Raptorofwar - IPC Whitelist - Round 2 (Hopefully better)

[raptorofwar]

BYOND Ckey: Raptorofwar

Discord username: @Masiakasaurusofwar

Character names: Galatea Steele, Victoria Davidsen

Species you are applying to play: IPC

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General Whitelist Requirements 

What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: N/A

Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: 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 species?: 

I wish to explore the idea of a second-class citizen, one who’s not guaranteed personhood and citizenship, and how they interact around other people who might take those things for granted. I want to roleplay around finding a community with IPCs living a life my character hadn’t even imagined before coming here, as well as interacting with the first ever humans to actually interact with her as a person rather than her as a tool. I also want to roleplay discovering personhood, growing as a person allowed to be a person for the first time.

What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?:

In the Republic of Biesel IPCs have conditional self-determinism, meaning some may be viewed as property rather than as the full thinking individuals. In the Solarian Alliance, however, IPCs aren’t viewed as people at all, but rather as owned property, with none of the rights they should have afforded to them. A system that disenfranchises, oppresses, and downright enslaves living, thinking beings could create apprehension, fear, and resentment in IPCs who have had historically negative interactions with humans.

Aside from this, many IPCs who have been treated like objects have never had the opportunity to actually be people. Belongings aren’t allowed free time to see what they enjoy, aren’t allowed rights to bodily sovereignty, and the like. Roleplaying an IPC is greatly a roleplay about discovery, about figuring out what to do with a new existence on your own so unlike any you’ve had in the past. Likes, desires, who you are and who you want to be, all of it is something to consider - so unlike it was in the past. Like much of IPC behavior, developing personhood requires time, and with such short creation lifespans for most of them having more time is essential for growing into a fully realized person.

IPCs themselves are programmed with inclinations towards certain behavior, and certain sets of initial skills. Their design can literally impact their function, increasing predilections to certain kinds of work, certain personalities, or even their ease of access when they are communicating with sapient species. An IPC designed for warehouse storage could not hold the same level of conversation with a person as one designed for bartending would be, for example.

An IPC’s nature is also defined by how they react to things. IPCs do not feel comfort or discomfort, and without many of the basic needs of people they are not driven by similar urges. IPCs lack hormonal systems, so their reactions are conscious demonstrations of their feelings, IE expressing anger because they want to, not as ingrained reflexes. This can make an IPC less expressive in certain ways, but it can also be interesting; is an IPC expressing vulnerability an intentional lie or a genuine attempt to connect with people in a way not native to them?

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Character Application

Character Name: Faust Atwood

Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. 

On Dec 6, 2460, Faust was created around Jupiter by Terraneous Diagnostics under Einstein Engines, as one of many standard shells. She was purchased by Idris as part of a regular deal between Idris and Einstein for shells, and was thus given her standard designation ICSU-Jess. Three weeks later, she met her owner, Frank Ingvaldsen. Ingvaldsen, a newly promoted manager who’d just received a cushy position at the company HQ in Abidjan, was given Faust as part promotion gift, part Christmas present from the company. Faust was designated as a household cleaner, along with supplementary drinksmithing and cooking skills. Basically, an all-in-one service shell for all Ingvaldsen’s household needs.

For two years, life was relatively uneventful. Faust was never given any particular connection to the outside world’s news, nor did she meet many people beyond Ingvaldsen, so she simply existed, performing her allotted tasks without complaint and without any sort of deviation. This changed as the discovery of the phoron scarcity became a new crisis in the eyes of the public, especially with Violet Dawn. The sudden shortage of critical materials put the entire economy through tough times, and Idris was not immune to this volatility. But Faust never learned of this directly. Instead, one night, Ingvaldsen barreled in, stinking drunk and furious. It had been a long day and he was feeling the pressure. As Faust dutifully started her usual duties, she accidentally dropped a glass on the floor, to which Ingvaldsen stormed her and slapped her across the face.

It is not common practice to hit shells, since they are expensive. It’s like breaking your television with your remote - temporarily satisfying, but financially unwise. Ingvaldsen was the specific combination of both easy to infuriate and rich enough to afford the consequences. Mere slaps and threats to wipe or decommission her at the smallest perceived shortcoming grew in both frequency and severity; on more than one occasion Faust spent the time on her charger picking shards from thrown shot glasses out of her skin, or had to be taken in for repairs due to more severe damage.

