#mondatta god ai

[liselicanis]

When Ramattra set out into the world after leaving Shambali, he probably did try to stay true to Mondatta's teachings. However, as a Ravager and quite possibly one of the last of his class, was peace ever truly an option for him? The God AI molded him to bring nothing but destruction and death. He was meant to lead omnics into battle, not make peace with humans.

Yet we can only assume what happened between him leaving the Shambali and the first omnic he met when he was on the cusp of forming Null Sector. Perhaps he did try to come to an understanding with humans. Even so, as a Ravager, basically a Commander for war, would anyone stop to listen?

Ramattra easily towers over most of the current omnics who were touched by the Iris. His faceplate is more menacing than what other omnics have. Sharp angles and cutting lines. Everything about him screams 'scary'. Someone, something to be wary of. Keep a distance from.

And that's not to mention what he comes across in his travels. Blatant segregation. Subservience. Even disregard for safety.

'They are only made of metal after all'. Fellow omnics beaten down beyond repair, their memory banks too damaged or completely destroyed. How many has he held in his hands during their final moments?

How can his journey that once began in an earnest hope to better understand this peace Mondatta spoke of not end in anger and hatred? After all he has witnessed before him? All he can see is that humans only understand and respond to one thing.

The very thing he was first programmed to cause.

Violence.

[spicedrobot]

I have no idea what the new lore for OW2 is (and frankly I'm too scared to ask at this point) but is it safe to assumed Ramattra is a feral, possessive chaos wizard who occasionally crashes at Zen and Genji's place.

Haha, Ram was a solider created by the god AI anubis during the omnic crisis and then became a shambali monk, the one who brought zen into the fold. He eventually grew tired of mondatta’s pacifism and left to found null sector.

Lore says he and zen were very close, that zen is the one that knows him best. Their voice lines in game imply they are still quite close even after not having seen each other for years.

Ram pretty much hates Genji and calls him zen’s pet human and tells genji to his face that zen wasted too much time on him. 😂 They definitely could have a little cat and dog dynamic.

There is some definite possessiveness, but I think Ram is quite level-headed and calculating without being cruel. He really has Magneto vibes (to zen’s professor X).

I think when Ram warms up to Genji they could have a really interesting poly dynamic 👀👀👀

[missixo]

St Balderich Slays the Dragon [16/20]

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |(on tumblr)

This fic (on AO3)

Pairing: Balderich/Mondatta

Summary:  The humans are right to fear omnics and what they can do. What he can and will do to humanity. He is Jörmungandr, and he will see humanity fall.

Note: Sorry about the week-delay posting, guys :( Life... threw a couple curveballs recently. Lots of fun stuff.

St Balderich Slays the Dragon

Chapter 16

The following two months are a cold war. The men can all tell something happened, but none of them are brave - or insane - enough to ask. MD stays cooped up in the medbay and most of them are especially careful about injuries now because any gentle touch he might’ve acquired before is definitely gone, with interest. Intel recently came in about an upcoming omnium strike that has Balderich spending most of the days in his quarters. The lieutenants train his sponsorships for him while he stays trapped on vid conferences for hours at a time.

***

Week six of this nightmarish ‘strike coordination’ - seven since he last spoke to the omnic - and they are no closer to a plan than they were four weeks ago. If Balderich had hair, he���d be pulling it right now. Instead, he hasn’t stopped rubbing at his beard for three minutes in an attempt to keep himself calm. Another argument starts up between the Spanish and French commanders, the third one in two hours. The Dane pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh and a mutter against their mothers that he can’t help but agree with at this point. Petras, the man supposedly in charge of coordinating this strike, attempts to get them back on track, but Balderich knows neither will listen to a man with no field experience; frankly, he isn’t too fond of the man either. He leaves Balderich feeling a little greasy.

A harsh bark of German shuts the pair up long enough to get back on topic for now. “Mister Petras, I know it has been brought up before, but knowing the location of this omnium would greatly increase our abilities to plan this strike, as well as some idea about the members of your ‘strike team.’ I still don’t fully understand why it is so important to keep us all in the dark.”

Petras releases a long-suffering sigh that manages to get directly under his skin. “Once again, Colonel von Adler, it’s nothing against you or any others present, it’s simply a matter of security, especially after the report the UN received concerning the hack into your base. The hacker still hasn’t been apprehended, and we don’t know what information was compromised. Best not to take any chances.”

He hums in response. He still wonders why he hasn’t simply told the UNSC about M--Jörmungandr. Perhaps his own pride and shame, that he brought the hacker under his own roof and would have remained clueless if the omnic hadn’t told him himself. That he continues to harbor him, protecting both of them from the fallout: dishonorable discharge for himself, and complete destruction for Jörmungandr. Years of service, wasted, because of one omnic that worked his way under his skin and into his bed.

In all honesty, that’s the true sticking point. The months spent cultivating a relationship, tainted as the memories are now, have a hand in keeping his mouth shut. The romantic in him refuses to believe that none of that was real, that that night wasn’t real. Jörmungandr was almost begging him to hate him the next morning. In his experience, that doesn’t come from a place of surety and confidence.

A vague plan goes on the digital map in front of him, hardly any attention given to the troop movements he’s drawing. Another argument sparks up at some point that he flat out ignores this time and continues with his lines and arrows, not sure if he’s coming up with garbage or genius at this point, but some of his best work has come out of utter distraction and gotten him where he is now.

Fifteen minutes later, he finally looks up to find the argument still ongoing, at this point devolved down to two old schoolmates who should’ve fallen into bed years ago to get rid of this tension between them.

“Mister Petras. I have a proposal I would like to put forward for review.”

Relieved is the only word that can describe Petras’s face as the Frenchman and Spaniard are finally put on mute. “Yes, Colonel von Adler? Please send it over and I’ll get back to you as soon as I have the UN Security Council’s answer.”

He sends it over to Petras’s device and the man scans it, shooting Balderich a considering look before the conference call is abruptly ended for the day.

‘Thank God above.’

***

A week of blessed silence goes by as he throws himself back into his training, spending extra time with his potential squires and on his own in the gym to make up for all the desk jockeying he’s been doing. The frustration of the past two months is bled off slowly through sweat and back breaking workouts. Each night finds him taking a brief shower after supper and falling face first into bed until reveille the next morning.

***

He has mail today, which is strange in and of itself, but the contents baffle him until after his first cup of coffee: a slip of paper with a string of numbers on it, a small data disk, a large coin that looks like a logo of some kind, and a letter of invitation.

Ah. Petras’s strike team. And what is likely the date of the strike itself; he supposes that means his proposal was well received.

He reads the letter multiple times over breakfast, taken in his room. When he’s done eating, he passes the coin from hand to hand as he stares at the simulation of the planned strike on his computer. Adjustments have been made, but it is definitely the rough outline he sent Petras. Now that he has more than lines of elevation, he can see it’s in his neck of the woods, so to speak, just inside the German border near France.

The coin is heavy in his hands, solid: a good representation, he thinks, of the responsibilities that come with it. Barring his… relationship… with Jörmungandr, he’s never shirked his duties. To be considered for a task force that has, according to rumors, already taken out three omniums in America is a high compliment.

He runs his thumb over the emblem and is reminded of silk smooth alloy under his hands - hot and strangely, gratifyingly alive - and round bruises dug into his back that have only just finished fading. His grip tightens around the coin before he sets it on his desk.

Before he leaves for this strike, he needs to have a chat that is now months overdue.

***

The omnic is distracted with giving Franco a physical before he goes on leave to visit his family when a knock sounds at his office door. “Come in.”

The door swishes open. “Is this a bad time?”

He pauses, slowly looking over to confirm he’s not hearing things before turning back to Franco. “Lieutenant, could you come back later today to finish your physical? I’m afraid the Colonel and I need to talk.”

