Emerald Legion Ghosttalkers

Content Warning

Brain implants, brain damage, mind control, human experimentation

The Emerald Legion equips all their members with a cybernetic implant commonly called a ghosttalker. This device is similar to having a compad embedded into your brain, able to make calls, receive messages, take photos, and more through mental manipulation. Their technology allows them to send and receive through these ghosttalkers far faster than anything else we've seen.
A version of these ghosttalkers is also implanted in Legion captives and prisoners. These versions only allow one-way communication to the captive, and can force them to behave in certain ways to create sleeper agents. They'll also monitor brain patterns in long-term test subjects to determine the effects of experimentation.

Legionnaire Use

All Legionnaires have a ghosttalker embedded in their brains. Most commonly, they're used for notetaking and recording, whether out in the field or in the lab. A typical field squad has at least one telepath to aid rapid communication, but the ghosttalker allows long-distance messages to other squads and alerts from the local command center. This is especially true with advanced Legion communications technology that can near-instantly contact distant star systems.

Sleeper Agents

When infiltrating a new location, the Legion will capture locals and implant a version of this ghosttalker into their brains. A Legion telepath then modifies the victim's memory to give a different explanation for their absence, so they're unaware of their abduction and surgery. These victims unknowingly become the Legion's spies and sleeper agents, as the ghosttalker not only records everything their victim experiences, but can also receive commands.
These commands cause the ghosttalker to hijack the victim's brain signals and force the body to follow the order. Common orders were for more subtle actions, like poisoning a specific person, but could be more aggressively violent, like wielding a knife or firing a gun. If the individual resisted, the order would be repeatedly sent, causing the ghosttalker to overheat and damage the brain. The pain is excrutiating, and damage could be permanent. The only relief is in following the order or dying from resisting.

Prisoner Monitoring

Legion captives also receive such an implant. These were used to monitor the captives, especially those being used as long-term test subjects for Legion experimentation. Since most experiments are related to psionics, the implant monitors brain signals for changes to psionic activity, such as new metadimensional channels developing. If needed, the implant can also affect the brain similarly to medical seditives.

Ghosttalkers are part of the base cybernetic offerings in the rulebook, but only as a brain-based compad. Using it to create unwilling sleeper agents and monitor prisoners are original concepts.

Information

Used By

Emerald Legion

Related

Author Commentary

Daring Decisions

One of my player's characters from campaign 1 decided a great way to piss off the Legion was to intentionally get one of these implanted. Which was a choice I was more than happy to go along with!

Love is War

I had way too much fun using these in campaign 1 to make any NPC a potential plant, including two love interests.