Ooooo.. Now this IS fascinating. Seeing the inner working laid bare like this really adds a lot to their plight.

I thought it was kind of interesting how many things were only there to make them look human(ish) - they're very alien under the skin with very human processing.

I'm glad it adds to everything!

AYYYYYYYY YOU ACTUALLY MADE IT!!! :D Oh my gosh!! All of this looks absolutely FANTASTIC, wow you know your stuff!! It goes to show just how much you put into developing this story, well done!! ^w^ All of the mechanisms look accurate, along with descriptions about each part!

Don't worry, I have lots of questions too! Honestly your comic has been one of the best ones I've seen recently, plus I'm a huge robot nerd so I'm very curious about how your bionics function!

I didn't see it in the ref, but how do their facial expression mechanisms function? Is it built into the skin layer itself?

When a Bionic is created, do each of them start off with their own "base" AI that comes with personality settings, and just learn the world from there? Or do they just know everything to begin with and just develop their personality? In regards to their AI, how far can they learn and can they truly think for themselves and feel emotions? What are some of the things their AI cannot understand no matter what?

Are bionics able to be self-aware that they're mechanical, and have existential crisises?
Are they able to eat and drink to blend in, or do they just charge from batteries and such?
Sorry for such a long comment!! <XD I just love this story!!

*flail* I'm so glad that you like it, and I really appreciate all of your questions. I'm really happy to know that it's engaging enough to generate important questions.

Ahem, some of

The "skin" is basically a grid of solar intake and artificial nerves - I'm thinking that the soft filler underneath has just enough corded muscle that it can stimulate both the skin and muscle into making the correct facial expressions.

Regarding their AI, I can't answer everything just yet, but I can say this: they're pretty much ready to go fresh out of the box, although there may be some gaps in their understanding regarding things that are very specific or particularly obscure.

They're aware that they're robots, and addressing that from the start makes them less likely to have an existential crisis (due to that, anyway). They're autonomous with only a few requirements based on their programming, and that's based on a few legal requirements (can't hurt humans - the basics) and ease-of-use updates.

That's all I can say about their AI for the moment, but you will get answers at some point.

Most bionics aren't set up to eat and drink, though I'm going to have to think about this for companions (since dinner dates are big). The special requirements make them super expensive.



Anything else?

Sorry for the late reply, life has been busy! XD
Aaaaaaaa!! I'm so glad my interest in your bionics makes you happy!! I'm such a nerd for robots, androids, automatons, machines, anything mechanical! I love learning about each one!

Ooooh, so the skin is like a bunch of charged wire that can move with currents of electricity, right? So there wouldn't be any small servos required for facial expression? That's useful! That way a bionic wouldn't awkwardly ask for repairs if they're unable to smile XD

It makes me wonder, if everything else on their body is fully mechanical, how loud would they sound when moving? Would it be more of a soft whirr or would you easily be able to hear the gears and motors?

Awww, withholding the juiciest details with AI!! Dang you! XD Just kidding, I get that it's important to the plot :3 At least you said a few things about it, and they sound even more interesting!! I can't wait to learn more about them during the comic :D
Is there any sort of loopholes that can glitch their AI? Such as a paradox or maybe a really weird logical question?

Oh, for sure!! Eating and drinking would require complex mechanisms to digest and use the food that goes in. I could imagine bionics are already expensive enough even without that feature!

Hmmmm.. lemme think of more questions for ya! Or at least attempt to <XD

I remembered you mentioning that they have a few pre-programmed rules, such as not allowing a human to be harmed, and that. Let's say for example that they accidentally bump into a bookshelf, causing it to topple over and crush a human, killing them. Since it was entirely on accident, what would the bionic do? Would it could as a violation of the rules?

What is the average lifespan of a bionic, in regards to parts wearing down, stuff like that?

Would a bionic's AI have certain preferences or "favorites" for certain things, like colors or objects, that it gains itself? Or would it have to be programmed in?

If a bionic had it's personality set to something, let's say it's always programmed to be happy, would it never be able to experience other emotions, like sadness or anger? Or could it override it to make sure it doesn't have the wrong emotion for the situation?

