Archive Entry #3 - Protolimbs
Mechanised hydraulic prosthetics are staple tech of the wastes, employed by industry, military and medicinal fields in all different manners.
Protolimbs are most typically found as a form of exoskeleton (EPL) that can be freely removed from the body after disengaging the hydraulics from your blood. The entry points tend to leave scarring in a ring around the connection point of the limb as a result of the hydraulic being connected to the vein system. Slimmer designs are often seen in citizen hands as; means of repairing broken limbs while retaining functionality, self defense utilities as protolimbs can easily have weapon modifications performed, or simply as fashion choices. Bulkier exoskeleton protolimbs are moreso seen in industry, providing construction each man with the strength of three. In mining it gave the ability for a single worker to industrial grade machinery directly attached to their person.
Full replacement protolimbs (RPL) are also fairly common. The process of installing an RPL is painful and requires the limb to be severed nearest to the joint, then the proto limb is stabbed into the joint and screwed into the body. The wound must be fresh in order for the internal mechanics to be pumped full of the recipient's blood. These limbs are more personalized than the EPL and are used more in domestic combat and espionage though typically exerting less strength, bar specialty designs.
Rarely protolimbs are installed into the body as an additional extra limb, also known as APL. This is a dangerous and painful process with varying results.
All proto limbs function on complex hydraulics powered by the users blood pumped through by their heart. EPL uses more conventional hydraulics as it functions as an exterior chassis for an existing limb. RPL and APL use a system of mechanical muscles that through a complex web of layered rudimentary movements, form lifelike movement. The process of making metal muscle is a tightly held secret amongst its craftsmiths.
