GRIDSCAN 0.2: What Exactly is a Packrat?

The Packrats are a renegade band of Psi-Induced (psychic) children originally created by the Psi Corp to be an army of enhanced humans. With the Psi Corp, these children, called “Psi-Ko” or psychic children (psi-kodomo) are given DNA nanotechnology conditioning to alter their genes as well as psychic conditioning. The third level of conditioning which creates the “Packrat Condition” can not be reversed, and is when their DNA is matched to s particular psychic skill.

Some of the children are irreparably damaged after the third level of conditioning and are left for dead and discarded on the street of Have 15, or the slums. Since the conditioning makes them dependent on nanotech, and others on psychic inducer drugs, these discarded psy-ko’s have no where to turn but to the Packrats.

This renegade group takes them in and works in the lower districts of the slums, Have 15, the Echelons and the Zone to free the populace, smuggle food, drugs and tech (technology) and are embattled with the Psi Corp and the Elite to free society through revolution.

Packrat Social Customs

• Mate Pairs (Pairing Ceremony) – Packrats are mated for life and this “mating” is a relationship of like psychics. Usually a jack or hacker packrat is mated with a non-hacker packrat to compliment their working relationship. Sometimes these matings are more than just friendships. Only death and banishment can end a Mate Pairing.
  
• Packrat “Waste” – Wastes are Packrats with conditioning has caused a split in their personalities. They are lower end Packrat drug addicts that have succumbed to their power or to the Neurocine and are rather worthless. Some are powerful psychics and though useless they are listened to. They roam the Underground and are not usually mate paired because they are unstable. Not bound by Packrat law but are aggressively protected by the Packrat community.
  
• Packrat “Runners” – Work with Jack or Hacker Packrats and smuggle the hacked wares between the Zone and the City where the drugs/tech reside. Most Jack Packrats stay in The Sprawl, the Runners are the ones that go out. They look more “normal” than other Packrats and are usually lower level psychics.
  
• Packrat “Saicho” (Packrat Leader) – The Saicho is the leader of the Packrats. The Saicho governs the Packrats as if a King to subjects. The Saicho’s orders or rules are unquestioned. The Saicho rules with his/her mate pair and guide the direction and the affiliation of the Packrat community as a whole.

Packrat Law

• Packrat “Rite of Challenge” – Any Packrat can challenge any other for any reason. This challenge is a psychic and psychic fight that will end in death for one of the 2 people. The normal rule of law is that a challenge ends in death, however the Saicho can override this and let the looser live being banished form the Sprawl.
  
  The Saicho can also be challenged. Anyone who challeneges the Saicho is usually banished if they loose, and not killed. The loosing challengers mate pair has the option to be banished with the mate pair or to remain, unpaired for the rest of his life. If a non-banished mate pair is seen interacting with a banished, this is automatic banishment.
  
• The Packrat Code – Packrats are aggressively loyal to other Packrats, their leader and their mate pair. They will go to their death if ordered to without question. Loyalty is existence. All Packrats hate the Elite and live “outside” society by choice. Since Packrats are not allowed to ever gain citizenship they are fiercely loyal to the Echelons and its way of life. The 3 things that Packrats live for are “jack, deck and junk.” Jack is their ability to hack into the Elite mainframe using their psychic power. Deck is the tool used to jack-in and is a handheld or mounted contraption that links to an ISB port from a wire in their heads that is a living cybernetic connection. Junk is Apollon B-5, or Neurocine, a psy inducer drug that all Packrats must take to remain alive.
  
• Packrat “Rite of Conflict” – A Packrat can invoke this rule in the case they have a personal conflict that makes it so they can not carry out an action. This ceremony has to be witnessed and the Packrat leader has to approve this.
  
• Packrat Jack Etiquette – Do not talk to a “jacked packrat.” Jack is life for hacker packrats called “Jacks.” During or after a Jack, packrats can sound machine like and montone as their DNA re-aligns from binary to organic activities. Viruses can be passed during Jack episodes. Jack enables the Packrat collective, where the Packrats can think as one.
  
• Packrat Drug Etiquette – Never steal another Packrats Neurocine, or you will be challenged and banished from the Sprawl.
  
• “The Banishing” or How to Getting Banished from The Packrat Sprawl Forever – Steal another Packrats Neurocine, defy a an order from the Packrat leader. Kill another Packrat, Covet another Packrat’s mate pair. Loose a challenge and not die or have death pardoned by the Saicho.

Packrat Psychic Levels

• Psy Conditioning Etiquette – There are 3 levels of conditioning, Packrats have had all three. The Psi Faction initiated this regimen. The Packrats have refined it.
  • Level 1 – DNA Configuration. DNA is merged with nanotech and cybernetic implants to boost the natural power physical or psychic.
    
    
  • Level 2 – Psi Conditioning. This is gene manipulation where the persons genes are altered to enhance general psychic power or augmented to configure specific psychic abilities or power to a higher level.
    
    
  • Level 3 – Psi/Jack Integration. This is the final step that is irreversible. The Packrats calls this psychic conditioning. Packrat conditioning changes the persons eye colour to purple and the brighter the eyes the more powerful the Packrat. This also enables Packrats to see in the dark. The nanotech which existed independently is now gleened onto the genes into an integrated system.
    
    All psychic children undergoing the transformation have their head half shaved where a “Jack” implant is embedded directly into their cerebral cortex, this enables the Jack to “think” by itself and enables the direct connection to technology or the machine. Data is processed in binary format and the Packrat is linked to the machine. All Packrats have jacks, but not all Jacks are Packrats.