Robots were essential to the Terran exploration and development of Magyar sector during the Interstellar Wars. Building on the success of the Thalassa colonies, advance Terran survey teams methodically charted unexplored systems in Delta quadrant. Swarms of tiny, semi-autonomous robotic probes greatly sped up this effort; as the survey teams moved forward they left behind robotic beacons and refueling caches for successive waves of explorers. For the most promising systems, the Terrans deployed factory-scale bootstrapping robots that harvested and processed raw materials, laying down infrastructure in advance of Terran colonists. Robot attendants oversaw facilities where artificial wombs produced thousands of “test-tube” infants per year, allowing the Terrans to establish a fully productive, heavily populated colony world in under twenty years. Thanks to robots new settlements flourished on habitable worlds such as Beagle, Union, and Leikung.
Similarly, during the Rule of Man various émigré colonies relied on robots for settling new worlds, though their robots tended to be used for agricultural rather than industrial applications. Most robotics capability was lost in Magyar during the Long Night, though the Reavers were said to have especially prized those robots seized as plunder during their raids. In contrast, the Aslan who ventured into the region carried a formidable cultural resistance to robotics that impeded their own development of robots until -400 or so, fairly late in the Border Wars.
Notable Magyar Worlds
for Robot Production
- Acara (1627 B67999B-D)
- Antaeus (0921 A779730-D)
- Clown (1807 B431975-E)
- Indet (0131 B7B79BD-D)
- Keyor (1521 A201889-E)
- Meza (0813 B000831-D)
- Mickel (0119 A742855-D)
- Ock (0227 A9A8855-E)
- Pryon (0115 A889747-D)
- Quizen (0134 B6AA865-D)
- Ramaniam (1927 A431869-E)
- Roblig (1513 B301863-D)
- Roen (2335 A431830-E)
- Stanislav (0211 B000688-D)
“Solomani Robotic Markets, 1100.”
A native capability to produce robots was not regained until after the Third Imperium and Old Earth Union established new communication and trade routes with the worlds of Magyar. Development of robots exploded after the creation of the Solomani Autonomous Region, where they proved vital to the rapid build-out of Magyar’s shipbuilding capacity.
During the final stages of the Solomani Rim War, as Imperial forces rampaged through Magyar sector, an increasingly desperate Confederation pressed robots into new and untested roles. Robotic infantry units, which the Imperium had tried and abandoned centuries earlier, were deployed in limited ground engagements with generally underwhelming results. More successfully, robotic heavy gunships patrolled the skies of strategically important worlds. Confederation Admiral Arturo Coglan used a squadron of robotic monitors to great effect during the First Battle of Fornorb, catching the Imperial invaders off-guard and setting up one of the most improbable victories of the Magyar Campaign.
The Rim War shattered much of the industrial infrastructure of Magyar’s Beta quadrant, and a century later many worlds have still not completely recovered. No world in the sector has yet reached TL15, the Imperial maximum, and the overall tech level lags somewhat behind neighboring sectors. As a consequence, within Magyar robots are often more economical than humans at many tasks, and as such robots are fairly common within the sector. The Academy of Electronics and Robotics at Spectrum University on Spectrum (Magyar 1333 E558999-8) is famed throughout the region as a leading center of robotics research and development.
The prevalence of robots within Magyar has resulted in some backlash, as seen by the rise of the quasi-religious Society for the Sovereignty of Man over Machine (SSMM), which has begun to gather adherents on a few Confederation worlds.
Important Imperial manufacturers of robots in Magyar include the megacorporations General Products, Ling-Standard Products (LSP), and Naasirka. Shululsish Internetworking LIC is an important regional producer, and recently, advanced models from Vegan Robot Associates (VRA) have appeared on Imperial worlds. The most important Solomani manufacturers in Magyar include Panstellar, Odyssey, and Thinking Machines, Inc. (TMI). An important local producer is Popov Robotics, located on Clown (Magyar 1807 B431975-E).
Notable low-population worlds in Magyar that rely heavily upon robots include Tarn (1209 A747220-D), The Rock (1314 B300234-D), Finn (1416 B799200-D), Paxton (2126 B420121-D), Geb (2434 A554224-D), Lincoln (0836 BA9A213-D), Garvey (1313 B59A123-D), Crisp (1511 A520210-D), Creighton (1730 B436233-D), and Cammon (3237 A886222-D).
Common Robot Models
The following Mongoose Traveller 2e robots are fairly common in Magyar Sector. The entries were either direct conversions or inspired by robots from the following books: 101 Robots, Solomani and Aslan, Traveller: The New Era Guilded Lilly 2: Belly of the Beast, and Traveller Hero Robots of Charted Space.
This popular and widely encountered janitorial robot has two telescoping arms and moves on a set of tracks.
The AN-427 is a widely used security robot throughout the Imperium and popular due to its rugged reliability. It is programmed to patrol all areas of a sensitive installation and to seek out and kill or incapacitate unauthorized intruders. The AN-427 can operate in concert with other robots via its built in radio and can instantaneously share information with them. This is a wheeled robot which experiences difficulty in negotiating stairs, ladders and any uneven ground. Although it is not as mobile as grav powered units, it is less expensive to operate, and replacement parts are easier to fabricate.
