Mechromia

The Mechromia are a race of sentient biomechanical machines. These androids are mainly found on the planet Dol-2, and were created by the Seraphids. The Mechromia are part of the Galactic Second Class, similar to the Xylinx, but are held in much higher regard for their usefulness.

Physiology
Mechromia vary based on their supposed gender, but are often hyper-feminine or hyper-masculine in nature. They do start off as children, and evolve as they gain intelligence. The insides of their bodies resemble a human’s, however with the obvious artificial difference. The parts vary from model to model but the key components are here:
 * Rhen Drive
 * AX9 - CPU Module
 * Codex Unit (females only)
 * Conversion Pod
 * Nanite Condenser
 * Impulse Charger

The males are strapped in powerful armor that increases their strength and power, allowing them to act as soldiers or hard day laborers. The armor gives them a more robotic appearance. The females can wear armor, but usually wear lighter sets of armor as they are trained to become bodyguards for certain individuals or powerful assassins that can’t be weighed down by pounds of metal.

Lifespan
A Mechromia will live as long as their Rhen Drive, the glowing power core located in the center of their chests, is still working. Most live for over 1000 years if their drives are charged regularly. They do not grow as they age like other races, but go through a process called Rewriting.

Once a Rhen Drive ceases to function, all of the data the Mechromia has learned over its lifetime is erased. All forms of revival or rebooting simply create an empty mindless shell.

Reproduction
A Mechromia’s body is created by hand, but the Rhen Drive is created inside the mother’s Codex Unit located in the lower abdomen. Inside the chamber she uses the information either gained from the genetic material of the “father” or the appropriate data given by another Mechromia. Using this data the personality, body size, and other features are determined and imprinted into the core of the Rhen Drive her body creates. All the while during the pregnancy the mother has a literal timer in her mind, counting down to the very second when the drive will be complete. Soon she gives birth to the heart of her child and places it in the body she created. A tiny electric spark is all it takes to wake the young Mechromia for the first time.

A Mechromia is able to “breed” with any other species, but the being created will always be Mechromia. They can however mate with those of any gender.

Skills and Abilities

 * Swiss Army Bodies: Mechromia can do just about any task as long as they are built for it. Each part must have its appropriate program for the android to use it.
 * Incubator: A female Mechromia can convert her Codex Drive into an incubation chamber, and can easily become a surrogate to other species.
 * Wireless Uplink: Most Mechromia have an implant near the base of their bionic brains that can allow them to connect with other machines. Female assassins use this to wirelessly hack security systems and confuse enemy security bots.
 * Absolute Control: By disengaging certain limiters, a Mechromia can control his/her every bodily function at will. In the case of pregnancy in females, she can even speed up her pregnancy (at the cost of using up a ton of energy) or slow it down (but not too much or it could harm the growing child).
 * Adaptation: Most robots are just robots, but Mechromia have the ability to learn and adapt as they become older.

History
The first Mechromia was built by the Diahelix Company in 2120. It was a male, and given the codename Adam based on the Christian faith. He was the first recorded mechanical being with a sense of true self-awareness. He had a full range of human emotions, and could reason and make decisions on his own similar to the instincts found in animals. Like a child he didn’t know much about the world, and barely about himself. Many tests later a female was created for him, and she was given the name Eve. Despite this being a major leap in genetic science, the two Mechromia’s primitive Neo Cores burned out after only 20 years. Advances in alchemy eventually created a truly stable Rhen Drive, and after that Mechromia became a household word on many planets.

Religion and Customs
Mechromia have no religion to speak of. They do however have an intense respect for life itself, and many simply wish to be treated as living beings like everyone else. Their views on the world around them are shaped by who their come in contact with over their first few years of existence. Often enough, they tend to gain some of the habits of those they form bonds with.

There is however a batch of robotic extremists called the Gearmongers. They view organic beings as simply a waste of galactic space that breed nothing but war and disease. Their goal is to fix the problem by simply wiping the slate clean. It is because of them that all Mechromia (and those of similar physiology) are treated as second class beings.

Trivia

 * A Mechromia has photographic memory, and can remember every event of their lives in perfect detail.
 * A male Mechromia can be redesigned to have children. He simply needs a compatible Codex Unit from a female. However the chance of finding one is rare, about 1 in 5000, because the program for using the unit is extremely complex even by computer standards.
 * There is a rumor that certain Mechromia have a core program called Code Omega hidden so deep in their Rhen Drives that even the mech themselves don’t realize it. Those who find a way to unlock the program are said to gain almost god like power.