Blanks

Originally developed by Sable Reflexions, a Blank is a robotic body whose artificial brain will be the host to an AI (artificial intelligence) or UC (uploaded conscience) collectively known as androids (artifical sentient beings created by the dalmer).

To this day, blanks are uncanny, and while they are tacitly accepted as Dalmer by the empire, many dalmer UC’s prefer to inhabit clearly robotic frames.

The UCH however is a physical device destined to contain an UC in its prime state. The Uploaded Conscience Holder was specifically designed to be implanted into a Blank. The UCH is the very first bio-information technology of the Dalmer. Although since Blanks are not biological, the description as bio-information technology is debatable.

The disposability of blanks following their creation led to their worth going down and mass production of vat grown Blanks becoming commonplace, to the point that blanks could be 3D printed at home.

### Uploaded Conscience Holder

*Main Article: Uploaded Conscience Holder*

An uploaded conscience holder is a device destined to contain an android, when placed within a blank, the android contained within the UC can control the Blank as if it were its own body.

### Blank

A blank is a synthetic body whose brain will be the host to an AI (artificial intelligence) or UC (uploaded conscience). In its base state the Blank is a nondescript standard sized asexual dalmer body with no facial features or expressions. To acquire features, the Blank must undergo brewing.

Blanks are simply androids who attempt to resemble Dalmer as closely as possible with no added or subtracted benefits. Their muscles, skin and bone are synthetic in order to mimic an average dalmer in terms of strength, stamina and durability.

Blanks have a sense of taste but do not require food or need to eat. They can if it makes them appear less uncanny to the client (the food inside the stomach is cremated). The same applies for breathing, sleeping with eyes closed, etc.

The blanks skin is texture mapped, with the tiny details being 2d visual prints, as a result Blanks have no fingerprints.

Blanks do not bleed if cut or otherwise wounded, and do not produce HP.

The Blank is the first generation of synthetic bodies. The patent for this technology was bought by the Empire and turned into a public service, forbidding the use of Blanks identical to actual Dalmer and strictly enforcing the obligation of identification for blank users.

## Production

### Cloning engine

A factory unit capable of creating blanks. The process is the assembly of an artificial skeleton, attaching muscles and tendons, pumping blood to the appropriate areas and then dunking the skinless into liquid skin. Once complete the blank emerges from the pool, with no memories, these are known as blanks.

Every time a blank is produced, the DNA banks used to create it degrade, before eventually producing non viable individuals.

Attempts to use alternative sources of DNA are completely illegal, as they are universally nonviable.

#### **Body scanners**

To craft a specific individual, body scanners are used. Body scanners are portable devices resembling firearms that scans an individual's corpulence and features, allowing the engine to blank the target, the body scanner can hold up to 7 peoples features. The engine can blank on a singular or production run basis. The body scanner however cannot make identical copies of people (as this is illegal).

### Brewing

Brewing is the process of creation of a Blank for UCH usage.

The blank must be placed inside a bath, and nutrient gel emptied on it to prevent the muscles from drying out during transit from box to bath, electrolytes must be added to the bath as well.

#### **UCH insertion**

After initial brewing, the blank can either be activated by inserting the UCH or AI module, or put into storage for later activation. The blank is then left to “brew” for an entire day. During brewing, the Blank will take on particular randomized physical traits, some belonging to the UCH, other being randomly generated to avoid body type profusion and gene diversity deterioration. The baths water will bubble more progressively as preparation nears completion. Once brewed, the new blank will have taken on physical particularities making it unique. At this point the Blank is ready for storage in a vault or decantation.

### Storage

When waiting for decantation, blanks are placed in vacuum sealed ziploc bags filled with nutrient gel and oxygen fed via tube, and stored in vast vaults. Blanks kept in vaults are attended by personnel at all times. Blanks in storage are fed via protein injections. While in storage blanks aren't aware, their brain is an empty shell and the bodies are electrically stimulated periodically to avoid muscle tone deterioration. Keeping blanks in storage vaults ensures their conservation for years and even decades on end.

### Decantation

Decantation is the final process of creating a Blank. They are then placed on assembly lines to be decanted by medical professionals.

Before opening the bag, the caps where the nutrient syringes were inserted are removed. Once the bag is opened, the umbilicus (a respiratory device covering the mouth and nose with a tube going down the throat) is removed. This is when the newly created Blank awakens.

