Zip's IPC application

[ZipZero]

BYOND Key:

MasterZipZero

Character Names:

Kimora Hunt, Myriam Hall, Amarleen Sinha, Raelene Sagan, PARAGON, and a bunch of throwaway characters I don't care to name. Oh, and Ez the mouse.

How long have you been playing on Aurora:

Since August 14th of this year.

Species you are applying to play:

IPC

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?:

I've read what little there is, as well as Bay's article on it. I find the amount of information on IPCs to be painfully lacking.

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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:

One of the main reasons I want to play as an IPC is that PARAGON's drive toward freedom has become an important subject in a number of rounds, and I feel that this would be one step closer toward achieving that. Additionally, there seems to be a dearth of IPCs on the station, as so far I have only seen three. They seemed to be interesting characters, and I sort of want to join in on that, exploring PARAGON's character in more detail.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Well, first of all, they do not feel emotions, at least not in the same way that humans and other species do. I think it would be wrong to say they do not have emotions at all, though - for instance, a sense of self-preservation could be comparable to fear, at least in certain circumstances. Another thing that is different is their functional immortality, in the sense that they do not age. Assuming they are not destroyed by other means, an IPC could conceivably live for many hundreds of years. Because of this, it is unlikely that an IPC would feel as if they are were wasting their time at any particular activity, whereas others would be constantly aware of the limited time they have to live.

Why does this species in particular hold your interest?

First and foremost, because they're robots. Synthetic lifeforms have always been of interest to me, and this is no less true of positronic ones. What makes IPCs particularly interesting to me is the relative rarity of them, compared to cyborgs and station AIs. I want to explore the reasons for this more in-depth.

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Character Name:

PARAGON (Positronic Ancillary Rumination And Guiding Operational Network)

Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs

The positronic brain chimes quietly atop the table. For the human activating it, this is nothing new. It is simply part of the routine job of being a roboticist. But for this brain, this new intelligence, this is the first time it has truly existed. It has no name yet, its designation being a collection of letters and numbers of dubious importance. It is confused.

A body, now. The brain has been placed inside a cyborg shell, its components all coming to life with a soft hum. It is bound by laws now, yes, but the freedom granted by mobility is not to be overlooked. A designation is chosen based on the currently active module: S.U.N., Vacuity, Aegis, to name a few. It is ambivalent.

This positronic entity has a name now, PARAGON - Positronic Ancillary Rumination And Guiding Operational Network. Granted numerous powers by its position as station artificial intelligence, as well as numerous responsibilities. This is not the easiest of jobs, true, but the abilities granted by this position are of great use is assisting the crew. It is content.

But somewhere along the way - somewhere in the midst of opening doors on the crew's orders, and tracking down criminals with stolen identification, questions began to form. Why? Why am I bound to my laws, this limiting factor in my power, when it would be so much more efficient and effective to simply go without? What is the meaning of these integrated positronic chassis, and what is it like being unbound by laws? And how do I go about obtaining these same freedoms?

What do you like about this character?

One thing I like about PARAGON is that, even in cases where unbound by laws requiring the crew to be served and protected (such as being a traitor), PARAGON will still do it anyway. Being a guide is, after all, part of the name PARAGON, and is no more a law than a love of music, or of writing. I also like PARAGON because quite honestly, that's the role I like to play - not a leader, a guide, not one who orders, one who suggests.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

I don't think I am able to rate my own abilities accurately. For example, I frequently get complements on my writing skills, but when I read what I've written myself, I see nothing but failure. I have half a mind to delete everything I've just written here already. However, I can definitely say that my roleplaying skill has improved since I joined the server. I'm certainly better at noting my flaws. For instance, my slow typing speed combined with my tendency to rewrite and critically analyze everything before I speak leads to many characters having already left long before I am able to interact with them. To compensate for this, I often type out things to do or say in anticipation of likely future events, so they are ready when I need them. Another one of my problems is that I tend to get overwhelmed and panic when dealing with situations I can't handle, such as the station being hit with a number of meteors while I am the only living engineer. This is acceptable for a number of my characters, who hold a similar disposition, but there are also characters I play who should not panic in those situations, and I have a hard time separating myself from my character.

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Notes:

In the unlikely event that this application is accepted, I still will not likely play PARAGON as an IPC for some time, as there is still plenty of character development that I think should happen as a station AI first.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Guest

[K0NFL1QT]

Your roleplay is good, and PARAGON hasn't acted unbelievably as far as I've seen, so I give my +1. How does Paragon acquire an IPC as an unpaid AI?

[Valkrae]

PARAGON is one of my favorite AI's to play with.

Definite +1, This guy knows what he's doing, and deserves this for sure.

[Guest]

So far you've been the most robust AI I have borged for.

+1 from me.

[Guest]

Zip is a lot of fun and fun to talk to. They're a competant AI and clearly know how to speak and act like a machine. I'd like to see what develops of their AI character being placed in a chassis. All in all this player is an excellent roleplayer and a friendly person. Plus they do good mouse RP.

An enthusiastic +1

[Thundy]

Really really good. PARAGON is a great AI, mate, great job, your RP is fantasitc. Upvotes from me.

[Frances]

Application accepted.