Mobile Helpers
Bot, a semi-autonomous droid deployed by Sin to assist his troops
Bots are versatile instruments in that they are made for a variety of purposes. On the other hand, compared against CMs and SCOs, they are notoriously flimsy. Bots are not manufactured with the HEAT armor of a combat machine but so-called SVC♦ armor: an alloy consisting primarily of nickel. This armor is more vulnerable to penetration, but it is not inefficient. Rather, it is lightweight to allow for faster movement and rotation, which is a particularly critical feature for bots.
As for the aforementioned purposes a bot exists for, these include:
- reconnaissance
- assembly
- protection
- combat
- sabotage
- repair
- observation
- intel
Bots communicate with one another via radio waves. They can also communicate with an Anthropos (SAO/SCO). Like their roles, bots come in different shapes and sizes. For example, assembly bots typically have greater girth to handle the materials required for constructing machines and buildings, whereas reconnaissance bots are slimmer and more agile by comparison. Bots do not resemble humans in their profiles, ergo they are not bipedal or have a humanoid torso. Instead, they have their own standardized design that conforms to their purpose. Take observation bots, which are either spherical or ellipsoid.
What’s more, some bots are modular so they can be fitted with enhancements. These mods largely consist of limb-like fabrications or militarized equipment like enhanced optics or gases (some deadly, others irritants) to escape from danger.
The prevalence of bots in the North is low. One will rarely ever encounter a bot on its own away from an SCO or its restricted territory unless commanded otherwise. Like a combat machine, bots must obey any directive given it by an SCO. But they must also obey a combat machine. Should they not be given any command, they will either operate independently or, more typically, enter stasis.
This is to say: bots are built to do their jobs. They have no personality or means of communicating verbally. So, if a human ever attempted to converse with one, it would simply ignore them.
♦SVC: shorthand for SilVer Case. On account of their nickel exterior resembling silver.
- Inventor(s)
- When in doubt: Sin.
- Access & Availability
- Common among SCOs. Bots can be altered to serve Revolutionists, also with a converter. However, bots are actually more difficult to alter than a combat machine, if only because they have a habit of self-destructing during the conversion.
- Complexity
- Bots are intricate instruments no matter their function. Their SVC armor is robust enough to provide protection against the elements but not necessarily from heavy impacts. Depending on their internal framework and whether they are reinforced with additional layers, bots can be easily dented or even smashed.
Each bot is controlled by a powerful CPU called a red chip♦ that persists on a single-charged nanobattery and that is unique to the specific bot♦². Bots are not rechargeable and their battery cannot be replaced, therefore they expire after their charge is drained (but this can take upwards to a century). Their operating system handles everything from spatial movements to analytical calculations. What’s more, a bot’s red chip is sensitive like an arca, for once damaged, performance suffers and will need to be replaced in its entirety to restore the unit back to optimization.
♦So-called because the CPU reflects red when a light is shine upon its surface to help locate it. A bot’s red chip is about the size of a micro SD card.
♦²It is because of a red chip’s physical configuration that prevents it from being inserted in any bot save the original.