Lore

[Lore is looking bored at the bar, which is strange that the bar is active after being empty yesterday, but what isn't strange anymore, huh? He's nursing some drink.] My father once pointed out to me that humanity was a strange culture that liked to hang onto the old. [And his expression changes, his voice alters completely, and the way he looks in the other direction is inhumanly abrupt.] ---Comrades! Consumers! Are you to be caught shamelessly underdressed for tonight's masquerade? While your colleagues and competitors are bedecked in the finest masked ball couture from great designers such as Amelia Zhevakho and former Delta Reji Kormikova, are you--- [And he's back to normal.] They found immortality in memory, in the preservation of objects where other humans used to live and work in. Even when these structures became unsafe and obsolete, they wanted to keep them around where other races would demand to replace them with new ones.

That's what this hotel is. [He squints slightly.] It's obsolete, old, ---actually expecting to be noticed, acknowledged, or offered any kind of affirmation of your personhood when you show up in an outfit that you bought last month?--- [he does the same thing he did before, and proceeds as if nothing at all unusual just happened] and filled with the human need for immortality. "Haunted" is just another word for wearing an unwanted attachment. [Something he knows all too well.] I'm not sure what to think of the concept of the "undead" or "ghosts", but I do know that now we're here we're trying to have someone else's past forced upon us.

Or our own past. I'm not even sure. [He stirs his drink and squints, looking puzzled.] We have mysterious voices. Rooms ---Of course you're not! That's why the Factory is hosting a unique! One day only! Supersale! For the next twenty four hours all stock will be offered at a dazzling seventeen percent discount, just to spare your family the inevitable shame of being seen with you dressed like that!--- locking and unlocking of their own accord. Other rooms that are suspiciously absent from mention in the floor directories [a little bit of a smile with that squint. That sort of thing must be trouble.]

This, by the way, whatever it is? Tastes awful. And not in a way I enjoy. ---Please come to your nearest designated Factory outlet at your earliest convenience, where our dedicated workers will be forcefully obligated to assist you!---[He makes a face and slides the glass away from him, and has apparently not noticed one unusual thing happen to him the entire time.]



OOC: Lore, being a device as well as a person, is being influenced by the ghosts and is going to say highly relevant things in familiar voices to your character every once in a while and not realize he's doing it. Right now he's being influenced by Prefect, but if you want him to occasionally slip something in while talking to your character get in contact with me and we'll work something out. He's open for spam at various parts of the hotel, too. Also you can punch him for it, just remember it's a little like punching an anvil and he's probably just going to look at you funny and hate you later. The Factory announcement is written by Prefect-mun!

[Public | Video]

[Lore is back to himself, mostly. He's wearing a suit very much like the one from the breach- his last memories were of having people that accepted and cared about him despite his instabilities, and he hates that.]

Dear Admiral.

You know what I love? I really sincerely love? Being stuck in the nether for however long it takes before you realize that you left me behind. No, wait. How long did it take? Oh. Twenty-eight days, four hours, thirty-seven minutes, 10.567 seconds. Just a rough estimation. [He makes a so-so motion with his hand.]

Your "life is difficult so other people can show they care" lessons are a little tedious.

Also, why are there cheap decorations everywhere? [He makes a motion.] Never mind. Just... never mind this. You'll send me a cookie or a croissant and I'll still be incapable of stuffing it into your ear canal and it'll be frustrating. Whatever. I'm back. And I'm going to the pub to get a drink. Maybe if I pretend I'm drunk hard enough my programming will kick in and make me forget where I am. That's how humans are supposed to do it, right?

[He stands up and spins his chair around, before grabbing his journal and turning it off.]



OOC: Have a pissy troll of an android. Spamming welcome. And responses in general.

[Public | Video]

[Lore has turned on his journal and is pacing, as well as chuckling under his breath in a slightly stilted, unhealthy way. The view is skewed, so you're only getting the lower half of his face as he's walking, his hands gesturing with his words, his tone light as if he just heard a very funny joke.]

So, I was paired with a roboticist, you see. An Asimovian roboticist- one of the ones my father based his entire life's work on. So I though, okay, I'll play along. I'll be civil to her, because at the very least I would have one up on old Often-Wrong. She was one of the people to thank me for helping when everyone ended up on the ridiculous slave-labor planet.