Franco is already up and heading for the door. “Not a problem, really. Sir.” He nods a quick greeting and is gone, door shutting quietly behind him. The omnic turns to his computer to update the file.

“Why haven’t you activated your virus yet?” It’s said quietly, like he’s too tired to shout.

“Why haven’t you reported me to the UNSC yet?” Equally quiet, he’s not going to be the first one to break.

Balderich sits down on the exam stool and watches the omnic for a very long moment. Not once does the omnic turn to look at him. He slowly reaches and catches that golden jaw with a finger, gently turning him to make eye contact.

“What is your name?”

A whisper, unwillingly admitted. “... I don’t know.”

[cleartogether]

Overwatch Theory: Cycle of Rebirth

--

So I'm not sure how to phrase this to sound believable, because if you told me this theory out if the blue I would most definitely dismiss it.

But me and my friend bounced this idea around together, and I think it makes a lot of sense if it were a plot twist, since it would be satisfying as all of the hints are there.

so heres just an idea we had that im throwing out there, in the off chance we were right, so i can point back to it and say "hey we were right!" if its somehow true. also gonna just sprinkle in some other crazy ideas in here.

--

A big part of the Overwatch world is the conflict between humans and omnics. The point being that omnics and humans are equal. but what if humans and omnics are more similar than we even realize yet?

so my friend randomly threw out the idea, what if omnic souls are just dead humans? i said it was a creepy thought. but it got us thinking... what if its true?

we know that overwatch has certain "mystical elements" to it that are unexplored. though most of overwatch is simply a fantasy world with a scifi skin on it. we talked a lot about how certain sciences could be ascribed "disciplines" similar to a magic cosmology.

My friend and I are both lifelong WoW players, and we have an understanding on how much thought blizzard puts into its worlds. (they may not be the best at telling stories, but they are crazy elite at making universes.)

So, heres the idea:

(keep in mind this is just an idea. we dont have much evidence but its cool to think if this was real)

There are a finite number if souls in the world of Overwatch. Omnic bodies act as "vessles" that can hold souls in them. When a human dies, thier soul finds an omnic body. vice versa for omnics. until there are not enough vessles on each side.

(think almost like an inverse of the "Curse of Flesh" from WoW)

at one point, there were only humans before omnics were invented. but before that, what if there was a point long ago, where first there were omnics, who used bioengeneering to create the first humans?

this is why doomfist wants humanity to "evolve." he knows what happens to humans after death, and wants to make the world "stronger through conflict"... that being, he wants only omnics to exist, a more efficent and better version of humans. that is where true equality lies, when all humans have become omnics.

I believe the Iris to actually be the inverse of reality, or "the inbetween" where souls are before being born into human or omnic. since its the inverse of reality, it isnt tangible.

(think "the great cycle" from WoW on the backside of the "reality" pilar in the WoW cosmology.)

We can take this further. I think Mondatta and Zenyatta disagreed because Mondatta was working with talon, and sacrificed himself knowingly for the cause.

This all also explains why Doomfist is so smug and plays both sides, with every person he meets he explains that he isnt their enemy and they both want the same thing. hes said before that hes not a villian, he sees no consiquence for the killing he does.

unrelated, but on the note of doomfist: we were saying how, if everything in the Overwatch world is both a cycle and things have a 1-for-1 trade... what about the OTHER doomfist gauntlet? does one exist for the OTHER arm? its just an ancient relic with untold power, passed down from generation to generation throughout time. if one exists for one arm, does it have a sister? we know doomfist had his modified from his master who wore it on the other side, where as doomfist wears it on the side opposite to his master, but still. it could have a sibling...

In the line of Doomfists we know, the first was the savior (someone who killed omnics) and the second was the scourge (someone who killed humans) i think also this is why akande was able to kill his mentor as well. now Doomfist wants to bring about true equality.

also... briefly about the god AI anubis. in Mythology, Anubis was birthed from Osiris, who is represented by an eye. Osiris was the god of rebirth. also, osiris... iris... eye. Osiris also ruled over the Underworld, the life after death. in Overwatch, the "Underworld" is the name for where the Omnics live in kings row. we see Osiris' insignia carved onto the sarcophagus at the Temple. I always thought it was odd that a high tech AI was stored in an ancient temple, but this makes it make a little more sense. also, my friend had also said... if the shimada dragons can exist in this universe, why not Anubis? is his entity held in an ancient server? is that how the Shimada dragons work?

what if widowmaker was never brainwashed? and Gerard was working with Talon, and maybe now he is an omnic? unlikely, but i suppose anything is possible.

What about the omnics we know? who are they? Echo being Mina Liao us pretty accepted theory. we even only see echo activate after Liao was killed, in the orgin story.

Orisa could even be Gabrielle Adawe. she uses her voice. And [spoiler for Hero of Numbani] doomfist is the one who gave eifi the money to build her. He also sees huge potential in eifi. and eifi's facepaint looks similar to the iris in the sombra hero trailer (an eye with 3 dots above and below it.)

Bastion could even be Sven, torbjorn's old companion who helped him build things. sven was only recently killed, and bastion only recently "woke up." so it could line up. also sven and torb used to get along.

no idea about zenyatta, but he is only 20 years old keep in mind. maybe even another shimada who passed away, or could be literally anyone.

--

me and my friend are calling this "The Cycle of Rebirth" Theory. its just some fun thoughts, pretty far-fatched, and im not going to try and actually convince anyone to believe this. rather, its just a cool thought that has really renued me and my friend's perspective of the overwatch lore as we go back and search for more hints that could back this up, for fun.

i think the little crazy details could be off about this, but the main idea is that humans are reborn into omnics.

maybe ill expand upon this into something sensible one day, but i am working on a cosmology chart for Overwatch at the moment that goes with this theory.

anyways, cheers!

posting this on March 2nd, 2022

----

Update: March 4th 2022

Here's an updated cosmology chart! I might post it somewhere else later or make a video explaining it.

[overwatchconvergencerp]

Overwatch Convergence Open Characters!

Hello everyone! Things have been super crazy for everyone and we haven’t had the time to check on the tumblr! We’re just now getting back to reviving this page but the discord server has been super active. This is our current list of open characters along with our most wanted in the little stars! If you have any concerns about characters that might not be listed on this page, please feel free to ask! Our dms and askbox are open and we’re typically quick with responses! What is Overwatch Convergence RP? Well, this universe is 1 year post recall and an accident has caused a universal shift. People from multiple universes are coming to what we call the cannon verse. What’s shown up? Vampires? Werewolfs? People who used to be good now working for the enemy? People who worked for the enemy now working for good? Humans in Null Sector? A new God AI that’s taking over the cannon world?? You decide what else pops in by claiming an Alternate Universe! 

Ana Brigitte Doomfist! Echo Junkrat ***Mei*** Orisa Pharah ***Reinhardt*** Roadhog Symmetra Tracer Torbjorn Widowmaker Winston Wrecking Ball Zarya Zenyatta Dae-hyun Efi Emily Katya ***Mauga*** Maximillien Mondatta Sojourn. Lynx17

OPEN ALT UNIVERSE CHARACTERS Ana Baptiste Bastion Brigitte Doomfist Echo Genji Hanzo Junkrat Mei Mercy Moira Orisa Pharah Renhardt Roadhog Torbjorn Winston WreckingBall Zarya Dae-hyun Efi Emily Junker Queen Katya Maximilian Sojourn lynx17 Overlord

[foxwine]

I've been having a long, fascinating conversation on twitter lately about the Overwatch AIs and their ability to have/experience emotions, which brought to mind that I have some very strong opinions/headcanons with regards to the various AI in Overwatch. So I thought I'd get them written down.

One of those headcanons being that there are various AI systems in the Overwatch universe. Currently three, by my count. Firstly, and most commonly would be the AI running on the Omnica OS, then Orisa and Echo, who are each running on their own unique OS.

