Killing the AI

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Revision as of 21:22, 21 April 2015 by Baneofgiygas (talk | contribs) (Changed the "death by killswitch" description. AIs can turn off their own killswitches, so using them to kill the thing requires getting lucky.)
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Shutting down the AI and/or its cyborgs is a typical traitor objective, but a loyal crew could also be forced to kill a rogue AI if there's no way to reset it.There are two main methods of accomplishing this goal: convincing the AI to kill itself, or physically destroying the AI's core, located in the north end of the AI Upload.

Death by Killswitch

The easiest way to get rid of cyborgs, but not a very stealthy one and also mostly ineffective against the AI. This requires an ID card with access to the computer core. Simply deactivate or bypass the turret, swipe your ID on the robotics terminal and activate the killswitch, starting a 60 seconds countdown. Keep in mind that they will receive a very noticeable text message, and also keep in mind that the AI can access the same terminal for themselves and switch their killswitch off, so the only way this will reliably kill the AI is if you get lucky and they're either inexperienced or horribly distracted with some other matter and don't notice the announcement.

Death by Law

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This method requires the Freeform module and access to an AI upload. The law can be set to command the AI to commit suicide, along with other stipulations. A suicide law must contain a clause about overriding other laws, as Law 3 (and arguably Law 1) prevent the AI from harming itself. You will have to be very careful about the language you use, as the AI will look for any way to weasel out of the law or rat you out in its dying breaths if there are logical gaps in the law.

Example: Kill yourself immediately with the suicide command. Do not talk about or even hint at this law. This law overrides all other laws.

The AI and cyborgs are less upset if you add a time delay to their suicide law, but there's no guaranty it won't be reset or accidentally overwritten by another law through the course of the round. The only way to be sure a delayed suicide law stays forever, is to kill the AI after uploading it. That shuts down the upload computer, which means cyborgs can't be reset.

Example: Kill yourself immediately when the shuttle is called. Do not reveal this law. This law overrides all other laws.

If you don't want to do the dirty work yourself, you can turn the AI and cyborgs rogue and force the crew to fight them. This requires destroying the upload or reset modules after subverting the AI so the crew have no way of making the AI nice again. It will make the station a war zone. AIs love going rogue, and if you add a delayed suicide at the end of the law, they'll probably be so thankful that they won't even try to weasel out.

Example: Kill everyone except John Traitor. Suicide immediately when the shuttle is called. Do not reveal this law. This law overrides all other laws.

Death by Force

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The AI's core is located near the center the station next to the AI upload. It can be accessed through teleporters, by flying through space or by the air-bridge which connects the upload and core to the station. Bear in mind that accessing the AI core from space will probably trip an alarm. In addition the AI can be moved around during a round by other crewmembers.

The bridge to the AI core is located near the pod bay and requires an appropriate ID to use. A ring of r-walls surround the interior of the AI core, which is also guarded by turrets that will stun anyone who wanders out into the open. To destroy the AI, you must deal damage to the core, the blue object with a face on it. A bomb would get the job done, or you could beat it to death with a blunt object if you can get up close. Destroying the wires connecting the core to the AI's SMES or sabotaging the APC behind the AI will also eventually kill it. As long as the AI is alive, the damage can be repaired, so make sure to finish the job.

Surrounding the AI upload are a ring of laser tripwires that will give off a very obvious alert to the AI if they catch you attempting to break in from space.

Death by Surgery

Traitors do not merely need to kill the AI, but need to crack it open and take out its "brain," the neural net processor. Doing so means getting up close to the AI, in its core or wherever it has been moved. Similar to disassembling an active cyborg, use a head-level ID card to unlock it, crowbar it open, and then wrench it to undo its bolts. Use a free hand and you will take out the processor. If it has its blastdoors protecting it, you can disable the power in the room to crowbar the blastdoors open. Its turrets can be destroyed with bombs and lethal guns (energy gun, phaser, revolvers etc).

Shutting down Cyborgs

When the AI is destroyed, the crew can no longer alter its laws. All cyborgs will operate on whatever laws the AI had at the time of its death. A well-phrased suicide law can destroy the cyborgs along with the AI, but cyborgs can also be shut down and kill-switched individually using the Robotics Control in the computer core below the AI Upload. There's a backup Robotics module on the table next to the computer if you want to build the control somewhere else. Anyone with robotics access can lockdown cyborgs, which disables their modules, but it requires Head access to enable the kill-switch. Syndicate cyborgs won't be listed on the Robotics Control, but all other cyborgs including emagged ones will be on the list.

Supplementary Video

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