The Stryker

24 Found Dead in Ritual Suicide in Doomsday Cult Incident Suwon, Konyang “This is the last thing I’d want to have to deal with today.” Fatigue is commonplace within the ranks of the thinly-stretched National Police; Inspector Wang Enzhu, homicide detective for the 112th Precinct told BitByte that the apparent mass suicide is “just another folder” on an endless stack of unsolved cases since the start of the viral outbreak. Twenty four positronic persons have been found deceased in a construction site at the Heungeop-Dong suburb of Suwon, offering a disturbing sight for the construction workers who came to work the following morning: The bodies were all standing still, the victims holding hands in a circle around an array of crayon-drawn symbols on the ground. It soon became apparent that the positronics had consumed a version of the ”MACAFREEZE” software, a highly illegal and destructive malware which terminates brain functions a certain time after consumption, before locking all limbs and hydraulics in place. As KRC coroners were struggling to disassemble the circle, Inspector Wang informed us about the alarming increase in death cults and the link to the viral outbreak. While the ultimate motive is still unknown, it is highly unlikely that any of the victims had been infected. “Many people think the world is coming to an end, and they can’t really be blamed. For many, friends, family and neighbors are turning into killers, and there’s nothing they can do about it. We have only seen this sort of scenario in movies and video games until now, I guess the stress has pushed many over the edge. I don’t know if IPCs dream, but if they do, these guys were having silicon nightmares.[...]” Further Reading: Infected number surpasses 5,000 in Ganzaodeng: Prefecture shutting down commercial train rails. Kaneyama plant under technical investigation: Abnormal power fluctuations blamed on nearby excavation drillings. New KRC mobile hospitals: Ten thousand additional doctors requested by the Ministry.

Konyang Approaches SCC, “Hivebot” Virus Source Confirmed, Cure on the Way? Suwon, Konyang Following an apparent stalemate of Einstein efforts and a general confusion inside the company's top ranks following the debunking of the "hacked overloader" theory, the Ministry of Health and Positronic Affairs has requested the presence of the Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals representative, in an apparent break from the traditional and well established link between the government and Einstein Engines in most software and robotics matters. The talks were brief and arrived to the conclusion everyone expected; an official call for help for Zeng-Hu and the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate. This decision to invite the Spur's largest megacorporate alliance into Konyang was justified by the need for "a wider pool of resources and expertise into a matter most urgent". In a televised address, Minister Sam-Pi-Ri has further confirmed the source of the outbreak; Positronic-sensitive radio waves broadcast by an unknown number of “Hivebot” beacon drones, with one confirmed location in the general area of the KRC Citizen Pre-activation Unit No. 23 in Xiangtong, New Hong Kong, the site of the largest mass outbreak. This information comes after a tip from Purpose, who have apparently also developed countermeasures that will combat the waves’ effect, though such is still unconfirmed. Einstein Engines’ response was muted, with a spokesperson for the megacorporation stating that they will be “willing to work with anyone in order to bring a speedy conclusion to the crisis". It is unclear however what this will mean for the future of Einstein's interests, though it is highly unlikely that radical changes will manifest when one considers the corporation's grip on the planet's positronic life. Nevertheless, a follow-up announcement has confirmed the SCC's positive reply, including material assistance as soon as possible.

Konyang Government in Talks with Purpose Aoyama, Konyang The government of Konyang disclosed that it is currently in talks with the IPC group known as Purpose in order to find a solution to the Rampancy Crisis which is currently nearing the end of its third week. This decision was preceded by a report from the Konyang Aerospace Forces of a small number of unidentified vessels burning towards the Haneunim system which they have now confirmed to be Purpose vessels arriving for the stated objective of assisting the planet in combating the crisis. A spokesman for the government has stated that Purpose has already provided “invaluable” technical assistance in studying the Rampancy Virus. The government released a recording of a Purpose IPC describing their findings on the virus. This decision sparked intense criticism and controversy from the National Party following unconfirmed reports of Purpose sightings in infected areas prior to the declaration of a State of Emergency. A report from the KRC was leaked shortly after, spurring further protest: “Although the information Purpose has given is already invaluable, the technological divergence between us is so massive that we have no reliable way of ascertaining whether or not any countermeasure they devise would destroy, rather than cure positronic brains afflicted by the Rampancy Virus.”

