Looking for Feedback on HLS

[darthauthor]

just gave me an idea for an adventure.
Hook: A new cyber tech company is on the scene, Imperium. As a start up, without reputation, they are offering what they claim to be a revolutionary new MOM implant and surgical installment and recovery for the low low price of 50,000 credits to the first 300 private customers (no governments or merc armies; they must have contracts). They claim to have cracked the flaws of the traditional MOM implants insanity problems and will even prevent them. Other models of MOM's are soon to follow. Act now and reserve yours today!

Line: Most governments and their competition are skeptical of the business's claims as being nothing more than a sales tactic without proof. The only evidence are a couple of dozen first month customers. The players are asked by a customer (government, rival company, merc army, intelligence org, black market, etc) to investigate the company and their product. They want one of the MOM's and one of the users to test (alive but damaged is acceptable). The players can negotiate their rate plus expenses. If they want, one of them can volunteer to be implanted while having the cost paid for by their customer (but the customer will deduct the cost from their fee. Base offer is 50k per player). So act one is gathering information about the company: Hacking, Astral projection, break in, sneak in, question the employees (seduction, interrogation, psionics, etc). Alternatively, the players can track down the early adopters of the MOM and question / abduct one of them (they may have "friends" with them and in the middle of a job, perhaps arranged by the players).
The company's distributors lease space in clinics in cities and have a commercial truck touring cities that do mobile operations. The cyber-docs who perform the surgery sign non-disclosure agreements. They have no responsibility for claims made by the manufacturer. None of them are allowed to take apart or study the MOMs. They only have access to them during surgery when they are unlocked by the security courier (like an organ donor). The procedure is identical to the standard MOM surgical operation.

Sinker: The company, Imperium, is a startup but the chief scientist responsible for the breakthrough has kept the secret to herself. The secret, she, Dr Janus, didn't invent it. Dr Janus is "supplied" by an anonymous 3rd party. The factory is real. It was an archeological discovery and once excavated a new town grew up around it. The factory, cyberworks inc, was built during the old golden age of Man but the tech there was did not survive the looting and destruction of the time. The company’s scientists, 300 years ago or so, were working on MOMs to cure both insanity and a variety of ills for longevity but then the Apocalypse came.

Where do these MOMs come from? Extra-dimensional? Extra-terrestrial? Archie 3? Local Cyberworks Inc AI, Compus (younger version of Archie that was repaired and turned back on 300 years later)?

The secret, if the MOM is analyzed successfully (one roll Electrical Engineer, then computer operation, then cryptography, then Artificial intelligence). They will discover two things, the MOM is made from an unknown material. Think Unobtainium, because no one can duplicate it, find it or make it. Second, the MOM is a micro computer with an AI. If melted the micro electronics and programming inside it are lost. However, the MOM can be transplanted to another without damaging it. The MOM is lightyears ahead of any tech on the planet. Naurni might compete with it IF they reveal their secrets but it's not Naurni tech.

What's the catch?

It has an AI that subtly influences the subconscious of the user. The source of the MOMs is using them to collect information about the users and from what they experience. In short, the Imperium MOM spies on the Crazy and through them. Every so often the user will feel compelled to take a walk by themselves or one of their “own” and will "coincidentally" come across a rift with a communication hole.
Amongst the other unexplained behaviors of the MOM user are that they trust and cooperate with other Imperium MOM users. With each other they operate with a principled alignment. They behave like elemental warlocks when in dispute seeking to resolve their issues peacefully. If necessary they will resign or desert before killing one another. They will even join forces to kill someone who compels them to through threat of death or death of those close to them. IF ever their problem will result in unavoidable death they will rationally decide which of the two will live; even if by duel.
If anyone asks why they behave this way they don’t honestly know but will guess at any number of excuses.
The user of the “new” MOM is immune to possession, mind control, horror factors, fear, and insanity. When working with another with the same MOM implant, and within 200 feet, their coordination with each other will be as if they know what the other is doing and going to do without speaking a word. They get the bonus psionic abilities of Read Dimensional Portal and Sense Dimensional Anomaly.

If one is taken prisoner (hostage, etc. like the players “might” due) the other Crazies (Imperium MOM implants) will strangely think of a plan to come to their aid and free them, inventing excuses why they should. They will somehow sense the direction in which the imperium MOM implanted person is, if any of them are within 100 miles. Their guesses will get better the closer they get to one of their own (or if they are dead) or their MOM. IF dead they will go after the MOM implant (collect or destroy). They will defend themselves but not take risks or waste time to kill or harm anyone. Any retaliation will be against those who shoot or strike at them but are not motivated to hurt anyone for personal feelings.

