#but anything outside of the firefighter realm we have seen so far would be so cool

[darkestwolfx]

Inferno - Re-Review #49

Is this it’s first TV appearance? Yes, it is. The episode that never aired (in the UK) - even in the Series 2 re-runs, due to the Grenfell Tower fire. Now, it is finally being given its long awaited slot- Oh, no, hold fire.

We still can’t (or it’s been decided not to) air ‘Inferno’ in the UK because of the case being in court, being held off by the current situation. I do completely understand that - I’m not unsympathetic in anyway, but - for us fans - this is a gem of an episode that is being swept under the carpet, which is why I’m reviewing it in this series anyway, because it really does deserve it’s place in the lineup in my opinion. (And I’m a little OCD and on’t want it out of order too much so I’m doing it now not later. If they air it after ‘The Long Reach’ I’ll be annoyed)!

Anyhow, this is the first of two reviews for today and we get to start with a lovely tall tower. Now, when has that ever been a good idea? This episode bears similarities to ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘City of Fire’ (TOS).

This is another one of our ‘Joker’s’ Club - Current members;

Light-fingered Fred

Ms Baker

Langstrom Fischler

Francois Lemaire

Mr Yost

Professor Harold

Feel free to suggest others and I will add them to the Hall of Shame. (Ned is saved because he’s actually nice and he has the best intentions, he just can’t achieve them. I like Ned okay? He doesn’t deserve to be in this club).

Today anyhow, this show of stupidity is all in the interest of breaking a record - because one man can’t handle the fact that someone built a building taller than his. That would be Mr Yost - I think his place in the above hall is aptly given.

“This is the Crystal Spire! The World’s first StarScraper. I designed it to be the world’s tallest structure, then they built a bigger one in Dubai. Tonight, ’m going to raise the  entire building by seven record shattering metres. Trust me, the lifting process is 100% safe.”

Do you know what else they said that about? Moving The Empire State Building in TOS’ ‘Terror In New York City’. We all know how that one ended.

It did look pretty for a moment there, before you know, all the fires burst out and everything.

“Your job is to make sure those electrojacks hold. If they fail, fire will be the lest of our problems.”

Yeah... we’d have another Empire State incident on our hands and no one wants that. Big Ben’s probably going to fall into the Thames one day as it already is, we don’t need the ‘grand’ Crystal Spire joining it.

“Please, please, save my building!”

Idiot.

“I think you mean save those people!”

I like her already. She can stay.

Cue acting faces;

Put on your best shocked and worried expressions!

I think this lot nailed it.

Bravely going where no firefighters have gone before! Putting out fires to save lives, and accidentally getting trapped beneath about eight tonnes of rubble. Not so hooray..

I wonder if Conrad’s brother is one of these firefighters? That would have been a nice touch. Slough isn’t London, but isn’t too far away. It’s not outside the realms of possibility.

“We can’t do this alone. International Rescue, come in. It’s McCready. That offer still good?”

“Absolutely Chief. We’re on our way.”

Oh the annoying title cards are back interrupting the flow. Someone obviously ‘forgot’ to do an extra bit of animating... again.

Nice little throwback to ‘Move and You’re Dead’ here. Not that Alan’s won anything at this point.

“Make me look cool.”

“We haven’t got all day.”

“Oh, and really heroic.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And make sure you show how totally good looking I am.”

I feel like this is what Virgil does when he starts painting - he just half listen and answers quickly and shortly.

Alan is such a poser. Has he ever played Musical Statues do you think? The point is staying still. So I think not. In fairness though, he probably never had a normal styled birthday party.

“Erherm... International Rescue, we have a situation. Virgil, Alan, we need you both in Thunderbird Two.”

“Alan, you can move now!”

John honestly looks very confused and amused.

Cue everyone gasping over the arrival of Thunderbird Two. It is a pretty cool sigyht.

“That is one tall tower.”

“Crystal Spire. One thousand,one hundred and twenty five metres, ground to tip.It’s supposed to be some sort of architectural masterpiece.”

“It probably looks a lot better when it’s not on fire. Chief McCready, this International Rescue.”

“Meet me up on the 47th floor and be prepare for some heavy lifting.”

“I was made for heavy lifting.”

Boasting. He does kind of have rights though. He was made for heavy lifting.

