NEURAL INTERFACE SYSTEMS USER REFERENCE (6th Ed.)

3: Chip Classification, Protocols, and Safety

Pre-Session Checklist:

Verify chip shell color and serial number against the registry database.

Confirm reader firmware is updated to current MIC standards.

Ensure emotional baseline and physical status are stable (no illness, extreme fatigue, or stimulant use).

Activate emergency disconnect protocol on reader before starting playback.

During-Session Best Practices:

Maintain a grounded sensory environment — low noise, neutral lighting, ambient temperature.

Ensure supervision if running an unfamiliar, hybrid, or experimental chip.

Do not attempt simultaneous chip streaming unless operating under dual-thread approved hardware (currently restricted to experimental Halo Ring ports).

Post-Session Recovery:

Perform a 5-minute sensory reboot: grounding exercises such as physical movement, tactile tasks, or interaction with organic environments (nature, non-augmented spaces).

Log session metadata: timestamp, chip ID, emotional response notes.

Monitor for delayed side effects for at least 6 hours post-use.

Warnings:

Never interface with black-coded (X-Class) chips without advanced isolation software, a certified neural stabilizer, and emergency extraction equipment present.

Do not attempt to splice, flare, or ghost a chip manually without a Level 4 developer license.

Premature stacking (using multiple chips back-to-back without recovery periods) is a leading cause of neural mesh fatigue and memory crossfire syndrome.

"The mind adapts faster than you think — but not always in the ways you want." — MIC User Protection Memo, 2104

3.6 Tampering, Hacking & Black Market Risks

Unauthorized modification of neuro-chips, commonly referred to as "chip tampering," presents a major risk to individual cognitive health, public safety, and data integrity. Despite strict regulation, illicit chip trade and underground hacking communities continue to thrive in network dead zones and enforcement gaps.

The most common forms of tampering include:

Term: Splicing
• Definition: Merging two or more chip streams into a hybrid loop. Often causes emotional and memory blending.

Term: Flare
• Definition: Overclocking a chip's emotional output to create intensified experiences. Leads rapidly to dependency and emotional flooding.

Term: Ghosting
• Definition: Selective or full memory deletion from a chip's payload. Frequently used for illegal erasure of traumatic events or criminal activities.

Term: Looping
• Definition: Programming a chip to replay continuously without user intervention. High risk for neural mesh degradation and identity instability.

Term: Wiping
• Definition: Manual or surgical deletion of chip contents, often to remove metadata tags and ownership traces. May leave behind corrupt data fragments.

Term: Vaulting
• Definition: Collecting, storing, and sometimes modifying banned or lost chips recovered from data dumps or black market hubs.

Term: Sinking
• Definition: Artificially forcing emotional resonance into unrelated memories to reshape or forge new emotional bindings. Extremely unstable.

Key Risks Associated with Tampered Chips:

Neural Instability: Non-standard data streams overwhelm standard neural filters, resulting in hallucinations, sensory conflicts, or cognitive fractures.

Identity Fracture: Persistent exposure to spliced or looped content can split personal narrative continuity, creating dissociative identity states.

Emotional Drift: Overclocked emotional chips cause long-term mood distortion, emotional flattening, or emotional amnesia.

Security Vulnerabilities: Flared and ghosted chips often bypass regulatory safeguards, exposing users to emotional manipulation or memory theft.

Black Market Trends (2110–2114 Observations):

Rise in boutique flare artisans creating "custom highs" tailored to specific emotional desires.

Widespread circulation of "burned" Vault chips marketed as vintage experiences but often corrupted.

Increasing reports of "untraceable" ghost chips used for post-crime memory deletion.

Warning: Possession of tampered, flared, or ghosted chips without MIC recovery clearance is prosecutable under the NeuroData Protection Act (NDPA) with penalties ranging from five years imprisonment to lifetime neural monitoring depending on severity.

3.7 Known Banned Chips (Partial List)

The following chips are classified as X-Class illegal devices under the NeuroData Protection Act (NDPA, 2093) and are subject to immediate seizure and destruction upon discovery. Unauthorized possession or interfacing is a felony offense.

Chip ID: ARC-34
• Alias: [REDACTED]
• Notes: Origin classified. Believed to contain experimental neural constructs. Severe risk of cognitive bleed, identity distortion, and emotional resonance instability.

Chip ID: DRV-002
• Alias: "Heartsick"
• Notes: Known to induce deep emotional collapse loops. Banned after fatality incidents during black-market therapy sessions.

Chip ID: LST-19
• Alias: "Afterglow"
• Notes: Creates prolonged euphoria and sensory enhancement. Linked to widespread dependency outbreaks and emotional numbness.

Chip ID: CRK-11
• Alias: "The Fall"
• Notes: Merges pain and pleasure circuits. Highly unstable. Associated with psychotic breaks and long-term dissociation.

Chip ID: XRN-08
• Alias: "Deadloop"
• Notes: Repeats emotional states and memory gaps in timed intervals. Caused severe cognitive drift and permanent short-term memory loss in unregulated trials.

Security Notice:

Alias for ARC-34 is classified under NDPA Section 7.1. Public documentation of its designation is prohibited.

Physical descriptions of banned chips are intentionally omitted from this manual to prevent misuse.

Known recovery locations are sealed under MIC Vault protocols.

Important: Attempting to access, duplicate, or modify banned chip data will result in a Level-5 security breach response and indefinite neural monitoring.