Technology of Dark Zion
The technology of Dark Zion, both past and present, has been the nation's driving force and signfying factor. Due to a great number of advancements, it's managed to keep on an even footing with nations much larger than it.
Contents
Overview
Dark Zion's technology can be cleanly divided into two eras: the Imperial Era, during which technology was more focused upon chemical warfare and air superiority, and the Renegade Era, during which technology was focused upon the Combat Armor.
Imperial Era
The Imperial Era, which occurred during the heyday of 00000 Land of Nod, had a heavy focus upon aircraft towards its beginning. It was only after the introduction of the HUMAN system and Blackledge's development of the HAWC combat frame did Zionist military hardware begin to shift towards the well-known Combat Armor; unfortunately, Imperial Zionist researchers had little time to develop the concept due to the quick collapse of the nation.
Aircraft
The air above Dark Zion was dominated by two designs of purely Zionist origin: the DZF-001 Longinus highspeed fighter and the DZF-002 Judas stealth bomber. Although the Longinus was relatively unremarkable in technological terms (besides a top speed of Mach 2.7), the Judas was considered the nation's pinnacle of stealth technology. The bomber was capable of rendering itself invisible across a large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the visual range. It was due to this advantage that Zionist forces were able to easily destroy resistance during the nation's early days.
Project Ophanim
Project Ophanim was intended to produce a new-generation operating system capable of creating a seamless man/machine interface. The earliest projects were installed on the massive Ophanim-class battleships due to the size of the systems, although they would eventually be miniaturized enough to be installed on other weapons (most notably, the Combat Armors fielded by the Zionist Army). The project yielded three systems: HUMAN, ANGEL, and DEUS.
- HUMAN (Hyper-Uplink Materials Access Network): The crudest and simplest of the three OSs, HUMAN was considered a success in that it allowed for a direct datalink between the human operator and the system. Battleships equipped with HUMAN were able to operate with a much smaller crew than would be otherwise needed, thanks to a mere handful of operators being able to oversee multiple systems singlehandedly. The Ophanim-class battleships, Ophanim and Leviathan, were the first to feature the system.
- ANGEL (Artificial Neuro-Genesis Encephalon Link-up): A step above HUMAN, this system almost fully immersed the operator's mind in the system. Only the ZXCA-001 Adam and ZXCA-002A Lilith were equipped with the system due to the dangers of it -- operators found it difficult to distinguish between their actual selves and their Combat Armors, and so mass-production of the system never occurred. Data from the system would be used in future projects, including refinements of HUMAN and the production of DEUS.
- DEUS (Dominating Encephalic Uplink System): The ultimate in Zionist technology, DEUS created a complete meshing of the human mind and a computer system. The system allowed a single individual to control an entire weapons system with a minimum of side-effects. Unfortunately, one of the side-effects was increasing psychosis; that, combined with the relative size and expense of the system, prevented production beyond the three units installed on the three ZDCA-001 Deus units.
Combat Armors
Blackledge's technological leaps yielded the humanoid mobile weapon known as the HAWC, which would provide the basis for all further humanoid mobile weapons. Dark Zion acquired one of these prototype weapons in a technology exchange and proceeded to dismantle it before upgrading the basic design, yielding the more powerful variant known as the Combat Armor. Seven designs would be produced before the collapse of the nation.
- ZXCA-001/ZXCA-001R 'Adam' : The first Combat Armor was produced entirely from the disassembled HAWC recieved from Blackledge. Its more humanoid design, coupled with the ANGEL system, allowed for incredible agility and mobility. However, its engine was imperfect and produced enormous amounts of heat which could not be effectively dissipated; even after recieving an upgrade to the engine and cooling systems, it still suffered from an incredible heat build-up. It was rumored to have participated in the attack on Elgarve, but official records state that it saw no combat.
- ZXCA-002A 'Lilith' : This new design featured a slightly improved frame over the Adam, as well as a prototype microfusion generator and plasma gun. The unit was less agile than its predecessor due to the coolant system attached to the back, although it was considered combat-worthy. Its armaments included the plasma gun, anti-infantry machineguns, and a heavy sword. Emperor Metatron took the unit as his personal mount, and he used it to personally lead the assaults on Elgarve and AG333. The Lilith self-destructed in the Armageddon Contingency, taking Metatron with it.
- ZXCA-002B 'Eve' : This unit was the sister unit to the Lilith, although it featured different technology: Notably, it used a conventional engine in place of the Lilith's microfusion generator, and a revised HUMAN in place of the Lilith's ANGEL system. While it could be equipped with a small plasma gun, it was known only to carry a small prototype railgun and a heavy sword. The revised HUMAN it carried allowed the Eve to be remotely controlled. Official records lack any mention of a combat career.
- ZCA-001 'Cain' and ZCA-002 'Abel' : The first mass-production units were based off of the Eve's design, being nearly identical to the prototype. The HUMAN equipped on both designs was drastically simplified, however, and the engines recieved another revision. Melee combat was handled by the Cain units, which featured large swords and heavy shields; the Abel units were equipped with 30mm cannons and heavy machineguns to handle ranged combat. These units would form the backbone of the Zionist Army's ground forces during the latter portions of the Nodic Wars.
- ZDCA-001 'Deus' : The Deus Combat Titan was a massive unit, shaped much like a centaur. It was the only Zionist weapon to feature the DEUS system, which allowed the pilot to control the multitude of missiles, beam cannons, and machineguns with ease. A high-end beam cannon called the Grail Cannon was the main weapon, while much of its defense was handled by the arm-mounted Shroud beam shield. Three units were produced (codenamed Solus, Luna, and Orbis), but none survived the war; all three officially self-destructed during the Armageddon Contingency.
- ZDCA-002 'Deus MP Type' : Mass-production of the original Deus design was not feasible due to its size and complexity; instead, the design was revised as a smaller, bipedal Combat Armor. It featured two plasma cannons, two beam shields, two heavy machineguns, and electronic warfare equipment (including a powerful EMP generator and Faraday shielding). Ten units would be produced in total, all of them participating in the attack on AG333, during which they demonstrated the power of their EMP generators. All ten units self-destructed in the Armageddon Contingency.
Chemical Warfare
Dark Zion was incredibly interested in alternate methods of warfare; to that end, they began research into various forms of chemical attack. Unfortunately, very little headway was made in the field due to the relatively quick collapse of the empire. VX and GB were used as starting points for research, and thus large quantities were created; all were expended in the Armageddon Contingency, however.
Renegade Era
The Renegade Era, unlike the Imperial Era, focuses almost entirely upon the advancement of the Combat Armor concept. All battleships are designed as support systems for Armor troops; they're therefore considered to be rather inferior to the ships fielded by such empires as Allech-Atreus.
