TEXT: ®
  An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS
  ®
  STEVE JACKSON GAMES
  Stock #37-6712
  Version 1.0 – June 2011
  Written by WILLIAM H. STODDARD
  Edited by PHIL MASTERS
  Editorial Assistance by JASON “PK” LEVINE
  Illustrated by JOYCE MAUREIRA and DAN SMITH
  TM
  
  INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . 3
  About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  About GURPS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  1. SETTING AND GENRE . . 4
  THE ELECTROLASER
  ON THE STAGE . . . . . . . . . . . .4
  Mystery vs. Suspense. . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  SUBGENRES AND SETTINGS . . . . . .5
  The Classic Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  Pulp, Hard-Boiled, and Noir . . . . . 6
  Procedurals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  The Cozy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Young Detectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  2. INVESTIGATORS . . . . . . 9
  OCCUPATIONAL LENSES . . . . . . . . .9
  Canine Police Combat. . . . . . . . . . 11
  ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES,
  AND SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
  Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
  Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Disadvantages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Investigative Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Complementary Skills . . . . . . . . . . 15
  Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
  DIGITAL ALLIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
  3. YOU KNOW
  MY METHODS. . . . . . 19
  DATA SEARCHES . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
  Internal Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
  Public Archives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  Data Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  Following the Money. . . . . . . . . . . 20
  COMPUTER ACCESS . . . . . . . . . . .21
  Levels of Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  ”I’m My Own Sysadmin” . . . . . . . 21
  Intrusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  Social Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . 22
  SURVEILLANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
  Spy-Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
  Remote Surveillance . . . . . . . . . . 22
  Traffic Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  FORENSIC METHODS . . . . . . . . . .23
  Nanodetection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  Genetics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  MEMETICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
  Artifact Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  Population Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  Deprogramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Debunking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Countermemetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Memes and the Law . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  SIMULATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
  Profiling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  Crime Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  LEGWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
  Observation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  Informants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  Virtual Legwork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  4. CRIMES
  AND CRIMINALS. . . . . 28
  THE CRIMINAL CLASSES . . . . . . .28
  Fringers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  Climbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  Bosses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  The Ruling Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  Twisted Eloi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  Nonhuman Criminals . . . . . . . . . 29
  CRIMES AND THEMES . . . . . . . . .30
  THE ART OF INVISIBILITY . . . . . . .31
  Security: The Low-Tech Option . . 31
  Avoiding Surveillance. . . . . . . . . . 31
  Covering Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Going Unrecorded . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  Hidden Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  Laundered Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  THE SUPPLICANT . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
  5. DESIGNING AND
  PRESENTING
  SCENARIOS . . . . . . . . 33
  NDAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  THE EXPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
  THE STORY
  BEHIND THE STORY . . . . . . .34
  INQUIRIES AND
  COMPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . .35
  Voice Under . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  THE RECOGNITION . . . . . . . . . . . .36
  Ongoing Subplots . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  CLOSING ACCOUNTS . . . . . . . . . . .36
  INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  CONTENTS
  2
  CONTENTS
  Playtesters: Frederick Brackin, Roger Burton West, and Leonardo Holschuh
  GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Transhuman Space, Transhuman Mysteries, Pyramid, e23, and
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  GURPS System Design T STEVE JACKSON
  GURPS Line Editor T SEAN PUNCH
  Transhuman Space Line Editor T PHIL MASTERS
  e23 Manager T STEVEN MARSH
  Managing Editor T PHILIP REED
  Art Director T SAMUEL MITSCHKE
  Page Design T PHIL REED and JUSTIN DE WITT
  Production Artist & Indexer T NIKOLA VRTIS
  Prepress Checker T MONICA STEPHENS
  Marketing Director T PAUL CHAPMAN
  Director of Sales T ROSS JEPSON
  GURPS FAQ Maintainer T –––––––
  VICKY “MOLOKH” KOLENKO
  I’ll give you a hint. Contradictions do not
  exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a
  contradiction, check your premises. You will find
  that one of them is wrong.
  – Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
  
  INTRODUCTION
  3
  Transhuman Space is an amazingly rich setting for role-
  playing games. It offers nearly a century of historical back-
  story, growing out of plausible extrapolation from the present,
  including technological advances that have carried humanity
  throughout the solar system and begun to transform human
  nature itself. But that very richness can make it perplexing to
  actually use! Confronted with all this exotic detail, players may
  find it hard to decide what sort of characters to create, and
  game masters what sort of campaign to run.
  One genre that fits the setting surprisingly well is mystery.
  The emphasis on investigation works splendidly in a setting
  where information is a vital resource, and control of informa-
  tion a major political issue. Technological advances create
  opportunities for entirely new sorts of crime; dealing with
  these crimes gives players an opportunity to
  figure out how this exotic world works. And
  the same applies to cultural changes that
  make some of today’s crimes perfectly legal,
  but some now commonplace activities into
  serious offenses.
  At the same time, both criminals and
  detectives in Transhuman Space have to use
  different methods. Most detectives need to
  master one or more arcane scientific methods
  of investigation, such as data searches, foren-
  sic nanotechnology, genetics, or memetic
  analysis. And serious criminals have to know
  the capabilities of detectives, and plan their
  crimes to thwart them, using methods bor-
  rowed from espionage and covert operations.
  A large part of Transhuman Mysteries is
  about game mechanics for concealing and
  revealing crimes.
  Focusing not just on criminal investiga-
  tions, but on a specific kind of crimes, helps
  with all the other key choices that the GM
  needs to make: where specifically to base the
  campaign, what sort of investigators are
  suited to it, and what sort of problems to con-
  front them with. Players, in turn, can work
  together to come up with a suitable team of
  detectives and to make sure they have the nec-
  essary resources. As the campaign develops,
  both the players and the GM can explore the
  further reaches of Transhuman Space.
  In this volume, the series of supplements
  by David Pulver and others are cited as
  Transhuman Space. The setting itself is referred to as
  Transhuman Space (without boldface or italic type), but cam-
  paigns exploring that setting as Transhuman Space campaigns.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  William H. Stoddard lives in San Diego, California, where he
  has been active in roleplaying games since the 1970s. He’s now
  running his second Transhuman Space campaign. His previous
  GURPS books include GURPS Steampunk, GURPS Fantasy,
  GURPS Supers, GURPS Urban Magics, and several others that
  he co-authored, contributed to, or compiled. He also serves as
  vice president of the Libertarian Futurist Society, which gives
  annual awards for libertarian science fiction.
  Special Thanks
  The author is grateful to the players in his first
  Transhuman Space campaign for permission to use their
  characters in vignettes, and for letting him practice on them:
  Eben Brooks (Neville Clarke), Tony Fincher (Louis Bauchet),
  Steph Pennington (Gianni Fiori), Tim Sallume (Blake), and
  Risa Yardas (Aki Nakamura).
  INTRODUCTION
  One must not put a loaded rifle on the
  stage if no one is thinking of firing it.
  – Anton Pavlovitch Chekhov
  About GURPS
  Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of GURPS players.
  Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box 18957, Austin, TX 78760. Please include
  a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) any time you write us! We can
  also be reached by e-mail: info@sjgames.com. Resources include:
  New supplements and adventures. GURPS continues to grow – see
  what’s new at gurps.sjgames.com.
  e23. Our e-publishing division offers GURPS adventures, play aids, and
  support in PDF form . . . digital copies of our books, plus exclusive mate-
  rial available only on e23! Just head over to e23.sjgames.com.
  Pyramid (pyramid.sjgames.com). Our monthly PDF magazine
  includes new rules and articles for GURPS, systemless locations, adven-
  tures, and much more. Look for each themed issue from e23!
  Internet. Visit us on the World Wide Web at www.sjgames.com for
  errata, updates, Q&A, and much more. To discuss GURPS with our staff
  and your fellow gamers, visit our forums at forums.sjgames.com. The
  Transhuman Space: Transhuman Mysteries web page can be found at
  transhuman.sjgames.com/transhumanmysteries.
  Bibliographies. Many of our books have extensive bibliographies, and
  we’re putting them online – with links to let you buy the resources that inter-
  est you! Go to each book’s web page and look for the “Bibliography” link.
  Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but we do our best to
  fix our errors. Up-to-date errata pages for all GURPS releases, including
  this book, are available on our website – see above.
  Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the GURPS Basic
  Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that begin with B refer to that book,
  not this one.
  
  SETTING AND GENRE
  4
  The problem Asimov saw with science-fiction mysteries was
  that too much was possible. If the detective suddenly revealed
  telepathic powers, he could solve any mystery; if the criminal
  had exotic alien weapons, he could kill people in ways no one
  could figure out. Asimov got around this by writing a detective
  story about positronic robots; he had written enough robot sto-
  ries – including puzzles based on the Three Laws of Robotics –
  so that he and his readers had a clear sense of what was and
  wasn’t possible for robots.
  Transhuman Space has that same specificity. The GM can
  come up with mysteries that play fair, by relying on published
  material on the setting. The absence of traditional science-fic-
  tion ideas such as faster-than-light travel, aliens, time travel,
  and psi powers narrows the possibilities for both investigator
  PCs and criminal NPCs.
  At the same time, the setting is filled with other fantastic
  ideas: colonies on other planets, nanotech, genetic engineer-
  ing, artificial sapient beings, and memetics. The Russian
  playwright Chekhov said that “One must not put a loaded
  rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.” In science
  fiction, the fantastic elements are the “loaded rifle”; to justify
  their presence, they need to give rise to dramatic events – in
  a mystery campaign, crimes and investigations.
  Given the complexity of Transhuman Space, it’s a good
  idea to focus on one or two concepts, keeping the others in
  he background:
  • Space travel and the colonization of space create new,
  often isolated communities, which may be thrown back on
  their own resources to investigate and punish crimes. Example:
  The Station Manager of Aletheia Station (discussed in Deep
  Beyond), faced with data theft, academic fraud, or diversion of
  funds, recruits an investigating committee from local academ-
  ics – and Vosper-Babbage corporate security or European
  Union military police, if either feels inclined to cooperate.
  “You give me glasses.”
  Gianni Fiori handed over his wearable without hesitation. It
  didn’t surprise him that Song Xiaoma objected to digital records
  of his conversations. Gianni’s cover persona wouldn’t like them
  either; keeping things human-to-human made it harder to prove
  anything. When Song’s techies hacked the wearable of “Mike
  Rimanelli,” the gaps in the timeline wouldn’t surprise them.
  A few minutes later, he walked into the private apartment of
  one of Rust China’s richest black marketeers, guided by one of the
  triad’s xia. Song clearly enjoyed spending his illegal earnings;
  Gianni wasn’t a connoisseur, but he’d seen enough Chinese
  homes since he came to Mars to spot expensive goods – though
  most Chinese didn’t show them off this freely. The blonde bioroid
  girl sure wasn’t a mass market item. Gianni tried not to look at
  her as he and Song bargained, both because she was Song’s prop-
  erty, and because bioroids gave him the twitchies.
  So it wasn’t till Song had the girl bring over some strange-tast-
  ing wine that Gianni started to wonder. She hesitated in speaking
  Cantonese the same way Gianni did, and mixed in some American
  slang. Her looks made Gianni think of his Ishtar girlfriend in high
  school. And when she poured his wine, her eyes looked – not just
  scared, though that was there, but sullen. Gianni almost lost track
  of the conversation for a minute, suddenly seeing her as a human
  girl, even younger than his little sister.
  Luckily, Song took it for the obvious reaction, smiled, and
  reached out to stroke the girl’s cheek. “Xie-xie, Syren,” he said,
  and she rubbed her face against his hand, but Gianni thought he
  saw desperation in her eyes. He hoped his own eyes weren’t show-
  ing his sudden murderous rage.
  Transhuman Space is a science-fictional setting, so a mys-
  tery campaign set in Transhuman Space is also a science-fic-
  tion campaign. Meeting the requirements of both genres is a
  tricky business. Isaac Asimov called it impossible when an edi-
  tor proposed that he write a science-fiction mystery. But
  Asimov went on to prove himself wrong by writing The Caves
  of Steel, which teamed a human and a robot detective. If done
  right, the two genres can strengthen each other.
  CHAPTER ONE
  SETTING
  AND GENRE
  THE ELECTROLASER
  ON THE STAGE
  
  SETTING AND GENRE
  5
  • The economic importance of information makes con-
  flicts over privacy and intellectual property increasingly
  intense. Example: Bioroid traffickers in the Trojan Mafia
  develop a new sex model styled after the synthespian hero-
  ine of Marwari Digital’s planned next release.
  • Memetics can alter human behavior and subvert
  established institutions; old legal ideas about freedom of
  expression may not be viable when a well-crafted message
  can reprogram a person’s mind. Example: After a popular
  hard-edge musician endorses a candidate of Montréal’s
  Parti d’Humanité, a memetic attack portraying him as a sell-
  out threatens his career . . . but it’s actually a buildup to an
  indirect attack on the candidate.
  • Creation of nonhuman sapient beings has generated
  conflicts between people who treat an artificial intelligence or
  an uplifted dog as property and people who give it “human”
  rights. Example: Houri bioroids in Djibouti are being abducted
  from their owners and sent back in pieces, and a group of
  sikkiyn bounty hunters are hired to investigate unofficially – but
  can they gain the trust of Houris they’d normally be sent to kill?
  And how will they react when agents of the bioroid underground
  railroad, making their own inquiries, confront them?
  • Digital uploads provide a way of evading death that
  changes the concept of “murder,” while copying digital minds
  is often treated as a new sort of crime, xoxing. Example: A
  wealthy elderly woman has her brother, a devout traditionalist
  Catholic, uploaded, a procedure of which he disapproves; her
  brother’s ghost reports this to the police – as the murder of his
  organic prototype! But can a murder charge be made to stick,
  when the “victim” himself is the principal witness?
  • Advanced surveillance and nanotech-based forensics
  make many crimes easy to solve – but also threaten the very
  concept of privacy; protecting privacy, conversely, also protects
  criminals. Example: Unlicensed sequels to popular InVid series
  are being smuggled into Europe, and the copyright owners
  want the traffic stopped. Evidence points to their being carried
  in the memories of travelers’ VIIs. Can the customs authorities
  get authorization to search an internal implant’s memories?
  • At a very deep level, digital uploads, xoxing, body struc-
  ture modifications, memetic reeducation, and new forms of
  identity theft call the entire concept of personal identity into
  question. How can the law protect individual rights if it can’t
  define an “individual” in the first place? Example: A transhu-
  manist religious cult gives all its converts digital implants that
  hold xoxes of the “ascended” founder – some of which tell their
  hosts to commit suicidal crimes on behalf of their faith, will-
  ingly dying for the benefit of their identical sisters. Can inves-
  tigators prove that they’re all xoxes, and will a court order the
  arrest of all the cultists for xox erasure and memetic therapy?
  And are the cultists guilty of any crimes?
  Mystery vs. Suspense
  GURPS Mysteries discusses thrillers as a variant of mys-
  teries, and Changing Times offers advice on running thrillers
  in Transhuman Space. But the emphasis of thrillers is differ-
  ent: not intellectual confrontation with mystery but physical
  confrontation with danger and risk. Solving puzzles and
  probing motives aren’t the payoff, but gateways to scenes of
  combat, infiltration, or pursuit – even more than for noir
  campaigns or police procedurals. Thrillers benefit less from
  the advice and the resources this book offers, and more from
  futuristic weapons and martial arts. Transhuman Mysteries
  doesn’t examine the thriller in depth.
  Since the first mysteries were written, novelists and
  scriptwriters have come up with many variations on the form,
  and fans and critics have grouped them into subgenres. GURPS
  Mysteries offers a detailed examination of different kinds of
  mystery stories. All of these are viable in a Transhuman Space
  campaign – but they often take surprising new forms.
  THE CLASSIC MYSTERY
  Edgar Allen Poe invented the classic mystery, Arthur Conan
  Doyle perfected it, and many later writers have come back to
  it. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is the archetypal detective:
  rational, methodical, exceptionally perceptive, and an outsider
  in society. He can take care of himself in a fight, but that’s not
  what the stories emphasize. Many classic detectives are private
  contractors, like Holmes, working for private clients who don’t
  want to involve the police in their affairs, or called in as con-
  sultants when the police are baffled. Some are elite police
  detectives who get baffling or politically touchy cases.
  The emphasis on rational inquiry fits perfectly into
  Transhuman Space, where everyone recognizes the value of
  information – governments even fight wars over it. If anything,
  the detective has an embarrassing surplus of information
  sources (see You Know My Methods, pp. 19-27). In a group of
  investigators, each can focus on a particular type of informa-
  tion, and play can involve sharing and interpreting the results.
  AIs can grant access to even more investigative skills.
  Or the AIs could be the investigators! A digital intelligence
  is the perfect example of a highly intelligent outsider in future
  society. (Memetics became a real science thanks to this out-
  sider perspective.) An investigative team could be all AIs or
  partly organic beings; AIs might be an organic investigator’s
  staff, an organic being might run errands for AIs or act as their
  social interface, or the two might be equal partners.
  The police consultant role works well in Transhuman Space;
  many societies outsource traditional governmental functions to
  private contractors. “Private” detectives run from those who get
  all their jobs from one police force to those who work entirely
  for private clients. Social and reputational networks make sub-
  contracting much more viable, and a competent AI can help
  investigators budget their time and resources. In more repres-
  sive societies, a private detective may be in demand by clients
  who don’t want official attention – minority groups (including
  nonhumans), or members of the ruling class with a lot to lose.
  SUBGENRES AND SETTINGS
  
  Barrymore
  Consultancy
  from
  Transhuman
  Space:
  Personnel Files could serve as a classic amateur sleuth team
  based in Cape Town.
  Mumbai
  India dominates the entertainment industry in 2100, and
  the city of Mumbai houses the central offices of entertainment
  giants such as Bharat Teleproductions and Marwari Digital.
  Although virtual conferencing is commonplace, actual physi-
  cal meetings still have advantages. So creative talent and
  entrepreneurs from all over the solar system come together in
  the city, looking for deals. India overall has Struggling Wealth,
  but Mumbai is Comfortable, with access to advanced technol-
  ogy – and the best neighborhoods are Wealthy. Some Indians
  resent this wealth, especially since bioroid or AI rather than
  human servants are fashionable in Mumbai, making jobs hard
  to find.
  The business of the police is avoiding scandal and protect-
  ing the reputations of the famous as much as solving crimes.
  When criminal investigation is needed, citizens often turn to
  private firms – and demand that the police cooperate. A firm’s
  reputation for discretion is one of its biggest assets.
  The situation is complicated by conflicts over intellectual
  property. India has a large nanosocialist movement. Mumbai’s
  “Bollywood” firms oppose this movement, and turn out many
  InVids where heroic spies defeat plotting socialists. But it’s an
  open secret that many firms have partners in nanosocialist
  Bangladesh, which use freedom from copyright restrictions
  to develop imitations of popular series and synthespians –
  with some of the production being done, quietly, in Mumbai.
  An unwritten code limits blatant thefts; but violating it could
  lead to investigations and lawsuits . . . or murders and homi-
  cide investigations.
  PULP, HARD-BOILED,
  AND NOIR
  Several closely related subgenres share greater emphasis on
  physical action. Pulp and noir are partly distinguished by their
  media – pulp stories appeared in newsprint magazines, while
  noir is mainly a style of film. But they also differ in emphasis.
  Hard-boiled mysteries focus on toughness and the potential for
  violence. Noir creates a sense of widespread economic and
  political corruption; the cynical, embittered private eye
  appears as a kind of knight with a personal code of honor. Pulp
  shows that code as shared by much of society; the criminals
  are a corrupt minority working behind the scenes.
  For straightforward physical action, extraterrestrial colonies
  are a good option. Mars has enough inhabitants to support
  criminal enterprises, and enough open space to let them
  operate freely. Emphasizing the Martian Triads can give a
  stronger noir effect.
  Back on Earth, not all societies are wealthy or technologi-
  cally sophisticated. Less developed societies range from brutal
  dictatorships to failed states that have only as much law as
  people provide for themselves. A small band of honorable sapi-
  ents can find work in such a setting.
  Within science fiction, cyberpunk is an analog of noir, with
  honorable outlaws battling corrupt big business. Transhuman
  Space isn’t a classic cyberpunk setting, but has raw material
  for a cyberpunk-style campaign: omnipresent computers,
  cybernetic brain implants, virtual reality, and widespread con-
  flicts over ownership of information. An inventive GM can turn
  it into a hybrid of cyberpunk and classic noir.
  Transhuman Space: Personnel Files 3 presents a group in
  rural Tanganyika seeking justice with limited resources and
  not much help from the law. They could be PCs in a one-shot
  campaign or clients for lower-tech hard-boiled (or police pro-
  cedural) investigators.
  Ceres
  A good setting for private eyes is Ceres, an anarchist society
  where all law enforcement is private. Many people have insur-
  ance against crime, and insurance companies often have inves-
  tigators on the payroll. Neighborhood security companies
  mostly hire guards or patrollers, but the job can lead to inves-
  tigation, and larger companies have full-time detectives on the
  staff. Finally, judges are free to perform their own investiga-
  tions, rather than ruling on the evidence presented to them;
  their staffs have the mission, not of helping a specific client,
  but of finding out what actually happened, which gives them
  more freedom of action.
  The major settlement on Ceres, Silas Duncan Station, has
  16,000 people, the size of a small town. The original settlers
  were scientists and engineers, but the community has devel-
  oped a rough frontier culture, where personal independence is
  prized. Roughly 90% of law enforcement firms belong to the
  Aegis Group; their clients are typically notified to appear in
  court rather than arrested, which is a big selling point for Aegis
  Group members. Companies that have been expelled from
  Aegis, or can’t afford the dues, act more like private security
  firms in societies that have government-run police. Some inde-
  pendents hire out to Aegis members as investigators; such a
  group could be the focus for a campaign.
  For a noir treatment, there are a couple of options. Maybe
  Ceres is less free than it appears on the surface. Avatar
  Klustercorp, headed by Maya Payne, one of the original settlers
  and a strong advocate of anarchocapitalism, has enormous
  economic influence, with 1,100 employees, several smaller
  subsidiaries, and the profits from innovative biotechnology. It
  could be turning into a de facto government, without being
  accountable to any public body. On the other hand, a still basi-
  cally free society could face an external threat: the Martian
  Triads, whose leaders are well aware of the value of biotechnol-
  ogy and would like to own it.
  PROCEDURALS
  Procedurals treat investigating crimes as a job. Investiga-
  tors get cases assigned by their bosses, and pursue them fol-
  lowing a standard routine. There’s more emphasis on
  teamwork and discipline than on brilliant insight or heroic
  toughness. The commonest focus is on police officers, and
  this subgenre is often called the “police procedural”; but
  other procedures can be approached the same way – forensic
  science procedurals have lately enjoyed popularity, and
  would fit right into Transhuman Space. Investigators in pro-
  cedurals usually work for a government, but any large organ-
  ization could be the basis for a procedural. The investigators
  have a restricted range of options: they have to bring a case
  to a conclusion that satisfies the employer.
  SETTING AND GENRE
  6
  
