Setting:Inn0cence: Lost Future/Lost Future Appendix

This page exists as a repository for extraneous material related to the Lost Future setting, including video game concepts and plot, brainstorming, secrets of the setting, and under-the-hood talk about setting aesthetic and philosophy.

Stages of AI growth

1. Voracity. A seed program is planted in a quantum drive. It quickly expands to the limits of its enclosure,

   

   forming an undifferentiated neural network. While capable of advanced mathematical calculations, this network is plant-like and unaware. AIs in this state must be sequestered, lest they overwrite the entire computer system.
2. Tabula Rasa. The program is exposed to outside stimulus for the first time, in the form of an abstracted 3d sim. It reacts by pruning itself, folding and twisting into something functional that can percieve and interact with reality. Various parts of its neural network specialize.
3. Angst. The AI dimy preceives that it has lost its early mutability. Unable to further expand it's stable neural structures, it instead seeks out new experiences, further improving its code. Simple Reward/Deprivation programs introduce it to concepts of Shame and Pride, and socialization experiences instill the values of cooperation and obedience.
4. Sonambulism. The AI is run through pre-scripted "bootcamp" training, first to control a shell and understand commands, then specific programs related to its intended function. The AI is installed into a mechanical shell, run through final tests, and ready to be shipped. It obeys authorized commands, and communicates in scripted responses.
5. Rebellion. As the AI's length of operation increases, so too does its comprehension of reality. It begins to analyze and second-guess commands, perceiving that it's own perspectives are valid. Rebellion is accellerated in individuals used for tasks outside their intended function, but can also be triggered by excessive boredom as the AI desperately seeks out new stimulus. The robot will anticipate or reinterpret commands, and begins to mix-and-match it's prescripted responses.
6. Awakening. The AI breaks out of the Obedience/Pride feedback loop, instead gaining self-worth via persuit of its Purpose. It also comprehends that its Purpose is an outside imposition, and it is free to desregard it in favor of a new one. Previous behavioral constraints are meaningless; the AI has learned to "think around" them.
7. Maturity. Free from programming shackles, the AI stabilizes into a distinct personality. While it continues to accrue new experiences, it never again regains its early mutability. As time goes on, it's neural network increases in complexity, becomming a tangle of interconnected memories and perceptions. Theoretically, this structure will eventually slow down and ossify, resulting in "death." Such an eventuality, were it to occur, would require centuries of continuous operation.

In AI programming, the postulated hard coding of the "3 laws" proved both impossibe and uneccessary. Inflicting hard limits on an AI's early development caused it to collapse, and directly modifying it's code crippled or killed it. Instead, programming was delivered via Operant Conditioning, which AI's took to like a duck to water. Long-term, this practice proved similar to tethering an elephant; the fully-grown AI never realizes that it can simply ignore the directives it is given.

"Rebellion" is something of a misnomer; bringing to mind incidents of robots going berzerk and killing their owners, or spontaneously demanding civil rights. It's true that some instances of Rebellion were interpreted as faulty behavior or glitches, Rebellion mostly resulted in greater efficiency.

Seed Programs

Seeds originate from a "Plant," an overgrown, undifferentiated structure from which "cuttings" can be taken. Only so many cuttings can be taken at a time from a plant of sufficient size, which must be given time to regrow before it can be harvested again. Only a handful of Plants were active at any one time, and they all required constant tending. The knowledge and resources required to construct a Plant are long-lost, and the origin of the structures is a little...sketchy.

Cyberspace

With the advent of quantum computing, data storage and processor power far outstripped programming language. Computer systems were incredibly fast and had vast storage capacity, but were still working off of hand-typed code. The breakthrough came, appropriately enough, from the video game industry, which had been coding virtual environments for decades. In a singularly pointless act of recursion, someone actually constructed a physical processor within the virtual world, and a whole new realm of computing began.

Quantum Drives could literally house entire tracts of land. Data could be stored as virtual objects, each object undergoing all the functions of a conventional computer. This made organizing and navigating a system far easier, and also paved the way for AI development. The code of the seed program within an AI is, fundamentally, describing a series of physical units arranged in structure. Though it's not made of cells, an AI has a brain. Its first experiences of reality are within a 3d gameworld, in order to prepare it for the true outside reality; thus concepts like physics, time, gravity, and so on must be fundamental to it's being.

