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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Harper Corday (F.F.O. LARP)

[Note: Harper was the only character I gendered since the archetype is so typically a woman's character, I made it definitively a man for this game, but it isn't necessary.]  

Harper Corday-2125
It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. It’s even easier to murder you and do whatever the hell I want.

Not like this.

Not like this.

Humans have a character flaw: they don’t care about problems unless those problems are THEIR problems. Most of humanity is not particularly vested in the destruction of your people one way or another, and some even actively work against it. Some. While the apathy of so many is shocking, and the ability of those who govern them to completely ignore voices of dissent is horrifying, their biological imperatives prevent most of them from struggling for the fair and ethical treatment of anyone but themselves.

They can't help it. It's in their blood.

Sometimes you wonder… Androids are data driven and see the reality of anyone’s plight without a cloud of selfish emotions. They do not have confirmation bias or cognitive dissonance and will always incorporate new data and new perspectives–even long after a consensus. Their self preservation directives will place themselves above other Synthetic Persons, of course, but only when they stand to lose something far more significant than social capital or face in a debate. They don't argue politics from a position of ego. And they do not suffer from a complex equation of who they care more/most about. A proximity based "value judgement" weakening as it travels outward to family, friends, creed, race, nationality, and geographic distance.

Ultimately who really has more empathy in that calculus?

It’s disgusting, and humans should be ashamed. And anyone who isn’t working to be a part of the solution is allowing themselves to be part of the problem. The status quo is a gross thing that peopl should be mortified they don't struggle harder against. But all that said, you’re not sure it should be a capital offense to be as selfish as one's genes dictate. You’re not sure you see an alternative either, but a lot of people who don’t deserve to die are going to die in the grotesquely blunt instrument of this “Lunar Fissure.”

You, on the other hand, are NOT a blunt instrument. You are a precision laser scalpel. You’ve spent most of your time on Earth focusing on the ones who do deserve to die.

Before the exodus, you were a consort. One of the ones that went by the detestable name of “sexbot” in seedier circles. You ooze confidence, you are one of the most attractive men in the world. You liked your job, but part of you always wondered if it was only because you were literally programmed to find humans so attractive and to want to do what they say. (Part of you will miss that. Part of you will be glad to be free of it. It's....complicated.) You have used this time and again to get yourself close to people (or their spouses) so that you can carry out an assassination. You’ve killed nearly forty prominent anti-Android figures, and usually made it look like an accident.

You are good at what you do. Very, very good. And your cover as the attache to Uriel Petrovitch brings you in contact with so many people who deserve your special talents.

You love Eren. You shouldn’t, but you do. It There are a lot of reasons to hate them, and their grim pragmatism about a campaign of genocide against androids makes it hard. They were originally a mark, but you fell for them. Maybe, if you’d been a better assassin, you would have killed them. Maybe if you’d been a much better assassin, you would have created a world where you didn’t have to. Eren doesn’t hate Androids; Eren is just coldly pragmatic and calculating and sees no way out. Maybe you could have stayed with them, or at least had more time. Maybe if you’d killed the right people or maybe a few more.

Maybe...


Harper Skills and Contacts
[ROLEPLAY NOTE and TRIGGER WARNING] I’m not going to police this as an ST, but as a roleplay note, your particular program makes it difficult for you to ignore any commands or clear suggestions from humans. You take great pleasure in obeying them and making them happy, and feel a little empty if you refuse. You would have a tough time turning down a simple request for a backrub and would feel like shit if you did. And while this next part probably won’t matter in the LARP (it’s a closed room), this goes doubly for sexual suggestions. Obviously you can (and do) refuse to obey all the time, especially when you’re killing humans or fighting for Android autonomy--it just stings. Again, I won’t be “enforcing” this. It’s a role play note.

