052: Jalla Free

ENTRY 052: Jalla Free

Early space travel encouraged traditions of minimalist living; the accumulation of physical personal possessions was an impediment in nascent societies where space was at a premium and every gram of gear had to be accelerated and decelerated on voyages by precious reaction mass. These practices were facilitated on by lifehacks, communal property, and elaborated with principles from old Terran philosophies that encouraged simple living. Contemporary adherents are Slipstreamers, their personal possessions winnowed down to functional minimums, so that they can live and travel unencumbered, maximizing their freedom of movement.

Radical slipstreamers like Jalla Free own nothing but themselves. Theirs is a transhuman philosophy who believe that individual property is an evolutionary stumbling-block, necessary in early social development but a practice to be outgrown and left behind. Jalla still struggles with her beliefs—it is not enough for her to be free of physical possessions, but to be free of desire, to exist without jealousy, envy, greed, want, and attachment. By the standards of her beliefs, Jalla lives an open monastic life, engaging in socially positive work, study, meditation, and companionship with lovers and friends as she continues to refine herself.

Jalla has progressed in her beliefs to the point of nudism, eschewing clothing save where necessary or practical. As a teenager she had submitted to a full-body tattoo, abstract patterns and symbols with meaning only to her, but as Jalla gets closer to her goal she has these removed, slowly uncovering herself. She uses her nudity to her advantage in her work as a courier and smuggler—when one is unafraid to bare their body, few look to see what they may be hiding.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
13	18	16	18	13	24	20	-
INIT	SPD	LUC	TT	IR	DUR	WT	DR
7	1	40	8	80	30	6	45

Morph: Splicer

Skills: Academics: Philosophy 60, Art: Tattooing 40, Climbing 50, Deception (Impersonation) 56, Disguise 40, Free Fall 65, Fray 55, Infiltration 55, Infosec 45, Interests: Meditation 80, Interests: Tantra 55, Kinesics 65, Language: Native Urdu 86, Language: Mandarin 50, Language: Japanese 50, Medicine: Paramedic 50, Networking: Autonomists 50, Networking: Criminals 50, Networking: Firewall 35, Palming 35, Profession: Courier 55, Profession: Smuggler 60, Protocol 65, Scrounging 60, Unarmed Combat 50

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Bioweave Armor (Heavy), Clean Metabolism, Cortical Stack, Endocrine Control, Enhanced Respiration, Hardened Skeleton, Medichines, Mnemonic Augmentation, Multi-Tasking, Oracles, Temperature Tolerance

Traits: Ambidextrous, Morphing Disorder, Psi Chameleon, Psi Defense (2)

Using Jalla Free

Imagine a New Agey hypercompetent, hyperconfident hippie; Jalla may struggle with her philosophy but just because she eschews possessions and pursues goals some see as self-destructive doesn’t make her stupid or naïve. Player characters that deal with Jalla should be exposed to both her outgoing personality, open and honest, and to the realities of her monastic lifestyle which have hardened her against extremes of mental, physical, and social discomfort.

Seed

• The player characters have been hired to complete a smuggling run through the Pandora Gate, and Jalla Free is their contact on the other side. What their employers did not tell them is that they are smuggling a new nanotech system secreted within Jalla’s body. The PCs will either have to find a way to extract the nanites, or take Jalla Free with them past the checkpoints.