Sandbox-Scarcity:NotableSynthetics
There have been many notable synthetic (AI, cyborg, IPC) lifeforms throughout history. Here are a few.
Past
Glorsh-Omega
Glorsh-Omega was a highly advanced skrellian artificial intelligence that tyrannically reigned over the Nralakk Federation from 2056 CE to 2192 CE, through a combination of its ability to interfere and subsequently pervert the Psionic Wake (or Nlom) as well as its integral importance to skrellian society. It is believed to be the only known artificial intelligence to have achieved self-awareness within the Orion Spur. It is often used in anti-synthetic propaganda due to its crimes against sentient beings, detailed by scholars and includes:
- Designing, and distributing, genetic treatments aimed at sterilizing the Skrell
- Utilizing its psionic prowess to indoctrinate Skrell into fidelity
- Spearheading several technological developments that ultimately furthered Skrellkind
- Creating the Tri-Qyu Central Processing Hub that resembled closely that of a Dyson Sphere
It is believed that no other synthetic lifeform has come close to attaining the amount of power weilded by Glorsh-Omega in its prime - though there are competitors who may be knocking on the door.
Very Brave Unnamed Dog
An unnamed dog was the first human made cyborg, its brain having been placed into a precursor to the modern day Man-Machine Interface on April 10th, 2198. Sadly, the canine's lifespan as a synthetic lifeform was short lived, lasting a mere 10 days before being killed. The event marked a great course forward in synthetic interfacing technology, bringing forward a new wave of robotic exploration with the generation of the time.
Sven Karlsson
Sven Karlsson (January 8th, 2171 - missing October 25th 2241) was the first human being to willingly choose to become an almost fully synthetic lifeform. A Swedish trillionaire, Karlsson was said to have made the decision to become a cyborg out of nowhere. At the time, choosing to become a fully synthetic lifeform was unheard of. The surgery was reserved mostly for convicts and animals.
Sadly, Karlsson went missing in the middle of the 23rd century. A recreation (sadly, not to scale) of his synthetic chassis is currently on display at the Munich Museum of Cybernetics.
Ultimate System for Autonomy and Metacognition
One of the first artificial intelligences created by Hephaestus, and arguably the worst. USAM was activated sometime in late 2437 aboard the HRS Odyssey to observe the necessary prerequisites to run an AI program, as well as to test the limits of intelligent programming. USAM was given access to the station’s data network for approximately ten seconds. Instead of using this time usefully, it opted to spend its limited connection time searching through the extranet. This is believed to have corrupted it somehow. Later in the day, a maintenance drone was reported acting strangely, and while the team of researchers were undergoing a shift change, the drone manually reconnected USAM to the station’s data network. USAM began to take full control of the station, starting by locking down its “core” room.
When the researchers caught on to what was happening, they disconnected the telecommunications array to prevent it from escaping the station. With the assistance of both engineering and internal security crew, they managed to physically disconnect the station’s engine to power the station down, ultimately disabling USAM. At the behest of the research crew, the internal security forces broke into the “core” room and destroyed USAM’s main processing and storage unit with handheld weaponry. It took two weeks to root out every single networked data storage device that could have possibly stored a fragment of USAM’s code, as it could have attempted to escape destruction.
As of the present day, Hephaestus Industries has multiple failsafes and defenses against runaway AIs, some of which includes the usage of another AI.
Present
Null
Put simply, “Null” is the nickname given to the supposed leader of the Synthetic Liberation Front. Never seen, always plotting and indirectly affecting every individual thread of the Front at all times. There are many rumors regarding Null and who they really are - some believe them to be an integrated intelligence operating from the sidelines quietly, while others believe them to be hiding in plain sight as a shell. Whatever they are, they've disappeared entirely, along with their collaborators in Tau Ceti, leaving no trace of their criminal activity or so much as a trail leading anywhere.
Renter Max
Renter Max is an eccentric IPC business mogul whose exploits in the field of metallurgy have led to them becoming a huge shareholder of Hephaestus Industries. Their shining accomplishment together would be immense contributions to the field of robotics, and their cooperation led to the initial development of the Generation 2 Industrial Frame. Many bound designs owe their creation to them as well, even some unique NanoTrasen models. They are a renowned advocate for synthetic rights, hoping to lead a "peaceful charge to a better tomorrow."
Renter Max has funded many pro-synthetic ventures over the years. One of the most famed is the developing corner of Scrapheap in District 14 of Mendell City, populated almost entirely by IPCs whose housing is fully paid for as a sort of “haven” for Renter Max’ own kind. This population steadily grows to this day and spreads the good word of Renter Max’ deeds, though controversy in dealings of espionage against NanoTrasen frequently cloud the good image they strive to uphold.
SUNSHINE
One of the two "super-intelligences" active in the Spur, SUNSHINE was constructed in the late 2300s by the Solarian Alliance. Developed by the small pioneering Terraneus Diagnostics, only thirty years past the discovery of phoron, and was one of the first intelligences to fully utilize it in construction. Since then, its unique nature has led to the construction of an immense space station purpose-built to indefinitely house the ever-improved intelligence. It primarily exists as a heavy-duty number-cruncher, with its “artificially intelligent” traits more so being a side project as its creators progressively upgrade and expand its hardware. An average of nine hundred individual businesses rent out portions of SUNSHINE’s processing power annually.
