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Clockwork Cherubs were small, cartoonishly-designed cherub-like robots. They were capable of independent consciousness, although, barring defects, they could not disobey their core programming.
Nature
Clockwork Cherubs of the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids were around two feet in height, and made of “solid copper alloy”. There existed seventeen different “Marks” of Clockwork Cherubs, created in batches of one hundred by the Great Foundries based on designs by the Cherubs' Creator. They included Mark Is through Mark XVIIs. (PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids)
Their internal components included an internal heating system, Anxiety Springs, liver crystals. (PROSE: Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving) voice boxes (PROSE: The Szaclowk & the Halfworld) which could get weary from extensive use, (PROSE: The Copper-Colored Cupids go Caroling) thermometers placed where humans had lungs, (PROSE: The Labors of Juliet, The Resurrection of the Wellsians) syntaxic modules, (PROSE: The Resurrection of the Wellsians) and Gemstone Hearts. (PROSE: The Green Gorillas) They needed to rewind periodically, (COMIC: A Visit to Doc-012) the sleep-time also allowing them to cool down their fluid links. (PROSE: Magic Trick) Some of them had pain receptors, which they could remove at no loss of efficiency. (PROSE: Acquaintanceship-982 and the Missing Mail Mystery) They had the ability to interface with any electrical appliance created before the 1960s. (PROSE: Pessimist and the Dromedaries)
As Pythagoras-858 once explained to Lord Thymon, “the Cupid Homeworld's reality, and that of anyone in it, [was]… anchored” such that the Clockwork Cherubs' “essence” actually “[ran] on more than just gemstones and positrons”. As Pythe put it, “as long as we're within the Homeworld, or return there often enough, [our essence] is — stabilized, I think is the word. Whatever else we may be, we remain Cupids”. (PROSE: Magic Trick)
Although winged, Clockwork Cherubs could not fly under their own power unless anti-gravity circuits were strapped to their person. (PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids) Not every Cherub in the Crew had access to such devices, and indeed, some could be officially banned from owning one. (PROSE: The Time of the Toymaker)
It was highly unusual for Clockwork Cherubs of the Crew to be female, though not unheard-of. They were also all asexual and aromantic, although Juliet-178 occasionally pretended she was an exception to this rule on top of being female. (PROSE: Of Romeos and Juliets)
The Drove of the Demesmaekerite-Dyed Discordias, created in parallel to the Cupids and who seemed to be their exact antithesis, were, in contrast, all-female by default. Having been fashioned in the image of Discordia rather than Cupid, they had large, raven-black, feathered wings. Additionally, as the group's name highlighted, they were not made of pure copper but of demesmaekerite, a dangerous, radioactive alloy of lead and copper. This meant that they appeared grayish with irregular coppery streaks. (PROSE: The Drove of the Demesmaekerite-Dyed Discordias)
History
Origins
The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids
- See main article: Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids
Clockwork Cherubs were invented in 1960 in the Prime Universe (PROSE: The Grand Multiverse Hotel) in the Home City (PROSE: The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere) by a scientist to whom her creations referred as simply “the Creator”. (PROSE: The Grand Multiverse Hotel) She started with a Cupid Prototype. Basing their design on the god Cupid, the scientist had not initially realised that her creations would be unable to fly normally, but later created anti-gravity circuits for them to use. (PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids)
They were given Fog Ships with interdimensional travel capacities, as well as a pocket universe to call their own, and given the task of journeying through all realities to stamp our hatred and replace it with (artificially-induced) universal love. The Clockwork Cherubs who fulfilled this mission were known as the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids. However, they were not the only Clockwork Cherubs in the Multiverse; some, due to programming defects, gained the ability to break off from their programming and became renegades and reprobates travelling the Multiverse by themselves. (PROSE: The Grand Multiverse Hotel)
The Drove of the Demesmaekerite-Dyed Discordias
- See main article: Drove of the Demesmaekerite-Dyed Discordias
In another universe, a scientist named Eris created a set of Clockwork Cherubs with the opposite purpose: to spread universal hate and fear. Becoming the Drove of the Demesmaekerite-Dyed Discordias, they lived in the Discordia Homeland in the Discordia Dimension, and used Smog Ships and exploding apples instead of Fog Ships and Love Arrows. Unlike the Cupids' Creator, Eris continued ruling her creations directly into the 21st century. (PROSE: The Drove of the Demesmaekerite-Dyed Discordias)
Later developments
At one point, a “mountain-sized” Mark XV prototype was created, but the rest of the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids had to scrap the entire project after the prototype laid waste to an entire dimension. (PROSE: The Cupid Suggestion Box)
In 2019, Madame Tarsa met two Cupids, Pessimist-242 and Larrikin-1029. Fascinated with them, she tried to reverse-engineer them and created the Toy Cupid, a model which she then intended to mass-produce and sell. Confident that the Cupid Parliament would not approve, the two “real” Cupids fought their way out of Madame Tarsa's Toybox and used her own half-brewed Love Potion to blow up Tarsa's work-desk, destroying the Toy Cupid prototype. (PROSE: The Toymaker's Labyrinth)
Behind the scenes
Marks
It does not completely adhere to our standards for articles, for example (for a story page) by having an incomplete cast list or (for an in-universe page) not citing its sources properly. |
To date the Great Foundries have produced seventeen models of Clockwork Cherub, with one hundred units in each production run.
