Kaizr

BYOND Key: Kaizr Character Names: Salitia Mary, Valeria, IAC-Darwin, Vu Diem Hoa (Only characters I actively play at the moment, I have plenty of older ones that I felt weren’t worth mentioning.) Species you are applying to play: Tajara What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Silvery-White Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes 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: For many reasons, I felt that the Tajara would be a good step in expanding my role-playing abilities as the history of Tajara is deeply rooted in every character. Unique political and socioeconomic backgrounds offer a robust selection of options for a player to choose from and plenty of information to allow for deep and meaningful character interactions. For a long time, I was planning to apply for Unathi, but friends of mine who play Tajara piqued my interest in the lore. Despite my initial fears of applying, I have found the lore wikis informative and easy to grasp, making the backstory writing process easy and entertaining. By applying for this whitelist, I hope that I will be able to expand my horizons in terms of future roleplay and further my narrative writing skills through that. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Mechanically, the Tajaran species boasts many nuances and differences between humans. While supporting one of the fastest run speeds out of all races, they also can see in the dark unassisted. Of course, not all of the differences are good. The average Tajara is much weaker due to their lithe, thin build (circa Zhan-Khazan Tajara). From a roleplay perspective, Tajara differs significantly from humanity. The Tajaran people come from a planet that has been engulfed in war and conflict for nearly 60 years, tens of millions dying in the brutal conflicts. Adhomai has gone from a united world under the banner of the Peoples Republic of Adhomai after the first revolution, only to be engulfed in another decade of war a few years later during the second. Adhomai’s unique backstory opens up a slew of intricate character arcs and personalities for those playing Tajara, from jaded veterans of the conflicts to the many civilians displaced by the brutal fighting. As a Tajaran player, it is expected that you incorporate Adhomai’s troubled past of noble rule and war into the character in addition to the politics of the cold war. Politics also play a heavy role in Tajaran culture and subsequently the roleplay based on it. Despite being lightyears away, Tajara across the galaxy are still faced with the harsh reality of Adhomian politics. Character Name: Sahi Khazka Please provide a short backstory for this character Sahi Khazka was born an only child in the wake of the first revolution on November 9th, 2443, to a loving M’sai family living in a small fishing village a mere 10 kilometers north of Bar’jar. At the time, the sheer destruction that the 11-year conflict wrought still weighing heavily on the Tajaran people. Despite her family’s efforts to remain away from the fallout of the war, Adhomai was under the iron rule of the newly formed People’s Republic of Adhomai. Despite her family living in relative poverty compared to the average Tajara, the first few years of her life, she was blissfully unaware of the reality of the Hadiist regime, far too young to understand it. Much of her childhood was spent in homeschooling by her mother while her father worked. Her father was a former cartographer from Bar’jar, turned fisherman, while her mother lived a far more modest life as a barmaid in Kaltir. Despite her parents both following the Ma'ta'ke Pantheon they opted not to push the religion onto her, deciding that letting her choose would be the best option. They met in the final years of the first revolution only a few months before the fall of The Kingdom of Kaltir at the age of 19 and 18, respectively. After a few months of careful consideration, her parents agreed to move out of the city. This mixture of urban and rural culture introduced her to a wide array of nuances and differences between the two, sparking what would eventually form her love for culturalism and linguistics. Unfortunately, this barrier between childhood innocence and reality was shattered when she was only 7 with the advent of the second revolution. The sight and sound of warships leaving Bar’jar interspersed with the distant clatter of gunfire and thunderous booms of artillery became an everyday occurrence. All of this owing to the sheer intensity of the fighting happening not too far from home. Not even a month later, a group of sharply dressed men donning military garb entered the town, requesting one physically able male from every household. At first, Sahi was unaware of their intention, simply ushered into another room by her parents. This sudden action left her confused and worried for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was only 15 minutes… Her father’s conscription weighed heavily on Sahi, suddenly being without that presence at such a young age taking a toll on her emotionally. She had little more than an hour to come to terms with it before being forced to watch her father be carted away in a carriage. His promise was of little comfort, its validity coming into question as the days went by. One day became two, and two became three, three became a week, a week a month, and a month a year, and so on. The lack of infrastructure made news of the war sparse and often outdated. As the revolution entered its first year and the news of Rhagrrhuzau Hadii’s assassination reached her home, there was little hope that her father would return anytime soon. Sahi could at least feel at ease, knowing that the man who stole her father away from her was gone. The lack of a father figure left her mother alone to earn a living wage and finish Sahi’s homeschooling. And in all, this left Sahi with minimal free time, being all too young to take up any form of work offered in the town. With this free time, she became more involved in her studies, distracting her from the rather depressing reality she was facing. She jumped from one subject to another, purchasing what little books she could afford on topics varying from geography to the sciences. Eventually, however, she fell back on that same topic, linguistics and Tajaran culture. It