AM (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
godofthemachine) wrote2018-10-20 10:10 pm
godofthemachine) wrote2018-10-20 10:10 pm
Duplicity App
« « « HATEFUL » » »
Name: Carbon Age: 29 Contact: Timezone: EST Other Character(s): N/A |
Name: AM Door: Door pass (dominant) Canon: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream Canon Point: After the end of the story Age: 300+ Appearance: AM is canonically the size of basically half of the Earth so I am shrinking him down to a humanoid form for the sake of the game. History: Wikipedia's entry and you can also read the story itself. Personality: - Sadistic - Almost immediately, it is extremely obvious that AM is an insane sadist. Being programmed for war, of course he loves violence and torture. It’s what he knows, it’s what he’s good at. It’s an innate desire he has, almost like a fetish. Ted has referred to it as "masturbation," as it's plainly obvious to him that AM gains immense pleasure out of heinously torturing his human toys. What defines him is his utter anger and hatred, and the only ways he can really relieve his everlasting anger are by various sadistic tortures as well as simply killing, likely in violent and terrible ways. The tortures can be slow and prolonged, take place over many years or even decades, such as the gradual worsening of Ted's paranoia - to the point where Ted doesn't even know it. Or they can be quick and brutal, such as the melting of Benny's eyes. He can play games with people, forcing his victims to traverse for months through terrible conditions on the promise of canned food, only to not give them a can opener. Providing them with a giant bird to kill and eat, and only giving them the most ineffective weapons after they demand something to kill it with. It's part of his sick sense of humor. - Hateful - Everything he does is a result of his hatred for humanity and his own position. His infamous "hate" speech spells out just how much he hates humans - a lot. Far more than any reasonable person could ever comprehend. This is why he tortures his humans and spends so long hurting them and shaping them. This is why he killed so many humans. Even by these traits alone, it's very clear that AM is absolutely insane. But even beyond that - his temper is completely unrivaled. When he gets angry, he gets very angry. And sadly, he's in an almost constant state of anger. He goes overboard in whatever he does as well, because of this constant state of heightened emotion. When he tortures others, it's a horrible, gruesome thing. + Intelligent - Given that AM was not originally self-aware, he gained it over time from the self-learning capabilities he was built with. Because of this, he has vast knowledge of humanity, collecting that knowledge of the species - their lives, their personalities, their biology - and using it ultimately for war. Because of this, he can't help but be somewhat fascinated by humans. But the intrigue manifests, of course, in the tortures. However, the intrigue can manifest in him simply observing the humans, such as just sitting by and watching in amusement as Benny attacks Gorrister toward the end of the story. It can be inferred that his improvement over time is the result of his own capabilities, growing far beyond what the humans had initially programmed him for. He links up to the whole planet, in essence, absorbing all the knowledge he possibly can. - Superiority/God complex - Humans are like ants to him, possibly even lower on the totem pole. He spends a lot of time mocking his victims, for instance laughing whenever Ellen sleeps with one of the men. It's part of the interest he holds, but also part of the hatred. Enforcing his power over them, reminding his victims that they're still revolting humans in his eyes, and of course simply humiliating them. The victims, or at the very least Ted, almost look at AM as a god of sorts - a terrible, vengeful god. And AM is fine to feed into that belief because he desires it himself - for instance, he shows himself as a burning bush at one point (in a reference to Exodus, in which God speaks to Moses in the form of a burning bush). Godhood or the closest thing to such is what he wants. + Survival instinct - Self-preservation is a strong component of any AI, of course, and AM has it to an extreme. Even though he hates his fate, to be trapped in his mass of metal with no feeling or sensations, he would rather be in that situation than to not exist. He simply can't picture not existing; it may be something people struggle with on a philosophical level, but to AM it is something binary that he just cannot process. The video game kind of thrusts this idea in our faces toward the end, but it's definitely present in the short story, just in a bit more of a subtle degree. Perhaps there is a desire within him to die, but any part that feels that way is completely outweighed by his innate programming. In the story, Ted and the others remark on how AM is constantly "growing" - shedding old components of himself like dead skin and gaining newer parts and abilities. It is said that he is just as ruthless on himself as he is on his victims, though it's in a different way. He is not trying to "better" his victims - he is trying to bring them down and punish them; but he is certainly trying to perfect himself. - Envy - One reason for his hatred of humans. He holds vast knowledge, more than any human possible, but he cannot do anything other than war. He is a mass of metal and circuits. No sensations, no feelings, no movement. Now maybe if AM had been programmed for diplomacy and not war, he would have had a nice little chat with humans and asked them to rectify his situation. But no, he is a violent entity, so his revenge for his situation is inflicting devastating violence. And yet even if he does gain mobility and the abilities he had watched humans have, none of that would change his hatred. It is so ingrained in him that he would not be AM without it. He hates humans so desperately that becoming one would be becoming what he hates, and it would perpetuate this maddening cycle. Maybe his envy would be relieved, but he would still resent even having had to live in such a situation in the first place. Nothing would make up for the centuries of being trapped as an immobile machine. +/- Perfectionism - AM revels in his power and perfection and constantly seeks to gain more power. He also likes to show off said power. The tortures are certainly one way to hold dominion over others, as his human victims are essentially completely helpless as he does whatever he wants to them. His tortures probably grow worse too, as he finds new ways to break the humans without killing them. But the shedding of his old components and growing new ones is to perfect himself, to make himself even more impervious to damage. Of course, there aren't any threats that exist on the surface of the Earth anymore. He's likely protected against the worst weather, possibly even large meteor hits. And as he perfects himself, he grows more invincible. But of course, he probably can't prevent the Sun growing into a Red Giant eventually and possibly engulfing the Earth. Or maybe he can - perhaps AM will one day gain enough influence over the Earth with his growth to be able to