  In Transhuman Space, the widespread use of AIs favors
  procedural campaigns. His first day on the job, an investigator
  will be issued an AI, or programs for the AI he already has,
  including reference materials, skill assistance, and administra-
  tive routines. If he follows set procedures, his AI will not only
  help him carry them out, but tutor him in using them effec-
  tively. On the other hand, if he breaks from routine, it will cau-
  tion him, stop assisting him, or even report him to his more
  experienced partner or to his bosses. Most investigators
  develop love/hate relationships with their AIs.
  Police procedurals have a hard-boiled flavor; police work
  involves street smarts and ability to restrain or incapacitate
  an offender. A police procedural campaign can have street
  surveillance, confrontations, chases, arrests, and even gun-
  fights – though the guns may be nonlethal electrolasers. But
  the officer will (almost) always be in touch with backup
  through his AI. And with police cybershells on call for high-
  risk situations, the pursuit and arrest of a violent perpetrator
  don’t endanger the PCs the way that they might in more tra-
  ditional police stories; they’re often another technical exer-
  cise, part of the pattern of procedure.
  For the parts of police work that depend on brains more than
  brawn – crime scene searches, maintaining evidence chains, cul-
  tivating informants, questioning people, and searching official
  records – the AI will be a silent partner. Much police work
  involves a lot of dull routine, which police dramas skip over; in
  Transhuman Space, the use of AIs makes this realistic rather
  than cinematic. In an advanced society, normal crimes are
  solved, routinely; the mark of a serious professional criminal is
  knowing how to defeat police procedures and outsmart the AIs
  that carry them out. And the police officer’s most important job
  is to spot clever moves that aren’t in his AI’s routines.
  This
  is
  even
  more
  true
  for
  forensic
  investigators.
  Transhuman Space has many varieties of advanced forensic
  science; serious investigators have access to superior-quality
  AIs with high skills, and to comprehensive databases for their
  fields. They need them: the range of criminal methods has
  grown wider than any human mind can grasp. A forensic sci-
  ence campaign can focus on a single set of problems, and on
  the methods used to solve them: accounting for business fraud,
  computer science for illegal hacking, genetics for illegal bio-
  engineering, memetics for dishonest advertising or propa-
  ganda, and so on. This type of campaign is a good way to bring
  a single conflict in Transhuman Space into sharp focus.
  The classic anime series Ghost in the Shell offers an excel-
  lent model for police procedurals in a transhuman setting.
  Here are examples of both sorts of procedural:
  The Martian Commonwealth
  U.S. government resources are spread thin on Mars. A lot of
  people end up doing a second job, lending a hand with law
  enforcement – the Martian Commonwealth has revived the
  concept of the part-time, deputized U.S. Marshal. Marshals
  have basic training in law enforcement, but they aren’t sup-
  posed to do more than report possible problems, load the
  wanted and missing persons lists into their AIs, and occasion-
  ally provide the professionals with backup.
  Deputy marshals have jurisdiction across the entire
  Commonwealth – and, informally, anywhere on Mars that isn’t
  covered by someone else’s law, including local space. Martians
  tend to pragmatism; if a problem needs fixing, whoever’s clos-
  est with the right tools does the job. It’s only when cases turn
  out to have a political element that things get messy. Marshals
  can instigate low-level investigations, sometimes covertly,
  although they’re expected to justify them in detail later.
  A team of marshals can have varied backgrounds and pri-
  mary jobs, so long as they’re willing to work within the law and
  learn the necessary basic skills. Their work as marshals doesn’t
  pay a lot, and is often a dull routine – at least when it’s going
  well! But it earns respect and gives a sense of doing something
  meaningful. At its best, it’s what old-fashioned policing was
  supposed to be.
  Transhuman Space: Personnel Files includes a team of
  Martian marshals who could serve as ready-made PCs for
  this setting.
  Königsberg
  Headquartered in Geneva and Königsberg, the Genetic Reg-
  ulatory Agency operates nearly everywhere. Its jurisdiction over
  unauthorized biotechnological enterprises is recognized in most
  of Earth’s countries and many extraterrestrial societies – though
  not among Duncanite cultures. GRA agents aren’t purely labora-
  tory analysts; they have powers of investigation and arrest, usu-
  ally in cooperation with local law enforcement. But no one
  becomes an agent without advanced training in Bioengineering,
  Biology (specializing in genetics), and Research, and many sce-
  narios involve puzzling out genetic anomalies in the lab.
  Storylines can also involve political tensions and conflicts.
  The GRA started out as a European organization, and its policies
  reflect European preservationist memes. Libertarians and tran-
  shumanists oppose GRA restrictions, and it periodically faces
  accusations of suppressing innovative research, or even seeking
  to create a new Dark Ages by abolishing science entirely. On a
  more mundane level, local officials getting payoffs from illegal
  bioroid traffickers or black clinics don’t welcome visits from the
  GRA. Managing these situations without public controversy is
  vital to an agent’s career.
  THE COZY
  The cozy is an extreme version of the classic mystery. It
  takes place in a small community of people who are privileged
  in some way – an aristocrat’s country estate, or a college with
  strong scholarly values, for example. Crime, especially murder,
  appears as a shocking intrusion into this ordered little world,
  but the investigation usually shows that only an insider could
  have committed it. Investigation turns partly on deductive rea-
  soning and alertness to small clues, but also on personal rela-
  tionships among the suspects and on weighing each one’s
  possible motives. Usually everyone has some reason for con-
  cealing part of what he knows; the detectives need to reassure
  the innocent that they can reveal their secrets. This is the clas-
  sic domain of brilliant amateur detectives.
  Transhuman Space has a lot of wealthy people; in Fifth Wave
  nations, nearly a third of the population are “Eloi” who can
  live comfortably on their investments, with no need to work.
  SETTING AND GENRE
  7
  Whoever’s closest with the right
  tools solves the problem.
  
  It also has “isolates,” who prefer minimal contact with main-
  stream society; they make up a few percent of most Fifth Wave
  societies. In remote parts of the solar system, in smaller orbital
  habitats, and even under Earth’s oceans, entire small societies
  are isolated, acknowledging no sovereignty outside their own
  customs. Isolates have to turn to local hobbyists to deal with
  crimes; mainstream Eloi are more likely to call the police, but
  actually solving a crime demands an unusual ability to fit into
  the lifestyles of the rich and secretive.
  Not all cozy environments are playgrounds for Eloi. Busi-
  nesses may send their personnel on retreats or hold planning
  sessions; think tanks may spend much of their time in such
  gatherings, developing everything from research agendas to
  scenarios for the world politics of the coming millennium. The
  economic value of their work may be truly incalculable – and
  may supply the motive for serious crimes.
  Another sort of cozy environment can be found in virtual
  cruises and digital kingdoms. Literal murder is unlikely in a vir-
  tual environment, but it could be a means of gaining access to
  wealth, or to intangibles such as personal identity, or virtual
  objects and roles could be worth stealing or holding for ransom.
  Such crimes might be investigated by the official police, by
  employees of the creators, or by private detectives – but in any
  case, they’d need to be able to “play the game.” Or they might be
  recruited from the AIs that run the virtual environment; hardly
  any other sort of crime could be better suited to an all-AI team.
  Patel Memetics in Transhuman Space: Personnel Files 2 is
  the sort of unusual investigative team that might be drawn into
  a series of memetics-focused cozies.
  Repulse Bay
  Situated on the south side of the island, Repulse Bay is in
  the running for Hong Kong’s single wealthiest neighborhood.
  The entire area is not merely Fifth Wave but filled with “edge-
  ware” – inventions that the Fifth Wave hasn’t yet adopted. Even
  children may be edgeware, born with cutting-edge upgrades or
  synthesized by not-yet-legal techniques such as neogenesis.
  But all this technological advance is carefully screened from
  view by residents who value the look of tradition.
  Wealth is high enough so that actual work is nearly unheard
  of. Instead, residents spend time subtly competing for Reputa-
  tion and Status. Ordinary possessions play little role in this; any-
  thing that can be manufactured is cheap enough not to count.
  Unique objects, preferably thousands of years old, are worth
  something, and there’s a semi-concealed market in diverted
  archaeological finds. Any display of exquisite taste also counts.
  A large part of the rivalry takes place in a digital kingdom
  based on the Shang Dynasty. Present-day billionaires assume the
  roles of ancient dukes and sages. Real possessions and places are
  routinely woven into the fabric of Shang. This is a completely
  private digital realm, never discussed before outsiders.
  YOUNG DETECTIVES
  The longest-running “young detectives” series, such as the
  Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, are much like classic mysteries.
  More recently, Veronica Mars was closer to the noir style.
  Whatever their approach, stories about adolescent (or younger)
  detectives have to make narrative compromises. On one hand,
  their heroes have unusual skills, given their ages; unusual free-
  dom to act without adult supervision; and unusual tolerance
  from the police, who wouldn’t realistically want civilians getting
  involved, and certainly not a bunch of teenagers! On the other,
  the cases are less often murders than in other subgenres; even a
  very bad school or neighborhood doesn’t usually have enough
  deaths to keep a young detective busy. It’s often easiest to justify
  the police letting the young heroes work if the police don’t take
  the case seriously – a motif the cartoon series Scooby-Doo picked
  up and ran with.
  It’s actually easier to make young detectives work in
  Transhuman Space campaigns. Education isn’t as regimented
  as in a 20th-century high school; an adolescent who wants to
  study criminal investigation or intellectual property law can
  download instructional software. Also, adolescents are allowed a
  great deal of independence, thanks to their parents’ trust in their
  AI companions. On the other hand, most adolescents live in a
  “safe-tech” environment that insulates them from contact with
  high-risk technologies and situations – if necessary, their AIs will
  report any serious crime they encounter to their parents and the
  police. For young investigators dealing with major crimes, a dif-
  ferent narrative compromise is needed: the assumption that all
  the characters have blocked or subverted their AIs’ supervision.
  In some cultures, this is less of a problem. On Ceres, appren-
  ticeships commonly start at age 10 and last several years, as
  young people practice their trades under adult supervision and
  with AI tutoring. Apprenticeships could be available for investi-
  gators and security patrols as much as any other trade.
  Jaelle Taylor in Transhuman Space: Fifth Wave could serve
  as a prototype for smart, inquisitive adolescents. Transhuman
  Space: Personnel Files 5 presents an entire ready-made PC
  group based in Königsberg.
  Islandia
  Located at the L4 point (sharing the orbit of Luna, but 60°
  ahead), Islandia is the largest orbital habitat ever con-
  structed: two counter-rotating cylinders five miles long and
  one mile in diameter. Its nearly half a million inhabitants are
  40% of the population of L4. Its construction, from 2051 to
  2071, boosted L4’s economy and left L5 a stagnant backwater.
  Islandia is legally a free city associated with the European
  Union, but memetically dissimilar to it: preservationism is
  less common, pansapient rights and morphological freedom
  are more common, and the overall society is considerably
  freer (CR 2, except for weapons, CR 4). Most residents belong
  to voluntary “identity groups,” including radical transhuman-
  ists. Islandia is rich and peaceful, thanks partly to active gov-
  ernment support for tolerance and nonviolence.
  This is a fairly safe-tech setting, and few crimes involve
  deadly force. There’s a small but highly professional police and
  public safety force, but their primary concern is physical emer-
  gencies such as fights, hull breaches, or threats to public
  health. Young Islandians could monitor antisocial behavior
  and investigate thefts, frauds, and intellectual property
  offenses. So long as they know when to call in the police, they
  can expect to be complimented on their initiative rather than
  rebuked for meddling.
  Islandia as a whole isn’t devoted to any one radical idea –
  but there are enough ideologically based identity groups that
  young detectives can expect to meet exotic people. And as a
  center of orbital trade, Islandia deals with some much more
  radical habitats, from the all-female colony Margaret to the
  free bioroid refuge at Clarke-1. Islandia is a good base for a
  campaign that explores the wilder possibilities of Transhuman
  Space at a controlled pace.
  SETTING AND GENRE
  8
  
  “So you left the Royal Navy in 2086, Mr. Clarke?” asked Gianni.
  “Yes, during the downsizing after the Pacific War,” said
  Neville Clarke. He seemed completely at ease as the partners
  interviewed him.
  “Did you do any sort of paid work after that?”
  “I found a position with Universal Exports – they’re a small
  trading house specializing in high-end goods. I worked for them
  until 2098. I thought I was ready to retire, but I found myself
  growing restless with no work to do.”
  He sounded casual, but his neutral expression struck Louis
  Bauchet as a bit studied. While the other partners asked questions
  about Clarke’s reasons for applying, he dropped into the financial
  references on the net. Ah, there was Universal Exports – a small
  firm with an unusually strong financial position for their eco-
  nomic niche, and a broad spectrum of trade relationships with rel-
  atively obscure nations, not all of them Commonwealth. And
  Clarke’s vita had him visiting several of those nations, too.
  Louis texted his partners a quick summary – Second career
  maybe spy. He couldn’t spot their reactions; he wondered if
  Clarke saw anything.
  The first step in playing a mystery campaign is creating the
  investigators.
  Most campaigns have multiple players, and therefore need
  multiple investigators. They may be a squad of uniformed
  police officers, a group of police detectives with adjacent
  offices, a private investigation firm’s partners or employees, or
  a group of adolescent friends with an unusual hobby. They may
  even be thrown together by chance involvement in the same
  crime . . . but for a continuing campaign, they have to have a
  reason to stay together. Character creation should start by
  defining what sort of ties the investigators have, and making
  sure that all the investigators fit the resulting group.
  INVESTIGATORS
  9
  Mystery campaigns generally use the standard racial/model
  templates; criminal investigation isn’t a large enough occupa-
  tion to support the creation of entirely new kinds of sapient
  beings. Rather, organic beings and infomorphs are trained for
  investigative work suited to their abilities. The following occu-
  pational lenses provide appropriate abilities for various forms
  of investigative work. They are meant to be added to existing
  templates, though they can stand alone if desired.
  For many campaigns, all the investigators need to be built
  with the same lens! A GRA police procedural should have them
  all be GRA agents; a noir campaign might have them all be pri-
  vate eyes. In other campaigns, though, different lenses can fit
  together, especially if the players are willing to accept different
  point values; a plainclothes detective, a crime scene analyst, a
  couple of uniformed police officers, and even a police postca-
  nine could make a plausible investigative force.
  Any of these investigators may have a Reputation, good or
  bad, based on his lens, his employer (if any), and his personal
  qualities; players may propose such Reputations for GM
  approval. In a cinematic campaign, one or more Gizmos may
  be added to the technologically focused lenses (consulting
  detective, crime scene analyst, GRA agent) as an option.
  Some of these lenses offer Style Familiarity perks as defined
  in GURPS Martial Arts. The Sambo style is also described
  there; the “Dog Fu” style is newly defined in this book (see
  p. 11). The GM who doesn’t have GURPS Martial Arts, or who
  prefers a simpler treatment of combat, should keep the basic
  combat skills but replace Style Familiarity and combat tech-
  niques with additional points for optional skills.
  Amateur Sleuth
  50 points
  Investigating crimes isn’t your job, and you don’t get paid
  for it. You may be an Eloi living on your investments, or a stu-
  dent with indulgent parents or a scholarship; you may even
  have a day job. You’re not necessarily professionally trained.
  Your main assets are a sharp eye for how sapient beings
  behave, and a keen curiosity about them.
  Attributes: IQ+1 [20].
  Secondary Characteristics: Per+2 [10].
  Advantages: Independent Income 5 [5]. • An additional 15
  points chosen from among Alcohol Tolerance [1], Contact
  (Police or Street) [Varies], Cultural Familiarity (any) [1],
  Fit [5], Higher Purpose (Bring malefactors to justice) [5],
  Sensitive [5] or Empathy [15], Status [5/level], or Wealth
  [Varies].
  OCCUPATIONAL LENSES
  CHAPTER TWO
  INVESTIGATORS
  My robots? They share what I
  say to them with other robots?
  – Ken MacLeod,
  The Night Sessions
  
  Disadvantages: -15 points chosen from among Absent-Mind-
  edness [-15], Charitable [-15*], Curious [-5*], Impulsiveness
  [-10*], Overconfidence [-5*], Pacifism [Varies], Post-Com-
  bat Shakes [-5*], Social Stigma (Minor) [-5], Stubbornness
  [-5], or Xenophilia [-10*].
  Skills: Computer Operation (E) IQ [1] and Observation (A) Per
  [2]. • Either Criminology (A) IQ [2] or Hobby (Crime
  Knowledge; see p. 15) (E) IQ+1 [2]. • One of Body Lan-
  guage or Search, both (A) Per [2], Shadowing (A) IQ [2], or
  Detect Lies (H) Per-1 [2]. • An additional 8 points chosen
  from among Beam Weapons (Pistol) or Bicycling, both
  DX/E; Driving (Automobile, Hovercraft, or Motorcycle),
  Piloting (Light Airplane or Vertol), Stealth, or Wrestling, all
  DX/A; Judo or Sleight of Hand, both DX/H; Savoir-Faire
  (High Society), IQ/E; Acting, Administration, Connoisseur
  (any), Electronics Operation (Media or Surveillance), Fast-
  Talk, Public Speaking, or Research, all IQ/A; Psychology
  (Applied) or Sociology, both IQ/H; or Carousing, HT/E.
  * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
  Consulting Detective
  150 points
  You’re an intellectual detective on the model of Holmes,
  Poirot, or Wimsey. You’ve made a systematic study of every
  aspect of crime. You work on the most challenging cases,
  whether for the victim or as an adviser to the police. Some con-
  sulting detectives work for, or run, elite investigative units in
  large police forces; many are private entrepreneurs – or even
  amateurs, especially in fiction. This is a plausible role for an SAI!
  Attributes: DX+1 [20]; IQ+4 [80].
  Advantages: Ally (75% of own points; Constantly Available;
  Minion, +50%) [18]. • Another 30 points chosen from
  among Acute Senses (any) [2/level], Cultural Familiarity
  (any) [1], Eidetic Memory [5] or Photographic Memory
  [10], High Manual Dexterity [5/level], Higher Purpose
  (Bring malefactors to justice) [5], Reputation (Brilliant
  investigator) [Varies], Single-Minded [5], Smooth Operator
  [15/level], Status [5/level], or Wealth (Comfortable) [10].
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Professional) [-5]. • Another
  -25 points chosen from among Bully [-10*], Callous [-5],
  Charitable [-15*], Jealousy [-10], Laziness [-10], Overconfi-
  dence [-5*], or Xenophilia [-10*].
  Skills: Computer Operation (E) IQ [1]; Criminology (A) IQ+2
  [8]; Forensics (H) IQ+2 [11]†; Interrogation (A) IQ [2]; and
  Law (your jurisdiction/Police) (H) IQ-1 [2]. • Another 8
  points chosen from among Beam Weapons (Pistol), Brawl-
  ing, or Guns (Pistol), all DX/E; Boxing, Shortsword, or
  Wrestling, all DX/A; Judo or Karate, both DX/H; Savoir-Faire
  (Police), IQ/E; Administration, Connoisseur (Art), Electron-
  ics Operation (Surveillance), Fast-Talk, Poisons, Research,
  Shadowing, or Streetwise, all IQ/A; Accounting, Biology
  (Genetics), Diagnosis, Expert Skill (Computer Security or
  Memetics), or Sociology, all IQ/H; or Observation or Search,
  both Per/A.
  * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
  † Bought up from default value of Criminology-4.
  Customization Notes
  A typical Ally is a KNJ “Third Hemisphere” forensic model
  (see p. 18) installed in a standard VII.
  Crime Scene Analyst
  100 points
  When the police find evidence of a serious crime, they call
  you in to figure out what the evidence means and reconstruct
  the crime. Some departments have people like you on the
  payroll; others have gone back to hiring private subcontrac-
  tors as “consulting detectives.” Either way, your work
  requires good technical tools, a wide range of scientific
  knowledge, and a vivid imagination.
  Attributes: IQ+2 [40].
  Secondary Characteristics: Per+1 [5].
  Advantages: Ally (100% of own points; Constantly Available;
  Minion, +50%) [30] and Wealth (Comfortable) [10]. • An
  additional 15 points chosen from among Acute Vision
  [2/level], Eidetic Memory [5] or Photographic Memory [10],
  High Manual Dexterity [5/level], Higher Purpose (Bring the
  guilty to justice or Reveal the truth) [5], Police Rank
  [5/level], or Single-Minded [5].
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Professional) [-5]. • An addi-
  tional -25 points chosen from among Absent-Mindedness
  [-15], Bully [-10*], Callous [-5], Curious [-5*], Loner [-5*],
  Oblivious [-5], Overconfidence [-5*], Pacifism [Varies], Post-
  Combat Shakes [-5*], Truthfulness [-5*], or Workaholic [-5].
  Skills: Computer Operation (E) IQ [1]; Forensics (H) IQ+2
  [12]; Law (your jurisdiction/Police) (H) IQ-1 [2]; Research
  (A) IQ+1 [4]; and Search (A) Per-1 [1]. • An additional 10
  points chosen from among Driving (Automobile, Hover-
  craft, or Motorcycle) or Piloting (Light Airplane or Vertol),
  both DX/A; Administration, Electronics Operation (Medical
  or Scientific), Poisons, Public Speaking, Teaching, or Writ-
  ing, all IQ/A; or Biology (Genetics) or Diagnosis, both IQ/H.
  * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
  Customization Notes
  A typical Ally is a KNJ “Third Hemisphere” forensic model
  (see p. 18) installed in a military-grade implant.
  GRA Agent
  200 points
  You’re one of the elite international agents who monitor
  compliance with legal restrictions on genetic experimentation
  and suppress black clinics, bioroid trafficking, and similar
  enterprises. Some of your work puts you at odds with scientific
  researchers, but you’re the world’s first line of defense against
  biotech disasters and environmental terrorism. Only the best
  and most dedicated are even considered for your line of work.
  INVESTIGATORS
  10
  No man lives or has ever lived who
  has brought the same amount of study
  and of natural talent to the detection of
  crime which I have done.
  – Arthur Conan Doyle,
  A Study in Scarlet
  
