Enclave is the name given to a hydronic prosthetic
limb or body extension produced by talented
techanics. In many cases, an Enclave manufacturer
does not have the ability to properly attach
the prosthetic, instead leaving that to a small,
but highly talented, field of Doctors who excel
in Enclave surgeries. Enclaves come in many
shapes and sizes, and most do little more than
replace lost limbs. On rare occasions, Enclaves
enter into the realm of bionics and Steamechs,
with weapons that deal complete devastation to
enemies, or arms that can lift thousands of kilos,
but these feats of engineering are rare and exotic.
Manifest Destiny
Life on Westward is harsh and unmercifully short
for those who cannot adapt. A Human who is not
at peak performance holds little hope of survival
on an alien world in which clouds of noxious dust
rise up from the windswept plains and hungry
predators stalk the coachways in search of wounded
prey. On the frontier, only the strong survive.
The Westward Anti-dehumanization Act prohibits
the splicing or manipulation of Human genetic code
on pain of death. Many rightly saw this decree as
a forerunner to Human extirpation on Westward.
Treatments that could have optimized the Human
biology for Westward existence were forsaken in favor
of a decidedly less utilitarian approach, The Westward
Manifest Destiny. The Manifest’s declaration
was simple: those Humans who were destined to
rule would survive, while those were too weak or
genetically impure would be culled from the fold.
The Exonerators
The Manifest made no secret of what lay in store for
those born halt, blind, or lame, or those who had
suffered a debilitating injury. Survival of the fittest
takes no prisoners; theirs would be a swift death on
the altar of genetic purity. Thus the hopelessness
of Human frailty gave rise to the Exonerators,
men and women capable of reshaping the Human
condition without the aid of genetic engineering.
The Exonerators fused flesh to circuitry and sinew
to steel in a way that mankind had not witnessed
in centuries. Some hailed them as saviors, others
branded them as heretics, stumbling blocks in
the path to ultimate evolutionary potential.
To date the Exonerators have broken no law, though
many denounce their work as an abomination. New
fears have replaced the old, and prejudices run deep
against those who possess Enclaves—the fruits of the
Exonerators’ labor. In place of frail Human limbs
of flesh and bone, the Enclaves grant prosthetics of
iron and steel that never grow tired or weak from
old age. In a land where once there was only death,
the Enclaves grant life, and for this they are feared.
Those who have been granted an Enclave are known as
Exos. The designation has paved the way for new laws
to address the mounting fears. It is only a matter of
time before the Anti-dehumanization Act is amended
to include a ban on Enclaves. The recent discovery of
Human bodies implanted with positronic brains has
set the stage for an all-out war against the Exonerators.
Others point to nanites as the true culprits, but the
distinction hardly makes a difference in the minds
of those fixated on fears of a mechanized Humanity
hell bent on superseding the Manifest’s laws.
Understanding Enclaves
An Enclave is a steamtech device joined to
living flesh and integrated as a part of the user’s
biological functions. Broadly speaking, Enclaves
can be divided into six categories: visual,
auditory, com-tech, arm, leg, and vitals.
With the advent of regenerative genetics, cybernetic
engineering fell by the wayside. There was little
reason to construct a mechanical limb when the
real thing could be regrown. Enclaves, therefore,
represent the rediscovery of a forgotten technology,
the lost link between flesh and machine.
