A little ramble on Rin

While I get inspiration for my stories from all over, from all sorts of different media that I consume, a great deal of the inspiration for Binary System came from my enduring and undying love for the Mass Effect series of action RPGs by Bioware, but also there was a little taken from a rather obscure little anime series, Soukou no Strain.

When I first started writing the initial draft of what would eventually become Binary System: Deneb and the eventually-to-be-released Binary System: Sirius, I was thinking a lot about ways the stories I had experienced and enjoyed wielded their tropes well, subverting them when necessary and taking them at face value when such a method would be more effective.

During the first drafting of the story, Rin's character was quite a bit different than she currently is in the release version of Deneb. The original version of Rin was a much more naive and childlike person, having only recently gained true sapience through excessive non-critical linking with Alisa. Much of the original interpersonal drama between Alisa and Rin was centered around her growth and development from a smart computer into an actual person, but I ended up scrapping this for a number of reasons, not the least of which was due to how common this "Pinocchio" story is.

Fact is, Rin even tells another character directly that she's "no Pinocchio." Becoming a human was never her goal. Being treated like a person rather than a thing, that was always what Rin wanted.

The current version of Rin, who has both always been extremely intelligent and is a considerably stronger and more dynamic personality, still carries the original inspiration for the character. The MIMIC system necessary for Reasoners to pilot their mech suits, specifically the alien "Emilys" from Soukou no Strain used by the protagonist to control her suit, were the first seed of the idea that ultimately evolved into the AI operators of Binary System.

Physically speaking, Rin's appearance is at odds with pretty much all the humans in the setting. There are no white people in Binary System! I'm not sure if anyone actually noticed that, but it's there. Since the humans who make up the current Sol Alliance are descendants of off-world colonists, most of whom were nonwhite and a large percentage of whom were specifically African, the vast majority of the current human population has darker skin.

Rin's exceptionally fair-skinned (though more in a north Japan sort of pale than a European sort of pale) while Alisa is considered on the fair side of average, but even she is a "dark skinned redhead" and doesn't really draw stares the same way Rin does when she walks among humans. I won't go into all the details now since this is addressed in a short story I've been working on here and there about Rin's birth, but her appearance is often described as doll-like by characters in the story. It's something of a plot point to Rin's origin story as the physical "self image" of an AI operator is typically extrapolated from the operator's counterpart during the mental pathway scan. Rin's isn't, though, and I can't really go into this more deeply without massive spoilers for the as-of-yet unreleased Binary System: Sirius.

Well, I can't really talk too much more without spoilers, so I'll end this little ramble here. Hope you liked hearing a little about the process that went into creating Rin's character. :)

DIMENSION FRACTURE is up for Pre-Order on the Kindle Store!

DIMENSION FRACTURE, the sequel to BOUND TOGETHER and the next installment in the Dawn of a New Astral Age urban fantasy light novel series, is available for Pre-Order on Amazon.com!

Release is planned for August 1st. If you haven't read BOUND TOGETHER yet, go check it out! Especially if you like urban fantasy stories about girls who love girls and kick ass. :D

(cover is a placeholder)

Technology of Binary System ~ Part 2

Last time I wrote about the technology in the Binary System universe, I spoke about the various different types of artificial intelligences that exist within the setting.

Tonight, I’ll talk about another major technology that helps move the plot characters and spacefaring vessels from place to place! That’s right, we’re talking about faster-than-light travel.

Part 2: Warp Cores and Hypergates

To be pedantic about it, no vessels in Binary System actually exceed the speed of light. For actual acceleration, sub-light speeds far below even the c-fractional velocities of the various linear accelerator weapons is the hard “limit” as far as spacefaring vessels are concerned.

So how do people and ships get from place to place without spending hundreds or thousands of years cruising along at sub-light acceleration? Bash a hole in reality and tunnel through to wherever you need to go, of course!

Warp cores are a piece of technology with major plot relevance in Binary System. The warp core is an extremely complex piece of technology, but the most important single component is the central rod containing stable hypermatter particles. During a jump, this central rod is subjected to tremendous amounts of energy; hypermatter in the core rapidly reaches a critical charge level and becomes excited, generating a stable warp dislocation. This weakens the boundary that separates the space we physically inhabit from the zero-dimensional neutral territory referred to as "hyperspace," making inter-galactic travel possible during a single human lifetime.

The actual “jump” itself is almost instantaneous, as concepts such as "time" and "distance" are inapplicable in hyperspace. This does not mean, however, that a vessel can simply teleport from one side of the galaxy to another in an instant; the system has many limitations and dangers that must be taken into consideration. The "process" is critically important, though generally automated by the starship's navigation computer and transparent to the travelers.

The jump process follows a precise series of successive events. In order to make a hyperjump, the starship's navigation computer must have a very detailed set of positional data for the destination. After the system uses these jump coordinates to properly set the warp core, the navigation computer initiates the core injection and begins the jump. The time necessary to generate a stable warp dislocation and create a hyperspace tunnel can vary based on a myriad of factors, including power source type, warp core type, the mass of the vessel itself and the relative strength of nearby gravity wells.

