#One Cold Week Benelux

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MILITECH MEDS/STIMS THYJS TOOK DURING SERVICE:

Not so long ago I sat down and thought about which drugs/stims Thyjs had to make use of during his career and service at Militech EU/Benelux Union/KCT, researching the CP lore about said stuff and thought I should make a post with it here as well since I've only posted it in discord. Maybe some of you are intersted in it as well.

Beware it's a lot of text (as always).

FYI: I headcanon that Militech EU/Benelux Union in 2077 has developed forward in topics of developing combat drugs for their soldiers. In the past to benefit in operations/wars the military gave their soldiers experimental drugs that made the soldiers highly psychologically addictive to them, often resulting in them getting cyberpsychosis. I also headcanon it might still be common in the NUSA but for EU Militech is a bit different: so Thyjs was being watched and cared for as Militech and especially Netherland’s Royal Army/KCT saw a huge value in their special force soldiers so they did everything to prevent especially cyberpsychosis. That being said, Thyjs received high treatment after each operation, depending on how nerve wracking and physically draining it has been for him and how often he had to make use of said drugs of the following list:

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Militech Combat Drugs

These drugs are highly illegal on the market and only restricted quantities are available to the NUSA military (and Militech Mercs). It’s known that Militech has made these combat drugs available to any military force in the world that can meet their price. It would be extremely difficult for any normal (non-military) person to obtain these drugs legally. A near impossible streetwise check or a very difficult streetdeal check could be made to obtain a single dose of one of these drugs at triple the cost.

///Prime¹

This drug narrows the user’s concentration down to a highly focused point and eliminates extraneous emotion, making the user extremely cold and rational. An average testing of the user’s vitals should be made when the drug wears off. Failure indicates that the user has not made a successful transition to an unprimed state. The user is distracted and finds it difficult to concentrate. Increases; enhanced perception Benefits; better awareness/notic Duration; up to 24h Side Effects; possible lack of Concentration after wearing off ———

This is the drug I imagine Thyjs must have taken the most if not almost daily during active service (does not include off duty), so it explains why he lost emotions. He might have experienced a need/mild addiction for taking them each day due to the lack of concentration setting in when having time off his duty. He is more or less forced to discontinue taking them when he runs out of his packages/doses left he took with him on the NUSA job. Without them he will experience a huge loss of concentration in the first weeks, which is why he will get distracted by daily life noises in Nighty City when he doesn’t use them anymore. His medtech will prescribe him something else for lack of concentration, that does not result in addictiveness as Thyjs does not have access to Militech drugs anymore since he’s officially announced as deceased. They will help him with his concentration while he tries to get used to daily life. Chance is high he has to take them life long.

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///Timewarp¹

Timewarp sharpens the reflexes of the user and enhances reaction time to an inhuman level. After a dose of Timewarp wears off, the user should make a difficult entire body and cyberware check. Failure indicates that the character takes damage from body overstress. Increases; reaction time and stamina, (headcanon; increases Thyjs’ fastness with Sandevistan as in he can ‘warp’ more times than usual) Benefits; inhuman reflexes Duration; 2-3h Side Effects; no feel of hunger and thirst, possible internal bleeding after wearing off ———

This is the drug I imagine Thyjs did made use of when he needed his Sandevistan to be active more than usual. It’s not recommended to take it often as it causes internal bleeding as he overstresses his entire body with it due to making him super fast (why you experience he’s warping). He was carefully instructed with the usage of it and is aware of the side effects. He had to make frequent use of it in the past though, so after that he was strictly ordered to rest for weeks including difficult check ups in nearby Militech hospitals to be sure he didn’t take any damage from it, while they also especially checked and repaired his Sandevistan cyberware as it also took damage by being overused. He experienced numbness in his extremities while his Sandevistan took damage as it replaced his entire spine (yes it’s not just placed over and connected to his spine, it’s a 100% cyberware replacement).

