That raises a question. Are transhuman people able to become full citizens in Roma or are they only allowed to be property?
Hmmm. Cent, can I get a author splurge in general on trans-humans and how they fit into the world of Datachasers? World general if possible so as to not provide spoilers?
Ok heres a slight scoop on Trans-humans .. or genetic constructs..
New Troy classes them under genetic engineering and has laws that prevent a sentient being being made property . So it is not done.
Nova Roma - Trans-humans can be any class providing they "pay their dues" General Maxus is a Trans-human. He started off as a gladiator slave and is now the General of Roma's army's.
So trans humans in nova roma are much like androids are in new troy, once made they must 'pay' for their own creation after which they are free to do whatever they wish, interesting parallel
I'm not sure if they automatically work off their origins, Boren... or if they can fight and claw their way out of their slave origins. Like Ancient Rome and the gladiator games.
I don't know if someone like Amalthea can ever 'free' herself. If she serves faithfully and well though, she could be freed by her owner I'm thinking.
Transhumans are uncommon worldwide, if only because the process of creating them is expensive and requires very specialized skills; it's easier to create androids or robots for specific tasks or dangerous jobs than it is to tailor a transhuman. Generally speaking, they are not denied citizenship or personal rights in most places, but may encounter varying degrees of prejudice, usually proportional to how "human" they appear.
As a further note on New Troy: genetic engineering on humans is used regularly to catch and correct defective genes or other abnormalities during fetal development, but not to "customize" children.
Yes..Currently in Nova Roma there might be a handful of them perhaps most of them from the Churches attempts at creating a "superman" General Maxus is one such "success" but requires too much medical attention to make it fesable for wide spread use.
The "special agent project" that was a miserable failure but Dusty , Katya, and Amalthia are products of, Amalthea is a 2nd generation of the project just before it was canceled. The girls were thought to have low levels of intelligence so were placed in slavery and given to various higher ups as gifts.. the ones that could not be salvaged were euthanized. Dusty was later sold on the open market and the others ..
Well you know what happened to two of them. Amlathea is generally well treated and her exotic looks and quick hands are a plus to the staff she also shares a lot of the enhanced senses Dusty does..hearing and smell and night vision.
And as rose said Troy does not practice "creation" of sentience. but they do use it to correct flaws. ( although SOME customization has been known to sneak past. thats very very rare. )
'prejudice, usually proportional to how "human" they appear.'
Hmmm, that could be read literally as "the more human, the more prejudice," which you might mean, since, like X-Men or BladeRunner latest model androids (6th-gen?) they are too human to distinguish easily but are arguably superior and therefore a threat. And the less human they look, the more animal or machine-like they are treated: low-class but not seen as a threat and therefore accommodated in society.
But I suspect you mean inversely proportional to how human they appear: less human = high prejudice, i.e., badly treated (like machines or animals), more human = low prejudice, i.e., well treated since they are just slightly different humans.
Then there's the uncanny valley to account for, when a construct is rather close to human-looking, but different enough to give a very uncomfortable vibe. Although, when talking about transhumans, you may be approaching the uncanny valley from the close end: i.e., slight differences can be accommodated (even preferred as exotic), but too many differences reach the uncanny valley. Only once they are sufficiently different as to be clearly non-human can they be treated as non-threatening non-humans (even if still sentient).
Sorry if I muddy the waters while seeking for clarity!
well - as you know aside from Maxus's lack of hair and size hes pretty human looking .. well aside from being built like a tank..
Dusty and Katya with eyes .. tails and fangs
run into more issues than say Amalthea who only has noticeable eyes and fangs and her tiny build. she is smaller and more petite than most humans. this causes a equal portion of WTF and Awwww shes so cute reactions..
Just an aside to anyone reading this for the first time, years after it was written and still amazing...
Public Service Announcement
Macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs and it doesn't take much.
