SKINS

The advent of the encephalon cyberdeck and advanced biotech has created a market for skin trading.  Skins come from many sources and very few of them are reputable.

Skins are the bodies of other sentient beings.  Sourcing for skins has also become big business.  There are planets where skins are collected in a system like modern organ donation and there are systems where criminals are put on “ice” for the duration of their sentence and skins are rented out by the local government to pay for their crimes.  There are even individuals that put themselves on ice for short periods of time and rent out their own skins to raise money or support their family. Renting or purchasing a skin is generally cheaper than acquiring a clone but can also come with a lot of baggage.  

Prices for renting a skin vary wildly, but most include a you break it you buy it policy.  Low end skins are generally sourced from criminals, drug, addicts, and the lowest caste of society.  High end skins are generally sourced from persons that have upgraded to a new you clone or suffered true death while skin surfing.  It not uncommon for soldiers to exchange skins based on immediate the deployment needs.