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Trauma Drugs

Manufactured and distributed by Trauma Team International, these trauma drugs are designed to meet the needs of any field medic. No good medtech would be caught without them. Available in liquid form for use in air hypos or as a single dose slap patch. These drugs are legally available to licensed medical personnel. They can also be obtained illegally with an average streetdeal check or a difficult streetwise check. If obtained illegally, prices are doubled

///Surge¹

This drug acts like endorphins. The patient receives a burst of energy and can ignore the need for food and sleep and receives endurance and more strength. The patient's stats will be halved after the drug wears off until he receives at least five hours of sleep. Increases; endurance, allowing the user to stay alert for longer periods Benefits; potent painkiller; wound level is treated as if less Duration; 3-4h Side Effects; feeling weak/powered out, chance of mental delusions ——

///Trauma¹

This drug is administered when the patient is in a mortal wound state. For the duration of the drug, death saves are three times easier. This drug is usually applied by non-medical personnel or even the patient himself since stabilization is always a better course of action. Benefits; potent painkiller; less loss of blood Duration; 6-8h Side Effects; loss of consciousness, mental delusions ———

Thyjs is not a field medic but he was of course educated in first aid and constantly took lessons to refresh his knowledge and the utilization in case the medic would not be near so he could help either himself or a mate until the medic of his platoon arrived. Therefore every soldier was given some Trauma drugs in their kit they had to carry on their belt.

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Lazarus Combat Drugs

Officially, Lazarus will neither confirm nor deny the use of combat drugs by its troops. It is, however, widely rumored to be a common practice among mercenary corporations. Two drugs in particular have been associated with Lazarus troops: The first is Dialacopamine (also known as Spotlight). The other is a 'dorph and aggressiveness booster made by Sturm-Schaller SA in Germany, called Lapazole LM (known on the streets as HappyKill), which is a lethal combat drug, dangerous and addictive (Thyjs didn’t get this). HappyKill was tested on Lazarus troops for a while, then discarded as too dangerous. There is a black market among the troops, and it still pops up from time to time.

///Dialacopamine a.k.a. Spotlight²

A fairly benign awareness heightening drug, produced by Biotechnica, known on the streets as Spotlight. It is popular with special ops troops on infiltration and ambush missions. Increases; wareness skills Duration; 5h Side Effects; repeated use includes a 50% chance of psychological addiction and a 10% chance of nerve degeneration per dose after the 5th usage. ———

Now this is not exactly a Militech drug, yet it is a combat drug used by special ops troops, so I can imagine Thyjs may have used a similar one at least one time (maybe even twice) during high risk spec op missions executed by KCT. I read the ‘per dose after the 5th usage’ as in: you take it a fifth time it definitely causes addiction. So I conclude Thyjs’ entire squad was instructed about the risk of taking this drug so none of them would be allowed to take it more than three times during their service and if they took it they needed to report it including what they experienced. This was a safety measurement to prevent addiction and up for debating if the soldier could continue or not (ofc there have been cases in the past where soldiers fell into addiction). I also do headcanon once you are in KCT, the chance is high you quit after a few operations — either because you make it out barely alive or because it fucks with you ptsd-wise and in general KCT only accepts the fittest and youngest soldiers in their ranks, both mentally and bodily, so Thyjs would have also only have been in service for a bunch of years (at the time he’s in NUSA he was still an active member, already having served since 2074 which would make it about 4 years in 2078 and that would probably have been his last year).

¹ Source: Cyberpunk 2020 – Chromebook 3, Pharmaceuticals, Page 17 ² Source: Cyberpunk 2020 – Corporation Report 2020 2 Lazarus/Militech

[dalijo]

One Cold Week In Benelux

[ergohacks]

Winter Boots is an essential for cold feet when spending hours outdoors and in the perpetually wet English countryside, they have to be waterproof boots. Wellies are great for jumping in puddles, but when we take on rougher terrain, boots with a bit more grip prevents many a fall. Our daughter chose the Hi-Tec Moritz 200 Winter Boots because they looked stylish, their soles looked very grippy and they came with the enticing promise of dry and warm feet (too often it’s a choice between one or the other).

