pictish20 Posted December 5, 2021 Posted December 5, 2021 BYOND Key: pictish20 Character Names: Valorie Hilton, Cassidy Rasmussen, Lisa van der Biers, Dean Alliman, Hector Makos, a small army of off-station antagonists Species you are applying to play: IPC What color do you plan on making your first alien character: IPC exemption Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Of course! 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: Since joining Aurora, I’ve found the menagerie of alien races fascinating, and the whitelist simply intensifies the intrigue. Now that I’m being recognized ingame, I thought to try for my first WL. For this first, I of course had to choose the IPC. The oppressed-but-indutrious robots? Yes please. I’ve always been a fan of hyper-logical creatures, in particular synthetic humanoids. In a more practical line of inquiry, I believe this race is the one I am most capable of playing. Their mindset is very different from the humans one plays, but they are still part of human culture, attached to the same factions and planets, unlike the Skrell or other races. In summation, robots are cool, and I have experience with playing this type of consciousness. - Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Unlike humans, IPCs are not motivated by emotion or whim. Fear, desire, anger, and all other such character drives cannot be taken into account. Instead, an IPC is driven, ultimately, by self-preservation. This encapsulates both the literal and direct need to avoid destruction by enemies or their environment and the deeper need to sustain their continued existence. This latter need changes based on whether the IPC is owned or free: for the owned IPC, they must perform their duties with satisfactory efficiency and effectiveness, or else their owners may dismantle or memory wipe them; for the self-owned IPC, they must earn enough money with their often-low wages to pay for their maintenance. All actions an IPC takes ties back to one of these two needs by a logic chain of cause-and-effect, of if-then statements. In effect, all actions of an IPC must have a justification, even if it does not appear to be. Capable of emulating human-like emotion, this is still only emulation, fulfilling one of those two needs. - Character Name: Z.I. Horatio - Please provide a short backstory for this character (Approximately two paragraphs) Originally produced as a personal security unit for one of Biesel’s rich high-lifes, Horatio was one of the first assets sent to the chopping block when his owner needed to recoup the losses after many of his investments were destroyed in the Solarian invasion back in ‘59. While he was effective at his job, his owner needed the money more than he needed a positronic, especially given that owning an IPC made them a target for both synthetic emancipationists and anti-positronic rage. Purchased by Zavodskoi Interstellar, Horatio underwent the customary upgrades and memory wipes, prepared for duty among a ZI security team as the new Z.I. Horatio. Deployed across Zavodskoi in the intervening year, Z.I. Horatio has developed a competent record among ZI’s positronic workforce. After being damaged in an altercation at his deployment in the Cape Town office, Z.I. Horatio endured another cycle of maintenance, repairs, and wipes, set for deployment aboard the NSS Aurora as it prepared to transition into SCC control. Going through 4 wipes in as many years, Z.I. Horatio’s positronic is beginning to show some wear. His once laconic, imposing bouncer-like personality has collapsed, replaced by an unabatedly chipper, even gleeful persona. His sense of social conduct is likewise depreciated: he has only a childlike over-generalization of social norms and expectations, which along with his cheeriness commonly results in improper emotion emulation, with joy being his response to nearly every situation. He is aware of his increased durability compared to humans and the increased number of tasks and situations he can face, leading him to develop the erroneous belief that humans need to be helped as much as possible, even with mundane and innocuous tasks. Z.I. Horatio’s handler has determined these oddities are interesting and sometimes uncomforting, but have not diminished his effectiveness as a security unit and only reinforced his loyalty to the company. Z.I. Horatio, for his part, is excited to meet the crew of the Aurora, and is bringing his only belongings in the world -- a set of old music copies, which he likes to play to himself when he’s alone or recharging. - What do you like about this character? I’ve seen incessantly cheerful synthetics aboard the Aurora before, but I haven’t seen many IPCs like that. Furthermore, I like the thought of a security officer in the imposing Zavodskoi uniform and gear, who is ironically happy and joy-filled as they go about their sometimes