Struct

Structs are artificially created sapients, created from inert materials such as metal, clay, or wood, and given life by magic.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Materials

Clay is by far the simplest material with which to shape a struct, and the creation process leaves the struct much more sturdy and durable than might be expected of such a material, but it is still the most fragile, resulting in structs with the shortest life spans.
Wood is the least popular choice of materials. While it provides a less fragile structure than clay, it still remains considerably more delicate than metal and is much harder to work than clay. It also tends to suffer more from wear due to normal use than clay does. Most importantly, Wood structs are less flexible, weaker, and more vulnerable to fire than other materials.
Given the vast array of metals, "metal" seems an overly broad grouping, but all metals share a number of traits. The magic that is involved in creating a struct removes the conductivity of any metal, so even copper structs are safe to use for electrical work. Even softer metals like gold and silver produce structs stronger and more sturdy than non-metal materials. Metal is often harder to shape than clay, but before their emancipation, blacksmiths were often employed in creating the form, and modern structs seem to have a natural gift for shaping metal. Structs made of softer metals tend to bear more decorative patterns in their skin, but visual aesthetics are of low interest to most structs so even those tend to be plain in appearance.

Shape

Far and away the majority of structs have a more or less humanoid appearance. That is, they possess two arms, two legs, a head, and retain bilateral symmetry. The number of digits on limbs varies greatly. Other aspects of their appearance within that constraint vary widely. Torso/trunk shape, head shape, limb length, approximation of humanoid facial features -- all vary considerably from what should actually be considered "humanoid." For example, the struct Dink has two legs, about half-length in proportion to chis body shape relative to a human form, a spherical main body mass, and a hemispherical dome for a head.
More unusual forms are possible, however, and it is not alarming to encounter structs with more or fewer limbs or different arrangements. Artificers of old found these more difficult to create such constructs, but modern structs don't appear to have more difficulty with alternate shapes than with humanoid shapes. The question, again, is of struct aesthetics, or lack thereof. If a specific use is in mind for the creator, the shape will reflect effective forms for that use. Otherwise the shape of a struct's children will reflect a balance between serviceability and ease of construction, mixed with the parent's appearance to indicate lineage.

Genetics and Reproduction

Only structs are legally permitted to create new structs under current Caldonian law. Any struct who chooses may create a child (while "genes" and "DNA" are obviously not present in structs, a struct who creates another is known as a parent, while the created struct is chis child).
From a high level, the beginning of the process is much the same as it has always been. A struct, acting alone or with other structs, gathers raw materials and constructs the body and mechanics necessary for the child. There the similarity ends. In ancient days sorcerers would conduct rituals and incantations to bring their constructs to "life."
However, no struct has ever been observed to use magic or sorcery in the traditional sense. Structs do not cast spells or conduct rituals or create mystic salves to create their children.
Just as their sapience evolved and developed unintentionally out of construct artificers efforts to improve behavior algorithms -- somehow universally improving the behaviors and intelligence of all such constructs -- the ability to install a living "spark" in a new struct is present in all structs, without any special measures taken to deliberately instill this power in any of them.
Every struct has a part called the Alma Component. Pre-singularity constructs did not have these, and not non-struct creator ever deliberately created this component. But it began appearing in structs at about the same time as the singularity (since there is no specific date or model, it is hard to be precise.
This Alma Component is a physical object -- a manifestation of the animating magic that powers structs. When a struct decides to become a parent and begins shaping the body of chis child, a process is initiated inside the parent. Some structs claim they consciously initiate this process, while others claim it is a natural reaction to the decisions the struct is making.
The process gathers bits of magical energy and converts it to matter, which it then assembles into the Alma Component. The inner workings of the Alma Component are not understood, and no effort to create one outside of a struct's internal workings, which are also not consciously designed, have been successful. However, it is worth noting that structs created by non-structs (before this activity was outlawed) also have Alma Components.
While the Alma Component is under construction, the parent struct has less power and energy -- the magical animating force is both giving the parent life and creating the child's Alma Component, after all.
When the Alma Component and the child's body are both complete, the parent removes the Alma Component from chis body and places it in the child. Traditionally the Alma Component is placed in whatever is the closest equivalent to a human chest, but any location will do. Once the body and Alma Component are united, they are inseparable, and the child struct is a fully independent, adult being.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

Today, it is illegal for non-structs to use any method to create a new struct. A group of structs, originally funded by the same activist groups that supported the struct bid for emancipation, known as the Struct Liberation Unit harshly deals with the rare violations of this law. The group is loosely organized and typically a strike team consists of any available structs that can be recruited to help out.