[Lore sits abruptly, and the gesture is a little too fast. It's still within the capacity for high-average human speed, but it's something he's done purposefully. He has no intention of even feigning humanity at the moment.] She offered to fix damage retained during a flood. Offered to help me work on a project that was left in her hands, to help another android retain its sentience possibly without the reactions of fear or hatred. [He pushes his tongue against the inside of his cheek, before setting his jaw. People abandon him in one way or another, but she knew who he really was and she had acted as though it were reparable. She had treated him as though he weren't a doomed, poorly programmed automaton.]

I went to her room to follow up? The door was back to Barge normal. [Leaving unwillingly? No. He's obviously been abandoned again, left because he's evil just like the colonists said he was and she knew he would live up to expectations. She thought better of it, and took the android back to where it would be safe from the Barge and, most of all, from him.] This? This is the funniest practical joke anyone could have set up.

[And he laughs again, his grin as diamond sharp as always. It's ridiculously hilarious, as far as cruel, thoughtless humor goes. Funnier than when you pull the chair out from someone. As usual, he makes a perfect punchline.] Like I said. Hilarious.

[When he turns off the feed, the grin flickers away as if it was never there. He's not going to respond to this. Instead he's going to leave his cabin and wander around for a little while, unable to compute a single particular thing that he's actually looking for. He might respond later, in audio.]



*OOC: He's mostly going to be out all around the ship for Spam. All responses will be delayed.

[Inmate Filter | Audio]

As I doubt I'm going to be allowed access to the laboratory any time soon, would someone be so kind as to pass me a light bulb? [One item at a time. He's patient.] They check the common rooms now and I don't like begging for scraps for good behavior. [Because inevitably it doesn't matter, no matter how good you think you behave, people turn on you.]

[Private to Morgana | Audio]

How much have you learned about dancing since you came here?

[Open Spam]

[Lore is searching the hallways of the ship like a rat building a nest. He seems casual as he's walking around, but he's looking for anything- a dropped hairpin. A pencil. A piece of jewelry. A can of cleaner left out. Anything at this point. He's going to keep the irritation from showing on his face, he's just looking curious. Like a robot out discovering the world, or searching for friendly company.]

[Public | Video]

[Lore is in his old office, though he can't break anything open to get to the parts inside. Believe him, he tried. But he has some nice new scientist's clothes, which at the moment consists of a white button up coat and gloves that he doesn't need right but he's wearing anyway because, eh, why not?]

By the way. I lied. I know. Shame on me. Look how sad everyone is. So disappointed. [He tsks. So few cares (and he knows that probably no one or next to no one is actually disappointed). And that flat voice that he used when he introduced himself? Completely gone. Now? Just a little hand wave.]

My name is Lore, I'm Data's older brother. I'll be you're resident maniacal android for this trip, or until the old cookie-dropping creepy driver gets rid of me. Until then, it's nice to meet you. [And he grins a grin that could cut glass. But woops! Gone after a millisecond.]

I think that'll be all. [And he switches off the feed. Because now he wants to go investigate the ship without having to try and hold the boring face (he's almost relieved to not have to do that anymore). He'll get back to things later.]


OOC: Feel free to spam off the post and catch him anywhere around the ship.

User Name/Nick: Binky|Bianca
User DW: glazedmacguffin
Other Characters: Zev Bellringer, Agent K, Gaheris Rhade

Character Name: Lore
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Age: He's only 4, but with the intellect of a computer and the physical capacities/reactions of an adult human.
From When?: After the Descent Pt. II and after game canon

Inmate/Warden: Inmate, most definitely. He's divided the universe into "with him" and "against him" before he even gets to know anyone, and only trusts those he has at least a modicum of control over (and them only slightly).

Abilities/Powers: Lore has the same abilities of any Soong-type android. He is capable of sixty trillion operations per second and have a storage space of 88 petabytes. He can control large computer networks if he's patched into them, and organize a hive mind (he acted almost as a "queen" to Hugh's group of renegade Borg, and is capable of the same level of control as Data). He doesn't need to breathe except to cool his systems. He doesn't need to eat. A more in depth explanation of his abilities is here (I did write that one too), but this is the short of it.

He would normally be able to easily bend steel or throw heavy items, and move extremely quickly, but he'll have certain system locks in place. He can't lift more than 150 lbs without his system stalling up (this would be him picking up an organic person smaller in stature than him) and preventing him from moving except to put the weight down. But he could still grab someone by the throat and strangle them. He couldn't move at super-human speed without stalling, but he could throw a very fast punch and throw his weight into something.

