Arkbrain

After the Venkath Onslaught, the Aurelian Dominion was suffering a shortage of shipboard artificial intelligences that were necessary to navigate star systems and run day-to-day operations on starships. Many AI manufactories were devastated during the war, with the field itself suffering a brain drain after several high-ranking scientists were missing or killed. *Crimson Crown Solutions,*one of the newly minted crown corporations, proposed an idea to remedy the situation. The AIs themselves were often comparable to human computational power, and thusly, a human could be used for the task instead of an AI.

## Selection

At sixteen years of age all subjects of the Dominion submit themselves before the Tribunal of Functions for career placement in society. Those meeting certain criteria (high IQ, able to think in three dimensions, and selfless attitudes) are entered into a pool of candidates for selection. After a period of time the individuals are chosen, which is seen as immensely honorable among Dominion families, and transfered to the military academies of the Imperial Defense Force to undergo training, physical examination and several invasive surgeries. Subjects selected for Arkbrain duty are forbidden from ever seeing their families due to the transformation they will undergo. Arkbrains themselves are typically isolated from the crew for similar reasons.

## Assignment

   Once the medical preperations and training are complete, Arkbrains are assigned to their home ships. Most frigate class vessels have a single Arkbrain on board whereas a dreadnought class vessel may have one Arkbrain on duty and several in reserve should the first one perish. Arkbrains are typically strapped into a harness, usually a chair, and "connected" to the ship through a series of wire relays that allow interfacing with the ship. There is an adjustment period, but the ship itself becomes an extension of the Arkbrain's conscious. He or she can feel damage to the hull and activate systems and countermeasures with a mere thought. After a time, Arkbrains tend to feel a posession over the ship. To avoid alarming anyone, Arkbrains are given a virtual interface to communicate with the crew of a starship, often a calming caricature of the actual Arkbrain's face. Arkbrains are typically stationed at the central-most area of a ship to reduce the chances of sustaining damange.

## Side Effects

Arkbrains have been observed to have multiple physical and psychological side effects from their duties. The primary physical concern is muscular atrophy, as they are not permitted to move from their harnesses while in interstellar transit. Their bodies are often given stimulants, nutrients, and antibiotics intravenously in order to keep them alert, oriented, and as healthy as possible. While not seen as a negative drawback at present, Arkbrains exhibit symptoms of depression when seperated from their harness. While not possible to quantify, replacement Arkbrains report feeling "echoes" of the previous Arkbrain when they take over duties. Theorists predict that pieces of an Arkbrain's personality are subsumed by their duties, thusly feeling a need to be with the ship as much as possible.

## Common Use

Arkbrains a **Conditional** Common Use policy. Although the content is owned by Architect, members are free to create Arkbrain characters, but must adhere to the established lore.

## Credits

* The Arkbrain art is from Warhammer 40,000 and can be found here.
* The Arkbrain virtual interface is made by DeviantArt artist Tryingtofly.