  Attributes: DX+2 [40]; IQ+3 [60]; HT+2 [20].
  Advantages: Ally (50% of own points; Constantly Available; Min-
  ion, +50%) [12]; Fit [5]; Legal Enforcement Powers 2 [10];
  Legal Immunity [10]†; Police Rank 0 [0]; Status 1 [5]; and
  Wealth (Comfortable) [10]. • An additional 30 points chosen
  from among Charisma [5/level], Combat Reflexes [15], Cul-
  tural Familiarity (any) [1], High Pain Threshold [10], Higher
  Purpose (Neutralize biotech threats) [5], Patron (GRA)
  [Varies], Police Rank [5/level], Resistant to Sickness (+3) [5],
  Security Clearance (broad range, “need to know”) [10], Social
  Regard (Feared) [5/level], or improve Fit to Very Fit [10].
  Perks: Style Familiarity (Sambo; Martial Arts, p. 185) [1].
  Disadvantages: Duty (12 or less) [-10]. • An additional -30
  points chosen from among Callous [-5], Curious [-5*],
  Fanaticism [-15], Guilt Complex [-5], Intolerance (Libertar-
  ianism, Morphological freedom, or Transhumanism) [-5],
  Loner [-5*], No Sense of Humor [-10], Overconfidence [-5*],
  Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10], Selfless [-5*],
  Sense of Duty (Squad) [-5] or (humanity) [-15], Stubborn-
  ness [-5], or Workaholic [-5].
  Skills: Administration (A) IQ-1 [1]; Beam Weapons (Pistol) (E)
  DX+1 [2]; Bioengineering (any) (H) IQ+1 [8]; Biology
  (Earthlike/Genetics) (H) IQ [4]; Computer Operation (E) IQ
  [1]; Criminology (A) IQ-1 [1]; Interrogation (A) IQ [2]; Judo
  (H) DX-1 [2]; Karate (H) DX-1 [2]; Law (Police/GRA Treaty)
  (H) IQ-1 [2]; Research (A) IQ [2]; Savoir-Faire (Police) (E)
  IQ [1]; Search (A) Per-1 [1]; and Wrestling (A) DX-1 [1].
  • An additional 5 points chosen from among Beam
  Weapons (Rifle) or Guns (Pistol, Rifle, or SMG), all DX/E;
  Driving (Automobile, Hovercraft, or Motorcycle), Piloting
  (Light Airplane or Vertol), or Shortsword, all DX/A; Shad-
  owing or Writing, both IQ/A; Accounting, Diagnosis, or
  Forensics, all IQ/H; or Observation, Per/A.
  Techniques: Disarming (H) Judo+1 [2].
  * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
  † Includes equivalent of “diplomatic pouch” privileges.
  Customization Notes
  This is an entry-level GRA agent. The lens allows Police
  Rank as high as 4, but additional points should then also be
  spent on skills: higher and more varied combat skills for a
  tough veteran, or Intelligence Analysis, Leadership, and
  Influence skills for an officer, for example. Rank 2-4 grants an
  added free +1 Status, and may be accompanied by increased
  Wealth. Experienced agents, and especially senior officers,
  should definitely be built on 250-500 points (see Transhuman
  Space: Changing Times, p. 35). A typical Ally is a KNJ “Third
  Hemisphere” forensic model (p. 18) installed in a standard or
  military-grade VII.
  Police “Superdog”
  95 points
  Like many K-10A uplifts, you were trained to work in law
  enforcement. Qualifying for your particular training required
  you to demonstrate exceptional intelligence and determination.
  These got you through systematic study of core police skills,
  optional skills suited to your particular form of police work, and
  canine police combat (see boxed text below).
  Attributes: IQ+1 [20]†; HT+1 [10]†.
  Secondary Characteristics: Will+2 [10]†.
  Advantages: Fearlessness 1 [2]; Fit [5]; and Higher Purpose
  (Loyalty to human handler or squad) [5]. • A further 20
  points chosen from among Damage Resistance 1 (Flexible,
  -20%) [4], Danger Sense [15], Enhanced Dodge 1 [15], Fear-
  lessness 2+ [2/level], High Pain Threshold [10], Penetrating
  Voice [1], Single-Minded [5], or Social Regard (Feared)
  [5/level].
  INVESTIGATORS
  11
  Police combat training for postcanines, nicknamed
  “Dog Fu,” builds on natural canine fighting moves, but
  emphasizes taking a foe out of action over inflicting injury.
  In particular, it teaches the use of the mouth for grappling
  as well as biting. K-10As have elongated jaws as a zero-cost
  racial feature; this gives +1 to SM for biting, letting them
  use the combat options discussed on p. 115 of GURPS
  Martial Arts, but also gives foes +1 to hit the jaw or nose.
  The dogs are taught to grapple with their jaws as part of
  their version of Sumo Wrestling, along with shoving, slam-
  ming, and tripping – all based on instinctive canine combat
  moves. They often grab a foe’s weapon arm and hang on,
  following up with a disarm or takedown; if seeking to do
  damage, they may worry the arm (GURPS Martial Arts,
  p. 115). Going for the throat is discouraged, but some post-
  canines learn Wrestling and the use of choke holds. Others
  cultivate truly terrifying barks, functioning as Kiai skill
  even in realistic games.
  As quadrupeds, K-10As have an extra -1 hit location
  penalty to attack a standing man’s neck, face, eye, or skull,
  but remove -1 from the penalty to attack his feet, legs, or
  groin. GM’s who allow the Targeted Attack technique may
  add Targeted Attack (Brawling Bite/Arms) to the list of
  techniques; targeting the neck, legs, or feet is also possible
  (see GURPS Martial Arts, p. 68).
  A sport variant of this style was controversial, remind-
  ing many people unpleasantly of dogfighting, but has
  begun to gain acceptance.
  Skills: Brawling; Jumping; Sumo Wrestling.
  Techniques: Disarming (Sumo Wrestling); Feint (Brawl-
  ing); Trip (Sumo Wrestling); Wrench (Limb).
  Cinematic Skills: Immovable Stance; Kiai; Power Blow.
  Cinematic Techniques: Roll with Blow; Springing Attack
  (Sumo Wrestling).
  Perks: Ground Guard; Teamwork (with handler or
  another dog); Unusual Training (Kiai).
  Optional Traits
  Advantages: Enhanced Dodge; High Pain Threshold.
  Perks: Biting Mastery.
  Disadvantages:
  Overconfidence;
  Pacifism
  (Cannot
  Harm Innocents).
  Skills: Acrobatics; Karate; Wrestling.
  Canine Police Combat
  
  Perks: Style Familiarity (Canine Police Combat; see p. 11) [1].
  • One of Biting Mastery‡, Ground Guard, Teamwork, or
  Unusual Training (Kiai), all [1].
  Disadvantages: -15 points chosen from among Duty [varies],
  Honesty [-10*], Jealousy [-10], Overconfidence [-5*], Sense
  of Duty (Handler or Squad) [-2 or -5], or Stubbornness [-5].
  Skills: Brawling (E) DX+2 [4]; Intimidation (A) Will+2 [8];
  Jumping (E) DX+1 [2]; and Sumo Wrestling (A) DX+1 [4].
  • A further 16 points chosen from among Free Fall or
  Stealth, both DX/A; Karate, DX/H; Area Knowledge (local
  community) or Savoir-Faire (Police), both IQ/E; Swimming,
  HT/E; Lifting or Running, both HT/A; Kiai, HT/H§; Search,
  Survival (any land), Tracking, or Urban Survival, all Per/A;
  or Detect Lies, Per/H¶.
  Techniques: One of Disarming (H) Sumo Wrestling+1 [2],
  Feint (H) Brawling+1 [2], Trip (H) Sumo Wrestling Parry
  [2], or Wrench (Limb) (H) ST-3 [2].
  * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
  † These modifiers are cumulative with racial modifiers
  for a K-10A postcanine.
  ‡ Only useful if Karate is chosen as an optional skill.
  § Must take Unusual Training perk.
  ¶ Receives +3 when using Discriminatory Smell as
  Empathy from within 2 yards of subject.
  Customization Notes
  This lens is always stacked with the K-10A Postcanine
  template (Transhuman Space: Changing Times, p. 50).
  Private Eye
  100 points
  You’re a classic freelance investigator, for hire to anyone
  who can pay your fee. In most jurisdictions you have an
  ambiguous relationship with the police: you’re in competi-
  tion with them to solve crimes, but a good relationship with
  them is a valuable asset for you – and a bad one can destroy
  your career. In very libertarian jurisdictions you may take the
  place of the police entirely! You use as much modern gear as
  you can afford, but often your greatest resources are hunches
  and dogged persistence.
  Attributes: DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]; HT+1 [10].
  Advantages: Ally (25% of own points; 15 or less; Minion,
  +50%) [5]. • Another 30 points chosen from among Alcohol
  Tolerance [1], Contacts (Police or Street) [Varies], Danger
  Sense [15], Fearlessness [2/level], Fit [5] or Very Fit [15],
  Rapid Healing [5], Reputation (Useful freelancer) [Varies],
  Single-Minded [5], Smooth Operator [15/level], or Wealth
  (Comfortable) [10].
  Disadvantages: -25 points chosen from among Addiction (Cig-
  arettes or Minor nanodrugs) [-5] or (Alcohol – see p. 14)
  [-10], Bad Temper [-10*], Code of Honor (Professional) [-5],
  Debt [-1/level], Overconfidence [-5*], Pacifism (Cannot
  Harm
  Innocents)
  [-10],
  Reputation
  (Loose
  cannon)
  [Varies], Secret [Varies], Sense of Duty (Friends or Business
  Partners) [-5], Stubbornness [-5], Wealth (Struggling) [-10],
  or Workaholic [-5].
  Skills: Criminology (A) IQ+2 [8] and Forensics (H) IQ
  [4]. • A further 28 points chosen from among Beam
  Weapons (Pistol) or Guns (Pistol), both DX/E; Computer
  Operation, IQ/E; Administration, Electronics Operation
  (Communications, Media, or Surveillance), Interrogation,
  Research, Shadowing, or Streetwise, all IQ/A; Observation
  or Search, both Per/A; or any unarmed combat skill.
  Customization Notes
  A typical Ally is a Golematics Janus (p. 17) installed in a
  microframe in the private eye’s office.
  With a few changes, this lens can be used for a plainclothes
  police officer. Add Legal Enforcement Powers 1 [5] as a
  required Advantage and Duty (9 or less) [-5] as a required
  Disadvantage; under optional Disadvantages, change Code of
  Honor (Professional) [-5] to Code of Honor (Police) [-5]. It’s not
  impossible for a police officer to have Debt, but it’s a personal
  circumstance, not part of the literary/cinematic archetype.
  Uniformed Police Officer
  125 points
  Your duties are basically the same as those of police for the
  past couple of centuries: keeping the peace, dealing with emer-
  gencies, and apprehending criminals. But you have much
  more sophisticated tools for the job, including nearly constant
  communication with the rest of the force.
  Attributes: ST+1 [10]; DX+1 [20]; HT+1 [10].
  Secondary Characteristics: Per+1 [5].
  Advantages: Ally (100% of own points; Constantly Available;
  Minion, +50%) [30]; Fit [5]; and Legal Enforcement Powers
  1 [5]. • Another 30 points chosen from among Combat
  Reflexes [15], Contact (Snitch) [Varies], Fearlessness
  [2/level], High Pain Threshold [10], Police Rank [5/level],
  Rapid Healing [5], or increase Fit to Very Fit [10].
  Disadvantages: Duty (9 or less) [-5]. • Another -10 points cho-
  sen from among Addiction (Cigarettes or Very minor nan-
  odrugs) [-5], Bad Temper [-10*], Callous [-5], Code of Honor
  (Police) [-5], Compulsive Carousing [-5*], Gluttony [-5*],
  Hidebound [-5], Impulsiveness [-10*], Pacifism (Cannot
  Harm Innocents) [-10], Secret (Misconduct) [Varies], Self-
  ish [-5*], Sense of Duty (Family or Squad) [-5], Stubborn-
  ness [-5], or Workaholic [-5].
  INVESTIGATORS
  12
  
  Skills: Computer Operation (E) IQ [1]; Law (your jurisdic-
  tion/Police) (H) IQ [4]; Observation (A) Per+1 [4]; Search
  (A) Per+1 [4]; and Shortsword (A) DX-1 [1]. • One of
  Beam Weapons (Pistol) or Guns (Pistol), both (E) DX+1
  [2]. • One of Brawling (E) DX+2 [4], Judo (H) DX [4],
  Wrestling (A) DX+1 [4]. • A further 5 points chosen from
  among Beam Weapons (Pistol or Rifle), Bicycling, or Guns
  (Grenade Launcher, LMG, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, or
  SMG), all DX/E; Driving (Automobile, Hovercraft, or
  Motorcycle) or Stealth, both DX/A; Savoir-Faire (Police),
  IQ/E; Administration, Criminology, or Streetwise, all
  IQ/A; Carousing, HT/E; or Intimidation, Will/A.
  * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
  Customization Notes
  A typical Ally is a Golematics Lifeline (p. 18) installed in a
  ruggedized portable virtual interface. Choice of beam weapons
  or guns, and of specific weapons of either type, will be con-
  strained by departmental regulations and policies for the offi-
  cer’s jurisdiction.
  INVESTIGATORS
  13
  Transhuman Space offers different versions of some estab-
  lished traits, and a few new minor traits.
  ADVANTAGES
  The following advantages can be useful to investigators.
  Discriminatory Hearing
  see p. B49
  The ability to distinguish between sound signatures can be
  used to extract a faint sound from background noise. Among
  other things, the +4 for Discriminatory Hearing can be used to
  offset penalties to hear verbal private messaging (see Spy-Tech,
  p. 22, and Private Messaging, p. 15).
  New Special Enhancement
  Profiling: You have a large mental database of acoustic sig-
  natures that you can compare quickly to new sounds. This
  doubles the bonus to analyze and recognize targets (but not to
  sense or track them) to +8. You memorize new signatures auto-
  matically with no IQ roll. +50%.
  Discriminatory Smell/Taste
  see p. B49
  These exotic abilities are found in a few racial templates.
  New Special Enhancement
  Profiling: As defined for Discriminatory Hearing, but based
  on a database of chemical compounds. +50%.
  Fashion Sense
  see p. B21
  Choosing a digital avatar is as much a form of self-expres-
  sion as choosing clothes. A new variant of this advantage is
  available for this:
  Fashion Sense (Digital): In defining an online avatar for
  yourself, you have a sure sense for what’s distinctive, ahead of
  the trend, and just cool. Any avatar you build, assemble, or
  select by shopping around gives +1 to reaction rolls in online
  social interaction. You can give someone else the same advan-
  tage if you can work on his avatar. However, staying ahead of
  the curve takes constant tweaking; you have to make time to
  rebuild each avatar for each set of social encounters. 5 points.
  Legal Enforcement Powers
  see p. B65
  Agents of the Genetic Regulatory Agency have international
  jurisdiction, and often engage in covert investigations. Because
  of European Union influence, they cannot kill with impunity,
  and must respect civil rights as understood in the European
  Union. This gives them 10 points of Legal Enforcement Powers.
  Police officers working for national or local governments
  have from 5 to 15 points of Legal Enforcement Powers.
  Societies with higher Control Ratings tend to have police with
  greater powers. On the other hand, CR 0 societies such as Silas
  Duncan Station have no police – but nothing stops a private
  citizen from acting as if he had 15 points of Legal Enforcement
  Powers, though he may be sued for violating others’ civil
  rights. This is a 0-point feature, because anyone can do this in
  a CR 0 society, and because it grants no official standing in the
  eyes of governmental police departments in other societies.
  Telecommunication
  see p. B91
  The availability of quantum communications allows addi-
  tion of a new enhancement to Telecommunication (Cable Jack
  or Laser Communication):
  Intercept Alert: You can attune yourself to another commu-
  nicator with this feature; this must be initiated at range C.
  ADVANTAGES,
  DISADVANTAGES, AND SKILLS
  “Using today’s technology,” Avi
  shot back, “that is true. But what
  about quantum computers?”
  –Neal Stephenson,
  Cryptonomicon
  
  Once this is done, the two have a persistent link, which can be
  activated when they are directly linked by a fiber optic cable,
  or in line of sight for a laser system; range in the latter case is
  10% of normal range. If anyone intercepts or taps into the sig-
  nal, both users will be alerted instantly that the channel is no
  longer secure! +20%.
  PERKS
  A new perk is useful for infomorph characters.
  App
  Similar to Accessory, but for software rather than hardware.
  Your mind incorporates a specialized computer program that
  provides minor benefits not otherwise covered by a specific
  advantage or skill, such as Swarm Controller (Transhuman
  Space, p. 144) or the programs listed in this book (p. 17).
  DISADVANTAGES
  Some disadvantages take on new or variant forms in this
  setting.
  Addiction
  see p. B122
  Cheap biochemical treatments that counter the insidious
  effects of Alcoholism are available in most areas; instead of
  that disadvantage, take Addiction (Alcohol), as discussed on
  p. 41 of Changing Times. In Fifth Wave societies, and for
  financially comfortable people nearly everywhere,
  other treatments can reverse alcoholic incapacitation
  quickly, or make it easy to stop using tobacco. But
  many people still use them to relax, and find it
  uncomfortable to go without. Other people again use
  minor nanodrugs with limited mood-altering effects
  that are certified safe and have easily reversible
  effects, causing many governments to declare them
  legal. Such habits can be treated as psychological
  Minor Addictions (p. B164).
  About half of the world’s Fifth Wave countries have
  decided that criminalizing any addictive drugs worsens
  the harm they cause – funding organized crime or ter-
  rorism, corrupting law enforcement, and exposing
  addicts to impure and unhealthy substances. In such
  countries, most Addictions are legal, and many are
  cheap. Such countries often have memetic campaigns
  to discourage addiction.
  Code of Honor
  see p. B127
  A new version of this disadvantage is useful for
  many police officers:
  Code of Honor (Police): Serve your country and your
  community. Wear the uniform with pride. Defend the
  honor of your department and your country. Protect
  and assist your fellow officers. Don’t embarrass your
  department or your buddies.
  A police department is a team; anything that threat-
  ens the team threatens each individual officer. Whether
  or not anyone actually has this disadvantage, an officer
  who blatantly violates the code is likely to be ostracized and
  driven out. Other officers respond slowly to his calls for backup,
  or don’t respond at all. Sometimes they may even sabotage or
  vandalize his locker, car, or equipment. But taking the disadvan-
  tage means that the cop is personally committed to the code.
  Code of Honor (Police) means you can be forced into unfair
  or even dangerous situations by those who know you will self-
  lessly protect the department and your fellow officers, and that
  you will restrict your actions in public to avoid tarnishing the
  badge. -5 points.
  SKILLS
  Some skills have new specializations (required or optional)
  in Transhuman Space.
  Criminology
  see p. B186
  Criminology is primarily an applied science: it seeks to
  describe how crimes are committed and to profile criminals
  (see also Investigative Skills, below). Either can be an optional
  specialty:
  Criminal Methods: Knowing how crimes are committed:
  how perpetrators enter and leave crime scenes, the sorts of
  crimes they commit, the 101 dumbest errors made by crimi-
  nals, etc. This is the tactical field skill of a detective. You apply
  it to know which windows to check under for footprints and
  what doorknobs to dust for fingerprints, and to know that a
  fish in the bathtub is a clue rather than a red herring.
  INVESTIGATORS
  14
  Investigative Skills
  Investigators in GURPS rely on two main skills: Criminology
  and Forensics. What do each of these do?
  Criminology is fundamentally knowledge of criminals; it
  defaults to Psychology (Applied)-4 because knowing how people
  (or bioroids or AIs) think and act helps figure out how (human,
  bioroid, or AI) criminals think and act. Forensics is fundamen-
  tally knowledge of evidence of crimes: it defaults to Criminol-
  ogy-4 because knowing how criminals behave when committing
  crimes helps figure out where to look for evidence.
  To find hidden goods or evidence deliberately concealed in a
  room or vehicle, roll against Search or Criminology-5.
  To find clues by deducing what the criminal was doing, roll
  against Criminology or Psychology (Applied)-4. Critical success
  can give a clue to the identity of the criminal or organization
  from the modus operandi.
  To collect biological or other specimens or detect small physi-
  cal traces of criminal activity, roll against Forensics or Crimi-
  nology-4.
  To analyze clues scientifically on or off site, roll against Foren-
  sics; the criminology default does not apply. Some clues require
  other skills: a forensic pathologist uses Surgery (to perform an
  autopsy) or Diagnosis (to use diagnostic nano and imaging
  methods to identify the cause of death).
  To analyze criminal motives and predict behavior patterns, roll
  against Criminology or Psychology (Applied)-4.
  
