The Zeta Project – Zeta

He learned the value of human life. And when ordered to harm a man he believed was innocent, Zeta refused. Instead he threw away his weapons, and ran from his programmed destiny.

Ever since, the government agents that controlled Zeta have been after him, convinced that he’s been reprogrammed by terrorists. Led by the obsessed hunter, Agent Bennet, their plan is to wipe Zeta’s memory clean, reprogram him from scratch, and send him back out as the mindless machine he was meant to be.

At the same time that Zeta runs from Agent Bennet, he searches for the scientist who created him: Doctor Eli Selig, former head of the
Infiltration Unit Program. Zeta hopes that as his creator, Selig will believe that his change of heart is real, and convince the agents to drop their pursuit. But Selig himself is a man on the move, and Zeta hasn’t found him yet.

Created in a lab just over a year ago, Zeta is like a child in a grown-up’s body. He was programmed to mimic people with uncanny accuracy, but back in his government days, he was only copying real people who he could study and memorize. Nowadays, Zeta’s making everything up for himself, and he’s not as good at "playing human" as he used to be. A little Mr. Spock, a little Jeff Bridges’ Starman, he’s learning about human behavior from scratch — curious, but confused when people don’t seem to make sense.

Why do we play sports? Even stranger, why do we watch sports? How do you know when someone’s flirting? And why do people put their pets in little outfits? Zeta doesn’t always know the right response in a social situation either, and his attempts to blend in can sometimes have comic results. Fortunately, Ro is there to cover for his mistakes, and coach him as best as she can.

Still, this power of mimicry is Zeta’s primary strength. His on-board holographic emitter allows him to change his appearance at will. Beneath the hologram, his metal frame is able to lengthen, shorten, widen or contract, to accommodate a wide range of body types — male, female, adult or child, with a height range of roughly four to seven feet. (Of course, knowing what a woman looks like, and knowing how a woman moves, are two different things. Let’s just say Zeta has a lot to learn.)

Within limits, Zeta can even project his hologram into shapes that don’t exactly match his humanoid form. For example, in Batman Beyond,
Zeta projects a twisted, broken version of himself around his frame, to give Bennet the impression that he’s been destroyed. In the pilot, we’ll see him mimic an old man, and project his hologram out from one hand to create the illusion of a cane.

What Zeta can’t do is become something completely unlike his form, like a chair or an extension of a wall. As a rule, if a shape is humanoid enough to logically contain his frame (like say, a statue or a large mammal), then Zeta can become it.

In general, Zeta’s "default" guise will be that of a tall, handsome male in his early twenties, which Ro nicknames "Zee." It’s an appearance she helps him choose, advising that it’s just the right age: Old enough that legally you can do what you want, yet young enough that kids still trust you. In this guise, Zeta is able to pose as Ro’s older brother, and the two can skirt any questions about her being a minor on her own.

Although Zeta is stronger than an average human, and his metal frame can take a beating, he’s far from invulnerable. Sometimes, like the rest of us, all he can do is run and hope to leap clear of a blast in time. To frame his strength between some known superheroes, he’s about twice a
Batman Beyond cybersuit, and nowhere near a Superman.

Of course, Zeta’s robotic design gives him other advantages. He’s faster than a human, both in running speed and reflexes. His "eyes" and "ears" are more sensitive, picking up wavelengths outside human perception. And to a limited degree, he’s self-repairing. If he sustains a minor injury, like circuitry damage, mini-robotic tools can extend from compartments on his arms and perform basic electronic work. But he can’t grow a new limb if one’s shattered, or synthesize new materials that he wouldn’t have on board.

Lastly, Zeta is a veritable Swiss Army knife of tools. Originally designed to carry a whole arsenal of laser-guns, he’s discarded these, and now carries only those tools he considers peaceful. Among the handy devices he’s got built into his body are:

• A cred-card that slides out of his palm. In this world, cash no longer exists, and all currency transfers are done through "units" carried on these cards. Because Zeta is a walking computer, he has the ability to perpetually charge his cred, making him an unlimited source of money.
(These creds are not traceable; this isn’t analogous to using a credit card today. It’s more like a long-distance phone card, or the fare cards used in some cities’ public transportation systems. You charge them up with units, and then spend them like cash.)
• A laser-cutting tool, that can also be used within close range to
"fire" a shot.
• A computer-interface cable, that can be used to patch into virtually any computer-operated machine — from a video-phone to a vehicle, to the mainframe running a building’s security system.
• And of course, a plethora of drills, saws, cutters, welders…. This robot was built to get in and out of anywhere, and if it makes sense in the context of a story to have him whip out a new previously-unseen device, we’re open to it.

Bio (Official – WBs Zeta Site): His full name is INFILTRATION
UNIT ZETA. He has a high endurance metal frame that was built to carry a wide array of weapons and tools. He can project a hologram around himself and alter his voice, allowing him to become anyone. He was created to fight our country’s enemies, to mimic people, infiltrate their ranks, and…well, you can guess the rest. But something happened that his keepers never expected.

He learned the value of human life, and when ordered to harm a man he believed was innocent, Zeta refused. Instead he threw away his weapons and ran away from his programmed destiny.

Ever since, the government agents who controlled Zeta have been after him, convinced he’s been reprogrammed by terrorists. Led by an obsessed hunter, Agent Bennet, their plan is to wipe Zeta’s memory clean, reprogram him from scratch and send him back out as the mindless machine of destruction he was originally intended to be.

Bio: Categorized as a rogue infiltration unit by the NSA, Zeta (or “Zee”), is a “failed” project by a number of scientists, the core of which was Dr. Selig.

Zeta’s killing mindset changed because of a chip that Dr. Selig had implanted inside Zeta’s brain, allowing him to have a conscience and make moral decisions. While he tries to tell the NSA that he no longer wants to kill, all they want to do is dismantle and reprogram him.

In his running away from the NSA, Zeta ran into Ro, a young girl who was also on the run. The two became friends and began looking out for each other, risking each others lives to save the other. Together they found
Dr. Selig not once, but three times, finally spending time with him on their last encounter. Unfortunately, Dr. Selig was killed in the explosion of his lab, the Knossos, before Zeta was able to tell Dr.
Selig who he was.

Zeta and Ro continue to run from the NSA and prevent atrocities committed by other human beings along the way.