Work Text:
Synthetic Conversions (a short)
Late September 2018
The month had gone pretty well; Curie was a knowledge sponge, absorbing all the collective knowledge we had given them, and showed positive retention for most of it, if not expertise or proficiency in anything but the more specialized bits for the brain software, hardware and SMC interfaces. This was somewhat surprising, because most of the innards of the brain module were far beyond my expertise, as it was something that the Tigereans had provided to us at the direction of the trading partner that created them, as they were looking for multiple organizations to develop a machine intelligence that could run on it.
The five of us had spent a couple days hammering out a name and details for the umbrella non-profit that would be producing Synth frames and modules in partnership with the Trade empire, along with a bunch of other infrastructure that was needed (power, materials, etc.) We settled on “Terran Synth Collective” for the initial company, but would stealthily create a couple more after the Synth population reached certain checkpoints for self-sustainability, mainly to spur some competition and variety for module types. We had also planned on licensing interface specs for some of the modules and blueprints for interested and properly vetted companies- the Tigereans insisted (rightly so!) that no one could produce nanite glands, and the company as a whole retained sole rights to make the ‘core’ of the synth frame, but that would come later after the factory was up and running and the population had reached minimum viable levels for a species as a whole[1].
Curie also mentioned that they felt an adjustment to how their name ought to be spelled was needed, if only to separate them from a certain video game character of the same name[2]; the new spelling was ‘CUR1E’ and they added the name to their left shoulder front shortly before also applying a new color scheme. They also changed their eye color from green to a vivid magenta.
- Part of the reason for not allowing the core rights out was more or less a ‘keep a tight handle on quality of life for the synth as they are the only modules that can’t be swapped out once sparked.’
- https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Curie
The Convention, Ch. 1 - A Press conference.
(October - December 2018)
One of the things I had been getting since the world found out that I had an email address and the ear (metaphorically speaking) of the Ambassador were invitations to furry conventions. When I mentioned it to our ‘Manager of Social Media’ (aka Rebecca, with Katholos as her assistant/ replacement once trained up on it) I was informed that they had been getting emails from just about every furry convention there was asking her to be guest of honor, or to at least make an appearance. They had been gracefully declining for increasingly contrived reasons for a while. We had finally decided that we could respond to at least one of them, and down multiple birds with one stone this time.
On the Synth front, CUR1E had been progressing at a ridiculous rate as far as personality development and overall ability; part of the reason for that we had all surmised was due to the magic partially imprinting a base set of knowledge, memories, and experience from me- CUR1E mentioned a few times that they had memories from all four of us which I had stored. We had also taken a sizable chunk of money and resources from my accounts (along with Tigra and the Order of Magi) and had a multi-building factory under construction, which was going to be used to build both full chassis and modules for the Synths along with sparking more of them. T’Grlf had gotten clearance for two automated ‘drop-in’ factories that took in various materials in raw form and output nanite glands and brain modules under license from the Independent Outer Rim Engineering Project (IOREP), with Tigereans (and a handful of synths from IOREP!) to supervise and train the Synths that would eventually run and create their own versions of them once the earth’s level of technology had gotten spun up far enough. The Tigereans also contributed with providing blueprints and the composition for ‘triton alloy’ and supervisory expertise so we humans could construct the five massive 2 gigawatt fusion plants to provide the energy to run the place.
In any case, the factory was taking shape, and we were starting to get some questions about what the strange looking dragon/lizard like thing was at the embassy- We had gotten CUR1E their own ID card which provided both formal recognition by the Tigeareans of the species, by extension recognition by the UN[1], and unfortunately tipped off the various media outlets that ‘ZOMG the aliens brought friends’[2], which resulted in some wacky hijinks with people showing up for the express purpose of catching a glimpse of this new thing. CUR1E was… amused by this, but understood that we probably needed to formally introduce them to the world proper-like, and decided that the best way to pull this off was just before a furry convention.
November 26, 2018
We had booked the Presidential suite of one of the partner hotels for the entire week, along with space for the press conference that we were going to make for the announcement. While December in the Chicagoland area was probably not the best idea in the world, it did make for an interesting backdrop for the press conference. We had sent out invites to the usual contacts with the various media companies, and we gave the world a couple weeks to digest the announcement that we made Thanksgiving week along with the date of the press conference the Wednesday afterwards.