“No way in. But as dad always said. If you can’t find a door...”

“...Make one!”

Cue badass leap to the other side.

Cue near dangerous, deadly fall to the possible other side.

This episode has it all and we’re halfway there!

“How’s it looking?”

“Remember that time you supercharged the barbecue?”

“Yeessh..”

“Bad?”

“My eyebrows have only just grown back.”

I should have guessed Virgil would have music on board, but really that sounded like something Gordon and Alan would listen to and it definitely made me life.

“Ooops, sorry, wrong playlist!”

Cue secondary fire exploding through the building.

“Thunderbird Two, you okay up there?”

“Yeah. (Nothing a respray won’t fix).”

Goodness Alan, you are never going to be allowed to pilot Two again.

Speaking of pilots, are you okay there, Virgil, you know, just holding that lift above your head to stop it crushing you?

“I’m sure Brains won’t mind too much.”

I think that means Brains is going to go crazy. Wait until he sees Thunderbird Two. Actually correction, wait until Virgil sees Thunderbird Two!

And here we have another of the best ever entrances to a rescue;

“We’re here to rescue you!”

“Uh, that’s usually my line.”

“Sorry.”

Still doesn’t top Scott and Ned though - in my opinion.

“What’s the evacuation plan?”

“Good question. Thunderbird Two, what’s the evacuation plan?”

“Well Thunderbird Two can’t get close enough. And we can’t really risk breaking the glass with so many people inside. Suppose a really big trampoline’s out the question?”

Yes, Alan, it is! Seriously, have you seen how much the prices have risen since Lockdown? I’m not forking out for one. I mean, I don’t really need or want one, I was just saying.

Look at that face. This episode was literally just like Expressions of Virgil central.

“Everyone’s looking at me, Alan.”

“I don’t know, we could always... take off the top?”

“Take off the top of the building?!”

“Brilliant idea! Let’s do it.”

“Ok Alan, we’ll give it a try.”

“Ditch the fire fighting module and come back for us.”

And show the camera how badly you’ve scratched up Virgil’s Thunderbird. Yeah, he’s gonna’ go bonkers.

“How’s the view?”

“Breathtaking.”

Quite literally if you aren’t careful, Virgil.

We know logically they’ll catch each other, but these shots still get me. They’re pretty cool.

“Thanks Tracy.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re a team remember?”

Now Virgil’s doing a Gordon, and doing a George of the Jungle impression!

“Ah! What did you do? What did you do to my Crystal Spire!”

Don’t you mean ‘what did you do?’ After all, it was Mr Yost who moved it, and lit it up, and set it on fire...

“Second tallest..?”

That man is obsessed. Let’s move on. He annoys me (although not as much as Fischler, it must be said).

“If you ever feel like a break from flying, there’s always a spot for you on my team.”

“Well, I do have some vacation time coming- Alan! What did you do to my ship?”

“Uh, it’s not as bad as it looks! All it needs is a spot of paint.”

”Paint: that reminds me... Come on, Alan, we’ve gotta get back and finish your portrait.”

“Just promise you won’t make me look too short! Or hairy! Or give me goofy teeth!”

You’re giving him ideas, Alan.

“Virgil? Virge? Oh man!”

Yeah, already said way too much, and Virgil ignoring you is probably not boding well.

And there’s just about time for the finished painting (as the Grand MAX left it) to end this Review.

P.S. Virgil definitely has more artistic talent than MAX, sorry MAX! Although in fairness to him, I’m not quite sure that’s the result he was aiming for.

[tarithenurse]

The good Villain - 2

Pairing: Loki x Reader (eventually) Content: Darkness with sadness and some gory details sprinkled with old trauma.  A/N: I’m having a lot of fun with the details in this. Feel free to send an ASK for a tag :D Thanks to those of you who already have <3 and to you darlings that have reblogged! Oh! Please check if you are in fact taggable...

2

…   Reader   …

Infinity holds, as the description hints at, infinite options. Take planets. Somewhere, someone has started counting them all and they will never reach the end just like it is similarly impossible to number the types of biospheres, or dangers. Through the Academy, you’ve studied a number of hostile conditions and how to deal with them, ensuring that you can survive most environments, and all things considered: you have been lucky throughout your career.

