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Intro-Background-DevPapers

Reploid schematic papers. Image from Megaman Zero 4.

November 23, 2015 : "With X's help I have completed my first "reploid." His strength and intelligence seem limitless." (From the "Journal of Dr. Cain")

Overview

(Section transposed from Lexicon#Reploid )

Reploid (replicated android) is the name given to a class of advanced robot that have the capacity to act independently from human orders, giving them free will. This is a step up from the previous race of intelligent robots (Robot Masters), who were created without free will, and depended on limiters (a set of hard-coded instructions that would guide the robot's behavior and decision-making process) to help them operate outside of direct human orders.

The first reploid was created by Doctor Cain, working with the help of Mega Man X and funded by the WRA. X was neither Robot Master nor Reploid, but a type of highly advanced robot capable of thinking and acting entirely on his own, as well as possessing a programmed conscience (known as the "suffering circuit"), something completely unheard of in previous robotic designs. X's mental and physical advancements were applied to previously existing Robot Master technology (which placed them under the jurisdiction of the Robot Master Articles), producing the reploid.

Generic-reploids

Average reploids. Image taken from the Day of Sigma OVA.

The advantages of free willed robots were enormous: a reploid could exercise judgment calls in emergency situations when humans were unavailable. They could even show human traits such as creativity, helping to advance research, inventions and even art with their unique designs and talents. Because they could withstand environments humans could not, reploid laborers and explorers could increase knowledge and industrial proficiency, while reploid soldiers would replace human ones, preventing the loss of human life. Reploid civilians could operate in jobs that required alertness twenty-four hours a day, such as in police dispatch, hospitals or technical support. And due to their emotional capacity and human-like social behaviors, reploids could serve as companions or even lovers.

The first reploids were produced for military use to combat Wily's army of Robot Masters (which soon lead to the creation of Repliforce), but it wasn't long before the same technology was released into the civilian sector. Due to the advanced nature of reploid design, they were exempted from the Limited Lifespan Law that affected Robot Masters, owing to their ability to self-correct their function as needed. Legally, reploids are considered property and in many cases treated as non-sentient machines by humans. While it is not uncommon to see reploids traveling alone (possibly on an errand for their owner), it is legally impossible in most countries for a reploid to be ownerless and any claiming to be so will more likely be met with alarm and confusion than hospitality. Some nations are beginning to take a more liberal stance on reploid rights. Dopplertown is one instance of this, as is Sukhothai.

Design

Reploids, like robot masters, are composed of a mechanical body and a core, which functions as the reploid's brain, driving the body.

A reploid's core is heavily armored and contains a small internal power supply, allowing it to survive heavy damage or the destruction of the body's power supply for days.

The non-volatile memory of a reploid's core contains schematic data and basic personality elements, whereas memories a reploid gathers through their lifetime (and individual personality quirks that result) are volatile. A reploid whose core runs out of power (or is intentionally reset) can be "erased" back to their factory setting. The morality of this action is subject to debate and while some (mostly reploids) consider it equivalent to murder, others take a more casual view.

The process of creating a reploid involves first forming a design for their physical body and determining their form, function, and similar details. While the body is being constructed, a core is created alongside it and loaded with initial RM-like parameters as well as various kinds of knowledge intended to matching it to a desired personality. At this point, the core is RM-like and non-sentient. The final process of creating a reploid core is to expose it to a large bank of stimulus provided by a supercomputer which causes the core to eventually "crash" to sentience. Once finished, the core is combined with the body and its higher functions are booted, giving birth to the finished reploid.

The process of loading a mass-produced core will generally occur in an emergence center.

The vast majority of reploids are designed to resemble humans in size, shape, and appearance, allowing them to take advantage of a civilization already geared towards human needs. With the application of bionics to reploid technology, reploids that resembled animals or even plants were created for highly specialized environments or in order to better accomplish specific tasks. Female reploids are somewhat uncommon, making up roughly thirty percent of the reploid population.

Except for rare custom-built reploids, the majority are built in factories and mass-produced. It is in fact much more common to be one of many identical (or near-identical) copies than to be a truly unique reploid, although due to the process of core generation, individual personality quirks tend to exist between otherwise identical models.

Robots

A male, female, and juvenile reploid on the right. Two mechaniloids on the left.

Due to the continued outbreak of maverick reploids, a new notion has begun developing among reploid manufacturers to produce juvenile models, which are reploids with a physically weaker and less mature (child-like) body, in order to allow the reploid to mentally mature and grow before being given an upgrade to their final body (which generally contains dangerous weapons systems or other potentially dangerous physical attributes). The degree to which juvenile reploids are able to perform their intended function in their child body varies by developer, but generally they are able to perform at a basic level while maturing.

Some juvenile reploids are built without an intention of being upgraded, designed to fulfill a purpose related to being and remaining in some way small and childlike. Such reploids include surrogate children, playmates for human children, or various other situations where an adult reploid would seem out of place.

Examples of juvenile reploids include: Cinnamon , Lumine , Axl , Midi , and Techno .

Behavior

The inner workings of a reploid's core are based on studies of the human brain, as such human-like behavior is considered normal to a degree. Generally, the more human-like the reploid is physically, the more human-like behavior would be expected or tolerated.

A reploid's purpose plays a central role in their personality. They are built both mentally and physically for the job in question. Reploids also tend to naturally gravitate towards their purpose because it so closely matches their design. A construction reploid with pile-driving hammers for hands would feel more comfortable doing construction work than, say, captaining a ship.

Individual reploid personalities can vary greatly depending on individual quirks and the function they were intended to perform. Some hold a knee-jerk obedience to humans and abstain from any kind of intellectual pursuits in favor of fulfilling the letter of their purpose while others can be highly independent and contemplative.

Likewise, reploid sentiments on their place in life vary; some, even those holding what would be considered more demeaning jobs, are quite content with their life, while others may resent their owners (and humanity) for any number of reasons, some times going maverick as a result.

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