BY LETTER
Common Biont Cosmetics
Few clades or cultures lack the desire to alter their appearance for reasons of aesthetics, practicality or ideology. Whilst bodymods offer a near infinite variety in physical tweaks there are plenty of situations in which a far simpler technological intervention will suffice. Cosmetic technology is one of the oldest known to the terragen sphere, even ancient man practiced body painting for ritualistic purposes. Throughout the history of technological development new methods of temporarily changing one's appearance have frequently been devised and refined to meet the demands and imaginations of bionts.
With the advent of programmable cosmetics came the era of "dynamic mein". Sophonts could not only alter their appearance in real-time but install reflex codes that autonomously adjust their cosmetic technology according to mood, ambience, social proximity and minute-by-minute changes in fads. This paradigm continues to the current era. Whilst the range of technologies and their uses are vast there are a small number of product types that are familiar across time and space. The following are the most significant of these common cosmetics; a sophont employing the majority obtains a near-instant capability to shift their appearance within the confines of their overall shape. From simple makeup and costumes to markers of gender and ethnicity virtually all aspects of one's appearance can become effortless to edit.
Image manager: Software class designed to interface with programmable cosmetics for the purposes of real-time monitoring and control. When linked to mechanisms with net access and physiological monitors (e.g a DNI and medisystem) autonomous tweaks to cosmetic settings can be set up taking their cues from the user's state or the wider society. Image managers, like bodymod installers, tend to come with a set of default archetypes build in for the user to choose from. Beyond that new templates, customised from existing or created from scratch, can be made and loaded.
Holofilms: Ultra-thin optical phased array patches that are applied to features such as eyes, nails, teeth and horns. Unpowered the films are highly transparent but upon command can project a variety of static and dynamic patterns, often used by nearbaselines to instantly adjust iris colour.
Chromatopores and Dermites: Replicating sub-millimeter bots that reside within and upon skin. Dermites operate as an integrated swarm, emergently organising their population number and distribution according to user clade and desires. Most dermites migrate into skin pores for protection (becoming chromatopores) but where pore density is low (such as the eyelids or lips of human-based clades) they simply space out and anchor themselves to the surface. Aside from aiding dermal hygiene and protecting against natural/artificial infection they are primarily used to rapidly change skin appearance by projecting light both through the upper tissue layers and upon the surface. A full complement of dermites can transform one's epidermis into a low-resolution (~1mm/pixel) screen capable of displaying a variety of pleasing colourings and patterns. Some designs extrude nanowires that penetrate the nervous system and merge with the users DNI to provide light-mediated high-bandwidth communications.
Fibrous paste: A form of organic smart matter designed to quickly deploy prosthetic tissues and contort the body. The most common use is for the control and replacement of keratinous fibers such as hair and fur. After massaging into hair and skin the paste can be programmed to "unpack" from its compressed form to its macroscopic state. Smart fibers can be spread throughout natural hair in order to adjust shape and behaviour through mechanical shepherding. If applied to bare skin fibrous paste will smear over a wide area and blend in through simple camouflage. In this configuration the paste can be used to instantly create the appearance of hair of many colours, textures and lengths. Suitably engineered products can double as hand-tech.
Scent flora: Class of cosmetic technology spanning artificial technocytes and gengineered bacteria. Scent flora breeds are customised to thrive upon and within different parts of the body. There they live unobtrusively, harvesting material and energy from the host in order to maintain their populations as well as carry out their primary purpose: breaking down undesired scents and releasing pleasant alternatives. Particularly popular among clades with a strong vasonomeral response for whom tailored pheromones are a common communication supplement.
Synbiotes: Companion (bio)bots ranging from sub-millimetres to metre sizes, synbiotes can be used for personal grooming and aesthetic statements. Users of synbiotes are often accompanied by an entourage of designs from wandering jewellery to large pets covered in organic tattoos. Generally such a bot is classed as a cosmetic technology rather than a fashion accessory if one of its primary uses is to occasionally maintain or alter the user's appearance, e.g: synsects that hover in an extending formation over the eyes and ripple with each movement of the eyelid.
UnReality projections: Utilising DNI or wearable augmented reality technology UnReality projections can be used to transmit all manner of perceptual alterations to participating sophonts. Simple changes can be alterations to colouring or aura. More advanced modes can include some mind-bending, and disturbing, effects such as narcotic feelings, perceptions of the user as inhabiting more than three dimensions, warping of the immediate environment surrounding their body etc.
Mannerism modification: DNI software that monitors and edits a user's behaviour to better fit a desired template. "Manner-mods" can alter gait, body language, facial expressions, accents, dialect and most forms of automatic physical responses. Users can choose their manner-mod from a list of archetypes or create a custom mod to better express their desired identity. With the flick of a mental switch a sophont can swap from insular to bubbly, from timid to aggressive, from wilting to domineering.
