Bubblegum Crisis Technology
Basic Technologies
There are several basic technologies which most of the other technologies are built upon. They include the Net, power generation, advanced weapons, cybernetics, and nanotechnology.
Net is the completion of what is the ideal future of telecommunications: a single, all-encompassing telecommunications network linking RF (radio frequency), fiber-optics, coaxial cable, twisted-pair, cellular, microwave, and sattelite communications together to form a vast matrix of communcation linking the majority of all computerized devices in the world together. It includes radio and television, but it exists primarily to service the billions of computers connected to it. And only the most secure computer systems are kept off the Net. Yes, this does mean that the latest and greatest blueprints for the next generation Boomer just might be available on the Net, if you know where to look and can hack your way through firewalls and intrusion countermeasures designed to keep hackers out of the systems. However, computer crime is punished severely, by corporations and governments alike. Of course, the existance of the Net also means that there's almost no place you can go and escape computers. They're like the pollution and people - omnipresent.
Power sources have changed a lot. Because of pollution and resource explotation, fossil fuels and other staples of current power generation have become passe and nearly inviable. But additional technologies have risen to fill the gap. Aircraft engines are commonly powered by high efficiency hydrogen turbines, and alcohol is now the fuel of choice for personal automobiles and motorcycles. Fuel cells have replaced high density batteries for use in Boomers and powered armor, but their expense is high enough that batteries still dominate the markets where price is important. Solar power is the most common, followed by hydroelectric power using tides, waterfalls, and wave action. And a few orbital solar power sattelites beam down their megawatts in the form of microwaves to large antenna farms.
Weapons haven't changed much, except with a few interesting exceptions. Personal weapons remain small, even if the propellant is more powerful and recoil compensated more efficiently. But in applications where power is readily available, such as on powered armor and tanks, weapons like lasers, heat cannons, and railguns are in wides use. In addition, new weapons like monomolecular blades, particle beams, and graviton cannons are being developed. And naturally, combat Boomers, with thier fuel cell power supplies, have enough power to use some of these weapons.
Cybernetics is a common technology in the cyberpunk genre, and Bubblegum Crisis is no exception. However, it is less common and less obvious, in the series than it is in other cyberpunk novels and movies. The reason for this is Boomer Syndrome, the fragmentation of the personality causing various psychoses, an instability found to be caused by the addition of large amounts of cybernetics. For this reason, only the truly hard-core or unstable individuals have retained their cybernetics: All the rest have replaced the metal with flesh once again. But it's also interesting to note that a human being who has had more than 70% of their flesh replaced is considered a Boomer by law, and subject to Boomer justice rather than human justice. This is actually the precept behind one of the A.D. Police episodes.
The last "base" technology is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is based on using near molecular-sized machines to manipulate matter on a molecular and atomic level. In some respects, using genetically engineered viruses today to inject new DNA into human cells to cure various hereditary diseases could be considered a form of nanotechnology. The real difference is that nanomachines are computers, totally non-biological, and capable of affecting non-living material. Nanotech in Bubblegum Crisis is used extensively in the medical fields, allowing ultra-fast healing, the simple implantation of cybernetics, and the curing of many forms of disease. Nanotech also is used extensively in Boomers, allowing various Boomers to expand or compress their physical size, and to fuse with inorganic matter. For a more in-depth discussion, please see the section on fusion on the Boomer page.
Powered Suits
A Powered Suit is powered combat armor, designed for infantry use and customized for a specific user. Powered suits are generally powered by batteries and have thier strength enhanced by the use of myomers and hydraulics. Myomers are powerful artificial muscle fibers which contract when an electric current is run through them. The entire point of powered suits is to read the body movements of the wearer and to move simultaneously with them. These suits are largely designed for militay applications, with advanced police departments using them to combat rogue and insane Boomers. Unarmored civilian versions are also used as high strengh power loaders and forklifts.
