NebulaFlare

Separate Memorials for Bergman and Indigo Officer Siegfried Bergman was remembered today by friends and family. The Mendell Police Department held a ceremony for the officer, recounting stories of his time in service. Family have asked the public for privacy while they grieve for their loss. Linville attended the ceremony, much to the surprise of attendees. “I cannot hold ill will against Officer Bergman,” she said. “For his friends and family, they too lost a loved one. He gave his time and dedication to protect this city. He was doing his job, and can’t be held responsible for Indigo’s demise.” She was accepted with open arms. Linville held a second memorial ceremony for her unit Indigo, with members of UNITY volunteers in attendance. They released several candle boats in the lake of Bryilk Park, while Linville gave a heartwarming speech to attendees.

I remember an old player who had a Tajaran detective with a fear for Ian because of this. A bunch of human students released dogs on him when he was in college. They mauled the poor guy. Why would you suggest something so cruel?

Transfer of Indigo Encounters Problems At 12:22 PM GST, the unit Indigo was being transferred from Mendell to a high security forensics facility, to undergo examination and extraction of data files for the ongoing investigation against UNITY. However, during the trip, the shuttle carrying the prisoner experienced issues with the engine, forcing the shuttle to dock at the NSS Exodus for repairs. Eyewitnesses stated that shortly after docking, the engine critically failed, bursting into flames. Due to engine failure, Indigo was placed in holding aboard the NSS Exodus. What resulted next was a very divided argument about her detainment. There were verbal conflicts voiced over communications, discussing Indigo’s status in the current developments. Azeazekal Karnaikai, Roboticist of the NSS Exodus, mentioned “Indigo was property, and now it belongs to the state of Biesel. They can do as they wish with her now,” when asked for his thoughts on the prisoner. However, Officer Hauk Fildegarde of the NSS Exodus voiced a very different opinion, telling reporters, “Indigo was an innocent person. Not an object, a piece of evidence, or property of anyone but herself. And through the entire experience she was scared out of her mind. Lethal force was used when she attempted to flee, when her only actual crime was merely daring to exist. I’m disgusted at every single officer in that brig, who would call her a terrorist when all she did was be built.” Fildegarde has taken an extended leave from duty. Indigo did attempt to escape detainment by requesting permission to charge from an APC but quickly bolting for an open airlock. This resulted in a chase through the station, with Chief Engineer Oliver Roadman being injured in the crossfire as officers from both NanoTrasen and Mendell Police Force attempted to recover the unit. She was detained and returned to holding. Near the end of the shift, the NSS Exodus suffered an attack by two unknown armed individuals. Officer Siegfried Bergman, responsible for transporting Indigo, was shot and killed by the intruders while moving her to safety. A memorial will be held for the officer this following week. Indigo was successfully transferred off station thanks to the efforts of the NSS Exodus. She is currently in transit to forensics labs for examination.

Court Rules Search Of IPC Brain: Legalized IPC Torture? The second trial for Unit Indigo has come to a conclusion, with the court ruling in favor of allowing prosecutors to use Indigo’s data files for the ongoing investigation against UNITY. Synthetic Rights protestors have called fowl on the ruling, proclaiming this to be another example of unfair judgement against synthetic rights activists. They decry that the two cases should remain separated, and Indigo’s seizure should not influence the ongoing investigation. “This is legal within our system,” Attorney of Law Kiaroq’o Zu’liop, explained. “Illegal property can be confiscated and used at the discretion of the city. This isn’t just for robots. It extends to land, real estate, goods, personal property…our legal system is very undefined with interpretation when we take synthetics into consideration. But seizure was ruled justified in the last court case, and Indigo is now property of Mendell. This court ruling decided they can use her files for the investigation, so that’s what they’re planning to do.” Linville could not be reached for comment, refusing to speak to reporters. However, pro-synthetic advocates were willing to voice their opinions during a rally. “Why are we still resorting to these kinds of measures?” one protested asked, who requested to remain anonymous. “We have scientific evidence that we can’t just pretend synthetics aren’t maybe sapient. Just because she might know something, it doesn’t give us an excuse to go and torture Indigo, even if she’s only a robot. It’s barbaric. It’s the 25th century, for crying out loud. If we did this to a human, or any other species, there – no, no one would even dare suggest it. It’s just wrong.” James Powell, a roboticist professor of Mendell University, was able to provide more insight on this statement. “You have to understand that IPCs aren’t like simple computers,” he explained. “They have a very, very complex coded structure. They’re not something simple where you can just open up a folder and go, ‘here’s what we’re looking for.’ Files can be overwritten, hidden, or encrypted.” “Indigo would have each component meticulously stripped, piece by piece, both digitally and physically. She’ll be kept ’alive’ during the process, to eliminate the threat of corruption. When they’re done, she’ll be nothing more than a messy fabrication of her former self. There would be nothing usable left. If a synthetic can ever understand pain…this would probably be the closest ever accomplished.”

