NEURON The Neuromancer Warframe

Warframe Concept by Rhekemi

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Table of Contents I. OVERVIEW ..............................................................................................................................

Name Codex Blurb Lotus Blurb Role Theme Inspirations Stats

II. GAMEPLAY ............................................................................................................................ Abilities and Ability Notes Passive Ability Ability Augment Mods

III. LORE ...................................................................................................................................... Neuron Bio Codex Entry Neuron Prime Bio

IV. SPECIAL THANKS AND AUTHOR NOTES ............................................................................. Thanks Various Notes

V. ARTWORK ............................................................................................................................... New Neuron Artwork (by Krion112) Old Neuron Artwork (by Rhekemi)

Overview Name: Neuron Codex Blurb: Neuron accesses enemies’ neurons and uses their own internal, biological or mechanical functions against them. Lotus Blurb: “This is Neuron, manipulator of senses, memory, and willpower. Neuron will help you evade and devastate on any battlefield, Tenno.” Role: A complex stealth and support frame, capable of wreaking offensive havoc. Theme: Control over and weaponization of biological, synthetic, and mechanical targets’ internal functions. Inspirations: Neurons in the body and brain. Existing Sentient lore. The Lotus. The Unknown Sentient (as seen in the Natah Quest) Neuron Stats: Unranked (lvl. 0) Max Rank (lvl 30)

HEALTH 150 450 SHIELD 100 300

ARMOR 50 50

POWER 150 225

SHIELD RECHARGE 20 30

SPRINT SPEED 1.25 1.25

Gameplay

Signal Block (1st Ability) Neuron blocks signals in enemies’ brains/CPUs, cutting off sensory, memory, and recognition information. Enables stealth whether or not Neuron has been seen. Enemy remains un-alerted for the duration of the effect.

Ability Notes:

Ability deals zero damage

Single target attack with limited AOE (think Nyx’s Mind control + Valkyr’s Paralysis)

AOE tracks single target + affects new un-alerted enemies with hearing/sight/memory loss

Single Target Range: 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 meters

AOE Range: 5 / 7 / 8 / 10 meters

Duration: 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 seconds

Cast Time: 1 seconds

Energy Cost: 25

Re-castable

The attack benefits squad as long as they don’t enter new enemy’s LOS

Corpus Nullfiers are immune

Network (2nd Ability) Using her enemies’ minds, Neuron creates a neural network (large web-like structure with points/nodes). It relays information on enemy locations back to Neuron bypassing walls, terrain, objects and obstacles. Neuron makes their locations visible to the entire squad.

While the ability is active, Neuron may detonate one node at a time by placing her crosshair above the node and casting the ability again. (Or more than one by holding the 2 key, and using left mouse to select multiple nodes, then releasing the 2 key to detonate.)

When the ability’s timer runs out, all intact nodes detonate by default.

Detonating nodes in the network creates a temporary, radial stun on all enemies in range. Stunned enemies are also affected by Signal Block and open to stealth-finisher damage.

Ability Notes:

Ability deals zero damage

Range: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 meters

Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 30 seconds

Cast Time: 1 seconds

Energy Cost: 25

Re-castable (wave will propagate outward like Molecular Prime)

Corpus Nullfiers are immune to stun, but not being highlighted on the map

Serenity (3rd Ability) Neuron sends signals to mechanical enemies’ forcing them into a Hard Reset, while she tells organic enemies’ bodies to create massive amounts of feel good neurochemicals, making them docile or happy.

Grineer heavies laugh for reasons only they understand

Drhak and Kavat Masters play with their pets, and the pets in turn bark and purr with delight

Organic Corpus weep with joy at the thought of the Void and all its blessings

Infested hordes’ bodies tell them they are full and don’t need to feed

All mechanical enemies and electronic devices are forced to shut down and restart (cameras, drones, lights, MOAs (infested and normal), sensor bars, arc traps, regulators, rollers, latchers, laser barriers, turrets, Helion jet-packs, any electronic device being used by an organic hostile except Corpus Nullifiers and Grineer rampart guns)

Aggressive tendencies of organic enemies are eliminated for the ability’s duration. If enemies are un-alerted when Neuron casts Serenity, she remains ‘invisible’ when passing through Serenity-affected enemies. Ability Notes:

Range: 12 / 15 / 18 / 20 meters

Duration: 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 seconds

Cast Time: 2 seconds

Energy Cost: 50

Not re-castable

After coming down from Serenity organic hostiles “crash”: stun effect similar to a Grineer Commander’s switch teleport. Stunned hostiles are open to stealth-finishers

Ability deals zero damage to enemies

AOE does not follow Neuron, stays active where cast

During Spy Missions, location’s backup power will immediately kick in after 15 seconds. All fixed-location security systems remain on with backup power.

