Near- and Non-humans of the City Not all inhabitants of the City are entirely human. There are many person ho are more or less different from the norm, sometimes by accident, sometimes by design. Group Intellects One simple way of communication is to link the biocomputers of two persons through their neural contacts. This allows the exchange of surface thoughts, and with some training deeper emotions, memories and complex mental structures. However, with special training and a long period of linking, two people can access each others mind at a very deep level. In effect, they merge their minds into a composite mind. When two or more people link together for an extended period, they become a group intellect. Their total intelligence is above the individual members, although seldom much higher. However, they make up for it by their quite immense mental power. They can easily process large amount of information, do several things at once and store memories with extreme clarity. They are also semi-immortal; when a member dies, he can be replaced with a new member who will after a while replace the mental functions of the dead. There will be a slight loss of memories and abilities, but in a large group this will be quite imperceptible. Certain group intelligences have survived for millennia. Group intellects have certain problems. One is quite practical, the members must be constantly linked together into a network. A member can be removed, but he will generally be extremely awkward and confused, and will often become catatonic after a short time. Most groups are linked together by cables strung between their heads, and their more or less immovable bodies are supported by servants and helpers, who feed them, give them exercise and keep them healthy. Despite their attention, group intellect bodies tend to become both sick and flabby. To overcome this problem, some group intellect uses wireless transmitters, which make each member physically independent of the others. Unfortunately, they have trouble coping with the confusing sensory impressions from several bodies at once. One often used solution is to either have several immovable bodies as a core and some independent. The core bodies are often surgically made blind and deaf, to avoid disturbances. Another problem is that the links interface with the information-network of the city, making group intellects vulnerable to spiritual interference. Many have become oracles for different entities, especially their corporate gods. Many groups in the city employ these group intellects for different purposes. The corporations use them as coordinators, advisors and biological computers to solve problems. The different churches use oracle-group intellects to ensure the continuity of their link to their gods. The guilds and orders use group intellects as living libraries, storing information over the millennia. And finally there are the free group intellects, ruling their tribes in the outback. Units The units are beings which are extensions of the City or a god. They just look like normal plants, animals or humans, but underneath their skin, they are made of black or grey materials mimicking normal tissues. The controlling being can sense through the senses of the unit, control its actions and use its internal mechanisms if necessary. Most of the time, the units are left alone and live their lives run by the biocomputers in their brains. Some units don't even know they are units, and live their lives in complete ignorance of their real nature. The City has created many units and spread them around the Upperworld to watch the actions of the humans. Most just observe, living quiet, ordinary lives. Some subtly interact, and are used to avert unsuitable developments. Anybody and anything might be an unit, from the light-plant in the corner to the street preacher. However, if somebody or something is revealed to be an unit, most people become very aggressive, and most discovered units are killed by raging mobs. Ghosts Ghosts are people who have died but not returned to the Underworld as they should. Instead they skulk in the spirit plane, trying to survive and interact with the living. Most are desperate, slightly insane beings who desperately try to understand their situation by randomly interfering with the world. They are invisible, but often send out strong visions, make machines behave strange and interfere with the workings of normal life. Some ghosts have quite powerful abilities, like the power of possession. When a ghost is found, the priests try to exorcise it by invoking their god against it. This often works, although some of the older ghosts have learned how to escape them. Especially the City Priests are renowned for their ability to make ghosts make the final descent into the Underworld. However, there are a few really powerful ghosts who have eluded even them. These demon-ghosts, as they are called, seems to have partially merged with malicious spirits and have a uncanny grasp of spiritual survival. They flicker around, causing trouble, and seems bent on surviving as independent beings without any thought of returning to the Underworld. Some beings hunt down ghosts. These ghosteaters can be summoned by the priests, and they will hopefully find and destroy the ghost. Some of them seems to be old ghosts themselves, and there are rumours that the ghosts fight in secret against each other. Prime A Prime is a rare person who somehow has gained enormous personal power over reality. Some even rival the power of the gods. Becoming a Prime is sometimes random; a completely normal person suddenly start gaining more and more power and intelligence, quickly becoming a Prime. This happens more often to oracles, group intelligence's and priests than to normal people. Sometimes it happens to people who have dedicated themselves to the study of the secrets of the City and of Power. A Prime can do amazing feats, like sending visions and controlling the minds of people, command the spirits and gods, make the City create buildings and other goods and generally they seem to have superhuman intelligence. However, while Primes are powerful, they are also dangerous. As they ascend, they come to attention to great and horrible powers. The godeaters seems bent on attacking Primes, and many Gods help them. There are other, unknown dangers lurking, and just being in the vicinity of a Prime may be dangerous; suddenly the Powers might strike against him in an unknown way. Many Primes are more or less insane, often demonstrating their power in destructive ways. Fortunately they are rare, about one every millennia. Most Primes are killed quickly, or just disappear. In some very rare cases, a Prime suddenly seems to loose their powers and become completely normal again. However, many such ex-Primes seems to be blessed with a protective god, and live very successful lives. Some even become oracles for new and strange gods. Evil Buildings There are some building whose spirits seems to have become twisted or insane. They are often signified by their strange architecture, with weird outgrowths or the lack of windows, but some treacherous buildings look completely normal, and the spirit may hide its nature. These buildings do not serve the humans who should live in them, but either do not allow anybody to live inside or trap people inside. The first type kills or drives off anybody coming near, and the second type imprison people inside and force them to stay. One of the most dangerous buildings in the city is the Warped Megastructure, a dying Megastructure whose god is actively trying to get as many inhabitants as possible. It kidnaps people using its units or allied thugs, and seals them inside. Few have escaped, and they report of endless galleries filled with dead people, often linked by neural contacts to the building, and doorless rooms where imprisoned people are driven mad by claustrophobia. To make matters worse, the Warped Megastructure seems to control several tribes, who are helped and protected by the building in exchange for new inhabitants. Eaters These are small (about 10 centimetres), spherical beings covered with mouths filled with sharp teeth. Each eater has some spines which it use to roll forward, and otherwise it seems to lack sense organs. Their normal reaction to anything is to bite it, and if it tastes right, continue biting. They seem to be able to digest almost anything softer than building material. They are found in great masses near the softening remains of buildings, cadavers or other sources of nourishment. When an eater has eaten enough, it closes its mouths and becomes a spherical cocoon fastened to the ground or a wall. After a few hours, it will burst releasing about ten new eaters. This extreme reproduction rate makes it possible for the eaters to devour even a large building in a few days. Anybody getting too close in the final stages will mercilessly be eaten. When the local source of food is gone, the eaters swarm across the vicinity in search for more. Finally, they seem to disappear into the Underworld again. Some people use Eaters as weapons, they simply throw a bag of eaters at their target and let them bite.