Until now.

Consumed by the urge to fulfill your destiny, you have started paying less attention to the “where” of things. Now the bill has come due, meaning you’ve landed yourself in the middle of the worst climate.

“Stop! Fracking! Leaking!”

No amount of screaming at the sky will have an effect other than scare the local critters. Huddling near the half-rusted fuel drum, you wiggle each naked toe carefully, ensuring nothing’s gotten too cold or has melted from the wetness. Rain, you turn the foreign word in the mouth. Someone had shouted at you to watch where you’re going, to not mind this…rain. There’s no word for it in your native language, though plenty of options in Kyrrelian, Sakaarian, yes, even the now dead languages of Morag. Obviously Morag.

A drop from your pants, hanging above the barrel, falls into the makeshift fire and causes it to sputter and hiss. Nothing likes water. Huddled on the splintering pallet with a few rags of tarp, you try to keep yourself warm despite the ominous splatter of wetness from outside.

Focus on the mission. Today has brought two victories and a new target.

First, you had managed to isolate a strong Leech, making an end to its life and those it had already started draining.

Then, which was almost better, you had figured out how commerce works on Terra, using the paper flaps assigned some monetary value which in turn got you plenty of your pure, wonderful sustenance. Never in your life had you seen so much of the Life Crystals. Bag upon bag, all advertising openly what is hidden inside as though people would not plunder the little shop to obtain it…and actually, they didn’t. The Terrans  walked about, paying little attention to the valuable minerals.

Drops sizzle, steam rises from your trousers, reminding you of the discovery as you had to leave the shelter of the store. For a moment, you had thought the reasons for the small hairs rising on your body was that someone might be watching you…but as soon as your gaze swept around the surroundings, you found the real reason: vacant eyes and static movements as the little herd navigated the masses ahead of the Soul Leech they belong to. The Leech is old enough that no one will be concerned it is not handled by one of the adults, yet young enough that people would drop their defenses and get too close if it whimpers or calls out for help.

“Yo-ehmm…” a hoarse voice reaches out to you, “go’ room by ‘a’ drum, eh?”

The Terran at the edge of the light has seen better times. Worn and dirty clothes, holey shoes stuffed with newspapers. His hair is long and unkempt without the lustre of health, promising a set of teeth more lacking than anything else. Harmless. He is swaying, either from fatigue or a kind of stimulant.

“Sure.”

Keeping to the far side of the heat source, he shuffles a bit closer after finding a piece of wood to sit on, clearly relieved to find respite from the so-called rain.

Satisfied with the added security by numbers, you recoil to the safety of planning. Sometimes, you fingers stray to pick a few crystals from the pack, allowing them to roll over the tongue and dissolve. Already, you are feeling the boost it gives your physiology and it will not be long before the ridiculous cast around the arm can be removed. It has become quite practical, though.

As you pull out a colouring tube from your backpack, you set to work repairing the blemishes. Black, rather than the glaring white, it blends into the shadows when you stalk your target, and you have come to appreciate the softness of the wrapping which absorbs blows surprisingly comfortably despite the underlying damage.

“How’d ye ge’ one o’ those?” Although his eyes are not exactly on your cast, you know it is about that.

You wouldn’t believe me, Terran. “Crashed. Shit happened.”

“Hm.” While he ponders the answer, there is nothing but the crackle of the fire to be heard – the leak in the sky must be stopped. “So…” He picks at a nail, long since rusted into the wood he sits on. “The docs didn’ take ou’ last bit, eh? Left somethin’ behind in mah head too…say too dang’rous to remove.” A crooked finger taps at a spot at the back of the head, hidden behind the mass of wiry, greasy hair. “Way I see ’t…better if they tried anyways. Head ain’t been mine since come back from over there.”

You find it hard to make sense of most of the things Terrans say, but the look in the man’s face is universal. “You served your…country?”

“Wha’ they say, innit?” Yes, he means yes. “Now…I’m on my own.”

He knows you understand in that moment. None of you have to speak any longer, just sit there in the broken darkness haunted by the memories of the past – that is the real damage, a pain you thought you understood when you signed up as recruits. We didn’t. Even if healers could fix the damage to the Terran’s brain, nothing can be done about the wounds crisscrossing his soul, and for a glimmer of a second you wish he could find the kind of piece a Leech provides as it drains its prey. No. You have seen it happen, seen the desperation flare up every time a soul struggles to remain. They always realize too late.