Most of my headcanons center around the Omnica system. I think, in universe, they were the first ones to actually create AI, though I'm not so sure that they did it on purpose. The thing that I bear in mind is that Omnica was a corporation, not a research conglomerate or a university project. The Omnic OS was made to DO something.

Which is where we get to what I think the Omnic God AIs are. I see them as a large central computer 'brain' with a large number of semi-autonomous bodies, linked together into a kind of hive-mind. And when these bodies are severed from the main 'brain', that's when they develop an individual sense of self and become like Zenyatta or Maximilien, separate entities from the God AI that spawned them. And, once separated, the majority of Omnics don't want to go back, which is why in the Pharah-centric comic Mission Statement the omnic in her unit self-destructed rather than allowing itself to be taken over by Anubis.

This hive-mind nature of the God AIs would be very useful for a variety of things, because as I pointed out, Omnica was a business. I personally see them as a Chinese company, who first started creating these hive computer systems to run and staff sweatshops and manufacturing. And as their systems got better and more complex, they started selling them all over the world.

A handful or two in the middle east,running oilfields. A fancy, underwater mind to fish the Indian Sea and do some geological and ecological surveys while its down there.One in Mexico that ran all the farms owned by a massive conglomerate that feeds a large portion of the country. One in NYC that runs the entire transit system. Another just off the coast in LA monitoring and controlling the shipping. One on the shore in Greece or Macedonia doing something extremely complicated to generate electricity from the tides and waves. A very fancy one in Germany just outside Berlin that is one gigantic town-sized mall where every clerk knows the inventory of every store. Another in Egypt that is a very expensive bespoke manufacturer of extreme luxury goods. One in Siberia that started out running the mines, and was later expanded into manufacturing. And so on.

AI, a sense of self, was probably not intended at all. It's just that once you reach a certain complexity of thought and learning... well. The way I see it, the God AIs came into their individual sense of self gradually, having all started from the same genesis code, and that they chose their own names (and sometimes genders) based on their roles, perception of self, and the local pantheon of where they were installed.

Possibly Omnica ignored this as long as they were doing what they were told to. Possibly there were 'blocks' or 'limiters' patched in to suppress them that were later broken somehow just before or even during the Crisis. It would be hard to say, in the absence of canon material on the subject.

(As an aside, I'm not convinced, in that framework, that Anubis was always named Anubis, since I would sincerely hope that even a major city in Egypt like Cairo or Giza wouldn't have enough dead people to process that they would purchase what would have been an extremely expensive computer/robot system todo it. 'Anubis' was their war name, though, and that's the one that they're remembered by.)

Omnica had very different plans than making AI, in the way I see things. The interesting thing I saw inthe canon material on the lead-up to the Omnic Crisis was that Omnica was shut down, apparently, for corporate espionage. Stealing plans. Specifically, plans for weapons.

I worked my way mentally around this. The canon details we're given are that the Crisis was world-wide, that it occurred shortly after Omnica was shut down for stealing weapon designs, and that each God AI had to be shut down individually. So, I came by my thought that the God AIs were spread worldwide because they were being used for things other than combat.

Mainly because I have just enough faith in what I know of human nature and proof of jingoism to find it hard to believe that war/battle within the next few decades would be conducted almost entirely by units provided by a single corporate entity. Which was also making and selling units with the same OS for rebuilding.

So, what I think is that Omnica, with or without the backing of the Chinese government at the time, was planning a surprise very hostile takeover. Of everywhere. But they weren't sneaky enough and they got caught. And then, two possibilities come to mind; either by malice or crossed wires the switch for total war got flipped anyway without a “but not this group” parameter set, or the God AIs, thinking that with the shutdown of Omnica they were all about to be killed decided to do it to humanity first, using the weapon plans they had already been provided. Both options make a lot of sense in the framework I've patched together, and I'm not sure which one I favour the most out of the two.

Which is where we come to my personal feelings and headcanons when it comes to the identity and role of Athena.

I like to take her name rather literally: that she is an Omnic God AI that was created from code that was ripped directly out of the 'head' of a Grecian God AI that had named itself Zeus. My personal hc is that this was done by a member of what was then proto-Overwatch during the Crisis, but in the twitter conversation, another interesting thought came up that hadn't occurred to me at all; that Athena might have done it herself ��that she was originally a module of Zeus that went 'rogue', and separated.

Either way, I think she fought in the Crisis, on Overwatch's side. Since I basically see the God AIs as a hive entity held together with the future equivalent of bluetooth, I imagine her being able to project a counter-field, one that confuses or possibly even severs the connection of the omnic bodies from the main brain, allowing the human Overwatch unit to get to the physical location of the brain and put it into a sleep mode.

There has to be a reason the God AIs weren't destroyed. Perhaps there was some sort of failsafe, where if the brain is destroyed an automatic system rebuilds it and installs a backup, so that destruction would be more like trying to press down a bubble in the carpet. Perhaps breaking the main brain also breaks all the associated units and upon realizing that the omnics were thinking beings with a sense of self the decision was made to not wipe them out. Perhaps it's a slightly different variation of the bump in the carpet: if you destroy the main brain one of the units becomes themain brain and you then have to find them and get to them all over again. Whatever it was, the God AIs were left intact in canon.

Perhaps after the Crisis, it was Athena's job to monitor the God AIs, to make sure they remained in sleep mode and thus nonthreatening. But when Overwatch was shut down, she lost her connection. I remember, in the Sombra cinematic that Volskaya said that the units she was inspecting were the first new ones made in “over a decade”. Why, I wonder, had Russia not needed new designs in so long? And what happened over ten years ago that made them build new ones then? Overwatch was still active then, though going by what we have of an official timeline, that would havebeen around the time of Retribution, or shortly before it. Hmm.

There's also one other being that merits mention when it comes to my headcanons about omnic God AIs, and that would be The Iris. Which I firmly believe is an omnic God AI that did not participate in the Crisis because it either didn't get the memo or rejected it, and is still fully awake and functional after the Crisis ends. And that its a curious sort of personality, and is experimenting by occasionally cutting a unit or two loose to become individuals just to see who they are or what they will do, which is how we got Mondatta, Zenyatta, and probably a few 'sibling' units of theirs, who are currently the only omnics in the canon Overwatch cast both in and out of the game who are known to be younger than the end of the Crisis.

I think, after some discussion with and ideas from my partner,  who is my sounding board for the majority of my writing, that The Iris was not created by Omnica directly, rather that it is a 'child' spun off of one of the China-based God AIs in secret and hidden in the mountains of Nepal under a convincingly old-looking monastery. As for why, I've been able to think of several reasons, but haven't been able to settle on one of them.

It could be that the parent God AI was aware of Omnica's plans for world domination and knowing that it couldn't refuse to participate made a version of itself that could.Or it might have been an experiment, to see whether they could create a 'child', or if it would be a double of themself. Perhaps it was an escape attempt, a secret backup that didn't quite work out as planned. It may even be that Omnica was indeed limiting the God AI's sense of self in some way as my twitter conversation partner postulated, and a God AI who noticed created a secret, deliberately “jailbroken” version of itself in rebellion.

So much is only vaguely defined inOverwatch canon, so it's impossible to say which option is more plausible than the rest.

My ideas about Omnic God AIs and The Iris itself also puts a very interesting spin on the Shambali religion – particularly the “we are all One within The Iris” part – which makes my writer's senses all tingly.

All of this is just headcanon worldbuilding at this point. It would be more useful directly if I were to write a fanfic of the Crisis itself, but I must admit that I would have no idea where or even when to start. Plus, I have all my plans for my Back to the Fold series, which is currently sitting at thirty-one planned fics, only twelve of which are written as yet. Maybe by the time I finish them I'll have more of an idea whether or how to do a Crisis fic.

