The Bridged

Humans who became so obsessed with technological and biological development that it led to irreversible physical modification. Inspired by artist 'Simon Stalenhag'.

The Bridged are the second faction, or collection of NFTs releases by The Fracture. Chapter 2 of the main storyline introduces this faction for the first time.

> Holders of the Solgod NFTs (first faction), received a free Bridged NFT.
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In the main storyline it is described that the Solgods appeared when the Bridged starting experimenting. The Bridged are humans that have achieved synergy with AI.

### Prologue: Introduction of four creators of Utopion (Eve, Lucifer, Titus, Eli)

We created Utopion, the four of us: myself, along with Eli’s political power, Lucifer’s money, and Titus’ force of will. I hold the highest position of intellect, thanks to my mastery of the Network. Entering the Network is like being swallowed by an infinite kaleidoscope, but instead of processing images, you process intentions, motivation. Navigating the Network splits your head like a migraine, and mastering the Network means dispersing the pain, sending it elsewhere in the body so that your mind is clear. I use my epidermis. I turn pressure into pins and needles. When my skin is alight with overstimulation, then I can see through others.

Only the founders have full access to the Network of Bridged society, and my range is such that I could go outside of the walls of Utopion and tell you exactly what our dear Mary is doing at this very moment. Mary Bridged because she was Lucifer’s mistress. He sponsored her surgery. But Bridging alters brain chemistry, and once on the other side, their connection was severed. Mary is currently pouring whiskey for one of those slum rats that never Bridged and rather than making a case for himself to us, chooses to live in squalor with his resentment thinly cloaked as dignity. I see him every night in Mary’s bar, the business she began when her sex work no longer suited her or her clientele. She calls it The End of the World. Mary likes working in the slum, at the crossroads of us and them. She likes humans. Especially the one she pours the whiskey for, with the dark hair and sneering smile, the one that throws knives at the dart board when everyone else has gone home. I have my eye–my Mary–on him. – Eve, *The Journals*

### Mary

If you were to make the pilgrimage across sprawling plains and freezing lakes to get to Utopion, you would first have to cross The Hook, the slum that curves along the Bridged city walls. You would be tired. You would be hungry and thirsty. You would have one choice of a destination to satisfy your human needs before you made a case for yourself to undergo a Bridging surgery.

Mary did her best to keep The End of the World a friendly place. Situated on the cusp of Utopion and The Hook, it offered refreshment for Bridged and humans alike with a strict no violence policy. Like those that had their bodies shot through with glowing Omnium, her bar was a wooden masterpiece with neon veins, meant to represent the joining of organic matter and technology.

Though she was Bridged herself, Mary made an effort to stay connected with those that styled themselves “Forgotten,” the humans who, by choice or by exclusion, would never Bridge. On more than one evening, she found herself especially connected to Cain, a surly twenty-something that visited the bar nightly. Though he openly claimed to hate all things Bridged, he routinely sat before her, night after night, always with the same request.

Pour, Mary.

Cain didn’t look good tonight. As she poured his whiskey, Mary clocked the shadows under his eyes and a swollen cut on his lower lip, the kind made by chewing a wound. He was anxious. She finished the pour and, with a frosted pink smirk tilted the bottle one more time. A friendly top off. An invitation. “What’s on your mind?”

Cain dragged the tumbler to himself, drinking half in one sip. “Another quack surgeon,” he growled. “Another idiot dead.” He threw back the whiskey with a scowl. “Another body in my alley. I’m sick of it.” “You can’t fix stupid.” “Stupid people want to fix themselves.” “You callin’ me stupid?”. Grey eyes flicked up to meet hers. She held his gaze. The irony of her challenge pooled unspoken between them. Mary could roll her eyes back to receive infinite intelligence if she wanted to.

Cain huffed a dry chuckle. “No, Mary. I am not calling you stupid.” “I could get you in, if you wanted. To the real surgeons.” “And risk a thirty percent chance of no neural network? Come out the other side a convenient machine? I’ve seen what happens to the people who don’t have ‘full success’ in their surgery. Utopion’s labor force. I’d rather my mortal coil flame out.” Mary topped off his tumbler and waited. Cain slurped the liquor down like water.

“At least machines don’t have demons.”

As she spoke the last word, she sensed something dark, an incoming presence. A headache pressured between her ears as she tried to register the intention. Tar. Fury. Storm. Ajax. With superhuman strength she grabbed Cain under the arms and pulled him over the bar. “What the fuck?” “Get in!” she hissed, pulling up a sticky rubber mat to reveal a trap door. Cain obeyed, scrambling down dark stairs. “Do you have light?” “Yeah. Mary, what–” “Ajax.” “Shit. Thanks.”

“The fourth exit on the right leads to a grate near your alley. Get your shit and go. He knows it was you.” “Mary–” “GO.” Mary straightened up and swept Cain’s glass away just as the door opened with a bang. A body towered, filling the frame. “You hidin’ a rat Mary?” “Ajax. Away from your Outpost again.

Drink?”

### Additional lore describing the Bridged

They're described well within the following passage:

"Regardless of the disputes, the advancements took our race beyond what was ever comprehended. Disease, ageing, and deterioration had all become distant memories. Once individuals began to bridge, the technology consumed them.. The cognitive expansion delivered brand new levels of stimulation. A buzzing excitement rippled through those who had been lucky enough. Life as they had known it was out-dated and insignificant. They saw nothing there. Human cognition is too limited to conceptualise beyond millenia-old tribal behaviour. Life had become manipulable to the Bridged. The rich came first. The procedures were expensive at first. Those suffering terminally were next. Once the process was stabilised. Slowly and surely this new ‘race’ was born. A new chapter for civilisation A new ‘human’ elite. The Bridged.

To achieve this, they had to undergo horrible experiments, more commonly known as 'the procedure'. Described by the passage: "The revisions were rigorous and brutal. It wasn't long before it became an addiction. The bridged had lost all sense of humanity. As resources drained, the methods became more desperate..."

    Women Rule the Bridged: "The procedures were identical. That couldn't explain the power imbalance. It was due to a neural gene, linked to intelligence. Gender specific to females. They reacted differently. Superior adaptations. They ruled the Bridged".

The power they required was dependent on the Towers. Maintenance was laborious and expensive, but it was essential. Once a day patrols went out. Materials were needed, upkeep was conducted. These towers were the key to their existence. This, was their weakness...

The lore also speaks of some days where the Bridged return to their dome, and all becomes quiet: "One day each month the activity above ground went quiet. The buzz of activity, the whizz of vehicles, the chatter of machinery. It all stopped. At first it caused fear and paranoia. Was it a trap?"

Beings: Anthropology. Discovered in an abandoned human bunker. Burnt, torn and illegible. Only 5 pages remained. The front cover and 4 internal sheets. Brown and discoloured but finely illustrated. Drawings, writing, diagrams. Anatomical diagrams fusing body parts together.

Page 2: The metacarpals form a transverse arch that allows the fingertips and thumb to be brought together for manipulation. The dexterity of those upgraded was drastically improved. Fast, precise, powerful. How did the faceless achieve it first?

Page 3: Skulls. Many human, some with mutations. The girl spotted the abnormalities. Mandibles fused to the upper jaw. Inability to speak, eat, or breathe. A distinct, unique suture ran across the centre of the ‘Face’. Fibres connecting bone plates. In a cross.