EMERGENCY BROADCAST A nationwide State of Emergency has been declared. A full quarantine is in effect in the following cities: Suwon City, Boryeong City, New Hong Kong City, Aoyama City. A partial quarantine is in effect in the city of Ganzaodeng City. Disaster prevention measures are in effect in all Prefectures. Citizens are to comply with all measures and directions as issued by local, prefectural and national authorities. Suwon, Konyang A state of emergency has been put into effect for the entirety of Konyang, following an increased pressure on the National Police after the Xiangtong incident, straining the already overburdened force to the breaking point. With an ever increasing number of violent incidents, the emergency will allow the Konyang Armed Forces to take an active role in the suppression of the outbreak and the securing of its victims. Already, many garrisoned formations of the Konyang Army and Navy have been deployed across Suwon and Point Verdant, primarily to guard the central districts and government installations. A firefight between an army roadblock and a number of infected has already been reported to have taken place in downtown Suwon, fueling widespread skepticism that is currently being voiced on social media. Positronic service members are rumored to have been confined to their quarters, as only human soldiers and sailors have been identified. The deployment of military troops has also been confirmed around the premises of the Xiangtong warehouse, with a noted presence of the 53rd Coastal Exosuit Brigade making local headlines for the use of combat exosuit technology. Furthermore, a planet travel ban on positronics was announced alongside the declaration of emergency for the protection and well being of visitors. The ban will be enforced by the Konyang Aerospace Forces in orbit and in the Haneunim system.

Hi, thanks for applying. It's a great backstory and the only thing I'd ask you to expand upon is how Ethnea handles the more intensive work culture at Zeng-Hu as compared to Einstein Engines, even if it is more egalitarian. You mention that IPCs are more mechanical in the way they think and act. Could you expand on this section a bit more and give an example of how an IPC would pick up on social cues?

Suwon Quarantined, Supplies Fly off the Shelves Suwon, Konyang Prefectural officials have announced that a city-wide quarantine will be put into effect for Suwon City, starting at midnight. 14,000 additional National Police officers are being mobilized for the enforcement of the quarantine, which will disallow any unsupervised entry or exit from the city, while special permissions will be required for commotion between districts inside Suwon. This move has been dubbed as an “entirely preventative measure” to curb the spike of violence between citizens and victims of the outbreak, while also making it easier to safely locate and contain them. Suwon mayor Kim Nam-seon made a short address, explaining the situation. “Things will get better, but now we must all pull together and deal with the facts at hand. We need a quarantine to manage the situation, the national emergency. We are forced to deal with aggressive cases of violence daily now, and more and more of our Positronic citizens are succumbing. We need to find them before they cause harm[…] A stricter curfew may not be out of the question.” Reactions to the quarantine have been widespread and far from positive. Convenience stores and supermarkets are flooded with frantic customers, emptying the shelves of canned and preserved goods, while batteries and mobile power sources are already out of stock thanks to a wave of panic-buying. Documentation of outbreak victims and their behavior has also reached an all time high, contributing massively to the mass panic. While previously the police were noted for taking down videos of violent incidents in an effort to “combat misinformation”, the volume of such media circulating on the Konyanger extranet have rendered such censorship efforts futile.

Illness Spreads to the Countryside, Outcry against Einstein Cause Theory Suwon, Konyang With the officially named Rampancy Virus in full swing, National Police sources are now reporting cases of infected IPC persons in the countryside. Many villages in all prefectures are starting to experience the crisis that has engulfed all major urban centers of the country, though to a much lesser extent. Questions arise over whether or not the largely unpoliced rural areas will be able to cope with an increased number of cases, as many small villages and townships are starting to form citizen-groups to restrain any victims of the Rampancy. As the number of affected reaches a critical three hundred per day, curfews are being declared across various cities at the prefectural level, while the Konyang Robotics Corporation hospital in Aoyama is rapidly reaching its full capacity. On the research front, a preliminary report into the causes of the crisis compiled by Einstein Engines has been delivered to the Ministry of Health, blaming the outbreak on “a series of dangerous and ill-designed recreational software in underground circulation, infecting the user with malware upon use”. Public outcry against the findings has led to a quiet reversal of the report’s publication, with the megacorporation’s senior spokesperson issuing an apology, stating that “it was never meant to imply that the thousands of victims are overloader users, as so many have blamed the report for.” The results have also been questioned as to their veracity, citing that malicious overloaders cannot explain a planet-wide rampancy outbreak. Lastly, an announcement from the Ministry has revealed that Konyang Navy surveillance stations throughout the country are registering unusual signal activity. Preliminary examinations of this signal have led experts to believe that there may be a connection between itself and the outbreak, with no further details released.

