Not sure about regulation actually... might need to work on that.
The exact mechanisms of how a Process Organ works is unknown, but it can be created fairly easily if you have a copy of the blueprints and a cloning vat. It's sort of like giving the materials and blueprints of a radio to people in the 1700s: they could build it, but they certainly couldn't understand it, not for a while.
The Process Organs are limited by size and what kind of energy they can process and change. As stated earlier, humans generally have kidney-sized ones, while a genuinely huge (50ft) mecha might have a singular one the size of an apartment or three.
The Organs are generally arranged into banks of up to five, arranged vertically. A bank is formed of Process Organs that perform the same task, and it is not uncommon for a superhuman to have several different kinds of organs for different tasks.
edit: how do you make a spoiler tag?
edited 9th Mar '11 2:13:43 AM by doorhandle
A comedic superhero story, actually.
The Process organs are there because No Conservation of Energy is a personal niggle I have, while the Wetware CP Us are there because I want to avoid how all machines seem to outclass humans after a certain point (and to avoid a Petey Expy,) and because I don't think we will ever have true artificial intelligence that isn’t the result of genetically uplifting something.
I figure I should have some solid ground rules in place regardless of genre.
edit: Alright, time to type more things. Going to go over the p-organs a bit more.
Process Organs are generally regulated by availability, as most beings (certainly all humans) are born without them, and while not truly rare, the processes use to make them, as well as the blueprints, are known only by a select few. There are a few main ways however:
Government: the government(s) can grant these organs to certain aspects of it’s work force, like R&D and military forces. If you were born as a Mech or a Spaceship, you would already have been granted one of these as it is a large part of not crumbling under your own weight. Cyborgs, too, will usually have one of these if they went for full-body conversion.
Religion: if you pledge yourself to the service of a god, (lower case g, they’re not THAT God) they will generally give you a process organ in return, as well as an allocation of energy in order to power it. This makes sense, given how gods in this setting are biological beings that are hugely tall and almost 50% Process Tissue. As such, this is how clerics come about.
Heritage: if you were born into a noble family of wizards, at birth you probably would have had several of your organs removed and replaced with an arcane series of Process Organs that take over functions like chemical processing and digestion. Seeing as this organ is implanted at birth, it will grow with you and have a lower rate of rejection, and give the user more control. This is how the wizard clans form, and why it seems like they can pass the organs from generation to generation, despite the generally agreed implausibility of that.
MAD SCIENCE: finally, most Übermensch (mad scientists) in allegiance to the group U.N.R.E.S.T, (in other words, all the living ones) will have access to both the cloning tanks and the blueprints in order to create process organs. They are at the forefront of the advancement of such curiosities, and will bestow them upon others, sometimes when said others are unwilling… although it’s not like the gift of super-powers is entirely unwelcome.
As seen, this means that both “magic” and “miracles” come from the same force: much to the chagrin and frustration of gods and wizards alike, who feel it takes all the mystery out of it.
edited 6th Mar '11 2:05:33 AM by doorhandle
Woo, double post. This needs replies, so now we go onto the renamed Organic Calculation Engines, or rather the Artificial Cortex Engine.
An Artificial Cortex Engine (A.C.E, colloquially Ace,plural is also Ace, or A.C.E.s) is an organic, artificially-created cybernetic Brain in a Jar. They are generally used in order to provide the brains behind the muscle of Humungous Mecha or Cool Spaceship, and far from being Just a Machine, are a major demographic in the world this is taking place in.
While true artificial intelligence is possible, it is generally very expensive and very difficult to program. On top of this, A.I.s are always …Other, and often have priorities that do not match with their intended masters. Even worse, true A.Is are capable of rewriting themselves, and will often break free from their “masters” and peruse their own ends… which is very, very bad in the body of a spaceship intended to make first contact.
As such, the A.C.E were created in order to make a thing capable of doing all the capabilities expected of traditional A.I while having that ‘human’ touch, and being less likely to rebel. As stated earlier, they succeeded a little TOO well …
While every A.C.E is a unique person in it’s own right, under law, different bodys have different general personalities. Mecha or Tank based Ace are generally The Stoic and surprisingly philosophical, sometimes debating philosophy in an especially routine battle. Spaceship-based Ace generally have huge god complexes, or perfectly accurate statements of their godhood, depending on the ship and who is talking. Immobile Ace, like those in space stations or military bases, are generally pretty geeky due to a life spent browsing the internet although this has caused some concern, as an entire social clique has arisen around them imitating Villainous A.I like Gla Do S or Skynet...
While most Artificial Cortex Engines have full reign over the vehicular body they inhabit, Ace in pertially sensitive positions (like the aftermentioned first-contact spaceship) are pared with a human crew. The reasoning behind this is to provide redundant technicians in case the Ace gets sick or is killed, and to have people willing and able to plunge an axe into its cerebral cortex should it get too far out of line. On top of this, most aliens are generally more reciprocal of humankind if they take the effort to get in a spaceship and travel all the way over to them, instead of just sending some creepy A.I in to talk to them.
edited 6th Apr '11 3:05:36 AM by doorhandle

Alright, this thread is pretty much a dump for any of my possibly hair-brained Plot/setting devices.
I'll start off with the Process Organ.
Basically, this is a (usually) artificially-made Bio-Modification that takes the shape of a kidney-sized, glowing, spherical, yellow organ, seen inside the edges of the torso, and occasionally in the upper arm and thigh. The main trick of this organ is being able to move and convert energy of one type to another, though an unknown but highly efferent process, with little waste. While an individual Process Organ might only be able to convert one kind of energy to another(such as kinetic energy to chemical, or vice versa), it is not uncommon for super-beings to have several of these organs running down their bodys, each with differing function.
Process Organs have many uses. The most common usage is in being transplanted into human beings, to give them superhuman abilities and improved endurance, strength, speed, and durability. They also appear in many space-ships and mecha, as oversize versions have proven very useful in Inertial Dampening and reducing gravitational pressure, as well as meshing well with the Organic Calculation Engines.
Risks in utilizing these organs include organ rejectetion, Power Incontinence cause by poorly-made or damaged organ, unusual (but minor) mutations, and the possible but unlikely creation of a Warlock, the result of a Process Organ being rerouted to the brain, resulting in making it a conduct to it’s power, with all the insanity and properly damage it implies.
TL:DR: it's a justifcation for superpowers and why a super-speeder doesn't need to drink their own weight in rocket fuel every hour.
Any inquires, or anything else you want to hear about?
EDIT: thanks for the move!
edited 6th Apr '11 1:14:21 AM by doorhandle