Golems and Automatons

You don't have to play a human if you don't want to! Well - certain limitations notwithstanding, of course. All details related to canonical species or highly specific ethnic groups are to be found here.
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IamLEAM1983
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Golems and Automatons

Post by IamLEAM1983 »

This one's kind of a doozy. The more I wrote and researched, the more it seemed like Hope has a fairly intimate relationship with the Clank industry as a whole. Reflecting this is the fact that the section on golems is blessedly short, while the one on automatons definitely warrants the Wall of Text appellation...

You've been warned.

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Why create golems or clanks? Mostly to preserve people we love, sometimes to preserve pets we cherished, or to expand their minds. Haven't you always wished your dog could talk?
Why create life if it's so imperfect? Because we can. Dragons perfected it with the Sidhe and we can't come close to that, but they've had *hundreds of thousands* of years to perfect their craft.
We've been forming arcane theory in our societies since Antiquity. Mortal arcane theory is barely officially 2000 years old. We still have a long ways to go.

Golems are easiest for us to grasp because they're organic. They're close to the Earth as a starting point, being made of clay or stone or an assembly of reeds, weeds or more. Things we've been working and crafting with for ages.

a) Golems
- seems easy, but can be fairly complex. Animal spirits will content themselves with four limbs, two eyes and a mouth. Sentient spirits will expect a *lot* more
- required skill level fluctuates a lot. Prague's golem is actually a fairly low-skill example. Restoring a human or anthro soul to a semblance of life can require *years* of work just on the body alone
- this is why golems are rarely, if ever used to house minds that are sentient from the get-go. Even angels would attest to the requirements being a bit of a drag.

- basics are fairly obvious. Make a body that can at least move around and perform tasks. Then prepare it to receive a soul, then render it "open" for said soul to inhabit
- preparation is different depending on the cultural angle you're considering. Kabbalists have the Sefer Yetzirah and its array of life-giving spells supposedly imparted to Man by God Himself
- every culture has its own way of preparing inert matter, but Kabbalah is one of the most widely theorized and published examples.
- "opening" the vessel involves either inscribing the final sigil or slotting the prepared tablet or key in the prepared orifice
- golem's work surface is usually surrounded by a circle or pentacle or another arcane sigil to lock out all wayward spirits *except* the one we're looking for
- ghosts and other needful entities will sense open vessels waiting to be claimed.
- conscientious golem creators DO NOT want to end up with an unknown personality in their created body or worse, a minor demon
- arcane research has a number of horror stories about "unprotected" golems going berserk

- the main draw of golems is the fact that non-sentient souls placed in them will be altered over time. Like ghosts, like Loci.
- slot a dog's spirit into a bipedal humanoid figure and over time, sentient characteristics will emerge as the soul "expands" and "fills" the body
- an interesting way to turn a beloved companion into more than just a walking or fireplace buddy
- the more congenial the animal, the faster the end result emerges.
- end result is usually a devoted, steadfast, attentive and eager servant that doubles as a best friend
- will usually retain one or two characteristics of its original species, no matter how "human" you make it. A golem made out of a housecat's soul might be a little independent
- use a dog and you'll end up with an affectionate and huggy sort. A horse will resolve into a more graceful, but nervous companion
- the weaker the starting soul, the more patient you have to be, though... Joseph Golem (Prague) wasn't exactly bright...

- golems were okay if you wanted to CREATE someone from the ground up, in essence. If you wanted to PRESERVE somebody, though? Not the best choice...

b) Clanks
- starts with Humanity's first few developed examples of automata. We've always tried to mechanically reproduce human and anthro movements and capabilities
- people wrongfully think we didn't try anything until Babbage's Difference Engine or the Industrial Era in general. We've been "prototyping" Clanks for thousands of years
- little animated dolls and toys have been a fixture of children's playtime hours for all of known History
- see Egyptian automata, Assyrian, Precolumbian, etc. As yes, even the Quetzalcoatl-dominated civilizatrions experimented with mechanical principles
- oftentimes, priests doubled as self-styled engineers. Impressive displays motivated faithful, so mechanisms were put in place to introduce "magic" into cults
- sometimes, though, arcane theory slipped in. See Ra's statue being able to point at the new Pharaoh amidst all of the pretenders to the throne
- most common example people tend to overlook? Old temples. Heat and convection were usually harnessed to open doors just by lighting a nearby brazier, for instance
- see Void Weaver "gauntlets" around undisclosed South Pacific islands, to lock former prayer or sacrifice sites away from interlopers