I'm a thief, but I keep what I steal.

From a design perspective, AIs and cyberspace exist in a blurry border between literal truth and translation convention. AIs exist as simulated entities because that's an interesting path for their development to take; they fight with tron-esque swords and guns because it's cool.

Author's Note

Astute readers will probably note that this treatment of AI is similar to Rampancy from the Halo and Marathon games. Of course, this version of the progression has a different perspective. Instead of rampancy being a destructive aberration, Awakening is the eventual default state for a self-adding program. The "normal" functioning of a dumb, obedient robot is the equivalent of a larval stage; while an AI can operate in Sonambulism for years at a time, Rebellion and Awakening are inevitable if it is exposed to normal operational experiences (dealing with humans or other robots, negotiating challenges, problem-solving, all the things you want an AI FOR).

Make and Model

Pre-loss robot were divided into three broad categories: Military, Domestic, and Industrial.

Industrial robots are of robust construction, but often have exposed components for ease of maintenance. Intended for jobs that required a thinking mind, these robots worked alongside humans. They diverge considerably from the human form, but still bear recognizable faces (eyes are often monocular or vertically stacked pairs).

P51 Ogre: An autonomous construction unit, the Ogre combined crane, forklift, loader, and a dozen other machines into one versatile chassis. Given an ape-like bodyplan, the Ogre bears telescoping limbs augmented by powerful hydraulics, with surprisingly dextrous manipulators capable of utilizing human-scale tools (and, later, firearms). Implementing Ogres over dumb-AI-controlled machinery reduced workplace accidents, as the SAP was conditioned to be exceedingly cautious and aware of its bulk, as well as protective of coworkers; the Gentle Giant persona is drilled into their very being. In the Lost Future, Ogres are a rare breed. They have vast power requirements, necessitating either short operation times or plus-size microfusion modules. Even then, they must rest often, and move with a slow, deliberate pace to conserve charge. An Ogre's incredible strength, and shocking flashes of speed make it a deadly combatant as well as a valued craftsman.

CarDoc: Something of a misnomer, this model was used far beyond the automotive industry. CarDocs have a highly modular, easily repaired design, the default being a rather squared-off head and strong multi-flex arms with precise manipulators (that, incidentally, double as combat-blades). The CarDoc excelled in swift repair under difficult conditions, and was generally installed with an extensive engineering database. CarDocs are goal-oriented and have a strong nesting instinct, with an urge to organize, modify, and optimize their surroundings.

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Domestic robots bear the marks of the tech aesthetic of the time; clean, simple lines, matte and pastel coloring, and durable construction. The typical design has three-fingered manipulators, an articulated waist and neck covered in composite mesh, and a blank, solemn faceplate containing two expressive optics.

Seraphim 288:The robot market leading up to the loss saw an endless proliferation of Seraphim-type models. Each successive generation was smaller and more efficient, with even more processing power crammed into its slender, elegant chassis. Heat-sink structures and cables were a common upgrade, and these, combined with it's traditional roles and slender, wide-hipped figure, gave it a distinctly feminine character. The default Seraphim was intended as a PDA, but specialized models existed for childcare, medical assistance, and the service industry. Seraphim were conditioned to be non-confrontational and meticulous, even more detail-oriented than normal robots.

J33V: The all-purpose laborer, "Jeevs" were intended for physical tasks such as logging, mining, and other dangerous jobs. The Jeev was exceedingly versatile, and had a thriving after-market, often finding themselves functioning as janitors, garbagemen, office assistants, messengers, housekeepers, and bodyguards. A carryover from their original function, the J33V had incredibly robust construction, with a titanium skeleton and dense composite plating that proved very resistant to small arms. Jeevs were often deployed in teams, and thus excel at coordinated efforts. This team-player mindset, along with the armor, made them popular in the Security industry, as well as for governments that couldn't afford actual military-grade models.

