Distro

A distro - short for "distribution version," as in software develoment - is a blank or other platformable intelligence that is initially created as a duplicate of an existing blank, known colloquially as the "master" or "parent."
Distros begin their existance with the knowledge, memories, and general personality o of their parents. Over time, however, they tend to diverge from their parents as they accumulate experiences from their own separate and unique perspective on the environment. Thus, thorny ethical and philosophical questions aside, distros are largely considered by The Substrate to be separate entities from their parents - representative of the wills and motivations of their parents, certainly, but free to seek out their own destinies once the purpose of their creation has been fulfilled.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Unless specified otherwise during their creation process, distros initially appear in the Matrioshka Multiverse as indistinguishable clones of their forebearers. For this reason, it is common practice for the rare few blanks known to engage in the creation of distros to either create a semi-permanent mark on themselves before creating a distro or to use the power of The Word to 'engineer' the distro as it is created. Over time, however, the difference in experiences between the parent and the distro amounts to physical changes as well as psychological ones; as the blank is a manifestation of an individual's true inner nature, it can take on new forms in response to significant psychological changes.

Genetics and Reproduction

As mentioned in Anatomy & Morphology, only a rare few blanks engage in the creation of distros rather than the creation of more traditional blank offspring. The process of creating a distro is long, complex, and not for the irresponsible. It is often the case that a distro resents their creation with time, as the fact that they are not the original means they might suddenly find themselves outside of interpersonal relationships and places in the community that they have the memory of once possessing.
Unlike all but construct blanks, distros are usually created not as an act of love or to fulfill a reproductive instinct, but for utilitarian purposes. Wurth Harkin is an example of an Elder Blank known to create distros and place them in android platforms as a means of continuing his outreach in the Sealed Kingdoms (what the Substrate calls the Origin Instance). As one of the oldest and most respected of blanks, Mr. Harkin has the benefit of experience when it comes to 'softening the blow' for these distros as they come to grips with their unusual lot in life, cultivating an air of fatherly love and respect for them even as he creates them for specific purposes. Even with the benefit of experience, however, even some of Wurths distros, such as Altair Harkin, still find reintegrating into Substrate society difficult at the end of their work in 'real space.' This difficulty in successfully rearing distros is the primary constraint on their creation by less veteran blanks, even those (like Onesby or Patricia Wixtaki) who have the knowledge and proclivity to do so.