Interviews with active freelancers about their relationship with SNT-bonded augmentation. Names redacted.

RUNNER A (heavily augmented, 12 years active):
'The Saint is the most honest relationship I've ever had. It doesn't lie to me. When my arm is working, I feel strong. When the SNT starts degrading, I feel the weakness creeping in. It tells me exactly where I stand. People lie. Corponations lie. The Saint just does its job until it can't, and then it tells you.'

RUNNER B (minimally augmented, 5 years active):
'I got my eyes done at a ripper in the Narrows. Gen 5 SNT. Everyone told me I was an idiot. The eyes work fine. Seven years now. But I lie awake some nights wondering when. When is the bonding going to go? When am I going to wake up blind? That's what cheap chrome costs you. Not money. Sleep.'

RUNNER C (combat augmentation, former corpo security):
'They gave me everything when I signed up. Eyes, arms, skeleton, BCI. Best SNT money can buy. I was a weapon. Then my contract ended and they wanted it all back. I ran. I've been running for six years. Every year the SNT gets a little weaker. I can feel it. The arm isn't as fast. The eyes aren't as sharp. I'm rotting from the inside out because I can't afford maintenance on a body that a corponation built for war and wanted back when the war was over.'

RUNNER D (ripper-augmented, 3 years active):
'My fixer told me the SNT was Gen 7. My ripper told me the SNT was Gen 6. My body told me the SNT was Gen 4 about six months later when my knee started clicking. The Saint doesn't care what label someone put on the package. The Saint is what the Saint is, and your body knows the difference even if your ripper doesn't.'

RUNNER E (unaugmented, 8 years active):
'I'm the only runner I know without chrome. People think I'm crazy. Maybe I am. But here's what I know: nobody owns a piece of me. No corponation holds a patent on my tissue. No manufacturer controls when my body starts failing. My knees hurt because I'm 42, not because a subscription expired. I'm slower than everyone else and I'm free in a way that nobody with a bonding layer will ever be. The Saint has a price. I can't afford what it costs.'