[Coda]

SUBJECT: Mark II Robot Masters
AUTHOR: Dr. Albert Wily
DATE: February 27, 20XX
FORMAT: Rich Text with attachments

Serial numbers assigned in order of implementation, not design.

DWN-009 "Metal Man"
Primary weapon system: Metal Blade
Chassis type: Agility-Balanced
Spectral peak: N/A (control)

To minimize unpredictable variables in the control, I have derived DWN-009 from the design of DLN-003 "Cut Man". The code has been audited for backdoors and overrides that may have been inserted by Dr. Light during our collaboration. The underlying chassis has been demonstrated to exhibit flexible, precision movement in combat situations without excessively sacrificing robustness.

The Metal Blade uses the same ceramic titanium alloy as the Rolling Cutter with a profile more specifically optimized for use as a weapon instead of industrial logging. The returning function has been abandoned as collateral damage is not expected to be an operational priority. Instead, the Metal Blade is spin-stabilized and has higher linear velocity and a more effective cutting edge.

DWN-010 "Air Man"
Primary weapon system: Air Shooter
Chassis type: Integrated
Spectral peak: Red

DWN-010 is the prototype for my new "Integrated" chassis design. The number of mechanical weak points is reduced by removing the head as a distinct component and avoiding abdominal joints. While this reduces the Robot Master's flexibility, it provides a robust carriage for armor and large or heavy weapons.

In the case of DWN-010, the chassis carries a powerful turboprop engine. The primary weapon, Air Shooter, is a vortex generator that produces semisolid tornadoes that the turboprop can then propel. With luck, DLN-001's Variable Weapon System will be unable to replicate the full effect of the divided system.

DWN-011 "Bubble Man"
Primary weapon system: Bubble Lead
Chassis type: Aquatic
Spectral peak: Blue

In the interest of seeing how the algorithmically evolved AIs perform in varying environments, DWN-011 is optimized for aquatic locomotion. The chassis is equipped with control fins, ballast tanks, and a pair of propulsion turbines to provide full three-dimensional submarine mobility.

The weapon system is also designed for underwater use. The Bubble Lead creates bubbles with high surface tension that are drawn to solid surfaces, rapidly collapsing on impact to cause cavitation shock. The aquatic chassis incorporates defenses against this weapon to prevent collateral damage.

DWN-012 "Quick Man"
Primary weapon system: Quick Boomerang
Chassis type: Agility-Light
Spectral peak: Orange

DWN-012's chassis is the lightest robot body I have ever constructed. This will provide the Robot Master with superior ground speed, jumping ability, and maneuverability. While this required sacrificing defensive armor, the gain in evasion is expected to overcome the lack of durability.

The Quick Boomerang is intended to capitalize further on this design. It does not need to be fired directly at a target as each projectile is able to reorient its trajectory in flight. It is also a very efficient weapon, intended to be launched in salvos to make evasion more difficult. Projectiles that do not impact a target may be captured for reuse, extending the weapon's ability to sustain salvo operations.

DWN-013 "Crash Man"
Primary weapon system: Crash Bomber
Chassis type: Heavy
Spectral peak: Green

DWN-013 is built using the same power plant and drive motors as DLN-004 "Guts Man" and the same armor as DLN-006 "Bomb Man" on a smaller chassis. The improved power-to-weight ratio and blast resistance should solve the problems exhibited by the original DLN-004 design.

Instead of using the same ordnance as DLN-006, the Crash Bomber is a multiple warhead payload attached to an armor-piercing housing. While this is less useful than the Hyper Bomb for clearing large areas it should be much more effective against armored targets.

DWN-014 "Flash Man"
Primary weapon system: Time Stopper
Chassis type: Balanced
Spectral peak: Violet

Just in case Thomas has had an unexpected insight about combat robot design, DWN-014 is built around the same chassis and armor design as the modified DLN-001 and similar to its predecessor DLN-000 "Proto Man". While the design lacks any specialized advantages, this is a versatile configuration that can deal with most environments.

Instead of an offensive weapon system, DWN-014's Time Stopper is a tactical device enabling localized time manipulation. This is derived from research undertaken during my collaboration with Dr. Light, but I was able to solve the problems that had resulted in the project being shelved before. At full power, this device should allow DWN-014 to stop events around it to allow time to gain a tactical advantage.

DWN-015 "Heat Man"
Primary weapon system: Atomic Fire
Chassis type: Custom
Spectral peak: Yellow

This chassis had to be designed from the ground up to accommodate the extreme temperatures of the weapon systems integrated into it. It includes additional shielding that can be lowered to enclose the head, which is otherwise the only unshielded part of the body for the purposes of sensor installation.

The Atomic Fire uses an energy condensation technology similar to standard military plasma cannons, but it is powered by a high-output nuclear reactor. With the head shielding lowered, the weapon is even capable of encapsulating DWN-015 inside a semisolid fireball, which should be overwhelming in close-quarters combat.

(Let's just see DLN-001 try to copy this weapon without any shielding!)

DWN-016 "Wood Man"
Primary weapon system: Leaf Shield
Chassis type: Custom
Spectral peak: Indigo

This is one of my earlier chassis designs. That old fool Thomas ridiculed it because it's made of hardwood. However, this construction makes it resistant to many common forms of attack, including electric, magnetic, low-yield explosive, and blunt force. It includes a small amount of nonferrous metallic plating for additional structural integrity.

To cover its weaknesses, I have paired the chassis with the Leaf Shield, a set of ceramic titanium plates that can be manipulated magnetically for both defensive and offensive purposes. These are particularly effective against condensed energy weapons, and DWN-016 should be nearly invulnerable when deploying the Leaf Shield defensively.

AI Design Notes:

All of the Mark II Robot Masters are running a standard set of control and monitoring programs. The monitoring programs will allow me to maintain remote telemetry, observe the behavior of the Robot Masters, and keep experiment logs to record as much data as possible. The control programs are intended to provide a failsafe, as the algorithmically evolved AI programs will not have behavior that I can predict based on existing data.

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Word Count: 1087
Total Words: 2801