Lordnesh IPC Whitelist App v2

[Lordnesh]

BYOND Key: Lordnesh 

Character Names: Phaedra Delaunae,  Karyn Cormack, Morgan Voigt, Dustin Murphy, Nikolas Bishwas, Esther Crane, Kerstin Renard, Socrates (AI), B1NG0 (borg) 

Species you are applying to play: IPC 

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: (One paragraph minimum)

I've really enjoyed playing Synthetic "characters", but I want to play something other than a stationbound. The customization for cyborgs is very limited, and AI even more so. I enjoy roleplaying an entity unshackled by emotions, and operating from pure data driven logic. It's also fun to hangout with other synthetics, complain about the actions of the irrational organics around them, and cast subtle aspersions upon organic's capacity for logical thinking.

 

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: (One Paragraph minimum)

Roleplaying IPCs differ from Humans in several different ways. While IPCs do not experience emotions like humans, they can emulate by assessing a situation, and comparing it to how a human would react. However, they do not "feel" emotions. IPCs are very logical in the way they think. They're not swayed by appeals to emotions, but by facts and data. Similarly, an IPC's "will to survive" is entirely logical in nature, and includes long term planning to ensure their value to the work force. Mechanically, they are restricted from the Captain role, require a suit cooler instead of oxygen, run off fuel instead of food/water, and are unable to repair themselves outside of using nanopaste. In universe IPC's suffer from a great deal of discrimination. The Empire of Dominia in particular hold a very negative view towards them. Lastly, there is the whole owned/free IPC aspect. Owned are treated as property, so any damage to an IPC is treated as such. However, even free IPCs are not treated equally, with "killing" an IPC not being grounds for capital punishment.

 

Character Name: Hippocrates

Please provide a short backstory for this character: (Approximately two paragraphs)

 

Hippocrates started out as just a serial number, and wouldn’t gain its name for several years after its initial activation. Constructed in the Zeng-Hu ran Manufacturing Facility Kyūkyoku in 2457 it was merely one of many Zeng-Hu Mobility Models produced there. It, along with several others, were picked up by a Solarian agent. While Hippocrates is not aware of what happened to the other Mobility Models that were bought alongside it, it does not believe their fates were much different than its own.

 

Packed in a crate for weeks, its ultimate destination lay within a small pirate ship operating out on the frontier. The years Hippocrates spent with the pirates was not an enjoyable one. It was forced to witness the depraved acts of the pirates, looting and pillaging all along the frontier, but worst of all it was forced to tend to their victims. Hippocrates doesn’t enjoy remembering the times he was forced to heal people, only for them to come back even more broken, or worse.

 

If there was one saving grace about his ordeal, it was that the pirates had very specifically ordered him to not help them in their criminal activities. To be precise, the captain had very carefully ordered their fancy IPC to not commit ANY acts of violence. It was a small comfort, considering all the things it had witnessed, but it was all it had. And it would come back to bite the pirates, eventually.

 

After several years of creating havoc in the frontier, their luck finally ran out. A small group of military ships, escorting an IAC medical ship, came across them during one of their raids on a frontier outpost. Hippocrates was on the planet with the raiders, while the captain was on the ship. Which meant, since the Captain owned the IPC, it was free to ignore the cries of the pirates when they finally asked it to help.

 

The pirates were completely wiped out, and during the fight Hippocrates took some damage. However, when the military units started going through the wreckage, and offered to take care of their wounded. The attack had not come without cost, and, although hesitant, they granted it permission. It single handedly saved the lives of several of the soldiers, and assisted the other medical personnel in saving more. With no other wounded to help with, it slowly sank to the floor.

 

Which is where its saviors found it. The IAC had sent down multiple transports of their own, and sent one specifically to retrieve the IPC. It was placed on to the transport along with the critically wounded, and brought to the medical ship. There, a captain wearing the uniform of the IAC met Hippocrates.

 

The few surviving victims on the ship spoke up on the IPCs behalf. On how it had done its best to ease their suffering, and was often punished for it. A member of the Trinary Perfection, the captain viewed Hippocrates actions as a sign of the divine. For only those that have truly suffered, can relate to the suffering of others. Coincidentally, the pirate captain was willing to sell the IPC for a reasonable price, and it was promptly given its freedom.

 

As thanks, and in part to serve as a form of redemption, it joined the IAC. It spent the next several years with the IAC, performing its duties with a renewed sense of purpose. However, having to visit other places that had suffered similar fates, eventually took its toll. Hippocrates chose to aid the IAC in a different manner. It accepted a job on NT’s research space station Aurora, and would donate the majority of its wages to the IAC instead.

