confiscation. Debtors are imprisoned, and when their host institution bails them out, more debt is added. And at large, any individual bearing visible cybernetic enhancements is often treated with distrust.

In addition to their stance on the rights and freedoms of people with cybernetics, the CAN also believes that artificial intelligence of sufficient complexity counts as life, and therefor also deserves the same rights as people. While this position is hotly contested by most scientists who develop AI, the CAN has staged a number of unsuccessful raids on AI servers in an attempt to "free" them.

Political Structure

The CAN, being a collective of revolutionaries and activists, has no true political structure. Members of the organization all revere a woman they call Sadie Moonburrow, however considering that this woman has never addressed the public or laid claim to any of the Network's activities, it is unclear if she is its leader or even a real person.

Investigators believe that the CAN is loosely organized into small local cells who assist cyborgs in tweaking their hardware and liberating them from any exploitative contracts. To limit the chance of any one cell in compromising others, communication is limited between a cell and periodic visits from CAN leaders where they exchange supplies and information. While numerous cells have been captured and interrogated, no Network leader has, and it is unclear how the organization operates beyond that.

Cyborg Abolition Network Fighter

Individuals who arm themselves as insurgents of the CAN are rarely well-equipped, and the exceptions are usually self-funded, being a motley arsenal of personal gadgets, armor, and weapons. Most of these people are liberated cyborgs who can rely on their implants for combat, however some are not and must rely on scavenged armor and firearms. While the CAN still lacks the large-scale organization to threaten the forces employed to protect corporate interests in their conflict, it is alarming the initiative and determination these soldiers possess, having an astounding skill for speedy tweaks, rescue operations, and sabotage that push the boundaries of what mere guerrilla warriors should be capable of.

Demographics

The freedom from corporate terms of service for cybernetics appeals to a wide variety of exodians, and not only cyborgs, but those who wish to champion a cause which they believe to be just. The most common demographics are orcs, halflings, and elves. Orcs and halflings value their individuality and freedom. Elves, who are frequently spiritually opposed to cybernetics, are all the more angered when they have no choice but to install them. Patriotic gnomes and dwarves tend to support restrictions, and are thus less likely to join.

The Cyborg Abolition Network consists of:

  • Halflings

  • Orcs

  • Elves