In the annals of R&D there are bad ideas and there are BAD ideas. One such monstrosity is the never-to-be-mentioned "Troubleshooter Buddy" which R&D unleashed upon Alpha Complex once. All subsequent models were scrapped, several R&D clones were likewise scrapped, all blueprints and notes were dropped into a reactor and those few clones who know the project once existed will not admit to it except to the Computer, itself... and then reluctantly with much bowing and scraping. So, how did such a small and simple bot cause so much trouble?
Part 1: Simple Minds
The Buddy-bot was supposed to be a helper-bot to troubleshooter teams during firefights. The design was simple, a basic tricycle bot chasis with a swivelled blaster turret and small bot brain. When needed, the Buddy would point and shoot wherever the team members indicated, thus adding significant weapon potential to the team without burdoning a team member with a large weapon to lug around. The camera rotates 360 degrees atop the turret, which can rotate 360 degrees and arc up or down 15 degrees atop the chasis. The rear wheels drive and turn independantly, giving the bot nearly a zero turn radius. The whole system is very simple, the bot's brain was very simple and it all worked very well... too well.
Part 2: Triggers and triggers
The bot can only do two things, move and shoot. To determine WHERE to shoot, the bot was set up with a series of trigger words which, when yelled with a pointed finger, prompted the bot into action. Said trigger words are:
- Commie
- Mutant
- Traitor
Part 3: Do I even HAVE to go over this?
Since all team members were essentially regarded as equal by R&D when they designed the bot, and as such equally capable of judging commies, mutants and traitors... all are given the same level of priority. This means that if ANY team member points at any other clone in Alpha Complex and yells any of the key words, the bot will queue them to be shot. If two members point at each other, each will be queued and then shot... in turn. The bot doesn't care, since it's not programmed to. I can't play favorites, since it wasn't programmed for that either. In essence, it's the ultimate in "point and shoot" technology.
Part 4: Campaign use
I haven't had a chance to use the Buddy yet, but I'd estimate that it would bring the chance of completing any task straight down to zero. There's just too much temptation for abuse and mistakes. So, I'm planning on using it in a "fake" mission, one that I don't expect the troubleshooters to complete anyway. In fact, I may build a mission AROUND the buddy-bot, just so my team can destroy itself.