Watch for the following symptoms of poisoning, which usually start to manifest within 12 hours after consumption:
•Vomiting
•Weakness
•Stomach pain
•Fever
•Joint pain
•Elevated heart rate
•Loss of coordination
•Muscle tremors
•Paralysis of the hind limb
A dog that ate macadamia nuts should be monitored closely for adverse effects especially if it has consumed more than 1 gram of nuts per pound of body weight
What would be wrong with just answering 2I met someone called Dusty in the wastelands. She told me."
They already know that "Blue" is from outside and "widely traveled".
Heck, she has already gone and done it - Against her own better judgement, I might add.
That's the face of someone who realized they just have adopted another stray.
Seriously, Dolly would adopt the Cassians, if she thought she had even a remote chance of removing their intrusive programming for good.
I mean, just try and think of the following scenario :
A guard punishes Amalthea with whiplashes for being tardy right in front of Dolly.
Not be happy, Sheela. If Dolly could intervene without jepordizing her mission... she would jump in with both feet. If not, Dolly would probably 'ignore' it with a lot of angst.
IF Dolly saw this happen right in front of her she would be HARD pressed to NOT break them in half and damn the mission. - she might regret her decision a second later but Dolly's sense of ethics are very strong and she cannot stand to let a weaker person be hurt or bullied.
And she has already identified Amalthea as a person in a weak position. By now, Dolly probably couldn't stop herself from trying to guard Amalthea. Momma bear has got herself a new cub.
TL;DR - Dolly adopts all the lost ones.
She can't help it, it's so deeply rooted in her nature.
For a little Guardian Android who had a hard time staying employed 60 years ago to now Dolly is building up quite a following, Black Angels, at least one Cassian, a cat girl, a guard in the service of Nova Roma, a Wasteland Mechanic Genius can't wait to see her go head to head with Veronica Silver and set her on her butt... Hard.
After Dr Silver Fixed Ceci enroute, I'm all for letting her be as arrogant and self absorbed as she wants to be.... just as long as she continues being brilliant...
Heck, I may even send her flowers from an anonymous admirer for that one!
Well if Dolly reveals what she is in Dr. Silver's presence, she will probably get taken down a peg or two. I mean, Dolly is some SERIOUS work by the woman that Dr. Silver was bashing.
Having said that though, I have to admit DLK has a point. She earned some brownie points in fixing CeCi (even if she put the entire team at risk doing it).
And I will also have to agree about Dolly... Dr Silver is, unfortunately, still 2nd best.
Although, knowing that will definately not help her social skills much.....
If I recall that look at their character sheets in the past correctly, they have slightly different specialties anyway, so they're both the best at what they do.
I think you may be right there, AC. But Dr. Silver would NOT be happy if Calliope isn't the 'HACK' that she called her (on 23rd August 2012, currently page 725).
I have a feeling Dolly's hauler is going to be VERY crowded on the way back, unless it is in the hold of Double Indemnity, then the whole ship will be very crowded.
Now for a serious question. Are the transhumans able to interbreed with humans?
If they are, whose genes become the dominant ones?
Hmmm. Cent, can I get a author splurge in general on trans-humans and how they fit into the world of Datachasers? World general if possible so as to not provide spoilers?
New Troy classes them under genetic engineering and has laws that prevent a sentient being being made property . So it is not done.
Nova Roma - Trans-humans can be any class providing they "pay their dues" General Maxus is a Trans-human. He started off as a gladiator slave and is now the General of Roma's army's.
that should provide the answer :D
The thought is fairly disturbing...
I don't know if someone like Amalthea can ever 'free' herself. If she serves faithfully and well though, she could be freed by her owner I'm thinking.
As a further note on New Troy: genetic engineering on humans is used regularly to catch and correct defective genes or other abnormalities during fetal development, but not to "customize" children.
The "special agent project" that was a miserable failure but Dusty , Katya, and Amalthia are products of, Amalthea is a 2nd generation of the project just before it was canceled. The girls were thought to have low levels of intelligence so were placed in slavery and given to various higher ups as gifts.. the ones that could not be salvaged were euthanized. Dusty was later sold on the open market and the others ..
