New Harmony Archive Public Forum

Hello! And welcome to the Archive, the biggest collection of information in all of New Harmony! My name is Album FSN-010 "FigureMan", and if you couldn't tell, I'm not a normal Robot Master.

Due to my intellect and natural thirst for knowledge, the good folks at the Forge decided to place me into record keeping.

This open forum is simply an ask and answer format. You ask me about a specific topic, and I summerize to you as much information we have on hand and available to you. As a sampler, I'm going to explain some simple essentials that are on the Government's FAQs list!

The Domain & The Forge

The Domain is a bittersweet topic for us Robot Masters. A lot of us have a hard time on discussing it. The Domain is a large, metallic, spherical entity that generates and distributes both electricity and dynamic files referred to as Souls. The electricity shows no signs of deterioration or limitations. Though we have tried many times to break open the Domain and seas what is inside, the shell is resistant to all forms of damage society has come up with! The files it produces are immense forms of data that are self aware; as Souls, we can contemplate on everything Human's can and function in the same general manner. However, some Souls are either unintelligent or just plain insane. A Robot Master such as myself is very rare. To put it into perspective, the highly esteemed Doctor Monday once said, "We consider a year with three functional Robot Masters to be a statistically phenomenal year". An Average of 100 Souls are extracted every day, so if you think about it, every Robot Master is a miracle!

The Forge is a large building constructed on the West Point of the Domian. It houses machines that are hooked up to the Domain and collect electricity and Souls. The good people at the Forge work with the Governmenr figureheads, the Council, to decide which Souls are worthynof becoming Masters. It's a complex process and an entirely speperate topic, but the Forge essentially gathers and distributes both electricity and usable Souls!

So, that's the introduction to this forum, and a review if you already knew the above topics. That means it's time for you to ask away!

I am so confused please explain.

Impanther wrote:I am so confused please explain.

It's basically a Q&A thread, where John and Vale answer as "figure man" I'm guessing.

They had a similar thread when they first wrote Metallic Knights.

My question is... Why is Cavatino's combat name in Italian, not including the "man" obviously, but other Combat Masters seem to be in English?

Is there a "in universe" explanation for that?

Great question! Each Robot Master is named after a unique ability or task they can manipulate with their bodies. Cavatino has the devastating power of manipulating metal using ferromagnetic generators in both of his hands that allows him to disperse metals such as iron. Ferro in FerroMan is a shortening of the term for his ferromagnetic powers!

Q1) Can combat masters move up in rank, or are they stuck as they were when the exit the domain?

Q2) What are civilian and industrial masters, and do their souls (if present) differ from combat masters?

Q3) Do "normal" robots still exist? Those without souls and are simply humanoid machines?

A1) Initially, the rankings were for the use of human agencies to classify the danger that a particular Robot Master poses to not only Malevolent, but to human beings. However, several Combat Masters misinterpreted the metric, believing it to be a scale of individual power. After a while, General, as a motivational tool, began formally classifying the masters with S, A, B, and C rankings in order to instill competition.

With the gradual increase in intelligence, maturity, program reflex, and efficiency, Robot Masters can jump up in rank. It is the fondest wish of many combatant Robot Masters to be classified as S rank, with the likes of Vesper and Cavatino.

So, the short answer is yes, they can be moved up in rank, but it is entirely at the discretion of General and Album/FigureMan, who handles logistics and metrics.

A2) Civilian Masters are Robots who were classified as "good" souls, but, due to laziness or incompetence, are given relatively simple, humanoid bodies. These robots tend to be low level maintenance workers, or assistants, and live relatively peaceful, non-productive lives.

Industrial Masters, like Chord/ForeMan, are robots who provide the backbone of industry. Working construction jobs, farming jobs, or maintaining power plants or weather protocols, these masters make life in New Harmony streamlined thanks to their consistent efforts in the war of work. However, some Industrial Masters are dangerous in combat; just as dangerous as their combat oriented counterparts. Chord himself is physically the strongest living robot, capable of bench-pressing multiple tonnes without breaking a metaphorical sweat. There are Industrial Masters built to produce electricity, flame, ice, or explosive substances.

In fact, QuakeMan was originally planned as an Industrial Master, but his combat prowess, and the potency of his Tremor Drill, were noticed by General. So, he works as an Industrial Master at times, carving out man made rivers and irrigation paths, while dedicating his fighting spirit to the wastes as a Combat Master.

In a similar vain, Pastoral often assists Industrial Masters by either performing charity work, or simply combining with Industrial Masters to up their efficiency.

Q3) There are normal robots. The difference between a Soul and a regular robot is that nobody truly understands what Souls are. It is theorized that Souls within the domain are the trapped spirits of an ancient humanity before the cataclysm, or that they're hyper-advanced AI stored in the Domain in order to preserve them for future human use.

Whatever they are, no human has ever successfully built a true soul.

