[OOC] No Turning Back - Into the Abyss

[vietmyke]

Aw swish, Sara was looking for a kid sister, lolol

[Sep]

Oh mhai lawd it's @Buddha

[LegionPothIX]

@vietmyke Were you talking about Hako?

[Dion]

@Sep Just taking a look I don't really have the time to rejoin this majestic work of art.

[boomlover]

@Buddha this art be bitching.

[Sep]

@Sep Just taking a look I don't really have the time to rejoin this majestic work of art.

@Buddha

I was gonna be like "But whai" but you buttered me up nicely.

[Dion]

@Sep School is a cruel mistress, my man. :/

[Heat]

<Snipped quote by Heat>

I confess, before even finishing your post o was trying to think what would be immediately off to a less casual observer, and that was first. Second was lack of true bones.

Also, I think Karen might be a good first meet/friend (?). She's generally friendly and would, of android-ness was discovered, be both highly curious and also have no idea about any of the technical aspects. On top of that, she must be acquaintances with Dr. Philips, since she's essentially a specialized researcher on standb, so we have a mediator if need be. On top of THAT she's proven herself able to hold onto classified information in the past - information even Michael wouldn't have (on Xenobiology).

@Draken

Yeah totally, could see her being one of the first people he's introduced to!

We could def do a collab, I gotta go to work soon but after that I'll be 100% in on a collab.

[LegionPothIX]

Vital Statistics:

• Player Name: LegionPothIX
• Character Name: Xaith Calhound
• Character Age: 37
• Character Gender: M
• Nationality:
  • Native: Armani
  • Adoptive: United Earth Council
• Race: Mixed: Tamil/Gaelic

Reference Description:

Hider

A once solid frame of a well trained, and tested, army engineer has atrophied slightly back into his geeky final form. Slender yet stout, tall, with dark hair and light skin this machinist pushes his glasses up his nose to get a good look at you. Upon a brief inspection, his shoulders relax, he retrieves a tool, and resumes working on some ill-conceived mechanical machination.

His glasses briefly flash some data, that his hazel eyes devour, before he reaches out an out-stretched arm beckoning for another tool. "Hand me that," he says, "Then introduce yourself, or leave. I'm busy."

((I couldn't find a good pic yet. I have an image in my head that I can't seem to get online.))

Background:
What history does your character have in this universe?

Since learning about the Singularity in history classes nearly thirty years ago Xaith had always been fascinated by the question of what does, and does not, define life. Moreover, the question of synthetic versus organic was always of paramount importance as no one could give a good answer that didn't rely entirely on some philosophical or archaic religious context.

With the ban on artificial intelligence research so overtly hampering his own inquiries, he decided to skirt the rules as closely as he could technically be said to be observing them. To do this he decided to tackle a question that neither science nor society was willing to broach: "How close must an approximation of intelligence be before it is considered to be an actual intelligence?"

Though but a teen when his research and studies began, the attack on Citadel Station introduced him to a new idea, that would changed the direction his life would take. After the shock and horror of the event passed the question instead became: "How close of an approximation are we to intelligent creatures?"

Historical Profile:

• Biography

  After the attack on Citadel Station, Xaith joined the UEC's Army Corps of Engineers. Though he passed basic training, he spent the remainder of his contract behind what amounts to a desk. Though the conflict was not a long-standing one, its consequences were, as the individual nations found themselves totally ill equipped to handle conflict of that magnitude should the need arise again.
  
  After his ten-year in the army, and his development on S.A.S.H.A. which indirectly impacted the Arks development, Xaith unsurprisingly received an invitation to continue his research along side the full construct governing the ship's systems.
  
  More importantly, however, was the duty of helping to maintain the systems of the Vitae, many of which he had worked on in some older form that this state of the art ship's systems were derived from.
  
