Active Mode Merits and Flaws (With C-Rations)
    Merits: Spark of Life (5); Unaging (5 pt)
    Flaws: 4 pt Physical dependence (on C-Ration); 2 pt Obsession (Next meal); 2 pt Obsession (next leave/3 day pass)
              1 Pt Overconfident; 1 pt Dark Secret (Technocratic past)

Failsafe Mode (Without C-Rations):
   5 pt Spark of Life merit becomes 5 pt Psychic Vampire flaw;
   1 pt Dark Secret (Deserter/AWOL);

Stage 1: Preparation (Min. 3 successes required) Time and Entropy determine the optimal cell configuration. Life repairs tissue/cellular damage, fully healing and rejuvenating the body. Prime fuels the pattern. If halted at this stage, body resumes normal aging processes, with an effective biological age somewhere in the mid-twenties with perfect health.

Stage 2: Indoctrination (Min  3 successes required) Life and Entropy(order) establish the regenerative microphages which duplicate the “Spark of Life/Psychic Vampire” merit in the host and create the physical dependence flaw. Mind creates thoughts of invulnerability, an  obsession with C-rations, and an obsession about time off. Prime Fuels the pattern.

Stage 3: Maintenance Mode: (Automatic with C-Rations) Since body “improvements” effected through use of a Life 4 effect are not intended to be permanent, the Centurion microphage causes pattern leakage after a day. By eating C-rations, an artificial foodstuff created by conjunctional Life/Entropy/Prime effect (basically, Tass with a specific resonance), pattern leakage may be put off for a day.

Stage 4: Failsafe Mode (Automatic without C-Rations) Damage from pattern leakage begins. Microphages, still programmed to repair the host but lacking the specific resonant tass with which they were designed to work, improvise by attempting to scavenge life-resonant tass (life-energy) from those around. While strong enough to affect simple life-forms without prolonged contact and disrupt the natural healing processes of complex life-forms, prolonged physical contact must be maintained for the microphages to draw “contained” life-energy from a complex life-form at the rate of one health level an hour. Successfully causing damage with either a life effect (to liberate life-energy for the microphages to consume) or a conjunctional Life/Prime effect (to create Life-resonant tass, which can then be consumed) temporarily sates the microphages and creates a reserve from which the microphages can draw. In the event the host is damaged, the microphages draw directly from the stored life-energy to repair the host.   

Stage 5: Emergency Repair Mode (Automatic when health level drops to crippled or lower) Microphages attempt to repair damage using Life to draw from the life-energy reserves, if any are present. In the absence of life-energy reserves, a conjunctional Prime/Life effect begins converting stored quintessence into health levels as quickly as the Avatar can channel quintessence. When no quintessence is available, Forces/Life effect begins converting thermal energy into life energy; damage levels caused by contact with the super-cooled body of the host are immediately applied to repairing the host. The super-cooling effect also occurs when microphage-laden blood has been separated from the host body; damage potential is two to four times the health levels lost

Stage 6: Crash Mode (Automatic when health level drops to incapacitated or lower) In a last-ditch effort to save the host, the microphages use a Life/Entropy effect to convert physical attributes into health levels. One point each of strength, stamina, and appearance are converted into health levels per turn until either the host regains consciousness or runs out of attributes to cannibalize.

Removal of Microphage:  (Requires Med 5 + Tech 5 to attempt)
- Microphage Research (6 successes on skill roll)
- Isolate microphage (Time/Life) min 6 successes
- Purge host (10 levels of damage, to microphage only)

Reprogramming the Microphage
- Reengineer microphage (Life/Entropy (Order)/Prime) 3 successes
- Reintegration (6 successes)