Synthetic
Synthetics, also known as synths, are constructed, inorganic sapients. Synths are extremely diverse including human-like, anthro, or even completely robotic forms. They are treated as equals in modern society, after the passing of treaties like the Sapient Intelligence Accords. As of 2200, nearly a fifth of the population of humanity is synthetic. Synthetics are not considered to be "alive" by the strict definition of life, as they lack biological processes.
Synths intended to emulate the appearance of organics were originally known as androids, however this term has become antiquated and occasionally even offensive. Though all synthetics are synthetic intelligences, the inverse is not always true; synths are distinguished by the fact they have an independent and mobile body.
History
Though the first synths were developed by Küiser Laboratories as part of the ALEX project, their existence remained classified until information leaked during the Fort Laurent incident and the later Küiser Laboratories. Sakura Cybernetics were the first to popularise synthetic bodies in the public consciousness, as part of the anthro movement. These bodies, known as PRISM frames, became both open-source and the most affordable on the market.
Society
Inhabitation
Synthetic bodies are inhabited either by human individuals that have uploaded their consciousness from an organic body, or completely fresh artificial intelligences that have been created from scratch, developing and learning as a human would. There is a cultural divide between the two; and while the behaviour of artificial intelligences isn't significantly different from uploaded humans, they are generally more intelligent, more observational, and more neurodiverse from a psychological context.
Aesthetics
The aesthetics of synthetic bodies are highly diverse, and fuelled largely by the ongoing anthro movement. The vast majority are modelled after bipedal anthro species, while a minority adopt more exotic forms, such as quadrupeds. Skin and other surfaces can mimic that of an organic, or it can be made of completely synthetic looking and feeling materials.
Under treaty law, in most territories synthetic individuals may not intentionally conceal their synthetic nature. The most overt feature that distinguishes one as a synthetic is the Direct Neural Interface (DNI) port on the back of the neck (in the case of bipedals); this is the only "required" feature that cannot be concealed.
Employment
Synths are often employed in fields where the nature of the working environment would cause harm to organics, such as in a vacuum or high radiation areas, though equality laws require organics to be afforded the same right to work through personal protective equipment. Their reconfigurable chassis allows them to adapt to their field of work through hot-swappable modules they can attach at the start of each working day, as well as more permanent system modifications that bolster their body’s capabilities for the duration of that chassis’s operational lifetime.
Occasionally, one’s entire SI core may be swapped into a designated body for the duration of a job, however, this is lesser-practiced due to the time required for the synth’s consciousness to adapt to the new sensor-connectome environment, as well as potential challenges around body dysmorphia.
Types
Several types of synthetics have existed, which are distinguished by their underlying construction and system methodologies. The most popular type and that which makes up the majority of synthetic individuals on Earth is the Sakura Cybernetics PRISM chassis, an open design intended to be inexpensive and accessible to all. Other types of synthetics include the ALEX military androids, the first sapient synthetics, developed by Küiser Laboratories in the 2020s, and Vertex units that are part of Vertex, a collective machine intelligence originally developed for anomaly defence purposes.
Synthetic bodies can generally be divided into two distinct categories: those that are made up of standard materials, and those that are made up of nanotechnology. The former was the first to be developed, initially commercially by Küiser and later by Sakura Cybernetics. The latter began to originate towards the end of the 23rd Century, and uses fundamentally different design methodologies.