Cornelius is an order-monger. Moreso than even most inhabitants of the Upwarp. He is militant and fascist to the point of either not hearing or even understanding most things outside of his perfectly structured worldview. He is a living peice of software that has spent eons moving from version to version in his development tree until he deemed himself fit for release into the Mess. His goal now is to essentially assimilate all he can to his worldview by actively persuing the creation of Order in all Warps through art-war displays of organization and efficiency. This often results in problems and unenjoyable disruptions for the Warp-dwellers who find thier worlds temporarily re-organized in an amazingly obsessive compulsive manner.
Far out in the outer reaches of the Puzzlebox, in a grip of land void of compassion and in most cases even color, something insidious began. Something.. Almost perfect.
Noone knows when or how Cornelius I was conceived, but it is atleast known that he must have atleast been a facsimile of Version MCMXCIX in some varying degrees. And, it is known that he was the beginning of The Roma Cycle. The Roma Cycle is the product of a mind hell-bent on perfection, on logic, and above all, order. Too fine tuned to rely on any reproduction other than asexual, each Cornelius following Version I was first biologically cloned, and then built through biotech to be an exact replica both physically and mentally of the last. A delightful foray into the very depths of narcissism, pride, and conviction, each Cornelius created one or more of himself and lived quelled in his own intellect, tearing down and structuring all that he and those versions before him had ever learned. Cornelius did not need outside interaction. Cornelius had himselves, and their devices. Cornelius had rigid order, and he and his bretheren all thought, behaved and moved as one. They all had seperate consciousnesses, yet it pleased them to be in their own company, free from any taint. They were still, however, in debug mode. And, lacking perfection, they sought to eliminate anything that would hinder it. Including themselves.
And so the cycle began -- The almost synchronous beings of flesh and machine rigorously debated consciousness, philosophy, politics and culture with one another, oftentimes falling to simple agreement, until one spoke out of turn and caused a change. They would then decide whether or not to integrate the change to the Final Product, and all remaining Cornelius Versions save for the changed version would then commit mandatory suicide, simply ceasing their functioning at will. Imperfection could not be tolerated. Not at any cost.
This cycle continued for unknown ages, up until the conception of Cornelius MCMXCIX. His final update to the Roma Cycle was that of conquest; The time had finally come when Cornelius could no longer learn from himself -- He was the Final Product, and he was ready to spread his image like so many plagues upon existence. Interacting with clones of himself, too, had lost it's appeal. To create something in your image was one thing -- But oh, to seduce a free willed creature into mental slavery through intellect and wit was a far more rewarding prospect. The outside creatures did not have to love him compulsively by design -- They would have to chose to. It was the confirmation of perfection he lusted for.
Eliminating the last of his kind he set off to unleash himself upon The Mess, which would have to be quickly and efficiently structured in some meaningful order. Within him were all the tools necessary to duplicate his perfect mold, yet no longer would he build copies of himself from scratch. It was time to distribute the software, through a ruthless campaign of propaganda and narcissistic glory. His goal would no longer be perfection, but instead, domination. A world built in his image, accomplished through DNA modification and invasive technology.
Stark white. Rigid facial features. Cornelius MCMXCIX is a work in the extremes of sterility, authority, and order. The anthropomorphic kangaroo stands tall and firm at an exact six feet zero inches, back straight, chin always raised and figure at attention.
White fur covers his entire body, including the white one-inch tall mohawk that crowns his head. Rising rigidly from either side of the mohawk are two long, symmetrical ears, the tips of which are each capped snugly with a metallic substance that seems to serve as receivers of some sorts. The amalgamation of mechanics and biology does not end there, however; Cornelius' left eye is completely replaced with a rectangular viewpiece that fits snugly against the side of his skull -- It integrates seamlessly with his flesh, even. The viewpiece is made completely of an opaque glossy black material, and by look alone it is not apparent how it functions. His right eye is normal by comparison, though he lacks any pupils.
Trailing down the back of his skull on either side of the mohawk are six industrial strength steel data cables that braid together neatly towards the top of his neck, and slip without mention into the chin-high collar of his uniform top. Similiar, smaller cords trail down the backs of his ears and into his skull, stapled neatly to his flesh to keep them from moving. The dull grey uniform top zippers up the front and towards his chest begins to go off to the left side. It's material is a sort of rigid cloth, though it lacks the texture of a traditional woven material. One breast pocket adorns the uniform on the left side, buttoned neatly.
His arms are left bare by the grey top, ending just above elbow's length, but from elbow down his forearms are adorned with polished steel gauntlets. The gauntlets are like platemail almost, although they've been smoothed and perfected to the point where they're almost decorative. They cover each of his fingers save his thumbs, each one ending with a long clawlike device. The devices vary from finger to finger -- Some are probes, other seem to be made for the surgical cutting of flesh, while yet others seem to be used to install implants and biotech devices. At forearm level, both gauntlets are imprinted in large block lettering with 'MCMXCIX' down the length.
The right side of his uniform is covered with a flared sash of sorts made of black leather and polished steel, effectively creating an armored epaulet. One of the steel plates is imprinted in Roman numerals with 'MCMXCIX'. If one could get close enough, they could also make out the words 'ODEUNT, DUM TIMEUNT.' in tiny block lettering beneath the Roman numerals, decorated on either side with tiny Iron Crosses.
At waist level, both the sash and his uniform top tuck very neatly into a large girdle of polished steel plates. Hanging from the front of the large reflective belt is a steel plate to protect his groin. Behind, his large kangaroo tail has steel plates going down along it's length; These however don't seem to be part of the girdle, but once again an actual part of his body. From the bottom of the belt come a pair of plain grey pants tucked into monstrous knee-high 'boots'.
Cornelius' digitigrade feet are far too large to be practical for actual footwear, so in leui he wears an odd combination of boot and shinguard. Starting at his knees and strapping down the front via six plated steel buckles each, black leather boots lead down all the way to the tops of his feet. They end there and leave his heel exposed, a mere leather covering exending down over the tops of each of his feet. These leave his large toes exposed, and likely help his mobility.
The software that Cornelius is host to is known as the Roma Software, a high powered program that databases and archives social interactions and notions, analyzes them for greatest efficiency, and uses these analyzations to write rulesets that parse the information into a social behaviour pattern for better living. Cornelius is outfitted with all of the equipment necessary to create new hosts for the Roma Software. This is generally done through extensive surgery, DNA modification and the installation of cybernetics.
The Roma Cycle, while at first the name of the long, murderous process of perfection that Cornelius and his clone bretheren went through, has come to be the name of a faction of those who possess the Roma Software. Thier goal is the same as Cornelius', to impose Order and efficiency and to further propagate the Roma Software through art-war and indirect coercion involving promises of a better, happier life with purpose and a sense of brotherhood that goes far beyond the mental. All members of the Roma Cycle are outfitted with proper gear to further spread their software, and add societal information to the Roma Software database through observations and interactions.
For more information on the Roma Cycle faction and it's members, the [Neo Romans], click here: The Roma Cycle
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