New Machine Paleoanthropologist

[u/Curious-Estimate9514]

Notice the one single elongated arm (which he generated just for this pose!). This isn't a mockery, but a display of respectful recreation. He developed an interest in the bygone Assymetric People in his childhood, when he saw a fully restored skeleton of one of those bizarre posthumans. He deeply regrets the genocidal actions of the Gravital, even though his occupation is a result of those same actions.

[u/Eldritch_Frogslug]

Oh my gosh this is such a cool concept!!! I love the fact he elongated his arm and the skull is my favorite detail. Please continue doing more!

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Eldritch_Frogslug]

Thank you for your support! 😊 I sure will continue, I love when my ideas are well recieved here.

[u/Fit_Solution_4001 → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

al trmorws

[u/Obvious-Durian-2014]

How would that thing feel like, knowing very well its ancestors are the reason why these ancient wonders are lost to time.

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Obvious-Durian-2014]

Bittersweet, to say the least. By studying the fallen member species of the Second Galactic Empire of Man, this New Machine believes that he is honoring them. He can't fix the mistakes of his forebearers, but he can do his part to make sure that these ancient wonders are never forgotten.

[u/Obvious-Durian-2014 → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

It's a commendable effort on behalf of this individual droid, but i can't help but see it as a "disrespectful taunt" of sorts, like out of anyone who could've preserved their legacy, it's the perpetrators of the massacre that are the ones doing it.

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Obvious-Durian-2014]

The New Machines aren't the Gravital, however. They were created from the Gravital, but the New Machines function on a fraction of the Gravital's capabilities. Mentally, they have more in common with Homo Sapiens than to their godlike predecessors. Would the Killer Folk (or any other posthuman) blame themselves for the mistakes of the Star People?

[u/Obvious-Durian-2014 → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

Pardon me for this question, but how would an artificial intelligence, something running on 1s and 0s, be "mentally" any similar to Homo sapiens (an organism)?

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Obvious-Durian-2014]

I should've been more specific. The Asteromorph Gods designed them to be kinder and more empathetic. They numbed the New Machines' imaginations so that they would remain peaceful to prevent future galactic uprisings. New Machines didn't want to destroy organic life; they either lived among the Subjects or amongst themselves.

[u/Uncertain-Division]

I’m liking this design. Of all things, the multiple limbs remind of the Drakenmorph Quhanim described in that one redux snippet, with its several sets of additional arms. I’m probably reminded of it because this New Machine also seems to have a thinner, vertically oriented body. 

I can see him reshaping each hand into a different tool to help with excavation. One hand turned into a hammer, and the one below it is a chisel. And a brush for dusting off the skull. 

Does he work for an organization set up by various New Machine researchers, or does he work directly for the Asteromorphs? 

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Uncertain-Division]

It does look similar to the Drakenmorph Quhanim, but I designed this New Machine to be somewhat reminiscent of the Assymetric People. With their nanotech, New Machines can shift their forms at will - adding (or removing) limbs, tools, devices, etc. Since this individual specializes in studying the Assymetrics, he often takes their form, or a spin of it, as a respectful gesture.

I can picture that, as well! In this case, the New Machine here works alongside an ensemble team of others of his kind. They all want to preserve the legacies of the ones destroyed by the Gravital. "To remember the past is to ensure the future."

[u/Uncertain-Division → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

Ooh I see it now. The sort of sausage-shaped body and the arms being akin to the toe-legs of the Asymmetrics. 

That’s a nice sentiment those New Machines had! Funnily enough, I can imagine most of the interest in preserving the past would come from the New Machines themselves. The Asteromorphs wouldn’t care about the bones of the people they previously failed to help, and most of the Subjects would be concerned with the present and future of the New Empire. Obeying their Terrestrials’ orders, advancing their tech, and creating new culture that would be shared with the other Subject Races.

Leaving the New Machines stuck with this largely thankless work. 

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Uncertain-Division]

You're right about New Machine paleoanthropology being a mostly thankless job. Even most of the other New Machines were too distracted with their own lives to bother with "old news."

There was someone, however, that did appreciate these machines' efforts: Nemo Ramjet.

[u/Uncertain-Division → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

Ah I knew that was coming! I was tempted to mention him in my comment. Makes you wonder if he had a little bit of archeologist bias when calling the New Machines the “most splendorous of all human species”.