What is a Zoid? - Chaotic Age Zero

What is a Zoid?

Introduction: “Deep in the far reaches of the milky way, there exists a small blue planet called Zi. On this planet live a race of metallic lifeforms with superior fighting skills. These are the Zoids.”

That’s the extremely abbreviated answer. A slightly longer one is that Zoids are mechanical or metallic living creatures built and formed around a techno-organic core, called the Zoid Core. Though they can take on any number of physical forms, depending on what kind of body they’re built around, all Zoids share the one common attribute of a Zoid Core. Furthermore, all Zoids (with the sole exception of the Death Saurer) have a cockpit, and be controlled by a pilot from this location. Besides that, Zoids all seem to be built around some form of animal: over the years, engineers have experimented and found that this design is the most natural for a Zoid Core to adapt into.

Origins: Though the origins of Zoids are somewhat shrouded in mystery and are uncertain, it is known that the Zoids are not natural inhabitants of Planet Zi. The Ancient Zoidians, a mysterious and super-advanced ancient race, creating the first proto-Zoids for some unclear purpose. Many theorize that they were created by the race to aid in military struggles, as entertainment or for commercial uses, for pets, or even simply to prove that the Ancient Zoidians could achieve such an incredible feat. Unfortunately, the Ancient Zoidians themselves were few in number and were wiped out before human arrival on Zi by a meteor impact, much like Earth’s KT Impactor. However, all Zoids seem to share a common love of feral battles, be they simply sport or be they war.

Zoid Core: The Zoid Core itself is something of a black box inside the Zoid itself. Every other mechanic and piece of any Zoid is easy to explain or understand with relatively basic mechanical and physical principles. However, the Zoid Core itself, which separates a Zoid from a normal machine, is not well-understood. It gives the Zoid limited intelligence, usually somewhat on par with the animal it resembles but always far less than that of any human. In addition, the Zoid Core provides power to the entirety of the Zoid through unknown means. Scientists speculate that the Zoid Core may be nano-organic or use some other mysterious or not-yet discovered technology to function. In any event, it is known that Zoid Cores are the heart, brain, and lungs of the Zoid. Rip it out, and the Zoid will die, without pause or fail.

Zoids also have a curious property that definitively and firmly places them on the “living” side of the alive/dead spectrum. From time to time, Zoid Cores will divide and split into two pieces, a form of asexual reproduction. (Coincidentally, Zoids have no gender. People will occasionally assign a Zoid one based on personality or appearance, but there is no scientific metric for determining a Zoid’s gender.) It does this through some also-mysterious property, which is speculated to be a form of nanotechnology. The new Zoid Core then “diffuses” through the skin of the Zoid and ends up on the ground. Usually, this happens only in laboratory environments and the like, where the Zoid Core is located in a new mechanical body and allowed to become a new Zoid entirely. However, Zoids are also self-propagating outside of the factory.

In the wild, Zoids will occasionally do exactly the same thing: eject a new Zoid Core from its skin. However, out in the open, there are no people to build a new body for each new Core. This is the job of Organoids.

Organoids: Organoids have been a legend for an extremely long time, their myth confirmably dating back to the days of the Guylos Empire. Throughout recorded Zian history, there have been sightings of so-called “mini-Zoids” standing among packs of their larger brethren, or occasionally interacting with them in seeming fantastical or implausible ways. For more than a century, following the collapse of separate governments and the formation of the Zoid Battle Commission, Organoid sightings inexplicably waned. The ZBC hypothesized that the stories of Organoids were merely urban legends, and that in a more globalized and unified society, people found it harder to make up such stories. They discarded the stories and moved on with their other million-and-one duties as a government.

The resurgence of war, and the onset of what has been called the “Second Chaotic Century”, also saw the appearance of Organoids. Scientists and top researchers believe that they know why, having finally been able to confirm the existence of and observe these creatures. Organoids seem to themselves be non-self propagating (or, at least, no Organoid has ever been observed propagating) but otherwise sentient and living Zoid-like constructs with human-like intelligence (though they cannot speak, and are limited to grunts and the like). Organoids seem to be composed entirely of nanites, which allows the creature to entirely dissolve its physical form.

This ability serves a second purpose. Organoids seem to be tasked with keeping the Zoid population stable and healthy, which might well have been their designed purpose. These constructs possess Core Tracking sensors, which allow them to monitor the Zoid population from afar. When the population dips, as it does in wartime, the Organoids emerge, and begin to help the Zoids propagate and reproduce.

The nanite nature of the Organoid also allows to create a cocoon around newly spawned Zoid Core and construct it a new body (the same body as its “parent” Zoid), using nearby metal sources (ore, discards on the ground, ferric particles in the air, whatever the nanites can find). After several days, the cocoon breaks, the Organoid reforms, and the full Zoid emerges. This same ability seems to allow them to modify existing Zoid designs (a process called “evolution”) and to merge with a Zoid. Organoids also seem to occasionally develop relationships with certain Zoids and certain people, just as people do.

Organoid Systems: As mentioned before, Organoids are extremely intelligent, as much so as the average human (some say more). They also have the ability to dissolve their bodies into component nanites and merge with another Zoid, concentrating themselves in the Zoid Core but also distributing themselves throughout the entire body. On very rare occasions, an Organoid will permanently fuse with another Zoid as part of an evolution. The resulting Zoid/Organoid combination is called an “Organoid System”, a fusion of the two. It should be noted that any Organoid System -- a Zoid which an Organoid semi-sacrificed itself to form -- bears the exclusive title of “Ultimate X”.