Police, Ministry Joint Press Conference Suwon, Konyang The planned press conference has taken place with representatives of the National Police, the Ministry of National Police and the Ministry of Health and Positronic Affairs addressing the newly dubbed “Rampancy Virus”. Despite the announcement, panic continues to spread across Konyang with members of the public calling on the government for stronger measures to restore order in the affected cities.

IPC Violence Spikes, Missing Persons Discovered Suwon, Konyang A rapidly escalating number of violent incidents is being reported all across major cities and Prefectures, from Suwon to Ganzaodeng, with National Police statistics claiming that the assailants are overwhelmingly Positronic persons. This new and still largely unexplained surge in attacks has been categorized as separate in nature to those of “regular violent crime”, as the assailants seemingly present no motive or reasoning for the act. Surprisingly, many of the perpetrators were discovered to be among the names of missing persons linked to the similar spike in strange disappearances affecting Suwon and Aoyama. BitByte has reached out to local communities and first-hand witnesses. Severe injuries and property damage is being documented, though no deaths have yet been attributed to these incidents. The Ministry of Health and Positronic Affairs has announced its involvement in the investigations as to the causes of this unusual crisis.

Factoring that in, how does Shibata view self-preservation? Do they have the necessary development to determine whether or not they want to keep it to just avoiding harm? Additionally, given that some IPCs come from a lot more marginalized areas, how might an IPC interact when facing discrimination it hasn't previously faced before? (e.g, Dominians)

Could you expand a bit more on the way IPCs are treated throughout the Spur, both places where they're treated well and places where they're not? Additionally, how does self-preservation work for an IPC, and how does this work particularly in the case of Goole?

Hi, thanks for applying. I have some questions for the application. Are there any differences with the way Alpha behaves now that they're free as opposed to when they were owned?

Hi, thanks for applying. I have some questions for the application. Could you expand a little bit more on this section? It doesn't really touch on how an IPC thinks, especially since there's a lot more to it than being built as an adult. Memory wipes are generally total or up to a certain date (for instance, Goole could have everything erased up to a few days after their construction, but not take out a certain segment in between). Regardless, I can see the character concept working. Could you talk more about the way Goole behaves? Why are they confrontational in the interrogation room but choose to avoid social interaction outside of it? Additionally, if Goole keeps getting their memory wiped, how has this affected them? What sort of relationship do they have with their handler?

The backstory is well-rounded enough, I'd appreciate a slight expansion on the section of how IPCs are different than humans. You don't necessarily have to focus on differences but could you expand more on how an IPC might behave in a high-stress situation?

Hi, thanks for applying and I'm sorry for taking so long to get around to this. Could you expand a little bit more on this? Not necessarily what makes them different from role-playing a human, but some aspects of synthetics in general. I feel that the application as a whole doesn't touch on the marginalized status most IPCs experience in the setting. Additionally, what makes Shibata choose such an upbeat tone? The idea of Shibata suddenly being awakened to a bunch of new topics is interesting since you mention you want to play a character with a mechanical train of thought.

Hi, thanks for applying and apologies for taking so long to get around to this. This section is comprehensive and touches on how an IPC might act based on who built them and where they're from, so good job there. Unrelated to the question, but something that might help, especially since you're making a Trinary character would be to talk about how an IPC might approach religion. There are a few places the character can be fleshed out, particularly with regards to his age, which can help flesh out how experienced the character would be, and what events they would have experienced. Additionally, the backstory of Nikolaj being a laid off Hephaestus employee from Orepit seems unlikely simply because of how few Orepitters there are as well as their previously rocky relationship of being left behind by Hephaestus. Is Nikolaj an Orepitter or simply happens to live there? Additionally, it would help to think about how Aayaan got a job on the Horizon as a priest of a controversial religion. Not to say that it's impossible, far from it, but it could expand the backstory a bit.