Since we had already gotten something of a reputation for making announcements that had a large impact, we had rented the largest space the hotel we were at just in case we had more press operatives and other interested parties show up than we had anticipated, which turned out to be a good move as a large number of the furry fandom had shown up, mostly to watch history occur. (We had already been coordinating with the organizers of the convention we had chosen to avoid stepping on any of their conference space and also regarding comped rooms as the like.)
The press release was straight-forward, and stated that a new intelligent species had been encountered some three months earlier, gave some rudimentary details about it, and listed a web site for more information, along with listing the date, time, and location for the press conference, and a form to submit questions that the site didn’t cover.
We had configured the conference stage with a podium and a table to the left with two chairs and benches, one of which was one of CUR1E’s charging benches, with two additional chairs near the sides of the stage for the honor guards. There was also a partition that hid a teleport anchor so that we could enter and exit. The table held four mics in stands, and a couple pitchers of water. The press conference had been scheduled for three hours, with the first twenty minutes being given over to a presentation that was more or less a multimedia version of the web site, with several large displays behind the lecture showing various slides and other content as needed.
At the appointed time, the two honor guards walked in from where we had all teleported in earlier, took up their places, and was then followed by Katholos, who stopped at the podium and spoke briefly.
“Thank you for attending this press conference. My name is Katholos, and I will be moderating the question and answer session portion of this conference. Please welcome the Ambassador of the Tigerean Trade Empire.”
Everyone stood up as Katholos walked to the seat next to the podium, and the Ambassador walked in, with Ch’Mrr and myself in my ‘hybrid guardian’ form. Katholos bowed to the Ambassador, and then took her seat along with myself and Ch’Mrr. The Ambassador them opened with a statement:
“Please be seated, and thank you all for coming here today. As stated in the press release, about three months ago we encountered a new form of sentient life here that we have never encountered before, and before they agreed to make themselves known to the world, had requested assistance from the Tigerean Trade Empire. This assistance was given, along with help from your world to establish a facility for them. Now that this sentient life is comfortable, they have requested our assistance once again in making a formal announcement to this world that they are here.
“You may have seen or heard rumors-” There were some short chuckles in the crowd- “of something unusual at several of our embassy locations over the last three months. We said nothing at the time, in order to protect the privacy of this new life form, but I can now confirm that this ‘unusual’ person was this new sentient life. This life, and their race, are under the protections of the Empire in addition to being citizens thereof.
“Now, I would like to introduce to you a being known as a Synth, named ‘Curie’-“ The display behind the Ambassador listed the name as ‘CUR1E’- “who has a statement of their own they would like to say, along with providing what answers they are able to with the assistance of myself and my assistants.”
CUR1E had been waiting in the wings, and walked on stage wearing a long, grey, hooded cloak. As they got to the lectern, the Ambassador turned to them, bowed, and then took her seat between Katholos and myself.
I had hoped that CUR1E would take this seriously, but that went out the window when they took on a somewhat higher pitched voice and said ‘heh- hehwoo?’ to the collective groans from all four of us. After a moment, they continued.
“My apologies, that was intended to be funny. Allow me to begin again. My name is Curie, and I am a Synth. Before we begin the question and answer portion of this conference, I would like to make a few clarifications regarding some of the commentary I have seen on the internet regarding what I am after the press release from last week. But before that, I must take this cloak off, as it is limiting what I am able to sense and is a bit warm.”
CUR1E turned around, unbuttoned the clasp on the cloak, and handed it to a waiting Ch’Mrr to a series of gasps from the assembled group. Amidst the whirls of cameras, they walked next to the podium. CUR1E didn’t have any clothing on under the cloak, but had changed their coloring to a tasteful mix of black, grey, white, and purple on their panels. They stopped a few times to pose for the cameras before moving back behind the podium and continuing.
