Landmate
Landmates are mecha that feature in Appleseed.
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History
The Landmates
Whilst the industrial nation of Poseidon was credited with inventing them in the late 21st century, their extensive refinement and widespread public adoption is largely due to private-sector efforts in Olympus. Starting in 2124, first-generation hand-built models were produced by automotive specialists and marketed as high-end personal transport or niche market construction machinery, and often sold alongside motorbikes and luxury automobiles at independent dealerships. Akechi Motors remained one of the most famous early dealers and promoters of the powered armor suits, as it was here that some of the very first Landmates designed for squad-based law enforcement and counter terrorism were designed, the brainchild of talented mechanic and engineer Yoshitsune Miyamoto.
So popular was his armed Landmate variant, dubbed the Guges, that it quickly became adopted as a standard issue first-response and interceptor mecha for the Olympus S.W.A.T. and elite ES.W.A.T. paramilitary groups, and netted Akechi's first major fleet sale. By 2131, Miyamoto was inducted as a non commissioned officer of ES.W.A.T., and by then had diversified his skills with the addition of cybernetic engineering. Unsurprisingly, one of the first flight-capable Landmates, using Hermes/Damysos anti-gravity technology, was a late-model Guges, known as the D-Type.
Overview
In appearance, Landmates were large exo-suits that allow the wearer to control it from the inside, it allows increased maneuverability and firepower, and most ESWAT members are trained in the area of using the Landmates. Just like any other weapon, the Landmates came in many different varieties to try and accommodate the many different mission types.
Piloting a Landmate was said to be a unique experience as the craft behaved as an extension of the human body, one that just does everything its wearer is doing. There are seemingly no physical controls in the cockpit, rather control is accomplished through motion-capture technology via the pilot's Datasuit, an undergarment that records nerve and muscle impulses. The electrostatic information gathered by the suit is then wirelessly relayed to a central processing unit, that manipulates the various motors and joint servos in order to mimic the pilot's motions in a proportionate, but much bigger scale.
The piloting process of a Landmate introduces several dangers to its human pilot. Walking or running, the very first activity to master, involves the user adapting their leg movements to the scale of the twenty-foot tall machine, whose stride will traverse three to four times more ground than their own, and the risk of tripping over obstacles is something few professionals underestimate. Artificial balance equilibrium is also difficult to perfectly accomplish in a Landmate, especially since the center-of-gravity can vary from model to model, and is very much affected by the heft of the handheld weapon—typically the size of a small cannon—being carried in the robotic arms of the machine. Rash or sudden motions jeopardize the Landmate's stability and can threaten to easily topple it. In hostile scenarios, a small group of ordinary humans, if skilled, can roll-over an erect Landmate by precisely striking the ankles, as demonstrated by rioters in Appleseed Ex Machina.
To accommodate large cyborg operatives of ES.W.A.T., special Landmates have since been created, starting with one for use by Briareos Hecatonchires. These units differ by featuring a much larger body cavity, and typically allow the cyborg's head to protrude outside of the body armor panels, allowing them to employ their own cybernetic-vision capabilities. However, Briareos typically still sports a helmet to further fortify himself against headshots by large-caliber ordnance fired by hostiles.
Also, the hips of the machine can be easily dislocated, and untrained running is the primary cause of such accidents. As the user's legs pass through the Landmate's hips, a severe dislocation could easily break their bones or sever their legs entirely, so great care must be taken. In the years following the late 2120s, surface hovering, combined with jet-propulsion, has generally replaced running for high-speed transit as it is a lower risk practice.
Most Landmates appear to have an ejection system, which allows for the rapid escape of the pilot. When triggered, the Landmate's cockpit hatch blows off and over the left shoulder, while the rest of the body falls apart in segments, forcing the human inside forward while the extremities of the machine fall backwards and to the sides. Although it's practically useless while in flight (as the pilot doesn't wear a parachute) the ejection system is useful on the ground.
Civilian models, particularly those used in the construction industry, also feature a killswitch, located in various positions but most commonly between the "shoulder blades" on the back of the Landmate. When triggered, power to all the motors is cut, rapidly incapacitating the machine, should it be malfunctioning. Unusually, the killswitch can't be engaged remotely, which makes accessing it dangerous depending on the circumstances.
Pilots
- Briareos Hecatonchires :
- Deunan Knute :
Notes
- Landmates were created by Shirow Masamune where they featured in the setting of the Appleseed universe.
In other media
Television
- In Appleseed XIII, the Landmates appeared in the setting of the 2011 CGI anime series. The Stymphalean (Bronze) Bird came to be revealed that was an interstellar landmate.
Films
- In Appleseed, the Landmates appeared in the setting of the 1988 anime film.
- In Appleseed, the Landmates appeared in the setting of the 2004 anime film.
- In Appleseed Ex Machina, the Landmates appeared in the setting of the 2007 anime film sequel.
- In Appleseed Alpha, the Landmates appeared in the setting of the 2014 anime film.
Appearances
- Appleseed:
External Links
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