Projection (4th Ability) When Neuron’s back is against a wall, she creates a massive, jellyfish-like neural network as an avatar. This object is invisible to all enemies, invulnerable, and merely a personification of her ability. Neuron controls the avatar, and with its tentacles she inflicts Critical Condition in organics and Critical Failure in machines:

Blocks off pain inhibitor neurochemicals (the body’s pain killers). Degrades organics’ health

Starves brains/bodies of the “feel good” neurochemicals. Drains organics’ energy

Induces stress, anxiety, depression, loss of will to fight. Decreases organics’ damage

Creates DOT effects on organics: slash, heat, cold, toxin, gas, and viral

Overclocks machines with 50% more speed, creates magnetic, radiation DOT effects

Machines have a 30% chance to Hard Rest and never reboot (death)

Low-level organics: die instantly. Mid-range: struggle, die. High-level: suffer, survive.

Ability Notes:

Range: 12 / 15 / 18 / 20 meters

Strength (damage): 500 / 750 / 1000 / 1250

Duration: 6 seconds

Cast Time: 1 seconds

Energy Cost: 100

Drains Energy: 5 per second, but can be toggled on/off

Neuron remains mobile wile ability is active

AOE-DOT does not follow Neuron, stays active where cast

If toggled off, DOT effects remain on enemies

Corpus Nullfiers are immune

Ciphreak (Passive Ability #1) Due to her machine interface abilities or her Sentient history (no one knows), Neuron has an easier time hacking terminals.

Grineer and Corpus ciphers are pre-solved by % corresponding to Neuron's level

Unranked, Neuron has 5% boost

Level 10, Neuron has 25% boost

Level 20, Neuron has 50% boost

Level 30, Neuron has 75% boost

Medic (Passive Ability #2)

When allies’ health or energy levels drop to 5% of their total, Neuron floods their bodies with key neurochemicals, boosting their health and energy to a flat 30% of their total. This will trigger once per life, once per ally. No cost to Neuron and is a self-buff unless Gambler Sequence Augment is equipped. Ability Augment Mods (Syndicate)

What Tenno? - Signal Block Augment: An unranked mod plays tricks on enemies’ memory and recognition: the hostile mistakes Neuron for an ally in their respective faction, ignoring her as they would in Tenno + Faction invasion missions. At max rank, however, the mod has a 30% chance to make the single target see Neuron’s squad mates as enemy faction members. (Grineer will see Infested/Corrupted/Corpus, for example.) 0% chance in solo missions. Gambler Sequence - Serenity Augment: Neuron casts Serenity and sacrifices 60% (@ mod’s max) of her health to boost her brain power. A deadly gamble:

Interception capture points (so long as she’s standing on it) are sped up by 50%.

Mobile Defense node timers are cut in half (by 50%)

In Defense missions, half of Neuron’s health is converted to an overshield for the (cryopod)

In Hijack missions, Neuron sacrifices her health to overclock machine speed (those being escorted) by 30%

Spy mission data vault timers are lengthened by 50%

Rescue mission execution countdowns are lengthened by 50%

MOA cabinets have a 30% chance to permanently jam shut in all Corpus tilesets and missions

Adrenaline - Projection Augment: Neuron transmits to allies’ adrenal glands, flooding their bodies with epinephrine/adrenaline. Squad members take 50% less damage for 10 seconds at this mods max rank. This buff affects Neuron's damage resistance. Puppet Master - Projection Augment: Neuron acts on enemies’ motor control neurons and actuators, forcing them to disarm and switch to melee, then attack each other.

Neuron theme and lore Exploration Whether anyone believes in the legend of Neuron Prime doesn’t matter. Neuron exists and she’s very cunning and deadly. In a normal body, neurons (of various kinds, with various functions) communicate with other neurons across a micro-space called a synapse. They control vital functions in our bodies. Neuron mimics any neurotransmission. Using Void energy, she reaches and connects to target nervous systems—accessing their neurons and opening up a world of possibilities and hurt. She is a light, fast Warframe that evades and devastates on the battlefield by utilizing an enemy's own internal biological, or electronic and mechanical functions. Though brain activity is immediately what comes to mind when we hear “Neuron”, she is not a mind-control themed Warframe. Neuron leaves pure mind-control to her fellow Tenno, Nyx. In biological enemies, Neuron communicates with an enemy’s neurons. She sends, attacks, confuses and manipulates neurotrasmissions that control:

Chemical releases which in turn control mood

Important internal organs functions (Muscles, important ones. Like the heart.)