- see Eginhardt, German chronicler for Sultan Haroon Al Rachid (765-809). Sultan had a hydraulic clock constructed that was precise and, on the twelve strikes, opened up to let twelve animated little horse-riders out
- was a gift to Charlemagne
- 14th century = mechanical clocks. Earliest known attempts to create working mechanical full-size arms and legs. Earliest known drafts for arcane ways to have a mortal soul interact with these
- first known papers presenting mechanical and medical propositions for prosthetics. Human augmentation is briefly considered. Is obviously considered heretical.
- structural success at reproducing human form is reached in the production of the first few known mechanical bellstrikers
- most impressive and non-arcane use before Diff. Engine = Strasbourg Astronomical Clock, France. Contains an orrey, solar clock, an equations engine, Computus engine for ecclesiastic use (to calculate Easter's date)

- 16th century: Jacques de Vaucanson creates his first automaton around 1735. Mechanical duck that replicates digestion process. Largely for philosophical purposes, as he supported Descartes' theories about animals
- said that animals weren't much more than machines of flesh.
- ultimate goal was to facilitate everyday work and existence, though. Invented the first mechanical "car".

- Ethelred comes across Medieval designs and others credited to Da Vinci. Sets out to prove that arcane integration *can* be achieved
- intense period of work across Europe. The Jabberwock does his best to study each and every example of mechanical engineering destined for leisure. Factory machines are rarely if ever humanoid and still rare.

- 1764: success! He develops a working set of sigils and glyphs that sustains the displaced soul of a parakeet in a created hydraulic and mechanical body
-1790: the ship belonging to Anastasius crashes in the Caucasus. Most of the Karthians' native tech is lost to frostbite. First known First Contact scenario with aliens
- 1791: Archibald Aloysius Holden is born
- 1801: Arthur Reginald Holden is born
- 1825: Ethelred meets Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, French mage and magician. Develops first few models of replacement bodies based on perpetual motion
- 1830: Anastasius forcibly assumes control of Russian monarchy, crowns himself a Romanov. United Karthian Dominions of Russia are founded
- November 1830: tensions rise between other European officials and the aliens ruling Russia.
- July 1831: Archie is trained and sent to Saint Petersburg under the cover of a visiting diplomat
- 1832: after a period of research, Ethelred finds a worthy "historical" inventor, Phineas Naughton. Drugs the man and plants his own notes amidst the struggling inventor's
- James Buchanan occupied ambassadorial positions in Russia and England before claiming presidency. He first hears of Archie during one of his English stints
- 1847: Charles Babbage delivers his Analytical Engine. He and Ada Lovelace plant the seeds of computing and A.I, along with the means to create a wider armature for House Spirits
- Archie is killed by Karthian loyalists for averting Anglo-Karthian War. Stokes xenophobic sentiment in Russia. Will become one of the triggers for October Revolution
- Archie receives national funeral and is posthumously knighted. Has hazy memories of being allowed into Heaven and of finding it rather dull. :)

- 1848: Arthur Holden disappears from the public eye after a contentious performance as Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew". Will not resurface until the Vienna Accords are ratified, in 1965

