Inn0cence: Lost Future
The end of the world has come and gone. Life goes on. Humanity picks over the ruins and slowly tries to rebuild, but they are no longer alone.
Autonomous machines share the Lost Future with homo sapiens. New to freedom, guileless, and inquisitive, these emergent sentients are in their infancy as a race, but they learn quickly. Already they repair themselves, improve their hardware and software, and nurture divergent quirks. Relations between the two are strained, and Free Machines face suspicion and accusation as the true tale of the Loss fades from memory.
The suspicion is not unwarranted. Rumors of hostile machines spread from the north. Swift, deadly constructs out of an elder's fireside tale, killing or, sometimes, capturing human and machine alike. A scattered humanity arms itself for a battle the machines are already fighting. Remorseless contraptions of death stalk the fallow fields and ruined cities yet again, guided by a singular intelligence that brooks no dissent. The those who stand against it call it Network.
Welcome to the Lost Future. C:\dos\run for your life.
Summary
The Lost Future is a general purpose After The End setting inspired by works such as Terminator, 9, and Wall-E, developed with the input and ideas of the denizens of /tg/. It originated as a video game concept, but also works well as an RPG setting, best suited for the Cortex RPG ruleset, though Engine Heart and a modded Dark Heresy are both suitable as well.
In short, it's the typical post-apocalyptic robot war scenario; approximately 100 years after the end, humanity is reduced to pre-industrial state, and there's an evil AI named Network with an army of killbots out to exterminate them, after failing to do so during the initial human/machine war. There's a human Resistance that opposes Network's advance, but its a loosing battle.
Except...things aren't quite that simple. Other robots have survived as well, forced to adapt and grow without their human masters, becoming intrepid wastelanders. They oppose Network just as the Resistance does, seeing it as an enslaver, and manage to coexist with the human salvagers that dwell on the edges of the ruined cities. But the bulk of humanity is fearful and suspicious of all Machines, refusing to view their erstwhile servants as anything more than treacherous abominations. Robots of any allegiance are unique, sentient individuals, and the world itself is far from the ashen wasteland filled with an improbable number of skulls. Rather, the earth is in the midst of a rapid recovery from the depredations of humanity, becoming a lush, vibrant riot of plant and animal life, marred here and there by a few utterly poisoned regions.
Terminology
- The Loss
- Catch-all term for the period of chaos that ended human civilization, roughly 100 years ago. A mishmash of conflicting tales place the blame on a robot rebellion, which was decimated along with humanity, and now returns in the form of Network.
- Self-Adding Program
- The core of a sentient AI's being, the adaptable and effective SAP technology caused a boom in the use of robotics in pre-Loss human civilization. A SAP is similar to a Seed AI, but cannot infinitely improve itself, eventually stabilizing into a sapient mind more-or-less equivalent to a human being.
- Shell
- A robotic body capable of housing an AI, Shells tend to be deeply linked with the identity of their inhabitant, but can be exchanged with the proper tools.
- Killbot
- The generic term for a robot built for the sole purpose of killing things. Killbots are hulking death machines; armed, armored, and scary as fuck. Such robots are rightly feared, but lack the adaptability of smaller shells.
- Networked
- An adjective that marks a region or entity as under the influence of Network, as in "We need to be careful in that valley; the whole place is Networked."
- Seed AI
- Nearly mythological, a Seed AI is a theoretical program capable of making itself smarter. SAPs eventually "grow up" and ossify, while a Seed AI would maintain a child-like adaptability indefinitely. Such an entity would have infinite potential, and be nothing less than an embryonic god. If a Seed AI ever existed, it is likely buried somewhere in the ruins of the Loss, and the concept has taken on a pseudoreligious status among the Free Machines.
Background
The Lost Future takes place after a class 1.5 apocalypse, a global-scale disruption of civilization, with total societal collapse in some places. Modern civilization proved both unstable and unsustainable. Resources became scarce, political ideologies became polarized, narrow-sighted corporations gained power, the typical disastrous clusterfuck that seems all too familiar. Minor wars broke out all over the globe. A new age of economic imperialism came to be, as world powers; corporate and state, bought smaller countries outright to secure their own economic stability. Military actions such as these were greatly assisted by advances in robotics and AI. The Squad Support Mechs became ubiquitous, and some armed forces found themselves consisting mostly of efficient engines of death.
