Your players a bit bored of DNA Hallmarks yet?
This is a wee something I wrote up a while ago, just to add a bit of colour to RtWoP. To be honest, it just started as an idea I'd really like to have on myself, but unfortunately the local tat parlour just wouldn't be quite up to it, so I fleshed it out a bit for SLA instead. I know I've let a couple of you read it already, but I can't actually remember whether or not I got anyone to post it for me while I was off-list. So if this is a repeat, I apologise.
Anyway, all the usual applies - comments, flames,
Pandora - you know the script.
*s*
interview with Dr Hillis Eastley, project director for ‘Patterns in Pain’. Taken from Servitude magazine, Mort edition May 903 SD
The World of Progress has come to know the DNA hallmark as one of the great fashion must-haves of our age. Countless numbers of SLA’s elite operatives have made their own special designs famous, spinning off huge amounts of merchandising revenue and copycat hallmark crazes. The hallmarks themselves have always been fairly versatile, with anything from standard tattoo designs to cosmetic follicle colouring easily available. But there will always be someone to ask ‘what next?’. And thankfully, there’s usually someone around who can answer that question.
When the question is asked of DNA hallmarks, that someone is Dr Hillis Eastly, project director for the latest advancement in personal design from BodyArt, and his answer is Bruise Patterning.
Servitude took the opportunity to treat Dr Eastly to lunch, and ask a few questions about this increasingly popular new product, and the team who made it.Servitude: Dr Eastly, this new project has caused quite a buzz among the fashion cognoscenti of Mort’s club scene, not to mention one or two high-profile ops. But I’m sure our readers would love to know just what made you think of pursuing this particular line of development?
Dr Eastly: Well, it really wouldn’t be fair of me to accept all the credit on this one. I’ve been working with a great team, and we would certainly never even have started on this path if it hadn’t been for Shy (Dr Arlene Cheyenne, the project’s Development Manager), and one of our regulars.
S: Sounds like there’s a story in there somewhere….
Dr E: (smiles) Not that much of a story, really. We were in the clinic one day, preparing operative Sherbitt for an update on one of her designs. She’s one of our regular visitors, has been for a couple of years now. Every month or so she comes in to alter one of the many personal designs on her body. Anyway, there she was, laying on the jab-slab, and she had this great purple bruise on her shoulderblade, and one of the techs commented that the bruise looked like a face. Not meaning anything by it, Shy said ‘We could do that!’, but it sorta stood out from the moment a bit. I turned to where Sherbitt had craned her head back to look at me, shared a brief ‘hold on a second’ look with her, and said ‘could we?’ Shy stopped her preps, looked up at me and shrugged ‘why not?’. And basically that’s where the idea started. Of course, it was a while before we even wrote anything down, and there’s been a fair bit of work done since then, but that was the basic inception of the project.
S: so it was your basic shop-floor development then? (the doctor smiles, nodding and shifting in his seat) So why don’t you tell us something about the product itself. How did you market research this release?
Dr E: It took us a while to get the basic concept ironed out, actually. The initial direction of our research followed its first inspiration. We tried to get the product to replicate a handful of well-known pictorial designs, but found it difficult to spread the bruising effect over a wide enough area while simultaneously allowing for the right levels of shading to bring out the best of the image. We’re still working on that and have pushed it a far way from the stage we were at then, but it was about this point that we straw-polled a select group of operatives and found that almost all of them wanted something a bit different. Abstract designs seemed to be in, so we re-directed our efforts and the result is our new product.
S: Bruise patterning. An innovative step by BodyArt which has re-established its hold on the non-invasive body alteration market. Why don’t you outline for us the details of what the process actually does?
Dr E: The process itself is more-or-less the same as the standard hallmark application, but the results are a little different. Rather than altering the epidermal coloration to produce an image, we subtly re-structure the bruising index of the subject’s skin. Basically, what would normally be the shaded area of the hallmark design is rendered highly sensitive to pressure, resulting in increased levels of bruising in a tightly controlled area. It should be pointed out that the nerve endings in the area are no more sensitive than normal - it is only the mechanism for bruising that is altered. With particularly intricate designs, ‘white’ areas can be highlighted by lowering the colouration index of that area, both by standard pigmentation programming and by increasing the bruising index.
S: sounds like a well-rehearsed line there, Doc! A good one though - saved me a coupla questions! Okay, so we now know what actually happens when we go for our bruising. But what exactly can your customers expect? What will they walk out of the clinic with?