The Solomani Confederation and in particular, Solomani Security, requires an enormous administration in order to manage such a large and diverse population. Much of the administration has been automated through use of robots such as Panstellar’s Apparatchik deskbot, which eliminates a need for low-level personnel. The Party values its robots for their diligence and absolute loyalty to the Cause. This model, which resembles a mounted octahedron outfitted with sensors and a vocoder, is a common sight in government offices, working tirelessly to analyze the vast amounts of data generated by the Confederation apparatus.
The TMI Cabbi is employed throughout the Solomani Confederation and closely resembles the equally ubiquitous Naasirka taxibot found in the Imperium. This robot appears to be nothing more than a yellow urn studded with tiny visual and audio sensors. It lacks any limbs or means of locomotion and is generally plugged directly into its vehicle. All interactions with riders are handled via a convenient computer interface. The Cabbi’s Drive skill is appropriate to the vehicles used on a particular planet.
The Domestibot is TMI’s premier household servant robot, and not uncommon within the homes of elite Solomani families: high-placed corporate executives, military leaders, and Party officials. The Domestibot is a humaniform robot, programmed to perform a wide variety of household duties with accuracy, alacrity, and complete discretion.
The Dzazhan is a massive, spherical robot that glides on an integral grav floater. Its graceful appearance belies its primary role as a heavy construction robot. A Dzazhan is ringed by 18 separate arms and is equipped with several different integral toolkits allowing it to perform many heavy construction tasks, often simultaneously. This robot is common on higher tech Imperial worlds in Magyar sector, but its import into the Solomani Confederation is strictly prohibited.
The JP-3 is perhaps the most common robot encountered by travellers, as Naasirka’s marketing efforts have successfully placed this wheeled robot everywhere a ship cargo handler is desired. The robot has a squat, stocky appearance with two medium arms for handling cargo.
Many Solomani free traders keep a cat or other small predatory Terran animal aboard to hunt down pests. The J0NZ-E model robot was designed to be an endearing, affectionate ship’s cat but otherwise, it closely resembles a normal cat.
Although LSP has introduced a TL15 version within the Imperium, the venerable MedRobot 300 can still be found on higher tech worlds on both sides of the border in Magyar sector. The MedRobot has a large, boxy appearance and moves on wheels. It has three eyes, complete with high-powered magnification, light intensifiers, and spotlights. Using its six light tentacles and its medical instrumentation packages, the MedRobot can perform most major operations without assistance.
The N121-F is a humaniform high security robot manufactured under exclusive contact to the Third Imperium and is generally found only in service of various governmental agencies. Sensitive information and machinery vital to the security of the Imperium are usually guarded by a formidable mix of Imperial marines and high security robots like the N121-F.
Equipped with an ultra heavy duty grav module, the Odyssey 500 agrobot can travel anywhere on a world’s surface while carrying several hundred kilograms of supplies. A variety of peripheral devices enable it to plow, irrigate, plant, weed, and harvest crops. One agrobot can tend about 4 square kilometers, depending on the crop and planetary conditions. Radio communication is used to relay instructions and other information back and forth between a far-ranging agrobot and its home base. Typically, an agrobot will return to its home base only to refuel, or to carry supplies to and from the fields.
Panstellar’s Sagacity is one of the Confederation’s most often encountered courtroom robots. The robot appears to be a large globe with two arms; it floats on an internal grav floater. Equipped with a sensitive neural activity sensor, the Sagacity can often detect when an individual is lying. It is able to capture holographic recordings of court proceedings and project these images back as needed. The use of Sagacity robots in the courtroom has stirred bitter controversy—many people object to the use of a robot for discerning if they are telling the truth or not.
The TMI SaloonKeeper model is a humaniform robot that ships with basic bartending protocols installed, including a wide variety of subroutines for handling typical barroom chores. In addition, the SaloonKeeper model also comes equipped with a personality interface and basic psychology programming, primarily geared for listening. Should push come to shove, the physical strength of this robot allows it to double as one of the bar’s bouncers.
This common toolbot, found in starports throughout Magyar, is designed for delicate repair work on electronics and control systems. It has a large cylindrical body that rides atop a set of motorized tracks. Its two light tentacles and two light arms allow it to access restricted work spaces inside a starship. The Tukera 232-BHR-7 is the original model, widely used within the Imperium due to its legendary reliability. The Tinker 5600, a product of Popov Robotics, is a blatant copy of Tukera’s design and has been the subject of numerous, but so far unsuccessful, lawsuits. Unlike the Tukera model, the Tinker is notorious for its tendency to fail at inopportune moments.
The Naasirka Z-16 is typical of many administrative dumbots, often called “deskbots.” Designed without power plant or locomotion, the Z-16 can handle most simple administrative tasks with a minimum of sentient interference. Its emotion simulation programming allow it to interact with visitors in a courteous way. The Z-16 has a barrel-shaped body with three light arms.
Copyright Information
The Traveller game in all forms is owned by Far Future Enterprises. Copyright © 1977 – 2019 Far Future Enterprises. Traveller is a registered trademark of Far Future Enterprises. Far Future permits web sites and fanzines for this game, provided it contains this notice, that Far Future is notified, and subject to a withdrawal of permission on 90 days notice. The contents of this site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of Far Future Enterprises’s copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any program/articles/file on this site cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it.
Materials produced by Digest Group Publications (DGP) are copyright © Roger Sanger. Any use of Digest Group Publications' copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this Web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights. Usage is intended to follow the guidelines announced by Roger Sanger on the Traveller Mailing List for preserving the overall Traveller milieu.