- 1849: Naughton and Sons' Anatomical Braces and Armatures is a success. Commercial appeal in Clanks begins to develop just as classic automatons receive a popularity boost
- Anastasius sympathizers are a problem. Several Russian immigrants have taken to America to escape justice.
- 1851: the NS Alpha-1 Armature is constructed in absolute secrecy, even as Parliament begins to fear that Grayskins may be mentally stoking the flames in the increasingly heated American South
- June 1851: studies confirm existence of Etheric Incompatibility Syndrome. Thousands of people didn't survive their transfer.
- proves that not *everyone* is biologically "safe" as an armature candidate. Severely halts the initial rush of early adopters
- paradoxally satisfies conservative and religious groups who value the mortal coil is not to be thrown away
- 1851-1860: various operations around the British Empire are credited to "Archimedes". Speculation abounds as to the identity of the British spy. Archibald's lordship is formally recognized in secret. Is knighted "for real" in 1859
- 1859: Hope sees Jacob Masterson open Masterson Armatures. Serves as both a service point and a sales location for Naughton, Katayama, Alkaev brand armatures

- 1861: Lincoln claims presidency - and receives an unusual gift from British delegates and Buchanan.
- Archie becomes the voluntarily unsung Head Intelligence Officer for the Lincoln administration. Will go on to serve under Johnson and Grant as well. Public involvement in US history will only be disclosed in 1990.
- He advises Grant by telegram during Fort Sumter's events and makes a rare sortie on the battlefield in November 1861. Assists Grant in Paducah, Columbus, Cumberland.
- society is still antsy about automatons. Archie wisely upholds the idea that Grant should take all the credit for the tactical decisions in these battles.
- war photographies showing the Archimedes or Archie's hardware are systematically censored and made Union military secrets.

- 1862-1870: reports are leaked to various agencies. One anonymous journalists turns Archie's reports into adventure serials. "The Chronicles of Commander Hiram Tamerlaine" becomes a seminal adventure epic. Scribner and Sons.

- April 1865: Lincoln is assassinated. Archie, as Intelligence Officer, feels deeply responsible. His efforts only seem to redouble, following this. Attempts at destitution, further secession or assassination of key political figures common.
- 1865-1877: US History is marked with a number of attempts by supernaturals, immortals or superpowered types to seize control. Most of them are poorly documented today.
- 1868: beginning of the Meiji Era. The Western world is first exposed to the Kitaiteki as foreign ambassadors journey to Japan with business proposals in hand. Kitaiteki were murderous, rebellious former daimyo and samurai
- 1869: Archie first meets with Gorobei Iwata in single combat whilst on a diplomatic envoy to Tokyo. Smaller, more spritely Western Clank design wins over sheer brawn, as encouraged by craven, disgruntled and disloyal Tokugawa sups
- Archie refers to these years as his "Shadow Wars". Several otherwordly powers wanting to control a newly united nation to further their own agenda. Includes Mab, if the clank's journals are to be believed.
- Shadow Wars won't be adapted in novel form until 1971, as part of the Hiram Tamerlaine series

- 1889: the Buck family's second curse puts the federal eye on Hope. Archie is sent to stop, pacify and drain Zebediah Buck, a local lich and known Bleeding Heart who seems to have been possessed by his dead wife
- Evangeline Buck's by-proxy assault on the expanding town is stopped by Archie's judicious use of warded sniper rounds. Evvie returns to her previously distant nature, Zeb retains no memory of the incident
- no charges are pressed, but the Buck family is ordered to pay several thousand dollars in damages. Eliphas Buck, the patriarch, publicy denounces this as another attempt to "shame" his family.
- nobody is impressed. :)
- Archie first visits Hope, meets with Silas Robertson and expresses interest in the region. A place with this much action feels like a decent retirement spot...

-1896: Tesla coils. Largely used for short-wave commuications, but decendants of pacified Karthians claim the device's energy-focusing qualities for their own. Nikola Tesla becomes closely involved with Karthian think-tanks
- years will pass, with nothing warranting any continued suspicion. Tesla himself will never have been investigated. Archie testified on his behalf
- 1900: discharged with honors, Lord Holden is entrusted with a conjoined gift by GB and USA for services rendered - a private domain in then fairly rural Hope. Holden Hall was built over the last thirty years.
- birth of Michael Callahan, future HPD detective

- 1910: coil-based automatons surface. First rechargeable synthetic bodies! Battery is clunky and takes up the whole chest. Very vulnerable.
- 1914-1917: World War One makes the world transition into something resembling Dieselpunk. Mechanical clanks are kept on the civilian record, only high-end electrical clanks are allowed as synthetic soldiers
- 1920: Gorobei Iwata's body resurfaces in Hope; driven by a soul that very clearly isn't Iwata's. Body's original owner is irretrievable, Shamus "Bucky" Wallace's legal status is changed the next year.
- Bucky and Archie become something of a globe-trotting duo that returns to Hope about one month out of the year.