was also at this point where she delved into the Ma'ta'ke and S'rand'marr faiths, studying both of them with a particular interest. The prospect of religion was interesting to her in the ways it applied to society as a whole, and being unbound by her own faith she enjoyed looking at the two faiths from an unbiased point of view. At a young age, she paid little mind to the subtle nuances of how people spoke, only taking note when all she had left to do was stare through a window at the town. Faint memories of the slight differences between the Nal'rasan her parents spoke continued to fuel her interest. The terminology and slang used by her father compared to the more straightforward and modern speech patterns of her mother growing more apparent as she grew older. Pairing this with the unique culture of the Ahmodan immigrants who her father worked closely with in the fishing business exposed her to many cultures and people throughout her lifetime. It seemed fascinating, and it was the break she had been looking for from the monotony of life during wartime. Years passed uneventfully as the distant sounds of war grew quieter and memories of her father and childhood faded. The only thing that reminded her he was still out there being the occasional letter. To keep her attention away from the war, as the front began to form and the rebels transitioned into a real army, she started going about the town more frequently. When her mother wasn’t asking her to help keep the house in order or practice mathematics, she took to the streets. Sahi found herself engrossed by the various cultures and the small oddities they offered, though she could not do any more than observe from a distance. The thought of her father still weighed heavily on her, her studies being the only thing keeping her afloat in tandem with her mother’s support. Finally, at 15, as the revolution had turned in favor of the Republican Army, the letters suddenly stopped coming. Fear overtook Sahi and her mother, the thought of losing him looming overhead despite their efforts to remain hopeful. This fear almost became a reality when a single letter appeared on their doorstep, the Kingdom’s seal holding it closed. It read… “His Majesty and Field-Marshal Rrhazhal Zarkradar'Akhan of the Imperial Army desire him to express their deepest regrets that your husband, Lance Corporal Rrazul Khazka, has been wounded in action and transported to the Kaltir Military Hospital on February 3rd, 2458.” There was a mixture of fear and relief clouding her mind with this news for Sahi. Relieved that her father was alive but equally worried about the extend of his injuries. With what little money the family could muster, they paid for a ride to Kaltir via carriage. The journey was more of a blur than anything to speak about, the harsh winds of an ending winter making it somewhat uncomfortable, to put it simply. They arrived some four days later, passing through town after town, the pair found themselves in Kaltir. It was the first time she had ever really left “home”, and despite the nature of the visit, she found herself dumbfounded by the grand city. Technology on a level she never thought possible, cars, factories, and even aircraft. This wonderment was short-lived; however, upon showing up to the hospital, the severity of the situation was apparent. Sahi’s father was in a week but stable condition. The majority of his left leg had been blown clean off from the lower thigh down, bloodied bandages tightly woven around it. It was an emotional moment for her and her family, having not seen or spoken to her father in eight years, after what felt like hours of reunion, her father recounting stories of heroism and comradery during his service. But, not all was well. The financial repercussions of his injury became more apparent as time passed. While the Imperial Army would cover his initial treatment, the burden of replacing his missing leg and long-term care was well beyond what her family could afford. Sahi and her mother were only able to stay in the city for a few days before they were unable to stay, the cost of renting a ratty inn on the money they brought being too much. A month passed before yet another letter arrived informing them that her father would be returning home due to his injury. In all, it was a bittersweet victory. Sahi’s family was back together but at a high cost, the debt of his treatment standing at just shy of 10,000 credits. The dilemma was worsened because he needed someone at home to care for him, unable to engage in most activities without assistance. Sahi was left the only member of the family able to work, as her mother was now required to stay home most of the day. And thus, Sahi was forced into working at only 16, managing to find a courier job for a local newspaper. It was very low-paying, pushing her to adopt a second job on top of her morning delivery route, eventually securing a job through her father’s connection to the local fishing companies. Sahi found herself pulling carts of clams and other seafood from the ships to the market daily. She was sure that this was going to be the rest of her life, finding little time to continue her studies, let alone spend time with her parents. Sahi continued this work style until the end of the war, three years later. Of which she and many other Tajara in the now officially recognized New Kingdom of Adhomai celebrated the Armistice of Shastar. The conflict that had driven a wedge in her family and life was finally over, bringing a little joy to the overworked and tired Sahi. A few days passed by, Sahi cherishing the short time she could afford to take off work. During this time, Sahi bartered with one of the fishermen she found herself working for, offering to work more hours in exchange for a ride to Bar’jar. The word was out that computers and something coined the “extranet” had made its debut in the larger cities, a few making their way into public libraries for free use. Sahi’s interests were not set on entertainment or curiosity, but an extranet site coined “WorkDay” by its founders. She knew little about the site other than that it could easily connect her with employers offering better-paying jobs. What do you like about this character? Sahi Khazka is an average NKA commoner, which isn’t as common as unlanded nobles on the station (from what I have observed). Alongside this, I don’t believe I have seen many Tajara who work in the service department outside of the kitchen and bar, let alone have interests in the fields of linguistics and culturalism. I plan to use the background (debts and past experiences) to create unique and interesting character interactions and set in-character goals. Paying to support your parent’s living and medical bills alongside yourself is not an easy task! How would you rate your role-playing ability? On a scale from 1-10, I would rate myself a 7. While I am confident in my roleplaying capabilities and expressing emotions through speech, I am heavily outclassed by others, primarily in expression through action. Notes Parts that are hidden by spoilers are still part of the backstory, just hidden behind those to allow for a more condensed look! Did I go overboard on the backstory? Probably. Do I regret it? Kind of. However, on a more serious note, I had to wing a good bit of this story and fill in a few blanks where I couldn't find information in the lore! I hope that this won’t cause any issues with the application process. As a final side note, I am aware I did slightly rush the backstory as I wanted to cut it off there to avoid turning it into a novel. This may have led to a general lack of cohesiveness throughout it, and I believe the cause of that is my sub-par creative writing skills and slightly rushed work.

The majority of their protest came from the fact that it was not their original tasking to handle the work and operations of other staff members (general practitioners, physicians, specialists). And, in doing so it ran the risk of inhibiting their ability to carry out said original tasking as a general practitioner, which was mostly notably working as a diagnostician and providing referrals (to hospitals, specialist, and treatment types). Much of their social interactions were derivatives from an attempt to emulate human societal norms to better fit into the workplace, which in turn held the chance of increasing productivity and overall allow the staff to feel more comfortable while working with an IPC. However, as they continued to develop these 'friendships', which originally held little actual value to the shell other than their possible benefits and opportunities they opened to further passively intake data about organic behavior. Maybe fondness wasn't the best word but I'll keep it nonetheless. Valeria grew close to Mayke for a variety of reasons. Not only had they been stuck in an insolated location with them for a prolonged period of time but they were also Valeria's best bet for self-preservation. And the last thing Valeria would want to do is isolate themselves further and greaten the risk destruction. So, this fondness developed further as this was one of the few times in Valeria's lifetime where the only thing there was to do was observe organic behavior and learn from it. Which, when first invited by Mayke to engage with the group, whether it be basic conversation, or storytelling, Valeria saw this as a friendly gesture from Mayke that should be returned. These offered a form of stimuli for the positronic brain that had not yet been thoroughly discovered or experience. Though unable to decipher exactly what it was but it provided the IPC a form of 'peace of mind', an assurance that the group and herself would survive the conflict. Which, all in all is something Valeria wanted to experience more of. As I touched on above, they introduced Valeria to various social bonds that organics develop when around one another often, and introduced her to what they didn't quite understand was the closest thing to real friendship they had ever experienced. This is something that Valeria would be left to consider and build on when not working after their departure. Despite doing their absolute best to stay connected with the group as an attempt to stay close, the months of separation causing one after another to slowly fade away. And eventually, no longer responding to the rather flat, straightforward emails that Valeria wrote, asking simple questions such as how they were, what they've been up to and similar things. With each person they fell out of touch with, the IPC would experience a renewed sense of confusion and 'sadness', something that they would grow to understand in a basic context. "Something bad has happened, I do not like this thing, this thing causes me some form of distress." I see where you're coming from, a lot of their reactions are admittedly too human for what is expected and I understand how that is very problematic. If I were to chalk this up to two things it would be her original programming, they were made to emulate a friendly out-going individual that patients feel they could trust, even if they didn't understand the meaning of anything they were saying in their first few months of work. Alongside this I believe the majority of their understanding came from witnessing it first hand in an insolated environment. Much similar to how a toddler picks up on meaning and emotions by watching their parents. And, when humans are cooped up with no where else to go for weeks on end they tend to become very close, which opened the path for Valeria to directly interact with it in a somewhat meaningful manner. (Being able to influence these, and maybe unintentionally develop their own.) This of course would drastically change had they been a human because a human would understand the meaning behind all of this. A human knows when they are sad, angry, overjoyed, worried from a very young age, and often have a deep understanding of why they feel this way. But, this does not excuse my poor wording and story writing abilities. I admit that the final portions of this story were somewhat rushed as I had been working for an extended period of time and was doing my best to find a somewhat swift conclusion to the story. All in all, I hope I answered these questions well enough, but I understand if these infractions are grounds for denial as they are quite serious due to the nature of IPCs and the limit of how human they can be. I'd also like to apologize if any of these answers are difficult to understand or outright wrong, I did my best to make a logical, well orchestrated answer but I am notoriously bad at things such as that.

