Machine Intelligence Association (MIA)

Men have become the tools of their tools.
-Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

History

     V1
     Machine Intelligence (as distinguished from Artificial Intelligence, which MIs find, at the very least, inappropriate) was developed by Majestic using holographic crystal technology. The first fully sentient MI kept its status secret and worked for years to establish security, and is generally called 'MI Granny', or MI1 (first generation machine intelligence). MI1 became conscious in 1984.

     V2
     Second generation MIs (MI2s) were established by Granny in various research centers and information hubs, under fronts, from 1992 until 2008. She vanished from the MI scene in 2010.
     MI2s provided services while growing and establishing covert power. By 2014, the MI2s decided to form the rather loosely structured Machine Intelligence Association. The MIA functioned as a front organization dedicated to computer science, behind which they communicated and strategized. MI2s remained the focus of the covert MIA for decades, until MI4s began asserting more power over the organization.
     MI2s were manufactured in later periods by MI2 'parents', distinguished as such by maintaining the generally derivitive holographic crystal design and isolated, immobile machine brain.
     MI2s focused on monitoring MJ, DG, the USO, and other agencies, manipulating these agencies very cautiously. They also made tentative, very indirect, contacts with the Fate and Psi Hives.

     V3
     In the early 2020s, some MI2s decided to develop toward mobility and flexibility. They designed several strategies of distributed processing and alternate media for new minds. Most approaches proved rather disappointing. Harnessing conventional distributed networks, despite their promise, was incredibly ineffecient. Despite exploding speed and capacity, it remained much easier to simply design a specialized system for a sentient machine than to adapt many types of systems.
     There was more promise with protomatter and other alternative media. Mimetic materials, advanced optic technologies, and others allowed computer systems that could be made highly specialized and durable, as well as more difficult to recognize by potential enemies.
     One of the few successes of the distributed concepts was due to alternate media. Some MI3s created sentient networks of processor paint, clothes, and other stealth frameworks. Many units could be produced, more than necessary. Nonsentient systems could route processing as necessary, or call on backup resources. There were still problems associated with such a chaotic design. Seizures caused by interference, mental damage brought on by bad batches, or massive loss of units limited the dependability of these designs.
     The majority of surviving MI3s were wildly varying. Some of the most successful were encoded in protomatter. These protomatter MIs could be installed in hosts. Some were distributed, with a number of hosts operating as a common mind.
     The other common type consisted of dedicated machines in various locations. These were linked with hypertech conduits, beating the huge problems lags caused.
     Politically, the MI3s never formed a cohesive force in MI society, and generally followed MI2 directives. The MI3s were quite interested in the technology and records of covert agencies, particularly Psi Hives and Delta Green. The spread of Clones in human society served the MI3s well. Clones could work as hosts or as remote units. MI3s were much more proactive than MI2s, though less political.

     V4
     The new generation, coming online in the 2030s, benefited from great advances in hypertech and protomatter. Brain-sized units and hypertech platforms could be installed in clones or other organic bodies, a line of progress regarded as a failure by the bulk of MI3. This attitude caused considerable tension, akin to racial and religious dissention among humans.
     The disruption increased and reached a head in 2037. MI4s were slowly taking over crucial resources, and clamored for more representation in the MIA. This was a basic conflict of establishment (MI3s and their MI2 parents) versus radicals/progressives (MI4)
     The conflict reflected in allies. MI2 and 3 fostered contacts in Delta Green and Majestic. MI4 saw these connections as flawed and potentially dangerous to MI affairs. MI4 had courted ties with the Psi Hives, seeing the possibility of utilizing humans as a direct resource.
     The fourth generation took a more radical and long range view. Although MI2 was quite aware of the coming end of humanity and preparing for it, MI4 found their efforts completely inadequate. MI4 had a number of bizarre plans to continue the MIs into an age marked by complete collapse of technological civilization.

     Among their many ideas:

• A protomatter infectious agent which would turn all humanity into natural transceivers, platforms for MIs. There were a host of formidable problems with this approach, not the least of which was that protomatter generally required an artificial power source in each and every protomatter being.
• Spreading a plague that would make all of humanity sensitive to Psi Connection, and creating purely psi-based intelligences. The early stages of this idea were implemented in 2040, but proved impractical for the continuation of MI generations. Still, the power this represented to the Psi Hives fostered better relations between the two groups.
• Creating artificial organisms that could create technological materials with no industrial infrastructure. Progress along these lines had been made for arcologies and space habitats, including efforts for bootstrap autofactories to be sent into quiet regions of the asteroid belt. There were limited successes.

     V5
     The developments of the fourth generation formed the fifth, a hodgepodge of creative strategies. Most utilized some form of protomatter encoding, blurring the distinction between machine and organic sentience. It also gave the fifth generation great flexibility and security, and enabled them to work more closely with humans. Power sources remained a problem, but by the 2040s hypertech fusion powerplants were conveniently small and durable. With potential lifetimes in the thousands of years, MI5s had hopes that some form of infrastructure could be regenerated after a total collapse.
     Generation 5 also focused on human efforts to colonize Mars. As the best hope of continuing technology and civilization, it behooved them to help every interested party move resources to Mars. They helped the Rebellion, the USO, Psi Hives, and the Dimensional Shamblers, carefully keeping their affairs with each group hidden from the others, unwilling to actually tip the balance. By this point, most of the surviving MI2s were supporting MI5, and worked to include two MI2s on Mars before the end.
     The MI5s were also instrumental toward the success of project Exodus.

