[hider=Tamka] [center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210204/ea068ece1750796d1b3e811a2829d8f0.png[/img] [img] https://safebooru.org//samples/3197/sample_ad3b55293920be41cef4bd803c61805303fb6d2d.jpg[/img] [color=white][sub][b][abbr=in human years]16[/abbr][/b] [color=gray]|[/color] [b]Cyborgised Robot[/b] [color=gray]|[/color] [b]Female[/b] [color=gray]|[/color] [b]Purser/Encyclopedia/In-charge of everything bureaucratic and boring[/b][/sub][/color] [sub][color=white]Character Post[/color][/sub][/center] [indent][indent][indent][indent] [b]Do Organics Dream of Biologic Sheep? Towards Human-Like AI by Integration of Modified Nervous Tissue and Electronic Brains[/b] No. 28 Government College (Central) Aaron de Oliveira-Trác, K C Amali, Kumi Kusiwaa, Muhd Tulimaq bin Tropril, Shaw Hui’en Marie-Pierre Abstract: Nervous tissue was cultivated from human embryonic stem cells and subsequently modified by biochemical and surgical processes according to eight experimental protocols found in the literature and three novel procedures. The modified tissue was integrated by an innovative technique into the electronic brains of baseline SiliCo Ne-124KM Corundum model service robots using factory default AI. Performance in intellectual tasks was measured by administering an augmented EnMY-B test and compared with a human test group (n = 234). The results show that enhanced creative and cognitive abilities are displayed by… “Dolly~!” A high-pitched, almost squeaking voice. That was Amali’s signature. And besides, she was the only person Aaron had ever met who butchered his name—surname, more precisely—like that. He looked up and waved at the two girls. No, they were women now, just as he was a man. “Hello. The paper’s going well, and no, I don’t need any more caffeine today.” It was hardly clairvoyance on his part if she asked the exact same thing every time. A look of disappointment came over Amali even so, as if she hadn’t all but known what would happen. “Wow. He can still read your mind even now. Aaron, at least give her the chance to [i]begin[/i],” chuckled Marie-Pierre, giving her oh-so-transparent friend a comforting pat on the back. “Tulimaq, Kumi, and Tamka are coming soon. Maybe, like, five minutes? Or…” “…maybe right now.” Two shrieks and one resounding crash followed as Aaron practically tossed his computer to the ground. Amali stopped just short of smacking Tamka in the face, a privilege not afforded to Tulimaq. He proudly ate a right hook without so much as flinching, as Marie-Pierre spun around, a mix of surprised and livid. Kumi, however, had picked his target well — he was safely out of the line of fire, looking at the screen of Aaron’s tablet. “Hey, isn’t this our report from way back?” It was obvious that the answer was ‘yes’. Everyone soon gathered around, filling with old memories and nostalgia as they read the screen. “I can’t believe we managed to get this published. Oof, it looks so bad…” Suddenly Marie-Pierre let out a gasp, too late to catch herself. “A-ah, sorry, Tamka! You’ve always been amazing.” Tamka didn’t mind. She had seen the report herself — it, and all other papers relating to her development, were stored in her memory drive. It was certainly of inferior quality compared to [i]Dr Shaw’s[/i] latest work. In fact, Tamka would have been rather miffed if all the long hours and clock cycles they had spent together as tutor and students had somehow come to naught. Today was part reunion, part farewell. It would be the first time in quite some years that the whole gang had come together in person, all six of them. Perhaps it was a bit jarring, emotionally-speaking, or should have been. But the mood was instead totally positive, even as she walked up the boarding ramp onto the shuttle. “Call us if you ever need anything!” “Or just to talk! Tell us about your adventures in spaaaace—!” Tamka looked down through the windows. She didn’t say anything, but perhaps they could still hear her sentiments echoing in the synthesis of mechanical pumps and living neurons that was her heart. Each of the five had gone on to lead successful and fulfilling lives: a pioneering engineer, rising stateswoman, enterprising entrepreneur, lauded artist, and a respected neurobiologist. There was an odd parent-child duality in their relationship. Perhaps it would be best to say that they all learned and grew from each other? Tamka was as proud as any parent to see them enjoy their lives to the fullest — she had practically mentored them throughout university, after all. But in some ways, [i]they[/i] were like [i]her[/i] own parents, now seeing off their adult daughter as she entered the wider world. Although… Weren’t they a little too happy to let her go? She would ponder that for the next few hours, as the smuggler ship took off and sped into the starry sky. Skirting around the checkpoints and patrols, evading the security forces’ watchful eye, away from home and towards ‘freedom’. [/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [center][sub][color=white]Character Ties[/color][/sub][/center] [indent][indent][indent][indent][i][color=gray][color=white]1)[/color] The