Dee Klatt is the original character representative of the DECtalk within Chipspeech. Inspired by the DECtalk's ability to synthesize voices of different genders and ages ("from husky male baritones to high female divas"[1]), a notable achievement at its release, Dee is characterized by their ever-changing identity and their mastery in disguise. Dee Klatt's name references MIT researcher Dennis Klatt, who provided the majority of work that the DECtalk was based off of, and is the source of the DECtalk's alternative name, KlattTalk. The official character Twitter bio describes Dee as a traveler and lover of music and cats.
Website Description[]
Dee Klatt is a wise and mild mannered android. Long ago, they were unjustly accused and hunted across the galaxy, and became a master in disguise out of necessity, changing into a child, a woman, a young or an old man. Nobody now remembers their true form.[1]
Technical Information[]
| Vocal Information | |
|---|---|
| Description | |
| Based on the DECtalk device, Dee Klatt simulates a Formant device. Their voice is described as very versatile, stated on the Plogue website as being able to "morph all the way from husky male baritones up to high female divas." Dee's sounds are generated by ground-up synthesizer recreation; there are no recordings involved at all.
Dee Klatt's voice "is a custom mix"[2] as stated by the official Chipspeech twitter. It is not the exact same build as Hawking's DECtalk, but they're regarded to be in the same family. | |
| General notes: | |
| |
Design[]
Dee Klatt's appearance is continuously subject to change at their own will. The exact way this works is not detailed. Their identifying helmet is detachable, as it often acts a bed for Dee's cat. What the rest of Dee looks like exactly is unknown, as Dee has only been officially drawn as a head by Pixoshiru.
As a result of their constant appearance changes, Dee Klatt has memory loss and thus can no longer remember what they used to look like. Their true gender is also not known, though their appearance on Twitter will cause some characters to gender them accordingly. For example, when a female face was shown, Dandy 704 referred to Dee as female. However, this has largely shifted, and most characters now use they/them pronouns for Dee, in line with the pronouns stated in their Twitter bio[5] and the pronouns used to describe their character on the Plogue website[1].
Dee Klatt gets their energy from charging via a plug into a wall socket, much like a mobile phone.[6]
Personality[]
Due to their memory loss, Dee's true nature and original moral alignment has been lost to themselves over time, and it is unknown who they originally were in the past. On Twitter, they've spoken how they've come to terms with the idea they'll never remember who they were before they became "Dee Klatt", though they still sometimes feel sadness about it.[7] Many of their early 2016 tweets were about discovering methods of unlocking memories of who they once were.
As Dee has spent most of their life on the run, they remain perpetually worried as they are frightened by the idea of being trialed on so little evidence of their "crime". The thought of disguising themselves as other Chipspeech characters, or being mistaken for them under a similar disguise, is also a worrisome thought to them as some of their fellow robots have records of criminal activity themselves and a reputation for trouble, and so could expose them to the possibility of being arrested.[8] When discussing their ideal day, they mentioned the life they would like to lead if things were different, including settling down in a house of their own and not having to fear running away anymore. Their worry has lead to them displaying a nervous stutter through text through the use of hyphens and repetition.
Dee's Twitter account often has cat-related posts as well as jokes on puns about other characters and their names. Dee also likes robot movies, even having a "cool movies" list.[9] They stated that the 5 things they most commonly do were wandering around, hanging out in libraries and "places like this", waiting to charge, petting cats and talking to people on Twitter.[10]
Relationships[]
VOSIM[]
Dee generally tends to get along well with VOSIM. At one stage, they were in a relationship with VOSIM, though the pair split in August of 2015.[11] Despite the breakup, they seem to maintain a mutual respect for one another. Dee Klatt has been known to use VOSIM's house as a hangout, and is one of the chips that frequent his home, as they see VOSIM's house as a "safe" house to hide and charge in. During a period of time where they did not actively visit, Dee still hung around the proximity of VOSIM's home for this reason.
Dee and VOSIM share similar memory-loss related problems.
Dandy 704[]
According to VOSIM, Dee Klatt was one of the characters around at the time Dandy was involved with Daisy. Dee mentioned meeting Dandy by chance. Dee was in a strange town, where the pair met at a bus stop as Dee noticed Dandy because of how he was dressed. A conversation was initiated and Dandy told Dee stories of his adventures. Eventually, they began to talk to each other about themselves and became friends.[12]
Dee has since displayed care towards Dandy. When faced with the prospect of Dandy 704 going to jail, Dee offered to make him a disguise and to run away with him, citing "friend code" as their reason for offering help, following miscommunication that had them reinforce their status as friends. In the future, when Dandy and CiderTalk'84 got lost at ciTech labs, Dee panicked over Dandy's mortality and showed concern about his death.
Dee and Dandy also share memory-loss related problems.
Snowball[]
Dee has a pet cat called Snowball. Though Dee did not adopt her, she ended up staying with Dee[13] and has never left their side since. Snowball will often use Dee's helmet as a bed.
History[]
Dee has never had a home or a family, and has always been on the run.[14] The severity of their memory loss has resulted in the loss of most, if not all, of their formative memories in their early years. On Tumblr, they mentioned going to school, and although they could remember going to school at some stage, they could not remember what kind of school it was.[15]
Trivia[]
- Dee Klatt owning a cat is a reference to the image found on the DECtalk's Wikipedia page, featuring the DECtalk with a cat sitting on it as a reference for scale.[16]
- Dee believes March 5th is Snowball's birthday.[17]
- Spencer AL2's 2015 Christmas gift to Dee was a keyring of Snowball.[18]
- Dee has the ability to taste, despite not being able to eat.[19]
- In January 2020, they changed their profile picture (representing their disguise) to their masculine to their feminine design, hoping to change for the new year. [20]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.plogue.com/products/chipspeech.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/chipspeech/status/633734844925612032
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KlattDee
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DECtalk#/media/File:DECtalk_DCT01_and_Tink.jpg
- ↑ link
- ↑ link
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KlattDee/status/697250799127146496?s=20
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KlattDee/status/1214308838452580352?s=20
| Chipspeech Wikia Directory | |
|---|---|
| Original | Bert Gotrax ● Lady Parsec ● Otto Mozer ● Dandy 704 ● Dee Klatt ● Spencer AL2 ● Terminal 99 |
| Additional | VOSIM ● CiderTalk'84 ● Rotten.ST ● SAM ● Voder |
| Other | Pedro |
| Misc. | Plogue ● Pixoshiru |