Plasmaman
| Fungus | |
 Plasmamen |
Genus: N/A Homeworld: Plasma Central Authority: Its a fucking mushroom Restricted Job Roles: N/A Guides: No external guides |
Not to be confused with the men of plasma.
Sometimes derogatorily referred to as "Hotheads" or "Gasbags", Plasmamen are sentient non-humans hired by Nanotrasen to fill in gaps in their Human workforce. Plasmamen are barred from most authority roles on Nanotrasen stations and are not protected by Asimov's laws of robotics.
Plasmamen are often referred to as a 'hard mode race' for Space Station 13: they move at a slower speed than other races; they must wear a special jumpsuit and helmet in order to avoid burning; they must breathe plasma instead of oxygen, forcing them to carry a plasma tank at all times. Additionally, plasmamen take increased damage from fire and lasers, making them especially fragile. Under normal circumstances they cannnot survive cloning or surgical procedures.
Lore
A New Kind of Worker
While Plasmamen may, to the layman's eyes, look like merely purple skeletons, this does not tell the truth of the incredible complexity of the organisms that make them tick. For Plasmamen are not merely one organism, but millions, known as Colonids.
The Colonids are microscopic, plasma-based fungi, which form large networks with other Colonids. These colonies can eventually stretch to include billions of the organisms, with the collective forming a single cohesive social unit. Originally being discovered as a purple fungus around liquid plasma pools on the Icemoon, Freyja, Colonids were overlooked until Nanotrasen researchers discovered that they produced small electrical impulses. Further investigation revealed that these impulses were a simulacrum of nerve signals, and the researchers were curious enough to investigate whether these creatures may be a form of intelligent life.
It was these tests that would reveal the true potential of Colonids- during a routine inspection, Marcel Delacroix, a researcher assigned to the project, slipped and fell into a tank of liquid plasma which had been opened to test the Colonid content. Marcel died as a result of plasma exposure, and hasty preparations were made to recover his corpse from the tank. However, as his coworkers rushed to gather their gear, their attention was drawn to the tank by a series of banging noises. And they were then horrified to see Marcel, skin and muscle sloughed off to the skeleton, and covered in a fine purple membrane, stand up and begin staggering around. When dragging him out of the tank, he burst into flames, and was only extinguished when placed into an inert environment, at which point he began suffocating. Plasma was quickly flooded in- and so it was discovered that Colonids require a plasma rich environment, be that liquid or gaseous, to survive.
Tests were ran on the creature that used to be Marcel, and it was found that it possessed human-like intelligence- however, no trace of Marcel's personality remained. It was clear that this was a new being, which merely inhabited his corpse. Further testing showed that the plasmaman was quite capable of learning Common, manipulating its skeletal mouth and forming vocal cords to further improve its capabilities. Its anatomy was found to quite closely mirror that of humanity, but exclusing several organs which were clearly deemed as extraneous. To allow it to leave his containment cell, it was given an EVA suit flooded with a mixture of nitrogen and plasma, which prevented it from catching fire. And so, unwillingly, Marcel Delacroix became the first plasmaman as we know them today.
Following this discovery, Nanotrasen initially saw potential for these new beings in military applications- however, trials revealed that they were simply too frail to be of any use on the battlefield, and besides- they had free will, and a surprising number of the newfound species were more interested in cooking, or studying law, or any number of other pursuits, than in wanton murder. Frustration with the project ended up turning to excitement for corporate, however, when Nanotrasen realised that these new beings would be excellent for shoring up gaps in their workforce, as they required few of the amenities or even basic necessities that organic workers need to survive.
And so, the plasmaman became Nanotrasen's newest type of worker- reanimated corpses, ready to do mundane labour for little to no pay. However- plasmamen present a unique problem in the workforce- their propensity to catch fire. Hence, the creation of the Envirosuit was necessary to exploit this new workforce.
The Suit
The plasma envirosuit we know and love(?) today is an elegant blend of cost-effectiveness and ease of use (especially in the venue of neutralizing rowdy skeletons via helmet removal).
