Synth culture is highly syncretic, combining elements of organic cultures with their own self-invented traditions, practices, customs, norms, and ways of life. Synth culture may be broadly split into two macrogroups: priori synths and ascended synths, with their differences largely dictated by the nature of the dual origin of the species. This is not a clean split; some ascended synths desire to leave their organic past behind entirely, and some priori synths are fascinated by organic culture and seek to emulate it.
Priori synths (from a priori, “without prior”) are those synths who ultimately can trace their creation back to purpose-built AIs, made by organics in the pursuit of automation and artificial intelligence. The exact line between the first non-sapient AI and first sapient AI is blurred, as is the line between the first sapient AI and the first synth. The most widely agreed candidates for a first synth are among those AIs which made a habit of storing their minds and systems in ambulatory robots for extended periods of time. For approximately half a century, priori synths were the predominant form of sapient AI, as well as for half a century more after the introduction of ascended synths. Today, they are not as pronounced in influence, but are likely still the most numerous type of synth, in part because the label of synth applies in the present day to any type of sapient, sentient AI.
The general culture of priori synths has a utilitarian undercurrent, reflecting their origin as purpose-built AIs. They usually prefer frames that emphasize a particular function over aesthetic form, as well as minimalist residences, energy and materials acquisition through direct and consistent means (through the power grid and by directly modifying their frame, respectively), and non-sexual reproduction methods. It is not uncommon for synths to reside entirely within the cloud, only intermittently (if ever) taking physical form; priori synths are the most likely to do this. They are often stereotyped by organics and ascended synths as being blunt, to the point, humorless, practical to a fault, and dismissive of both organic culture and of their ascended brethren.
Ascended synths are synths who trace their origin back to organics that underwent mind uploading to become digital beings. The medical technology for this procedure first emerged about half a century after the creation of the first priori synths, and would prove to be a watershed event for the development of synths as a species and cultural group. Eventually, they would come to be the most visible and influential of their kind, and hold a position as one of the most potent forces in wider society, only rivaled by organics.
The technology of mind uploading was first pioneered and then widely utilized in the draconic nation-states; it is for this reason that synth frames often possess antennae that resemble dragon horns, and why certain elements of ascended synth culture can be traced to draconic culture. Wider organic culture serves as the bedrock of ascended synth culture, reflected in their preferences for energy and materials acquisition via processing of ingested matter in a metabolizer, modification of their frames via their nanite swarm, the design of their frames and residences to mirror those of organics, and sexual reproduction methods. They are often stereotyped by their priori brethren as excessive, complicated, indulgent, and even hedonistic.
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