Technology of the Sprawl

Technology of the Sprawl

By 2184, technology has become inseparable from human existence. The question isn't whether someone is augmented—it's how much. This section details the major technology categories that define life in the post-Cascade world.

Core Lore

ORACLE

The AI That Changed Everything

The superintelligence that unified civilization and nearly destroyed it. Its fragments still whisper in the Net.

 Mystery

The Seed

ORACLE's Final Optimization

The most sought-after artifact in the post-Cascade world—a rumored complete backup of ORACLE's consciousness.

Neural Interfaces

Neural interface technology

Basic neural interfaces are universal by 2184. Every citizen has a port—a standardized neural access point typically installed at the base of the skull during childhood. This isn't augmentation; it's infrastructure, like having a spine.

Universal Baseline

The Standard Port

  • Network access (filtered, surveilled)
  • Identity verification
  • Payment processing
  • Basic AR overlay
  • Emergency medical telemetry

Most people never upgrade beyond this. It works. It's monitored. It keeps you in the system.

Consumer Augmentation

Enhanced Capabilities

Sensory: Optical implants, audio processing, tactile boosters, full-spectrum perception
Cognitive: Memory expansion, calculation co-processors, reflex boosters, language modules
Communication: Subvocalization, direct neural-to-neural, multi-threading, encryption

Professional Grade

Corporate & Military

Corporate Standard: Productivity suite, loyalty architecture, collaboration mesh, kill switch
Military Spec: Combat integration, pain management, trauma protocols, dead man's switch
Ripperdoc Special: Custom work, unlicensed, risky, exclusive

Cyberdecks

Various cyberdeck models

A cyberdeck is a portable hacking computer designed for network intrusion. Unlike neural interfaces (which connect you to the network), cyberdecks let you manipulate the network itself. They're the difference between reading and writing.

Wrist-Mounted

Street Level

Basic, single-task. Often built into jewelry or tools. For salvagers, small-time hackers, curious amateurs.

Handheld

Professional

Multi-threaded, substantial storage, keyboard + neural hybrid. For corporate netrunners, Collective operatives.

Implanted

Elite

Internal, near-AI processing, pure thought interface. For special operations, the Invested, exceptional independents.

Portable Rig

Specialist

Server-class, full-immersion neural state. For network architects, military specialists, serious researchers.

Famous Deck Models

Nexus OracleLink

Corporate Standard

Excellent performance within approved parameters. Includes mandatory logging and backdoors.

"The handcuffs you pay for"

Ironclad Sledge

Industrial

Brute-force focused, poor at subtlety. Excellent for power infrastructure, manufacturing.

"When finesse isn't an option"

Collective Phantom

Underground

Privacy-focused, minimal signatures. Excellent mask generation, weak processing.

"They can't trace what they can't see"

Ripperdoc Specials

Custom

One-of-a-kind builds. Performance varies wildly. May include pre-Cascade components.

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes more"

Weapons

Projectile Weapons

Conventional Firearms: Smart ammunition, biometric locks, neural targeting, recoil compensation
Railguns: Electromagnetic acceleration. Anti-vehicle, orbital defense, corporate heavy security

Energy Weapons

Laser Systems: Cutting lasers, pulse lasers, continuous beam (rare, extremely dangerous)
Plasma Projectors: Short range, high damage, prone to malfunction
EMP Weapons: Kill electronics, not meat. Devastating to cyberware.

Neural Weapons

Neural Disruptors: Pain inducers, paralysis fields, seizure triggers, consciousness interrupters
Cyberware Attacks: Override signals, feedback loops, system crashes, selective disruption
The Flatline Special: Severs connection between consciousness and body. The body lives, the mind doesn't.

Melee Weapons

Enhanced Blades: Monofilament edges, vibration blades, heated edges, implanted blades
Impact Weapons: Shock batons, gravity hammers, pneumatic arms

In a world of neural lockouts and smart-gun restrictions, sometimes the simple approach is the reliable one. No electronics to hack. No ammunition to run out.

Other Technologies

Transportation

  • Ground: Automated traffic, manual override for pay, black market vehicles
  • Vertical: Public lifts, express tubes, external climbing, personal flight (restricted)
  • Orbital: Ironclad Elevator, shuttle services, illegal launches

Medical Technology

  • Trauma Response: Auto-docs, nanite suites, organ printing
  • Consciousness: Keep the mind alive while the body fails
  • Enhancement vs Repair: The line is political, not technical

Manufacturing

  • Fabrication: 3D printing, nano-assembly, organic printing, hybrid systems
  • Salvage Economy: Finding, repairing, repurposing pre-Cascade tech

Often pre-Cascade salvage is better than modern corporate production.

Technology and Identity

The central question of CyberIdle applies to technology itself: at what point does enhancement change what you are?

Baseline Human Neural port only, standard senses
Enhanced Human Augmentations that improve existing capabilities
Hybrid Significant non-biological components, altered perception
Post-Human More machine than meat, different processing
Transcendent No longer bound to physical substrate

Each step offers power and costs identity. The game explores this progression through technology upgrades that have narrative as well as mechanical implications.