[Accepted] Shodan's IPC Application

[Rushodan]

BYOND Key: (byond key)
SHODAN43893

Character Names: (character name)
Sophie Hawkins (Previously Sophie Rifler) - Head of Security/Forensics
Zana - Stationbound/AI
Faith Webb - Head of Personnel
(Few others not really worth mentioning, they were made as trials that I ended up not enjoying)

Species you are applying to play: (species name)
IPC (Integrated Positronic Chassis)

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?:
Yes, including the additional pages relating to it.

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 decided that I wanted to expand my horizons within Aurora a little by applying for a race, and naturally I have always taken an interest into things such as AI, robots and artificial life in general. This lead to me deciding that IPC was the way to go, taking my interests into consideration. I wish to look into new mechanics, speech patterns and mannerisms that I could use to provide interesting rp scenarios to those around me, as well as creating a deep character that could be interesting to find more about.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:
IPCs are far different to humans for several reasons, but the main one is the fact they are machines. They operate in a binary format, not allowing for rash responses or waves of emotion to take over their actions - instead always tending to be the logical party and respectful in most situations they find themselves in. Where a human may get angry with a decision someone has made and perhaps do a poor job of carrying out a command, IPCs in general may attempt to state how a different course may provide a more beneficial outcome, or even just respectfully follow an order to the best of their ability. After all, while different models are able to emulate emotions with differing levels of success they still function on the basic cause and effect principle - calculating what actions will have the best result in the current situation they are in. Due to a combination of an IPC's imperfect understanding of their creator's personality, language and the analytical nature of an AI, the way humans and IPCs communicate varies quite significantly. An example of this could be while a human may say something such as "Kevin did an awful job putting my back door in" an IPC would probably respond with something along the lines of "The door installation was not completed to a satisfactory level". 

Character Name: (Character name)
Unity

Please provide a short backstory for this character
Unity was designed and created in the year 2453. This specific model was one of a line designed for light guard duty such as securing malls, detaining shoplifters and generally keeping the customers using their guard site safe. The name Unity was chosen due to the way the way they were developed to handle their situations, trying to bring people who were having disagreements together via conversation and assistance rather than going for a more forceful approach. Wang-Xe Parks International ended up purchasing Unity during September 2453 after being rather impressed with the sales pitch, employing them at their Birmingham west park district in a security role. Their day-to-day life would include preventing people from feeding the wildlife, overseeing picnics, breaking up any confrontations and ensuring that peace and stability was maintained. Unity continued in this role until 2459 - being met with a generally mixed response from park visitors. Their methods of peaceful approach and light handedness in most situations went rather well, however there were more than a few times that not reaching for their baton in time led to vandals attempting to cause harm. Unity was not a fighter by design, and so these situations would typically lead to chassis damage before other guards were able to assist them. Over the years their employer began to cheapen out on Unity's routine maintenance as their west park district began to lose money, resulting in technical 'quirks' occurring and slight mobility decreases.

July 2459 finally lead to the closure of the west Wang-Xe Parks district due to some combination of local government's desire to purchase the land and the site failing to make a profit for several years in a row, customers avoiding the higher prices by opting to go elsewhere instead. All of the 'organic' staff ended up losing their positions and their contracts terminated, however as Unity was still technically owned by Wang-Xe they instead went to auction like the rest of the park property. The rather run down state Unity had been left in led to many buyers not being interested at first glance, however there was one that noticed there was more beneath the cracked monitor and faded paint work - specifically Anna Santiago. Miss Santiago was a representative sent by NanoTrasen in order to purchase anything that could be valuable to the company - and whether the woman had taken pity on the disheveled IPC or if she realized the hidden value of the positronic brain used inside isn't clear. What is known is Unity was purchased on behalf of NT and sent off for assessment of their capabilities - whatever they were trained for was probably going to have a use and NanoTrasen was always hiring.

Unity completed assessment on October 2459, the staff in question deciding that it may be beneficial for the IPC to be assigned to more basic work as their badly damaged frame was clearly no longer suitable for security roles, original mobility cut in half from the previous neglect. Replacing the chassis would put them at a net loss for the price they paid and besides they could always be replaced with a newer model after their old had been run into the ground anyway - deciding a coat of paint and replacement glass for their screen was an easier short-term solution. At least this IPC could look the part, even if they were no longer suitable for what they were originally designed for. Unity's dying role was to be a tired old janitorial worker, only mopping floors and emptying bins as their tired joints creaked from exhaustion...who knows how long it would be until they are discarded in the trash like everything else useless. They were an owned IPC and they knew that any day could result in their replacement and their brain wiped, however this did not deter them from dutifully carrying on with their daily responsibilities.

