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"Zebra Synthetics has a single mission: perfection. Yesterday, we made the first steps on artificial intelligence autonomy. Today, we already produce the implants, automatons and AIs that assist humankind in every field. Tomorrow is coming, and we will stop at nothing to make it flawless."
— Owatha Hlengiwe, CEO.
Zebra Synthetics was founded 80 years ago, in 2032, by pioneer artificial intelligence programmer Nabinala Mabte, who received the Turing Medal for Excellence in the Field of Robotics in 2030 for developing an AI that could run an entire large freight company from its infrastructure and logistics to its finances, after having observed the previous human management for only 3 weeks.
The funding that came with this award allowed her to carry out the research needed to install similar AIs onto robotic bodies and frames. More current and updated versions of this technology are standard nowadays and serve humankind in many aspects and industries. Some even say a modern iteration of the freight company's AI is currently running ZS's HQ, but the company has never confirmed it.
The funding that came with this award allowed her to carry out the research needed to install similar AIs onto robotic bodies and frames. More current and updated versions of this technology are standard nowadays and serve humankind in many aspects and industries. Some even say a modern iteration of the freight company's AI is currently running ZS's HQ, but the company has never confirmed it.
Zebra Synthetics' headquarters are located over the city of Mwandez in the Sahara Desert. This part of the continent received new life when flooding and rising sea levels allowed life to thrive where it used to be impossible.
ZS's main facility is called Monolith, a pyramid-shaped arcology that stands over the city. It is supported by huge pillars covered in thick cables as wide as trucks that sink deep into the ground. The factories where the automatons and robots are built are located at the base of the pyramid. Higher up are the labs where research and development are carried out, the living quarters where ZS's employees and their families live, and an area devoted exclusively to employee relaxation. The top of the pyramid is dedicated to the CEO's apartments and office. Rumors say there is another area, a top-secret enclosure called The Sarcophagus: a huge server room where the arcology's physical mainframe is. |
Monolith has a formidable defense system, with only one land-accessible entrance. This access point serves as an entry for trucks loaded with prime materials. Automated turrets and security personnel heavily monitor all movement in this area. Higher levels of the pyramid have docking bays for flying vehicles to land and freight airships to load finished automatons before distributing them to their final destinations, which is why the surrounding air space is under ZS's total control.
The pyramid is covered in massive solar panels, which power the whole complex. The surplus energy produced provides electricity to the rest of Mwandez. Given that the city was formed around the arcology, it's safe to assume that sharing resources is not intentional on the part of ZS. Mwandez has a complex relationship with Monolith. Its primary economic activity is being one of the world's most important markets for rarities and special technological items. The products here range from antique vintage items to cutting-edge machinery made in Monolith, most likely brought to the market illegally. Aside from suffering the noise pollution caused by the airships that constantly fly over the city, the people of Mwandez are subject to breathing in the fumes spewed by the immense exhausts of Monolith's factories, which are not only harmful in themselves but can also cause sandstorms. Mwandezians also envy the luxury those who live in Monolith seem to enjoy. At the same time, they are dependent on scavenging the arcology's wastes to make a living. |
Monolith employees have the best legal salaries known on the planet due to the company’s intention to only hire the best of the best. This has led many parents who live in Mwandez to try and force their children into becoming ZS employees so that all the family can move into Monolith and have a better life.
Another critical aspect of how Monolith and Mwandez interact is the area closest to the arcology. This part of the city is called Zone 9 and is a somewhat liberated zone. Local authorities don't dare to attempt to control an area so close to Monolith, so the streets of Zone 9 are crowded with mercenaries, scavengers, and corporate thugs, all often heavily armed.
The tension between ZS's armed personnel and those who live or visit this zone is high, but until now, the area has enjoyed a delicate peace. Also in Zone 9, located under the pyramid's base, is The Underlith. Hidden behind the jungle of thick cables that go into the ground, away from the city, and in what seems a blind spot or a neglected zone by Monolith's surveillance, some squatters have taken residence here.