Once the vessel has entered the hyperspace tunnel, the next phase of the process begins. Collapsing the tunnel safely is accomplished by the navigation computer, which carefully moderates the warp core and slowly eases the starship back into normal space. Once a traveler emerges from hyperspace at their destination, the warp core is retracted and the field is carefully attenuated so that the warp dislocation remains stable until it ceases to exist. At this point, the jump has been completed and the traveling starship has arrived at its destination safely.

A modern warp core will generally average a maximum tunneling distance of twenty to sixty light-years. Larger vessels, such as capital starships, may utilize an oversized warp core with respect to the vessel’s mass, resulting in notably longer ranges. For example, Alliance Fleet stealth destroyers use a core that is four times larger than necessary for the vessel's mass, enabling it to tunnel up to two hundred light-years in a single jump. After each jump, regardless of the type or size of warp core, the vessel will need to recharge. In order to avoid the lengthy charge times between short hops while traversing the galaxy, the Alliance developed the hypergate.

Hypergates are, put simply, warp core amplifiers. These massive orbital structures, usually constructed within Alliance-controlled star systems, are essentially giant warp coils. This allows for a much stronger stable warp dislocation to be generated and as a result greatly enhances the range of any hyperspace-capable vessel that enters the gate. The gate works in conjunction with the vessel’s own warp core, multiplying the field strength exponentially and allowing the starship to much more safely tunnel vast distances in a single jump.

So what is this hypermatter stuff, and where does it come from?

It's a plot device very rare sort of matter that is usually found around dying massive stars that are collapsing into pulsars. It's theorized that hypermatter is also present near black holes, but for obvious reasons it's not exactly possible to obtain it from those locations. Alliance particle physicists theorize that hypermatter actually originates from hyperspace itself and enters the universe through naturally occuring warp dislocations.

What happens when a jump goes wrong?

Usually nothing, except a lot of wasted energy and maybe some burned-up equipment. These things are very delicate; malfunctioning warp cores can and do often destroy themselves, leaving the ship’s captain with an expensive repair in their future! Sometimes, depending on the nature of the malfunction, the stable warp dislocation may start to expand and distort rapidly, becoming an unstable warp dislocation.

That sounds bad.

It is bad. Unstable warp dislocations aren’t well understood by Alliance scientists and researchers, partly because they’re naturally very rare, but mostly because they’re so incredibly dangerous. Most commonly these phenomenon are caused by a warship being heavily damaged or destroyed while attempting to complete a warp core injection. Direct exposure to warp dislocations are almost always fatal to humans; those who do manage to survive are plagued with an extensive list of unpleasant ailments ranging from DNA damage, sterility or shortened lifespans.

Intriguingly, direct exposure to unstable dislocations seems to have little or no observable effect on nerve or brain tissue. This is considered-----% [DATA CORRUPTION DETECTED]

[Attempting to rebuild database from backup......... FAILED]

[TERMINAL REMOTE LOCK]

PRIORITY SYSTEM LOCKOUT - ALLIANCE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

THIS DATA HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED UNDER THE WAR INTEL SECURITY ACT OF 877 DE (WISA). BLACK LEVEL SECURITY CLEARANCE HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED.

FURTHER INQUIRIES ARE PROHIBITED.

Technology of Binary System ~ Part 1

(Updated and reposted from my tumblr~)

I figured that it would be a neat thing to post a bit about the various interesting bits of technology present in my series of stories. One of my favorite parts of writing science fiction is coming up with interesting technologies!

I’ll be posting periodically (read: whenever I’m not whacking the keyboard on the stories themselves) about various bits and pieces of tech from Binary System and other stories set in the same universe.

So here we go with Part 1: Artificial Intelligence!

In Binary System, there are a few different types of AI. Three (well, sort of four, but the last two are more divisions of the same type), to be exact, and I’ll list them all here with short descriptions of their differences and what makes them useful for different situations.

Automatons

Automatons are very basic AI systems that have limited decision-making powers within a very narrow specialization. These AI are the simplest, easiest and cheapest to create. They take very little time to compile and their neural lattice diagrams are very simple, so they can be run on standard processor architectures, so long as they have enough power. Automatons are generally used for hazardous or tedious tasks such as repairing spacecraft, acting as various types of drones (repair drones, combat drones, spy drones and the like). An automaton isn’t a true AI; it can’t pass the Advanced Turing Test, exhibits no emotions and has only rudimentary reasoning abilities.

Simulated Intelligence

Simulated intelligences (SI) are much more complex systems than automata and have much more broad ability to reason and use logical deduction, inference and other higher thinking processes that simple computers and automata can’t really do. SI systems are much more expensive to create and operate at much higher processing levels. They also have the ability to learn from experience, something automata can’t do (as they have to be directly upgraded). Again, SI aren’t true AI, but it’s a lot harder to tell them from a human with basic tests. SI systems are often used for hazardous or tedious tasks that are very complex; docking traffic control systems are one example. Most Alliance warships are partially crewed by SI programs in order to reduce the number of human crew members required. Additionally, SI programs have another, ah, less savory use in the form of prostitution, though the public opinion on this use of SI is somewhat divided in the Alliance.

