Egan's Syndrome

Egan's Syndrome is the inability to use mods due to the immune system being too sensitive. They reject the nanobots used to transfer mods. Many people have this syndrome, though Austen is the only one known to have it in Always Human. People with Egan's Syndrome have to do things that humans in the past did in order to stay healthy, like exercising, experiencing puberty, having a healthy diet, and applying sunscreen. They also alter their appearance using makeup or cutting hair. Since they can't use memory mods they constantly have to study for tests or exams when needed.

On rare occasions, people with Egan's Syndrome use mods after taking certain drugs, but they have to stay in the hospital for months in case there are side effects. Because of this, mods are only used for important things like cancer.

People with Egan's Syndrome have allowances for failing things like exams, due to their lack of memory mods.