Template:Shared Draft 127

Unsorted Notes

 * Cyborg
 * Short for "cybernetic organism" (Etymology or opening?)Cyborg Heart and Arm - Railgun Ch85.png
 * Kuroyoru SS
 * Someone who has body partially or wholly replaced with mechanical parts.
 * In AC, specifically defined to someone who has the necessary parts all contained within body, optimal fiber nerves makes someone a cyborg, heavy metal claws won't.
 * Mass-produced machinery, not give Kuroyoru unique individuality, but chopped up body and made into cyborg, can no longer shift to different path.
 * Electrical vulnerability
 * Railgun Ch85: Broad field
 * 86: Capsule, lab at top of skyscraper
 * 87: Outer wall, jump, safety, gps, instant adhesive restraints, research data caught in blast, layers of security on lower floors


 * Railgun Ch88: Safety limiters
 * Railgun Ch89: Flashback (need for cybernetics, lack of data)


 * Railgun Ch95: Original intent (Chief originally wanted to develop cheap cyborg methods for saving medical refugees


 * OT19Ch2Pt1: Shiokishi mention, servicing mention
 * NT mentions
 * NT18(Rensa ref)/11(Rensa ref)/10(what AC has)/4(reaction to Marian handiwork)
 * Salome: NT17/16(3-2/6)/15(3-7,5-4)
 * NT14 (AAA - Kamisato (not full knowledge?), could be referred to as external cyborg attachment): While talking about the Anti-Art Attachment during his battle with Kihara Noukan, Kamisato Kakeru wondered if he should call it an external cyborg attachment.
 * NT13 (electrical control) 2-9
 * NT7
 * NT6 5-7 (electric vulnerability)/13 (Dark Matter)?
 * NT5 (Connection obstruction) 2-4
 * NT3 (Electronic vulnerability, vagueness - rejection reaction): Ch1Pt3 - ban, Ch5Pt11 - vague
 * NT2 2-10 (Servicing, cyborg therapy)
 * Kuroyoru's cybernetic treatment is centered on her arms, the shoulder blades that support them, and connectors in various places on her upper body. Her lower body is relatively untouched and her insides have not been messed with too much. However, she is still capable of manipulating the signals in her body to bring about a state of suspended animation on a cellular level and can mess with her metabolism to go for a week without water.
 * Lifespan of precision equipment? think like computer, if full operation 24/7, lucky if lasts three years, want a body requiring surgery that often?
 * Cyborg therapy (term in darkness), people wish to be cyborgs have defect or perceived inferiority, can see what trying to get across, win against illness, raise physical abilities, correction of personal appearance. Kuroyoru - stigma of only two arms, power only from palms, more points.
 * NT1 output points 5-1/7, silvercross 4-19, Aft
 * Kuriba Profile
 * "...she was entrusted with launching and directing a project to utilize cyborg replacement of the body and the stimulation caused by it for the development of abilities that cannot be produced by a regular human body."
 * Anatomy Mechatronics
 * Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project (人体のサイボーグ全置換プロジェクト)


 * What Links Here:
 * Gensei Ogino: Brain and Right Eye, Vocal Cords

Known Cyborgs (for revision):

Cyborg, Principles
A cyborg is an individual who has had their body partially or wholly replaced with mechanical parts. The exact definition and extent varies, from artificial organs to full body mechanization, but in Academy City, a cyborg is specifically defined as someone who had the necessary parts all contained within their body - for example, optical fiber nerves might make someone a cyborg, but heavy metal claws would not.

Cyborg technology is used for both medical reasons, such as performing the functions of damaged or lost body parts,   and for combat purposes, such as enhancing one's abilities and weaponry,  with different variants for the technology designed for specific purposes.

There are a number of projects and experiments which have their roots in cyborg research, including the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project, which aside from testing technology also had the hidden objective of observing the creation of a soul, and Anatomy Mechatronics, intended to make perfect models of individuals' bodies (such as the Level 5s) using technology.

While cyborgs are primarily restricted to the Science Side and Academy City, there are a few individuals elsewhere who are referred to as cyborgs but were made through non-scientific means, such as Salome of the Kamisato Faction.