 …   Loki   …

“That’s just nasty!” Stark voices an opinion shared by all.

Treading carefully through the suburban house, Loki can hear the voices of the firefighters discussing how it only is because of the rain that the fire had not spread. Mad luck, they say. Or smart planning. With the exception of a few of the Avengers none of the dimwitted mortals have realized that the charred remains of the family have been staged together with the destructive blaze to hide the real cause of death.

Bending closer while ignoring the red shock of hair nearby, the keen eyes of the Asgardian can see the cuts running deeper than the roasted flesh. “This one appears more brutally attacked,” he observes.

“Yeah,” Romanova nods, pointing to the wrist, “fracture here’s pre-mortem.”

It happens as Loki circumvents the corpse of the child to get a better look. With a sickening, slobbery sound, the skull begins to tilt backwards before letting go of the still tender muscles and falling to the ground with a thud.

“Look.” He ignores the sound of someone in the background throwing up. “That wound.”

Both the Black Widow and Barnes huddle close, inspecting the circular cavity left from a narrow weapon passing through what used to be a chin. Rounded like a rod…or tube. Carefully tipping the fallen piece of head with the tip of his toe, Loki bares the roof of the mouth through which the wound continues.

“Betcha’s the killing blow,” Barnes offer.

“We don’t bet at crime scenes,” the other veteran scolds, “no betting, joking, or giggling.”

…

Scrolling through the data, only one conclusion presents itself although the evidence is incomplete. Captain Danvers and the mercenaries calling themselves the “Guardians of the Galaxy” – a ridiculously pretentious name – have attempted to uncover more evidence from the past crimes scattered across multiple realms, and in the cases where it has been possible to learn anything at all there are signs of the same killing blow to one victim at each location. Always a child.

But why not just any children? As twisted as the mind of a madman must be, there is always a grain of logic to be found. Broken logic, sure, but a flicker of explanation to why a particular pattern has arisen.

“Intergalactic mass-murderer or not,” Loki interjects softly, pausing an argument between Strange and Stark, “if it was simply a matter of killing, then why travel such distances? You both know there must be more to it.”

“C’mon!” Now both men agree, directing their frustrations at Loki. “You can’t be serious? You think something about killing kids can make sense?!”

Killing or leaving to die, what is the difference? “I do not presume to agree or understand…yet we must operate from the assumption that it’s not random…if that had been the case, then all children on any planet would be left dead and burned.”

“The frost faery’s got a point.” On normal occasions, Romanova would have found herself the target of a knife after such a comment, but maybe she can get through to the squabbling men. “We’re missing the pattern. Why those children? Why’n that order?”

[doctorwhonews]

Torchwood: We Always Get Out Alive (Big Finish)