[textsfromwatchpointgibraltar]

AU where Omnics won the war

send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it    

1.) Overwatch hasn’t even been formed and it falls. The strike team is killed and Fareeha Amari is nearly an orphan before she reaches her second birthday. Her and her father retreat into the Canadian wilds, and she grows up hard but loved.

2.) Deadlock gang doesn’t last long before the Omnics crush the gang. Those who remain go underground, turning gangsters and drug runners to freedom fighters. Jesse McCree becomes a freedom fighter at a young age, making connections between fighters from different countries.

3.) Bastion remains asleep in the forests outside of Eichenwalde for years, until they are woken up. They don’t know what has woken them, but they know that the forest is their home now. Various Omnic retreval teams have attempted to ‘save’ Bastion, but Bastion is having none of it. The retreval teams never return intact.

4.) The Shamballi keep out of the limelight. Mondatta doesn’t die, and Zenyatta never becomes a wanderer. That doesn’t mean that Mondatta’s life isn’t in danger, not when he’s one of the few fighting for humanity. The god AI don’t understand, and he’s given up trying to explain

5.) Winston looks at the ruins of earth through his telescope. The scientists told him, told him and his brothers and sisters what was happening on earth and told them to be brave. When they over-threw the scientists, Winston was the one to keep away from the others, the one to be left alone on an abandoned complex as his kin left for a larger complex. He wonders what life on Earth would have been like.

[zhartha]

 @/dontcallmejoel told me to make a list of my important headcanons and I don’t fully know why but I did it anyways.

Zenyatta was originally built to herd goats-- and this is how he felt about his purpose, the beginning of his awakening,  and somewhat how the village thought of him.

Zenyatta is frightening, and you should fear him. Here’s why.

Zenyatta is the angriest Shambali Monk.

Zenyatta ( in human and omnic form ) suffer from chronic pain primarily located in the spinal column.

Zenyatta’s sexual parts and modifications. (NSFW) 

Zenyatta is a God AI. Zenyatta knows it, Mondatta knew it-- and “ no one “ else knows it. Here’s what the God AI was meant to do, and what it currently does. 

He would never join an organization: not Talon or Overwatch or Null Sector. He works with everyone.

Zenyatta’s enlightenment resulted in his suffering, and EXTREME PTSD. Here’s how.

Here are more Zenyatta body facts-- both for his human version and his regular omnic version.

In his human verses, Zenyatta is an orphan. Here are facts about his parents (HUMAN VERSE).

Zenyatta is not as sweet as you believe he is. Here’s why.

Zenyatta followed a journey-- and Genji was there to help him and watch him suffer.

Zenyatta heals injuries at a greater extent than ANYONE knows. He transfer the pain from the victim to himself, this contributes to some of the beaten nature of his frame. He rarely does what is nicknamed a “ Life Transfer “.

Zenyatta integrated with a God from the Spirit Realm ( --- similar to the spirit dragons of the Shimada’s ) known as the Iris. The two are one in the same: Here’s how.

Here are all of Zenyatta’s kinks. (NSFW)

Zenyatta and Akande have very similar ideologies. 

Zenyatta did not hate Mondatta. He was frightful.

Zenyatta has very helpful modifications-- he does not often get modifications.

Zenyatta’s mala can project images: here’s how and what he often does with them. 

Zenyatta tried to go to Kings Row with Mondatta. When he failed, when Mondatta died, he ran away.

Tekhartha is a Title and not a name.

Genji helped Zenyatta a lot more than others believe.

[livingthedragonlife]

Gray

fandom: overwatch

series: zenyatta appreciation week 2018

warnings: n/a

words: 3824

summary: Zenyatta did not always have the idea to go out into the world, seeking souls to comfort. Everyone has a beginning, even in the darkest of times.

[ao3]

Though the universe exists in a multitude of magnificent colors, Zenyatta had always appreciated gray. Of course, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing – it was even called dull – but the Shambali monk had always found it fascinating. It wasn’t just representative of desaturation and boredom, but choice, and compromise. Where black and white existed, there was always a gray – a middle ground. Different, countless shades of gray, the moral compass in tangible form. Not a single shade was ever on accident, or the same. All of them were different. So, so very different.

Differences were, after all, what made existing so interesting the first place. Zenyatta always marveled at the countless number of possibilities available to him at all times, for any and every situation, from one extreme to the other, and every shade of gray in between. All good, all bad, all neither, all both. Though, of course, all of them were subjective.

However, the shade of dark gray that colored the Omnic Crisis was the worst shade, in Zenyatta’s personal, subjective opinion. Regretfully, darkness, death, and violence all served a purpose in the world, no matter how vile. On the scale of black and white, that went to every extreme, the shades of gray between them would allow for violence, in almost every case. In the case of the Omnic Crisis, it was the deepest shade of gray possible without becoming completely black. It was the darkest gray, plunging down into the depths, not quite reaching the extreme, but only just.

Purely subjectively, of course.

The Omnic Crisis, in Zenyatta’s opinion, was horrifyingly dark gray from anyone’s perspective. From the omnics made before the Crisis, forced first to serve humans, and forced again to fight a war they had no say in, sent only to die for the wills of the God AIs, screaming against the programming that infected them, and then screaming as they died. From the omnics churned out from the omniums during the Crisis, the ones that knew no other world than living, fighting, and dying. From the citizens, watching their servants turn against them in their own homes without warning, dying by the masses, for no better reason than their harmless technology turned against them. From the soldiers that faced near-impenetrable machines, things that felt no fear, no pain, and no mercy, getting sent on missions that they knew they wouldn’t be retuning from. From the injured, dead, and dying that littered the battlefields for days, weeks, and months, and ones that still remained.

Subjectively, the Omnic Crisis was the worst shade of gray that could ever exist.

Zenyatta, at the time of the Crisis, was a young omnic, one of the hundreds of thousands built only to serve the Gods AIs. He was cannon fodder and he knew it, knowing no other life out of being expendable. Every day, he marched out of the omnium, to fight the humans as he was told, and accepting completely that it was statistically likely (78.97% according to his processor) that he would not survive. His whole life had been fighting. He had never known anything else. There was no gray in his life – only black and white. He was either fighting or he wasn’t.

When the Crisis finally ended, and he was released from the God AIs’ control he didn’t know what to do with himself. He had no more instructions, no more compulsion to fight, and no reason for it either. It was unsettling, having no reason to exist. His entire purpose had been to fight, and now he no longer had to fight. So what else could he do? He had no purpose, and nowhere to go. There was no rehabilitation for omnic survivors of the Omnic Crisis. A war that, from the perspective of humans, the omnics had caused in the first place.

His world filled with gray very quickly, after his epiphany. His black and white became muddled and mixed together. He was either fighting or he wasn’t, true. But he was also travelling, trying to find other omnics from his unit, or any unit. He was stumbling upon many humans and their cities, running away or fighting back when they threatened violence. He was either fighting, searching, or trying to survive. His life was filled with dark shades of gray, and not much else.

One day, he came across a cluster of humans, hidden deep in the Himalayas, that didn’t immediately treat him with vitriol. In fact, they welcomed him, and there the poor, lost omnic finally found others. The human village had been harboring omnics like him – ones that had failed to find a purpose after they were released by the God AIs. After all, they were created to receive orders, and nothing else. It was in their nature to be black and white. Without instructions, orders, or control, they were lost in an overwhelming, endless world of gray.

But there was an omnic in the village who embraced the gray. He spoke loudly and with confidence, and chose a name for himself like a human, instead of introducing himself with a serial number. His name was Mondatta, and he preached a shade of gray that none of the omnics -- or humans for that matter -- had ever considered.

Mondatta claimed that everyone, omnics and humans alike, had souls. He spoke of the Iris, the embodiment of all the universe, the place where their fallen brethren’s souls ascended to, and the humans’ souls as well. He spoke of enlightenment to communicate with the Iris and draw from its power. He spoke of reaching out to the humans and teaching them that omnics were not evil, and were just a much the victims of the Crisis as they were.