The presence of an Organoid System seems to augment the intelligence of the Zoid, making it as or more intelligent than the Organoid that evolved and formed it. Organoid System-bearing Zoids are evolved forms of their base Zoids, and are therefore separate models and designs entirely. However, it has been noted that Organoid Systems to be significantly faster, higher performance, and stronger than their predecessors. However, what really sets the Organoid System apart is its ability to learn a develop. This makes a Zoid with an Organoid System stronger with every battle, meaning that Ultimate Xs should never be underestimated.

Interestingly, Organoid Systems, such as the Liger Zero and Berserk Führer, were discovered before Organoids. This is because the Zoid itself lacks the Organoid’s ability to disassociate into nanites and hide or hibernate. As a final note, Organoid Systems (for whatever reason) seem to be absolutely permanent bonds between the Organoid and the Zoid Core, and cannot be undone.

A few other Zoids are more intelligent than the norm. One example (or rather, three) would be the Three Legendary Tigers: the Whitz Tiger, the Brastle Tiger, and the Rayse Tiger. Each of the three Zoids is one-of-a-kind, and possesses a “Legendary Tiger Core”. No one has even the faintest idea how these work, but documentation of the Zoids in battle seems to indicate that they are extremely intelligent and capable of independent action. The intellectual debate over whether or not the Three Tigers should be classified as “Ultimate Xs” (or if they even gain experience) rages on. (Note that the Tiger Imitates possess Organoid Systems, and are therefore clear-cut Ultimate Xs.) The Geno Saurer is another example of above-average intelligence, possessing a mutated Zoid Core that marginally increases its own IQ, as well as performance and maneuverability. However, the Geno Saurer is no Ultimate X, and does not learn from previous battles.

Pilots and Wild Zoids: Ultimate Xs are the exception, the deviant from the norm. There are only a handful of Ultimate Xs on the face of Zi. All other Zoids (with the exception of berserk Zoids like the Seismosaurus and the Death Saurer) require pilots in order to act intelligently. As mentioned earlier, Zoids can always act independently, as they are both fully alive and independent organisms. Indeed, Zoids often express this individuality by roaring in triumph or grunting when in pain. Pilotless Zoids, often called “Wild Zoids” can be found in many locations are Zi, roaming and acting freely. They will also occasionally fight, but do so without tactics and with only sheer, feral logic. Still, Wild Zoids can be both dangerous and cunning opponents, making up for lack of head-smarts with instinctual guile.

While there are few “natural” Wild Zoids left, there are many such Zoids either escaped from militaries over the years or deployed as Sleepers and never collected. These will occasionally show themselves and attack passing people and Zoids, though usually not without reason or motive. (Sleeper Zoids, possessing a low-level AI pilot that still inhabits the cockpit, may be moved to attack anything in the area without rhyme or reason.)

However, the majority of Zoids today are “domesticated”, meaning that they have pilots. Pilots possess complete control over the Zoid (once again, with the exception of Death Saurers and similar) and use a set of controls and contacts in the cockpit to direct or command the Zoid. This overrides the Zoid’s baser instincts, though it still retains much of its individuality. In a battle where a Zoid has a pilot, the Zoid’s performance in the battle depends almost entirely on the person in the cockpit.

Outside of battle, some pilots have reported a kind of “bond” or “relationship” between themselves and their Zoids. Others have described being able to understand a Zoid, translating various signals into speech (or, as the baser communiqués a Zoid might make). While the descriptions and reports of these connections cannot be confirmed (for obvious reasons, neurotechnology isn’t that great) many pilots seem to think that this is the case.

Command System Freeze: Zoids, be they used in the entertaining sanctioned Zoid Battles or be they used in dangerous warfare, all have another attribute in common. When they’ve taken too much abuse or pain, Zoids throw the equivalent of a runtime exception, and enter a state called Command System Freeze. In this state, the Zoid ceases moving, firing weapons, and essentially shuts down all non-vital functions. Though a few things, like the radio, the AC, and the space heater may still remain active after Command System Freeze, nothing even remotely combat-related is available to the pilot. (The exception is the cockpit safety and eject mechanisms.) It’s theorized that Command System Freeze was originally installed into Zoids as a safety measure, forcing the Zoid to shut itself down when its life or the life of its pilot was in danger.

The Command System Freeze “exception” seems to be thrown directly by the Zoid Core, and therefore cannot be shutout or bypassed. Once CSFed (to use the phrase as a verb), a Zoid will not return to a functional state until it is repaired and its damage is treated. Because a Zoid always reaches Command System Freeze before it is destroyed or damaged beyond repair, CSF is considered a legal stopping point for a Zoid’s participation in a sanctioned Zoid Battle.

A Few More Things: Lastly, there are a few other miscellaneous notes about Zoids and the like that you probably ought to know.

Firstly, the large cluster of wires that runs from the cockpit to the Zoid Core and the rest of the body is called the “Zoid Control Conduit” or “ZCC”. Though the ZCC really only runs through the head and neck of the Zoid, like a spinal cord, severing it results in instant CSF of the effected Zoid, as the ZCC allows the cockpit to communicate with the remainder of the Zoid. However, on most Zoids, this neck or “spinal cord” region is more heavily armored than the rest of the Zoid, making it hard to get at or destroy.