Q: What exactly are "Machine-Kin"?
A:
Machine-Kin are, like all Otherkin, people with human bodies who have a
spiritual and mental connection to something other than humanity. In
the case of Machine-Kin, the connection is with sentient Machines on
other planes such as the Astral.
Q: How and why are there "sentient machines" on the Astral?
A:
Every thing, and every type of thing, has a spirit on the Astral.
These things are created by our ideas on them collecting into one place
and being given form by the nature of these thoughts.
Q: But why are they sentient?
A:
Well, haven't you ever attributed an emotion to a machine of some
sort? Computers are stubborn and dislike it when you do certain
things, your car is in a bad mood, etc. The inherent complexity of
machinery, the feelings we attribute to them, and the feelings we
ourselves have for them influence these collections of energy on the
Astral, creating intelligent Machines. And from there they began to
evolve just like life on Earth.
Q: Do Machines dislike their place in our world?
A: You
mean that they are seemingly subservient? No. It's part of what they
are. Ask any person who has found where they truly belong in life and
they will tell you they are happy there, even with the seemingly
unpleasant parts. Machines are meant to serve. A Machine in service is much happier than a Machine without a task to do.
Q: They're "happy?" You mean Machines have emotions?
A: I
somewhat doubt that actual physical machines have emotions, at least as
we think of them, but the sentient Machines on the Astral very much
have emotions. Some of them are very different from anything a human
tends to experience, but they are emotions. They can be happy, excited, scared, lonely, hurt, and most every other emotion a human feels.
Q: If they fall in love, does this mean they have relationships?
A:
Machines can have relationships, but it is less important to most
Machines than it is to humans. The basis for human nature is
community, so it makes sense that we require a spectrum of human
interactions, including intimate relationships. The basis for Machine
nature is its designed job, which is why Machines are so incredibly sad
when they have no purpose. But just as some humans value their own
jobs as being vital to their personal nature there are individual
Machines who are very much prone to relationships. Most loving
relationships between Machines are based in a sense of family though.
While Machines themselves are not prone to romantic relationships the
same is rarely true of Machine-Kin.
Q: Do Machines have gender?
A: Gender?
Some do. A physical sex? No. Physically speaking there are, for
example, no boy-cars and girl-cars; physically they are all the same.
However, some Machines have a gender, which is how you perceive
yourself. So while there's no boy-cars or girl-cars there are
masculine cars who wish to be called "he" and thought of as being male
and feminine cars who wish to be called "she" and thought of as being
female. Many Machine-Kin reflect this by feeling that their gender is
neutral.
Q: Do Machines reproduce?
A: Most
do not. Most Machines lack the urge to reproduce. Some individuals
have the desire though, just as was the case with romantic
relationships. The exact nature of reproduction varies greatly between
types of Machines. In all cases it is the collecting of the vital
essences of those involved in order to create or "build" a new Machine
out of it. How that actually occurs depends on the Machines involved.
Q: How do they reproduce without a physical sex though?
A: Animals
need a physical sex as a means of combining spiritual essence on the
material plane. In the Astral there are no such limitations so the
energy can be harnessed and used pretty freely. This also means that
more than two beings can be the parent. It also means that a being
could reproduce all on it's own, but this is difficult and time
consuming due to the amount of energy it would require one to gather on
their own.
Q: If they can have children, can they also die?
A: Absolutely.
It's hard to understand how a Machine can die since we think about
death in purely biological terms; the heart stops pumping, the lungs
stop breathing, the brain stops producing electrical activity. But
think of it in more general terms; things die when their parts stop
working. Your heart is a part and if it stops working you have a heart
attack and die. In the case of a Machine, if it's electrical system
dies the engine shuts down and it dies.
Q: Do Machines age?
A: Yes they do. It even equates to a human life pretty well. When a Machine is brand new it's awkward and hard to work; it needs to be broken in. After it's broken in it runs beautifully for quite a long time until the parts start to get worn down and ultimately stop working. This is now different from how we are young and need to grow into adults, our bodies remain fine for a while, and then our organs show wear and tear from aging until one or more of them give out and we die.