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Old 09-18-2013, 07:23 AM   #37
vicky_molokh
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Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: Nanofabricators, DRM and Forced Scarcity

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha View Post
It's all about price points, if a robot/bioroid costs you $50k to purchase from you local corner nanofac which you don't have, but you can pay Joe down the street $500 a week, you're going to hire Joe until you have a steady enough income to get financing to buy the robot, even though once you do own it you'll only be paying $100 a week in upkeep for it.
For a citizen, sure. For a big corp, making robots/bioroids is likely to be more cost-efficient than hiring people. After all, hired people are also more of a security risk, have higher safety standards etc.

Assuming that an average job at TL9 earns $3,600 per month (normal for this TL), and that a bioroid costs $150,000 (this is a bit on the high end, such as some specialist models), a bioroid with Status 0 upkeep will pay for itself in 50 months = slightly over 4 years. The important bit is that it keeps paying for itself after those 4-5 years. Even if we assume a short-lifetime bioroid (e.g. 25 years due to Short Lifespan 1 [-10] + Self-Destruct [-10]).

A 24% annual return on interest seems like a good deal compared to many other options.
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