You derive your powers from technological devices, from suits of high-tech body armor to powerful energy weapons. Few have been able to duplicate the amazing technology that lies behind your gadgets. You need not be a brilliant inventor; you may have acquired these items from another source.
In almost all cases, Technology Origin is not appropriate for Saint Joseph School. By definition of the Technology Origin, it is based on devices that can be set aside, allowing the hero to lead a normal life whenever they choose. However, since the Single-Origin Enhancement for Technology Origin is called Cybernetic, it is clear that some concepts can permanently alter the character’s abilities.
Note: all Technology Origin characters must gain the approval of a Student Council member before they will be enrolled.
Perhaps as a life-saving procedure, or because of the mad experiments of the doctor who abducted them from the orphanage, the character has been fused with powerful prostheses that grant them wondrous powers. Because of these enhanced parts, the character is unable to fit normally into society, either because the parts are obvious, or because the character does not have full control.
Example: Cyborg (DC Comics).
The character is totally artificial. Perhaps an android pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, or perhaps a secret military robot that unexpectedly gained sentience, the character is now in need of help to be integrated into the world. As long as the character lacks sufficient skills and knowledge to exist independently (and cannot simply gain these skills by downloading them off the web), Saint Joseph School can be a haven for the character.
Example: Johnny 5 (from the film Short Circuit).
How can a concept be both clear and problematic? If not conceptualized well, a character with cybernetic powers could easily be outfitted with less extraordinary parts. If the super-lab can make cybernetic hands that crush steel girders, there had better be a reason why they cannot make hands that look and feel like normal flesh. The easiest fix is to remove the possibilities of such upgrades: perhaps the cybernetics are from an alien world, or the lab that created them was destroyed.
A character who has purchased the ability to be a superhero is not appropriate. No matter how much money a character might have, that does not make the character fundamentally different from other kids (or at least, not to the point where they are a good match for Saint Joe’s).
Characters who are Technology Origin because they “cannot take off their suit” are typically not appropriate for SJS. This kind of concept sometimes seems more like an excuse than a reason. Unless the concept is particularly compelling, a character who has somehow become bonded to their equipment could also just as easily be re-conceptualized as another Origin. If you want your character to look different, and have their powers all the time, then ask yourself: why not be a magical creature? Why not be a mutant?