Title: FFG:Who Will Control the Chronos Protocol?
Post by: RSSFeeder on 21 December 2013, 05:00:02
The Chronos Protocol Tour for Android: Netrunner Runs in April 2014
“Today, we speak with Kelvin Harding, the first human to receive implanted memories. He is the twenty-eight year-old brother of Miriam Harding, one of the scientists responsible for developing the process used to implant his memories; he is also a sixty-seven year-old resident of New Angeles named Carl Yung.”
–from the archived NBN cast, The Man Who Lived Twice
The Chronos Protocol is coming!
|
Throughout April 2014, Android: Netrunner players in Europe and other select international regions will gain their opportunity to plug into a special series of events, compete in high-level tournaments, and help shape the future of the game!
Like the Plugged-in Tour that ran throughout North America this Fall, the Chronos Protocol Tour is a special tournament tour designed to allow participants to interact more fully with the direction of the game they love:
- Each tour stop will feature a high-level tournament, complete with exclusive Chronos Protocol Tour prize support, including custom playmats and messenger bags. (You can read more about the tour’s prize support below.)
- The greatest highlight of the Chronos Protocol Tour, though, is the opportunity it offers players to vote for one of two potential Corp ID cards. One ID will enter the enter the game; the other will defunded and dissolved.
- Unlike the Plugged-in Tour, due to the distance and logistics involved, Fantasy Flight employees cannot attend these events.
Each Chronos Protocol Tour tournament features custom prize support. These exclusive prizes range from the alternate art cards handed out as participation prizes to the custom messenger bags awarded to each tournament’s top players.
- 3 custom Chronos Protocol Tour messenger bags
- 8 exclusive Chronos Protocol Tour playmats
- 50 copies of the alternate art card, NBN: Making News
What Is the Chronos Protocol? The Story Thus Far…
In order to fully understand what's at stake for the two Corps invested in the Chronos Protocol, you need to first understand its origins…
The Chronos Protocol is the result of many years of work by Miriam Harding and Dr. Evelyn Ibarra, who first met as undergraduates at EIT and later founded a small start-up technology company called Morph. At Morph, they focused on new applications of brain-taping and mind-mapping technologies, and after securing capital courtesy of Fisk Investments, Inc., they opened a small research laboratory located in Heinlein.
Among their early efforts, the project codenamed “Chronos” showed the most promise. While brain-taping normally requires a recipient brain in a tabula rasa state to which mature brains cannot be returned, Chronos was created to explore the integration of mind-mapping within existing biotic structures. Harding and Ibarra coded a new RNA structure that allowed the transfer information to use pre-existing neural paths, and early tests on small rodents proved to be effective and reliable. Further tests on clones were also promising. Harding and Ibarra’s new protocol was able to eliminate redundant information, allowing the recipient organism to maintain its sense of identity even while it absorbed pre-programmed snippets of knowledge––or memories.
Eventually Kelvin Harding, Miriam’s brother, volunteered to be the first human subject. He was injected with a blend of memories pulled from the oldest preserved digital brain in the public domain, and after thirteen hours of sleep therapy, he awoke to discover that he no longer could tell the difference between what was injected and what was real. Despite his sister’s requests, Kelvin created a cast about his experience (“The Man Who Lived Twice”) and sold it to a local NBN affiliate.
Morph was soon under constant surveillance, and Harding and Ibarra were barraged by purchase offers for their company, all of which they turned down. Eventually, after a particularly nasty break-in at the research lab on Heinlein, they realized that it would be impossible for them to keep their research private, and they reached out to two of the companies that had expressed interest in the technology: Haas-Bioroid and Jinteki.
While the Chronos Protocol was nowhere near perfected or ready for mass consumption, the technology had so much potential that neither company could let its rival acquire it. The ability to remove traumatic memories or implant a sophisticated set of skills could create a whole new canvas upon which to paint human experience. Both companies understood: This powerful, selective mind-mapping technology must be acquired… at any cost.
Throughout the Chronos Protocol Tour, participants will be able to cast their votes to decide which of the two megacorps will acquire the Chronos Protocol and which will see it slip forever through its grasp!
Retailers: Apply by January 10th to Host a Chronos Protocol Tournament
If you’re a retailer outside of North America, you can apply today to become a part of this exciting opportunity for Android: Netrunner and transform your store into one of the buzziest hubs on the network!
To start your application, find your contact from our list of participating distributors.
This Is the Stuff That Makes Great Memories
This coming April, players in Europe and select international regions will help shape the future of Android: Netrunner. Be a part of the action, participate in the Chronos Protocol Tour, play in high-level tournaments, and compete for custom prizes. Each of these tour stops is certain to reward you with great memories for years to come!
...Source: Who Will Control the Chronos Protocol? (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4556)