Passengers

A relic of the First Empire who once dominated the Sol System, Passengers are a fusion of nano-machine and the organic that require a host to reach their fullest potential. Believed to have been created as a means of forging formidable soldiers at a time when the First Empire engaged in wars to settle disputes internally the Passengers have outlasted their creators. In the present day they are very rare but still widely feared and highly sought after.

They appear in their inert base form as small pearls possessing an oily black surface. In the present day many dead examples are found throughout Sol and for the well to do they are a high status fashion accoutrement owing to their high cost. Still functional or living Passengers though are indistinguishable from dead ones. At least until they come into contact with a living creature. Then the pearl melts into a mercury like substance that permeates the flesh of the creature and invades its cellular structure, fusing itself with the host.

The fate of the host is sealed once the Passenger has infected it. There is no way of removing the Passenger once it invades a host beyond very quickly severing the infected limb. For most the fusion will result in a horrific abomination of machine and flesh, a mindless creature driven by rage. There exist across Mars, Venus and Earth such abominations; creatures that were once human or animal that have endured countless years, becoming truly horrific and dangerous.

But there are those who do not lose themselves with fusion. They retain their higher functions and mind, augmented by the Passenger. They become far stronger, faster and much more resilient than a base-line human and are closer to a cyborg in that their physical and mental capabilities are greatly enhanced. The Passenger will rebuild its host if it sustains damage and is thus able to withstand wounds that would kill non-augmented humans. Though there is a limit and if its host suffers truly catastrophic damage the Passenger will likely enter a surge of uncontrollable growth, gathering resources from its enviroment in an attempt to stave off death, creating nightmarish chimera utterly lost to pain and rage.

For those who retain their minds when fusing with a Passenger, whether willingly exposed or not, the benefits are numerous. They become functionally immortal and highly sought after as mercenaries. Some go underground and rises to positions of power in criminal syndicates, or find fame as unstoppable gladiators in the bloody arenas found throughout the Sol system.

There are certain Passengers that have been corrupted over the many centuries of waiting for a host. They are known as Pariahs. Hosts who fuse with a Pariah become cruel and wicked, indulging every whim and decadence they can. They seek to destroy and kill and are reviled as a result. Fortunately, Pariahs are rarer still.

For such a potent technology a Passenger is truly nothing without a host. It needs a host to reach its fullest potential and without a suitable host it cannot do so. They are living creatures in a way, albeit ones that blur the line between the organic and inorganic. They need a host to live and fulfil their purpose. They are programmed with a purpose; to reshape weak flesh into something far greater. That is the purpose they were created for. The Passengers cannot reproduce more of their kind and thus those that remain extant are greatly sought after by crime lords and mercenary leaders seeking an edge over their rivals.