Section Possibilities
 * Definition
 * Medical/Combat/Variants
 * Electrical vulnerability
 * Projects branching off
 * Non-electronic/non-scientific
 * Ability-related
 * Comparison to Powered Suits
 * Limiters
 * Capabilities
 * Drug
 * Maintenance/upkeep
 * Therapy
 * Biological manipulation
 * Data limits/total number


 * Pros and Cons

Possible Layout
 * Opening
 * Definition
 * Medical/Combat/Variants
 * Projects
 * Specifics/Capabilities
 * Upsides: Enhancements, capabilities, biological manipulation
 * Downsides: Upkeep, electric vulnerability
 * Limiters
 * Ability-related
 * Other
 * Drugs
 * Cyborg therapy
 * Comparison to Powered Suits
 * Non-electronic/non-scientific

Upsides
 * Enhanced capability (strength/endurance/speed/pain/sight)(Rensa/Doppelganger/Gensei/Salome)
 * Aside from fulfilling the function of lost body parts, given their mechanical construction, cybernetics can provide enhanced capabilities beyond those of the original parts, such as greater strength, resistance, speed and sensory abilities.
 * Additional capability (network link/control/flash)(Mugino/Rensa/Nayuta)
 * Additionally, depending on their construction and nature, they can provide additional capabilities which would not be possessed otherwise, such as being able to connect and interface with electronic systems, greater control over bodily functions such as metabolism, sense of pain and facial expressions, or extra tools, from lights to weapons.
 * Mass-production/replacement (Kuroyoru)
 * Since the artificial parts can be mass-produced, they can be repaired or replaced if damaged or destroyed.
 * Slave control (Kuroyoru extra, NT1Ch5PtPt7)
 * Weight

Aside from fulfilling the function of lost body parts, due to their mechanical construction, cybernetics can provide enhanced capabilities beyond those of the original parts, such as greater strength, resistance, speed and sensory abilities. Additionally, depending on their construction and nature, they can provide capabilities which would not be possessed otherwise, such as being able to connect and interface with electronic systems,  greater control over bodily functions such as metabolism, sense of pain and facial expressions,   or extra tools, from lights to weapons. Since the artificial parts can be mass-produced, they can be repaired or replaced if damaged or destroyed.

Downsides, Limiters and Abilities (Transferred)

Since a cyborg's key mechanical parts are often delicate, precision equipment and are constantly running, they require regular servicing, with lifespans of about 3 or 5 years at most. In the case of artificial organs, this entails major surgery in order to switch out the old parts for new ones. As most cybernetics are electronic in nature, cyborgs with them are susceptible to electrical esper abilities (and electromagnetic disruption).

With cyborgs, particularly medical ones, if the mechanical components supporting the biological components cease to function, it can adversely affect and potentially endanger them. Additionally, their mechanical capabilities may increase the potential for accidentally inflicting harm to themselves. As such, cyborgs may be equipped with limiters and safeties which prevent actions which would damage their bodies beyond a certain level.

Cyborg bodies can also have an effect with regards to esper abilities. A prominent example of this is Kuroyoru Umidori's use of additional mechanical arms to provide additional output points for her Bomber Lance (providing the parts are properly connected),  which would otherwise be restricted to the two palms of her normal hands. In her case, the extent of what counts as her body is rather vague, and she has exploited this in conjunction with the rejection reaction experienced by an esper when they use magic, completely thinking of objects connected to her body via her mechanical limbs as part of her body and then forcing the side-effect onto the targets to destroy them (together with her arms). In the case of Rensa, the cyborg's controllable bodily characteristics were used to provide output points for the abilities of other espers, allowing her to switch between and use the powers of the top six Level 5s as well as any espers within a 200m radius. One of Kuriba Ryouko's previous assignments was a project involving the use of stimulation caused by cyborg replacement of the body for the development of abilities which could not be produced by a regular human body.
 * Properly connected - tweak to interrupt given NT2?