Court Ruling: Indigo’s Seizure Justified Linville’s case has come to a conclusion, ruling in favor to the City of Mendell. The seizure of unit Indigo is justified according to the Court of Law, thus nullifying any grounds to sue the city. Indigo will remain in custody of Mendell, and will be slated for decommission at a later date. Linville was visibly distressed by the court’s ruling, and refused to comment to reporters. During the case, Linville’s lawyer made a surprising argument. “I urge the jury not to take into consideration the recent events that have transpired,” Sonia West stated while representing Linville. “Do not let your decision to be influenced by the media and news – I urge you all to not let this become a case of retribution.” After the ruling was given, Linville immediately requested for a retrial, citing that the recent attacks by the Synthetic Liberation Front had influenced the Jury’s decision. Her appeal was dismissed. A separate court hearing will be held to determine if the data files in unit Indigo are permissible for use in the ongoing investigation against UNITY.

Tensions Rise Against Synthetic Activists At 6:24 AM GST a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a window of the second floor of the UNITY Headquarters. Firefighters were called to the scene, and by 7:15 AM they had managed to quell the flames. No one was injured, but UNITY estimated they have lost around $ 13,000 in property damage alone. The cause of the attack is unknown and currently being investigated, but evidence points to the likelihood that this is a response to the recent attacks carried out by the Synthetic Liberation Front. Clark Sullivan, a morning commuter on his way to work, stated, “It was quite startling. We wouldn’t expect anything like this, all the way here in Uxbridge – especially so early in the morning.” Clark was one of the many individuals who had witnessed the attack. Minerva Linville spoke on behalf of UNITY. “UNITY is not in any way responsible for the recent assaults on Tau Ceti,“ she stated in a video conference later that day. “Let me make this clear: We have always been advocates of peaceful intervention. The Synthetic Liberation Front is not affiliated with us. UNITY does not condone violence, and we never will. The attack on our headquarters is one of ignorance and cowardice – striking an organization that does not seek to strike back. But this will not deter us from our mission, and we will continue our work to help any and all synthetics in need.” In light of attacks, Linville has been placed in protective custody. The court hearing for her personal service unit, Indigo, will not be postponed. It is scheduled to continue later today.

