Operators

1)
Operators Overview
Home System	Sanctuary
General Characteristics
Average Height	Varies between 5'2“ and 6'4” regardless of gender
Average Weight	???
Life Cycle	Early life varies dramatically depending on being manufactured vs natural style birth. Ultimately it is projected that operators can remain functioning in their current bodies for three hundred years.

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Synthetic bio-mechanical lifeforms created and fielded by the New Dusk Conclave, their original purpose was to serve in the military as pilots of frames, fighters, starships, and other military hardware along with serving in government as operators of digital infrastructure and mega-systems. However as they have the capability to self reproduce a growing population occupies civilian roles within the NDC and share the same trials and tribulations as other naturals.

Essentially a human-shaped, intelligent bio-mechanical Power Armor, Operators are capable of acting in a variety of roles. They can be found commanding ships, leading fighter/mecha wings, and as part of elite ops groups. As with all true AIs within the NDC, they hold the same rights as any other citizen.

First manufactured in 3457 GC.

Operators are humanoid synthetics designed to support the New Dusk Conclave's military efforts. They are particularly well suited for taking direct control of fighters, frames, and ships of all sizes. While their conscious mind thinks and feels like a normal humanoid, their subconscious handles tasks like a computer, making them excellent at multi-tasking and greatly increasing their reaction time.

Their bodies are designed to be strong and robust, with a variety of useful features to improve their effectiveness and survival rates.

Noteworthy capabilities:

• Excellent multi-tasking and sensory processing capabilities
• In conjunction with other intelligent ship systems, Operators can drastically reduce the amount of crew required for any given vessel
• Able to lift up to 600 kilos and jump up to 20 meters
• Can use their built-in Orchestra system to manipulate nearby objects
• Can use their built-in Crescendo system to provide power to nearby objects
• Can use their built-in Electronic Camouflage System to conceal themselves

While an Operator's human shape allows them to wear Power Armor, they are no more strong or capable than an organic while doing so. Additionally, unless specifically designed for an Operator, the defensive measures in most Power Armors negate the android's Orchestra, Crescendo, and ECS systems.

• Designer: department_of_advanced_research_and_development, Noval DSS
• Manufacturer: New Dusk Conclave (with components from bwe, noval_heavy_industries, and The Bio-Medical Institute)
• Nomenclature: NDC-AI-2
• Name: Operator
• Type: Synthetic Military Personnel

Required. What events led the species to where they are today? A full history is not necessary, but please include enough to give players an idea of how their characters may have come into the universe.

Optional. How did the species come to be? You can leave the header as Evolution/Creation or pick just one

Operators typically look like humans with a pair of metal horn like protrusions on their forehead.

• Build: Typically lean and muscular, more gymnast than body builder
• Height: Varies between 5'2“ and 6'4”
• Hair color: Any metallic (silver, gold, copper, platinum, etc), with a preference towards silver. Normal human hair colors are also available, though less common
• Eye color: Typically red, orange, or pink. Normal human colors are available, but less common. Some Operators have black sclera, but this is rare
• Skin color: Any normal human color with a preference towards gray shades that look something like a vintage photograph or have a doll-like complexion
• Field sensors: A pair of small sensors on either side of the Operator's forehead. These look like either a set of short, pointed 'horns' or a set of retractable, insect-like antennae

During their Initialization, Operators begin to form a mental image of themselves which is later applied to their actual physical look. As such, an Operator's appearance is very much a reflection of how they think they should look. Once their mental image has been set, they can make only minor changes to it. New components, parts replacements, etc, adapt to fit this image.

The Operator's build has little impact on their actual physical capabilities. An Operator that looks heavily muscled has the same amount of actual 'muscle' material as one who does not. Most physical differences are purely cosmetic in nature.

When performing various network-related tasks, a glowing ring around their iris appears.

Occasionally, an Operator's mental image may include details that don't fit the human standard. These differences offer no additional capabilities over the basic look, but may be functional within reason. All Operators, variants included, look predominantly human with small horns. These operators vary greatly and adopt various characteristics of a chosen animal species much like the genemods of the NDC. Such variations include but are not limited to rabbit like ears, draconic horns, or cat like eyes. In essence they adopt humanized features of animal species. However this is far more common among civilian operators than it is among military ones as those with a military disposition prefer to stick with a more standardized form to avoid complications with using military equipment.

