Too much SPG, I suddenly needed to create a fanbot of my own.

Introducing Zipper!

Zipper is a clockwork steam-powered Automaton built in 1909 for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle. He was programmed to sing and play the steam calliope, as well as answer the questions of fairgoers and give directions.

After the expo, Zipper was rented out to the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet to play the calliope on the steamboat ferries. He remained an entertainer until 1917, when he was reprogrammed for Search and Rescue and sent to Europe.

During World War One, Zipper's job was to carry wounded out of active battlefields and back to the hospital tents. Despite the eager efforts of the young bot, many of the men he rescued died anyways of their injuries.

Over the course of the war, bits and pieces of the souls of the men who died in Zipper's arms created a soul of his own for the robot. This granted him sentience, but also causes him to suffer flashbacks to the lives of the men he couldn't save.




-profile-

What is your designation(model number, name, etcetera)?

- Currently, I go by Zipper. It’s not my original name, but it suits me better than “Singing Automaton model #11”


Do you represent or resemble a specific gender? (And do you identify as that, or another gender?)

- I suppose I resemble a human male, though I don’t particularly identify with either human gender.

When were you built?

-In 1909.

Of what materials?

-I am mainly built of an aluminum alloy.

By whom?

-I am the result of the combined effort of the Boeing aircraft company and several area inventors.

Why? (May be esoteric, practical, somewhere in between, insane, or even silly)

- I was built for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle to play music for the fair goers. I was programmed to play the Calliope, but also to sing.
- After the Expo, I was leased to the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet to play music on the ferries and steamboats.

What is your primary function(if differing from the reason you were built)?
-My primary function is for entertainment, though I was reprogrammed during the war for search and rescue.

What is your primary fuel source?
-I am primarily steam powered, though I also have significant clockwork functions.

What is your secondary fuel source(if applicable)?

-Besides steam, my clockwork systems must be wound every morning.

Do you have any specific glitches, malfunctions, or hardware problems that others should be aware of?

- I occasionally suffer flashbacks and malfunctions due to possessing memories of lives that are not my own.
- I also suffer operating faults in temperatures of over 90 degrees Fahrenheit and may overheat and shut down.
- Damages to my memory and recognition centers make it very difficult to distinguish between human faces and neigh impossible for me to remember previous interactions at a later date. Please do not be offended if you have met me before and I do not remember you!

Do you possess artificial intelligence?

-I do indeed. It was originally quite rudimentary, so that I could communicate and answer the questions of fair-goers, but I have grown a bit over the years.

Are you self-aware?

- I like to think so. I know what I am, after all.

Do you have a soul? (If yes, is this soul second-hand, or original to yourself, and how did you come by it?)

- My soul, such as it is, is a combination of bits and pieces from various soldiers who died in my arms during World War One. It allows me to be sentient and self-aware, but also causes me to have flashbacks and memories of lives that I did not live.

Do you have anything to add before you go?

Goodbye!