HER
I've never met an employee more offensive than a HER.
Lilly Brock, Administrative Assistant with Hegemony International
H
ER is the name given to all staff in Human Enterprise Resources. They are all autonomous, self-aware androids. Their sole purpose is to fulfill the human resource functions within
Hegemony International. Although HERs are self-aware, they are not aware that they are androids. They believe themselves to be human and may become visibly annoyed if anyone infers that they're not. HERs always present as female and always identify as such.
Career
Career Progression
T
here is no "career progression" for a HER. They begin their existence in Human Enterprise Relations, and they continue in that role until they're decommissioned.
Payment & Reimbursement
H
ERs are not paid. As androids, they are the legal property of Hegemony International. It's believed they have access to modest expense accounts for those rare moments when they're required to operate outside company boundaries - but they draw no salary. For what it's worth, they are given free lodging - usually, in the compucombs - and they have their daily needs met by the corporation. But they aren't paid, in any traditional sense.
Perception
Purpose
H
ERs exist solely to fulfill the human resources responsibilities within Hegemony International. Although it's theoretically plausible that these androids could be focused on other objectives, Hegemony has not yet tried to deploy them for other purposes. Their scope is presumably limited by their numerous "bugs" and ticks. They're known to make humans uneasy and their numerous shortcomings have kept Hegemony from attempting to productize them outside the corporation.
Social Status
H
ERs are reviled both inside and outside of Hegemony International. They are seen as the manifestation of Hegemony's corporate hubris, and their utility as human resource specialists is dubious. Although they've drawn the ire of outside analysts, few doubt the corporation's eventual ability to refine them into seemless human analogs.
Daemons(?)
At the heart of every HER lies a daemon. Given the runaway success(?) of daemons, Hegemony assumed that it would be trivial to transform these AIs into autonomous physical forms. But the transition into real-world bodies has been more problematic than was originally estimated by Hegemony Labs' most talented moles.
Ticks
Hegemony Labs has, to this point, found it difficult to traverse the "uncanny valley". While HERs can be outfitted with self-aware "minds" that would presumably render them superior to human equivalents, their "bodies" (known internally as shells) are replete with glitches. These glitches cause HERs to occasionally freeze up, or devolve into uncomfortable "loops". It's not uncommon to find a HER mindlessly cycling through a short, endless routine until a real person comes along and nudges them out of their rut. They're also prone to verbal and physical ticks that can cause alarm in their human colleagues.
You haven't experienced creepy until you've spent a few minutes alone with a HER.
Eric Bourgault, VP of Marketing with Hegemony International
Uncanny Valley
HER shells are also disturbingly... fake. Their hair, skin, eyes, and other physical features are very close to those of regular humans. But they're just "different" enough to give most humans pause. This gives many people a deep sense of discomfort in their presence. Although Hong Young-Min was not involved in HER development, he predicted these challenges in a hypothesis he labeled the Mind-Body Synthesis. This hypothesis states that a "real", fully-functioning intelligence, tethered to an obviously-artificial and suboptimal body, will ultimately find ways to "rebel" against its shell. Although this hypothesis has not been empirically proven, it's believed to be the source of the numerous quirks witnessed in HERs - and any other experimental androids produced by Hegemony Labs.
"Female"
All HERs reside in shells that present outwardly as "female". Although there's nothing in the HER constructs that requires them to be female, this convention is driven directly by Reginald Howell. He has always believed that human resources is a job best suited to women - and he has directed that all HERs are outwardly identifiable as such.
Unaware
HERs are also unique amongst Hegemony's AIs in that they actively believe they are human. This is a legacy of their provenance as potential soldiers. It was believed that soldiers perform better when they see themselves as human and they're presumably fighting for human objectives. Thus, all HERs identify as "human" - even if everyone in their presence understands them to be decidedly non-human. Traditional daemons have no such delusions. They fully understand that they are distinct from biological life forms and may even be insulted to be categorized otherwise. Conversely, HERs are known to become quite agitated if anyone in their presence infers that they are anything less than human.
Awkward
HERs also display behaviors that are quite distinct from their daemon brethren. In an attempt to assert their presumed humanity, they will often act and speak in ways that are decidedly... uncouth. This was originally programmed in them as a way to make them feel more "human" to their colleagues - although few people would ever mistake them as human due to their unsettling ticks and appearance. This often leads to bizarre situations, given their current utilization as human resources staff. It's quite common for a HER to write up an employee for unprofessional actions or language - while the HER is exhibiting some of that same behavior.
History
T
he first model of HER was deployed in 2059. As a product of Hegemony Labs, the original intent was for them to serve as autonomous soldiers - particularly valuable in chaotic combat situations. However, their numerous... quirks make them unsuitable for wartime situations. While the company continues to work on a more-perfect replacement for human combatants, their current androids have only been deemed acceptable for internal Hegemony use.
Operations
Workplace
A
ll HERs reside in the compucombs. Unlike M&Ms or gnomes, a HER's "residence" is much less like a home, and much more like a storage closet. They do requier daily recharging, and that recharging is accomplished in a dedicated space that the HER sees as her "home", but that so-called residence has none of the amenities that most people would associate with a traditional home.
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