Subject: To properly interface with the AI.
Author:
Posted on: 2013-08-07 17:02:00 UTC
And also because those robots are controlled by two pilots, not one, and they need a way to effectively coordinate their actions. The Drift enables them to become one mind, each pilot controlling half of the robot's mind.
And guess who just thought of the crazy PPC AU where the Agent pairs fight Sues in giant killer robots.
Now really, tell me: would your Agents be drift-compatible enough to pilot a Jaeger?
Agent!Sergio is off, as he simply has a lot of "baggage" he just doesn''t want to share. After Blank Sprite he might with Nikki or spoilercharacterherealert!, but the reasons are spoiler and so I'm not going to talk any further.
Nikki and Corolla might be capable of pulling it off right away, if the Jaeger accept nonhumans as drivers too. However, Corolla's mind and apparent biology as a Nanohaverse Unison Device should be close enough to do the trick.
The chances of it working are increased if Nikki has become a full Nanohaverse mage by the time she drifts, as the Unison mechanism from Nanoha has some parallelism to it and she is capable of Unisoning with Corolla with a good enough sinchronization level.
I dunno! Probably Ari and Fio would be, since they're Character Replacements of the same girl. Cepha and Amara could probably pull it off. I don't even know about Tera, Narav, or Riaa, since they're not human.
I don't think Pacific Rim suits as inspiration. It goes better with Neon Genesis Evangelion, only less angsty and the usual anmount of mindr***.
Of course, the backstory of the 'mechas' may not be acceptable by The Flowers.
Or at least, not right now. I think they're probably a little too argumentative/antagonistic (in a friendly sort of way) to each other to be able to sustain a drift. Once they've been together a bit longer they could probably manage a yin-yang style 'opposite but complementary' relationship that might make for them being suitable drift partners.
Skeet would certainly love the chance to pilot a Jaeger, although he would probably want to do it solo despite the risk.
And the Jaegers of the Plot Continuum (or whatever that AU would end up being called) is possibly the only one that could be cooler than the TCDA :)
"We've got another one!" Ranger Christianne Shieh shouted at her co-pilot Eledhwen Elerossiel as the alarm began to blare. "Category Four Kaisue in Lord of the Rings!"
"Category Four?!" demanded Eledhwen as she sat up on her bed and stared incredulously at her co-pilot. "We have never taken on a category four Kaisue."
"They're finally giving us the big fishies, Ellie, come on."
They -- the Sunflower Marshall, amidst others -- had seen odder pilot pairings in the Jaegers of the Plot Continuum; an elleth and a human was almost normal in comparison to others. However, Christianne had seen more than a reasonable amount of co-pilot deaths; she had survived the death of two previous co-pilots and forced to finish missions solo twice. Medical kept on insisting that she be barred from her Jaeger, the Plenary Fanatic, because surely the next mission would be her last.
Losing two people who had seen all of her and her baggage when they entered her mind had left mental scars. But Eledhwen seemed to have healed them well enough. As Christianne and Eledhwen geared up in the Drivesuit Room, as they initiated their neural handshake in their Conn-Pod, Christianne dove into the elleth's mind and felt the elleth do the same to her, and relished in the tranquillity of her co-pilot's headspace.
Together, they could take down any Kaisue in their way.
It's cool to see the level of trust your Agents - sorry, Rangers - have with each other, and the confidence that it gives them.
You also inspired me to write a piece. Sadly, my Rangers have compentence trust issues...
Jaegers of the Plot Continuum: The Dysfunctional Duo
“Beginning drift test 37.” There was a certain weariness to the voice from Mission Control that suggested it had already been a long day, with no end in sight.
Skeet looked across at Amy, both of them strapped in to their piloting harnesses. According to their initial aptitude tests, they were drift compatible – and they could easily initiate the drift, it was just maintaining that level of trust and depth of connection that was proving insurmountable.
“Let’s try not to screw up this time, shall we?”
Amy’s only response was to glare at him.
Yeah, this is gonna go sooooo well, thought Skeet.
“Initiating drift synch test in 3... 2... 1... drifting.”
The two experienced a weird sense of dislocation, almost like being in freefall, and then they were each stumbling around the slightly familiar landscape of their partners’ mind.
::Neural handshake established. Jaeger ready for combat.:: The voice of the support A.I., known as the Ghost in the Machine, echoed throughout the control centre and the Conn-Pod.
In Mission Control, the Marquis leaned forward, a slight adjustment of his petals giving the impression that he was scrutinising the readouts. Well, they’re holding it together. For now.
If the two of them could just make it through the tests successfully, then Logistics and Personnel would have another unit that could be assigned to active duty.
“Beginning movement test. Bring your unit forward slowly please, pilots.”
Skeet felt the neurons fire in Amy’s mind as she complied with the instruction, and he responded in kind.
Those in Mission Control watched as the Jaeger, named Pax Fictionala, began to move. Unfortunately it stumbled as it tried to step off with its left leg and right leg simultaneously.
Automatic restraints activated, preventing the Jaeger from falling, and returned it to the rest position. The drift bond dissolved.
“What the hell was that?” Amy asked, “The instructors said to lead with the left leg!”
