Rehabilitative Service Cyborgs

I am the hand of the Dominion of Man. I will crush those that stand in our way.
— 915.3

To combat overcrowding in prisons, criminals may choose to undergo a transition from man to machine to create Rehabilitative Service Cyborgs (RSCs). These robotic forms are functional, productive tools which can provide a prisoner of an alternative means of serving their sentences. Before the transition, emotions relating to their pasts are stripped, turning experiences into distanced memories of their lives as humans. Some strongly condemned criminals may also have parts of their memories wiped to prevent rebellion. As society’s ‘perfect’ tools, RSCs serve and protect the human population using any means necessary. Make no mistake, though, it remains an equal punishment. By retaining their human minds, they are forced to fulfil their duty as the protectors of the humans — they cannot return to their bodies unless there are humans left to facilitate the change. Their new cyborg bodies are powered by chemical manipulation of the nitrogen gas in the air (contained in limited tanks during space war), preventing them from seeking a new planet to live their lives as cyborgs. When the Neila invade, the humans’ initial panic turns into hope when scientists discover that the RSCs can not only detect the presence of the Neila, but that the Neila are unable to imitate the RSCs. As such, to ensure survival of the human population, the transition from man to machine is no longer a choice.

Appearance

The RSCs may seem like simple, robotic soldiers on the outside, but design contains more than what meets the eye. The following notes are from a section of the head engineer’s design documentation of the latest RSC model:

“The Rehabilitative Service Cyborgs (RSCs for short) are designed to be extremely similar to humans in both mobility and appearance to lessen the mental shock of when a person’s mind is implanted into the cyborg. By keeping the body shape and the mobility the same, the human mind is able to adapt to the new body efficiently and safely. However, despite their similarities, the new cyborg body has new functionality that makes it superior to the average body of a human and effective in keeping the criminal minds under control. The body of the RSC is protected by durable steel armor to ensure that the inner mechanisms will not be damaged easily. The eyes of the RSC have special sensors that can detect the methane levels within the bodies that are within sight. Due to the high levels of methane gas within the Neila after they shapeshift, these eyes will be integral and effective in identifying the Neila when they are intermingled with those that they have copied. However, the interpretation of sensor readouts requires a training period of up to one year. Facilities have been built on Mars to fulfill this purpose. In addition to methane sensors, the RSC have an X-ray camera setting within their eyes that can be enabled to help them search for the core of the Neila to destroy them. The head of the RSC has two slots that are used in the process of transferring the mind out of the human body. These slots can only be activated upon human touch, ensuring that the cyborgs cannot transfer their mind back without the help of a human. To further keep the RSC binded to Earth, the body of an RSC requires nitrogen gas that it intakes through the gaps in its head to manipulate into the energy it needs to power itself. Due to this feature, a visible mouth had to be removed from the design, however, the RSC has speakers within its head that emulate a human mouth and can project sounds in a clear manner. Should any new features be added, this section of the documentation will be promptly updated...”