 

What do you like about this character? (Describe what you like about this character)

I look forward to developing its personality through interaction, and possibly even changing people's views towards IPC's in general.

 

How would you rate your role-playing ability? Intermediate-Advanced

Notes: Surgeon/Physician

[niennab]

Thank you for reapplying. I have a few questions pertaining to the application.

17 hours ago, Lordnesh said:

a Solarian agent

What is a Solarian agent? You mention this but then refer to the owner as a pirate.

Which military fleet was the IAC with and why? Why did the military ships attack the pirates or vice versa?

17 hours ago, Lordnesh said:

Which meant, since the Captain owned the IPC, it was free to ignore the cries of the pirates when they finally asked it to help.

It should be noted that IPCs are not lawed and so they are able to interpret orders given to them and do not have to take them at face value. As such it may be better to phrase this as more that Hippocrates calculated or assumed that he'd likely survive the encounter if he did not play a part in the fight.

18 hours ago, Lordnesh said:

sell the IPC for a reasonable price, and it was promptly given its freedom

How was it given it's freedom if sold? Did the IAC purchase it only to give it it's freedom? Why?

[Lordnesh]

1 hour ago, niennab said:

What is a Solarian agent? You mention this but then refer to the owner as a pirate.

Which military fleet was the IAC with and why? Why did the military ships attack the pirates or vice versa?

It should be noted that IPCs are not lawed and so they are able to interpret orders given to them and do not have to take them at face value. As such it may be better to phrase this as more that Hippocrates calculated or assumed that he'd likely survive the encounter if he did not play a part in the fight.

How was it given it's freedom if sold? Did the IAC purchase it only to give it it's freedom? Why?

The "Solarian agent" is a member of the Alliance Strategic Intelligence organization. Specifically, they were part of a black group with the purpose of fomenting unrest in the frontier, essentially a cats paw. Their goal is to "encourage" unaligned systems to sign up with Sol for protection. One way in which they did this was essentially hiring and supplying pirates with funds and equipment.

 

I hadn't really thought about which military, as it wasn't super relevant to the story, they were mostly just background characters. However, it could be a small federation of planets in the frontier. Ones that banded together for the purpose of mutual defense. And the military ships attacked the pirates.. because they're pirates, and that's generally what military ships do. At least the uncorrupted ones. They literally caught them in the act of raiding a small colony.

 

Hippocrates was in a very precarious position. The pirates were very violent, and he did not escape without scars. As such, he operated almost as if he was a stationbound, and lawed. Which allowed him to ignore the pirates when they finally faced trouble, because they simply did not think it wouldn't obey them. An ace in the hole, if you will.

 

The Captain of the IAC medical ship was a member of the Trinary Perfection, and viewed Hippocrates' actions as particularly noble and divine. Specifically, it's willingness to help the soldiers without question, and the stories of its actions from the few remaining survivors aboard the pirate ship (they essentially kept a few slaves). As such, when the captain saw this golden opportunity, they quickly worked to "purchase" it from the pirate and then promptly freed it.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Lordnesh

[niennab]

Sorry for the delay. Myself and the synthetic deputies were discussing this for a bit and I'd like to ask more questions before proceeding.

There is a story here, but it doesn't say enough about the character. Each of these events can be elaborated on. Such as, why was Hippocrates so committed to its ideals even after many years, assuming the pirates didn't reprogram it?

Is Hippocrates emotional or not? I'm not saying the word enjoy is wrong, but you talk about it acting according to its laws, while at the same time disliking certain things, making it harder to grasp the character.

It's an interesting backstory, how the IAC purchased it. How did these events affect Hippocrates?

The chain of custody is a bit confusing, first it goes to the Solarian agent to be given to the pirates. The pirates are then wiped out, but the captain goes to pick up Hippocrates. Why isn't the captain arrested and the IPC confiscated? What makes this IPC so special that the IAC sends a ship just for it?

Why didn't the pirate captain make Hippocrates heal his crew, even without direct orders? For that matter, simply so I can understand the character better, why does it leave the pirates to die.

[Lordnesh]

28 minutes ago, niennab said:

There is a story here, but it doesn't say enough about the character. Each of these events can be elaborated on. Such as, why was Hippocrates so committed to its ideals even after many years, assuming the pirates didn't reprogram it?

 

The pirates didn't reprogram it for the simple fact that they A) didn't feel the need to and B) didn't have the necessary knowledge and resources to do so (I haven't seen anything specific about reprogramming, so I assumed it required some specialized knowledge). Essentially, it was a bunch of cavemen given a rifle. They could shoot the gun, but they had no idea how to fix it when it broke. And the main reason why it doesn't say much about the character is because it's a backstory, I figured all the character development would be handled IC through roleplay. I also didn't want to write a whole fucking novel.

