Pinto (Personal INTerface TOol) is the standard personal computing and identity device used by humans in the post-reconstitution era. The acronym is a backronym - the name preceded the expansion - and its origin is disputed, though most accounts agree it was coined informally during the early post-reconstitution period and stuck before anyone could propose something more dignified.
The Pinto is a wrist-mounted device, roughly the size and profile of a chunky bracelet when in its resting state. The housing is a semi-rigid C-shaped band that sits around the wrist. It is waterproof, impact-resistant, and built from federation-standard composite materials that make it extremely difficult to damage through normal use or plausible misuse.
The primary interface is a pull-out flexible membrane screen, stored coiled inside the bracelet housing. The membrane is an electrically responsive aerogel metamaterial that becomes rigid at specific points through capacitive contact with human skin, and remains flexible otherwise. In practice, this means it holds whatever shape you leave it in until you actively reshape it with your fingers.
The device has three common use configurations:
Phone mode. The user grabs the top of the bracelet (back of the wrist) and pulls upward. A strip of membrane unspools, providing a screen roughly 6-7cm wide and as long as the user pulls it. The bracelet stays on the wrist. This is the quick-access configuration for messages, notifications, and brief interactions.
Tablet mode. The user removes the bracelet, splits the C-shape at its opening, and flattens it into a straight rod approximately 18-20cm long (the full circumference of the band). The membrane is then pulled from this longer rod like unrolling a scroll, providing a screen roughly 18-20cm wide - comparable to a small tablet. The rod can be hinged at any point and the membrane holds its shape, allowing the user to prop the screen at an angle on a surface without a stand or case.
Extended mode. For additional screen width, higher-end models feature accordion-folding rod mechanisms that extend the rod beyond wrist-circumference when flattened. The membrane can also be pulled longer and rotated landscape for a wider viewing area. The practical upper limit on screen size varies by model.
The membrane surface serves as both display and input device. There is no separate keyboard, stylus, or accessory required, though aftermarket accessories exist because humans are like that.
The Pinto authenticates against its owner's key - a unique cryptographic identifier derived from the owner's biological data. For the original pre-reconstitution population, keys were generated from data collected during the Atma Unit's comprehensive scan. For individuals born post-reconstitution, keys are generated from a non-destructive biometric imaging session performed as part of standard postnatal care. The two processes produce functionally equivalent credentials. A key cannot be forged without replicating the target's biological architecture, which is not a thing that is casually done. Authentication is mediated by a small biointegrated identifier implanted during reconstitution (or, for post-reconstitution births, during the postnatal registration process), which bridges between the owner's physical body and their key record. The identifier is inert, unpowered, and undetectable by the owner under normal circumstances. It is also not optional, which is a fact that some people have feelings about.
The practical consequence is that the device is replaceable but the identity is not. If a Pinto is lost, damaged, or destroyed, the owner fabricates a new one (the artha cost is negligible), and the new device authenticates against their key and restores their full profile - data, credentials, preferences, and access permissions - from their cloud-stored identity record. There is no meaningful benefit to stealing a Pinto. It will not work for anyone who is not its owner.
The key system is the source of occasional discomfort for the philosophically inclined. For the pre-reconstitution population, keys are derived from data obtained through the nonconsensual assimilation of every human being on Earth. For post-reconstitution children, keys are derived from a scan performed on a newborn who cannot meaningfully consent to being registered in a system they did not choose. The most secure identity infrastructure in human history rests, in both cases, on a process the subject did not agree to.
The Pinto connects to federation-standard communication infrastructure through cheat-space signal compression (see: Cheat-Space). Within the solar system, connectivity is effectively real-time - sub-second latency to any point within Earth's local network, millisecond-range latency to Mars or the outer system. Interstellar connectivity operates on timescales ranging from seconds (nearby stars) to under an hour (far edge of the galaxy), depending on distance.
The human networking stack that runs on the Pinto is 34 years of engineering built on top of millions of years of federation communication standards. Interoperability with non-human systems is functional. It is not, by the admission of the engineers who maintain it, elegant.
Pre-reconstitution digital infrastructure - the internet, media libraries, communication archives, and all publicly stored digital content that existed at the time of assimilation - was preserved by the Atma Unit and migrated onto federation-standard systems during the reconstruction period. Pre-reconstitution content is accessible through compatibility layers that handle format translation. This works reliably in most cases, with occasional rendering artifacts that serve as minor reminders that the platform hosting your old photos was built by someone else.
Each Pinto includes an onboard AI assistant. The assistant provides extended translation services (including real-time federation-language processing), scheduling, navigation, information retrieval, and general-purpose help with daily tasks.
The assistant is deliberately limited in scope. It helps, reminds, translates, and manages. It does not make decisions on the user's behalf, predict behavior, or optimize the user's choices without explicit instruction. These boundaries are design choices, not technical limitations, and reflect a post-reconstitution cultural consensus about the appropriate relationship between humans and AI systems that make decisions for them. The engineering community responsible for Pinto assistant design has, since the earliest post-reconstitution models, maintained a strict internal standard summarized as: "It helps you do what you want. It does not want things for you."
Users can customize their assistant's personality, voice, and interaction style.
Pintos are produced by a variety of voluntary manufacturing cooperatives and individual engineers. The base specifications are standardized (engram authentication, federation connectivity, membrane interface), but form factor, build quality, membrane resolution, rod mechanism, and aesthetic design vary across manufacturers.
Common differentiators include band width and thickness (which determine maximum screen size), membrane quality (resolution, brightness, color accuracy, durability), rod mechanism smoothness and hinge reliability, and housing material and finish. Consumer preferences are actively debated in online communities dedicated to the subject.
The labor-value cost of a standard Pinto is low - basic models are trivially affordable under normal monthly allocation (see: Artha). High-end and custom models, particularly those incorporating hand-finished components or non-standard materials, cost more, reflecting the skilled human labor involved in their production rather than material scarcity.
The Pinto is a human device designed for human anatomy and human sensory capabilities. It is not natively compatible with non-human users, though federation-standard communication protocols allow it to interface with other species' equivalent devices for data exchange and messaging.
Other federation species have their own personal interface devices, or don't, depending on their sensory architecture and communication preferences. The Pinto is a human solution to a human problem: we need something to hold and look at.