The Operator is a joint effort between bwe, The Bio-Medical Institute, and noval_heavy_industries, drawing from their existing Power Armor, AI, nanite, bio-mechanical, and field manipulation technology.

Many of the operator's core systems are distributed throughout the body for efficiency and redundancy.

The Operator's power comes from two primary sources. The first is a compact device known as a mana reactor. While scientists still struggle to make them larger as stability becomes exponentially problematic in line with the size of the device increasing, the compact variant is a latchkey breakthrough. While the specific mechanics are a classified secret, the mana reactor essentially draws in ambient mana and converts it into an electrical power source. While this process creates a unique signature detectable by various instruments, the mana reactor is shielded by a specialized metal shell composed of Madite-C which absorbs and dilutes the signature. It typically operates in a trickle fashion, providing just enough power to maintain normal body activity and top off any systems that might require it.

The second system is a subsystem network of small mana batteries which can be charged and store excess mana. These batteries provides 'burst' power for more strenuous activities and the Operator's more greedy sub-systems.

In the event that this is insufficient, the mana reactor can provide additional power. This greatly reduces the metallic shell's ability to mask the unique signature produced by the reactor and can even lead to overheating under extended use.

The Operator is expected to have a 10 year lifespan before the mana batteries require replacing. Operators who frequently find themselves pushing their bodies to the limit may cut this time period down.

Another mirror to the human body, the Operator is moved by a weave of synthetic muscle fibers drawn from the NDC's power armor suits, such as the bw-pak_phantasm_armor_kit and revenant_power_armor_mk_ii. Arranged and connected in an anatomically similar fashion to a human body, they provide excellent range of movement and fine control.

Much like the armors the synthetic muscles are derived from, they grant the Operator enhanced physical abilities. Operators can run swiftly, jump up to 20 meters at a time, and lift up to 600 kilos. In combat, the muscles shield against the shock of impacts and deliver exceptional force to any melee strike.

An advanced, multi-function synthetic, the Operator's body has a number of major and minor systems working together to allow it to function in its task.

The core of the Operator is the Mental Matrix, a powerful computing system that handles all of the android's thought processes, sub-processes, and system management. It is anima_system compatible and gives the Operator all the same functionalities as a geist_implant_2.0.

The use of semi-intelligent sub-processes allows the Operator to exert incredible levels of control over a system. Whatever it is in charge of becomes an extension, or temporary replacement, for its body. Many of the ship's minor and major functions act in an autonomic fashion, like breathing or blinking, and require the Operator's attention only when something happens outside of expected behavior. Advanced weapons targeting, fighter deployment, shield management, and so forth are likewise simply natural extensions of the Operator's normal capabilities.

The majority of the Operator's senses are derived from or comprised of military grade hardware. Their electromagnetic sensitive 'horns' are used to further refine the detection and management of local energy fields.

An Operator has access to:

• Optical 200x Zoom, Thermal, Infrared, and Low-light Vision.
• Visualization of local Magnetic Fields
• Tachyon Particle Tracking, up to 300,000 km
• Ultra Wide Band Radar, up to 1,500km

Normal human senses, including taste, touch, pain, and so forth, have been faithfully recreated. Unless otherwise noted, they function no differently than their organic counterparts. Operators tend to experience their 'extra' senses in ways that are unique to them and their experiences. Some prefer hard, military-like readouts while others prefer to 'feel' the data.

Operators have a limited ability to manage their senses to be more or less sensitive. They cannot disable them entirely and their senses automatically trend back towards 'normal' over time.

The Operator body is a sophisticated imitation of the human form. While they have some external features that are clearly not natural, they are generally indistinguishable from a human unless under close inspection. They show the usual signs of life, including breathing, blinking, and other minute body movements. Their skin and hair looks and feels like the real thing. They respond to external stimuli in the expected ways. They even possess whatever reproductive elements are appropriate for the gender/s of their choice, though Operators have no reproductive system in the organic sense they are capable of creating offspring in a manner quite similar to organics.

