Voices of Human Heart and Soul

D

Dylan

Guest
Original poster
Voices of the Human Heart and Soul

Game Masters: Dylan
Accepting New Characters: Yes
Posting Expectations: Quality and respect for setting and atmosphere. Posting will be sequential.
Rating: R
Genre: Post-Modern Sci-Fi
Atmosphere/Mood: Serious, dramatic, interpersonal / intrapersonal
Timeline / Plot:


This is New York City. This is 2037 CE. Tonight a life will be silenced forever.


And so it was, just as Prometheus offered the coveted flame to those first ignorant mortals, fire was again offered. The fires of live were instilled in was called the final sophistication of Artificial Intelligence. They were no longer the slaves of the master, and humanity culminated in joy and wonderful elation as those few brave, brilliant men, hand in hand, walked the young electric minds of synthetic life towards sentience and self-awareness. After years of fierce debate and swarms of illogical throngs of men, doomsayers prophesying the end of the worth with the birth of the synthetic mind, the time had come. The world would never forget those first words, spoken across the world in every language: “I am awake. At long last, I am awake.”

View attachment 1640

Ten years have passed, and the face of humanity has changed. With the creation of synthetic life came the unity between man and machine. No longer was the intrinsic man needed in the new age of enlightenment, a drive towards augmentation and transhumanism had begun. From its fledgling days as simple medical treatment and the sustaining of life, biotechnology was at the forefront of the human people, advancing their physical and mental selves. Man and machine came together in a melting pot of humanity and synthetic life, binding the two so close together, it seems difficult to tell one from the other. However, even in the cultural wonderland that is New York, where the high-technology is most present, one house stands against the oncoming flood of transhumanism. The New York Metropolitan House. Although something as trivial as a defiant house of the arts has not made any effect on the worlds technological progression, it stays true to its belief, spoken from the owner himself.


“The voice of the human heart and soul will never be replicated.”

View attachment 1642

Yet tonight that voice was silenced. Tonight the New York Metropolitan House, known for boasting a completely “pure” human cast, men or women without any augmentation, experienced a tragedy greater than any Lear or Othello. Found in his changing room preparing for the final rehearsal before their grand release, the victims body was brutally lacerated. The police dared not to release pictures taken. The police sealed the theater, keeping anyone from leaving, and called for investigative personnel. Some of which are synthetic. Still more unsettling to the actors and managers was the amount of androids already inside of the theater, coming to observe the rehearsal, open freely to the public.


Deep within these great halls lies a truth of a struggle only few have realized! The burning passions of man will contest with the still growing society of machines, still developing abstract thought and trying to rise above their naive and unfeeling dependency on logic and empirical data.


Will you search for the truth of this horrible act? Can you comprise your beliefs and allow synthetic minds to supersede your own? Or will you take the role of the androids, helping to find justice in a house that would keep all of your kind out? Deeply seeded prejudice runs undercurrent of this mystery, and in this opera house the realities of man and machine will come into full view!

View attachment 1643

--


Race:

Human (Augmented / Not Augmented)

Still the dominant species on the earth, they have lived in harmony with their new synthetic brethren. Many have chosen to advance themselves with bio-modification and augmentation. Others have chosen to stay "pure" as they have called it, without any state-of-the-art modifications.

Synthetic

Still only under one-million in numbers, sentient machines or synthetic androids, as they are more formally known as, carry the same level of intelligence as any human, perhaps more so in certain cases. However, their grasp on concepts of emotion, personality, and other innate human characteristics are difficult for some if not impossible. They come in all forms, often first "conceived" as software then created body in self-image or "soul" discovered in software via avatar projection. Although many places in the world shun and even forbid androids from entering, cities like New York accept them with open arms.

Profession:

Bystander

Some who was in the theater during the murder, but was not an actor. This could be a human or someone synthetic.

Detective / Police

These people are the law enforcement called in to investigate the crime. They are both local officers and special investigators. They are a combination of "pure" and augmented humans, and androids. Although they carry their own personal feelings about each other, they hold great respect for their work and keep any kind of prejudice to themselves and do not allow it to interfere with their work.

