Application
Aug. 13th, 2018 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
biocomposerUser Name/Nick:Naomi
User DW: N/A
E-mail: [email protected]
Other Characters: Eggsy Unwin, Captain Phasma, Credence Barebone
Character Name: Elijah Kamski
Series: Detroit: Become Human
Age: 36
From When?: This is a bit tricky since at no point in his canon is Elijah in any physical danger. This'll have to be a pretty undramatic one - slipping and drowning in his pool, immediately post-game, for the sake of argument.
Inmate: Besides being, just, the biggest douchebag, Elijah deliberately released a massively disruptive element into the world, dismissed its effects on the fabric of society and came close to facilitating a violent revolution and/or genocide. As it panned out, he's still complicit in several deaths and a lot of suffering among both humans and sentient androids.
Arrival: Elijah (grudgingly) agreed to come to the Barge of his own free will.
Abilities/Powers: Elijah is 100% human, but a ridiculous polymath. He has a 171 IQ, graduated college at 16, and (it seems pretty much singlehandedly) created the first android to pass the Turing Test.
Personality:
At surface level (and, indeed, several levels below that), Elijah Kamski presents as the typical 'techbro douchebag' archetype. He's in love with the sound of his own voice, he's pretentious and condescending, and voluntarily sports the dreaded undercut-manbun combo. He's also utterly wed to the belief that what he's done - that is, the creation of human-like androids and their introduction into the mass market - is a net benefit to humanity despite evidence to the contrary. When it's pointed out to him that employment has reached 28%, thanks to the displacement of humans from both manual and professional roles, he brushes it off. He seems to honestly believe that what he did will prove no more injurious to human society than the advent of steam power or electricity. To him, progress is inevitable and unstoppable.
It's little surprise that he thinks this way. Developing the first android to pass a face-to-face Turing test, and founding CyberLife, has defined his entire life: he graduated and founded the company at the age of 16. A genius-level intellect who's unmatched in his field has left him isolated from other humans, something he's made no attempt to prevent. Even as the CEO of CyberLife, he was described as reclusive; after being forced out, he went into total isolation, living exclusively in the company of his androids. When visited by the android Connor and his human partner, Lieutenant Anderson, he pays almost no attention to the latter. The intricacies of human relationships seem to pretty much escape him. When confronted with the fact that many people are choosing to cohabit with androids rather than other humans (which leads to a fall in birth rates and degrading social skills among humans), all he can say is that any rational person would prefer the happiness provided by an android who can't say no.
That being said, he is fascinated by 'deviants' - the androids who acquire sentience and emotion, and frequently lash out at humans in self-defence, anger, or simply the need to be free. Elijah believes that even 'normal' androids are objectively better than humans: stronger, faster, smarter, and functionally immortal. While publicly assuring that androids are (and cannot be) more than obedient machines, in his private view, free will seems to complete their perfection. While he offered reassurances that there would never be a reckoning between humans and androids, he also said that androids could be humans' leaders someday - impossible, while maintaining unconditional obedience.
While it may be a step too far to say he caused the rise of deviants and the eventual revolution, he certainly facilitated it. Markus, later the leader of that revolution, was developed as part of a short-lived private experiment to create conscious androids. He was created with the ability to copy his behaviours - his deviance - into other androids, and 'wake' them. (The timeline of this is uncertain but this experiment may have resulted in Kamski being forced to resign his position at CyberLife.) Instead of keeping or destroying the potentially dangerous prototype, he gave him to a friend as a gift - and not just any friend, but an artist, who eventually encouraged Markus to take up creative activities. On the balance of probability, he did this knowing that such an 'upbringing' would encourage Markus to realise his sentience. Likewise, after identifying Connor as a deviant, he nonetheless tells him about a back door he coded into his programming. This later let him escape CyberLife's attempt to force him to carry out an assassination, allowing the revolution to succeed.
However, even in the game's worst possible ending - all the player characters are killed or replaced, and the uprising is violently quashed - Kamski doesn't consider himself to have failed. He is reinstated as CyberLife's CEO, dismisses the uprising as a blip, and promises to introduce a new generation of perfectly obedient androids. Whether this is true or is simply his second shot at fomenting rebellion is beside the point: he simply can't be wrong. Surprise: the dude who keeps a giant portrait of himself in a house nobody visits is a bit of a narcissist. He was responsible for creating, essentially, a new species of intelligent life which then rebelled against its creators: every android and human death in the game (of which there are many, even in a 'perfect' playthrough) is partly on him. Does he care? Nah.
It's unsurprising that he lacks empathy, even towards his most treasured androids. One of the three-plus identical androids living with him is Chloe, the first android to ever pass for human. When questioned by Connor, he subjects him to the 'Kamski Test', asking that he shoot Chloe at point blank in exchange for information (that he has no reason to withhold). When Connor refuses, proving his empathy for a machine - proving he is himself a deviant - Kamski is fascinated by him, but makes him leave without the information he came for regardless. (By contrast, if Connor does shoot, Kamski grows disinterested in Connor and is seemingly unconcerned by the destruction of Chloe.) Of course, it's not as if he gives half a damn about humans either: in founding CyberLife, he basically dumps a massively disruptive element into human society and then just steps back to watch the chaos.
