XM-014 (Socket)

Basic information 

Here's XM-014, or Socket as he prefers, is an Animatronic Killer robot that performs in the Haunted Attraction. He "stands" at an impressive 7'5" tall and is quite imposing. He patrols his part of the attraction that's styled after an abandoned military research facility/robotics factory, searching for trespassers to destroy.

Socket's main gimmick is that he's controlled by a terminal in a locked room. When a guest reaches the terminal they can input a command for Socket. These range from shutting Socket down to sicking him onto the other guests. 

Serious commands 

/Shutdown: is very self explanatory but what it does is shut down Socket for ~30 seconds

/Attack: makes Socket attack the other guests 

/Specs: shows a spec sheet and blueprints of the XM robot platform.

/Lore: opens a document that talks about the development of the XM robot platform and incidents 

/Frenzy: makes Socket behave in an unpredictable manner. He flails his arms and wanders the halls aimlessly, even ignoring the sound cues guests make

/Sleep: makes Socket go into sleep mode for ~35 seconds

Silly commands/Easter eggs

/History: Allows Socket talk about how he got lost in transit while being shipped to the Haunted Attraction 

/Hug: also self explanatory.... Socket gives you a big, surprisingly comfy, hug.

/Dance: makes Socket do a random dance routine before going back to hunting guests while dancing.

/Question: allows a guest to ask Socket a question

/Opinion: Socket will give his opinion on a random bot or staff member in the attraction 

/Arnie: makes Socket do a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, trying to act like the T800 from the first two Terminator movies.

His other two gimmicks are the "laser blasters" in his palms and his big ol pneumatic shoulder cannon. The shoulder cannon fires foam balls that feed from his ammo backpack. When Socket fires at guests the shoulder cannon is set to a much lower muzzle velocity then if he's firing near guests to scare them. The shoulder cannon also smokes after it has been fired. 

Specifications 

Socket is constructed mainly of steel for supporting parts of his frame. All non supporting frame parts use high strength plastic to save as much weight as possible. Socket's outer shell is made of surprisingly soft foam that has been painted and detailed to look like tank armor, make him huggable. His face is made of Latex for it's flexibility and his palms and fingers are covered in Rubber for grip. (or handholding) Socket's movement is achieved by a mix of hydraulic actuators for large movements and high torque servos for smaller movements like his eyelids. Movement of his fingers is achieved via a combination of servos and braided steel wire. Socket also has two smoke machines in him. One in his shoulder cannon and another in his body for Exhaust smoke. Socket's Main CPU was originally an old MS-DOS computer but in 1998 it was upgraded to a computer running Windows 98... Yes this means when he's booted up he plays the Windows 98 startup chime.

Backstory/origin.

Even though Socket is in the haunted attraction doesn't mean he was initially built for it. His story actually starts in 1992 when some mechanics and engineers at the Wyoming based animatronic manufacturer Mellotronics decided to build a fully free roaming animatronic to entertain visitors to their factory. Ideas where thrown around for the character's design until a new hire at the company, a then twenty-four year old Sidney Rollins jokingly suggested a tracked robot design. The others didn't think it was a joke and actually agreed on that. By 1993 Socket's design was sketched out and his A.i. was in a pretty interactive state, being able to hold simple conversations and even distinguish each engineer by voice. By 1996 Socket's body was finished, he was whole. He was unveiled as Mellotronics's new mascot that roamed the facility and interacted with visitors and potential clients for two decades. He was retired as their mascot in 2016 and was put into Mellotronics main climate controlled warehouse to be preserved for future generations.

In 2017 however, Socket's fortunes would change, that year the owner of a haunted attraction was touring the Mellotronics facility to see what Animatronics they had that would work in his attraction. When they made it to Socket the owner decided to purchase Socket. They made the deal and arranged for Socket to be shipped by an outside company. This company however was a bit shady. Especially with who their hired. When the two delivery drivers saw the Large crate Socket was in they figured that there was something valuable in there.. so they stole it, driving it to a dingy old warehouse and opening it to receive their Ill gotten gains. When they opened the crate andb saw a massive military style robot in the crate they panicked, hastily stapled the crate back up and quickly left the warehouse, leaving socket behind where he sat for ~ 4 years. Socket soon became kind of an urban legend between haunted attraction fans and general animatronic enthusiasts as he had appeared in early advertising for the Haunted Attraction. The haunted attraction would even recognize this and make fake missing posters of Socket. 