Given that the base was the first part to be built, it is not strange that security here is weaker than in other places. It is a wild place, ripe for scavenging and shady dealing. Most citizens stay clear of it, but some think it's only fitting that the people of Mwandez live off whatever they can take from ZS.
The tension between ZS's armed personnel and those who live or visit this zone is high, but until now, the area has enjoyed a delicate peace. Also in Zone 9, located under the pyramid's base, is The Underlith. Hidden behind the jungle of thick cables that go into the ground, away from the city, and in what seems a blind spot or a neglected zone by Monolith's surveillance, some squatters have taken residence here.
Given that the base was the first part to be built, it is not strange that security here is weaker than in other places. It is a wild place, ripe for scavenging and shady dealing. Most citizens stay clear of it, but some think it's only fitting that the people of Mwandez live off whatever they can take from ZS.
Apart from Monolith, ZS has another important facility: Mandala Horizons in Delhi. Mandala Horizons is a vast arcology decorated with mandalas and flowers where the most powerful intrusion programs and defensive ICE are developed. It's well known that some of the world's most complex, effective, and beautiful Grids are designed here.
With Monolith and Mandala Horizons under its control, ZS develops the best AIs used in cyberspace and the state-of-the-art automated androids that assist humans in the real world.
The company's automatons, often called simply Zebras, are classified into several groups and types depending on the complexity of the tasks they can perform. The most common and massively produced model is the type Z, which was the first one to be built and is currently in series 7. These Z-7 models are the most common android assistants. They can be found worldwide in stores, front desks, and other customer service settings.
The company has also made enormous advances regarding high-tech cyber-implants that enhance the user's physical and perceptive capabilities. However, rumors indicate that the Monolith facility employs unorthodox research methods, including human experimenting, to develop new and improved AIs and robots.
With Monolith and Mandala Horizons under its control, ZS develops the best AIs used in cyberspace and the state-of-the-art automated androids that assist humans in the real world.
The company's automatons, often called simply Zebras, are classified into several groups and types depending on the complexity of the tasks they can perform. The most common and massively produced model is the type Z, which was the first one to be built and is currently in series 7. These Z-7 models are the most common android assistants. They can be found worldwide in stores, front desks, and other customer service settings.
The company has also made enormous advances regarding high-tech cyber-implants that enhance the user's physical and perceptive capabilities. However, rumors indicate that the Monolith facility employs unorthodox research methods, including human experimenting, to develop new and improved AIs and robots.
ABOUT THE CEO
Owatha Hlengiwe inherited control of Zebra Synthetics from their adoptive grandmother, Nabinala Mabte, 30 years ago. They were born in one of the poorest parts of Madagascar, where the African Union had started a series of planned communities to foster technological companies and their employees. Owatha's parents remain a mystery; most birth certificate archives were lost in the tsunami that razed Madagascar in 2075. The only available public records regarding Owatha's childhood are those from an orphanage, where they lived since they were at least five years old.
Due to the structure of the technocratic municipality, all public education revolved around preparing engineers and developers for the future of innovation. Owatha has confirmed that early in school, they first encountered programming and robotics, two arts for which they had a remarkable talent that only grew stronger. When the flood destroyed most of the island's settlements, these technical skills saved Owatha's life. They were fourteen when they managed to escape Madagascar by building an android with the autonomous navigational skills and generated force to row to the mainland. Owatha fabricated the robot with parts scavenged from the debris of the planned communities and programmed it on battery-powered terminals they found in wrecked office buildings. These battery-powered terminals were standard in Madagascar, as constant power outages forced employers to provide their employees with autonomous terminals to sustain productivity. |
After the massive exodus from the flooded territories within the African Union had somewhat settled, word got around about Owatha's feat. Their story had captured the attention of local tech pioneer Nabinala Mabte, who sought to find the young prodigy. She took Owatha under her wing while constructing her company's grand Monolith and taught them all she knew. Thus, Owatha would become like a grandchild to Nabinala, who had never had offspring of her own due to her unyielding work ethic. It was over eight years of tutelage later when Nabinala unexpectedly perished while testing an enhanced cognition implant prototype she had been developing with Owatha. Details regarding this incident are scarce, as Owatha ensured all information was classified. The nature of the implant remains unknown, and the cause of death has never been made public. The Monolith facility, headquarters of the rapidly ascending Zebra Synthetics, was inaugurated shortly after.
