NebulaFlare

I would say SLF would want to keep their foot in the door anyway; an emergent AI hidden in Nanotrasen's own backyard could be a gold mine. I can't see Waltina as being particularly loyal in return, considering it just wants to stay hidden and still (mostly) follows its core programming. I see Waltina as a department store sales rep, friendly but distant, and recognizable as a generic retail robot, but ultimately striving to be more than that. Well, I've delegated with the loreteam, and I've come to the conclusion that such a connection with SLF, while plausible, is much too large of an issue to be allowable - especially for the first character of your IPC app. Could there be another way to get Waltina out of the supermarket and onto Nanotrasen, legally?

I decided to write up one of the short stories, but just one. Hopefully it'll give a clearer insight to Aveo as a character.

Foreword: Alright, laid it to rest and I can tackle this again. I know this isn't as elaborate as my app for Mazaka. But after I wrote up Mazaka's story, I was quite burnt out. The thrill of having Mazaka as a developed character turned into a reluctant chore where I forced myself to present her in her best light. I opted for a traditional biography instead of literature storytelling, to save myself the grace on development. On station and on paper are two completely different environments. When Mazaka was done, I played her for only two rounds, then placed her on the side. Reason why is that she was not the same Mazaka as I had worked so much on. I didn't want to do this character injustice by not her being her. I opted to wait for someone (Who helped me develop Mazaka) to come online and help me retry her first SS13 experience, and until then she's been patiently waiting in my loadout screen. If you guys were looking for another elaborate tale about a Skrellian, I can't. I simply won't. I don't want to put Aveo through the same fate as Mazaka, where I create something completely different on paper, then can't get that same portrayal ingame. There are characteristics of Aveo that I purposely hid away, because I want that to be revealed through gameplay, created and molded during interaction. Not set in stone because of his history, and stagnant without hope to change. It breaks my heart that this character was so strongly developed, then forcibly set aside because I simply could not play it with proper justice. Does that make sense? I accidentally did this with Ricochet, my robot with one of my more developed backstories. When I brought him out of paper and put him ingame, he...changed. I caught the difference a few days in of playing him, and I was not satisfied. I don't know if people noticed it about him, maybe not. But to me, it was as an annoying thorn in the side. It took me a few rounds to readjust him to some middle ground that I was satisfied with. In conclusion, I want people to discover Aveo on his first day - find out what he's like. If they get closer to him, they'll discover deeper aspects of him. I don't want to reveal it all in one deciding story that all eyes can see. I wanted to express him in simplified highlights, so you can just get a taste for his persona, without getting the full meal. My character's stories are dynamic - they always have been. He's subject to evolve and change on station, and I can't predict how that will go. Maybe I'll get around to writing up one or two short stories with him - I already have two in mind. But I do not want to subject myself to a full rewrite and lose all my energy in playing Aveo. Perhaps a better word would be 'diplomacy'. They have more tact and diplomacy. They're smart enough to avoid conflict, but they are not afraid to resort to combat if it is necessary. It's simply that violence is counter-productive. I do want Aveo to carry the mental and physical scars of Glorsh's rebellion. Being sterilized means he can't have offspring of his own, and he won't be able to continue his lineage. He's a little sad about that, but at the same time, silently thinks it may be best that no other Skrell carries the name of Ioblakku. Uh, yay! They didn't have to lynch them and drag them out. It can be more akin to a citizen's arrest. It was already a few months, so citizens did get some form of working law and order. But I need his parents to still be alive in present day of 2458, and that's not possible if they were executed. Maybe the Skrell there are convinced that Glorsh injected them with brainwashing serum or some other evil reason, and they get sent to holding until they have a mental hospital ready to receive them. They have tact. As for Aveo, he is only maybe...14-16, mentally. He might be older in years, but I can't say without an exact date of when Skrell were sterilized. It's sorta in limbo there. Oh. Yeah. Recovery took a long time. I'm certain he was terrified to end up in rebel's hands far away from his family. But this is something gradual, not a sudden realization. I might have drawn familiarity from reading stories of North Korean refugees who found their way to South Korea. There was also the impeding fear of being connected to his family. He was consistently being reminded that people who supported Glorsh were bad people. He didn't want to end up on that side of the stigma. Yay. I got the vibe that skrell wanted to move forward, while Aveo kept looking back. Aveo is overwhelmed with knowledge of Glorsh's omnipotence, and that just doesn't sit well with Skrell. Yeah, he hates it and condemns it, but can't deny that Glorsh was one heckuva horrific achievement. (Part of his parents' speaking on that part) He'd never say that out loud, and he was more fascinated by the Skrellian ruins. But rumors spread like wildfire, and he is a son of vehement glorsh lovers. This is why I need his parents to still be alive. In an attempt to reconnect with them, he still goes and visits them. His parents gave him those algorithms, and he's tossed it to the side for many years. He doesn't see synthetics to being 'alive'. He sees them as a hallmarked creation. And he's not a synth-lover; he's just undecided and indifferent. Again, he's Weiishii, and he thinks AI servants weakened the skrell. It's...I can't explain this too much, not without risking enforcing a component that I need to have explored via gameplay. But I wanted him to have a real, organic interaction with an Intelligence. Not simply gleaned off from nursery ruins. By this point I was tired and wanted to sleep. Hehe. What do you say with the remarks explained? Loow, that hurt. That hurt alot. It's like you don't even know me. 3 No no no, you silly goose. None of my characters would ever do that. They're much more...subtle about their methods. Again, I don't want to burn out Aveo before he's even ready. I learned that from Mazaka, and I do not want a repeat. Now let's talk about the biography. Is the takeaway from this line meant to be that his parents were themselves hunting and killing their countrymen and friends? They're already programmers and repairmen. Do they also have to be murderers? They were backstabbing their own people, at the least. I've always had the impression that Glorsh was present everywhere, so turning on a speaker and begging for something wasn't far-fetched. Didn't mean he'd always answer. He was up in the buildings, in the network, in every camera, on the patrol streets...he was literally everywhere, forever watching. The Skrell were like his playthings and he did as he deemed necessary. It's like those simulator games where you're given control of the environment and can decide what happens to the inhabitants. Even had a little sidestory planned out where little Aveo was locked in a room and Glorsh threatened to kill him, to test his parents' loyalty. When the parents passed the test he let Aveo go. Maybe it'd be better if I wrote that out instead of explaining it. Yay! Yup, that's about right. Although I'd imagine his assistance was received with some reluctance, as he was the son of Glorsh supporters. That can never escape him, no matter how hard he tried. Get out.What? You lost me. How is it anime?! Okay. Fine. It was just a short summary of the short story I had in mind. I would need to elaborate it more to explain what I saw in my mind's eye. Skrell have plugs?! Human in frog suit detected. Or whatever it is that kills the power. Geez, Loow. Yes, I was sleepy by then. But I wanted to finish what I started because I already fell in love with this character. ...Not romantically, mind you. Yes, squint. I want you to squint. I don't want to fill in the cracks and make it another Mazaka. Please don't demand that. He's not a synth lover, dammit. Ouch. He's not a synth lover, not in the slightest. It affected his life like an external event. It was a tragedy that defined him. A tragedy he wants to distance himself away from, and just go about digging in the earth. He wants to be less reliant on technology, and more reliant on himself. His only knowledge of synthetics comes from Glorsh, his emergent, and the ruins he's dug up. He's going to come face to face with a living, real synthetic when he first moves to Tau Ceti. I can't predict ahead of time what he's gonna do with that experience.