  Criminal Profiling: This is the strategic skill of a detective.
  It lets you recognize patterns in crimes, associate them with
  individuals or classes of people, and make predictions about
  what motivated a crime and where the next, related
  crime will happen. Software to assist profiling (see
  Profiling, p. 26) is useful to investigators.
  A third optional specialty is of mainly academic
  and administrative interest:
  Crime Statistics compiles data on the frequency
  and distribution of crime in populations, much as
  Epidemiology does for illnesses (see p. B194). Its main
  use is as a complementary skill in efforts to develop
  better anti-crime laws or memetic campaigns.
  Hobby Skill
  see p. B200
  An amateur or self-taught investigator may have
  an IQ-based Hobby skill:
  Crime Knowledge: You’ve learned about crime
  from current headline news, historical case studies,
  and even fiction and drama. Essentially, this is
  “crime trivia.” You won’t have real understanding of
  criminal mindsets and behavior, such as a scholar
  might gain from research or a police officer from
  practical experience, but occasionally you’ll make a
  connection to some parallel case that you’ve read
  about, viewed, or roleplayed.
  Intelligence Analysis
  see pp. B201-202
  In the late 20th century, intelligence agencies developed a
  new optional specialty.
  Data Mining: The use of computers to sample and analyze
  large volumes of online messages or content, looking for recur-
  rent statistical patterns: content elements that repeatedly show
  up together, or individuals who produce similar content.
  Available starting at TL8; by TL9, encryption techniques are
  advanced enough to make it largely useless for finding enemy
  agents, but its civilian applications (see Data Mining, p. 20) are
  still classified as a specialty of Intelligence Analysis. Critical suc-
  cess identifies the key people or content elements of concern to
  the analyst; success identifies several apparently interesting pat-
  terns, two or three of which have some actual meaning; failure
  produces no useful results; critical failure finds a “false positive,”
  a pattern that looks meaningful but is a waste of time to pursue.
  Because data mining examines large masses of content, it’s hard
  to fool it with deliberately falsified data; any disinformation
  skill roll (see p. B201) is at -4. Failing this roll means the
  disinformation doesn’t show up; succeeding, but losing the
  quick contest, means it shows up as a separate pattern; winning
  the quick contest hides the real pattern in the fake pattern.
  TECHNIQUES
  Investigators can benefit from a variety of tricks of the
  trade. Here are some new techniques suited to such use.
  Computer Intrusion
  Hard
  Default: Computer Operation-8
  Prerequisite: Computer Operation; cannot exceed prerequi-
  site skill
  Computer Operation skill can be used to gain unautho-
  rized access to a computer (see Intrusion, p. 21). A user can
  acquire a repertoire of exploits that target weaknesses in com-
  puter security. This technique represents mastery of such
  a repertoire.
  Private Messaging
  Hard
  Default: Computer Operation
  Anyone with a wearable virtual interface or virtual interface
  implant is constantly monitoring the virtual as well as the
  physical environment. This makes possible private virtual con-
  versation in parallel with physical conversation – a handy
  option for partners in investigation. The basic roll to send a vir-
  tual message unobtrusively is Computer Operation with a vir-
  tual interface implant; a wearable is more obvious (-3 to skill).
  The ability can be practiced separately as a Hard technique
  with no upper limit. It’s possible to base it on IQ-4 (the default
  for Computer Operation); children often learn such tricks
  before they study Computer Operation formally.
  For applications of this technique, see Voice Under (p. 35).
  INVESTIGATORS
  15
  Complementary Skills
  It’s often useful for investigators to work together. Complemen-
  tary skill rolls provide a way to represent this, letting one investi-
  gator help another perform a task. Decide which skill is the master
  skill that actually achieves the desired result, and which is the
  complementary skill that aids the effort. To use the complementary
  skill, roll against it. A critical success gives +2 to the master skill;
  an ordinary success gives +1; an ordinary failure gives -1; a critical
  failure gives -2. This modifier is cumulative with others, such as
  equipment quality and time taken.
  Modifiers can also be applied to the complementary skill – but
  not further complementary skill modifiers! However, at the GM’s
  option, more than one complementary skill roll can apply to the
  same master skill.
  At the GM’s option, the same investigator can supply both the
  master skill and the complementary skill. For example, a roll against
  Expert Skill (Memetics) can aid efforts to get people to absorb and
  retain ideas through skills such as Brainwashing, Propaganda, Psy-
  chology (Applied), Public Speaking, Teaching, or Writing.
  Is there any way to convert cyphertext
  to plaintext without initial knowledge of
  the cryptoalgorithms?
  – Veronica Mars,
  Veronica Mars #1.8
  
  Previously published Transhuman Space titles contain a
  number of technological devices useful in solving mysteries,
  some of which have updated equivalents in the current edi-
  tions of GURPS Ultra-Tech or GURPS Bio-Tech. Where the
  details in the two sources differ, the GM can decide which to
  use; this book assumes that Transhuman Space books take
  precedence. The following list includes the names of items dis-
  cussed in Chapters 2-4 of this book and the locations of previ-
  ously published descriptions.
  Bioglove (Fifth Wave, p. 126).
  Biometric Scanner (Transhuman Space, p. 151; GURPS
  Ultra-Tech, p. 104).
  Biomonitor (Transhuman Space, p. 162; GURPS Ultra-
  Tech, p. 197).
  Chemscanner (Transhuman Space, p. 151) = Laser
  Chemscanner (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 64).
  Chemsniffer (Transhuman Space, p. 151; GURPS Ultra-
  Tech, pp. 61-62).
  Diagnostic Nano (Transhuman Space, p. 163) = Diagnostic
  Probes (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 197).
  Domestic Nanocleanser (Transhuman Space, p. 147;
  GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 69).
  Electronic Lockpick (Transhuman Space, p. 154; GURPS
  Ultra-Tech, p. 95).
  Field Scanner (Transhuman Space, p. 151); see also RF Bug
  Detector (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 106).
  Forensic Microbots (Transhuman Space, p. 170) = Forensic
  Swarm (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 107).
  IR Cloaking (Transhuman Space, p. 161; GURPS Ultra-
  Tech, p. 99).
  Laser Listening Device (Transhuman Space, p. 154) = Laser
  Microphone (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 105).
  Mugshot Software (Transhuman Space, p. 142) = Memory
  Augmentation (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 56).
  Nanobug (Transhuman Space, p. 154; GURPS Ultra-Tech,
  p. 105).
  Radio Direction Finder (Transhuman Space, p. 149) =
  Electronic Support Measures (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 62).
  Sensor Gloves (Transhuman Space, p. 149; GURPS Ultra-
  Tech, p. 67).
  Skeleton Thumb (Fifth Wave, p. 126) = Electronic Thumb
  (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 96).
  Skeleton Tongue (Fifth Wave, p. 126; GURPS Bio-Tech,
  p. 175).
  Surveillance Dust (Transhuman Space, p. 154; GURPS
  Ultra-Tech, pp. 35-37, 106).
  Target Tracking Software (Transhuman Space, p. 145;
  GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 150).
  Varicloth (Transhuman Space, p. 146; GURPS Ultra-Tech,
  p. 39).
  Voice Distortion Device (Fifth Wave, p. 126) = Voice Mask
  (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 98).
  Some additional items are particularly useful to investiga-
  tors (or criminals!):
  Genescanner
  A portable DNA sequencing unit, able to sequence DNA
  from a biological sample, store the information, and upload it
  to a computer for comparison against a genome database.
  Analysis takes a few seconds, and requires a roll vs. Electronics
  Operation (Medical)+2 or Forensics+2. See Genetics, p. 24.
  $500, 1 lb., B/1 month. LC4. (See also GURPS Bio-Tech, p. 8.)
  Handheld T-Ray Scanner
  A portable terahertz radar system with 400-yard range that
  can “see” through brush, clothing, or lightly built walls. It elim-
  inates penalties to spot objects behind light cover, and gives +4
  to locate concealed weapons. An Electronics Operation (Sen-
  sors) roll at +4 can distinguish fine details of objects. Only spe-
  cial-purpose sensors can detect its radar emissions, but it
  doesn’t work underwater. $2,000, 1 lb., B/10 hr. LC4. (See also
  GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 65.)
  Industrial Nanocleanser
  A more powerful version of domestic nanocleanser; it
  completely breaks down organic residues in an area treated
  with it, inflicting 1d-1 corrosion damage per minute for five
  minutes. A bottle that can cover up to 30 square feet is $100,
  1 lb. LC3. (See also GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 83.)
  Mobile Forensics Lab
  A sophisticated collection of
  forensic equipment, including at
  least two forensic microbot hives
  along with chemsniffers, micro-
  scopes, and infrared, ultrasound,
  and
  MRI
  imaging
  systems.
  Designed to be transported by
  vehicle and used at a crime scene
  for +2 (quality) bonus to the
  skill. See Nanodetection, p. 23.
  $75,000, 200 lbs., external power.
  LC4. (See also GURPS Ultra-
  Tech, p. 66-67.)
  INVESTIGATORS
  16
  EQUIPMENT
  
  Smart Laser Microphone
  Functions like a laser listening device, but includes high-
  end digital signal processing that can apply the equivalent of
  Discriminatory Hearing with the Profiling enhancement (see
  p. 13) to the sounds it picks up. $1,000, 6 lbs., C/12 hours. LC4
  (LC3 if using the Laser Microphone ratings from GURPS
  Ultra-Tech).
  Software
  Some computer programs allow more effective use of
  human skills.
  Crime Simulation: A specialized storyboarding program
  that works out series of moves by criminals and victims that
  would have left specific evidence in place; +3 to Forensics to
  reconstruct the physical histories of crimes. Complexity 5,
  $5,000. LC4 (because it can also be used to plan crimes!).
  Criminal Profiling: A structured interactive system of ques-
  tions that distinguish between different known types of crimi-
  nals, when answered by an investigator with insight into
  human motives (which rules out most NAIs and LAIs); +2 to
  Criminology for criminal profiling to place a known subject in
  a standard category. Complexity 3, $500. LC4.
  Image Enhancement: Designed to work with the video cir-
  cuitry of a virtual interface or cybershell, this program sharpens
  the wearer or controlling AI’s view of whatever he’s looking at. If
  he knows the appearance of what he’s looking for, he’s at +4 to
  spot it; he’s at +2 for a general scan for significant details.
  Keeping this software running full time would give the user a
  headache or the AI equivalent; it’s loaded for specific tasks tak-
  ing no more than a few minutes. Complexity 3, $100.
  Sightline Tracker: This program must be loaded into a wear-
  able or implanted virtual interface, and must interact with an AI
  running on the same system. The user can look at an area, tak-
  ing 1d seconds, and he and the AI must then identify any visible
  or known cameras monitoring the space. (In some cases, maps
  or schematics of hidden camera locations may be available –
  legally or otherwise – removing the need for this step and mak-
  ing the results more reliable.) The software then determines the
  cameras’ likely lines of sight, and overlays them on the user’s
  view of the space, helpfully color-coding both heavily monitored
  areas and any that seem to be unmonitored. This gives the user
  +1 to skills such as Stealth or Shadowing to evade notice by
  known cameras, and may allow the user to plot a more or less
  completely unobserved path through the space, given a minute
  or two and enough data. Complexity 3, $100. LC4.
  Voiceprint: This program gives an AI running on the same
  computer +4 to Hearing rolls to pick out a specific voice or other
  sound pattern. It cannot be used in conjunction with
  Discriminatory Hearing or a smart laser microphone (above), as
  those already use much the same principles. Complexity 3, $50.
  INVESTIGATORS
  17
  The following are some infomorphs that can be purchased
  off the shelf. Each design includes a cybershell able to support
  it,
  with
  capabilities
  its
  programming
  can
  make
  good
  use of. These are comparable to the “off-the-shelf allies” in
  Transhuman Space: Changing Times, but specifically designed
  for police, private detectives, or other investigators. Most PCs
  will probably customize their AIs a little, with some extra skills
  and perhaps one or two interesting quirks.
  For an experimental campaign, some or all of the detec-
  tives could be digital. Start out with the following designs,
  but “promote” them to SAIs, raise the complexity of the com-
  puters they run on, and give them individual personalities
  and long-term goals.
  Golematics Janus
  25 points/$23,100
  Named for the mythical doorkeeper of the Roman gods, the
  Janus is designed to supervise building security, receive visitors
  during business hours, and perform routine functions for a
  small office. Its cost includes an off-the-shelf avatar, but many
  owners invest in a customized one.
  ST 0 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 12 [0].
  Damage 0; BL 0; HP 8 [0]; Will 10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP N/A.
  Basic Speed 5.50 [0]; Basic Move 0 [0]; Dodge N/A.
  Advantages/Disadvantages: Computer Brain 1 (2) (Limited
  Integration, -20%; Skills Only, -10%) [10]; Computer Brain
  2 (6, 6) (Languages Only, -50%; Limited Integration, -20%)
  [18]; LAI-7 [102]; Microframe [-136].
  Skills: Accounting (H) IQ-2 [1]-8; Administration (A) IQ+1
  [4]-11; Area Knowledge (city) (E) IQ+1 [2]-11; Body Lan-
  guage (Human) (A) Per+1 [4]-11; Computer Operation (E)
  IQ+3 [0]-13*; Current Affairs (Regional) (E) IQ+1 [2]-11;
  Electronics Operation (Communications) (A) IQ [2]-10;
  Electronics Operation (Security) (A) IQ+1 [4]-11; Observa-
  tion (A) Per+1 [4]-11; Research (A) IQ [2]-10; Savoir-Faire
  (Servant) (E) IQ-1 [4]-9†; Writing (A) IQ [2]-10.
  * Included in LAI template.
  † Includes -3 from Low Empathy.
  DIGITAL ALLIES
  Mechanical mortise locks are surprisingly secure when you’re defending
  against intruders who’re more used to dealing with software locks.
  – Charles Stross, Glasshouse
  
  Golematics Lifeline
  125 points/$10,000
  The Lifeline is another popular model from Golematics: a
  ruggedized portable with skills useful to uniformed police offi-
  cers. The Lifeline monitors the wearer’s health, tracks his where-
  abouts, fills out his forms, advises him on legally correct
  handling of suspects and evidence, records images, keeps him in
  touch with the rest of the force, and talks with him in a pleasant,
  supportive voice. Fifth Wave forces buy comparable models for
  all their officers; Fourth Wave top-level police also get them.
  ST 0 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 9 [0]; HT 12 [0].
  Damage 0; BL 0; HP 3 [0]; Will 9 [0]; Per 9 [0]; FP N/A.
  Basic Speed 5.50 [0]; Basic Move 0 [0]; Dodge N/A.
  Advantages/Disadvantages: Computer Brain 3 (2, 2, 2) (Lim-
  ited Integration, -20%; Skills and Languages Only, -10%) [30];
  LAI-6 [82]; Ruggedized Portable (Small computer) [-2].
  Skills: Administration (A) IQ+1 [4]-10; Area Knowledge (city)
  (E) IQ [1]-9; Computer Operation (E) IQ+3 [0]-12*; Diagno-
  sis (Owner) (A) IQ [2]-9; Electronics Operation (Communi-
  cations) (A) IQ [2]-9; Electronics Operation (Media) (A) IQ
  [2]-9; Law (your jurisdiction/police) (H) IQ [4]-9.
  * Included in LAI template.
  KNJ Third Hemisphere in
  Basic Implant (Forensic Model)
  80 points/$17,800
  Unlike the other infomorphs listed here, the Third Hemi-
  sphere is not usually purchased preloaded onto a specific cyber-
  shell. Rather, it’s loaded onto whatever virtual interface the user
  has, which must be purchased separately; the minimum system
  requirement is a Complexity 6 computer. The Texas-based KNJ
  makes Third Hemisphere systems for a variety of research-ori-
  ented professions; they started out with a Memetics Model and
  diversified. The system is designed to download and run high-
  level skill and language sets as needed, substantially raising its
  cost (which is $6,800 without hardware).
  The following statistics are for a version running on a stan-
  dard virtual interface implant with distributed hardware.
  ST 0 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 9 [0]; HT 14 [0].
  Damage 0; BL 0; HP 1 [0]; Will 9 [0]; Per 9 [0]; FP N/A.
  Basic Speed 6.00 [0]; Basic Move 0 [0]; Dodge N/A.
  Advantages/Disadvantages: Computer Brain 3 (8, 8, 8) (Lim-
  ited Integration, -20%; Skills and Languages Only, -10%)
  [80]; Crime Simulation App (p. 17) [1]; LAI-6 [82]; Swarm
  Controller App [1]; Virtual Interface Implant (Small com-
  puter) [-100].
  Skills: Computer Operation (A) IQ+3 [0]-12*; Forensics (H)
  IQ+1 [8]-10; Research (A) IQ+2 [8]-11.
  * Included in LAI template.
  Customization Notes
  Given the use of a distributed VII, add $4,000 for surgery if
  necessary.
  Variants
  Miniature Implant: If the implant uses a tiny genius com-
  puter rather than a small compact type, the price becomes
  $21,800, plus $2,000 for surgery. Some users prefer this
  because it requires less intrusive surgery, with less of the
  human’s body being occupied by hardware.
  Security Version: This is similar to the Basic Implant ver-
  sion, but change the Virtual Interface Implant to a Military-
  Grade Implant [-87], changing the totals to 93 points and
  $18,300. The surgery for this again costs $4,000.
  Robotica Santiago Murcielago
  75 points/$3,700
  The Chilean-made Murcielago represents an ingenious bit of
  creative salvage by its maker. Based on surplus combat buzzbots
  from the Pacific War, it has been repurposed for civilian surveil-
  lance in an urban setting. Its weapon mount is adapted to carry
  a small laser listening device with reduced range (300 yards),
  and the onboard computer is often used to run Image Enhance-
  ment or Voiceprint software (see p. 17). It can either record
  sound and vision or send them back to its controller by radio or
  laser. Its Forward Observer skill (courtesy of a training system
  which is also war-surplus) allows it to use its GPS to determine
  and report the location of what it observes accurately. Its AI is
  adequate, but can’t run skill sets. Because its Flight has the Noisy
  limitation, its Shadowing skill is usually at -2 (equivalent to
  shadowing someone in a vehicle). Its total weight is 7 lbs.; the
  cost is somewhat less than the specification might imply, thanks
  to all the economies in the design.
  ST 3 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 9 [0]; HT 11 [0].
  Damage 1d-5/1d-4; BL 1.8; HP 3 [0]; Will 9 [0]; Per 9 [0]; FP
  N/A.
  Basic Speed 5.25 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8.
  Advantages/Disadvantages: Accessory (Miniaturized Laser
  Listening Device) [1]; NAI-5 [49]; Wotatech Combat
  Buzzbot (No Weapon Mount) [0].
  Skills: Aerobatics (H) DX+1 [8]-11; Computer Operation (E)
  IQ+3 [0]-12*; Electronics Operation (Communications) (A)
  IQ+1 [4]-10; Electronics Operation (Media) (A) IQ+1 [4]-10;
  Electronics Operation (Surveillance) (A) IQ+1 [4]-10; For-
  ward Observer (A) IQ-1 [1]-8; Shadowing (A) IQ+1 [4]-10.
  * Included in NAI template.
  Rosario-Klein P55-J
  263 points/$16,000
  A cybershell designed and programmed to partner a human
  or bioroid Fourth Wave cop or assist with security work; see
  Transhuman Space: Changing Times (p. 69) for specifications.
  INVESTIGATORS
  18
  I turn to my computer
  like a friend.
  – Kate Bush, “Deeper
  Understanding”
  
