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Adjunct Dismissal

Vices with a higher threat level or those that are more mature are sometimes able to dismiss an Adjunct from an active Branch. Dismissal removes the Adjunct from the Branch Domain and cuts off the electrical flow between the Adjunct and the Host. Dismissed Adjuncts are capable of forcing re-entry using a Bypass, but the chances of a successful entry are much lower than if an Adjunct was attempting to join a Branch for the first time.

This process is only performed if the Vice views the Adjunct as a threat that would either be capable of performing rescission or preventing the Vice from completing dispersion.

All Adjuncts can be dismissed, though the dismissal of primary Adjuncts is highly unlikely. Both tertiary and pseudo Adjuncts are easily expelled without much effort, if any, and secondary Adjuncts typically take a bit more effort due to their physical contact. Hosts are incapable of being dismissed from their own Branch.

The act of dismissal differs slightly between Adjunct tiers. Pseudo and tertiary Adjuncts are dismissed by the Vice retracting the tract that the Adjunct is connected to. Secondary Adjuncts can be dismissed similarly, though often due to their contact with the Host, the mere retraction may not be successful. For this reason, they may fully sever a tract in order to cut off the electrical flow, thereby dismissing the Adjunct. Primary Adjuncts, however, require a much more devious and energy-intensive tactic. Because retracting and even severing tracts are likely to be unsuccessful, some are able to deploy jolts of electricity that cause the Host to spasm, not unlike a hypnic jerk. This spasm can briefly cause the Adjunct to lose contact with the Host, thereby dismissing them from the Branch.

Branch Instigation

While Branches are typically initiated by the Vice as an attempt to expand their core or network, Branches can also be initiated by a Host or Adjuncts with the intent to commit or rescind the Vice. Branches are typically instigated by our Floor Managers in Urgent Care when performing Branch remediation, which entails instigating a recently-suspended Branch so it can be properly committed. Vice Management Administrators in Primary Care also instigate Branches to collect observations throughout treatment or to catch a Vice off guard before pursuing rescission.

As a CVRS patient, instigation will be performed in the observation chambers, where a concentrated, positively-charged electrostatic shock is deployed and directed toward any stray tracks in the Vice’s network. This triggers the VN to become positively-charged, resulting in an initiated Branch. Outside of the observation chambers, a Bypass can also be used to instigate a Branch in an emergency, and is often the instigation method of choice for Floor Managers. Some agents will instead attempt to bait Vices into initiating their own Branch to avoid some of the side effects associated with Branch instigation.

Instigation is generally regarded as a risky endeavor and should only be performed by trained CVRS agents. Instigated Branches typically have a shorter staging time, so any desired Adjuncts should be nearby and prepared before pursuing instigation. Patches should also be summoned in advance so they are in hand once the Branch moves into production, as many exhibitions tend to be enraged at the beginning of production. While a Vice Management Administrator may instigate Branches often throughout a patient’s treatment, they are trained to do so with enough time in between so as to not prompt rogue Branches or permanent changes in the Branch Policy. This required “cool down” time between Branches varies between classifications and even between individual Vices.

Forcing Entry

Adjuncts are able to force their way into an active Branch Domain by using a Bypass, a taser-like device issued to CVRS agents. A Bypass produces an electric charge that is drawn to any stray or easily-accessible tracks in the Host's network. This temporarily provides a “bridge” of contact for the user to bypass the queuing process and enter the Branch Domain as if contact had been made during staging. Bypasses have an admission rate of roughly 72% and result in the immediate admission to the Branch Domain, bypassing the staging queue.

Weak and newly-established tracks account for a large portion of the 28% of failed admissions, as the Bypass overloads and destroys the track. For this reason, Parsing Goggles are often used to scout for more established tracks. Intelligent Vices are sometimes able to parry this connection by intentionally “blocking” the route of electricity with a young track, resulting in its destruction and a failed admission, though this is incredibly rare. Bypasses require a period of recharge after use, so multiple attempts cannot be made in quick succession.

During staging, VN--which are neutrally-charged by default--become positively charged and begin repelling each other, allowing any stored VG to infiltrate the Host’s bloodstream. Bypasses take advantage of these now-vulnerable tracks by emitting a bolt of electricity the same intensity and charge, essentially serving the same purpose as a Vice’s extended stolon to admit tertiary Adjuncts. Learn more about the admission process in The Role of Adjuncts.

