Lore Questions

[JustNicole]

I had some questions regarding the lore of this world, and I assumed this is the appropriate place to put them. I apologize for the length, but I feel these are all important lore questions that I have not seen answered anywhere.


On artificial intelligence and robotics

• There is a classification system for them, but who does the classifications? Commonwealth? Another agency?
  
• Do robotics operators or artificial intelligence have to pass some sort of training or test? For example, if I developed a police android to assist officers, what sort of test or training would it have to go through?
  
• What level of restriction exists on the firepower that said robot or artificial intelligence operates? Would a robot wielding a chain-fed machine gun be acceptable in public and such?
  

On the military:

• Are there restrictions to prohibit countries from using developed soldiers in military operations?
  
• If so, how long have such restrictions been in place?
  
• In addition, do countries regularly skirt by these rules and have "unofficial" groups of developed that are used?
  

On supers:

• Has the super population experienced an upward trend in growth? That is to say while they were considered rare in history, they've become more and more common moving into 2040?
  
• What's estimated frequency of the population that does actually have their gene activate?
  

On the SILPA:

• Given the "neutered" state of the Commonwealth, how exactly is the SILPA enforced? Specifically, when someone's gene activates, how exactly does the Commonwealth find out beyond anonymous tips?
  
• If someone does slip by getting a limiter placed on them, how exactly does anyone determine that they did not have a limiter placed on them when many supers are walking around without them already?
  
• How does the limiter work exactly? Are the powers entirely unable to be used? How does it determine the difference between public and private space?
  
• Does every country on Earth use some form of the SILPA?
  

On America:

• How does America handle undocumented supers? Do they have any sort of detection system? Who deals with arresting such supers?
  
• How does immigration handle supers? Is there preferential treatment given to supers, particularly supers of higher ranks, similar to the "best and the brightest" immigration visas of the past? If so, do they have to go through some form of the SILPA?
  
• How does America protect its borders against supers coming in undocumented, if at all? 
  

On the super classification system:

• What is the difference between rank A and rank S, beyond the point difference? By that I mean in the in-game universe how during testing do they say this power warrants rank A vs rank S? Could two people come in with the same power and one be ranked A and one be ranked S? If so, what would be such an example, and what would be the difference between them?
  
• When it said that S ranks never have their limiters removed, is there ever any scenario where that would happen? Is the limiter the only restriction they have on them, or are they also constantly monitored, etc. ?
  
• What % of the super population are classified as rank S and what % at rank A?
  

 

[welian]

There is a classification system for them, but who does the classifications? Commonwealth? Another agency?

It's not addressed in-universe because it's not an important detail, but it's an industry standard/regulation, so probably the federal trade commission or something.

Do robotics operators or artificial intelligence have to pass some sort of training or test? For example, if I developed a police android to assist officers, what sort of test or training would it have to go through?

I'd imagine they'd have to meet government/industry/company specifications on appropriate behavior. A police android would need to be programmed with all the rules of the locality it is operating in, and have an extensive, advanced AI that would allow it to make life-or-death decisions in milliseconds.

What level of restriction exists on the firepower that said robot or artificial intelligence operates? Would a robot wielding a chain-fed machine gun be acceptable in public and such?

As a GM, it's limited to whatever can be reasonably attached to a robot. So, mostly guns, lasers, and melee weapons. A robot wielding a chain-fed machine gun is acceptable from my perspective as a GM, but NOT in-universe from the perspective of the public. Open carry is one thing, unattended machine of war that someone could hack with all these nasty, suspicious supers around is another.

Are there restrictions to prohibit countries from using developed soldiers in military operations?

I don't know what you mean by developed soldier.

Has the super population experienced an upward trend in growth? That is to say while they were considered rare in history, they've become more and more common moving into 2040?

No. It's relatively constant, bar events such as genocide and plagues. What is happening in-story is the development of scientific theory contributing to a greater understanding of how the world actually works, and how to identify supers. Basically, better diagnostic tools to sniff out the lower ranked supers who might never be noticed.

What's estimated frequency of the population that does actually have their gene activate?

Probably around 5% of the world population.

Given the "neutered" state of the Commonwealth, how exactly is the SILPA enforced? Specifically, when someone's gene activates, how exactly does the Commonwealth find out beyond anonymous tips?

Bullshit technobabble called "enigma particles", which is a combination of electromagnetic radiation and genetic residue that supers produce. Basically Commonwealth agents hang outside middle schools with glorified Geiger counters to meet their quotas. It's also assumed that mandatory reporters or parents will do their job and report when a child develops powers. It's not a perfect system.

