A short introduction
The content of the following note is based on a short study on the effects of what I have dubbed body shock. A form of mental and physical sensation overload that
Steamborn are known to suffer from. Much of this study is done from personal experience and a few individuals I managed to question about the fact
about body shock
Body shock refers to the tendencies for steamborn to enter a fugue-like state upon experiencing a new physical phenomenon. This can be something as simple as speaking for the first time or the initial movements of one's body. While this might seem like a benign quirk that steamborn suffer from it is anything but. The dangers of zoning out with any new sensation can not be understated, take for example getting damaged or hurt. The normal response in creatures to such an act is the release of adrenaline and other hormones to release and activate fight or flight response. For a steamborn this would not occur upon initial damage; instead, the steamborn will enter body shock and completely zone out for an unknown period of time. This is of course an extreme scenario that might not occur for many steamborn; however, more everyday problems can also become swiftly fatal. For example, steamborn feel what can be equated to hunger, a need for fuel that manifests as a form of feeling empty, and the need to partake of a fuel source. This sensation causes body shock which in turn can loop into the sensation of being very hungry and starving leading to total shutdown which is in most cases a fatal end due to irreparable damage to internal systems. From various records I was able to obtain, at least 32 steamborn are known to have experienced total system failure due to this loop. Even if this looping hunger doesn't occur, that simply means that the other 2 sensations aren't yet felt by the steamborn. They might at a later date cause the loop or the sensation of starving might cause a shutdown of mental functions long enough for the individual to starve.
Sadly as of yet, no true fix has been found for the issue of body shock. However, it is recommended for any steamborn to, with the assistance of others, experience many common sensations or extremely dangerous sensations beforehand in a controlled environment to minimize risk.
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