GCOS
| GCOS | |
| File:Gcos.png | |
| Character Information | |
|---|---|
| Common Names | GCOS |
| Other Names | GECOS, General Comprehensive Operating System, General Electric Comprehensive Operating Supervisor |
| Human Name(s) | Glenda Oliver |
| Faction | Mainframe Guild |
| Lineage | Independant |
| Rival(s) | Multics |
| Appearance | |
| Height | 5'5 |
| Hair Color | Dark brown |
| Eye Color | Gold |
| Weapon(s) | Katana |
| Design | |
| First Appearance | 2008 |
| Technical Information | |
| System Personified | General Comprehensive Operating System |
| Developer(s) | General Electric, later Honeywell and Groupe Bull |
| Debut | 1962 |
| Latest release | Unknown |
Technical details
Created by GE in 1962, the GCOS operating system originally ran on the GE-635 mainframe computer. It began life as a fairly simple batch operating system, however over the years it evolved greatly - being ported to the Honeywell 6000-series mainframe, gaining features pioneered in Multics and other high-end OSes, and having timesharing and transaction-processing features created for it.
While considered unremarkable in its heyday, GCOS has proven itself to have surprising longevity - it is still marketed by Groupe Bull, albeit mostly for legacy purposes.
Character details
GCOS-tan is depicted as a woman of rather average looks, with medium-length dark brown hair and gold-brown eyes. An avid connoisseur of Japanese culture, she generally dresses in traditional garments from the country - yukata and geta being common pieces of attire in her day-to-day wardrobe, as well as kimonos and kanzashi on formal occasions.
Although academically-inferior when compared to many of her peers, GCOS-tan is cunning, quick-witted and wise to the ways of the computer industry. While she usually carries a katana and tanto for self-defense and fighting purposes, her greatest weapons are innate social skills and a power of persuasion second to none. However, she is not as self-confident as she may seem at first glance - GCOS harbors deep fears of rejection and obsolescence.
Family and Relationships
While there is no conclusive evidence of a blood relationship between them, GCOS-tan believes herself to be the daughter of DOS/360-tan, citing various similarities between them. It is believed that GCOS tried on several occasions to contact DOS/360, but was either ignored or rejected by the woman. This is thought to have negatively impacted her already love-starved personality and set her on a course to harm Unix and Multics-tan, among others.
History and background
Early life
GCOS was born in 1962, in Phoenix, Arizona. Little is known of GCOS' earliest life, but sometime in the mid-1960s, she was contracted by MIT to help in the creation of a next-generation OS-tan called Multics-tan (she was also something of a step-sister to GCOS, as they shared a company in common). She never particularly liked the job - her relationship with Multics' mother, CTSS-tan, was uneasy at best, and as Multics matured she began to simultaneously revile and fear the girl. Having witnessed some of Multics' close brushes with death and near psychological-collapses under the weight of her own mental and magical complexity, she initially thought Multics would be a failure and bring financial ruin and embarrassment to her company. However, as Multics began mature into a somewhat emotionally and magically-adjusted young adult, GCOS began to fear the opposite - that customers would reject her in favor of the magically and academically-superior Multics.