Freelance: Bots in Borealis - Better than Omni?
Bots in Borealis - Better than Omni?
August 28, 29481 - Marion Vein [Rimor]
IRRK Freelance - BOREALIS - Robots marched through Borealis in unified protest against Omni-Tek protection of the city and surrounding area Sunday in a calculated attempt to persuade citizens to opt in favour of mechanized protection over that of Omni-Pol and the Unicorn Company.
Perhaps you have heard the nicknames Tinkerbots and Retoolkit, perhaps not. These two so-called 'engineers' have been working for months on a variety of different robotic prototypes. Using resources from their own pockets and metallic pieces and parts salvaged from a nearby junkyard, these daring inventors have constructed a wide range of different automations, from a rusting, sparkling buzzsaw made from scrap metal, to an extremely old-looking slayerdroid.
The intent of parading these prototypes is to provide viewers with an idea of things to come. The final aim of all these robots is made clear by the inventor herself, Tinkerbots: "The robots can protect the city from the aliens, then Omni can go home to their families." These robots will supposedly be capable of defending against the alien threat, with no need for human defenders from Omni-Pol; in fact, no need for Omni at all in Borealis, according to a laughable remark by minister Tryqz, from the Newland City Council.
At 20:37 RST, Sunday the 19th, a tad over thirty minutes late, the pair were finally ready to put their robots on show for the eager crowd, which assembled near the Whom-Pah exits. Holding a variety of placards painted by Retoolkit's robot, Edna_I, the procession gridded into Borealis, and went to meet the crowd. According to himself, Retoolkit had to work for a long time to get the robots to hold up the placards. This reporter wonders: if it was so difficult for them to hold a simple placard, how much harder might it be for them to hold, aim, and fire guns?
The text on the placards included the ever popular slogan 'Free Borealis', 'OMNI Go Home!', 'Borealis (equals) Neutral', and others. Upon seeing these, there was expectedly a response from Omni-Tek employees. Several politicians from various different factions also showed their faces, and the parade became a political battleground. Members of Omni-AF and myself were prepared for this, and gave informal responses to the claims made by Tinkerbots and Retoolkit. Chants of 'Omni-Tek Protects!' and 'Omni-Tek is your Friend' could be heard amidst the chaos.
Rude hand gestures, waving of placards, shouting of slogans, and several speeches were what the event became. Finally, seeing the chaos wasn't doing them any favours, Tinkerbots, Retoolkit and their inventions left the people to their shouting match, and went away from the area. The shouting continued for several more minutes, before finally dying away, as the crowd dispersed into the city streets.
Views on the march were mixed. As can be expected, loyal Omni-Tek employees believed that Omni-Pol does a fine job of protecting Borealis and its citizens, and that it would be unwise to think of replacing them. The host, Tinkerbots, commented. "I think that people should have had more fun at the parade." I do wonder how fun can be had while the prototypes come marching in with protest placards.
Kode Darrigan from InternOps had this to say: "If it took them forty minutes to sort out issues in a long planned event, how soon will they be ready in a real Alien Invasion?"
Dr. Saoirse Jaiden of AF simply said, "Curious...."
Even a terrorist from Leet-Bloc agreed that the robots didn't look too promising: "As someone that has been awarded the highest honorary rank by the ICC for the defence of this planet, I wasn't blown away by the prototypes."
Personally, I believe it's a fine idea if the inventors wish to help with the city defence, and they can perhaps provide the robots to help aid the corporation in their existing defence system, but it is a ridiculous idea to suggest that they could hope to compare with Omni-Pol's trained lieutenants.
Good luck with those bots, guys...you're gonna need it.