If someone does slip by getting a limiter placed on them, how exactly does anyone determine that they did not have a limiter placed on them when many supers are walking around without them already?

You can't, really. You can test for an excessively high concentration of enigma particles, which means that there are either a LOT of supers in a small area, or one or two power ones not wearing a limiter, or you can wait until an accident happens and there's an investigation.

How does the limiter work exactly? Are the powers entirely unable to be used? How does it determine the difference between public and private space?

More bullshit technobabble. We don't really know, and as roleplayers, we just kinda handwave it. Powers are dampened until they are effectively D or C rank. The limiter constantly broadcasts information on its subject to a Commonwealth office, so that they get alerts when someone's limiter suddenly goes offline. The limiter doesn't determine whether you're in a public or private space. It's up to the super to use good judgement on when to take it off. For example, most supers will take them off when they get home for the evening (unless they're in prisoner and have a shackle or chip type limiter).

Does every country on Earth use some form of the SILPA?

Don't know. There's like, 180 to 200 countries. I don't even know them all. Since the RP takes place in the USA and is about domestic terrorists, it's the only country my world-building focuses on.

How does America handle undocumented supers? Do they have any sort of detection system? Who deals with arresting such supers?

Undocumented supers, when discovered, are immediately held "for safety reasons" and then sent to the closest Commonwealth office for testing. An enigma detector can be used to identify the presence of someone with superpowers, but they're not really specific enough to be useful in these instances. Commonwealth deals with adding supers to the system, and steps in to arrest them if the police department is unable to do so.

How does America protect its borders against supers coming in undocumented, if at all? 

An illegal alien is an illegal alien. They're getting deported once they're found and there are system resources to deal with them.

What is the difference between rank A and rank S, beyond the point difference? By that I mean in the in-game universe how during testing do they say this power warrants rank A vs rank S? Could two people come in with the same power and one be ranked A and one be ranked S? If so, what would be such an example, and what would be the difference between them?

From a roleplaying perspective, an A rank is a powerful super, and an S rank is a rare gem of "holy shit we CANNOT let that guy walk around unattended." In-story, the same sentiment is used from the perspective of the Commonwealth agency. For example, the three S ranks in my GM database atm:

• A woman who can produce drugs. She can literally sweat cocaine. That's not someone you want wandering the streets. What if she becomes a dealer? What if she's the key to producing some rare, life-saving drug for cancer patients? She's valuable. She needs to be monitored.
  
• A man who is a black hole. He defies the laws of physics. He always shows up blurry because he is so dense, that light is distorted around him. He accidentally killed his parents as a child with his powers, and Commonwealth agents try to keep an eye on him and help him out, because how do you integrate a spacetime anomaly into society? How??? If he gets killed, does the planet explode?
  
• A former terrorist leader with metal manipulation powers. It's not even that his powers are S-rank level, I'd say his powers are A-rank. It's just that he's got a violent criminal history, and has a power that is grossly over-effective in urban environments.
  

Sometimes Commonwealth, in-universe, will artificially inflate a person's rank if they feel that person would benefit from additional protection or surveillance. You might also see some players refer to a rank with a trailer number, 1-5. This refers to an experimental ranking system I never finished creating, where in addition to letter ranks, a number was assigned based on, loosely, area of effect. The metal manipulator would be an S5, and the drug producer would be an S1 or S2.


If a metal manipulator did not have a criminal history and lived in a city, they'd be an A rank. If they had a clean record and lived out in the country, an agent there might assign them a B rank.

When it said that S ranks never have their limiters removed, is there ever any scenario where that would happen? Is the limiter the only restriction they have on them, or are they also constantly monitored, etc. ?

Internal limiters can break or have the battery run down, like a pacemaker. Sometimes things get broken, accidents happen, and sometimes an S-rank vigilante is allowed to turn off their limiter and use the full extent of their powers to assist with enforcing the law. S-ranks are also constantly monitored. There aren't that many of them, and most of them are normal people (personality-wise), so it's not as gargantuan a task as it might seem.

What % of the super population are classified as rank S and what % at rank A?

I don't have specific percentages. D, C, and B are the most common in-universe. S is exceedingly rare. A is uncommon.

 

[JustNicole]

Thanks for the answers! You did an amazing job promptly answering all my questions. I wish I could give you multiple likes for a single post, I'd be spamming that button so hard right now.  :x Seriously, thank you for the answers. I apologize for the number of questions and amount of time that must have taken you to respond to. 


The only thing I wanted to clarify since you seemed uncertain what I was referring to is whether or not people with the super gene that is activated are allowed in the military. Essentially, can Russia and the United States send their supers against each other? Can the United States send supers overseas to knock down a terrorist's front door?