Collar
Concubine Collar and Dependent Bracelet
One absolute requirement the AIs have is the ability to track and communicate with all humans under their care. Sponsors are given an Implant which does several things:
- It gives them a secure and private comm link to the AIs, and from there to other sponsors.
- It gives the AIs immediate feedback on the sponsor's health, location, and activities.
- It provides all humans with a needed visual identifier for the three 'castes' comprising Confederacy society: Concubines wear visible collars, dependents wear visible bracelets, and Sponsors don't wear anything identifying them as property.
Concubine Collars
There is NOT a standard design/size/color for concubine collars beyond the existence requirement. Each independent colony will make its own decisions about appearance. Functional requirements are simple:
- The device must surround the concubine's neck and not be removable without AI permission. Some stories show collars being removed before showering while other stories show them as never being removed.
- The device must have internal volume sufficient to contain whatever functionality the colony requires. This usually includes sensors and effectors such that the responsible AI can monitor the concubine's location, health, and surroundings as well as communicate with both the wearer and others nearby.
Many colonies have instituted a color code for concubine status, where a green (for 'safe') collar indicates availability for unbonded concubines while a red (for 'danger') collar indicates that the wearer is already bonded to a Sponsor and is not available to others. This convention is mostly seen in DECO-controlled installations on Earth's Moon as well as on colony transports leaving Earthat space, as these are the only places where unbonded concubines are common and 'meetmarket' get-togethers are needed to allow Sponsors with free slots to socialize with unbonded Concubines before selection. Once the family has reached the wider Confederacy where unbonded concubines are a rarity, the color-code is not needed.
Concubine-AI communication is non-private by design. Some stories have plot elements which require some concubines to be able to privately communicate with the AIs and/or their Sponsor. This is generally dealt with by providing the Conk with ear-canal inserts.
Some stories have included an explosive charge as a 'security measure' which can sever the wearer's neck if deemed necessary. Other stories have outlawed such devices as barbaric and/or unnecessary.
Dependent Bracelets
As all humans in the Confederacy must be monitored at all times, even babies must wear a monitoring device of some sort. This is usually a bracelet worn on either a wrist or an ankle, depending upon the colony's policies. A newborn baby's monitor does not need to include communication features, merely ID, location, health, and environment sensors. This can be done with a flexible band which is no more intrusive than an Earthside hospital's flexible plastic ID band.
As a child grows, their monitor will need additional functions starting with entertainment and education. Even a simple band on a wrist or ankle that changes colors will help stimulate a baby's visual and mental growth.
A child which has learned to crawl, walk, or run will find new and wonderful ways to destroy their monitor band. As the child grows, the monitoring bracelet will become more robust and include more features. By the time the child is taking his or her CAP test at 14 the monitor band provides all the functions a Sponsor's implant would provide with the sole exceptions of private communications and direct neural feeds.
See Also
(Someday this will be a navigation template. It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links. Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))
[{Category:Canon]]
