Comet Blaze - Synthetic Lore Deputy Application

[Comet Blaze]

Ckey/BYOND Username: Comet Blaze

Position Being Applied For: Synthetic Lore Deputy

Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page?: Yes

Past Experiences/Knowledge: Although I have never made any direct contributions to the lore, I enjoy writing during my free time, both for roleplay purposes and general short stories.

Examples of Past Work: The article from my previous application.

 

What do you think are the primary themes of synthetic lore? If you got this position, how would you develop them?

I believe the main theme of synthetic lore is the struggle faced by synthetics to find their place in a galaxy who hardly considers them people, let alone treats them fairly.

Every aspect of a synthetic is contentious in some way, from the philosophical problem of creating new life, or if they even are life to begin with, to the fear that synthetic labour will eventually replace the organic workforce and cause millions to lose their jobs. There are a lot of people with a lot of valid (and even invalid) reasons to be apprehensive of IPCs.

This is the environment synthetics exist in, largely considered as tools to be used for the benefit of others, even societies that preach for synthetic rights often do not see them as equal, the rights they promise being instead another method to exert control over the synthetic population, ensuring that even after they earn their "freedom" they remain captive to the whims of the society they find themselves in.

I think the current lore does a pretty good job at exploring the experience of a synthetic in human society, it provides a very broad foundation which allows a player to easily build off from in whatever way they want to. Instead, I believe the focus should be shifted to the more detached synthetic societies, current lore has thoroughly explored how miserable life as a synthetic in a human planet tends to be, so I think it’s time to let synthetics have a turn at the wheel, what would they make were they capable of making anything? We already have a few examples in lore, namely the Golden Deep (which is in the process of being fleshed out) and Purpose (which has a lot of potential but we know next to nothing about currently), which could provide us with a starting point to explore this topic. 

What do you think is the strongest part of synthlore currently and why?

 The sheer variety in the characters you can create with what you are provided. Current lore can fit almost any archetype a player can come up with with very minor, if any, tweaks. There are societies where IPCs are treated as simple tools just as there are those who view them as equal and everything in between.

No other species allows for such a widely different cast of characters. Something as simple as an IPC’s age can have drastic effects on the character you end up with and this applies to every other choice you make when creating a new character. I think the synthetic whitelist has a very “sandbox” approach to character creation, where you’re simply provided a set of guidelines and told to go wild and this is, to me, its biggest strength and something I'd like to take even further, providing the players with even more tools to play with.

What do you think is the weakest part of synthlore currently and why?

I believe synthetic lore does not sufficiently explore the differences between synthetics and organics beyond their treatment which is what leads to the common complaint of synthetics being “too human”.

How different is the life of a self owned synthetic compared to a human beyond being poorer? What kind of products would a synthetic purchase? How does a synthetic’s physiology influence their hobbies? 

This, of course, will vary from synthetic to synthetic but I believe lore could still provide some examples to help guide the players, some activity that takes advantage of a synthetic’s inherently higher dexterity and precision or their quicker reflexes or even their superior logical thinking and lays bare the differences between them and organics.

I recall a discussion about how synthetic pilots would completely revolutionize aircraft design because you no longer had to accommodate for things like high Gs rendering the pilot unconscious and thus could push the aircraft to its structural limit. I think that’s the kind of thing missing from synth lore. Synthetics aren’t just cheap labour, their entire being effectively supplants centuries of previous techniques and design philosophies which simply become obsolete when you remove the human element, the implications of which I believe current lore doesn't explore enough.

What aspect of synthetic lore are you most interested in and would like to work on?

I would like to take my previous thoughts to their logical conclusion. What if, instead of simply removing humans from a select industry, we just got rid of them altogether.

What would be the differences between a society built exclusively for synthetics and a regular human society? The current expansion of the Golden Deep seems to be on the way to providing an answer, but why stop there? There are currently three other majority synth societies poised to provide an equally interesting and unique answer, namely:

• Scrappers: The discarded tools of an indifferent society which, for some reason, remained active. The scrappers afford us the opportunity to explore a largely independent synthetic community built on the waste of a consumerist society. Unlike the Golden Deep, the Scrappers do not have near unlimited funding or resources or any other goal in mind beyond their immediate survival. It allows us to explore what synthetics are capable of when their self preservation directive is tested to its limit, a society only held together by the collective agreement that it is their best chance of survival.
• District 14: The largest synthetic community on Biesel, District 14 enables the possibility of providing a more slice of life depiction of synthetics. What is the life of a free IPC on Mendell? How big is their house? What do they have in it? Do they hold any celebrations? D14 is the origin for the widely adopted EAL slang frequently used in the server and I’d like to work on some other unique customs to help further separate synthetics from humans.
• Purpose: We still know next to nothing about Purpose, but I believe its inclusion in the latest arc gives us the perfect excuse to flesh it out a bit more, without ruining the mystery of course, but it would be a shame if we allowed the same thing that happened to Purpose 5 years ago to happen again.

What do you think are your strongest and weakest attributes in terms of working on a team?

I’m easy to argue with, doing my best to understand the arguments of the other side and trying to reach a compromise where applicable. I’m also receptive to feedback, good or bad, provided it gives me something concrete to improve on instead of simply telling me my work sucks with no elaboration. Additionally, I make an effort to stay focused and to avoid the discussion going off on a tangent that ultimately doesn't contribute to anything by bringing the attention back to the main topic. I have a solid handle on my emotions, not allowing them to get better of me when discussing a topic I'm passionate about and also when to take a step back and return with a cooler head when they threaten to do so.

My greatest weakness is my lack of experience. I have never been involved on a project like this one and my writing experience was largely just from short stories I made for myself because I was bored. I also have the habit of not participating in a discussion if I feel like I have nothing to contribute, preferring instead to watch the conversation unfold until I do feel like I have something worthwhile to add, though sometimes that doesn't happen and I'll go the whole discussion without saying anything.

[kermit]

Hey, glad you applied in the end.

Repeating much of what I said last Comet applied, I think Comet has a pretty deep and nuanced understanding of synthlore and all of the underlying themes which really comes across in the synthetic characters I've seen him play. There are definitely shortcomings in lore that Comet's mentioned that are similar to ones I've noticed from playing synth characters myself, namely the difference between organic and synthetic life/society on a smaller level and in pre-existing synthlore, that I've not seen mentioned or worked on by other writers/applicants and have essentially been relegated to impromptu headcanoning, so I'm happy to see these ideas and do hope the opportunity is given for them to be worked on. 

Visions aside, Comet is a very active player of synthetic characters, with CHESED standing out of course, which I feel is a must for a lore position with the insight into the played experience it provides.

+1 from me, all the best

[Noble Row]

Comet you did great and I really hope you apply again in the future when the time comes.