A Bolo is a fictional type of artificially intelligent superheavy tank. They were first imagined by Keith Laumer, and have since been featured in science fiction novels and short story anthologies by him and others.
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In the fictional future timeline, early models were simply superheavy tanks controlled by programming intended to reduce the need for a human crew through automation. However, as the programming increased in complexity, Bolos became more effective at mimicking intelligence, and in later models were self-aware, controlled by artificial intelligences. According to Laumer's future history, the first Bolo was developed in the year 2000 by the fictional Bolo Division of General Motors.[1] As humanity spread beyond Earth, Bolos were used to protect first the Empire, and then the Concordiat of Man. For millennia, each successive mark of Bolo proved to be the lynchpin of humanity's ground-based defenses, especially in the numerous and protracted wars against various aliens, most notably the Deng and the Melconians in the 30th century. Bolos were also used in smaller scale raids, skirmishes and internal conflicts between warring human parties. Following the genocide of the Final War with the Melconians, the surviving Bolos became crucial in sheltering and protecting the few scattered remnants of humanity during the long slow process of rebuilding.
Bolos and their human commanders are assigned to an elite Concordiat unit called the Dinochrome Brigade, which traces its lineage back to various units on Earth. Individual Bolos are generally identified by a three-letter prefix which is generally extrapolated into a given name - this name is generally used as the default access code for a new commander. Often, Bolos on garrison duty are older surplus or reserve units on loan, in which case their three-letter prefix is changed to "SOL". For example, this happened with the Mark XX Bolo LON-2317 (Lonesome Son) which was renamed to SOL-0045 in The Road to Damascus.
Bolos are generally deployed in groups to provide fire support, though individual units are occasionally detached to perform garrison duty - later marks of Bolo are considered to be so capable that a single unit can be assigned to guard an entire planet, even during periods when a human commander is not available. Nevertheless, a commander is provided whenever it is feasible to do so. When deployed by the Dinochrome Brigade for major combat operations, Bolos usually serve with what have come to be called "Planetary Siege Regiments." Before the development of higher marks of Bolos, powerful enough to often allow a single Bolo to conduct major planetary operations without support, the Regiments were only called "siege regiments."
The earliest Marks of Bolo were non-sentient: the Mark I was essentially a 150 tonne conventional tank powered by diesel engines and equipped with various servos and mechanical devices to reduce crew requirements. Conversely, the 300-tonne Mark III incorporated limited AI routines allowing limited independent action and was powered by ionic batteries able to support combat-level activity for up to ten years and enabling operation even when fully submerged. The level of AI support was increased with each successive Mark, until the incorporation of Psychotronic circuitry in the Mark XX led to Bolos becoming self-aware and capable of fully independent operation. (However, there are indications that the Mark XV Bolos may have approached sentience closer than was thought by the designers.) The Mark XXVI proved capable of true independent strategic planning, while the final standardised Bolo, the 32,000-tonne Mark XXXIII was fully self-willed and able to operate indefinitely without external support.
A key factor in Bolo psychotronic design is the need to address public and military concern over the potential catastrophe which could be unleashed in the event of a Bolo disobeying orders or being suborned. To mitigate this, a number of safeguards were included in the psychotronic design - specifically a focus on loyalty, honour and a strong sense of duty, as well as a restriction on the level of awareness and processing power made available to the Bolo outside of combat. These safeguards often combined with the prejudices of ranking officers to cause the unnecessary destruction of a Bolo during combat - for instance, the first truly self-aware Mark XX Bolo (DNE/Denny) fought to the point of destruction "for the honour of the regiment", as detailed in "The Compleat Bolo". With Bolos being able to survive for centuries, older Marks often ended up scattered across the galaxy abandoned on old warfields or retrofitted for use in farming or heavy construction. On several occasions obsolete Bolos have gone rogue, causing significant destruction, loss of life and bad publicity for the Dinochrome brigade: as a result, a special unit was set up to find all such units and burn out their control centers.
On several occasions, Bolos have turned against their commanders during combat: in Bolo!, a damaged Mark XXV loses its IFF capability, causing it to attack a fellow Bolo. Similarly, a Mark XXXIII (HCT/Hector) was subverted by an alien AI and turned into a prison guard in Bolo Strike. Conversely, Bolos have occasionally refused to carry out illegal or dishonourable orders, such as Unit NKE (Nike) in The Triumphant or Unit LEN (Lonesome Son) in The Road to Damascus.
The Mark XXXIII Bolo was the last standardised Bolo built by the Concordiat prior to the Melconian destruction of Earth. A number of "seed corn" colonies survived the genocide policies carried out by both sides and went on to produce new models of Bolo: these are generally labelled as Mark XXXIV despite being larger in size, design and capabilities.
