Fly-By Wires

"Fly-by-wire" is an old term referring to the replacing of manual, mechanical controls to an aircraft with electronic ones attached to a computer via electrical lines (hence "by wire"). These can also be attached to flight computers in order to digitally manage various elements very precisely, improving performance. Depending on the medium, this can also be referred to as "fly-by-wireless" or "fly-by-optics", which are generally how aerospace craft handle things in Eclipse Phase. However, the terminology for Fly-By-Wire stuck in another field; cybernetic implants.

Fly-By Wires: Also called "skillwires", this system predates modern Skillware/Skillsofts. Using an embedded microcomputer (or more commonly these days, direct link to a cyberbrain or mesh insert library) this implant runs synthetic nerves to the limbs which on command perform rote actions instantly, without conscious input from the user and overriding their own natural movements. This means that the user can perform a particular action with computerized precision every time on command, and these actions can be simple or complex, but they are rote - they do not allow for improvisation or adjustment by the user. Using a skillwire to bullseye a pistol shot into a target's head at 10 meters will replicate that headshot every time - unless the target happens to be dramatically shorter or taller than where the Fly-By Wire is set to. When purchased, the user should designate a single Skill which the wire is keyed for - they gain a +20 to all Task Actions with that skill, so long as that action involves routine, repeatable movements. At the GM's discretion, once per Action Turn the user may perform a Simple Action as a Free Action or a Complex Action as a Simple if it is related to that skill if they think it can be shortened by executing on-demand (e.g. a Fly-By for Kinetic Weapons might allow a user to reload for free). More advanced and expensive versions are available which are linked to computers with broader command libraries and heuristics - these designate a single type of skill (Combat, Technical, etc) instead, but are more expensive. [Low], [Moderate] for Advanced.

Fly-By Wires were envisioned by authors and wannabe-badasses as a way to "git gud" quick at things such as combat, but in reality, there's not always a practical use to rote performance of actions in a fight - it makes one very predictable and doesn't handle complex situations well. Instead, Fly-By systems were popularized as hardware installs for AIs and later even indentures in the decades prior to the Fall, allowing routine tasks to be performed with mechanical precision but still leaving an "observer" to interpret possible anomalies and work around any problems with a minimal amount of job training. This has since fallen off as Skillsofts are very easy to distribute and install directly in AIs and Infomorphs to give them a more flexible "graft" of knowledge, and sub-AI Expert Systems can generally be trusted to operate themselves with external transhuman oversight. This doesn't mean that hypercorps or other organizations don't occasionally decide to cut corners to get around high costs. Additionally, highly trained experts have picked up on the occasional use of Fly-By Wires to perform certain actions they need on a regular basis instantly, and let their own skills pick up the slack.