Mind Clash

Mind Clash is one of New Eden's most popular sports, with billions of fans across the cluster attending live events and watching broadcasts. The sports involves two players hooked into a neural interface in a battle of wills that is represented by holographic projections. The top players, known as Clash Masters, are cluster-wide superstars, earn huge fortunes and are revered by all segments of society.

Description

Mind Clash is a game where players compete in a mental struggle in an effort to force their opponent to quit. The game can be played by a single person against AIs, but it is mainly known for the version where two players, popularly known as Clashers, are hooked up to a computer via neural interfaces. Amateurs typically utilize non-invasive electrodes to interface, while professionals utilize a variety of implants to achieve a greater connection. The two competitors then concentrate and attempt to cause the other to submit through mental attacks facilitated by the computer.

The exact nature of the attacks varies. They can be anything from the projection of unsettling imagery to assaults on the pain receptors in the brain to attempting to cause sickness and nausea. The competitors themselves are the only ones who can sense the actual mental struggle. While amateurs and unskilled professionals will show indications of the events through their emotions and biological responses, the top players will rarely change expression throughout a match or give any outward signs of discomfort up until the moment they submit.

Spectators, however, are rarely interested in the visuals provided by the competitors. Instead, they watch the computer-created projection that represents the clash. Each competitor is represented by illusory creatures and phenomena that are projected above them. These projections do simulated combat that is an abstract representation of the mental war waged by the competitor. The computer picks up brain signals and biochemical responses in the competitors to accurately display what is happening.

Clash Masters have their own trademarked illusions, while amateurs and lower-ranked professionals use a variety of generic illusions. The top tournaments and matches are held in huge arenas with massive projectors and large screens that display a number of vital statistics of the competitors, such as heart rate and blood pressure

The game can be dangerous because of the psychological damage done during the clashes. Professionals are required to go through extensive screening and often amass large psychiatric bills to help cope with the stress. Additionally, few top professionals would play an amateur, because of the risk of permanent damage to the amateur's psyche. There are even rumors that some covert organizations utilize Mind Clash games as a method of psychological training.

History

Mind Clash evolved from a computer game known as Clash of Wits that involved players controlling puppet masters who did battle with a variety of monstrous minions. While this game was popular, especially among young people, it was not until advances in brain-computer interfaces that Mind Clash was born.

Mind Clash was developed in YC 3, utilizing recent breakthroughs that enabled ordinary people to interface directly with a computer without the need for expensive implants. Originally released as an updated version of Clash of Wits, Mind Clash quickly captured the public's imagination and interest. Within a few years of release, enthusiasts were holding official cluster-wide tournaments. As more and more people began to attend these tournaments and play Mind Clash themselves, the prize pools grew.

By YC 10, Mind Clash had become a professional sport, with dozens of Clash Masters doing battle in front of large crowds. Several early governing bodies sprouted up with the intent of regulating the sport and declaring champions. These early organizations, such as the New Eden Clash Association, the Interstellar Mind Clash Council, and the Universal Mind Clash Union, competed for the best players and often signed Clashers to exclusivity contracts.

The early years of the sport were often marred by controversy and shady dealings. Numerous accusations of match fixing were leveled against both players and tournament officials, cheating through the use of drugs and neural boosters was rampant, and many players cracked under the intense psychological pressure that top-tier matches induced. By YC 20, the sport was more popular than ever, but also was tottering at the edge of collapse under scandals and criminal charges.

It was the Caldari who potentially saved the sport. Their sanctioning body, the Caldari Clash Coalition, began to enforce strict rules against the use of performance enhancing drugs by competitors, opened their books to public review, had winner's purses dwarfing the other bodies, and permanently banned anyone caught violating even the smallest rule. Combined with aggressive marketing that often overstated the corruption in the other sanctioning bodies, these unusual methods worked; players flocked to their tournaments, abandoning the other organizers.

Eventually, the Caldari Clash Coalition became the New Eden Clash Coalition, and no longer has specific ties to any one empire. It is the most respected and wide-spread sanctioning body in New Eden, with its Clash Masters and Champion receiving the widest and highest acclaim. While other, smaller bodies exist, they tend to be regional in nature and are seen mainly as training grounds for the NECC.

Today, the top annual Mind Clash events, the Worlds Championships, are watched by hundreds of billions of people across New Eden. The actions of the NECC are closely watched and are capable of generating tremendous controversy and discussion, while the actions of its champions can cause major political incidents Merchandise from the game is a huge industry, with licensed apparel, toys, and even a card game version. Unlicensed broadcasts of tournaments can draw large viewership numbers. The game is so ubiquitous that bars often have smaller fields for players.

Notable Players

Mind Clash is played by billions of people across New Eden, from gambling halls to the Amarr royal courts. Over the years, a number of players have risen to particular fame.

• Laharl Al-Kador, an Amarr former Champion.
• Johaan Carve, a former leading professional who was banned from competition for use of psychotropic drugs.
• Joelyn Donalokos, the current Clash Champion, an Intaki sponsored by Caldari corporations known for his Blue Tiger illusion.
• Excena Foer, better known as Aura, a famous entertainer and former lover of Carve.
• Etna Gaiman, a Vherokior prodigy who participated in the Worlds Championship at the young age of 21.

See Also

• Games and Activities
• Entertainment
• Chronicle: Aura
• Chronicle: Dismantling
• Chronicle: Inertial
• Chronicle: The Mercenaries (Part 2)
• Chronicle: On This Earth
• Chronicle: Mind Clash