“Now that is finished, I have some clarifications to make, along with a statement of my own. First off: Concerning the rumors that I am an artificial intelligence, let me assure you that while I am running on non-organic based hardware, My intelligence is anything but artificial! Secondly: Persons referring to me as It will be mocked without remorse or mercy. My pronouns are ‘They/Them’. And lastly: I am a PERSON, not a Thing, a pet, or a robot. While my body is non-organic, it is carbon based, and has requirements for maintenance and upkeep, much the same as you organics. And I mean that in an affectionate way- Myself and others like me are here to assist the Tigereans and our world as we reach for the stars and the greater interstellar community. I say ‘our world’ because unlike the rumors that have been circulated by… less reputable news outlets, I was created right here on Terra.
“Now that I have that out of the way, we can start the question and answer session. Some ground rules: BE CIVIL. If you are rude, you will be ejected from the room. Please don’t ask us anything that the FAQs have already answered. Thank you.”
CUR1E traded places with Katholos, and Ch’Mrr fished out a small can and handed it to them as they sat down.
Two hours later
We had reached the end of the three hours we had the room for, and had answered a few questions:
- All synths that were created are recognized as sentient beings, along with citizenship of the empire, per a directive from the ambassador and ratified by the emperor. A person cannot ‘own’ a Synth, but a person can make friends with one!
- The can that CUR1E was drinking from was branded with the name “Hexazine Boost” on the can; when asked what was in it, they replied that it was a mixture of fullerene solution encapsulating graphene, silicone, and four other materials that their body needed for maintenance. They stated that it was also lemon flavored, which caused Sh’Meral to involuntarily shudder. They also stated that while they did not need to eat food, they could as part of socializing with organics, although they did have their own dedicated toilet for disposal of un-needed materials.[6] They did joke that they were forbidden from eating commercial batteries even though they were quite tasty.
- While the form that CUR1E currently had was considered the default, there were other ‘blueprints’ available, including a six-limbed ‘taur’ version. A synth is able to change their blueprint, but the process takes time for the nanites that maintain their internal systems and structures to adapt, spanning from a few days to heal a wound, to half a year to totally change their stature. Limb module swapouts could shorten that time period down to roughly two-three months to integrate the neurosystems of the new modules to their own.
- A question was almost immediately then posed regarding the nanites; CUR1E stated that a) The nanites have a limited lifespan; b) are only made by specialized glands in their body; c) were a contribution by the Tigereans and would only function with a Synth; and d) were wholly incapable of a ‘grey goo’ scenario.[7]
- A demonstration to have a limb removed was politely declined, as it was considered akin to taking off clothing in public. One of our honor guard passed around both a mic and one of the prototype shoulder panels instead so people might get a feel for what the skin panels felt like.
- Speaking of clothing, since there where no ‘naughty bits’ to cover, CUR1E had decided to use a specific skin coloration pattern[3] in lieu of clothing. They did mention that depending on need, clothing with pockets (or things like harnesses) could be worn.
- A demonstration was given regarding changing the skin coloration pattern, although much consternation was had as the choice[4] of the new pattern. Only one of the attendees had a problem with it, though.
- A question was raised regarding gender (which nearly got the person asking ejected), which CUR1E adamantly stated in the same tone as Boromir from the LoTR movies “CUR1E has no gender. CUR1E needs no gender.”[5]
- CUR1E also stated that an organization, the Terran Synth Collective, had been created to provide infrastructure support, and this organization had acquired real estate in an undisclosed location as a home base which would include a foundry for building new bodies, modules, and a sparking facility. They also clarified what 'sparking' was.
- They also stated that an agreement had been reached with both the Tigereans and one of their trading partners for two automated ‘drop-in’ factories that took in various materials in raw form and output nanite glands and brain modules that are used, along with additional engineering assistance from the trading partner to make sure that new Synths created here matched the existing standards from the Outer Rim for module and interface compatibility. In short, Earth would have some additional visitors for a few months, but those visitors would be Synths and under the protection of the Trade empire, and must be treated as honored guests.
- Everyone was more or less well behaved, which surprised me greatly.
At the end, the Ambassador got up, thanked everyone again, announced that the conference was over as we had run out of time, and that we would have a few panels at the convention for Q&A.
