Niarem train conductors
General
Niarem train conductors — known as NTC:s — are cybernetically augmented female Anishans that can be found working onboard train cars moving across the Niarem Railway Metro. Once before, they were ordinarily passengers who were selected due to being in possession of a so-called unlucky train ticket. They are shadows of their former selves and are eerily emotionless and quiet.
Interaction with passangers
NTC:s primarily interact with passengers who hold train tickets, no matter whether said tickets are active or outdated. All others are ignored unless they are of a peculiar nature. One such type of entity would be the Protectorate: Those who wear Alkatraz Armor. Another would be the Dhavians. These are either greeted with respect or open hostility. In extreme cases of the latter, NTC:s may resort to lethal force to remove those undesired from the premises of either the moving train car or the railway platform.
NTC Numbers
It is unknown exactly how many Anishans the Niarem Railway Metro has taken. The number as a whole is belived to be around a few hundred, although the amount of currently active NTC:s is believed to only be a few dozen. On your general passenger train, there might be one or two of them, and on some trains, they may not be present at all. What dictates this is not known, as no clear patterns have been observed.
Physical description
Appearance
NTC:s have a general height between 165 to 173 centimeters and have a moderately muscular build. They have all short-cropped hair, manicured eyebrows and wear subtly applied makeup. They wear four circular ear piercings on their left ear that have a dark blue shade. Their eyes are expressionless and glassy, and their eye colors appear muted.
Cybernetics
NTC:s cybernetic augmentations are subtle and seamlessly fused with their biological bodies on a level of mastery that hints of it all being the product of a supernatural transfiguration process, not a surgical one.
They are, for the most part, obscured by the uniforms and synthetic skin. A few are more notable.
Examples
One example is the softly pulsating, blue-colored circuit nets that are visible on their right cheek.
Another is the metallic rivets that protrude from their skin at the neck, shoulder, and left- and right waist. Their purpose is speculative at best, with one theory proposing that they help stabilize the cybernetic implants. Another theory is that they are access ports for internal cybernetics.
A third example is their steel-plated hands, which are additionally covered with subtle, pulsating azure-shaded circuit nets.
Apparel
All NTC:s are dressed in a white blouse underneath a dark-blue vest. Over that, they wear black- and blue-shaded jackets. Beyond that, they wear dark-blue pants, a black belt, and black leather shoes. Irregularly, dark patches that may or may not be bloodstains will become noticeable on their clothes, though it does not appear to trouble them.
On the left side of their chests, they wear a metallic nametag showcasing a name obscured by scratches that may have been made by a knife or other sharp object. They are also armed with a high-velocity, semi-automatic 9mm pistol and a steel baton that they carry on their belt.
Transitional environmental effect
The state of NTC:s uniforms will mimic the state of the train they are on, which subsequently mimics the regional environment that the train currently travels through. A chernobic environment will result in NTC:s uniforms appearing torn, discolored and dusty, as if they haven't been properly maintained for years. A halcyonic environment, on the other hand, will result in NTC:s uniforms appearing recently sewen, freshly washed and ironed out.
This change occurs as soon as their train crosses an environmental border, and a sudden gust of chilly wind that is tailed by faint, white mist, goes through all wagons.
Capabilities of NTC:s
Enhanced physicality
NTC:s are — comparable to their former selves — enhanced to a certain, noticable degree. Particularly in regards to their strength and durability, which is generally above avarage for Anishans.
It is not known if this is due to their cybernetics or some other cause, pertaining the process which made them into NTC:s.
Becoming an NTC
It is not known exactly how an Anishan become a NTC, but the process of transfiguration is belived to occur at Terminus Station. How one is chosen is a bit more clear, but is still largely speculative.
Being chosen
An outdated ticket
One of the cornerstones in the selection process involves an outdated train ticket, as has already been mentioned. This train ticket has a passenger number that always end on one of three numbers; one, seven or nine. A faint pattern of a circuit net is visible on the backside of the ticket as well.
Finding the ticket
It is said that the ticket will only be discovered while the train has already departed, and this risk is supposedly elevated if one boards the train between dawn and dusk; this is primarily belived to be due to the fact that the presence of NTC:s on trains during these hours are higher than other times.
Those preferable
As far as has been determined, only Tarrem Anishans have been turned into NTC:s, and there appears to exist an elevated risk for those with Alignments that corresponds with timeliness, navigational awareness and/or professionalism.
Thematically overwritten?
One of the most feared aspects for an Anishan of becoming an NTC is the prospect of having their Themes overwritten, causing a Thematic Anishan Fragmentation that is relatively minor. This override is belived to be what causes the NTC:s to become so emotionless and drone-like in their behavior. What reversal process that they undergo when their service has ended is unknown and of immense interest to the more scholarly and doctorate of Anishans, as well as to groups such as the League of Lamatshu.
Relived of service
NTC:s are relieved of duty after roughly one century, although service periods as short as fifteen years have been documented. It is unknown what exactly determines the amount of time someone stays as an NTC. All former NTC:s will be found on a night train, with their old train ticket in their right hand, now badly burnt and blackened.
Mental state
NTC:s have no memories of their time of service. What they can recall is nothing but indistinct imagery and unintelligible sounds. In contrast to most who have suffered through a Thematic Anishan Fragmentation, former NTC:s are relatively stable, all things considered. At worse, they suffer through conditions not dissimilar to a severe form of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as selective muteness and blackouts. Wearing a TAF Muzzle has been noticed to mitigate these symptoms.
Physical state
Their clothes — which will be what they usually wore before their service — are always covered in their own dried blood. Most of their cybernetic augmentations will have been removed, excluding their circuit nets, steel-plated fingers on their right hand, and the metallic rivet that protrude from their neck. They will also still have their ear piercings, and their nametag will be found clutched in their left hand, free from scratches.
Metro sisters.
The Train Taken.
TT:s
NTC:s
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