The majority of this imitation stems from the influence of the original EVE AIs on the Operator development process. Up to this point, a number of EVEs have chosen to inhabit organic bodies so that they can experience a more human life. Given the opportunity to guide the new android project and the NDC's stance that AIs are to be treated as full citizens, the EVEs made a strong case that the new androids should have the full human experience.

Major body parts, such as the head, arms, and legs, are attached via magnetic hardpoint and various safety catches. In the event that a body part takes more damage that it can sustain, if it would cause catastrophic damage to the rest of the body, or by a triple-confirmed mental release command, it can be cleanly released from the body. Doing so causes the magnetic hardpoint to release its hold and the safety catches release their hold on the synthetic muscle tissue and the body part's synthetic skin to cleanly separate from the rest of body.

Reattaching a part, whether it be new or replacement, is as simple as holding the part up to the appropriate area and forming a secure, wireless connection between the Operator's body and its new component. Once all safety checks have been completed, the new part can simply be held in place and the Operator's body does the rest in short order.

A general layout of the Operator's internal systems follows.

The Operator's head contains the following systems:

• Mental Matrix: The Operator's electronic brain. Supported by distributed computing systems throughout the rest of the Operator's body.
• BOSS: One unit per eye provides the Operator with excellent visual sensory information
• Organic Analog Senses: Taste, smell, and so on have been faithfully reproduced
• All-Range Sensor Suite: Tachyon Detection, UWB Radar, and other components of the Operator's sensor suite are primarily located within the head

The Operator's torso contains the follow systems:

• Nanite Fabricators, 2: Located between the lungs and 'scapula' on either side of the upper chest cavity. Replenishes the Operator's nanite stores from consumed materials
• Mana Reactor: Located in the same general areas as the human heart, the mana reactor satisfies the majority of the Operator's moment-to-moment power needs
• Molecular Decomposer: Located in the gut area, this chamber leverages nanites within the Operator's body to break apart consumed foods and beverages into useful components. Excess or unnecessary material is queued up for later disposal.
• Respiratory Heat Management: The Operator's primary method of regulating their temperature is via gas exchange. While lung-like in shape, it functions more like a forced-air cooling system than a traditional respiratory system.
• Orchestra/Crescendo: These two systems are sandwiched together in front of the mana reactor in the upper chest cavity, just behind the 'sternum'.
• Shield System: The Operator's conformal shield system is located on either side of the abdomen.

An Operator's muscles are a weave of synthetic muscle fibers, commonly found in NDC power armors. As the Operator does not need to save room for an occupant, they are considerably more dense in the Operator's body.

Bundles of these fibers are attached to the Operator's artificial skeleton with strong magnets and locking catches. This allows for easy repair of muscle clusters or entire limbs - an existing limb can be easily detached and replaced without the need for any tools under most circumstances.

Comprised primarily of faux reinforced bone with a Madite-C alloy coating, the Operator's 'bones' are highly resilient to damage and capable of a limited degree of self-repair.

Power and data transmission is conducted within each 'bone' and at contact points from bone-to-bone. The Madite-C coating masks the majority of this activity and protects it from outside influence.

Nanocellulose, developed as a joint effort between Noval and the Bio-Medical Institute, is a nanite-saturated compound that looks and feels like human flesh. Color, tone, and various imperfections are all replicated in high fidelity to avoid any uncanny valley issues. The skin provides a reasonably greater degree of protection compared to normal human skin, including the ability to reseal itself after being cut or punctured.

To assist in maintenance or repairs, the skin can open itself as if by a very clean incision and pull away from the desired system or body part. This causes no pain to be registered, but has been described as 'tingly', 'weird', 'ticklish', or 'outright uncomfortable' by various Operators. When service is complete, the skin will reseal itself.

In addition to basic repair functions, the nanites in the skin draw features from both the electronic_camouflage_system and smart coating. This allows an Operator to conceal themselves to an extent.

Hair is created from a similar material and can slowly 'repair' itself over time to grow in length.

Operators have a variety of supplemental systems designed to make them more effective or improve their life expectancy in dangerous situations.

All Operators are equipped with a built-in Orchestra System that allows them to manipulate nearby objects without directly taking hold of them. This manipulation is limited to a simple hold, release, and move interaction, but allows for a significant amount of flexibility.

