Altered Carbon
The journey of Takeshi Kovacs through the futuristicscience fictionworld ofAltered Carbonis a winding one , to say the least . Over the course of instruction of two time of year , his mind has inhabited three unlike bodies . At one breaker point , he was in two at the same time , something incredibly illegal in his human race . The ability to avoid death by transfer your creative thinker into a young body is an unbelievable advancement in technology . But it is by no agency the only one .
Altered Carbonis fill up with astonishing engineering science that seems like it could make life much better or much , much worsened .
BECOME REAL: Cortical Stacks
At the effect ofAltered Carbonis the cortical great deal . This technology was left behind by an alien mintage and is made from non - planetary metal . It allows humans to upload their consciousness into another torso . Originally , people used this technology to travel farsighted distances through space by transferring their judgment from one body to another on a faraway major planet , a process called Needlecasting . It was adjust to allow masses who could launch the process and a body to transplant into to fundamentally become immortal . Cortical stacks and the necessary tech to support their use could alter the game for humanity .
STAY FICTIONAL: Sleeves
The use of cortical stacks and the omnipresent transferring of human consciousness changed how mass view their own eubstance . They became the equivalent of dress that you shed at the death of the day before you put on something fresh . For people who could reach the process , changing consistency became almost as frequent and as easy as commute wearing apparel .
While the term arm can mean many things inAltered Carbon , it speaks to the disposability of the fragile human var. . For some people , this could be a good affair , but for others , it represents a deprivation of joining to a large part of what wee people human .
BECOME REAL: Synths
For those who could not give to Needlecast into a human sleeve , there was always the option of using a synth . These biorobotic mechanical man could change their appearing depending on the consciousness that inhabited them . The downside to a synth was their dull senses and the side effect of re - sleeving into one too many times , also known as insanity . This is due to the jarring nature of the transferee process . While the synths inAltered Carbonaren’t exactly unfailing , the engineering has vast potentiality if refined . Upgrading the sensory input would be a upright start . But once that is done , synths could give new living to the entire process .
STAY FICTIONAL: Flechette Pistol
irrespective of the body his consciousness currently inhabits , Takeshi Kovacsis a dangerous man . His training , experience and skill make him one of the most feared fighters on any human race . summate into that all of the weapons he transmit , sometimes in a little child ’s backpack , and you have the recipe for chaos .
One of the most serious weapon in his arsenal is the Ingram-40 Flechette Pistol . The observational gun magnetically fires armour - piercing homing rounds from a ten cycle clip and can echo them to the accelerator pedal . This effectively give it myriad rounds , something Takeshi uses to his reward frequently . This is a weapon that decidedly needs to not exist .
BECOME REAL: Virtual Reality
attempt to give rise in force and naturalistic practical reality has been a goal for many company in real animation . While they are get skinny and airless , practical reality inAltered Carbonis even boastful and more beautiful than many could imagine . It is so thorough and so realistic that almost anything is potential inside of it . practical world can be as a mean value of storing a cognisance . It can be used as a substance of communication . There ’s even a specific eccentric of psychological therapy that can only be conducted through virtual reality . alas , a variety of nefarious group also habituate VR to excruciate hoi polloi , killing them over and over until they get what they want . But you ca n’t let a few bad apples spoil the bunch .
STAY FICTIONAL: Hawkeye
With any advance in engineering comes questionable usage of it . As an illustration , people using virtual reality to excruciate victim for information . But it ’s not just criminals using advanced engineering for refutable reasons . The police are doing it , too . InAltered Carbon , the Bay City Police Department have access to a objet d’art of applied science squall a Hawkeye . It ’s a trailing gimmick that they apply to follow suspects , which seems okay on the surface of the situation .
But Kristin Ortega of the BCPD also used it to track Takeshi Kovacs when he re - sleeved into Elias Ryker . Keeping an oculus on your boyfriend ’s body while someone else walks around in it was most likely not the intended usage for the Hawkeye , and there are a plenty of other way to abuse this tech .
BECOME REAL: ONI
The Online internet Interface is almost as integral to the existence ofAltered Carbonas the cortical stack , and possibly cool . An ONI is a gimmick that ’s inserted into all sleeves , disregarding of their origin . It can be control from almost any piece of technology , including something as small as a special wristband . Office of Naval Intelligence are the pinnacle of easy access to information . They can download and upload data , take photograph , platter videos , and a lot more . But it does have its weaknesses . A arm can be coded to be unseeable to an ONI and its recording features . Still , the ONI , or something like it , is a next development of current smartphone technology .
STAY FICTIONAL: Bug
The problem with engineering science in the future is that someone always seems to be follow you with it , especially when you ’re someone like Takeshi Kovacs . Everyone wants to keep an eye on what you ’re doing at all time , even at extremely inappropriate times .
Several of the group follow him around use a bug . That ’s not a hemipterous insect like a little , secret mike . It is a small remote control - controlled twist resemble a tent flap that disc and transmit everything it see to it . Again , at some really inappropriate times in the case of Kovacs .
BECOME REAL: AI Hotels
Artificial tidings is perpetually on the verge of becoming a reality . In the world ofAltered Carbon , AI is a reality and has been put to incredible use . Specifically , to run hotel . AI hotels were once all the rage but have fallen on hard times . After being resleeved , Takeshi finds his way of life to The Raven Hotel , a Edgar Allen Poe barrack place operated by an AI called Poe . He has become one of Takeshi ’s nigh allies since being come to . The idea of a thematically specific hotel operate by artificial intelligence has the potential drop to be passing interesting . Well , as long as thing do n’t take a HAL 9000 turn .
STAY FICTIONAL: Meths
Something nicknamed meth seldom turns out to be a dependable thing . While the concept of cortical stacks and uploading your consciousness into Modern physical structure to hold up seems appealing , Altered Carboncertainly shows what pass once that system is corrupted by money . Named after the long living biblical character , Methuselah , meths are extremely wealthy people who re - sleeve constantly , often into knockoff of their original body . They even maintain satellites to automatically upload their consciousness to and download them to a young body . It essentially make them immortal , assuming nothing run wrong with the appendage .
NEXT : Altered Carbon Season 2 : 10 Things That Did n’t Make Sense
