IPC Whitelist Aplication - RC1262Scorch

[Scorch]

BYOND Key: RC1262Scorch
Character Names: Ines Morita - Atmos Tech
Nissa Cochlain - Chemist
Noora Koskela - Warden
Species you are applying to play: IPC
Have you read our lore section's page on this species? Yes
Why do you wish to play this specific race:
I have always been a fan of synthetic characters used in various forms of fiction, especially due to how well they can be used to present organic characters around them with a variety of moral dilemmas, opportunities for introspection and so on. In addition to that, I quite like the lore and wide variety of potential backgrounds offered to IPC players on Aurora through corporations, governments and other factions; each with its own way of influencing the overall outlook and behavior of the synth in question.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:
The biggest and I think the most relevant difference is their decision making process. Rather than emotions, moods, and things such as chemicals affecting human brains, positronic brains are guided primarily by the directives of self-preservation, and fulfilling their intended purpose.  Secondary factors come into play as the positronic ages and builds more memories. Those can be things such as mimicking behaviours of people they work with/under, exploring new ways of serving its purpose, or analyzing its past experiences to find a whole new way of attaining the goal of preserving itself. All those factors will also add variance to how an IPC interacts with organic beings: where a purpose-built Zeng-Hu EMT unit could easily identify a human being somewhat uncomfortable, a Hephaestus-made miner IPC with little exposure to humans might fail to observe such "subtlety".

Character Name: Priestley (formerly YG-C-185)

Please provide a short backstory for this character:
YG-C-185 (which I will refer to as YG for sake of brevity) began its existence as a Laboratory Technician Unit manufactured in 2451 by Jeonshi Biotech. It was made as part of a small order intended to supplement workforce of a newly opened lab attached to a Yomi Genetics processing plant on Biesel. As both companies were amongst constituents of Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, YG enjoyed working alongside open-minded individuals (at least in terms of synths) which were receptive to its presence. At first YG would be relegated to more clerical duties such as ensuring proper stocking of the lab, keeping maintenance logs of its equipment up to date as well as dealing with various paperwork generated by its colleagues. Over the following twelve years, however, YG's list of responsibilities would slowly change as the lab's employees came and went and the positronic gained seniority. Majority of its work in the latter half of that time would involve synthesis of a large variety of chemical substances used in line of research, which earned YG the nickname "Priestley" in honor of chemist Joseph Priestley.

During the time spent in the lab YG was regarded by its superiors and colleagues as a dutiful and somewhat reserved "person" which almost seemed happy when presented with tasks of increasing complexity or intensity. While acknowledging YG as "As good as most of them gets.", its direct superior, doctor Emily Huang has often bemoaned the synth's lack of initiative as she considered it to have a lot more potential than it displayed. The work continued regardless. Eventually the lab and its team fulfilled their purpose which earned all of the personnel involved a tidy bonus for their expedience, that included YG.

The monetary reward was little consolation, however, as YG faced great uncertainty. Its team would be dissolved, all the routines it has developed over the years would no longer be relevant, and the future presented many questions which YG did not have to consider before, like what will happen to it now, that its intended purpose has been fulfilled.  Fortunately, YG was to remain on Biesel for the time being to assist doctor Huang in dealing with the final tasks related to closure of the lab. It was then that Emily managed to convince her synthetic underling to take initiative, though it no longer involved climbing ranks of Zeng-Hu's corporate structure. This time her suggestion was that of attaining freedom. After all, their current situation meant that not only YG possessed an appreciable amount of money, its continued employment would no longer be necessary. If anything, the corporate might be glad to dispose of the positron in a way that is beneficial to both sides of the deal.

And so it happened, YG-C-185 has bought its freedom with money it never took into consideration before. The proprietary Zheng-Hu it occupied until now was not something YG would have been allowed to keep, which mandated acquisition of a second-hand baseline frame. With little remaining funds and a "new", somewhat uncooperative body, YG, or rather: Priestley now has to face the challenges of working aboard of the NSS Aurora in capacity of a pharmacist upon doctor Huang's recommendation.

What do you like about this character?
I quite like the balance created by the fact that while YG has existed and interacted with humans with varying degrees of success for a while, the different species/cultures/corporations combined with being thrust into a new chassis will create a pretty interesting scenario with plenty of room for character development as well as having someone really sheltered learning about all those new kinds of coworkers, their issues, challenges, dynamics, and so on.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? Notes:
I think I'm pretty okay, could probably be better after all those years I have spent playing SS13. English is not my first language and I can find it hard to keep up with responding to people with adequate emotes in a timely manner, but I am confident I could portray an IPC in a competently.

[niennab]

Hello, thank you for applying!

Considering the amount of pressure that Zeng-hu places on it's synthetic workforce, how did YG navigate what would have been deemed as a failure by their supervisor?:

On 23/03/2021 at 02:38, Scorch said:

its direct superior, doctor Emily Huang has often bemoaned the synth's lack of initiative as she considered it to have a lot more potential than it displayed.

Why would Zeng-hu give a positronic a bonus? Why would Zeng-hu deem the IPC as no longer relevant or want to dispose of it instead of either moving it into other departments or selling it? Does YG identify as YG or Priestley? What do these names mean to them? 

Just to confirm as well, YG isn't a contractor I assume?

Edited March 24, 2021 by niennab

[Scorch]

23 hours ago, niennab said:

Considering the amount of pressure that Zeng-hu places on it's synthetic workforce, how did YG navigate what would have been deemed as a failure by their supervisor?:

The remark made by YG's supervisor was not made formally, it was more of a personal interest.

23 hours ago, niennab said:

Why would Zeng-hu give a positronic a bonus?

I considered the bonus to have been a blanket award for the whole team, in addition to that, there are mentions of companies like Jeonshi Biotech giving synths slightly better treatment than most.

23 hours ago, niennab said:

Why would Zeng-hu deem the IPC as no longer relevant or want to dispose of it instead of either moving it into other departments or selling it?

In this context it was YG considering the possibility, however distant or unrealistic, of being deemed irrelevant and later disposed of. As for selling it, that is what happened. YG was simply the first to make a proposal about its future, and whoever was responsible for setting the terms of the deal considered it to be better than the effort involved in other options such as finding a different buyer or a different department/division for it to work at.

23 hours ago, niennab said:

Does YG identify as YG or Priestley? What do these names mean to them? 

While it identifies as both, it formally adopted "Priestley" as the official one when it was released, as it observed the preference for its co-workers to use the more human sounding moniker.

23 hours ago, niennab said:

Just to confirm as well, YG isn't a contractor I assume?

YG would be working for NanoTrasen on a contract, but would not be a Zeng-Hu contractor. I don't fully understand the question and I'm sorry for all the edits to this answer e.e

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by Scorch
Wording change for last answer

[niennab]

Thank you for the clarifications. My team is concerned by the lack of the concepts of oppression inherent to IPCs in the backstory however your app still remains strong. Before I move ahead with processing it, I just want to a confirmation from you that since Priestley has acquired their freedom in addition to a different chassis, they would more or less be penniless. If you're fine with that/agree, I can move ahead with the app.

[Scorch]

Yeah, Priestley was meant to be completely broke and the second-hand baseline frame will serve as a reflection of such with its flavor text.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Scorch

[niennab]

Fantastic! Your application demonstrates an understanding of IPCs. Accepted.