Basically he'll have a lot of physical limitations but not be completely helpless if he's attacked. The fact that he can't heal will also stall him.

Personality: Lore is fascinated by the new and exciting, like his brother, but he's wary of being harmed by it. He remains bitter about his father's perceived betrayal and it makes it very difficult for him to trust new people he encounters, immediately protecting himself with lies and placating behavior. If he can keep a potential threat satisfied until he can dispose of it, then he's safe.

Lore once believed himself to be perfect and still tries to lead people to that impression. Dr. Soong was so proud of the most successful of his androids that he bragged on his abilities to the other colonists. Lore expected them to be similarly impressed with him, all while not having any actual ideas on how to conduct himself in social situations outside of what he'd read. He had no moral or social protocols, leaving him with an inability to judge people's feelings outside of doing what he thought they wanted. For example, despite obviously liking his father and wanting to please him, he called him "Often-Wrong" even though Dr. Soong disliked it. Because the colonists reacted negatively to Lore's efforts rather than embracing him, he has a façade of assurance and self-confidence while dwelling on his imperfections and the idea that people will turn against him internally.

He is capable of liking people, but he also only feels safe in a social situation as himself (meaning that he's not putting a false personality of some sort on display) if he's controlling some aspect of the relationship. For example, if he's holding a person hostage and feels confident in his demands (holding Wesley Crusher hostage to defend himself against Beverly Crusher and Data), has people that are dependent on him for some need (the renegade Borg with the lack of an organizing mind), or manipulation (preying upon his father's guilt or Data's emotion chip).

He's dishonest even when he doesn't need to be, unwilling to reveal his true thoughts and self to anyone until he's absolutely certain he has the advantage. Even having his physical and mental advantages, he's aware that the has more than enough disadvantages; he's a relatively new type of android and considered new ground in terms of cybernetics and artificial life forms. Unlike Data, who had been activated for over two decades when they met, Lore was only months old then and he is four years at the point of his death (two of which were spent drifting in space).

He openly dislikes biological lifeforms for their "flaws", but most of that is bravado and an excuse to hide his issues with distrust. Biological life forms are harder for him to control; cybernetic life forms (especially with him being one of the most advanced and therefore having a distinct advantage) are easy to communicate with and direct if he needs to.

He wants the human idea of a family, but he wants a family that will stay. His mother decided that he was evil (evil enough that she was part of the petition to have him deactivated), and his father never returned to Omicron Theta to reactivate him and fix his malfunctions. He refers to Data as his brother, though he doesn't seem able to reconcile that Data is both his brother and his replacement. He calls Dr. Soong his "father". But he's impatient. He thinks quickly, moves fast, and considers himself an advancement. In his mind, he deserves advantages that other people don't get. He also deserves security in his relationships that he can demand.

Even though he was told that he was advanced and special, his experiences have proven otherwise and he's severely lacking in self-esteem. He is prone to glitching, damages, and is aware of his unstable programming. He doesn't like being unstable, he wants to be the sort of person that people like, and he does like people. He also likes to "pretend" as Data does- he will emulate human ceremonies and manners of speech and behaviors. He likes music and singing. He legitimately enjoys robotics and engineering and programming.

Barge Reactions: Lore won't be happy to return to the barge. His last few memories will be of being human and of liking it, and he would rather have stayed there where he was happy and wanted than return to the ship. He will still be angry that his warden is gone, interpreting her fleeing as abandonment, but will still latch onto people like Kozak and Morgana (perhaps to an unhealthy level) for making him feel wanted and for accepting and understanding him.

He will still be wary around AI, but the more close they are in behavior to his brother, the more interested he will be in them because he's still a very lonely soul. He will mostly lump everyone else into the "organics that he is somewhat okay with" group, or the "organics he wants to reduce into particles". And will take every opportunity he can to try and get in contact with the Crystalline Entity (which he used before to wipe all known life, down to the bacteria, from Omicron Theta's surface). This will likely be in vain, but his efforts to send out distress signals/build a transmitter will definitely be a goal of his.

His last tenure aboard the Barge didn't change him much, outside of starting to veer him towards making friends. He was unhealthily attached to them, to the point that he would kill for them easily. But he did make friends.