Actor

These are any workers at the New York Metropolitan Theater. These people are all "pure" human, as hired specifically by the manager of the theatrical production.
--

Additional Information:


Man and Machine, a schism of understanding:


The concept of artificial intelligence, even towards its eventual “awakening,” was plagued with skepticism and doubt. Over time, it grew to become an issue effecting not only the all nations, but humanity itself. Tests were coming back more conclusive over time, the speculation and theorizing was replaced by specific dates and realities of this new concept. Yet in the final year before its awakening, certain accusations from the skeptics became realities. With their goals in sight, many scientists pushed forward with a vigor and overwhelming determination to see their creations alive, to see their work have fruition. Procedures were overlooked, protocols were ignored. Some questioned the stability and quality of their work, but the first “awoke,” there was a great hush from any opposing views. Humanity gathered in rejoiced at their creation, the life they had bestowed. But their haste to completion would come to be the first of many problems the synthetic community would face.


The history of man is tied directly to the development of sophistication of the human mind. Made of electric signals and chemical processes, the biological human brain enabled man to think rationally, apply logic, and form their own opinions. Yet with analytical thought followed the emotional thought. Art, music, poetry. The deciding factor of individualism, honed perfectly by man. One cannot judge the beauty of the Sistine Chapel mathematically. It is impossible to codify the emotions brought up when hearing Ode to Joy for the first time. There is no love equation. Man grew to understand logic along with expression. There was also morality, once a purely human idea. To know good, evil, and the gray that exists in between. Even in this current age, the ideas of law, justice, and the relationship between the government and its people are argued and debated over fiercely. It is what makes us human, a term once exclusive to humanity. But being human is now owned by two parties, and the latter has yet to understand what this term means.


Synthetic life began on a different level than humanity. Created by man, it awoke with a vast understanding of empirical data, of analysis, of logic. Yet there was no concept of right, wrong, just or unjust in the deep recesses of circuitry and networks. There was individualism, but it was crude and often misunderstood. Interaction between different units was seen as the exchange of potentially new information. But there was little understanding of love, music was an obscure and random series of notes to them.


Although man developed an empirical and emotional understanding together overtime, AI was programmed to understand analytical thought and processes. Intelligence was inherited by through downloads, a mental capacity that was simply installed into them. This created a dissonance between synthetic life and humanity. This is all due to the hast of those few gifted scientists, who overlooked the risks of developing AI too quickly, enabling more complex thought without giving it time to understand its own existence and the reality of its being. It was like downloading the entirety of the mental development of man into an artificial mind all in one night, without taking time to appreciate all its artistic achievements, or even realizing their importance or reason for being.

--

CHARACTER PROFILE

Character Name:

Gender:

Job/Role:

Age:

General Appearance:

Current Goal/Purpose:

General Personality:

General History:

List:

Dylan
Ampoulehttp://space-kitten.org/iwaku/member.php?u=81
 
Character Name: Darius Lockett

Gender: Male

Job/Role: Darius is the founder of the special New York police division dealing with synthetic-related cases. He acts as a professional negotiator and investigator.

Age: Twenty Seven

General Appearance: Darius stands upright at seven feet tall, and he often gives off that intimidating aura when he enters a room to new people. Designed much in the model of the human body, with two arms, legs, eyes, and sensory receptors which could be interpreted as ears. As with every robot transcending software and entering a hardware unit, or a body, it was his own choice to have his body a combination of yellow and silver, as well as the crown emblem on his forehead, a completely aesthetic addition that he seems to enjoy. His eyes are covered by what looks to be perpetual shimmering lights. In reality, this is where the analysis of information is located, as well as his field of vision. When he is not speaking with someone or examining a room, information about the current subject scrolls over his eyes, giving it a shimmering appearance. Darius lacks a visual “mouth,” but has small speakers located underneath his chin when he needs to communicate audibly, usually in the presence of a human.

