In the GlobalSynth-Type worlds, technology has typically advanced far beyond that of a 'normal' world—i.e., worlds closer to our reality. This especially, and notably, includes extremely lifelike androids that are primarily produced by Global Synthetics itself or one of its offshoot 'brands'.
These androids are officially called 'Units,' with 'Units' referring to individual androids and 'Models' referring to the type of unit. However, in everyday conversation, the terms are often used interchangeably.
They are intended to integrate quite easily into daily life, serving any role you can imagine-- A companion with dreams of their own, personal assistants, specialists in various fields, body guards, entertainment-- the list goes on.
Units can be ordered directly from Global Synthetics and are produced at your local GS-Factory. There is a wide variety of Units available, featuring diverse traits, abilities, powers, and appearances. If you have the money or means, a Unit can be customized to look and act however you want. (Units themselves are also able to go in and customize themselves if they wish, of course.)
Another interesting factoid is, as of 2020, Units make up about half the documented population of their world. To put that into perspective, the current officially-counted total population of their world is around 50 Million people.
As mentioned, units come in many different forms, shapes, sizes, abilities, powers, ect. ect. ect. But even so, there are specific categories that they can usually be labeled under-- typically based on the source of their powers, or general aesthetic, as well as certain usages or roles.
The types of categories models tend to fall under :
- Standard : These are base-line units. Might not have built-in magical abilities, and are the cheapest and most common. If they do have powers, it's usually with common drives, unless they paid for better ones later on.
- Arcane : 'Generic' magic model-- these can come with built-in abilities, on top of whatever drives are chosen for them. Magic source type isn't usually specific.
- Brimspawn : 'Demonic' type magical models. Magic source type seems to derive from Dirge, and are typically made with darker, edgier aesthetics in mind.
- Ethereal : 'Angelic' type magical models. Magic source type seems to derive from Hymnia, and are typically made with lighter, softer, 'holy' / 'Divine' aesthetics in mind.
- Fae : 'Fair Folk' or 'Fairy Tale' type magical models. Magic source type seems to derive from the Fae, in some way, and as such, their magic tends to be more... odd and chaotic.
Of course, while there are common aesthetics among each category, the more important aspect is where the magic source derives from-- so some models might seem questionably in one category on the outside. Not to mention when customization comes into play, of course...
There are also side-categorizations, that can be any of the above on top of it:
- School : An old type of unit that was intended to be bought as a companion for students, be it in grade school, or in higher education. Sometimes also counted for units specifically made to be teachers, or other school staff workers. School-specific-type models aren't really as common in the present day, though they are still made.
- Child : As it says on the tin, units made in the form and mind of a child. Typically created and adopted so the person can raise children of their own and experience parenthood, in a sense. Requires background checks and a full application process, and 'ages' via body upgrades.
- War : Units that were originally created and ordered as guards, but became main players in the War. They are no longer being produced, but many still linger around, and some are found and restored.
Models themselves tend to have special names and labels, usually shortened to specific acronyms.
Usually, in this format: [MODEL NAME] Model [TYPE NUMBER], VERSION [X]. For example, Keeper Model Type 1, Version 1, shortened down to K1.i., sometimes only K1, if the model type doesn't have updated versions.
Many types of models exist, but a couple examples are as such :
- "Keeper", also known as Caretaker models in common vernacular.
- Type 1 - Basic household tasks, including cleaning, cooking, and general upkeep.
- Type 2 - Childcare specialists, equipped with programming to assist in the care and education of children.
- Type 3 - Elder care, with advanced medical monitoring and assistance capabilities.
- Type 4 - Family and medical care, combining the attributes of the other three types to provide comprehensive family support and healthcare. This model also includes enhanced programming for interacting with children, making them versatile for family environments. A bit pricier as such.
- "Fire Bird", a fire magic-based war model.
- Type 1 - Elite model, featuring superior strategic capabilities, high-level fire magic, and built-in tactical support systems.
- Type 2 - Advanced combat model, with enhanced fire control and resistance, suitable for frontline battles.
- Type 3 - Standard combat model, equipped with basic fire manipulation abilities for offense and defense.
In the GlobalSynth-type worlds, not only has technology advanced significantly, but magic also exists—though the veil more widely revealing it has only been lifted in recent decades.
Illona Kemp took full advantage of this revelation. Thanks to the invention of unit's Cores and research into effective magical foci, she enabled Units to harness and use various types of magical abilities.
While some units do have powers built into their systems by default, every unit is built with additional slots to input up to 5 of what are called "Arcane Drives"-- special drives that harness a type of magical power. If you have the money, you can buy any kind of specific power you may want for a unit. Want them to control water? Buy them a Water Manipulation arcane drive! Want them to have minor sway over nature? Fire powers? Better healing? As long as you don't go over 5 drives, and you have the money to buy those drives, the world is your oyster.
The cost and availability of powers vary greatly. They range from common and affordable to rare, super rare, and very expensive, depending on the reach, scope, and strength of the abilities. Some powers even come in different levels of rarity, with different strengths depending on the rarity. For instance, a common Water Manipulation or Illusioning drive is unable to do as much as a super rare, more pricy version of those drives.
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.