From the Mark III onwards, the standard Bolo design was intended to provide a consolidated set of capabilities intended to address virtually any combat situation, from operating underwater to engaging enemy units in land, sea, air and even space - the Mark XV/R was able to engage starships in low to medium orbit. Depending on the era and enemy capabilities, a single Bolo was often considered the equivalent of a manned armoured assault brigade or even a full army corps. While each Mark generally opted for a "balanced" approach to offensive and defensive capabilities, there were often specialised variations on the base model, such as heavy siege units, scout units and ECM platforms.
Prior to the Mark XIV, early Bolo Marks utilised projectile weapons for their main battery: a tank gun firing discarding sabot fin-stabilized long rod penetrator shells or a railgun. As the energy-storage capabilities of successive Bolo designs grew, these projectile weapons were replaced, initially by laser cannons, though these were quickly succeeded by the Hellbore: a plasma cannon derived from a battlecruiser's main battery.
Hellbore ammunition consists of slivers of highly-pressurized frozen deuterium which, when fired, are ignited (by a laser) in a fusion reaction. The resulting bolt is contained and directed using strong magnetic fields in the breech and barrel. The resulting plasma travels at a considerable fraction of light speed and is not affected by planetary gravity. However, since the Hellbore was designed as naval armament for Concordiat warships, modifications had to be made to avoid losing a significant portion of the shot's energy to atmospheric attenuation. To this end, a fraction of a second prior to deuterium detonation, a laser is fired along the path of the bolt to create a momentary vacuum. Later Bolo marks are capable of internally manufacturing Hellbore rounds, using water as a raw material, whereby the deuterium isotope of hydrogen is separated and cooled cryogenically into splinters of frozen hydrogen.
The Hellbore first saw service with the Mark XIV and is generally mounted on a turret to provide maximum targeting capabilities. Some Marks experimented with the use of two lighter Hellbores in place of a single, larger cannon; later, heavier Marks generally mount several smaller "support" Hellbores in addition to the main battery. Hellbore power output is measured in megatons per second; the diameter of the tube is a more common quantifying measure. The Mark XIV mounted a single 25 cm Hellbore; the Mark XXXIII featured three 200 cm and sixteen 30 cm Hellbores. The Mark XXXIV carries a variant of the Hellbore known as the Hellrail, an anti-starship railgun weapon, possessing an output of 90 megatons per shot. Hellrails are designed for planetary defense and cannot normally be depressed to strike ground targets.
All Marks of Bolos are equipped with a set of secondary batteries, generally known as infinite repeaters. Depending on the era and Mark, this term covers the use of Gatling guns, anti-personnel flechette launchers, small-bore railguns, energy weapons and even small-caliber Hellbores. Other secondary armaments include indirect weaponry such as rapid-fire mortars, heavy howitzers, and surface-to-surface/surface-to-air missiles. Bolos can be equipped with thermonuclear weaponry, though the use of these on inhabited planets is generally restricted.
Mark XXXIIIs are known to carry Dragon hover-tanks and Wyvern flyers in combat to provide additional offensive and scouting capabilities. Many Marks also carry maintenance drones which can be deployed externally if required.
The armor of a Bolo Unit is designed to withstand direct hits from all current weapons systems up to (and in later models, including) nuclear weapons. Initial Marks utilised a synthetic composite known as durachrome; later models utilised further developments of this composite: flintsteel was introduced with the Mark XIII, duralloy was added to the Mark XVIII's armour and the last standard Marks were sheathed in endurachrome. Many models would also use ablative or ceramic tiles to provide additional protection against plasma weapons.
Note: the above timeline for various armor is not clear. For example, unit DNE, a Mark XX in "Field Test" has flintsteel covered by ablative armor and SPQ/R-561, a Mark XXIII likewise has a flintsteel hull in "Though Hell Should Bar The Way".
All later Marks also had reactive Armour designed to destroy incoming penetrator missiles that could bore through their regular Armour. The only downside of this system is that once the Armour is used it cannot be used again.
Beginning with the Mark XIX, Bolos also began to be protected by external energized battlescreens. These battlescreens could convert a significant percentage of enemy weapon fire into energy which could then be redirected to the Bolo's own systems and weapons. Also, beginning with the Mark XXIII, internal disruptor fields were added to limit damage to vital systems from any attacks which did manage to penetrate the Bolo's outer defenses.
Each unit is also equipped with passive and active sensors, as well as stealth and ECW capabilities. Later Marks were often also equipped with FTL comm. Bolos can also be equipped with stealthed reconnaissance drones and similar remote-sensing capabilities; several Marks even have the ability to utilise MILSAT spy satellites. Later Bolos also contain their own maintenance robots to repair battle damage.
