Pneumatic Bodyframe

by Doctor Malcolm MacGuffin
 

“This amazing feat shall revolutionize the way in which paraplegic Scientists continue their honorable work in the advancement of Science! Even in this modern day and age, some injuries cannot be healed. Even with all the Science at our command, some of our learned brethren today are without the use of their legs. This Device will change all that. From an ordinary-appearing wheelchair, the Pneumatic Bodyframe will transform into a light exoskeleton which will allow the Scientist to walk about normally. Even running and jumping are not beyond its capabilities, all controlled by the power of the user’s mind. The user simply seats himself in the chair, fits the restraining belts around his chest, waist, thighs and calves, fastens the Neuro-Impulse Recognition Electrodes (N.I.R.E.) to his temples, and is ready to go!”

   -- Professor Harvey Wangenstein, Theories of Motion (1883)

Over one hundred years ago, the Electrodyne Engineer Professor Harvey Wangenstein proposed this idea of an aide to motion for Scientists bereft of the use of their legs. While Professor Wangenstein was “limited” by the extent of Science in his time, his design was a excellent one which I have updated by the use of modern materials and technologies, in order to reintroduce his ideas to a new generation of Scientists. The wheelchair function of this Device is operated either by hand, by a joystick control on the chair’s armrest, or by thought control (once the Bodyframe is activated, whether transformed or not) utilizing the N.I.R.E.s included, which the user applies to his temples. The N.I.R.E.s control the electrical switches which move the frame. The wheels are solid, not spoked, and are made of a specially-hardened, anodized aluminum. Power is provided by pneumatic cylinders attached to the chair’s wheels, which are compressed as the chair rolls. With the touch of a button (which will be located within easy reach, as per individual needs), the wheelchair converts into a body-hugging exoskeleton, controlled by thought impulses picked up by the N.I.R.E.s in a manner not entirely unlike biofeedback. Thought shielding is provided to help ensure that no stray impulses are received, so that the user will be the only one operating the unit. The seat splits to allow the legs to move independently, and the user stands upon the foot plates. The rear wheels turn 90°, and come to rest behind the user’s back. The smaller, forward wheels turn and end up behind the user’s calf/ankle. The wheels act as protection from rear attacks and help to protect the pneumatic and electrical workings of the Bodyframe. Depending upon how successfully the Device is activated, motion will be anywhere from stilted to as fluid as a dancer. Although the Bodyframe is not itself Paradoxical, I do not recommend the use of the transformation function in the presence of an unprepared Consensus. Test results have varied from instant acceptance to utter (and ultimately disastrous) bewilderment. While not yet perfected, this design can return to the user some degree of the freedom they possessed before.
 

FOOTNOTES

I would like to thank the Virtual Adept Franklin Campbell for his invaluable assistance in the redesign of the Pneumatic Bodyframe. Although his (numerous) assertions that adding electronics to the Bodyframe would make it more efficient were quite correct, he respected my wishes to hold to the Professor’s original designs wherever feasible.

Theory based upon ideas presented in the Scientific work Theories of Motion (1883), by Professor Harvey Wangenstein, Electrodyne Engineer.
 

GAME NOTES (Second Edition.)

Arete 3, Quintessence 20, Cost 7

Two Effects make up this Device's power. A conjunctional Mind •/ Forces ••• Effect allows the user to control the activated Bodyframe with his mind. This Effect uses a mental conduit to convert the user’s (and only the user’s) thoughts into electricity, which then open and close the switches that control the Bodyframe’s movements. A conjunctional Forces •••/ Prime •• Effect creates and augments the kinetic power in the pneumatic cylinders, allowing them to move the user at a normal speed. In the exoskeleton’s Bodyframe mode, the metal wheels act as Level 1 Armor against attacks from the rear. A spent point of Quintessence allows both the mental control of the Bodyframe and conversion from and back to its wheelchair form. The ordinary duration of both Effects is one Scene, with the Bodyframe returning to its wheelchair form at the end. The Effects last for an entire day if four successes are scored through the use of Willpower.

Although the activated Bodyframe allows the user to walk at a normal pace with both hands free, any actions involving movement may be hampered, depending upon the number of successes rolled at the time of activation. For example, while Firearm rolls might not be affected, Dodge rolls certainly would. To determine the increase in difficulty, subtract the number of successes from 3. If the Mage gets four successes by spending a point of Willpower before the roll, the exoskeleton works so well that the affected Dexterity rolls are reduced in difficulty by one. If the Mage botches the roll, he is either stuck in a frozen exoskeleton with a +3 difficulty to applicable Dexterity rolls for one scene, or the Bodyframe is stuck in its wheelchair form until repairs (Difficulty 8) are performed. Alternately, the Storyteller may allow the player to opt for an automatic success, rather than a roll. While this does remove the chance of botching, it does leave the player with a +2 difficulty to all actions involving the legs. Additionally, the Bodyframe can be used as the focus for other Effects, such as Time-enhanced speed. It takes two turns in order to properly connect oneself to or extract oneself from the Bodyframe.

1998 Derek D. Bass
 

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