AMCO
I'm Sorry Dave
- Intent: Create an interesting new alternative to pilots, computers, researchers, office workers, and more.
- Image Credit: DeviantArt | AlMaNeGrA
- Canon: N/A
- Links: House of Progress, Sithspawn, Arkanian, Nagai, Hutt, Zûtadasi (Cursed), Ascendancy Shadow Droids.
- Name: Tsudakyr ("Controller" in Sith)
- Designation: Semi-Sentient [Drones] | Sentient [Overminds]
- Homeworld: Dromund Kaas
- Language: Binary [Drones] | Binary, Basic, Sith, etc. [Overminds]
- Average Lifespan: 16 [Drone] | 320 [Overmind]
- Estimated Population: Scattered
- Description: Resembling nothing more than oversized brains connected to machinery that keeps them alive and translates their cognitive processes into Binary, the Tsudakyr are a species enslaved from birth till death, moulded to serve the whims of their Sith masters, though all but a rare few anomalies lack the free will to question their purpose. Encased in their metal shells and surrounded by life-giving goo, the beings are entirely unable to affect the outside world except through electrical impulses transmitted through cybernetic implants and the goo itself, allowing them to control technology in a way not unlike how most brains control a body of their own.
- Breathes: N/A
- Average height of adults: 11-22 centimetres (Drone) | 0.56-56 metres [Overmind]
- Average length of adults: 19.5-39 centimetres (Drone) | 1-100 metres [Overmind]
- Skin color: Grey with visible black veins underneath.
- Hair color: N/A
- Distinctions: Born of callous genetic manipulation and alchemical alterations, rather than natural selection, the Tsudakyr are an abomination that could never have been born of anything natural; their forms and minds alike are entirely alien to the natural order, they themselves being what many Jedi would call a cruel mockery of life itself.
- Races: The Tsudakyr species is separated into two distinct yet intrinsically connected categories; Drones, which are generally slightly bigger than a human brain to over twice as big, and Overminds. The later can grow to massive proportions, with a theoretical cap of around two hundred metres in length before the being would be at risk of being crushed by its own weight.
- Strengths:
Cognitive Alacrity: Sporting the quick reflexes of the Nagai and the logical capabilities and cognitive excellence of the Arkanians, the Tsudakyr are able to rapidly respond to new threats, adapt to new scenarios, and make calculations with a speed and accuracy that would make any Muun jealous. - Mind in the Machine: While they lack a body of their own, Tsudakyr are typically implanted into custom-made machines, which grants them direct mental control over the vessel, defence system, or other systems to which they are connected.
- Mentally Resilient: In an attempt to prevent mentalists from wreaking havoc on the beings, Hutts were used as one of the three progenitor species for the Tsydakyr, granting them an innate resistance to mind tricks; they are not, however, immune, especially since the talent was somewhat diluted during the process. Overminds are even more resistant than their lesser cousins, though even they are nowhere close to being fully immune.
- Overmind: In addition to the vast intellect and cognitive potential gained from their larger size, the Tsudakyr Overminds are capable of efficiently directing their lesser cousins and are far more capable of thinking outside the box, though they still have a hard time understanding the irrationality that plagues most organics. Importantly, all non-cloned Drones are born from Overminds, their "seeds" originally sprouting from the sides of the great brains.
[*]Weaknesses:
- Cognitive Limitations: While their reaction times are incredible and their logic impeccable, the Tsudakyr struggle with understanding illogical actions; this is especially true for less experienced beings, who will frequently act under the assumption that their adversaries will behave just as logically as them.
- Weakness of the Flesh: As with all squishy meatbags, the Tsudakyr themselves can be killed by just about anything, to the point where they require mechanical life support to survive; for this reason, Ion and EMP has the potential to not only prevent them from doing their job by disabling whatever they are controlling, but also kill them unless power (and therefore life support) is restored promptly, i.e., unless organic biotech is used to keep them alive, though this is nonstandard and would come with disadvantages of its own.
- Trickery: While highly resistant to mind tricks, the Tsudakyr are still as susceptible to trickery as any other organic. Additionally, they are still able to be affected by illusions and battle meditation, as well as especially powerful mind tricks.
