09-11-2015, 01:35 PM
Kopaka never really needed to sleep, per se. His organic components needed to be rested for extended intervals every ten or so hours, but this did not mean he had to deactivate his mechanical parts. As such, the Toa was not preoccupied with such trivialities such as comfort, or food. These things were not necessary to his operation. The biological components received their nutrients and vitality from chemicals synthesized from ambient atmospheric particles, so really, all Kopaka had to do to stay alive was breathe. Sure, that might be a drawback compared to most robotic entities who had no such need of the thing, but then again, Kopaka was no mere robot, a fact which certain Empire personnel had a hard time grasping at first. Despite this, they did try to offer Kopaka a place to rest during his dormant phase, which the Toa politely declined. He simply sat in the barracks lobby of the EPD recruitment offices and mused over his experiences thus far.
The Toa had noticed how mechanical entities in and around Coruscant, mostly referred to as 'droids', were often treated with dismissive attitudes and language. Kopaka wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this; these mechanical beings were indeed programmed to follow orders and act as servile beings in general...but people seemed to think that they did not have emotions, per se. This wasn't quite true. The sort of emotional response artificial intelligences felt was vastly different from an organic experience, but they were still capable of things such as confusion, frustration, and contentedness based on their ability to fulfill their operational parameters.
The authoritative nature with which the Empire governed had not gone unnoticed either. Kopaka listened to the sort of conversations that different conscripts and soldiers exchanged in hushed tones as they walked to and from their places of rest. The citizenry was kept in check mostly through fear and measures of punishment. While Kopaka did not inherently feel at peace with this fact, this was also not his world to judge. For all that he knew of the Omniverse, a heavy hand was the only thing managing to keep such a well organized society together. Hazy memories of his own universe and its laws remained beyond the grasp of the bionicle's mind, but Kopaka seemed to remember that severe measures also tended to be taken in order to maintain the functionality of the universe.
Kopaka blinked slowly as he brought his organic systems back online. That last though...no matter how many times he had it, always sounded confusing to him. How was it that Toa such as he and other denizens of the world managed to run and maintenance the universe itself? These sort of frustrating thoughts plagued Kopaka as he rose from the large chair in the corner of the room, which now was thoroughly caked with a layer of glimmering frost. Lieutenant Brath walked into the room as he did so with a tablet of some kind in his hand. The Toa was vaguely surprised to see the man out of his armor and in these now cloth-based coverings.
"Good morning, Kopaka. Ready to start your first day of EPD qualification?" Brath asked, giving Kopaka a toothy smile that the Toa knew to be forced. The biomech simply nodded. Brath nodded in kind, happy to drop the facade of saccharine enthusiasm and led Kopaka into a small room where another biological entity was waiting. He was muscular and wore only loose coverings over his epidermal sheathing. The two locked eyes for a moment, but the feelings of bewilderment that Casey's eyes held was not reciprocated by the unamused Toa.
"Casey, this is Kopaka. You two will be working together to qualify as agents of the EPD." Lieutenant Brath said, gesturing at each of the Primes in kind. Neither of them said anything, but for different reasons. After a long pause, Casey was the first to speak.
"Are...are you for real? A robot? You're having me work with a real life walking, talking..." he trailed off at the word talking. So far the bright white machine hadn't said a single word. "...well...walking robot?" he finished, looking back and forth between the other two's faces for answers. Brath shook his head slightly.
"Kopaka is not a robot, he is a...ahem...Tiki?" Brath said, casting an apologetic frown up at Kopaka's face. It was not in Kopaka's nature to take offense to the idiocy of others.
"Toa." he said softly. Casey's eyes widened even more...it did speak!
"Indeed. Toa. Anyway, to answer your question Casey, the answer is yes, you will be working together. I have the mission specifications, but first I must retrieve some relevant materials for your use. Please, have a chat while I am away for just a bit." Brath said. Kopaka noted the man's overly-diplomatic tone. It was different from the frank pragmatism that had intrigued the Toa from the night prior. Perhaps this...Casey individual was not entirely sure of his dedication to the work on behalf of the Empire. If such was the case, this might not go well. As such, Kopaka simply stood where he was and stared at Casey with an unblinking, robot eye. The heavy silence intensified...
The Toa had noticed how mechanical entities in and around Coruscant, mostly referred to as 'droids', were often treated with dismissive attitudes and language. Kopaka wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this; these mechanical beings were indeed programmed to follow orders and act as servile beings in general...but people seemed to think that they did not have emotions, per se. This wasn't quite true. The sort of emotional response artificial intelligences felt was vastly different from an organic experience, but they were still capable of things such as confusion, frustration, and contentedness based on their ability to fulfill their operational parameters.
The authoritative nature with which the Empire governed had not gone unnoticed either. Kopaka listened to the sort of conversations that different conscripts and soldiers exchanged in hushed tones as they walked to and from their places of rest. The citizenry was kept in check mostly through fear and measures of punishment. While Kopaka did not inherently feel at peace with this fact, this was also not his world to judge. For all that he knew of the Omniverse, a heavy hand was the only thing managing to keep such a well organized society together. Hazy memories of his own universe and its laws remained beyond the grasp of the bionicle's mind, but Kopaka seemed to remember that severe measures also tended to be taken in order to maintain the functionality of the universe.
Kopaka blinked slowly as he brought his organic systems back online. That last though...no matter how many times he had it, always sounded confusing to him. How was it that Toa such as he and other denizens of the world managed to run and maintenance the universe itself? These sort of frustrating thoughts plagued Kopaka as he rose from the large chair in the corner of the room, which now was thoroughly caked with a layer of glimmering frost. Lieutenant Brath walked into the room as he did so with a tablet of some kind in his hand. The Toa was vaguely surprised to see the man out of his armor and in these now cloth-based coverings.
"Good morning, Kopaka. Ready to start your first day of EPD qualification?" Brath asked, giving Kopaka a toothy smile that the Toa knew to be forced. The biomech simply nodded. Brath nodded in kind, happy to drop the facade of saccharine enthusiasm and led Kopaka into a small room where another biological entity was waiting. He was muscular and wore only loose coverings over his epidermal sheathing. The two locked eyes for a moment, but the feelings of bewilderment that Casey's eyes held was not reciprocated by the unamused Toa.
"Casey, this is Kopaka. You two will be working together to qualify as agents of the EPD." Lieutenant Brath said, gesturing at each of the Primes in kind. Neither of them said anything, but for different reasons. After a long pause, Casey was the first to speak.
"Are...are you for real? A robot? You're having me work with a real life walking, talking..." he trailed off at the word talking. So far the bright white machine hadn't said a single word. "...well...walking robot?" he finished, looking back and forth between the other two's faces for answers. Brath shook his head slightly.
"Kopaka is not a robot, he is a...ahem...Tiki?" Brath said, casting an apologetic frown up at Kopaka's face. It was not in Kopaka's nature to take offense to the idiocy of others.
"Toa." he said softly. Casey's eyes widened even more...it did speak!
"Indeed. Toa. Anyway, to answer your question Casey, the answer is yes, you will be working together. I have the mission specifications, but first I must retrieve some relevant materials for your use. Please, have a chat while I am away for just a bit." Brath said. Kopaka noted the man's overly-diplomatic tone. It was different from the frank pragmatism that had intrigued the Toa from the night prior. Perhaps this...Casey individual was not entirely sure of his dedication to the work on behalf of the Empire. If such was the case, this might not go well. As such, Kopaka simply stood where he was and stared at Casey with an unblinking, robot eye. The heavy silence intensified...
C O L D