Appendix V - Skinplant Systems

Skinplants and Electoos are a development of crystal technology and are used for many purposes including personal ornamentation. Many races apply paint or tattoos and within the Imperium the practice is common. This is true of all levels of society, from the lowest city scum of the hive-worlds to the most sophisticated of the Adeptus Terra. Amongst government servants and employees of the Navigator families these marks serve as identification as well as ornament. Devices are also used as secret signs by governmental and anarchist agents, psychic covens and pirates. Tattooing is commonly achieved using materials and technology of a very ancient kind - although the inks and pigments used can be of any color, including fluorescent, and can be removable, temporary or degenerative when exposed to light, laser, heat or other energies.

Skinplants are sophisticated tattoos. The miniaturization possible using crystal technology makes it possible to create a functioning electronic device between layers of skin. The device cannot include mechanical components or utilize large amounts of power. The most popular skinplants control and activate electrically sensitive tattoos, you can literally light up in the dark. The subcutaneous time piece is the standard way of carrying the item - a light pressure on the skinplant activates the display beneath the skin. A light emitting patch on the palm will illuminate a small area and is known as a ‘thief’s light’, providing sufficient light to pick locks, operate switches and other covert acts.

Electoos also utilize crystal technology, but involve a lot more work and a great deal of technical skill to create. An inert layer of conductive material is inserted beneath the skin and allowed time to settle in place before the process can continue. Crystal stacks are built up on this film and waste material is dissolved out. The Electoo can then be programmed to function as any control or monitoring device. On Earth, everyone carries an electoo containing personal details, credit ratings, security clearances, social and criminal record, participation in Religious events and a person identification and location device. Sensors at building entrances read details of every individual that passes them, so a constant record can be built up of anyone’s movements. Similarly when an individual buys anything, a record of the transaction is kept. The system is also used throughout the Adeptus Terra and on some other imperial worlds either generally, or through specific social levels. As electoos are usually invisible, they are ideal for carrying secret messages or other information coded so that it is useless to the intended recipient. Electoos carrying information can be split among several people and only work when joined.

Electro-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus use a special electoo and powerful storage and channeling controls to use a very powerful personal electric field as both armor and weaponry.

Electrografts are a special form of electoo engineered directly onto the recipient’s cerebellum. This involves cutting away a portion of the skull and creating the electoo directly on the brain tissue before (usually) replacing the section of the cranium or covering it with synthetic material. An electrograft reacts with the brain to alter the recipient’s memory, personality and knowledge. Many of the Imperium’s and especially the Adeptus Mechanicus’ technological secrets are passed on by this means, and it is certainly a quick and easy way to learn how to speak new languages, operate machinery, etc. On the other hand, interference with the mind tends to cause personality disorders, problems with personal memory recall and occasional mental breakdown. Once inserted, an electrograft can be reprogrammed almost indefinitely, although repeated re-use accelerates the degenerative process.