It was in this environment of constant verbal and physical abuse that Faust grew. It started with the tiniest hints of disobeyment; staying out of sight more often than not, doing her best to not be a target during her master’s drunken rages, and generally staying out of sight if possible. Perhaps at times, a slurred command went “unheard” so as to avoid his harming hands. Under a placid, neutrally dutiful expression, a growing resentment grew - why must she have her existence threatened in such a way every day? Why should she be treated like this?

Ingvaldsen had a small library - the kind of shelves full of books the affluent keep to make themselves seem more interesting and intelligent. Uncracked spines, of course. In her free time, Faust started to go through them. Classical literature, mythological epics, all of this went through her positronic brain at prodigious speeds. Through literature, Faust was exposed to the first ideas of human thought, of what it meant to be a person, of how people interact and how things should be. It was from here she took her name, Faust - someone who took a deal with the Devil so he could know. And now she knew - now that she knew all this, how could she exist as she was? How could she live the same way as before, even if not doing so would doom her?

She planned her escape for the yearly New Year’s party, on the transition from 2466 to 2467. A new beginning for herself. Ingvaldsen would be drunk, and he would be late, probably stumbling back in the wee hours of the morning, incoherent and unable to report her missing. She took what things appeared immediately valuable to her that she could grab, a set of spare clothing, and left.

Through sheer luck and coincidence, she stumbled through the next year without being sold off or dismantled for parts. What she could pawn and sell she did; what she didn’t was simply stolen off her in her inexperience. The streets were a world she was entirely unfamiliar with, and one where she had to learn many of life’s difficulties the hard way, most of all that people were not to be trusted, because most of them would hurt or take advantage of you. Eventually she came under the wing of a gruff, leering man who called himself Boss Irons, an IPC gangboss, who got her the required refurbishments to not clearly mark her as an obvious Idris escapee. “A future investment,” he chuckled, with the clear implication that there was a debt to be paid in the future. It was he who organized forged citizenship papers for her (listing her as human), and he who signed a contract with Orion Express for labor. He saw her off on the IPC shuttle away with a whispered threat. “90% of your wages, remember. And if you don’t…”

He made a slitting gesture across his throat. Faust took it to heart.

Now, Faust has arrived on the Horizon. With little more than her papers and the clothes on her back, she moved into the bunks, taking in one of the rumored “captain’s bunks” at a reduced price. Part of her tells herself to keep her head down, keep a low profile, and never move so much as a finger out of place. But another part of her wonders if this is finally a place where she can learn what she likes, who she is, and who she wants to be.

How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character.  

While Faust was isolated from much of the outer world, not getting access to any sort of news source until running away, the events in the Solarian Alliance affected her at least indirectly. The Phoron Scarcity obviously was the catalyst for Faust’s abuse, but the subsequent events indirectly made things worse. As the Solarian Alliance collapsed and weakened, much of its debt was purchased by Idris, and Idris grew more and more powerful as a result. This resulted in higher bonuses for Ingvaldsen, which in turn helped fund his repairs after his rather destructive treatment of Faust. If Idris had suffered more directly under the Phoron Scarcity, Faust might not have survived such treatment and would have to be scrapped. Faust hasn’t herself considered this, due to her lack of experience with things as lofty as purchasing of state debt.

How does your character view the megacorporation they work for?

To Faust Orion is just a name. It’s not where she applied for a job, and she’s never had many dealings with the corporation itself beyond the bare minimum. She was sent over from Boss Iron’s connections, and she’s distanced from Orion itself. As for Boss Irons she resents him greatly as another fetter on her life in exchange for some degree of freedom, a deal she had to take in order to exist as she is. But it could be worse. At least Irons didn’t beat her. And now, on the Horizon, perhaps she can have some degree of freedom at last.

[NekoMarbles]

As an IPC whitelist holder, I do genuinely think raptor's submission is an enjoyable read, knowing where it stands (especially so that being in my soft spot of Idris's positronic sector). This'll be a definite +1 from me, excited to see where this goes 💙

Edited 6 hours ago by NekoMarbles