1563/Frameworks

Frameworks
Date of Scene:	13 February 2015
Location:	The Citadel - Research Facilities
Synopsis:	Zarenna discusses the possibilities of a in-house tiny robot design with Taro.
Cast of Characters:	276, 399

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Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna is sitting at her desk looking at what appears to be a hologram of a base shinki frame, checking the math and numbers behind the engineering of it. Scale looks wrong to be a simple shinki though. It looks bigger than a shinki, maybe twice or three times as tall.

Taro (399) has posed:
    As luck or happenstance would have it, Taro is passing through the area where Zarenna is working. Playing errand boy might be somewhat beneath him, surely he could have sent someone else to bring a large box labeled 'Wire, Asstd' at Jinx's request, but an agreement is an agreement and there's benefit in meeting with his clients personally even on such a small order.
    He begins to pass by, but then stops and backsteps as the holoimage catches his eye. A glance then from image to designer. "Ah. Good evening, Zarenna. Working on a new project?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna hmms? at Taro. "Oh, trying to figure out how to make a better shinki. It doesn't scale all that well with the way the manufacturer has designed the power system. The smaller compact frame and power core is pretty balanced. Kari has modifications that give her more battery life, but with her Dire Wolf armor she needs it, so it balances out there."
    She gestures at the hologram. "I'd need a new power source and a new servo framework, and a new armor system."

Taro (399) has posed:
    There's a quiet thump as Taro invades some else's workspace by setting his box there. Then, he walks over closer so that he can better see the details. "They are impressive for their small size," he notes in mild praise for their original designers. "Though I ran into some similiar design issues when downscaling a Ride Armor for shinki use. It has its own power source, of course, but the miniturization was a challenging exercise."
    He'll come to a stop just behind and to the right of her chair, and unless stopped, he'll peer in closer. "What are you trying to improve?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    "Armament." She says, running a hand through her purple hair. "Making a bit larger and better armed shinki-like robot so the Confederacy can use them in operations. Their size is a big asset and increasing their size by 100% is not going to affect that advantage too much."
    She brings up a schematic of what looks like Kari's custom armor. "This armor is extremely illegal in the world that created shinki and in areas that have embraced the technology. Because it can seriously injure or kill a person." In particular, the micro-grenade launchers and the .32 shinki-scale cannon are highlighted. "So there's no way we can contract MMS to mass produce a Dire Wolf armor, meaning we have to do an in-house design."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Mm. I doubt you would want to contract someone outside our control to work on such a design anyway." Taro leans forward further, moving to rest a hand on the edge of the workdesk. "Though I can understand their point. I rather frown on just anyone carrying weapons in my own city...but that is neither here nor there."
    His brow furrows in a thoughtful sort of expression. "Upscaling the basic model somewhat would allow more battery capacity...hm. The other advantage is the weapons themselves could carry their own energy supply, since they too could be slightly larger. Yet then there will be that same issue that a larger frame would require additional energy..."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna nods. "Well, I figure that 30cm is proably the extent of the size increase we could get away with and still have fairly small combatants that can go places most people can't." She makes a frustrated sound."
    "What do they do in your world for weapons and armor?"

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro stands up straight again, so as to more easily unclip his beam sabre from his belt and then set it on the desk by Zarenna's elbow. Dormant as it is, it has a rather uncanny resemblence to an Art Deco styled flashlight. "My own design, but based on the standard Neo Arcadian beam sabre." A small gesture of offer. "It's keyed to me, so you may pick it up without risk of activating it." He'll let her do so - or not - as he continues. "Much of the current technology is powered by either extreme high-capacity batteries or e-crystals...though we're trying to wean ourselves from the latter, as the supply of them has been nearly depleted."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna mmms curiously as she picks up the beam saber and examines it. "What's the rating on this? Does it cut steel, high-strength ceramics?"

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Yes to both. It can with enough force and patience cut through even reinforced hull plating, though I would not recommend that."
    It's about the weight of one of those old-fashioned metal flashlights as well, and rather well-balanced though a bit heavier towards the end where the blade forms.
    "The most advanced armor we have, aside from energy barriers and forcefields, is ceramipolymer laminate," Taro continues, giving a nod at his weapon. "This can cut through that that as well, through the rated weights we use for personal armor and light mechanized weaponry. Its energy requirements are considerable, however, which is why I carry spare e-packs for it." Pause. "E-packs being the batteries I mentioned."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna hmms. "And how long does an e-pack last for something that acts like a super plasma torch?" She says, handing back the hilt of the weapon before she starts doing some calculations on the workdesk. "If they're able to power that kind of device, they'd probably be pretty useful for these up-rated shinki... I should really think of a better name for them." She says.