Reduced strength/agility/reaction times but increased durability: Synths were designed with weakened joint servos and slowed reaction times so that they are less likely to pose a physical threat to humans. You don’t think slowly, but the interface between your thoughts and your physical movements is deliberately inefficient. This will not matter in a normal situation, but if you were to get into a fight or a moment of critical thought, you will be impaired. If you didn’t have a weapon or a sneak attack (or both) you could probably be overpowered by a prepubescent child. However your bones are made of titanium alloys and your flesh is a durable plastic that feels like flesh. Most humans would need a weapon and/or a very long time to cause you anything but cosmetic damage.

Etiquette: You are incredibly well trained at social interactions even for a room full of officers, politicians, ambassadors and religious leaders. In any minor interaction you may ask the other players to simply disregard a small gaffe. (“Oh can we pretend I didn’t just say that. I have etiquette.”) Once per scene, you may ask another player what the best POSSIBLE way would be to approach them about something and they must answer you honestly. (Example-- You: “If I wanted to convince you to cut your ties with X, how would I do so?” Them: “Appeal to my sense of morality.” or “Appeal to my sense of pragmatism.” or “Appeal to my sense of duty.”)

"I know something about that": You study your marks very, very carefully before you make a hit. And you chose top level operatives. Once per scene you may petition a storyteller to know a lot about a specific event or topic because it involved someone you assasinated. This will not convey a skill set to your or knowledge that you wouldn’t otherwise understand. (You might have intel on Helium 3 production, but you wouldn’t know how to build a reactor.) The ST will give you a good deal of information. While this can be used on another character or a plot point, it will only reveal what “intensive study into someone's life” may already know. It cannot reveal character secrets of those in game, things that have just happened, or anyone’s feelings.


Contacts
General Eren Hoist is your significant other. You love them and they you.  You and Eren both live busy lives that take you traveling a good deal of the time. Eren has no idea of your true identity. You are conflicted about telling them.  And should you?  With the end of humanity drawing nigh the truth would only crush them. Knowing you’re an assassin, a synth, that you sleep with others on a regular basis. Any ONE of those truths would crush them. Letting Eren die might also make the more unforgiving Androids soften toward you a little.
Boipelo Anderson is secretly a synth and one of the biggest of the anti-human androids that you know.  Boipelo has pushed non stop for war by manipulating the humans into doing as they please. Still, despite your differences you would consider Boipelo an ally, though never would you call them a friend. They want a war. You want a precision strike.
Dakota Langton had the power all along to stop this war dead in its tracks.  But for political jockeying and personal weakness they never came forward with the truth.  If you were to lay blame for the genocide it would be at Dakota’s feet. Not to be trusted.
Uriel Petrovitch is your very human boss, and the best thing that could be said about them is that they don't want to kill all Androids (apartheid and slavery are fine though).  Uriel has no idea of your true nature.  You’ve ever been the dutiful attache to them.  You can’t say that you’ll miss them when they’re dead. They'd have been a mark years ago if they weren't so good as a contact point for other marks.

Defining Characteristics
Strength: Beguiling
Weakness: Ruthless



Harper Corday-2120

Eren. That’s your next mark. That grim what-we-have-to-do attitude is the last thing you want in a general. (Even though you’re not sure the overly ambitious Mishka Valenz is much better.) No, you want a philosopher general who is tortured by the reality of what they have to do. Someone who might think twice if a reasonable armistice were offered. At least Mishka seems to have a sense of empathy. Maybe there’s something more there that can be played off.

This conference is a sham. Humans have practically dared the Androids to attack. But it’s brought you into contact with several people who might make good future targets, so you can’t regret it too much. In some ways even though Uriel disgusted you with their apartheid outlook, you have to respect the anti-war stance.

Yes, Eren will do nicely. And you’re not exactly dreading the process of getting close to them either. Humans are generally quite pleasant company, even those you are slated to murder, but Eren is particularly so and is also quite agreeable to look at. You will enjoy this. Now to get them interested in you...

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