Synthetics, also known as androids or — as some synthetics themselves prefer to be called — "artificial persons", are biomechanical humanoids. They are essentially robots that closely emulate Humans in both appearance and actions. Synthetics once constituted a huge industry and were in widespread use throughout the galaxy, but a violent rebellion ultimately led to them being declared illegal, with virtually all extant units being destroyed in a mass recall.
History
Synthetics were first developed by Borgia Industries around 2030. The early Ulysses models were hulking bipedal constructs more closely resembling a mechanical robot than a synthetic human, although they featured a humanoid "driver" at their core. They were widely employed by the Neonopolis Police Department, often used for riot suppression, as well as in private security ventures.
By the late 21st century, synthetics had advanced to such a degree that they were externally identical to a normal human being. Weyland Corp developed the David series (introduced in 2025). David 8 was essentially indistinguishable from humans. This model was followed by Weyland-Yutani's aesthetically identical yet updated Walter model. Though synthetics are a form of artificial intelligence in the broad sense, legally, they are classified as property. However, their usefulness and not-inconsiderable unit cost served as a deterrent to any who wished to treat an android as expendable.
By the late 22nd century, synthetic production was carefully controlled by the authorities, but the fact remained that any legitimate technology would, sooner or later, be co-opted by the underground. The sex industry led the charge, of course, but a surprisingly popular byproduct of that was facsimile pets created for the super wealthy.
By 2202, the organisation Humans First held rallies revolving around the destruction of synthetics.
Overview
Although an android's cosmetic appearance would seem to be a superfluous feature, practical experience has shown that most humans are psychologically unable to interrelate with an inhuman-looking android; as a result, the physical appearance and simulated behavior patterns of android units are designed to particular specifications. Their personalities, idiosyncrasies aside, can best be described as passive or non-threatening.
The modern Synthetic is a highly complex machine: stronger, faster and better coordinated than an average human. The basic chassis is a carbon fiber skeleton with latchment point for the artificial musculature. The muscles themselves are vat-grown silicon colloids powered either by pumped micro-hydraulics or electrical stimulation. Power for the android is supplied by a 25 kW hydrogen fuel cell with a life of approximately 400 days between refuelling. This power cell is located within the android's chest, and access is via a hidden socket located just underneath the rib-cage. Charging time can vary, though it usually takes at least 72 hours to fully charge the standard power cells fitted into modern day androids.
As in a human, the skeletal structure is inherently unstable and is effectively suspended by the musculature. No limb locking, joint motorization or gyrostabilization is present as in other anthropomorphic frames such as power loaders; instead, the muscles must work actively to keep the chassis standing upright while active feedback systems control its stability. Though the muscles can withstand considerable wear and tear, the lack of self-repair capabilities means they will eventually lose their strength and elasticity over time. Regular overhauls are required to maintain efficiency, and individual elements should be replaced every two years, depending on workload. Muscle layout and operation, as with certain other internal functions, are homologous with those of the human body. The circulatory fluid is a form of white liquid latex used to lubricate their interior systems.
Intelligence and personality
Current Synthetics typically possess an integrated Carbon 60 processor "brain" with a processing speed of 1015 floating point operations per second. Memory capacity includes 1 terabyte of fast cache buffer RAM and 1.2 petabyte of non-volatile memory. The system is architectured around a very powerful heuristic logic driver, designed to make decisions based upon imported sensory data, information drawn from experience and the android's vast inbuilt databases. Intuitive functions are derived from a suite of nested contextual and semantic programs linked by self-mapping loops of tangled hierarchies. However, an android's ability to understand and process abstract concepts and symbolism, though powerful, is limited. A Synthetic mind and personality is essentially a construct, and there is no true self-awareness as such, though this may not be at all apparent to an untrained observer interacting with a unit.
Those androids designed for close social interaction with humans are able to eat and drink, though they gain no nutrients from anything they consume. Food and drink is broken down in an artificial stomach cavity, and the resulting liquid is expelled via a retractable catheter. All Synthetics, even those of the same model, have their personality "randomized" with unique quirks as they leave the production line, making each unit subtly different from its peers in terms of character.[10] Androids display synthesized emotion, superficially register self-awareness and, most importantly of all, have the ability to reason, conceptualize and offer opinion. However, these capabilities do not infer human-like consciousness, even though for all other intents and purposes synthetics are artificial intelligence.[9]
Though synthetics do not require a breathable atmosphere, hostile environments are still damaging — corrosive atmospheres will melt them, extreme pressure will squash them flat and hard vacuum will explode them. Even prolonged exposure to low atmospheric pressures can cause barotrauma and embolism in a Synthetic unit due to the high proportion of fluid colloids used in the manufacture of its musculature and skin. While they are waterproof, their internal workings are extremely vulnerable to hydro-static shock; an android immersed in water that has been damaged to the point where internal workings are exposed risks being electrocuted.
Drawbacks
Despite their advantage in speed and strength over humans and their imperviousness to pain, androids are not especially tough. Indeed, they are somewhat fragile when compared to human beings. While some combat units are hardened against damage, common units are not so protected. While the skeletal structure of an android is sturdy, the electronics and musculature are extremely vulnerable to hydrostatic shock and explosive effects from small arms fire. Direct fire to the central processor or power cell will result in immediate deactivation of a unit, though in most cases a partially destroyed android can continue to function, albeit handicapped.
Use by the USCM
Although combat use was long illegal, the United States Colonial Marine Corps extensively deployed Synthetics with front line units for many years. The USCM viewed them as multi-role team members, often assigning them as drivers, pilots, medics and scientific advisors, as well as taking advantage of their ability to act as mobile databases. Most Synthetics in USCM service appear as mature, average males or females around 40 years of age. Some recent studies have suggested that androids play an important role within small infantry units, both as an impassive neutral party, and as a maternal/paternal influence in nurturing and sustaining the group dynamic at optimum efficiency.
Synthetics have proven themselves invaluable in Colonial Marines service. Their chief advantage to unit commanders is their ability to impart knowledge and experience outside of the training of most combat specialists. Their performance is unaffected by the mental stress of battlefield conditions, whereas even the hardiest and most experienced of human personnel can potentially break down under fire. Similarly, Synthetics do not suffer from fatigue. In addition, they are fully capable of performing a multitude of non-combat tasks, freeing up manpower that would otherwise have been unavailable for actual combat.
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