I'll start with the androids, as that's easiest for me to explain.
As of the point Doug visited there were two sets of androids running around, althogh they were not publically confirmed to be around until I think mid-2009
(Miyu broke that little secret I think). The first set are the companions of The Professor, but there weren't exactly publicly known as such (although the
rumors were circulating) and AFAIK he hasn't made any more. The second set were the Scott-series, primarily built by A.C. Peters on order from Noah Scott
then finished by the latter (A.C. Lifted soon after the 'Angels' Awakening and headed in to the Main Belt looking for an asteroid he could mine/set up
shop on). Again, they weren't known about until after Kandor-con. (Rob, am I getting this right?)
By the current timeframe (May to July 2013), the state-of-the-kludge allows the creation of bodies for AI's fairly easily. The prime movers in this
business are A.C. (who has several androids now helping her out), Vulpine Fury (who has the unfortunate usage quirk of not being able to Awaken AI's in his
bodies), and Stellvia. There are a bunch of others who have made androids as well.
AI's are a different kettle of fish. An AI Awakening in a newly 'Waved computer system is one of the more common quirks. Gina is unusual as Ben
DIDN'T want an AI. This is normally enough to ensure one DOESN'T Awaken, although the potential is always there and can lead to an Awakening further
down the line (unless purposly engineered NOT to happen). Further more, instead of the general psychic emmisions of Ben leading to a template it was the Auska
profiles that were used (remember, Ben wasn't considering having an AI IIRC). As a note, this sort of thing has been done on purpose for specific AI
templates, but it's frowned upon. A standard Awakening usually involves 'Waving a computer, with some sort of vague idea of what sort of computer
should be like. It may take time, but the resultant AI is normally close enough to a counterpart of the waver to make thing interesting. Actually 'Waving
for an AI is normally best done by thinking of the purpose you want the AI for, and the 'Wave does the rest.
Of course, the moral and ethical problems of Awakening infomorphs (thanks Fnord for that term) can not be ignored. While the vast majority of Fen default to
giving full rights to AI's (and it's a simple interpretation of the Articles of Convention), there are still a few infomorphs in practical slavery
around (technically this includes Trigon, but he gets 'paroled' every now and again).
As of the point Doug visited there were two sets of androids running around, althogh they were not publically confirmed to be around until I think mid-2009
(Miyu broke that little secret I think). The first set are the companions of The Professor, but there weren't exactly publicly known as such (although the
rumors were circulating) and AFAIK he hasn't made any more. The second set were the Scott-series, primarily built by A.C. Peters on order from Noah Scott
then finished by the latter (A.C. Lifted soon after the 'Angels' Awakening and headed in to the Main Belt looking for an asteroid he could mine/set up
shop on). Again, they weren't known about until after Kandor-con. (Rob, am I getting this right?)
By the current timeframe (May to July 2013), the state-of-the-kludge allows the creation of bodies for AI's fairly easily. The prime movers in this
business are A.C. (who has several androids now helping her out), Vulpine Fury (who has the unfortunate usage quirk of not being able to Awaken AI's in his
bodies), and Stellvia. There are a bunch of others who have made androids as well.
AI's are a different kettle of fish. An AI Awakening in a newly 'Waved computer system is one of the more common quirks. Gina is unusual as Ben
DIDN'T want an AI. This is normally enough to ensure one DOESN'T Awaken, although the potential is always there and can lead to an Awakening further
down the line (unless purposly engineered NOT to happen). Further more, instead of the general psychic emmisions of Ben leading to a template it was the Auska
profiles that were used (remember, Ben wasn't considering having an AI IIRC). As a note, this sort of thing has been done on purpose for specific AI
templates, but it's frowned upon. A standard Awakening usually involves 'Waving a computer, with some sort of vague idea of what sort of computer
should be like. It may take time, but the resultant AI is normally close enough to a counterpart of the waver to make thing interesting. Actually 'Waving
for an AI is normally best done by thinking of the purpose you want the AI for, and the 'Wave does the rest.
Of course, the moral and ethical problems of Awakening infomorphs (thanks Fnord for that term) can not be ignored. While the vast majority of Fen default to
giving full rights to AI's (and it's a simple interpretation of the Articles of Convention), there are still a few infomorphs in practical slavery
around (technically this includes Trigon, but he gets 'paroled' every now and again).