[Technomancer] Zombies and machines - Page 2

Ian Turner · 10-17-2005, 12:33 AM

A polished and scrubbed Skeleton could work in a 'clean room,' after being shellaced to prevent any bony particulates from getting loose.

Any situation where it is dangerous to use people, such as working with radioactive materials, in outer space, in deep-sea exploration / mining, working in chemical factories or black ops nerve gas manufacturing plants, checking for mines, disarming bombs, etc. would be a good place to use a skeleton or zombie, with the human 'expert' telling it what to do from a safe distance. (Having had a couple friends doused in acid, or chlorine, during work accidents at a local chemical plant, I'd be a big fan of this!)

Tasks where humans aren't *trusted* (South African diamond mines, for instance, where they have developed body-scanners more advanced than we use in many of our hospitals to tell if the miners are smuggling stones out...) are also suitable places for these critters to see use. Don't want anyone knowing about your secret bioweapons lab? Have it staffed by a single researcher and his 'team' of a dozen zombies, who do all the dangerous work and get exposed to all the nasty stuff in the less-secure mixing rooms, and who can be easily disposed of at the end of the project, so that there are no pesky witnesses to your line of work.

Deep under many cities are watermains and such big enough for a man to move through, that sometimes get plugged. Skeletons (since the idea of sending zombies into the water supply is just oogy) could go down into the flooded pipes and manually dislodge whatever is gumming up the works. The same applies to undersea outlet grates that have gotten overgrown with seaweed or whatever. Similarly, in time of flooding, skeletons could be sent through water-filled areas without bulky suits or extended prep times (or concern for their safety amidst shifting debris or toxic / frigid / otherwise hostile waters).

Also for underwater use, a few Skeletons might be kept on every ship of the line, stowed away when not in use. When the emergency klaxon starts to wail, they swing down from their overhead cubbies and bodily shove any wounded or otherwise lagging living crewman out the bulkheads before areas seal off, and then turn to handle emergency work, ignoring flooding, radiation leaks, clouds of scalding steam, etc. while they coolly set to trying to keep the living crew alive.

All sorts of manufacturing jobs would be suitable for the dead. I've worked assembly lines where my job was literally 'lift the box over the gap from belt A to belt B' or 'push acceptable items to the next station, toss damaged ones into the box at my feet.' Skeletons, again, as opposed to zombies ('cause, ick) could deal in food-processing jobs as well, from butchering and handing meats to supervising the flow of other produce, such as grains into a hopper.

Agriculturally, a Skeleton or Zombie could handle the job of herdsman / shephard, and would be ideal for the typical sorts of crop-planting / orange-picking / harvesting / hay-baling / fence-building work that occurs on a farm. And if the cattle stampede and smash Bony Bill to bony bits, well shoot, we'll have to go to the auction and get a new one!

And, as already stated, telling a Zombie to 'turn this crank,' makes for a fairly simple energy source. Eventually his flesh will fall off and he'll be a Skeleton, but he'll still be turning that crank...

In a more macabre setting, *partial* animations might be commonplace. Talking skulls, skeletal hands attached to a door where the hinges should be, and swinging open or closed upon command, even an 'exo-skeleton' to walk a support a disabled person around, or lift the glass of a person who lacks strength in her arm (or just plain lacks an arm!). A 'talking skull,' could even be carried in the hand, or mounted on the shoulder of a blind person, and give him a constant stream of information about what's around him. If it's attached to other bone's that the blind individual 'wears' attached to his own arms, legs, etc. the Skeleton, despite it's contorted frame, could nudge the wearer in particular directions, allowing him to move under his own power, but to be constantly channeled towards where he is wishing to go by his sighted Skeletal 'exoskeleton.' Certain bone-shaping spells would allow the Skeleton to be radically deformed to 'fit' the disabled person, as necessary, and adjusted later if her size changes (as she grows into an adult, for instance, having grown up with her skeletal 'walker' and not being able to imagine life in a wheelchair).

Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 · 10-17-2005, 09:25 AM

The undead don't have to be human. Chimpanzee dead would have hands. Even raccoons have usable hands (we're not talking watchmaking here - just simple lift and manipulate). That should bypass a lot of the ethical problems (Who's going to complain about reducing the raccoon population? Nasty little sneak-thieves ...)

Also, many of the problems with zombies (gooey bits and all, y'know) could be solved by first embalming them, then filling their blood vessels and body cavities with plastic resin, then putting a flexible outer coating (similar to furniture slipcovers) on them.

DrTemp · 10-17-2005, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

The undead don't have to be human. Chimpanzee dead would have hands. Even raccoons have usable hands (we're not talking watchmaking here - just simple lift and manipulate). That should bypass a lot of the ethical problems [...]

But remember: The skeleton's or zombie's IQ is 2 points lower than that of the living being. If a Chimp has IQ 7, then its zombie has mere dog level. And horses have IQ 3 or 4...

(For my own campaign, the necromancer-state solved this by mumifying the horses before raising them.)

Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 · 10-17-2005, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrTemp

But remember: The skeleton's or zombie's IQ is 2 points lower than that of the living being. If a Chimp has IQ 7, then its zombie has mere dog level. And horses have IQ 3 or 4...

We're talking about rote work here, perhaps with minor variations being controlled by a trained handler. (Of course for pure rote work, just use an Air-Golem spell.) IQ would not be an issue (unless you needed them to break into quotations from Shakespeare or something: "Alas poor Hamlet. He knew me well ...")

10-17-2005, 12:33 AM	#11
Ian Turner Join Date: Feb 2005	Re: [Technomancer] Zombies and machines A polished and scrubbed Skeleton could work in a 'clean room,' after being shellaced to prevent any bony particulates from getting loose. Any situation where it is dangerous to use people, such as working with radioactive materials, in outer space, in deep-sea exploration / mining, working in chemical factories or black ops nerve gas manufacturing plants, checking for mines, disarming bombs, etc. would be a good place to use a skeleton or zombie, with the human 'expert' telling it what to do from a safe distance. (Having had a couple friends doused in acid, or chlorine, during work accidents at a local chemical plant, I'd be a big fan of this!) Tasks where humans aren't trusted (South African diamond mines, for instance, where they have developed body-scanners more advanced than we use in many of our hospitals to tell if the miners are smuggling stones out...) are also suitable places for these critters to see use. Don't want anyone knowing about your secret bioweapons lab? Have it staffed by a single researcher and his 'team' of a dozen zombies, who do all the dangerous work and get exposed to all the nasty stuff in the less-secure mixing rooms, and who can be easily disposed of at the end of the project, so that there are no pesky witnesses to your line of work. Deep under many cities are watermains and such big enough for a man to move through, that sometimes get plugged. Skeletons (since the idea of sending zombies into the water supply is just oogy) could go down into the flooded pipes and manually dislodge whatever is gumming up the works. The same applies to undersea outlet grates that have gotten overgrown with seaweed or whatever. Similarly, in time of flooding, skeletons could be sent through water-filled areas without bulky suits or extended prep times (or concern for their safety amidst shifting debris or toxic / frigid / otherwise hostile waters). Also for underwater use, a few Skeletons might be kept on every ship of the line, stowed away when not in use. When the emergency klaxon starts to wail, they swing down from their overhead cubbies and bodily shove any wounded or otherwise lagging living crewman out the bulkheads before areas seal off, and then turn to handle emergency work, ignoring flooding, radiation leaks, clouds of scalding steam, etc. while they coolly set to trying to keep the living crew alive. All sorts of manufacturing jobs would be suitable for the dead. I've worked assembly lines where my job was literally 'lift the box over the gap from belt A to belt B' or 'push acceptable items to the next station, toss damaged ones into the box at my feet.' Skeletons, again, as opposed to zombies ('cause, ick) could deal in food-processing jobs as well, from butchering and handing meats to supervising the flow of other produce, such as grains into a hopper. Agriculturally, a Skeleton or Zombie could handle the job of herdsman / shephard, and would be ideal for the typical sorts of crop-planting / orange-picking / harvesting / hay-baling / fence-building work that occurs on a farm. And if the cattle stampede and smash Bony Bill to bony bits, well shoot, we'll have to go to the auction and get a new one! And, as already stated, telling a Zombie to 'turn this crank,' makes for a fairly simple energy source. Eventually his flesh will fall off and he'll be a Skeleton, but he'll still be turning that crank... In a more macabre setting, partial animations might be commonplace. Talking skulls, skeletal hands attached to a door where the hinges should be, and swinging open or closed upon command, even an 'exo-skeleton' to walk a support a disabled person around, or lift the glass of a person who lacks strength in her arm (or just plain lacks an arm!). A 'talking skull,' could even be carried in the hand, or mounted on the shoulder of a blind person, and give him a constant stream of information about what's around him. If it's attached to other bone's that the blind individual 'wears' attached to his own arms, legs, etc. the Skeleton, despite it's contorted frame, could nudge the wearer in particular directions, allowing him to move under his own power, but to be constantly channeled towards where he is wishing to go by his sighted Skeletal 'exoskeleton.' Certain bone-shaping spells would allow the Skeleton to be radically deformed to 'fit' the disabled person, as necessary, and adjusted later if her size changes (as she grows into an adult, for instance, having grown up with her skeletal 'walker' and not being able to imagine life in a wheelchair).

10-17-2005, 09:25 AM	#12
Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The deep dark haunted woods	Re: [Technomancer] Zombies and machines The undead don't have to be human. Chimpanzee dead would have hands. Even raccoons have usable hands (we're not talking watchmaking here - just simple lift and manipulate). That should bypass a lot of the ethical problems (Who's going to complain about reducing the raccoon population? Nasty little sneak-thieves ...) Also, many of the problems with zombies (gooey bits and all, y'know) could be solved by first embalming them, then filling their blood vessels and body cavities with plastic resin, then putting a flexible outer coating (similar to furniture slipcovers) on them.