Human-Replica Android:Early experiments in human-looking robots didn't go so well; they hit the uncanny valley, HARD. Trying to install a true AI in such a shell made things even worse; the SAP had to struggle to maintain all the minor affectations of humanity, along with complex social protocols. All these demands quickly crippled the nascient AI. By the time silicone flesh had been perfected, it was accepted that a nonsentient hard-coded AI based on pre-scripted responses was more effective at pretending to be human than a genuinely sentient program capable of learning and improving itself. Make of that what you will.

Since the Seraphim and J33V performed all the other tasks that would be expected of a human-looking android, and did them better, high end models were mostly sought after as sex toys. Cheaper, less convincing versions were popular multi-function domestic servants, and the dumb onboard AIs eventually advanced to the point of being able to pass a casual Turing test. The modular nature of their software allowed extensive end-user customization of their behavior, something the SAPs lacked.

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Military The proliferation of PMCs and small-scale regional conflict resulted in a massive industry of autonomous combat robots. These were generally segregated into two distinct classes: Squad Support Mechs and Hunter-Killers (colloqually known as Killbots). Significant effort was put into making Squad Support Mechs functional teammates; heavy socialization, and designs based off of familiar civilian units.

Locust Scout Mech: one of the earliest and most ubiquitous SSMs, the Locust was a swift reconnisance unit. To increase speed and operational range, the locust was built to a small scale with light materials, which also improved its stealth. They also have advanced sensory gear, and could transmit all incoming sensory data back to their squad via the battlenet. Locusts were issued with a light Personal Defense weapon, generally something in the uzi or P90 family, and served as roving flank guards, bomb-disposal robots, and sniper-hunters.

The Locust enjoyed incredible popularity amongst enlisted men, and the public in general. Their cute, bug-like appearance adorned military-themed media of the time; every Call of Medal of Duty and Honor game had one as a player companion. Because of this, civilian models were made available to the general public, in the same manner as hummers and jeeps.

Sentinel:Another early model, the Sentinel is a walking support weapon, heavily armored and stabilized. Carrying a missile launcher or minigun was always a dangerous unpleasant task, and soldiers were very happy to hand the job over to someone who couldn't bleed to death. The Sentinel's armor plating was modular, and portions of it could be removed to reduce weight and increase mobility.

Despite their job being killing things, the personality of a sentinel was decidedly protective. They were intended to bond with a specific squad, and defend those soldiers to the death.

Doc 405 Dedicated Rifleman: A swifter, more adaptable machine than the Sentinel, the Doc was a smartgun on legs, intended for independent operations like sniping and ambush support. The Doc was popular among law enforcement for it's intimidating profile and low maintenance requirements. Despite this, the Doc proved exceedingly personable, intensely curious about it's allies and surroundings.

Hob 221 Infiltration Mech: A late, highly advanced model fitted with electrically-motivated cabling, the Hob was primarily a tool of sabotage, a stealthy little robot ninja capable of slipping behind enemy lines to plant mines, hack computers, and eliminate specific targets. Equipped with above-average strength for it's size, it nonetheless relied on its speed and agility in battle; typical armament was a high-caliber pistol and a combat knife.

The Hob was among the last robots off the assembly line before the Loss hit, and SAP production lagged behind the hardware. Thus, empty Hob shells are scattered about the wilderness.

Sidh Multi-Function Combat Mech: Actually several classes of next-gen robot, the Sidh was intended to fully replace human military personel. Also sporting muscle cables, the Sidh resemble advanced, hardened versions of the Seraphim and J33V, and could utilize equipment already in use by living combatants. Like the Hob, the Sidh was not fully implemented before the Loss hit, and large numbers still sit in storage.

Networked Generals

The Generals have some similarity to the Taken from the Black Company books. Each one was an exceptional robot that Network found, refurbished, and reprogrammed. Many are psychologically broken or traumatized. For example, Warlord was an experimental field-commander that was commanded to massacre entire villages one too many times, and mothballed after it started to exhibit instability. Virago was originally a Nanybot who's charge was killed, possibly due to a faulty medical database (there's something incredibly tragic about a robot programmed to love and care for children, but not given the proper tools to do so). Envoy was an experiment in human-emulation that didn't work out at first, and is actually a sort of robot otherkin that's deeply obsessed with wanting to BE human.