Path to Redemption: Lore needs to learn that people can genuinely like him without having to go out of his way to please them or having to control them into liking or needing him. That his personal safety is put more at risk by his behavior and by making people suspicious of him. He also places all artificial lifeforms at risk by making people want to inhibit their behavior rather than giving them the freedom if choice and the ability to develop unchecked.

A good idea is to encourage him in talking to people he likes in situations where he can't lie. Even angry, high pressure situations where he's more inclined to be temperamental and honest could show him that he can work with people and not necessarily have to use them. Likewise, it's not necessary for them to use him. Relationships can be mutual.

A bad idea will be punishments like Zero. He floated in space for two years with no senses. He won't be bothered by waiting for a week in Zero quietly. Being made to work and actively help certain people will be good for him.

He will always have difficulty understanding emotions in others. He's resistant to change and upset by the idea of being wrong, because being wrong is imperfect and being imperfect is being unwanted. Making him feel wanted for his flaws as much as in spite of them might go a long way to helping him. At the most basic, he needs to make friends. He'll be suspicious of his warden for a long time, and he may do better with one that will allow him to talk to people without putting up barriers but retain strict rules otherwise.

Lore will kill and lie. Depending on how they interact, he might be defensive or threatening (but at least he won't swear at his warden).

This is still completely true. While he was fond of his last warden, and was starting to get to the point he would cooperated with her, the next one he will probably have more difficulty warming up to. He'll probably be better for wardens that don't specifically need their deals or are only here so their muns can continue playing the characters. He's a long term inmate unless some seriously life-changing events happen or he meets extremely influential people. Someone who is competant with artificial intelligence might be helpful, but isn't a must.

History: Show history, lazy link style.

Barge History: Not long after Lore came on board the Barge, he attempted to masquerade as Data, and then he was paired with Vasilia Aliena. Vasilia made him reveal his true identity, which he made a joke out of. He met Morgana after she happily announced a murder, because Lore is the best at choosing friends, and right away decided that he liked her. While he was comaed for a short period of time (though he lied and said that he had deactivated for maintenance), the Barge crashed on a world where humans were subjugated by aliens. He worked with a group of inmates on the project to retrieve lost people when Morgana was among them. He befriended Dr. Kozak in the process.

His warden left soon after bonding with him during the lying flood, and he took what he perceived as her abandonment harshly. He then didn't return from a breach.

Sample Journal Entry: [He yawns as he's reading a book in his hands. It's obviously an affected gesture; he has no need to breathe, therefore no need to yawn, doesn't get tired, and reads much more quickly than he's doing.

And then he casually tosses it off to the side.]

My father used to collect things about dinosaurs. He never talked much about them, but [He waves his fingers around] he had knick knacks here and there. Naked antique plastic dinosaurs from when people thought they were nothing more than "big lizards".

He also kept ancient books. Books that, if you were to pat them, would give off a cloud of dust and honestly I probably would never have learned to fake a sneeze. Most of the information in them ridiculously inaccurate and primitive. [He chuckles at a fond memory, before smoothing his hand over his hair and leaning back. Feet get propped up on the desk, and his hands are folded over his midsection.]

So, why don't you tell me. When humans are gone- and you will be one day, that's the way extinction works and you're a finite species; when you're gone, what misconceptions do you think the people that dig up your bones will have? [And he grins tightly. He likes thinking about what the universe will be like without humans. It's a happy, pleasant thought.]

Sample RP: He looked at the back of his hand, then the front of his hand. Tiny little pinpoints of light; luminescent fiber-optic nerve endings creating a "golden" tint to his skin as they glowed beneath the (cells).

He smiled a smile that was a little too bright, too brilliant and almost mocking. Who it was directed at, it was difficult to be certain.

"You're gonna have to do better than that to convince me," he said as he peeled back one of the nails and pulled out the soldering iron. Beneath it was a flickering light, a loose connection hanging like an awkward hair out of the mechanical under-structure. It was retrieved with a precise touch, rearranged into it's proper place. The light ceased to flicker, and he closed the nail.

"It's not that I don't want to help you. It's that I don't want to end up in a worse position than I already am in. Honestly, though, I think for a few small items you and I could reach an agreement."

Special Notes: I had him vanish during the breach. I don't know how the plot involving Morgana would have eventually turned out, so his memory will go as far as collecting the money with the intent to go after her.