If a bionic's owner died of natural causes like old age, would the bionic realize this? How would it perceive the event? And what would happen to the bionic afterwards?

If a bionic was left alone in the house when their owner went out somewhere, would it just sit there doing nothing until the owner returns? Or would it go around the house doing random things to keep themselves from becoming bored?

Aaaaaah sorry!! I feel so bad dumping so many questions on you <XD This is just so much fun!!

I totally get it – no worries. Each job I get seems to want a little more of my free time than the last!

All the questions make me feel like I’ve got a rich enough world that things are interesting and have to make at least a LITTLE bit of sense – it can be comic science, but there has to be SOME logic to it. If there are no consequences and everything is magic, there’s really no weight to actions.

I’ll try to address everything in turn. xD

Faces: It’s probably harder to get some sort of facial paralysis – there are a lot of other mechanisms that would break first.

Noise when working: Basically silent under the not-metal carapace and padding, assuming everything is working the way that it should. If you’re in one of those settings where you can hear your own heartbeat, you could hear their inner workings the same way.

Ways to glitch the AI: I can’t think of a logical question that could glitch the AI, though you might get a weird answer or “I don’t know.” You could get it to stall by asking it to override it’s primary directives (“don’t hurt humans” conflicting with “listen to owner”), but primary directives take precedence.

Accidental injury: I hadn’t thought about that, but I’m thinking that they would probably try to fix the situation and then go into sleep mode until it was verified that the incident was 100% an accident. At that point, the owner could decide whether or not a patch/additional regulator was required to keep it from happening again and if they could be reactivated.

Average lifespan: 10 – 15 years on non-companion models (and that’s if you’re not willing to put in the work, like Marigold; she could probably get more). Companions may be longer, but they’re fairly new.

AI “preferences: There is a “base” AI that’s generated for each android, and certain preferences can be set with it. Otherwise, the basics are randomly generated like some types of music and food. However, more niche things (Nordic epic metal, seviche, expensive perfume, etc.) would come as they experience it based on other types of settings and how they relate.

AI Personality: AIs are conditioned from the beginning to be accepting of what comes to them, even if they’re not always “happy” about it (I’ll let you decide how real the AI emotions are). Users are also able to add a positive-facing setting so that there are only expressions that are good/optimistic/etc. This wouldn’t change the core programming, though.

Owner dying: Good question! This is actually a lot like a pet – the previous owners’ survivors have to figure out who gets the bionic or if it gets scrapped. Both Ava and Hairy survived their humans.

Left alone: A bionic will usually follow whatever directives it’s left with if their owner is out of the house. Clean, cook, wait by the phone, etc. If they don’t have a directive, they’ll usually fill their time with something or go into sleep mode. For instance, Claudia will clean the house, make preparations for the next meal, or listen to music in the sunroom. Bard prefers to work in the garden, take care of the animals, or go into sleep mode.

The Q&A didn’t actually touch on that stuff (AND I THOUGHT I WAS SO THOROUGH), but it’s got other information here.

Also, you’re grounded from asking questions until I’m through the next arc, at least. xD I’m having fun playing 20 questions, but I don’t want to accidentally get into a spoiler.

Goodness another late comment! I'll try harder next time!

But WWWOOOWWIIIEE It was such a good read!!! Believe me, I understand the fact I'm "grounded" from more questions XD I could easily ramble on and on about robots, but you've revealed lots and I absolutely loved every answer you gave! It makes me incredibly excited for the next pages >W<

Greetings purchaser, time to set preferences for future use and service of your new bionic unit.
Please identify self for unit to be able to identify purchaser if lost or stolen.
Please name bionic to recognize summons and commands are being issued.
Please designate how the bionic is to address the purchaser for notifications or clarifications of task orders.
Please specify priority order of contacts to be followed in case of emergency concerning or affecting purchaser.

I like that! I feel like that’s an automated call or prompt that they get when they’re making the initial purchase and customization.

There would be a secondary menu to set up other authorized users and the priority order of who's orders trumps in the issuing of multiple orders or demands.