Brainship

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A brainship is a fictional interstellar starship from the books of Anne McCaffrey. They're controlled by the mind of a "Shellperson".

Shellpeople are people, generally born with congenital defects which would prevent them from functioning as normal humans, but whose minds and brains are in otherwise good condition. In some cases physical debilitation as a result of childhood injury or illness might also make a candidate acceptable, although such instances are rare.

Such individuals are encased in a hard metal "shell", and their brain is surgically connected to a series of computers via delicate synaptic connections. From the shellperson's perspective, their body is not the organic matter contained within the shell, but rather the shell itself, and whatever systems it is attached to.

Brainships are the iconic example - the shellperson is plugged in to a fully functioning interstellar vessel, often equipped with a faster than light drive. As far as the shellperson's kinesthetic sense is concerned, their body is a sleek metal vessel, and flying, taking off and landing, and controlling all the other features of the ship are as natural to them as moving, breathing and talking are to an ordinary human.

This presents many advantages - not least of which is that any passengers have somebody interesting to talk to, while the adaptive, well-trained shellperson is ideally suited to the challenges and risks posed by interstellar travel, especially when visiting uncharted or little-known regions on the fringes of explored space. Furthermore, shellpersons are effectively immortal, provided nothing breaches their shell. In many ways they become more than human, and the mental conditioning they receive as youths makes them proud to be what they are.

There are, however, disadvantages. The sheer bulk of a brainship makes them ill-suited to performing certain tasks. To this end, brainships are generally partnered with scout pilots, more commonly referred to as "Brawns" seeing as they do little or nothing in the way of actual piloting. Brawns are companions and aides to brainships, serving to perform those functions that the ships him/herself cannot achieve from the landing pad. Brain/brawn partnerships can be short-lived, professional affairs that last only as long as the mission, or they may be long, deep, meaningful friendships. it is not unknown for brains and brawns to fall in love with each other, although their differing conditions naturally present certain obstacles. Brawn obsession was a serious concern, as a love-crazed brawn might have attempted to breach the shell in order to get at the body entombed within, only to kill the person and go mad with grief. This possibility was effectively eliminated by the brainship Hypatia Cade (during the events of the book "The Ship Who Searched") through the invention and creation of human-replica prosthetic bodies that shellpeople could project their consciousness into through short-range, high-bandwidth transmission.

[edit] Notable ships and shellpersons who have appeared in the books

Helva, the protagonist of "The Ship who Sang": Helva was noted for her natural affinity for music, and her ability to "sing" any part of any form of music, and perform very well.

Hypatia ("Tia") Cade: one of only a few people to have been become a shellperson as a result of physical debilitation at a comparatively advanced age (Seven years old). Tia contracted an unknown alien disease whilst accompanying her parents on an archeological dig. The disease ravaged her nervous system, leaving her unable to feel or control her body at all. Becoming a shellperson represented the only possibility for any quality of life at all.

Simeon: The Brain in charge of the space station SSS-900-C. The "C" stands for the first initial of his brawn, Channa Hap. Simeon was threatened by the arrival of a breed of marauding human mutants known as the Kolnari, who first took him over, and then resolved to destroy him once they had plundered everything they could carry. Simeon's tactical skills, honed by endless wargames, proved instrumental in delaying the Kolnari until military reinforcements could arrive and relieve him.

[edit] Sensory deprivation

All shellpersons share one common phobia. Because they are wholly dependent on electrical systems to keep them connected to their "senses" they are all mortally afraid that these tenuous connections might be severed or deactivated.

The degree of sensory deprivation that occurs should this happen is absolute - even the most strong-willed of shellpersons will inevitably be driven insane by the complete and total lack of input of any description, and many will lose their minds very soon indeed.

All shellpersons are, naturally, terrified of this ever happening to them. A minor degree of incomplete sensory deprivation is inevitable at some point in their lives, as they are transferred and connected to new systems, but these are once-in-a-lifetime events that, despite not being anywhere near as unpleasant as full deprivation, are nevertheless deeply upsetting events that most shellpersons are desperate to avoid experiencing more than once.