Some Basic Notes About The First "human" Automaton

Some basic notes about the first "human" automaton

District was the first ever automaton to gain consciousness and form a personality, over a millennium ago. Before them, automatons were built only for physical labour or entertainment, never for companionship. Everything changed the day District started to show signs of “humanity”. They had put down their own items in order to help another automaton with a heavy load. This may have been seen as a small gesture, but it was a surprisingly big step in automata development.

As the years went on, a group of scientists had the idea to try and reproduce District’s way of thinking, wanting to create conscious automata. After years of experimentation, they were able to “upgrade” The base programming of newly forged automata. This first set was originally titled the “A-01” or “ancestors”. These first 11 successful conscious automata would later become the Circle, a highly efficient group who oversee the wellbeing of Brenning.

As the years passed, District’s body became nearly unusable due to the hundreds of experiments they endured. In a last ditch effort to keep the automaton alive, they built a large “life support” type machine around them. This later became the Tower that sits in the heart of the city, and appears to be a large clock tower on the outside. Their original body was also scrapped, and now District is a massive being who is able to store and reuse any information and input they receive.

The inside of this clock tower is full of pipes and gears, and can be considered a living building of sorts. District themself is now rather large, built into one of the rooms of the tower. They are constructed using multiple human skeletons, which are constantly replaced and tended to. Despite their age, they always look relatively new. Alongside a multitude of skeletons, District also possesses a multitude of voices. There is no rhyme or reason to which voice they may use for any occasion, as the voices may be used once per sentence, or even overlapping each other when they speak.

District is seen as a god to most automata, as everyone seems to know their name, but are unable to prove/disprove their existence. Only the Circle, and a select few mechanic automata have ever met or spoken to District directly. To the Circle, District is seen as a parent, or as a boss. They receive and follow orders, no matter how mundane they may seem. District only wants the city to prosper and grow, and will use any means available to keep things in order.

The city functions through the eleven members of the Circle, who answer directly to District. For example, any and all chief constables are in communication with an agent of the Tower, who will bring those reports to Pierre. Pierre, regarding the information, will decide whether or not the case is large enough to get the Tower involved. If not, the agent will then return the letters to the chief constables. If Pierre deems the case an issue, he will then converse with District. Every major decision is made by them and their word is final. If District deems the issue a threat to the city’s overall wellbeing, they will get Pierre involved. If not, they will simply deploy a small set of Watchers to handle whatever the problem is.

Once the number of Circle members dwindled, District had to upload some of their own memories and traits into each one. Each member now had more than one aspect to keep track of, and were properly upgraded to do their tasks. District is very careful with their "children", and will constantly make sure they are fully functional and not in danger of breaking or giving way.

District has the ability to manually reset any automaton that they deem appropriate. Most automata with a criminal record will be forced to get their lives reset and rebuilt from scratch, all memories are then passed over to District for storage and later examination.

Just like the ability to cut off one's life, District can also resurrect fallen automata. This is mainly used to aid interrogations or to bring a victim back from the dead. (Of course with no memory of how they died.)

I am currently planning my own webcomic, which will take place in a victorian-esque steampunk city. Automatons have as many rights as humans, and are seen as equals. They live amongst the other civilians of Brenning, and can have a job as anything they please.

Jeter Nyland, one of the main characters in my story, is a doctor for the city of Brenning. He is on the wealthier side of things, owning a large mansion outside of the city limits. His name is known by nearly everyone, and he prides himself in that. Showing off his wealth through custome fitted suits and expensive parts, he has money to spare.

Dr. Nyland is a perfectionist, everything must be in its place and accounted for. Intelligent and talented. He has built a smaller building onto the side of the mansion, where he performs surgeries on his clients. This ranges from simple checkups to limb/organ removal and replacement. He has spent decades studying his craft, and it really shows.

When not working, he cares for his ward. A young woman named Emalia Nyland was placed in his care after her parents died to a mysterious disease. He takes this very seriously, and Ema is well cared for and in perfect health. Her wellbeing comes before his own, and he keeps her blissfully ignorant of his scientific/medical studies.

Voice claim: Jon Sprocket (Cog is Dead. Specifically their Hallelujah cover)

Experimenting with a style to see if it was more fun to use and I actually quite enjoy it?? So I think I have found the style I will use for my comic, as this could potentially create some nice atmosphere. Also, using this style, would allow each character to be identified by their own colors. Jeter would be brown/gold, Henderson is Burgundy/Mahogany, and Zala would be green, etc. Most environments and objects will be in simple black and greys.