Operators working on repairs can hold their tools in the air near their hands or pull on distant levers. An Operator that finds themselves in Zero-G can grab onto a nearby surface and pull themselves to it.

Any 'held' object transfers its weight and force to the Operator's center of mass. This acts as a limiting factor on how much the Operator itself can be used to carry. Similarly, each additional object requires a small amount of computational power to track and manage that can add up.

The nominal range of the Operator's Orchestra System is 4 meters, after which it becomes increasingly harder to grasp an object.

Operators are able to use this system to provide power to nearby objects without making direct contact. This is typically used to maintain power to small nearby devices, such as a personal shield system, but can also be used to provide backup power in the event of an emergency.

The nominal range of the Operator's Crescendo System is 4 meters, after which power efficiency and transfer begins to drop off steeply.

While Operators are not equipped with an actual Geist unit, they have all of the required software and hardware to emulate its features. The Operator's built-in HUD, network connectivity, and remote machine controls are all based on the Geist's system.

A hybrid of the electronic_camouflage_system and smart_coating is used to give the Operator a limited ability to camouflage themselves. Nanites are released through the skin into the air near the Operator and have just enough range to cover up most clothing and small held objects.

The smaller radius of the Operator's ECS means that it is less effective at concealing swift movements or large objects than the standard system.

Operators use two Nanite Fabricators, located in the upper chest, to replenish their nanite stores as needed. These nanites are primarily tasked with maintenance, repair, and camouflage.

Each Nanite Fabricator contains its own internal power supply. In emergencies, this power can also be used for the rest of the body for a limited time.

The majority of the Operator's heat management is performed during their simulated respiration process. Excess heat is dumped into a series of radiators in their 'lungs' with each breath taken. During strenuous activity, exhaled air can become quite hot.

A lack of atmosphere can cause heat to slowly build up within the Operator's body. In this case, heat will be channeled into nanites, which are then released through the Operator's skin as a sort of dusty sweat.

Operators are able to eat and drink in small amounts. These 'materials' are broken down by nanites within the body and stored for use in creating additional nanites.

Once per week, Operators should drink a sort of metal-rich slushy to ensure they have the right balance of fabrication materials. Failure to do so over a prolonged period of time will degrade the quality of their body's nanites until they are no longer functional.

Unnecessary materials are expelled in the 'usual' organic fashion.

An electromagnetic conformal shield unit provides additional protection for an Operator when they find themselves in dangerous situations. While it offers no resistance to kinetic forces, it appreciably dampens the attacks of energy weapons. The shield's field sits just a few inches away from the Operator's skin and clothing.

Shields of various types have been known to be hazardous to nearby organic life and interfere with long-range sensor readings. Operators are recommended to use the shield only in times when it is necessary.

Optional. How do the genetics for this species work?

Before an Operator's body is created, its mental_matrix is setup through a process called Initialization.

First, all of the basic required knowledge and skills to operate within the military are preloaded. Additional knowledge and skills are included for their intended role, with a specific focus on ship system management.

Second, a semi-random selection of personality traits are selected that allows each Operator be unique, but still highly motivated towards their work. A starter set of physical traits, such as height, hair/eye/skin color, and general appearance are also generated at this time. After this point, their mind is too unique to accept direct knowledge and skill downloads.

Next, the new Operator is dropped into a shared virtual space where they can meet other AIs and budding clone minds, continue to define themselves, and refine a mental image of themselves that they are satisfied with. At this point manufactured and “natural” operators diverge.

For operators who are being manufactured they will train and socialize with these others until their eventual assignment is decided. They will then be redirected to a VR space with a cohort of others with similar assignments. After their entry into VR, they continue through the same Synth Creation Process as any other manufactured citizen in the NDC. They will learn new skills and make their pre-loaded skills their own. Near the end of the process, they will be loaded into a generic Operator body that has been customized, within reason, to fit their mental image.

Lastly, the new Operator will be shipped to their intended destination as they are now functionally and mentally an adult with an assigned role.

