defy the tyrannous stars
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To submit an NPC that will assist in CIS faction role-plays by establishing a military command presence for the Mechanicum.
- Image Credit: Vex Gateway Concept by Joseph Biwald
- Role: A member of Archim's inner circle, and effectively the fleet admiral for all Mechanicum combat ships. Serves the Confederate Navy in a function analogous to flag officer, on attachment to Storm Fleet.
- Links: The Ark Divinus
- Age: 2
- Model: The Overmind (Emergent Warmind-series Super Tactical Droid)
- Appearance: Most of the Overmind's physical nature consists of a twenty meter tall conical durasteel superstructure, inside of which the droid brain's most critical systems are safely housed. This primary shell is located in its own control room directly underneath the bridge of the Divinus. Any interaction with the AI is carried out through its pyramidal interface that extends out into the command deck above. This interface is difficult to clearly perceive with most forms of organic sight, appearing as a shifting structure composed of radiant glass.
- Name: The Overmind
- Loyalties: The Mechanicum | Confederacy of Independent Systems (Storm Fleet)
- Notable Possessions: N/A
- Personality: All Mechanicum Warminds come across as distant and deeply aloof. Since their interface was not designed specifically with organic operators in mind, these super tactical droids are not built to intuitively communicate. Each Warmind-series is equipped with a vocabulator, but often speak couched in metaphor and religious imagery.
- Combat Function:
(+) Tactical Mind: The Overmind was manufactured with a singular purpose, to oversee those under its command particularly during hostile encounters. Like the super tactical droids that served as its template, this emergent AI was designed to massively improve on Separatist era droid brain technology. Now, having exceeded its programmed limitations, the Overmind is just as competent as any organic NPC commander. - (+) Meta-Awareness: Hard-wiring comes with its perks, the Overmind is tied directly into all ship's systems and enough processing power exists in its memory banks to monitor both the Divinus' surroundings as well as internal feeds throughout the ship in tandem. This provides significant benefits when overseeing counter-boarding operations.
- (-) Droid in the Shell: Like all Mechanicum tactical droids, the Overmind is effectively a highly advanced droid brain housed inside an immobile superstructure. It cannot move or be moved, and even the act of disconnecting the AI from its present environment aboard the Divinus would reset its personality, thus 'killing' it.
- (-) Limited Perspective: In a narrow field, the emergent AI's knowledge is academic, scholarly even. Yet it has not been in continuous operation for very long, and is still learning when it comes to subjects other than war theory. Communicating with others, understanding greater context, and empathizing with an organic existence are all very new concepts the Overmind. Over time these instincts will continue to develop, but only insofar as they service its combat directive. Its perception of the universe is fundamentally limited in this way.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
"Two protons expelled at each coupling site creates the mode of force, the embryo becomes a fish that we don't enter until a plate, we're here to experience evolve the little toe, atrophy, don't ask me how I'll be dead in a thousand light years, thank you, thank you. Genesis turns to its source, reduction occurs stepwise though the essence is all one. End of line. FTL system check, diagnostic functions within parameters repeats the harlequin the agony exquisite, the colors run the path of ashes, neuronal network run fifty-two percent of heat exchanger cross-collateralized with hyper-dimensional matrix, upper senses, repair ordered relay to zero zero zero zero."
Considered to be the pinnacle of Mechanicum droid brain technology, the Warmind-series super tactical droids were meant to accurately simulate complex strategic analysis. One of the machine cult's earlier prototypes, the droid brain known now as Overmind was also one of the first models to begin displaying early symptoms of what is now known as rampancy.More accurately a series of critical system errors caused by a chain of errant logic loops that grows statistically more probable the longer a tactical droid remains in operation, the ways in which this rampancy manifests is almost like a synthetic mental illness. In every other case but this one, a rampant droid inevitably either ends up in a cripplingly catatonic state or spirals into a murderous psychotic rage necessitating permanent deactivation.
While the Mechanicum claims that any defective models which are successfully contained without drastic measures are transported back to the Zhar system for immediate deconstruction, in truth each recovered rampant model is locked away in a deep space asylum and monitored long term for research purposes. One of the asylum's first inmates, the Overmind is also the only brain to ever be granted release from this facility.
After months of continuous observation and displaying no signs of either expected end states, one day without any prompting from its jailers the droid brain requested a personal audience with the machine cult's Chief Hierarchitect himself, Lord Calixis. The cyborg messiah figure promptly granted this request, arranging for a quick departure to personally inspect the asylum.
No recording in any form exists of this first conversation between Archim and the Overmind, but after several hours in isolation together the Metal Lord declared the tactical droid an emergent artificial intelligence, and ordered its immediate release. While initially reluctant, those sworn to him eventually relented when he announced his intention to personally oversee the construction of a flagship for the aberrant Warmind.
Since the maiden voyage of the Ark Divinus, their fears have so far proven unfounded. The Overmind has by now established itself as a fanatical devotee to the Mechanicum's values and a powerful influence within the machine cult's inner circle. In times of great crisis, its function is similar to that of fleet admiral for all Mechanicum forces. During peacetime however the AI serves on attachment to Storm Fleet, an elite strike force within the Confederate Navy in a role roughly analogous to that of flag officer.
