Exhaltation Chip

First developed in 3 IY by the Imperial Science Corp the exhalation chip is an electronic device that is implanted in a subjects brain and stores it's current state. This allows for 2 major applications. Firstly a computer can simulate the brains functions and secondly it can be re-implanted into another brain, altering the new brain to match the old.

Implanting
In the early days of the empire the chip has widely used by the Noble Houses and members who died would clone new bodies to order for their rebirth. After the House Wars cloning technology and implanting chips was limited to Imperial use only.

The Emperor used the chip for himself, but also in some high risk jobs that were being performed by penal labour. Most notably was the Flame Shock Legions and the miners on the Mercury Penal Mines.

With the institution of the Imperial Cults in 224 IY the Emperor started taking his new body from the leading cult's leader. Implanting the chip in a fully formed brain made it take longer to fully reassert itself while also allowing some of the experiences and skills of the new host to carry over.

Simulation
Once cloning was bared to them the Noble Houses used simulation to keep their ancestors alive, which lead to a bottleneck for inheritance that caused more than one civil war within a house.

Imperial Servant Masks also contain a chips and simulate it, interfacing with the wearer via the same neural interface that gives them access to the masks capabilities. This is not a true simulation of any one person but a blended personality of all former wearers.