The Essential Guide to Droids (Page 48-49)
Household Service: TT-8L ("Tattletale")
[edit]Serv‑O‑Droid’s TT‑8L, originally sold to the gentrified rich as a discreet vestibule snoop, makes a capable threat scanner and surveillance system. More than one dozen variants have been produced over the generations, from the slightly menacing Y7 to the gilded, bauble‑trimmed XSS.
The TT‑8L, little more than an eye on a stalk, quickly earned the nickname “tattletale.” The droid remains in a single fixed position throughout its operational life, typically someplace near a main doorway. An approaching visitor’s footfalls trigger the unit’s audio sensors, whereupon it peers carefully through a hidden peephole, matches the guest’s physical parameters to its internal database, and announces the newcomer’s arrival to its master, who can either admit the visitor or request further observation.
The obvious objection—that this job could be easily performed by a nonintelligent security holocom for much less money—explained why Serv‑O‑Droid initially marketed the TT‑8L to wealthy nobles accustomed to servants and hirelings. This elite sales strategy eventually reached its gaudy pinnacle in the fabulously ornate XSS.
Equipped with a snakelike body stalk cast from antique brass, the TT‑8L/XSS is bolted to the floor but allowed a limited range of movement through its multiple joints. Its blue‑tinted glass optical lens functions much like a pair of macroscopic bioconoculars and is protected by a bronze shutter when inactive. Its vocabulator is carefully modulated to deliver mellow and courteous diction. The droid’s entire 2.5‑meter length is a showcase for intricate scrollwork designs, sparkling silver adornments, and inlaid synthetic gemstones. A large number of XSS units were obtained by the Emperor’s personal staff and set up on the resort moon of Hesperidium.
The Y7 model was developed when Serv‑O‑Droid realized their observation machine had many potential uses beyond simple nosiness. Criminals, recluses, and paranoids had great need for a device that could interrogate suspicious callers and scan them for weapons. Instead of meekly secretive, this new model was directly confrontational.
A TT‑8L/Y7 is designed for direct installation in a door, door frame, or entranceway alcove. Its rigid body stem lacks the serpentine fluidity of the XSS frame, possessing only a single socket joint at the base of the trunk. For obvious reasons, all unnecessary ornamentation has been omitted in favor of a basic black shell of resilient durasteel.
The Y7’s central eye, shielded by a retractable blind, is capable of low‑light surveys, spotlight illumination, and scanning sweeps in the ultraviolet and infrared ranges.
Since the droid’s unremarkable intelligence matrix wasn’t always enough to please the truly distrustful, Serv‑O‑Droid installed a remote‑activation subroutine that allowed the Y7 to be directly controlled by a security guard at any time. One of the units watched over the foreboding entrance to Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine until Han Solo blasted it to tiny bits during the momentous Darksaber crisis.
Info Boxes
[edit]Front View
[edit]- Inset Gemstones (along seams)
- Optical Shutter
- Glass Optical Lens
- Audio Sensors
- Polished Bronze Fittings
- Hard Data Input Slot
- Illuminated Silver Base
Side View
[edit]- Antique Brass Body Shell
- Pivot Joints
- Internal Vocabulator
- Hydraulic Lifts