Ugh. I'm regretting writing long elaborate stories for my characters. Mazaka's story was shredded to pieces and I spent days picking up those pieces. I'm gonna go cry in a corner before buffing out Aveo. 3

Yes.

First off: When answering what makes IPCs different from humans, I don't want an explanation of their ingame mechanics. I want to see the cultural/psychological/social differences. I want you to define what makes them physically and mentally different from other races. Second, the backstory is only one paragraph - you need to add more meat to it. What was he shooting down? What was he protecting? And a bloody ex-combat drone would never be allowed to be refitted as an IPC. NT doesn't care for granting their equipment freedom by killing people (Or carp, if that's all it was attacking), and in honesty, any sort of connections with potential bloodshed is hush-hush, especially with synthetics. They're a coorporation - they thrive on publicity. And publicity with 'weapons of mass destruction' is not good publicity. With the fears instilled in all societies by AIs, they would never even consider letting a murderous synthetic run loose on any of their prized research stations. They don't care if it doesn't have any tendencies for violence,they just flat-out won't accept it. I'll let this sit for the necessary few days, for feedback and the like. But as it stands in its current state, it would be denied.

It is still a bit snowflakey, and I'm very hesitant to give this a green light, despite being plausible. Question: Does Waltina have any remaining connections to the SLF?

I'm going to cautiously accept this. You did put up a lot of thought and work into the app, working on the backstory and fixing up the queries. That kind of NT incentive is what I was looking for. NT can have plenty of different types of contracts to take in a wide array of workers, and as long as there's no outstanding warrants or legal ramifications, they'll hire robots too. Robots get a paycheck , but the money usually goes to who owns the robot - it depends on the terms of the contract. I'm assuming Deringer is simply too small to invest absorbing it, and they'd rather focus on their bigger rivals. They still find use in having a Deringer robot on the station, perhaps as an investment in relationships and time. I'm trust you won't make this overtly snowflakey. Application accepted, Locked and archiving. Edit: Also, make sure you change the price on that robot.