Dr E: To be honest, we expect many of our customers to feel somewhat disappointed when they leave the lab. The design will only show up when it is struck hard enough to bruise, and since our hallmarking process has already been refined to be as non-invasive as possible most will leave with perhaps only the faintest hint of their design. But that's actually a major feature of the process. Designs will only appear when bruising is affected on the area. Normally it's during the first night out or combat encounter that the customer will really get the chance to enjoy his purchase. Gentle blows and pressure, of the type always encountered while wearing combat armour or dancing in a club will be enough to cause the design to darken, and very few find any reason to complain after they first see the implant in its full glory. The effect of varied bruising across a large design is proving particularly popular, with a large number of full-back hallmarks being ordered.
S: Now, the marketing of this product has been very important to its success. I mean, it's only been available as a hallmark option for a little over two weeks, but already there's a backlog of eager customers. And this had largely been down to word-of-mouth. What do you think has been the secret of this runaway success?
Dr E: A damn good product? (laughs) Seriously though, we have put quite a lot of work into carefully directed marketing. The bosses at BodyArt weren't entirely convinced it would be a seller, so they didn't allocate much in the way of development funds. The upshot of this was that we eventually had a working product, but virtually no money left to promote it. And that's when Pristine approached us.
S: Yes, Pristine... tell us a bit about her....Is she sponsored, or hired by you. or what?
Dr E: when she first came through the door she said she'd heard of the project from a friend who'd been involved in the original straw-poll, and was interested enough to search us out. I've heard a few other stories about how she found us since then, but how doesn't matter too much. Just the fact that she found us was enough. She had just the right blend of efficient op and tuned-in clubber going on that we thought we could use, and we didn't even have to spend the time and money trying to find her! Anyway, we agreed at first to do her design for free, providing she agreed to do a bit of promotional work for us. At the time we really weren’t too sure what we wanted to do with her. To be honest, we’d only really got so far as considering offering the option to incoming customers - just a bit of in-house advertising really. It was Pristine who really got the ball rolling though. I tell you - that girl has a sharp mind for promotion. Obviously, she wasn’t too sure what we were going to ask her to do - we didn’t even know ourselves yet - but she was keen to get her hallmark and we continued to discuss the arrangements as she was prepped for the procedure. By the time her design was complete, we’d ironed out the details of what is now threatening to become a successful marketing company in it’s own right, headed and wholly staffed by myself, Shy and Pristine.
S: This would be Strapped?
Dr E: (smiles warmly) Yes, our little joke. Because we were strapped for cash, see? We knew we didn’t have the resources for any worthwhile sort of media advertising, so we just said to Pristine that we’d like her to make sure the design was seen. After a few obvious jokes about transparent armour and the pay rates on ASC, she started talking about a few ideas. Could we get her into events, she asked. We said we could try. Could we get her a couple of good media BPN’s. Again we said we’d see what we could do. And I can still remember the glint in her eye when she asked about enhancing her wardrobe. Well, we didn’t have enough money for advertising, but we could stretch to some clothes. I don’t think we really knew what we were letting ourselves in for there, but she’s more than earned her little indulgences.
S: A lot of clothes, then?
Dr E: Not really a lot, no, but she has expensive tastes. Of course, that has now worked in our favour.
S: How so?
Dr E: Well, you’ve seen the press she’s had. There was never any intention on our part to start a marketing company for this. We just needed a name for the guest lists really. It was Pristine who had the cards printed up. She said it made it easier to convince people she had a right to be at some of the more exclusive events, although to my knowledge no-one ever actually questioned her. We had permission to use the Body Art name to get access to guest lists, and Pristine told us which lists to get her on. We couldn’t get all of them, of course, but it was enough. This practical unknown walking about in some really exclusive clothes , at some of the biggest parties in the city, and apparently there alone at that. She sure managed to get herself noticed, anyway. Suddenly everyone wanted to know all about her.
S: I’ve heard a wee tale that you were a bit concerned at this point. Any truth to it?
Dr E: (smiles ruefully for a moment, then shrugs) No point in denying it. There was no bad feeling or anything, though. We were sitting on a release-ready product that no-one seemed to want and the voices above were demanding some results for their money. Things were a bit hairy for a while. It just seemed to us that Pristine might just be using us to further her own ends, and I didn’t want her success to be at the cost of my career. Although she was managing to create a bit of a buzz of mystery about herself, she hadn’t actually showed off her hallmark yet, or even mentioned it. It didn’t occur to me at the time that if she was just trying to make herself look good, she probably wouldn’t have gone to such pains to avoid her name being known. All I knew was that we’d bought her a wardrobe of very expensive clothes, got her into some top-notch parties, and found her two BPNs with good exposure, and we hadn’t seen anything back from our effort. So we called her in, basically to ask what she was up to. That was when she showed us the shirt.
