Immortal
Immortals are mini mechs used by the Partisans. The mech itself is a chassis into which a metabolic suspension capsule is inserted (the gray egg-shaped thing in the middle).
Suspension capsules, also called amnions, were originally developed by the Bright Way for use by interstellar missionaries. The second picture shows a missionary in suspension. Yinrih cannot lose consciousness without dying, so hypersleep isn't an option during STL missions. Suspension works by halting the body's metabolism while keeping the brain active through Science™️. In order to keep the suspended person from going insane due to lack of sensory input, a Matrix-like simulacrum is presented to their brain, and their time perception is altered to make the journey seem to pass more quickly.
But the simulacrum has its own dangers. there is a risk the suspended person will forget their life outside the sim and believe the sim to be reality. If this dissociation happens, the person is usually now neurologically dependent on the sim to survive and cannot be removed. The Bright Way rigorously screens candidates for interstellar missions, and missionaries must maintain a monastic regimen of prayer and meditation to keep their minds anchored in reality.
As I'm sure you can guess, the ability to present literally anything to a person's mind as though it were reality is subject to flagrant abuse, and so-called "gel-heads" pay to experience recreational suspension. But randos off the street aren't screened in advance and don't have the discipline to withstand the addictive side-effects of the sim, so repeated exposure over many short sessions (about 30 minutes per session, over the course of a few weeks or months) often leads to dissociation.
An amnion can present a sensor feed of the real world just as easily as a simulated one. This is how missionaries interact with their ship's systems. So the Partisans decided to put these gel-heads to use by plugging their amnion into these mechs and sending them off to war.
The appellation "immortal" comes from the fact that one does not age while in suspension and from the fact these mechs are legendarily hard to best in combat. An Immortal pilot's nervous system is directly integrated into the mech's control and sensory systems, making the mech an extension of their body rather than a mere vehicle. The pilot's time perception is sped up, making everything around them pass more slowly and giving them almost prescient reaction time.
Amnions are built to operate for millennia with no maintenance in the depths of space, making them well suited to combat. They can survive hard vacuum, impacts from space debris traveling at relativistic speeds, the crushing pressures of the ocean depths, etc.
Immortals are mini mechs used by the Partisans. The mech itself is a chassis into which a metabolic suspension capsule is inserted (the gray egg-shaped thing in the middle).
Suspension capsules, also called amnions, were originally developed by the Bright Way for use by interstellar missionaries. The second picture shows a missionary in suspension. Yinrih cannot lose consciousness without dying, so hypersleep isn't an option during STL missions. Suspension works by halting the body's metabolism while keeping the brain active through Science™️. In order to keep the suspended person from going insane due to lack of sensory input, a Matrix-like simulacrum is presented to their brain, and their time perception is altered to make the journey seem to pass more quickly.
But the simulacrum has its own dangers. there is a risk the suspended person will forget their life outside the sim and believe the sim to be reality. If this dissociation happens, the person is usually now neurologically dependent on the sim to survive and cannot be removed. The Bright Way rigorously screens candidates for interstellar missions, and missionaries must maintain a monastic regimen of prayer and meditation to keep their minds anchored in reality.
As I'm sure you can guess, the ability to present literally anything to a person's mind as though it were reality is subject to flagrant abuse, and so-called "gel-heads" pay to experience recreational suspension. But randos off the street aren't screened in advance and don't have the discipline to withstand the addictive side-effects of the sim, so repeated exposure over many short sessions (about 30 minutes per session, over the course of a few weeks or months) often leads to dissociation.
An amnion can present a sensor feed of the real world just as easily as a simulated one. This is how missionaries interact with their ship's systems. So the Partisans decided to put these gel-heads to use by plugging their amnion into these mechs and sending them off to war.
The appellation "immortal" comes from the fact that one does not age while in suspension and from the fact these mechs are legendarily hard to best in combat. An Immortal pilot's nervous system is directly integrated into the mech's control and sensory systems, making the mech an extension of their body rather than a mere vehicle. The pilot's time perception is sped up, making everything around them pass more slowly and giving them almost prescient reaction time.
Amnions are built to operate for millennia with no maintenance in the depths of space, making them well suited to combat. They can survive hard vacuum, impacts from space debris traveling at relativistic speeds, the crushing pressures of the ocean depths, etc.