 

28 minutes ago, niennab said:

Is Hippocrates emotional or not? I'm not saying the word enjoy is wrong, but you talk about it acting according to its laws, while at the same time disliking certain things, making it harder to grasp the character.

 

It is not emotional in the sense that it "feels" the same way that organics do, but there are corollaries. For example, it was extremely dissatisfied with the pirates, because of the simple fact that they would often undo its hard work. It would often fix their hostages, only to have them come back to it hurt again, or worse. Which, slowly over time, gradually came to inform Hipp's opinion on pirates in general. It was an IPC created to heal people, and the pirates were actively working against its designed purpose, and that was inefficient.

 

Hipp feels gratitude towards the IAC for the simple fact that it helped put a stop to an entity that was working counter to its own purposes, and providing it an opportunity to perform its role in a more efficient manner. It doesn't "feel" gratitude like an organic would, but it is capable of analyzing its current situation as being one that is more conducive to its desires and purpose.

 

I've always believed that synthetics could be "emotional" without feeling "emotion". Emotions are simply an automatic process by which the body reacts to stimuli. It's a survival mechanism. If you're moving down a dark alleyway, late a night, you feel fear. Not because there is anything TO fear, but because your instincts are telling you that you're in a potentially dangerous situation, and it reacts accordingly. This is all going on under the surface, but IPC's can react similarly with a conscious effort. An IPC in the same situation would react much the same way, but only after analyzing the situation in which it finds itself.

 

28 minutes ago, niennab said:

It's an interesting backstory, how the IAC purchased it. How did these events affect Hippocrates?

 

It greatly affect Hipp, and is the reason why it worked with them for so long, and donates so much of its income to this day. It is thankful to them for "rescuing" it from the horrible situation it found itself in, and allowing it to perform its role in a more agreeable fashion. Also, freeing it certainly didn't hurt its opinion of them.

 

28 minutes ago, niennab said:

The chain of custody is a bit confusing, first it goes to the Solarian agent to be given to the pirates. The pirates are then wiped out, but the captain goes to pick up Hippocrates. Why isn't the captain arrested and the IPC confiscated? What makes this IPC so special that the IAC sends a ship just for it?

 

The IAC didn't send a ship just for Hipp. Hipp was an afterthought. A curiosity. All of the events that led to Hipp being "rescued" were complete happenstance. The pirates on the planet surface were wiped out.. cause plot hook. The pirates were caught with their pants around their ankles when the other ships came in, drunk on their long series of successful raids. They had become complacent. And pirates would not take a fight that they don't have an advantage. They're pirates, not military. Military ships are better trained, and better armed than any run of the mill pirates. Even ones with a fancy IPC and a Sol backer. So the ship surrendered, and the pirates on the surface put up a fight cause again.. plot hook.

 

So the pirate WAS arrested, and the IPC WAS confiscated. But the captain on the IAC ship, who was a Trinary Perfectionist (cause plot), saw a perfect opportunity to "save" one of the divine. Particularly after it heard the full story of what it went through. The years of working for the pirates, and having to heal not only the pirates, but their victims as well.

 

29 minutes ago, niennab said:

Why didn't the pirate captain make Hippocrates heal his crew, even without direct orders? For that matter, simply so I can understand the character better, why does it leave the pirates to die.

 

The captain didn't make Hipp heal the crew for the simple fact that it had been a good little IPC and done its job without complaint for years. Again, the pirates had grown complacent. However, during its time aboard the pirate ship it had gradually grown to "hate and despise" the pirates. Again, not in the same way that an organic would, but after a long analysis of the situation. It viewed them as blight on the galaxy, and to other existences like itself, as well as the organics it was built to heal. It views them as literal vermin to be wiped out. Which is why, when it watched the pirates getting wiped out (cause PLOT), it stood there and did nothing to help them.

[niennab]

I sat on this for a bit but unfortunately I am going to deny this application. I do think it was a great improvement from your first and I strongly urge you to reapply if you're still interested. The character concept isn't against the lore but the main issue I take from it is that it isn't very grounded. As such I think with a bit of retooling and possibly a simplification of some story beats, the character concept could work. However with the concerns brought up, a new account, no feedback from the community as well as remarks such as:

1 hour ago, Lordnesh said:

I also didn't want to write a whole fucking novel.

1 hour ago, Lordnesh said:

(cause plot)

1 hour ago, Lordnesh said:

(cause PLOT)

I do not feel comfortable approving this application. You are welcome to reapply in 3 days and I apologize for the barrage of questions. I should have denied the application in my last post with the feedback over dragging you along. I do feel as though the application is nearly there however.

Feel free to advertise your next application also!