Lambda Driver
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The Lambda Driver is a fictional device in the light novel, manga and anime series Full Metal Panic!.
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[edit] Overview
Officially called the "false axis repulsive field generator system", the lambda driver is a Black Technology device capable of exerting mechanical force against space with no observable physical interaction. False axis refers to the lack of physical interaction, or lack of leverage in the application of force. This is in direct violation of Newtonian physics, particularly Newton's Third Law.
This device is treated as an object of science fiction, even in the world of Full Metal Panic. Most characters are incredulous of its capabilities. Its powers are far beyond that of any existing technology in the fictional universe. Within the fictional universe, the Lambda Driver is the most obvious example of Black Technology. The powers of the device is so extreme that several characters feel its existence an anomaly and unnatural.
In addition to the manifestation of force fields, it is later revealed in the series that the device can also alter the observed inertial mass of objects. The Lambda Driver under operation emits a characteristic glow accompanying its force fields. Later, a device nicknamed the 'fairy eye' is developed to detect active Lambda Drivers and its output.
This device is seen equipped on Arm Slaves, as both a defensive measure and offensive weapon. An active lambda driver allows the pilot of such a craft to create force fields impervious to all known forms of conventional attack. It is unknown what upper limit to the amount of kinetic energy the lambda driver is capable of deflecting or stopping. At present, there is no known instance of a lambda driver field being penetrated, with the exception of an opposing lambda driver induced field. In the offensive form, the lambda driver force fields have been observed to exhibit immense kinetic force against a target, recreating the damage of shaped explosive or a directed shockwave similar in magnitude to that of a nuclear detonation. The manifestation of the lambda driver's force field is quite varied, as a skilled user has been observed using it to shear an Arm Slave in half, or focusing it to selectively damage a pilot inside an Arm Slave.
Even in operation, a Lamba Driver is not be completely impenetrable, as the Arm Slave(s) within can still be seen even when the field hits an object, or another Lambda field. This proves that visible light penetrates the shield, and if the field was truly continuous then debris would be released even when the Arm Slave would be standing. In another example, one Codarl Arm Slave equipped with the Lamba Driver deflected incoming bullets one by one, but only the point of impact was shown as a visible distortion. It is therefore possible that the force field only deflects objects or particles above a certain momentum, likely those that would cause damage (or perhaps those the pilot knows are dangerous to survival). Therefore objects with high velocity but low mass (air/gas molecules, visible light) or those with a high mass but low velocity (stones or debris on the terrain, the ground) are unaffected. If this is true then in theory one could penetrate the field by leaving a mine or other motionless weapon that would explode to attach itself to the Arm Slave when it came within its field boundary. But due to the range and sensitivity of the sensory systems on most Arm Slave units, this would prove difficult to create and implement.
Applied uses of the Lambda Driver have been observed later in the series. Plan 1051, the Behemoth required a Lambda Driver as part of its operation. The Lambda Driver lowered the observable mass of the unit, reducing internal structural load. Without the Lambda Driver active, the massive Arm Slave will suffer structural integrity failure, as its internal structure collapses under its own weight. The ARX-7 Arbalest is observed modifying its inertial mass, allowing it to use otherwise impossibly weak structures as footing. The Arbalest has also used the Lambda Driver to encase its projectile attacks from its 57mm shot cannon in order to penetrate the defensive fields of its opponents.
The Lambda Driver requires massive electrical power, as well as a human operator . The human operator must be emitting brain waves in the 30 - 40 Hz range, known as Gamma Waves. These waves are emitted under intense concentration, or by the use of certain psychoactive drugs of extremely specialised manufacture. The system also produces a tremendous amount of waste heat as it experiences load. Observed failures of the lambda driver have been heat overloads caused by damage to the cooling system, or overloading the output of the system. Both the massive electrical load and heat output preclude the Lambda Driver's use in conjunction with the ECS.
For reasons unknown, the operator's mental conditions act as a key to initializing the lambda driver. The system is then operated directly by the operator's mental imaging, its powers manifesting directly in accordance with what is envisioned. A very strong mental image is required, and as a result the most commonly observed and basic manifestation of the field is an instinctive defense field. The magnitude of manifestation seems to be directly related to the willpower behind the lambda driver. This has created the illusion of the lambda driver 'converting' the willpower of the operator into a directed force field.
There are two known organizations equipped with operating examples of the Lambda Driver. One is the international counter terrorist mercenary organization Mithril with one experimental unit, the ARX-7 Arbalest Arm Slave. The other is the organization only known as Amalgam.
Mithril does not currently have the ability to produce new Lambda Driver units, as its only personnel capable of understanding the black technology, Bani Morauta, committed suicide. The Lambda driver operated by Mithril also exhibits several instabilities that prevent the device from reaching wide deployment. First, the system has keyed itself to the first pilot who activated the system. Second, both the initialization and output of the system is strongly dependent on the Pilot’s mental condition making it unsuitably unreliable as a military combat system.
Amalgam, conversely is in possession of both the knowledge and ability to reproduce the Lambda Driver units, and has placed them into limited circulation. For reasons yet unknown, these units have exhibited far more stable operation than that of the single example operated by Mithril. In exchange for stability, these units seem to be outclassed by peak output of the Mithril unit, and are limited in the flexibility of force field manifestation. This has been attributed to the difference between a prototype unit, and a field use military unit.
The Lambda Driver's name is likely based off of the letter lambda from the Greek alphabet, as is Uruz (the SRT team's name) from the runic alphabet.
[edit] Arm Slaves Equipped with Lambda Drivers
[edit] Mithril
ARX-7 "Arbalest": The only operating Lambda Driver of Mithril is mounted onto the ARX-7 Prototype. The pilot is Sergeant Sousuke Sagara. The system exhibits a strong dependency on its operator, and thus unstable in its operation and output. The Arbalest is shown opening vent covers and deploying large heat radiator panels when operating the Lambda Driver. This added level of complexity further indicates its design as a prototype and technological testbed.
The unit has a sister unit with the designation of ARX-8, but no information has been released regarding this unit. In addition, the M9D piloted by Belfangan Grouseax was intended to be the first field unit equipped with the Lambda Driver. This D variant of the M9 does not exhibit the deployable heat radiators, showing a mechanical maturity above that of the Arbalest.
[edit] Amalgam
- Plan 1051 Behemoth: This unit requires a lambda driver as part of its operation. The lambda driver lowers the observable mass of the unit, reducing internal structural load. Without the lambda driver active, the massive Arm Slave will suffer structural integrity failure, as its internal structure collapses under its own weight. The terrorist group A21 is the first organization to field the unit. It is later learned in the Continuing on my Own novel that it was stolen from the Amalgam organization. Amalgam later fields additional units. It runs on a gas turbine engine instead of the palladium reactor found in the third generation Mithril and Amalgam other AS units.
- Plan 1055 Belial
- Plan 1056 Codarl
- Plan 1058 Codarl-i
- Plan 1059 Codarl-m: The third generation AS units fielded by Amalgam, these units were the first observed military use of the Lambda Driver. All were code named 'Venom' by Mithril. Each successive revision added to the stability and utility of the unit's Lambda Driver. The earlier units exhibited the tendency to overheat from prolonged operation of its lambda driver. This perhaps shows the designer's assumption that the unit so equipped would not meet opposition requiring extended activation, either from conventional or similarly equipped units. The m revision features a large blade like heat sink on its back, and surprising staying power.