Well you know what happened to two of them. Amlathea is generally well treated and her exotic looks and quick hands are a plus to the staff she also shares a lot of the enhanced senses Dusty does..hearing and smell and night vision.
And as rose said Troy does not practice "creation" of sentience. but they do use it to correct flaws. ( although SOME customization has been known to sneak past. thats very very rare. )
Hmmm, that could be read literally as "the more human, the more prejudice," which you might mean, since, like X-Men or BladeRunner latest model androids (6th-gen?) they are too human to distinguish easily but are arguably superior and therefore a threat. And the less human they look, the more animal or machine-like they are treated: low-class but not seen as a threat and therefore accommodated in society.
But I suspect you mean inversely proportional to how human they appear: less human = high prejudice, i.e., badly treated (like machines or animals), more human = low prejudice, i.e., well treated since they are just slightly different humans.
Then there's the uncanny valley to account for, when a construct is rather close to human-looking, but different enough to give a very uncomfortable vibe. Although, when talking about transhumans, you may be approaching the uncanny valley from the close end: i.e., slight differences can be accommodated (even preferred as exotic), but too many differences reach the uncanny valley. Only once they are sufficiently different as to be clearly non-human can they be treated as non-threatening non-humans (even if still sentient).
Sorry if I muddy the waters while seeking for clarity!
Dusty and Katya with eyes .. tails and fangs
run into more issues than say Amalthea who only has noticeable eyes and fangs and her tiny build. she is smaller and more petite than most humans. this causes a equal portion of WTF and Awwww shes so cute reactions..
to talking about cats.
(looks around to see if anyone is watching...) is that a sheela?!?
I swear, the cookie jar was already empty !
Why is everyone eating my liverworst, macademia nut, lemon pepper, and ginger snap cookies but me?
/sigh
:D
Public Service Announcement
Macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs and it doesn't take much.
Watch for the following symptoms of poisoning, which usually start to manifest within 12 hours after consumption:
•Vomiting
•Weakness
•Stomach pain
•Fever
•Joint pain
•Elevated heart rate
•Loss of coordination
•Muscle tremors
•Paralysis of the hind limb
A dog that ate macadamia nuts should be monitored closely for adverse effects especially if it has consumed more than 1 gram of nuts per pound of body weight
...I wonder what that is...
Well, they can send her to some errands to get a few minutes alone...
...and she is so happy she can stay...
If it was a test, not sure Dolly passed.
They already know that "Blue" is from outside and "widely traveled".
Nice touch ;)
Momma Bear goes <RAWR> if someone tries to hurt her cubs !
Heck, she has already gone and done it - Against her own better judgement, I might add.
That's the face of someone who realized they just have adopted another stray.
Seriously, Dolly would adopt the Cassians, if she thought she had even a remote chance of removing their intrusive programming for good.
I mean, just try and think of the following scenario :
A guard punishes Amalthea with whiplashes for being tardy right in front of Dolly.
.. what would Dolly do ?
And she has already identified Amalthea as a person in a weak position. By now, Dolly probably couldn't stop herself from trying to guard Amalthea. Momma bear has got herself a new cub.
TL;DR - Dolly adopts all the lost ones.
She can't help it, it's so deeply rooted in her nature.
;)
and hopefully will end with a loony tune winding up a pink puddle on the floor while a small blond Droid tapdances on his remains
Heck, I may even send her flowers from an anonymous admirer for that one!
Having said that though, I have to admit DLK has a point. She earned some brownie points in fixing CeCi (even if she put the entire team at risk doing it).
Although, knowing that will definately not help her social skills much.....
Now for a serious question. Are the transhumans able to interbreed with humans?
If they are, whose genes become the dominant ones?
Or were they created sterile to prevent that?
Transhumans are one offs. they are not able to breed .. like donkeys.
You don't really want self replicating super soldiers on the loose. :)