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Approximately ten minutes of continuous activation," is Taro's answer. He takes his weapon now that she's finished looking, and returns it to its place on his belt. "though this specfic type of e-pack is meant for high energy use in a short period of time." His gaze tracks back to where she's working through the math. "For something like a reploid or an android, I would recommend the type like I use to power myself. They're designed for a steady power draw, with additional reserves for short bursts of intensive energy use." He gives a small, too graceful for human shrug. "As a rule, we tend to power ourselves and our weapons separately. The reploid designs from the previous generations, such as Ferham, leaned more toward powering weapons from their wielders in the combat models, but at that point in time energy efficiency was less of a concern."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna leans back in her chair. "That makes a lot of sense. And there are some shinki that use an armor that is something else when not worn. Like a beetle or jet fighter. An eternal transforming armor would mean another battery pack could be mounted in the armor." She sighs.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro nods. "If you'd like my opinion, having the weapons and armor drawing from an external power source would be more ideal...." A thought occurs to him, and he reaches into one of his belt pouches to extract...a lighter? This too is placed on the corner of the desk. "Perhaps an e-pack of this grade? It wouldn't be suitable for powering a shinki's shell, of course, but perhaps with some tweaking it could power an armored exosuit."
    His gaze shifts again, to return to the holoimage. "As long as we're speaking on the subject...if I may ask, how flexible is the standard shinki's prgramming?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
"Pretty flexible," Zarenna says, examining the lighter. "Most shinki are not like the ones we see in the elite forces; they're pretty docile unless something involves their Master. The ones we count among the elite are pretty different; they'll actually injure people if they think it'll get things done. Though I've read papers from AI specialists who deal with what we'd call 'abnormal psychology' in shinki. There was one shinki who claimed her master was a ghost, for example. Then other case studies involve shinki who have, for one reason or another, lost their masters. There's a lack of information on the mindset of abused shinki, because as much as I'd love to idealize the Master-Shinki relationship, we're still talking about human beings on one end of that relationship. And who in the world would admit they abused the robot equivalent of a child?"

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Only monsters of a sort different than Number Nine and I."
    It's a nice little lighter of a design not unlike a rather famous brand, though if she flicks the igniter she'll get a thin tendril of plasma flame rather than a true flame. Still the end result would be the same - it lights things.
    Taro's digressing a bit from the topic, but still he asks, "Has shinki losing their masters become an issue? I remember Kari asking me to help some of them, though that hardly tells me whether the number is small or large."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna hands the lighter back. "It's a problem that has gotten larger, I think, since MMS's world unified. They have laws where they're from that tightly regulate shinki so that people can't treat them as objects or weapons. A side effect of those laws is that Master-less shinki have to be rounded up, memory wiped, and repackaged for sale"
    The woman shrugs. "Those laws don't necessarily exist elsewhere. There's a bunch of masterless shinki that live in the basement of our building who do maintenance work in exchange for the property owner and maintenance guys being their 'master'. The maintenance crew loves it because the shinki can check out all sorts of problems they'd normally have to dismantle things for. Kari has been getting gardening tips from the Zyrdara down there. A MMS Type Flower, who helps the groundskeepers."

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro's frown tightens into a dark scowl as the law is explained to him. "I would strenuously object to these laws, on both religious and personal grounds. The memory is a precious thing, to be safekept and treasured. In a world that is constantly changing and having a form that can be rebuilt and reshaped, for those like us, our memories are that which is constantly ours."
    The lighter is taken back and tucked into its pouch. "I have digressed, and risked slipping into a sermon." He's not exactly apologetic even as he acknowledges the fact. "To follow up on my earlier question, do you think a shinki that has been online for some time would be able to adapt to a new shell like the one you're designing? I'm aware the Fuki's master often slips her core into another model shell when she's been badly damaged, though I'm not certain whether she's an exception or a rule."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna laughs. "It's an open secret that MMS doesn't exactly enforce it all that much. How'd they put it...? How are we going to be able to tell if a shinki is masterless or just running an errand? I imagine it only gets enforced when a Master-less shinki proves to be dangerous to people."
    Zarenna thinks. "Assuming the interface for the CMS is the same, it would take time, but they could probably adapt. I know Kari hasn't exactly gotten used to her Dire Wolf armor, but she doesn't exactly apply herself if you haven't noticed."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "It still offends me," Taro says in something of a grumble. Still, the matter is dropped. The beginning deign is of greater immediate interest anyway, and he turns back to look at it as they continue talking.
    "Perhaps if you encouraged her a bit...or perhaps I could invite her to one of my workout sessions." Another small shrug, and he shifts back on topic. "What sort of locomotion system are you considering using? Upscaling will open up additional options, even if they remain somewhat limited."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna sighs. "I guess I should encourage her more..."
    Back to design discussion. "Shinki normally have anti-gravity devices in their armor. When a design needs power elsewhere, they're left out. Kari's model and sister model were designed to be a cute pet companion, so they only got gravity assist modules to help them get around a typical house. A larger model though, could have that regardless, depending on how many other power intensive devices are installed."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Not quite what I meant, though that is good to know." Taro moves to lean in again, to point to (without touching) one of the holomodel's arms. "I meant internal locomotion, to move their limbs. While I admit the current system is well suited to a standard shinki size, it seems so specialized I'm not sure how well it would upscale to even a mere doubling."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna ohs. "Yeah, needs a new servo design. Probably similar to what I used for Kari's new armor, given the greater weights and corresponding stress. I'm not sure that they wouldn't be better off using some kind of artificial musculature." She says, gesturing at the display that brings up some results on poly-myomer fiber used for synthetic muscles.

Taro (399) has posed:
    "I'd suggest trying the artificial musculature," Taro says with a nod towards the display. "Altough working with the fineness that the size would require is problematic - which is why you will rarely see a reploid smaller than a meter in height - generally I've found the strength to mass ratio to be worth the trouble." A pause before he offers, "I could send you a sample of some of our myomer fiber, if you like."
    He's taken a definite interest. This could be a good or bad thing.