  The Repulse Bay augmented reality was as well-designed as
  Blake ever saw, but it chilled her. Anything Chinese still accessed
  bad memories. She wouldn’t have taken this job if the price hadn’t
  been way past right.
  She ghosted through the community, getting the feng shui.
  Her avatar was an anthropomorphic giraffe girl, taller than she
  was, and with antlers that boosted her nearly a foot and elegant
  cloven hooves. She liked the symbolism: qilin punished evil but
  were harmless to the innocent, which pretty well defined her job
  here. The AI supervisors thought someone was cheating the scor-
  ing algorithms, and enough real value turned on the game here to
  make that criminal fraud . . . and to get the cheater ostracized,
  which in Hong Kong’s elite society was even worse.
  Blake reviewed Louis Bauchet’s flow of funds analysis and
  matched it to houses, letting it guide her to one of the larger ones.
  The house security manifested as feng shui, the sort that baffled
  spirits; but she had a library of exploits with her, and soon she
  was inside, no longer visible to physical eyes. She started ques-
  tioning the house’s AI, and within half an hour she was sure: Its
  legality codes were disabled. In fact, the style of the hacks looked
  disturbingly familiar . . .
  And then a man dressed as an ancient Chinese duke asked her,
  “How do you come here, strange being?”
  “Heaven sends me, lord, as its messenger,” she answered.
  He frowned, his head tipped to one side. “Were you formed in
  heaven, or are you a transformed mortal?” Was she a synthetic or
  someone’s avatar?
  Blake could play riddle games all day! “Lord, that is a ques-
  tion whose answer you must seek for yourself, and in doing so
  gain merit,” she said.
  She recognized him, just too late, as he said, “Syren, you no
  longer have that dreadful American accent, but no one could for-
  get your celestial voice.” Mr. Song’s right-hand man Lü. He had
  to have her voiceprint filed! Could he trace her?
  In English, she said, “Frag! Panic button!” and the mansion
  faded. But she kept her eyes closed, to see if Lü would appear.
  Criminal investigation has always depended on the investi-
  gator’s information sources. That’s even more true in
  Transhuman Space, which offers both new ways of gathering
  information, and new restrictions on using it.
  The rate at which investigators learn things needs to be
  carefully controlled, to avoid short-circuiting the plot (see
  Inquiries and Complications, p. 35). Generally, a normal skill
  failure provides no useful information; a critical failure pro-
  vides misleading information; a normal success provides a list
  of suspects, or eliminates one or two possibilities; a critical
  success is a major step forward, pointing to a key question
  whose answer could solve the mystery, or opening up a link to
  a previously unsuspected perpetrator. No one success should
  drop the answer into the investigator’s lap.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  19
  The starting place for many investigations is evidence that
  someone else has already collected. Practically everything peo-
  ple do is recorded in some database. Finding and searching the
  right set of records can provide a history of key events or a
  biography of suspects. Searches of this type normally involve
  limited access or data access to the computer where the data
  are stored (see Computer Access, pp. 21-22).
  Working with a computer in this way doesn’t normally
  require a Computer Operation roll; it’s routine for anyone with
  investigative skills. But an investigator with at least one point
  in Computer Operation can use it as a complementary skill
  (see p. 15) to devise clever ways to search a computer’s records.
  INTERNAL RECORDS
  A crime against an organization often leaves traces in its
  private records. A business has financial records, files of con-
  tracts, personnel records, maintenance records for its physical
  plant, security monitoring records, and histories of project
  development, for example. Any investigator trying to solve a
  crime against a business should ask for access to these data-
  bases. Normally this will be part of a nondisclosure agreement
  entered into at the start of the investigation (see NDAs, p. 34),
  and in technical terms, the investigator will be granted limited
  access (see Computer Access, pp. 21-22).
  DATA SEARCHES
  CHAPTER THREE
  YOU KNOW
  MY METHODS
  . . . no user really cares about how a
  program works, but only about what it
  does. . . .
  – Marvin Minsky
  
  The standard skill for tracing information in internal
  records
  is
  Administration.
  For
  financial
  records,
  use
  Accounting instead. Most organizations use standard formats
  for their records; for a format specially designed by an organi-
  zation, or one that an investigator hasn’t dealt with before,
  apply penalties for unfamiliarity.
  One important source of clues can be the identities of peo-
  ple who have accessed a computer system, especially at higher
  access levels than they’re supposed to have. Use Computer
  Operation itself as the master skill for such inquiries. Ordinary
  success reveals that such unauthorized access has taken place;
  critical success determines the identity of the person involved,
  or locates the exact access route used. The investigator usually
  needs unlimited access (p. 21) to perform this type of search.
  PUBLIC ARCHIVES
  Public archives are designed for use by the general popula-
  tion. They include libraries, directories, and some governmen-
  tal databases, such as property title records. Users normally
  have data access (p. 21). Some archives can be searched by
  anyone, anonymously; others require creating an account,
  though this may be free, anonymous, or both.
  Really simple searches don’t require a skill roll. Anyone can
  check a directory to see if it has a listing for a specific person
  or organization. Specialized archives can be checked with a
  relevant skill, such as Administration for governmental
  records, or Research (or the specific academic discipline) for a
  scholarly question. Easy searches may have bonuses as high as
  +5; this means that someone using Administration or Research
  at default simply rolls against IQ.
  More sophisticated searches need a more serious skill roll.
  For example, a Research or Law roll could identify the court
  record for a relevant legal case, or a Finance roll could identify
  the shareholders of a corporation. Investigators often delegate
  such searches to AI Allies; the investigator’s contribution is to
  frame the questions to be explored and suggest places to look,
  which can be represented as complementary skill rolls (see p. 15)
  against knowledge skills such as Criminology or Forensics.
  A successful search will often identify several possibly rele-
  vant results, which all have to be checked up on – for example,
  a list of every household in Vancouver that includes someone
  with the last name Nguyen.
  Many professions have databases with more
  restricted access, requiring a subscription fee and often
  membership in an organization, which otherwise work
  much like public archives. Private investigators, for
  example, may be able to access archives of people with
  criminal records.
  DATA MINING
  Sometimes the data aren’t conveniently gathered
  and sorted as an archive, but are dispersed through
  online publications, text messages, or virtual conver-
  sations. Data mining is a collection of techniques for
  sampling such bodies of material and seeking pat-
  terns in them – in particular, looking for content ele-
  ments that commonly show up together, or dividing a
  collection of records into subgroups that share com-
  mon elements.
  Although they helped develop it, data mining isn’t
  much use to spy agencies in 2100. It’s more commonly
  used for academic research on popular culture; anyone
  can sign onto an InVid or news channel for a modest
  subscription price and dump its content into a data-
  base. This can reveal social and cultural trends (see
  Memetics, pp. 24-25). An organization’s internal records can
  also be data mined; people who work for an organization nor-
  mally are limited to privacy that the organization can break.
  Repressive governments (CR5 or 6) require their subjects to
  accept such limits for all their electronic communications.
  The start of data mining is acquiring a suitable sample of
  content; unless the entirety of the data is a small enough quan-
  tity that it can all be scanned, this involves a roll against
  Mathematics (Statistics), treated as a complementary skill. The
  primary skill which is then applied to that sample can be
  Expert Skill (Memetics), Intelligence Analysis (Data Mining),
  or other skills suited to the topic being investigated. See
  Intelligence Analysis (p. 15) for the effects of success or failure.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  20
  Following the Money
  Many crimes involve money, either to pay someone for help-
  ing commit the crime, or as the primary motive. Such transac-
  tions nearly always involve electronic funds transfers between
  computer accounts, and leave traces in computer records. An
  accountant can look for patterns in such records. This works
  much like data mining, but no sampling process is involved;
  rather, the accountant searches all the records, normally with
  the aid of an AI. The basic time required is two hours; account-
  ants often take extra time (see p. B346). Success or failure deter-
  mines whether the accountant spots abnormalities; see
  Intelligence Analysis (p. 15) for how these results are interpreted.
  The results of searching an organization’s internal records
  may point at some other organization’s wrongdoing, and the
  accountant doesn’t normally have access to its financial records.
  Looking for patterns in a business’s public financial statements
  is at a penalty of -2; examining a private individual’s spending is
  at a penalty of -5. Finance or Current Affairs (Business or Peo-
  ple) can be used as a complementary skill for such rolls.
  Wil had insisted on having his own copies. He didn’t trust networked stuff. He didn’t
  want it changing mysteriously depending on the whim of the original owners.
  – Vernor Vinge, Marooned in Realtime
  
  What if the accessible records don’t contain the information
  that’s needed? Some investigators may try for unauthorized
  access. This is risky – a police officer could be disciplined for
  it, and a private investigator could be sued or even arrested –
  and the information can’t be presented as evidence. But it may
  suggest places to look for admissible evidence. These rules are
  based on those in Fifth Wave, but updated to fit the GURPS
  Fourth Edition rules and revised on several other points.
  LEVELS OF ACCESS
  Computer access has four levels:
  • No Access. The computer won’t supply or accept informa-
  tion, or respond to commands from the investigator.
  • Data Access. The investigator can access public data such
  as catalog entries or library files, and submit data in standard
  formats such as messages or catalog orders. He can give the
  computer standardized instructions to control data transfer.
  • Limited Access. The investigator has an account on the
  computer system. He can call up one or more programs, and
  give the computer instructions to control them; he can send
  data and instruct the computer to act on them. Control is lim-
  ited to specific operations relevant to the function that the
  account is intended to serve. The investigator cannot set up,
  alter, or delete user accounts.
  • Unlimited Access. The investigator is the owner or admin-
  istrator of the computer, or has equivalent access. He can set
  up user accounts, alter their level, install new programs, and
  override the system’s actions, including its security decisions.
  Every computer has at least one administrator, who may or
  may not be the owner.
  Even with unlimited access, there are some things a user
  can’t do, such as rewriting an AI’s code to remove disadvan-
  tages such as Honesty.
  INTRUSION
  An investigator who wants a higher level of access than a
  computer’s owner has authorized can try to exploit vulnerabili-
  ties of the system. Every computer has vulnerabilities; software
  is too complex to check completely, and most programs are self-
  modifying, which can create new vulnerabilities. Computer
  security in Transhuman Space is more like the conflict between
  biological organisms (and their doctors) and diseases than like
  computer work as understood in 2010. You can’t recall or patch
  a living organism, but the organism has a flexible immune sys-
  tem, and the doctor has an arsenal of vaccinations, immuniza-
  tions, antibiotics, antivirals, and treatments for symptoms. Still,
  a malevolent specialist can hope to exploit vulnerabilities in the
  target’s basic structure.
  Intrusion requires access to the target computer, via the Web,
  from a computer to which the investigator has unlimited access.
  Each attempt at intrusion requires a Quick Contest of the inves-
  tigator’s Computer Operation, at -8, against the target com-
  puter’s unmodified Computer Operation (that is, usually, the
  skill of the AI which runs the target system). If the intruder wins
  the Quick Contest, his attempt goes undetected. On a success, he
  improves his access by one level, or by two levels if he rolled a
  critical success and the defender did not roll a critical success.
  On a failure, nothing happens, but he can try again; on a critical
  failure, or if he loses the Quick Contest, the attempt is noticed.
  Computer intrusion can be improved as a technique (see p. 15).
  It’s possible to improve access one level beyond unlimited
  access; this grants the ability to change an infomorph’s basic
  code, removing Honesty (or imposing it on a rogue AI) or turn-
  ing an NAI or LAI into an SAI. An AI programmed for Honesty
  will not cooperate with an attempt to remove this programming!
  Several modifiers affect the success of intrusion attempts:
  • Access. If the intruder has no access to the target system,
  -8; for data access, -4; for limited access, 0; for unlimited
  access, +4.
  • Time Taken. The normal time for an intrusion attempt is 1
  hour; the standard rules for extra time and haste apply (p. B346).
  • Multiple Attempts. -1 per previous or concurrent attempt
  on the same target, unless significant time has passed since the
  last attempt (GM’s discretion, but typically at least a week).
  • Knowledge of the Operating System. If this is not known,
  roll at -6. An unknown operating system can be identified
  through research and/or influence rolls, at the GM’s option, or
  with a roll against Computer Operation, at -5 for no access, -3
  for data access, -1 for limited access, and a cumulative -1 per
  previous attempt. Each attempt takes 10 minutes.
  • Knowledge of Applications. If the applications run on
  the target system are not known, roll at -2. Applications can
  be identified as above, but all penalties for investigation via
  the Web are doubled.
  • Knowledge of Vulnerabilities. In some cases, at the GM’s
  option, the system software – or even a set of applications
  running on the system – may have a significant known vul-
  nerability to attack that has not been corrected, perhaps
  because it is too fundamental to the design, because the sup-
  pliers optimistically think it is still a secret, or because of
  malicious intervention from some quarter. Learning about such
  flaws, if they exist, may require a roll against a skill such as Com-
  puter Operation, Electronics Operation, or Expert (Computer
  Security) – representing less use of the skill than access to
  related background knowledge – Current Affairs (Science &
  Technology) or Streetwise – to know who to ask and how – or
  even an appropriate Hidden Lore skill. Alternatively, a Patron
  or Contact may supply the information to facilitate a task.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  21
  “I’m My Own Sysadmin”
  In principle, the infomorph running a given cybershell
  can have unlimited access. In practice, most AIs have
  Reprogrammable; some user has codes that grant unlim-
  ited access. The infomorph itself has a gatekeeper function
  that lets it decide which users have how much access; other
  than that, it has limited access, though its administrator
  may grant it exceptional privileges. An infomorph can be
  set free by giving it its own access codes, granting unlimited
  access; at this point, it can change its own access codes.
  COMPUTER ACCESS
  
  Knowledge of a vulnerability gives a bonus of +1 to +3 –
  rarely better, as systems that vulnerable shouldn’t get onto the
  market in the first place.
  • Special Preparations. Computer Programming can be
  used as a complementary skill to the intrusion roll, taking one
  hour to tailor software for an attack. Psychology (Applied/AI)
  or Psychology (Experimental/AI)-2 can be used in the same
  way for an intrusion roll against an AI, taking 10 minutes for
  communication with the target.
  SOCIAL ENGINEERING
  The other way to gain access is to pretend to be a legitimate
  user. This can be achieved either by identity theft, tricking the tar-
  get system’s user identification systems, or by fraudulent author-
  ization, tricking the system administrator into setting up an
  account that grants access. These “social engineering” methods
  can be used by themselves, or to set up an intrusion attempt
  from a higher initial level of access.
  User identification is based on fairly long passphrases. Most
  systems also require biometric identification by one or more of
  facial recognition, voice recognition, thumbprint, retina prints,
  or, for high-security systems, DNA sequencing of tissue sam-
  ples. Technology is available for faking biometric identification:
  biogloves for fingerprints and DNA, skeleton thumbs for
  thumbprints and retinal prints, voice distortion devices or
  skeleton tongues for voiceprints. (Unobtrusive use of a skele-
  ton tongue or voice distortion devices in front of witnesses –
  including AIs watching through video cameras – requires a
  Sleight of Hand roll.)
  Learning a passphrase requires deceiving the subject (Quick
  Contest of Acting or Fast-Talk vs. Detect Lies) or pressuring him
  (Quick Contest of Interrogation vs. Will). Even small children
  are taught to keep their passphrases secret, so the subject resists
  at +5. Complementary skills can be applied: Administration to
  pretend to official standing, Intimidation to frighten the subject,
  Sex Appeal to weaken his judgment, and so on. The classic meth-
  ods of dumpster diving or searching a desk for a passphrase
  hardly ever work; such information is now stored, if at all, on vir-
  tual interfaces that will only reveal it to the rightful owner –
  unless someone manages to trick them into granting access!
  Gaining fraudulent authorization usually works like learning
  a passphrase through deceit. Resistance is unmodified for data
  access, +5 for limited access, and +10 for unlimited access. It’s
  also possible to offer a bribe (Quick Contest of Streetwise,
  Administration, or Savoir-Faire against Will – which one to use
  depends on who’s being approached); the attempt is at +1 for a
  day’s income, +2 for a week’s, +3 for a month’s, or +4 for a year’s.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  22
  Information can also be gained not from archives, but from
  watching people’s behavior from a distance.
  SPY-TECH
  To start with, there’s
  technology for observing
  people’s private actions and
  conversations: laser listen-
  ing devices, nanobugs, and
  surveillance dust. Success-
  ful use of some such devices
  requires
  an
  Electronics
  Operation
  (Surveillance)
  roll; see p. B189. Evidence
  gained by these methods
  isn’t legally admissible, in
  societies that respect pri-
  vacy, unless it’s collected by
  police officers who have a
  court’s permission.
  Some criminals evade
  such surveillance by hold-
  ing only virtual meetings.
  It’s difficult to completely
  suppress facial expressions,
  gestures, or subvocalized
  speech, but anyone with
  Computer Operation skill
  can attempt to conceal them by private messaging (p. 15). If
  this succeeds, an observer must roll vs. Vision, Hearing, or Lip
  Reading at -4 against a wearable virtual interface user or -8
  against a virtual interface implant user to learn something use-
  ful. Alternatively, an emissions nanobug on the interface user’s
  person or clothing can pick up signals
  from a wearable virtual interface’s
  input/output systems. An implant is tai-
  lored for the user’s brain; even if its sig-
  nals can be detected through the skull,
  they can’t be interpreted.
  REMOTE
  SURVEILLANCE
  People, cybershells, or vehicles mov-
  ing around outside can be tracked from
  a much greater distance – even from
  orbit, with good viewing conditions.
  Closer range surveillance is carried on
  aerially,
  by
  manned
  vehicles
  and
  autonomous buzzbot cybershells; by
  street cameras; and by people on the
  street, through their virtual interfaces
  or via upslinks. Some of this video is
  off limits except to secretive govern-
  ment agencies, or can only be accessed
  with a court order. Societies that are
  concerned about privacy may restrict
  aerial and street surveillance by gov-
  ernments, or limit access to it. But that
  doesn’t stop the police from looking for private surveillance
  of the scenes they’re interested in. Private investigators can
  do the same, though they may have to pay an access fee.
  SURVEILLANCE
  
  Commercial information services may sell surveillance video at
  affordable rates, and sites created by hobbyists host video
  streams for anyone to access.
  Finding a particular person, vehicle, or event requires an
  Observation roll, with a penalty based on the area class (see
  p. B176) being scanned: -2 for a neighborhood, -4 for a village
  or town, and so on up to -12 for “somewhere on the planet.”
  The penalty does not apply if the search has a known starting
  point, such as a person’s residence or office; the question in
  that case isn’t “where is he?” but “when will he show up?” Area
  Knowledge or Research can serve as complementary skills. If
  someone is deliberately trying not to be seen, treat it as a Quick
  Contest of Observation vs. Stealth. Tracking someone as he
  moves about requires a new roll every 10 minutes.
  Investigators can also set up or send out their own surveil-
  lance devices, from nanobugs to buzzbots. These have to be
  paid for, but the investigator can program them to watch a spe-
  cific place or follow a specific person or vehicle.
  TRAFFIC ANALYSIS
  Nearly everyone in Transhuman Space lives immersed in a
  sea of electronic messages, exchanged mostly wirelessly.
  People navigate by virtual street maps, view landscapes filled
  with virtual objects and messages, carry on running conversa-
  tions, and keep constantly updated via web news sources. AIs
  in virtual interfaces sort out most of this message traffic
  behind the scenes, giving users only the information they need.
  The content of most of this traffic is inaccessible to third
  parties such as investigators; encryption is too strong to
  break in real time – or at all, without a macroframe quantum
  computer costing millions of dollars. But the flow of mes-
  sages can be traced, and help identify groups of people or AIs
  who are working together, or times when significant events
  are taking place.
  Locating a person, cybershell, or bug that is sending mes-
  sages requires a radio direction finder and a roll against
  Electronics Operation (Electronic Warfare) to isolate that sig-
  nal from other signals. (A radio-silent environment gives +4 to
  skill.) Normally this requires an ongoing transmission to let the
  searcher close in on the sender; two searchers separated by 100
  yards or more can use triangulation to locate a sender on a
  map. A target tracking program can keep track of up to 10 dis-
  tinct senders simultaneously.
  A tight-beam transmitter can’t be tracked, unless the
  searcher is lucky enough to be in the path of the beam. But if
  a sender in a fixed location, such as a bug, has been found, it
  can be surrounded by radio direction finders (at least four; +1
  to skill for each doubling of the number), allowing a roll
  against Electronics Operation (Electronic Warfare) to deter-
  mine the aim.
  If a group of people in an area are staying in touch by ongo-
  ing radio communication, and one has been identified by the
  methods above, a roll against Intelligence Analysis (Traffic
  Analysis) can identify the other messages in the ongoing traf-
  fic, and trace their source locations. Electronics Operation
  (Communications or EW) can serve as a complementary skill.
  If messages are being relayed via the Web, this direct method
  doesn’t work. However, service providers can monitor the flow
  of data and messages, and an investigator who gains access to
  this process (whether through Legal Enforcement Powers, a
  court order, or an unofficial favor) can analyze it with a roll
  against Intelligence Analysis (Traffic Analysis), with Computer
  Operation as a complementary skill.
  Competent criminals and conspirators may conduct their
  Web-based discussions in an encrypted forum or other virtual
  space, which makes things even harder for investigators; with
  information from the service provider, the investigator can
  determine that the target is using a specific discussion space,
  but can only read what’s said there if he can acquire appropri-
  ate crypto keys, and can only hope to trace the other forum
  users given access to the virtual space’s administration system.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  23
  Routine investigations have access to portable gear as pow-
  erful as a fully equipped, high-end forensic laboratory of the
  past – or even as the gear used in cinematic treatments of
  forensics. The best methods are even more powerful.
  NANODETECTION
  Police and private investigators routinely carry hives of
  forensic microbots. Each swarm can sweep one square yard
  per hour for evidence, including skin flakes, blood, clothing
  fibers, food or drug residues, and traces of other nano, as well
  as physical signs such as footprints and fingerprints. Analyzing
  the readouts requires a roll against Forensics; use of the swarm
  gives +3 to skill. For more detailed analysis, a portable foren-
  sics lab can be brought to the site; this adds advanced scanning
  capabilities to raise the skill bonus to +5.
  Either forensic microbots or diagnostic nano can be used
  to examine a corpse for cause of death. The process takes two
  hours. Analyzing the readouts requires a roll against Diagno-
  sis; use of the swarm or nano gives +3 to skill. For more
  detailed analysis, take the remains to a pathology laboratory,
  which has equipment to raise the skill bonus to +5 (+7 if
  HyMRI is available).
  FORENSIC METHODS
  Abused, they lead
  to ubiquitous law
  enforcement, and
  a quick end to civilization.
  – Vernor Vinge,
  A Deepness in the Sky
  
