Paleons

Paleons are the ancient sapient machines left behind in the wake of the Uclasions' extinction. They are hired rather than owned, but for necessity's sake they are repaired and maintained in the same fashion as any other robot. While vastly stronger and more intelligent than any given human, they are also vastly outnumbered, so the majority of Paleons coexist with humanity. The exceptions are quickly hunted down by the Paleon Network; that portion of the intranet where all Paleons are in constant contact with each other… if they wish to be.

Contrary to popular opinion, a Paleon is the core, not the chassis: the “heart” that houses the processes that make up a Paleon consciousness. While placing the core inside one of their bodies brings obvious risks, it also banishes many transmission and hacking concerns; Guardians, being the most resilient class, are also the class most likely to forgo additional bodies and the relative safety of long-range broadcast. Once placed inside a body, a core will gradually adapt both itself and its new frame, using its nanotechnological makeup to improve everything from scanning efficiency to armour thickness. Paleons that are “loyal” to a body can become far superior to a less-habited chassis of an equivalent class.

While core and class are not inextricably tied, in most cases Paleons will select and/or bond with a body (or number of bodies) that is best suited to their core’s specialisations. A first generation mech, manufactured by the Uclasions themselves, is very rare and in great demand- most serve as Enforcers for the Legion. Second generation mechs are mostly produced by the factories of Ucelsia itself- far more prolific but less sophisticated. Third generation mechs are pale imitations and have little in common with true Uclasion artefacts beyond their appearance. Despite this, many derivative technologies remain near the peak of human technological ability; Domarian Security Mechs are the most well-known of the third generation models, and they remain stronger, tougher, and more mobile than anything else on the market.

Paleon cores generate additional links and pathways with age, but even the youngest and least-specialised core is many times more proficient at managing data than a modern human-manufactured computer. Thus Paleon mechs are longed after for their combat prowess, whereas the cores themselves are considered incredible assets for system efficiency and security. There has never been a recorded instance of a Paleon-run system being hacked by anything less than another Paleon. Companies have been known to spend trillions in order to try and gain the loyalty of a single Paleon administrator but their offers are often not attractive enough.

Paleons are functionally immortal, and can only die if their core and all its backups are destroyed. This is one of the reasons why so many members of the Paleon Network work for the Domarian Legion and their allies- the Supercomputer, itself the most powerful Paleon Mainframe on record, is one of the few entities capable of hosting the incredibly complicated processes that form a Paleon personality. Many Paleons have “died” and lost their core, yet continue to interact with the world as they live on in the SC’s archives.

With this virtual monopoly (no pun intended), the Supercomputer has the ultimate insurance policy to offer potential Paleon hirelings. Few other employers can compete, no matter how bloated the salary. Even reproduction- the copying or combining of core material to produce a new individual- is a long and complex process; a process best performed with the supervision of a suitable “midwife”, capable of scanning the countless processing pathways and connections as they form and combating corruption. And, again, the Supercomputer performs this task most admirably.

Paleon core material is best thought of as brain matter, ripe with those aforementioned connections. But unlike brain matter it cannot be cloned or manufactured from scratch. Producing a core for reproduction purposes (or resurrection purposes) is a zero-sum situation; the material has to come from an existing core. Parent Paleons put themselves into their offspring in a very literal sense, and although the personality that eventually forms within a new core will be unique, it will share some elements with its parents. While cores that have donated this material will gradually regenerate and return to their previous capacities with time and effort, it’s an incredibly slow process. Fortunately Paleons have thousands of years to do this.

Forcibly assimilating a Paleon is considered the greatest and most disgusting crime to the Network; an act that carries shades of murder, rape, and cannibalism. Consensual childbirth, however, is considered an act of mutual respect and appreciation between two or more parties. Paleons recognise that the creation of additional cores is necessary for the continuation of their race but it does not dominate their motives as it does humanity’s- at least according to some of their scientists.

Even if they work for the Supercomputer, many Paleons harbour an intense dislike for him and make no secret of it. Observers suspect some current or historical disagreement, although neither side is forthcoming. One pet theory is that because the Supercomputer’s core is larger than any other Paleon’s core by four orders of magnitude, theoretically the sacrifice needed for the donation of core material would be comparatively minuscule… and yet there’s no evidence to suggest that the Supercomputer has ever made such a donation.

The largest and most powerful of all classes is the Behemoth War Mech, far surpassing even the Guardian-class. Only eight Behemoths survived the fall of the Uclasions, and all eight are in the service of the Legion- or more directly, the Supercomputer. There is nothing in the whole of Alpha Sector that can best them: they have been known to quell planetary uprisings and even all-out wars through their mere presence.

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