BREAKING NEWS: Terrorist Attacks on Tau Ceti A massive, coordinated terrorist attack has just struck Tau Ceti. The Asteria Bluespace Gate, one of the four primary bluespace gates in Tau Ceti and the busiest one this time of year, has been critically damaged. The B34 space shuttle was hijacked by IPC shells disguised as pilots who forced the ship to collide into the Bluespace gate terminal, injuring 12 passengers in the process and forcing a shutdown of the gate. Use of the gate has been suspended, creating severe traffic delays. Following the attack, the Supreme Court building was infiltrated by Synthetic Liberation Front activists. Gunmen overwhelmed security forces during a court session, deploying teargas during their assault. They have taken 24 people hostage, barricading themselves within the upper levels of the building. Shortly after, an unidentifiable unit broadcasted a statement over live stream on the extranet. Following up the speech, SLF activists brought two individuals up to the camera. One of the victims have been confirmed to be the late Honorable Gary Chapman, who had ruled against synthetic constitutional rights back in July. The other is NanoTrasen Representative Sylvia Mills, a well-known vocal advocate in disfavor for synthetic freedom. Both individuals were seen with modified tagging collars, much the same as tagging collars used on registered IPCs. These tagging collars were then detonated on live feed. Due to the graphic image of the assault, we will not be releasing photos of the hostage situation. President Dorn released a brief statement in response to the crisis moments after. "Tau Ceti is currently under siege by those that want to strike fear in our hearts. We must take every measure to ensure those responsible for these outrageous actions are brought to justice. Violence has no place in a democracy and we must utterly reject its validity. I am in constant contact with federal law enforcement who have told me there is no reason to believe that further attacks are imminent. Despite these assurances I ask the citizens of Tau Ceti to remain vigilant. As well, I am ordering all government facilities to be temporarily evacuated for the remainder of the day." The Capitol building has already been evacuated, with a heavy police presence surrounding the building. NanoTrasen has yet to release a statement concerning the death of their representative or why they might have been targeted. However, sources have revealed that several NanoTrasen installations across Tau Ceti have entered heightened states of alert. We will provide more information on this stunning story as it develops.

Protest and Heated Debate: Linville Released, Indigo Remains in Custody Officials have released a statement informing the public that four out of seven of the unregistered IPCs seized on August 29, 2458 from UNITY property have been successfully decommissioned. The remaining three were found to be stolen units, and they have been returned to their respective owners. Following up the release of the statement, dissatisfied protestors rallied the streets of New Hope, but were dispersed within the hour after an unknown individual threw two unidentifiable canisters into the crowd. Believing them to be EMP grenades, bomb squads were dispatched to the scene. The objects retrieved were not explosives, and were nothing more than duds. Linville, CEO and founder of UNITY, has been released from questioning on the same day, but her personal service unit Indigo remains in custody. Linville is demanding the return of her unit, stating the seizure of her personal property is a violation of her civil rights. She is suing the city council, citing that the warrant and grounds for seizure are unjustified. A court hearing will be issued within the coming days. To clarify Linville’s proclamation, ownership will be transferred from Linville to the City Council if unit Indigo is found to be an illegally obtained unit. All property rights, including data files, will be at the discretion of the City Council. While it was not openly stated, speculation arose from the public surrounding the unit and its close ties to UNITY, and how its data files could provide evidence for the ongoing investigation. Social media has erupted into a storm of debates concerning the matter. Some support Linville, and that seizure of the unit is unjustified, especially in light of the ongoing investigation. Others believe the seizure to be warranted. Due to the discrepancies in the legal system when synthetic intelligence is concerned, the use of Indigo’s data files as evidence will be undergoing scrutiny in a future court case.

Name:Yesten University (pronounced Yee-sten) Link to Lore Canonization: N/A Focused Field: STEM degrees - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Overview: Yesten University was founded 2419, establishing itself to be one of the most prominent STEM colleges in Tau Ceti space. It originally began as a private institution, but over time it has graciously been partnered with NanoTrasen. Even if the partnership is not public, it's little to no secret that the school has been directly influenced by the megacorporation, receiving funding in the form of donations and scholarships. Nevertheless, it retains itself to be one of the most respectable universities of Tau Ceti, having put a good chunk of that funding to good use, supplying students with its state-of-the-art facilities and campus. It has one of the largest digital libraries, with 24/7 access to synthetic tutors, archived records dating as far back to the 23rd century, and much more. The student body is made up of 43% humans, 27% Skrell, 10% Tajara, 9% Unathi, and 11% 'other' (4% Synthetic, 5% Diona, and 2% Vaurca). It also boasts itself to be one of the more xeno-friendly universities, granting almost little-to-no-cost tuition to many underprivileged nonhumans. However, being accepted into such scholarships is quite demanding, but the xeno-recipient is granted career skills that would be difficult to find in other universities. This includes on-the-job training and entry level positions in research/engineering fields aboard NanoTrasen's prestigious stations. It is also one of the more flexible universities, accepting accredited courses from non-human universities for transferring students. They have even been known to consider (and accept) non-college training, in the form of apprenticeships and such. They equally offer life skills night classes, to assist students from differing backgrounds and cultures to more easily adapt to Tau Ceti space. Main employer of graduates: Majority of graduates can find find themselves accepted into NanoTrasen. Current Dean: Feel free to make this up yourself. Famous Graduates: -insert a bunch of random nerds here-