Sensory input (What they see and hear, and how far away it is. What they taste, smell, feel.) This same organic power gives her unique support and self-buff abilities. In mechanical enemies, Neuron communicates directly with their systems. Her attacks mirror her attacks on organics where possible, or result in purely mechanical attacks:

Reads, hacks, and rewrites code

Shuts down and restarts machines

Overclocks, boosting speed and causing magnetic status effects

Neuron Prime Codex Entry: Sergeant Emiz Kugo Jorag In the chilly debriefing room, I wait with my panel. Always we wait to hear tales of empire power, brought back from the other side of the Rail. Unspectacular, redacted recordings and testimony. Scraps of the juicy stories. This time’s different. A sergeant was rescued near the wreck of two Sentient ships. The brief, but unredacted file before me lists him as, “Sergeant Jorag. Found in non-Orokin escape pod: likely Sentient origin. Clutching bloody helmet. Not his, but definitely Orokin [gold accents]. Likely WarFrame.” Goosebumps crawl over me as I imagine our mighty Tenno laying waste to Sentient drones, maybe the Sentients, too, gutting their ships, and casting the wretched things adrift. I can’t help but smile, the wrinkles on my skin multiplying. I’m thankful for the protocol hiccup in the upper echelon’s affairs. It left a gap in procedure that had to be filled. While they prioritized attending important council meetings, this sergeant would wait, his fresh memories fading. Instead, I cited my authority and our panel of four stepped in. We’d do our duty, unasked. “Officers, where is the sergeant?” Belau yells at men stationed outside. “Tell them to make haste.” Anisa warms her hands with her mug. “Must Belau always spoil our mood?” “Must you speak as if I’m not here?” Belau answers. Anisa clucks her tongue, says nothing. To them, he is only a colleague. It always falls to me to silence or calm him. “Old friend, we know a fraction of empire secrets. It’s an honor to learn more. Let us honor this survivor with our patience until he arrives, and our full attention once he does.” “Nkendi, I tire of this.” Belau leans in. “Boring, second-hand details. I’d rather the ignorance of the clone laborer was my lot than this drudgery.” “Have faith. Besides, though you are often dimwitted, you lack the laborer’s youth, strong back, and subservient nature.” Belau’s response is drowned out by their laughter. The door opens, and in shambles a form that must have been a soldier once. The panel quiets at the sight of him. I wrinkle my nose at his stench. He is burned, bandaged, and breaks my heart. Silver restraints reflect the room’s light. They sheath his hands as gloves, and are joined by a rod between his wrists. His mouth is similarly sealed. “Remove those.” I point. “No, ma’am,” the security officer says, and seats the soldier across us. “He’ll claw those symbols into the table. Into his skin. Your skin. Nothing but arcs and strokes.” A wave of nausea passes before I can speak. “What of his mouth?” “Yes, ma’am.” The officer unlocks the cage around the sergeant’s jaw, and then leaves. “Speak, freely soldier,” Anisa calls him.

The sergeant’s gaze roams the ceiling as he whispers. I tap my gavel. Nothing. I gavel harder. His gaze snaps onto me. “Sergeant Jorag,” I say. “You were witness to the battle that downed two Sentient ships. You and the helmet are all we recovered. Do you understand?” I brace for incoherent rambling. “I, Neuron, am no longer.” I do not think Jorag’s voice is his own. It’s a husky, aware whisper. Perhaps feminine, the voice draws out and hisses the syllables with a phonetic pronunciation, in an accent I am unfamiliar with. And it unsettles me. Jorag continues, “All that is left of me is this neural echo, iribed in Sergeant Emiz Kugo Jorag’s memory. You will hear it as long as he lives. Near dead when I placed him in the escape pod. Hasn’t long.” I swallow hard. Anisa sips her tea. Intelligent light shines in Jorag’s eyes as Neuron’s message plays through him. “Unlike my first tribe, I was an abomination thrice over. Within me were the building blocks of the second tribe, bonded to me before the Void.” “I believe,” our fourth member says, “she speaks of Technocyte.” The retired military officer seems sure. I am not so certain. “Their bond had grown too strong,” Neuron hisses. “Had to choose only one tribe: Tenno or Sentient.” My mouth falls open, Belau swears, and Anisa spits out her tea, but Neuron continues. “With my Tenno siblings, I cut down offspring of the Sentient womb. Yet, my second tribe inflicted death, destruction on my Tenno kin. Blessed and cursed by the void, I felt Sentient and Tenno deaths as my own.” “Blasphemy…” Belau’s angry whisper fades away, bowing to his fascination. Outside, new officers bark orders. “Open this door. Now.” “Orokin and Sentient waged war, drones and Tenno fought, and within me my body waged war against itself. I had to choose—“ The door slams open. Elites robed in gold and white hoist the sergeant out of the seat as if he were a misbehaving Kubrow pup, and snap on his jaw restraint. They shove him into the arms of the lower officers. The minor officers look away from their superiors. The Elites turn to us. Their gaze searches our faces, accusing. “Protocol, procedure,” one of the Elite women starts, “was not followed here. What are we if we do not follow our rules?” Her gaze, her pause, waits for the apology I refuse to give. I sit up, stiffen my back. “As an appointed magistrate, and with a legal scholar, neuroscientist, and retired military commander on my panel, it is our right to debrief this witness if you neglect your