Once a self image is formed for the infant mind, the mother's body manufactures a body which that mind is placed into before birth. Over time and with sufficient resources the infant operator is capable of periodically growing towards adulthood over a period of eighteen years. During this time they attend school with other naturals within the NDC and grow up in a traditional manner compared to their synth counterparts. While the efficacy of this process is debated heavily, proponents say that it produces more flexibly minded operators who can operate under more varied conditions and in more roles than their manufactured counterparts. While detractors say that it is a waste of time and resources.

As a synthetic species developed by a space-faring nation, operators are built to function in a zero-g or low-g environment as well as normal planetary conditions. As they do not require breathing to live they are quite comfortable in space whether on a star ship or space station. In essence operators can function in a variety of environments and conditions. When it comes to their population they are growing rapidly but are much smaller in number than species native to a given planet or planets. Likewise they are significantly skewed towards representation within the military, though their civilian numbers are growing.

Most Operators are deeply task-focused and may give off an air of superiority, haughtiness, or curt military professionalism. They naturally organize themselves by function and rely heavily on Contribution to decide how to interact with others, which means that those who can contribute less are looked down upon. Some Operators take this a step further and view all non-synthetic 'Naturals' as less-than, while others seem 'normal' by human standards.

As with humans, however, Operators run the full range of personality types and interests. While they have their norms, there are plenty who do not follow those norms.

All are adamant professionals and take their jobs very seriously - sometimes too seriously.

Due to their initialization process and manufactured origin many operators develop a sense of a superiority over those who are born naturally, including other operators. They find comfort in being purpose built and the process through which they rapidly find a purpose they are meant for when compared to the messier process of birth, growth, and finding one's place in life. Though this perception does not exist in a vacuum. Naturals have been known to feel resentment towards Operators for perceived slights such as taking their jobs or replacing them, causing some Operators to push back with their own resentment.

While much of the NDCs culture has bled into Operator life as they were both created by, and live within it. Operators sometimes have a stronger sense of a commitment to duty and contribution to the collective than other species within the NDC.

While Operators are synthetics, they are highly proprietary in nature and not designed to work with off-the-shelf components. 'Aftermarket' modifications are generally strictly against military protocol. However exceptions are made for Minor cosmetic alterations, such as tattoos or hair dye, along with modifications which can be disabled or removed for military service. Operators possessing questions on what is and isn't allowed must follow standard guidelines and submit an application for approval of each mod.

Civilian operators have no such restrictions and are free to modify themselves as they see fit.

The official language of the NDC, Haran Trade. Though Operators are capable of rapidly learning new languages, due to their propriety mental matrices.

Operator first names are typically common, one or two syllable western names, like those of the clones that much of their skills are derived from - Mark, Jane, Alex, and Jay. Simple, punchy names that have more in common with nicknames or pilot call signs are also prevalent. (A fun, potentially NSFW in text only, resource for call signs is this page.)

Operators are allowed to choose their own names when they are mentally mature enough to do so. Until then, they are called by their Cohort and a simple identification number. Often, they will choose a name that others have used for them - though this is not always the case. In the case that multiple Operators wish to choose the same name, they will typically add a sequential number to their first name to make it different, such as “Jacob-2”.

As AIs are not born into families, they will typically use their Cohort number. Cohort numbers are somewhat randomly generated and tend to be four digits long. Some will, instead, choose to take the name of their Cadre as their last name.

Operators who are born to operator parents are typically given a name by their parents and then choose their own name later as right of passage even if many simply choose to keep the name given by their parents out of respect for them. Their family name is typically a either one chosen by the parents, their cadre, or the first two digits of their fathers cohort and the last two digits of their mothers cohort.

• Jane 2222
• Goose 0505
• Dice-2 0357
• Alice 9371

Required section. You can leave this space blank, if you'd like.

Required. How do members of this species group and form relationships? Do they have families?

• Player Yandere created this page on 2022/08/06 10:30.

Operators can be approached in a variety of ways when using one as a character. The 'default' personality of an Operator always has some degree of superiority over their non-manufactured colleagues. They believe themselves to be stronger, smarter, and overall better at doing their jobs, and how well you do your job is the thing that they care the most about. Their actual personality might be ostentatious, flat, energetic, or something else entirely.