Upon entry, the agent's extension is weak, and contact must promptly be made with the Host in the corporeal realm in order to strengthen the connection and efficiently contribute to the Branch. If used too often or incorrectly, forcing oneself into a Branch can become painful for the agent, Host or any Adjuncts involved. If used outside of an active Branch, Bypasses have been known to instigate Branches, though sometimes this is done intentionally when standard instigation technology is unavailable.

Pseudo Adjuncts use modified Bypasses to admit themselves to an active Branch, providing a unique vantage point and a near-undetectable presence in the Branch Domain. The electrical charge emitted by the modified Bypass is considerably lower, creating a weak connection, similar in intensity to the connection of a tertiary Adjunct. Pseudo Adjuncts do not need to make or maintain contact with the Host in order to remain an Adjunct; rather, the modified Bypass continues to emit the electrostatic charge, maintaining contact en lieu of physical contact.

If an Adjunct has been dismissed from a Branch, they may be able to use a Bypass to force re-entry to the active Branch, though the chances of success are considerably lower, closer to 15%. Primary Adjuncts, due to their stronger connection to the Host, have a slightly higher chance of success, still at only 21%. Pseudo Adjuncts are unique in that re-establishing their connection is effortless, due in large part to their weak connection.

While forcing entry can be the difference between life or death, it must only be performed after careful consideration. Side effects of using a Bypass include mild electrostatic shock, headaches, tinnitus, and lockjaw, and run the risk of inducing seizures if used too often or incorrectly. Learn more about Bypasses in CVRS Technology.

Reformation

The relationship between a Host and their Vice is generally considered parasitic, posing no benefit to the Host, but after performing reformation, a Host is able to utilize their Vice's strength in the Branch Domain. The benefits of reformation can only be reaped during an active Branch within the Branch Domain.

The act of reformation entails the Host's extension consuming the Vice core during production. For reasons still being researched, doing so prompts half of the AV stored in the Host’s body to alter its genetic makeup. This change results in a solvent-like fluid that envelopes the Vice core. As the Host’s extension consumes the core in Branch Domain, the majority of the core is dissolved in the corporeal realm, leaving behind only its genetic material suspended in the liquid.

This liquid is dispersed throughout the Host’s body and avoids setting off the immune system due to its predominant makeup of native AV. After a period of roughly 24 hours, the Host can reap the benefits of a successful reformation. This rest period gives the core time to circulate, creating a rudimentary “network” between small deposits across the Host’s body. This fluid remains in the system anywhere from as little as 6 months to as long as 10 years, depending on maturity and core size and density.

Hosts are not considered cleared if this process has occurred, as the majority of the Vice core is still present in the Host's body and even poses the threat of congealing and reestablishing its form, though this tends to be quite rare. Learn more about the liminal status in Host Statuses.

Factors of Success

The act of reformation is rather difficult to see through to completion, as it requires a level of precision and skill in handling an exhibition. While all Vices can be reformed, adolescent Vices most commonly result in success due to their smaller, compact cores.

In order to properly reform a Vice, the Host must:

  1. incapacitate the exhibition without damaging the core
  2. take a large enough bite out of the core to prevent it from terminating the Branch, and
  3. consume the core in its entirety

Vices terminate Branches when their core has been damaged, which makes incapacitating the exhibition so the core can be accessed the first hurdle. If the Vice core sustains enough damage in the incapacitation process, the Branch will be committed before reformation can occur. Larval Vices are not commonly reformed, as their fragility leads to prematurely-terminated Branches, and damage is often easily inflicted when incapacitating the exhibition. Additionally, reforming a larval Vice will pose few benefits to the Host, as the reformed core is likely to circulate their system for an extremely short amount of time.

If the exhibition is successfully incapacitated, the second hurdle is consuming enough of the core in a single bite that the Vice doesn't have enough energy left to terminate the Branch. Too small of a bite can simply damage the core and render the Branch committed. Though, if these two requirements are met, the Host can consume the core in its entirety.

Benefits

After a successful reformation, the Host will now be able to initiate a transformation within another Host’s Branch Domain, much in the same way a patch is summoned. Because exhibitions exist solely in the Branch Domain, a reformed Vice cannot be summoned in the corporeal realm. This transformation is applied exclusively to the Host’s extension, altering it to mimic that of their reformed Vice's exhibition.