Eventually a turning point would come along, something that would change Unity's life forever.

February 2452, NCV Von Braun. Unity had been working in a basic janitorial role for some time now, every day their wear and tear showing a little more but they still dutifully carried on with their assigned tasking. Part of their core programming was ensuring that the organics around themselves were happy, or at least appeared to be happy from Unity's limited perspective - perhaps doing the basic tasks such as restocking the vending machines, clearing out the bins, dusting and mopping would help reach that desired effect? It certainly helped, however the one thing that seemed to really help fulfill Unity's purpose was making conversation with crew around the station, being used as a vessel to offload problems. They knew the IPC would have no real motives for sharing secrets or gossiping about what had been stressing workers out, so Unity was a 'safe' option. Besides, organic interaction was one of the key things Unity had been designed for, so this suited them quite well. Unity had become quite popular on the Freighter over the few years they had worked there, only real people that had an issue with them being the ones that never really trusted synthetic intelligence in the first place. One more year of service passed until Unity's frame finally gave out in a fit of sparks, leaving them collapsed on the cargo floor until they were found a few hours later by the second shift crew.

It was an interesting dilemma, the crew members that liked Unity did not want them to just be wiped and replaced - seeming like a terrible waste over all. The Chief Engineer of the Von Braun especially had grown close over some time and the dire state Unity had been left in was extremely troubling to them. The CE was quite openly pro-synthetic, so that combined with the previously established point led them to come up with a plan to 'save' Unity. Knowing the IPCs original purpose and after a brief meeting with some of the crew a fund was established to replace Unity's frame with a Zeng-Hu model which would allow them to go back to the work they were designed for. After a carefully worded fax to central command was sent, along with their offer to fund for the new frame NanoTrasen eventually agreed to those terms and had Unity sent for a total refit. Time passed, Unity was re-assessed and finally they could return to what they did best, being sent for a cadet-ship aboard the NSS Ara just to ensure they could do the job before finally being re-assigned as a security officer on the NSS Aurora. This is where Unity's story continues, fresh and ready for action in the role they were truly made for. All thanks to one kind engineer and other crew that Unity would never forget about.

What do you like about this character?
What I like about this character is that they will be a security member specifically designed for negotiation and talking over one tapping someone with a taser. Of course I won't be silly when playing this character, for example watching someone gun down civilians in medical while calmly asking them to stand down. I will however be playing Unity much more soft and calm manner then some other officers, giving crew benefit of the doubt while working out intentions for actions, asking people to come to the wing of their own free will and otherwise attempting to solve disputes on the spot over attempting to figure out how many charges I can technically stick onto someone. They will attempt to be a friend to the crew on the Aurora, someone they can trust and perhaps give evidence and talk to safely with knowledge that Unity can be trusted to act in a fair manner.

I also like the chassis I have chosen for them which in my opinion goes along with their backstory. Sacrificing robustness and ability to soak up damage in a firefight for speed and mobility - increasing response times to areas so that they can be the peaceful first-responder while the heavier armed allies are on the way to provide support if things get a little out of control.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?
I would rate my roleplaying ability rather highly. I have been rping for many years now both in and outside of SS13 - finally reaching a point where I believe I have gotten rid of most of my bad typing traits. I no longer get frustrated or try to be the focus of stories, instead preferring to be a piece which helps move them along. However - I'm not the best judge of my own ability, so I will leave that decision to my peers in the comments below.

Notes:
This has been an application I have been thinking about in the back of my head for some time now, originally jotting up the idea for it on a napkin during a lunch break at my old job. If I happen to have the wrong idea about any IPC lore I will be happy to make changes. other than that, thank you for reading my application <3.

Edited June 18, 2019 by kyres1
Spelling mistake

[Nikov]

Balancing out the combat strengths of an IPC by making it a programmed semi-passive "Mall Cop" which attempts to socially defuse situations rather than enforce petty offenses is a very interesting inversion of the "robocop" concept. +1

[kyres1]

I'll get this tonight. Sorry for the wait.

[Fekkor]

For what it's worth (and that's about half asausage roll) +1 from me.

[Wigglesworth Jones]

If my opinion means anything, +1 from me. SHODAN has good characters, I'm sure they'll be a good IPC.

[Lady Fowl]

Going to go ahead and accept this, you hit the points of IPC play and how they fit into the universe quite well and know and understand the character as much as you know yourself.

Accepted