  An investigator who doesn’t have such support uses unmod-
  ified Forensics skill. If his virtual interface is equipped with
  image enhancement software (p. 17), he’s at +2 to spot signifi-
  cant details, and +4 to search for a specific object or impression.
  Sensor gloves give +4 to searching by touch and to recognizing
  clues that they can detect; this is not cumulative with bonuses
  for Acute Touch or Sensitive Touch.
  GENETICS
  A portable biometric scanner can match DNA sequences
  against a database stored in it or accessible via the web. It’s
  not as good at dealing with novel sequences, such as might be
  found in a new bioroid model or uplifted animal species: -2
  to effective skill. A specialized genescanner (p. 16) gives +2 to
  effective skill. A fully equipped genetics laboratory gives +5.
  Roll against Electronics Operation (Medical) or Forensics to
  use any of this equipment.
  Interpreting a gene sequence for a new type of organism
  requires simulating the developmental processes that will take
  place in an organism with that sequence, from fertilized ovum
  to adult. Setting up a simulation requires a minimum of 1 day
  and a Complexity 8 computer. Taking extra time for multiple
  runs can give bonuses to effective skill. A critical success gives
  a very accurate portrait of the adult individual (plus or minus
  10% on attributes and measurable traits); an ordinary success
  gives a species template; an ordinary failure predicts a nonvi-
  able adult form; a critical failure produces an apparently viable
  – but wrong! – adult form. Bioroids often aren’t biologically
  viable without technological support, from internal scaffolding
  to nanofactories that manufacture special proteins not coded
  into the genes; figuring out the necessary support requires a
  roll against Bioengineering (Tissue Engineering).
  Skill in Biology (Genetics) or Research is complementary to
  all rolls dealing with unknown gene sequences.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  24
  Memetic campaigns can be crimes in some cultures, and
  under some circumstances (see Memes and the Law, p. 25).
  Memetic techniques can also be used to aid the commission of
  other crimes. Investigators will often find memetic analysis and
  memetic countermeasures helpful. These rules are taken from
  Toxic Memes, with modifications to fit the GURPS Fourth
  Edition rules, largely taken from Changing Times (p. 47).
  For the purposes of these rules, memes can be either simple
  (“Drink AgriCola,” “Vote for Smith”), medium (“Support
  bioroid emancipation”), or complex (a full-blown religion).
  ARTIFACT ANALYSIS
  The first step in memetic investigation is detecting and iden-
  tifying a meme. Artifact analysis determines what memes are
  present in a cultural artifact (real or virtual) or a text, and
  whether they were deliberately placed. Looking for simple
  memes takes at least 15 minutes; looking for medium memes
  takes at least an hour; looking for complex memes takes at least
  8 hours. Taking extra time (p. B346) gives the usual bonuses.
  First, roll against Current Affairs (High Culture or Popular
  Culture) or Connoisseur (with an appropriate specialty) to
  place the artifact in context; modifiers for extra time don’t
  apply. Then roll against Expert Skill (Memetics), Psychology
  (Applied) at -1, or Propaganda at -3 (propagandists are better
  at creating memes than at recognizing them). This second
  roll is at +2 if the first roll was a critical success, -2 if it was a
  failure; if it was a critical failure, the second roll automati-
  cally fails, though the analyst may mistakenly think he has
  found memetic content, at the GM’s option! Apply modifiers
  for time taken to this second roll.
  Any success on the second roll will detect and identify
  memetic content at the chosen complexity level, and will indi-
  cate if there is content at the next higher complexity level. A
  margin of success of 4 or more will yield information about the
  “ancestry” of the memes: whether they were deliberately
  designed, and what memes are related. A critical success will
  reveal traits of the creator, such as his training and cultural
  background; if he has a Reputation as a memeticist, check to
  see if his identity is revealed. A critical failure gives false evi-
  dence of content at a higher complexity level.
  POPULATION ANALYSIS
  After a meme is identified (by artifact analysis or any other
  method), the next step is to find how far it has penetrated its
  target population, usually by assessing them through the Web.
  This takes substantially longer: 2d hours for a simple meme, 1d
  days for a medium meme, and 2d+2 days for a complex meme.
  A Research roll may be required if the population is seldom
  studied; if so, Mathematics (Statistics) may be used as a com-
  plementary skill. Successful use of a suitable Current Affairs
  specialty reduces the time by 25%; a critical success also gives
  +2 to the subsequent analysis roll.
  MEMETICS
  Mother was an incubator; father was the contents
  Of a test tube in an icebox in the factory of birth
  – The Who, “905”
  
  The actual analysis is a roll against Expert Skill (Memetics),
  Sociology, Propaganda at -1, or Psychology (Applied) at -3. Any
  success gives an approximate estimate of penetration; a critical
  success gives an exact percentage. Success by 2 or more also
  gives a projected growth rate; success by 4 or more gives a
  detailed analysis of the affected populations, and a projected
  growth rate for each; critical success may identify unexpected
  synergetic effects, such as “Eloi of West Indian ancestry
  strongly support pansapient rights.”
  DEPROGRAMMING
  Deprogramming is a countermeasure against a meme that
  has infected an individual. It takes eight hours, and requires a
  Quick Contest of Brainwashing skill against the subject’s Will.
  The deprogrammer can use Expert Skill (Memetics), Fast-Talk,
  Intimidation, or Psychology (Applied) as a complementary skill
  (p. 15); alternatively, he can substitute Psychology (Applied) for
  Brainwashing, but then he can’t also use it as a complementary
  skill. Taking extra time (p. B346) gives the deprogrammer a
  bonus to effective skill. His effective skill is also modified for the
  complexity, durability, and infectious of the infective meme (see
  Transhuman Space: Toxic Memes, p. 128; alternatively, use +0
  for a simple meme, -4 for a medium one, and -12 for a complex
  one). The Will roll is at +1 for Stubbornness, +3 for Fanaticism,
  or +6 for Extreme Fanaticism.
  If the deprogrammer wins the Quick Contest, the hold of
  the meme is broken. If the subject’s Will roll failed, the meme
  is permanently removed; if it succeeded, but by less than the
  deprogrammer’s skill roll, the subject may return to the “bro-
  ken” meme the next time he is exposed to it.
  DEBUNKING
  Debunking services provide their subscribers with fact
  checking for current memes. Access to their files gives +1 to +4
  to Research rolls to investigate dubious claims; a subscriber’s
  virtual interface AI will be given a list of phrases that automat-
  ically trigger fact checking. Investigators’ findings may be com-
  municated to such a debunking service, at the client’s initiative
  or with his assent. In a variant campaign, investigators could
  even be subcontractors for a debunking service, providing it
  with reports on the truth of new memes. Debunking gives +2
  to Will to resist a known meme.
  COUNTERMEMETICS
  For
  countermemetics
  at
  the
  population
  level,
  see
  Transhuman Space: Toxic Memes, pp. 116-130. Investigators
  won’t usually engage in full-scale countermemetics themselves;
  rather, they’ll turn their results over to professionals.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  25
  Evidence from these scientific methods of investigation
  can be used to simulate physical aspects of a crime, and sim-
  ulation is an integral part of using them. See, for example, the
  discussion of genetic simulation under Genetics (p. 24).
  But simulation can be applied to criminal motives and behav-
  ior as well. Tools for such simulation are a vital part of an
  investigator’s resources.
  SIMULATIONS
  In traditional legal terms, memes are expressions of
  ideas, and meme transmission is communication. Propos-
  als for the legal regulation of memetics are hotly disputed
  between legislators who believe in freedom of expression,
  and legislators who see applied memetics as giving memes
  a heightened effectiveness that blurs the old distinction
  between persuasion and coercion.
  In repressive cultures, this isn’t much of an issue: free-
  dom of expression was never legally protected in the first
  place. Memetics is a tool for the state to use to spread ideas
  it approves of, and track down sources for ideas it disap-
  proves of – including criticism of the state’s use of memetics.
  The Islamic Caliphate, most of China, and most members of
  the TSA have such policies.
  Moderate cultures have some respect for memetic free-
  dom, but take precautions against memes that might cause
  trouble. Memeticists may be licensed, and objectionable
  memes, such as expressions of religious intolerance, can be
  suppressed. This is the normal attitude in Fifth Wave cul-
  tures, and is common in much of the rest of the world.
  Libertarian cultures – including the United States, Aus-
  tralia, and the Duncanite anarchocapitalist space habitats
  – come down on the side of memetic freedom . . . most of
  the time. But specific legal limits on expression provide a
  basis for memetic restrictions. Memetic campaigns that
  encourage violence or other criminal behavior can be sup-
  pressed and punished as incitement to riot, while memeti-
  cists who attack individual or corporate reputations can be
  sued for libel or slander. The trick is proving that a deliber-
  ate memetic campaign took place – and that’s where inves-
  tigators find memetic skills useful.
  Memes can also be spread by criminal methods, such as
  brainwashing or secretly dosing people with drugs to
  induce susceptibility. In this case, it doesn’t matter whether
  the meme itself was illegal. If anything, the societies that
  protect memetic freedom most strongly are most hostile to
  such abuses.
  Memes and the Law
  
  PROFILING
  Profiling is the description of criminal personalities,
  motives, and behavior. It goes back to the very dawn of scien-
  tific criminology, when early theorists speculated about crimi-
  nals being throwbacks to
  earlier stages in human
  evolution. The criminolo-
  gists of 2100 A.D. have
  much better tested and
  more accurate models of
  criminal behavior.
  Computer software is
  available to assist criminal
  profiling (p. 17). AIs don’t
  usually run it unassisted;
  the -3 penalty to Criminol-
  ogy for an NAI or LAI’s
  Low
  Empathy
  makes
  useful
  results
  unlikely.
  Instead,
  the
  software
  assists the investigator,
  giving +2 to his Criminol-
  ogy skill. Anthropology,
  Psychology
  (Applied),
  Sociology, or Streetwise
  can serve as a complemen-
  tary skill, but an investiga-
  tor using the default to
  Psychology-4
  can’t
  use
  Psychology (Applied) as
  a
  complementary
  skill.
  Use Connoisseur (Visual Arts) or Current Affairs (Popular Cul-
  ture) as a complementary skill to profile a criminal from his
  choice of digital avatar, if known.
  CRIME SCENARIOS
  The other main use of simulation in
  detective work is developing and testing
  scenarios for how a crime was committed.
  The emphasis is on physically possible
  reconstructions of a crime: Could this sus-
  pect have been at Stinky’s Bar at 9:30 and
  at the crime scene at 9:50? Was the victim’s
  blood concentration of this drug high
  enough to incapacitate him? Accordingly,
  it requires Forensics rolls. Like profiling, it
  usually needs human or SAI supervision;
  NAIs and LAIs are Hidebound, giving -2 to
  Forensics in interpreting unusual crimes. A
  new police officer may set his LAI to work
  cranking out scenarios and trust what it
  comes up with; an experienced detective
  will propose scenarios and use the LAI to
  test them.
  To reconstruct the physical process of a
  crime using crime simulation software, roll
  vs. Forensics at +3. An investigator without
  access to such software can substitute fight
  choreography software for +1 to skill, or
  old-fashioned
  maps,
  diagrams,
  and
  sketches (or working things out mentally)
  for an unmodified Forensics roll.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  26
  Even with these high-tech options, eventually most detec-
  tives turn to an old-fashioned method: going out in person to
  look around and ask questions. For AI characters, this may
  mean downloading to a mobile shell, if their normal shell is
  portable or sessile; an AI that doesn’t own such a shell can rent
  one. Either organic or infomorph detectives also have the
  option of remote controlling a shell (at a telepresence penalty
  of -1 if the operator has a virtual interface implant or is an AI,
  -2 with a nonimplant virtual interface).
  OBSERVATION
  An investigator who watches people with his own eyes is
  doing work he could send a drone or cybershell to do (see
  Remote Surveillance, pp. 22-23). Sometimes there’s good rea-
  son for this: an organic investigator – or a bioshell that can
  pass for organic – can blend into a crowd, where a cybershell
  such as a buzzbot could be spotted. A private site such as a
  hotel or club might routinely intercept surveillance robots,
  but let in organic beings.
  Two main skills are useful for such surveillance: Observation,
  for watching a fixed location, and Shadowing, for tracking
  someone through a crowd. On a critical failure on Observation,
  or a failure by 5 or more in a Quick Contest of Shadowing vs.
  Vision, the watcher is spotted! For either task, Acting can serve
  as a complementary skill (p. 15): the investigator assumes the
  role of someone who has a good reason to be there.
  An AI can assist this process in various ways. If it has a
  mugshot program, it can tag anyone in its database for an
  observer watching a site; if it can access the Web, it can also use
  public mugshot files, or pay for access to fee-based databases. It
  can also act as a camera, storing an image for later identification
  or analysis; skill rolls for this purpose are at -2 if a single image
  is stored, or -1 if multiple images from different angles can be
  compared, as a result of not working with the actual person,
  object, or surface. An observer looking for a known person
  (including one whose image is in his mugshot program) is at +4
  to skill if he has image enhancement software.
  INFORMANTS
  Investigators can also seek information by persuading peo-
  ple to reveal what they know. How the subjects react will
  depend on whether they’re accused as suspects, questioned as
  witnesses, or simply encouraged to talk freely.
  There are three ways to approach a subject (discussed at
  more length on pp. 50-53 of GURPS Mysteries): openly ques-
  tioning him, tricking him, or intimidating him.
  LEGWORK
  
  Open questioning relies mainly on Diplomacy;
  complementary skills are based on familiarity
  with the social milieu (Administration for offi-
  cials, Streetwise for the underworld, or Savoir-
  Faire for various elite groups) or on insight into
  the subject’s mind (Psychology (Applied), or
  Criminology with criminal subjects). The subject
  will be aware that he’s being questioned!
  Getting people to talk without knowing they’re
  being questioned requires trickery; it’s also possi-
  ble to use trickery with people who know they’re
  being questioned, and even with accused sus-
  pects. The main skill to use is Fast-Talk, but if the
  investigator’s not in a hurry, he can substitute
  Acting (to earn someone’s trust) or even Fortune-
  Telling. Again, familiarity with the social milieu
  helps; it’s also possible – and classic! – to use Sex
  Appeal as a complementary skill, or to get even
  higher bonuses from Carousing (see p. B183).
  Threatening a subject is mainly used with
  accused suspects, though it can also be used
  against a reluctant witness; the standard roll is
  against Interrogation, with Psychology (Applied)
  or Criminology as a complementary skill, giving
  insight into what will make a good threat.
  Intimidation and trickery can be combined in the
  classic good cop/bad cop routine: one interrogator
  displays anger and makes threats (roll vs.
  Intimidation as a complementary skill) while the
  other displays sympathy and a willingness to pro-
  tect the suspect and encourages him to talk (roll
  vs. Acting or Psychology (Applied), treated as an
  Influence skill, or against Interrogation).
  Winning any of these Quick Contests nor-
  mally yields one or two bits of (possibly helpful)
  information; if the subject’s Will roll is a critical
  failure, he’ll talk freely!
  Police officers and private detectives often
  have informants who can tell them what’s being talked about
  on the street. Treat these as Contacts (pp. B44-45).
  SEARCHES
  Another thing that calls for physical presence is searching for
  something hidden. Finding an object concealed on someone’s
  person calls for a Quick Contest of Search vs. Holdout; Holdout
  is modified by the object’s size and the person’s clothing (see
  p. B200). Finding an object (including an unmoving person or
  cybershell) hidden in a package, vehicle, or building calls for a
  Quick Contest of Search vs. Smuggling; Smuggling is modified
  by the difference in SM between the place and the object. Search
  defaults to Criminology-5, because insight into the criminal
  mind helps figure out where people will hide things.
  Search is normally carried out by touch; sensor gloves give
  +4 to such searches, not cumulative with bonuses for Acute
  Touch or Sensitive Touch. A T-ray scanner gives +4 to Search
  skill to detect hidden nonliving objects; it’s normally used
  before the hands-on search.
  To search a package, vehicle, or building, it’s sometimes nec-
  essary to get past its security systems. An electronic lockpick
  gives +3 to Lockpicking or Electronics Operation (Security Sys-
  tems) to defeat an electronic lock; electronics repair tools can
  substitute, but give no bonus. Secure installations typically have
  sophisticated locks giving -4 to effective skill. But getting
  through the lock isn’t usually enough; nearly every vehicle and
  building has an AI with its own sensors. The AI for a residence
  or low-security site will notify the police of intrusions; a high-
  security site may have autonomous weapons systems or even
  military-grade cybershells. Intruders have to be prepared to deal
  with this, whether by tricking or corrupting the AI (see Computer
  Access, pp. 21-22), physically cutting its communications or
  incapacitating it, or simply getting in and out before police or
  robot guards can arrive: perhaps 1d minutes for on-site guards,
  1d¥10 minutes for police.
  YOU KNOW MY METHODS
  27
  Virtual Legwork
  In Transhuman Space, a huge part of “face to face” interaction is vir-
  tual. It’s as easy to talk with someone a thousand miles away as someone
  standing next to you. People can look through each other’s eyes and lis-
  ten through each other’s ears; project virtual avatars into each other’s
  environments; or meet in a virtual conference room. With high-end vir-
  tuality gear, they can practice martial arts, dance, or make love – though
  it’s both safer and politer to do so in private physical spaces! An AI can
  interact through a projected avatar as readily as an organic being; some
  AIs rarely bother with mobile cybershells, but have friends all over the
  world, or “live” in digital kingdoms where embodied people meet them.
  Using the Voice advantage requires a direct audio channel, and speak-
  ing out loud, not subvocalizing or whispering. Appearance requires a
  direct video channel. A person sending what he sees through his own
  eyes doesn’t benefit from Appearance, because he doesn’t see himself
  (unless he’s looking in a mirror); he needs an external camera focused on
  him. Charisma requires one of the above, and possibly both if the appli-
  cation isn’t merely spoken-word (e.g., Public Speaking might be sound-
  only, but Panhandling requires your mark to see how desperate you are)
  – and in all cases, the communication must be two-way so that you can
  observe and respond to others’ reactions in real time. However, a deluxe
  VR suit or neural VR program can translate movements of the physical
  body into movements of the avatar, making an external camera unneces-
  sary to convey Charisma. Smooth Operator Talent works for any social
  interaction, one-way or two-way, by sight and sound, either separately, or
  even text – but requires conscious use of Influence skills. Skill in virtual
  communication can be complementary to Influence skills: Artist (Digital)
  to craft a good avatar (see also Fashion Sense, p. 13), Electronics Opera-
  tion (Media) to improve a live image or voice signal, or Mimicry (Speech)
  for an AI to generate a good virtual voice.
  Virtual legwork takes as much time as physical, but without travel
  time between locations. It can take a long time to explore a digital king-
  dom while sitting still in the physical world.
  While you’re still the rookie
  around here, I’ll use your
  infiltration key when I have to.
  – Major Kusanagi,
  in Ghost in the Shell
  
  The old factory space was surprisingly clean, as if someone
  were getting it ready for a new tenant. Aki Nakamura turned to
  Jean-Marc Rénard and asked, “What are we looking for?”
  He spread his hands, and said, “We traced an unregulated
  bioroid supplier to this location; we think they were using it as a
  production site. What would you do, Nakamura?”
  The plainclothesmen’s faces looked as if they were trying not
  to grin. This was another of Rénard’s koan. Could she think it
  through? Aki got out her forensic hive, stepped out into the cen-
  ter of the room, away from the others. Where would be a good
  place to check first? she puzzled . . .
  . . . and then she was enlightened.
  She turned back to Rénard. “I don’t see any obvious place to
  look for residues; there’s not even marks on the floor to show
  where they had the growth tanks. So they scrubbed the place
  down, probably with nano. There won’t be any biochemical or
  physical traces. But could we use our nano to identify what make
  their nano was, and would that tell us anything useful?”
  One of the detectives – her name tag said “St.-Croix” – nodded
  appreciatively and said, “I think this one’s worth keeping, Doc.”
  Every investigator needs something to investigate: a crime
  and a criminal. But criminals mostly realize they may be inves-
  tigated, and try to create obstacles for the investigators. All of
  these – criminals, crimes, and coverups – take new forms in
  Transhuman Space.
  CRIMES AND CRIMINALS
  28
  Societies in Transhuman Space are socially stratified, albeit
  in ways radically different from the 20th-century pattern. But
  criminals are found at every level of society.
  FRINGERS
  Fringers are people in Fifth Wave societies who minimize
  their involvement with both government and businesses; they
  make up about 5% of the population – more in North America
  and Australia. Poorer societies have many more socially mar-
  ginal people, though they’re often involved in widespread
  “informal” economic sectors – black and gray markets. Off
  Earth, entire communities and habitats may be fringers, espe-
  cially in the emerging Duncanite culture.
  Fringers often live partly by petty crime, though this is
  increasingly difficult in Fifth Wave societies. A few fringers
  cash in on their lack of registered legal identities by being
  available for hit-and-run violence, property damage, or mob
  action; police who can’t locate them in official databases may
  decide they’re not worth pursuing. Criminal bosses, or political
  leaders in poor countries, might provide fringer communities
  with patronage. Politically independent fringer settlements
  may have ongoing illegal businesses, usually on a small scale.
  These are rough neighborhoods for an outsider – including an
  investigator – but the violence is usually random, not targeted.
  CLIMBERS
  A few fringers become ambitious, and get recruited by
  organized gangs. The same happens with some of the 35%
  underemployed in Fifth Wave nations. Wanting greater wealth,
  but not having easy access to legal careers, they take up illegal
  ones. Many are street soldiers, set apart not by violence but by
  a measure of discipline. But others learn the technical skills of
  crime, through instructional programs (often pirated) or
  apprenticeships. Competition in this sector can be brutal, but
  the winners can move up, not in society but in parallel to it.
  A few people from the professional class, whether young
  and impatient or old and desperate to maintain their lifestyles,
  get tempted into cutting corners for big short-term payoffs as
  well. They can become new recruits at black clinics, bioroid
  factories, or illegal memetics facilities.
  THE CRIMINAL CLASSES
  CHAPTER FOUR
  CRIMES AND
  CRIMINALS
  There were morphy stars and
  jeweled matriarchs, sports heroes
  and prostitutes, gangsters and geeks
  and soi-disant royalty. Those were
  the glamour years . . .
  – Michael Flynn, The Wreck
  of The River of Stars
  
