Ziusudra / Nyx questions

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

This is without said kids having Early Maturation, and without having their brains designed for rapid learning. Compare to bioroids, who have Early Maturation 4 (i.e. ×1/16), have brains radically redesigned for rapid learning.

There is no evidence for this being true; bioroids have no traits related to learning speed.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anthony

There is no evidence for this being true; bioroids have no traits related to learning speed.

No traits in-play, after decanting. Still, canonically bioroids are better learners than humans under non-adventuring conditions:

Originally Posted by TS136

Humans and Mind Emulations: A person up to 25
years old can put up to (Age × 3) points into skills. One
who is over 25 can put (Age × 2) + 25 points into skills.
Bioroids: Bioroids undergo extensive early education;
a bioroid can put up to (Age × 3) + 15 points into skills.

So it is assumed that bioroids both can get a huge boost to skill learning at the beginning of their lives, and keep learning as fast as human kids even well into their old age (roughly 50% faster than humans).
Also, there's this other bit showing they do have such traits during the Deep Learning phase:

Originally Posted by TS76

A newly formed bioroid brain is designed to
awaken in a state highly receptive to learning. Brain
implants are integrated into the bioroid at this point,
allowing it to undergo an intense educational regime
that includes virtuality and slinky simulations and
vocational training.

Of course, since the Deep Learning technology is defined as only working on blank brains, and this whole set-up merely allows the character to write down a smaller number for its age, it doesn't count as an Advantage worth mentioning after decanting, and you don't normally play pre-decanting bioroids in actual campaigns. (Though perhaps one day someone will run that.)

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

So it is assumed that bioroids both can get a huge boost to skill learning at the beginning of their lives, and keep learning as fast as human kids even well into their old age (roughly 50% faster than humans).

That 'huge boost' is only 5 years.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anthony

That 'huge boost' is only 5 years.

Five years of focused vocational education, though, not an assortment of Hobby Skills and sandbox Brawling and other stuff. Plus whatever the boost in learning 1 point in CF, 6 points in a language, and basic life skills that aren't Skills in GURPS are.

I don't get it: you're unhappy that they're learning too well, and now you say that the advantages of education-receptive brains aren't all that impressive. Which one is it?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I don't get it: you're unhappy that they're learning too well, and now you say that the advantages of education-receptive brains aren't all that impressive. Which one is it?

Oh, if you needed to train a bioroid for 15 years for it to be useful, I'd have no problems with bioroids. I just find the bioroid forced-learning tech stupid, there's nothing about the bioroid tech as described which would make it any better than a human, other than the lack of civil rights so you can abuse the heck out of it.

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

TS is a rich setting with lots of interesting stuff in it. If everything that someone doesn't like or finds implausible were taken out, there would be nothing left or at least a much more boring setting.

It would be today with somewhat better computers and a slightly different political scene.

[sir_pudding]

Why would mommy (or daddy) and daddy (or mommy) Fifth Wave want a perfect child that grows up at an accelerated pace? Even if it is possible, it doesn’t work with the intended market for the Ziusudra.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

TS is a rich setting with lots of interesting stuff in it. If everything that someone doesn't like or finds implausible were taken out, there would be nothing left or at least a much more boring setting.

I'd rather have bioroids with explicit preprogramming -- i.e. the brain is assembled with some pre-existing abilities. It makes them more alien, and actually makes more technical sense.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Why would mommy (or daddy) and daddy (or mommy) Fifth Wave want a perfect child that grows up at an accelerated pace? Even if it is possible, it doesn’t work with the intended market for the Ziusudra.

Same reason why mommy and/or daddy would legally adopt a SAI. Because it is better than a baseline human, and more suited to growing up in the fast-moving world of 2100.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I'd rather have bioroids with explicit preprogramming -- i.e. the brain is assembled with some pre-existing abilities. It makes them more alien, and actually makes more technical sense.

It does make them more alien, but it also puts them on the same rung of the PSR ladder as AIs in the oldschool human eyes, removing the slippery slope of sapience recognition.

It also adds some buffs to what neuroviruses can do in-setting.