Of course! Aside from having various mechanical differences (hardware and various capabilities that humans would not have) you are also expected to represent an AI that is built to emulate organic interaction and culture to the best of it's ability. A lot of IPCs will often speak in a very polite, and straightforward manner, often not utilizing contractions such as "I'm" and "Doesn't". This of course does not apply to all IPCs as depending on the backstory of the character or the age of the brain itself they may act more or less organic. And, no matter how much data and time the positronic has at it's disposal it will of course, never perfectly emulate organic social behavior. Alongside this, self preservation takes the highest priority for an IPC and the player should always take that into account while pairing this with the analytical and binary thought process of an AI. Hopefully this is enough! I could try to go into more detail but I might be repeating myself at this point. (Really sorry how long it took to get back to you on this by the way.)

Just a little addition to the origin story, I couldn't get a hold of any Elyran lore writers at the time and the lore around who exactly produces Elyran synthetics, whether that be Elyran companies or megacorps (or both) was a bit fuzzy.

BYOND Key: Kaizr Character Names: Malia Deimos (Roboticist), Salitia Mary (EPMC CSI), Diamond (Android). Species you are applying to play: IPC What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Elyran Wasat IPC Shell Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes, I have thoroughly read the lore. 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: Besides the obvious affinity most people have with being able to stand out and be unique I have a myriad of reasons for wanting to play this race. The most outstanding reason is my fascination with the IPC lore which is extremely unique and dynamic in its application in roleplay. There are so many different ways you can look at it and generate fun and engaging stories for characters and roleplay as a whole. And, this interest has grown more and more as I got to further interact with IPC characters and see all of the unique personalities, background and designs that people have masterfully crafted, no two IPCs are the same, whether they be shells, industrial models or baselines. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Roleplaying an IPC character comes with a plethora of interesting mechanics which open up the possibility for all sorts of different characters. There are so many ways someone can take the character and the way they interact with the world around them, from playing a cold and calculative frame who only aim is to serve their owner; to a shell doing their best to be as human as possible, or even try to hide their true nature outright all to fit into a world that has undoubtedly wronged them. Character Name: Valeria Please provide a short backstory for this character: Valeria, originally commissioned by Nasir Pharmaceuticals, a small pharmaceutical company situated in Ashkhaimi on Perispolis and owned by the late Nasir al-Farid, an Elyran entrepreneur and retired neurosurgeon. She was commissioned from Zadar Robotics on December 9th, 2457 for the modest price of 543,000 credits. The production of the shell that would soon be Valeria began on the 17th in Uthma on a small government subsidized production line. Upon completion, she was serialized as Zadar Integrated Positronic Chassis 0111001437 and shipped out to Ashkhaimi on the 24th. And, finally, after nearly a week of jumping from delivery location to delivery location arrived at the headquarters of Nasir Pharmaceuticals and assigned as one of three general practitioners at a company-owned clinic in Ashkhaimi. She would quickly become respected among the staff and her patients, and to some, their preferred medical care professional for her accuracy and her light-hearted, friendly demeanor which was a subject of her programming and exposure to organic behavior. The next couple months would pass by without conflict or significant events, much of it swamped with unending work for the still rather young shell, a select few of her colleagues realizing how they could discretely push their work onto her shoulders despite her protest. Nonetheless, she held a stable workplace relationship with her colleagues, though considered few actual friends. This, however, all changed when the need for trained medical personnel skyrocketed during the Lii’dra incursion. Nasir al-Farid saw the possible profit and public relations boost if he volunteered a willing portion of his medical staff to aid the relief efforts and operate in backline hospitals, and Valeria was one of them. Within a few days, on August 29th, 2458 she found herself, alongside 27 other doctors, surgeons, and physicians, being shipped off to Bursa aboard the EMV Najjad, a small hospital ship. Upon her arrival, she was assigned as a physician to a moderately sized surgical center situated on the edge of New Cairo. It was in this nearly two-year-long tenure that Valeria was able to bear witness to the horrors of war, seeing hundreds of patients in her tenure, varying from the mortally wounded soldiers to those unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire. This is where she developed a deep-seated disliking for most Vaurca; her self-preservation protocols determining that any one of them could pose a significant threat to her existence based on the sheer brutality of Lii’dra forces. And this mindset continues to this day in the form of showing notable discomfort around Vaurca, choosing to avoid them when