homebrew-livewires-lw3-predestHOMEBREW

Real Name: Homebrew

Identity/Class: Terrestrial android (see comments)

Occupation: Location and destruction of top-secret quasi-govermental projects

Group Membership: Livewires (Cornfed, Gothic Lolita, Hollowpoint Ninja, Social Butterfly, four others unidentified; Stem Cell joined after Homebrew's destruction)

Affiliations: David Jenkins

Enemies: Unidentified/unspecified top-secret quasi-govermental projects

Known Relatives: Project: LIVEWIRE (notably David Jenkins; creators);
   
the other members of the Livewires (figurative siblings)

Aliases: Possibly Stem Cell (see comments)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly mobile across the United States of America, at least

First Appearance: Livewires#1 (April, 2005)

Powers/Abilities: As a semi-autonomous, artificially intelligent, limited nanofunction, humanform mecha constructs, Homebrew did not oxygen, food, or water (relying instead on an unspecified energy source), and he was resistant to temperature and pressure extremes, etc.

    The Livewires' artificial intelligences had baseline software that re-created human neurochemistry, so that their default "neuroform" configuration emulated the human brain. This initially facilitated fear, anxiety, panic, and the fight-or-flight response. It also simulated the basal, primitive reptile and mammal brain. 

    The Livewires could tweak their own A.I., customizing their neuroform configurations and dampening down their emotional analogues when necessary.

    As a default, Livewires' thoughts were transmitted to the rest of the Livewires' intranet, although by choice they could transmit their commlink settings to keep their cognition feed private. homebrew-livewires-lw1-torso

    Although his exolayer of limited-function nanomechanical smartware allowed him to alter his appearance, he was incapable of full-body morphing.

    Homebrew served as the team’s tech/engineering specialist, and he created the team’s weapons and gear. It is unrevealed whether he physically built the hardware or if he could internally create things he visualized as did his successor, Stem Cell.

    Like the other Livewires, he was programmed for absolute loyalty to Project Livewire.

    Like his fellow Livewries, his facial exoshell was the highest value mass of nanotech smartware.

Height: Unrevealed (likely average to slightly tall for adult human male; perhaps 5'9" to 6')
Weight: Unrevealed (likely greater than human due to mechanical components, but impossible to define due to unrevealed composition)
Eyes: Unrevealed (dark; likely brown; variable)
Hair: Black (variable)

History:
(
Livewires#1 (fb) - BTS / Livewires#2 (fb) - BTS) - A top-secret, quasi-governmental R&D program known as Project: LIVEWIRE combined LMD and Mannite technology to create the Livewires, a team of nanobuilt humanform combatmecha with smartware bodies specialized for covert ops and artificially intelligent minds programmed with suicidal loyalty to the project’s goals and objectives.

(Livewires#3 (fb)) - David Jenkins, the project’s Assistant Chief Designer, exhibited the six original Livewires (including Homebrew) to the heads of Project: Livewire.

(Livewires#1 (fb) - BTS / Livewires#2 (fb) - BTS / Livewires#6 (fb) - BTS) - However, David Jenkins, the project’s Assistant Chief Designer, also programmed the Livewires with his own rogue objectives: To seek out, sabotage, and destroy other covert quai-governmental -- indicating plausible deniability, and referring to front companies, indirect and/or illegal funding, off-the-books private projects, co-opting of criminal enterprises, black market ultra-tech arms sales, etc. -- research programs, ideally before their experimental research ran amuck.

(Livewires#6 (fb) - BTS) - As per Jenkins wishes, the Livewires viewed the treacherous Jenkins and the other human personnel as a possible threat to Project: LIVEWIRE and promptly terminated them before detonating the project’s reactor.

(Livewires#2 (fb) - BTS) - Ten Livewires left their base operation for ongoing mobile secret-program sabotage, including hacking and cracking, discrediting of research, disruption of financial and managerial infrastructure, non-lethal incapacitation of key personnel, and and potentially destruction of entire laboratories.

(Livewires#1 (fb) - BTS) - Homebrew served as the team’s tech/engineering specialist and created the team’s ultratech weapons and gear.

(Livewires#2 (fb) - BTS) - Over an unspecified period of time, four of the original ten Livewires perished in undefined mission(s).homebrew-livewires-lw1-face-skinless

(Livewires#1 (fb) - BTS) - Homebrew was blasted to pieces and terminally damaged by a gamma-ray laser during a mission.homebrew-livewires-lw2-burial

(Livewires#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Livewires installed Homebrew's complete engineering database into a new Livewire mecha before booting her up.

(Livewires#1) - As Cornfed literally cannibalized Homebrew's form, recycling his scavengered smartware in the nanofactory in his belly, the newest Livewire awakened. Believing herself to be human but unable to recall her past or even her name, the mecha assumed this was a dream, but she was nonetheless somewhat mortified as Cornfed introduced himself and explained why he was eating his brother's face. 

(Livewires#1 - BTS) - Homebrew's database allowed the new mecha -- who received the intended-to-be-temporary name Stem Cell (used for all new mecha, not yet fully differentiated or specialized) after learning she was one of the Livewires -- to identify various forms of advanced technology on sight.

(Livewires#1 - BTS) - Possibly via the smartware scavenged from Homebrew, Cornfed restored the legs of Social Butterfly, which had been destroyed by one of the Pyranos. 

(Livewires#2) - The Livewires dropped Homebrew's head and torso into a pit and then dropped in an XM-165 high-intensity plasma grenade (a SHIELD ExTechOp design, with magnetic field dampening activated to limit its blast radius) to ensure destruction of its hard drive. 

(Livewires#1 - BTS) - Stem Cell was created by the Livewires to replace Homebrew.

Comments: Created by Adam Warren, Rick Mays, and Jason Martin.

    The Livewires considered "robot" to be a highly derogatory term, preferring instead semi-autonomous, artificially intelligent, limited nanofunction, humanform mecha constructs.

    After Stem Cell learned her true nature, Hollowpoint Ninja informed her of her codename and told her that "Stem Cell" was what they called all "newbies." So, that may mean that Homebrew was once called "Stem Cell" too...unless that only meant Livewires newly-created after the original six, of which Homebrew was one.

    This profile was completed 08/21/2022, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Homebrew
should be distinguished from:



images
: (without ads)

Livewires#1, pg. 3, panel 3 (torso);
        pg. 4, panel 2 (faceless);
    #2, pg. 5, panel 3 (burial);
    #3, pg. 16, panel 3 (pre-destruction upper body)


Appearances:
Livewires#1 (April, 2005) - Adam Warren (story and layouts), Rick Mays (penciler), Jason Martin (inker), Andy Schmidt, Nicole Wiley, & Molly Lazer (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Livewires#2-4 (May-July, 2005) - Adam Warren (story and layouts), Rick Mays (penciler), Jason Martin (inker), Andy Schmidt, Jeffrey Moore, & Molly Lazer (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Livewires#5 (August, 2005) - Adam Warren (story and layouts), Rick Mays (penciler), Jason Martin & Norm Rapmund (inkers), Andy Schmidt, Jeffrey Moore, & Molly Lazer (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Livewires#6 (September, 2005) - Adam Warren (story and layouts), Rick Mays & Adam Warren (pencilers), Jason Martin & Norm Rapmund (inkers), Andy Schmidt, Aubrey Sitterson, & Molly Lazer (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)


First posted: 09/30/2026
Last updated: 08/24/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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