Androids are robots that are designed to look and act like human beings.

Physical description

The shapes and sizes of android prototypes are as varied as human bodies. While many androids conform to the ideal body type for adult men and women with an athletic build and slightly taller than average height, scientists have experimented with a variety of other forms including giants (human forms over seven feet tall), halflings (proportional forms under four feet tall), as well as creating androids that appear to be infants, small children, and the elderly.

Androids exhibit a wide range of movement possibilities. Some are ten times stronger than an Olympic athlete but move with a jerky quality; others can dance and perform acrobatics but have difficulty lifting as little as twenty pounds. Some androids appear extremely lifelike while others look unnervingly unnatural.

At the time of the 2088 superflu epidemic, scientists had failed to create an android that could successfully pass as a human being, or least none had been publicly revealed.

Traits and usage

Androids were developed for a wide range of uses with mechanized labor, military, and entertainment/pleasure being the top three.

In the 2086 Olympic Games, Chinese decathele Wei Chan agreed to a medical examination to ensure he was not an android. While the exam was a comedic stunt, many people fell for the ruse it helped launch a global debate about the sudden advancement of robotic science and renewed interest in age-old debates about the ethics and morality of creating artificial human beings.

Rarity and value

Androids are extremely rare and were extraordinarily expensive, a single unit costing upwards of several million dollars.