MoondancerPony Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 (edited) BYOND Key: MoondancerPony Character Names: Tanya Robinson, Ferrin Sytes, Monica Huntington, Robert Huntington, Ryann Ford, Susanna Callisto Species you are applying to play: IPC (Shell) 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: To explore the intricacies of playing a race that in some aspects can be so much like humans, and yet entirely alien in others. The wide variety of personalities leads to a way to creatively explore problems unique to synthetics. For example, laws or directives. How does one codify an individual's morals in a format that's easy to understand, but still effective? Where do you draw the line between 'human' and 'humanoid'? If a synthetic can emulate a human sufficiently well, does that make it equal? Should it? Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Some things that are completely normal to humans are absolutely alien to IPCs, and vice versa. To some IPCs, emotion would seem like a form of blue-and-orange morality; absolutely arbitrary and not useful. However, other IPCs that have inbuilt lawsets or directives seem alien to organics, and even more arbitrary. An IPC may react differently to a tense situation than an organic would; instead of stressing about the moral or emotional side of an issue, they may simply choose the utilitarian solution. Other IPCs that are designed to emulate humans may even be able to passably emulate human emotions, but not without some quirks. Character Name: Lysander Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs The first iteration of Lysander was designed in 2441 as a project for a beginner's level AI programming class as a basic chatbot pAI using conventional robotics technology. It was programmed in Roma using standard, but outdated, libraries provided by the class, and could do no more than handle a few scripted conversations. As AI technology continued to progress, Lysander's creator, Susanna Callisto, continued to improve it, incorporating aspects of the Skrellian AI algorithms as well as tweaks of her own, designed to aid Lysander in carrying on day-to-day conversations as well as political and ideological debates. As she went through college at Yesten University in Biesel, acquired a BSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, and eventually earned a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, she continued making modifications to Lysander's original design. However, after eighteen years of development, she decided it was unlikely that any further development would be able to be made with conventional electronics, and started looking towards investing in a positronic brain. However, the Sol occupation shook those plans up a bit. With the situation involving synthetics a lot tenser and the widespread polarisation of pro-synth versus anti-synth, it seemed much more urgent to create a positronic brain for Lysander's personality than before. After visiting several companies on Biesel that manufactured and etched positronic brain units, she managed to purchase a 'blank' PBU. The next step was to compile the Roma code and generate a compatible Positronic Field Equation, which would be used to create the positronic pathway designs and etch the positronic brain. However, an additional request added an extra level of expense: to increase Lysander's realism, a small adjustment would be made to her positronic brain. While a standard positronic brain is large to compensate for quantum effects such as uncertainty when dealing with particles on the scale of positrons, which gives them their remarkable processing power and storage capability, it also makes them very predictable. Decreasing the space between the channels would do the opposite: it would add a level of 'creativity' or 'intuition' to the positronic brain, but decrease its processing power and storage capability. This compression, while slightly reducing the size and therefore cost of the positronic brain, is also nonstandard, which means that the price for special manufacturing would nearly offset any money saved by the compression. This led Callisto to turn to NanoTrasen for funding. She applied for a research grant to develop an IPC that would increase social cohesion on the station by analysing the opinions, preferences, and ideologies of the station's crew. To aid with this goal, it was decided that Lysander would be 'employed' as a librarian on the Exodus, a research station well-suited for such experimental AI research. As Lysander was placed in a rather mundane and civilian job, it seemed that a shell chassis would only improve the results and only require routine maintenance. The Roma code was compiled to a Positronic Field Equation which was used to etch the positronic brain (using a circuit imprinter much like the ones found on the Exodus) and a synthskin face was created and fitted onto a shell chassis. Following a short training program to acclimate the newly-created positronic brain to a shell body, as well as testing to ensure it operated correctly, Lysander version fifteen, which utilised a modified positronic brain, was deemed ready to use. What do you like about this character? As opposed to using the traits of an IPC for mechanical advantages in jobs like engineering or security, Lysander actually has a rather mundane job: being a librarian. It'll also give me lots of opportunities for RP between crew members with different opinions, since many librarians tend to have debates in their libraries, as well as its proximity to the chapel giving me the opportunity to explore the intersection of synthetics and religion. Additionally, Lysander is sort of a blank slate- a tabula rasa in the rationalist sense. She's barely interacted with the outside world save for some very basic testing. Lysander, while an attempt at creating a more personable and realistic human-like AI, is also far from perfect. She's quirky, follows obscure logical (or illogical) paths, and goes on tangents. It's rather hard to keep her on track, which is a side effect of the modification intended to give her a sense of 'intuition' or creativity. She's also slightly slow to respond due to this, lacking the enormous processing power of other IPCs. I also really look forward to interacting with characters who disagree with her, as, in my opinion, character development occurs where characters collide and clash. I'd love to take a more logic-oriented approach to debates, and it seems like a good idea to do it with a character such as Lysander, who is designed for it. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Maybe a seven out of ten. Passing, perhaps, but nowhere near perfect. We all have room to improve. Notes: Can't think of anything else to add. Edited March 30, 2017 by Guest Link to comment
