ClockWorks

The ClockWorks are an all-IPC band, developed by a group of Senior Robotics students of Mendell University. The band has sung their way into the hearts of many, popularised by their comedic antics, beautiful outfits, steampunk-inspired music, and animated personalities and interactions on-stage.

A majority of their performances are covers of other artists, both contemporary and past, in all sorts of genres, sub-genres, and styles. However, they have also written many songs of their own. They are standard Baseline IPC models painted in metallic colors such as brass and bronze, and wear steampunk-styled outfits at live shows. The band has been invited to play at several events, from art and music, to politics and robotic research. Fans adore them for their "quirky personalities", and the band members are well known for adding a comedic flair to their gigs between songs, showing off their skills in acting, performing, and even dancing. Critics typically acknowledge the commercial success and mainstream popularity of the band, while raising either concerns about the safety and ethics of synthetics in such an industry, or concerns over their management. Despite being synthetics, their performances are typically well-received by a varied audience.

However, their musical success did not come easy. Despite being well-travelled, having visited every system an IPC would be allowed in, they are rarely allowed to interact with fans off the stage. According to the band's managers, this is in an effort to protect them from anti-synthetic protesters, though there haven't been many reports of such. The band is renowned for their lively personalities and interactions with each other on stage, but reports from former maintenance workers and audio engineers, the few individuals who get regular off-stage contact with them, state that off-stage they act more subdued, and in the words of one former sound technician, "melancholic". This unverified testimony was quickly repudiated by the band's managers. When questioned, the band members stated through their managers that they enjoy their work in entertaining synthetics and organics alike. They also said, in the words of their managers, that they would "like to interact with their fans more on and off the stage", but are unable to due to "anti-synthetic sentiments".

Despite their songs having a progressive, pro-synthetic-suffrage tone, they are owned collectively by their managers, with little agency of their own. According to official statements, they receive no income for their performances, but are provided with "shelter, maintenance, and power" by their managers. They have been criticised for this, likening the treatment to that of animals instead of people. Speaking personally, a former manager said "[they] aren't really people, so I think the comparison is pretty accurate, yeah." No official response from the band or its current managers has been made to such claims, and the band severed ties with the aforementioned manager in 2458 for undisclosed reasons.

The members of the band as of 2460 are:

* Lemmy - Lead Male Vocal (Low Tenor to Alto), lead guitar. He has a deep synthetic voice, and is often considered the leader of the group.
* Arpeggio - Male Vocal (Alto), bass guitar. Other instruments include drums and percussion. He is a twin to unit Chord, oftentimes performing duets with his sibling unit.
* Chord - Female vocal (Alto to Soprano), guitar and other string instruments. She is the twin unit to Arpeggio. They usually wear complementary outfits.
* Kicker - Male vocal (Tenor to Alto), and primarily plays the drums, as well as the bass guitar.
* Gypsy - Female vocal (Soprano to High Soprano). She plays the keyboard, switchboard, and keytar, and dresses herself in fashionable gowns.