by Xero010 » Thu Feb 02, 2017 12:34 am
AFO: Advanced Frame Overdrive
A large part of the Solar Union has long perceived the Ijad as threat to the integrity of the Sol system. The Hextech Corporation, a little known research and development enterprise, approached the Solar Union with the possibility of giving their army a technological edge in combat against the Ijad. Wishing to recreate the pair-bond that exists between Ijad and human pilots, HexTech began development of the Advanced Frame Overdrive, or AFO. The AFO was designed to overclock a pilots brain, increasing their reaction time and allowing them to process information much faster. The AFO consists of two parts: the inner hyper-flexible skeleton contained inside the frame and the AI counterpart carried by pilots who have had the AFO treatment. These two components act together to give the pilot full control of their frames movements, treating them as if they were their own bodies. As a result of this, the majority of the HexTech frames testing this system were bipedal in nature, with the exception of one, the whereabouts of which still remain unknown.
The first test subjects exhibited full or partial paralysis when disconnected from the system after extended use. Most of the initial test subjects often died from cardiac arrest when their minds could not handle the excess information given to them by the frame. It was after this that the AI were introduced to act as dampeners that could effectively manage how much strain was put on the pilots mind while also assisting in combat maneuvers. Six new subjects were selected for this program and testing began. It was quickly found out that the AI counterpart increased the combat efficiency of the pilot by 200%, but at a very high cost. The first test subjects AI went completely rampant, choosing to enforce its own protocol over the pilots mind, causing them to lash out violently. The initial test facility, PB-1, located on the remote planet Paragon, was decimated, and the rogue pilot disappeared into the jungle. HexTech, on its own initiative, implanted the remaining five pilots with AI, but these iterations were made significantly less independent. It was hoped that the AFO could still be of use without causing rampancy to occur. Before more testing could continue however, the Solar Union, happy to leave HexTech to its own devices until now, caught wind of the incident at PB-1 and the disappearance of the rogue pilot, and ordered the program to be terminated immediately. HexTech conceded, but was quick to have the remaining pilots implanted as sleepers, unbeknownst to their SU contacts. The five pilots were monitored over the span of a decade, their tests coming from their various demands in the SU military. HexTech had them hidden away should they become an effective form of leverage in the future.
More years passed. It was assumed that the AI in each of the five remaining pilots had eroded to complete ineffectiveness. As it turned out, the opposite was in fact, much more true.
Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today. - Mark Twain
Strike Fast. Strike Hard. Strike without Mercy.