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NanoMaterials and the Augmented

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The Nano-Augmented are individuals who have undergone the dangerous and transformative process of integrating nanotechnology into their bodies, giving them enhanced physical and cognitive abilities far beyond those of unaugmented beings. The initial process of augmentation involves fusing wild nanotech with the subject’s biology, a procedure that only a small fraction of individuals survive due to the strict requirement of biological compatibility.

For those who do survive, further enhancements can be achieved through a process known as Material Integration, where the Nano-Augmented can incorporate specialized nanomaterials into their body to gain new abilities. This optional upgrade comes with both incredible power and significant risks, depending on the chosen material.

Some Nano-Augmented individuals rely on Fuel Gas as their sole source of breathable air, using it to fuel their nanotech-driven bodies. While this grants impressive physical performance, it also creates a level of dependence that ties the augmented to a constant supply of this energy-rich substance.

The Base Nano-Augmentation Process

The initial step in becoming Nano-Augmented requires exposure to wild nanotech, a formless and chaotic nanomaterial that has the potential to fuse with the body. When this process is successful, the individual’s biology is radically altered, resulting in enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and mental capacity. Additionally, Nano-Augmented individuals gain the ability to interact directly with nanotech systems, enabling them to control machines, weapons, or even other augmented technologies with their mind.

However, surviving this process is highly unpredictable. If the individual’s biology is not compatible with wild nanotech, the procedure will lead to rapid biological failure and death. No test exists to determine compatibility beforehand—only survival confirms it.

Material Integration: The Path to Greater Power

After successful augmentation, the Nano-Augmented can choose to undergo an optional upgrade known as Material Integration, where specialized nanomaterials are incorporated into their body. Each nanomaterial brings unique abilities but also introduces specific weaknesses or complications. While Material Integration can greatly enhance an augmented individual’s capabilities, it is not without its dangers.

Types of Material Integration:

Glasteel Integration:
- Effects: Enhances the augmented’s physical durability and heat resistance, making them nearly impervious to both extreme heat and high-impact damage. They may also develop enhanced electric conductivity, allowing for the direct manipulation of energy-based weaponry or systems.
- Weaknesses: Over-reliance on external energy sources can make the individual vulnerable in situations where power supplies are limited. Some experience degradation in sensitivity to temperature, leading to disorientation.
Titanite Integration:
- Effects: Grants the individual immense strength and density, turning them into a walking juggernaut. They become highly resistant to kinetic damage and may develop the ability to interact with reactive materials, making them valuable for tasks requiring physical manipulation of volatile substances.
- Weaknesses: Titanite integration often increases body mass significantly, which can make it difficult for the augmented to function in environments with low gravity or perform tasks requiring agility.
Adamantian Integration:
- Effects: Bestows near-impenetrable defense, rendering the Nano-Augmented virtually indestructible. This makes them ideal for high-risk combat roles or extreme environmental conditions such as deep-space exploration. The individual may also gain enhanced cutting abilities, allowing them to slice through nearly any material.
- Weaknesses: The increased hardness and rigidity can lead to a loss of flexibility or mobility. Individuals with Adamantian integration are often slower and less agile, making them more vulnerable to agile opponents.
Palladian Integration:
- Effects: Allows for the manipulation of biological and chemical systems, granting the Nano-Augmented the ability to enhance or mutate organic material around them. This could involve regenerative abilities, accelerated healing, or controlling biological toxins for offensive purposes.
- Weaknesses: Palladian’s toxic nature can lead to long-term health issues for the augmented, including mental instability, paranoia, or even self-induced mutations if not carefully regulated.
Cryozyme Integration (Not Recommended):
- Effects: Individuals integrated with Cryozyme develop powers of cryokinesis, allowing them to absorb and control thermal energy. They can freeze opponents or objects and are highly resistant to cold environments. Some can even convert the matter around them into more Cryozyme, though this process is dangerous.
- Weaknesses: Cryozyme integration often leads to insatiable hunger for energy, causing the augmented to consume more energy than normal. This constant need for energy can drive the individual to madness, and the risk of uncontrolled mutation is ever-present.
Zeronene Integration:
- Effects: Provides the ability to manipulate gravity fields, allowing for flight, enhanced mobility, or even creating localized gravity wells to crush enemies. This integration is highly coveted for individuals in deep-space roles or those specializing in experimental combat tactics.
- Weaknesses: Zeronene integration can lead to dizziness, spatial disorientation, and in extreme cases, a gradual disconnect from planetary gravitational norms, making it difficult for the augmented to function on planets with regular gravity.

Fuel Gas as Breathable Air for the Nano-Augmented

Many heavily augmented individuals, especially those who have undergone Material Integration, no longer rely on normal air for survival. Instead, they breathe Fuel Gas, which powers their nanotech-enhanced systems and allows them to function at peak efficiency.

Fuel Gas Dependence: Those who rely on Fuel Gas for respiration gain constant access to energy, which fuels their augmented abilities, including enhanced strength, speed, and cognitive function. These augmented individuals often work in environments rich in Fuel Gas, such as the Gas Cities of Jupiter and Saturn, where they thrive in conditions that would be toxic to non-augmented beings.
Performance Enhancement: Breathing Fuel Gas provides augmented individuals with improved stamina, allowing them to operate without the need for food or rest for extended periods. However, this dependence comes with a downside—without access to Fuel Gas, these individuals experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including weakness, shortness of breath, and paranoia.
Addiction and Withdrawal: Over time, augmented individuals who rely on Fuel Gas may become addicted, requiring larger and more frequent supplies to maintain their enhanced abilities. Withdrawal from Fuel Gas can be debilitating, leading to physical and psychological symptoms that weaken the augmented and make them vulnerable to attack.

The Nano-Augmented are viewed with a mix of admiration, fear, and suspicion. Their abilities are often seen as the pinnacle of technological progress, but the dangers associated with their creation and their dependence on nanomaterials and Fuel Gas make them outsiders in many societies.

Elite Warriors and Researchers: Nano-Augmented individuals are frequently employed in military, scientific, or exploration roles, where their abilities grant them significant advantages over non-augmented personnel. Those with Material Integration are often placed in high-risk environments, where their specific enhancements can be fully utilized.
Outsiders: Due to their reliance on Fuel Gas and their augmentations, Nano-Augmented individuals often find themselves isolated from regular society. Their heightened abilities and the stigma of augmentation, especially in cultures that view Material Integration as unnatural, can make them pariahs or revered figures, depending on the context.
The Risk of Over-Achieving: Over-reliance on Material Integration and the power it offers can lead to individuals pushing themselves beyond safe limits, leading to long-term instability or even a total loss of control over their augmentations.

Trivia

Breachforging: Nano-Augmented individuals who seek even greater power beyond Material Integration sometimes chase the elusive concept of Breachforging, a mysterious and poorly understood process that could theoretically elevate them to a higher state of existence. However, no one truly knows how to achieve this, and attempts are often met with failure or catastrophic consequences.
Fuel Gas as a Drug: In some civilian societies, Fuel Gas is viewed as an addictive substance that drives augmented individuals to madness. Unaugmented individuals who attempt to inhale Fuel Gas experience suffocation and hallucinations.