Juicer (Rifts)

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In the fictional universe(s) of the Rifts role-playing game, a Juicer is a type of warrior who augments his or her body though the use of chemical enhancements. They are faster, stronger, and tougher than normal humans, but their lives are drastically cut short by the process.

1 Juicer Conversion and Abilities
2 Last Call and Death
3 Juicer Variants
4 Sources

[edit] Juicer Conversion and Abilities

Juicers are created through the near-constant application of a powerful cocktail of drugs and synthetic hormones, applied through a special harness that is worn by the Juicer at all times. This harness is regulated by a tiny megacomputer implanted into the Juicer's body. This computer uses hundreds of microscopic sensors and nano-robots to monitor the Juicer's body, maintain peak efficiency, and even perform internal surgery in case of damage.

This process increases the Juicer's strength, speed, reflexes, and durability to well over double or even triple that of normal humans.

[edit] Last Call and Death

The power offered by the Juicer conversion bears a heavy price, however. The strain of the high-maintenance of the drugs and the bio-comp system are too much for the human body to sustain for long. A Juicer, almost without exception, will die within eight years of their conversion.

Usually, the year before a Juicer dies, their bodies will begin to show symptoms of breaking down. This ranges from headaches and muscle cramps, to body tremors and memory loss. Juicers refer to the oncoming of these symptoms as their Last Call.

The actual death of a Juicer will vary. These can be a simple as a heart attack, or as exotic as the gruesome (and literal) Juicer Meltdown. Many Juicers will voluntarily end their own lives before they "check out", either by suicide or simply picking a fight they cannot win. Others simply let it come, or just die without warning.

Most Juicers are well aware of the fact of their impending death, and a sub-culture centered around their short lives and eventual ends has developed around Juicers and those who admire them.

[edit] Juicer Variants

As technology has progressed in the Post-Apocalyptic era, new forms of the Juicer have emerged. Many of these variants are even more powerful than the "standard" Juicer in some ways, but will often die even sooner.

Hyperion Juicer - A variant of the Juicer that emphasizes pure speed over strength. Hyperion Juicers can run at a mimimum of 53 Miles per hour.

Titan Juicer - the Titan is the polar opposite of the Hyperion, built for power. A Titan Juicer will usually a 60-80% increase in height, and an increase of well over 300% in overall body mass. Even the weakest Titan juicer can dead-lift over a ton in weight, and can punch their way through armor. Even with their increased durability, Titan Juicers have to wear armored gauntlets to protect their hands when punching armored targets.

Phaeton Juicer - Physically, a Phaeton Juicer is no more powerful than a standard Juicer, and may actually be slightly weaker. However, Phaeton Juicers are made to be physically superior pilots.

Mega-Juicer - One of the most powerful Juicer Variants widely available. A Mega-Juicer has their own natural psychic energy channeled through their bodies, turning them into supernatural beings in the magic-rich environment of Rifts' Earth. Almost completely bulletproof, a Mega Juicer can take nearly as much damage as a soldier in SAMAS powered armor. However, a Mega-Juicer's body will quite literally burn out during Last Call, culminating in a fiery and explosive death.

Delphi Juicer - Delphi Juicers are rare, as a potential candidate has to have psychic abilities to begin with. These abilites are augmented through implants placed in the brain, and by the use of a helmet designed to increase their power.

Psycho-Stalker - A secret variant of the Juicer developed for use on the magic-tracking human mutants known as Psi-Stalkers. In addition to the normal abilities of both a Juicer and a Psi-Stalker, the Psycho-Stalker can also channel their own energy into their body, much like the Mega-Juicer, on a temporary basis. At first, only the Coalition States had the ability to create Psycho-Stalkers, and they cancelled the Program shortly before the Siege on Tolkeen. But the plans seem to have somehow been stolen or leaked, as a small number of Psycho-Stalkers have been seen fighting against the Coalition in the Juicer Army of Liberation after the Siege.

Dragon Juicer - A variant of the Juicer developed through Techno-Wizardry. The Dragon Juicer gets its name because of the fact that one the chemicals used to augment the Juicer's body is the blood of a Dragon.

Maxi-Killer - The Splugorth of Atlantis have managed to make their own powerful variant of the Juicer using Bio-Wizardry, creating a symbiotic parasite that performs the roles of the bio-comp and drug harness.

Murder-Wraith - The Murder-Wraith is an Undead Juicer, created by the Grim Reapers, a cult that worships Death, the leader of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. A Murder-Wraith can be of any kind of Juicer to begin with, and are ritually turned into a nearly-indestructible monster at the time of their death.