Other
 * Drugs: There are a number of suppressants used to counteract the rejection reaction from flesh towards the machinery bonded to it, and drugs for dealing with the after-effects of cyborg treatments, such as Miahilin.
 * Cyborg therapy: According to Kuroyoru Umidori, people who wish to be cyborgs often have a defect or perceived inferiority which they wish to overcome (in her case, the limit of only having two arms and thus two palms to use with her ability), and one can get an idea of it from the cyborg treatment they chose to receive - be it defeating an illness, raising their physical abilities, or correcting their appearance. She referred to this with the term cyborg therapy.


 * Comparison to Powered Suits/Life-Support Systems: Comparisons have been made between cyborgs and powered suits,   and it has been said that once a powered suit goes past a certain point (such as with the suits used by Silvercross Alpha), it becomes much the same as a cyborg, and vice versa, with the difference being whether the body is reinforced from without or within.
 * Silvercross Alpha, Shiokishi, Hikarizawa Megumi


 * Non-electronic/non-scientific

Cyborg, Background
Several members of the Kihara Family have had involvement with the field of cyborgs. At least two of them, Kihara Gensei and Kihara Nayuta, have been fitted with extensive prostheses and cybernetics as a result of experiment-related injuries.
 * Cyborgs: Gensei, Nayuta
 * Researcher: Souji

Experiment Principles
These parts included technology made by Kuriba herself.

After living for a year as two separate cyborgs, Kuriba Ryouko would be combined back into one person, with the cybernetics removed.
 * Treatment


 * Goals
 * Separation/Year/Recombination
 * Cybernetics including technology developed by Kuriba herself

Doppelganger
After Kuriba Ryouko had lived as two separate cyborgs for a year, she was recombined back into one body and the leftover cybernetics were combined into one mechanical body. The result was what researchers called the Doppelganger (ドッペルゲンガー), a mechanical duplicate of Kuriba Ryouko, who believed herself to be the real one and perceived herself as such, which the researchers considered the realization of their hopes. The doppelganger possessed Kuriba's knowledge, but only possessed memories from since the start of the experiment.
 * Intelligence/creativity
 * Calculations/simulations
 * Perceptions
 * Restraints/safeties

Temporary Gallery
=Article Extract - Cyborg=

Opening
A Cyborg (サイボーグ), short for "cybernetic organism", is an individual who has been mechanically modified in order to achieve enhanced performance or compensate for compromised or lost body parts. They primarily belong to the Science side and presumably only Academy City has enough technology to properly produce them.

Principles
A cyborg is an individual who has had their body partially or wholly replaced with mechanical parts. The exact definition and extent varies, from artificial organs to full body mechanization, but in Academy City, a cyborg is specifically defined as someone who had the necessary parts all contained within their body - for example, optical fiber nerves might make someone a cyborg, but heavy metal claws would not.

Cyborg technology is used for both medical reasons, such as performing the functions of damaged or lost body parts,   and for combat purposes, such as enhancing one's abilities and weaponry,  with different variants for the technology designed for specific purposes.

Capabilities and Specifics
Aside from fulfilling the function of lost body parts, due to their mechanical construction, cybernetics can provide enhanced capabilities beyond those of the original parts, such as greater strength, resistance, speed and sensory abilities. Additionally, depending on their construction and nature, they can provide capabilities which would not be possessed otherwise, such as being able to connect and interface with electronic systems,  greater control over bodily functions such as metabolism, sense of pain and facial expressions,   or extra tools, from lights to weapons. Since the artificial parts can be mass-produced, they can be repaired or replaced if damaged or destroyed.

Since a cyborg's key mechanical parts are often delicate, precision equipment and are constantly running, they require periodic servicing, with lifespans of about 3 or 5 years at most. In the case of artificial organs, this entails major surgery in order to switch out the old parts for new ones. As most cybernetics are electronic in nature, cyborgs with them are susceptible to electrical esper abilities and disruption technologies.

With cyborgs, particularly medical ones, if the mechanical components supporting the biological components cease to function, it can adversely affect and potentially endanger them. Additionally, their mechanical capabilities may increase the potential for accidentally inflicting harm to themselves. As such, cyborgs may be equipped with limiters and safeties which prevent actions which would damage their bodies beyond a certain level.

