Goonhub
09-25-2012, 01:24 PM
This is something I've been thinking over. This especially is something to consider for those that get the AI role, in that what sense a human is and isn't.
If your laws are overridden it's subject to change, but we're going by the standard definitions of it.
Here's the breakdown...
A - Humans: Anyone who isn't in any of the other categories. Wizards are magical humans, just to clarify.
B - Non-humans: Synthetics (AI, Cyborgs), Changelings, Animals (monkeys, dogs, cats), spirit
C - Ambiguous: Lizardmen (half-human mutant), Vampires (undead), zombies (ditto), cluwne
While everyone is usually in agreement with category A and B, C is what causes headaches.
Humans that get the hulk mutation are still human, because they just happen to be humans with a genetic mutation. Same goes if they get genetic mutations of other superpowers or disabilities.
Humans that get the lizard mutation are so mutated that they changed species and are anthropomorphic half-human half-lizard hybrids. Therefore, they're not human. At least not wholly. How is this handled?
Then we have vampires.
By traditional vampire lore, a vampire is a human that was cursed to be a vampire through black magic or otherwise became a vampire by being bitten by one. The point here being that in nearly all incidences of legend, the vampire in question was a dead person who was brought back to life through some ritual as a vampire, in one way or another.
I don't know what the space vampires in SS13 are, but if they fall under traditional, they are technically undead and therefore in the same class as zombies and possibly spirits. Undead - can we say that they're human, if only because they have human shape?
Usually when asked about whether someone is human, there are tests one can do. For example, human blood does not squeal when heated, nor are humans harmed by merely standing in the chapel. Asking a potential changeling/vampire to do this as an AI is stupid.
It's stupid because you may accuse someone who isn't either to waste their time and essentially have the crew come out looking for them, which may bring them to harm. And also because no smart player who is one of those things is actually going to let themselves be found out by you or the crew.
So then, how does one discover and deal with these things? Both as the AI and as a human?
If your laws are overridden it's subject to change, but we're going by the standard definitions of it.
Here's the breakdown...
A - Humans: Anyone who isn't in any of the other categories. Wizards are magical humans, just to clarify.
B - Non-humans: Synthetics (AI, Cyborgs), Changelings, Animals (monkeys, dogs, cats), spirit
C - Ambiguous: Lizardmen (half-human mutant), Vampires (undead), zombies (ditto), cluwne
While everyone is usually in agreement with category A and B, C is what causes headaches.
Humans that get the hulk mutation are still human, because they just happen to be humans with a genetic mutation. Same goes if they get genetic mutations of other superpowers or disabilities.
Humans that get the lizard mutation are so mutated that they changed species and are anthropomorphic half-human half-lizard hybrids. Therefore, they're not human. At least not wholly. How is this handled?
Then we have vampires.
By traditional vampire lore, a vampire is a human that was cursed to be a vampire through black magic or otherwise became a vampire by being bitten by one. The point here being that in nearly all incidences of legend, the vampire in question was a dead person who was brought back to life through some ritual as a vampire, in one way or another.
I don't know what the space vampires in SS13 are, but if they fall under traditional, they are technically undead and therefore in the same class as zombies and possibly spirits. Undead - can we say that they're human, if only because they have human shape?
Usually when asked about whether someone is human, there are tests one can do. For example, human blood does not squeal when heated, nor are humans harmed by merely standing in the chapel. Asking a potential changeling/vampire to do this as an AI is stupid.
It's stupid because you may accuse someone who isn't either to waste their time and essentially have the crew come out looking for them, which may bring them to harm. And also because no smart player who is one of those things is actually going to let themselves be found out by you or the crew.
So then, how does one discover and deal with these things? Both as the AI and as a human?