M.A.D.s (Mentally Augmented Deviants)

-Initial Description-M.A.D.s are Deviants who have had limitations removed from their minds allowing them to think and learn on a level beyond most, while also gaining the ability to hear the ‘Whispers’ that instruct and teach them how to build technologies far more advanced than the standard tech level of society.

-Historical Note- M.A.D.s were the first Deviants of the modern era who rather than outing themselves were discovered and studied before being recognized as Deviants. Largely due to the fact that while their powers react to Deviant energies there are few signs of them giving off Deviant energies of their own.

-M.A.D. Powers-During studies -both old and new- there has been frequent debate into just what an M.A.D.’s whispers are. The most widely recognized one being that they are a residual effect of Madness upon a subject’s brain expanding their mental faculties far beyond the norm. A counterpoint to this is the possibility that M.A.D.s have a possible psychic factor allowing them to hear a possible sea of consciousness, representing a well of all known human knowledge.

-M.A.D. Mental Instability- While all Deviants are known to have their own mental issues, it has been shown that there is a direct correlation between an M.A.D.s mental instabilities and the overall power of their abilities. Though it should be noted that despite having a larger range of mental ailments, most of these ailments only truly become prominent while their powers are active. These bouts of megalomanic, psychopathic, bipolar, and obsessive tendencies are known to be otherwise manageable outside of power usage.

(Note: Is recommended that a fair amount of distance be given to any Deviant accessing their ‘mad place’ so as to avoid becoming a… test subject.)

-Specializations- Typically while M.A.D.s are capable of dabbling in different branches of science they will develop a specialty of sorts based on the tech branches they most frequently build from, causing them to slowly specialize as their ‘whispers’ become more talkative about a given subject the more they build from it.

The specializations are more widely divided into the three categories of Mechanical, Biological, and Esoteric, even if any given M.A.D. can touch upon all three branches.

-Sparking and Spark Tech- Sparking is a term reserved for when an M.A.D. dives into their ‘mad place’ and proceed to produce technology in a bout of mania that far surpasses the technology that they typically produce.

This technology is frequently referred to as Spark Tech, and unlike the standard creations of an M.A.D. -which while extremely advanced are capable of being reproduced by a skilled enough team of scientists- seem to outright break several laws of physics as established by the more standardized understanding of science.

-Artificials- (Sometimes called Synthetics.) Are living beings artificially created by M.A.D.s, who have proven themselves to possess enough self-awareness, sentience, and/or sapience to be considered a living entity distinctly separate from their creator or any artificial programming.

Under typical circumstances Artificials are given a rating corresponding to their level of intelligence, with F Rank being barely aware, C Rank being equal to the average human adult, A rank being on par with E Rank M.A.D.s, and S Rank being closer to A Rank M.A.D.s.

Should an Artificial be ranked at C Rank or higher it is possible for said Artificial to apply to Sanctuary or the Heroes’ Guild to be recognized as an honorary human gaining the basic rights there-in, as well as full citizenship (depending on local law) with their creator being listed as their parent on any relevant paperwork.

Artificials of ranks lower than C are instead considered to be closer to animals in so far as their rights go, with mild protections from cruelty and confiscation to one of Sanctuary’s junior agent programs if the creator is viewed as ill fit to care for said Artificial.

--Cybers- Specifically represent any mechanical or AI based Artificial, to present date there have only been seven Cybers to be recognized as fully self-aware with each of their creators being deemed A-Rank by Sanctuary and the Heroes’ Guild both.

--Spliced- Are the biological Artificials who were created by splicing DNA together. Between the two forms of Artificials Sapience is notably more common amongst the Spliced due to the fact that many biological M.A.D.s tend to use human DNA as a basis for increasing their creations’ intelligence.

-Related and Sub Deviancies-

--Punks- Named after the science fiction genres brought into reality by the rise of Deviants, Punks are people who through a number of means and for a number of reasons have had themselves modified by an M.A.D. granting them a number of abilities normally regulated to Artificials while still maintaining human levels of intelligence and sapience.

Unfortunately due to these modifications most Punks develop a dependency of sorts upon M.A.D.s, requiring frequent maintenance to help maintain a health equilibrium between their natural physiology and their modifications. Despite this dependency however, Punks can change their operating doctors to other M.A.D.s of similar skill and specialty to their given modifications.

(Note: Certain countries have legal limits on the number of modifications a Punk can receive so as to minimize modification rejection and health degradation of said Punks.)

---Cyber-Punks- Have had pieces of their bodies replaced with various bits of M.A.D. tech, offering them the ability to switch out their various modifications for different upgrades and tech rather than being locked into whatever modifications they receive.

---Bio-Punks- Have undergone genetic therapy to inherit the abilities and characteristics of plants, insects, and animals. While their modifications are less flexible than other Punks, their more organic nature means they require the least amount of maintenance typically only needing an M.A.D. to serve as their medical doctor rather than any regularly scheduled maintenance.

---Death-Punks- Are the only form of Punk outright illegal for an M.A.D. to create, the reason for this being that Death-Punks are people brought back to life through the experiments of an M.A.D. -typically without the consent of their subject- and as such suffer a constant state of degradation without an M.A.D. to support them.