This page is for Rustybot the Ringleader (a fictional character). For Rustybot the Neolander (a real life human), see Rustybot (User)
Quote
“Lasers solve literally every problem.”
Rustybot is a digital human consciousness originating from The Primary Timeline who inhabits a technologically advanced robotic body. He is the CEO of Rusty Manufacturing and one of the founding members of The Ringleaders.
Previously Known As Toby Tsur
Quote
”We’ll never be perfect, it’s true. What that says to me is we can always be better.”
Born as a biological human in the year 2135, Toby Tsur was the son of Rodney Tsur and Melody Tsur. He was fascinated with space travel, robotics, and automation from a very young age. This lead him to become increasingly cybernetic until the age of 25, when he underwent a final procedure to become fully mechanical.
Toby excelled in his schooling, graduating all mandatory learning initiatives by the age of 16 before spending the rest of his adolescence and early adulthood working for Flow.
Toby would eventually take on his chosen name, Rustybot, following the Andromeda Transfer Incident.
Parents
Rodney Tsur
Quote
”Whether a human was born of a womb or intertwining datasets is irrelevant.” - Rodney Tsur, 2132
Rodney Tsur was a programmer, roboticist, and digital rights activist in the mid 22nd century.
Rodney married Melody Tsur (previously Melody Bontly) in 2130. He later fathered Toby Tsur in 2135.
Melody Tsur
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”Of course I don’t think we’re alone in the universe. We have each other.” - Melody Tsur, 2137
Melody Tsur was an astrophysicist, exobiologist, and astronaut in the mid 22nd century.
Melody married Rodney Tsur in 2130. She later gave birth to Toby Tsur in 2135.
Personality
Toby Tsur was known for being an extremely driven individual. He was described as being “happy to speak with me but clearly anxious to get back to work” by an interviewer shortly after Rusty Manufacturing’s announcement of the Quindol expedition. An extremely intelligent scientist with PHDs in numerous technological fields, Toby strongly believed that constant improvement was his life’s purpose. Even as the CEO of one of the most successful companies in history he only paid himself enough to get by, devoting the rest of Rusty Manufacturing’s funds and his own time to developments that would benefit humanity as a whole.
In stark contrast to his previous self, Rustybot’s most notable character trait is his ego. The Andromeda Incident shattered his trust in humanity. Not just in the moral nature of people but in their competence. As such, he begins to believe himself to be the only individual in the universe capable of driving scientific progress. This shift in outlook causes his natural propensity for problem solving to refocus. With securing humanity’s future no longer a personal priority, he instead does everything in his power to secure his own at all costs. As opposed to his life on Earth where he had a constant stream of issues to resolve or improve and barely enough time to tackle all of it, he now finds himself isolated and without a schedule.
Rustybot develops an abundance of weaponry and defense technology during his isolation despite coming across no external threatening presences in his new home galaxy. His desire to protect himself and fear of being hurt again cause an overwhelming urge to expand his industry at an exponential rate. In a sense, the constant increase in manufacturing potential of Rusty Manufacturing is Rustybot attempting to satiate his newfound paranoia.
Over the course of the Ringleaders story, Rustybot is forced to reconsider how he handles diplomatic relations with both Earth and the other members of the council. Meeting Memento is the first time in many years where he can’t simply ignore or destroy a perceived problem. When the two of them eventually build The Ring, he is only playing along to agther intel, but is soon presented with evidence that other beings are entirely capable of being intelligent and useful.
Though he is initially snarky and dismissive of the other members, Rustybot’s demeanor softens significantly as The Ringleaders become less of an obligation and more of a found family to him. The Swarm is especially critical in this journey with their precise pokes and prods regarding Rusty’s behaviour. Despite his repeated outbursts when his own faults are brought to light, his natural desire to analyze every situation down to the last detail does cause Rusty to consider what his actions look like from the outside and eventually make positive change.
Trivia
- Nobody knows why Toby Tsur picked the name Rustybot
- The shape of Rusty’s head is a Rectified Rhombicuboctahedron, though it’s more commonly referred to as a bevel cube or bevel box