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It seems pretty clear that Augments have it rough. Oh, sure, they’re very shiny and have some useful gear, but none of it comes without a very steep price tag. Basmati Ral Mina shared some of the most grim of the glitches with us:
#7: Maintenance
The problem of preventing further problems, and yet it’s the least of the concerns on this list. Maintenance for Augments is expensive and time-consuming, and many of those less fortunate literally find themselves held hostage by their own bodies and their wallets while they struggle to keep their hardware up to date. Failure to do so in a timely fashion can lead to some even worse glitches, as evidenced below.
#6: Heart Murmurs
Everything from arrythmia to full-blown heart attacks, when an Augment overloads it can be an incredible strain on the ol’ ticker. And that’s just with a biological heart! If you’ve gotten yourself a synthetic pacemaker, what seemed like a minor glitch can become a terrifying and life-threatening catastrophe. Fortunately, there are other places to get far more reliable cardiovascular couture.
#5: No Net Support
Getting net access is trouble enough when you’re using some of the most prevalent neds on the planet; compound that with the trouble of trying to maintain your software with some of the less well-funded and monopolistic nets out there. When we have lag, it just means our messages come in slower – and that’s annoying enough!
#4: Not for public consumption
My sources tell me there are a couple of biological glitches that just shouldn’t be shared in polite company. So instead, just think how there are three more items on this list even worse than the unimaginable.
#3: The Kill-Switch
Imagine that you’re trapped in an airlock, and someone is standing at the keypad. They can let you free with a quick few touches of a button, or they can space you without thinking twice. Now imagine that no matter where you go, that keypad is right there on your back. Nobody likes to talk about it, but I’ve heard rumors of codes that can simply end an Augment’s life.
#2: Wanton Experimentation
Once your life is in someone else’s hands, you’d think that just having that life terminated would be as bad as it gets, right? Oh, no, it doesn’t end there. When you’re held hostage by your own hardware, the door is opened for the use of untested, experimental
#1: No Union
The worst of it, according to my highly-placed sources, is that none of these troubles would be nearly as bad as they would be if Augments had their own union to protect themselves and one another against exploitation by their creators.
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