Man's Best Friends

MBFs are a synthetic race of beings derived from dogs and engineered to be very intelligent and fiercely loyal. While they can't talk and are rather diminuitive in stature, they are very adept with technology and weaponry (although you can get one to help around the house). They're somewhat humanoid, at about two feet tall with proportional arms and legs.

• Can lift up to 500lbs
• Bones of carbon.
• Marrow of nanomachines.
• much cute, very bork
• Cannot communicate in any language verbally
• Does at least have identifiable emotions when barking, growling, etc.
• On-par or better-than-human intelligence, but is usually restricted based on the job. Expect clever thinking.
• Minds are synthetic, and theoretically any synthetic mind can be transplanted into an MBF.
• They can spacewalk without an EVA suit, and in fact don't need to breathe.

• Produced fully formed from the line, and programmed with all the essential information that that particular unit requires.
• An expectancy of 20 years, with regular care and love.

The Man's Best Friend body tends to be somewhat sausage shaped, but not noticeably so. The entire figure is designed to invoke as much of that “D'aww” factor that affects so many humans as possible.

MBF limbs are proportional to the body, being about 1 foot in length for both the arms and legs, give or take a few inches. MBF hands are two-jointed, allowing for rudimentary dexterity, but have tacky pads on their fingertips, allowing for a little more grip. Their feet are similarly dextrous, with tacky pads and two-jointed nubbins. Both the hands and the feet have the capability to be magnetized for spacewalking or gripping metallic objects. They are digitigrade.

MBFs are around 2 feet tall on average and weigh up to 75lbs mostly due to the density of their internal systems.

MBF skin is a matte latex material. It is resistant to changes in heat and cold, and is sealed against the elements and outer space.

MBF fur tends to be short and have a very solid quality to it, although sometimes it is less sleek and more silky, depending on the breed. The colour and pattern, of course, is determined by the template dogs used in any particular MBF.

The MBF heads usually resemble a corgi or terrier head, with a bit of crossbreeding with other breeds. In other words, engineered for cute. Ears are as you'd expect, either perky and high or floppy and low. Their noses, again, what one would expect from a dog - dark, wet, cute.

MBFs have large pupils and just as large irises, as dogs usually do. Unlike their template, MBFs have vastly greater visual capabilities, being able to see in full colour and with additional scanner capabilities to help them identify the world.

The MBF mouth has the full range of teeth one would expect from a dog, with a few added features for flexibility. The teeth are a carbon blend dyed white to look the same as regular teeth, and the flexible, flat tongue can extend to a foot out for use as an additional limb, to reach hard-to-get objects, or “reasons”. MBF saliva is quite literally healing spit, in that the MBF produces medical-grade nanomachines (your mileage may vary based on price) that it can lick onto wounds to start mending them.

An MBF's sense of taste is highly refined and can also be used to identify chemical makeup of objects.

MBFs can only speak in barks, whimpers, yips, and generally any noise a dog can make.

MBF skeletons are made from a hollow array of carbon tubes that house nanomachine production marrow. These nanomachines are used mostly for maintenance purposes on the MBF body, but can be used in saliva production (see above). Otherwise, the skeletons are simple, durable and quick to repair. In the event of muscle loss (via burning, or some other reason) the nanomachines have an emergency modification procedure to disengage emergency locks and give the MBF bones their own servo system. The skeleton also houses the neural network of the MBF.

MBFs have three organs, essentially. They have a digestive tract, which boils down everything it could possibly eat and either converts it to useful material or breaks it down for energy. Then there's a processor, which can reconstruct the useful material into even more useful material. Lastly, there's the power core, which is fueled by the less useful goods. The MBF's body is essentially a closed system that takes things in, but only coughs up something else when necessary.

The MBF brain sits nicely in their head, an efficiently arranged synthetic brain that cuts down on the space needed for a naturally produced but terribly designed fleshbrain. The MBF neural network is contained within the bone structure of the creatures, so it's perfectly housed within the confines of the body should anything go awry.

MBFs can, quite literally eat anything. However, organic matter is still the best for energy breakdown. Inorganic matter (such as rocks) tend to mean that the MBF has to get a little radioactive before they can enjoy it.

The MBFs have no organics, and thus cannot become sick.

Fresh MBFs are very intelligent, but cannot communicate this verbally. So, in order to communicate, they tend to rely on datapads or text to speech devices.

Transplanted minds are as intelligent as they were before the transplant.

An MBF's outlook is very “net positive” and tends towards lighter ideas and concepts rather than negative ones.

MBFs essentially keep a watchful eye on but ignore strangers unless given reason to interact otherwise. If given reason, they will treat all strangers as familiar.

Familiar individuals are treated with adoration and interest, and the MBF will essentially do everything it can to make them happy.

If their owner ritually abuses them, the MBF has a recall feature they can enact to strip the owner of their privileges and go back to the company, where they can be scrubbed of those horrible memories and be prepare to be given or employed to a new owner. In simple cases, the MBF will up and leave. In dire cases, the MBF may be “broken out” by fellow units sent as a recall team.

As MBFs are synthetic, they cannot use magic.

MBFs have a psionic suppressant in their systems, designed to keep their minds free of any psionic influence. As such, they are not capable of psionics themselves.

Dogsong Intensifies