Good stuff. I'd ideally like a quorum of four players, so let's see if anyone else bites - and feel free to invite anyone who might be interested.
I found something in my notes to best express what we're doing here.
To conceptualize the sensorium of a Bandi is near impossible for any other lifeform; organic, cybernetic, mechanical - but let us try.
Consider the Vala, The Flame of Justice, a Soulcage favoured for brute simplicity.
Imagine nothing. Neither sight nor scent nor touch. Imagine your spellware booting up. An outsider may perceive lines of code on an external screen, but for the Bandi the first wave of internal diagnostics is sensation.
'cage integrity is nothing, until it is breached. Only a total awareness of every centimetre of form, and of attuned weapons. A sword is a folded finger. A full magazine is a lungful of air. Shield intensity is warmth and weight spread over the shell. Mana reserves are joy bubbling beneath a calm veneer. Comms are a soft chorus, lights in the dark. An absolute understanding of position relative to allies and targets, like shifting patches of heat and cold across your skin.
Immediate visual perception is a bloom of impossible colour until filtering subroutines pare it back to total clarity beyond the resolution of an organic eye. Facing is irrelevant; vision is distributed across every surface of the Soulcage. Audio is briefly deafening until similar filters block out the noise and selectively emphasize priority data; the sound of footsteps, the snap of a reload. Overlays highlight items of interest and trigger emotional resonances. The armoury is love. The repair sarcophagus is maternal warmth. Long obsolete biological imperatives are repurposed to the nature of the mechanism.
The enemy inspires hunger. Their reactor core triggers disgust.
In the arc of a blade lies euphoria. The gender of the Bandi is violence.
And for the Vala, other senses. An immaculate grasp of temperature for dozens of metres. Ally and enemy and muzzleflash are not crude heatmaps of lesser devices but an intuitive understanding; that is the low thrum of a heatsink, this is the warm path of arterial blood, and there the scant after-image of a bullet bullying air aside. An extension of the self, that one might reach out with pure intent and halt ignition in the rifle's chamber.
Any other being trying to ride the senses of Bandi would be overwhelmed by input. Human vision is a patchwork of intersaccadal flashes, a kludge of last-second edits to maximize signal value in service of mammalian processing to keep meat within its limits. Too many inputs and the whole organism is paralyzed by indecision or thrown into desperate action. There is meat within the Soulcage, but the protection of that sealed armour extends beyond physical. In the execution of its purpose, a Bandi is perfect; the kaleidoscope of sight, sound, telemetry, weapon status, velocity, position winnowed to razor edge second by second. Thought and action become one, sheared of all uncertainty, unless...
The natural state of a Bandi is war. Take one from the battlefield, deprive it of both sleep and prey. What thoughts may emerge? What sights slip behind the eyeless faceplate? What does a sword dream?
Perhaps we may discuss other Soulcages of more esoteric perception another time - the deathsight of Jadugara, the prescience of Raksaka, the hum of Fate's threads surrounding Nabi. Or would you rather speculate on the Jukari senses, or conjecture widlly of The New Flesh?
This is downright erotic. I really hope this gets rolling.
Been a while.... I'd like to dip my metaphorical saber into this magitek pie.
Question... I'm assuming there's more lore coming, but are the Bandi and the Others known to have existed or sit in mythological memory of the current empires populace? Like how many centuries later are we talking? And who the fuck is Will and why is he so fiery? I'm intrigued.
@kitramos Much better Kit, and you went with the 'spirit of collaboration' with that bit about a theater. My brain is already formulating a scenario. Reminded me of that one opera scene from Final Fantasy 6. I'll put you on the wait-list
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