K-11 Powered Suit: This suit is the AD Police's frontline weapon used against Boomers, due to its superior armor and it's ability to carry heavy weapons. It can be deployed from the air with the use of a parachute, and it has flight wings which enable it operate as a hovercraft. Like all powered suits, the K-11 must be adjusted so precisely to the pilot that another person attempting to use the suit would be lucky to stumble around in it without injuring him or herself. And because of the sheer number of parts which must be maintained, the K-11 must spend more time out of service and undergoing maintenence than a fighter jet. Its only weapon is a hand-held caseless machine gun. Unfortunately, the K-11, while fully sealed against chemical, biological, and nuclear contamination, is not fusion proof. This problem led to an AD cop being crushed in his own armor by a Boomer which had fused with his suit. After this happened, the AD Police began phasing out the K-11's.
K-12S BattleSuit: This suit is a combination of a D-series battlemover and the K-11 powered suit. It was designed by the AD Police themselves specifically to remedy the problems of the K-11. The fragile fingers of the K-11 were replaced and 2 12.7mm chainguns, one on each arm, were made integral to the suit. This allows the K-12S to carry heavy weapons as well as having some which cannot be removed or lost in combat. However, the most important change was the armor. In addition to making it stronger, it was made fusion resistant. No more cops being killed in thier own armor. However, the K-12S is no longer flight capable, due to the added mass of the armor. The K-12S is first seen in Midnight Rambler, when Leon takes it out to do combat with the Boomers and the D.D. Battlemover. Unfortunately for Leon, the D.D. is much more powerful than the K-12S. He would have done fine against the Boomers....
Genom Powered Suit: This suit was worn by Brian J. Mason in Blow Up, when he and Sylia met atop the Genom Tower. It is relatively slow, but heavily armored and equipped with a very expensive computer tracking system which can predict the tactics of an opponent so long as those tactics have been analyzed and input into the computer. It's only armament is 2 twin cannons built into each forearm.
Motorslaves and Knight Saber Vehicles
The Knight Sabers have many vehicles which help them in thier various duties. Some are motorslaves, transformable mecha which go from a motorcycle to a semi-intelligent and heavily armored mecha designed to provide additional armor, heavier weapons, and support to the Knight Sabers when necessary. Others are simple transport vehicles like the heavy trailer and the SilkyWagon. And there are the occasional military spec transports too. Please note that Mackie's experimental Highway Star motorcycle is included below in the Other Important Vehicles section.
AD Police Vehicles
ADP Interceptor/Road Chaser: The Interceptor is the standard road cruiser vehicle for the AD Police. It is a 2-person vehicle, has all-wheel steering, and a computer which is linked to AD Police headquarters. The AD Police also have a limited number of customized Road Chasers, which are used exclusivly by command-level officers, like Leon and Daley. It has a turbocharger which provides enough additional power that two airscoops and a spoiler must be engaged for safe operation. The Interceptor has a maximum speed of 235 kph, and the Road Chaser with the turbo engaged can go at 300 kph.
ADP Troop Transport: This is the most common method for the AD Police to get thier officers to the scene of Boomer crime. It is capable of carrying 8 Frontline Officers (the cops facing down the Boomers most of the time), 3 support and command officers, and the driver. It has 6 wheels with enough traction and power to drive over parked cars if necessary, and it is armored.
ADP Chopper Truck: This unusual truck is designed for the express purpose of transporting Fire-Bee minichoppers to and from battle. It is capable of carrying and launching 4 Fire-Bees once stabilized by hydraulic arms, but it cannot carry any of the pilots - they must come by troop transport. It is lightly armored and as fast as a troop transport.
Fire-Bee Minichopper: These small and portable minichoppers are the most common assault chopper used by the AD Police in urban areas. They are small enough to fit through tight urban mazes, and they mount a 20mm Vulcan cannon under the belly which is slaved to the pilots helmet, allowing the pilot to look at the target and have the cannon hit it. They offer very little armor protection to the pilot, however, and are relatively easy to shoot down. It is also rather slow, only going slightly faster than the troop transports themselves.
Hornet Pursuit Chopper: This fast(375 kph) chopper is used by the ADP for aerial pursuit and combat. It has a crew of 2, and is armed with twin 20mm cannons under the cockpit. In addition, each wing mounts 2 pylons capable of carrying guided missiles.