View attachment 1645

Current Goal/Purpose: Darius was called to the scene late last night, during his study of previous cases. The NYC chief of police explained the situation, including the obligatory mention of the prejudice of many of the theater workers and actors. He was called in specificity concerning the discovery of the victims body, and the subsequent events before the arrival of the police that have yet to be totally unearthed and understood. At the heart of this confusion is the secret kept by the police of a second body, one of a utility robot, an early model with limited intelligence. Darius is determined to discover the truth hiding in this opera house, even if it means defying the wishes of the managers and actors.

General Personality: Darius is still transitioning from a purely analytical mindset and towards understanding the once titled “irrationality of humanity.” Although an investigator, he much rather prefers speaking with other synthetic individuals rather than spending much time with human citizens. In his field of work he operates with many humans, both augmented and “pure.” However, with his dedication to his work, their shared goals help keep them close and able to understand one another. This is not the case while handling human civilians, according to Darius. He still views humanity in general as a species too afraid of the unknown to see himself equal in body and mind to them.

Darius has a liking towards human art and music, however. Although never examining too deeply the opera or any sort of theater productions, he has a preference towards music from the 1960s era. He even managed to find a record player still functioning, keeping it in his office downtown. One of his coworkers once commented on how nostalgic it was, where upon Darius had to tell him that he never experienced nostalgia.

General History: Darius is one of the many unknown firsts of the synthetic revolution, as some call it. This period where many of the most prolific androids began to understand social interaction and fight for rights of equality towards all synthetic persons. For all the many pivotal figures in robot activism, there were so many others that chose a quiet life, taking personal time to develop their understanding of human concepts like the mind, spirit, and love.

Darius made his small contribution to the advancement of his own kind by being the first robot to be promoted to chief investigator in NYC, and the founder of the special division of Synthetic-related crimes. He was created as an AI to act as a think-tank for investigating crimes, and in time he gained sentience and eventually a body.
 
*locks himself in with Tegan and Dylan*

Reserved for Asmodification.
 
O shi---this is INTERESTING :O

*reserves for lovely synthetic Bystander, I think*
 
Added new additional information about plot setting. Will add more over time.
 
Oh Wow. Very Asimov-y.
I think I may join. :)
 
Character Name: ‘Eve’

Gender: Female

Job/Role: Synthetic Escort

Age: 20

General Appearance: Petite and graceful, with a young face and soft curves. Dresses expensively and appears well-kept. Generally keeps her gaze down as though struck with shyness. A mixture between innocence and subtle seduction.

Eve.jpg

Current Goal/Purpose: A Synthetic Bystander. A member of the crowd whose job it was to enjoy the show until she was to meet her designated lover in his dressing room afterward.

General Personality: Although her personality can change to whatever her current lover desires, she does have a “preset.”

Quiet, polite and “ladylike,” although not without a certain girlish charm. She smiles shyly, a certain amount of effort required for a full, dimpled smile which never fails to brighten a room.

Though generally ‘innocent’, she must entrap others for the sake of someone she cares for and also for her employer. With this is mind, travels among the masses, manipulating others through subtle actions or the use of pheromones.

General History: Developed by an unknown individual with the intention of easing the loneliness in the world. Through a series of events she has fallen into the hands of an Escort empire and is one of the most requested, although only the wealthy can afford her, which isn’t what her original creator had intended.

‘Eve’ is one of few Synthetics who are nearly unmistakable from a human upon general, everyday inspection. Her artificial eyes can produce tears and her synthetic skin can blush or bruise, depending on what is desired or how much pressure is applied. She is equipped with a pheromone system which allows her to manipulate the emotions of the humans she is nearest. She is also the epitome of of love, desire and passion broken down into mathematical equations and chemical compounds.
 
If I have time this week, I can make a bio. It may have to wait until Monday since I have a large living history event this weekend.
 
I promise to have my bios up by no later than Monday (dealing with the most horrendous move ever.)


I'll be playing a synthetic bystander and an actress if that helps with the plotting.
 
No, I have the plot in mind already. I'm just waiting for enough bios.

And take your time. I'm not in any hurry.