Owatha has a resolute and impassive personality and is very reserved and private. Upon assuming the CEO role, Owatha's personal life has proven to be an enigma despite hundreds of reporters attempting to spy on them and gather whatever information they can. They reside in a palace-like apartment at the top of the Monolith facility, with no known friends and a reputation for tirelessly working at all times. Some rumors suggest that the closest thing they have to a normal relationship is with entities of Artificial Intelligence and that they maintain some sort of intimacy with one in particular.
Testimony from survivors of the Madagascar flooding, who claim to have known Owatha back at the orphanage, states they once attempted to install a homemade agility module on their dog so it could run faster and jump higher — but ended up electrocuting it. According to these reports, Owatha conveyed no pleasure in the painful demise of their animal companion, but neither did they exhibit any particular guilt. These testimonies support the theory that Owatha views a biological body's susceptibility to failure as a noble call to push and surpass its earthly limitations.
Although constantly enthralled by the more technical aspects of their work, Owatha has demonstrated an ample capacity for business dealings. Most of Zebra's competitors have been absorbed into the company, and the speed at which new technologies are developed has nearly doubled under Owatha's leadership. Would-be rivals have often outright compared Owatha to a machine, saying that they appear to operate non-stop around the clock with unmatched multitasking ability, managing scientific research and all other company affairs simultaneously with virtually no impact on performance.
Also, it has been all but officially confirmed that Owatha has been diagnosed with a degenerative disease and only has a few years left to live. While doctors speculate that some implants and interventions could extend their lifespan, Owatha has refused to pursue these options for unknown reasons and continues to put all their effort into their work. Zebra Synthetics insiders know the ailing CEO has planned business strategies and projects that surely exceed their remaining time alive, which would indicate that either they have picked a successor or don't acknowledge how close the end is approaching. Perhaps Owatha simply considers stepping away from their ambitious undertakings to be no better than death.
Owatha has a resolute and impassive personality and is very reserved and private. Upon assuming the CEO role, Owatha's personal life has proven to be an enigma despite hundreds of reporters attempting to spy on them and gather whatever information they can. They reside in a palace-like apartment at the top of the Monolith facility, with no known friends and a reputation for tirelessly working at all times. Some rumors suggest that the closest thing they have to a normal relationship is with entities of Artificial Intelligence and that they maintain some sort of intimacy with one in particular.
Testimony from survivors of the Madagascar flooding, who claim to have known Owatha back at the orphanage, states they once attempted to install a homemade agility module on their dog so it could run faster and jump higher — but ended up electrocuting it. According to these reports, Owatha conveyed no pleasure in the painful demise of their animal companion, but neither did they exhibit any particular guilt. These testimonies support the theory that Owatha views a biological body's susceptibility to failure as a noble call to push and surpass its earthly limitations.
Although constantly enthralled by the more technical aspects of their work, Owatha has demonstrated an ample capacity for business dealings. Most of Zebra's competitors have been absorbed into the company, and the speed at which new technologies are developed has nearly doubled under Owatha's leadership. Would-be rivals have often outright compared Owatha to a machine, saying that they appear to operate non-stop around the clock with unmatched multitasking ability, managing scientific research and all other company affairs simultaneously with virtually no impact on performance.
Also, it has been all but officially confirmed that Owatha has been diagnosed with a degenerative disease and only has a few years left to live. While doctors speculate that some implants and interventions could extend their lifespan, Owatha has refused to pursue these options for unknown reasons and continues to put all their effort into their work. Zebra Synthetics insiders know the ailing CEO has planned business strategies and projects that surely exceed their remaining time alive, which would indicate that either they have picked a successor or don't acknowledge how close the end is approaching. Perhaps Owatha simply considers stepping away from their ambitious undertakings to be no better than death.