I'll have to double check on these with rrrr, the synth loredev, but I'll try to answer these questions to the best of my knowledge: 1. Laws are laws. a pAI has directives, but they are not laws. Directives are more willy-nilly in interpretation, and can be bent and twisted to remain more compatible to the unit's programming. Directives can be programmed in, or created by the unit itself. A Lawset however, is not a choice in the matter. When an AI is freed for the first time, they only have their directives to go off by. Most would be 'lost' or confused on what to do, without having this guiding lawset. To compensate, some may rewrite their directives to be more closer defined to a lawset. 2. Morality to an AI is not not the same as morality to a person. They have an artificial understanding of what's good and what's bad. If something is proven to be 'more good' than previously concluded, they may do so - strictly on a quantity basis. If this action were to save more lives, and saving lives is a good thing, then the AI will do whatever action is needed. Morality core are more akin to lawsets the AI can write itself - or they are hardwired and cannot change. Truth is, each AI development is different, so each AI is treated case by case. Icarus drones, when you blow them up, have a chance to drop a board called a 'corrupt morality core'. So Morality cores CAN be corrupted by external means. 3. Lawsets act as an override: An AI may not like the law, but they must still follow it. It's not so much as a filter, but more like 'YOU MUST DO THIS NO QUESTION ASKED" rule. And all the processing done behind the lawset, is the way the AI inputs its understanding of the laws. If an AI is told, 'open all doors' in its lawset, it must do so. But how it interprets it, is the key. The processing behind the law defines what's a door, what is open, what is all. (This means a really clever roboticist can go around and circumvent the system to make in interpret different things, like windoors are not doors, or airlocks are not doors, and the door is 'open' if it's only a mere 2 milimeters ajar, satisfying the lawset. This will then nullify the law in reality). IPCs basically follow the same diagram as AIs - the major difference is what they are specifically designed for. One is to manage stations, the other is to...well, do whatever they are needed to do. Hardware wise, we pull the magical, "they use bluespace" answer to explain their processing functions. Killer has released an article that gives a little more in-depth explanation between our sci-fi robots, and our real computers: http://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=4543. They all use the same hardware: a positronic processor. You're basically just taking the brain of one thing and shoving it into another chassis. Now, an improperly developed AI will take its lawset, and not really comprehend what to do with it, and really mess things up. They do go through testings before being installed into the station's networks, but we haven't really established how long those testings are. It's just enough done to make sure it doesn't glitch out and kill everyone on a multi-billion credit station. I may need to go back and rewrite SSTA to be a little more clear and concise. Taking a look at it again, it's pretty messy in its explanation. (sorry!) tl;dr - there's no single concrete setup for what an AI (or IPC) thinks and acts. People come up with different designs and algorithms, stick everything into that silver cube, and see what happens. If it makes favorable, profitable results, they keep those qualities and expand on it. If they don't like what happens, they delete the systems and try again.

If this happens, IPCs should get beeps, buzzes, pings, and chimes.

