The Mechwarrior

THE MECHWARRIOR

As soon as the first BattleMechs dominated the battlefields of the twenty-fifth century,
the humans that piloted these awesome machines gained a power and influence well
beyond other soldiers on the field. An entire social class soon formed around those who piloted these increasingly important war machines. These socalled MechWarriors, the modern incarnation of knights, were given the monumental task of defending their homelands and their rulers. As with the middle ages of Europe on ancient Terra, these MechWarriors were made knights and given honors. Some were even bestowed royal titles, conveying authority over entire worlds and more.

PILOTING A ’MECH

A MechWarrior controls a BattleMech through a series of several complex systems
that allow a single human to manipulate such a large, complicated war machine.

COCKPIT

Sitting in the cramped cockpit of a ’Mech—usually located in the “head” of the ’Mech—a MechWarrior is strapped into a command couch that allows him access to
all of his ’Mech’s systems. Foot pedals are used to generate walking motion as well as to ignite a ’Mech’s jump jet system (provided the ’Mech has that capability). Twin
joysticks located on the command couch’s arms allow for torso movement, manipulation
of a ’Mech’s arms and full targeting capabilities of the ’Mech’s entire arsenal
of weapons. A battery of screens brings a plethora of information before the
MechWarrior: standard visual, infrared, MagScan, seismic, tactical maps, satellite
feeds and so on, while the ’Mech’s heads-up display projects all of the
relevant targeting information right in front of the MechWarrior.

NEUROHELMET

All of those systems would mean nothing with out the neural impulse
helmet, which actually allows a twelvemeter tall metal giant to walk upright.
Commonly called neurohelmets, these bulky items normally cover a MechWarrior’s
entire head, attaching firmly to the shoulders of his cooling vest. Electrodes
on the interior of the neurohelmets channel sensory information from the
BattleMech directly to the pilot, converting raw data on posture, movement, balance
and speed into neural impulses for the human brain. At the same time, the
helmet and its linked computer translate impulses from the MechWarrior’s brain
into signals transmitted directly to the ’Mech’s gyroscope and myomer musculature.
In this way, the reflexive bodily movements of the BattleMech are controlled
subconsciously by the pilot, leaving his conscious brain free to control
the various weapons and other systems as needed.