So once upon a time, ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tenebris asked me to spec a Bleach sci-fi/space opera. I agonised over it quite a bit, because I wanted to do something that was a) not a rip-off of other stories such as the Matrix and b) not a rip-off of fic I'd read.
As a result... this madness came out. With a full blown backstory.
Storyline
Movie 1:
Ichigo is just a normal teenager. At least that's what he thinks until he finds a girl mysteriously collapsed outside of his house. But she's not human - she's an alien from Sou Sosaiti called Kuchiki Rukia. And she tells Ichigo Earth has been at the centre of a war between the planets of Sou Sosaiti and Hue Mundo.
It doesn't matter whether Ichigo believes her or not, because the next moment a Hue Mundo robot smashes through his father's clinic, looking for Rukia. She promptly summons her own robot out of nowhere, but she's injured... And Ichigo makes the stupidest decision of his life when he jumps into the controls of the robot. It should be impossible for a human to sync with Zan unit, but he does and takes out the Hue Mundo pilot - and Rukia's space drive.
Now Ichigo's stuck helping with Rukia's duties and repairs to Rukia's Zan unit/effing robot that can transform into a freaking ship so that she can go home. But it turns out that home is out to get her instead - for her crime of revealing the war to the humans.
Movie 2:
With no Zan unit and no idea where Sou Sosaiti is, Ichigo thinks he has no hope of saving Rukia. But the small band of Sou Sosaiti stationed on Earth claim different - they can provide Ichigo with the parts to make his own Zan unit, and they have a warp portal to Sou Sosaiti. Ichigo enlists the help of his friends in making the Zan unit, and they promptly demand to go along with him to Sou Sosaiti. But even with a Zan unit, slipping past the defence of a militarised planet won't be easy...
Movie 3:
Now that Rukia has been saved, it should be easy enough for Ichigo to take the Hue Mundo biotech out of his Zan unit - except that it's already meshed with him. And the AI of the Hue Mundo biotech is threatening to take over Ichigo's mind.
To make things worse - Earth is still not safe. The reason why Earth has been part of the war between Sou Sosaiti and Hue Mundo is because Earth is at the boundary of the warp deflection system of Sou Sosaiti, the controls of which are housed in Ichigo's very own hometown! Now that Hue Mundo knows how to destroy the King's Key, they're pouring all their resources into doing so - and Ichigo has to stop them.
The Technology
Zan Unit
A Zan unit is supposed to be this universe's parallel to a zanpakutou. It's more like a Macross in the sense that it can transform from robot/mecha mode to a plane. All Zan units have an AI - think Iron Man's Jarvis - that helps the pilot to control the Zan unit. Zan units are built from scratch by their owners, including the programming of the AI, which is why they are highly personalised, and it's considered a rite of passage for the people of Sou Sosaiti to assemble their own. So it's a mutual evolution: the personality of the pilot shapes the look and attack style of the Zan unit. And there's probably a bit of nano-tech involved too, given Zan units are constantly modded over their lifetime.
Which is why it's consider both shocking and gauche for Rukia to let Ichigo use her Zan unit - for one, the AI (Shirayuki) should have blocked him, though she's sort of out from the same attack that injured Rukia. For another, Ichigo's fighting style is totally NOT suited for Rukia's Zan unit Sode no Shirayuki, and rather than let him spoil the entire thing Rukia LET ICHIGO ADD HIS OWN MODS, which is another no-no. Zan units may only be used by others after their own pilots have died.
Zan units also are able to hide their weapondry in robot mode ("sealed"). Ichigo doesn't know how to keep Sode no Shirayuki's weapondry hidden, and later on doesn't configure his own Zan unit (Zangetsu, obviously XD) to hide its weapons.
Zan units are only considered to have achieved "bankai" when the AI has achieved enough of a personality to assist in the selection of mods or writing of code for the mods, or "materialisation". All other AIs are in "shikai".