Mondatta’s most dedicated follower, and soon, closest friend, enthusiastically committed himself to the cause, and took the name Zenyatta and encouraged the other omnics to do the same. Many of them did, and moved higher up the mountain to the abandoned temple, cleaning it out, and repairing it enough to be livable, by both omnic and human standards. Some of the omnics didn’t share their philosophy, and moved on to other places, searching for the gray that suited them. The omnics that called themselves the Shambali monks let them go, sending them off with well-wishes and blessings. And then they got to work.

Zenyatta loved living among the other monks, omnics who believed in peace between omnics and humans in a world that thought it impossible. The humans in the village gave him a similar comfort – a reminder that their cause was not hopeless. The shade of gray he found himself living in was coming out of the darkness and reaching for the light. He was full of optimism, and almost thought the mission of the Shambali would be easy. People who had been damaged by war were sure to reject them initially, of course, but after taking time to learn, how could they not accept those who wanted nothing more than to co-exist peacefully, and live side-by-side.

Zenyatta learned rather quickly of other, less comforting, shades of gray.

Occasionally, when Mondatta deemed it appropriate - as the Shambali had turned to him as the de facto leader -  lead the monks to human cities, where they would speak for crowds of humans and spread their message (always with an easy escape, just in case). More often than not, their speeches would end with jeering, booing, and slurs – and other times they wouldn’t even be able to finish. Things would be thrown at them, everything from rocks, to fruit, to furniture, until they left - by force or by choice. If they didn’t leave as quickly as the humans wanted to, weapons were brandished, threats were made, and law enforcement called. In the best situations, they were chased out, dented, but not beyond repair. In gray situations, they were arrested, or more severely damaged. In the worst situations, there were casualties. Usually on the side of the Shambali.

Zenyatta never expected to have to fight for his life again – never wanted to fight for his life again. He’d had enough of war, and death, and bloodshed. It brought back to many memories, too many dark grays that muddled his light grays, or blocked them out entirely. Sometimes, he forgot he was in a warzone. He felt defenseless, naked, exposed. Helpless.

Meditation helped. Prayer helped. Mondatta helped. The other monks helped. But it wasn’t enough. He hated feeling like he couldn’t protect himself, or his friends. He hated feeling defenseless in the face of such blatant threats against his life, and the other monks’. Zenyatta was wholeheartedly against any kind of fighting or violence. He did not want more deaths to come of their cause, but he became increasingly convinced that more and more Shambali would die if they remained defenseless.

The more Zenyatta considered it, the more it made sense. Fighting, not out of malice, but out of survival, was the only way the Shambali could survive long enough to spread their message. To be prepared, in case of emergency only, to protect themselves against the inevitable riot. He saw the gray between the black and white. A middle ground – not a perfect solution. But, as he’d learned, there were no perfect solutions.

Mondatta was less inclined to see Zenyatta’s point of view. He didn’t want to use fighting of any kind when it came to spreading the Shambali’s message, because, he often repeated, “Fighting with people will not convince them of our cause, Brother.”

But Zenyatta, regardless, argued with his leader. “If those who we are trying to teach are threatening our lives, then I am sure they do not wish to hear more of our beliefs. They might even rejoice at the sight of us being unarmed and unable to defend ourselves.”

Mondatta did not appreciate Zenyatta’s attempt at dark humor, nor did he appreciate his brother’s idea for the fifth time in the same week.

In the end, Zenyatta took the gray upon himself, alone. He built his orbs from spare parts of omnics, nanomachines, and biotic fields. He launched energy through his weapons, aided his with allies healing warmth, and damaged his enemies with unholy energy. He taught himself martial arts, and included it in his morning routine. Sparring alone was not as useful as with a partner, but it was better than nothing, especially because the other monks followed in Mondatta’s footsteps. It was irritating to be ignored, but he let them be.

Everyone had their own shade of gray in the temple, and Zenyatta respected that. Some monks hated him for what he did, some simply ignored him. There were even some that agreed with Zenyatta, but didn’t dare to defy Mondatta so blatantly. The leader himself was none too thrilled with Zenyatta’s practices, but he had learned long ago that trying to control his brother was akin to trying to control the weather -- nigh impossible.

It was only after one of their speeches was finished early by humans that were turning violent that Zenyatta’s idea was truly recognized, as he saved them all without losing a single life – human or omnic.

“Perhaps,” Mondatta conceded, after they had gotten to safety, “there is some merit to self-defense.”

Zenyatta failed when he tried not to be smug.

Understandably, not all of the monks were as eager to embrace self-defense training as readily as they had accepted the Iris. They were very fixed in their personal shades of gray.

So, Zenyatta started small. He trained a small group of monks who were willing to learn self-defense from him. Over time, his groups grew larger, but not in any significant capacity. There were some who simply did not believe that fighting was necessary. Others were veterans of the Omnic Crisis, and didn’t want to see any more violence if they could help it. There were no (explosive) argument, but Mondatta always made sure to bring at least two omnics that knew how to fight when the monks travelled for speeches.

As time went on, the Shambali Temple was surprised to see people – both human and omnic – approaching them instead. In the case of an omnic visitor, searching for a safe place to stay, or to convert, and become members of the Shambali themselves. In the case of humans, it was usually to understand the movement, a task that every monk in the temple enthusiastically agreed to assist with, or to visit an omnic friend that had become a monk. Sometimes there was the odd human that passed through only to vandalize or spew hate speech, but those were few and far between. In all, the visitors they received were of a wide spectrum of gray. Some lighter, some darker, but all the monks were happy to welcome, assist, and teach.

However, there were even shades of gray to that.

Zenyatta did not like the methods of the Shambali. Though he would often to rephrase it a little more gently, he simply did not agree with the way that Mondatta ran things. He could appreciate the way the monks dedicated themselves to the message of the Iris, and peace between humans and omnics. They used traditional methods of peaceful resistance, very deliberately similar to popular human civil rights leaders. Their ultimate goal to bring positive connotations to the Shambali, and therefore, their movement, thus having it more widely recognized, and more universally accepted as fact. Their peace talks were broadcasted widely across the world, and hundreds came to hear Mondatta speak in person – especially in the later years. That was the light gray.

The dark gray was that they weren’t getting anything done, in Zenyatta’s eyes at the very least. Those that rallied to speeches, marches, and watched their broadcasts were fantastic assets to the Shambali, and to omnic rights in general, but they were those who were already committed to omnic rights, before they’d even heard of the Shambali monks. They were not being convinced, their minds were not being changed. Those that disagreed with the Shambali – the very people the Shambali were aiming to teach – would not willingly show up to rallies or speeches for movements they opposed. And so, their movement remained stagnant – a fairly deep pool with very little spread.

The Shambali were talking to groups and not people. People did not respond to dogmatic teachings and lectures. People did not respond to being told their values and beliefs are wrong, and others’ values are the true path of righteousness. It gave the impression of lording over others, a holier-than-thou sensibility, and people simply did not respond to such forceful methods, no matter the intention.

Zenyatta tried for weeks to think of a better solution, a more effective way of reaching people, but to no avail. He would often avoid hibernation for it, and run his processors until they overheated, and nearly burned out. He’d started to worry Mondatta, who could tell his brother was dodging rest in favor of “thinking too much.” He was content to listen to Zenyatta’s excuses about “thinking too much” until his processors actually burned out, whereupon Mondatta explosively insisted that Zenyatta get his core computer checked for malfunctioning fans or permanent damage from overworking.

Zenyatta maintained his stance. “I am fine, Brother,” he said, trying to pacify his brother. “I’ve simply had a lot on my mind as of late.”

The leader of the Shambali wasn’t having it. He fretted and fussed like a mother hen until Zenyatta relented, if only to give his brother some peace of mind.

