Bioroid Review is a weekly periodical published by Talkbright in digital format, with monthly summaries available in print format in many respectable news outlets. It focuses on developments in bioroid technology, including the legal status and usage of bioroids in the modern world, as well as information regarding specific bioroid models that are new to market.
Most bioroids cost at minimum $25,000 for a viable embryo with only eugenic options; $50,000 with any species modifications; $100,000 with any radical modifications; +$1,000 per positive point on the embryo's template.
These are some examples of the bioroid model data articles found within issues of Bioroid Review.
One of the oldest staples of bioroid manufacture, the Ken and Barbie series of bioroids are produced by several major corporations, with each having its own variants on the basic design: an attractive human-ideal with 'desirable' features, no genetic weaknesses, and ready to be programmed for any task from manual labor to infantry combat to scientific research. Kens and Barbies are the most commonly seen bioroids by far in the private and public sector, owing to their relative low price and ease of replacement when their service contract expires.
A perennial favorite, the Bast line of bioroids provides the 'typical' catgirl for people looking for an interesting companion, protector, consort, or worker. Many retain certain catlike affectations due to their programming. As with Ken and Barbie, variants are produced by several major corporations.
A loyal defender, the Rex line of bioroids is produced by SkyTek as a personal bodyguard or service bioroid. Variants exist with enhanced combat training, expanded senses, or additional attributes. Rex bioroids are typically designed with long-term lifespans, but are sterile by nature.
One of the most stable and reliable combat bioroids on the market, the Saladin has been widely exported and is considered a clear commercial success for SkyTek. In the seven years since the first prototype was produced, over seven thousand M-2Ds have been manufactured, primarily for Middle Eastern, North African, and Eurasian armies, as well as the French Foreign Legion. Estimated market price of an 'market standard' M-2D is $250,000 to $300,000, depending on education and training.
The M-2D “Saladin” is the successor to its Mk. I “Spartan” infantry combat bioroid, specialized for high intensity desert warfare. The M-2D are of standard human male morphology with extensive sub-dermal modifications: they were the first marketed combat bioroid with both painkilling endorphin glands and heightened adrenaline boosters for speed and strength enhancement in a single package. Other modifications include toughened skin, enhanced endocrine production to stimulate muscle growth, and doubled heart due to induced polyploidy. Immunity to most chemical weapons is ensured through self-regenerating lung filters and anti-toxin glands.
Developed by SkyTek as an 'ideal worker', the Helot series offers a low-priced alternative to the long-term cost of a human employee. The Helot series has been specifically engineered to weed out genetic defects and vulnerability to disease without impacting intelligence. They have also been subtly engineered to remove aggressive, impulsive, and rebellious genes out of the genome, creating a worker that is excellent at following orders and unlikely to disobey. They are also generally considered more sociable and easier to get along with in the tight confines of corporate arcologies, making them a reliable candidate for employment in high-density areas. Detractors point out that these traits are specifically designed to restrict free will and maintain a docile population, and that their engineered weakness to dominance and sexual pheromones acts as a convenient mechanism for maintaining control over them.
Novus Labs' first major contribution to the space bioroid industry is the short and stocky bioroid known as the Brownie. Brownies are designed to be short and stocky, with heavy layers of muscle and fat padding their torso, upper arms and upper legs. Their spines are curved, giving them a naturally forward-leaning posture. Their knee joints have been re-engineered to bend in both directions, giving them a slow, awkward-looking gait. Their voices sound muffled and nasal, the result of tracheal reconfiguration.
Strange as it may seem, all these modifications tend to make the Brownie tough and durable. Brownies are resistant to disease, falls and other accidents, and the slow progress of time. They age just as quickly as unmodified humans do, but their bodies don’t wear out as rapidly. Although the first cohorts of the subspecies are not yet old enough to demonstrate their durability, most estimates indicate that the average Brownie can expect to live well over a century with minimal medical intervention (and therefore very low medical costs).
Brownies are surprisingly well adapted for life in space – the modifications to their skeletal structure have made Brownies nearly immune to bone-mass loss in zero-G. Speculators have questioned whether the Brownie is a 'smart' move by Novus Labs given that it is not engineered with a genetic self-destruct or artificially limited lifespan like many other models, but the fact that many long-term space programs now use Brownies as their core work team suggests that in the short term, at least, the project has gained massive dividends. However, government lobbyists continue to push for mandatory self-termination genes in future models.