ADP Combat Chopper: This chopper is a heavily modified version of the N-Police's(normal police) patrol chopper. It is slower and less well armed than the Hornet chopper, but it is designed to combat ground targets rather than airborne targets. It is armed with 2 20mm cannons as well.
Heavy Chopper: This giant chopper is used only in emergencies. It is an unarmed heavy lifting chopper which is used to carry either 10 Frontline Officers or up to 4 K-11 or K-12S powered suits to the combat area.
Battlemovers
The image is of the D.D.'s back, unfortunately.
Battlemovers are large, generally 4-legged, powerful versions of powered suits. However, it is perhaps more accurate to call them small tanks rather than huge powered suits. Instead of wearing a battlemover like armor, the battlemover pilot sits completely within the torso. This usually means that the pilot is much better protected than in a powered suit, and the large size generally means better armor overall than any powered suits. However, their size also means that the pilot must operate the battlemover using joysticks and peddals instead of simply moving his or her own body.
GD-42 "Genki" Battlemover: This customized battlemover is based off the Chang Industries GD-42 Battlemover, which won the United States competition for a new battlemover. The name "Genki" means "dark devil," a very appropriate name for this particular vehicle. It is four legged and generally very tall. However, the legs can collapse and enable the Genki to move through any space which is at least 2.5 meters square. The armor is very thick and even the weapons of the Knight Sabers had no effect on it. It is armed with 4 claws on the legs, 2 wire tenticles capable of entangling and crushing Boomers and other targets, a 20mm Vulcan cannon in the belly, twin grenade launchers, and two lasers. It is piloted by two people, and its stealth characteristics make it invisible to radar. An image of it is available at the Double Vision plot synopsis page.
D.D. Battlemover: This humanoid battlemover was secretly developed by the GPCC (Genom's corporate research subsidiary) for sales to the Communists, and was secretly stolen by Largo in Midnight Rambler. It was designed for deep penetration missions and is as heavily armored as the Genki. It is capable of transforming from humaniod form to 4-legged "beast" form for improved speed. It is armed with a Gatling cannon, claws, a grenade launcher, and the cable manipulator which Sylvie used to attack and kill people by draining thier blood. It is much stronger and faster than any previous battlemover, and so it qualifies as a superweapon. It's AI is similar to a motorslave's, being capable of learning and opearating independantly of any pilot. In fact, if the pilot is killed, the D.D. is armed with a micro neutron bomb that detonates if the D.D. runs out of power. And the bomb is powerful enough to affect all of MegaTokyo.
Other Important Vehicles
Highway Star: The bike that Priss is sitting on to the left is the Highway Star. Mackie built this 2.4 meter long bike just to see if he could, and he never intended it to be ridden. However, Priss fell in love with it and its acceleration was so huge that even she couldn't control it. It can go up to 455 kph normally, and it has nitro boosters which can pus that to 540 kph. It is simply impossible for a person to control without help, and the only time it is ever ridden, it is Priss in her hardsuit which does it. Unfortunately, the Highway Star is unarmored and gets destroyed in Revenge Road.
Griffon: This sports car was originally released in 2021 for car collectors, and appears only in Revenge Road. J.B. Gibson rebuilt his Griffon after he and his girlfriend were assaulted by a bike gang, planning revenge against bikes that only a much faster car could catch. In the process, Gibson produced a vehicle that was driven by a turbofan engine, bullet-proof, and faster than everything else on the road - except the Highway Star running on nitro. By the time Gibson was done, he had also integrated the Mind Feedback System into the Griffon, enabling him to mentally control the car. Unfortunately, the MFS cybernetic system took on some of Gibson's irrational hatred and became a cybermonster that only the Knight Sabers kept from doing tremendous amounts of damage.
SDPC "Orca" Shuttle: This shuttle was used by the four Sexaroid Boomers escaping from the SDPC's Genaros space station in Midnight Rambler. The Orca is typical of space shuttles making round-trips between the Earth and the various space station.