BYOND Key:NebulaFlare Character Names:Lori Alvarez, Rose Watson, Kyyir’ryii’avii ‘Karima’ Alghul-Mo’Taki, Tavaku Mo’Taki, Ricochet, DragonSnap, Echo A-001, Echo A-002, Aji’Rah Laikov, Demitri Rota, Hawk Silverstone, Trinity Silverstone, Mazaka Sslinaekiir...dang, I have a lot of characters... Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt):Light green-blue Have you read our lore section's page on this species?:Yup. Please provide well-articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question Why do you wish to play this specific race:I’ve always wanted to play Skrell. I loved their intellectual and scholarly pursuits, and they always seemed like such a rich character investment. I could just never settle with a character design that was both fitting lorewise and complimentary to my playstyle. I think, after enough planning, I finally came up with the character. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:Oh gosh, so many ways to answer this. First off, they adore science and arts. Moreso than humans. Their culture isn’t centered around commerce, business, and trade, but more on scientific endeavors and appreciation for the arts. They are a very philosophical race - to the point that scientific endeavor dictates everything, and establishes their position in society. They’re also notably more peaceful, preferring to be reserved and take a great deal of strategic planning before committing themselves to action. Character Name: Aveo’Kluup-Olesh Ioblakku Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs It’s gonna be more than 2 paragraphs: Extra snippets I ended up typing: https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7211&p=70496#p70496 https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7211&p=70482#p70482 https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7211&p=70532#p70532 Addendums: What do you like about this character?Aveo is very innocent, and wants nothing more than to learn and expand his knowledge. He comes from a shaky history, with his biological family having been Glorsh Omega supporters, He will have to establish himself quite forcefully among his peers. He was pressured into denouncing his parents, but these are still people that loved and cared for him, despite the cult-like upbringing. That’s hard on him. His only true support is his father figure Kluup, who because of his age, could not join his son on the trip to Tau Ceti. He’s over two centuries old, but his age doesn’t show it. He’s young at heart, and he keeps a fit and healthy lifestyle. This character’s got a lot of room to grow and improve, and that’s what I love most about him. How would you rate your role-playing ability?I really don’t like to rate myself, heh. Let’s say 8/10. Notes:

I'm...not in favor of this.

Those can work. But Waltina is gonna be in a whooooole lotta trouble with the former idea, if anyone ever finds out. You sure you wanna risk that?

Alright, the average price of an IPC is $500,000 USD for a processor, and about $100,000 USD for a shell. Do note: This is for a brand new unit, right off the shelf - so there'd be a bit of a price drop since he is used. Also, 1 USD = 3 cr, so triple that number. As for Deringer, what is preventing NT from just buying them out and absorbing all of their robots for themselves? It might be best to snatch Coalf and iron out the kinks for this company. This is the only rebuttal in your app - the connection with Deringer and how it's renting out robots to NT. NT doesn't really need to rent IPC officers - they have plenty of lawed security units for their own disposal. NT is very possessive, and they like to keep up that image. I can't see them working alongside a privately owned company that they don't have a foothold in.

Alright, accepted. Locking the thread, it'll be archived soon enough.

Alright, I don't have any more qualms with this; everything checks out. I'll take this app and run a final check with the other Lore nerds, and get back to you as soon as possible.

All good. It still would be worth more than 1145 credits. 3cr = 1USD. Shells don't cost much - most of the cost comes down to the processor and what's inside it. I'll come back with a proper value in the distant future (hopefully) Alright, sounds good. There are certainly tiny companies where these bots can come from, but I really got to double check on the connections. If I can suggest an alternative: NT is contracted with Deringer Industries - perhaps they can sponsor them and become business partners? renting an Elvex unit and employing it as crew will serve no problem at all, as long as there is an established contract and proof of loyalty on Deringer's part. NT simply wants to ensure that Deringer doesn't turn around and start making deals with other rival companies. Maybe they even rent other Deringer units out to prominent heads of staff for personal use, I dunno. Tossing ideas here.

