AICE

Magic; Technology

In the late 1800s, the Tanyth Aramont Society of Sciences ran a project called AICEs ("aces"), for Artificial Independent Crew Enhancements. This was an early stage of magitec R&D that later developed into the "living ship" model at the heart of T'Aramont naval power. (Recall that the Tardigrade is unusual as a symbiosis of hundreds of immature Traveler spirits. Typically, a living ship is a single mature spirit.)

An AICE was a construct possessed by a spirit. The initial constructs were magitec clockwork. They're not Artificial Intelligence in the traditional sense and the construct itself isn't alive. The project leaders foresaw using AICEs to supplement the crews of Imperials ships, hence the nomenclature of "crew enhancements."

What makes AICEs special is an effort to restrain the spirit to the construct, and to have the construct shape or even constrain the spirit's thoughts, feelings, and actions. The project generally failed for many reasons. Most notably, an AICE designed for combat needed to channel impulses of aggression and violence, but only against designated enemies. In most cases, a combat AICE was either too aggressive against inappropriate targets (e.g., their fellow crew), or not aggressive enough against designated targets.

The AICEs project achieved modest success with non-combat models, including science and engineering specialists.