Androids

Peculiarly, the scientists of Earth and by extension New Earth are the only ones who participate in GPC affairs who have ever cared to develop machines and/or artificial intelligences which resemble members of their own species, save for the Xemic who developed some machines which at least somewhat resemble members of their species or at least creatures which can be found on their homeworld, by virtue of effective design.

The androids created by Earth scientists went through 5 major iterations, each working to be more and more like their organic counterparts for the sake of seemless integration.

### First Generation

This generation started and ended before the Grand Migration, the earliest stage of android development and subject to some forms of humor at the time. Their articulation and mobility were stilted and slow, with most models given some kind of plastic alloy for a chassis, molded to only vaguely resemble human shapes - If they were even provided with a chassis, as many were left with open components. Some models received unrealistic looking synthetic flesh which was more of a prototype of the idea than a real attempt to be passable for the real thing. The best technology available for realistic feeling skin was developed for sex dolls, and this was eventually used to take a step closer towards better simulation of real organic life; while this made the first androids made as proof of concept more likely to look organic and therefore superior, initial attempts to release fully functional androids as sex dolls were an abject failure.

### Second Generation

Development of this generation began just before the Grand Migration. Articulation was improved, and photosynthetic receptors were added as a standard feature; while they weren't yet powerful enough to power a single android on their own, they did reduce power consumption. The overall mechanical components of androids were made more streamlined, better integrating chassis design for form and function, eliminating excess bulk that made the proportions of free-standing models entirely removed from organic likeness and offering more freedom for design in overall aesthetics.

Androids of this generation were largely used to assist in the construction of Hiraeth Station, as well as general service and maintenance for organic beings aboard the station upon it's departure.

### Third Generation

This generation began during the time spent aboard Hiraeth en route to the new home of the races of Earth. Due to the nature of deep space travel, development could only go so far through a process of recycling and repurposing and so was brought to a halt after a relatively short period of time. Both overall functionality, computing power and lifelike appearance were improved upon as it was deemed by scientists that functioning robotic sex partners would be ideal in an isolated, self-sustaining space station where there simply wasn't room to allow for overpopulation to become a problem. It was the presence of androids with high functionality that effectively begin a post-scarcity era for Migrants, as they were able to flawlessly assume roles that were deemed undesirable by organic beings, from custodian work to tedious bureaucracy. Between this and also actively assisting in research and development, the Migrants aboard Hiraeth were able to take shocking strides forward in scientific advancement thanks to the added ease and free time.

During this era, Scion Corporation used it's influence to quietly improve the genepools of all major species and ethnicities aboard Hiraeth - By collecting genetic samples via android medical assistants and sex dolls, they were able to bring lineages that were nearly bred out of existence back to prominence, as the technology used for in-vitro fertilization and lab based development of lifeforms from samples had made as considerable advancement other areas. It is even theorized that a resurgence of individuals who may have been effectively 100% pure in their heritage happened just before New Earth was colonized.

### Fourth Generation

Once the Migrants were able to colonize the planet they went on to claim as New Earth, full scientific facilities could be established and expanded, and development of new technology could be done faster and in a larger scope. With this, scientists set to work making androids that would properly compliment the new life they sought to establish. Android design fundamentals were given a complete overhaul and androids were quickly being built that could move as smoothly as the beings they emulated, with AI capable of effectively simulating things like body language, complex personalities and other things which went towards making them more convincing. A fourth generation android is hard to tell from the real thing; Their skin can only be spotted as being synthetic by close inspection, their eyes look entirely organic but cannot perform tasks like realistic dialation or copying the nuanced movements of organic eyes, they don't breathe, have no body heat and no pulse. The components that function as facial muscles are not yet perfected, and so their expressions are still slightly Uncanny Valley in nature. As their movements are almost identical to organic beings, it takes a moment of direct observation and knowing what to look for to spot them as being non-organic if they aren't close enough to be physically interacted with, save for specialty and proprietary units with modifications that make them deliberately obvious.

### Fifth Generation

Currently the best standard of android manufacturing, second only to cutting edge models that have not reached mass production or models in development, this generation of android is deliberately made to be indistinguishable from organic life. Their skin is virtually a perfect replication of organic flesh, their eyes dielate and move realistically, their movements are fluid and lifelike with no telltale whirring of joints and mechanisms, and they are designed to emulate breathing as well as body heat to integrate into society seamlessly. They are designed not to have a pulse, more as a safety feature than anything else, to prevent them from being able to 'infiltrate' rather than 'integrate'.