A group of anti-human
Vecs, built
to fit into the 'Uncanny Valley' of hu perception by giving themselves
appearances that are very close to being human, but sufficiently far
from being
exactly human,
in appearance and behaviour, to seem strange and wrong to unmodified hu
perceptions. Some Ghasts can switch this effect on and off by altering
their behaviour in pre-defined ways.
Vecs of this type are optimised to be subtly disturbing in appearance
rather than blatantly frightening; some use subtle memetics and
psychology to
deepen the
valley for effects that are as unpleasant as
possible. However, hu can become as used to Ghasts as they can to
other exotic types of sophont, and rearrangements of their perceptions
can entirely eliminate the disturbing effects of Ghasts if it is
desired. Because of this Ghasts are not be very widespread, and in most
places are more of an urban legend than a known fact.
Ghasts are often used as emissaries of anti-human polities such as the
Diamond
Network when interaction with bionts is necessary. They exploit
their uncanny appearance as a psychological tool or weapon for use
against bionts in diplomatic relations of this sort. Many humans
(especially near-baseline or baseline types) are distracted by the
slightly disturbing appearance of these near-human robots putting them
at a disadvantage during negotiations.
Sometimes Ghasts as used as explained as such. Sometimes the Ahuman AI
who is the master of a given Ghast gives the equivalent of a shrug and
the explanation that they 'did their best'. At other times the Ahuman
AI simply describes the Ghast as a measure of its hate for Hukind. At
all times the explanation considered best for the AI in terms of
disconcerting of the bionts in question is the one used.
-----------
The effect of the Uncanny Valley exploited by the Ghasts is something
that Environmental interfaces, provolutionists, angelnet directors, and
may other groups have to take into account, and either choose to 'get
it exactly right' or go with a toon-ish subset of norm to avoid its
results.
-----------
The same effects achieved by hu-type Ghasts apply equally well to
non-hu sophonts and other entities, and also to other senses than
sight, depending on the exact sensory suite of the entity in question.
-----------
Many Ahuman AIs also use other types of Vecs for similar but different
effects to those achieved by Ghasts. These include types that are
hideously 'deformed' by human standards, but that have perfect manners
and are very polite and urbane. But which are also perfectly happy
brutally murdering all the humans it has to interact with...