Barge Reactions: Since Kamski comes from a five-minutes-into-the-future version of the 'real' world, the more fantastical elements of the Barge (magic, giant spiders, Bill) will be slightly daunting, however he'll be quick to read up and understand 'Barge culture' so as not to seem ignorant or vulnerable. Likewise, the first floods and breaches will shake him, but he'll force himself to adjust by choosing to instead interpret them as learning experiences which will help him to think differently. Over time, his inability to continue his work in any practical sense will become a source of frustration and might contribute to some unwise choices.
Path to Redemption: Narcissism is a pretty hard trait to shake, and empathy is a very hard one to learn. Kamski has made a life of isolating himself from the consequences of his actions so he can shrug off their impact. A warden will first - and quickly - need to tempt him out of self-isolation on the Barge, which can be a fairly straightforward transaction. Want access to lab equipment? Get a job that forces you to socialise. Everything he does which impacts others, both positive and negative, will need to be responded to proportionately. He's not stupid and will notice that he's being trained like an annoying hipster puppy, but consistency is key. Attentiveness is also essential. This is a guy who hates people but craves attention, so he made a bunch of hot androids to provide his narcissistic supply. Floods and breaches will also help in that he will, eventually, be forced to see his own actions through the eyes of the people they harmed.
History: Link, with a note: Detroit is a branching game with several endings, based on the decisions of the three playable characters. While I've used some alternate branches to illustrate aspects of Kamski's personality, I plan on playing him according to the story of the 'Perfect' moral/pacifist playthrough, which ends with androids being granted legal personhood. The only real differences for Kamski are that he doesn't lose Chloe, tells Connor nothing (except to drop a anvil-like hint as to how he might escape the shackles of his creators), and presumably doesn't return to CyberLife as CEO.
Sample Journal Entry:
[A voice post, almost immediately after a breach.]
Breaches are - fascinating, aren't they? Our reality, completely swallowed by another. Our bodies and minds entirely turned over to another life, another set of memories, another purpose.
What evidence do we have that anything we experience here - our physical bodies, the sensations we feel - is real? I accept the reality of everyone else here, of course, but how can any of us prove that the Barge itself is anything more than a simulation? The floods and breaches a - temporary reprogramming, a test of our integrity.
Maybe ultimately it doesn't matter, when the outcome is the same regardless.
Sample RP: Test Drive link!
Special Notes: press x to end racism
User DW: N/A
E-mail: [email protected]
Other Characters: Eggsy Unwin, Captain Phasma, Credence Barebone
Character Name: Elijah Kamski
Series: Detroit: Become Human
Age: 36
From When?: This is a bit tricky since at no point in his canon is Elijah in any physical danger. This'll have to be a pretty undramatic one - slipping and drowning in his pool, immediately post-game, for the sake of argument.
Inmate: Besides being, just, the biggest douchebag, Elijah deliberately released a massively disruptive element into the world, dismissed its effects on the fabric of society and came close to facilitating a violent revolution and/or genocide. As it panned out, he's still complicit in several deaths and a lot of suffering among both humans and sentient androids.
Arrival: Elijah (grudgingly) agreed to come to the Barge of his own free will.
Abilities/Powers: Elijah is 100% human, but a ridiculous polymath. He has a 171 IQ, graduated college at 16, and (it seems pretty much singlehandedly) created the first android to pass the Turing Test.
Personality:
At surface level (and, indeed, several levels below that), Elijah Kamski presents as the typical 'techbro douchebag' archetype. He's in love with the sound of his own voice, he's pretentious and condescending, and voluntarily sports the dreaded undercut-manbun combo. He's also utterly wed to the belief that what he's done - that is, the creation of human-like androids and their introduction into the mass market - is a net benefit to humanity despite evidence to the contrary. When it's pointed out to him that employment has reached 28%, thanks to the displacement of humans from both manual and professional roles, he brushes it off. He seems to honestly believe that what he did will prove no more injurious to human society than the advent of steam power or electricity. To him, progress is inevitable and unstoppable.
It's little surprise that he thinks this way. Developing the first android to pass a face-to-face Turing test, and founding CyberLife, has defined his entire life: he graduated and founded the company at the age of 16. A genius-level intellect who's unmatched in his field has left him isolated from other humans, something he's made no attempt to prevent. Even as the CEO of CyberLife, he was described as reclusive; after being forced out, he went into total isolation, living exclusively in the company of his androids. When visited by the android Connor and his human partner, Lieutenant Anderson, he pays almost no attention to the latter. The intricacies of human relationships seem to pretty much escape him. When confronted with the fact that many people are choosing to cohabit with androids rather than other humans (which leads to a fall in birth rates and degrading social skills among humans), all he can say is that any rational person would prefer the happiness provided by an android who can't say no.