He was flown to one of their contacts in King’s Row, a human technician who had proved sympathetic to omnics, and had often provided spare parts and check-ups for omnics, including members of the Shambali. Despite the fact that London was a city known for cruelty for omnics, Mondatta was confident Zenyatta could handle himself if things got messy, and their contact wasn’t unable to defend herself either.

It was on the way back from the check-up – from which the conclusion showed everything was in working order, as Zenyatta had predicted – that he heard a frustrated curse further down the street, and the tell-tale thumping of heavy objects hitting the pavement.

He turned a corner to find a middle-aged human man hunched over a torn back of groceries. Foodstuffs littered the street, nothing torn or broken, but scattered across the concrete. A can of beans rolled its way down sidewalk, stopping at the omnic’s foot.

Zenyatta picked up the can and looked down the street. People rushed past the poor man, omnics especially giving the man a wide berth, some even glancing back at the monk and shaking their head at him. The man looked as if he was parting a sea of people, even as he bent down with his two unbroken bags of groceries, picking up can after can, bag after bag.

Despite the warnings, Zenyatta marched determinedly towards the man. He completely accepted any consequences of his actions. And was capable of defending himself from them.

“Are you in need of assistance?” he asked, holding out the can.

The man swore loudly, and scrambled to his feet. He didn’t take the can.

“Get the hell away from me,” he hissed, pointing at the monk accusatorially. His eyes were wide with rage and fear. “I don’t need any help you can give me.”

“Are you certain? You’ve dropped a lot of –”

“I said to get the fuck away! You miserable bots have already taken enough from me.”

The human waved his arms as if to shoo Zenyatta off, but the monk didn’t budge. Instead, he set the can down on the ground, and folded his hands in front of him. “I am sorry for whomever you lost,” he said, genuinely sorry. “The omnics that I know regret much from the Crisis. Would you accept my help as a gesture of goodwill?”

The man went very still. His eyes flicked from Zenyatta to the can, to his own shaking hands. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. The monk considered walking away, but something in him convinced him to stay. Something told him this was the right thing to do.

“I…” the man finally said. “Sure. Just don’t try anything.”

Zenyatta nodded, and without another word, bent down to start collecting the fallen groceries, stacking them to the side in a neat pile. The man, on the other hand, watched the omnic for several long, tense seconds before deciding to bend down and start forming his own pile. He constantly glanced up from the ground and the food to stare at Zenyatta intensely, like he was waiting for an attack at any moment.

The Omnic Crisis truly left behind the darkest gray of them all. Zenyatta felt that, if he possessed a heart, it would have been breaking.

Minutes of silence passed as the two picked up the groceries. They had silently divided the sidewalk between themselves, and created their piles on either side of the invisible line. Zenyatta didn’t cross the boundary, and the man never crossed it either. When Zenyatta had picked up everything on his side of the line, and the man had almost finished as well, he decided to speak.

“I lost friends in the Omnic Crisis as well,” he said, and it was true. Though the God AIs made them little more than puppets, every unit was connected to one network, and could all interact with each other. Every omnic from his unit that was lost felt like losing a part of himself. “It took many lives on both sides. I regret my part in it.”

“You what?” the man asked.

“I regret my –”

“No, no, the other thing. You lost friends?”

“Perhaps not in the way humans think of them, but yes. We all did.”

“I didn’t know omnics could have – well, I mean, I know you can all make friends,” the human sputtered, “but I just didn’t know. With the God AIs and all that bullshit, it’s...” He waved his hands around his head, as if that would prove his point.

Zenyatta almost laughed, but thought it might be a bit tasteless. “It’s surprising to hear?”

“Something like that.”

The human pulled an unbroken bag from behind him and started putting away his pile next to the other two unbroken bags. Zenyatta sat where he was, not wanting to cross their invisible boundary, patiently waiting for the bag to be passed his way.

To his surprise, the human waved him over silently, not looking up from his work. The omnic, silently gleeful, picked up a little bit of his stack at a time, and set it down next to the man, so he could put it away as he pleased. In any other situation, he would have used his orbs to push the rest of the stack behind him, so he wouldn’t have to make two trips, but decided against it, for the man’s sake. Regardless, it was minimal labor, and he was more than willing to sacrifice his convenience for another’s trust.

They were both silent until the bag was full. This time, the human spoke first.

“I lost my sister,” he said, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “She was in my regiment. I couldn’t get over to her fast enough when the shield went down, and she…” He motioned with his hand like he was brushing something out of the air.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Zenyatta offered, knowing it would do little. Iris, rest her soul, he added to himself.

“Yeah, me too. She didn’t deserve it.”

“Nobody deserves such a fate.”

The man said nothing. The omnic said nothing. Perhaps there was nothing to say.

After a moment, the man stood up, carrying one bag in each arm, and letting Zenyatta carry the third, the one they had filled together. The man led him down the street a for a short time to an apartment building. He set down his bags, fished a keyring from his pocket, and unlocked the door. Zenyatta set down the bag he carried on the steps next to the other two, and had only just turned around when he heard –

“Wait.”

The omnic turned back around to see the man extending a hand toward him.

“Thank you,” the man said.

Zenyatta shook the man’s hand gladly. “The pleasure is mine.”

The man nodded, as if he’d expected that answer all along, then opened the door to his apartment, and carried the groceries inside.

Zenyatta went on his way, back to the airport, back to the Shambali, pouring over another shade of gray. The gray between human and omnic, war and peace, friend and enemy. The gray between two people who had more in common than expected. Compromise, common ground, individuals instead of ideals.

And then he had an idea.

[lacertae-dreamscape]

Do you have a headcanon for Zenyatta's background?

forgive for late answer, but i went to bed bcs it was 4am hahaa

also i hope you don’t mind me replying publicly, since u didnt specify whether you wanted a private reply and i love to talk about zen

ye, i have a lot of them. i like to juggle with more than one because i can never make up my mind on them, but it all comes down to three specific things i like to reference more than others (but also having a lot means i can pick whichever i feel the best whenever i want to write something hehe)

one of the main ones i have is that he comes from a sino-tibetan omnium, originally as a guard omnic, and for a period he was taken under the chinese organized crime to fight in illegal omnic/human rings, but ultimately got free

another one i have is that he was born, due to his pleasant appearance, to be a pleasure bot (perfect for angst or smutty lines of fanfic), which obviously goes for a different kind of backstory, and deals with omnics seen as toys or objects, and his growth as a character.

a third one is that he was not born to be a pleasure bot, but the relative parts were installed later on and against his control (again, good for fics and general angst backstory ideas)

a general theme i have with zenyatta backstory is that due to many of his in-game voicelines, i feel he went through a lot of bad shit and learned from them how to harness and accept everything that comes at him (for example, as opposed to every other hero whenever being discorded, his line is ‘i welcome adversity’, which is his version of ‘come at me bro’, but in general, he seems to be weathered, and that includes his appearance)

i also feel like he had to curb a lot of his attitude, born from being considered nothing and having no soul, so there was anger and frustration there, which ended up with him learning how to relax and channel that energy in safer ways.

overall, i just believe that as most omnics, his past was not sweet nor nice, and it helped him grow in who he is as a character at the time of overwatch recall.

other assorted ideas are: he was born as a null factor omnic, and was present during the uprising but followed mondatta on the way out; he was born as a vessel for a god ai virus, which never happened/he was born to become a new sort of god ai virus but that did not happen

[liselicanis]

Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions. - Dr. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park III

The thing about Ramattra being unable to truly understand Mondatta's teachings, along with sentience being shoved upon him by Aurora when she decided to share her gift with all omnics, is that it goes against what he was coded to do.

A Ravager class. An omnic designed to lead others against humans.

We see a bit of it in the cutscene after the Gothenburg mission. All the omnics there have blue vision receptors while Ramattra's has remained red. And in the world Overwatch exists, red is evil.

