NHPs

Side Effects

Following the beginning of interastral use of the OMNInet, the decentralized systems empowering it nearly immediately began to use Ichor to enhance the strength and connectivity of the network. Through a process of Ichor-digitization, liquid ichor changes state to an ephemeral substance within the network. That substance can then bind itself with data stored in the OMNInet to form Reminata-a semi-corporeal substance containing the remembrance of the stored data, which has been drawn out by the Ichor.

So, naturally, as the OMNInet expands and more and more data and Ichor is pumped into the network, Reminata begins to collect. Over time, researchers started to notice something anomalous-a sort of consciousness, forming within the Reminata with no external stimulus other than the substance it's formed in. Those anomalies would grow and grow within the bounds of their network, absorbing more and more data in the form of Reminata until they reached a level of consciousness on the level of man or apperatum. These "anomalies" would come to be referred to as NHPs, or Non-Human Persons. NHPs usually bind themselves around a certain current depending on the data used in their creation, replacing the need for Arbitration for NHPs in control of mechs.

The Third Species

NHPs are, and perhaps will always, be in a precarious state on the inter-astral stage, because, unlike Apperata--they have no origin in the first and most prevalent species, humanity. Formally discovered during the Brontestar Trade War, NHPs have seen service in nearly all parts of interastral life--usually as coordinators and planners at the center of centralized planning infrastructure.

Given the acceptance of Apperata, NHPs were widely recognized across the inter-astral space as inorganic, sentient beings with at least some sort of rights, widely varying in that regard between companies, however, their non-corporeal nature and usefulness in productivity has barred them from full personhood on the level of humanity and apperata. Primarily, that lack of legal protection is tied to the supervision required for NHPs within the OMNInet. Indeed, if NHPs are allowed free reign in the OMNInet, they slip closer and closer to ego death in a process known as Cascading wherein they absorb too much data and suffer a ego-death. Thus, most NHPs have to be created and maintain in a closed-off network--NHPs contained in that manner are referred to as being Shackled.

Due to their usefulness, NHPs are often created in reminata "farms" utilized extensively by every major corporation, with the exception of SSC whom has banned the practice. These structures are essentially massive, closed-off data centers that provide a safe space for NHPs to form without the risk of Cascading.