THEIA

*Proceed at your own risk if you have not yet listened to Season 2 and beyond of the Penumbra Podcast.*

**The THEIA** is an operating system used for robotics and cybernetics. It was developed and used by Ramses O'Flaherty.

All machines that implement the THEIA operating system have identical code, with each machine knowing the same functions as all of the other machines. The THEIA does not function as an AI―rather, it has a cause-and-effect pipeline that can place the solutions of formulas into new formulas. However, THEIAs that interface directly with human minds have shown adaptive traits. The THEIA Spectrum and Soul are able to pick out emotionally targeted memories to manipulate others, and most notably the Soul can respond to hacking attempts in real time, growing new layers of security to replace breached ones.

The THEIA OS operates on a unique signal frequency. Once it is installed enough times on one planet, it should have enough power for all users to wirelessly connect to each other.

## THEIA Spectrum

The THEIA Spectrum is a type of cybernetic eye that hosts a variety of features, including an aiming algorithm, night vision mode, and lip-reading software. Juno Steel received a THEIA Spectrum from Ramses O'Flaherty. The THEIA Spectrum is able to take control of the user's neural functions with user permission.

## THEIA Order

The THEIA Order is a type of defense bot with powerful lasers, designed to flush out unpredictable factors from hard-to-reach places. They were deployed by Ramses O'Flaherty to clean up the Oldtown sewers, and subsequently eliminated many, if not all, of the sewer rabbits.

## THEIA Peace

The THEIA Peace is a large enforcer robot designed to maintain the peace in Newtown. It is described as having a "spider-legged" appearance and a large stun blaster attached. According to Ramses O'Flaherty, this blaster is less forceful than standard-issue laser guns. A THEIA Peace unit escorted Juno and Rita from the Oldtown sewers to O'Flaherty's office in Newtown.

## THEIA Soul

The THEIA Soul is a device that appears similar to a computer chip that is attached to the user's chest with metal brackets. The Soul appears to be able to control its user's functions, much like the THEIA Spectrum, as seen with Mick Mercury during the events of Juno Steel and the Man of the Future (Part 1). The THEIA Soul was temporarily applied to all residents of Newtown, controlling the population *en masse* by interfacing the installed chips with a single central computer tower.

It takes three hours for the Soul to fully integrate with the user's neural network, but many functions are partially or fully operational during the process of integration.

Unlike other THEIA products, the purpose of the Soul is specifically to calculate the consequences of a user's actions, physical and moral, and intervene as necessary to ensure the user is pursuing "Good." This function requires constant, high-level computations at incredible speeds. To achieve such speeds, the user's human brain is integrated into the Souls' design. A secondary uplink to an external computer tower further enhances the Soul's capabilities, but it is the recycled brainpower of the user that allows THEIA units to be mass-produced without incurring prohibitive energy costs.

The decision to distribute the THEIA Soul in Hyperion City was made by popular vote, despite concerns about inadequate product testing, by a development team consisting of Moira Hashemi, Alice Hepburn, Ramses O'Flaherty, Karl Leffinger, Stone MacNeil, Maxine Rutherford, Zoya Ayodele, Petra Lowe, and possibly other unnamed members.

### The Tower

The THEIA Tower, located in Oldtown's old HCPD precinct, was an external supercomputer that allowed individual THEIA Souls to interface with each other and access additional computer banks. It facilitated the THEIA Souls' ethical calculations and housed their collective database.

## Other THEIA Projects

When investigating the tower in Juno Steel and the Soul of the People (Part 1), Juno and Rita find a project report by Karl Leffinger. The report details Northstar Entertainment's top-secret R&D work on the THEIA Projects, and specifically lists the THEIA Sonar and THEIA Stride as having been "temporarily discontinued" due to a perceived inability to fuel the necessary processing speed. Ramses overcame this stumbling block in the THEIA Spectrum by incorporating the user's brainpower into its function.

## Trivia

* The THEIA is named for the Greek Titaness, Theia, who was the consort (and sister) of Hyperion. She is the Titaness of sight, and is often associated with the shine of precious metals and gems.

## References

1. ↑ Juno Steel and the Man of the Future (Part 1)