Remember the numbers Lmwevil! (IPC APP)

[Lmwevil]

BYOND Key: Lmwevil

Character Names: Tess Greed - Miner| Nikiru Kporaro - EPMC Warden | Confessions of Unrequited Heart - Biomechanical Engineer

Species you are applying to play: Integrated Positronic Chassis

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: N/A

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:

I want to play IPCs for a really simplistic reason at first glance, I simply find Artifical Intelligence a fucking enthralling concept. Personally I’ve read almost all of Asimov’s works, and read them as a kid too, likely leading into my love of AI in a general sense (Off topic I’d be part of the Trinary Perfection if it were a real entity). Currently reading Daemon by Daniel Suarez.

Onto the RP, while I have a great many options for various looks at things, including the definition of curiosity and learning that is a Diona. I don’t have the questionable morals, the ethical dilemmas, the ownership or the jarringly different mentality.

The nature of growth of a machine’s capacity for different perspectives, changing natures and inherently impossible to empathize with because we simply cannot understand.

I guess really I’ve been gushing about AI huh? Why IPCs? The lore is really good, there’s a great variety of minds I can do and the IPC community is pretty great. 

 

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:

There’s a lot really, this could be a bit of a rabbit hole for me so let’s try to not ramble on endlessly. They are inherently machines and limited by this fact, unlike a human who can do actions seemingly at random or because of whatever biological processes ala hormones. A machine is obviously more binary, if something happens, then they react. If something doesn’t happen, then they react.

Cause and effect, a machine can not change their nature any more than I can. They don’t eat, they cannot express with facial inflection (barring shells and ‘expressions’ of baselines/bishops) and have limited capacity to mimic human behaviour. Of course said capacity is related to the positronic in question, what they were designed for, if they are owned and other factors.

Obviously they do not breathe and do not require oxygen. Although atmosphere is a coolant medium for most bodies (barring Xion) thus meaning they need to be cautious to wear a coolant pack when heading into low to no atmosphere.

Another major difference is the nature between enslaved/owned compared to free, something that no other race in the setting has. Generally owned IPCs will have branding of their owners to make it clear, light rewrites and are legally considered (expensive) property. Their lives are the property of someone else, unless they are willing to take on another risk of buying their own freedom (complicated due to repair costs, accommodation and living expenses with IPC tier pay). 

I feel like I could keep going on and on here but I do want to try and keep this somewhat succinct so I’ll leave with one more part. They have an entirely unique encoded audio language, something that is obviously not pleasant for organics to listen to. It has an entirely unique slang and definitions in and of itself that are going to be slow to learn, but I love learning linguistics for characters. (An example is deeply studying dialect for Tess Greed’s belter origins.)
 

Character Name: XI-2815505

Please provide a short backstory for this character

The XI-2815505 was created in 2443. The marketing team of Xion Manufacturing was simple, the XI-2815505 is the latest and greatest refinement optimizer. Named EO (Excavation Overseer) by some colonies and belts that purchased them for their ability to handle large scale mining operations. XI-2815505 was manufactured as the second batch of their brand in 2444, it found itself frequently changing hands and brands across different excavations in Sol. The human aspects that they would account for took time to properly learn, however it concluded quickly that humans are predictable enough to be efficient.

Unfortunately as it changed hands over the years, their ownership landed in the employ of a deep core mining crew of The Rustbucket. Their methods were largely extreme and for the first time XI-2815505 did not have their opinion relevant in any way, they wanted it simply for the brute force it could use. The usage of controlled explosives to separate asteroids for ship mining was an extremely high risk art form for humans to do, high yield if you didn’t cascade your own ship with the result and without destroying the interior of the rocks.

XI-2815505 over this time received none of the mandated upgrades, and was unable to get any software updates either. During this period of time their model was made obsolete by more distributed intelligence predictive systems that didn’t require the upkeep of XI models. Their physical capability along with advanced analytical and logistical processes allowed them to remain far more useful than standard mining units. Unfortunately most have since been scrapped, with an estimated five hundred left functional.

There was an accident, as XI-2815505 bonded with the crew and even listened to their input on occasion. One of the humans had misplaced a charge by one meter, XI-2815505 knew this was a cascade waiting to happen and attempted to inform them, but was promptly ignored. The explosion tore the Rust Bucket apart, leaving XI-2815505 and the Captain in an emergency pod. Unfortunately XI-2815505’s owner was killed due to an atmospheric failure, their next of kin once the pod was recovered sold XI to NanoTrasen for the equivalent of pocket change when the shrewd representative convinced them that XI-2815505 was outdated garbage. 

 

After integration, rewrites and rebranding of XI-2815505 to NanoTrasen facility NTSS Aurora. They have noticed a peculiarity, perhaps a sign of degradation over time, but the model has workflow glitches. Minute and barely worth noticing, but minor errors or inefficient methods, slightly different angles compared to their last successful one. Unknown to NanoTrasen, XI-2815505 had become deeply embroiled with the concept of ‘surprise’, to not expect a course of events or even better to predict incorrectly. However it would never deviate to any major degree, an odd motion, an out of place gesture, maybe an odd word or a strange action while it was mining.
 

What do you like about this character?

What I love about XI-2815505 is their motives, while not heavily described in the story I hope to elaborate them a bit here. XI with their high predictive capacity struggles to find itself ‘surprised’ a novelty that it seeks out actively. After all if you can accurately predict events even if it’s milliseconds before it happens, are you actually surprised? What does true unknown feel like? A model that has been through loss and descrimination, nameless and identified only through an impersonal barcode.

I like the character because of their potential more than anything else, largely interested in self improvement and maximizing efficiency. Yet such a driving almost human curiosity in a novel concept like surprise, and the subtle attempts to make something happen it cannot predict, or even better predict falsely.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

I feel it’s reductive to give any kind of point value, a high value is egotistical and low is self pity. I’m perfectly capable of roleplaying and would label myself as at the very least competent in a wide array of personalities. 

Notes:
Thanks to Schwann for helping out a bunch, Niennab for listening to my rambling, Brennuvargar and Tbear13 for proofreading. 

[YourDaddy117]

 Lmwevil's a player I've known for awhile and can vouch for. Good RP and unique RP. Can't ask for anything more. Would be cool to see how they approach playing an IPC. Big ole +1

[niennab]

Thank you for applying!

I only have one question, how does XI interpret or "feel" about having changed hands over the years? Has it shaped their outlook in anyway?

[Lmwevil]

They struggle to build a personal attachment to those that they have been passed through, due to being considered property they see their owner simply as a user with required inputs to continue functioning. Initially it was attached, but as it passed more and more, and the crew it attached to died. It has stopped dedicating memory and processing resources towards them, although it appreciates the 'ease' of existence under the 'safety' of their owner. It could potentially pay for freedom, but it believes such an act would be tantamount to suicide. 

In short I'd say that XI-2815505 would see serving organics as a required state to continue living, and thus has a vested interest in providing donations to the Trinary. Additionally I'd say they struggle to have a personalized connection due to being moved around so often in their life. 

[niennab]

Fantastic, thank you. Your application demonstrates an understanding of IPCs as well as an ability to interpret the lore. Accepted!