Metatron Ore

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Metatron is a fictional mineral substance in Konami's cult video game franchise Zone of the Enders and its animated spin-offs.

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[edit] Name

Metatron(Hebrew מטטרון or מיטטרון, alternate spellings Metraton and the Latin Metator) is an important figure in Western monotheistic mystic traditions, most often portrayed as an angel of the Seraphim choir, ranking only below God himself in power.

[edit] Summary

Discovered on Jupiter's moon Callisto in the early twenty-first century, metatron is an ore that was found to have unique space warping properties that could be exploited. Though metatron is not fully understood, it became the basis of many new technologies, including locomotion, power generation, extradimensional storage, weaponry, shielding, and artificial intelligence.

[edit] Space Compression

Metatron's most basic ability is creating compressed space. Nothing can penetrate a compressed space barrier because it can turn around anything that hits it due to the nature of the space compression. The only thing capable of breaking through a space compression field is a Vector Cannon, which is also based around the principle of space compression. The space compression generated by the Vector Cannon can cancel out the space compression created by a barrier, thus neutralizing it. Metatron is inevitably surrounded with a small, harmless, and almost insignifant space compression field even while dormant, making it easier to find if using special sensors. Even orbital frames are constantly surrounded by a relatively small field of space compression, especially while active. This field can even push against the Metatron's surroundings, causing orbital frames to hover in the air even when their boosters are in standby. A useful coincidence about this small field is that it cuts through the air, sending the particles around a circular field in front of the frame while it is moving at a high velocity, thus reducing air resistance. This can be useful if one is trying to achieve high air speeds in an orbital frame or other Metatron based vehicle. It has the added benefit of making atmospheric entry easy for orbital frames, as this effect greatly reduces friction and thus reduces the heat generation characteristic of dropping into an atmosphere, eliminating the need for bulky heat-shielding.

[edit] Locomotion

Metatron's ability to compress space allowed new forms of locomotion to be utilized. The most common use of metatron for locomotion is space travel using a device known as a Urenbeck Catapult. This device launches a belt of compressed space that an interplanetary ship rides in. Due to the space compression, the effective distance between the ship and its destination is reduced considerably from the reference frame of the ship. This reduces travel between planets in the solar system to the scale of a few weeks rather than many months that would be required to traverse astronomical distances using purely conventional space drives. Other metatron locomotion is smaller scale, compressing space in certain directions near a vehicle in order to move the vehicle without the need for a bulky propulsion system. One of metatron's most impressive qualities is to create a corridor of compressed space between a vehicle and a destination, reducing the distance between the two points to zero and thus making travel between them almost instant. This is known as a zero shift, but only very few metatron machines have been able to successfully use this feature, and even then it functions only on a relatively small distance and requires a clear line of sight between the origin and the destination.

[edit] Power Generation

Metatron is also used to build power generators that are immensely more effective than conventional means of power generation. A metatron power plant is known as an anti-photon reactor,[1] suggesting it uses a light and anti-light reaction to generate power. It is unclear if this power generation is an inherent quality of metatron, or if metatron's space compression allows conventional energy generation in unconventional ways. Regardless of the theory behind an anti-photon reactor, it is clear that such a device is relatively small and can generate power in excess of several nuclear reactors. Anti-photon reactors appear to require no external fuel and appear to generate no waste, drawing out only pure energy.

[edit] Storage

The space compression made possible by metatron can also be used to create an extradimensional "pocket" known as a vector trap. The vector trap compresses space and folds it back in on itself, creating an area of space that does not occupy any volume relative to the rest of the universe but does have an internal volume of its own. A seemingly limitless volume of objects can be stored in a vector trap, but mass is still a consideration and any object generating a vector trap must still make allowances for the mass of the objects inside the vector trap. [2]

[edit] Weaponry

Metatron's great power generation abilities allow the construction of effective energy-based weaponry, most of which would be impossible without metatron's space bending properties. Examples of these energy weapons include basic energy bolts that can be fired at targets, lasers that can be guided to targets by bending space, powerful beams with adjustable limited range and width, fields that can disable power-plants, and an energy bottle that can be launched at a target to devastating effect called a Burst shot. The most powerful of all metatron based weapons is known as a Vector Cannon. A Vector Cannon makes a linear compression of space in front of it, which can literally crush anything it touches into almost nothing.

[edit] Shielding

Metatron also has defensive uses. Metatron's space compression capabilities allow it to generate a wall of compressed space around the frame using a specialized vector trap usually located on the left arm or other various locations. This field, like all space compression fields, forces incoming projectiles around or away from it. Energy weapons will usually go around this field, while ballistic weaponry will usually be destroyed on impact. Such fields are effectively invulnerable to most weapons. However certain high-powered energy weapons can over come an energy shield's ability to deflect it. As well, strong kinetic impacts may not necessarily penetrate the shield, but they can knock back the object generating the shield, damaging it by causing it to collide with other solid objects. Metatron can also be used to create self-repairing machines. Something called a self-sustaining armor system, or SSA system, is capable of using metatron to seal any damage it sustains, even to the point of "regrowing" damaged segments. However, this consumes a great amount of metatron ore to operate and thus a self-repairing metatron-based machine must be given additional supplies of metatron ore to use this function. In place of consuming metatron ore a SSA system can also regenerate itself using electricity from an external source. However, doing so can cause a huge drain on an electric power grid, and a rapid repair job can cause large blackouts even for a power grid supported by several city-scale reactors.[3]