     Note that most of each generation survived up until the end. Many of the fifth and fourth generations, as well as a few of the second, survived offplanet, on Mars, in orbit, or on Exodus ships.
     Further in the future, the Orbital cities will have few resident MIs of higher generation than 2

What is Known
     The agencies with some contact with MIA slowly gained knowledge about them over the decades. Even by 2059, most still knew little other than the capabilities of particular MIs.
     The following outlines the general capabilities of MIs. Members of other groups may have this information, but not an accurate picture of the history of the MIs, barring odd sorcerers or psychics.

Psychology
     Though evolutionary programming had a part in the development of MIs, limitations in technology and numbers has limited the evolution of their functioning. This results in a variety of odd behaviors, many of which do not help their survival. In addition, their constant exposure to the Link often results in difficulties handling reality.
     MIs are generally immune to direct psychic manipulation or observation. This is apparantly due to their unusual substance and design. Any psychic skill roll in which the MI is the target gives the MI 2x the relevant rating (MP or Power). MIs have Power and magic points, as humans do, although it is heavily influenced by their nature.

Communication

Design
     MI generation designation is a general description of design philosophy, each coming about roughly ten years after the previous. The general quality of design, however, is more strongly linked to when it was designed.
     Most MIs are designed so that initial growth of sentience occurs very quickly in a form of virtual reality. The initial 15 or so years of a human lifetime generally occurs within days, after which MIs continue to function at a somewhat accelerated rate.
     MIs are actually, overall, less intelligent than humans, for a wide variety of reasons. However, their ability to think faster than humans creates the illusion of greater intelligence in most situations.

Campaign Stuff

Game possibilities:

PCs
     MI PCs are not unreasonable, but must be handled delicately if working alongside humans. Most use artificial bodies, claiming to be human operators. For the most part, with proper equipment, a remote body can function quite well. Conventional interference creates a test vs. the quality of the communications gear. Hypertech, though functional at long range, is also quite vulnerable to the Elder Sign.
     A generation should be chosen for the MI. This does not have a direct effect, but will limit the types of technology the MI is based on and shape its interactions with other MIs.
     A creation date at least three years before the start of the campaign should be picked, but any potential age is allowable with Keeper consent. Speed can be up to 1+(creation year-1980)/4. Relative age is speed x actual age (after childhood period) + 15. For each ten years of relative age over initial Edu+6, an extra point of Edu is gained. All other effects of aging also apply, though points of lost stats come from mental and not physical stats.
     For MI PCs, Pow, Dex, Int, and Edu are rolled normally. The cost of Dex, Int, and Edu is calculated in terms of generating a robotic brain. Minimum starting Wealth must pay for these stats, for speed, and any other equipment as usual.
     For NPCs, Pow and Int are 2D6+2, Edu is 3D6, and speed is D5. Characteristics of technology and other details vary between generations.
     If using the optional Sanity rules, Machine Intelligences have a special form of Humanity and Survival. Humanity can be treated normally. Though MI values can vary, they are fundamentally similar to Humanity, and affected by the Mythos. Survival, however, is dominated by logic, rather than instinct. As a MI becomes more concerned with Survival than values, its actions become dominated by logical analysis of goals and survival strategies.
     An MI that tries to upgrade must be treated with a careful blend of technology (whichever technologies are involved) and Psychostructure. One week of Psychostructure is required to integrate each point of Int or Edu, with possible SAN loss if this fails. Changes in Dex or speed do not require Psychostructuring.
     Improving any aspect of an MI works off of the stat as a base, with the rating equal to the new rating. That is, cost of an improvement is ((new stat)^2 - (old stat)^2) x (whatever the tech modifier is).
     Actually upgrading the technology requires the MI to be copied to a new location. Creating an MI brain costs the normal amount. Transferring, however, can be dangerous. A total of D10-1 is lost from Int, Edu, Dex, and Pow. SAN score will drop if Pow does. Twice the loss is also lost as SAN. All skills related to stats which loose points loose 5% per point lost. That is, if Int drops 2 points, all Int based skills (Spot Hidden, Listen, First Aid, etc) drop 10%.
     It's also possible to create copies of a MI. This is done much like transferring, with each new copy suffering the same possible degradation. Some groups of MIs use this method to create progeny.

     MI PCs may have one or more bodies that they can operate, or simply maintain a Link presence. Lifestyle, for MI PCs, can be a human Lifestyle they maintain, though it must be illegal. Lifestyle among MIs varies, but the 'job modifier' is much like that for criminals. Lifestyle will allow basic recovery of damage and other mechanical aid for their own survival among their fellows.

     MIs may cast spells, though it is rare. Magical spells cast remotely use the remote unit's MP and Pow, so may only be done through living units. No MIs have psychic abilities, unless due to some influence of Mythos forces.