There are several basic technologies which most of the other technologies are built upon. They include the Net, power generation, advanced weapons, cybernetics, and nanotechnology.
Net is the completion of what is the ideal future of telecommunications: a single, all-encompassing telecommunications network linking RF (radio frequency), fiber-optics, coaxial cable, twisted-pair, cellular, microwave, and sattelite communications together to form a vast matrix of communcation linking the majority of all computerized devices in the world together. It includes radio and television, but it exists primarily to service the billions of computers connected to it. And only the most secure computer systems are kept off the Net. Yes, this does mean that the latest and greatest blueprints for the next generation Boomer just might be available on the Net, if you know where to look and can hack your way through firewalls and intrusion countermeasures designed to keep hackers out of the systems. However, computer crime is punished severely, by corporations and governments alike. Of course, the existance of the Net also means that there's almost no place you can go and escape computers. They're like the pollution and people - omnipresent.
Power sources have changed a lot. Because of pollution and resource explotation, fossil fuels and other staples of current power generation have become passe and nearly inviable. But additional technologies have risen to fill the gap. Aircraft engines are commonly powered by high efficiency hydrogen turbines, and alcohol is now the fuel of choice for personal automobiles and motorcycles. Fuel cells have replaced high density batteries for use in Boomers and powered armor, but their expense is high enough that batteries still dominate the markets where price is important. Solar power is the most common, followed by hydroelectric power using tides, waterfalls, and wave action. And a few orbital solar power sattelites beam down their megawatts in the form of microwaves to large antenna farms.
Weapons haven't changed much, except with a few interesting exceptions. Personal weapons remain small, even if the propellant is more powerful and recoil compensated more efficiently. But in applications where power is readily available, such as on powered armor and tanks, weapons like lasers, heat cannons, and railguns are in wides use. In addition, new weapons like monomolecular blades, particle beams, and graviton cannons are being developed. And naturally, combat Boomers, with thier fuel cell power supplies, have enough power to use some of these weapons.
Cybernetics is a common technology in the cyberpunk genre, and Bubblegum Crisis is no exception. However, it is less common and less obvious, in the series than it is in other cyberpunk novels and movies. The reason for this is Boomer Syndrome, the fragmentation of the personality causing various psychoses, an instability found to be caused by the addition of large amounts of cybernetics. For this reason, only the truly hard-core or unstable individuals have retained their cybernetics: All the rest have replaced the metal with flesh once again. But it's also interesting to note that a human being who has had more than 70% of their flesh replaced is considered a Boomer by law, and subject to Boomer justice rather than human justice. This is actually the precept behind one of the A.D. Police episodes.
The last "base" technology is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is based on using near molecular-sized machines to manipulate matter on a molecular and atomic level. In some respects, using genetically engineered viruses today to inject new DNA into human cells to cure various hereditary diseases could be considered a form of nanotechnology. The real difference is that nanomachines are computers, totally non-biological, and capable of affecting non-living material. Nanotech in Bubblegum Crisis is used extensively in the medical fields, allowing ultra-fast healing, the simple implantation of cybernetics, and the curing of many forms of disease. Nanotech also is used extensively in Boomers, allowing various Boomers to expand or compress their physical size, and to fuse with inorganic matter. For a more in-depth discussion, please see the section on fusion on the Boomer page.
Powered Suits
A Powered Suit is powered combat armor, designed for infantry use and customized for a specific user. Powered suits are generally powered by batteries and have thier strength enhanced by the use of myomers and hydraulics. Myomers are powerful artificial muscle fibers which contract when an electric current is run through them. The entire point of powered suits is to read the body movements of the wearer and to move simultaneously with them. These suits are largely designed for militay applications, with advanced police departments using them to combat rogue and insane Boomers. Unarmored civilian versions are also used as high strengh power loaders and forklifts.
