Uranus/Profile

Uranus

Profile

Quotes

Career

The OBJ-9420 was a military product developed by Svarog Heavy Industries in 2048. The aim of its design was to replace the existing exoskeletal Dolls whose performance was outdated as the mainstay of national militaries. On top of its base frame, the OBJ-9420 used quick-takedown armor plating, head-mounted compound sensors, fourth generation graphene batteries and other mature technologies to both improve its reliability and reduce production costs. On a smaller scale, the development team chose to incorporate a simple damage repair system, anti-laser coating, visualized fire control HUDs and other new technologies. At the same time, they left room for advancement in the OBJ-9420's chassis design in the hopes that they would be able to use it as a base for the development of the next generation of mass-produced machine with superior performance.

Compared to other machines of its type, Uranus was additionally fitted with a simple neural cloud module that demonstrated comparatively complex reasoning and decision-making ability. This was one of the key factors that led to it being transferred to Project Neural Cloud.

Doll Profile 1

Uranus', or rather, the OBJ-9420's development cycle was not as interesting or troubled as those of other Dolls. The requirements of warfare created a demand that several nations desperately needed a new model of military Doll to fill. Svarog Heavy Industries, being a veteran arms concern, seized the opportunity and quickly drew up plans for dozens of prototype machines that would enter selection trials. As the unit with the most desirable balance of mechanical performance, reliability, and unit cost, the OBJ-9420 quickly won the selection trials and entered limited mass production.

Uranus is the 4th prototype of the OBJ-9420 line. Compared to Units 1-3, which were more like technology demonstrators, it was more comprehensively-equipped and it was also regarded as the template for the mass-produced model. What makes Uranus special is the fact that it possesses a simple neural cloud module from a certain discarded Doll. Initially, the module required a separate external power supply which was fragile, easily damaged, and gained poor user feedback. As a result, the engineers had to revamp Uranus' power supply systems and move the neural cloud module's power supply inside the chassis.

After acquiring an independent neural cloud, Uranus demonstrated cognitive abilities on the level of an 8-10 year old child during live testing. It could describe landscapes, human features and the smell of food and drinks in comparatively complex language, for example, "A mixed scent reminiscent of raspberries, old oak barrels, and butter."

However, it could not describe the taste or texture of drinks, because it had no mouth.

Doll Profile 2

Early in its service, Uranus was not obviously distinguishable from other OBJ-9420s. It was painted in dark green for use in swamps, it used camouflage netting incorporating dirt and leaves during field combat trials, and it was issued an ordinary set of equipment matching the international basic standard for general use. That was until a chance accident resulted in Uranus making a complete change, both inside and out.

During a live battle trial, Uranus demonstrated fighting power that vastly surpassed that of an older-generation Doll, single-handedly destroying 7 older units. Being a prototype unit, Uranus' EMP hardening systems were not fully developed, and after being briefly incapacitated by a hit from an EMP weapon, it was critically damaged by the enemy. After this, Uranus' chassis was repaired but it never again took part in live combat trials, and due to the destruction of elements from its original core, the engineers installed a civilian Doll's neural cloud into it.

After this, Uranus underwent a "tremendous personality shift". It no longer carried out orders coldly, efficiently, and without question. Instead, it would choose to slack off at times, shirking work or palming it off to others before spending half the day in sleep mode inside the break room. It would also take action on its own initiative to entertain itself. According to one of the engineers, "Perhaps he's more like a person now, but he's no longer a combat Doll."

Due to a lack of parts following Uranus' overhaul, the damaged parts of his body were cobbled together from whatever could be found on short notice and some of them were even painted in bright colors. At the same time, its weaponry was changed out for non-lethal models.

Doll Profile 3

After being withdrawn from combat trials, Uranus was no longer surrounded by the hail of bullets and machine oil but craft beer, old-school electronica with a pounding beat, and a Walkguy music player made in 1985 that he picked up from a dumpster somewhere. Uranus directly connected the Walkguy to his own power supply to ensure he could keep listening to it when both on and off duty.

Despite not having a mouth, Uranus is obsessed with alcoholic drinks. The chef at the research center once reported a ridiculous and surreal sight: Uranus dancing and gesturing in front of the cafeteria's fridge with several empty beer cans by his feet, their contents pooled on the ground. When queried about this incident, Uranus stated that he was very happy with sampling the fragrance of the beer with his atmospheric and olfactory sensors.

Uranus also has fairly unique taste in music, enough to surprise most eclectic music fans. His playlist includes a saxophone, electric guitar, and keyboard remix of an English spy thriller theme song; a folk song from 1927 which sang of freedom, rights, punishment, and peace; plenty of acid house and psychedelic songs from 90s Berlin and Prague nightclubs; as well as Eurobeat.

Doll Profile 4

This file is a combined account from statements made by Uranus and De Lacey and is purely for reference.

As a Svarog Heavy Industries Doll maintenance technician, De Lacey is one of the few Dolls who can easily converse with Uranus.

During their first few weeks in Project Neural Cloud, Uranus spent all of his time in De Lacey's repair bay undergoing comprehensive checkup and maintenance work, spending 70% of his time "soaking in a tub"–or to be precise, undergoing immersion-type maintenance in a repair tank. Such top-grade facilities were typically only available to very wealthy organizations, and thus very rare. While he was in the research center, Uranus had to go through a grueling application process and then wait in line for an extremely long time before he could enjoy one such session.

According to De Lacey, Uranus would typically turn on his Walkguy before entering the repair tank, playing songs like "The Man Who Sold Out the World" or "Lizard Eater." After that, he would slowly dip his head into the recovery nanofluid.

"After entering the repair tank, his neural cloud would calm down for a while, and then exhibit unusual fluctuations, which were highly similar to those of neural clouds from recently-produced Dolls. Perhaps... his neural cloud isn't as simple and crude as it appears? If the environment permits, I would love to study him. Perhaps I might find something new..."
– From De Lacey's maintenance diary

Doll Profile 5

Uranus has forgotten how and when he arrived at the Oasis, but this has not affected his life after coming to the Oasis, and he is not particularly interested in investigating the details. After being assigned to the Security Department run by Simo, there was a noticeable change in his work and lifestyle, stemming from the intermediate state before and after his overhaul. On one hand, he had to respond quickly to increasingly frequent abnormal occurrences and on the other hand, he still had ample time to enjoy his passions: beer, niche music, and the baths that he could visit at any time. Of course, Uranus complains whenever he's called out of the bath to respond to alerts.

Compared to other professional combat Dolls like Python, Evelyn, and the like, Uranus can only be described as ordinary in terms of hardware performance and combat skills. Still, he has strengths of his own. Despite being only ordinary in terms of ability, his resilience can be quite troublesome for his enemies. Python summed it up as such–"Uranus isn't particularly skilled, but he's more stubborn and unyielding than many people I've seen. No matter how hard you hit him, this big lump won't go down easily."

Meanwhile, Uranus sees the stern military officers of the past in his new superior, the Professor. Perhaps this helps to awaken his loyal, emotionless side in times of need–for instance, when facing an unprecedented crisis. For a fighting machine, that is the meaning of its existence.