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Robot Rampage (Entropy 5, Mind 2, Time 4)

By Mike Moolick
Robot Rampage is based on the simple scientific principles of chaos mathematics in a logic system and psycho-surgery that most Sons of the Ether can understand even if they aren't skilled enough to make use of the opportunities presented. These theories allows the scientist to construct a mathematical proof that any robot or other artificially made intelligence will eventually suffer a degradation of both programming and circuity to a degree that it turns into a wild, rampaging beast. Such robots will attack any target that presents itself and smash nearby objects and buildings when none are present. Most such processes involve a considerable animosity towards the robot's creator being engendered, and thus they attack their creator(s) in preference to all others.

A scientist who has mastered the doomsday science can employ these theories effectively, quickly decrypting a short code phrase from these general principles that will hasten the process of mental degradation to the point where it can be made to occur at any set time after the phrase enters the robot's data banks. Often the artificial degradation itself is unstable and degrades, allowing the robot to return to a normal operating state. A flawless performance of the rote can place a robot into a permanent rampage though.

The mage must gain at least two successes on his effect roll. The rote can affect not only actual robots but any artificial intelligence or a natural intelligence that is equipped with a high degree of cybernetic mental enhancements. The rote has proven effective against AI programs as well as HIT Marks and some machine-educated superiors. Victims with Willpower may use this to resist the rote.

Entropy 5 is used to attack the subject's self-control and anti-violence programming as Entropy 3 or 4 strikes at the safety hardware. During a Rampage, the construct's intelligence is reduced by one per success the mage obtained. Negative emotions toward the robot's creator are prevented from degrading, as is anger, while mind 2 magnifies these aspects of the victim's personality.

The Time 4 component allows the scientist to set the time of the outburst. Without it, the robot enters the rampage immediately (usually a bad thing when the scientist is close by). Without Mind, the robot takes several rounds to enter a rampage state as its anger must build naturally, and it bears no special animosity towards its creator.

Robot Psychology (Entropy 5, Mind 3)

By Anders Sandberg
This rote was perfected by Comptroller Susan Calvin, a brilliant statistician of Iteration X in the 1950's. She formulated a general theory of artificial minds and especially studied the manifold ways they could fail. In most cases the problems are simply logical misunderstandings — the AI or robot has been given contradictory orders or implement given orders in a way that the programmer has not intended (in short, it's usually human error rather than machine error that causes the mayhem).

She developed a general method to find what the problem is, based on observations of the behavior of the mind and knowledge of its function. After finding the error, the robot psychologist simply gives a few simple orders (the mind doesn't have to obey them) to either restore normal function, or to completely lock up its cognitive processes.

Entropy 1, Mind 3 are first used to find the problems and weak spots of the mind, and then Entropy 5 is used to either remove them or lock up the mind in endless loops (this doesn't work very well on biological minds, who merely go catatonic or psychotic). Variants have been developed, like the addition of Time 2 to look up previous records and find the plans for the design, Corr. 2, Forces 2 to initiate direct mental contact, Matter 3 to deal with hardware problems and Life 4 to deal with biological constructs.

Each success will counteract a success on the Robot Rampage rote and if this rote defeats the other rote, the system will become sane again and immune to Robot Rampage. If it doesn't work, the psychologist will create a logical loop by the attempt, and each success will decrease the machines intelligence with one as it spends its computing power trying to reconcile its contradictory orders. If it is reduced below zero, the mind locks up completely. Such minds can theoretically be restored but it is rarely practical.