332: Jimbot

ENTRY 332: Jimbot

"Love? Does not compute. Same time next week?"
-Jimbot and the Regular

The psychological transition of resleeving from a biomorph to a synthmorph isn't always smooth. Most transhumans have in imperfect understanding of the process to begin with, and early resleevings in particular tended to be jarring, with no perceived time lapse between one sleeve and the next. Faced with trying to reconcile self-image against current circumstances, some egos develop delusions to deal with the new reality of their situation.

Jimbotron "Jimbot" Mandroid is a transhuman synth that believes he is a robot, such as populated classical science fiction in the early post-industrial era on Earth. The delusion is durable, but otherwise seems fairly harmless - most of Jimbot's friends, coworkers, and lovers consider it a quirk or eccentricity. A few authorities have insisted on psychological evaluation and counseling, but most analysts and therapists agree that Jimbot is generally no more likely to cause harm than any other transhuman, and perhaps less since he believes he has built in moral and ethical programming he must follow.

Before resleeving, Jimbot was a union leader, working with local workers as a negotiator with management, and particularly noted for his strong belief in "worker buy-ins," where the employees were part-owners of the operating capital of the company. After becoming a "robot," Jimbot shifted his focus to AGI advocacy, standing up for artificial intelligences and their rights, representing them before employers and worker counsels, serving as a parole officer, and other such support rolls.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
8	8	8	15	12	20	20	-
INIT	SPD	LUC	TT	IR	DUR	WT	DR
4	1	40	8	80	40	8	60

Morph: Synth

Skills: Academics: History (Robotics) 20, Academics: Law 14, Academics: Psychology (Group) 17, Art: Singing 9, Deception (Pokerface) 15, Interests: AGIs 25, Interests: Gambling 20, Interfacing 16, Intimidation 16, Language: Native English 75, Language: Polish 46, Networking: Criminals 15, Networking: Hypercorps 10, Networking: Union 18, Persuasion (Negotiation) 25, Profession: Advocate 25, Protocol 25, Unarmed Combat 13

Implants: Access Jacks, Basic Mesh Inserts, Cortical Stack, Cosmetic Modification (multiple little hidden compartments and doo-dads with cigarette lighters, screwdriver finger tips, small concealed speakers, buttons that activate "sleep mode," etc.)

Mobility System: Walker (4/20)

Traits: Armor (6/6), Mental Derangement (Delusion - Is A Robot), Social Stigma ("AGI," Clanking Masses), Uncanny Valley

Using Jimbot

Classical science fiction was never meant to be an actual prognostication of the future, and yet for centuries transhumanity has lingered over the image of phallic-shaped spacecraft of spun steel, intelligent humanoid robot slaves, and solar empires of crystal cities inhabited by toga-wearing Aryans flying about with rocket packs and washing down their food pills with bourbon. Some of that has actually come to pass, though not as anyone might have imagined it at the time they were writing, but the dream lives on - and continues to do some considerable damage to vulnerable transhuman psyches. Jimbot is one such victim, playing out the quirky robotic humanoid. Beneath the jovial, blue-collar surface though, Jimbot is prone to long periods of despondency, fits of rage, and sometimes gets confused about what he as a robot can or should do. The episodes always pass, but can be quite shocking when someone sees Jimbot lose shit. Gamemasters can choose to use Jimbot as anything from a quirky extra from Futurama to a thought-provoking look at what it means for someone trying and failing to grasp what it means to be transhuman. As a contact, Jimbot has inroads in both the unions and AGI rights groups, and could be an ally or an enemy of the player characters depending on how they side in a dispute with either group.