K-11 Powered Suit: This suit is the AD Police's frontline weapon used against Boomers, due to its superior armor and it's ability to carry heavy weapons. It can be deployed from the air with the use of a parachute, and it has flight wings which enable it operate as a hovercraft. Like all powered suits, the K-11 must be adjusted so precisely to the pilot that another person attempting to use the suit would be lucky to stumble around in it without injuring him or herself. And because of the sheer number of parts which must be maintained, the K-11 must spend more time out of service and undergoing maintenence than a fighter jet. Its only weapon is a hand-held caseless machine gun. Unfortunately, the K-11, while fully sealed against chemical, biological, and nuclear contamination, is not fusion proof. This problem led to an AD cop being crushed in his own armor by a Boomer which had fused with his suit. After this happened, the AD Police began phasing out the K-11's.
K-12S BattleSuit: This suit is a combination of a D-series battlemover and the K-11 powered suit. It was designed by the AD Police themselves specifically to remedy the problems of the K-11. The fragile fingers of the K-11 were replaced and 2 12.7mm chainguns, one on each arm, were made integral to the suit. This allows the K-12S to carry heavy weapons as well as having some which cannot be removed or lost in combat. However, the most important change was the armor. In addition to making it stronger, it was made fusion resistant. No more cops being killed in thier own armor. However, the K-12S is no longer flight capable, due to the added mass of the armor. The K-12S is first seen in Midnight Rambler, when Leon takes it out to do combat with the Boomers and the D.D. Battlemover. Unfortunately for Leon, the D.D. is much more powerful than the K-12S. He would have done fine against the Boomers....
Genom Powered Suit: This suit was worn by Brian J. Mason in Blow Up, when he and Sylia met atop the Genom Tower. It is relatively slow, but heavily armored and equipped with a very expensive computer tracking system which can predict the tactics of an opponent so long as those tactics have been analyzed and input into the computer. It's only armament is 2 twin cannons built into each forearm.
Motorslaves and Knight Saber Vehicles
The Knight Sabers have many vehicles which help them in thier various duties. Some are motorslaves, transformable mecha which go from a motorcycle to a semi-intelligent and heavily armored mecha designed to provide additional armor, heavier weapons, and support to the Knight Sabers when necessary. Others are simple transport vehicles like the heavy trailer and the SilkyWagon. And there are the occasional military spec transports too. Please note that Mackie's experimental Highway Star motorcycle is included below in the Other Important Vehicles section.
AD Police Vehicles
ADP Interceptor/Road Chaser: The Interceptor is the standard road cruiser vehicle for the AD Police. It is a 2-person vehicle, has all-wheel steering, and a computer which is linked to AD Police headquarters. The AD Police also have a limited number of customized Road Chasers, which are used exclusivly by command-level officers, like Leon and Daley. It has a turbocharger which provides enough additional power that two airscoops and a spoiler must be engaged for safe operation. The Interceptor has a maximum speed of 235 kph, and the Road Chaser with the turbo engaged can go at 300 kph.
ADP Troop Transport: This is the most common method for the AD Police to get thier officers to the scene of Boomer crime. It is capable of carrying 8 Frontline Officers (the cops facing down the Boomers most of the time), 3 support and command officers, and the driver. It has 6 wheels with enough traction and power to drive over parked cars if necessary, and it is armored.
ADP Chopper Truck: This unusual truck is designed for the express purpose of transporting Fire-Bee minichoppers to and from battle. It is capable of carrying and launching 4 Fire-Bees once stabilized by hydraulic arms, but it cannot carry any of the pilots - they must come by troop transport. It is lightly armored and as fast as a troop transport.
Fire-Bee Minichopper: These small and portable minichoppers are the most common assault chopper used by the AD Police in urban areas. They are small enough to fit through tight urban mazes, and they mount a 20mm Vulcan cannon under the belly which is slaved to the pilots helmet, allowing the pilot to look at the target and have the cannon hit it. They offer very little armor protection to the pilot, however, and are relatively easy to shoot down. It is also rather slow, only going slightly faster than the troop transports themselves.
Hornet Pursuit Chopper: This fast(375 kph) chopper is used by the ADP for aerial pursuit and combat. It has a crew of 2, and is armed with twin 20mm cannons under the cockpit. In addition, each wing mounts 2 pylons capable of carrying guided missiles.
