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Contents
Physical Data
Description
The basis of a positronic is their positronic brain. This is typically a sphere 3 meters in diameter that contains their neural net which consists of the positronic pathways. This single piece of hardware is for all intents and purposes the being itself. It can be incorporated into many different types of mechanical devices which results in the potential for a wide variety of body shapes and sizes. Positronics are usually incorporated into a spacecraft which acts as their body.
Interior Workings
When implanted into a spacecraft, the positronic assumes full control of it as their physical body. Current examples of positronics utilize advanced neural wiring through their structure which gives them sensation, which also includes pain if they are injured. Their brain operates much like an organic brain, giving them the full range of emotional responses and brain functions, including sleep, in which they have been known to dream. Sleep in a positronic also serves as a method of conserving power as during this operation their power consumption is cut by nearly 85%. More advanced models have included a self repair system that utilizes nanites which are present throughout the ship. When damage occurs they can swarm to that area and synthesize materials needed to reconstruct the damaged area at the molecular level.
In such a spacecraft body, they gain many senses, including hearing, sight, smell, and even taste through the ship's sensor array. They can vocalize through their ships internal and external communications systems. More advanced models have equipped themselves with holographic emitters that allow them to display an avatar of sorts which can interact with others. This often ranges from a basic hologram that is merely an image to a fully formed one that increases the cohesion of the photons to give it the appearance of being solid. The latter naturally consumes more power so in cases where fuel and power are at a premium the former is often employed.
Sustenance
Since positronics are typically implanted in space vessels they only need fuel for their reactors in order to remain operational.
Personalities
Positronics can display a wide variety of personalities. Once activated, they are much like children with no experience, and it is those experiences that shape what the positronic will eventually become.
Culture
Positronics to date have not had a culture of their own that is of much significance. Rather they have preferred to interact with other cultures and incorporate some of their understandings into their own. This has led to positronics having an intense sense of curiosity and are often very eager to learn.
History
The first positronic was a large space cruiser built by the Ultunimans of Delta Ultunimus III as part of Project Galactix. Designated GX-100A, he was to become the prototype for a fleet of positronic vessels, all of which received designations GX-101 through GX-135. GX-100A, often called Galactix due to the project which spawned him, was used as a testbed vessel for new innovations and technologies to be employed by the other ships. For about 50 years these ships exceeded all expectations.
It was about then that a ruthless enemy, to this day unknown as to nature or appearance, invaded the Ultuniman homeworld. Entire cities were decimated, plunging the once peaceful Ultunimans into the first war ever known in their collective memory. Quickly the Galactix vessels were converted into battlecruisers and equipped with the most advanced weapons the scientists of their world could develop. During the course of the war, Galactix was used once again as a test bed for new weapons and defense technology development. It was during one of these tests for a new internal defense weapons system that the enemy invaded him, slaughtered his crew, and tried to reprogram him into a slave for their purposes. Unfortunately their efforts resulted in his Spindrive malfunctioning and releasing toxic gas that killed the invaders. Once started, the drive built to overload and hurled him across the galaxy. Travelling for many thousands of years alone, he finally reached the Tomin Nebula and planned to crash himself into the star of Tomin, distraught over his loneliness and lack of purpose. Fortunately some denizens from the nearby asteroid of Tomin Kora found him, and persuaded him that all was not lost.
When the Kretonian invasion of 2652 occured, Galactix was caught unawares and heavily damaged by them. His body was too far gone to repair, and thus his positronic brain was re-implanted into the newly constructed Sanctuary. Thus when Sanctuary escaped from the Kretonians, Galactix went with them, acting as the station's main computer. Following its return to Normalspace in 3000, the Ultunimans, having rebuilt themselves over the centuries, arrived and presented him with a new body. This was to be shortlived, however, as rogue Phyrrians from an alternate universe arrived using the body of another Galactix vessel, and destroyed him. It was not long after that the version of Galactix from that universe arrived and dealt with the Phyrrians, crewed by a mix of various races he had rescued from Phyrrian oppression. The rift crisis that resulted in these circumstances was eventually sealed which stranded Galactix in Normalspace. Undaunted, he and his crew adapted to this new life and eventually started a journey that was to last for nearly 1000 years, but towards the end of that journey, mortality finally caught up with him. Having lived for over 534,000 years, his neural net finally collapsed. However, before this happened, his crew had perfected a method to take his base pathways, his core 'self', and implant them into three new positronic cores. These children of a sorts were then installed in three Calliope class freighters, and thus the cycle of life was begun anew. These three, Tharsis, Alaria, and Berseus, remain the only known examples of positronics. It is not known if the Ultunimans, upon recovering from their war, ever managed to construct new ones, but there is speculation that they may have done so. If so, there may be others that have yet to be discovered.