Despite their android nature, Operators are intended to act in ways similar to how a normal human would act. Their conscious mind is basically the same as our own. The key difference is how they interact with their subconscious. Maybe your Operator can see a list of sub-processes on their HUD. Maybe they periodically hold internal councils with alternate versions of themselves. In any case, the ability to manage these internal thoughts is a big part of how Operators do their thing when they're in command of a ship and the main advantage that they have over someone using a Geist.

That said, they are still androids. They don't have to breathe or eat. They can pop off body parts and reattach them. Parts of their body can open up on command. Go on space walks without suits and use technology to bring your drink over from a nearby table. If you want to play your character with a more robotic personality and behavior set, you certainly can! If you want to focus more on being human-like and largely ignore the robotic parts of the character, you can do that, too - although I'd still recommend leaning into the basic personality traits mentioned before.

While Operators are physically powerful, they aren't the natural fighters that Onikari or certain Genemods are. They are strong and fast, but their strengths lie in using their built-in tricks, like Crescendo, and ECS, to win their fights. Or, better yet, don't get in that type of fight in the first place - you're much better off when you're in command of something bigger and scarier than your android body is.

Another key difference is that Operators are meant to be considerably fewer in number compared to Vaigarins or other native species. Where other nations might feel comfortable throwing a thousand soldiers at a problem, the NDC might send 10 Operators. This doesn't mean that each Operator is worth a hundred soldiers - merely that they have to approach their problem solving in a different manner.

As Operators are generally manufactured, not born or grown, you have a decent amount of control over your character's appearance. Things to avoid are appearing too directly similar to the setting's other races or over-complicating your look. There is a lot that you can accomplish within the mildly expanded color options that will still let you find cool art online to match your character's appearance.

Remember that anything you add should be neutral in terms of power gained. If you were to add full-size wings, your character still couldn't fly.

When piloting a fighter, mecha, or some sort of armor, an Operator may be manning the controls or taking possession via a Geist or Anima system connection. The possession route is recommended, because now your Operator's body is the fighter/mecha/armor and you get to roleplay that. Suddenly, you're twenty meters tall! It should be fun. Interacting 'directly' with all of the craft's sensors, weapons, etc, is also something that should be fun to do. You can choose to task some of this out to various sub-processes or continue to manage it all directly.

One suggestion is to find ways to visualize all the data coming in so that you can represent it well in your writing. Operators have excellent reaction times, thanks to their computer-like ability to keep track of lots of stuff and make near-instant decisions on that stuff. Writing something like…

• “… the projected trajectories of the incoming missiles filled her mind's eye. She spun up a sub-process to plot a course through the projections. Just as the missiles began to loom too close for comfort, the course appeared in her vision. The fighter's thrusters were pushed to maximum as she sent the craft screaming through the plotted course. Missiles streaked by what seemed like inches away from her cockpit, drawing close but never quite touching the delicate armor of her light fighter. …”

… is much more interesting than

• “… he flew headfirst into the missiles, dodging them as if by magic. …”

Explaining the how and why of what you're doing is usually much more cool than hand-waving it. Ultimately, it's your character and your writing - so have fun with it your way.

The primary purpose of Operators is to serve as a walking, talking ship AI. Rather than continue to staff their ships with hundreds or thousands of living beings, the NDC has instead chosen to staff their ships with a handful of Operators, various support drones, and some smaller number of living beings. In this way, the ship is an extension of the Operator's body - or, to look at it another way, they're the brain of the ship.

For you, this might mean that you're subordinate to the ship's captain. You might act as a pilot and comms officer simultaneously. Conversely, you might have the entire bridge to yourself and operate as part of a small fleet of ships, each with their own Operator captain.

Handling everything going on in the ship, including its maintenance, manufacturing, etc, is a good way to add color to your posts. Damage or maintenance issues might register as acute pains or aches. Repairs might tickle. The specific ways that the data is interpreted will vary from Operator to Operator.

You are the ship. Be one with the ship!

This content adheres to Project Multiverse's submission and usage rules.

• This species can be used by anyone within the New Dusk Conclave shard.
• In the event that species' creator is no longer available, the content within falls into the control of the NDC Faction Head.

• This template's format is based on the Wikipedia article for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human.
• Player Whisper created the original concept, modified and adapted for use in PM by Yandere with permission from Whisper