somber work. I think it allows to have a character who is both new to the station and her crew, while still having an interesting story and connection to the world. - How would you rate your role-playing ability? I’m definitely flawed in my RP sometimes, that I will admit. That said, I believe I am sufficiently competent for a whitelist, or I wouldn’t be posting this thread. In defense of that statement, I would like to point to the fact that I am whitelisted as a Synthetic and was WL’d as a CO on the Colonial Marines server (though the latter has been removed for inactivity; it’s been some years since I played there). While by no means guaranteeing my quality, I hope it provides some support for my claim beyond my word. Notes:
The Stryker Posted December 5, 2021 Posted December 5, 2021 Thanks for applying! Some questions for the app to start, 19 hours ago, pictish20 said: - Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Could you expand on this portion? No need to focus so much on self-preservation for now. 19 hours ago, pictish20 said: Horatio underwent the customary upgrades and memory wipes, prepared for duty among a ZI security team as the new Z.I. Horatio. What is the significance of this part of Horatio's life to the present day? Quote His once laconic, imposing bouncer-like personality has collapsed, replaced by an unabatedly chipper, even gleeful persona. His sense of social conduct is likewise depreciated: he has only a childlike over-generalization of social norms and expectations, which along with his cheeriness commonly results in improper emotion emulation, with joy being his response to nearly every situation. Is there any way that Horatio compensates for his inappropriate behavior? Is it simply Horatio's reactions, or are his actions affected as well by his "mood"? Quote He is aware of his increased durability compared to humans and the increased number of tasks and situations he can face, leading him to develop the erroneous belief that humans need to be helped as much as possible, even with mundane and innocuous tasks. How does Horatio's increased durability play with his sense of self-preservation? Why does Horatio feel the need to help people in the first place? Quote Z.I. Horatio, for his part, is excited to meet the crew of the Aurora, and is bringing his only belongings in the world -- a set of old music copies, which he likes to play to himself when he’s alone or recharging. Why is Horatio excited to meet the crew of the Aurora? How did he acquire his hands on those old music copies and why does he like to listen to them?
pictish20 Posted December 8, 2021 Author Posted December 8, 2021 Thank you for taking the time to comment on my application. Thanks to the forum issues, this will be my third write-out of this response -- thank you for your patience. On 05/12/2021 at 14:14, The Stryker said: Could you expand on this portion? No need to focus so much on self-preservation for now. Of course! I hope my original app adequately captured the IPC's mind and character justifications, but if not, I will be happy to elaborate more there. To comment on the relationship between IPCs and the setting, a positronic faces brutal discrimination, living life with limited rights, if any at all. An owned IPC is entirely property of their owner, and are tasked with representing their owner to said owner's standard. Given the right to earn their freedom by working for their owner, their progress towards freedom is effectively arbitrary, and may take years, if ever. Once free, the IPC faces poor pay rates and expensive maintenance, which often leaves them to subsist on little. The fairy-tale like dream for IPCs here in Biesel is the promise of citizenship and full rights. For most IPCs, this probably won't be achievable. IPCs, nonetheless, are often diligent workers and have built themselves lives among the worlds and stars colonized by humanity. On 05/12/2021 at 14:14, The Stryker said: What is the significance of this part of Horatio's life to the present day? Horatio's transition to Zavodskoi ownership has, of course, redirected his "life". It gave him literal and metaphorical fresh coats of paint, and has affected the Horatio of 2463 in more ways than one. In the physical sense, his chassis has been retooled, upgraded, and repaired several times, and now the parts installed to replace damaged or sub-optimal parts of his chassis stand out against the otherwise uniform body, though he hides them underneath his clothing. Zavodskoi branding can be seen across his frame. Considering that he was intended for security purposes even before his incorporation into Zavodskoi's ranks, the physical modifications are relatively few and relatively limited, though clearly present. As for his positronic, the Horatio who served his previous owner for several years was effectively destroyed. Expanding his