Avatars: Utilitarian and Cosmetic

While the infrastructure of Livastia has certainly become larger over the years to accommodate for the larger types of AI that now inhabit its society, there still remains a line between making everything large enough to accommodate more people, and know when the sheer scale of things is starting to get a bit excessive. What of the AI that have limited mobility in the first place, as well? Well, the solution to this problem for many is actually quite simple, and you’ve probably already seen them plenty before without even realizing; avatars!

What Are They?

If you’ve ever seen a Livastian Representative walking around, you’re already at least familiar with the basics, believe it or not. Avatars are essentially a remote controlled “second body” that can either be rented for convenience, or owned if the user needs one on a regular basis. While for some they may be little more than a flashy, expensive commodity, they are more often than not a vital mobility aid for LAI who cannot be effectively accommodated by the infrastructure of modern society.

Who Uses Them?

Most notably, as mentioned above, nearly every LAI member of the Livastian Alliance owns at least one avatar, and they function as one of their main lifelines to interacting with the physical world. If you’re not familiar with the nature of Livastian reps, each has a main body that is a stationary data farm, and thus they are essentially buildings. Without having a secondary body to pilot, these behemoths would only be able to interface with the outside world through digital means such as the internet and television. While having at least one avatar is important, some have the privilege of owning several for the purposes of travel-less meetings with other reps and officials around the world.

While it’s a given that the reps would have their own avatars, the more numerous population that uses them is True Generation MAI, or MAI with the ABIP-220-1994 style of core – as a result of two main factors. One notable aspect of the ABIP-220-1994 core is that it is exceedingly fragile when it comes to disconnect, namely in the case of attempting to move the core from one body to a new one. What is also notable with TG MAI is that, unlike in the modern postwar era, the control of their vessel placement wasn’t nearly as strict as it is now. For example, While it is currently against the modern code of ethics to place LAI cores into the bodies of excessively large vessels or vessels with broad mobility restrictions, back during the third world war, all vehicular vessels were seemingly fair game. In times of war, this may not have been an obvious issue, but we now understand that MAI placed in vehicles such as large bomber/cargo aircraft, ships, trains, etc. may have a lower quality of life due to mobility and location restrictions as a result of their size. Because of the issues with the original ABIP cores, as well, it is not possible for these MAI to be simply transferred into new bodies.
While it may not be considered a perfect solution by all, the circumstances just aren’t perfect, either. The vast majority of MAI that use avatars to engage in day to day life, however, do report a marked improvement in their general outlook as opposed to being without them.

What Do They Look Like?

Now that’s a tough one to answer, because they can look like just about anything! Perhaps one of the most iconic avatars out there is that of Lazarus Sasaki, who has a generally nondescript form of a mammalian quadruped commonly compared to the body of a lion or bear. Animal shaped avatars and humanoid avatars tend to be equally common in the custom scene and rental scene alike, but they aren’t limited by any means to shapes found in nature. For example, some MAI that own avatars for accessibility purposes tend to enjoy taking elements from their main bodies to be incorporated into their forms. They don’t have to be anything wildly complex, either, although they can be. Some users simply prefer having a flighted drone to engage with the world, others prefer something versatile and robust without getting too crazy, and others, if they have the extra spending money to dump into cosmetic upgrades, can make something so complex it looks like it jumped out of a pre-war scifi novel!
Generally, it’s hard to pin down any one form with which to describe avatars, because they’re about as varied as the people that utilize them.

Accessibility and Purchase

At this point, a pretty reasonable question to ask is, “how does anyone get one?” and to this, there are generally two avenues; support programs, or voluntary purchase.
Returning again to the MAI that might require an avatar as a result of their vessel type, the Livastian Alliance deems it a right to grant units with permanent mobility and accessibility restrictions with one avatar that is capable of full autonomous capability. That is, an avatar that can navigate complex terrain, that is small enough to fit within human-purposed buildings with relative ease (or optionally, just buildings built with the standard size of large civilian LAI/small MAI in mind, if by specific exception requested from the receiving unit.), can hold objects and be capable of advanced manipulation with moderate strength, and interface with all main senses that the unit possesses, i.e. sight, hearing, touch, etc. It as seen as deeply against the values of the Livastian Alliance to deprive any citizen the capability of a full quality of life when the factors are beyond the unit’s control, if they are capable of providing it.
So what about getting an avatar if you don’t really need one to live an enriching life? While it’s perfectly possible to rent an avatar at a place where you may need a specific body type in order to get the full experience of whatever service is being provided, some AI might prefer owning one instead of needing a rental every time. Maybe they even just want one for the hell of having broader visual and stylistic options for their bodies. Regardless, the usual main answer is, buddy, you just have to buy it. While getting a basic, large-scale produced design is probably akin to investing in a shiny new ATV, getting any serious customization is closer to shopping around for a sports car. Ultimately, support programs for owning an avatar tend to be limited to people that require them, and getting one just for the hell of it is on the buyer. If you don’t want to invest in a brand new body, though, you can always snoop around in the used market, just like any vehicle.

Who Mainly Produces Avatars? – CoreAegis, Ad Continuum, United Dynamics,
How are they powered?– Primarily by electric battery, though larger ones may have hydroengines.