Aside from this emergency use case, releasing burning plasma out (and burning oxygen in) at every little scratch is not ideal, thus the fabric of the envirosuit is made of two layers of heavily coated and tightly woven synthetic threads, with a layer of an extremely sticky and hard to wash glue-like substance sandwitched in the middle (the formula, though protected by corporate secret, is known to include tritium hydrocarbons less common than plasma).
Thanks to this design, in case of a slash or rip in the fabric of the suit it can easily be mended through the simple application of pressure, and the built-in extinguisher charge does the rest.
Said extinguisher charge is little more than a manually-toggled water dispenser located behind the vertebrae, which effectively reduces the plasma colonids' typical dryness (the leading hypothesis for the cause of such a low humidity is their tendency to rapidly absorb liquid water for hydrogen, an element which the organisms are always quite eager to consume).
You might be thinking to yourself: this is all well and good, but, say, if a plasmaman has to, for example, put on glasses, are they screwed? The answer is, kind of! While the helmet is easy to quickly unscrew and equip again, such an operation can only be conducted safely under a shower, in an inert environment, or in the dangerous vacuum of space, unless the user is brave (or stupid) enough and quick with their reflexes.
Reception
The crew of the stations to which plasmamen were tentatively introduced oddly didn't react all too poorly to the new colleagues. In the words of Space Station 8's Captain Lucio Spurgis: "I've been through so much shit lately I barely noticed the purple guys coming out of arrivals."
Space Station 5's Chief Engineer Ruth Blarbo instead remarks "They're cool I guess, they mostly spend their time tanning at the supermatter. It's a step up from the human staff who actively delaminate it just for kicks."
Not everyone has reacted as positively, however. The Animal Rights Consortium and other ethics organizations have taken the news of a new species made of human corpses and alien goop being introduced to Nanotrasen stations, and especially the horror stories about envirosuit testing (how many had to burn before the product reached the market?) particularly badly, and have been steadily extending their Nanotrasen Book Of Grudges, motivating the rest of the Syndicate ever more for the next attack.
Fun Factoids:
- Since Colonids are native to the Icemoon, the liquid plasma pools on the moon are teeming with them. Falling into one of these pools may result in becoming the next Marcel Delacroix.
- Plasmamen can infest any skeleton, or really any organic surface- those seen on Nanotrasen stations are generally human skeletons, as Nanotrasen is able to source them cheaply from the bodies of convicts. Yes, this means plasmamen can infest things like dinosaur skeletons, and yes, this is badass.
- Plasmamen have very human mannerisms, due mostly to their integration with human society on the frontier. That said, they have developed their own distinct culture in their short time on the galactic stage.
- Plasmamen are not only immune to radiation, but utilise it very efficiently as an energy source. Even the small amounts given off as background radiation on the Icemoon are sufficient to sustain them.
Roleplay
Plasmamen names are of the form "Name RomanNumeral", where the names should generally be something chemistry related. Names such as Halogen XVI, Ionium CVXI, Radon MXI, are generally good examples of the format.
Gameplay
NOTE: Plasmamen start with their sealed clothing, a plasma tank in hand and a breath mask in addition to their job's equipment. Keep your internals on at all times, so that you don't suffocate from a lack of plasma.
Plasmamen are an optional playable race. You can make a plasmaman character in the character panel. They do not have unique aspects that can be customized.
Due to their Plasmic based biology, they spontaneously burst into flame in the presence of an oxidizer (oxygen). They have special sealed suits to prevent this, made up of an envirosuit (worn in the jumpsuit slot) and a spaceworthy helmet. A shower or the vacuum of space can prevent a naked plasmaman from burning, but the former only works temporarily when oxygen is present. Additionally, any atmos-sealed suit (either space suits or hardsuits) can protect them from the atmosphere. Fireproof clothing won't protect them from reacting with the atmosphere, although it will protect them from other sources of fire.
The jumpsuit contains a self-extinguisher with 5 charges, which activates when the plasmaman is wearing both the jumpsuit and helmet and is on fire. There is a cooldown between automatic extinguishes. Plasmamen helmets are flash-proof, so this lets the average plasmaman do welding without risking eye injury. The helmet obstructs eye and ear items from others, and only the plasmaman themself can take them off without removing their helmet. Neither jumpsuit nor helmet are fireproof.