Haro units
Haro units are the equivalent of Hollows and the fighting machines of Hue Mundo. What differentiates them from the Zan units is that:
a) They don't use AIs - the Haro unit syncs with the pilot directly
b) They use bio-technology to achieve this such that the machine literally becomes an extension of self - with a thought the unit moves with you
c) Their units come in robot mode only
Sou Sosaiti considers use of bio-tech in this manner a taboo - Zan units should be a tool, not an extra limb. Obviously Urahara screwed Ichigo over by mixing Haro unit parts together with Zan unit parts - poor kid doesn't know the difference.
Visoreds
Luckily, Ichigo's not the only one who was screwed over by Urahara! Seeing that Haro units had quicker response times given that the moves were programmed directly to the pilot rather than having to go through an AI, Urahara started looking into meshing Haro tech with Zan tech for simple actions, such as controlling the hands of a Zan unit for example. Unfortunately, because of the way that Zan units worked the Haro tech had a side-effect - it would start creating its own AI in addition to the Zan unit's existing AI, and eventually become dominant or overwrite the Zan unit's original AI. And because Haro units sync with the pilot directly, there's the distinct possibility that the Haro AI can overwrite the pilot's actual intelligence too.
Despite Urahara's protests, the Zan-Haro units were pushed for use by the Visoreds special forces before the experiment was completed. The Haro AIs acted up and Urahara was blamed and exiled. The Visoreds "disappeared" with their units before any action could be taken against them.
What that means for Ichigo
Zangetsu is then the perfect combo of Zan and Haro units. Rather than having a Zan unit and then installing Haro tech, or having a Haro unit and then installing Zan tech, Ichigo created Zangetsu from scratch with both components already meshed. Urahara had hoped that it would mean that Ichigo could avoid having the problem with Zan and Haro AIs, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
Arrancar
Arrancar are a lot simpler - Aizen merely gave Hue Mundo the technology that enables a Zan unit to transform from robot mode to plane mode. Haro units with Zan technology do not develop AIs.
Quincy
Once upon a time, Sou Sosaiti allowed humans to fight alongside them, and the human team was called Quincy. The Quincy did not use AIs or bio tech and instead relied on manual controls. However, as dissent grew over the use of Earth as a battlefield it became harder and harder for Sou Sosaiti to manage the Quincies. When they eventually declared that they would no longer take orders from Sou Sosaiti, they were slaughtered.
However, the Ishidas managed to survive and retain their Quincy units. Ishida Uryuu followed Sou Sosaiti traditions and made his own Quincy unit, but he was surprised to find that his own father, who declared that he did not want to fight Hue Mundo or Sou Sosaiti, inherited his grandfather's Quincy unit.
The Karakura nakama team
While they don't have their own Zan units (unable to sync) Orihime and Chad also made their own weapons from the remaining mods provided by Urahara that Ichigo didn't use. Unfortunately, that also mean that they used some Haro parts in their weapondry.
I don't know what exact weapons they use yet, but I know Orihime gets kidnapped because apparently her weapons were so innovative that supposedly Aizen wanted them. We'll see. Mari suggests that Orihime has a force field filled with nano tech that allows things to change at her whim. I like the idea of a mini warp field that changes the time around the object, not the object around time.
Warp Technology
While ships can and are used to fly, the majority of the time the people of Sou Sosaiti and Hue Mundo travel by warp. Luckily or unluckily, the warp technology of both places don't allow them to jump directly to the other planet. Unluckily, the farthest point from which Hue Mundo can warp to Sou Sosaiti includes Earth.
King's Key
Sou Sosaiti prevents warps from places beyond Earth with a warp shield controlled by an installation called the King's Key. Which happens to be in Karakura. Warps can still occur within the shield, and beyond it.
Because of the shield, Sou Sosaiti ships tend to warp to Earth, fly beyond the shield and then warp elsewhere (such as Hue Mundo). While Hue Mundo ships do the opposite - warp just beyond Earth, fly into the shield and then try to warp from Earth to Sou Sosaiti. But Sou Sosaiti ships are always on the watch to prevent that.
