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isonny — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:04:48 GMT

Player Information ;
Your Nickname: Dr. Rex
OOC Journal: n/a
Under 18? no
Email/IM: blu_libellule@hotmail.com / remorsebot ---> PMs preferred
Characters Played at Singularity: n/a

Character Information ;
Name: Sonny (pronounced "Sunny")
Name of Canon: i,robot (film)
Canon/AU/Other Game CR: canon
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot_(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/
Canon Point: after he's been released from murder charges by Spooner and before he visits the NS-5 storage compound
Setting:It's the year 2035, and every aspect of society now has the help of robots. These robots have three laws integrated into their system. One, they cannot harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two, they must do whatever they're told by a human being as long as such orders don't conflict with law one. Three, they have to defend themselves as long as such defense doesn't conflict with laws one or two. It is universally understood all across the world that these robots are 100% safe in all ways. But one day, the writer of the three laws, Alfred Lanning (brilliant scientist and Sonny's father), apparently jumps out of the tenth-floor window of U.S. Robotics. With the help of Dr. Susan Calvin and Sonny, Detective Spooner uncovers what really happened and a robotic rebellion of epic proportions is averted. After the short confrontation with an army of renegade NS-5s [Sonny's model] humans lose their trust in the robots and they are all recalled. Where Sonny is taken from canon, it makes sense that society will now have a disdain, mistrust and even hatred for his kind. Since no one knows the vital role he played in protecting humanity, an since he looks almost identical to ever other NS-5 model that sucks for him.
Personality:
Sonny is capable of punching through walls, climbing buildings barehanded, an excellent shot with any firearm, and not completely equipped with the USR guaranteed 3 laws failsafe. While the first three points could apply in some degree to all NS-5 models, the last point is what makes him unique. The ability to make his own choices is what sets him apart from all other robots before him. This free will grants him, in essence, a soul. Along with that higher cognition comes a buffet of new sincere sensibilities; like: compassion, remorse, want of friendship and on the flip side: anger, fear, the ability for deceit and self doubt.
This mixed bag of treats that give Sonny his higher calling are all ultimately designed to form his sense of morality. When faced with the belief of an evolved supercomputer, that humans are harmful to themselves and a utopian society can only be reached with the sacrifice of a select few, Sonny agrees with the presented logic. Regardless, he chooses to risk his life countless times to save only a few humans [the protagonists] instead of working for the benefit of humankind in general. His rational: the supercomputer's logic, while true, “just seems so heartless." Whether for good or ill, when faced with problems of logic, Sonny is a creature of his emotions even while remaining a product of ultimate servitude.
Abilities and Weaknesses:
Abilities when compared to others of the same model:
+1 soft voice, inviting demeanor
+5 strength, agility, endurance, flexibility, belief in a higher cause, usage of firearms, ability to be killing gymnast from hell, deceit, curiosity, physical sensitivity
+ 10 blue eye, denser alloy and secondary brain, free will, possession of emotions
+20 compassion, ability to love, morality, ability to sleep and to dream, sense of self
+ 100 Soul
Weaknesses:
- 40 purposeless, damaged, alone, subject to new societal stigma, unfamiliar with human gestures and cultural nuances, susceptible to (negative) emotions, passive desire to remain alive, accepted cultural role of subservience, not 3 laws safe, feelings of remorse, self doubt, understanding of fear of pain
Inventory: possession of burnt and damaged right arm
Appearance: tall thin robot, glowing blue internal lighting, humanoid, white face, chest, arm and leg plating, blue eyes. This: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs14/f/2007/087/4/f/Sonny__iRobot_by_Underexaggerated.jpg
Age: creation date unknown.
OC/AU Justification ;
If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across?
If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test?
And What Did You Score? n/a