Plasmamen may eat, but must take off their helmet and breath mask to do so. However they will not become hungry.
Plasmamen breathe plasma, and carry their own plasma tanks for internals. They are smaller than standard plasma tanks and they can be carried on the waist or in a pocket. These plasma tanks are not stocked on the station, but additional tanks (and plasmaman outfits) may be ordered in plasmaman supply kits from Cargo. You can also make empty belt tanks at a hacked autolathe.
Plasmamen are immune to cold, and as such cannot heal from cryo, but they'll also take far less damage in space, since only the lack of pressure will hurt them.
Plasmamen take 50% more damage from brute, fire and laser attacks. They have no blood to remove from them. Chemicals, including food and drinks, can be injected into their bodies through their jumpsuits. Plasmamen are not susceptible to most viruses or diseases, including appendicitis. One disease known to affect them is blight from a revenant.
There are fewer options for bringing a dead plasmaman back to life than most other species. Defibrillators don't work, because plasmamen do not have hearts. Blood cannot be drawn out of a plasmaman, so they cannot be turned into a Podman. Cloning a plasmaman will work, but care must be taken with completed or ejected clones, as their naked body needs to be brought to a shower and dressed with a plasma envirosuit to stop them from burning. Internals also need to be provided, though the suffocation damage can be treated in Medbay if a tank isn't available. Consider getting a plasmaman supply kit from Cargo so that you can dress clones who lose their equipment.
Due to their protective armor, plasmamen are somewhat safer from many antagonists than other crew members. They are particularly safe against xenos because their helmets protect against facehugging, and removing a plasmaman's helmet tends to result in everything being on fire.
Plasmaman organs (including dismembered limbs) don't burst into flames.
The AI does not consider plasmamen human and is not obligated to listen to them. Also, certain crew members will show depths of racism previously reserved for the clown.
Lore
Plasmamen have evolved from a new type of Plasma based life, where Plasma substitutes for the Carbon in a normal human biology. This life developed in and on the surface of asteroids in the Centration belts, until eventually Plasmamen emerged. After spreading from rock to rock, Plasmamen did not form a unified society, and instead formed their own small clans of 10-100 people, living in carved out spaces inside the asteroids.
Occasionally they attach engines to convert their homes into ships. They excel in gas works, and have minor skill in cloaking technology (their love of cloaked helmets comes to mind, though Nanotrasen has banned this aboard stations). However, the species has not created hyper-spatial travel, and operates on very outdated computer technology.
How to clone a plasmaman
A step by step guide
- Put plasmaman into cloning scanner
- Scan them, start the cloning process
- Drag their dead body to cloning pod
- Undress them and leave their clothes in a pile
- Turn on shower near cloning pod
- Once they pop out of cloner, put them under shower and wait for them to dress up
But what if there are no clothes / we only found their head
- Have a blue ("Oxygen Deprivation") medkit nearby
- Once they pop out of cloner, put them under shower and feed them a few blue pills (Salbutamol) from aforementioned medkit. Plasmamen suffocate if they don't have plasma to breathe!
- No Salbutamol? Epinephrine and Perfluorodecalin work too.
- Yell at cargo to order plasmaman supplies. In the meantime, bug Engineering/Atmos for a plasma tank.
Written by an angry plasmaman who got tired of being cloned 3 times by clueless doctors before they gave up, put him in a body bag and hauled to morgue
How to Defibrillate a plasmaman
A step by step guide
- Put plasmaman on stasis bed
- remove clothing (do not worry stasis beds remove the need to breathe and extinguish)
- tend their wounds till they are back to defibrilatable health (full health is reccomended)
- organ manipulation a heart into their chest or do the Vein Muscle Membrain surgery
- Use a Defibrilator like normal
- reverse strip the envirosuit and tank back onto the plasmaman
- remove from stasis bed
Written by an angry doctor who hates people who use the cloner for no reason