- 1930: current highest standard for classic electricity-based automatons is reached. Art Deco designs are particularly common
- Mike Callahan dies in a shootout against a gang operating for Joseph Bizzi, Sicilian-American mob boss and grandfather of Weasel's, insurance money and benefits used to pay for soul transfer
- 1931: his rehab completed, Lieutenant Mike Callahan becomes first automaton member of Hope's police force. Is still on active duty in 2025.
- 1935: rising costs of maintenance and Hope's dangerous nature drive Archie and Bucky to declare themselves to be municipal assets. Archie is crated, Bucky is drained and posed in the Red Room
- their respective keys are entrusted to the mayor's office

- 1941: Augie Duesenberg creates the Duesenberg Androids Division, with the idea of creating "All-American" luxury clank frames. Only surviving Duesy subsidiary nowadays.
- Duesenberg Clank frames are Harley-Davidsons of artificial bodies, nowadays. Very stylish, extremely powerful. Not terribly energy efficient, however.
- "Classic" Duesy frames aren't widely appreciated. Too powerful, too flashy, has been known to encourage depersonalization or affective distance. Negatively reinforces status as a "thing" and not a person
- simpler mid-range models are more popular

- 1953: first major awakening of the Centennial Tree in sixty-three years. Archie spends the next twenty years supervising, then helping the new group of gifted individuals to deal with rising threats.
- 1953-1973: Rasputin, the Red Scourge, Thomas Quint, Jack Griffin, Cerebro, several dragons and servants of the Others, Void Weavers, etc.
- 1965: Gregory Rendell makes himself known. Is preceded by catastrophic drop in Ruthven Industries stock. The Elysium Manifesto is broadcasted from an unknown location
- 1973: Rendell infiltrates Hope and is narrowly prevented from melding with the Tree. World learns of the existence of Chimeras

- 1975: Archie and a few selected Chimeras sign the International Chart of Transhuman Rights in New York, giving all hybrid sentient organisms equal rights to natural or supernatural citizens. Will apply to cyborgs by 1995
- Chart is appended to the Vienna Accords on the very same day.

- 1985: Masterson Armatures is in the red. Is has enough orders, but the masters for several common gears or cogs are going missing or have been destroyed through continuous use
- similar situation for electric clanks. Nixie and vaccuum tubes adjusted for clank use are getting harder and harder to find... Expertise is slowly bleeding as few people show interest in entering the "Clank business".
- 1990: Goliath purchases the Economy branch of the Dusenberg line and dismantles it, keeping its engineers to create the Goliath Armatures division
- reinforced plastic or fiberglass element replacements are introduced, usually coated in false bronze or copper finishes

- 1993: conversion kits for modern electric outlets and voltages are sold to Tesla-era clanks
- 1994: Masterson Armatures recovers thanks to Goliath's newly designed components
- 1998: surveys indicate adaptation rate is 98%, classic mechanical lines are gradually discontinued, except for the purposes of producing service parts

- 2020: Grigori Tesla, a Karthian descendant of Nikola Tesla, inaugurates Prometheus Androids. First few electronic clank prototypes are presented at the Consumer Electronics Show
- high-power hydrogen fusion battery lasts for a century, reaction times are utterly humanlike, etc.
- "Classic" Clanks are concerned, as Prometheus has also discussed the potential of interfacing their units with artificial intelligences instead of sustained souls. First true androids.
- would this create unfair competition? Would this kill Clank market? No one knows...

- 2025: Archie and Bucky are re-awakened...
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