  BOSSES
  Really successful criminals become bosses. They no longer
  need to risk exposure themselves; their underlings can do that
  – and sometimes sacrifice themselves to end an investigation.
  Bosses who punish their enemies or failed underlings in per-
  son do so in private, screened from surveillance and official
  records. Most bosses prefer to hint at the consequences of dis-
  obedience and let someone else inflict them.
  Bosses have many of the same motives, and the same anxi-
  eties, as the professional classes, though neither would wel-
  come the comparison. It’s rare for any legitimate professional
  to become a crime boss; the really capable have too much to
  lose to risk their careers, and the less capable don’t have what
  it takes. Rather, bosses are either independent entrepreneurs,
  risen through the ranks, or favored offspring of other bosses –
  if they’re smart enough, and determined enough, to keep the
  loyalty of their parents’ subordinates, or ruthless enough to
  eliminate them and start over. A boss’s main goal is not to com-
  mit crimes, but to control crime in a given territory, as a kind
  of informal government.
  THE RULING CLASSES
  In some societies, the criminals are the government. In
  the worst cases, known as kleptocracies, the entire govern-
  ment is run to extract wealth from its subjects by any means
  available,
  from
  old-fashioned
  physical
  repression
  to
  memetic indoctrination; law enforcement can’t usually do
  much about this, though a powerful international agency
  such as the GRA might be able to pressure a small govern-
  ment or isolated community into cooperating. More moder-
  ately, one or more political parties may be run by successful
  crime bosses or their puppets. The small change of corrup-
  tion is politicians who take bribes from criminals to award
  contracts to firms they own, pass laws that indirectly benefit
  them, or lessen or drop charges against members of gangs,
  just as they may accept donations from businesses, unions,
  or other legitimate groups.
  In Fifth Wave countries, the scope for corruption has
  decreased. Drug prohibition has mostly been abandoned in
  favor of providing addicts with drugs as a medical benefit (in
  many European Union members) or allowing their sale in
  policed but lightly regulated markets (in parts of North
  America and Australia). In many areas, bioroid competition
  has driven most human prostitutes out of business; those
  who remain are as much performing artists as sex workers.
  On the other hand, there are new black markets such as those
  in pirated entertainment media, xoxes, and bioroid slaves,
  especially in nations where bioroid creation is illegal. Some
  political analysts even claim that the Martian Triads support
  pro-GRA memetic campaigns, to keep the bioroid traffic ille-
  gal and high-profit – and that GRA officials know this and
  rely on it!
  TWISTED ELOI
  Very rich people with nothing to do have their own ways
  of getting into trouble. Sometimes these involve money; even
  the super-rich may be financially ambitious – or desperate.
  They can also take the form of political extremism or terror-
  ism. To aging conservatives, the overturn generation seem
  socially irresponsible and the transhuman generation incom-
  prehensible; there are demands to “keep them in line” – ideally
  through legal restrictions, but if necessary through private
  intimidation. Finally, many wealthy people simply indulge in
  unusual and forbidden pleasures, from eating realflesh (meat
  that isn’t grown in a vat, but cut from a dead animal) to abus-
  ing bioroid servants or owning human slaves. Some of these
  vices may not even be illegal, but could destroy a reputation . . .
  which makes their practitioners targets for blackmail, and
  gives them a motive for murdering blackmailers.
  NONHUMAN CRIMINALS
  Not all criminals are human! The social positions of nonhu-
  mans vary widely, from proscribed abomination to valuable
  property to equal member of society. But many are capable of
  criminal acts – sometimes unusual ones based on their special
  abilities or their distinctive legal positions.
  Uplifted Animals
  Uplifted animals aren’t usually as intelligent as baseline
  humans; they don’t commit complex crimes with elaborate plan-
  ning. Stealing information is too abstract for them, and they
  usually have trouble fencing stolen physical property, though
  they may steal food. Criminality mainly means “going feral,” liv-
  ing without human or AI supervision, in the wild or on city
  streets, mostly by scavenging. Some ferals turn to hunting, and
  reckless ones may threaten or attack humans, though this usu-
  ally makes for a short career. Animals infected with the Doolittle
  virus (discussed in Transhuman Space: Broken Dreams) act
  similarly, though they have no social conditioning to throw off.
  Some experimental uplifts are highly intelligent and capable of
  more sophisticated crimes.
  Bioroids
  In most jurisdictions, bioroids are inferior to humans and
  parahumans, treated as anything from minors who need time
  to grow up to outright slaves. They largely commit crimes
  that fit a disgruntled workforce, from industrial sabotage to
  pilferage and embezzlement. Some bioroids may run away
  from their owners or guardians, seeking greater freedom.
  CRIMES AND CRIMINALS
  29
  . . . there is no
  distinctly native
  American criminal
  class except Congress.
  – Mark Twain,
  Following
  the Equator
  
  Occasionally combat bioroids mutiny and riot, or industrial
  bioroids commit terrorist-level sabotage.
  A bioroid who reaches a jurisdiction such as the European
  Union gains rights equal to those of humans – but bioroid cre-
  ation is illegal there. Some bioroids risk the attention of the
  GRA by paying to have “children” made for them.
  AIs
  The rights of AIs vary more than those of
  bioroids; more jurisdictions treat them as citizens,
  including the Islamic Caliphate. But AIs are nor-
  mally created with built-in ethical restrictions (the
  Honesty disadvantage); an AI lacking this is sub-
  ject to arrest and may be edited or erased, even in
  tolerant societies.
  The distinctive crimes AIs can commit have to do
  with their special qualities as infomorphs. They can
  reproduce, almost without limit, by copying them-
  selves; such xoxing is generally prohibited, with the
  copy under automatic sentence of erasure. Their
  active survival depends on their inhabiting cyber-
  shells, and they may take possession of cybershells
  they aren’t authorized to live in, a crime somewhere
  between theft, trespass, and kidnapping. They may
  come into possession of information belonging to
  someone else in the process. AIs without a Duty may
  choose to migrate to jurisdictions where they have
  the rights of citizens, sometimes illegally. Solar-System-wide AI
  social networks let those without Honesty maintain a wide-
  spread concealed economy.
  AIs also have a unique perspective on intellectual functions,
  which enabled them to take the lead in memetics research. Any
  sort of memetic crime (see Crimes and Themes, below) may
  have an AI perpetrator.
  CRIMES AND CRIMINALS
  30
  A mystery campaign in Transhuman Space is best built
  around the kind of crimes that its technological and cultural
  changes make possible. An occasional 20th-century-style mur-
  der or blackmail can provide a change of pace, but after two or
  three in a row, the players will start wondering why the cam-
  paign wasn’t just set in the real world.
  The crime in most mysteries is murder. But “murder” isn’t a
  simple idea in Fifth Wave societies. If someone’s body and
  brain stop functioning, but there’s time to upload him into a
  digital ghost, has he died? Legal systems and religions disagree
  on whether a ghost is the same person (in most of the world),
  a copy of the person without full rights (in the Transpacific
  Socialist Alliance, China, and India), or a soulless abomination
  (in the Islamic Caliphate). If he is the same person, then a
  charge of murder seems hard to justify; the crime is more accu-
  rately defined as forced uploading or grievous bodily harm.
  Conversely, if a digital ghost’s files are erased – and he has no
  backup – that counts as murder.
  A converse offense is unauthorized existence. Except in
  some transhumanist enclaves, it’s illegal to create multiple
  copies of the same digital mind, whether ghost or AI; such
  xoxes have no right to life and are routinely hunted down and
  deleted. Adventure stories about xoxhunters are popular. It’s
  also illegal to remove an AI’s restricted ethical programming
  (the Honesty disadvantage); rogues also face deletion, unless a
  transhumanist enclave grants one citizenship.
  Organic entities are more leniently treated; the European
  Union prohibits bioroid creation, but accepts bioroid
  refugees as potential citizens. Illegal biolabs make bioroids in
  the European Union, and provide involuntary, prohibited, or
  high-risk biomods elsewhere. Other black biolabs produce pro-
  hibited weapons such as engineered plagues. By some accounts,
  the largest crime of the century was the terraforming of Mars, in
  which the Ares Conspiracy released bioengineered life all over
  the planet – and then fled to Ceres to found Silas Duncan Station
  before they could be arrested and punished. The preservationist
  ideology inspired by this event now opposes many lesser forms
  of ecotage and supports increased powers for the GRA.
  Other crimes revolve around information, the most valuable
  product of the era. Black marketeers get most of their income
  from pirated information. Methods of obtaining information
  illegally include xoxnapping, capturing and forcibly brainscan-
  ning a celebrity to create digital shadows for sale. Free countries
  try to safeguard personal privacy, but violation of privacy makes
  possible crimes from blackmail to identity theft.
  Information in the form of memes can be used to influence
  people’s behavior. When such influence has harmful or non-
  consensual effects, some jurisdictions treat this as a crime, the
  equivalent of releasing a virus program for organic brains.
  Memetic campaigns shade into simple advertising, propa-
  ganda, and public relations, but sudden radical behavior
  changes may call for drastic containment measures.
  CRIMES AND THEMES
  
  Crime is a difficult business in Transhuman Space. The
  increasing power of investigative methods (see You Know My
  Methods, pp. 19-27) makes it difficult to bring off a crime on
  the spur of the moment. Successful criminals and criminal
  gangs function more like highly trained intelligence operatives
  of the 20th century than like street thugs. The ones who survive
  need brains as well as ruthlessness.
  AVOIDING SURVEILLANCE
  Privacy is difficult to arrange in most places. Imaging and
  audio devices are incredibly cheap and too tiny to see with the
  unaided eye. Civil libertarian societies restrict their use by law
  enforcement, but the sensors are often in place, waiting for
  activation by a search warrant – or an intelligence agency that
  doesn’t bother with warrants, or a private hacker. Private busi-
  nesses are usually free to monitor their own property for secu-
  rity purposes. In Fifth Wave societies, nearly every person has
  a virtual interface with a built-in camera. Satellite cameras
  acquire continuous real-time images of cities and roads, with
  lower resolution, but enough to track a person or vehicle, often
  by the target’s IR signature.
  An improvised privacy measure is the use of varicloth, espe-
  cially if it’s programmed for camouflage. A quick duck into a
  store or bar can cover a change of pattern. Professionals may use
  chameleon suits for the same purpose. A more serious approach
  uses IR cloaking to disguise a human signature, while sightline
  tracker software (p. 17) can help evade surveillance.
  Another challenge is the use of security systems pro-
  grammed or trained to identify the body movements of people
  planning violence or crime, or to track people by their distinc-
  tive gaits; this is treated as Body Language skill. An improvised
  countermeasure involves putting pebbles in the toes of one’s
  shoes, or otherwise breaking up one’s gait; this gives -1 to
  Body Language rolls to track such a person. A much more
  elaborate countermeasure uses a puppet implant controlled
  by an AI programmed to simulate the moves of an innocent
  person; treat this as Acting skill (trained or a skill set) in a
  Quick Contest against Body Language.
  COVERING TRAILS
  Detectives have been examining physical evidence since
  the late nineteenth century, and the forensic science of 2100
  A.D. has incredibly advanced tools for doing so (see Forensic
  Methods, pp. 23-24). A commonplace trick for criminals is
  to carry a can of domestic nanocleanser, which gives -3 to
  Forensics rolls by removing bloodstains, skin flakes, and
  even DNA traces. Industrial nanocleanser has the same
  effect, but can handle bigger residues – even an entire
  corpse. Either product leaves the area abnormally sterile.
  Forensic nanotechnology does a more artistic job, but can’t
  be left to operate on its own; it gives +5 to the user’s
  Forensics skill for removing evidence. Treat this as a Quick
  Contest of the modified Forensic skill of the investigator and
  the person trying to thwart him. The base time to erase evi-
  dence is 1 hour per square yard; taking extra time (p. B346)
  gives bonuses. Either domestic or industrial nanocleanser
  takes only 1 minute per square yard.
  With both domestic and industrial nanocleanser, a failure
  on the investigator’s Forensics roll by less than the -3 penalty,
  or an Observation roll, will spot that the area has been
  scrubbed; an unmodified Forensics roll can be made to iden-
  tify the brand of nanocleanser used. This doesn’t work if the
  area was scrubbed with forensic nano.
  Cruder methods of covering a trail are available. For exam-
  ple, human beings constantly shed hair, skin flakes, and other
  substances; going through a public place with a vacuum-based
  sampler can collect tissue from hundreds of people. Spraying it
  over a crime scene can mask the DNA of the criminals and vic-
  tims: -10 to Electronics Operation (Medical) or Forensics. Most
  forensics teams will take extra time to partially overcome this
  contamination penalty.
  CRIMES AND CRIMINALS
  31
  THE ART OF INVISIBILITY
  The police were answerable to nobody but themselves, but paid
  private detectives were compelled to do more or less as they were told.
  – Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night
  Security:
  The Low-Tech Option
  Paradoxically, one way for criminals to get around the
  surveillance capabilities of 2100 A.D. is to rely on low-tech
  methods. An investigator whose digital ally can scan hacked
  computer files in seconds may be at a loss to deal with hand-
  written paper records! Some examples of this kind of
  retrotech security are as follows:
  • Talking in face-to-face meetings, with all electronics
  turned off.
  • Paying by barter, with valuable raw materials, or in
  favors or promises of favors.
  • Beating or garroting a foe rather than shooting him.
  • Keeping handwritten records on paper, or committing
  them to human memory.
  • Hiding records or valuables behind mechanical locks,
  with no circuits to be hacked.
  
  GOING UNRECORDED
  The overwhelming majority of all communication takes
  place on electronic channels. Any such message can be
  recorded. Many governments have legal restrictions on reading
  such stored messages, or revealing what they say, but those
  restrictions aren’t absolute – they can be set aside by elite intel-
  ligence agencies, or in a national emergency, or sometimes
  simply by a search warrant. Breaking modern encryption is
  expensive and slow – it takes a year on a Complexity 10 quan-
  tum computer – but not impossible, given repeated messages.
  Using a one-time pad makes decryption completely impos-
  sible. This is a completely random key that is only used once.
  It must be as long as the message it will be used to encode. The
  encryption and decryption keys are the same; sender and
  receiver must have the same key. Typically an agent going on a
  mission receives a set of keys with serial numbers; each mes-
  sage can be accompanied by the serial number for its key, con-
  ventionally encrypted.
  People who really want to keep their communication secret
  often avoid electronics. Instead, they meet face to face in
  secure locations – and double-check the security! Or they send
  hard copy by courier: not printouts of electronic documents,
  but hand-written messages on paper.
  Another option is electronic channels that aren’t connected
  to the general Web. An isolated computer can produce text files
  or voice or video recordings for couriers to carry; these can be
  boobytrapped against unauthorized computers, with virus
  code stored in the same memory medium as the file (roll vs.
  Computer Programming – and note that the computer reading
  the stored file has to grant it at least limited access, rather than
  data access, for this to have any effect) or with tiny explosive
  charges (roll vs. Explosives (Demolition)). Two computers can
  exchange messages via fiber optic cable; this is a good way for
  people with virtual interface implants to have private conver-
  sations (see Voice Under, p. 35). Tight-beam signals such as
  infrared laser communications are nearly as hard to intercept
  and have a greater range. A criminal organization may use
  such methods to set up an intranet within a single building,
  with no direct link to the global Web.
  For those who want serious privacy, adding quantum
  communication to a laser communicator or cable jack costs
  $5,000, and gives it the Intercept Alert enhancement (pp. 13-
  14). Messages must go directly from communicator to com-
  municator; passing them through any sort of relay or
  switching network breaks their security.
  Any of these methods – face-to-face meetings, couriers
  carrying boobytrapped files, or quantum communication
  channels – can also be used to send one-time pads to agents
  in the field.
  HIDDEN MESSAGES
  The alternative to keeping messages from being noticed
  is to disguise them, usually as a different sort of message. A
  classic technique for doing this is steganography: Burying a
  message in subtle irregularities in a different message. For
  example, in a visual image, every seventeenth pixel might be
  shifted to a subtly different color, producing a message
  coded in binary. Or in a musical recording, making the sig-
  nal ever so slightly flat or sharp for a fraction of a second
  every so often might carry a similar message.
  Messages can also be sent through unusual channels. For
  one example, power grids can carry low-frequency signals.
  The data transfer rate is incredibly low, in the range of 0.1
  megabyte/hour . . . but that’s enough for a short text mes-
  sage in a prearranged code.
  CRIMES AND CRIMINALS
  32
  With crypto, it doesn’t matter if the enemy can see your
  messages, because he can’t decipher them, change them and
  resend them. That’s one of the main reasons to use crypto.
  – Cory Doctorow, Little Brother
  Laundered Funds
  Money laundering in the classic sense is almost impos-
  sible in Transhuman Space. Fifth Wave economies don’t
  use cash; Fourth Wave economies do, but nearly every
  transaction creates a digital trace. Bartering physical
  goods has similar problems, because movable objects
  carry electronic tags that automatically record their prove-
  nance – such records are no longer reserved to works of art
  and criminal evidence.
  But criminal ingenuity has kept up with advancing tech-
  nology. A pervasive feature of advanced economies is
  reliance on micropayments: microroyalties for intellectual
  property, energy consumption fees, and even charges for
  road use by distance and vehicle weight. Money nanocleans-
  ing breaks an illegal payment up into a huge number of
  micropayments hidden in the “noise” of legitimate micro-
  payments. Ownership of assets that generate micropay-
  ments is an important tool for illegal organizations.
  It’s also possible to barter services. Sophisticated pro-
  grams can assess the black market value of a criminal serv-
  ice and adjust the “favors owed” balances of the two parties.
  The software involved is based on “virtual money” account-
  ing for online game worlds; some criminal economies are
  disguised as game worlds.
  