I am possibly mad. *kathunks* SOMEONE ELSE WRITE THIS.
tenebris asked me to spec a Bleach sci-fi/space opera. I agonised over it quite a bit, because I wanted to do something that was a) not a rip-off of other stories such as the Matrix and b) not a rip-off of fic I'd read.As a result... this madness came out. With a full blown backstory.
Storyline
Movie 1:
Ichigo is just a normal teenager. At least that's what he thinks until he finds a girl mysteriously collapsed outside of his house. But she's not human - she's an alien from Sou Sosaiti called Kuchiki Rukia. And she tells Ichigo Earth has been at the centre of a war between the planets of Sou Sosaiti and Hue Mundo.
It doesn't matter whether Ichigo believes her or not, because the next moment a Hue Mundo robot smashes through his father's clinic, looking for Rukia. She promptly summons her own robot out of nowhere, but she's injured... And Ichigo makes the stupidest decision of his life when he jumps into the controls of the robot. It should be impossible for a human to sync with Zan unit, but he does and takes out the Hue Mundo pilot - and Rukia's space drive.
Now Ichigo's stuck helping with Rukia's duties and repairs to Rukia's Zan unit/effing robot that can transform into a freaking ship so that she can go home. But it turns out that home is out to get her instead - for her crime of revealing the war to the humans.
Movie 2:
With no Zan unit and no idea where Sou Sosaiti is, Ichigo thinks he has no hope of saving Rukia. But the small band of Sou Sosaiti stationed on Earth claim different - they can provide Ichigo with the parts to make his own Zan unit, and they have a warp portal to Sou Sosaiti. Ichigo enlists the help of his friends in making the Zan unit, and they promptly demand to go along with him to Sou Sosaiti. But even with a Zan unit, slipping past the defence of a militarised planet won't be easy...
Movie 3:
Now that Rukia has been saved, it should be easy enough for Ichigo to take the Hue Mundo biotech out of his Zan unit - except that it's already meshed with him. And the AI of the Hue Mundo biotech is threatening to take over Ichigo's mind.
To make things worse - Earth is still not safe. The reason why Earth has been part of the war between Sou Sosaiti and Hue Mundo is because Earth is at the boundary of the warp deflection system of Sou Sosaiti, the controls of which are housed in Ichigo's very own hometown! Now that Hue Mundo knows how to destroy the King's Key, they're pouring all their resources into doing so - and Ichigo has to stop them.
The Technology
Zan Unit
A Zan unit is supposed to be this universe's parallel to a zanpakutou. It's more like a Macross in the sense that it can transform from robot/mecha mode to a plane. All Zan units have an AI - think Iron Man's Jarvis - that helps the pilot to control the Zan unit. Zan units are built from scratch by their owners, including the programming of the AI, which is why they are highly personalised, and it's considered a rite of passage for the people of Sou Sosaiti to assemble their own. So it's a mutual evolution: the personality of the pilot shapes the look and attack style of the Zan unit. And there's probably a bit of nano-tech involved too, given Zan units are constantly modded over their lifetime.
Which is why it's consider both shocking and gauche for Rukia to let Ichigo use her Zan unit - for one, the AI (Shirayuki) should have blocked him, though she's sort of out from the same attack that injured Rukia. For another, Ichigo's fighting style is totally NOT suited for Rukia's Zan unit Sode no Shirayuki, and rather than let him spoil the entire thing Rukia LET ICHIGO ADD HIS OWN MODS, which is another no-no. Zan units may only be used by others after their own pilots have died.
Zan units also are able to hide their weapondry in robot mode ("sealed"). Ichigo doesn't know how to keep Sode no Shirayuki's weapondry hidden, and later on doesn't configure his own Zan unit (Zangetsu, obviously XD) to hide its weapons.
Zan units are only considered to have achieved "bankai" when the AI has achieved enough of a personality to assist in the selection of mods or writing of code for the mods, or "materialisation". All other AIs are in "shikai".