Common Etiquette Rules

Pronouns

Structs may identify as any gender, but most often do not identify as a gender. Individuals who create other structs usually refer to themselves as "parent" and not the gendered "mother" or "father." It is safest to use they/them/their unless a specific struct's prefered gender is known.
Structs have no language of their own, but have started to develop vocabulary specific to their species, outside of human norms. An example of this is the growing adoption of the pronoun set che (ʃi:) / chir (ʃʊəʳ) / chis (ʃɪz).

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Structs have a reputation for being emotionless and taciturn, and this reputation is not entirely unearned. Inter-struct society is subdued. Some structs may even be incapable of emotional responses. Even among those that do have emotional templates, expression of emotion is discouraged.
Due to their history, the primary ideal most structs hold is independence. For the most part, this independence is not restricted to their own species, and they hate oppression against any species. However, maintenance of struct emancipation and recognition of their sapience is of higher prerogative than civil rights of other creatures. There are still many living structs who lived in servitude and the general feeling is that they are only one law or court judgement away from returning to that life.

History

Structs are descended from the constructs created by sorcerers in ancient times. These constructs were not sapient. In fact, the earliest of these constructs could not be said to have intelligence. They were created by these magic wielders to be simple servants and guardians, capable only of obeying simple directions.
As succeeding generations of wizards made constructs, they gradually made improvements to the ability to comprehend and follow orders, adding decision making skills and memory storage.
Eventually, a singularity was met and passed -- these artificial constructs had become advanced enough that they had become self actualized and had self-will, desires, and other traits associated with rational minds. The exact moment was not recognized, of course. No one can point definitively at the first truly sapient artificial construct, but it is generally agreed that Iota Theta Four was the first to argue that the constructs, which Iota Theta Four distinguished from their inert predecessors with the term "structs," had achieved full sapience.
As rational arguments, however, "Yes, I am." "No, you're not." "Yes, I am." is not very persuasive. Iota Theta Four was destroyed soon after declaring his sapience.
Later efforts by other structs proved more fruitful. Combining better arguments with improved strategies for time and place for presenting those arguments, the matter of struct sapience entered common discourse.
The creators of constructs had a vested interest in keeping their free labor. They vigorously debated the possibility of constructs gaining sapience. Unfortunately for those sorcerers and artificers, the feren war for emancipation was still fresh in the memory of the citizenry. War weariness and the embarrassment of dealing in sapient chattel rapidly increased sympathy for structs.
This does not mean the road to freedom was quick and simple. Public opinion was not always embraced by nobility and lawmakers. Structs raised awareness by putting themselves into situations where they would be noticed, such as disagreeing in public over an assigned task, which if then they were forced to do anyway would usually reflect poorly on the master.
Another tactic was making purchases, especially that of land or other real estate, which they declared specifically was for themselves, not a master; in other words, asserting that they could own something, and not be owned. This tactic often had to be bankrolled by human sympathizers, since as property or former property, even structs who had been granted independence rarely had the resources to make transactions of sufficient size to convince bigoted sellers to agree to the deal.
The biggest setback in the emancipation movement grew out of this tactic. A struct named Geral had made an expensive jewelry purchase and proudly wore the jewels upon their person in public. When they was accosted by a group of humans threatening to mug them, they defended themself, as any property owner had the right to do. The conflict resulted in the death of one human and severe injuries to two others, and a years-long series of trials to determine whether Geral had the right to own property or defend himself. Generally the public did not favor Geral's position -- independence was fine, but not at the cost of harm to humans.
Loyal sympathizers still fought for Geral's position, believing that if they could get a court to say anything that implied Geral had any choice or right in the matter, even if deciding against them, they would have the beginnings of a case to liberate structs in general. The case was eventually decided in Geral's favor, but not in a way that helped structs in general. The judge essentially declared that if a burglar injures himself using a machine during a robbery, the machine was not at fault.
Geral was later destroyed by a mob made up of associates of his original attackers. No one was ever held accountable for the action.
Eventually, however, the movement to recognize struct sapience gathered enough legal precedent in court cases and business transactions (including structs paid to do labor), as well as enough lawmaking sympathy, that structs were declared sapient by law. The law forced all those who still owned structs to set them free. It also stated that only structs were allowed to create more structs.