Android

Androids are synthetic humanoids that were originally created thousands of years ago during the height of the Valerian Empire. Originally designed as household servants and helpers that conducted menial jobs, they eventually became recognized as their own separate species when their neural patterns evolved enough to be considered sapient - along with developing the ability to self-replicate without human intervention. Over time, they began to outnumber humans due to their ability to easily transfer their consciousness to new bodies to either prolong their life or to accept a human consciousness from a recently deceased being as one of their own.

One of the largest population of androids is found on Torus, the homeworld of the megacorporation Virtuoso. Only within the last one hundred years have humans been allowed on Torus.

Characteristics

Unlike robots and similar synthetic beings, androids are designed to heavily resemble humans. However, unlike modern humans which tend to be a bit more neotenous, androids more closely resemble ancient, idealized humans with perfectly symmetrical features and conventionally attractive body proportions. While they appear like humans on the exterior, their interiors are entirely mechanical with optimized energy management systems. As such, they do not need to consume food or drink as they can instead swap out or recharge their battery. However, some androids possess analogs to human organs so as to be able to simulate the same sensations as they do.

For the most part, androids consider their bodies disposable given how easily they can transfer themselves to a new body. However, an android can be considered truly dead if all backups of their consciousness are destroyed or overwritten with other data.

Androids do not inherently possess gendered characteristics nor are they capable of vivaporous reproduction. Despite being considered genderless, most of them still prefer to modify themselves with gendered appearances for aesthetic and fashion reasons. To reproduce, two partners exchange digital genetic code to produce a new consciousness upload which can then be transferred to another android body. This serves as a means of maintaining and spreading their own sort of genetic diversity.

Relations with humans

Romantic relationships between humans and androids are not unheard of as there have been instances of human females being able to have biological children using another android's digital genetic code as a template. While considered strange yet acceptable to society on Yeddo, among the dominant culture of Torus, this practice is heavily frowned upon and to an extent, considered blasphemous. While little issue is taken when an android lies in bed with a human, conceiving a child vivaporously with one is considered incredibly repulsive.

Known androids

• Clover (formerly human)
• Lucian Virtuoso