Shajo Wants to be Robocop (IPC App)

[Lilly Evans]

BYOND Key: Shajo

Character Name: Lilly Evans, Chase stall, Khadim Shadir, Lasciel Samara, Xaio Ren Fa, Inquisitor, Muse, Empress, Dustin Lockheart, Nova, Meiling Fa

Species you are applying to play: IPC

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: IPC Baseline

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes.

 

Why do you wish to play this specific race:

After playing for a few years on this server and interacting with all of the players and the various races they have been, IPC has always struck me as one of the two most curious races that someone could choose to be. Stepping beyond the standard mortal coil and exploring the methodical and fact-oriented existence of artificial intelligence forces a change in perspective that I find most appealing, which can be shown in my frequent playing of the station AI as Empress, Inquisitor, or Nova. Their specific lore is quite appealing: They were created for a purpose or task, some gaining freedom and others not. Why are they on the station, how did they get there, how has their existence been in a galaxy that is racist against them. It's hard to explain the singular reason that I find them appealing, but a major factor is simply: It is what I am not. It is a machine given sentience and the exploration of alternative life and what that existence means is such a joyful RP avenue that I can no longer pass up not having an application put in for it. I don't want to simply be another cat or lizard running around, I want to try and etch out a unique existence on the station with an entity that differs greatly from most of the other inhabitants.

 

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

A human can form irrational thought on a complex level that allows us to create illusions about the very nature of existence and the world we interact with. For an IPC, this is not so much the case. While still possible when given false information that is acted upon, an IPC treats the world with cause and effect that is rationalized through knowledge without the application of extreme emotion. It is a disconnect from that intense emotion and the reliance upon more logic-oriented problem solving that separates humanity from an IPC. While humanity can achieve this as well, it is quite rare and often associated with sociopathy. An IPC does not need to take this to a sociopathic level (And neither does a human either), but they possess a more natural ability to utilize hard logic for problem solving without the typical destructive ends involved with different mental dilemmas that might occur within the mortal brain. Such dilemmas are: Conflicting feelings based upon emotional attachment that leads to irrational action. An IPC can still have their feelings take part in decisions, but ultimately the programming instilled in them will determine a simple cause and effect readout that, weighing all probability against one another, will determine the outcome in a logical manner. Along with this an IPC has little fear of several things that might affect mortals such as lower pressure or phoron in a chamber, allowing them to handle situations that most humans could not and leading to a lack of fear, if indeed an IPC can register true fear, that humans might feel. They also have less of a regard for physical damage. Yes, they are expensive. But losing a hand simply means it must be replaced, where as a human losing its fleshy bits would cause a huge fuss and following depression. Also, IPC's make less of a fuss about being owned where as a human in modern times facing slavery would hold resentment, anger, or simply be broken. It is merely a state of existence for an IPC.

Character Name: Task

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

Commissioned by a wealthy farming family on Vysoka, Task was designed with a very basic principle in mind: Manage the collection and shipping of goods from the thousands of acres of farmland that the family possessed. Paying overseers to manage each section of farmland had proven an unnecessary expense for the family and it was their belief that possessing an IPC could allow them to catalogue their harvests and set up shipments more efficiently. Without requiring the normal rest of a human, Task did the job and it did it well. At the end of each day Tasktravelled to the various warehouses, visually collecting data about each days harvest before uploading it to a central computer for buyers to place bids upon them. Within a set threshold Task would accept, deny, or counter offer each bid and organize when they would pick up their deliveries. Scheduling of these was vital to ensure too many buyers did not arrive at once. And Task excelled, their positronic brain allowing for advanced calculations within moments. And the family profited. 

Three years passed and with the addition of calculating new crops to be planted in the colder seasons to provide more year-round harvests, Task's family brought in almost twenty percent more profit each year. Task was kept well maintained and with fresh coats of paint and parts, and Task was simply content to do its assigned duties with what might be some mechanical level of joy at a job well done. During a routine nightly inspection of wares Task encountered a thief in one of the storehouses and, when Task whent to call for Aid, the thief battered them with a crowbar until Task could no longer move. While not a threat to Task's existence itself, several internal components sparked and caught the dried food stores on fire. And Task burned. 