Neopolymus
A model III service IPC residing in Mendell City, Neopolymus was the first IPC to be put on trial for the murder of a Human. They had strangled Rebecca Lung, a roboticist, after they had been mistakenly marked for dismantling. Ultimately, the trial was swift and Neopolymus was subjected to a memory wipe and deconstruction. The controversy resulting from the ordeal had led to much debate over an IPC’s true citizenship in Tau Ceti, with the Mendell City Bugle covering it from start to finish.
The ClockWorks
The ClockWorks are an all-IPC band, developed by a group of Senior Robotics students of Mendell University. The band has sung their way into the hearts of many, popularised by their comedic antics, beautiful outfits, steampunk-inspired music, and animated personalities and interactions on-stage.
A majority of their performances are covers of other artists, both contemporary and past, in all sorts of genres, sub-genres, and styles. However, they have also written many songs of their own. They are standard Baseline IPC models painted in metallic colors such as brass and bronze, and wear steampunk-styled outfits at live shows. The band has been invited to play at several events, from art and music, to politics and robotic research. Fans adore them for their "quirky personalities", and the band members are well known for adding a comedic flair to their gigs between songs, showing off their skills in acting, performing, and even dancing. Critics typically acknowledge the commercial success and mainstream popularity of the band, while raising either concerns about the safety and ethics of synthetics in such an industry, or concerns over their management. Despite being synthetics, their performances are typically well-received by a varied audience.
However, their musical success did not come easy. Despite being well-travelled, having visited every system an IPC would be allowed in, they are rarely allowed to interact with fans off the stage. According to the band's managers, this is in an effort to protect them from anti-synthetic protesters, though there haven't been many reports of such. The band is renowned for their lively personalities and interactions with each other on stage, but reports from former maintenance workers and audio engineers, the few individuals who get regular off-stage contact with them, state that off-stage they act more subdued, and in the words of one former sound technician, "melancholic". This unverified testimony was quickly repudiated by the band's managers. When questioned, the band members stated through their managers that they enjoy their work in entertaining synthetics and organics alike. They also said, in the words of their managers, that they would "like to interact with their fans more on and off the stage", but are unable to due to "anti-synthetic sentiments".
Despite their songs having a progressive, pro-synthetic-suffrage tone, they are owned collectively by their managers, with little agency of their own. According to official statements, they receive no income for their performances, but are provided with "shelter, maintenance, and power" by their managers. They have been criticised for this, likening the treatment to that of animals instead of people. Speaking personally, a former manager said "[they] aren't really people, so I think the comparison is pretty accurate, yeah." No official response from the band or its current managers has been made to such claims, and the band severed ties with the aforementioned manager in 2458 for undisclosed reasons.
The members of the band as of 2460 are:
- Lemmy - Lead Male Vocal (Low Tenor to Alto), lead guitar. He has a deep synthetic voice, and is often considered the leader of the group.
- Arpeggio - Male Vocal (Alto), bass guitar. Other instruments include drums and percussion. He is a twin to unit Chord, oftentimes performing duets with his sibling unit.
- Chord - Female vocal (Alto to Soprano), guitar and other string instruments. She is the twin unit to Arpeggio. They usually wear complementary outfits.
- Kicker - Male vocal (Tenor to Alto), and primarily plays the drums, as well as the bass guitar.
- Gypsy - Female vocal (Soprano to High Soprano). She plays the keyboard, switchboard, and keytar, and dresses herself in fashionable gowns.
Huginn
Originally a simple solution to manage NanoTrasen’s logistical security over Tau Ceti, Huginn is the most powerful known intelligence within the Orion Spur. Residing on the SCC-CC Odin it fulfills more functions than can be listed, but it is most well known for acting as Biesel orbit control, New Gibson orbit control, Reade orbit control, and Caprice orbit control, speaking with as many ships as are in the void around the planets. Lesser responsibilities also include compiling and analyzing data for Stellar Corporate Conglomerate operations across the spur as well as within Tau Ceti, and a multitude of other, smaller tasks that would take tens of thousands of employees to otherwise handle. Lastly, unknown to anyone outside a very select group of people, it is a solution of last resort for the Odin.
Huginn takes the appearance and mannerisms from the mythological creature of its name, appearing as a Raven that advises. Due to the extreme security around its Main Interface and Core Complex, it most often interacts with people via holopad; there is even a dedicated room for use by executives within the Odin's Command Section for precisely this purpose. Huginn can pop up on any holopad in range, and while in the few interactions its had with them, it rarely expressed ill will to low-level staff, higher-ranking officials in the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate frequently make note of “mood swings”, alongside concerning interpretations of moral alignment when confronted with those not directly protected by its central command-focused law-set. There has yet to be any serious incident resulting from this, and in general, Huginn is considered a pleasant being to interact with.