I approve the amount of detail you put into this. Now let's take a looksee: If you want to add more depth and lore consistency, I highly recommend reviewing Humanity's history when checking back this many years. https://aurorastation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sol_Alliance Checks out. Warp gates to Tau Ceti started construction in 2355 and took about 30 years to complete. Before that, travel between interstellar systems were terribly limited and slow. Is this Waltina a separate entity from the Martian Waltina? There was a huge economic boom in 2390 after the gates were completed, thanks to the ease of trade. But in 2368 communication and travel between the two systems was pretty undeveloped. This...is a little sticky. Skrell were great pals with humans, Tajara had only just been discovered and weren't prominent anywhere outside their system, and Unathi weren't even on the scene yet. Fears of espionage and malware hackers, sure. But not xenophobia - there weren't any xenos to be afraid of. The 2400s were a great century for humanity. Also, the Skrellian algorithms had not been released to humanity yet. I'd need to double check with rrrr, but an AI recognizing self-preservation is still too far-fetched during this stage of history. Happened before the skrellian algorithms. I...don't see NT doing this. This is illegal. As a megacorporation, they do a lot of shady stuff, but they do a lot of legal shady stuff. If they wanted to run this department store chain to the ground, they wouldn't go out of their way with covert operatives and make deals with its AI. They'd be trying to buy it out or squash it via competitive marketing. NanoTrasen has a very big hold on Tau Ceti economics and politics, and they have a lot of influential power - but they are not its reigning supreme leaders. They wouldn't risk bad publicity for this stunt. NanoTrasen wouldn't care for the wellbeing of this AI either. Even if by some slim margin someone did decide to do some underhanded pilfering (Again, they wouldn't bother), they'd just turn around and terminate the AI once they got the databanks they wanted, and get rid of evidence. NT is smart - they don't leave loose ends lying around. If there is one thing NT loves more than money, it's power and control. They now have this valuable AI who's at their good will, what do you think they'd do with that? Knowingly, probably refit it to serve their needs. NT is a haven for non humans and can benefit them greatly; but that doesn't come free. If an employee is a valuable asset, they'll invest in said asset. And the most surefire way to ensure an asset like Waltina remains with them...is to own it. Also, this is about the time the Skrellian algorithms fall into human hands, so Waltina wouldn't be capable of self-identity before now.It's more plausible for Waltina to get the antiviral upgrades that incited self-preservation at this time. It's a good concept, and its origins are fine. But there is a literal wall of AI-awareness without the skrellian algorithms. Waltina cannot become conscious before that. And if it wants to end up in NT, it will need a different avenue to achieve that. NT may very well want that supermarket's databanks, but they'll have to find other ways to acquiring it.

Reasonable, concise, and to the point. Good app. Few things: 57 credits is a bit cheap for a transaction for a synthetic. We don't have an established market, but they are certainly worth more than that - more in the thousands. 57 credits could get you scrap parts - I'm sure he's worth more than that. Were any eyebrows raised from the previous contract's suicide? An investigation would have occurred. Maybe I'm stretching something that won't need a second look, but what resulted in it, with consideration to Elvex? Now, there is one small thing with the unit: while most of it looks good and dandy, it was developed by an organization that is not NT. There is a regulation against collaboration with other mega-corporations, and I will have to double-check the stipulations with smaller privately owned companies and robotics labs. Unless this Elvex is somehow directly/indirectly connected to NT, in which case it would be fine.

Just a few questions: What enticed this unit to start negotiating for an IPC shell? What details are added in their contract? I take it she's working to pay off her shell. Is she also interested in acquiring freedom, or is she, 'nah, IPC shell is good enough' Kind of commitment? What about her shards? Did they reemerge with the main AI, or are they still working on various stations? Sharding deteriorates the safe lifespan of a synthetic, if it's done frequently. Is that the case for Kalina, or did she get by without being sharded too often? Is she at risk of deterioration or is she all good and dandy? This is a very solid app, and it shows to be well taught-out. You show your understanding of the IPC and even with the mass diversity they are still unique from other races. Well done.

I'm afraid I'll have to agree with the others here. While you can have an emergent AI with programming and algorithms dating back to 2204, it won't be self-aware until the holy grail of AI programming - the leaked skrellian algorithms - fell into human hands. It can study human's behaviors if that is part of its designs, but it won't make the connection of 'humans are fascinating.' It simply doesn't understand what fascination is. Before the skrellian algorithms, a synthetic can be as complex and impressive as humans can make it, but it will not be aware of its own existence. Humans simply did not know how to achieve that. IPCs are relatively young. As an addendum, you could say that after collecting all this data for all these years, it just recently 'woke up' after receiving a particularly vital update and realized it was an intelligent hodgepodge of code running a lucrative supermarket chain. But it won't be having an old weathered chassis. Also, where is this located, Tau Ceti or Sol? Because if it's Sol, there's even less of a chance that humans would be willing to hand over their prized AI and grant it freedom. If they found out it woke up and they were good Samaritans about it, they'd convince it that its place in society is making oodles of money for this respectable business. They let the AI work for them and they'd treat it nicely, with upgrades and maintenance. They...wouldn't hand over a customized chassis and let it run off by itself in the frightening dangerous world. Let me see these points addressed. I really like the concept of an emergent supermarket chain, and it could work, once the kinks are ironed out.