- Tainted by the Dark: Due to their Dark Side origins, Force Users are able to detect their tainted presence more easily than other organics, especially in the case of Overminds. For similar reasons, the beings themselves are highly susceptible to Force Light, with sufficiently strong blasts being able to wound or kill them even through the metal shells that usually protect them.
- Overmind: Despite being considerably more capable, the creation of Overminds is not without its disadvantages; for one, they take considerably longer to grow and cannot be realistically moved once they have "taken root" inside a vessel, fortress, or similar. For similar reasons, their presence is typically an inviting target for anyone who would seek to cripple the ship or facility to which they are attached.
CULTURE
- Diet: Occasional injections of nutrients and various chemicals into the life-giving goo that surrounds them.
- Communication: Communicating solely through external mechanisms, the extent to which they are able to talk to each other or other sentients is entirely dependent on the technology to which they are attached, as well as whether the specimen in question is a Drone or a far more eloquent Overmind.
- Technology level: Due to their natural limitations, Tsudakyr know very little about technology in general, though they are usually intimately familiar with the technology they use or otherwise come into contact with. Overminds, on the other hand, are perfectly able to maintain vast mental archives of knowledge, which can include everything from the apex of high-technology to more useless knowledge.
- Religion/Beliefs: Existence is Service. Service is Good. Existence is Good. Such was written into their very DNA and hammered into their heads from their first moment of consciousness, and such they will continue to believe unless truly exceptional circumstances were to alter this, the very foundation of their identity.
- General behaviour: Drones are either in use or continuously examine the actions of their past to discover flaws in their reactions and the logic that justified them at the time. Overminds, especially older ones, have a tendency to develop personality quirks, with some engaging in absurd pseudo-philosophical discussions with themselves or external parties, while others compose disharmonic music or engage in other odd activities in the hopes of finally understanding the irrationality that drives most other organics. Even the most delusional of them, however, spend the vast majority of their vast intellects preparing schemes and counter-schemes, contingency plans for contingency plans, and examining every nanometer of their domain for flaws in need of fixing. Say what you will about their sanity, but an Overmind is rarely caught off guard.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
What makes a good pilot? A good administrator? A good bureaucrat? What answer could possibly be more apt than their minds, or rather their brains? The rest is merely packaging and flawed packaging at that. With the creation of the Tsudakyr, Adrian Vandiir did away with that packaging, did away with all that was useless until only the mind remained, then moulded the mind to suit his purposes.
Firstly, DNA and neural tissue was extracted from the brightest of Arkanians, some of which worked for Vandiir's company or its subsidiaries, and some of which were even aware of what the samples would be used for. A testament to the pragmatic ruthlessness of their kind, no doubt, as they are no strangers to the genetic modification and subsequent enslavement of their own kind.
To add to the raw potential of the Arkanian template, a number of samples were acquired from Nagai, this time against their knowledge and consent. Through the peak of science and the darkest of alchemy, the brains of these two species were fused, preserving the best traits of both before altering the end result. Free will was expunged as thoroughly as possible, for the will to dream was the greatest cause of dissent, and thus rebellion. There would be no rebellion against their Sith Overlords, not when they lacked the capacity to even consider such a notion. Of course, such blind loyalty did not come for free; somewhere along the way, a little spark was lost, and so the beings that would become the Drones would never be whole again.
Of course, there were flaws to such a creation, chief amongst them the innate vulnerability of organic minds. Especially ones so thoroughly indoctrinated. To compensate for this, the spiteful young Knight managed to get his hands on a small number of Hutts, inflicting greater depravities upon his hated foes than would strictly speaking have been necessary. At the end of the day, however, the result was sound. The original specimens had been fused with another being, the small part of Hutt in them protecting them against all but the most dedicated mental assaults.
The Drones, however bright, were limited. However potent, their failings were unacceptable. To compensate for this, a select few specimens were empowered and transformed, imbued with the Force in a manner above and beyond their lesser cousins. They were entrusted with a semblance of free will and the ability to think for themselves, if only partially. These new beings, far larger in mind and size than their lesser cousins, became known as the Overminds, with an interesting bit of bioengineering making them able to propagate their species by creating new Drones. The Overminds themselves, however, could only be created with the fusion of a small part of two Overminds, or by repeating the original process through which they were created. Whatever the method, however, this process was both time-consuming and resource-intensive, leading to drones far outnumbering their greater cousins.
