Sorry for doubling up on Leo’s stuff, but another one of his inventions will be relevant in an upcoming Phase 3 story, “City of Clones”…
The Heart Factory
Rather than running through everyone on the roster, here’s what it is, who might conceivably have a use for it, and so on.
The Heart Factory is a specialized computer. It’s got software for transferring connectomes - maps of a living being’s brain patterns - between Newman-type robots, and can work through other compatible channels, such as Leo’s neurochip and Jason’s nanobot system. It’s shown up several times in the original game and in later fiction.
It’s the original purpose of the device that makes it so dangerous. It can synthesize a new brain pattern, based on one or more other people, or on an imagined person. Leo describes it as “the power of creation”, and among the Newmen it demands significant moral authority to think about using it this way.
Its authorized users and uses include:
- Leo creating Otto and Pneuma before the game started
- Otto creating Mo and Big Bill during Phase 2, and repairing SNOWMAN in Phase 3
- Leo granting Alycia Chin permission to operate the device on a limited basis
- Leo letting John Black get a copy of the specs to analyze the Mirror Alycia connectome
There’s a phrase associated with the machine’s use: “Before the omnipotent witness, I swear to use this power only for good.”
Leo invoked this phrase to deny Saito, and both he and John have said it other times to signal their intention. It’s a sacred vow among the Newmen.
The origin of the phrase (both in and out of game) is “Galactic Patrol” by “Doc” Smith. In it, Lensmen are expected to hold themselves to the highest moral standard, and vow to do so by saying “before the omnipotent witness, I promise never to lower the standard of the Galactic Patrol”. Leo isn’t in the Patrol but he’s setting himself to an equally high standard when he uses the machine.
Non-Newman heroes who might find it interesting include Mirage (as transferring into a shell that lets her escape Jason’s digital restrictions might be appealing) and Comrade X/Alex (who likes to tinker with stuff, and who has been emphatically told not to fuck with this tech).
Several villains have expressed interest in it, including Senior Commander Saito, Rossum (who developed his own equivalent version to clone himself), and Pyrrhus (who’d love to transfer into a PINNACLE hypergenius-equipped robot brain).