Harvard Mark II
| Harvard Mark II | |
| |
| Character Information | |
|---|---|
| Common Names | Harvard Mark II |
| Other Names | Aiken Relay Calculator (ARC) |
| Faction | Deceased |
| Lineage | Harvard Architecture |
| Appearance | |
| Height | 163 cm (5'4") |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Hazel/Bronze |
| Design | |
| First Appearance | late 2010 / rework 2025 |
| Technical Information | |
| System Personified | Harvard Mark II |
| Developer(s) | Harvard University |
| Debut | 1947 |
| Latest release | unknown |
Character details
Harvard Mark II is an electromechanical computer built by Howard Aiken at Harvard University and shipped to the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, VA. It is noteworthy for its association with the pioneering programmer Grace Hopper, and for originating the first documented computer bug.
Character details
Physical
Like her older sister Harvard Mark I, Harvard Mark II-tan is a doll-like automaton. She is below average height but disproportionately dense for her stature. She has long red-brown hair tied into twin tails, heterochromatic brown/hazel eyes, and light skin. She has bronze limbs, and while her legs are usually covered by white stockings her forearms are exposed revealing the machinery beneath. She wears a 1950s dark blue sailor-style dress covered in moth-holes that have been patched with ornate naval-themed embroidery, as well as white gloves, bronze hair clips, and a cream-colored punch tape belt & neckerchief.
She sports a bronze wind-up key on her head.
Harvard Mark II-tan is physically faster than Mark I, but is still slow by all standards. She speaks with a slight southern drawl.
Personality
Like the rest of her family, Harvard Mark II-tan is old-fashioned, but warmer and more emotive than her sisters. She is a classic tomboy, outdoorsy and physical, and is self-assured without crossing into smugness. She is indecisive, and something of a mama's girl, clingy and effusive toward her caretakers.
She is more aware of the wider world of computers than her older sister, but still doesn't compare herself to or feel threatened by newer models.
Family and relationships
Harvard Mark II-tan is closest to her programmer, considering her something of a mother figure, while she regards the Univacs as distant kin. She loves her elder and youngest sister despite their geographic distance, and interacts most closely with her younger sister Harvard Mark III-tan given their shared location. She has a protective instinct over GENIAC-tan and is good friends with her coworker NORC-tan. She maintains a friendly rivalry with the Army computers who live up the coast from her.