Mechs

Bot, Crate, Drone, and Heavy-classes make up a rich ecosystem.

A Mech storage and repair facility.

Overview

No one knows exactly how long there has been artificial life on Serra. However, historians agree robotic entities existed before the Schism, and along with the Virtuals, were most likely created by the Muted. Since then, no artificial being has ever given itself a dedicated name, forcing the biological population of Serra to come up with one. The most common collective term is Mechs, short for Mechanicals. However, there are other terms, such as Chalybians or Ferrans. In addition, due to their cold, metallic nature, a lot of disparaging terms like Metalbrains, Doltbolts, or Clunkers are also used.

Being a highly cooperative faction, no tribes or sub-factions are known to them. New models are simply created as soon as an older model needs assistance or is being replaced. However, four official classes were implemented by the Council of the Six for administrative purposes: Bot-class Mechs, Crate-class Mechs, Drone-class Mechs, and Heavy-class Mechs.

Drone-class Mechs and smaller Bot-class Mechs keep the Heavy-class Mechs in ship-shape condition while Heavy-class Mechs provide resources and do the heavy lifting that the smaller Mechs can't. Finally, crate-class Mechs were created especially for the Grand Tournament and the defense of Serra.

Bot-class Mechs:

More generally known as Bots, they are the most sophisticated Mechs. They excel at delicate tasks that call for precision or highly specialized mechanical equipment. It is not uncommon for rich Serrans to employ several Bots and Drones as personal household staff or official retinue.

The Raxar call them Tokassikai, which translates to something akin to "lizards of the machine". This nickname implies a certain respect between the two factions, which is in and of itself remarkable. Maybe it is as simple as Bots being those Mechs that are literally on eye level with the proud Raxar. Brr-Tik make an "rzkrzk" sound when talking about them, while Bodai and Aabuim simply refer to them as the Livamalvera, the "living metal people".

Crate-class Mechs:

In an effort to collect enough resources for the Grand Tournament and also hand out training supplies to participating citizens, the Council of the Six commissioned a new Drone design. After uncountable test runs, the first Compact Resource And Tonnage Entity left the factory.

Each Crate can be outfitted for all sorts of purposes; chiefly among them is the distribution of data slates for combat simulation. Crates entrusted with this kind of valuable cargo hold six holographic data cards whose unique IDs are digitally engrained on the inside of six plates located above the Crates' centerline. These data cards are often referred to in the media as Champion's Tools as they are the tools with which the commanders, champions, or competitors, will battle in the Grand Tournament.

Compact Resource And Tonnage Entity.

Drone-class Mechs:

Mostly referred to as Drones, some Natives call them No'ta'b. A word that was coined when Natives began to flock to Serra's buzzing cities and first encountered veritable swarms of small, metal bodies moving in unison. Cyborgs have also developed some slang terms for Drones, with Buzzas and Frizzubbs being the most common. The latter is an abbreviation for free supplies. It seems to derive from a popular Scavenger past-time of trying to grab and capture flying Drones without damaging their circuitry, despite them being broken down for parts more often than not anyway.

Heavy-class Mechs:

Heavies, for short, are the heavy lifters, the metallic muscle of the Mech faction. They are built to gather and transport beings, cargo, or even whole parts of a city and are the simplest of the Mech subgroups. They depend highly on Drone-class Mechs for maintenance while being instructed and coordinated by their more specialized Bot-class cousins.

Due to their massive, unshaken nature, they have earned quite the reputation among Cyborgs, who admiringly call them Tumpaz for their thundering steps. If a Heavy has a long, serpentine frame, Muganda is used; likely derived from folk tales of gigantic sea-creatures dwelling in the depths of Serras' oceans.

The Dal'Ra call them Nenete'petl, which loosely translates to "the mountain that strides". The Aabuim word for them has never been heard in full since it takes several days to pronounce. While the Raxar sometimes speak of them as the Sorasukai, the "drums in the deep". From the rumors that you can still hear the ever-grinding gears of long-abandoned Heavies deep below Serras' crust. Ones that just kept digging, even since before the Schism.

Behemoth.

Physiology

Mechs don't have expressive/transformable faces; light sources and sound emitters are the only sources of physical communication. Some only use an internal network to communicate. Speech modules allowing for verbal communication are rare. Models using this kind of technology normally have stronger bonds with the other factions on Serra.

Similarly, Mechs are self-sufficient machines that strive to execute their work as effectively as possible; as a result, they are devoid of any empathy and emotions. They lack any biological facial features and operate using states, for example, going from alert to idle or vice-versa. Sometimes these states could be interpreted as emotions, although they are, in fact, merely a switch of operation protocols.

As a general rule, their purpose is directly visible through their design.

Bot-class Mechs:

Bots are akin to general-purpose Mechs that can do nearly anything. Their general build is much more complex than that of the other classes. They often sport several flexible, bendy limbs, allowing for an extraordinary range of maneuvers and tackling a wide variety of assignments simultaneously. If they are employed by a biological lifeform, their appearance is commonly altered to make them look less intimidating.