With the advent of programmable cosmetics came the era of "dynamic mein". Sophonts could not only alter their appearance in real-time but install reflex codes that autonomously adjust their cosmetic technology according to mood, ambience, social proximity and minute-by-minute changes in fads. This paradigm continues to the current era. Whilst the range of technologies and their uses are vast there are a small number of product types that are familiar across time and space. The following are the most significant of these common cosmetics; a sophont employing the majority obtains a near-instant capability to shift their appearance within the confines of their overall shape. From simple makeup and costumes to markers of gender and ethnicity virtually all aspects of one's appearance can become effortless to edit.
Image manager: Software class designed to interface with programmable cosmetics for the purposes of real-time monitoring and control. When linked to mechanisms with net access and physiological monitors (e.g a DNI and medisystem) autonomous tweaks to cosmetic settings can be set up taking their cues from the user's state or the wider society. Image managers, like bodymod installers, tend to come with a set of default archetypes build in for the user to choose from. Beyond that new templates, customised from existing or created from scratch, can be made and loaded.
Holofilms: Ultra-thin optical phased array patches that are applied to features such as eyes, nails, teeth and horns. Unpowered the films are highly transparent but upon command can project a variety of static and dynamic patterns, often used by nearbaselines to instantly adjust iris colour.
Chromatopores and Dermites: Replicating sub-millimeter bots that reside within and upon skin. Dermites operate as an integrated swarm, emergently organising their population number and distribution according to user clade and desires. Most dermites migrate into skin pores for protection (becoming chromatopores) but where pore density is low (such as the eyelids or lips of human-based clades) they simply space out and anchor themselves to the surface. Aside from aiding dermal hygiene and protecting against natural/artificial infection they are primarily used to rapidly change skin appearance by projecting light both through the upper tissue layers and upon the surface. A full complement of dermites can transform one's epidermis into a low-resolution (~1mm/pixel) screen capable of displaying a variety of pleasing colourings and patterns. Some designs extrude nanowires that penetrate the nervous system and merge with the users DNI to provide light-mediated high-bandwidth communications.
Fibrous paste: A form of organic smart matter designed to quickly deploy prosthetic tissues and contort the body. The most common use is for the control and replacement of keratinous fibers such as hair and fur. After massaging into hair and skin the paste can be programmed to "unpack" from its compressed form to its macroscopic state. Smart fibers can be spread throughout natural hair in order to adjust shape and behaviour through mechanical shepherding. If applied to bare skin fibrous paste will smear over a wide area and blend in through simple camouflage. In this configuration the paste can be used to instantly create the appearance of hair of many colours, textures and lengths. Suitably engineered products can double as hand-tech.
Scent flora: Class of cosmetic technology spanning artificial technocytes and gengineered bacteria. Scent flora breeds are customised to thrive upon and within different parts of the body. There they live unobtrusively, harvesting material and energy from the host in order to maintain their populations as well as carry out their primary purpose: breaking down undesired scents and releasing pleasant alternatives. Particularly popular among clades with a strong vasonomeral response for whom tailored pheromones are a common communication supplement.
Synbiotes: Companion (bio)bots ranging from sub-millimetres to metre sizes, synbiotes can be used for personal grooming and aesthetic statements. Users of synbiotes are often accompanied by an entourage of designs from wandering jewellery to large pets covered in organic tattoos. Generally such a bot is classed as a cosmetic technology rather than a fashion accessory if one of its primary uses is to occasionally maintain or alter the user's appearance, e.g: synsects that hover in an extending formation over the eyes and ripple with each movement of the eyelid.
UnReality projections: Utilising DNI or wearable augmented reality technology UnReality projections can be used to transmit all manner of perceptual alterations to participating sophonts. Simple changes can be alterations to colouring or aura. More advanced modes can include some mind-bending, and disturbing, effects such as narcotic feelings, perceptions of the user as inhabiting more than three dimensions, warping of the immediate environment surrounding their body etc.
Mannerism modification: DNI software that monitors and edits a user's behaviour to better fit a desired template. "Manner-mods" can alter gait, body language, facial expressions, accents, dialect and most forms of automatic physical responses. Users can choose their manner-mod from a list of archetypes or create a custom mod to better express their desired identity. With the flick of a mental switch a sophont can swap from insular to bubbly, from timid to aggressive, from wilting to domineering.
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Development Notes
Text by Ryan B. (Rynn)
Initially published on 30 August 2026.
Article written November 2016
Initially published on 30 August 2026.
Article written November 2016