Latest Review: Writer: Guy Adams Director: Scott Handcock Featuring: Eve Myles, Kai Owen Big Finish Release (United Kingdom) Running Time: 1 hour Released by Big Finish Productions - May 2018 Order from Amazon UK “Not mentioning how raw your wife’s home-cooked lasagne is, I can do; apologizing to the Home Office because you’ve left a dead squid thing in the middle of St Mary’s –“ “You said you loved my lasagne!” In an ever-fluctuating world where political regimes collapse as fast as they emerge, where once-indestructible business behemoths perish like wanton flies and where the fate of any TV show hangs by a knife-edge daily, only one immutable truth is certain – nothing lasts forever. Just ask the original production team behind Torchwood’s TV run; the first proper Doctor Who spin-off show rapidly grew from strength to strength between 2006 and 2009, only for its divisive – to say the least – fourth season Miracle Day to abruptly bring about its on-screen demise. Big Finish’s intervention couldn’t have come soon enough, then, delivering fans with gripping new adventures that reveal both unexplored missions for Torchwood Three and never-before-seen facets of the wider secret agency. However, as with the show’s televised tenure, surely the studio’s luck will run out eventually? After several superb boxsets and almost 20 standalone instalments in the range, not least March’s riotously entertaining The Death of Captain Jack and April’s rib-tickling country getaway The Last Beacon, that question weighed heavily on this reviewer’s mind as he hit Play on the monthly range’s latest instalment, We Always Get Out Alive. It couldn’t have come to the fore at a more opportune time, however, since for all his experimentation with haunting horror-esque setpieces, Guy Adams’ focus lies squarely on the matter of mortality and for how long those bold – or reckless – enough to risk it as part of their profession can hope to outrun the tentacles of fate. Of course, many civil servants do beat the odds every day, returning home to their loved ones and living to fight the next battle, but those of us looking in from the outside can only imagine the intense emotional strain that such an unpredictable, risk-laden lifestyle would place on those relationships as time passes. Indeed, between facing down drug-addled aliens demanding 10% of Earth’s younglings as a gift, cannibalistic guests at their own wedding and at times the very worst of humanity, Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams have amassed their fair share of emotionally traumatic baggage over the years. While we’ve seen their inevitable resultant tension bubble to the surface in fleeting moments of the show to date, nowhere has the subject been explored in greater detail than with Alive’s psychodrama-driven narrative. Adams manipulates the pair’s growing anxieties with magnificent aplomb; as they deal with the fallout of a recent mission-gone-wrong, his script masterfully reveals how, through Rhys’ fears surrounding his wife’s nonchalant attitude to brushes with death, even arguments over the right turn to take on a near-deserted rural road could pose just as substantial a threat to their challenged marriage as the mysterious forces manifesting in their vicinity. It’s as cunning a metaphor as any for the ongoing struggle surely faced by soldiers, firefighters or the like in relationships, delicately deconstructing this fraught dynamic while seemingly revealing huge admiration on Adams’ part for those couples whose love and loyalty endures regardless. This mounting tension extends far beyond the couple itself, their obligatory alien pursuer sure to unsettle even the most steeled listener on their own travels. As with many of the great antagonists in fiction and especially within the horror genre, it’s to Adams’ credit that he wisely leaves much of the nameless foe’s facets up to our imagination, cunningly keeping it just outside of our heroes’ field of perception while having its influence gradually rise through lost memories, spontaneous outbursts of rage from Rhys and Gwen as well as fleeting thuds from the Cooper car’s boot. The latter element is also aided in no small part by Alive’s brilliantly subtle sound design, which keeps us completely on edge to the extent that moments of silence ratchet up the fear factor just as much as the distant howls, ominous rustling and increasingly audible footsteps somewhere nearby the vehicle. A word of warning: don’t listen in the dead of night unless you’re well-versed enough in the realms of horror to endure Alive’s eerie gothic atmosphere. Suffice to say that this reviewer scarcely regretted his decision to hit Play in the broad daylight of his train journey to London. But as much as it goes without saying at this late stage, beyond its chilling script and technical strengths, by far Alive’s finest assets are the two performers tasked with delivering each and every line on this occasion: Eve Myles and Kai Owen. Gwen and Rhys’ tempestuous yet heartfelt dynamic has long served as the franchise’s emotional core thanks to the pair’s grounded performances and nothing changes here in this respect; Owen recapturing Rhys’ risk-averse approach – from tackling missions to heeding the highway code – perfectly, while Eve’s portrayal recalls Clara Oswald’s arc in Doctor Who Season Nine, her relentless energy as this undaunted yet reckless heroine a simultaneously thrilling and worrying ‘sight’ to behold. Nor does it hurt that Alive offers both thespians the opportunity to display perhaps Torchwood Three’s sole surviving recruits – depending on whereabouts in the show’s timeline Alive is situated after Children of Earth – at their most personally vulnerable, albeit with plenty of well-timed jokes such as the lasagne gag above enabling vital catharsis for the players and audience alike. Usually, you’d expect us to highlight one or two shortcomings holding the latest Torchwood release back from the Hall of Fame around about now, right? Well, think again – such is the scale of Adams and company’s magnificent achievement that almost no noteworthy flaws sprang to mind as the credits rolled. Similar to how Cascade left the door open regarding the eventual fate of Toshiko Sato’s consciousness, so too does Alive refuse to fully acknowledge whether the faceless threats – both extraterrestrial and psychological – besieging our ever-wearying protagonists have truly subsided come the play’s conclusion, particularly given Adams’ insistence upon subverting our sense of reality throughout. That ambiguity only serves to strengthen the play’s societal subtext though, speaking to the ongoing struggles inherent in any marriage and indeed the joint trauma that couples tested to the limit must learn to live with somehow, rather than finding any idyllic quick-fix solution to such woes. In contrast, however, this reviewer can wholeheartedly lay any fears surrounding the longevity of Big Finish’s Torchwood range to rest. Between the outstanding opening half of this fourth monthly run of one-off outings, the long-awaited gratification of the original team's reunion in Believe as well as the exemplary note on which Aliens Among Us concluded in February, far from spreading itself too thinly across myriad strands, the show’s never been on better form than it is today. For those wondering where to start with exploring the franchise in audio form, Alive represents an ideal entry point, its captivating thrills making 45 minutes feel more akin to 15 and its standalone nature – no Committee mentions in sight here – preventing the need to pick up ten prior releases in order to stand any chance of understanding what’s occurring. As for the rest of us who’ve grown alongside Gwen and Rhys over the past 12 years, the harrowing setpieces, multi-layered performances, stunning sound design and stirring societal themes make We Always Get Out Alive nothing short of an essential purchase. Next Time on Torchwood – Let’s do the time warp again as ex-Torchwood agent Norton Folgate invites us – along with Sergeant Andy Davies, doubtless as hopelessly confounded as ever – to 1950s Soho, where raunchy encounters, gun-slinging gangsters and an all manner of seedy dealings apparently lie in wait. What could possibly go wrong, eh? The pair’s initial encounter in Ghost Mission didn’t quite hit the mark for this reviewer back in 2015, but considering how Andy’s subsequent clash with Owen Harper in Corpse Day resulted in one of the range’s strongest hours to date, anything could happen later this month… http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net/2018/06/torchwood_we_always_get_out_alive_big_finish.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[recentanimenews]