ADP Combat Chopper: This chopper is a heavily modified version of the N-Police's(normal police) patrol chopper. It is slower and less well armed than the Hornet chopper, but it is designed to combat ground targets rather than airborne targets. It is armed with 2 20mm cannons as well.
Heavy Chopper: This giant chopper is used only in emergencies. It is an unarmed heavy lifting chopper which is used to carry either 10 Frontline Officers or up to 4 K-11 or K-12S powered suits to the combat area.
Battlemovers
The image is of the D.D.'s back, unfortunately.
Battlemovers are large, generally 4-legged, powerful versions of powered suits. However, it is perhaps more accurate to call them small tanks rather than huge powered suits. Instead of wearing a battlemover like armor, the battlemover pilot sits completely within the torso. This usually means that the pilot is much better protected than in a powered suit, and the large size generally means better armor overall than any powered suits. However, their size also means that the pilot must operate the battlemover using joysticks and peddals instead of simply moving his or her own body.
GD-42 "Genki" Battlemover: This customized battlemover is based off the Chang Industries GD-42 Battlemover, which won the United States competition for a new battlemover. The name "Genki" means "dark devil," a very appropriate name for this particular vehicle. It is four legged and generally very tall. However, the legs can collapse and enable the Genki to move through any space which is at least 2.5 meters square. The armor is very thick and even the weapons of the Knight Sabers had no effect on it. It is armed with 4 claws on the legs, 2 wire tenticles capable of entangling and crushing Boomers and other targets, a 20mm Vulcan cannon in the belly, twin grenade launchers, and two lasers. It is piloted by two people, and its stealth characteristics make it invisible to radar. An image of it is available at the Double Vision plot synopsis page.
D.D. Battlemover: This humanoid battlemover was secretly developed by the GPCC (Genom's corporate research subsidiary) for sales to the Communists, and was secretly stolen by Largo in Midnight Rambler. It was designed for deep penetration missions and is as heavily armored as the Genki. It is capable of transforming from humaniod form to 4-legged "beast" form for improved speed. It is armed with a Gatling cannon, claws, a grenade launcher, and the cable manipulator which Sylvie used to attack and kill people by draining thier blood. It is much stronger and faster than any previous battlemover, and so it qualifies as a superweapon. It's AI is similar to a motorslave's, being capable of learning and opearating independantly of any pilot. In fact, if the pilot is killed, the D.D. is armed with a micro neutron bomb that detonates if the D.D. runs out of power. And the bomb is powerful enough to affect all of MegaTokyo.
Other Important Vehicles
Highway Star: The bike that Priss is sitting on to the left is the Highway Star. Mackie built this 2.4 meter long bike just to see if he could, and he never intended it to be ridden. However, Priss fell in love with it and its acceleration was so huge that even she couldn't control it. It can go up to 455 kph normally, and it has nitro boosters which can pus that to 540 kph. It is simply impossible for a person to control without help, and the only time it is ever ridden, it is Priss in her hardsuit which does it. Unfortunately, the Highway Star is unarmored and gets destroyed in Revenge Road.
Griffon: This sports car was originally released in 2021 for car collectors, and appears only in Revenge Road. J.B. Gibson rebuilt his Griffon after he and his girlfriend were assaulted by a bike gang, planning revenge against bikes that only a much faster car could catch. In the process, Gibson produced a vehicle that was driven by a turbofan engine, bullet-proof, and faster than everything else on the road - except the Highway Star running on nitro. By the time Gibson was done, he had also integrated the Mind Feedback System into the Griffon, enabling him to mentally control the car. Unfortunately, the MFS cybernetic system took on some of Gibson's irrational hatred and became a cybermonster that only the Knight Sabers kept from doing tremendous amounts of damage.
SDPC "Orca" Shuttle: This shuttle was used by the four Sexaroid Boomers escaping from the SDPC's Genaros space station in Midnight Rambler. The Orca is typical of space shuttles making round-trips between the Earth and the various space station.