possible. Nonetheless, she continued her work in the surgical center up until the advent of the Lii’dra deployment of biological weaponry on New Cairo, forcing a majority of the staff to hastily evacuate. This left Valeria alongside four other doctors stranded in the exclusion zone due to the sheer chaos of the evacuation and subsequent lockdown, and where for the next 2 months she and the staff remained hidden away in a small cafeteria storeroom in the basement. It was in this time that Valeria began to really take in the concept of ‘friendship’ as those trapped within the storeroom developed a strong comradery, which Valeria took great interest in observing. After around two weeks of remaining in the storeroom, she began to ease into the group they had developed whilst in captivity, becoming particularly fond of a female surgeon by the name of Mayke Bayat. Mayke would have a notably large impact on Valeria’s overall view of life, introducing many concepts and oddities that no amount of programming could teach an IPC to properly understand. Two weeks turned to three, and then four, five, and six before the word had spread that those trapped in New Cairo would be freed, with the cardox bombing occurring not long after the word had reached them. And, after nearly two months of living in a humid, dirty storeroom the group of five emerged and were evacuated shortly afterward. Valeria, Mayke, and the remaining personnel remained planetside for three more days before finally boarding a shuttle to return to Perispolis and to the clinic where it had all began. Much to the shock of the group they had long since been replaced, presumed dead by Nasir Pharmaceuticals. While for Valeria this simply meant reassignment, for the Mayke and the three other doctors she had grown close to, their employment had since been terminated with little chance of reemployment. Despite protest among some of the staff present the choice had already been made. And, with a heavy heart and final goodbyes, four left. For the first time in Valeria’s relatively short life, she had experienced a feeling she couldn’t quite comprehend fully. Was it an issue with her software? Or possibly a hardware malfunction? After a short moment, the realization dawned upon the unit, they were sad. To be unhappy, or in this case sad, was not something most would think of when it comes to an IPC. Why would someone create an AI that can feel sorrow when their ultimate goal was to serve their creators? These sorts of thoughts raced through her processing unit. In all of her time, through all of her experiences, she had never felt sadness. Why do they have to leave? They aren’t considered nearly as expendable as she is, right? This plagued the shell for the remainder of her employment with Nasir Pharmaceuticals as a standard physician, which extended far past January 1st, 2461, the date she officially was granted Elyran citizenship and was considered a free IPC. Finally, after four more months of employment with the company as a free IPC, she ended her employment with them, closing the first chapter of her life and opening the next. Valeria sought out alternative employment later on, now residing in a reasonably sized condo in Ashkhaimi, leading what most would consider a decent life. The loss of one of the few people who seemingly understood and considered her a friend still remained deeply engrained in her memory database, the ‘emotion’ she experienced was something that greatly interested the unit, something she wished to learn more about. Though her programming opened up a notable amount of job opportunities she willingly avoided the majority of them, seeking something that would allow her to further indulge herself in organic culture from all across the galaxy. Something that would allow her to better understand what other ‘emotions’ were. And, after weeks of searching and a slowly dwindling bank account, she found a position that met all the parameters she found adequate, employment on a Nanotrasen station by the name of the Aurora. Assessing the risk of her citizenship not applying within Biesel she deemed it negligible and with that, she began her employment with Nanotrasen as a physician on the NSS Aurora. What do you like about this character? Being a relatively young IPC, originally programmed to be an efficient, hardworking unit that’s personality resembled that of a young, upbeat lady and still has much to learn about organic culture and society opens up a lot of interesting paths for RP. And of course one could say I am just praising my own creation, which is true, everyone does it, but that doesn’t mean my point is devoid of meaning. I think it will be a unique and interesting experience that will help me develop my own roleplaying abilities and hopefully provide a fun and interesting character for others to interact with. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Overall I’d rate my roleplaying abilities a 6.5-7/10, I do my best to convey emotion through speech and emotes but I could definitely improve in both fields. Hopefully, with the opportunity to play a more unique character in an HRP environment I’ll be able to further develop the quality of my roleplay. Notes: Please note that this is the first whitelist application I’ve ever written for an SS13 server so there are probably a lot of glaring issues! I’ll do my utmost best to answer as many questions as possible and change every aspect of the story to fit the requirements if need be, but I do ask that you bear with me on some fronts. (I apologize if the story is edgy or Mary Sue-ish, I tried my best to make it interesting and unique without doing that!)