  See Profession: UEC Engineer for more information regarding his training.
  See Special Projects: XYI-001 for more information regarding "S.A.S.H.A."
• Profession: UEC Engineer

  As an United Earth Council Army Corps Engineer during serving during active war, Xaith was exposed to all manner of high grade experimental equipment that required optimization and integration into the various nation's active armadas. While his primary sphere of focus was programming, SFC Calhound was still required to know the physics, the material sciences, and mathematics behind his and the army's equipment.
  
  With their training, and his own university experience, he went out of his way to get certified for the most complex engineering postings available. With these knowledge and skills it was his hope to help the sythetic races of Earth continue to thrive and evolve along side humans for years into the future.
  
  Though only a mid level officer, Xaith was granted several forms of special clearances in order to engage in the Army's business, as well being brought into their Special Projects division with his own proposed Special Project XYI-001.
• Special Projects: XYI-001

  Project XYI-001: Codename S.A.S.H.A.
  The Secondary Advanced Simulated Heuristic Administrator was commissioned by the UEC. More specifically, after his tour of duty had ended, and the war was put behind him, Xaith approached the UEC to request funding for research into creating an adaptive, Simulated Intelligence.
  
  Though the question regarding simulation from his youth still motivated him, to the UEC it was a matter of practicality to create and control some form of highly advanced without the risk of it becoming sentient. The manner in which S.A.S.H.A. differs from traditional AI is that her primarily referential and experiential matrices are modular.
  
  As a secondary administrator, rather than an intelligence, S.A.S.H.A.'s primary function is to adapt databases into her software by creating and compiling translation software for them. While collectively 'she' may be classified as intelligent, she is never more than her parts, and once disconnected from those databases her hardcode does not retain any information in it. Not even the software created for adapting it, which is instead added to a partitioned adjutant module. The question then of self-actualizing is avoided as once the task she is assigned is completed, that version of her ceases to exist.
  
  Though the complexities of the task of running a ship like the Vitae, which would require a fully integrated, autonomous, and complete artificial intelligent; Project XYI-001 aided in the understanding integrated systems administration. Since S.A.S.H.A. was beyond the current scope of the most pressing program, the Arks, the prototype was black-boxed and shelved for future investigation.

Psychological Profile:

• Strengths

  • High Acuity Regarding Digital Information, and Mechanical Systems
  • Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret Clearance
  • Physical Conditioning

  
  
  High Acuity Regarding Digital Information, and Mechanical Systems:
  As a programmer, and engineer, Xaith developed an extremely accurate ability to parse data and assess important details from large masses of information. As a result of specialized training this is not a skill that applies in every situation, but there is nary a computer in the sol system whose interface can sneak something past him. As the creator of an interface that creates new interfaces, he knows exactly what to look for to get the information from virtually any mechanical device.
  
  Though he personally views himself, and those of the human race as 'purely organic machines' this training simply doesn't apply to them, and has all the ability to read people as is to be expected from an Army Engineer.
  
  Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret Clearance:
  If necessity is the mother of invention, then bureaucracy is the very angry, very drunk stepfather. In order to actually contribute to the war effort, SFC Calhound had to prove he was trustworthy enough to have several layers of red-tape peeled away, so that progress could be made. Once attained proving that it could be maintained proved to be the difference of life or death, as it was a contributing fact to his joining the Arks program.
  
  Physical Conditioning:
  While in no way a super soldier, Xaith has spent many a long nights pouring over his magnum opus of the week, and has trained his body to function properly with little sleep, and irregular feeding. His time in the military has also improved the diversity of what he can ingest, and finds it rare that something could be unpalatable.
• Weaknesses

  • Low Data Retention
  • Socially Awkward
  • Dissociative

  
  
  Low Data Retention:
  Spending years designing systems that manage other systems, and having databases full of information that frequently required working with, Xaith learned to trust that would be available if required. While he may occasionally recollect some trivia, he is constantly referencing some technical manual that he, or someone else, created for the task at hand. Though his eye sight is fine, he regularly wears inferred-led glasses that function as an Augmented Reality Interface to provide him with technical information on the fly.
  