This whole Hook/Line/Sinker could be played out without a shot being fired, depending on how the characters play it.
A player Cyber-Doc could palm the new MOM for a traditional one during the operation.
The characters could disguise/impersonate the Cyber-Doc to steal it and run with the courier security (Imperium implants) giving chase.
One of the player characters could be a willing recipient.
The players could submit a job application to work at Imperium Inc (hey, they are a start up; going undercover ops). IF they do:
The game will be very espionage oriented. The employees are unaware of any conspiracy and honestly believe the company is legit as is their work. Security jobs are expected to submit to their MOM implant. There is work in every department (except management): sales, janitors, cooks, fitness classes, records control, medical, science, driving for deliveries, Technical (salvaging and recycling, communications, art, music and TV video for advertising, archeology (still digging in the chambers underneath and on the grounds of the old Cyberworks Inc). Pay is free meals and 50 credits a day (base pay) but it's a start up and the skies the limit. Act now and get in at the ground floor.
Detective / spy work will reveal clues in the trash, over hearing conversations, radio messages, and there is always hacking computers or pickpocking their id’s. The computers have the names, faces, and locations of where the surgery was performed for the MOM recipients. DEEPLY encrypted files will reveal with the right frequency and code the MOM recipient will reveal their location if within 100 miles of their sensory instruments (at the factory waiting to be stolen or their design downloaded and a knock of built). Also, the real schedules of the times and locations for the Unobtainum deliveries. Up to the GM to spread the information out so ALL the players can be spies.
The players could pull a heist movie on the courier or the factory (the factory has a special forces squad of 5 (or as many as there are player characters) beta testers for the MOM Imperium implant who picks them up from a communication Rift. It is a different location every time and a different day and time of day. Also, they send decor trucks, cars, motorcycles before, during, and after every drop run to mislead someone tailing them. All drops are within 50 miles of the factory.
Other?

Discovery of the true purpose of the Imperium MOM could come from a variety of approaches. Hacking the Imperium’s computers (must be done from inside the company. Files only exist there on a computer without external or wireless connections.
Object Read on the Imperium MOM will only tell the psychic about the user not the creator. Telemechanics will work but only if the psychic is “touching” the MOM implant (not a person’s head). Which means it would have to be “removed” from a person. Telemechanics treats it as an artificial intelligence. The psychic will understand that it is a MOM and duplicates all mom operations only with the AI preventing the patient from going insane. It will NOT come out and show it is a spy. Rather it appears that the AI regularly “monitors” the user and what they “sense” to “adjust” their brain’s electrical “activity” for optimal protection and efficiency. IF after many attempts and analysis of when the telemechanics physics has seen they would also discover the MOM stores data on an out of body database and routinely gets software “updates” claiming they are for efficiency and necessary to accommodate different insanities and ways of managing them.
Those with the skills of artificial intelligence and psychology or both or talk a lot with those who do can eventually figure out that the MOM implant COULD but used to control users' minds.

What do the heroes do about it? They could collect their fee and call it a day. They could tell anyone who would listen that the MOM implants turn their users into unknowing spies for an unknown power. Call the police? Sell the information to various governments (CS, etc.)? Any of the Imperium MOM recipients told about it will dismiss the players claims as crazy.
If the discoveries of the players become known to the likes of the CS. They will secretly collect information on the Imperium MOM recipients. Then quietly abduct or eliminate all of them collecting or destroying their MOM implants.
If public knowledge the suspicious minded will circulate conspiracy theories that ALL Crazies are agents (witting or otherwise) for the men in black and should be locked away or killed. That MOM implants must be destroyed. Those who install them (cyber-docs) should be arrested and jailed. Those who make them are mad men bent on world domination and have to be stopped before we are all implanted. Security forces of one government or another will seize the Imperium Inc Factory and perform an inventory/audit to account for every MOM implant and the recipients and any clues to their true source. The people with the implants will fill the wanted boards as being in danger, if not a danger to others, and MUST undergo a surgical procedure to remove their implant or be jailed until they do.
All will go into hiding and disguise themselves. None will want to remove their MOM implant. ALL will fight to the death rather than be taken alive.

The players could get paid for their information or additional work for bounties on the Imperium Mom recipients. It's a big competition as bounty hunters and government/law enforcement agents track down the remaining runners.