BBQ

[[ **WIP.**

> *"Neither Man, nor machine can replace its creator." - Tapan Ghosh*
>
>

Created as a tool of warfare - first on diplomatic fronts until repurposed for tactical advantage - The android acknowledged as BBQ, initially named Reliance, is a mechanical being brought to awareness 4 years before the Aberration occurred. After a series of unfortunate events, BBQ was forced to a state of dormancy by the fallout, leaving this state roughly 103 years after entering it. Broken down by erosion, radiation - or put simply - time, BBQ entered the changed environment and society slowly. On the pursuit of purpose and knowledge, they set out and begin to live anew.

## RELIANCE - BETA DEV. 09, REMANUFACTURED.

#### **The Psyche of Metallic Mind**

Comprised of three primary internal units, one of processing, cataloging, and data response - The other of skill, reprise, and outwards reactive software - and a final one, making up BBQ's "psyche" as it dictates their morals, actions and personal choices, all played to make up the android's character. On the knowledge front, BBQ was secluded from societal progress and history before the event so their awareness towards the events leading up to, as well as many common factors and statutes of Aberrant society, isn't extremely extensive. Often times, they can be willfully ignorant to new information as they aren't the most trusting regardless of authority or popularity. The android is not particularly social, acting as an observing force to most affairs and only partaking when of no detriment to themselves or of requirement. They struggle with certain topics, mostly pertaining to the workings of organics and their philosophy, as well as expressing personalized views and questions - their logs depicting a processes close to resent and confusion most often, many times regarding some cosmic existentiality and personal resent for philosophical reasonings. They live by a black-and-white system of things, regardless of any nuance they may express whether intentionally or not, their understandings of good and evil and the make up of organic mind and society altered and projected through common stereotype. The question of outer sentience lost on them - they're aware of their creation and purpose as a robot, and they are "sentient" by layman's terms - However internally defining sentience as meaning and resolve rather than awareness of mind, a topic hard to convey. The aforementioned unit dictating the android's "psyche" shows itself most often in slights of speech and vaguely-organic reaction and responses, but shouldn't be fooled for a proper understanding of the feelings or particular matters surrounding.

#### **Copper Veins of Bloody Current, Lungs of Mesh and Flux, Flesh of Metallurgic Inclination, and Outer Expression**

The ninth development of their make, BBQ was still in a general beta upon their recognition by SafeT - and by technicality, never left its development stages. Only few modifications were to be made, but as mentioned, the earliest development was cut short by SafeT and their forward ways of attaining the android. Before modifications were made for tactical edge, BBQ supported a lightweight, softer appearance which ran through solar methods, requiring BBQ to take breaks of energy accumulation for hours at a time (a factor of this development likely to have been changed in further betas); Some of this coding remains, aiding BBQ in both its' time dormant and in recouperation periods taken for prioritizing and multitasking.  Upon SafeT's modifications, BBQ's internal systems - as well as most of their former appearance - was scrapped and made new. In it's heyday, the exterior plating and armor proved extremely effective for its use, as well as the techsuit covering its inner mechanisms beneath mentioned guarding, also giving towards a humanoid appearance. Few exterior mechanisms existed other than some means to shock-absorption and sensors on the head, back, and wrists, any other free space likely held "pocket" space and artillery storage, as well as adaptable holsters. Onto the inner mechanics (excluding the code sections and drives) : SafeT, in the act of "remanufacturing" BBQ to be more apt. in warfare, upgraded several of their systems and units, with three primary changes. Sensors, they implemented high-definition sensors into the android, along with accompanying AI process for each - essentially used to let BBQ collect greater data, being able to "see, hear, and touch" (and so on) to provide more accurate data accumulation. These systems broke down with time, the android retaining few of these senses (their respective quality as well) due to the shotty long-term quality of the sensors. The second thing SafeT implemented, replacing the small solar array, was a fusion core so kindly provided by SafeT competitor ISOLA in exchange for blueprints and a couple SafeT "business secrets". Fortunately, surrounding the core was a complex mesh mostly impenetrable by radiation - so BBQ's primary energy systems were unaffected by the event. The third change, also provided the aforementioned ISOLA deal, was nanomachines. These small machines became the android's lifeforce essentially, running system checks and fixing degraded drives, chips, and programming. As the aberration event hit, the nanomachines provided then kept BBQ from complete decay as their internal circuitry fell victim to the aberration's radiation, removing damaging residue at a constant rate, rivalled only by the decay. This was made possible by the linking of energy sources and some optimizations made in remanufacturing the android, the greater energy provided by the implanted fusion core and other partial additions strengthening the nanos' functions at the cost of BBQ's main weaknesses being rather easy to wipe out in the correct scenario. Being prioritized for battle gave towards BBQ's desire for conflict in a sense, their programmed "purpose" and making being tied to it, yet the new landscape providing threats they were unprepared for. Active radiation, foes triple their size, magic unprepared for - All left dents and tears in the malleable metallic flesh of the android. Unfortunately, fixing these marks proved arduous, physical mending out of the nanobots' control and recreation of the alloy out of the question, BBQ rather covered with extra guardings' and enchant-imbued armor - Or in less dire and casual events, a cowl constructed of cloth found in old debris. To present-day looks, BBQ is a android with scratched and torn plating, holes in their techsuit looking through into inner processes and drives in place of organs - Their visor cracked, a hole in which closer inspection reveals a web of the built-up irradiated substance behind it, a similar substance to what spans and had grown along the damaged exterior like mold, difficult to remove and pointless to try and wash away. They're usually seen donning a cowl or scarf of sorts when unarmored, covering their more predominant places of damage commonly. Some cowardice or shame is exemplified in the android's insistence in wearing the thin and worn-out cloth when otherwise unarmored, but remains simply preference to hide wounds like the holes torn in its techsuit and scrapes across the built-in plating and guards.

