Kinesis Module

The Kinesis Module, also called G.R.I.P. or simply Kinesis, was a small modular plug-in resembling a thick grille heat sink, designed to work alongside the Stasis Module. It suspended and handled objects through an artificial gravity field, and like the Stasis Module it became standard fitment on the engineering RIG carried by figures such as Isaac Clarke.

Design and function#

Kinesis was the technology that allowed human engineers and construction crews to move large masses easily in almost any environment. Its hands-on zero-point applications found use in space-borne construction and also on planetary projects where bulkier construction exoskeletons and heavy machinery were neither suited nor welcome.

The module worked by projecting a tube of crackling white energy, an artificial gravity field, from an emitter pad built into the palm of the glove-slip. Once an object was caught by the leading edge of the energy tube, its gravity was nullified and it was drawn toward the wielder. Small objects came to rest about a foot from the pad, suspended in midair, while larger movable masses such as rail pallets and shutters came as close as their connections allowed. Releasing the field let the object fall toward the nearest center of mass, while reversing the field's polarity after latch-on hurled the object away with a velocity that grew the closer it had been held to the pad.

The Kinesis Module fitted into the top of the Stasis Module armband, just forward of its rear focus cylinder. Unlike the Stasis Module, it did not run on a finite charge; its energy was drawn directly from the internal power source of the user's RIG and never needed replenishing. The unit could be improved through nanocircuitry upgrades worked at a bench.

Use against the Necromorphs#

Kinesis was an engineering tool first, used to clear obstacles, carry power cells, deploy bridges and walkways, and reach items that lay out of arm's reach. But during the Necromorph outbreaks it became one of the few weapons survivors had that drew on no ammunition at all. Sharp objects thrown with Kinesis could damage the creatures, and in time survivors learned to impale them outright, pinning a Necromorph against the nearest surface or sending a weakened one flying.

The severed blades of the Necromorphs themselves made the most reliable projectiles. A blade-bearing limb shot from a creature could be caught with Kinesis the moment it fell and fired straight back, and a Slasher or similar Necromorph could be killed almost instantly this way. Larger blunt objects were used to knock attackers down, explosive canisters were thrown for area damage, and against a Brute the organic projectiles it lobbed could be caught in flight and returned. Kinesis was also a way to test the dead, since a body that did not respond to the field was often a Necromorph waiting to ambush. The module appeared to act only on physical matter and could not grip energy or, in normal use, living things.