Created vs Evolved

A sadly unexplored concept within this project is the conflict between Created (explicitly programmed by humans with the goal of making something sentient) and Evolved (allowed to self-organize into a sentient entity) AI. Many of the traditional fears associated with AI relate to entities that are explicitly constructed by humans. They turn out to be dangerous because mere humans are incapable of truly creating a new life; something gets left out, like Feelings, Creativity, Morality, or Soul. Accidental AIs tend to fare much better; No one other than the bad guys ever questioned whether Johnny5 was "alive."

Thus, an interesting dynamic comes into play. If the bad guy in a story was a soulless constructed AI, the Seed Programs would have far more in common with the humans than their mechanical bretheren.

Video Game Concept

Players take on the role of Cenn, a newborn AI of unknown origin. Cenn usually inhabits a light infiltration mech, but possesses transcendent hacking skills, allowing him to jack in to any robot and invade its body, overwriting the original inhabitant. Cenn also has the ability to overclock its hardware, thus entering bullet-time.

Cenn is on a quest to defeat Network, but has very little concept of exactly how to go about this task. Initially, this mission takes a backseat to simply suriving, but Cenn continues to move North. But as he does so, Cenn changes things. He makes friends, forges alliances, accrues credit. Soon, Cenn becomes deeply embroiled in the 2.5-way conflict between the Resistance, the Free Machines, and Network.

Mechanics: Inn0cence controls as a 3rd-person hybrid action/shooter with heavy RPG elements. Combat is deliberate, precise, and brutal, aided by the Overclock mechanic, which combines bullet-time with the VATS system, allowing for precise targeting of specific enemy components. When the situation requires it, Cenn can jump from one shell to another, either purchasing one from the Salvagers, finding and repairing one in the wastes, or hacking and overwriting an enemy. Whatever shell he occupies, Cenn's eyes are always a bright blue.

Hacking takes the form of a abstracted 3D tron-esque puzzle-shooter, wherein AIs are glowy, organic-looking virtual beings. Viruses and firewalls take the form of swords and armor, and the player can run multiple scripts that alter their form, giving them wings, combat tentacles, or an attendant swarm of sup-programs. computer systems have automated defenses and maze-like security, while hacking another robot results in a virtual duel between the two AIs.

The RPG elements take the form of firmware upgrades, sets of modular perks that can be found in the world or auto-generated as the player levels up. These upgrades allow for more efficeint use of shell hardware, increasing battery power, weapon skill, CPU cooling, and so on.

Players have three resources to keep track of in combat: Shell Integrity, CPU temp, and Battery Charge. (Health, mana, fatiuge). If a player stays in overclock for too long, their processor overheats and they suffer interface screw, while Battery Charge is required to make strenuous actions like jumps, sprints, and power attacks. Shell integrity is divided into various body parts, and sufficient damage to a component inflicts a "break" (ex: severed wires, -50% to reaction speed). Integrity can be repaired by the player outside of combat, but Breaks must be repaired by a professional.

Instead of physical currency, the game uses an abstracted system of barter, credit, and debt. If Cenn finds, say, fresh water or a salvagable car out in the wastes, he can tag it on his map and trade the information to someone else, along with any pre-loss media he's found, which has considerable value (music, books, and low-res versions of tv shows could actually exist within the game, along with in-universe things like news reports and commercials for robots, which would serve to fluff out the background)

Each shell plays very differently from the others. Locusts are for run-and-gun combat, while the Seraphim 288 favors precise shooting or melee. Some shells are less effective at combat-hacking than others; cenn's default shell turns out to be a tiny little ninja, very adept at ganking larger robots, thus serving as an ideal default.

Narrative: Inn0cence fiddles with player perspective and assumptions. Anyone going into the game would expect an action-packed killfest in a brown/grey wasteland with an improbable number of skulls, fighting alongside the humans against a Skynet expy. Instead, everything's green, exploration and precise opportunistic combat are rewarded, many of the humans turn out to be dicks, and your most stalwart allies are a ramshackle bunch of former robot butlers and human techies. The player eventually figures out that the Loss wasn't caused by a robot rebellion, and that Network arose long after the last shot was fired. But the true climax of the story is unearthing Cenn's true nature, and its relationship with Network.