When the fire crews had finally put out the flames, Task was left a charred shell of its original existence. The only light of hope was that the positronic brain that made up the core of their being was still in tact. But the repairs… Even the extra revenue Task had generated was not enough to cover repairs. Instead the remains were consigned to a travelling merchant to find a buyer for Task, one who could invest the resources in their continued existence. Months passed and Task was left in a shuttles storeroom, trying to comprehend why it had been sold when it had done such a good job, had been praised for it.. And finally a buyer was found. A young executive from Nanotrasen, noting the remains of Task and understanding the positronic brain was functional, placed a lowball bid for the IPC. And the family accepted, simply glad to have made some return. Over the next year the Executive invested funds to gather the parts required to build the IPC's shell once more and once Task had been completed, was offered a chance to earn its freedom. Ten times the price of its repairs and the original purchase cost paid back to the Executive and Task could do what it wanted. Not knowing what else to do, Task accepted the offer and was stationed aboard the Aurora as a Cargo Technician, reflecting its programmed specialty, to earn its wage as an owned IPC.

 

What do you like about this character?

I love the fact that Task simply enjoyed the job it was doing. They wanted to do the best they could for their owners because it was not only what it was programmed to do, but because it felt satisfaction at doing so. Task is not out for self interest, but rather enriching the area around it with efficiency. It's also the start of a new life for Task, allowing it to explore interactions with other entities which it has never met before and forming its open opinions about the wider galaxy. Task is, for the most part, a blank slate save for the job it knows how to do. And deep within that IPC is a shred of something it does not logically understand: Resentment. An inability for its programming to function at optimal levels when recalling events it had experienced on its original owners property. What do they mean? What does it truly mean to be sentient? What would Task do with its bought freedom? All of these things I get to explore with a character who's never had to consider these things and will literally build its existence around Aurora Station!

 

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

Above par. I love to Role-Play and take my time to do so, exploring the personalities and backstories of others while trying to form lasting relationships and friendships. This can be a bit hard at times, as we technically play in a business environment on the Aurora and people need to work, but I love it when someone stops and takes the time for that five minutes to get to know one another!

Notes:

This is my first App for anything (At least I think it is? Been here a few years and I don't think I've app'd for anything else), and while I have a solid grasp of the lore if anything is found lacking I am 100% open to being educated and incorporating what I am told into my role play!

[niennab]

Thank you for applying! More out of curiosity, what chassis was Task in before the incident and what chassis in Task in now? Baseline for the current chassis?

Edited August 25, 2020 by niennab

[Lilly Evans]

I imagined Task being first generational model Industrial, capable of lifting heavy objects when required and performing the actual loading of heavy articles onto buyers crafts after arranging the purchases! Which means Task is no longer capable of the feats they used to be and has to learn to cope with a new, 'lesser' frame compared to what they had before.

 

He is, presently, in a Barebones Baseline chassis as it was cheap to acquire. He might upgrade later if he earns the funds! 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Lilly Evans
Had to give this a good thonkin'. Edit 2: forgot to answer what he's in now.

[niennab]

Fair! One last question came up as my team was discussing your application but is there a reason they're employed as a cargo technician over a quartermaster? If a large part of their original work pertained to the management of goods. Unless this will be apart of the development? etc etc.

[Lilly Evans]

I actually considered Quartermaster, but I was unsure about the rate of advancement for an IPC fresh placed on the station. Thus I used Cargo Tech as the stepping stone towards the goal of Quartermaster. However! I do intend to have him fulfill the role of Quartermaster as his primary job occupation, I thought I might roleplay out being a base tech and then being moved to QM through aptitude.

[niennab]

That was what we half expected, thank you for answering our questions. Your application demonstrates an understanding of IPCs as well as the ability to apply said lore to character creation. Accepted.