Control Systems
Gross maneuvering in armor-running, using weapons, lifting, throwing-is accomplished via normal movement. In these cases, the wearer moves body, arms, and legs normally, and the armor amplifies that movement, adding strength and speed as needed up to the limits of the armor's safe augmentation rating. A sophisticated neural link detects and implements the desired range of effect, in effect determining whether a warrior intends her grip to hold a teacup or crush steel and bone.

The neural-interface biofeedback system also regulates auxiliary armor functions such as the command circuit, optiks, and the armor jets. The interface uses a mix of direct neural impulse (DNI), pre-configured macromaneuvers ("macros"), and other biofeedback from the user. For safety reasons, most armor functions require a dual-phase trigger to access a function, such as (1) thumb-touching-index-finger in conjunction with (2) a squint. An analogy can be made to ancient computer commands featuring such quaint "keystrokes" as Control-Alt-Delete. A tribal is trained extensively until she can use all her armor's features reflexively, from the vision-enhancing optiks to the famous jets.

Upon donning armor, a brief period is required for the neural interface to establish itself. Warriors have described the sensation of neural synchronization as a prickling across the skin.

Table of Contents | Optiks