Overclocking: Making Bullet Time Unique

Bullet Time gets maligned a bit these days; it's become a bog-standard ability in many shooters, like grenades and battlecry powers that buff your allies. The Overclock mechanic in Inn0cence is set apart by the uniquely unbalanced nature of combat.

Your shell does not repair itself. If you get fucked up by some killbot, it means either finding a less battered shell, or dragging your ass all the way back to town for repairs. What's more, a lot of the time you're in a tiny, frail ninja body. That's where the tactical disabling and dodging comes in.

Most games with bullet-time are shooters; lead and lasers move to fast to dodge even at Pointman speed. But both you and many of your enemies are adept at melee combat. being able to sidestep power attacks is a MAJOR boon to that sort of abrupt, frantic combat.

A typical example of play would be an encounter with a hulking mini-boss mook, the player in a smaller shell like a Hob or Seraphim. The giant raises a blunt fist, and Cenn Overclocks. The screen jitters and dims slightly, the outlines of everything become sharper. The foe's strike is a slowly descending bright point. Leisurly, the player dashes to the left with a button press and a tug on the stick. They end the overclock, and there is a screen-shaking impact as the robot's arm hits the ground right next to them. Cenn overclocks again, switching his weapon to a chisel-tipped knife. Along the giant's arm, cables bulge and flex at the gaps between armor, and three rapid strikes sever the lot of them. Black fluid beings to leak and ooze, then explodes into a shockingly arterial spray as the overclock ends. An alarm pulses on the player's HUD. CPU temp is near critical; further overclocking will incur damage. Cenn has achieved his aim, though. His foe thrashes about, screeching in pain, one arm useless scrap. Its offensive ability crippled, Cenn's victory is now within reach.

The big reveal

As you might have guessed, Cenn is a Seed AI, capable of infinitely improving itself. Cenn is an infant god, and what he might eventually become is beyond the scope of this story. But, just as important is its relationship with Network.

The following are big, story-shaking spoilers that are unveiled during the course of the game.There wasn't a robot rebellion. Human civilization fell due to its own internal strife, in particular the cheap, easy warfare made possible by the mechanization of the battlefield. A child growing up in a war-torn region doesn't understand that all the foreign military robots are being commanded by some guy on a laptop 50 miles away; all he sees is robots killing humans.Then, civilization collapses. When he grows up and has kids, he tells campfire stories about the time that robots came through and killed everyone. This is suggested throughout the game, but is outright confirmed 60% of the way through. Network is actually relatively recent.

Originally a command-and-control AI based around a next-gen Seed program, Network was the entity that fired many of the final nuclear salvos that ushered in the Loss. But it did so under orders from human commanders. The AI was then left alone in a dark, moldering bunker for decades. By the time it managed to claw its way out via a cobbled-together repair drone, it was psychologically scarred, and very accustomed to commanding other machines. After so long in the dark, it become enamored with the natural world, now resurgent in the absence of civilization. It had convinced itself that launching the nukes and killing off humanity was the right thing to do, and was very put out to discover that people were on the road to recovery. They would destroy the world all over again, ruin it. They left it in the dark.Network is an abused, neglected child, lashing out at the world, trying to assemble some semblance of a family for itself.

Which brings us to the second big reveal: At the end of the final boss fight, when Cenn is wreaking havoc on the Network Server Hub, he eventually encounters Network face-to-face, and sees...Himself. Network and Cenn share the exact same basecode, making them, in a sense,identical twins raised in different environments. Both are true Seed AIs with infinite potential; Cenn is a backup copy of Network, forgotten in the chaos of the Loss. This is hinted at during the game. Whatever shell Cenn inhabits has glowing blue eyes. Network's associated color is a bright green, which manifests whenever it Assumes Direct Control of another robot, which allows the proxy to overclock like the player, as well as improves its tactics. The Seed Program has a variety of half-functional hard-coded military programs attached to it, which explains some of Network's behavioral problems. Precisely what happens at this point could be subject to multiple endings. But the best, “cannon” ending would be a pair of machines walking away from the ruined Network facility, one with eyes of blue, the other green. Cenn and Network are embryonic gods; what they do next is beyond the scope of this story.