Can You Really Download Your Brain into a Mech?

The world of Rooster Teeth’s gen:LOCK is supposed to be our own, but about 50 years in the future. Everyone has contact lenses that can translate other languages in real time, full body holographic projections can exist just about anywhere, clouds of nanomachines are one of the most dangerous weapons on the battlefield, and that’s all before a four year time skip and the introduction of the eponymous gen:LOCK technology.

So with all of the recent advances in current technology, how realistic is everything shown in gen:LOCK? In the real world, technology is advancing at an amazing pace, but in another 50 years will we be able to sit in a pool of circuitry and upload our brains to a mech?

    One of the simplest places to start may be the contact lenses that everyone seems to be wearing at all times. In the show, in addition to the aforementioned translation ability, we see that the lenses can create virtual environments for the user and are able to connect to other people, likely via the Ether (essentially the gen:LOCK version of the internet). They may also be responsible for allowing the user to see other people’s holograms, but it's not made explicitly clear.

  This is the simplest place to start is because this exact technology is already being researched. As stated in the COMPUTERWORLD article linked above, former Google subsidiary Verily is working on a number of "smart lens" projects. The real world lenses are significantly simpler, still just getting a diode to work or measuring sugar levels via the user’s tears, but the company is also working on surgical eye implants that would house sensors, a radio, and other electronics. Outside of tech that directly interacts with you eye, virtual reality headsets already allow for audiences to attend concerts, both live and virtual, like what we see in the first episode of the show.

  With another 50 years of development, we may well be able to miniaturize the technology to display a fully virtual world enough to fit inside of a contact lens. Depending on how small, thin and flexible the lenses can get, more and more computing power becomes possible, and with more power comes more complex operations, opening up the possibility of basically everything the show depicts.

gen:LOCK’s nanotechnology may be the driving force behind this process. The Union (the malavolent, antagonistic invaders of the series) is the only entity shown actually using nanotechnology, but the Polity (Earth's international coalition formed to fight the Union) seemed to know about nanotech smoke during the attack on New York City, so it is reasonable to assume that they have seen it before and may well have some version of their own nanotech powering their lenses or mech armor printing machines.

  Again, this is technology that already exists in some form in the real world. We don’t have horrible death nanobot smoke, but news about advances in nanotech breaks every week. Some recent advances include better cancer treatment, being able to monitor firefighters with a sensor that doesn’t need to be charged, and outright breaking the second law of thermodynamics (keep in mind that these advances are part of a fairly new field of study and still subject to further peer review so may be proven incorrect in the future).

