Test Drive (December & January)

[sixthiteration]

Main Navigation

Full Navigation

Logs

OOC

Network

Premise

Rules/FAQ

Cast

Guide: Setting

Guide: Bestiary

Guide: Flora

Guide: Locations

Guide: Colors

Guide: Tech

Maps

Lodging

Application

Holds

Test Drive

Want Ads

Drops

Points Exchange

Mod Contact

Player Directory

Test Drive

→ Holds and applications are always open. Holds are required for all applications.

→ Choose one of the scenarios below or make up your own. Feel free to try multiple scenarios.

→ Write LOGS or NETWORK prompts, or both.

→ THERE ARE ONLY THREE RULES FOR THE TDM:

1. It has to take place in the 6I universe.
2. It cannot be the character's arrival into the game.
3. Please only test new characters who do not have a version in the game. Our cast list is here.

→ TDM threads cannot be used to meet AC, but if the character is accepted into the game and both players agree, you may keep the CR.

→ Character want ads are here.

Prompts

1. SNOW BLIND - It's snowing, a lot, and pristine landscape though it might create, it also brings plenty of problems, especially when you live in an Edwardian-style village with a serious lack of snow shovels. It's currently blizzard conditions and visibility is nil — Maybe you gave in and ducked into the nearest house for temporary shelter, and discover someone else had the same idea (or just lives there, oops). Maybe you're stubborn enough to still be out in it, struggling against the wind and snow. Or maybe you've tromped into the South Village Inn like a human popsicle, and are just hoping you don't lose any fingers before you make it to the fireplace.


2. JUMPED-UP - Winter's here, which means it's the perfect time for an expedition to warmer, southern climes. You've joined a group following the river all the way down to the far southern beach, for fun and for science. On this latest break in your journey, you've spotted a large, jewel-colored feather and picked it up, maybe as a specimen to bring back or just a feather for your cap. Turns out it's an archaeopteryx feather, and you're now, well... let's call it a little gravity-challenged. Not a bad benefit once you figure out how to control it.


3. COLD CALL - The snow has slacked off, leaving behind a winter wonderland. Sure, there's plenty to do, but after being cooped up inside for days, most people won't blame you for a morale-booster — That is, unless your way of starting a snowball fight is to pop up and throw them at unsuspecting passers-by. Making a snow man or snow angels might come with a little less retribution, but you do you.


4. WILDCARD - Choose your own adventure. Maybe play powers roulette.

Network

All characters are fitted with a smart watch-like device on their left wrist, which they can use to send text and video messages to other villagers.

- Text and/or video, any length
- Display names may be changed by characters on the fly, but anyone can tap to see someone's real full name

Please list your CHARACTER NAME, CANON & PROMPT in your SUBJECT LINE.

Comments

[313_248_317_60]

I wouldn't give them that much credit.

[Eyebrows arch at the question. Connor's attention slides sideways, fixing directly on the being. Not that he hadn't stolen a glance or two before. The suit is modeled after the shape of a human man, but the voice that spoke from it was female. Of course, considering the confirmation in that they... it really isn't either, is it?]

Hardly.

[Connor's programming includes a multitude of social functions—to be applied where they might serve a use. This doesn't qualify.]

What about you?

[The suit looks solid, designed for military or exploration work. So, almost certainly not. But its answer might be telling.]

[thefaulty]

[Curious. A human-passing model who shows no inclination to engage with the humans surrounding them. Arid would theorize that perhaps his organic appearance is meant to facilitate subterfuge or infiltration instead, but the obvious LED marking his temple suggests otherwise. What other reason is there to look human if not to either fraternize with or deceive them?]

Negative, [Arid answers.] It is not my function to provide companionship.

[Nor does she know what, if anything, these humans expect of her. None have attempted to give orders or detain her. But then, someone had to have brought her to this planet, even if their purpose is unclear.]

Have you received any information as to why we were transferred to this location? [Arid asks. If she’s found another AI, it makes sense to find out what he knows—especially if she doesn’t know where they stand with the organic population.] Are we expected to assist these humans?

[313_248_317_60]

[Received. Connor's lip curls slightly. It really hasn't been here long if this machine is asking that kind of question. His stare shifts back ahead, idly reconstructing stray shoe patterns in the snow.]

The 'transfer' was unauthorized. [It's spoken as fact. If CyberLife wanted him here, they would have told him what for. And the expectations of whoever stole their merchandise isn't anything Connor intends to prioritize.] So, no.

