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"BPGD: Atomic Robo"
 
   Babylon Project Galactic Database
Text Data Extraction Search: International Police Personnel Files
Personnel Data: ROBO, ATOMIC
SEARCH COMPLETE: JULY 10, 2410

Full name: Tesladyne Automatic Intelligence Atomic Robot, Mark I
Species: Robot
Designer: Nikola Tesla
Constructed by: Tesladyne Heavy Industries
Place of construction: New Avalon, Zeta Cygni
Date of activation: November 11, 2393
Height: 6'
Weight: 450 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: None
Adjusted Wolfe-DeKok Intelligence Index: 175
Resting Spengler Flux Density: 2.24

Date of IPO Induction: July 10, 2398
Division of service: Special Assignment 1 (Experts of Justice)
Grade: Grey Lensman
Test of Light administered: July 10, 2398
Other special qualifications/certifications:
- B.S., Physics, New Avalon Institute of Science (2396)
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, NAIS (2396)
- M.S., Advanced General Sciences, NAIS (2397)
- Ph.D., Science, NAIS (2398)
- Starship master's certificate, Republic of Zeta Cygni
- IPO Tactical Division jump infantry training
- IPO Tac Div fixed-configuration starfighter qualification
- International Police Overtechnologist Second Class

Description: Atomic Robo is an M-class humanoid robot with no biomimetic features. His exostructure is built for durability and heavily armored, and his head has no facial features apart from a pair of large blue photoreceptors, which have a limited range of "expression" thanks to their variably configurable optic shutters. He does not have external paintwork and his armor plating is an unadorned dull grey. In lieu of such decorative touches, Robo prefers to wear human clothing. When in the field he customarily dresses in battle-dress gear (usually surplus from the Royal Salusian Army), though he also owns a wide range of other outfits for different situations, much as a human would.

Notes: Inventor Nikola Tesla drew up the original designs for his Atomic Robot in the early 1920s. He tried to realize his designs in 1922, after the failure of his bid to retain possession of the Wardenclyffe facilty on Long Island, New York, but his dire financial situation by that point in his life - and the fact that Earthly materials science was simply not advanced enough to provide him with the raw materials he needed - thwarted his plans. He entrusted the partially completed robot and all his notes on its construction to adventurer Kent Allard (also known as millionaire playboy Lamont Cranston, furthermore known as the costumed crimefighter The Shadow) in 1923, hoping to return to the project later, but was unable to do so before his death in 1943.

After Tesla's return from Midgard in 2393, he went to Allard's hidden base of operations in New York City (which had been rediscovered a few years earlier by then-WDF Admiral Benjamin D. "Gryphon" Hutchins) and recovered the incomplete robot and his notes. In his new workshop in New Avalon's Millrace district, Tesla used the completion of the Atomic Robot as a sort of focusing exercise, helping himself get used to living in the mortal world again and creating a psychological link to his first life - as well as checking off one of the many items that had been left unfinished on his to-do list for more than 400 years.

Atomic Robo, as he came to be known, became operational with an adult consciousness, but little practical knowledge. Such is the capacity of his revolutionary "automatic intelligence", however, that he was able to acquire four degrees from the New Avalon Institute of Science in as many years, in between working as his creator's laboratory assistant and acquainting himself with the galaxy at large. It didn't take him long to become more adept at the subtleties of life in modern society than his creator, and take on still another role as Tesla's social secretary.

He probably would have been content to work as his maker's lab helper, amanuensis, and general keeper for quite a while longer, but Tesla had other ideas for his most incredible creation's future. After Robo achieved his own doctorate in Science from the New Avalon Institute of same, Tesla sponsored him for Turing certification, which he passed easily, and then for the IPO's Test of Light, which he also passed easily - becoming the first human-manufactured Lensman in the process, on the occasion of his creator's 542nd birthday.

As a Grey Lensman and a full partner in Tesladyne Industries, Atomic Robo could have gone in any one of a number of directions from there. The direction he ultimately chose was to set up a "field operations arm" of Tesladyne and place it under the auspices of the IPO's Experts of Justice branch, of which he is a member. Officially listed in the IPO's organizational chart as Special Assignment 173, the Tesladyne Action Science League functions as a hard-science counterpart to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, tackling those galactic threats that fall under the heading of Weird Science rather than the occult. (There is a good deal of overlap between these fields in the modern galaxy, so TASL and BPRD operatives find themselves working together quite often.)

Atomic Robo was designed and built to be as durable as possible. His chassis is constructed from Teslium, a top-secret alloy reputed to be stronger than the tritanium steel commonly used to armor capital ships, and his exostructure is armored with a blend of Teslium plating and trithyllium steel. These materials, coupled with the robustness of his design, render his body all but indestructible. His strength is likewise prodigious. Despite the power and durability of his construction, and his relatively great weight, Robo also possesses a surprising degree of agility, similar to that shown by a well-conditioned human athlete. His hands, in particular, are so delicately constructed that he can tie his own bow tie, something many metal-shelled robots have trouble with.

Though overshadowed by his creator's legendary intellect, Robo is no slouch in the brains department himself, and he is a talented inventor in his own right, with such innovations to his credit as the ionic immobilizer ray, the anti-ionic immobilizer ray shield (invented after an enemy got hold of the ionic immobilizer ray), and the solartronic radiopraxiscope (the functional complexities of which are far beyond the scope of this document).

Apart from his great strength, durability, and sensors, Robo possesses no built-in superhuman abilities. Rather than add the complexity of integral weapons or other special systems (and complicate his repair procedures), Tesla chose to omit such things in favor of building his body such that he can use pretty much any piece of equipment a human agent can employ.

Atomic Robo is an upbeat soul who genuinely enjoys what he sees as the two chief aspects of his job: "Plumbing the intellectual depths of the galaxy's weird science threats, and punching them in the face." He's equally at home in the lab deciphering strange alien technologies and in the streets clobbering otherworldly invaders with uprooted traffic lights, and can usually be relied upon to come up with some grade-A witty quips while he's at it. He can rewire a Martian Heat-Ray, quote from the works of Chaucer, fly a P-51 Mustang, and cook a gourmet meal - a true Renaissance robot. Warm and caring, fiercely loyal to his friends, he has been described by at least one of Tesla's critics as "more human than the man who made him."

Since he has no facial features apart from the optic shutters on his eyes, Robo has become an accomplished mime, capable of conveying complex emotions through gestures and body language alone.

Current assignment: As the leader of the Tesladyne Action Science League, Atomic Robo oversees the operations of a varying number of agents, normally numbering around two dozen. He often leads field teams personally, surrounding himself with a small cadre of hand-picked action scientists. He has also had occasion to team up many times with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense's top field agent, Hellboy.

End of Text Data Extract
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Atomic Robo is the creation of Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, who are f---ing brilliant and fill me with an unseemly jealousy quite often. If you haven't already, buy the comics. The second trade paperback, Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War, comes out later this month.


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