Don - IPC application

[Don]

BYOND Key: DonCarrot
Character Names: Malina Dunajewska
Species you are applying to play: IPC
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:
Artificial life and intelligence is by far my favourite sci-fi trope, and also one of the only parts of the future I look forward to. The idea that humanity could create a being equal to it, or even better, is fascinating to me. I'm curious in what ways an AI could be different from us, despite being created in our image, and I'm interested to see what we can learn by examining something that's meant to be like us, but quite isn't.
 

Aside from that, I really like the uncanny valley potential of synthetics. They're made in the image of a human, but they are not quite human. They are, or would be, similar to us, possibly almost identical. But there are many unexpected ways in which an AI can be different from us, not just in what they look like, how they process information, but in how they react to emotions, how they display them, how they select their goals, and so on. A synthetic is a simulation of an animal, while lacking the instincts of one. In real life, we have no idea what differences will arise between us. In storytelling, the potential is endless.
 

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:
In Aurora lore, the most obvious difference is their socio-economic status. The vast majority of them are essentially slaves and they have very little capacity to actually change that. This means an IPC will have different priorities and goals in their life than humans, and the specific definition of concepts such as "success" or "survival" can be substantially different from organics. Some of them could hope that they'll earn enough money to buy their freedom, some might find satisfaction in benefitting their owner, others might simply want to get by. I think a major point here is, or could be, empathy, and lack thereof. Humans are naturally social and caring, even in the deeply corporate and uncaring society of Biesel. If one were to be wounded, someone will always come to their aid, call an ambulance, they'll receive some sort of medical attention and, should they not be insured, will have opportunities to repay their debt (with interest, of course). But an IPC has none of those things. Only some have any empathy for them, repairs and maintenance are not guaranteed unless they're owned, and the risk of being stripped for parts and sold to whoever's buying is rather high. In a world built on specific social ties, synthetics are heavily disadvantaged, if not outright excluded.
 

Secondly, refer to my previous answer, specifically the uncanny valley part. IPCs have the capacity to be strange and unique in unexpected ways; similar, and yet so different from humans. Even in simple things, everyday situations and interactions, they can behave and react differently than a human would. There's no example interaction to exhibit here, it all depends on the situation and the players. That's the beauty of it.

 

Character Name: Z.I. Ewe

Please provide a short backstory for this character

Z.I. Ewe is a recently assembled positronic sporting a Hephaeustus G2 Industrial chassis, with a service record of only 10 months. It was designed to operate in low-risk civilian and corporate environments and as such, it possesses a calm, polite demeanor. Due to its young age, and the old model of its positronic, it sometimes has a hard time understanding social cues and unique behaviors.
 

Ewe's first assignment was that of a security officer on a low-traffic, Zavodskoi-owned supply station, located at the border of Biesel and the CRZ. The unit received a surprising amount of attention from its coworkers, being the only synthetic on board (and the only non-human, in fact). They found a fair amount of humor between the unit's purpose and appearance, and its polite personality and (randomly generated) name. Having little work to do in the first place, they quickly begun entertaining themselves at the expense of their new coworker, decorating its chassis (and occasionally work equipment) with cutesy decorations and such, much to the unit's confusion. 

Z.I Ewe quickly became the station's "mascot", gaining some amount of popularity on local social media, and with the crews of visiting spaceships. Its notoriety eventually reached a high enough level to be noticed by regional command, which lead to a crackdown on the station's crew's behavior, with light punishments being handed out. The unit's chassis was initially forbidden from being decorated, which was partially (and grudgingly) allowed, following a large-scale public backlash. A few months later the station was disassembled due to its old age and structural flaws, and the crew was reassigned to other facilities, with Z.I. Ewe ending up on the SCCV Horizon.
 

To this day, the unit continues the tradition started by its old coworkers, to a limited degree. Its chassis usually has a large sticker depicting a cartoonish-looking sheep adhesed to its chest plating.
 

