They emerged at the same time Transhumans became a norm among the rich and privileged in the mid-21st century. These technically enhanced individuals display a variety of mysterious, non-rational phenomena from basic psychic enhancements to full-form body metamorphosis. Alters were hunted and arrested for two generations because they could summon and channel strange entities that transformed them into all sorts of scary things. (Also known as Channelers, Summoners, Melders, Animators, Ragers, and Pscyheads.) Battle of the Steppe: A turning point in the Cyber War in which a massive RAI host was defeated in Asia. After this point, the RAIs changed tactics for smaller, more specifically strategic incursions into Realspace. Channeler/Summoner: An Altertranshuman who can channel the energy of his or her entity or someone who can summon and bind his or her entity and allow it to manifest itself. Both labels are official classifications used by the Consortium. Terms of derision by a society that hates and fears these individuals are psy-sorcerer or psy-sorceress.