duties. You have not heard the last of us.” Seething, but not prepared to debate, I clip my answer short. The young Elite shakes her head. Belau waits until they’ve left to start his tirade. “How dare they? Neglectful brats. This honor, this duty, is ours to perform.” As he rages on, within me I try to dispel the disgust and confusion at war with my pride in our empire. It is not possible. “Her second tribe,” Neuron said of our enemy.

Neuron Prime Theme and lore Exploration Did the current Neuron WarFrame have a prototype? Little is known about the creation of the original Neuron. Soldiers and high council members still talk of missing files, redacted information. Secrets held in a strong Orokin death grip from beyond the grave. Theories suggest early Sentient “DNA”—stored from the creature seen in the Crewman Synthesis Codex entry—was added to the first Neuron, before she was sent into the Void with the other children. Shouldn’t her body have rejected the mutation? Or did her body accept the rudimentary—compared to the evolved Sentients sending extinction to the gates of the Orokin empire—nanomachines and let them thrive? Did she come back from the Void, an abomination three times over? Did the machines dramatically augment and boost her intelligence? Did the Orokin craft a gold and gleaming machine of death to encompass and focus her abilities? Could she manipulate Sentient drones at will? Force massive dropships to fire on each other? Wouldn’t the Void energy, deadly to Sentients, eventually destroy those parts of her DNA? Wouldn’t they destroy her entirely? Or would the Sentient part of her adapt, self-replicate, survive? For how long? We may never know. But a single codex entry suggests she may well have existed, her legend lost to space and time. If she did exist, I wonder if the Orokin hid her original blueprints, stored away on some tower under lock, key, and neural sentry…

Special Thanks and Author Notes Special Thanks, so far, for ideas I’ve accepted and added to the concept:

JackDrakke

6KIRA9

Ryjeon

Kurokaneko

AetherShift

Krion112 Notes: -Ciphreak: portmanteau/combination: “cipher” and “freak”. Like the old “phreaking” phone + freaking.

-Neuron Prime had the ability to “rewrite” code, and wipe minds, place new ideas, but it will not constitute mind-control. Similar to what she did to Sergeant Jorag. -After coming up with the loose concept, I researched finer points. Everyone’s free to suggest a better way to address abilities if they have better research or better ideas on how the space magic interacts with real bodily functions. -I would prefer to keep it as simple as possible. I’ve simplified the terms/processes. Scaled down various different molecules (GABA, serotonin, endorphins, dopamine) to “neurochemicals”. It is easy to get into the weeds on the different neurotransmitters, glands, hormones, etc. I don’t doubt that, despite getting background information, I’ve fudged some things above. -This is not an attempt to break the canon lore, but to find plausible loopholes that open up possibilities for Neuron’s (Prime and Contemporary) creation. -The Neuron Prime codex entry is longer than normal blurbs, but shorter than at least one synthesis target codex entry: | Synth target Arid Eviscerator Entry: 993 words | Sergeant Emiz Kugo Jorag entry: 985 words | Mag Prime + Archwing entry: 605 words -Neuron was inspired by a “Why aren’t there sentient themed WarFrames?” thought. Original topic: https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/520012-sentient-question/#entry5813978 DNA. What would sentient-themed abilities be like? Then I finished the Natah quest, listened to DevStream 57, which only made the idea seem more plausible. -I’m aware advanced Orokin technology was subverted by Sentients, forcing Orokin to go low-tech. That doesn’t mean they didn’t try everything at least once. How else would they know it doesn’t work? (Try > Fail > Try something new.) These are the same people who took their rejects as children, gave them Technocyte, and threw them into the void. Would they be beyond other experimentation? -She was also inspired by the fact that I hate Pluto/Europa ciphers on Corpus missions with a passion, and hate forgetting to build and load them even more. -Gender choice. I forget the name of the thread, but a player said they were losing interest in the game over a lack of female stealth frames. I’m setting aside what went down in the thread, but will say I see the Tenno as post-human, transhuman (these are themes that have been in science fiction for a while). The gender of a frame doesn’t matter to me, but there is also nothing wrong with having a new stealth frame be female as we don’t have any besides sort-of Banshee. Yes, I am aware of DE's rotation of genders.

Old Artwork (by Rhekemi)