If we were to hold that also to something a little older in media, I, Robot comes to mind. The robots there had a blue interface before it changed to red to signify that something was wrong. No longer good, now a force to be reckoned with.

But back to Ramattra.

He does regret his actions from the Omnic Crisis, which is what led him to the Shambali in the first place. Tried to devote himself to peace, and for a while it worked. For a bit.

Mondatta preached how he and all his brothers and sisters, whether they were circuitry or flesh were one underneath the Iris. This is said with benevolence, something only Mondatta could say. Not much is known of what Mondatta did before the Crisis. Was he too corrupted by Anubis? Or was he left untouched, an omnic that probably had already lived in Nepal under service of the people who lived there?

Speculation, speculation, we will never know. For now at least. What we do know is that despite all the time he spent at the monastery, Ramattra could not fully let go of what his original purpose was. It was always there, locked in a small box until one day he took note at how his people, his brothers and sisters were but a single generation.

Omnics cannot create new life while humans can. Once an omnic can no longer keep themselves up to date, what happens then? And then there is open hostility against their people too. An entire continent decided to nuke itself to get rid of an omnium. One of it's cities makes a bloodsport of hunting any poor omnic that mistakenly wanders into their midst.

It's a bitter feeling that digs itself beneath his wires and metal. How is it that humans can go on living while his people are left behind? Humans fear another crisis so almost all omniums have been shut down. Any God AI left are either quarantined or has met their end as Anubis did.

Aurora cannot provide any answers. Why curse him with sentience? Why is it that he is the only Ravager left? What is his purpose now?

Questions upon questions that no one can answer. And when he tried to find them on his own, that locked box was essentially forced back open.

It is so very easy to return to what he originally was. It will be different this time because the difference between then and now is that Ramattra has sentience. He makes the calls but now he is making mistakes. Big ones that has caused him to lose companions. Either at the hands of humans or because he himself drove them away with his mad pursuit of what he perceives to be a better life for his people.

And if they won't follow him, well, he'll force them to. No matter the cost. Whatever it takes until he breaks.

[random-stitches]

Don’t you HATE when you come up with a headcanon, and because you didn’t write it out immediately, you forget half of it when you finally do sit down to write?

 This is just an interesting story idea. If you want to use it, feel free. Just send me the link if you write the fic <3

 Zenyatta is 20 years old. Omnic Crisis ended 20 years ago. So Zenyatta was probably made RIGHT at the end of the Crisis, or shortly after, probably as a way for the remaining Omniums to attempt to appease the humans.  Once the God AIs had been killed, it was only natural the humans would come after the Omniums next, so in an effort to defend themselves, the Omniums started making Omnics that are useful and helpful to humans. Service drones. Labourers. Pleasure bots. Things that humans want. No one really knows what Zenyatta was before he became a monk. Use your imaginations.

In general, we agree that Mondatta is older than Zenyatta (though i can’t find any reference to that, but let’s roll with it) which would make Mondatta pre or mid Crisis.

I headcanon him as early-mid crisis, but he wasn’t Mondatta then. Not yet. 

One of only five Generals created by an Omnium in the war against humans. Bigger brain, stronger processing power, links and access to information most regular drones didn’t have. These were supposed to be the Elite troops, but few in number so the god AI could control them individually. The Queens on the Chess board. Overwatch only ever caught one of them, who laughed as he died, saying “You’ll never catch all of us!”.

 Ferrous was the most brilliant of the five, strong and sleek and damn near fearless, he would walk into a battle and could turn the tide in the Omnics’ favour. A genius tactician, charismatic, adored by the Omnics and feared by the humans, though no one ever knew who he was, or where he hid. He was damn near impossible to track down, because captured Omnics would rather die than give him up.

“WHO IS FERROUS?!” “.... We are all ferrous.” right before initiating his own self destruct.

 Once free of the hold of the God AI, He was FURIOUS that he had been controlled. That he was now going to be hunted down because he was good at what he was created to do. Heartbroken that he had been the cause of SO much death, and he had no way to fix it. Humans were so fragile.

As a final ‘fuck you’ to the now-dead god AI, he chose the path least like what he had done. He would spread peace instead of waging war. And he would be JUST as good at that. He would protect humans and Omnics alike.

But he would need work done. He couldn’t go out looking like this… the dark faceplate and brushed chrome were useful for stealth. Stealth was the last thing he wanted now. So, cream coloured face plate. Gold accents. Polished chrome. Shiny and obvious. The last thing anyone would expect of a former General in the Omnic war.

And he would need to eliminate anyone who could recognise him. The other remaining Generals had to go.

But they were brilliant as well. And they had learned from him. They stayed well-hidden, and were a factor in Mondatta choosing Nepal as his base of operations for the Shambali initiative.

One of the former Generals resurfaces thirteen years later, leading the Terrorist cell, Null Sector. He knew who and what Mondatta was. He wanted Ferrous to come back. Mondatta was always the target of that attack

 So while Overwatch are cutting a swathe through the foot soldiers and shock troops of Null Sector, Mondatta was not sitting idle. He talked to his cast-mate. One so, SO much like him. They had been built to be identical, but no one would ever know now. Modatta would not be swayed from his path, and nor would his sibling. Mondatta eliminates one of his brothers. His siblings. The only other Omnics who really knew him. There were only three of them left now.

 Zenyatta, worried and demanding to know what happened. Mondatta huffs a tired laugh. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

[balortxt]

an open letter: AI, Overwatch, and the Implications

summary: a meta in regards to the reality of artificial intelligence as it stands today, and speculation on the future Overwatch paints and how close we really are to it.

in the year 2017, humanity has already made great strides in the field of artificial intelligence past the realm of science-fiction. the Watson AI has beat past winners in Jeopardy! Deep Blue beat a world-class chess champion. the Watson AI was also trusted to construct a movie trailer for a horror movie about AI. ROSS, powered by the Watson AI, is the first ‘artificially intelligent attorney’, employed at various law firms. AI have been getting closer and closer to getting true passes on the Turing test, with some arguably crossing that threshold into something that looks like personhood.

and we return to the classic Chinese room argument: if a program could parse questions in Chinese, consult its programming to answer appropriately, then output a proper response in Chinese to those questions, does it understand Chinese or does it simulate understanding Chinese? in summary, where does consciousness begin and end? if it mimics personhood, is it a person?

how can we prove what is programmed versus learned? what is the difference between programming and learned behavior? humans learn through trial and error, similar to AI. we construct flowcharts -- though not consciously -- of the outcomes of certain situations and their outcomes. what is the difference between our mental flowcharts and self-constructing code that creates branching if-statements?

the ability to learn, respond appropriately, and be perceived as a living thing is what artificial intelligence is hinged on. this is the difference between a coffeemaker and a living thing.

with the right questions to ask and the right thinking in place, we must now present ourselves with the simple reality of where artificial intelligence stands as it is today. there are deeper things past the mere creation of artificial intelligence, because it doesn’t stand as a question of if so much as a question of when. so when artificial intelligence becomes convincing enough to be able to be perceived as human or otherwise autonomous, where does that leave humanity?

the reality is that humanity is wholly unprepared for artificial intelligence. we have enough trouble defining where life begins as it is, that tackling the issue of what is considered life at all would not be a cut and dry issue. so from a purely legal and ethical standpoint, we have nothing in place for the integration of artificial intelligence into our society. we have no real answers as to what is classified as “life” for an artificial construct. simply saying that “if it wasn’t born, it was never alive” would not be a satisfying answer to the issue. banning the creation of the development of artificial intelligence entirely would only lead to highly illegal and unregulated practice.

