Designed by autonomist xenobotanists as an experiment in developing a cyberbrain/planimal interface, whiplash pods are bioengineered from planimal stock found on Sunrise, with other transgenic features. Whiplash pods are gaining some traction among gatecrashers due to their ability to blend in to arboreal environments. The primary modification made to the whiplash stock was to turn the entire organism upside down and orient the digestive portion of the organism horizontally, so that the whiplash’s trilobed orifice faces forward. The whiplash’s grasping roots were also converted into even more motile “walking tentacles” borrowed from other Sunrise planimals. Other adjustments include the addition of a pair of grasping limbs, each with four universally opposable digits; artificial sensing mods (providing transhuman-standard sensing ability); and a general toughening of the internal structure for rigidity and support. The barrel-like body remains very similar to the original planimal stock and, reorientation notwithstanding, the digestive system remains mostly unchanged. The ability to extend and retract the whiplash’s feeding tendril was heavily enhanced, so now the tendril acts more like a two-meter-long chameleon-like tongue than a hanging food-trap.
Implants: Access Jacks, Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Chameleon Skin, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mnemonic Augmentation, Puppet Sock
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 40
Wound Threshold: 8
Advantages: Tendril Attack (use Unarmed Combat skill, 1d10 + (SOM ÷ 10) DV, +10 to disarming called shot attacks), +5 COO, +10 SOM, +5 to two other aptitudes of the player’s choice
Disadvantages: Alien Biochemistry, Social Stigma (Alien), Social Stigma (Pod)
CP Cost: 50
Credit Cost: Expensive (rare; minimum 50,000+)
Just Mortal: One word: Ick.
Skinwalker: One person’s squick is another’s dream. I wouldn’t mind giving an alien pod a spin, just for the experience.
Sun Bu’er: You might want to wait to the third or fourth generation. I hear the experience of sleeving these is still a bit rough. I don’t think they’ve fully worked out the bugs when it comes to streamlining the alien biochemistry with the cyberbrain’s simulated biochemical states.
Violet Perdido: I know I was told that in the future I could be anything, but I never really imagined that would including being a houseplant.
Nova Vida: In all seriousness, these don’t see much use outside of certain gatecrashing ops. I’ve used one once and it has a lot more synthetic interface elements than most pods, not sure if this is because of the plant or the alien aspects though.
Plasmid: I did a bit of spec consulting on the whiplash and IIRC it’s the plant elements; the sensory elements of flora are so much different from ours that it required a lot of major work.