Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-25045079-20140829212910/@comment-24757748-20140831012117

Shadow at Morning wrote: There's no reason to believe that she's bound by Asimovian laws. The whole applicability of the Laws is obviated by the needs of military robotics. They're designed to kill, a clear violation at the outset. We see they have the authority to make shoot/no-shoot decisions autonomously in "Black". And of course Faunus would count under the laws; they have souls, they participate in society; they're legally people. Suffering from endemic societal racism and second-class status, surely, but nevertheless people. And Penny's established as a military project; if the Laws don't apply to the AK-series, why to her? And, waggishly, I say: Asimov doesn't exist on Remnant.

And Samuel? Stop supporting a (fictional) terrorist organization. The road to hell... Terrorist activity does not win the hearts and minds of your oppressors. Nor does achieving military victory, and subjugating them. While yes, Asimov doesn't exist in this world, he put it best: "(The Laws are) obvious from the start, and everyone is aware of them subliminally.  The Laws just never happened to be put into brief sentences until I did the job.  The Laws apply, as a matter of course, to every tool human beings use."

That being said, the AK-series robots are tools meant for war, weapons, of course they can kill if told to. However I think it stands to reason that on Remnant robots are used for various purposes and therefore are given different variations of the Laws for whatever task they are given. (i.e. an android meant to guard Dust shipments will have a different set of Laws than an android made to clean buildings.)

While I realize Penny is a military android, she's a military android with emotions.  This means that she also has a psyche that can be damaged like anyone elses. They probably don't want her to kill anyone because it might make her unwilling to fight, or worse, she might start enjoying the act of murder. This would explain why her father won't let her out, because she "isn't ready" to kill someone else. But the fact that she has a soul to begin with also means that she can choose to disregard her father's concerns.