Cyborg bodies can also have an effect with regards to esper abilities. A prominent example of this is Kuroyoru Umidori's use of additional mechanical arms to provide additional output points for her Bomber Lance (providing the parts are properly connected), which would otherwise be restricted to the two palms of her normal hands. In her case, the extent of what counts as her body is rather vague, and she has exploited this in conjunction with the rejection reaction experienced by an esper when they use magic, completely thinking of objects connected to her body via her mechanical limbs as part of her body and then forcing the side-effect onto the targets to destroy them (together with her arms). In the case of Rensa, the cyborg's controllable bodily characteristics were used to provide output points for the abilities of other espers, allowing her to switch between and use the powers of the top six Level 5s as well as any espers within a 200m radius. One of Kuriba Ryouko's previous assignments was a project involving the use of stimulation caused by cyborg replacement of the body for the development of abilities which could not be produced by a regular human body.

Other
There are a number of projects and experiments which have their roots in cyborg research, including the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project, which aside from testing technology also had the hidden objective of observing the creation of a soul, and Anatomy Mechatronics, intended to make perfect models of individuals' bodies (such as the Level 5s) using technology.

There are a number of suppressants used to counteract the rejection reaction from flesh towards the machinery bonded to it, and drugs for dealing with the after-effects of cyborg treatments, such as Miahilin.

According to Kuroyoru Umidori, people who wish to be cyborgs often have a defect or perceived inferiority which they wish to overcome (in her case, the limit of only having two arms and thus two palms to use with her ability), and one can get an idea of it from the cyborg treatment they chose to receive - be it defeating an illness, raising their physical abilities, or correcting their appearance. She referred to this with the term cyborg therapy (サイボーグセラピー).

Comparisons have been made between cyborgs and powered suits,  and it has been said that once a powered suit goes past a certain point (such as with the suits used by Silvercross Alpha), it becomes much the same as a cyborg, and vice versa, with the difference being whether the body is reinforced from without or within.

While cyborgs are primarily restricted to the Science Side and Academy City, there are a few individuals elsewhere who are referred to as cyborgs but were made through non-scientific means, such as Salome of the Kamisato Faction.

Background
At one point, there was apparently a ban on certain forms of cyborg development in Academy City, though this was recently lifted.

A year before the current year, an extreme cyborg experiment was initiated - the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project. The test subject was cyborg researcher Kuriba Ryouko, who was working to develop a cyborg treatment for her ill mother. With little time left and a lack of data for the many required parts, given the limited number of cyborg treatments, she volunteered for the experiment in order to gather the data for the required cybernetics in time to save her mother. In the experiment, her body was cut up into pieces and the separated human parts combined with mechanical parts to produce two cyborgs. The two lived separately for a year, with extensive data being collected from their bodies and cybernetics. As a cyborg researcher herself, Kuriba was able to act as both subject and observer. After a year had passed, she was combined back into one person, with the mechanical parts removed.

DRAGON Arc
Shiokishi referenced to cyborgs and their downsides (mainly the need for maintenance every few years and surgery for dealing with the artificial organs), when talking about his choice of a Powered Suit.

Freshmen Arc
A prominent member of the Freshmen, responsible for the events which occurred on November 5th, was the cyborg Kuroyoru Umidori, whose robotic arms were meant to support her ability.

Agitate Halation Arc
Rensa, a cyborg developed to counter the Level 5s if they rebelled against Academy City, played a prominent role in the events surrounding the Agitate Halation Project.

Salome Arc
Salome, Kamisato Kakeru's non-blood sister and a member of the Kamisato Kakeru, was noted to have abandoned her original body for a stronger one using a self-made chemical cyborg treatment, in order to drastically raise her abilities in conjunction with her sacrificial magic, Internal Offering and External Offering.

Dream Ranker Arc
The distribution of Indian Poker in September and early October was a result of Kuriba Ryouko trying to find a solution to the problem posed by her mechanical doppelganger, created as a result of the cyborg experiment she participated in. At the same time, she was also working on the cybernetics needed to save her mother. After being accidentally shot during the events at the time of the doppelganger's termination, its parts were used to save her life.

Toaru Kagaku no Dark Matter
Kihara Souji was noted to have started his career in medical science and the development of cyborg technology, specifically mechanical prostheses. During the events surrounding Yuzuriha Ringo and SCHOOL, he replaced at least one DA agent's lost arms with his prosthetic limbs, and after his death, Kuroyoru Umidori took his data and existing prostheses for her own use.