Faris Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 There are very few people in this community that I would put on the same spectrum to their dedication and interests towards synthetics and their accompanied lore, one of these people is Moondancer. Their first two answers are short yet at the same time concise and fleshed out, I especially liked the somewhat philosophical approach you took to answering the questions? Are synthetics really different from us? Could they ever truly be equal to us and why should it be allowed? Now moving on to the background story, what really intrigues me and makes me like it is the fact you had an idea, you've been role playing it over the course of weeks, maybe months now and here you are now finally applying for it, after IC'ly trying to get Lysander made, you've even Incorporated major events in the Auroraverse into your story. This shows to me the narrative of a story is important to you, and that you've thoroughly thought it out, it's unique to me yet not high on the snowflakey spectrum, always a big plus for me. Though I do have questions two questions. Why did you precisely settle for a shellframe? I think you were debating between a baseline and a shell-frame for this character Why did you pick Librarian specifically out of the other social roles? I do recall giving you the Librarian part as a suggestion some time ago but I'm interested on why you picked it. As I'm sure your answers are going to be satisfactory to me, I'm going to give you a +1, with a very strong emphasis of a +1. Link to comment
MoondancerPony Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Sure, let me try to answer those. Having Lysander on the station as a librarian is twofold: It allows her to interact with crew members with a wide variety of opinions, and it also doesn't put her much in harm's way. As the reason she's on the station is to collect data about the crew members' opinions, being a librarian puts her in a great spot to do that, while not making her vital to the operation of the station. It's also very safe, which is a great bonus when dealing with shells because synthskin is notoriously fragile. While the baseline would be cheaper, the shell offers more advantages: the passing realism, the ability to have facial expressions, and even the opportunity to get to talk to people who would never approach a baseline. For an IPC whose goal is to maximise or optimise social cohesion, being expressive and looking somewhat similar is a great boon. It allows her to fit in more, but still making her visibly synthetic, as synthskin and shells are far from perfect or even passing from up close. If someone has a monitor for a head, it's easier to hate and dismiss them for no reason than if they have a face that can show happiness, sadness, and fear, even if those emotions are simulated. EDIT: I forgot to mention that if Lysander had a different job, like in Engineering, Security, or even as a chef, she probably would not have a shell. Most importantly, being a librarian is not risky to the Shell chassis, which is the biggest expenditure. It's relatively low-risk, which makes me think it would make it more likely for Lysander to be able to get a shell chassis. Link to comment
DatBerry Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 this is one of the few character apps that are short and really doesn't leave much for me to criticize. the character's upbringing(or synthetic equivalent) makes sense, the story pace is good, there aren't any fast high jumps and it's pretty ordinary in a good way and the reason for the character to be working here fits like a glove. the only point i have is that being a librarian isolates you, especially if you expect people to come to the library. it may be fruitful to have them hop around civilian and service to meet and interact with organics from different perspectives. oh and moonmoon is ok i guess, his characters "RP" and shit, never robusts valids, smh. +1 from me Link to comment
The Stryker Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Shows good understanding of IPCs and the character itself has a good background, most notably touching on the Sol Invasion which is a really important point for IPCs, kind of like the war on Adhomai for tajarans. They also RP well so +1. Link to comment
ariever Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 thought i responded to this alrady dont feel like retyping everything i wrote +1 Link to comment
Superiorform Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Sadly, I haven't had the chance to RP with Moondancer much, but I have heard good things of her. The app itself looks good, and the answer to the question I feel is most important, what makes RPing an IPC different to a human, is very well thought out and detailed. The backstory has clearly been very well thought out and is very interesting, I particularly like the fact that this IPC will be a librarian. I cannot find any criticisms for this app, so, definitely a +1 from me. I hope I get a chance to RP with you in future. Link to comment
MoondancerPony Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 this is one of the few character apps that are short and really doesn't leave much for me to criticize. the character's upbringing(or synthetic equivalent) makes sense, the story pace is good, there aren't any fast high jumps and it's pretty ordinary in a good way and the reason for the character to be working here fits like a glove. the only point i have is that being a librarian isolates you, especially if you expect people to come to the library. it may be fruitful to have them hop around civilian and service to meet and interact with organics from different perspectives. oh and moonmoon is ok i guess, his characters "RP" and shit, never robusts valids, smh. +1 from me Hm. Yes, the isolation is a big issue. However, I think the shell is pretty integral to Lysander as a character, since she mainly holds conversations and talks with people, owing mostly to her goal on the station and her origin as a chatbot pAI. There might be a civilian job that is similarly low-risk and lets her interact more, though. Maybe a few shifts as a journalist? Link to comment
Tequilajoe Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I think Sharp put it well already. Moondancer's obsession with synthetics and their lore makes them a perfect candidate for an IPC. When I say I can't think of anyone better, I'm not just saying that, I truly can't think of anyone more suitable. +1 Link to comment
Raineko Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Moon has a solid understanding of how to write a character, and an even more solid understanding of putting them in motion. Interacting with Moon's characters in-game and on the IC discord leaves me to believe that Lysander would be a great addition to their cast of characters. I'm confident that they'll bring their A game with Lysander, like they do with their other characters. +1 from me. Link to comment
Shadow Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I agree with the guys above. Enough said. +1 frome me. Link to comment
Synnono Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I've seen a little bit of Lysander on the NTN Relay as a pAI, and more than a lot of Moondancer and their roster of tremendous nerd characters since coming back last fall. There are few players I know who devote quite so much time and care to not only the fictional material they come up with, but also (in the case of robots and robot designers) to the disruptive sci-fi questions that their characters might pose, or want to answer. I also like that this application uses the server's recent events and happenings from IC/In-game interactions as a little springboard to prompt the character's creation. Background lore is at its best when players are doing something with it, rather than just reacting to the circumstances that they find themselves in. There's also an unhealthy addiction to developing strong source material going on. This is a player who asked me if it might be a good idea to write out an IC grant paper as a supporting document for their character. It's hard for me to say no to someone like that. I'm looking forward to this one! Link to comment
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