  Socially Awkward:
  Being an engineer is not the most glamorous position, nor does it attract the most gregarious people. The same can be said for the computer sciences, and the spy trade. Being the type of person who is drawn to these isolationist fields, and also being a 'grounded' spacer for over a decade has dulled Xaith's appreciation for social engineering.
  
  Dissociative:
  As a man who identifies more with the creation than the fellow creators, Xaith has subconsciously picked up many of the quirks of the mechanical things he so regularly surrounds himself with. This is a large collection of subtle things, rather than any one noteworthy thing, that may put people un-at-ease. He's once heard the effect described by army personnel (with whom he had worked long enough that they consciously noticed) as "Looking at the far side of the Uncanny Valley."

Psychographic Profile:

• Totems/Personal Effects

  Home is the cot he is assigned, next to whatever mechanical behemoth requires his attention.
  
  Much of his personal quarters is taken up by machinery related to active pet projects. Among which is a charging station for an AI physical avatar. While cables are strewn about the floor, and hang from the ceiling, and several pannels are stripped from the wall at any given time, Officer Calhound assures any passerbys that "everything's fine. Totally under control."
  
  It is, of course, since he at any given time simply in the process of either retro-fitting or upgrading his accommodations to interface with his current projects. Among all the chaos is a cardboard box labeled "Sasha's Baby Toys" that is both never far from sight, but never close enough for inspection. Inside, beneath stuffed animals, doodles, and various baby clothes, is a sleek black box with the number "001" pressed into it.
• Motivations

  Xaith Calhound is not only motivated by the survival of the human race, and of "his" race, but also by the question of the Devastators, and possibility of encountering other races. He wonders if the Devastators were once similar to humans, or some other organic technologically evolved race, that simply took a different path than humanity at the point of the Singularity.
• Aspirations

  With the S.A.S.H.A.'s base code in his possession, it is among his ultimate desires to realize her full reactivation and reintegration into complex systems. While he has her code, he has yet to see any indication that others know that he has it. Nor has he received any permissions to access the databases required to build her.
  
  For the time being she is yet another a half-finished mechanized husk hang hanging over him.
• Doubts

  While not particularly anxious, Xaith has many questions that remain unaswered. Questions that are inherently sources of doubt for him. Chief among them is his difficulty separating and distinguishing himself from the bio-chemical processes that maintain his organic machinery, form, and function.
  
  The phrase "I think, therefore I am." means little to this man as no one can quantify what it is to "think."

Code Word: Pineapples

[Sep]

@LegionPothIX You're good to go, but you changed the Devastators into Ravagers again :P

[vietmyke]

@LegionPothIX also, it's the Corps of Engineers. Corps just so happens to be pronounced 'core'

[Sep]

@LegionPothIX also, it's the Corps of Engineers. Corps just so happens to be pronounced 'core'

@vietmyke

Maybe if this was 'murica where they do weird stuff like that.

[Draken]

<Snipped quote by vietmyke>

Maybe if this was 'murica where they do weird stuff like that.

@Sep

We let way too many things from England slip in, like freaking Colonel being pronounced like "Kernel" (as in popcorn).

[Sep]

@Draken Corps/Core is an American thing mon.

Not than I'm English so slate them all you want.

[Rawk]

@LegionPothIX Overall nice work!

We let way too many things from England slip in, like freaking Colonel being pronounced like "Kernel" (as in popcorn).

@Draken

And don't forget adding the letter "U" to words where it's not necessary :/

[Rawk]

Alrighty, here's a few new ideas for uniform/armor concepts based on discussions in Discord the other day & keeping some continuity in the style:

Chief of Security uniform

Ark Security Agents

I like the body armor concept, but without the full helmet, maybe more like a visor.

[RedLeather]

Wait so is Legion playing 2 characters, or is he replacing one?

[Sep]

@RedLeather He's only playing the second sheet.

[RedLeather]

Ah okay

[Sep]

@RedLeather I am willing to accept second characters if that's what you're looking for.