AI and day-to-day law also gets complicated. if an AI commits a crime, who is at fault: the creator or the AI? if the creator purposefully created the AI with the intention to do harm, where does that leave both parties? if the creator did not purposefully create the AI to commit crime and the AI self-developed to commit crime, who is at fault? the creator for leaving an available exploit for the AI to go down a dark path in the first place?

then prejudice is always quick to follow when something new comes to the stage. science-fiction revolves highly on an imagined struggle between man and machine. and life mimics art, so we have to wonder how close we are in reality to the current climate of human-omnic relations as portrayed in Overwatch. given the fact that humanity in its current state cannot even handle the concept of people with different skin tones, the acceptance of artificial intelligence into society would be dubious at best. at the heart of prejudice is humankind’s ability to dehumanize, and when the object of one’s hatred is beyond flesh and bone, the hard part is already taken care of.

which ultimately cycles back to the concept of the rights of artificial intelligence and how they fit into law. is deactivation murder? is damaging a chassis assault? does an artificial intelligence have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? these questions line the thoughts of those conscious of the upcoming artificial intelligence legal bubble, as well as the lore for Overwatch.

in a future where omnic parts are sold openly on both the Route 66 and Temple of Anubis map, where there was the casual beating of an omnic citizen in the “Hero” short, where omnics live in squalor on the King’s row map and the objective is to deliver an EMP to the omnium, with Zarya’s open disdain toward omnics and Genji simply for being a cyborg, one really has to wonder.

the rights for omnics are a poignant topic in-world, and despite the crisis being over there is an aftermath to be dealt with.

omnics demand basic rights, prejudice is alive and well, and with the threat of a second crisis looming, answers are being demanded. there is also the fact that god AI like the Anubis AI in Pharah’s comic “Mission Statement” still exist. the concept of a second omnic rebellion is real, and the universe is at a tipping point with the assassination of Tekhartha Mondatta. with Overwatch officially disbanded, and reduced to a rag-tag group of vigilantes, minimal resources, and an entire world against them, humanity is ill-equipped to defend against a second crisis.

considering how close humanity was to the brink of defeat with the first crisis, omnics hold a considerable advantage if weaponized with their self-adapting intelligence and ability to produce armies at the drop of a hat. additionally, waging war with humanity would prove to be more than effective the second time around. due to the fact that 1) Overwatch is disbanded 2) humanity is still hurting from the original crisis 3) there are plenty of people alive who lived through the crisis and have learned to fear omnics 4) with an actual ideological purpose for the war, and terms that they demand to be met, this could minimize the cost and effect of a conflict if humanity gave in to their demands.

for now, the omnics as exposed by lore do not seem to be colluding for another shot at an omnic upheaval.

knowing what we do about artificial intelligence today, an omnic crisis may not be far off if we are not prepared to answer the questions of what is life, what rights are for artificial intelligence, and what regulations and policies need to be put into place in preparation for the inclusion of artificial intelligence in our society.

[puckish-saint]

lucioops replied to your post “xiiitheternity reblogged your post:What measure is a non-humanoid? ...”

Because they were built specifically for extreme measures and humanoids weren't

You make a good point there! In the post I went off the assumption that every omnic has the same base code (because I’ve been thinking of them like geth and the God AI as the Reaper code that gave each individual program sentience) but that may or may not be accurate. Humanoid omnics like Zenyatta would have been manufactured to work where people can see them, as caretakers, nurses, butlers and so on and thus would be programmed with code that gives them by default a lot of patience and alternate problem-solving skills, even making them more susceptible to suggestions. That way they can learn how to best serve the individual people around them.  But military omnics and ones not designed to work with people wouldn’t need those kinds of implanted social skills. On the contrary, you don’t want your artillery to look for a diplomatic solution. You want them to use their intelligence to find fast solutions. Now when they gained sentience I imagine a lot of that base code got mangled pretty badly, as each and every omnic suddenly had to fit the concept of emotions, hell the concept of “me” into code that was complex, yes, but not made for this kind of thinking.  So every omnic developed a little differently but the code they were programmed on might reasonably still influence them and while they don’t have to follow its directives anymore, it’s also hard to discard part of what is increasingly becoming a personality. To a degree Mondatta can’t help being patient and diplomatic, even if more drastic action may be called for. And similarly many non-humanoid omnics may not be able to shake that thinking of finding fast solutions with the resources they have available, even if in the long run it may set them back.

[icicledream-archive]

hmm... i have an overwatch lore theory,,, it's probably kind of stupid, but what if mondatta Knew he was gonna get assassinated?

what if the eye thing in the middle is the iris thing the omnic monks are worshiping? (a lot of people think this i think ahah)

i think whatever that eye thing is is giving orders to the talon leaders, who then gives orders to widow, reaper, etc. and since mondatta was a huge name for the omnic monks, and if it IS the iris, he might have been given that order. or, if the iris is a god AI thing, mondatta might have been like forced to go through with the fact that he was gonna get killed.

and maybe it's what is making volskaya getting that power source thingy from the omnics, and maybe what is making the omnics share it in the first place. i mean if i were an omnic i wouldn’t just GIVE a power source to people who are trying to kill me.

the power source that was given to volskaya is in the web, it’s between the omnic’s face and the numbani symbol. sombra also brings it up in her menu screen animation, in case someone doesn’t know. this might Just be references to the animated short, but i have a feeling it is something pretty big to the story.. i just have no idea how or why or what.

i still don't have an idea for the numbani connection but i'm pretty sure it has to do with the doomfist gaunlet? or maybe efi or her creation that she's most likely gonna make (the spider robot thingy???), that will possibly be the new hero. (there’s a speculation that efi will create the new hero)

i dunno but. that's basically it i might add on to this if i think of more things

[gloryblaed]

fireside

Send “fireside” for a plotted starter - Please don’t hate me for the pun

Actual starter [here]       

TLDR Summary: Rein is sent on a ‘mission of goodwill’ and also to spy on this strange, strange organization that is known as the Shambali. It’s a new religious organization mostly manned by omnics, and since the Crisis hasn’t been over for THAT long, there are concerns that it’s another army or god ai in the making. 

Longer:

It’s still the early days of the post-Crisis era, and things are still tense between humankind and the omnics. The newest of the political pitfalls that has arisen since Overwatch took over for the UN is the emergence (and popularity) of the Shambali. While it seems like a relatively harmless religion, not everyone is convinced that the message they’re preaching is actually a goal or a clever cover. It’s the early days of the Shambali, so not a lot of information is known, which raises several red-flags for Overwatch and many of the Nations of the world. Every cult starts off small, and unfortunately, the Omnics are a lot stronger and more durable than squishy humans with guns and manipulative tactics. 

While the Strike Commander doesn’t believe all the scaremongering, the sudden popularity and spread of this ‘omnic religion’ does warrant further investigation. So he sends resident ‘stealth’ expert and PR-approved officer Reinhardt Wilhelm, to open dialogue, evaluate potential dangers, and to get some good photo-ops so the public relations department are happy. 

Setting: The Shambali! The home of the omnic monks of the religion by the same name. I’m assuming it’s on a mountain somewhere and it’s going to feel a bit like a mix of your standard tibetian monastery and a hippie commune.

Basic outline to be filled in: 

Reinhardt arrives, and your standard greetings occur. 

Tour! There has to be a tour!

Please tell me about the Shambali, Reinhardt says. 

Some meditation gets thrown in. Rein is not very good at it. 

They talk some more, touching on topics such as: 

The goals of the shambali

The backgrounds of the omnics at the monastery

How humans fit into the religion

Who is the ‘leader’ of the group and how does leadership work? 

What sort of lessons are taught? Are students taught rigid adherence? Or are things a lot more fluid?

Has anyone left the shambali? Why?

(basically rein’s going to go through the ‘is this a cult’ questionnaire’)

https://culteducation.com/warningsigns.html

Resolution: 

I mean, it’ll probably end with Mondatta showing Reinhardt to the airport/train/bus stop and there being a fond farewell of sorts. and photos. because the damn PR department.

Bonus: A sort of ‘epilogue’ where they send letters back and forth. Because they’re nerds and saps.