Just for fun!

My friend has invited me to join their homebrew TTRPG, set in a future far far away in the Cyberpunk universe.

I’ve been dabbling more and more with poking at my feelings on my faith through my rp-hobbies, and this time I’ve decided to go all-out – Esther has left for Veles to be the IT-guy at an off-Earth Chabad house, and I have purposefully made it tricky for myself (and for them).

See, Esther is a Netrunner, meaning their skillset is based on kicking about on the internet and doing fun hacking stuff (but it’s a VR overlay on the real world). This requires some rather interesting tech – including, but not limited to, a robotic prosthetic arm that also plugs in to the back of their neck.

It’ll be fine and well until Shabbat et al. roll around and something needs to be done with two hands – would use of the prosthetic be permissible? It’s not vital to survival, per se, and avoiding its use would make sure any actions are done in an unusual manner. On the other hand, if it’s so closely integrated with the body, what discerns the electricity running through those fingers from the electric current originating from their brain to power that very hand? Begs the question – is the arm constantly powered? If yes, does that put it in the same category as the slow cooker thrown on for lunch tomorrow? If not, we loop back to organic vs. inorganic currents. What about something less practice than a limb or eye, and more cosmetic such as, I don’t know, Techhair, which might replace traditional payot for this individual?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!!