“Well, I always lead with my right.”
The airlock to the Conn-Pod opened, and a group of DoSAT technicians filtered in, silently helping the prospective Rangers out of their harnesses while they continued to bicker. Hot on their heels was a swarm of cat-like creatures, who congregated around Amy while managing to remain just shy of tripping up any of the technicians.
“And what do the instructors know anyway?” Skeet continued, “They’re not Rangers. I bet they have the wrong sort of brain for piloting – that’s why they became instructors. I bet they’re all analytical and fluffy, over-thinky types. You need focus and determination to pilot a Jaeger.”
“Yeah, well, for reference: your brain? So not like that.”
“At least mine’s not all pink and fluffy!”
“Not fluffy? Have you seen how easily you get distracted?”
“It’s not my fault; mechs are awesome – the fact that I'm actually piloting one, it’s just makes me fanboy a little, that’s all. I can control it.” Skeet said, sounding defensive.
“Wait, so you’re saying that the fact that you’re piloting a Jaeger is a distraction from piloting the Jaeger. Do you even listen to yourself!?”
“Ummm... if I'm honest, not so much.”
Amy threw up her hands in exasperation and stalked off, her menagerie of minis picking up on her mood and thrashing their tails in agitation.
Something hit Skeet in his shin, and he looked down to see another mini-Mogget, this one with sleek black fur, headbutting him again in greeting.
“Hey Garth, how you doing?” Skeet crouched down and began fussing over the mini, first stroking the top of his head and chin, then playing a game with him. The mini rolled over onto his back, inviting Skeet to scratch his belly, but every time Skeet’s hand got too close, Garth nixes would swipe at it. Skeet could avoid the ‘attacks’ for the most part, and their movements settled into a comfortable rhythm. Whenever he was too slow, Garth would retract his claws before the contact.
“Huh, I’ve probably got a better synchronisation rate with you than I do with Amy...”
The human and the mini looked into each other’s eyes, then turned to look down the corridor where the Pax Fictionala waited, then back at each other.
“This is a spectacularly stupid idea, isn’t it?” said Skeet.
“Meow?”
Please, please somebody write a JoPC mission!
Elcalion, about to have a crazily-busy month and really doesn't need a plotbunny attack at this point.
Because I just wrote one...
Email's up above.
I mean, is it? At what point does the pilot actually need to connect his mind with the machine?
I think of controlling giant machines more like with the CGI suits, where the program (or in this case, monstrously large machine) mimics your movements. It just seems... safer in so many ways.
So please, why is drifting even needed?
And also because those robots are controlled by two pilots, not one, and they need a way to effectively coordinate their actions. The Drift enables them to become one mind, each pilot controlling half of the robot's mind.
As I said before, they could have effectively used *one* pilot, as they wouldn't necessarily need to have the pilot perform a Vulcan Mind Meld with the Jaeger.
Also, you'll note that by this point in time the pilot could have also directed the finer points of the machinery by voice command.
So... again, why is the Drift necessary?
It's not about giant robots and cool toys. It's about the humans that pilot them. The Drift is merely a new level of trust that allows the pilots of the Jaeger's to trust each other like no other. If you had just one guy piloting the thing, then there's no use for the emotional aspect of the film with all of that chemistry and friendship between Mako and Raleigh. There's no absolute pain and devastation at Raleigh's brother's death because he didn't share that mental bond with Raleigh.
So while the Drift might seem superfluous to you, I think it represents the heart of the film. The film's about trust and teamwork and takes it to a new level by adding that human element to what would normally seem to be a detached job, battling monsters with giant robots.
Also, it clearly stated in the opening that the neural load for one pilot was lethal and that they have lost Jaeger pilots trying to drive the thing alone. I believe they go into detail in the comics.
Sorry if that seems snippy; the Drift is my favourite part of the film, and without it I feel like a great deal of the rest of the story would not have been as good or as compelling. It would've just been another giant robot movie, and that's not exactly exciting.
A Jaeger is a two-seater Evangelion unit that is 100% machine rather than a biomech.
Cooooooooooooooool.
Self-propelled giant robots are much more fun than tethered ones.
it was only the Prototype/Test Eva Units, piloted by Shinji and the rest, that required the umbilical cable. The Production Units (I think they only show up in End of Evangelion don't seem to have any such limitation.
In fact, given what happened with those, there's a distinct possibility that the prototypes were deliberately engineered with that design flaw.
...having a timer on your power supply suddenly makes everything a million times more urgent. It's good for drama!
Furthermore, you can combine music, power timers, and a fight scene to make something pretty epic.
My two agents complement each other well, so I assume they might be able to drift together.
And make tons of references.
but yes, I believe they would be.
Mine totally would, once I actually get around to putting them into something.
Considering that in all but one of my potential agent-to-be sets, one member is part-machine or all machine, I'm not sure whether the Drift would even work.
Oh, another thing. When I was looking up what "drift-compatible" meant (I haven't seen the movie yet, even though I want to so much), I found a fanfic that might interest you. It's a short Pacific Rim AU piece starring the BBC Sherlock iterations of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Have fun.