Three weeks later, we can happily state that these boots so far have delivered. They’ve gotten wet and muddy, yet her feet remained dry. They’ve braved below freezing temperatures and her feet remained warm. She hasn’t slipped or fallen over. They are lightweight and she’s been happy that her legs aren’t getting tired lifting their weight.

I’m not sure why, but the laces keep coming undone. We first assumed it was our lack of knot tying skills, so we tied them with different knots, asked different people to tie them and finally resorted to double and triple knots. Still, they come undone as soon as she starts walking. We’ve only ever had this issue come up once before, most likely unrelated, with a pair of Hi-Tec walking boots. The laces match the boots very well and we’re reluctant to change them out, so I’ve started investigating shoelace locks and if need be, a replacement set of laces to see if that might solve this issue. It doesn’t seem to be a known issue with the boots, so quite likely it’s us getting something wrong, but it’s been a persistent problem for us.

The boots though are lovely. They have excellent ankle support and we’re confident that they’ll last until Spring despite heavy use. They are obviously well made and as they’re not too hot for milder weather, but not too cold in freezing weather, it’s a pair of boots that fit just right. Definitely recommended.

[amazon text=Buy it from Amazon&asin=B005772X56]  + 

Price: RRP £50

Hi-Tec Moritz 200 Winter Boots Specification 

The Moritz 200 are stylish winter boots perfect for snow, ice and wet weather. The shoes do not come with pom-pom laces as advertised, but we didn’t really care for pompoms in any case.

Colour: Brown or Black Upper: Suede and mesh Outsole: Rubber Insulation: Thinsulate (200g) Membrane: Dri-Tec Big-Fit System sock liner

About

Hi-Tec Sports International is a privately owned company that operates internationally, providing quality footwear, apparel and accessories to millions of people every year. Their brands also include Magnum Boots, 50 Peaks and Interceptor. Hi-Tec Sports was founded in 1974 in Shoeburyness, Essex, England by Frank Van Wezel. The company moved its headquarters to Southend-on-Sea, before relocating its head office to Amsterdam in 2013. It has about 500 employees. Today, HH-Tec Sports is a global brand generating global sales of more than US$250 million with distribution in more than 85 countries and subsidiaries in UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Spain, France, Germany and the Benelux.

We based our Ergohacks Verdict on 3 weeks of wearing the Hi-Tec Moritz 200 Winter Boots. It was purchased in January 2018. This article was first published on 29 January 2018.  

Hi-Tec Moritz 200 Winter Boots Winter Boots is an essential for cold feet when spending hours outdoors and in the perpetually wet English countryside, they have to be waterproof boots.

[junerecords]

THIS WEEK’S USED ARRIVALS

This Week’s Noteworthy Used LP Arrivals 20/20 - 20/20 (Original Pressing) Hayden - Elk Lake Serenade (Sole Pressing) Hayden - Skyscraper National Park (2013 Press, Clear Vinyl w/ CD) Hayden - The Closer I Get 2LP (Sole Pressing) Led Zeppelin - III Steve Reich - Drumming, Music For Mallet Inst., et al 3LP (German Original) Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (US Original) Steve Reich - Octet, et al. (US Original) Sonny Rollins w/ Oliver Nelson - Alfie OST Nina Simone - Sings The Blues (US Original) Nina Simone - The Amazing… (US Mono Original) Lonnie Smith - Funk Reaction (US Promo, Gatefold) Karlheinz Stockhausen - Sternklang 2LP (German Import) The Wild Swans - Bringing Home The Ashes (Original Pressing) Neil Young - Harvest (1972 Original w/ Insert) Various Artists - History Of Ska Vol. 2 (Studio One, Jam. Import) Various Artists - Oldies But Goodies Vol. 2 (Studio One, Jam. Import)