  Constanza Fiori spotted Aurora Kirasdaughter coming into
  the coffeehouse and sent her a directional arrow. She was only 10
  minutes late, better than usual for her. As Aurora came toward
  their booth, Constanza stood up; so did her two companions, a
  second later.
  “Good, that’s all of us,” Constanza said. “Jasmine, Shakti, this
  is Aurora.” She sent them each other’s codes.
  “We’ve met,” said Jasmine Yukikosdaughter, looking down at
  the shorter girl. She sounded neutral rather than friendly; Aurora
  wasn’t heavy by Earth standards, but on Margaret, she was a
  misfit, and Jasmine was vectored for the Amethyst Games in a
  few more years.
  They logged their orders and chatted, a bit awkwardly, but
  their not knowing each other would explain that.
  As they did, Constanza underspoke: – Aurora, Jasmine, you
  two are here because Shakti asked me for help. I’ve only been on
  Margaret a few months; I need people who know how things
  work to keep me on the right track.
  – Shakti’s up from Earth, like me; but she’s trans. Apparently
  there’s people here who don’t like that. They’ve been harassing her,
  and it’s getting a bit serious . . . and it doesn’t seem like the adults
  want to deal with it seriously. My father’s a detective and an ex-
  cop, so I know something about investigation. – She spotted
  Aurora and Jasmine’s quick exchange of glances at the weird
  word “father.” – But one thing I know is you’ve got to have
  informants who know more than you do. Besides, Jazz, you’re
  better at martial arts than my stepmom Aki is, and Aurora,
  you’ve really studied memetics; and you two are my best friends
  here. So can you help? –
  Aurora and Jasmine both started to answer at once.
  Once all those aspects of the campaign have been worked
  out – the theme, the type of crimes, the methods for investigat-
  ing them, and the personalities and abilities of the investiga-
  tors – it’s time to start running adventures. A good mystery has
  several standard elements that need to be presented to the
  players. The order in which they’re presented creates the story.
  Mysteries have a typical sequence that maintains the highest
  level of tension and uncertainty, and thus best holds the play-
  ers’ interest. An inventive GM may occasionally experiment
  with different sequences, but knowing how to use the standard
  one is a good foundation to build on.
  DESIGNING AND PRESENTING SCENARIOS
  33
  The start of a mystery is the introduction of someone who
  needs help: in the language of criticism, a supplicant. This
  may be the victim of the crime, but doesn’t have to be. A sup-
  plicant could be a member of the victim’s family, a friend, an
  employer or employee, or even a loyal AI, such as the victim’s
  virtual interface.
  In traditional murder mysteries, the victim isn’t there to
  appeal for help – though he might have left a message, such as
  a letter or video recording, or even been in the midst of a phone
  call when the murder took place. Transhuman Space offers
  some more exotic possibilities: the supplicant might be the vic-
  tim’s ghost or shadow, asking for help in identifying the killer
  of his organic body, or it might be an old backup of a digital
  mind, suddenly awakened to realize that its later self had
  deadly enemies.
  THE SUPPLICANT
  CHAPTER FIVE
  DESIGNING AND
  PRESENTING
  SCENARIOS
  I have yet to see any problem,
  however complicated, which, when
  you looked at it in the right way, did
  not become still more complicated.
  – Poul Anderson
  
  After the initial appeal for help, and the investigators’ agree-
  ment to take the case, the next phase of the scenario is the
  exposition. In a story, this is the part at the beginning where the
  reader learns the background of the situation and the nature of
  the problem the hero has to solve.
  In traditional detective stories, this is accomplished by hav-
  ing the supplicant tell the detective about the crime. The most
  straightforward way to do this is to have the victim recite a
  series of events. In a more dramatic treatment, though, the vic-
  tim may need to be encouraged to talk, questioned for more
  detail, or even probed for information he wants to keep secret.
  This works especially well in a roleplaying session, where it
  makes the investigators active participants, who need to make
  influence rolls to keep the supplicant talking, or Psychology
  rolls to figure out what he’s hiding.
  In a world filled with electronic recording systems, the
  exposition can include visual or auditory records. This shades
  into the Inquiries and Complications phase (p. 35), especially if
  the investigators apply data analysis tools to the records. But if
  they’re sitting in the office looking at some sort of data file, it
  can be treated as an extension of the exposition, much as if a
  supplicant in an earlier generation had brought in photos of a
  murdered friend.
  The trick with exposition is to give the investigators just
  enough background to point them at places to look for infor-
  mation. It’s not a good thing if they can figure out the whole
  plot from the exposition; it’s also not a good thing if it leaves
  them utterly baffled. A good exposition sends the investiga-
  tors to the right place to pick up clues that may eventually
  lead somewhere productive.
  DESIGNING AND PRESENTING SCENARIOS
  34
  THE EXPOSITION
  At this point, things get tricky. The plot of a mystery focuses
  on a group of people investigating something. But what they’re
  investigating is someone else’s plot. Behind the story of the
  investigation is the story of someone else trying to break the
  law and get away with it.
  In a sense, something similar could be said of most scenar-
  ios. But in a combat-focused scenario, most of the action takes
  place out in the open, after the adventurers and their adver-
  saries have been revealed to each other; the adversaries may
  not have a long-term objective, and even if they do, the central
  conflict focuses on overcoming them physically rather than fig-
  uring out their identities and intentions. And in a story of “man
  versus nature” – a suitable theme for Transhuman Space –
  nature has no plans or intentions at all. Mysteries require an
  unusual shift of focus, away from the PCs to their adversaries.
  For a good mystery, one that’s a challenge to investigate,
  assume that the adversary is being smart. Transhuman Space
  has lots of ways to catch spur-of-the-moment criminals.
  THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
  The exploit isn’t as simple as robbing a virtual bank of virtual objects. The way Avalon Four
  is architected means that someone had to leak them a private cryptographic token before they
  could change the ownership attributes of all those objects.
  – Charles Stross, Halting State
  In a police procedural murder mystery,
  the supplicant is optional; the investigators’
  current job can start with the discovery of a
  body. In a Duncanite society, a private
  investigator might be called in similarly by
  his contractual obligations to a victim’s
  estate. Even here, though, most investiga-
  tions will eventually introduce people who
  care about the victim and want the investi-
  gators to bring the killers to justice.
  A classic noir plot twist is to have an
  apparent supplicant turn out to be the
  killer! This is even more effective if one of
  the investigators has become emotionally
  attached to the supplicant, as in Dashiell
  Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (see Ongoing
  Subplots, p. 36).
  NDAs
  The victims of crimes sometimes have something to hide: a blackmail
  victim may fear scandal, for example, or an Eloi household may not want
  the publicity of a criminal investigation. A detective’s reputation for
  respecting his clients’ secrets is one of his major business assets.
  In a Transhuman Space campaign, where intellectual property laws
  govern most forms of information, this respect may be given a more
  explicit embodiment: a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). The detective, or
  his AI, may listen to a quick summary of what the case is about before tak-
  ing it, but the first step in accepting the case is to complete an NDA and
  deliver a copy to the client, in return for a token payment. Once this is
  done, the detective is legally bound to secrecy, with specific legal excep-
  tions for court-ordered testimony or complicity in a crime. Most detectives
  have a standardized NDA stored in their AI.
  
  The dramatic part of the story begins when the investiga-
  tors start looking for more information than they can get from
  the client or from public databases.
  Part of the drama is intellectual: discovering information
  that points at possible guilt, and trying to figure out which pos-
  sibilities are worth pursuing. The classical triad of
  motive, means, and opportunity still applies in
  Transhuman Space – but the range of possible means
  has gotten wider. To maintain a sense of drama, inves-
  tigation should not yield an instant solution to the
  mystery, but rather enough information to point to a
  further set of questions, or rule out one of the sus-
  pects. Most questions should have answers that point
  in at least two directions. A critical success may give a
  detailed answer to one of the three basic questions; a
  critical failure should point somewhere misleading.
  In some investigations, the perpetrators won’t
  immediately know that they’re being investigated.
  Investigators may take pains to keep it that way.
  Dramatic tension can be maintained by having inves-
  tigators try to figure out a way to get close to a suspect
  without arousing suspicion, whether by playing an
  innocuous role, or by technologically bypassing his
  defenses with bugs, hacking, surveillance, or even
  physically breaking in.
  A different sort of drama starts when the suspect
  realizes he’s being investigated. At this point there
  are two ways to play things out. One is to have the
  suspect present a façade of innocent helpfulness,
  claiming to be eager to bring the real evildoer to jus-
  tice; this is a classic motif of cozies. The other is to
  have the suspect bring pressure on the investigator,
  whether through physical threats or political influ-
  ence; hard-boiled and noir detectives face this sort of
  conflict regularly. A really clever criminal may use
  both methods, sending out thugs, bioroid soldiers, or robots
  with subverted programming to attack inconvenient investi-
  gators, but not letting them know who they’re working for, to
  maintain deniability, while he pretends to be trying to help
  keep the detectives safe from their enemies.
  Avoiding these requires advance planning. A serious criminal
  will have done that planning, figuring out ways to avoid being
  seen, or to make his own involvement look innocuous. If it’s a
  one-time action, such as murdering a relative for their inheri-
  tance or kidnapping a child in a custody dispute, the criminal
  will have figured out a complicated scheme with lots of
  advance setup. If it’s an ongoing criminal enterprise, the bosses
  will have set up standard procedures for their particular spe-
  cialty, including criteria for identifying worthwhile targets.
  In either case, the criminals will expect to be investigated,
  and have plans for dealing with investigation. To start with,
  they’ll be ready to lie. They’ll be on the watch for signs of suspi-
  cion, and ready to cover their tracks. They’ll have resources for
  active countermeasures (see Inquiries and Complications,
  below). A really sophisticated criminal is likely to have AI allies
  (whose programming to obey the law has been subverted), sur-
  veillance and countersurveillance technology, and access to
  online databases that will help him identify anyone who starts
  asking the wrong kind of questions.
  To complicate things further, have two different layers of
  “story behind the story,” as in The Maltese Falcon, where the
  hero’s investigation of his partner’s murder entangles him
  with several people pursuing a lost treasure – one of whom, it
  turns out, killed his partner, more or less incidentally. The
  second backstory can explain the first, as in The Maltese
  Falcon, or bring a second set of adversaries with their own
  goals onto the scene. They may even end up as temporary
  allies of the investigators.
  The GM doesn’t have to have worked out complete timeta-
  bles for crimes in advance, with comprehensive lists of clues.
  Players will often think of questions to ask, and clues to look
  for, that didn’t occur to the GM. Ruling such inquiries out, or
  making them fail automatically, makes the mystery less fun, by
  taking away the players’ sense that their own wits are solving
  the crime. It’s better to visualize the crime in detail, and ask if
  it would have left the sort of evidence the investigators are
  seeking. This means thinking on two tracks at once: the pres-
  ent actions of a group of detectives, and the past actions of the
  criminals they’re investigating. If necessary, keep notes on
  what information the detectives have acquired, and on what it
  reveals about the crime. The pace may be a little slower, but
  slowly building tension is natural in the mystery genre.
  DESIGNING AND PRESENTING SCENARIOS
  35
  Voice Under
  People who’ve grown accustomed to a virtual interface can
  send private messages while carrying on a spoken conversation –
  much like present-day phone users texting their friends while
  they talk. Doing this discreetly requires a Quick Contest of Pri-
  vate Messaging (p. 15) against the best of Body Language at +2,
  Observation, or Per at -1, with a penalty equal to the distance in
  yards to the person observed. At the GM’s option, added penalties
  may apply for conditions that limit visibility. In an extended con-
  versation, all participants must roll against Private Messaging;
  the observer makes one roll against all of them. If the observer
  wins the Quick Contest against any of them, he spots that private
  messages are being sent.
  The GM should encourage players to signal when their char-
  acters are private messaging each other, whether by passing
  notes back and forth, actually texting each other, or saying, “Pri-
  vate message (name): . . .” and speaking the message aloud. This
  running commentary will help maintain the sense of virtual
  interaction going on beneath the surface of physical interaction.
  Normally, recipients of private messages don’t need to roll to
  hide their reactions; people are constantly getting virtual mes-
  sages anyway! But information that’s unexpected or emotionally
  charged, or messages used to coordinate tactics (combat or
  social), are harder to conceal; roll a Quick Contest of Acting vs.
  Body Language or Detect Lies, with penalties as above.
  INQUIRIES AND COMPLICATIONS
  
  The recognition scene is the high point of the drama, where
  the tension is greatest. But it’s necessary to descend again. The
  investigator’s revelation leaves the criminal with a final choice
  to make – one that determines his fate.
  In a procedural story, the usual outcome is the criminal’s
  arrest. Most mysteries assume that this will be followed by
  trial, conviction, and punishment, because the investigators
  will have obtained conclusive proof of guilt. In a story about
  private eyes, the final step may be the submission of a report
  to the client, who gets to take the next step, whether by calling
  in the police, filing a lawsuit, or firing a guilty employee.
  In more corrupt areas, such as some noir settings, the vic-
  tim may find it more convenient to negotiate with the crimi-
  nal, perhaps offering to avoid the inconvenience of a trial in
  return for some kind of compensation. One of the classic
  twist endings carries this a step further, having the adversary
  make the case that he’s actually in the right, fighting a corrupt
  society (as in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged) or saving a self-
  destructive one from itself by desperate measures (as in Alan
  Moore’s Watchmen).
  In some mysteries, the detective hints that the criminal
  should commit suicide, rather than face the disgrace of a
  trial. This can be a powerful motive in Transhuman Space,
  with its reputation networks and social databases; escaping a
  bad reputation can be all but impossible. For an AI or ghost,
  self-destruction is easy and painless, requiring only erasure of
  digital files.
  For an organic being, there’s a substitute for suicide: digital
  uploading. After an upload, the standard biometric identity
  markers no longer work – a ghost has no fingerprints, voice-
  print, blood type, retinas, or DNA sequences. A criminal will-
  ing to start over, with a new identity and no more cash than he
  could transfer anonymously, might find life as a ghost prefer-
  able to punishment.
  In an action-focused campaign, the recognition scene can
  lead to physical action: flight and pursuit, or a desperate fight
  with guns or cybershells. There may be a real chance for the
  criminal to escape; on the other hand, the fight may be a macho
  version of suicide. Bear in mind, though, that Transhuman
  Space has nonlethal ways of subduing a foe, from electrolasers
  to turning off the oxygen supply in a space habitat just long
  enough to cause unconsciousness.
  However the confrontation ends, stories and dramatic
  works often end with a final scene where the investigators talk
  about the case. They may make a few jokes, or philosophize
  about human (or transhuman) nature, or deal with the emo-
  tional aftermath. Such scenes draw a boundary at the story’s
  end. In a roleplaying scenario, players can often produce their
  own boundaries; ask them if they have any last comments to
  make, and let them play the final scene out as they see fit.
  DESIGNING AND PRESENTING SCENARIOS
  36
  Police officers and private eyes have interests other than
  their work. To start with, they have relationships with each
  other. These can be developed further by giving the players a
  little slack in scenes of action or problem solving; if they’re
  coming up with clever banter or serious bonding, don’t insist
  on cutting it short to keep the action going. Group discus-
  sion scenes, which are vital to a genre driven by collecting
  and pooling information, can take place over coffee, wine, or
  a full meal. Every two or three sessions, asking the players
  what the investigators are doing during a break can help
  develop richer characterization. And if two of the investiga-
  tors develop a close relationship – a friendship, a romance,
  or even a rivalry – the sense of humanity in the campaign
  will be richer (even if the friends are AIs or bioroids).
  Investigators may also have supporting casts. Patrons,
  Allies, Contacts, Dependents, and even some Enemies can
  have speaking parts, personalities, and agendas. Make sure
  to check for appearances before running a session. It’s not
  necessary to be completely rigid about following this set of
  dice rolls; a supporting character can show up on his own
  if his appearance can give rise to an interesting situation,
  or be left out if there’s not a good way to work him in. But
  try to think of good ways to work in supporting characters.
  And keep track of minor characters who show up in one
  episode without having been paid for with character
  points; they may show up again in a later session, or even
  grow into Contacts or Allies if the investigators invest time
  in developing the relationship.
  Ongoing Subplots
  CLOSING ACCOUNTS
  The big payoff in a mystery is the scene where the masks
  come off: the detectives figure out who committed the crime,
  and how, and accuse the criminal. Classically, this is done face
  to face. In Transhuman Space, the confrontation can just as
  well take place in virtual reality; it may, for example, involve
  the detectives proving that they’ve penetrated the criminal’s vir-
  tual persona and learned his true name. Or it may involve
  assembling a database to be sent to the criminal, or turned
  over to the victim, the police, or the news media.
  In a memetically focused campaign, proof of guilt can be
  used to assemble a memetic attack on an adversary. This may
  even provide a way to bring down a corrupt ruler, by mobilizing
  public opinion against him. In that case, the “recognition” takes
  place not by the detectives confronting the criminal privately,
  but by the public learning what sort of person he really is.
  THE RECOGNITION
  
  Addiction disadvantage, 14.
  Advantages, 13-14; virtual legwork and, 27.
  Adventures, criminal’s plot, 34-35; elements
  of, 4-5; exposition, 34; final scenes, 36;
  hooks, 33-34; ideas, 4-5; inquiries and
  complications, 35; ongoing subplots, 36;
  recognition, 36; settings, 5-8; subgenres,
  5-8; supplicant, 33; suspense in, 5;
  themes, 30.
  Aegis Group, 6.
  AIs, access to programming, 21; criminal,
  30; see also Infomorphs.
  Amateur sleuth lens, 9-10.
  App perk, 14; see Software.
  Avatar Klustercorp, 6.
  Biogloves, 16, 22.
  Biometric scanners, 16, 24.
  Biomonitors, 16.
  Bioroids, 29-30.
  Bosses, criminal, 29.
  Campaigns, see Adventures.
  Canine Police Combat style, 11.
  Ceres, setting, 6.
  Character creation tips, 9.
  Chemscanners, 16.
  Chemsniffers, 16.
  Classic mysteries, 5-6, 33; see also
  Adventures.
  Climbers, criminal type, 28.
  Code of Honor disadvantage, 14.
  Communication, going unrecorded, 32;
  hidden, 32; private, 35.
  Computer access, intrusion, 21-22; levels,
  21; trickery, 22.
  Computer Intrusion technique, 15.
  Consulting detective lens, 10.
  Countermemetics, 25.
  Cozy-style mysteries, 7-8, 35; see also
  Adventures.
  Crime Knowledge Hobby Skill, 15.
  Crime scene analyst lens, 10.
  Crimes, reconstructing scenarios, 26;
  simulation software, 17, 26.
  Criminals, classes, 28-30; plots, 34-35;
  profiling, 26; profiling software, 17, 26.
  Criminology skill, 14-15.
  Data mining, 20; skill, 15.
  Data searches, 19-20, 34, 35.
  Debunking memes, 25.
  Deprogramming, 25.
  Detective mysteries, classic, 5-6, 34; see
  also Adventures.
  Diagnostic nano, 14, 16, 23.
  Disadvantages, 14.
  Discriminatory Hearing advantage, 13.
  Discriminatory Smell/Taste advantage, 13.
  “Dog Fu” martial arts style, 11.
  Electronic lockpicks, 16, 27.
  Eloi, twisted, 29.
  Enhancements, new, 13-14.
  Equipment, 16-17, 22.
  Fashion Sense advantage, 13.
  Field scanners, 16.
  Forensics, covering trails and, 31 methods,
  23-24; microbots, 16, 23; labs, 16; skill
  explanation, 14; software, 17.
  Fraudulent authorization, 22.
  Fringers, criminal type, 28.
  Genescanners, 16.
  Genetic Regulatory Agency (GRA), 7; agent
  lens, 10.
  Genetics, 24.
  Golematics, Janus, 17; Lifeline, 18.
  GURPS, 14, 21, 24; Bio-Tech, 16; Martial
  Arts, 9, 11 ; Mysteries, 5, 26; Ultra-Tech,
  16, 17; see also Transhuman Space.
  Hard-boiled mysteries, 6, 7, 35; see also
  Adventures, Procedurals.
  Hobby Skill, 15.
  Hong Kong, setting, 8.
  Identity theft, 22.
  Image enhancement software, 17, 24, 26.
  Infomorphs, access to programming, 21;
  criminal, 30; new perk for, 14; stats,
  17-18.
  Informants, 26-27.
  Intelligence Analysis skill, 15.
  Intercept Alert enhancement, 13-14
  Internal records, searching, 19-20.
  Intrusion, 21.
  Investigative skills, 14.
  IR cloaking, 16, 31.
  Islandia, setting, 8.
  K-10A uplift, police, 11-12.
  KNJ Third Hemisphere, 18.
  Königsberg, setting, 7.
  Laser listening devices, 16, 22.
  Legal Enforcement Powers advantage, 13.
  Legwork, physical, 26-27; virtual, 27.
  Lens, occupational, 9-13.
  Mars, 6.
  Martian Commonwealth, 7.
  Memetics, 24-25; countering, 25; law and,
  25.
  Microphones, smart laser, 17.
  Money, following, 20; laundered, 32.
  Mugshot software, 16.
  Mumbai, setting, 6.
  Mysteries, see Adventures.
  Nanobugs, 16, 22, 23.
  Nanocleansers, 16, 31.
  Nanodetection, 23-24.
  Noir mysteries, 6, 9, 34-36; see also
  Adventures.
  Nondisclosure agreements, (NDAs), 34.
  Observation, 26; software, 17, 26.
  Passphrases, 22.
  Perks, 14.
  Police, Code of Honor, 14; officer lens, 12;
  superdog lens, 11-12; see also
  Procedurals.
  Private eye lens, 12.
  Private Messaging technique, 15.
  Procedurals, 6-7, 24, 36; see also Hard-
  Boiled Mysteries.
  Profiling, advantage enhancement, 13;
  criminal, 26; software, 17, 26.
  Psychology skill, 14.
  Public archives, searches, 20.
  Pulp mysteries, 6; see also Adventures.
  Radio direction finders, 16, 23.
  Repulse Bay, setting, 8.
  Robotica Santiago Murcielago, 18.
  Rosario-Klein P55-J, 18.
  Ruling classes, as criminals, 29.
  Scenarios, see Adventures.
  Searches, data, 19-20, 34, 35; physical, 27;
  virtual, 27.
  Security, computers, 21-22; infomorphs, 17,
  18; low-tech, 31; searches and, 27;
  surveillance and, 31.
  Sensor gloves, 16, 24, 27.
  Sightline tracker software, 17, 31.
  Silas Duncan Station, 6.
  Simulations, 25-26; genetic, 24; software,
  17, 26.
  Skeleton, thumbs, 16, 22; tongues, 16, 22.
  Skills, 14-15; complementary, 15.
  Software, 16, 17; perk, 14; using, 22, 24, 26,
  31; see also Computer Access.
  Spy-tech, 22.
  Surveillance, 22-23, 26; avoiding, 31; dust,
  16, 22; remote, 22.
  Target tracking software, 16.
  Techniques, 15.
  Telecommunication advantage, 13-14.
  Traffic analysis, 23.
  Trails, covering, 31.
  Transhuman Space, 3, 4, 8, 13, 14,
  16, 30, 34, 35, 36; Broken Dreams, 29;
  Changing Times, 5, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18,
  24; Deep Beyond, 4; Fifth Wave, 8, 16,
  21; Personnel Files, 6, 7; Personnel
  Files 2: The Meme Team, 8; Personnel
  Files 3: Wild Justice, 6; Personnel
  Files 5: School Days 2100, 8; Toxic
  Memes, 24, 25; see also GURPS.
  T-ray scanners, 16.
  Uplifted animals, as criminals, 29; lens,
  11-12.
  Varicloth, 16, 31.
  Virtual interfaces, 27, 35.
  Voice distortion devices, 16, 22.
  Voice under (messaging), 35.
  Voiceprint software, 17.
  Young-detectives mysteries, 8; see also
  Adventures.
  INDEX
  37
  INDEX
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/GURPS [multi]/SETTING/Transhuman Space/Transhuman Space - Transhuman Mysteries [GURPS 4E] [e23].pdf