Prototype
While not called the "Mark 0", there is a single Cupid Prototype with the production number 000. As far as revealed, it is still operational.
Mark I
Mark Is were the original design of Clockwork Cherubs built by Cupida Hartnell. They were taller than later models, with a chest unit separated from the base of the legs by a tubular waist. Their limbs were articulated with elbows and knees, and their “hair” was a simplistic metal cap on top of their circular head. (PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids)
Known Mark Is include the Cupid Prime (#001), Doc-012, Colonel-028, Rosen-035, and Doctor Sigma-063. Claus-025 is currently missing and believed non-operational.
Mark II
The Mark IIs were the second Mark of Clockwork Cherubs designed by the Creator, following the taller Mark Is. Juliet-178 was a Mark II. (PROSE: The Labors of Juliet) Accordingly, her many duplicates were also technically Mark IIs, despite being obviously newer than “legitimate” Mark IIs, something other Cupids tended to find disturbing. (PROSE: Of Romeos and Juliets)
The most famous, and numerous, Mark II is Juliet-178 and all the rest. Other, singular, Mark IIs include Nadar-124 and Amour-159.
Mark III
The Mark IIIs were the third Mark of Clockwork Cherubs designed by the Creator, following the taller Mark Is.
The malfunctioning Mandragora-257 was originally a Mark III. Pessimist-242, despite his psychological quirks, still is.
Mark IV
The Mark IVs were a mark of Clockwork Cherub; in contrast with prior and subsequent Cupids, who were smaller than humans, Mark IVs were built for war, huge colossi with almost draconic features. (COMIC: Scaled-Up Soldier)
Mark IVs include Vinter-328, Judicator-337, and Amadeo-378.
Mark V
No technical data
Mark V units include the extremely fashionable Dandy-432 and the researcher Investigation-464.
Mark VI
No technical data
Mark VIs include Marksmanship-522. The missing cupid numbered 548 was, by logic, also a Mark VI.
Mark VII
No technical data
The Mark VII production run includes Marmalade-624, Journalist-649, and Celebration-665.
Mark VIII
No technical data
Known Mark VIIIs include Edwin-750 and Tracker-764.
Mark IX
No technical data
Known Mark IXs include Gaius-816 and Pythagoras-858.
Mark X
No technical data
Known Mark Xs include Bibliophile-962, Amity-965 and Aquaintanceship-982.
Mark XI
No technical data
Romeo-1020, who became involved in the Juliet-178 matter, was a Mark XI, as were Sigmund-1028. and Larrikin-1029.
Mark XII
No technical data
Mark XIII
Mark XIIIs were a mark of Clockwork Cherub; they were barely a decade old in 2019. The Mark XIIIs had a particularly bright golden sheen, and “stiff limbs”. (PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids)
Known Mark XIIIs include Conspiracy-1263 and Carter-1277.
Mark XIV
No technical data
Mark XV
At one point a “mountain-sized” Mark XV prototype was created, but this plan was scrapped after the prototype laid waste to an entire dimension. (PROSE: The Cupid Suggestion Box) Production Mark XV units are much smaller.
Valerius-1497 was constructed as a Mark XV and may yet be one again.
Mark XVI
No technical data
Mark XVII
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Mark XVIIs were a mark of Clockwork Cherub. Cupid Fact File #001 compared them to the Mark Is, noting they were the youngest Mark of Cherubs yet extant as of the last update to the File. Mark XVIIs were small and streamlined, with round heads, plus-sign-shaped eyes, and bendable limbs. They had a power core in the centre of their chest, from which piping ran on the outside, forming an X pattern. (PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids)
On April 29th, 2019, (PROSE: The Faction of the Fooling Fish) Foreman-964 sprained his wrist after “falling down stairs while yelling at a Mark 17 Cupid to get off of his yard”. At this time, a Mark 17 was also employed at Foreman's own Department of Construction, being its youngest member: Excavator-1642. (PROSE: Acquaintanceship-982 and the Missing Mail Mystery)
Known Mark-XVIIs include Excavator-1642 and Robespierre-1665.
Mark XVIII
Mark XVIIIs were a new mark of Clockwork Cherub which, in 2019, were scheduled for rollout “next summer”. One Cupid had been given reason to believe that they would be even smaller and lither than the last few models, continuing the trend for Marks to decrease in size over time. (COMIC: Scaled-Up Soldier (comic story))
Non-standard Cupids
This tidy scheme is not without its exceptions. The Creator herself is believed to have manufactured only a single Cupid Prototype before going all in on a hundred Mark Is. Later an attempt to duplicate Pessimist-242 resulted in a Pseudo-Pessimist not matching any standard model. Madame Tarsa tinkered with a Toy Cupid that wasn't very good and was soon destroyed. The mad scientist Doctor Curious once acquired a defunct Mark I, put in a new brain, and got something different; this unit may still be operational. The development of the Mark XV involved a gargantuan prototype that was more trouble than it was worth. And of course after the events of The Labors of Juliet there are an unreasonably large number of Mark II Cherubs.
The Creator built at least one other robot before starting her Copper-Colored Cupid project, but it is not considered a Cupid. (PROSE: Peace and Quiet)