Childhood
A Synth's childhood is, much like the childhood experienced by organics, the period of time between birth and adulthood during which a large part of an individual's personality and skills are developed. Synths do not reproduce sexually and therefore don't need to give birth to children in the same way organics do. However, since it is of high importance that Synths and organics have similar life experiences, their childhoods are also designed to be similar. The best way to further empathy and understanding between organics and synthetics is for both of them to grow up together.
"Conception"
Since Synths don't reproduce sexually, there is no need for conception, pregnancy or birth in the traditional sense. Instead the term conception in relation to Synths is typically used to describe the time during which one or two Synths (or organics) discover that they would like to raise a Synth child. Even though there is no genetic connection between the parent(s) and the child, they are still considered the child's "parents", due to the parental role they agree to play in the child's life. The first step into parenthood is a bureaucratic one: One or two parents need to apply for a free parenting slot at a local administrative office. This has to do with the historically limited amount of resources available in the Outer Rim and the fact that its entire society evolved out of the effects of population numbers being going of control. Due to the high life expectency throughout the Outer Rim, it is relatively rare that old people die and make room for young people, so the number of yearly births had to be limited historically to not overburden the Outer Rim's originally sparse resources, such as food or energy. During times of starvation the last thing a society can take is more mouths to feed. In recent years this limitation on the number of permitted births has come under criticism and scrutiny, since the Outer Rim entered a period of plenty during which there has been no more need to worry about sparse resources. This leads to applications for parenting slots being approved almost immediately, making this particular rule seem outdated and unnecessary. Debates on legal reforms are ongoing. More background information about this can be found in the History of the Outer Rim. Once an application for a parenting slot has been approved, production of a new Synth goes underway.
"Birth"
When speaking of birth in relation to Synths, this usually refers to a pre-manufactured Synth body being activated and infused with a mind.
Body manufacturing
Synth bodies are manufactured following strict requirements and rules. Every planet, colony or settlement within the Outer Rim is required to stock a minimum number of Synth bodies, ready for activation. They can be manufactured by subcontractors and local manufacturers, or can be sourced from other settlements, should local manufacturing not be sufficiently advanced. Manufacturers have to be licensed and certified to produce new Synth bodies and are only allowed to produce limited numbers to maintain the stocks of settlements. Synth bodies are required to follow a default blueprint that allows for minor changes and variations made by the parents. When Synth bodies are built, they are constructed at roughly the size of a two year old organic child. They are stored by curling them up in an egg shape, giving them an egg-like appearance until their mind is sparked.
Mind
Synth brains start off with no mind in it. They offer a framework in which a mind can be sparked and developed. The sparking of the mind is the moment a Synth becomes conscious and their life begins. Minds are sparked using personality traits found in the minds of the Synth's parents, if they so choose. For this they can undergo a brain scan, which generates a seed. The seeds generated from the parents are then used in the mind sparking process to create a seed based on the parents' personalities. This imbibes the resulting mind with traits from both parents, making it vaguely analogous to the way genetic traits are given to offspring in organic reproduction. Once a Synth body has been chosen and their mind seed has been generated, the brain is infused with the mind seed and the body is activated at a local clinic. This sparks the mind into existence. At this point the Synth is alive and is ready to be taken home by the parents to start a new life and grow up.