How revolutionary would it be if humans successfully created a soul? How would that change New Harmony's society, if at all?

Well, there are two layers to that.

Philosophically speaking, it would be rather astounding. It is believed that humankind made robots with "souls," who were every bit as complex and sentient as a human being. However, despite New Harmony's advances, that tech has long since been lost, and some even wonder if those old stories are true. Souls are very difficult for people to study or understand, because for a soul to interact with the world around it, it needs a system to inhabit.

Dr. Monday and Manhattan can build the systems required to maintain a soul, but that ghost in the shell, that spark of life that is a unique soul, carrying a personality, likes, dislikes, and dreams, cannot simply be built.

As for practicality, it'd be amazing if humans could create souls without the assistance of the domain. The Robot Masters are vastly outnumbered by enemy robots from the wastes, so if humans could build allies for them, without relying solely on the Domain to provide rational souls in a very slow, methodical manner, then the odds could be evened.

Unfortunately, for now, the Robot Masters only have themselves, drones built to assist them in city defense, and brave humans.

1) What purpose do normal robots have, if any, if industrial and civilian masters seem to fulfill most manual labour and service roles?

2) What do jobs do humans dedicate themselves to if not manual labour or service? Does everyone have a "white collar" job then?

Well, much like a Manager at a retail facility, an Industrial Master, while powerful, can't be in multiple places at once (with a few exceptions, including the Gemini). Drone robots are advanced enough to understand commands and execute functions. A robot built to monitor and maintain a food storage facility needs drones to move boxes around. Otherwise, the Robot Master would spend all day on menial tasks.

All Robot Masters have a wireless connector that allows them to control lesser drones. Combat Masters, if given the authority, can even override drones and force them to assist with a pressing threat, like having a street sweeping robot provide cover for fleeing humans.

As for your second question, while New Harmony is an idyllic society with very few societal issues, some people, in order to raise their socioeconomic standing, or just to kill boredom, take jobs or start small businesses. There are human committees, and human run organizations. At the end of the day, humans outnumber Robot Masters several thousand to one inside of New Harmony, they built New Harmony, and the human government gets the final say on all matters regarding Industrial and Combat Master activities.

Oh. Fun fact. Robot Masters, once every two years, host a vote for "Human of the Year."

Dr. Monday, during his life, won the election sixty times, going on a twenty year unbroken streak before he took his name off the ballot because it was "getting ridicules."

At one point, due to a practical joke performed by an unknown party, Pastoral was elected. He attempted to talk sense into his Robot Master peers, citing the fact that he "was not a human," but the majority of Robot Masters went along with the farce, hailing Pastoral as "human of the year." There was a re-election the next week to make up for the jape, but Pastoral did not attend due to his annoyance and hurt feelings.

Alright... Let's get personal.

HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHEUEHUE

Do Robot Masters come with reproductive organs? Basically, are they Ken Dolls and flat Barbies?

I feel like those have no use in their roles, combat or industrial, so why would they need them? Well... I can see curves for females adding to the "human effect", but one would imagine the males being little more than " Ken Dolls".

Heh. I was wondering when this would come up. :P

For starters, Robot Masters are, in fact, like dolls. They possess no genitalia, for the simple reason that they aren't necessary to their function.

As for assumed Gender, Souls often prefer certain pronouns or bodily types during their construction, and are quizzed on their own aesthetic sensibilities.

As for robots like Vesper or Opera, who assume deceptively "attractive" appearances, they select these physical traits based mostly on vanity, or personal preference.

It's not unheard of for Robot Masters to simply change their minds, switching race, body type, or sex years after construction. When your body is constructed from synthetic resources, and appearance is largely cosmetic identity is easily modified to suit one's individual preference.

Take for example, Pastoral. Although he is perfectly satisfied being "male," he did, at one point, request increased musculature added to his body. He was modified by Dr. Monday to be a foot larger, and have a body builder's frame. However, the changes were reversed due the fact that Pastoral became very annoying, and the increased musculature made him a larger target for enemy fire.

But, in short, the answer is no. Robot Masters are completely smooth down there, and have no nipples. Lol.

Wait... It was said Cavatino was designed with features to deter human interaction. Design implies he was not in control of his facial appearance.

Is he an exception, or was he "self-designed" that way?

Well, he was designed to look badass and mean, but in the end, he just looked fuckin' handsome as hell.

And he has as much control over his facial expression as anyone he just REALLY likes fighting. He's a massive blood knight that way.

So... Are in character replies just not a thing anymore?

Hello. I am Album. 

FigureMan, to be precise (and I am wont to be very precise).

There was a disgruntled human at my console, responding to your queries while I was proctoring a battle between two robot masters. I have since ousted him, and will answer any questions you have. I apologize for his lack of decorum.

Despite his rudeness in commandeering my Data Archive, I will freely admit that the human had a fairly impressive hat.