This Week’s Noteworthy Used 7” Arrivals Paula Abdul - Straight Up Banana Man - Rough Neck Sound… Beach Boys - Barbara Ann (UK Original) Beach Boys - Friends Beach Boys - Fun Fun Fun (UK Original) Beach Boys - Heroes & Villains (UK Original) Beach Boys - Wild Honey (UK Original) Jeff Beck - Hi Ho Silver Lining (UK Original) The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Fire! (UK Original) Dennis Brown - Dog Nyam You Supper David Bowie - China Girl David Bowie - Let’s Dance David Bowie - Laughing Gnome David Bowie - Space Oddity (UK Mono) Changing Faces - Stroke You Up (R. Kells, Jamaican Press) Johnnie Clark - Joshua’s Word Johnnie Clark - None Shall Escape The Judgement Cocteau Twins - Twinlights 2x7” (UK Original) Suzan Codogan - Do It, Baby Lyn Collins - Rock Me Again… Carl Craig - Untitled (Blank Label, Clear Vinyl) D’Angelo - Send It On (White Label, Jukebox) The Danse Society - Clock Carlene Davis - Rise Up (President Mandala) Dead Or Alive - The Stranger C. Dodd & L. Minott - Vanity Brent Dowe - Unfaithful Mankind Drinking Electricity - Subliminal (UK Original) Easy Beats - Heaven & Hell Facsimile Liaisons - Syncopation (UK Original) Phillip Frazer - Just A Dream Marvin Gaye - Troubleman Ginuwine - Differences Eddy Grant - Time Warp Half Pint - What’s Going Down Herbie Hancock - Rockit Happy Family - Puritans (UK Original) John Holt - Help Me Make It Through The Night Invisible Hands - Insect Dilemma Gregory Isaacs - Wondering Michael Jackson - Cry Michael Jackson - You Rock My World Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff Jean Knight - You Think You’re Hot Stuff Steve Knight - Blow Your Nose… John Lennon - Cold Turkey   Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (UK Original) Dandy Livingstone - Suzanne… Love - Alone Again Or Barbara Mills - Take Your Time Modern English - Smiles & Laughter (UK Original) Monsoon - Wings Of The Dawn (UK Original) Music For Pleasure - Switchback (UK Original) The Names - Calcutta/Postcards (Factory Benelux Original) Nilsson - Without You Nirvana (60’s Band) - Rainbow Chaser (UK Original) Tom Petty - Refugee (UK Picture Disc) Pink Floyd - When The Tigers Broke Free (UK Original) The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God (UK, Red Vinyl) The Pogues - Poguetry In Motion (UK Original) The Police - Message In A Bottle (UK, Green Vinyl) Public Image Ltd. - Single (UK Original) REM - Stand Rhythim Is Rhythim - The Innovator (Blank Label, Clear Vinyl) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tears Of A Clown (UK Original) Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar/Bitch/Let It Rock (UK Mono Promo) Rolling Stones - …Satisfaction Diana Ross & The Supremes - I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (UK Original) Sad Lovers & Giants - Man Of Straw (UK Original) Bob Seger & The Last Heard - Vagrant Winter (US Original) Shangri-Las - Leader Of The Pack/ Remember… Conroy Smith - Pray Tonight Soul II Soul - Jazzie’s Groove Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin Soul Vendors - Swing Easy Britney Spears - Lucky The Specials - Ghost Town Super Cat - Dan Dadda The Supremes - Baby Love (UK Original) Rufus Thomas - The Breakdown Tickled Pink - Reach Out Tomorrow’s Promise - You’re Everything Good To Me Toulouse - What Would My Mama Say Mary Wells - My Guy Willie Williams - Armageddon Time Bobby Womack - Secrets Karen Young - Too Much Of A Good Thing Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl (White Label) Neil Young - Heart Of Gold/Sugar Mountain (UK Original) *plus many more…