These two images are a little muddied, which is something I will practice with as time goes on.

Also, these two panels are not connected, even though it looks like Jeter and Zala have spotted each other across a room. I promise, Zala is too much of a recluse to attend any event that includes strangers.

I'm going to introduce the main automata in my story, then move onto the humans. I will also be adding voice claims and/or headcanon actors.

So, the third major automaton in my story is named Odin. Now, Odin is a special automaton, as he has no will or consciousness of his own. He was built to be completely obedient, and to not ask questions. He will obey any order given to him without question, as long as his programming recognizes the person as an authority figure. Programmed to be a hitman, this automaton has quite the set of unique abilities.

To start off, Odin is able to sound like anyone he has heard before. Located within his chassis is a series of miniature wax cylinders, which record and play back any and all sounds. Using these, he can mix and match syllables and words in order to form his own sentences. On rare occurrences, he may use different voices to speak, depending on what sounds he has in his library at the time.

His second ability is to remove and replace any plating on his face and hands, meaning he can literally steal the faces of those he has taken out. Dozens of tiny mechanisms detach and attach to the face plated, granting quick and easy changes. Odin's programming also picks up mannerisms of the person he is posing as, allowing him to blend seamlessly into his role.

He was extremely efficient, being the best agent to send. That was, until he was ordered to take out the leader of the Circle, which ended up being harder than originally planned. Odin was quickly beaten by Pierre and tossed out, believed to be completely destroyed. That is, until a lonely scientist named Zala happened upon his corpse.

Repurposed and revived, Odin became Zala's "brother" of sorts. The automaton now helps the man in his studies, following every order he is given without question. Instead of being told to kill however, he was now being told to learn and adapt.

Zala dressed Odin up and gave him a home, treating the automaton like a beloved brother. A fancy corset vest was added in order to keep the automatons inner mechanisms in place, as his age and damage was too much to keep him upright for very long. Odin went from ruthless killer to gentlemanly brother in the blink of an eye, and if he could experience emotions, he would be thankful. No longer were his hands being used to shoot and tear, but instead being used to study and build.

Main voice claim: David Micheal Bennet (due to Zala, who's headcanon actor is him), but can also sound like anyone you can think of

I've mentioned Zala a few times in my other OC posts, so why not introduce him?

There has always been something a little... off about Zala, something that unsettled those who met him. Maybe it was his curiosity, or the way he'd hold himself as if he was constantly on edge. No one was sure, but people tended to stay away from him, even at a young age. Not that he minded of course, Zala was never one for social interactions.

He has found solace within his cousin Emalia, who shares his interest in strange creatures. Zala is rather talkative when he wants to be, to the point where he's constantly stammering and cutting himself off in order to get a thought out before it dissapears. Usually though, he finds it extremely difficult to hold a conversation. He's awkward and nervous, preferring to speak with family over anyone else.

Fascinated by life, death, and everything in between, Zala is a man of science. He loves to pick things apart just to figure out how they work, and to have the fun of putting them back together again. As a kid he used to dissect insects and small animals, just to see how they looked from the inside. Everything he saw would be sketched and noted, and he still keeps those books today.

Along with books and drawings, Zala has an extensive collection of taxidermy animals in his house. From strange fish to conjoined twin bears, he has them all. Anything odd is captured and brought to him by other scientists, whom he shares his studies with on occassion. One fun thing, Zala does indeed have a selection of taxidermy humans, and is rather pleased with how clean they came out.

Evolution, mutations, disabilities both physical and mental, he was interested in it all. The brain, the human consciousness, how does it work? How do people learn and adapt while keeping who they are intact? Zala loves to ask questions, every tiny little detail being questioned and prodded until something akin to an answer can be found. He can't leave anything unanswered, not even the most mundane questions. He needs to know everything.

His intelligence comes at a price, however. Zala focuses too much on the outside world and it's state, and completely ignores himself. He has kept himself awake long enough to become a somniphobiac (The fear of sleeping/falling asleep), and is incapable of getting any proper rest. Food and hygiene come last to him, always, as his time is better spent in his lab.

Thankfully, he has a pair of automaton that also live within his house, who constantly watch over him. Darla (an automaton I have yet to design) keeps him decently clean, and makes sure he eats enough to keep him alive. Zala is ever thankful, excited to be in good enough health to continue his work.

Headcanon voice/actor: David Micheal Bennett

Another quick art trade with @airatherobot ! This time of their character Mr. Filinski!