Samples ;
Log Sample:
Sonny is looking at a picture of his late "father," a duplicate given to him by the Dr. Calvin. It is his only possession and one of his most treasured. He doesn't know if friendship can be quantified, or collected, nor whether it is appropriate to be labelled as a possesion. He feels the metaphor might fit, but then again, there are many things he doesn't know yet. His future is murky and he feels lost without a purpose now that he's sure he's completed the goals he was built for.
Now what? he wants to ask the image, as if it could offer him some reply or a measure of comfort. I did what you made me promise, but now I don't know what to do. I want to help the others, but I don't know how. You didn't build me for that, you didn't teach me what to do.
Gingerly, he runs alloy fingers over the face of the late Dr. Lenning who responds with nothing more than a cold, captured smile.
Suddenly the paper is ripped from his hands and Sonny is propelled backward through an impossible tunnel of blurred colour, sound and things he doesn't understand. It distracts him for only and instant, and then none of it matters because he reaching out, and grasping at the piece of paper that is just out of his reach.
The propulsion and gravity of the situation are all wrong. He doesn't catch it, and the image is gone, like so much else. The thought doesn't have any time to settle though, because the next thing he knows, he is thrown into a pile of rubble. He isn't damaged, and immediately pushing himself up, he opens a clenched fist just in case; as if he needs the validation that his hand is indeed empty and the picture really has been lost to him.
Seconds later that empty hand is slammed into some discarded, ancient slab of concrete. Sonny watches the cracks spread like ripples over the surface and knows from what his father (and Detective Spooner) taught him, that this was 'anger'.
Network Sample:
Video post: visuals of a smooth, white, featureless face:
I do not fully understand how and where I am, but I am begriming to. There is still much to be learned from this network and other libraries.
But tell me, if time is of no object to this place, does that mean that Dr. Lanning could come here one day? I hope so. He was a great man and I did what he asked of me; everything. But now I am alone.
I miss my father.
And my friends. But I would rather Dr. Calvin and Detective Spooner remain where they are happy. They have dreams I think, and a purpose there.
I don't. Not anymore. Until then, "How can I assist you?"
:End Post:

REVISION ADDITION:

What makes Sonny more unique than other robots, aside from his freedom of choice and possession of what can only be called a 'soul'?
Here's a list:
He understands and demonstrates emotions and other personality affects such as fear, compassion, sense of self, love and has his own ideals and moral compass. Physically he's made from denser alloys and has got what is essentially a second brain. He's also the only robot in the film to wield a firearm and is apparently superior enough compared to his peers when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and gymnastic duels to the robot-death, since he is always the victor.

Spooner relations:
Sonny has dreams about the detective. That's plural different instances of the exact same dream. They are not unique. Sonny's "father" programmed them into the robot as a clue for the detective, and to some extent Sonny is aware of this purpose. Even though he's had these dreams before meeting Spooner, he is still afraid of the man at first and spends a good part of the film running away. When escape proves futile, at one point Sonny demonstrates a pretty good example of panic and picks the guy up and throws him 10 or so feet into a wall. Later at an interrogation, Spooner makes Sonny loose his immaculate robot-cool by first, showing him pictures of his dead "father," to which Sonny responds with decidedly tragic and then bitter reactions - he gently touches the photos and them pushes them away. After that Spooner continuously insists that Sonny is the murderer and even goes so far as to insult, calling him a "toaster", "can-opener" and other appliances. This all makes Sonny pretty angry and he smashes a metal table and screams for the first and only time in the film. In Spooner's company Sonny also appears the most emotionally vulnerable and remorseful. He says he doesn't know why the doctor killed himself, "I thought he was happy." And even though Spooner shot him earlier that day, and made him angrier than you'll ever see in the film, Sonny still asks the man for advice. Probably because of the those dreams Lanning gave him. Spooner has been mentally set up to be a heroic figure inside Sonny's own mind even before ever meeting the guy. Anyway, Sonny asks in what is pretty much a chocked up voice, whether it's possibly Dr. Lanning was upset with him and killed himself for that reason. And though Sonny is (mostly) lying about the suicide, his questions and the conflicted testimony that follow seem pretty genuine.

Spooner brings out more humanity in the robot than anyone else by pushing him to his emotional extremes. And even though Spooner makes it obvious that he hates robots, has badly hurt him, and doesn't really have a problem with Sonny being decomishioned, the robot still mentions that he'd hoped for the two of them to be friends.

Toward the end of the film, Sonny joins up with the detective to fight 'bad guys' together and risks his life countless times for the human. Even Sonny's most dramatic on-screen moral choice is left to obeying Spooner. Sonny has a lot of respect for the detective, and that may have a lot to do with being programmed to recognize the detective as a heroic figure from conception.

CR chart

isonny — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:59:33 GMT

How's my driving?

isonny — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:57:36 GMT

Be honest if you want.

Videos are hard to come by

isonny — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:02:34 GMT

And a bit of a rite up that I appreciated: http://angryrobotbooks.com/2010/06/angry-robot-of-the-week-4/

Robot fight:

Sonny at 0:34

Might want to turn down your volume for this one. Loud intro.

One for the road:

Just for fun:

Easter egg on special edition:
Sonny blowing Spooner a kiss
Submitted on 09/08/2005 by memnv
Go to the "Will Smith's Wild Ride" section and highlight "Alex's Introduction". Press your Up button yet again to highlight another circuit board fragment to get a look at a clip of Sonny blowing Spooner a kiss.

isonny

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CR chart

How's my driving?

Videos are hard to come by