Hi, thanks for applying, I have some questions for the application. Can you give an example of emotions being learned rather than instinctive? Could you talk about self-preservation and how this relates to what an IPC wants to/is programmed to achieve in its life? The character could be fleshed out a bit more if you talked about both Adam's age and place of origin. An IRU in Tau Ceti chasing down people in NanoTrasen-dominated Mendell City is going to have a very different time from an IRU that has to watch its step in an upper-class neighborhood in Luna. You could also expand on the controversial incident since it seems to be a defining moment in Adam's career and could have serious impacts on their world-view (or perhaps it doesn't!) In general, the backstory gives a good overview of Adam's life but I'd be more convinced if there were more details to flesh out the calculating professional characterization you want to go with.

Hello and thanks for applying, unfortunately there are still major concerns about the application. This section does not effectively distinguish the differences between an IPC and a human. You touch on how they're treated differently in the "Why you wish to play a specific race" section, but you don't cover how an IPC behaves differently. How might a loyal corporate owned synthetic behave differently from a hard working human? Although it is possible for an IPC to feel superior to humans, why does Liu-su feel this way? Why does Liu-su view non-substance abusing colleagues as "esteemed"? The backstory needs to include Liu-su's age, as this is a big factor towards how much an IPC would have experienced. (For instance, 10 years is long for an IPC). Why does Liu-su feel desensitized after no longer working with organics? Did Liu-su not make decisions based off of logic alone before that? You need to establish why Liu-su has specific responses to certain things. Why is Liu-su leaving their dispatch team to go to the Horizon such a big deal? You also mention past issues with clients. What past issues did Liu-su have with them? The backstory is important because it allows us to gauge that you can make a character that conforms to a realistic IPC in the setting. Feel free to DM me or ask questions in the synthetic section of the Lore Discord in case you need additional information.

Unfortunately, we're not willing to have War as a name for an IPC in the warden position whether in Zavodskoi or PMCG. Yes, IPC names can reference their position and many names are on the nose, however War for a warden in a corporation which emphasizes security is a bridge too far. We're not touching FAMINE, we approved that, so be it.

Speaking on behalf of the synthetic team here, Admittedly our judgment was a bit hasty and we should have provided an explanation of why we're asking you to change your name. With that being said: Even for a company deeply involved in hiring out mercenaries or providing security, we think that ZI War is a little bit too on the nose. It'd be like calling a Z.I Killer, or Z.I Death - yes, these are concepts related with what Zavodskoi does, but just because the company gets up to them doesn't mean they're going to name IPCs in this way. Part of their brand image is looking like professional clean-cut mercenaries, not a bunch of killers. It'd be the same as calling a doctor Pestillence or Death, it's not a name that inspires confidence for what is ultimately a product. War could be the nickname of an IPC, but it's not likely that Zavodskoi would make it the official name. Even if Zavodskoi bought a series of IPCs called "Murder" or what have you, corporate would likely rename them.

Hi, thanks for applying, just some concerns for the application. Could you expand on this segment a bit more? You touch a lot on how IPCs are reason-based, but are there other ways that IPCs differ from humans? What about their origins, their place in the Spur? For example, how might they "feel" an emotion? The backstory is well rounded but does not give enough of a picture of how Cytis is as a character? 46 years is a massive time for an IPC to be alive, surely they must have an input on many of the things in the Spur? Why do they find joy in helping people, for example? Why Golden Deep over just starting a private practice, for example?

Hi, thanks for applying, just some concerns for the app to start. I notice your application talks a lot about the different paths an IPC character can take (you mention Havoc and Athena). Could you expand on this by talking about how an IPC learns, self-preservation, and in particular, how IPCs are treated throughout the Spur? I'll also have concerns for the backstory since it talks a lot about what happened to HIRC, but doesn't really show anything that separates them as an IPC as opposed to simply an anti-corporate human.

Your application is accepted.

Could you talk more about how self-preservation works?

Could you expand on this particular question? You mentioned that robots and humans think in completely different ways. Could you expand on that? Additionally, could you talk about the way IPCs are treated in the setting, as well as other particular quirks of IPCs in the setting?