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In the campaign I'm laying the groundwork for, lifespan will be an important although largely background matter. Since the Mechanoids saw fit to augment themselves with cybernetics for space travel, I got to thinking about what kinds of augmentation humans might pursue to make the ideal colonist. The most non-invasive and reasonable item I could imagine would be lifespan extension.

I figure that a good number, considering the alluded to advanced society the Gideon colonists represent, that a lifespan of 300 years or so would be ideal. This would allow for a greater number of accomplishments in terms of building infrastructure and breeding more colonists. Thoughts?

A small technical note, the Mechanoids didn't see fit to augment themselves with cybernetics for space travel, their creators made them cybernetic beings and sent them off to explore and take risks for them. Unfortunately their creators fell prey to their fears about this new life especially when it came back having vastly augmented itself to make its creators happy and offering them gifts looking so much scarier which set off the massacre that led to them becoming the genocidal monsters they are today.

That being said cybernetics and genetic manipulation seems if not common not unknown either so you could probably expect a pretty good lifespan and perhaps even creche baby production rather than depending solely on natural reproduction given how heavy the war of attrition is.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I figure with the inferred history of the system and Gideon E in particular that there had to be a pretty good scientific and technological foundation to the whole thing.

If you've got Rifts: Mercenaries there's an alien Cyborg with systems that are advanced even by Phase World Standards (I think he's got like 1000 MDC total between his normal status and borg armor, it self-repairs AND he runs on an anti-matter supply that's got like 3 to 4 times the lifespan of what Phase World produces) from a reality where the Mechanoids would be considered pikers as their version of Mechanoids are out to destroy all organic life from bacteria on up from the Universe.

Depending on area some places in the Mechanoids setting may consider cyborg conversion to compete, others might see it as 'becoming the enemy' or worse and reject it for natural human augmentation. Psionics might be a common thing to try and instill, along with increasing the minimums for stats to help humanity better keep up with their implacable foe. Lifespan might not be seen as a concern (what are the odds in such a setting that someone would be able to live 3 centuries after all? ) with a focus more on increasing the physical and mental attributes.

The 300 year lifespan is something the colonists would've been instilled with as an manual adaptation to their role of building an infrastructure and society from scratch. It would have nothing to do with (nor have any positive impact during) the invasion of Gideon E. Like I said, it would be a background matter and not anything to do with trying not to be vaporized.

The original Colonists are all clones. The corporate backers and the government colonizing agency collaborated to across many parts of the colonization effort. One of the points frequently discussed as a loss or failure of the colony was in the diversity and health of the colony seed stock. The colonization expense meant only the best could be sent, as it was to expensive to send thousands......

The problem with clones is they become insane from grappling existential dilemmas.... A fix was made. The memories from original and approved colony applicants are copied and replicated in the clean minds of replicant bodies. Bodies free of DNA with genetic disorders, and augmented with better immune systems, and longer lifespans with a greater period of youth. The mental template having a childhood with parents, memories of schooling and friends, and a desire to be a part of something greater like a colony effort laid onto a clone prevents the existential meltdown. The clones arrive at the colony would with no knowledge that they are clones, or that other copies exist elsewhere.

That's a fun idea. I may incorporate it into a future campaign since the campaign mentioned at the start of this topic has already ended.

Have you thought about the Human sympathizers among the Mechanoids sending clones back to New Eden...... or reseeding New Eden or another world with Colonists in defiance of the Mechanoid master plan?

But of course! One of the players in that campaign was secretly a sympathizer and when discovered by the party...let's just say it got ugly. Like, ion bolt to the back of the head ugly.

No, I mean Mechanoids that are human sympathizers.... There are some in the Thinker classes.....

No, didn't consider that angle because RIFTS has it with the Aberrant Mechanoids in Sourcebook 2.

humanlike "aliens" from an earthlike world. major power immortality minor powers underwater abilities, nightstalking and flight:wingless. so an ageless race of "colonists" able to live underwater see in the dark and fly. i would also roll on the heroes unlimited alien skill chart. since the system is sdc no conversion neccasary and with little "combat" based abilities the mechanoids would be a real problem.

Oh, I have the Palladium "Mechanoids" it pre-dates "Rifts".

Yes, so do I and that's what I used to run since I have both.

A colony or society creating its own uber-augments to combat the Mechanoids could make for a great ethical quandry: how far are they willing to go to survive? How much 'beyond human' are the volunteers willing to go and how of their humanity are they willing to sacrifice? And how will the society that created them react to the end product, especially if the supersoldiers are successful and the colony/society has to deal with the peace afterwards? Will the Mechanoid debacle repeat itself, or will the colonists welcome back their transformed brethren(completely with superhuman abilities)?
This only gets worse if the superwarrior program uses criminals and other societal dregs to transform into its superhumans. Or if the supersoldiers go insane/lose their sense of connection to their human origins.

So you have Khan Noonian Singh or the reimagined Battlestar Galactica (all of this has happened before, and it will all happen again) ...... Final scenarios?

or do the Colonists become cyborgs, that become linked, and become the Borg?