Haro units
Haro units are the equivalent of Hollows and the fighting machines of Hue Mundo. What differentiates them from the Zan units is that:
a) They don't use AIs - the Haro unit syncs with the pilot directly
b) They use bio-technology to achieve this such that the machine literally becomes an extension of self - with a thought the unit moves with you
c) Their units come in robot mode only
Sou Sosaiti considers use of bio-tech in this manner a taboo - Zan units should be a tool, not an extra limb. Obviously Urahara screwed Ichigo over by mixing Haro unit parts together with Zan unit parts - poor kid doesn't know the difference.
Visoreds
Luckily, Ichigo's not the only one who was screwed over by Urahara! Seeing that Haro units had quicker response times given that the moves were programmed directly to the pilot rather than having to go through an AI, Urahara started looking into meshing Haro tech with Zan tech for simple actions, such as controlling the hands of a Zan unit for example. Unfortunately, because of the way that Zan units worked the Haro tech had a side-effect - it would start creating its own AI in addition to the Zan unit's existing AI, and eventually become dominant or overwrite the Zan unit's original AI. And because Haro units sync with the pilot directly, there's the distinct possibility that the Haro AI can overwrite the pilot's actual intelligence too.
Despite Urahara's protests, the Zan-Haro units were pushed for use by the Visoreds special forces before the experiment was completed. The Haro AIs acted up and Urahara was blamed and exiled. The Visoreds "disappeared" with their units before any action could be taken against them.
What that means for Ichigo
Zangetsu is then the perfect combo of Zan and Haro units. Rather than having a Zan unit and then installing Haro tech, or having a Haro unit and then installing Zan tech, Ichigo created Zangetsu from scratch with both components already meshed. Urahara had hoped that it would mean that Ichigo could avoid having the problem with Zan and Haro AIs, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
Arrancar
Arrancar are a lot simpler - Aizen merely gave Hue Mundo the technology that enables a Zan unit to transform from robot mode to plane mode. Haro units with Zan technology do not develop AIs.
Quincy
Once upon a time, Sou Sosaiti allowed humans to fight alongside them, and the human team was called Quincy. The Quincy did not use AIs or bio tech and instead relied on manual controls. However, as dissent grew over the use of Earth as a battlefield it became harder and harder for Sou Sosaiti to manage the Quincies. When they eventually declared that they would no longer take orders from Sou Sosaiti, they were slaughtered.
However, the Ishidas managed to survive and retain their Quincy units. Ishida Uryuu followed Sou Sosaiti traditions and made his own Quincy unit, but he was surprised to find that his own father, who declared that he did not want to fight Hue Mundo or Sou Sosaiti, inherited his grandfather's Quincy unit.
The Karakura nakama team
While they don't have their own Zan units (unable to sync) Orihime and Chad also made their own weapons from the remaining mods provided by Urahara that Ichigo didn't use. Unfortunately, that also mean that they used some Haro parts in their weapondry.
I don't know what exact weapons they use yet, but I know Orihime gets kidnapped because apparently her weapons were so innovative that supposedly Aizen wanted them. We'll see. Mari suggests that Orihime has a force field filled with nano tech that allows things to change at her whim. I like the idea of a mini warp field that changes the time around the object, not the object around time.
Warp Technology
While ships can and are used to fly, the majority of the time the people of Sou Sosaiti and Hue Mundo travel by warp. Luckily or unluckily, the warp technology of both places don't allow them to jump directly to the other planet. Unluckily, the farthest point from which Hue Mundo can warp to Sou Sosaiti includes Earth.
King's Key
Sou Sosaiti prevents warps from places beyond Earth with a warp shield controlled by an installation called the King's Key. Which happens to be in Karakura. Warps can still occur within the shield, and beyond it.
Because of the shield, Sou Sosaiti ships tend to warp to Earth, fly beyond the shield and then warp elsewhere (such as Hue Mundo). While Hue Mundo ships do the opposite - warp just beyond Earth, fly into the shield and then try to warp from Earth to Sou Sosaiti. But Sou Sosaiti ships are always on the watch to prevent that.
I am possibly mad. *kathunks* SOMEONE ELSE WRITE THIS.
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