Whirlwind
| Whirlwind | |
| |
| Character Information | |
|---|---|
| Common Names | Whirlwind |
| Other Names | Whirlwind I |
| Human Name(s) | Wendy[1], Winifred Forrester (AU)[2] |
| Faction | Deceased OS-tans, formerly MIT |
| Lineage | MIT |
| Rival(s) | N/A |
| Appearance | |
| Height | 5'7" |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Weapon(s) | N/A |
| Design | |
| First Appearance | Late 2009 |
| Technical Information | |
| System Personified | Whirlwind |
| Developer(s) | MIT, Lincoln Labs |
| Debut | 20 Apr 1951 |
| Latest release | Circa 1959 |
Technical Details
Envisioned in the 1940s as an electro-mechanical aircraft simulator, Whirlwind debuted in 1951 as general purpose electronic computer. The first user of magnetic core memory, Whirlwind was the fastest computer of its time and pioneered interactive computing. It served as the prototype for the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment and influenced the creation of the TX-0, PDP-1 and minicomputers as a concept.
Character Details
Physical
Whirlwind-tan is depicted as a wiry woman in her mid 30s, above average height, with pale skin, long black hair, and blue eyes. She wears rectangular glasses, decorates her hair with ribbons, and wears colorful dresses and lab coats.[3] Black and white checkerboard prints are a recurrent pattern in her attire, as are vacuum tube based jewelry.
She was born with a faulty heart which was later replaced, [4] and wears leg braces, though they don't slow her down.[5]
She speaks with a heavy Boston accent.
Later in life, worsening health and experimental surgeries caused her physical condition to deteriorate. She lost an eye and spent much of her time heavily bandaged.[6]
Personality
Whirlwind-tan is intelligent, amicable, and likes to keep herself busy. Despite numerous setbacks, and being in pain for much of her early life,[7] she has a relentlessly optimistic personality, and conducts herself with a degree of propriety that comes off as a bit old-fashioned. Despite everything she's done, she doesn't feel especially accomplished.[8]
She has a natural talent for art. [9]
Powers
Like SAGE-tan, Whirlwind-tan can sense non-visual spectrum electromagnetic waves.[10] This manifests as more of a "spidey sense" compared to SAGE's radio frequency vision. Humans feel tingly or static-like to her, while computers feel more distinct.[11]
Family and relationships
Whirlwind-tan has a modified clone, Memory Test Computer-tan, who acted as her personal companion and support.
Whirlwind-tan has three children. Eldest daughter SAGE-tan and middle child PDP-1-tan were made using materials from both her and MTC-tan. While CTSS-tan was not made from Whirlwind-tan in the same fashion, she was raised by her.
Through the various derivatives of PDP-1-tan, Whirlwind is regarded as the matriarch of the DEC faction.
She befriended a wide range of computers both at her institution and elsewhere, including Harvard Mark I-tan[12], Harvard Mark IV-tan,[13], GENIAC-chan[14] and DTSS-tan.[15]
She holds a grudge against the U.S. Navy for abandoning her, and the U.S. Air Force for taking SAGE away, [16] but holds little enmity otherwise. She considers EDVAC-tan something of a brat.
History and Background
 | This article is a work in progress. …well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editors’ notes. |
Whirlwind-tan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1940s. She was conceived of as an automaton but became embodied as a living girl. Her creator and human "family" were particularly caring and involved in her upbringing. She worked for the U.S. Navy but was eventually abandoned[17], causing her to avoid anything relating to the organization.[18]
Notes
Whirlwind-tan was originally described as a U.S. Navy WAVES ensign but this seems to have been dropped from her characterization.[19]
While she shares a physical resemblance to SAGE-tan, her personality and communication style is opposite her daughter's.[20]
She cannot drive, [21] but enjoys taking the MTA (MBTA).[22]
Because of her origins, she's distantly "related" to various mechanical computers.[23]
Fanworks
Writings
"Picnic" (The first canon appearance of Whirlwind-tan in a story)
"Dirty Water" (An account of Whirlwind-tan's death as told by SAGE-tan)
"A Journey of One Mile" (A story recounting Harvard Mark I-tan's first meeting with Whirlwind-tan)
Artwork
- First concept drawing of Whirlwind-tan
- SAGE at Whirlwind's Deathbed
- Whirlwind and SAGE Portrait
- Whirlwind Pinup
- Whirlwind and BUIC-tan Pinups
References
- ↑ Picnic, Pt. 1
- ↑ Journal entry discussing high school AU
- ↑ Picnic Pt. 3
- ↑ Referencing Whirlwind's early, failing CRT-based memory system, later replaced with magnetic core memory.
- ↑ Picnic Pt. 3
- ↑ Dirty Water Pt. 3
- ↑ Referencing issues with Whirlwind prior to its core memory conversion. StewartSage, personal communication
- ↑ StewartSage, personal communication, April 2026
- ↑ Referencing Whirlwind having the first computer graphics. StewartSage, personal communication, 2026
- ↑ Referencing Whirlwind's use as a prototype radar defense system.
- ↑ StewartSage, personal communication, May 2026
- ↑ Harvard Mk. I debut More IBM-tans III: The One With Actually More IBM-tans
- ↑ Harvard Mk. IV debut More IBM-tans III: The One With Actually More IBM-tans
- ↑ What's for Dinner, Pt. 2 "Q: So she [GENIAC] saw Whirlwind after SAGE left? A: Yes; she's immensely more understanding then her daughter remember? Even if she didn't really succeed... Q: Wait, why didn't Whirlwind take GENIAC with her? A: Writer's guess? She didn't have a choice.
- ↑ Reunion, Pt. 3
- ↑ OS-tan interviews, part 1
- ↑ OS-tan interviews, part 1
- ↑ Picnic, Pt. 1
- ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/cptlfrghtr/art/Partial-List-of-Military-tans-145259291 Partial List of Military -tans
- ↑ OS-tan interviews, part 1 "Note Whirlwind-hime's style, sort of a reverse of SAGE's writing style/personality disparity"
- ↑ "I don't think Whirlwind drives at all..." StewartSage, October 2025.
- ↑ OS-tan interviews, part 1
- ↑ "We won't get into how she's also the half-sibling of Missile Master, which is also descended from the original mechanical computer/algorithim used for NIKE missile target assignment." StewartSage, June 2025.