S: The chains?
Dr E: That’s the one. It was her own idea, and she’d got in touch with the designer herself and sorted it out. She’d wanted it to be a surprise, the great unveiling at the primo event of the season. The rest had apparently just been a build-up to make sure eyes were on her at the right time.
S: And boy, how it worked. The image of her back, seen through the chained window on the back of the shirt was in more style magazines and gossip rags than any other picture for weeks. Overnight her career rocketed, the hallmarks took off, and suddenly everyone wanted to know about Strapped.
Dr E: Yeah, we actually had to take on staff, and set up an office. Everyone wanted bruised, and everyone’s bosses wanted us to promote their products. We had designers, manufacturers, retailers - all sorts, calling us up, asking Strapped to promote their wares, or clamouring to be associated with Patterns in Pain.
S: Who came up with the name?
Dr E: Sorry to say, that one was mine. I wasn’t used to so much attention, so it wore me out very quickly. And when some voice on the end of yet another phone call asked me the name for the project, I just blurted it out. It sounded stupid right away, but I didn’t really think about it. By the time I heard it again, it had already stuck. I don’t know how the name got round so fast, but suddenly there were magazines citing Pristine’s hallmark as being one of the new ‘Patterns in Pain’ line from BodyArt. And my bosses seemed to like it, so I didn’t see the point in kicking up a fuss. I still think it sounds dumb, though.
S: So, what’s next for Dr Hillis Eastly? Will you be back to work in the clinic, or do you plan to retire on the income from your invention.
Dr E: Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t making anything out of this myself, but the project was funded by BodyArt, so they get the rights. They’re quite keen on developing the line, though, and I’ve been asked to head the project team. We have a few ideas that I’m actually quite excited about at the moment. We’ll see what happens.
S: And what about Dr Cheyenne, and Pristine? And is Strapped going to continue?
Dr E: Well, Shy’s officially heading the team with me, but she’s arranged for a more flexible contract, as her and Pristine are trying to get Strapped on its feet properly. And she’s just got engaged too, so I imagine that’s going to figure in her plans somewhere. Strapped has seven full-time staff now, most of them hired by Pristine, plus the three of us. I guess it was really her game from the start, and she really seems to know what she’s doing. I’m throwing in too, but the project is obviously taking up a lot of my time - it’s a busy time for all of us. And as well as Strapped, Pristine herself is suddenly in demand from all angles. Squads eager to sign her up, modelling contracts, sponsorship offers. She seems really eager to keep everything tied to Strapped, but I know she’s revelling in all the attention.
By this point, Dr Eastly had finished his lunch, and was nearing the end of his drink. Your reporter offered to buy another round, but Dr Eastly politely refused, saying he had another meeting to attend to. As he rose, I tried for one last question.
S: Before you go, would you have anything to say about the rumoured relationship between you and Pristine. You must be aware that gossip about you is on the lips of every society-journalist in the city.
With a warm but slightly mischievous smile he replied.
Dr E: Sure I’ve got something to say. No comment.
- bruise patterning from the Patterns in Pain line is now available at all Mort BodyArt clinics, and selected major independents. Prices vary depending on design. The ‘Pristine’ chain-backed shirt is now available through mail-order from Marlotto Studios, price c575.
Bruise patterning is a new option for DNA Hallmarks. Once the pattern is chosen, the client then has to chose from a selection of bruising levels. The higher the bruising index, the less bruising occurs. Lower indexes result in clearer definition of the design, but carry a stronger chance of tissue damage. Although the process does actually slightly dull the nerve endings around the treated area, patterned areas can become tender when bruising occurs. Note that it is possible to have a design picked out to be less likely to bruise than the surrounding natural skin, resulting in a pattern which relies on normal bruising to show up.
BodyArt analgesic cream is available in BodyArt clinics and selected stockists for c2/75ml. The cost of the Hallmarks can vary greatly depending on the design, but as a general rule add 25-50% to the normal cost for a comparable DNA Hallmark or tattoo. BodyArt accept no responsibility for damage caused to clients by abusive treatment of Hallmarked designs, nor for attempts to replicate the effect of our bruising process outwith a BodyArt clinic or accredited independent.
Bruise Patterning is not available to Shaktars or several of the biogenetic operative races.
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