Electronic Cats

By Anders Sandberg

Introduction

I was in that comfortable state between waking and sleeping when suddenly a small cat jumped up onto my back, turned around a few turns (as if to inspect its new domain) and then scurried down to the end of the bed where it sat down and began to lick itself, purring contentedly. I rested in warm assurance for several minutes before a small thought began to intrude into my consciousness. I didn't own a cat. But how could a cat appear in my apartment? I looked up, and for a moment I thought the cat had vanished like a dream.

But then I saw a shape on the desk, a small grey figure watching me intently with its shining green eyes. Our eyes met, and it was as if the kitten carefully read my soul without giving any hints back. When I suddenly broke free the cat jumped down from the desk, padded over to the bookcase and calmly walked into the crack between two dictionaries. Shocked and confused I jumped up and looked into the crack. Inside the tiny space I clearly saw how the cat had removed parts of its fur, revealing printed circuits and electromechanical muscles, and a flat cable connected it to a socket inside the darkness. It purred. Suddenly it turned around, impaling me with its green gaze, filling my field of vision. I awoke in my bed, alone.


Cats are mysterious even to mages. That many felines can see into the Umbra is quite well known, but there are other kinds of cats too, cats so bizarre that perhaps only the marauders can understand them.

The electronic cats look and behave almost as normal cats. They like to eat fish, stalk through the night, hunt and play with rats. When petted they purr or bite, just as unpredictably as normal cats. But beneath the warm and furry skin (which is removable) they are built out of electronics and artificial muscles covering an aluminium skeleton. They are apparently biomechanical devices, not unlike the HIT Marks of Iteration X. But the Technocracy has not sent them; they appear out of nowhere, behave normally and then vanish, transmitting information they have gathered... where?

Electronic cats seem to be able to cross the Gauntlet freely, and often do so. They also seem to have almost quantum properties: when watched they behave normally, but as soon as you look away they can vanish and appear somewhere else, even in locked rooms or on top of inaccessible places. Their gaze is almost hypnotic; they will never look away or blink, keeping the opponent fixed with an intense stare. And they seem to extract information from the minds of anybody who looks in their eyes...

Electronic Cat

Str 1, Dex (graceful) 4, End 1, Cha 3, Man 3, App (feline) 4, Per 2, Int 2, Wit 3

Alertness (observant) 4, Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Dodge 3, Stealth, (hide) 5

Electronic cats have claws that do one die of damage; they are not especially powerful fighters and will try to flee from attackers or hide. If pressed they will vanish completely.

Willpower: 3
Arete 4

Powers

Suck Information (Mind 4): The cat can read the memories of a person, storing them within its own circuits.

Forget it (Mind 4): The cat can briefly take control over a person and rewrite his memories to make the person forget a specific event, such as seeing the cats innards or that it has just emerged from empty air.

Vanish away (Corr 3 Spirit 3): If unobserved, the cat can appear somewhere else, or move into the Umbra.

Cute (Mind 2): The cat can look cute and irresistibly cuddly, or beautiful and dignified. Each success will increase the difficulty of harming or interfering with the cat one step the first time someone attempts it. This is also used to create a feeling of comfort and warmness in people resting with or petting the cat.

Remember (Mind 1): The cat remembers everything it sees and experiences, and can later transmit this information.