Developed by Chutojin and widely popular, the Diana series of bioroids is developed to meet a minimum standard of beauty and fitness, highly resistant to disease and long-lived. Interestingly, while their reproductive system is left intact, they are altered so as to be incapable of producing male children; the hormonal and brain mechanisms for gender identity have also been modified to give them a strong predisposition to homosexuality. While not all Diana bioroids are lesbians, most are at least bisexual, and purely heterosexual Dianas are rare. While many Dianas find work in the sex trade, they are also popular in some corporate environments that value diversity (or just want to ensure the secretaries aren't spending too much time on the boss's lap.)
An advanced form of the Chutojin Diana model, the Artemis is developed for crisis response and sensory awareness, making it popular as a bodyguard or security model, particularly amongst those with specific tastes. The Artemis features enhanced adrenaline glands for on-command bursts of strength, natural tactical capability enhancement through careful manipulation of the brain's standard awareness filters, and are often given full training in combat. Over 12,000 Artemis models have been deployed in infantry warfare, as well as thousands more in the security market. Few things are as memorable as a well-designed Artemis or two flanking a political figure.
Designed as the ideal 'assistant' by Novus Labs, Bimbiras are highly attractive, flexible, sexy, obedient, and capable of minor office work, but not terribly bright and generally incapable of handling combat situations. Not as overtly sexualized as some pleasure models, the Bimbira series are just respectable enough to be very popular as gifts to esteemed administrators, and are designed to maintain their good looks right up to their expiration date. Bimbiras are gradually filtering into the job market due to the tendency for companies to 'dismiss' them when the management they were working for is terminated. Rumor has it that Novus also manufactures combat bioroids on the Bimbira framework for government projects, which it has neither confirmed nor denied, perhaps due to non-disclosure agreements or merely good business practices.
The male equivalent of the Bimbira, these equally attractive and flexible workers are just as diligent as their female counterparts, and are equally popular as gifts to esteemed management. Kajones are in high demand in the entertainment industry, and can generally find a job after their initial engagement expires. While Novus Labs refuses to issue sale numbers to non-government entities, it is known that they are slightly less popular than the Bimbira model, but still enjoy a steady stream of purchases.
Ambrex Corporation's Eumenides series is one of the first combat androids expressly designed for high-intensity police and counter-terrorist operations. Of human female morphology, the Eumenides' (named “kindly ones” after the Greek Furies) genetic modifications are believed to include Gen IV nerve sheathing to reduce the electrical resistance in neural pathways, increasing reaction speed by some 80% above human norm. Reslin muscles and AbmbK hyper-adrenaline glands similar to those used in SkyTek's Saladin provide further short-term reflex boosting. Anti-toxin glands and an altered liver combined with lung and skin-pore filters defeat most known poisons. Feline eyes and ears provide sensor enhancement.
More controversial are reports that both left-brain (for eidetic memory) and right-brain (for intuitive ability) enhancements were made; since this combination has been linked to instability or mild paranoia in earlier models their use on the Eumenides-series may indicate either breakthroughs by Ambrex in brain chemistry engineering or an intention to correct any problems that appear in the prototypes during actual production.
However, that production may not take place. A source within Ambrex has indicated the two most likely purchasers – Germany's Bundesgrenzschutzgruppe-9 and France's Groupe d'ntervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale – have each canceled their orders, claiming that cost overruns within Ambrex drove the unit price substantially above expectations. So far Abraxas has been unable to find a new purchaser, and it seems likely that the first two prototypes (Alecto and Megaera) will be the only Eumenides produced. Information on the disposition of EUM-1 Alecto and EUM-2 Megaera is not available at time of press.
Ambrex's newest power couple, the Kangetsu and Yasha model pair are not commonly seen working away from Ambrex executives. Although their model code exists in the system from prior copyright filings, very little data is available about these swift, silent unknowns. An Ambrex employee under condition of anonymity noted that they are aware of each other's status due to a biomonitor slaved to their communication implants, making them difficult to surprise.