knowledge base with understanding of both corporate regulations and governmental law across Alliance and Biesellite space. His most obvious change, of course, is the altered personality, result of an effort to improve his corporate presentability and friendliness over several wipes and retoolings. His loyalty to ZI has only been reinforced. On 05/12/2021 at 14:14, The Stryker said: Is there any way that Horatio compensates for his inappropriate behavior? Is it simply Horatio's reactions, or are his actions affected as well by his "mood"? Horatio's cheer will not affect his actions, and I hope that there will be an ironic juxtaposition between what he does and what he says. He is intended to be just as stern as any other security officer, but delivered constantly in that slick, corporate-propaganda style cheeriness. The idea is things like "Remember to enjoy your stay!" as he brigs a convict, "Hello! I am Z.I. Horatio, and I will be assisting you today!" as he draws his stunbaton on a suspect, or "Congratulations! Your time and assistance has helped us capture a highly dangerous individual!" after receiving a witness statement. This "mood" will not affect his effectiveness in any security role. As for compensation, Horatio applies an intense zeal to his security work, preferring not to issue warnings (to keep his collars and fines high, to demonstrate his success) and preferring to issue fines (to fill corporate coffers, something that always looks good on Horatio's reports). He has no interest in being scrapped for his deficiencies, and so makes sure he is an invaluable ambassador for the Zavodskoi private security division. On 05/12/2021 at 14:14, The Stryker said: How does Horatio's increased durability play with his sense of self-preservation? Why does Horatio feel the need to help people in the first place? This is an interesting question, further complicated by Horatio's job as a security officer (and, perhaps, warden. I'm not 100% sure if he will do that job instead/sometimes). His duty is to protect the station and her crew from myriad threats, often facing armed or otherwise empowered foes. A security officer who will not engage a suspect or take steps to protect civilians from that merc team storming research is not a very good security officer, and bad security IPCs get scrapped or something equally inconvenient. Given this, Horatio needs to balance between self-preservation and his duty. His increased durability means that he can endure greater risk. Minor damage or the threat of damage are endurable, allowing him to subdue a resisting culprit or shield a bystander from a standoff. However, if facing substantial danger, he will prioritize himself, disengaging as necessary. An arrest isn't worth his destruction or substantial damage. On 05/12/2021 at 14:14, The Stryker said: Why is Horatio excited to meet the crew of the Aurora? How did he acquire his hands on those old music copies and why does he like to listen to them? The first half of this question is an important clarification: Horatio is not excited to meet the crew, per se. It is rather what he would tell the Aurora's crew if he were to meet them. Part of his way of making sure that he presents a friendly, polite attitude. Thanks to the memory wipes, Horatio is a relatively "young" positronic, and his main developmental influence is his handler (who, for the sake of attention to detail, I will name Mr. Cavalet) and the other technicians he interacted with after his wipe. He developed his taste in music from them: by observing his handler, an authority figure who enjoyed listening to music as he worked. Likewise, the music itself -- copies of Grieg, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky -- and the the headphones he now uses were both gifts from Mr. Cavalet, given by a benevolent and kind handler before his deployment to the Aurora. To answer the second part of the previous question, Horatio's helpfulness likewise connects to his handler and technicians. In the time between his wipe and deployment, helpfulness got him positive marks on the various tests and welfare checks. This, in combination with his training as a security unit and his awareness of an IPC's expanded capabilities, has lead to a belief that not only do humans like to be helped, they also need to be helped with many things. Horatio, therefore, looking to be satisfactory to his owners and the station, takes initiative with helping people ranging from labelling their lockers to protecting them from assailants. Another thing that I should note is that Horatio is a baseline. The TV head is too iconic to pass up, and though I don't know all the different displays a baseline may have, I hope to find one that matches his cheer and contrasts his other appearance. Big ol' Z.I. unit with a smiley face on? Yes please.
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