The biggest problem with gen:LOCK’s nanomachine cloud is controlling it.

  In short, a signal to keep the swarm away may be feasible, but nanomachines are just too small for complex instructions. Current nanotechnology is based on automatic processes in response to the surrounding environment–either a chemcial signal or a magnetic field. To get a nanomachine to respond to a user’s gestures or brain waves, each machine would need to have an antennae or other such receiver and a generator or energy supply to draw on to implement its instructions, both requiring more resources and mass. With each additional component, it becomes exponentially harder to keep the device on a nanoscopic scale.

So far, gen:LOCK’s technology has been mixed. The civilian technology seems at least possible, maybe even likely, but the guided nanotechnology is certainly a much harder sell. What about the actual gen:LOCK technology itself? When can we finally get in the robot?

  Well, the good news is that the mechs themselves are the easy part! If you absolutely need to pilot an armored mech now, you can go drive a tank around for a while. If you want something more humanoid, last year a Japanese man built a bipedal mech that he can climb into and use levers to control its arms and legs. It’s not as glamorous or awe-inspiring as gen:LOCK’s mechs, but, by 2068, it isn't too far fetched to imagine it as one of the first ancestors of a sleeker, more agile mech.

The problem with gen:LOCK technology is the concept of mind transference. Creating an electronic brain capable of storing a human mind isn't completely out of the realm of possibility (even if the download speed probably wouldn’t be the 30THz the in-series tech boasts–some of the fastest modern CPUs only run at 5GHz, less than one one-hunderdth of a percent of the aforementioned 30THz). Even at a slower speed, it's still feasible.

Instead, the biggest issue is with the transference medium. In order to transfer to a Holon (the show's term for mechs), the pilot must lay down in a pool of deforming, amost rubbery material that seems to contain the circuitry that transfers their consciousness.

  From what I researched, there is nothing even remotely close to this in modern technology. The fluid is able to deform like the pseudopods of an amoeba, and it seems to have circuitry for the download and upload processes, which means that it’s conductive but somehow doesn’t allow electricity to leak out to other circuits or the pilot.

Even if the fluid was explained away as just being a calming bath, mat of silicon, or pretty much any other material with waterproof electrodes hidden inside or something, that leaves the final issue: the upload.

    With current technology, downloading a human mind seems like something that could actually be possible relatively soon. Just study a person’s brain and how the synapses fire in response to set stimuli, then save the results to a giant memory stick.

Uploading the person back to their body is another matter, since it brings a litany of questions about how the process works, including but not limited to:

1. Whether the brain fully shuts down while the pilot is uploaded, and, if so, what happens to involuntary bodily processes like breathing.

2. What does it mean to re-upload the person’s brain back to their body, when all of the synapses are already in place, so nothing needs to change?

3. How is gen:LOCK different for the human body than sleep or a coma?

  Fortunately, this is one problem that might be easier to fix in the real world. Conceptually, when the brain is being copied during the download process, the original shouldn’t actually be losing anything. So once the mission is over, just wipe the brain in the Holon and wake the original back up. Depending on how the process works precisely, the original might even be awake to watch their copy fight, effectively resulting in a temporary copy of the pilot's mind in each piloting instance. No need to worry about upload time or protecting the electronic brain outside of trying to minimize resource cost.

  Essentially, the logistics of transferring a human brain is the only thing stopping us, and people are already working on how to digitize the human mind. If someone can figure out a way to map a person’s brain and put it in a computer as robotics continues advancing and giving us more sophistocated bipedal robots, then, in terms of technology, there is nothing standing between us and eventually piloting giant mechs.

Sure, we’ll have the ethical dilemmas of creating effective immortality, becoming capable of copying sentient beings at will, and the issues with deleting sentiant beings every time we want to take a walk in our mechs, but on the other hand: giant robots.

    gen:LOCK IS NOW AVAILABLE TO WATCH ON CRUNCHYROLL HERE!

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Did I miss any cutting edge science that makes gen:LOCK more possible? Are there any other technologies that you're excited to see come to life in the coming years? Let me know in the comments below!

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Kevin Matyi is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. He's been watching anime for as long as he can remember, and his favorite shows tend to be shonen and other action series.

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