As for the purpose [not 'our'; not 'his'], no one's been especially forthcoming.

[Or especially helpful in his own search.]

[thefaulty]

[Unauthorized? Is the android implying they were stolen? It is possible that Arid’s body had been pilfered by scavengers and perhaps resold. What is less clear is how they were able to apparently stall the virus’s progress—and why they had left her memory intact.

One circumstance implies technical prowess. The other, total ineptitude. Arid isn’t sure how to reconcile both traits in her hypothetical captors.

There is another discrepancy, as well:]

They have not attempted to make use of me. [She inclines her helmet towards the oblivious humans. None have attempted to wear the Mark-7 combat suit, despite the protection it would grant from the cold, nor have they attempted to compel Arid’s assistance at all. If these humans have somehow purchased them, even through illicit means, they are not behaving as new owners. At least, not yet.]

Have they made any attempt to use you?

[313_248_317_60]

They have no authority to do so.

[The words are brusque, a faint shadow of irritation. Unauthorized should have been clear enough, he thinks. But no, by and large these humans haven't been quite stupid enough to try. Or, equally likely: not intelligent enough to recognize the possibility.

But apparently this android is even newer than it looks.]

What model are you?

[thefaulty]

They also had no authority to transfer us here, [Arid points out flatly.] They did so regardless.

[But she will take the android at his word. None of the humans have attempted to make use of him, whatever his function may be. It is a promising sign. Should a space-worthy vessel be located, it will be that much easier to escape this planet if the humans here do not burden Arid with their demands.

Arid would defy them to return to the hosts. But it’s less work if they make no effort to begin with.]

I am the A.R.I.D aboard a Mark-7 combat suit, [she states, making no effort to elaborate on any of those terms. She would return the same question, but she is not certain she would be familiar with his model designation if he provided it. Certainly, the marks and labels on his clothing mean nothing to her. Instead, her question is more to the point.]

What is your primary function?

[313_248_317_60]

[If any of the humans here are responsible for the transfer... well, they'd certainly be more capable than Connor's seen. He ignores the retort, focusing instead on the data it provides. ARID is unfamiliar, but... onboard?

...Oh. Not an android at all, is it? Connor stills for a moment, LED flickering softly before he steps forward, making to circle and inspect the other shape.]

Investigation. My model series was designed to assist the police.

[What with, he doesn't clarify quite yet.]

You're an AI. Is your suit otherwise occupied?

[thefaulty]

[That opaque faceplate will turn to track the android as he circles around to Arid’s front. She is not perturbed by his examination—given the direction of his gaze, she assumes he is trying to discern if there is a pilot present inside her suit. The assumption is further supported by his query.]

Negative, [she answers.] This suit contains no human occupant, nor does it house any other AI.

[Her body has no facsimile of eyes to telegraph the direction of her gaze, but the android might feel her return his scrutiny all the same. She has never encountered an AI with such a function before, much less an android. This one does not look as she would expect.]

In what manner do you assist the police in their investigations?

[Perhaps he is some kind of liason between the police and the humans they investigate? His appearance suggests some manner of social component to his function. Such attention to providing him with a convincing human likeness would be wasted if not.]

[313_248_317_60]

[No human occupant. No android, or other systems. But clearly, the suit was designed to carry someone. Its shape and dimensions fit far too well, tailored to a human male with a strong build. It sinks down into the snow—comparably heavy even unoccupied. How much hardware is packed in there?]

Whatever manner is needed.

Negotiation, analysis... pursuit. [Lips twitch, an insincere smile. Interrogation.] I'm a prototype.

[Android detective. Or, deviant hunter. Take your pick.]

What about you? What support do you provide?

[thefaulty]

[Negotiation seems appropriate given his design, though Arid fails to see why an android was needed to do a job that seems better suited to a trained human. Why program an android to relate to human malfunction and transgression when another human would have far more experience in both?

Even more surprising is his listed function of “pursuit." That will actually get a slight movement of Arid’s helmet, inclining down and then back to the android’s face—sizing him up. Prototype, indeed. Perhaps his form is more durable than it looks, but even so, he looks disproportionately soft for a model meant to pursue potentially armed threats.

His question gets a brief stall. It is not her function anymore—but she has no other to list.]

I protect my pilot from harm in the event that he is incapacitated.