Talinz in Daily Life: Industry

After a short break for Christmas and the New Year, I'd like to welcome in 2014 with the first in a new series (Which when the compiled PDF is finished will be a new chapter, I hope) on Talinz in Daily Life. We start with industry:

Much more than just sport, Talinz permeate everyday life, and affect the way people interact with each other and with society. These frames tend to be offered in two general formats: those for domestic use, and those for industrial use. Their jobs vary widely within these two very broad clades, and they are present in every economic sector, for better or worse.

Industrial Frames

Robotics is a major part of heavy industry, and it is in this role that Talinz frames are perhaps considered most iconic. Bulky, robust frames are often used for heavy lifting and large-scale construction, whilst smaller frames clamber through production lines adjusting fine electronics, and soldering together smaller pieces.

Outside of this, Talinz are used as crop dusters and harvesters in agriculture; for extraction, crushing, sieving and transportation in mining and quarrying; for synthesis of dangerous chemicals, and to help produce energy in power plants, along with many more tasks elsewhere. Often, specialist frames will be built fit to purpose. South American robotics giants Texlinz, for example, have constructed a frame that closely associates with others of its type to form a ‘swarm net’ to enable more efficient, Talinz-powered fishing. These units tend to become very heavily reliant on each other during their work, and robopsychologists have suggested they may even experience a sense of grief when a member of the swarm is terminated, even after the basic personality files of the frames were prevented from developing a capacity for sorrow.

The use of Talinz frames in industry has exploded massively largely due to one thing. With an entirely Talinz-powered factory, one only needs to employ a small number of engineers in case of breakdown, and a foreman to supervise the work. Workforce maintenance costs drop through the floor, as there are no legal requirements to grant Talinz a wage, breaks, or holiday. Companies obtain the units either by purchasing direct from a manufacturer, or through part time letting deals of the unit from its owners, and so in some cases do not even need to provide shelter and charging ports for the units they utilise.

Whilst many units in industry tend to have very basic, blank personality files at first – being intentionally designed to be as boring and bland as possible in order to eliminate possible workplace fracas – the adaptability of the Talinz system often confounds attempts to make an unthinking, unfeeling workforce. All too often, the experiences and engagements of the frame with human staff and other units in the facility will affect it as an individual, causing it to form views and opinions that it might not otherwise have. Ones that might be detrimental to productivity. One of the most difficult jobs of the small human workforce is that of calling in the ‘Wipers’. Wipers are groups of outside engineers who specialise in removing any aberrant traits from industrial Talinz frames and returning them to a clean factory default, without affecting the associated experience files (Which might necessitate the purchase and downloading of expensive training packages or of lapses in the individual’s memory that might inconvenience work). Engineers within the workforce at an individual company could feasibly perform the task, but management often worries about individuals becoming too attached to individual units, and overlooking this in their judgement. Large companies might employ a wiping department, whilst smaller firms may call in private contractors.

Increased production and adoption of industrial Talinz, however, has had a major negative side effect on the humans who have now found their jobs usurped by an ever growing robotic population. Outsourced and outperformed, many of these individuals have understandably become dissatisfied with the system. Governments have scrambled to counter the rising unemployment, though different countries have approached the problem in different ways. Some have granted subsidies and tax rebates to companies that employ a higher percentage of human staff, some have introduced retraining and back to work programmes to encourage education later in life, whilst others still have set back and let the market take its course.

Disenfranchised individuals have not been silent, however. In less stable areas, protests turn to riots, and hushed talk in the back rooms of houses and meeting halls become political movements, or robotics sabotage. Assaults against the few remaining Talinz engineers at large companies are on the rise, to the point that some police departments have considered grouping these Talinz-motivated crimes as a category all of their own.

Most notable among these groups is the Grey Hand. Originally, this small internet forum was an area for those concerned about the effect military Talinz were having on the human consciousness and perception of violence. Since the Baku treaty, however, their membership has transformed into a substantially more zealous, and more numerous anti-Talinz front. This loosely-organised global network has been branded as champion by some, terrorist by others. What none can deny however, are their effectiveness. Although cells have been located and arrested, new bubbles seem to pop up out of nowhere, infiltrating both Talinz factories and houses of prominent individuals in the industry, and causing mayhem of levels varying from knowing notes left on desks, through to full-scale bombings of important warehouses. The Grey Hand is dangerous, whether one were to agree with them or not. Considerable pressure on governments from corporations in more affected areas has led to considerations of curfews, anti-social behaviour laws, and internet monitoring.

Some claim it is unwarranted escalation. Some claim it is a necessary evil.