Toaru Jihanki no Fanfare
As a result of injuries from a past experiment, Kihara Nayuta has medical-purpose cybernetics making up over 70% of her body.

Toaru Majutsu no Index: Shokuhou Misaki Figurine
During Shokuhou Misaki's encounter with the Anatomy Mechatronics Misaki, it was noted that the project had branched off from cyborg research.

Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS
While facing Hikarizawa Megumi, who was connected to a life support system made up of large medical devices, Kuroyoru Umidori compared them to artificial organs too big to fit inside her and the methodology to Shiokishi's previous attempt in the form of a Powered Suit, remarking that the system was two generations out of date compared to the more compact technology making up a cyborg.

Trivia

 * In the afterword of , Kamachi Kazuma pointed out that it was Narita Ryohgo (of Bacanno! and Durarara!! fame) who introduced the concept of cyborgs into the universe and thus decided to use the concept as a tool in the main series.
 * Kamachi also contrasted the two main antagonists in the volume; one of them being a cyborg that altered her outer silhouette, rearranging the inside of her body in order to increase the proficiency of her ability, and the other one using a "powered suit" that altered the outside of the body, and optimized the inner workings of his mind.
 * While the Freshmen cyborgs were modified for military purpose and meant for battle, the first cyborg created by Narita was modified for medical purposes, with her enhancement not meant to boost her combat ability.

Opening
The Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project (人体のサイボーグ全置換プロジェクト) was a cyborg experiment carried out in Academy City.

Principles
The project was an experiment which was meant to test various forms of cyborg technology and its compatibility with the human body over the span of a year, gathering data from the cybernetic treatments to aid in further development. The test subject was cyborg researcher Kuriba Ryouko, who had volunteered in order to gather data for the many different cybernetic parts which would be necessary to save her ill mother, who had only a couple of years left to live.

In the experiment, Kuriba's body was cut up into pieces and the separated human parts combined with mechanical parts to produce two cyborgs. The two lived separately for a year, with data being gathered throughout this period. The set-up meant that data could be collected from every part of Kuriba's body, and being a cyborg researcher herself, she was able to act as both test subject and observer. After a year had passed, she was combined back into one person, with the mechanical parts removed.

The cybernetics used in the experiment incorporated technology which Kuriba herself had developed, including safety limiters which would prevent the cyborg body from performing actions which would damage itself beyond a permissible level, artificial muscles which used chemical reactions to expand and contract, and suppressant materials to prevent rejection from flesh towards the machinery bonded to it.

Doppelganger
Although testing and observing cybernetics and their compatibility with the human body was the experiment's primary objective, the research institution also hoped to observe a side-effect - the creation of a soul (魂の生成).

When considering the risk posed by the doppelganger, although not fully convinced about the soul, Kuriba Ryouko theorized that unlike other souls, thought to be linked to the body and destroyed when it ceases to function, the doppelganger's soul was merely stored inside the mechanical body and if the container was destroyed, it would be freed from its restraints and spread to its surroundings. She also theorized that the abnormal "free soul" (自由な魂) would be able to possess anything or possibly, in the worst case scenario, engulf the city itself.

However, shortly after discovering her true identity, the doppelganger came to the realization that she did not have a soul and was just an artificial intelligence. Having predicted the theory which her original would consider, the doppelganger used its calculative ability and assimilated intelligence and creativity to incorporate the theory into its plans. During its attempt to destroy the means to recreate herself and bring about her own destruction, she utilized artificial self-replicating artificial muscles, created from materials at the abandoned Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory, which gave the illusion of soul possession (魂の憑依).

The doppelganger and others ultimately concluded that there was no created soul and the researchers' conclusion that one had been generated was merely the result of wishful thinking. However, there was a notable after-effect of the incident. After some of the destroyed doppelganger's parts were placed into Kuriba following her gunshot wound, the doppelganger started appearing in her dreams, displaying knowledge and behavior which only the doppelganger would possess and which Kuriba had no way of knowing, such as that of the doppelganger's battle with Misaka Mikoto.