A complete transformation takes roughly five minutes of in-Branch time and can be paused at different stages. This transformation depletes a not-insignificant amount of the Vice core in the Host's body, so some Hosts intentionally pause the transformation during an intermediate stage to reap the benefits, but prolong the amount of time these benefits are available to them.

This transformation, if brought to completion, results in a direct one-to-one copy of the Vice's exhibition, retaining its size, strength, speed, and defense. Because these features are merely enhancements to the Host’s extension and are predominantly comprised of AV, when physically interacting with an exhibition in the Branch Domain, manual combat can be just as effective as wielding a patch.

The act of triggering the reformation process is not dissimilar to summoning a patch in the Branch Domain. As such, this process requires concentration and practice, but some are able to achieve reformation on their first try. Familiarity with the Vice’s exhibition seems to be the common denominator between Hosts who are able to easily trigger reformation. Additionally, it is not uncommon for Hosts to struggle with pausing reformation at different stages, and many unintentionally pursue reformation to completion the first few attempts.

Risks

Reformation, while touting promising benefits, is an unreliable and imprecise process that poses the risk of being reversed without the Host's knowledge. Over time, the suspended genetic material can leech out of the mixture, and if enough of this material is freed simultaneously, it can congeal and begin the act of colonizing tissues. With enough time, this mass can become the Vice core once again, and threatens rogue Branches, often establishing a new and unfamiliar Branch Policy.

Reformation does not destroy the Vice’s network, though it does begin to deteriorate over time. If the core is able to re-congeal and attach itself to its prior network, it can pursue exponential growth and re-establish itself in to time at all. Additionally, because the network has lost contact with the core, it begins steadily leaking the remaining VG and hormones out into the Host’s bloodstream. Due to the VG now circulating freely in the Host’s body, Hosts are much more susceptible to agitated, chronic blights, especially shortly after reformation has occurred.

In some cases, Hosts who intend to reform their Vice fail to do so properly and subject themselves to longer Branch times, actually allowing the Vice core to spread further than it would if the Branch had been properly committed or rescinded in a timely manner.

Anecdotal evidence also reports that Hosts with reformed Vices can be uncharacteristically impulsive, aggressive and over-eager. While the act of reformation is regarded as a noble endeavor to help fellow Hosts, the process should be avoided until further research is conducted.

Rogue Branches

When Vices deviate from an established Branch Policy and initiate Branches unexpectedly, these are referred to as "rogue" Branches, observed primarily in aggressive adolescent Vices and those with a medium or high threat level. Rogue Branches are typically initiated when a Vice is agitated, threatened or compromised. For example, AV Shots are generally considered threatening, as they inhibit growth and attack the Vice's core.

Hosts who progress to the berserk phase during an active Branch are at risk of experiencing rogue Branches after the current Branch has been addressed, especially if the Host is infected with an adolescent Vice. Mature and larval Vices are less likely to partake in this behavior, though it cannot be fully ruled out as a possibility.

Rogue Branches can also be influenced by drastic changes in the natural environment, such as fluctuating electromagnetic fields or gas leaks, though this is far less common. Dense concentrations of VG, either from a detached rumen or recent dispersion, also tend to excite or agitate Vices and result in rogue Branches, most commonly observed in those with a lower threat level.

Initiating rogue Branches is a particularly risky move for the Vice, as deviating from the established Branch Policy introduces unknown factors that can potentially skew the Branch in Host’s favor. Despite this risk, most Vices regardless of classification will attempt at least one rogue Branch in their life cycle, likely in the adolescent stage.

While most Hosts are sedated during staging, about 15% have the opposite reaction and become agitated and volatile. This percentage increases to 25% if the Host is experiencing a rogue Branch.

While this deviation from Branch Policy makes them particularly hard to prepare for, rogue Branches are not completely undetectable. If a Vice foregoes initiating a Branch during a situation that would otherwise align with its Branch Policy, it is likely reserving energy in preparation for its rogue attack. Rogue Branches also often follow periods of inexplicable or uncharacteristic fatigue, the result of its increased feeding and stockpiling for the upcoming rogue Branch. Not all periods of fatigue precede a rogue Branch, but any changes in mood, appetite, or energy levels should be monitored or reported to your Vice Management Administrator.