Goldenrod Autonics

Goldenrod Autonics

Goldenrod Autonics is a boutique auton supplier, manufacturing top of the line autons. These machines typically have the highest level cortices available and are both competent and capable. Unlike other auton series, there are not polyforge schematics for their machines. There is only one place that makes the machines, an industrial arcology in London, and from there they are sold and shipped. As such, these machines are considered a luxury item, as well as a display of wealth.

Appearance:

The typical Goldenrod auton does not have a life simulacra outer layer, instead the machines have stylized appearances. This is a matter of sophistication through simplicity. The autons typically have fixed non-moving faces, optics that do not emulate eyes in blinking or moving, and sometimes nothing more than a tiny speaker hole for a mouth. The current trend in Goldenrods is a retro-chic with the gold case of the machine having gold covered exposed elements, such as access ports, service panels, and system blinkers.

Demeanor:

The basic Goldenrod auton has a class 4 cortex, allowing it to simulate the appearance of sentience very well. The autons can be allowed to develop a personality over a period of time, can be installed with a pre-existing cathex program, a celebrity/persona cathex, or even an egomorph of the user's choosing. Upgrading a Goldenrod to a class 5 cortex can allow the autons to act with the nuance and inflection as a normal human being, often to the point that the auton can pass basic Turing Sentience tests, fool others into believing it is being used as a surrogate for a remote pilot (which it can be used for, with a minor modification).

As a custom made auton, Goldenrod machines can have outside the normally allowed behaviors for artificial intelligences. As the units are too expensive for widescale military use, the machines are given a pass to be programmed for combat, typically in bodyguard and self defense roles. Given the sophistication of their cortices, they are excellent with firearms and while typically disliking close quarters fighting, most are capable of using basic fighting techniques.

Author's Note: Gold robots do have a degree of prevalence in sci-fi, with the most obvious being C-3PO and the Spaceballs Dot Matrix. These are not the only golden robots, The Host are gold robot angels from Dr Who. It is simply a matter of time and status that in a sci-fi series with robots, there will eventually be a gold robot that shows up. Goldenrod is the high end boutique builder, snobbish and cutting edge, and full of features that exist only to impress other people with their own Goldenrods or knock-off designs.