### Awakening

New blanks may experience confusion, disorientation, visual, auditory hallucination and low grade amnesia. Upon awakening the blank is very weak, needing help walking. The UC’s who died violently tend to bouts of spasming while decanting. Blanks are not given mirrors to avoid schisms, personality frag or psychotic breaks from seeing their new bodies. Once able to walk confidently, blanks are showered, cleaned and dressed, a greeter informs them of their new body and sends them off into the world.

## Police usage

Bleakers are combat blank using troopers who could be downloaded into a blank and be combat ready in minutes. They travel from place to place using octogonal gantries to put down rebellions, to kill killers, gang members, slavers and other illegal activists.

### Combat blanks

Combat blanks are equipped with military grade neurachem producing bacteria, prosthetic limbs and combat muscle memory programs.

### Octosquad Gantry

The military equivalent of a Casting Station, the Octosquad Gantry is an octogonal shaped gantry that holds up to eight combat blanks that can receive UC’s at any time when needed.

### Organic damage division

Organic damage is the act of causing harm to a blank. It is warrant for an arrest, jail time and a hefty fine. The OD division specializes in the policing of such crimes.

## Associated technologies

### Casting stations

Used for the transfer of UC from one blank to another, or for storage. To cast off, the body is placed in a pod while the UC is sent off site to another blank.

Casting stations cannot be used as storage rooms as while the blank is empty, it is subject to the effects of time such as muscle tone loss, hunger caused by protein loss (formerly, now the blanks are solar and lunar powered and are wireless charge compatible) and thirst. The only solution to ensure long term storage of an empty blank is by using storage vaults.

### Remote storage backup

By creating redundant copies of a blank, the UC is periodically updated, so that if killed the personality does not die. the UC is uploaded to a satellite where the copies and blanks are kept, creating identical twins in body, mind and personality.

### Spinal injected muscle tone gantry

Makes the user strong enough to punch through brick walls. Not fit for mass dalmer usage, only combat blanks can safely use this technology.

### Blank teleport beacon

Instant reinforcements in the form of blank warfare operators. The CTB warps up to 4 operators if enough are available.

How does it work?

It teleports battle ready blanks previously in stasis onto the field in full combat gear. The blanks are bred specifically for this purpose and put in stasis in a massive storage warehouse nearby cloning facilities. Blanks are afterwards given citizenship for their service for the rest of their short lives (as blanks don’t live very long).

The blanks have implanted memories of unused UC (from volunteer undead who chose to die), ensuring the individual has some semblance of civility and social tact after their combat role is fulfilled.

## Blank weaknesses

Blank inhabitants are not immune to wear and tear and other afflictions unique to their situation. This is why most Dalmer prefer to use prosthetics which do not come with as many complications as a Blank can.

### Deterioration

More of an inevitability than a real weakness, after 100 years, the UC must be transferred to a new Holder as UCH functions gradually break down. Blanks themselves have a lifespan of roughly 60 years.

### Personality frag

Makes people who change blanks too often go insane, this problem mostly concerns Bleakers.

Conscience less bodies can return to life, and seek their lost conscience.

Story: After a terrible war, this was the only way to preserve life was to keep the consciousnesses in robot bodies. The “unconscious” bodies were mutilated to scare the consciousness into not wanting to return to their body. Reuniting mind and body makes all memories come back.

### Schism

Schism is the breaking of a personality in an UCH into multiple personalities. What happens is that one personality “bleeds” into the Blank’s body, becoming the resident personality stuck inside the Blanks mind. The Schism personality can communicate with the UCH personality but has no control over the blank itself. This means that the Schism is essentially a victim of locked in syndrome.

So far there is no known cure for the Schism personality, as they cannot be brain scanned nor removed safely from the Blank, condemning the Schism to die with the Blank.

### Raw

Raw is a computer virus that specifically functions to destroy Blank UC’s and AI’s. Raw turns Blank inhabitants violently insane.

### Re acclimation

Re acclimation is the unease UC’s feel when inhabiting a new Blank as the familiarity yet unfamiliarity of the Blank can cause a plethora of negative psychological effects such as schism and psychotic breaks.

Some Dalmer use reacclimation drugs to better use their new blanks.