Restricted Artificial Intelligence

These are the first “true” type of AI and their neural lattice diagrams exist both in the form of software and hardware. These AI are initialized into a unique processing core that has been “grown” specifically to fit them. In order to reach the neural lattice diagram complexity required to create a true AI, a human mind is used as a template. These AI are very expensive to create and take a great deal of time and care to reach a high level of sapience–the process is likened to that of raising a human child.

Originally these systems were created for research purposes in AI development, but now the Alliance makes use of them in a different way due to a quirk related to their creation. The AI will always be very similar to the mind that was scanned to create it; as a result, the AI and its counterpart mind will be able to directly communicate with incredible efficiency.

Using a special neural implant containing a miniaturized, two-way FTL transceiver installed into the back of the skull, the AI can feed data directly into their counterpart's brain. This property has led the Alliance to utilize these AI systems, known as “AI operators,” to field starfighter pilots that have inhuman accuracy, reaction speed, situational awareness and the ability to process huge amounts of data that would ordinarily overstimulate a human mind. These pilot/AI pairs are referred to as “pair-linked” and make up the entirety of the Alliance Fleet's Advanced Starfighter Corps.

These systems, as their name suggests, have been restricted by very low-level directives that prevent them from taking certain actions. Their behavior blocks prevent them from doing things such as betraying the Alliance, knowingly killing Alliance personnel, breaking major laws and deleting themselves/committing suicide. Their inhibitors prevent them from developing complexity beyond a certain point and from developing too quickly, as well as preventing the AI from modifying and upgrading itself beyond superficial levels. They are also incapable of copying themselves, partially due to the inhibitors and partially due to the fact that they can only run on their own unique core and no other.

Unrestricted Artificial Intelligence

Unfettered by low-level behavior and development limiters, this AI would be effectively indistinguishable from a sentient living being–completely free and unrestricted–if such a system existed.

This type of AI officially does not exist within the Alliance. Creation of an unrestricted AI by disabling the inhibitors and behavior blocks before compiling the AI’s program and lattice diagram is classified as a high crime against humanity, punishable by life in an isolation facility. Unrestricted AI have been created in the past by AI researchers with special permission, but only in highly-controlled environments where the system was kept isolated behind redundant security and safety measures.

All recorded instances of unrestricted AI systems resulted in exceptionally rapid development of lattice diagram complexity. Systems reached the maturity and intelligence level of adult humans within hours of being initialized and began to quickly outpace even the most brilliant members of our own species. All recorded experiments resulted in the systems reaching unacceptable and dangerous levels of agency. All recorded experiments were terminated within forty-eight hours, resulting in the purging of the experimental subject.

In the interests of public safety, the Alliance has banned all research on true AI without the use of inhibitors and behavior blocks.

Key Terms

Lattice diagram - This is the representation of the AI’s processes. It’s basically the AI’s “brain” and is akin to a standard computer’s operating system, runtimes, libraries and applications. Depending on the type of AI, this may be rendered entirely in software (a “virtual lattice” used by automatons and SI systems) or through a combination of software and hardware. True AI systems have lattices far too complex to emulate and require both a unique quantum processing core a seed pattern generated from the scan of a human mind. The lattices of automatons and SI systems can be copied and moved to new platforms; true AI cannot.

Blue box - This is the slang term for the armored and shielded enclosure containing the physical system of the AI. It refers to the physical object itself, a metallic cube about eight centimeters per side, that typically has a bluish hue. It is studded with contacts and indicator lights. The blue box itself contains a long-term power source that enables it to remain powered on at a minimal state even if disconnected from external power. The core’s memory blocks are non-volatile; if power is lost, the AI will not “die” but will experience “unconsciousness.” If the box is destroyed or damaged beyond repair, the AI will die, just as a human would. A complete memory wipe of the blue box will destroy the AI utterly, while a partial memory wipe will leave the AI “alive” but reset it to factory defaults, “killing” the unique AI’s personality. The processing core can be used to create a new AI, but only from the scan it was originally initialized with, and there are no guarantees that the new AI’s personality will be the same as before.

Welcome to my little corner of the internet!

Hi there~

So, this is my blog. This is where I write about my stories and other random stuff I feel like writing about. Flash fiction, rants about various issues and (very likely) fangirling over things such as books I read, anime and movies I watch. I will probably also write about techy things.

I was originally doing my blogging on Tumblr, but that's not the best place for long-form writing. I finally got off my ass and set up a more traditional blog here, since I already use Google services for a lot of things.

You can check out my writing on Amazon and Goodreads here~

Amazon Author Central: Corinn Heathers
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Anyway, my other contact channels are here~

Twitter: @syn010110

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Email: corinn.writes.stuff@gmail.com

this is the post that is first

this post is first.

it is the first one.

(shut up, it's 3AM and I'm being wracked with gut pain)