Most people believed that Socket was simply a cut concept, never to be found as he had never existed in the first place. This was until some people who happened to be fans of the haunted attraction were doing some urban exploration. While they wandered a random abandoned warehouse they noticed something large under a ripped tarp. As they got closer and removed the tarp they found a crate, wondering what was inside they searched the outside of the crate for any postage markings to tell where this crate was going to be delivered to. When they found a sticker with the address of the intended recipient of the crate they searched the address online, only for the Haunted Attraction to pop up. One person in the group joked that this could be the missing bot, but he was quickly written off as that idea was ridiculous to the others. They decided to at least have a peek inside so the found a conveniently placed pry bar and opened the crate just enough to shine a light into it. Inside the crate was Socket, dusty and powered down inside. After getting over their initial shock of finding out that a once though urban legend was actually real , they quickly contacted the Haunted Attraction to tell them of their discovery. Once the logistics were figured out, Socket was finally delivered.

Once delivered he was freed from his wooden prison and given a look by the Haunted Attraction's main mechanics, including a now 56 year old Sidney Rollins. The mechanics noticed multiple problems due to the place Socket was in wasn't climate controlled, the big one was his Cosmetics being somewhat dry rotted, especially his latex mask. When they looked over his electronics they noticed that the wires for his batteries had been chewed through by rats, or well a singular rat that had made its home inside of Socket's body. The rat was later located on Socket's main battery, killed by forces beyond anything it was meant to comprehend. After properly disposing of the poor critter they noticed that the rat with its electrifying finale managed to completely kill the battery, meaning one more part that had to be ordered from Mellotronics. After getting the proper parts and redoing his wiring, Socket's optics activated, being met with his best friend from his years at Mellotronics across the room. Seeing Sidney, socket makes a Beeline for him and practically tackles him in a great big hug, overjoyed to be awake again.

Personality 

On duty: Socket when performing as XM-014 acts rather cruel, reveling in the terror he's causing. He's also rather cold, ruthlessly hunting down guests to blast them with his shoulder cannon and lasers. Sometimes socket even plays back the panicked screams and final words of his earlier "victims" to further mess with guests. This scary persona can tone itself down depending on if there's a kid in the group he's terrorizing. Being more comically evil instead of straight up cruel. 

Off duty: When Socket isn't performing he's quite affectionate and gentle towards staff and his fellow animatronics. Socket is patient and very approachable despite his size, always offering to give you a hug if it would cheer you up. Socket is also a bit of a goofball at times. When he's in his personal room he can often be seen either dancing to music, reading, or watching sports. He also loves chatting with anyone, often talking about sports, old videogames, or music. All around, Socket is an absolute sweetie and a social butterfly.

Trivia:

* The first thing Socket ever saw on TV was The OJ Simpson Chase 

* Socket's name is a straight up reference to Robot Band Picpac and the band's Lead Vocalist, Maria Socket 

* Socket and Sidney go way back for reasons stated above.

* In Socket's personal room he has an old CRT TV he uses to watch sports.. mainly Rugby.

* Socket accidentally scared Milo by playing dead after being poked by the little demon's pitchfork.

* When Socket was informed about the rat he felt touched that a small animal would use him as shelter. The other mechanics decided to shield Socket from knowing the rat's fate.

* When Socket is in sleep/charging mode he plays a faint Snoring sound.

* Socket has a wide taste in music he enjoys. Although one exclusion is heavier rock music and metal, He doesn't hate it, heavier music just doesn't do anything for him. You can find examples of music Socket listens to here.

Socket can play Catch if you find something light enough and large enough for Socket to catch consistently. This ability comes from his days as Mellotronics's mascot.

Socket's eyes can make a myriad of expressions. 

Due to Socket's armor being made of mostly soft foam and a small amount of plastic he's incredibly nice to hug.

If Socket is asked to play hide and seek he doesn't cover his eyes, he places a hand over the center of his chest. The reasoning for this is that is where his optics actually are located.