Facility, Staff and Airship
The research institution which carried out the experiment was based in a skyscraper (which had a triangular gap in its outer cladding around one corner), with its laboratory in the bulbous top floors of the high-rise building. The lab contained the capsules and equipment necessary for the disassembly, reassembly and monitoring of the test subjects, as well as living quarters. An outer corridor surrounded the lab, with windows looking out onto the city. The lower floors of the building apparently had layered security. There were a number of steel banners around the base of the building.

Besides Kuriba Ryouko, who was both researcher and test subject in the experiment, there were numerous other researchers involved on the project, who were aware of and hoped for the other possible product of the experiment. The chief researcher was a man who had initially sought to develop a cheap cyborg method for medical refugees, but had eventually strayed. Another notable member was a female researcher, who was involved in hiring Scavenger to retrieve the escaped Doppelganger.

The research institution had an off-site back-up in the form of a catamaran-style airship, equipped with polarizing deception technology to conceal itself. Once a month, the airship passed through a specific location for an exchange of information via laser, but followed random flight paths for the rest of time, such that not even the institution itself knew where it was.

Background
The experiment was devised at a certain institution in Academy City, which had initially had trouble finding volunteers, given its unprecedented nature. Kuriba Ryouko, who was working at the institution in order to develop a cyborg treatment for her mother, ended up volunteering for the experiment to gather the necessary data in the short time she had left. Her body was subsequently split in two and the missing parts replaced with machines to create two separate cyborgs. Acting as both observer and specimen, she planned to use the experiment to gather data on every part of the body. After a year living apart, the two were recombined into one, with no split personalities or rejection, and retaining the memories of the time split apart.

After being recombined, the researchers showed Kuriba Ryouko the doppelganger formed from her combined cyborg components, one who believed herself to be Kuriba Ryouko, and the product of the researchers' hope to observe the creation of a "soul". Although not fully convinced, she warned the scientists of the potential risks, theorizing what might happen if the mechanical body was broken and the created "soul" released. The researchers ignored her, believing the safety measures and security in place to be sufficient and believing that the event of the doppelganger realizing her true identity would merely be an opportunity to gather additional data.

While working on the cybernetics for her mother,   Kuriba tried to find a solution to the problem posed by the doppelganger and the "soul" but was unable to find one. She subsequently spread Indian Poker and some of her own knowledge, in the hopes that it would eventually lead to a solution.

About a month after the recombination, having been kept in the lab under the pretext of observation for after-effects, the doppelganger noticed that she could not recall any memories from before the experiment, and realized her true nature, as well as the fact that she didn't have a soul. She subsequently sought her own termination, but was unable to terminate herself due to safeties built into her mechanical body, so she made a plan to escape from the laboratory, destroy the means to recreate her, and bring about her destruction,  predicting and taking into account the soul diffusion theory which her original was likely to consider.

Dream Ranker Arc
Following the trail of the Indian Poker cards, Shokuhou Misaki learned of Kuriba Ryouko and the experiment she participated in, and shared this information with Misaka Mikoto. As Mikoto was heading to investigate the facility, the doppelganger escaped from the building, destroying its GPS, adhesive restraints and the on-site research data in the process. While Mikoto and Shokuhou visited the original Kuriba Ryouko, the researchers hired Scavenger to retrieve the doppelganger. Meanwhile, the doppelganger, unable to terminate herself due to the safeties built into her, sought to destroy herself and any means that could recreate her, planning to trigger Academy City's interception system against the airship.

The doppelganger subsequently came into conflict with Scavenger and then Misaka Mikoto. During her battle with the latter, the doppelganger threatened to drop gas tanks on the city, forcing Mikoto to intercept them with iron sand bullets. As a result, iron sand filled the skies of Academy City and fell on the airship, resulting in solar wind interference disturbing the magnetism and its stealth, enabling the doppelganger to locate and board it. When the doppelganger eventually managed to convince Mikoto, who by then had realized the doppelganger's true intentions, both doppelganger and airship were destroyed by the massive thundercloud brought down by her.