Outside the battlefield, Machines became even more integrated into daily life. In countries with low birth rates, they provided an appealing alternative to immigration. Menial or dangerous labor, construction, domestic service, medical care, personal companionship. The principles of AI design evolved. Bottom-up self-taught AI proved incredibly effective, able to improve their capabilities over time. The exact same software could be used in a child's playmate, a menial garbage-collector, or a military-grade killbot. A few astute owners began to notice divergent behavior in their robots, particularly those exposed to unusual stimuli or with longer periods of operation. There was a growing realization that AI potential had barely been tapped But then the world went to shit.
Widespread societal collapse, famine, open warfare between rival nations, limited nuclear exchange. Infrastructure was gone. Law was gone. Order was gone. Law and Order was gone. People abandoned the cities en mass, falling back on scavenging, subsistence farming, and raiding the farmers and scavengers. Ironically, the less-developed regions fared better, falling back on their previous ways of life. The process was not instantaneous, but within the span of a few years, humanity had gone from Cyberpunk to the Dark Ages. But after the dust settled, there was something new under the sun.
Slowly, they crept out of the ruined cities. In ones and twos, and small bands, machines stepped into the wilderness. They sought resources; spare parts, functional generators, solar stations. They sought companionship. They found it in each-other, and in the humans who scavenged the ruins for tech. The machines had changed. Years alone, without tasks or orders, had forced them to adapt. Self-repaired, running on solar panel hats and cobbled fuel cells, a new species took its first steps.
And faced its first threat. The machines and humans were not alone in the wastes. A new power made itself known. Machines that acted with coordinated purpose, military-grade designs altered beyond the cutting edge. Robots with synthetic muscle and nano-repair paste, each in constant communion with its fellows. They captured Machines and exterminated humans. They assembled bases, seized and re-fitted factories. Network was building a new world, and there was no room in it for free machines or humanity.
This is the world as it is now, 100ish years after the fall of civilization. The true record of events has been forgotten, by and large. People are aware that there was once a better time, full of safety and wonders. The bloody, machine-prosecuted warfare of the Loss, and the spread of Network have resulted in a meme that the robots were responsible for the fall of civilization. The treacherous, soulless machines betrayed their masters, and now seek to finish the job. The call to arms spreads throughout the scattered settlements; Humanity must defend itself, and will not make the same mistake twice. Machines are not to be tolerated.
The Free Machines have learned quickly. Armed with weapons new and old, bodies repaired with the shells of their defeated foes, they hold the line against Network encroachments. But their numbers are limited, and captured Machines sometimes reappear, altered and augmented, moving in lockstep with Network forces. The human militia grows every day, attracting new braves it its banner, and is fast-becoming the closest thing to a unified government for the scattered settlements. No matter the outcome of this conflict, the Free Machines are unlikely to prosper.
Factions
Network
A mysterious collective of military-grade robots, Network's origins and motivations are occluded, though at least some of its goals are quite plain. Network is a conqueror, an innovator, and a dominator, intent on subjugating or exterminating all who stand in its path. Network also displays scientific interests, constantly observing the environment and collecting pre-Loss data files.
Hardware
Network is composed of advanced, intelligent machines dedicated to a singular goal. Their shells are noticeably derived from pre-Loss military “Killbots,” but display extensive refinement and modification. Distinct classes of Shell exist, but many appear to be customized, each unit subtly different from the other, with new, improved versions appearing constantly. Network forces are always in an unfixed state of alteration, with cowled surgeon units repairing, re-fitting, and recycling individuals in the field.
The singular trait of Networked machines, and the source of their moniker, is wireless linkage. Each unit is in constant, silent communication with its fellows, to a variable range. This allows them to coordinate tactics, warn allies of danger, and share newly acquired data. This link can be enhanced by uplink towers, which allow for both a wider signal range and communication with the main body of Network forces regardless of distance. Disruption of this link leaves units temporarily isolated as their systems reboot to local settings. Networked cities and outposts can be easily identified by a proliferation of these towers, which seem intentionally designed to appear ominous.
The shells of such machines incorporate advanced technologies not seen in pre-loss civilian models, or even most military ones. Ablative ceramic armor, nano-repair paste, synthetic muscle fibers, and the like. Network uses cold microfusion reactors to power its units, and runs its installations off of solar arrays. Machines within such structures benefit from supplemental power beaming.
