There comes a time in life that merely having an awesome robot doesn't do you much good. Upgrading your awesome robot to a giant robot, however, may not be enough to defeat those nefarious alien scum out to destroy Tokyo-3. So what to do? To quote Hunter S. Thompson, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Practically, that means if your adversary comes at you with a giant alien/robot, you come at him with a BIGGER robot, expenses and the laws of physics be damned! Thus, we enter now into a discussion about the strategy of Giant Giant Robots. See the previous two posts for a flavor of the style of analysis.
Giant Giant Robots is probably the most basic kind of mecha science fiction. Everything from Voltron to Neon Genesis Evangelion (even the Power Rangers) consists of the same basic problem, solvable only by an awesome Giant Giant Robot. Since Evangelion has the most detailed treatment of the "boring" aspects of Giant Giant Robots (sustainment, organizational design, etc) this treatment will use it heavily for examples.
1. Homeland Defense: Or Why We Cannot Allow a Giant Giant Robot Gap
Giant Giant Robots are essentially a civil defense/homeland security, rather than purely military, issue. In the world of Giant Giant Robots, nefarious non-human creatures of exceptionally large size attack large urban metropolitan areas. Some, like Godzilla, have no real reason for doing so except blind animal instincts. Others, like King Kong, have been wronged in some shape or form and are taking it out on the citizens of New York. Some, like the Angels in Evangelion, are doing so for reasons too complex to be explained here. At times a mad scientist will try to use a Giant Giant Robot for criminal purposes, but the problem is essentially non-human.
Attacks take place in a staggered, disorganized fashion, usually with one giant monster at a time. Since the origin or base point of these monsters is not very well understood or beyond reach, pre-emptive attack with strategic weapons is impossible. Thus, humankind is forced into a purely defensive posture, waiting for a monster to emerge and attack. Since monsters are largely impervious to most conventional weapons and the use of strategic weapons in populated areas is prohibited, the only weapon that can do the job is a Giant Giant Robot.
A state that does not possess enough Giant Giant Robots leaves its major population centers open to pillaging and destruction by giant monsters. Developing or exploiting this capability is truly a "whole of government" endeavor, but the complexity of setting up an anti-monster civil defense command and exploiting Giant Giant Robot capabilities makes fights over intelligence-sharing between the FBI, CIA, and DHS look like small peanuts by comparison.
First, there is the massive cost of hardening one's major population centers against monsters. In Evangelion, a hardened city has the capability to take major buildings (most significantly civilian shelters) underground, and puts the strategic base point for Giant Giant Robot launch in a hardened deep underground where (for the most part) monsters cannot attack. Second, there is the issue of developing massive Giant Giant Robots and cultivating pilots, a process akin to the Manhattan Project. Third, consequence management from attacks must deal with epic property damage and civilian casualties. To top it off, such a massive effort has to be directed in an interagency--and sometimes international--context.
2. A Whole of Government Approach to Giant Giant Robots
Developing a whole of government response to monsters involves a number of organizational pitfalls. First, not just anyone can pilot a Giant Giant Robot. The complexity of Giant Giant Robot technology as well the specific requirements of man/machine interface demands a very specific type of pilot. Often, as per the nature of the whole genre, the pilot will be a minor between the age of 14-17. Operator sustainment--in both physical and psychological terms--is thus crucial. Lose one pilot and it could take a while before another suitable replacement is found. Giant Giant Robot technology also requires a unique team of specialists to develop, sustain, and command in the field. Constant R&D, testing, and training is necessary to exploit the full range of Giant Giant Robot capabilities.
Often times this problem is solved by the creation of a special paramilitary agency devoted specifically to Giant Giant Robots and anti-monster defense. Initially, this organization tends to have acrimonious relationships with the uniformed military and larger political authorities, due to its secrecy, unorthodox operating methods, and infringement on other spheres of control. From a civil perspective, civil authorities may find it aggravating to have to conduct consequence management of massive property damage and civilian casualties, civil defense training, and civil defense planning without any ability to influence the Giant Giant Robot paramilitary agency or understand its operations. Because Giant Giant Robot R&D and employment is kept under a shroud of secrecy, civil authorities are forced simply to nod their heads and clean up after the Awesome Giant Giant Robot battle is over.
From an organizational design perspective, the Giant Giant Robot paramilitary agency will maximize its monopoly on counter-monster expertise. By doing so, it will slowly crowd out every other agency until it takes a primary role and forces every other homeland security and military agency into a subordinate role. The uniformed military often will try to develop its own Giant Giant Robots or carry out industrial espionage (and sometimes the use of violent coercion) to gain control over Giant Giant Robots. However, due to the specialized nature of Giant Giant Robot capabilities, such efforts are usually failures.
3. Giant Giant Robot Operations: The Basics
Giant Giant Robots are primarily designed for effect rather than efficiency. They are extremely large, move in an unwieldy fashion, and require an ungainly amount of energy to power. In Evangelion, for example, a Giant Giant Robot is plugged into the city's power grid and can only survive for barely three minutes on its own battery power. Although Giant Giant Robots can use large-scale versions of small arms (sniper rifles, assault rifles, pistols, bazookas, or long-range powered beam arrays), most monster-robot fights come down to a knock-down, drag-down fistfight in which the robot physically beats a monster to death or stabs it with a sharp instrument. Needless to say, this process often causes massive collateral damage, placing a premium on large-scale integrated consequence management efforts by emergency services.
Employment of Giant Giant Robots also usually requires a hidden base to protect it from the effects of the initial monster attack, prep for deployment, and give lead time if its frequently young pilots experience psychological issues (or just plain temper tantrums about the idea of being press-ganged into service). Battle Command is relatively primitive, as fights quickly degenerate into brawls. Tactical development of joint Giant Giant Robot tactics with one or more robots is an aspect of command that is evolving. Lastly, early warning of the monster's approach is crucial to prepping and launching robots in time.
As mentioned earlier, given the massive cost of Giant Giant Robot development and the scarcity of pilots, sustainment is the most crucial aspect of operations. Usable pilots are few and far between. In series such as Evangelion or RahXephon, they are also usually forced into service and are too young to emotionally handle the severe demands that monster combat and interface with their machines place on them. A flexible style of troop control and proactive post-incident psychological support is needed in order to deal with the pressures of Giant Giant Robot piloting. Extensive combat service support is also needed to repair damaged robots are sorties, which frequently inflict great damage on machines due to the closer-quarters nature of battles.
Perhaps the new frontier in Giant Giant Robot technology and operations is unmanned machines. At the end of Evangelion, mass-produced and smaller unmanned machines are utilized. These might possibly reduce the property damage and loss of life inherent in human-monster clashes as well as the logistical and human burden required. Metal Gear Solid's smaller, highly mobile, mass-produced machines, armed with high-powered weaponry also point to a solution for intercepting monsters before they reach populated areas.
4. Overall Lessons Learned
The organizational and technological aspects of Giant Giant Robots are more important than the actual techno-tactical details, which are largely out of the government's control once battle is joined. However, judicious preparation, safeguards, and preplanning can lay the groundwork for success. Nevertheless, most Giant Giant Robot series do not satisfactorily resolve the questions arising from the sheer complexity of organizational preparation for this challenge. But it's OK, because these robots are seriously awesome.
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