Denying emotion to achieve obsession.

The Mechanical Man

Attributes: The Mechanical Man is one of the older archetypes, despite the modern-sounding name. A Mechanical Man is someone who suppresses their emotions as fully as possible, dedicating themselves to achieving some obsession. Their ranks are surprisingly varied, including rationalist philosophers, cold-blooded scientists, steely-eyed killers, fatalistic mechanomancers, and many others. The one common denominator is a dedication to some cause, purpose, or goal that requires the complete suppression of emotion. Despite the name, women can be Mechanical Men.
Taboos: Any expression of emotion. In particular, any activation of the Fear, Rage, or Noble passions counts as a violation of taboo.
Symbols: Gears, pendulums, the color gray, computers, and machinery in general are all symbols of the Mechanical Man.
Masks: Spock (popular culture).
Suspected Avatars in History: Zeno of Citium and Immanuel Kant are commonly-cited examples on the philosophical side. B. F. Skinner and Hermahn Kahn are sometimes referred to as possible avatars, although primarily by those opposed to their theories. Perhaps fortunately, relatively few of the cold-blooded killer side of the archetype have managed to get into the history books, although there are plenty in the movies.
Channel 01-50%: The Mechanical Man reacts coolly and calmly to even the strangest, most stressful situations. They can flip-flop Violence and Isolation stress checks if the new result would be under their Avatar skill, and also Self stress checks related to denying Passions or other emotions in favor of their Obsession.
Channel 51-70%: The Mechanical Man gains an unprecedented degree of focus and concentration while engaged in the pursuit of their goal. When engaged in an action directly related to achieving that goal, they may flip-flop any skill roll they make directed at achieving the goal. However, they must make a Notice check to even notice anything that is not directly related to the task at hand, possibly with a shift depending on the nature of the interruption. If the interruption does not go away, they may make additional checks each round the interruption is present. Damage of any kind is automatically noticed, as is anything that would cause a stress check.

Example:Michael the Mechanical Man and Secret Service agent is in a shoot-out with thugs trying to kill the President. Since his goal is to protect the president, he can flip-flop all rolls related to killing the thugs, such as Firearms to shoot them, Dodge to avoid their bullets, and Conceal to sneak up on them. However, if his cell phone goes off during the combat, he would have to make a Notice check with a -20% shift to realize he is being called because of his focus on the situation.
Another Example: Maria the Mechanical Woman and Mechanomancer is working on her new project, which will bring her a step closer to her goal of shifting her soul into an automaton. When a TNI hit squad bursts through her door and starts shooting, she realizes she is being shot at without the need for a Notice check, because the sudden violence is causing her to make a rank-4 Violence stress check.

Channel 71-90%: The Mechanical Man begins to gain some of the endurance and strength of their avatar’s namesake. When engaged in an activity related to their obsession they may delay having to sleep, eat, or drink for up to twice the ten’s digit of their avatar skill level in days. In addition, they may use their Avatar skill as if it were the Endurance skill.
Channel 91%+: The Mechanical Man gains the resilience of a machine. They take damage from firearms attacks as if they were a martial arts attack.