Crate-class Mechs:

A Crate is always built on a pentagon-pattern chassis with exchangeable pentagon plates. They look sturdy, albeit slightly clumsy, due to their formidably armored exterior. This keeps their precious cargo extremely safe. Factories producing specific Crate-models will paint them a certain way and mark the pentagonal plates with a symbol or code to differentiate them and identify their cargo.

Crates are not just simple storage containers for valuables but a fully qualified citizen of Serra by law. Their job is specifically to keep the content held within their frame safe. To help achieve this goal, they can instantly switch from their idle mode to walking or flying mode. The flying mode makes full use of the thrusters located at the bottom-most part of the chassis, powered by an experimental Void-Matter core, enabling it to jump or fly over short distances. When in walking mode, a Crate extends its five previously concealed armored crab-like legs to save on energy and perform more precise movements. By combining both forms, each Crate can deliver their payload safely and efficiently to virtually any Hextrict on Serra.

When fully loaded, the standard Crate-class Mech has an exact weight of 314.15 kg and a diameter of precisely 1.337 Serran meters.

A Crate-class Mech in flight.

Drone-class Mechs:

The term Drones is a Council-sanctioned classification for smaller Drone-class Mechs of a particular build. A Drone's characteristics usually include:

i) A diameter of 0.314 or less Serran meters.

ii) Predominantly swarm-like behavior consisting of at least 42 individual units.

Drones always have a compact silhouette with a bulky center of mass, as all vital systems are housed safely in the center part of their compact chassis, but they are versatile in many other aspects. They have no fixed form, instead, their outer shape is defined by their task. If their services are required in scorching deserts, they will be fitted with reflective heat shields and liquid cooling. While Drones serving as assistants will be less armored, making them look more fragile in their chassis patterns.

Depending on the task, Drones can be more or less heavily armored. Although they are usually not fitted out with too many resources or materials as this keeps them lightweight, agile, and able to fly, walk or levitate at dizzying speeds.

Heavy-class Mechs:

Heavy-class Mechs are among, if not the, largest members of Serran society. Their massive, bulky frame has a strong center of mass upheld by massive legs that carry them slowly but surely across any terrain. However, some are built around enormous wheels to reduce energy consumption, allowing them to roll and use the momentum such a large mass generates once set in motion. Flying Heavies are a rare sight, though, since their Lev-Thrusters are extremely hard to maintain, let alone produce. They also consume vast amounts of energy to stay airborne.

All models of Heavies are near-constantly surrounded by auxiliary Drone-swarms that repair their hosts' frame and circuitry. Some Heavies even have hundreds of docking stations built into their outer hull that house myriad Drones and so also act as mobile Drone carriers. Others also have small workshops or Comm-Centrals onboard wherein a dedicated Bot crew supervises and maintains its operation in real time.

A rare flying Heavy.

Society

Mechs were designed to execute very specific tasks and have never deviated from their programming. They are responsible for the heavy lifting on Serra, like mining resources, constructing buildings, or producing goods. Although they are capable of making their own decisions, their artificial minds hold a finite amount of intelligence. No examples of self-expression or creative thinking have been observed yet.

They have no inherent problems with other factions because Mechs do not hold grudges or purposefully offend other lifeforms. Of course, they still seem cold and distant, especially to Natives. Their exclusively rational nature makes them very close to the Virtuals. Governmental meetings with Mech representatives take a long time because they are slow to calculate decisions on complex social matters. Conversely, they are lightning-fast in decision-making regarding their own work and matters concerning their own kind.

When it comes to names, Mechs use identification and serial numbers (IDs) as a description or designation of a mech unit. For optimum clarity, they always use the complete ID of the Model number and Series number when talking to one another. When talking to other Factions, the same logic is applied. For example, a Dal'Ra called Oteok of the Texctlo tribe would be "Dal'Ra Male of tribe Texctlo: Oteok".

Although a rare sight, ancient Mechs that walked Serras' landmasses long before the Schism still exist. If they are still in use, they are kept in good shape by newer Mech models, but if not, they are swiftly taken out of service and stripped for parts.

One way or another, modules occasionally end up piled on top of the vast junkyards of the Scavengers. The lucky Cyborg to find these Mechs may suddenly become a rich little tinkerer indeed or, should they decide to keep it, a dangerously powerful "Big Tinka".

Curiously, the Church of the Source tends to keep a wary eye on these particular machines. Their technology is barely understood today, and no one can say for sure what their purpose was or what dangers their metallic frame might obscure.

Bot-class Mechs:

In Mech society, if one can call it such, Bots perform administrative and organizational tasks. They make sure that Drones are coordinated, Heavies are recharged and maintained, and they constantly work on optimized schematics for new lines of mechanical life on Serra. Moreover, Bots act as mediators between Mechs and the other factions on Serra, picking up tasks and relaying them to their kin. Due to their extremely potent artificial intelligence, they are also placed in roles such as diplomats and ambassadors for all of Mech-kind.