first engineer Tamka met off-world offered her a paltry sum for her organs. The second didn’t even try to bargain. The third was Vulpecula. After having a significant portion of her biomechanical body parts forcibly removed and ending up dumped onto the streets, it had been the feraxi who had helped her. They were still only strangers then, and at first Tamka had thought she was about to undergo further disassembly. Instead, the third engineer took the grievously injured robot back to the Arcona for repairs, delivering her from death’s door and nursing her back to health. Tamka was left with a debt of gratitude and a newfound liking for Ula’s feraxi fluffiness. And with nowhere else to go, coming aboard the crew didn’t seem half bad. [color=white]2)[/color] Tamka has never been to a bar before. Legally, she’s only sixteen, and bouncers at even the seedier establishments are prompt to turn away someone who they see as a little girl. And of course, there’s her own fellow crew-mates. Russell is in quite a similar situation (it can’t exactly be called a predicament if neither minds that much), being simultaneously too young to drink, yet also the Arcona’s designated driver. As the ‘babies’ of the crew, the pair often get left behind during the regular cantina reconnaissance missions. So when the power went out all of a sudden one fine evening — taking the life support systems down with them — it was up to the young’uns to face the emergency by themselves. Through their combined efforts, they managed to restore the power in the nick of time. Since that incident, nights when the adults are out have never been the same. Who needs alcohol, anyway? [color=white]3)[/color] It’s far more usual for a human to be turned into a cyborg, rather than for a robot to receive organic components. But despite having quite different architectures and anatomies, Tamka finds it easier to confide in Sango in matters of their biomechanical bodies. She’s also the only other member of the crew who can happily scarf down silkworms and cicadas for supper, although so far her attempts at insect farming on the ship haven’t gone too well. [color=white]4)[/color] Duncan and Tamka come from very different backgrounds: a frontier world where the only law is whoever draws first wins, and a ‘civilised society’ which has surrendered violence to the sole domain of its government. With private ownership of weapons severely restricted on Tamka’s home planet, it was from the ex-lawman that she first learned to shoot. On the firing range, she does excellently — but whether that will translate to performance on a real battlefield, with real lives in play? That’s still something not even her instructor can answer. [color=white]5)[/color] Zana’s love for adventure sometimes clashes with Tamka’s cautiousness. In Freudian terms, Tamka is the Superego, and Zana the Id. More often than not, the captain gets her way and things just so happen to work out. But once, the purser absolutely refused to budge on a seemingly minor legal issue — and the Arcona’s crew narrowly avoided getting locked up by overzealous border guards on suspicion of smuggling. [/color][/i][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][center][sub] [color=white]Inventory[/color][/sub][/center] [indent][indent][indent][indent][i][color=gray][color=white]1)[/color] Paradyne Pulsar tablet computer: powerful and practical, the pragmatic professional’s preferred portable work device, until a newer model was released last year. A hand-me-down from Aaron. Some of his old files are still on here. [color=white]2)[/color] ZTM Ultra OU, an Omni-Use™ desktop computer. Comes with more functions and software suites than a single person could ever reasonably need. What do half of these even do? It was a pain to lug up the boarding ramp, but Amali had given it as a parting gift. “Learn something new up there!”, or so she said. [color=white]3)[/color] A container. Bears the logo of one of Kumi’s businesses, Kumi-Ko Logistics. This alone is proof that it is one the best boxes on the box market. The Nokia phone of boxes, the Kumi-Ko Kataklysm Kontainer is known for its extreme durability. The survival of its contents is not always guaranteed, however. Not meant to be luggage despite its trunk-like appearance. [color=white]4)[/color] An album, in both senses of the word. Years of photographs, drawings, and recordings are stored in this little book, both in physical and digital form. Tulimaq had to go through a lot of attics, basements, and storage closets to dig up some of these. There’s space for Tamka to add on her own contributions too. Maybe she’ll get to show everyone, some day. [color=white]5)[/color] Yet another container, albeit a rather smaller one, labelled ‘Tamka’s spare parts’. Courtesy of Dr Shaw’s lab. It includes electronic and mechanical components as well as organic scaffolds and frozen stem cells. Marie-Pierre has so many of these that she could probably build a small army of Tamkas. But they wouldn’t be the same, of course.[/color][/i][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [/hider]