Encoded Broad Spectrum Language

[hazelmouse]

Lore Impact: Small to Medium

Species: Human & Synth

Short Description:

This introduces an additional encoded language to the setting named Encoded Broad Spectrum Language (or EBSL), a communications standard similar to EAL that sacrifices a great deal of efficiency in its encoding in return for a limited degree of compatibility with appropriately augmented organics.

Developed in its oldest forms by Eridanian dregs to help evade the law and competing groups with efficient, encoded transmissions, the modern augment and encoding standard has been developed and released by Orion Express to be sold to just about anyone with enough credits to buy it. As a result, it has quickly garnered a reputation as a tool for criminals and the destitute due to its usefulness for illicit activities, associated with financial uncertainty and desperate circumstances - but for those streetwise souls that do choose to adopt it, it comes with definite advantages, especially if one deals with low-income synthetics on the regular.

How will this be reflected on-station?

This application corresponds with a PR to add EBSL and the corresponding augment to the game, see here. Mechanically it's a new language, sounding if you don't understand it like a lower, slower variant of EAL. By taking the augment, synthetics would be able to use it as a traditional language, while organics would only be able to receive transmissions and send out any of a number of pre-set messages, similarly to the Ve'katak receiver. As this is a civilian augment rather than a paramilitary one, the pre-set messages would be less oriented around combat. Only organics with SBS would be able to take the augment, as a way to bar EBSL use only to the heavily augmented. This is a new language rather than an EAL receiver to keep EAL synthetic-exclusive, with the IC explanation that EAL is simply too heavily compressed for even an augmented organic brain to parse. It's purely local - it can only be heard within line-of-sight.

Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?

It's intended to function as a bridge between synthetics and heavily augmented organics - yet another tool the augmented use to gain an edge - while also functioning as a lingua franca of dispossessed synthetics. It's should open the way for some classism between both synthetics and organics, being as it's a language associated with scrappers and dregs rather than something you'd expect a corporate synthetic or an organic corporate stickler to involve themselves with, or approve of their co-workers involving themselves with.

Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team? Of course!

Long Description: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tR9f-QhZUkw6dhYCdkBiMnhK8BjBMQyMqGFvUXi3Pxc/edit?usp=sharing

Edited September 22 by hazelmouse

[dessysalta]

This is cool as hell!! +1

Also obligatory "I think Hazel is a good writer but I'm busy rn so just imagine this is a giant paragraph of text abt how they play IPCs/characters in general/etc"

[Jaeger Brothers]

+1 I haven't played for a while but I think this idea is cool as hell and for me it makes great sense that something like this would be developed and I think its written damn well

on a lighter note:

HOLY SHIT DEATHTROOPERS ARE SO REAL!!
 

[Lmwevil]

cool, adds to transhumanism lore without detracting from ipcs

giving them partial understanding of EAL where they may be able to hear like 1 word could be funny though

[Nagito Komaeda]

12 hours ago, Lmwevil said:

where they may be able to hear like 1 word could be funny though

 

+1, transhumanism and extreme augmentation is an interesting part of the setting and this will make that aspect just a little more unique.

[kermit]

This is being denied by us loremasters after a discussion with Matt on the maintainer end for a couple of reasons:
1) An entire language for arguably niche uses isn't wanted.
2) The timing of this canonisation app is pretty rough and coincides with the loremasters starting a languages overhaul project. Any language additions are likely to be made redundant or not be in-line with where we want languages to be, so we're not accepting changes to languages rn.

It's possible synthlore may draw from this canonisation app if they wish for something similar as part of the language overhaul, if you're okay with that. Otherwise, you can reapply with the same proposal post-language overhaul.

Questions can go to me.