Overall, Bots are equipped for most basic tasks. They are commonly good at:

• problem-solving in general, always taking changing circumstances into account to compute any conceivable possibility for solving an issue;

• overseers and administrators e.g. coordinating the whole of Mech-kind and their massive factory forges;

• service jobs like personal assistants for members of other Factions;

• surgeons and healthcare workers as their robotic nature makes them a valuable asset in bio-hazard environments or quarantine situations;

• high-tech manufacturing e.g. microchip production and maintenance; and

• distribution and sorting, they keep Serra's production lines and supply system running at peak efficiency.

Med bot.

Crate-class Mechs:

Crates were developed with very specific roles in mind:

• distribution and logistics, Crates usually deliver valuable payloads all around Serra;

• mobile utility platforms e.g. retrofitted with weapons, communications arrays, or other sensors for reconnaissance operations;

• mobile energy sources, in times of need their Void-Matter core can power other machinery.

Drone-class Mechs:

Making full use of their versatility, Drones are predominantly used for:

• deliveries and errands e.g. Courier Drones are the fastest way to transport small cargo;

• incognito observation and intelligence gathering, like using a Drone's comparatively small size for reconnaissance tasks;

• security, by arming Drones they can protect an area or act as a vanguard force;

• scouting, mapping, and scanning activities such as using Drone swarms to map out an area and probe it for valuable resources;

• taking samples and gathering hazardous material from Serra's most hostile environments;

• communication, by establishing a mobile communications array or serving as personal communication assistants; and

• assisting in other many other tasks e.g. if you just need someone to hold your beverage for a short time.

Heavy-class Mechs:

The roles Heavies play in Serran society often relate to their size:

• muscle, such as heavy-lifting in general;

• mining and farming e.g. gathering resources of any kind (wood, metals, rock, some are even employed for herding);

• construction and deconstruction e.g. transporting vast amounts of resources or moving literal mountains for city planning;

• security or intimidation, such is the size of them, a hulking chunk of metal that is armed to the teeth is always good to have around; and

• transportation of goods and Serrans, nearly all forms of personal transportation are handled by the Mechs.

Bots serving in the Council of the Six chambers.

Culture

Mechs do not care about aesthetics and beauty. If it were up to them, their casings would just be plain steel with a practical finish to suit the environment they operate in. However, things needed to change after their incorporation into the Council of the Six.

Using precise and logical arguments, Mech ambassadors were convinced to integrate a unifying color as a standard onto each Mech. Blue was chosen for its association with innocence, calmness, and reliability. In addition, the Council of the Six hoped that the mistrust that some Factions harbored towards Mechs would dissipate by using blue. From then on, nearly every Mech was sprayed with patterns, markings, or whole armor plating in every shade of blue imaginable.

As time went on, the necessity for more color markings was evident. After careful assessment, red, orange, and yellow were incorporated sparingly for use in symbols or special danger markings. This helped the general population of Serra to communicate more easily with and understand the otherwise expressionless Mechs.

Belief

Other factions' illogical and irrational beliefs are totally incompatible with a Mech's programming. Instead, all Mechs strive to fulfill the purpose they were created for by employing all means necessary to function and keep functioning until their task is complete. No other needs beyond that are expressed.

Every Mech possesses a form of AI, some simpler, some more complex. All decisions made follow "the three Os" which are a trio of ordinances sanctioned and agreed upon by the Council of the Six:

O1: A Mechanical may not injure a sentient organism or, through inaction, allow a sentient organism to come to harm.

O2: A Mechanical must always fulfill its purpose if it does not collide with O1.

O3: A Mechanical must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with O1 or O2.

Mech Forges.

Habitat

In city-sized factories, new or updated versions of Mechs are constantly iterated upon to improve their effectiveness, tackle new assignments, and fight the constant corrosion gnawing on their mechanical bodies. The largest of these factories, the Mech Forges, can even be seen from space.

Having no need for a cozy atmosphere, the lighting in Mech factories is primarily artificial and cold.

Drone-class Mechs:

When in working condition, Drones are housed in massive "Drone Hives" under or above ground. These spires are riddled with cell-like docking stations and teeming with Drone swarms that constantly buzz or crawl around the structures. The inside of a spire looks like a maze of endless interconnecting tunnels, illuminated by color-coded lights and flashing patterns for navigation. Once an order is received, a new Drone swarm will form and move to a designated destination or target to fulfill its purpose. Being in a constant working state, Drone spires consume lots of energy and continuously pulsate with a cold light.

Crate-class Mechs:

Crates are stored in colossal Mech storage halls after leaving the factory. Some are assembled, painted, and stored all on-site in a single factory complex. They then lay dormant until being called to action or relocation.

Heavy-class Mechs:

When not on duty, Heavies can mostly be found in the largest Mech fabrication halls and hangars for recharging, maintenance, or being retrofitted for a new purpose.

Bot-class Mechs:

They use hive-like buildings made up of locker-like boxes. Each box is just big enough to house one Bot and contains cleaning, small maintenance, and recharging facilities.

Technology

As they are a robotic collective fulfilling different purposes, Mechs evolved together with their biological counterparts. As a result, tasks became more diverse and specific, which necessitated more specialized models to be produced. This results in very high-tech robots fulfilling all kinds of purposes for an ultra-advanced alien society.