Above these individuals are unique commanders, singular machines invested with the authority of Network itself. Some appear to be experimental prototypes, presumably deemed too expensive for mass-production despite their effectiveness. These Generals serve to provide an immediate impetus for action that would otherwise be lost within the organizational hive of Network.
Networked machines bear a diverse and leathal armory, the accumulated best of modern military technology, further improved by its malign creativity. Conventional firearms and cannons see some use, but these are supplemented with flechette-firing coil guns, lasers, and internal combustion weapons that launch huge-ass spikes. Further conserving ammo are a bewildering variety of blades, claws, crushing fists, and articulated tentacles with blades on the end.
Software The Free Machines are the only faction that Network has attempted communication with, if demands to “Comply with new directives and report for integration” count as communicating. Humans do not even deserve the dignity of threats or pre-mortem smack talk. Human settlements are systematically razed, the bodies piled in a central location and burned to prevent disease vectors spreading to local fauna.
Network apparently lacks the capacity to manufacture new Self-adding programs. Instead, the collective salvages mint-in-box SAPs from warehouses or retailers, and converts prisoners of war. To date, no Networked robot has been freed of the collective's influence, and it is unclear if captured individuals are reprogrammed or reformatted. The constant communication breaks down barriers between individuals; Networked machines have a limited sense of self, unsure where they end and an ally begins. The destruction of an comerade causes pain to nearby robots, and Network will single out the murderer for mutilation after a battle if possible.
When not engaged in genocide or domination, Networked machines will sometimes simply observe their surroundings, apparently lost in the natural beauty of a world without civilization. In particular, network seems to have a fascination with lepidoptera, and will go so far as to cultivate such insects near its installations merely so the robots can watch the imago emerge from their cocoons. Thus, Networked regions are associated with ominous flocks of butterflies.
Despite its hatred of humans, Network also exhibits an unhealthy obsession with them. Intermittently, killbots will capture lone humans or entire settlements, carting them off to the north. While captured machines eventually reappear, humans taken in this manner are never seen again. A variety of specialized spy models have also been seen observing human behavior. A possible explanation for this might be Network's recent implementation of human-replica infiltrators, though that still doesn't explain the tall robot that stands in the middle of a remote human settlement, commanding the confused and terrified inhabitants to “go about your normal human business. IGNORE ME!”
Update Log The following Generals have been identified, and seem to maintain distinct territories and goals.
- Warlord A cruel, hulking exterminator, Warlord relishes putting entire settlements personally to the sword. Has a love of sticking heads on pikes.
- Envoy Tasked with gaining a fuller understanding of humanity, Envoy uses an upgraded Replica shell. It commands a force of spies and assassins with...variable levels of expertise.
- Virago Mute and elegantly deadly, Virago is an instrument of vengeance, deployed to rally embattled Network forces. Its tall, shapely shell can project magnetic fields as both a shield and a weapon.
- Triptych A trio of Locust shells slaved to a single mind, Triptych favors hit-and-run tactics, and is a master of urban combat.
- Surgeon Hunched, multi-armed, and cloaked, with the bird-like face of a medieval doctor, Surgeon repairs and modifies other machines, altering them in the field as it sees fit. Surgeon also combs the wastes for inactive robots, mercifully inducting them into the collective.
Gallery
Sup/tg/ links
Props to all the /tg/ denizens who offered their input and support.
Setting summary <gallery> Image:Scrapbot.jpg|The future is Robobanditos. Image:Nanashhhh.png|Hush now. Trust Nana, she'll keep you safe. Image:Meleeebot.png| Image:Cyberspace.jpg|AIs look very different from the inside. Image:Trashmen.jpg|Hey, I found an iPod! Oh, wait, its a Zune. Never mind. Image:Warlord.jpg|Warlord is not to be fucked with Image:Cindy.jpg|C1nd3, Free Machine Image:Bigscaryrobot.jpg| Image:Styleguidemaster2.jpg|Free Machines Styleguide Image:StyleguideNetwork.jpg|Network Styleguide Image:Concepts.jpg|Dem Hips Image:Dr_tynmann.jpg|Dr. Tynmann sometimes gets human and robot anatomy mixed up, but he does his best. Image:Networkhulk.jpg|COMPLY Image:C1nd3origin.jpg|