Power for weapons, battlescreens, and mobility is most often provided by one or more fission or fusion reactors, in conjunction with high-capacity ionic batteries which are used as secondary or emergency power supplies: a Bolo's command center can remain operational for decades or centuries after reactor fuel is exhausted. The ionic batteries are often linked to the defensive battlescreens and/or a high efficiency energy-capture system capable of absorbing a wide range of wavelengths. As a last resort, Bolos may detonate their reactors to destroy an enemy, or at the very least, thwart capture.
Beginning with the Mark XX, Bolos were equipped with a psychotronic brain which gave them artificial intelligence. Analogously to human minds, psychotronic brains could turn insane when damaged. This could occur during battle, from enemy fire, or from neglect and lack of physical maintenance. It did not occur frequently but, because Bolos were very powerful, the consequences were terrible. For this reason, early psychotronic brains (models XX through XXIII), restricted awareness and initiative at all times except during battle. This was accomplished by separating main processing from personality. The two were integrated, and the Bolo came into possession of its full faculties, only when battle preconditions were met, such as the approach of an enemy or the order of a human officer. In later models, added redundancy reduced the likelihood of insanity and the restriction was relaxed to enhance intelligence. As a final safeguard, Bolos were equipped with a Total Systems Override Program (nicknamed "Omega Worm") which would erase the Bolo's software, rendering it brain-dead. This was triggered if a Bolo refused an authorized order, or it could be executed by a human operator.
The cognitive inhibitions were completely removed after a review of the combat performance, at the Battle of Santa Cruz (c. A.D. 3030), of experimental unit 23/B-0075-NKE (Nike). Nike's performance demonstrated the capabilities and reliability of fully autonomous psychotronics. Nike herself died by Omega Worm as a result of refusing to obey an officer who was a traitor. This led to a revision of the parameters that would lead to the execution of the Omega Worm in later model Bolos.
Beginning with the Mark XXV models, Bolos became completely autonomous, capable of full self direction in all situations. However, it was found that the intuitive capabilities of human commanders working in conjunction with intelligent Bolos increased the effectiveness of the units and so, with some exceptions, human commanders continued to be assigned to, fight with and if necessary, die with their Bolos. This partnership was further enhanced with the introduction of the Mark XXXII which pioneered a neural interface which allowed the Bolo and its human commander to mentally merge human intuition and Bolo processing speed.
Early Bolo models were not self-aware artificial intelligences and up through the Mark IX were only systems which automated the functioning of the vehicle under direct human command. Beginning with the Mark X, Bolos began to use limited AI systems using pre-packaged battle plans which allowed them to function relatively independently provided the situation on the battlefield fell within the parameters of its pre-loaded plan. If not, then the human commander needed to directly intervene either selecting a new battle plan or taking over the functions of the Bolo personally. This system was further advanced beginning with the Mark XV-R which was given a basic AI core capable of choosing between various pre-loaded plans based upon actual battlefield conditions. However, what these earlier Bolos were not capable of doing was developing their own independent battle plans.
Most later mark Bolos have several processing centers, the main core, the personality center, the damage control core (in later models) and the units survival center. Some Bolos were given a secondary main core however this was not typical. Of these the survival center was the most heavily protected being at the center of the Bolo's mass directly under the human commander's command deck. In the event of the destruction of the Bolo the survival center was designed to protect the Bolo's core personality and programming for later retrieval and reactivation.
Each Bolo contains several computer "cores" with different functions, each of which contains multiple fully functional duplicates in case of failure. If a Bolo's logic becomes dysfunctional enough, it regresses to the original Resartus protocol, which was embedded in all self-aware models just for such a case.
Many Bolo stories are told from the point of the view of the Bolo itself, with its internal thoughts printed in italics throughout the text.
One theme in Bolo works is the portrayal of valiant, tragic, self-sacrificing heroes, such as Bolo "Nike" in the story "Miles to Go" (Weber 1995, in Bolos Book III). Another concept explored by stories such as "Miles to Go" is the use (and abuse) of safeguards to prevent artificial intelligence from hurting its creators. See also Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
The main difference between the tanks of Laumer's series and that of David Drake is that Drake's machines are merely tools and nothing more. Laumer's Bolos on the other hand have a power and longevity which greatly surpasses that of the people who build, operate, and maintain them. This gives Bolos almost a demi-god status. With such power comes great threat as embodied by the Doomsday Machine in Star Trek which destroyed both enemy and creator alike. This issue of creation turned annihilator has also been treated in Saberhagen's Berserkers and the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica. Unlike the annihilation scenarios, however, the growing power of the Bolos appears to be balanced by the characteristics that people find commendable in dog characters like Lassie (namely loyalty, intelligence, and perseverance). Though the comparison with a dog may not be just, as Bolos are more a refinement of all that is good in a soldier. Loyalty, intelligence, perseverance along with regret at the loss of any of those they defend, self-sacrifice for those whom they serve with, and fear of failure. Bolos are elite not only for their capabilities but for character.
Bolos have a programmed desire to serve in their primary capacity of military defense and attack. This desire is not unlike that of Admiral Nelson who during his years of service was wounded several times, lost an arm, was blinded in one eye, and eventually killed in combat. However, unlike Nelson, a Bolo unit can survive long enough to become obsolete.
Their overall programming involved large amounts of human military history, and often they would draw conclusions from that information which would put them at odds with their commanders. Sometimes Bolos would develop senses of honor and nobility that would bring their actions into conflict with orders given by their human superiors. One of the stories in Rogue Bolo chronicles the actions of Combat Unit CSR, who identifies an alien threat to humanity but is forced to go "rogue" in order to defeat it (possibly for dramatic effect, as it does not appear to be explained why the bolo did not simply inform its commanders of the threat).
Bolos appear in these books by Keith Laumer and others:
Deng:
Dog-sized spider-like aliens. Were the principle enemy of the Human Concordiat for centuries, and unlike some of species, treaties could be used with them. Primary weapons were 'Yavac' types. Unlike later authors, Keith Laumer had the light Yavacs as multi-legged walkers, while the heavier units were tracked, like Bolos (Later authors missed/ignored this). Primary weapons were deep UV lasers, as well as assortments of other weapons. Generally inferior to contemporary Bolos, and required superior numbers to win. Deng forces tended to be large, and used infantry heavily as well.
Melconian:
Roughly human-sized anthropomorphic canids. Psychologically very similar to humans. Controlled a large empire (roughly twice the size of the Concordiat) and had a long military history. Used heavy armor and infantry units. Infantry was armored, but did not use heavy powered armor like the Concordiat did. Unlike Bolos, which were designed to be capable of solo operations, Melconian heavy mechanized units were focused on a single role. Melconian technology was less advanced than the Concordiat's (they never got around to putting AI's in their units)
Tersae:
A primitive, vaguely anthropomorphic avian race, the Tersae were a science project by the Melconians in order to understand sentience. The Melconians controlled the Tersae (who were divided into tribes) via a series of radios which beamed instructions to them. The Tersae came into conflict with humans at the orders of the Melconians, who were at the time altering them still further with increased aggression in mind. When humanity discovered the truth, the Melconians fled the system and released a Tersae-specific nerve gas, wiping out most of the population, but some survived with the help of the Humans. The Melconians were not blamed, though, as Earth and Melcon had not made first contact with one another yet (Note: Not to be confused with the similar 'Tersae' of the BattleTech series, though ~very~ similar)
Malach:
Six-limbed raptor-like race, evolved from pack hunters in metal-poor old regions of the galaxy. Driven to conquest from old hunter instincts that had never worked out of their genetics, extremely militant social darwinist society. Main ground weapon was a single-manned 'walker-type' capable of limited flight & atmospheric re-entry with a pod, and also unarmored infantry. Maintained a fleet based on large capital ships. Overall small threat, Malach invasion was repulsed by a pair of old Mk. XXIV Bolos. If the regular Concordiat military had been deployed, the Malach would be easily crushed (In Bolo Brigade the Melconians are mentioned, implying that most likely the Mk. XXX was the front-line Bolo. Given that two Mk. XXIV's were able to repulse the invasion, and actual Concordiat Brigade and Navy force would have been able to crush them in short order).
Quern:
Little available information. Major threat during the time where the Mk. XXIII was the front-line Bolo unit. Caused considerable damage during their invasion, striking into core worlds. Concordiat counter-attack resulted in believed total annihilation of the Quern race, they were never heard from again.
Kezdai:
Saurian-like race, fractionalized by clans which formed the basis of their political system. Clan leadership tended to be military. Began expansionary conquests against Concordiat worlds during the period of total war with the Melconians. Vastly underestimated the actual size of the Concordiat. Their actual threat level is around the same level as the Malach (minor annoyance). Military focused around 'light' combat armor, wheeled and contra-grav (tracks did not appear to be used at all), with infantry (armored, but not power armored) and extensive use of orbital fire support.
Harpies:
Not actual name of race. Little known of their psychology. Invaded the Concordiat shortly after the introduction of the Mk. XXVIII Bolo to front-line service. Military utilized mass swarms of semi-sentient suicide infantry (which look like harpies, hence the name), supported by heavy close-air support in the form of egg-shaped flying units. Ships were relatively slow, and their heaviest weapons could only fire straight down. Massively armored, taking considerable time for the 110-cm Hellbores of the Mk. XXVIII's to melt through.
Aetryx
A species of parasites that invaded a human planet after the Concordiat and the 'Last War'. They subverted a bunch of Mk. XXXII Bolo's by implanting them with copies of human consciousness, and used them to fight the Mk. XXXIIIs that Humanity (no longer the Concordiat) sent to liberate the planet. Their own infantry are genetically engineered brutes and they have some fairly heavy gravtanks, but nothing on the scale of a Bolo.