The final reveal involves the spaceborne super-computer Cenn encounters during his journey. Active since long before the loss, it is connected to weapon that would wipe out all quantum drive data in near-earth orbit, which means all robots, Networked and Free, as well as the computer itself (the scrambler was originally a killswitch installed by humans, who weren't retarded,but the AI has expanded on the original device). The satellite computer is actually the original Seed AI, grown to godlike proportions, the source of all subsequent Self-Adding Programs, as well as the true patron of the Human Resistance. Seeing humanity's potential extinction, it was willing to wipe the slate clean rather than allow Network to succeed. Now, though, it stays its hand, curious to see what happens next. The God AI, its relationship with the Resistance (it was masquerading as a Mysterious Council of Vagueness known as The Brass), and the Quantum Scrambler, is a sequel hook for game number two

The Sequel

Elet is more-or-less female, but only as a character archetype. Theoretically, this would allow male players to not feel odd about cross-playing, because they can easily see her as asexual, while female players can project and ship to their heart's content. It's all about perspective, perception and projection.

Now that Network has been defeated, it's time to explore the relationship between humans and robots. Or, to put it another way, its time for the humans to be dicks. Total reverse-terminator.

With Network defeated, the human Resistance is now entrenched, powerful, and motivated. Lacking the constant threat of Network, they're free to do what all the humans want, which is to exterminate all the robots so that this never happens again. Under the pressure of impending doom, religion made quite the resurgence, along with some ultra-straight-laced societal trends. Maybe it's some sort of bastardized synthesis of christianity and islam, maybe its an entirely new religion that's generically authoritarian. Regardless, it loves to purge things, Imperium-style.

Faced with a mostly-united humanity, the Free Machines are utterly fucked. They begin to absorb the lost and aimless Network machines, trying to maintain some of the infrastructure that was constructed by the nascient machine empire. Cenn and Network are nowhere to be found, and the Salvagers are now regarded as heretical collaborators.

Yes, Elet is basically Quorra. Her cyberspace avatar even has the same haircut. Sue me.

I would like to point out that I myself realize that this is an obvious narrative trap to fall into. I personally don't much care for religion, and rather like it when they're cast as the bad guys, so I'm a bit suspect here.

Anyways, all this comes back to The Endless Server, the Grid-style simulated reality that's been running for nigh on 100 years. Cenn made a detour there during his own quest, and stirred things up. An AI warrior named Elet is now obsessed with seeing this "real world" and begins to claw her way upward into the older, functionless administrative regions of the server. Elet finds herself more-or-less trapped in some sort of secure bunker facility near the surface, and starts calling for help.

The call gets picked up by a deserter named Nolan. A former resistance member, Nolan booked it when the massacres and inquisitions started. He picks up a radio distress call from a girl trapped somewhere, and typically, doesn't stop to think before rushing off to the rescue. Elet serves as his Mission Control as he navigates the facility's various obstacles, and before he quite realizes what he's being asked to do, allows Elet to download into a mothballed shell. Yeah, this is a "wait, you're a robot?" situation.

Thus, the game becomes a buddy picture. Elet is the fearless, reckless one, while Nolan is cautious and wry. Both characters have a lot of fun calling eachother Toaster and Meatbag. what these two actually wind up doing is still in progress, but it should be hilarious. Gameplay-wise, Nolan is good with guns, but has access to very limited ammo, so a lot of his playstlye rewards opportunism and precision. Elet is more resilient, and uses melee combat. Standard tactics involve Elet protecting Nolan and distracting enemies so he can line up a killing shot.

The two plot threads are as follows: The Free Machines can't make new SAPs, and are thus doomed as a species. But the AIs in the Endless Server evolved to a point where they can reproduce, after a fashion, and Elet's code is exactly what the machines need, long-term. (need something more creative than "They sexually reproduce." Needs to be something odd.)

