Tuesday, October 9, 2012

This Town Is Lousy With Robots

Illustration by the real life Nelly, April 2008
Every day the students write in their journals and draw an accompanying picture. I encourage them to write and illustrate the things they see, do and feel. Today, Nelly produced a colorful rendering of a large, hulking robot.

     “What’s that?” I asked.
     “It’s the big robot I saw in the alley behind our apartment.”
     “Really?”
     “Yeah. It was really big and it kicked a trash can that was in the way and it really scared me.”
     “I’m sorry you were afraid. Did you see where it went?”
     “No. It just went down the alley and some guys came running after it, but I don’t know what happened because I had to brush my teeth.”
     “Well, okay then. Thank you for sharing.”

     I tend to take my students’ journal entries at face value. There’s a lot of weird stuff in this city and this isn’t the first time a student has spotted an out of control robot. Just the other day Nelly's classmate, Miguel, told me about a run-in with something robotic. I have got to figure out where these things are coming from!

Nelly’s Robot (167 points)
SM 0 (7’ tall, 350 lbs.);
ST 23 [130], DX 10, IQ 7 [-60], HT 12 [20];
HP 23, Will 7, Per 10 [15], FP NA;
Basic Lift 180, Damage: Thr 2d+1/Sw 4d+1; Basic Speed 5.5, Basic Move 5; Dodge 5, Parry (see attacks), Block -;
DR 6.

Advantages and Perks 
Damage Resistance 6 [30], Digital Mind [5], Doesn’t Breathe [20], Doesn’t Eat or Drink [10], Doesn’t Sleep [20], Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30], Infravision [10], Injury Tolerance (no blood/ unliving) [25], Lifting Strength 7 [21], Night Vision 7 [7], Pressure Support 1 [5], Radiation Tolerance 20 [20], Tech Level 9 [5], Telecommunication (infrared) [10], Temperature Tolerance 3 [3], Unfazeable [15], Vacuum Support [5].

Disadvantages and Quirks 
Dependency* (very common -5, constantly x5) [-25], Disturbing Voice [-10], Electrical [-20], Hidebound [-5], Incurious (6) [-10], Low Empathy [-20], Maintenance (1 person, weekly) [-5], No Sense of Humor [-10], Reprogrammable [-10], Slave Mentality [-40], Unhealing [-30].

Skills 
Brawling-11 [2], Throwing-11 [4]

Attacks 
Punch-11, 2d cr, Reach C, Parry 8.

*The robot has a battery pack that can run for 8 hours on a single charge. The robot can plug itself into a wall socket for 2 hours to recharge.

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8 comments:

  1. Mind your own business, Human Unit Reed. This is out of your league.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I accept your challenge. Where the safety of my students is concerned, there can be no compromise.

      Delete
  2. While Mister Reed and the Spybot argue, I'd like to tell you a bit about this robot. It first appeared in Iridia no. 62, which was published in April 2008.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. I agree. He's still mad that a 19-year-old girl kicked his head off. He was able to transmit his memory to a new unit, hence his appearance hear. I guess he has to be put down in a way that inhibits his way of transmitting data. Kind of like a Cylon, I guess. :)

      Delete
  4. take that, garbage truck. I would never have thought to turn him into a robot, because he scared the crap out of me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's a government conspiracy.... One can plainly see in the photo the trio of black vehicles (including an SUV) staking out the neighborhood.
    Dang... what's that noise coming from my office? Hmm. GAAH???/......



    "Thank you for your report, Citizen. Unfortunately, your team is not equipped to handle the additional threat. Please do not engage the additional communist traitors and proceed only with your original mission. An additional mission will be scheduled as soon as possible."
    --The Computer

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