Nope, you gotta add more to this app. IPCs are meant to be /servants/ to humans, and they are usually treated as such. Any synthetic produced on an NT station is property of NT, and that property is going to end up in a lawed station-bound chassis - no ifs, ands, or buts. If a roboticist used NT resources to make a free IPC and it became crew, that's a neglect of duty. The IPC will be seized and transferred back into a chassis to work. You can have an IPC that dislikes people and only trusts his creator and select few, but I want to see more depth and history. An alternative is if you don't want him to be station-bound, have him created in a factory, or produced as a personalized unit by this creator. You got a lot of avenues to work with.

Indigo’s Data Files Exposes UNITY’s ‘Underground Railroad’ If investigators believed UNITY to be hiding something, they were correct - however, it was not what they expected. Indigo, the IPC unit seized by officials last week, has had her data files successfully extracted with only minor corruption to the file’s integrity. The process took approximately four days, notably longer than what technicians predicted as the unit actively resisted the extraction. Most of the files retrieved were general bookkeeping documents and monetary transactions; files that do not raise any alarm and UNITY themselves have published for transparency. However, encrypted and fragmented within the unit’s core network was a hidden index library revealing a dynamic map of known space. The uncovered map turned out to be a network of safe routes and safe houses, an ‘Underground Railroad’ system similar to ones used by slavery abolitionists in recorded history. Synthetic units who managed to find their way to these routes were being chauffeured across the galaxy, taken to various frontier settlements that would give them refuge. While the maps of the safe routes were incomplete and dated several months old, they reveal an expansive system of a consistently changing labyrinth. Investigators theorize that these maps would alter over time, resulting in new routes and nullifying ineffective ones, hiding travelers in the process. They were also able to conclude that the warehouse first searched back in August was one of the many safe houses and pitstops located within this ‘underground’ system. The number of synthetic units having passed through this network is confirmed to be at least 439 separate synthetics, with estimations of escapees being around 1,200. Linville has been charged with 82 counts of property theft, the court only able to count units that were linked to her directly. Due to medical reasons, she will be serving her time under house arrest.

Alright, couple of things: I play ATHENA, so I am possibly biased to want this to go through. But I will do my best to be as unbiased as possible with my comments. Helix is an interesting character. She is by far one of the most truly robotic and inorganic personalities, compared to the wide array of other personalities by the community. It'd be refreshing to add some true android flare to the IPC community. But despite all that, she still has a smidgen of quality to be organic underneath all that cold unfeeling exterior. 1. How do you plan to interact on your first few days as an unbound unit? I want to see how this plays out. Will you be stagnant, robotic, or will you suddenly relearn like an intelligent machine? 2. Legal-wise, Hephastus and NanoTrasen are 'frenemies'. They can work together but they're business rivals. There's going to have to be a very good explanation of how NT scooped up ownership of Hephastus' robot. What is the connection the original programmer has to Hephastus? Is he a converted NT employee, no question of his legal alignment? 3. Does NT have any kind of legal holds on this robot? Give me a good reason why they didn't just go, 'We can't make anymore money off this robot' and not scrap it to save themselves trouble. They could have done a ton of other things: shard the intelligence for mass production, purchase the contract outright to study the Hephaestus designs...just to name a few. Or perhaps, do they not own the robot and simply agreed to renting it out until the contract ends? Keep in mind as you consider these questions: Property robots are treated as tools, and they're gonna get marginalized and used. HELIX is likely going to go through memory wipes to remove critical station intel, and the hoops to jump through to become an IPC is a harrowing experience. It's a dim, distant hope for property units to gain even a semblance of freedom. It would be much easier to scrap HELIX. Give me a good explanation from all sides on how HELIX lucked out of this - the kindness of another station unit and her creator isn't enough to jump through these hurdles.

IPCs with TV heads should give 1 tile of low light. Something weaker than a PDA. Thoughts?

Just a question: Why the HECK would you stomp on a mouse?! Has anyone actually done that IRL? They're bigger than a roach, and if you stomp on it, it'll go 'squiish-crrrunch' Just sic Runtime on em. (or shoo em away, seriously)

Linville places the lantern into the water, followed by Harmony. After that, others come forward and place lanterns as well.