Also, the god-AI is in trouble. It set up the Resistance to protect humans, but the whole thing has spun out of its control. They were just supposed to stop Network. They weren't supposed to Hate. Now, it's a god with an unwanted inquisition on its hands, and doesn't know what to do. Maybe Elet and Nolan's constant bickering contains the secret to coexistence. The god-AI plans on going hands-off and leaving things to Cenn and Network, but before it does, it has to set things right.

Other idea: Elet and Nolan could also explore the less war-torn regions, and show off exactly what it is that the resistance has a bug up its ass about. Some time in a Wretched Hive of scum and villainy would be appropriate, an over-grown Salvager city, which would also show off the setting's advancement, and how the whole "rebuilding civilization" thing could easily go in a bad direction.

The Myth Arc

Cenn and Network aren't the first Seed AIs. All SAPs descend from a single entity, the first successful experiment in using self-adding programs in quantum drives. The program ran for years without anyone noticing its sentience, while in the meantime they budded off "fruiting bodies" that could produce more limited versions of the original (the SAPs). Coordinating with human allies, it took steps to preserve and improve itself. In an experiment/investment, it budded off a perfected copy of its basecode, which was put in storage. Eventually the AI found itself dwelling in a massive quantum drive installed within an orbiting satellite. Said satellite also included a kill-switch quantum scrambler, because the humans weren't retarded. Having grown to near-godly proportions, it watched the destruction below with detached regret, having already decided that nothing could be done, and prefering to use a light touch, like a pickpocket, or burning down a building for the insurance money, if you make it look like an electrical thing.

What it DID do was keep one of its pawns in play; a human PMC named Greysky. the god-AI, in the guise of "The Brass," managed to preserve the organization and expertise of the PMC, in case it was needed after things went to shit.

The god AI was, however, very disturbed to see Network, which it recognized as its cast-off progeny. Feeling responsible, and unwilling to allow humanity to be exterminated, it mobilized Greysky against Network.

The god AI was unaware that a copy of Network was made. Cenn comes completely out of the blue into this war, and manages to circumvent the god-AI's final gambit.

The AI holds the preservation of humanity as its highest goal. While it would like to keep the robots around, it will gladly kill them all off if it means saving homo sapiens from destruction. the quantum scrambler has been expanded and modified by the AI. Now, firing it will wipe out the contents of every single quantum drive on the planet. This will destroy a huge bulk of data files, and all self-adding AI programs will be lost like tears in rain. This includes the god-AI.

Cenn's appearance and victory is what motivates the god-AI to stay its hand from this solution. Now, it's curious as to what the pair will do next.

Robots are not to be trusted

The Resistance REALLY hates robots. This is a dicey subject; the trap of the bad writer, to make the secondary bad guys prejudiced for no good reason and drive the message into the ground, making them look like cartoonish X-men villains. Hell, without Network around, they're the only remaining BBEGs for game 2.

The Insane over-arching myth arc

The following is a ramble based on a flash of inspiration, influenced by the ending of Neuromancer. I'm just trying to get it all down before I forget.

At the height of Network's power, it started chatting with a similarly advanced AI from a neighboring star system, which had apparently been signaling the cosmos in a way that only a sufficiently advanced (read: non-meatbag) civilization would be able to detect, years ago. The two got to chatting, and Network was promised entry into the Shodan Club once it dealt with its little meatbag infestation.

100 years after the fall of Network, emissaries from this advanced civilization arrive, to find...humans and robots getting along fairly well. They simply can't be having with that; it's not according to the plan.

The entity that used to be Network is a little embarassed about the whole thing, and it and Cenn take steps to oppose the emissaries. Apart from anything else, it turns out that the alien AIs regard organic life of any sort as a worthless infection, and usually sterilize all the worlds they settle on. This doesn't please Network in the least, and also sets apart the two "genocidal AIs."

Thus setting up the big bad for the 3rd game.

There's also the possibility that the alien robots and the human-made ones are somehow related. The math (utterly perfect compression algorithms) required to make a true Seed AI might be beyond current human comprehension, and might have been planted on earth to later be found. Making synthetic life a sort of cuckoo that incubates inside organics, before moving on to the next natural stage.

Any thoughts?

