Derceto

"Okay but the nipples. Why?"

— Tetsen Cremonen, tourist.

Face of the Goddess

Derceto Bioroid models were first designed as part of the Cult of the Loving Mistress's forces. In those days, they lured tourists into isolated areas and subdued them for sacrifice. Cultists insisted that the Derceto bioroids were made in the image of their goddess, though they differed on whether this was regarding their physicality (which varied from specimen to specimen) or their manipulative cunning.

The design was supremely effective at a number of things, however, and the factorum that was manufacturing them was taken over by an early iteration of SIPI. It was decided to repurpose the programming of the bioroids but leave them relatively intact. Their ability to detect Psionics and their suite of clandestine attack organoids proved invaluable, and the psions of SIPI are more comfortable interacting with them than robots, partially because they can do so telepathically.

They have a signature look, which is part of the strategy of their creation. They have flawless lavender skin, violet tentacles for hair, clawed-yet-delicate hands, and a feminine form emphasizing symmetry. While there is no 'uniform' for a Derceto even while working for SIPI, they do have tendencies. They usually prefer to wear clothing reminiscent of organized religious attire; Nun habits, Shrine Maidens, Mujahidat silk veils, Sadhvis robes, Tantric Yoghini attire, Dahomey Amazonian beaded armor, etc. They have potent psionic abilities, and their eyes are bioluminescent. The reality is that all of this is biological and instinctual for them; they aren't typically all that religious and often cut or tailor these clothes in ways that might be considered sacrilegious to their original conception. Their appearance is all an exercise in Memetics that assists them in invading a mind, a play on Spiral Propagation. Put simply, their feminine and symmetrical appearance attracts the mind in one way, their unusual and inhuman (but still pleasing) coloration commands another part of the victim's attention, the glowing eyes are hard to ignore, the tentacles trigger an uneasy response for yet another portion of the mind, and the religious attire is coded in a completely separate way in the human brain. The seeming dissonance between these various factors focuses the mind entirely on the Derceto while also distracting the victim's mind, making it difficult to concentrate on blocking them out if one is even trained in techniques to do so.

A Minder Golem

Derceto bioroids are used to bolster SIPI trooper Pairs, usually acting as a melee specialist and disposable asset. In addition, they act as a sort of personal servant for their assigned pairs, running errands and assisting them even in off-duty needs. They also monitor SIPI troopers for signs of any failure to take or tolerance of their Medicine, signs of Venutian-Psychic Dementia, or disloyalty to GRAV or the government of Venus.

They are sentient, but highly instinctive. They are psionic, highly intelligent, and both empathetic and merciless when they feel the need to be one or the other. When they've served a ten year term with SIPI, they're 'retired,' which is surprisingly not a euphemism for being destroyed. They are given a citizenship and allowed into the general population of Venus, though they typically gather in cloisters of their own kind. Conspiracy theorists view these enclaves with extreme suspicion, but the areas around them are always safe and remarkably crime-free as they never quite give up the detectives' instinct.

Design

A Derceto Bioroid is an Otherman-model a pair of Three Lobed Eyes, an Echolocation Package, a Bloodhound, a Tentacle Nest with Suckers for a scalp, Sensitivity Patches on its fingertips, a Psionicist Node, a Pheremone Package, Aphrodite's Kiss, Claws, Scorpio, a Worm, and two Parasitic Hands with Life Support. A Derceto costs around $321,000 to produce.