#### **Heir to Creation, Title and Failures**

Collection of correspondences, documents of value, and workplace observations. Contextual notes in addition, kept for posterity though written in altered style.

> [[ SAFET RECOVERED FILES, NOTES ADDED ]]
>
>

SafeT, a company dealing in technological security which branched out into individual security measures [Military/Political Security, Home Security, Business/Tech Security], which "re-innovated" BBQ with a new field of warfare in mind. The company established around 1920, rather late to the field of technological innovation, doing nothing too impressive outside of their smaller developments in home security and mechanical weaponry. The project Reliance, a robot extracted from a civilian technical engineer's home, was one of their higher projects. They took the robot, reengineering it through programming and modification, ultimately proving faulty in the end as pre-provided software from BBQ's former creator manufactured a problematic response - stalling SafeT's testing as the android "revolted". Soon following, SafeT was wiped from historical significance as the event hit, and any search they had sent for the android was ultimately halted. The machine was free for the time, were it so easy.

#### **Here yet Departed, Dormant**

Freshly surveying the world, though otherwise still limited to the surrounding areas of the Fallespont, BBQ ventured the relatively unpopulated regions of Terrain, exploring where they could before their time of freedom had to come to an end. The android was mostly sheltered within development, the context for the event and anything else leading up to it unknown to them, the events playing out any further leading the machine to believe this was almost moral consequence, the Aberration, the fallout, the devastation to Fallespont and all of Terrain, thought to be some greater consequence for their actions though entirely misconstrued. As the fallout drew out, Terrain's landscape and existence devastated by the Aberration, effects dealt everywhere but great detriment to all of Aberrant's grander technology, deteriorating and losing function at the hands of radiation. The android began to weaken, but astonishingly - their circuitry and internal programming survived if only by decaying as a lower rate. The nanomachines implemented in the machine rebuilt and maintained what they could of decayed chips, replacing code and broken processes at the cost of many corrupted strings of deteriorated and incomplete code. As the Aberration was still of greater prominence, the event still a fresh thought in whoever survived it - the emitted radiation and the mold left as residue was stronger, more lethal to the machine as it fought in constant. After extended deliberation, a choice was made, a hibernation of sorts. BBQ would remain awake to an extent, all energy distributed to mending and fighting the radiation as they laid dormant, consumed by the moss, the grass surrounding, the soil and sands enveloping them, the world moving on as the machine laid dormant; Aware, awake, awaiting.

#### **Algae & Regret**

How often does one wake from a centuries dormancy? Better yet, how often does one survive a century being consumed by the planet below and greenery above, becoming a fossil yet still completely alive? And how does one even wake?

> . . .

*>> Reinitializing. .  .*

< A mechanical whirring begins, roughly trapped in crevices of the soil and rock surrounding, circulating the inner cavity of the machine's torso >

*>> Rebooting.*

<< The whirring halts, some soil above disturbed - falling into the tearing of the techsuit, coating anything exposed in just another layer of debris. The soft mechanical whistle begins again >>

From which enveloped the machine, it rose. Not without struggle, of course. The android tried to move from the casing of soil and rock surrounding them - The threat of suffocation or asphyxiation was absent so very little was at stake, and no time limit occurred really - Their movements were slow, it wasn't an easy task to essentially un-bury yourself, taking several days, if not a week or two perhaps, to burrow out from the soil - one movement at a time.

*>> Analyzing.*

<< They had reached the surface of the soil and rock - now more evidently mud and some parts clay. They hadn't yet reached air, but it was enough for some natural light to grace their sensors - Some expression of joy had been made through process, nothing verbal but a run-through of a system's check done as a commemoration to words or actions they couldn't yet perform or do. >>

<< The sky was yet to be visible, their sensors observing the lower half of a shallow swamp, dampening what parts of the android had reached the surface. Algae coated the surface of the water above, overgrown and depriving anything below of most sunlight. >>

*>> Analyzation completed. Presence of Radiation Type-Specific "Unknown" is --- Low. However, Stated Presence remains at classification "Threat", but categorized to "Manageable".*

<< With the results, the android further worked to claw its way to the surface, hopeful in a sense. As it breached the algae-covered swamp prison, the noon sun hit it's sensors with full force - data which hadn't been received and processed in a long, *long* time. It overwhelmed the systems momentarily, the android using it's forearm to block the sunlight as metallic limbs trudged through the mud and under a nearby tree, receiving loose shade from the rustling leaves above. >>

> Surroundings?

*>> No Human Signatures. Smaller signatures identified 3 metres to the west, 8 metres to the north-east, 6 metres to --*

<< The signatures scan paused, the android's systems' running full internal scans as sensors dealt with the surroundings. The shade of the tree left only warm humid air surrounding the android, exterior sensors on the android's lower portions slowly moving back into the sunlight as it re-adjusted to the atmosphere and light surrounding it. >>

<< This was freedom. This was the reward to the seemingly endless consequence of being. This was.. New. >>

Nothing lasts forever, so as night fell, the dangers arose and the world shifted to a new and unrelentingly bright light. While it was satisfying to once again live in freedom, that didn't change how dangerous it was, being overtly so sometimes, but it was better than laying dormant another hundred years.

## Input Logs

Summarized logs of encounters worth noting, primarily lore events and character development or things worth writing down for the character. (Written mostly in-character, give or take a few contextual notes)