Synthetic

Synthetics, also known as Androids, are biomechanical robots designed to emulate Humans in appearance and behaviour. Synthetics were a common sight throughout Human space and were often used for menial work, although more advanced models served more administrative roles.

Overview
Synthetics are generally bipedal and designed with a strong resemblance to Humans. Synthetics intended for physical labour or combat often remained visibly robotic, sometimes resembling grey mannequins or even skeletal humanoids. More advanced Synthetics were identical to real Humans, distinguishable only by their sometimes 'glitchy' behaviour or white blood.

Synthetics are constructed with a carbon fibre skeleton held together by vat-grown silicon muscles, which in turn are powered by pumped micro-hydraulics or electrical stimulation. Synthetics are powered by an internal hydrogen fuel cell which can keep them functional for up to 400 days before they require recharging. Despite their resistance to physical damage, Synthetics lack self-repair capabilities and so require regular maintenance to counter gradual wear and tear. Synthetics also feature an internal circulation system filled with liquid latex for lubricating their systems, although this also creates the illusion of Synthetics bleeding white blood when injured.

Synthetics operate on a carbon 60 processor. Functioning as the Synthetic's 'brain', this enables them to make decisions based on immediate sensory data, internal databases and personal experience. Synthetics designed to integrate with Humans may also carry an artificial stomach cavity and retractable waste catheter, allowing them to eat and drink, although they do not gain nutrients from doing so.

Despite their superior strength, Synthetics are noticeably fragile compared to Humans, sometimes becoming dismembered by what should normally be a serious but not fatal injury. Although they can still function in such a state, Synthetics may suffer hydro-static shock if they are submerged in water with their internal systems exposed.

Synthetics often possess unique personalities, randomised during the assembly process. As a result, Synthetics are often known to offer their opinions and advice to Humans, though this would usually be relevant to their own functions. In some cases, whether for the purpose of infiltration or genuine rapport, some Synthetics have been known to engage with Humans working with them, typically via conversation. Some Synthetics have also expressed personal dislike for being addressed as Androids, instead preferring the term "artificial person."

Interestingly, several Synthetics who have encountered Xenomorphs were reportedly ignored by the creatures unless provoked. Numerous theories exist for why this is the case. Some suggest that Synthetics cannot be impregnated by Facehuggers, thus giving Xenomorphs little incentive to capture them. Others suggest Synthetics are not recognised by Xenomorphs as living things, and so are ignored so long as they pose no threat. Others have cited the theoretical pheromones Xenomorphs may use to identify their prey, implying that Synthetics are almost invisible to Xenomorphs due to lacking said pheromones.

History
The earliest known Synthetics were developed by Borgia Industries, where they were little more than limbless torsos operating Ulysses security mechs employed by the company and police. By the late 21st Century, Weyland Corps developed Synthetics to be almost indistinguishable from Humans. Despite effectively being fully sapient artificial intelligences, Synthetics were generally considered property of their manufacturers and affiliates, an attitude tempered by their general expense and usefulness.

In 2122, a Synthetic known as Ash was assigned to the cargo freighter Nostromo by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation as the ship's science officer. Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, the company had located a derelict Mala'kak ship on the planet Acheron and tasked Ash with retrieving any potential Xenomorph specimens they expected to find aboard. Using their employment clause on responding to distress signals, Ash convinced the Nostromo's crew to investigate the transmission emitted from the derelict. As a result, executive officer Thomas Kane was infected by a Facehugger, but was returned to the ship when Ash dismissed quarantine protocol and allowed him back aboard. When the Xenomorph emerged from Kane and began preying on the Nostromo's crew, warrant officer Ellen Ripley eventually learned Ash's true agenda of returning the Xenomorph to Weyland-Yutani, as well as his use of the crew as an expendable asset to do so. When confronted by Ripley on this, Ash attempted to kill her but was subdued by the surviving crew members, who had not realised Ash was a Synthetic until they accidentally decapitated him. Dismantled but still active, Ash was interrogated by the survivors on the Xenomorph before his body was destroyed. As a contingency measure, Ash uploaded a fragment of his AI into the Nostromo's emergency shuttle, the Narcissus, and escaped the Nostromo with Ripley after she destroyed the ship and killed the Xenomorph.

By 2179, Synthetics were designed with behavioural inhibitors due to concerns of them behaving violently towards Humans. During the Xenomorph infestation of Hadley's Hope, a Synthetic technician known as Bishop accompanied the Colonial Marines deployed to Acheron to investigate the colony. When the team became stranded planetside, Bishop spent much of his time there studying dead and captive Facehuggers in an infirmary to aid in identifying a potential weakness the marines could exploit. When the colony's Atmospheric Processor became unstable, Bishop volunteered to venture alone towards the transmitter to call for extraction, theorising that the Xenomorphs would likely ignore him due to his robotic nature. Bishop was one of the few survivors of the incident, having piloted the dropship they used to escape, but was torn in half by the Xenomorph Queen stowed away on the ship. Bishop was damaged even further by the disastrous crash landing on the prison planet Fiorina. After providing Ripley with information on how a Xenomorph reached the penal colony with them, Bishop requested to be deactivated as he felt he could not be fully repaired to how he once was.

By the 24th century, a new model of Synthetic known as Autons were developed with superior mental capacity, granting them sapience on par with Humans. However, they ended up rebelling against their creators due to disagreeing with their intended functions, some of which were implied to be unethical and disgusted the Autons. This resulted in a mass recall and destruction of almost all Autons. Those who escaped this fate went into hiding, falsely claiming to be Humans to avoid persecution.