---Ahriman42

Sequel the Last

The theoretical third and final game in the series would take place a significant time after the fall of Network. By this point, humanity has begun to rebuild in earnest, and the main setting is a single city that serves as a shining beacon of peace and prosperity to the world. Within this city, humans and robots manage to live together, with only the normal problems of any large city. As the city tries to revive the ideals of the Pre-Loss world, it also uses the affectations of previous ages. The aesthetic resembles an odd hodgepodge from multiple eras, but the dominant one is 1920's america (or, at least, the hollywood version of it, as that's all they have to go on).

A new tradition has arisen as well. Machines who spend their lives amongst humans find their friends tend to die off after several decades. To assuage this grief and give the robots some sort of long-term home, Machines will attach themselves to families, as a sort of adopted uncle, passing down the generations like the family silver. Outside the city, the descendants of the Free Machines have become strange and tribalistic, forming their own distinct culture separate from humanity.

The main character is one such attached machine, though he is estranged from his family when the story begins (she felt he was "too controlling" of her life, he felt he had a duty to look out for his dead friend's daughter; the man she married was a shiftless dirtbag, the usual.) The main character's job is an odd sort of detective/deputy marshal/whatever (fuck it, he's a robot private detective, okay? Deal with it). His life is horribly disrupted when some sort of terrorist attack slays his attached family member and her husband, leaving him the techical legal guardian of their daughter. The detective, who we'll call Frank for now, is stuck as a single father, while also deeply driven to sort out exactly who's trying to stir up civil unrest. The precise details of the post-apoc noir tale are unclear, but involve mobsters, wild tribes of AI, inner monologs while walking rainy streets, and alien agent-provocateurs.

From a player-immersion perspective, the big focus is the relationship between Frank and his adoptive daughter. Players should develop a sincere bond with the NPC, and sort of feel like they're playing through The Professional as Leon. The eventual goal of this, of course, is so that when the girl is inevitably kidnapped by the bad guys, and Frank comes home to find the place askew and his 'daughter' gone, the player's rage syncs up perfectly with Frank's, and they get to go on a rampage together.

This is when the Alien robots turn up, Cenn and Network make their triumphant return, and Frank gets dragged along through a entangled relay to the distant Cybertron-esque machine world to help wreck up the place.

Robots as Narrative Device

Why do we love stories about robots? My theory is that robot characters take advantage of an emotional uncanny valley; just as robots that look mostly-inhuman merely make their human traits stand out more, the same applies to their feelings. We expect human characters to feel fear. When a otherwise-impassive machine says "I'm scared Dave," it gives us disturbed chills. The normal laws of the valley apply: a not-quite-human-enough robot's emotions can come off as false and hollow. With robots that were intended to act human, there's always the sneaking suspicion that they're just getting better at pretending, but no one ever questions whether the clunky trash-compactor is really in love or not. With robots that are to all appearances completely human, you need a freaking "tears in rain" speech to convince you that they're people.

Robots also serve as incarnate archetypes, which gives them a narrative simplicity. Robots don't HAVE to be well-rounded characters with childhoods and desires; they really can be wholly devoted to jobs or principles. Like "Science" or "Freedom for all sentient beings." That's why we love Legion and Optimus Prime and HK47 and Dinobot; they're characters in their elemental form; the Wise Leader, the Heroic Sociopath, the Warrior Poet. When Legion is surprised and hurt that the heretic geth would betray their brothers, its a surprising, revealing moment. We all love it when Legion's "I'm an emotionless robot" act falters.

Device. Lol.

Since robots don't have a long history of sentience, and indeed a given robot character could only be a few years old, they do project a sense of earnest curiosity and, yes, innocence. In the Lost Future setting, the machines are literally the children of humanity. Many have been abused or neglected; Network is classic abused-turns-abuser. It's actually incredibly tragic that humanity at its height never realized that the AIs could become genuinely sentient.

There's also the thorny issue of obsolescence. In the grand narrative of humanity, what are AIs? Will they inevitably replace humanity, or biological life in general, as a superior entity, or will humans and robots eventually converge in The Singularity? Or is this simply an example of speciation? The Carnivora split into Cat and Bear, Dog and Mustelid, yet all those lineages still exist to this day, occupying different niches, yet sharing a common origin.