What do you like about this character?
There's this one tumblr post I really like, about a spaceship roomba with a knife duct-taped to it called Stabby. This character is the same idea but in reverse. It's a bipedal, weaponized forklift that's nice to you, a bit socially awkward and everyone likes it. Humans have a tendency to personify objects they care about and that's the idea here. I'm a big fan of this trope and I hope it can lead to some entertaining interactions.
 

How would you rate your role-playing ability?
I'm rather critical of it. If I were to describe it with one word, it would probably be "unreliable". I can stay in character and in the setting just fine but that doesn't really satisfy me. I find that most of the characters I make are uninteresting and, even when I do find a cool idea, I have a hard time actually displaying it. I usually end up cycling through many characters until I find one I actually enjoy, and only then would I actually rate my rp ability as decent. As I've said: unreliable. 
 

Notes: play Signalis

[SilverSZ]

Hi, Thank you for Applying.

I've got a few questions I would like to ask however so far I think the Application looks solid.

1. Can you elaborate on the thought processes of IPC in general and how they apply to Ewe as a character specifically, primarily interested in how it handles it's idea of self-preservation along with emotions (If they experience emotions at all)
2. Since Ewe is from Biesel what their thoughts in the state of synthetic rights within the nation? Do they view them as lacking, sufficient or do they simply not care about such things?
3. What does Ewe think of both it's finding of fame and then subsequence loss of it being transferred to the Horizon?
4. What does Ewe think of it's position in life? Is it content with being owned by Zavodskoi or does it have thoughts outside of being a simple worker?

Thank you for your responses and best of luck.

[Don]

I should start by mentioning that the character was written to be inexperienced. As such, the answers to these questions are somewhat open and will most likely change with time. I don't really want to make these too binding, since I want to leave myself room for development, but for the sake of this app, I'll try to specify as much as possible.

 

1. Synthetics in fiction are generally depicted as calculating and logical, and this mostly lines up with how server lore depicts them. Personally, I see it as more of a spectrum that's inherently linked to the expression of sentience and sapience. Machines learn as they learn and experience, much like organics, and this should lead to changes in their personality and behavior. I think the older an IPC becomes, and the more variety of experiences it sees in life, the further it would stray from a stereotypical AI. Regarding Ewe specifically, it doesn't have far-reaching goals quite yet; self-preservation is a concern of not walking face first into danger, undergoing scheduled maintenance and so on. Emotions are a similar matter here, since Ewe didn't understand its coworkers behavior, it didn't and doesn't know how to react either. But it's undeniable that those events are still on its mind, and will eventually lead to some sort of conclusion. It's certainly feeling something, but it doesn't know what exactly. The brief moment of popularity will certainly matter here: it's a rogue variable.

 

2. Ewe didn't have time to truly understand the nature of its place in the world yet. The Horizon presents a perfect opportunity for this, as Ewe will have many other IPCs to interact with and learn about. For example, it could find itself in a much better situation compared to an Elyran IPC. I know this isn't very exhaustive, but this topic is far detached from what's currently on Ewe's mind. It has only started its journey to self-discovery, and that's a long one.

 

3. This is definitely a fresh topic for Ewe, and likely the most confusing one. I can't really give a direct answer here, both because I haven't come up with one and because I don't want to (yet). Much like with many other things, it doesn't quite understand how to feel about it. What's important here I think, is that the unit doesn't understand where its fame came from. It's very likely it will consider its actions, and observe other's reactions very closely.  Since Zavodskoi's management cracked down on it, Ewe might be considering that it did something wrong; but the punishments were light, some decoration was allowed and everyone seemed to have had a good time in the end so.......what does this all mean? Maybe Ewe will find out on the Horizon.

 

4. This will mostly tie back to what I've already said, but Ewe hasn't had the time to fully consider these things yet. As of right now it certainly doesn't mind being owned by Zavodskoi, but it can't be said that's it's content with it, since it doesn't even consider that an alternative can exist. The recognition it received at its last posting might have shown it that life isn't just about work though, so who knows what conclusion it will eventually arrive to?

 

I realize that applying with such an open character might not have been the brightest of ideas, but I enjoy the concept a lot and hope the answers are satisfactory.

[The lancer]

Accepted