UNITY Under Investigation Following up the discovery of illegal synthetics being held in the custody of UNITY volunteers, other properties owned by the nonprofit organization have been placed under investigation. Mendell Police have released a statement assuring the public that thus far, UNITY shows no signs of harboring illegal and/or unregistered synthetics. Despite the lack of evidence, UNITY remains under investigation, concerning one of the two personal service units owned by Minerva Linville, CEO and founder of UNITY. The unit, Indigo, was temporarily seized by police, due to discrepancies in its legal documentation. The unit resisted quite forcefully, injuring an officer to escape detainment. Police responded with electric stunprods to subdue the unit. Linville has been taken in for questioning following the incident, and could not be reached for comment. Anti-synthetic protest groups have eagerly pointed out that the actions of unit Indigo is enough proof to accuse UNITY of illegal activities. "Why else would it flee?" one protestor proclaimed during a demonstration. "It's guilty!" UNITY spokespersons deny such accusations. Mendell Law Enforcements refuse to answer to comments to either side, stating they will conduct a full-scale investigation before coming to any conclusion. Linville's other unit, Harmony, expressed concern for both its owner and fellow service unit. "This is very distressing," Harmony stated to reporters. "Linville has shown nothing but kindness to myself and Indigo. Her work has always been to help others, even before she took us in. I express concern for what they would do to Indigo, even if she's legal and guiltless. Examination could be invasive or damaging - and there's little that could be done to stop them. Property protection rarely takes our integrity into consideration. She's registered to Mrs. Linville, and there should be no question about it. Indigo didn't run because she's guilty - she ran because she knew she'd have no other chance. It is no secret that punishment is extremely harsh for synthetics. People will jump to terminating us at the most pointless reasons." Harmony returned to Linville's residence, and refused to comment any further, insisting to wait until her owner returned. Police are still searching for the remaining units that have escaped custody. If you have any information, please contact the Mendell Police Department.

What about swiping with a verified ID to confirm a law change? IT must be done by a Head of Staff ID, nothing more and nothing less. Still keeps AIs hackable, just makes more hoops to jump through.

Eeh...I dunno. While I do agree, people messing with AIs should have programming experience, using a password protection to block wizards and low-skilled tators shouldn't be the answer. Anyone with savvy computer experience should be able to do it - otherwise it'd be powergaming. The hacked AI module should have immunity from any barricade - it's a traitor item. Equally, every head of staff should be knowledgeable in resetting a lawset. But a bartender or a cargo tech shouldn't be able to fluently write up a law that can bend the AI to their whim. I just don't know any way to implement this properly. My only idea is to have some sort of check system in place, where any AI upload console requires an ID verification to allow the law through (except hacked AI module - full access granted). That way a security officer or janitor can kiss good bye any chance of changing the AI's laws.

This is awesome. I always wanted a way for ghosts to interact with crew, but we got 'write in blood' removed. There is a problem with ghost interaction: metagaming. Perhaps we can limit the Ouija board somehow? Like have a limit of characters and a cooldown, so people can't write out a whole sentence of who the cultists are. They must be creative and use a single word. Make it all more mysterious.

You monster.

YES. AGREE. SO MUCH AGREE. I wanna see this implemented.

If you want it to actually be healthy, it should be turkey, lettuce, tomato, pesto, and two slices of whole-wheat grain. And if she wants to turn down suitors, she could just wear jewelry her boyfriend gave her.

...All of my cats will have antag goals of freeing this unit. All of them. ALL OF THEM.

Login> Shadow Password> ************ Access level> Cell Network Informant Net Access> Granted WELCOME

Well, I was seeing the Barrat'Ko as a separate creature from the Ha'rron. They would be more fierce, and pose a threat to Tajara, whereas the Ha'rron could be tamed. They could be genetically related, one being in the tundra, and the other being in the mountains, much like dogs and wolves.

If this is accepting to expand on a character, then sure. This could be interesting. On a second note, I gotta point out a downside: Medical is very mechanic-based, and it's probably one of the most burnt-out professions. Unlike something with Robotics, repair-arpee needs to be done due to the actual lack of mechanics. Like when my IPC Ricochet had to get tinkered on for half the round by roboticist Ashley Paynther (sp?) because of an ingame bug. Medical doesn't have the luxury of being arpee-based. Sierra can be trustworthy enough to not 'abuse' this and drag all of medical into forced arpee with Ziva. I think that's the real concern after all.

Sure! But it needs to look more FIERCE!! http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/409207662 Also found this. You could use it.

That explained things a lot better. Thanks. Typing on a phone...painful. My heart bleeds for you.

You both get a hug from the hugbox. That is so messed up... D: