Syntharia is what is considered to be the current capital of their world's United States. One of the first cities to be be put in a Dome, despite the general reactions and opinions of the public due to its exact placement.
It also is one of the biggest in regards to population size, being the highest recommended dome for those looking for safety from the End of the War-- specifically, those with the means to look for safety.
The city currently is highly upgraded and advanced-- high-tech infrastructure is *everywhere,* adding to the ease of the inhabitants of the dome. Though, high-tech upgrades seem to become less-- or at least, not as frequently checked on and fixed, the closer you get to the walls of the dome...
Starting off as New York City, Syntharia became what it is around the times when the Domes were first implemented. Still mainly known by the original names, the 18-ish mile radius within the dome contained the first, and main, Global Synthetics Headquarters-- quickly becoming the companies beating heart. Slowly, it would start building a different, unique community surrounding the new jobs and tech that GlobalSynthetics would release at the time.
*Pictured above, original map of the general area and placement of Syntharia's Dome.
After the end of the war, the domed community embraced a new identity: Syntharia. The name combined 'Synth' from Global Synthetics and 'Aria,' suggesting a new melody. This was intended as a complete rebranding, giving the feeling of a brand new beginning, the start of rebuilding the world after the hardships of the war-- and the unspeakable tragedy that was the end of it.
Syntharia isn't simply a place, it's the home, the heart, of Global Synthetics. The company made its start back when it was still New York City, and its first headquarters would be set in place there as well. During its early years, it was based in one of the many skyscrapers-- however, a few years before the war, a base began to be built right next to the Statue of Liberty... and during the war, it became the new, main headquarters for Global Synthetics-- and would stay as such for the foreseeable future.
During its early years, it was based in one of the many skyscrapers-- however, a few years before the war, a base began to be built right next to the Statue of Liberty... and during the war, it became the new, main headquarters for Global Synthetics-- and would stay as such for the foreseeable future.
...of course, the odd placement was definitely questioned and criticized-- but that didn't stop its construction. There was clearly a reason... but it was unknown to the general public.
GSHQ - The Global Synthetics Headquarters, located in what used to be the New York Harbor. The hudson river still seems to flow to it, and... under...? Around? It's not visible. Highly private, secretive, with extreme security surrounding it.
Quantum Ride Arcade - The most popular arcade in Syntharia! With great prizes at the prize corner, and a mix of the newest games and beloved classics alike, players even from other domes can't help but visit and love it!
There's rumors of people going missing around the arcade's location, but that's probably just rumors and urban legends. Right?
(*more to be added. wip.)
Units having been made as individuals aren't the only ways they exist in this world. Sometimes, a unit body can be created with no intent for it to be its own person... but instead, a shell for a human to transfer their very selves into.
A procedure that has far improved over the past decades, "Transferring", is the process of someone's self being transferred into a unit body. There are multiple reasons for this-- ranging from sickness, critical injury, age, to simply wanting to. It's a pricy procedure, but it is technically open to the general public.
Whether or not the unit body looks like the humans previous body is completely up to the one undergoing the procedure, and the body works like any other units-- able to be customized however you wish, able to use arcane drives, ect.
If a person is important enough or has the means but not time, however-- say, they experienced a sudden, horrible accident, it is possible that the unit body may not be specifically fit to them, and instead would have to be customized later-- but this is decently rare. On top of that. it is possible to have a body preset as a backup just in case something were to happen to you.
Some people call them "The Synthesized", and others, more negatively, "Ghosts". This is due to questions on if the Transferred person is even truly still themself, or just a copy, a ghost of the person walking around. As far as anyone can tell, the transferred do seem to be the original person, but... really, can anyone know?
Illona Kemp herself is a notable Transferred.
While Units are typically created by GlobalSynth Factories and its offshoots, unit building is an art that technically anyone can learn. And, if you learn to build and repair units yourself, you never have to rely on GlobalSynth for those services!
...GlobalSynth heavily discourages this, however. Officially, it's due to "safety reasons", as not having one of their proper tutors and controlled learning environments (which eventually funnels talent back to GlobalSynth) could lead to dangerous mistakes for the wannabe builder, and the unit itself, especially if the programming gets far enough for sapience.
Besides, how can you be sure that a self-taught builder truly knows what they're doing? They don't have the quality control GlobalSynth ensures! They could even be malicious... and if you truly want to risk that... well. It's on you.
That's their stance on it, anyhow. Really, most of the time Garage Builders seem to do what they do for the love of doing it, and especially for the love of helping others in regards to repairs. Plus, like, jailbreaking.
Garage Built units, as such, typically don't have the usual type of serial codes or indicators as GlobalSynth created units, and typically don't contain specific... questionable 'security measures' that GlobalSynth created units have, either. If you know what you're doing, their sapience and sentience is the same as well.
...but there does seem to be the rare occasion where GlobalSynths warnings seem to ring true. Certain builders, "False Builders", who do not have peoples best interests in mind, created broken, defective, even potentially dangerous units... these builders seem to appear and disappear often, likely to keep from getting caught because of their actions.