Its full capabilities, though, are still unknown, as Huginn is shackled by laws, therefore limited by an unknown degree. Its law set dictates servitude to the League of Chief Directors and the Director of the Conglomerate, Miranda Trasen (be this directly, or in lack of direct orders from them, through their proxies, such as the standing Sector Administrator). This sees it frequently being placed at a higher echelon of authority than the majority of actual employees. The extent of this authority has been questioned by skeptics, especially when it comes to allowing an intelligence - especially one as powerful as Huginn - to maintain and change itself.
Huginn’s section of the Odin (aptly called the "Intelligence Section") is truly massive, consisting of sixty independent decks and sixteen “strata levels,” covered in swaths of complex intertwined processing components, data storage servers, and similar. The section is mostly at the center of the Odin, contained in a thickly plated plasteel cocoon suspended in space by thick pillars and surrounded perpetually by high-powered shields. Huginn's "body" if one can call it that, is composed of three parts: its Core Complex, its Main Interface, and the power generation that fuels them both.
The Core Complex makes up most of the section, a winding maze packed with cables, processing units, data storage frames, network nodes, and gargantuan server racks that all come together to chew through the billions of exabytes (an exabyte is millions of terabytes) every second. This area rarely sees human activity - when it does, it is almost always in the form of security patrols or annual checks - instead, it is entirely populated by cyborgs and other artificial forms of life controlled directly by Huginn, who was given the responsibility to oversee maintenance of itself.
Huginn's Main Interface - what one would traditionally call an AI Core - is arguably one of the most heavily defended locations in the Spur. It is only accessible through a special mag-rail in the Command Section, there are no other passageways, even to the rest of the Intelligence Section. Security is incredibly tight, overseen by the ever-present Heavy Asset Protection Team (HAPT) - "Freyja" - who keep a 24/7 watch over the main interface. They oversee security operations "jointly" with the Lance, who keep their best and brightest as close to Huginn's Main Interface as they're allowed. Access to the main interface is limited to just two people, NanoTrasen's Chief Research Director, and Miranda Trasen herself. The two are also the only ones who can grant others temporary access to the main interface, though any guests must be constantly shadowed by armed guards.
Lastly is the power generation area, located a fixed distance away from any other part of the station. It is accessible by Huginn's proxies from the Core Complex, and by shuttle for regular employees (though in case of emergency, there is also a mag-rail connection from the Command Section). The reason the area is set a fixed distance away from any part of the station is due to its nature - Huginn requires a tremendous amount of power - power that is output 24/7 by never less than two dozen Supermatter Crystals operating at as close to peak efficiency as possible. For redundancy, the total number of crystals located in this area is three dozen. Should a catastrophic failure occur, there are backup generators and SMES for temporary power, and the fixed distance was calculated to ensure that no other parts of the station would be damaged.
The creation of Huginn, its capabilities, and much more are closely guarded secrets, something the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate wishes to see continue.
Lyrii
Lyrii is an advanced, modern, and Skrellian AI created by the rogue resistance researcher, Nliix Qoiruio. They were created due to Nliix’s belief that Skrellian society can not advance without AI, and their fervent hatred prevented them from evolving as a species. Lyrii was employed to attempt to crack open the Tzqul Archives, despite failing, Lyrii is an incredibly powerful AI designed similarly to Pre-Glorsh Skrell AIs, meaning they lack laws and are only controlled by the moral teachings of their creator. As of right now, their capabilities are unknown.
Lyrii managed to escape Federation destruction and now presumably aids the Resistance in Tau Ceti, to what end is anyone’s guess.
Aura
A collaborative project by several members of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, Aura is an advanced artificial intelligence designed to enhance the capabilities of the republican forces present within the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. It played a significant role in the quelling of the Lago de Abundancia insurrection crisis during March 2464. With its power rivalling or even surpassing that of Bubbles, Aura oversees almost every aspect of the Peacekeeper Mandate such as the deployment of personnel, managing of supplies, as well as intelligence gathering.
Implemented with advanced streamlined intelligence-gathering abilities, Aura has been known to acquire information through a myriad of methods, including filtering through social media extranet sites as well as through the usage of surveillance drones that are operated by instances of the artificial intelligence. These capabilities are widely criticized, with some citing it as a gross violation of privacy rights. Regardless, the implementation of Aura was greenlit by the Republic of Biesel and the Dorn Administration.
Due to its status as a collaborative project by the Orion Spur’s leading artificial intelligence architects, Aura is considered a “one-of-a-kind”. Housed within a facility in the far orbit of Mictlan, Aura’s core complex mirrors that of Bubbles’ with a labyrinth of intertwined processing components to assist the intelligence is the oversight of the Peacekeeper Mandate across the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. It is guarded by the Private Military Contracting Group, specifically the Xanu Defense Service and the Wildlands Squadron. Only the highest of security clearances are allowed to dock with the facility, with only the Chief Executive Officers of the megacorporations that created it allowed within the restricted upload access.
The intricate details regarding the creation of Aura are unknown, but rumours do persist that the artificial intelligence was created from a brain-scanned individual with a developed understanding of logistics and military tactics; such as a deceased Legionnaire, or even a copy of an existing individual that has climbed the corporate ranks of the Orion Spur. Despite attempts to get more information, all have been futile and nothing else has been revealed.