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keaaluThinking... whee. Just a random little idea. I still need to name one of the main characters, but the other main (at the moment, there may be more) is a "parallel organic variant" of Ivy. These DON'T start at the start of the story, as (as ever) I have yet to start it properly, I just wondered about opinions. Or am I hoping for too much? :P Anyway.
This is mostly scene-setting, at the moment. The Kiravai in the "normal" universe are fairly imperious, vicious avians, with a predisposition to taking prisoners, extensive use of slaves and a perception of other beings as very below them, but are otherwise fairly samey (polite, demure, and keep themselves-to-themselves when they're not encroaching on Coalition space).
"Automata"
Automata, or “Synth” as they had become more popularly known, were an originally-Kiravai technology. The Kiravai were an aviform species – tall and elegant, with long limbs and large ears and slightly metallic skin – but ‘bird-brains’ they were not. They were renowned for being an aloof, stand-offish species, but their technology was first-class and they were happy to share it so long as you minded your manners and didn’t intrude unnecessarily into their business.
The Kiravai called their creations “Kirasiinu” (which translated roughly as “synthetic people”) and afforded them their own race and their own status; the Coalition, with a more “primitive” variant, chose to treat the synthetic creatures more like the average home computer, just a little more perambulatory. The Kiravai weren’t bothered – what other species did with technology they had legally and honestly bought disinterested them.
The Synth themselves didn’t seem unduly perturbed, either, but then that was to be expected, they were happily accepted as having no emotional capacity at all, and operated with a quiet, biddable, smiling patience. Something with an inability to be irritated would hardly mind being used as a decorative servant, after all – which was why most people liked and wanted them. It was rare to find a person who wanted a Synth for any reason other than their usefulness, and the fact that once you’d bought it, you didn’t have to feed and clothe and tend it particularly regularly, if at all.
From sparse beginnings barely five years ago, Automata were no longer an uncommon sight. An estimated forty percent of the population (a figure that was steadily growing) owned at least one, and naturally the more affluent sectors of society owned more – like with anything, if you could afford it, you could have as many as you wanted. Some celebrities were rumoured to have populated their entire personal staff with Synth alone – they were easier to trust, after all, they wouldn’t sell your secrets to the popular press.
There were two basic types – plant-foot or high-foot – and two basic facial types – blunt-snouted, like a canid or a sauroid, or beaked, like a Zaar or (superficially) a DuSkai. All were androgynous, sexless creatures, with bland and patient smiles, and ever-obedient. If you wanted more than that, you had to pay more, for what the company called “Augments” – your choice of colour came as standard, but to get something other than flat plain colour you had to pay extra. To get a particular, defined species was an astronomical cost, unless you knew cybernetics and did the work yourself. Of course people could afford it – there were plenty of flamboyant aviforms that didn’t correspond to any known species, spot-striped Vuls with prehensile tails, DuSkai with a better complement of colour ability than the organic creatures they were modelled on… There were even some custom-builds – quadruped ‘guard dogs’, fully-mobile Kabrii, whatever you wanted you could have, if it were physically and economically possible.
And Synth were almost cheap enough to be bought by anyone that wanted one. It wasn’t even uncommon to see Nyen slinking along with “synth on their arm” – although it was obvious what the average Nyen wanted Synth for. Ivy used to watch them follow their owners, and wondered what it meant to the Synth to be used like that.
On the whole, Synth were calm and gentle creatures; quiet and obedient, with a respect for all forms of life hardwired in. No Synth had ever lifted a finger against non-Synth, and – somewhat surprisingly – no Synth had ever lifted a finger against Synth. Most reasons, As-Spoke’d-by-The-Press, were urban myths; Synth were preprogrammed not to harm other Synth so Syntheticorp could avoid expensive litigation if one owner with too much time on his or her hands decided a futuristic dogfight with an unwilling participant would be a good thing. Others suggested it was out of a sinister and growing kinship, that someday they’d band together and take over the world.
The reality was more clinical and altogether more believable; if Synth could be commanded to damage Synth, there was the possibility that errors could be made. That with faulty inputs, even a computer-brained artificial being could mistake an easily-damaged organic life-form for one of its own. And if Synth ever raised a hand against organic, even once, even in the tiniest most insignificant way, the seeds would have been sown and trust would be lost. The multi-billion industry that Syntheticorp headed would come crashing down like a castle of sand, and people would reject the safe, familiar but brutally damaging arms of their attendant Synth in favour of the riskier but less harmful arms of their fellows.
This is mostly scene-setting, at the moment. The Kiravai in the "normal" universe are fairly imperious, vicious avians, with a predisposition to taking prisoners, extensive use of slaves and a perception of other beings as very below them, but are otherwise fairly samey (polite, demure, and keep themselves-to-themselves when they're not encroaching on Coalition space).
"Automata"
Automata, or “Synth” as they had become more popularly known, were an originally-Kiravai technology. The Kiravai were an aviform species – tall and elegant, with long limbs and large ears and slightly metallic skin – but ‘bird-brains’ they were not. They were renowned for being an aloof, stand-offish species, but their technology was first-class and they were happy to share it so long as you minded your manners and didn’t intrude unnecessarily into their business.