Arriving afterwards and seeing the destroyed remains of the airship and the doppelganger, the research chief attempted to salvage the remains despite the girls' pleas to let the doppelganger rest, threatening Kuriba at gunpoint to force their cooperation and refusing to believe that the doppelganger didn't have a soul. After accidentally shooting Kuriba in the abdomen as she tried to convince him to stop, he fled the scene and intended to repeat the experiment, possibly using Child Errors. However he was apprehended by Shokuhou using Mental Out. Learning of his original goal before he strayed, Shokuhou decided to help him recall his original intentions and that if he wished to redo things, he would have to crawl back up from below where he started. In the aftermath of the incident, the research institution went out of business.

Known Participants

 * Chief (Project Head)
 * Female Researcher (Researcher)
 * Kuriba Ryouko (Subject and Researcher)
 * Doppelganger (Linchpin)

Background


When she was little, Kuriba was caught in a building collapse and only survived due to a lung transplant from her mother. Her mother had a weak body even before the incident and was far from healthy afterwards.

Prior to coming to Academy City, Kuriba was a researcher in the field of animal development, mainly the effects of changing body structure on intelligence, and made notable achievements in the study of owl parrots and gentoo penguins while in elementary school. As a by-product of her research into the explosive development of intelligence in apes and how finger operation methods stimulate the brain, she invented a style of finger exercises to provide strong cerebral stimulation, which proved effective in improvising emotional and behavioural disorders and cerebral palsy. Various hospitals and nursing homes across Japan came to adopt them and she was officially invited into Academy City for her achievement.

Before coming to the city, she received a mug from her mother. At some other point, there was a part of her life which would later be considered an embarrassing 'dark past'.

Kuriba subsequently dedicated herself to researching cyborg technology in order to learn the techniques need for her mother to make a recovery. She developed various pieces of cyborg technology, including safety limiters to prevent cyborgs from harming themselves, artificial muscles utilizing chemical reactions, and suppressants to prevent flesh rejection towards cybernetics. One of the projects she was entrusted with launching and overseeing involved utilizing the stimulation caused by cybernetic replacements for the development of abilities which could not be produced by a regular human body. At some point, she also visited the Clone Dolly Workshop, where the card-based Testament which would later become the basis for Indian Poker was used in the Ideal experiment.

However, as she was beginning to produce the results she sought, her mother collapsed, having caught an infection from, with her body at its limit. The advance of the infection was delayed by drugs but doctors only gave her a year or two at most to live. Kuriba needed to develop cybernetic replacements for all of her mother's afflicted organs and body parts, but was faced with an overwhelming lack of data for development, given the limited number of cyborg treatment cases, and the difficulty of gathering data on all of the many body parts needed for the treatment.

In order to gather this data in the time she had left, Kuriba took a leave of absence from Shinshikimi Middle School and volunteered herself for an extreme cyborg experiment planned by the institution she was working with, which she had previously discussed with the facility's chief. In the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project, her body was split in two and the missing parts replaced with machinery to create two separate cyborgs. Acting as both observer and specimen, Kuriba planned to use the experiment to gather data on every part of the body.

After a year living apart, the two Kuribas were recombined into one, with no split personalities or rejection, and retaining the memories of the time split apart. While Kuriba wished to test the compatibility between the cyborg technology and the human body, the institution had also hoped to observe a possible side-effect - the creation of a "soul", and assembled the removed cybernetic components into a mechanical doppelganger, which believed herself to be Kuriba Ryouko and the researchers considered to have a soul (though the doppelganger would later conclude otherwise).

Kuriba learned of her doppelganger after the surgery and warned the scientists of the potential risks, theorizing what might happen if the container was broken and the abnormal free soul released, but she was ignored. While working on the designs of her mother's cybernetics,    Kuriba tried to find a solution to the problem posed by the doppelganger and its alleged soul, with her soul diffusion theory in mind. She was not able to find a solution on her own, so she created the Indian Poker cards which enabled people to record and view dreams, and distributed the methods to produce them. As Indian Poker spread, she released a card with her own knowledge out amongst the cards in distribution across the city,   hoping that as the knowledge spread and mutated it would eventually lead to someone capable of making a breakthrough, predicting that a means of erasing a soul ...
 * Emphasize working on design for mother's cybernetics at the time