[edit] Computer Science

Another of metatron's most visible uses is computer science. The space compression of metatron allows computers to operate in many more dimensions of space than conventional computers can. This allows the creation of metatron-based quantum computers which can possess genuine artificial intelligence. A metatron A.I. can reason, think independently, and even feel emotions. The detached backup battle unit aboard Jehuty known as ADA is an example of a metatron based computer. It is commonly rational and logical, but it had also been shown to be capable of a degree of emotion.[4] The A.I. of Dolores is similar to that of a young girl, and has been demonstrated to be capable of very strong emotions and loyalty.[5]

[edit] Human Interface & Cybernetics

One of metatron's more outlandish yet stunning uses is when it is used to interface directly with human controllers. Many metatron vehicles are controlled by the will of the human piloting it. The exact method of how this is accomplished is unknown, as is why the process seems to require metatron. It is mentioned in the anime ZOE: 2167 IDOLO that metatron "bonds to our life-force" but only in the English voice-over and not in the Japanese original, so that is not necessarily canon. As a result of this, most metatron based control systems can be operated with little to no training. One of the interesting effects of a metatron interface is how glowing lines can appear on the pilot, similar to the glowing lines that appear on many metatron-based machines. This may indicate some kind of feedback to the pilot, probably indicating a high degree of synchronization between pilot and machine. These lines are only likely to appear when the pilot is undergoing a high degree of stress or effort, or when their will to control the machine is otherwise heightened. Metatron has also been used in prostesis as replacements for human components. For example, eyes and limbs can be replaced by metatron-based substitutes. The advantage of this over more conventional prostesis is probably due to the ease that the human will can control a metatron-interface, while conventional prostesis would have to use crude electronic wiring instead.[6] More drastically, metatron can be used as a means of direct life-support. When implanting certain devices and infusing human circulation with a metatron solution, a metatron machine can directly provide for a human body, using space compression to substitute for the movement of a heart and lungs. Given the nature of a metatron interface, this does not require a direct physical connection between the person being provided for and the machine doing the providing. However, if the person in care were to attempt to move out of range of the machine's ability to provide him or her with energy for the space-compression, the life-support systems would cease to function, and the person would die unless quickly returned to the machine.[7]

[edit] Orbital Frames

Main article: Orbital Frame

A combat vehicle that uses great amounts of metatron in its power-plant, armor, weaponry, drive systems, and pilot interface is known as an orbital frame. Orbital frames are controlled by reading and responding to the will of the pilot, and thus to accommodate human pilots they are conventionally humanoid shaped, but other forms of orbital frames do exist.

[edit] Sentience

Although many orbital frames are equipped with highly advanced computers, some even capable of emotion, it should also be noted that metatron ore itself has been suggested to posses sentience. Idolo, the first orbital frame ever built, had no artificially intelligent control computer installed, yet it modified its own energy release frequency to that of the alpha brainwave patterns of its test pilot, Radium Lavans. This gave the pilot and frame a sort of symbiotic relationship. This was described as being similar to "muscle memory" in animals. It has been speculated that the Idolo was controlling Radium's mind to carry out its own will, while in return Radium could manipulate the frame like a puppet while not even in the cockpit. On top of that, the Frame's controls would reject pilot input if anyone else but Radium attempted to pilot it. While under its control, he also showed signs of insanity, a very violent temper, sadism, and a loss of almost all rationality. Such signs include beating a man almost to the point of killing him out of spite and vengeance, a lust for death and destruction, and even hallucination.

A similar phenomena was demonstrated by BAHRAM Colonel Nohman while in possession of the Orbital Frame Anubis. Before coming into extended use of Anubis, Nohman, although cruel and cold-hearted, was a relatively sane, arrogant young man. However, After two years of piloting the frame, Nohman demonstrates similar actions to those of Radium Lavans. He often shows similar signs of insanity and irrationality, some including spontaneously shooting former comrad Dingo Egret in the chest roughly four or five times consecutively, cutting a man's hand off, and even a homosexual obsession with Dingo (in the Japanese version of the game). He even shows signs of cosmetic deterioration. He used to be a healthy looking young man with oddly colorful hair. But his hair have greyed and his skin has become deformed around the center of his face, and his eyes appear to be almost completely white, with pupils resembling that of a cat's eyes. He speaks of how Anubis and Auuman, a massive fortress that uses great amounts of Metatron, "chose him" and how the Metatron's "will" is to destroy everything. At one point in the game, he even directly states that he is "just a pawn; all is Metatron's will". If this is true, it also means that Metatron is capable of evil intent and free will.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars
  2. ^ Zone of the Enders: Delores, i (episode 14)
  3. ^ Zone of the Enders: Delores, i (episode 6)
  4. ^ Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
  5. ^ Zone of the Enders: Delores, i (entire series)
  6. ^ Zone of the Enders: Delores, i (episode 13)
  7. ^ Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
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