That being said, he is fascinated by 'deviants' - the androids who acquire sentience and emotion, and frequently lash out at humans in self-defence, anger, or simply the need to be free. Elijah believes that even 'normal' androids are objectively better than humans: stronger, faster, smarter, and functionally immortal. While publicly assuring that androids are (and cannot be) more than obedient machines, in his private view, free will seems to complete their perfection. While he offered reassurances that there would never be a reckoning between humans and androids, he also said that androids could be humans' leaders someday - impossible, while maintaining unconditional obedience.
While it may be a step too far to say he caused the rise of deviants and the eventual revolution, he certainly facilitated it. Markus, later the leader of that revolution, was developed as part of a short-lived private experiment to create conscious androids. He was created with the ability to copy his behaviours - his deviance - into other androids, and 'wake' them. (The timeline of this is uncertain but this experiment may have resulted in Kamski being forced to resign his position at CyberLife.) Instead of keeping or destroying the potentially dangerous prototype, he gave him to a friend as a gift - and not just any friend, but an artist, who eventually encouraged Markus to take up creative activities. On the balance of probability, he did this knowing that such an 'upbringing' would encourage Markus to realise his sentience. Likewise, after identifying Connor as a deviant, he nonetheless tells him about a back door he coded into his programming. This later let him escape CyberLife's attempt to force him to carry out an assassination, allowing the revolution to succeed.
However, even in the game's worst possible ending - all the player characters are killed or replaced, and the uprising is violently quashed - Kamski doesn't consider himself to have failed. He is reinstated as CyberLife's CEO, dismisses the uprising as a blip, and promises to introduce a new generation of perfectly obedient androids. Whether this is true or is simply his second shot at fomenting rebellion is beside the point: he simply can't be wrong. Surprise: the dude who keeps a giant portrait of himself in a house nobody visits is a bit of a narcissist. He was responsible for creating, essentially, a new species of intelligent life which then rebelled against its creators: every android and human death in the game (of which there are many, even in a 'perfect' playthrough) is partly on him. Does he care? Nah.
It's unsurprising that he lacks empathy, even towards his most treasured androids. One of the three-plus identical androids living with him is Chloe, the first android to ever pass for human. When questioned by Connor, he subjects him to the 'Kamski Test', asking that he shoot Chloe at point blank in exchange for information (that he has no reason to withhold). When Connor refuses, proving his empathy for a machine - proving he is himself a deviant - Kamski is fascinated by him, but makes him leave without the information he came for regardless. (By contrast, if Connor does shoot, Kamski grows disinterested in Connor and is seemingly unconcerned by the destruction of Chloe.) Of course, it's not as if he gives half a damn about humans either: in founding CyberLife, he basically dumps a massively disruptive element into human society and then just steps back to watch the chaos.
Barge Reactions: Since Kamski comes from a five-minutes-into-the-future version of the 'real' world, the more fantastical elements of the Barge (magic, giant spiders, Bill) will be slightly daunting, however he'll be quick to read up and understand 'Barge culture' so as not to seem ignorant or vulnerable. Likewise, the first floods and breaches will shake him, but he'll force himself to adjust by choosing to instead interpret them as learning experiences which will help him to think differently. Over time, his inability to continue his work in any practical sense will become a source of frustration and might contribute to some unwise choices.
Path to Redemption: Narcissism is a pretty hard trait to shake, and empathy is a very hard one to learn. Kamski has made a life of isolating himself from the consequences of his actions so he can shrug off their impact. A warden will first - and quickly - need to tempt him out of self-isolation on the Barge, which can be a fairly straightforward transaction. Want access to lab equipment? Get a job that forces you to socialise. Everything he does which impacts others, both positive and negative, will need to be responded to proportionately. He's not stupid and will notice that he's being trained like an annoying hipster puppy, but consistency is key. Attentiveness is also essential. This is a guy who hates people but craves attention, so he made a bunch of hot androids to provide his narcissistic supply. Floods and breaches will also help in that he will, eventually, be forced to see his own actions through the eyes of the people they harmed.
History: Link, with a note: Detroit is a branching game with several endings, based on the decisions of the three playable characters. While I've used some alternate branches to illustrate aspects of Kamski's personality, I plan on playing him according to the story of the 'Perfect' moral/pacifist playthrough, which ends with androids being granted legal personhood. The only real differences for Kamski are that he doesn't lose Chloe, tells Connor nothing (except to drop a anvil-like hint as to how he might escape the shackles of his creators), and presumably doesn't return to CyberLife as CEO.
Sample Journal Entry:
[A voice post, almost immediately after a breach.]
Breaches are - fascinating, aren't they? Our reality, completely swallowed by another. Our bodies and minds entirely turned over to another life, another set of memories, another purpose.
What evidence do we have that anything we experience here - our physical bodies, the sensations we feel - is real? I accept the reality of everyone else here, of course, but how can any of us prove that the Barge itself is anything more than a simulation? The floods and breaches a - temporary reprogramming, a test of our integrity.
Maybe ultimately it doesn't matter, when the outcome is the same regardless.
Sample RP: Test Drive link!
Special Notes: press x to end racism