The Kiravai called their creations “Kirasiinu” (which translated roughly as “synthetic people”) and afforded them their own race and their own status; the Coalition, with a more “primitive” variant, chose to treat the synthetic creatures more like the average home computer, just a little more perambulatory. The Kiravai weren’t bothered – what other species did with technology they had legally and honestly bought disinterested them.
The Synth themselves didn’t seem unduly perturbed, either, but then that was to be expected, they were happily accepted as having no emotional capacity at all, and operated with a quiet, biddable, smiling patience. Something with an inability to be irritated would hardly mind being used as a decorative servant, after all – which was why most people liked and wanted them. It was rare to find a person who wanted a Synth for any reason other than their usefulness, and the fact that once you’d bought it, you didn’t have to feed and clothe and tend it particularly regularly, if at all.
From sparse beginnings barely five years ago, Automata were no longer an uncommon sight. An estimated forty percent of the population (a figure that was steadily growing) owned at least one, and naturally the more affluent sectors of society owned more – like with anything, if you could afford it, you could have as many as you wanted. Some celebrities were rumoured to have populated their entire personal staff with Synth alone – they were easier to trust, after all, they wouldn’t sell your secrets to the popular press.
There were two basic types – plant-foot or high-foot – and two basic facial types – blunt-snouted, like a canid or a sauroid, or beaked, like a Zaar or (superficially) a DuSkai. All were androgynous, sexless creatures, with bland and patient smiles, and ever-obedient. If you wanted more than that, you had to pay more, for what the company called “Augments” – your choice of colour came as standard, but to get something other than flat plain colour you had to pay extra. To get a particular, defined species was an astronomical cost, unless you knew cybernetics and did the work yourself. Of course people could afford it – there were plenty of flamboyant aviforms that didn’t correspond to any known species, spot-striped Vuls with prehensile tails, DuSkai with a better complement of colour ability than the organic creatures they were modelled on… There were even some custom-builds – quadruped ‘guard dogs’, fully-mobile Kabrii, whatever you wanted you could have, if it were physically and economically possible.
And Synth were almost cheap enough to be bought by anyone that wanted one. It wasn’t even uncommon to see Nyen slinking along with “synth on their arm” – although it was obvious what the average Nyen wanted Synth for. Ivy used to watch them follow their owners, and wondered what it meant to the Synth to be used like that.
On the whole, Synth were calm and gentle creatures; quiet and obedient, with a respect for all forms of life hardwired in. No Synth had ever lifted a finger against non-Synth, and – somewhat surprisingly – no Synth had ever lifted a finger against Synth. Most reasons, As-Spoke’d-by-The-Press, were urban myths; Synth were preprogrammed not to harm other Synth so Syntheticorp could avoid expensive litigation if one owner with too much time on his or her hands decided a futuristic dogfight with an unwilling participant would be a good thing. Others suggested it was out of a sinister and growing kinship, that someday they’d band together and take over the world.
The reality was more clinical and altogether more believable; if Synth could be commanded to damage Synth, there was the possibility that errors could be made. That with faulty inputs, even a computer-brained artificial being could mistake an easily-damaged organic life-form for one of its own. And if Synth ever raised a hand against organic, even once, even in the tiniest most insignificant way, the seeds would have been sown and trust would be lost. The multi-billion industry that Syntheticorp headed would come crashing down like a castle of sand, and people would reject the safe, familiar but brutally damaging arms of their attendant Synth in favour of the riskier but less harmful arms of their fellows.
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(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 06:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 06:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 06:45 pm (UTC)Like I mentioned, this is a parallel universe, where Synth is a lot commoner - in my "normal" universe, Ivy is the only one (that is, in the "known universe") for a very long time, and the reason most have fairly "organic" flavours to their actions is because they were largely based on her own neural structure. :)
Argh c'mon name, come to me... *thinkthink*
(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 08:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 07:48 pm (UTC)I wish I lived in that world, or we had a parallel.
(no subject)
Date: 12 Oct 2005 08:19 pm (UTC)I'm just hoping it doesn't go TOO Will-Smith. :P Ohwell, we'll see.
(no subject)
Date: 13 Oct 2005 02:14 am (UTC)An thought to go with this: Surely, not everyone with a synth would keep it as it originally was. If they're meant as a sort of computer, wouldn't they be treated as such; i.e. the existence of modifications, legal or otherwise; those who could hack or re-write the programming of a Synth, etc.?
But as you said, it's a parallel universe. Not all correlations need exist.
(no subject)
Date: 13 Oct 2005 09:28 pm (UTC)And you're right, people do "hack" the types, which was why I said "unless you knew cybernetics and did the work yourself." ;) Just (like any company) Syntheticorp try and keep their builds as secret as possible so they can charge a fortune to get the work done. Ivy knows cybernetics, after all, and she'll ultimately do the work on "her" Synth (who STILL needs a goddamn name, argh). Some parameters are hardwired into the basic neurology, though, which is supposed to "dissuade" too much fiddling (and for the sake of argument, and to make it easier for me, I'm going to pretend everyone goes along with it. ;))
The "real" first chapter (slightly edited, and making more sense) is here:
Automata (http://www.livejournal.com/community/the_anthroids/9628.html)