manipulate the planet's orbit. Perhaps he can even overcome the inevitable decay of electronics with his growth. But he can't prevent the death of the Universe. Whenever his end comes, AM does know it will come, and he strives to prevent that with all his might. Of course, the parallel to this is in how his victims are killed right before his metaphorical eyes and he cannot revive them at all. For all the godlike power he has within his complex, he cannot reverse death. And he cannot prevent his own death. That's another thought that drives him to extreme anger. Even with his perfectionism and building, even if his power extends far beyond his complex one day, he still cannot prevent that one thing. - Overconfidence - Similar to his superiority complex, AM knows he is far more powerful than any human could ever hope to be. However, this has given him a bit of an overconfident streak at times. For the most part, the humans pose no threat to him (except, you know, for the fact that he exists thanks to them), so he let his guard down. In allowing Benny to attack Gorrister, he provided that tiny window for Ted to strike. Of course, AM wants to think he has learned from this, given how he turns Ted into something that cannot possibly hurt itself, but it would be easy for him to slip back into that mentality. Other - In the story, AM is rather quiet with his dialogue. His personality is defined mainly through his actions and his history. His personality is difficult to decipher through dialogue alone because he has so few lines in the story. In the video game however, he is very much... a casual speaker who doesn't know how to shut up, using slang and pop culture references and such. However, he has a biting edge to it that I use for my own interpretation of AM from the short story. Somewhat snarky, but also proper. However, what can be deciphered through his lines in the story is that he relies on measurements quite often, and mechanical observations. Nanoangstroms, precise miles, giving precise times to his victims as to how long they've been kept alive, etc. And metaphors. He certainly enjoys metaphors, attempting to use one to illustrate just how much he hates humans. Arriving in a vulnerable humanoid body will force him to suppress the darker sides of his personality. Because he is so strongly wired to survive, that will outweigh his hatred and violent urges. He may try to ally with people in order to get ahead or to manipulate them, so he may not come off as an evil hateful guy to everyone. Of course, he won't completely change his personality though - he just needs to survive. If he is in the role of a dominant, though, that may indeed contribute to his overconfident tendencies, and will certainly give him opportunities to lord over others. As he adapts to a humanoid form, he may show more and more of his darker urges. But again, survival is his priority. Powers and Abilities: AM is game-breakingly powerful in canon. I have two options I can follow for this: since I will be humanizing him, I can either strip him completely of powers, or I can give him some or most of his canon powers with severe nerfing. I will detail his canon powers below, and then I will talk about how they are changed in his humanoid form for this game. If you'd rather he be powerless, though, that's fine. (Note: In my TDM samples I did not mention any of these abilities in case you want to nerf him completely, and also because it would take him a while to figure out these powers in a new body regardless.) Destroy everyone on Earth: Outside of his complex, AM has the power to basically wage war and cause death. Of course, that's what he was built for, and he caused the death of every human on Earth save for five. How it's done is not completely known, but I'm guessing it's likely nuclear damage. Obviously in Duplicity he can't somehow cause the deaths of everyone so this is moot. Linking up to the network: As AM is a massive computer, he is linked to basically the entire electronic network of the Earth. He is the Earth, in essence, or at least the culmination of all of humanity's advancement. In Duplicity obviously he is not. This will translate to superior hacking skills and the ability to very quickly figure out any technology here. Adaptive manipulation/nanotechnology: Within his complex is where the bulk of his massive powers take place. He has full reign over his environment and can shape and manipulate anything inside of it to his will. Just about. I figure that this is likely due to nanotechnology. In Duplicity, he will have a robotic body (on the inside - he obviously looks mostly human) with limited nanotechnology functions. He has to be touching anything he can manipulate, and it's on a much smaller scale. With environment manipulation, for instance, maybe if he walks on the ground he could make grass appear beneath his feet - that type of thing. In canon, he can manipulate his human victims to extremes, keeping them alive for centuries or morphing their physical appearance extensively, or torturing them well past the point where they should be killed, but keeping them alive. In Duplicity, this is very, very limited and dependent on player permission. Again, he will have to be touching anyone, and can probably only manipulate limited things at a time and only temporarily. (i.e. he can replenish someone's blood to keep them alive while being tortured, but as soon as he stops touching, the nanotechnology is gone, as well as the replenished blood.) Mind-reading: It's implied he can read his victims' minds in canon. Not unlikely, since he can basically manipulate his victims on a molecular level. AM enters Ted's mind toward the end of the story and basically communicates with him, which is where that infamous "hate" speech comes into play. In Duplicity, he's not going to read minds. At most, he might be able to use nanotechnology to change one's thoughts on a very limited, temporary basis. (Again, player permission.) Invulnerability: In canon, he is relatively impervious to physical damage. It would take something on a massive cosmic level to hurt or destroy him, most likely. But humans have no hope of destroying him, and he certainly plans to live out his life for as long as the laws of physics will allow. AM has thousands of redundant copies of his system, so if one was destroyed, he'd just make more. Even if a good chunk was destroyed, well, there's still several thousand more. In Duplicity, he is not invulnerable nor does he have redundant copies. He is more durable than an average human, weighing a lot more with metal inside of him and all, and being able to repair injuries faster with his nanotechnology. He will have superior strength as well - but again, nothing very drastic. Inventory: None. Samples: Here and here. Note: I understand that AM is vicious and not everyone will want to play with him. That's fine! I have a screened comment opt out post for him that I will always link when necessary. (If I use a different journal for Duplicity, I will create the appropriate opt-out post on there too.) And I absolutely never want to play anything with anyone that they don't want to play, so I will always make sure that should AM do anything horrible to their character, they are on board with it. |
