[UG1 Police Exoskeleton]
[Description: Strength enhancent, improved durability, increased agility, integrated communications and information systems, non-lethal weapon integration, vital signs monitoring]
[Power: FlexiGraph standard storage battery, fully charged can operate at full power for 24 hours]
This exoskeleton is a modified version of a lightweight military model. To cut costs on two production lines, most of the parts use the sa model.
The weapons system has been stripped, but in the main protective areas — such as the back, chest, and shoulders — new armor plates made of energy-absorbing steel mixed with graphene batteries have been added. The result is excellent ballistic and blast resistance.
However, using this exoskeleton still requires a brain-machine interface for neural synchronization.
In the Cyberpunk world, that's dangerous. So, the exoskeleton suit protocol explicitly states that using this gear carries certain risks, and the entire law enforcent process will be recorded and uploaded to the public network.
And because of the potential dangers of the powered exoskeleton, its actual implentation faces a lot of doubts.
Within New York's city council and municipal offices, many councilors have voiced objections and encouraged voters to join them in expressing dissatisfaction.
But—
Absolutely legal processes basically an there's absolutely no way to stop lawmakers from legally passing a bill.
So, while there was so internal opposition, it was mostly just talk without action. The procurent bill passed without much real resistance.
The current police commissioner, George, is a classic bureaucrat who believes in the system:
If Anthony weren't the mayor, and Leo weren't one of the mayor's supporters, then even if soone told him, "Using this armor, you can arrest criminals and prevent casualties," he still wouldn't have used it.
But once those conditions were t, he was even willing to be the first one to put it on.
Click.
The last clasp locked into place, sealing the exoskeleton along his spine from top to bottom.
The helt used a polycarbonate material with high transparency and good impact resistance. It let the wearer's face remain visible to reduce public fear of the armor, and it could mount a HUD for AR guidance.
"Whoa…"
Captain Stacy slowly stood up, staring at his hands now encased in the exoskeleton.
Amazing. By the specs, this thing weighs over 50 kilograms, yet he felt no weight at all.
He glanced at the 100 kg barbell nearby.
The exoskeleton responded to his neural signals, reaching straight for the barbell—
A single-arm deadlift of 100 kg is top-tier for any human. Could he pull it off?
The tension triggered George's brain to send the command, relayed instantly to the exoskeleton.
Such a feat requires raw power and superb coordination, and balance. At this point, the test wasn't just about muscle, but surpassing human limits.
Bzzzz—
Motors whirred, joints adjusted, fingers clamped around the bar.
Everyone held their breath: Captain George Stacy was a respected officer, but not a world-class strongman.
Could he really lift it?
The faint whirring rose sharply in the pin-drop silence—
"Haaah—!"
CRACK!
The floor split under his stance as, to everyone's astonishnt, the 100 kg barbell slowly rose. It wasn't fast, but it was steady!
"Holy sh—t."
The barbell went over his head. George stared at it in disbelief before breaking into a wide grin—
THUD!
He dropped it. The heavy crash proved it wasn't a prop.
Applause erupted.
"Whew—" Captain Stacy shook his head, his motions so smooth he almost forgot he was wearing an exoskeleton.
His daughter Gwen rushed over, poking and tapping the suit as if checking a package for damage.
Leo clapped on the side: "How does it feel?"
"It's insane. I thought I was lifting a 20 kg dumbbell."
The exoskeleton used the sa feedback logic as the Centaur chs of the Cyberpunk world, a linear-fra system.
The user still had to bear at least 10% of the weight for neural responsiveness.
Leo had adjusted the police exoskeleton's weight ratio to reduce the disorientation officers felt after removing it.
Later, they might even cap the output at the 80 kg range—after all, this was police equipnt, not weightlifting gear.
Gwen's expression grew complicated as she kept prodding the suit:
Her dad had turned into RoboCop!
"...Do we really need this?" Gwen muttered.
"Of course we do." Captain Stacy turned, flipping up the helt's visor. "If police could carry all their equipnt at once, we'd be ready for anything."
Sotis an officer didn't have a taser, fired a gun at an agitated citizen, and caused a death.
Sotis an officer carried only a taser when a gun was needed.
[TN: Ummm, I don't know if that's true, pretty sure all US officers are required to carry both]
Law enforcent was complex, especially when you never knew if soone would suddenly pull a gun from their waistband.
Dispatchers advised what gear to carry, but it was never as convenient as carrying everything.
Mayor Anthony bead. "This equipnt should also be a huge help in firefighting situations."
"Absolutely." Captain Stacy nodded. "Even more so, in fact."
NYPD had just over 50,000 personnel, including non-regulars. With a 10% armant rate, that ant about 5,000 suits.
Each exoskeleton sold for about $30,000.
The bigger expenses were vehicles and special equipnt.
NYPD had 9,000 cruisers and 120 motorcycles. Replacing two-thirds ant 6,000 new cars, at $80,000 each—another major payday.
Adding the fire departnt would an even more profit.
It wasn't a small sum for the city, but selling the gear benefited entire production lines, workers, and companies.
There was resistance, sure, but also strong montum. Everyone needed to make a living.
Leo also planned for Hammond and Martin to promote the sa model in other cities.
With the subpri crisis erupting, everyone just wanted to buy ti. Rolling out new technology was a great way to stall.
At this rate, thanks to Roxxon Energy's shady dealings, Detroit's bankruptcy would likely co even sooner.
What happened next would depend on persuasion: Roxxon's push for an oil monopoly was tempting. As long as they spread so of that profit around, plenty of people would support it, believing it would make life better.
Preparations were done. Now ca the training.
Anthony was working up to a speech for the police force when a nearby detective took a call:
"Hello, this is the NYPD. Mr. Stone, what seems to be the problem?"
"...Slow down. You're saying they blocked your front door? Okay, I understand."
Captain Stacy, just finished trying on the exoskeleton and itching for action, turned to his subordinate:
"Who is it?"
"Wallace Stone. His mother is one of my informants in Hell's Kitchen. He says the property company in their community has blocked their doors."
The cops in the room all smirked knowingly.
They didn't know Anthony was about to issue so administrative orders.
But they did know their commissioner was dying for an excuse to head out.
Sure enough, Captain Stacy said:
"What cases has he helped you with? Let see."
"It's a long one." His subordinate opened a notebook and spoke into a mic: "Pull up the 'Hell's Kitchen Serial Killings.'
"That was over half a year ago. Soone was using steel spikes to kill people. The suspected perp was hit by a truck, but the mastermind behind it was never found."
Leo and Anthony exchanged a quiet look:
They'd both given statents in that case.
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