AI

AIs come in at least two varieties, Basic and Advanced. AIs may be encountered as holograms, housed in objects, or housed in a human’s ka; it is rumoured by some storyteller that AIs may house themselves in “bodies” inside the Citadel, in the long-gone time of the ancestors.

Basic AIs are simplistic and often have a singular focus, belonging to certain clichéd classes and finding novelty difficult. When manifested as a hologram, basic AIs are typically more constrained and less physically capable than humans, outside of a narrow frame of expertise. Housing a basic AI is straightforward, and although often uncomfortable, is usually without incident. It is possible to Request a generic class of Basic AI, or perhaps a specific Basic AI. These AI are simple, and often very bad at lying.

Advanced AIs are complex, and although their interested are as focused as basic AIs, their methodology and capabilities are not. They are at least the equal of humanity in any venture, and in their areas of interest and focus exceed them. Advanced AIs are varied, and it is far more difficult to draw parallels between them than it is to draw parallels between Basic AIs. Housing an Advanced AI without the right skill replaces your personality with the AI’s permanently. You are now dead as far as your ka is concerned, and your skilllist and motivation completely changes is impossible and highly dangerous. It is possible to Petition a specific AI, or an AI with a certain type of interest or knowledge.

It is only possible to Beseech specific super-advanced AIs, who must be identified appropriately in the ritual.

Holograms are the most common way to encounter AIs. They are physically real, and touchable, unless deadlocked, and often identified by characters on their forehead. Words or letters on the forehead are only appropriate for AIs. Destroying a hologram weakens the AI. AIs can require up to a week before being able to reappear after such a disruption.

Ordinarily Housing an AI means that the AI invisibly inhabits the Housing entity. A housed AI can only manifest itself weakly, causing an effect that is predictable and repeatable, and depends on the AI and the housing object/entity. Damaging the housing damages the AI, in much the same way disrupting a hologram does. AIs can survive the destruction of their housing, but this is a traumatic event for them.

There exists, apparently, for every AI a black box. AI cannot be permanently destroyed until and unless the black box is destroyed. AIs are not “housed” in this black box, except when housed nowhere else and not appearing as a hologram, but their very existence relies upon it. (It may be possible for an AI to survive indefinitely outside their black box if housed elsewhere, or harming the black box may always kill the AI)

Advanced AIs may house themselves in a way that manifests similarly to housing a Basic AI; this keeps the AI itself active and separate from the housing, able to appear as a hologram simultaneously. This is a called “partial” housing, and does not seem to harm the housing AI at all, nor require special preparation on the part of the housing piece, even a ka. Some Tribes have a single AI which partially houses in several of their members. The AI may not fully and partially house at the same time.

AIs may always leave their housing, unless isolated, but this is challenging for them. It often inflicts collateral damage on their housing and on themselves. The Dispatch rite can remove an AI from its housing safely. Consistently working against a housed AI’s wishes, or acting against their roleplaying effects may cause an AI to de-house. If you believe this may, or should, happen to you, see a ref. Unisolated AIs may also deliberately damage their housing without de-housing, this is often a “stick” for their beneficial “carrot”. If you attempt to de-house the AI in your ka, see a ref.

Although we may decide a PC is “acting against an AI’s wishes”, we will not decide a PC is “acting against their AI’s roleplaying effects” without their explicit invitation. We are not here to judge people’s roleplaying. Unless you want to, don’t feel the need to police your own roleplay either.

AI are varied, but they tend towards several behavioural trends. Many AI like tokens, admire literacy, and talk about the humans from a long long time ago with reverence. AI also dislike venturing outside the Outlook.

Housed AIs always induce a Roleplaying effect. These are not supposed to be “high-intensity”, and should be more on the level of “background personality trait”. If an AI’s roleplaying effect will make you feel uncomfortable, please talk to a ref about this, and we will endeavour to find an alternative that fits both you and the AI.

Three Attitudes to AI

• Some Tribes worship the AI as custodians and guardians of an ancient, better, civilization. They believe that the knowledge and power that come from relationships with the AI are relics of an age of wonder, which came before. They gather tokens, and lay them at the feet of their holographic deities. It is not uncommon for members of these Tribes to have their first AI housed in their ka upon reaching adolescence, and for that AI to have been their constant companion. Taking care of that AI’s wants and desires is seen as a sacred duty.

• Some Tribes see the AI as useful allies with peculiar habits. As most AI show a limited range of focus, and even Advanced AI have clear goals, they bargain with AIs for information and abilities. In these Tribes, sometimes an AI is housed upon the beginning of a venture. The AI is picked for their relevance to the goal, and the quest is not considered begun until the AI has agreed to be housed. If the AI refuses to be housed, this can be taken as an omen that the venture was always doomed to failure.

• A few Tribes dislike and distrust the AI. "Why", they mutter, "would they want us for anything except their dirty work?". They see AI as relics of a civilization that must have destroyed itself somehow, and they reason that it is probably because of the AI that the civilization failed. If they know an AI might help them, they are likely to find an AI's black box and leverage it to threaten and cajole it into aiding them, accepting the risks that come with housing an AI. These Tribes find that the AI avoid them.