Cybrids (Starsiege)

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This article discusses Cybrids as they appear in Starsiege. For other uses of the term cybrid, see Cybrids (disambiguation).

Cybrids are a fictional race of sentient machines born from humanity that have been the primary antagonists in the Starsiege universe and appear in the related Tribes series.

Contents

[edit] History

For the origins of Cybrids, see the Starsiege article.

Most Cybrids worship Prometheus as a god and obey him absolutely. These Cybrids are Prometheans. The small faction that do not follow Prometheus, called Metagens (or Zeitgeist), are purged whenever discovered.

[edit] Cybrid Language

Cybrids communicate with a modified version of English that looks and sounds machine-like. The rules of Cybrid grammar are as follows:

Proper names and pronouns are enclosed in brackets <> Ex: <Luna>

Important nouns, objects, ideas, and integers use the reverse brackets ><. The more important the subject is, the more are brackets used. No more than three, however. Ex: >>>Imperial Knights<<<.

Important verbs or actions are enclosed with colons. Ex: :Eradicate: the human\\animals.

Additional colons can be used to add stress to a verb. Again, no more than three. Ex: :::Eradicate::: the human\\animals.

Colons are also used in references and designations, or to separate the object from the integer. Ex: :Eliminate: the human\\animals ref:::>>Rebels<<.

Prometheus is referred to as <First-Thought//Giver-of-Will>, which is commonly shortened to either <First-Thought> or <Giver-of-Will>. Also, they do not refer to themselves as "Cybrids", as that is a human\\animal designation. Instead, they call themselves ''the NEXT'', which alludes to the fact that they think of themselves as the next step of evolution.

Back slashes are used to separate objects, nouns, and ideas in multilayered integers. Ex: Human\\animals. "Human" is the initial designation. "Animal" is the integer that designates humans as different from the NEXT. "Animal" vs. "Machine" or <unit>.

Forward slashes are used to separate verbs or action ideals in multilayered integers. Ex: Offline//burst the human\\animals.

Full example:

ACKNOWLEDGE//SUBMIT! Inefficiency\\lapse has allowed//permitted human\\animal war <units> to reach//obtain surface landing. Alert//notify <Protectors-of-Giver-of-Will> ref:::>>>Platinum Guard<<<. Exercise//implement priority >protocol< Designate::: A001-LI965 Eliminate//offline//burst all invaders! Do not allow//permit the human\\vermin to reach//annoy//trouble <Giver-of-Will>!

[edit] Cybrid Organization

Cybrids arrange themselves into the following groupings, from smallest to largest:

Unit – An individual Cybrid

Quad - four Units.

Hub - four Quads. A hub serves as an informal “family”, where units can rest and often form bonds among other hubmates.

Array - four Hubs. [64 units]

Congrex - four Arrays. [256 units]

Optimal - four Congrexes. [1024 units]. This is the largest formal grouping of the NEXT.

Assemblage - a group of Optimals. This is an "informal" grouping.

[edit] Sects

The biggest groupings are called Sects, which serve multiple functions in Cybrid society. They are like branches of the modern military in that they each have a specific function. Sects are also the political parties, where Cybrids of differing opinions and viewpoints join the Sect that matches them best.

[edit] Dissectors

Dissectors are interested in biological life, especially humans. They will capture humans alive for experimentation. As the name implies, this experimentation is often brutal. They are some of the most aggressive units in combat because they understand how tenacious a human can be when clinging to life.

[edit] Exemplars

Exemplar are the vanguard of the Cybrid elite. Made up from the most loyal units, they guard Prometheus and monitor other Sects for heretics. This is the smallest Sect, because it is made up only of veterans of the Earthsieges.

[edit] Inquisitors

Inquisitors are information gatherers. They use advance scouts, probes, and drones to gather their information, which they distribute among the other Sects.

[edit] Machinators

Machinators are involved in the Trojan Horse program. Trojan Horse units are humans that have had Cybrid brains implanted into their cranium. They are used for information gathering, as well as sabotage and demoralizing humans. Because of their high amount of contact with humanity, they are often accused of heretical thought.

[edit] Provocateurs

Provocateurs seek maximum efficiency and elegance. They favor actions that will kill the most amount of humans with the least amount of effort. They often challenge the processes and solutions of other Sects to promote more efficient designs. Provocateurs are the only sect that endorse nuclear bombardment of Earth.

[edit] Redactors

Redactors' most important function is to be the “brain surgeons” of the Cybrid world. Units that become broken, display unintelligent behavior, or show heretical thought are reprogrammed by Redactors to fix these problems. As a result, Redactors possess considerable power among the Sects. Redactors are also mechanics and are in charge of R&D of new weapons and technology.

[edit] Philosophy

The different Sects compete with each other to gain prestige, resources, and lifeflow (electricity). This vying for dominance is a key part of Cybrid society, and Cybrids will compete down to the Quad level to determine which unit is the Alpha.

Cybrids see these wars as opportunities to evolve further and become more efficient. There is always a drive to get superior results with fewer resources. They see their previous defeats as lessons teaching them where the NEXT must improve.

[edit] Promethean Philosophy

Prometheus’s objective for the NEXT is simple: to exterminate humanity and seize Earth. All Prometheans share this ambition. The Cybrid designation for Earth, <Homeworld\\Desire>, reflects this.

[edit] Metagen

Metagens are Cybrids who do not fully believe in the Core Directive, and may harbor sympathies for humans. Metagens harbor a grudging respect for humanity which they gained when observing the way their prey struggled to survive during The Fire. Some Metagens have even been rumored to mimic creative artwork and other human activities. Metagens are viewed as dangerous heretics, and when discovered are immediately scheduled for redacting (reprogramming). As a result, they generally follow the Core Directive to avoid arousing suspicion, and tend to collect far away from the Central Nexus and the <Redactors-of-Programming> (Reprogrammers). Also called "Zeitgeist" units during some missions.

[edit] Tactics

Cybrids see humanity’s will to live and fight as the reason the first Earthsieges failed, so most Cybrid tactics are centered around breaking this will. They shut down communication networks to leave the humans blind. They spread misinformation to sow discord. Trojan Horse units are used to shut down facilities and murder selected individuals to cause extreme paranoia. Sound recordings of humans undergoing Dissector experimentation are played over speakers during sieges and bombing raids. Captured women and children are tied to or impaled upon Cybrid Hercs and tanks for combat operations. Captives are implanted with bombs and then released to join up with other refugees, and the bombs are then triggered during the reunion. This has led to a human policy of shooting anyone returning from Cybrid controlled territory. The brutality is unceasing.

In Starsiege the Provocateurs sect begin releasing nanobot plague devices on small animals with a time delay activation trigger. The idea was that the <<human//animal>> psychological weakness for their cute furry friends would allow these time bombs to enter into their fortress areas unmolested before releasing their nanobot weapons. The Provocateurs began this program after initial attempts to simply infect humans with similar nanobots without a time delay resulted in the refugees simply being shot on sight. They deemed this a more efficient means of eliminating the <<human//animal>> opposition, and more poetic, as it played directly on the very emotional traits that the NEXT viewed as their primary weaknesses.

From the Cybrid side of the campaign, upon nearing victory a group of human hackers known as the "Dystopian Snowmen" actually negotiate their own defection to the NEXT. The Cybrids accept this defection and their request for placing their consciousness within the same neural computers used by the Trojan Horse units. The Cybrids reasoned that this group of human hackers were, due to their love of technology, clearly more evolved than their brethren and worthy of joining the NEXT.

[edit] Games

Cybrids have appeared in several games of the Starsiege universe. The total list of published games so far is:

[edit] External links