Talinz Interfacing systems

The Talinz interface is one of the cruxes of design for the modular robotic frame. Originally intended to serve as a platform to allow rescue workers to interact with individuals in vulnerable or delicate situations in which the frame itself might prove insufficient, the interface developed for use in warfare, then sport. The interface allows a kind of ‘cybernetic symbiosis’ between human and Talinz.

For such an important device, the interface seems rather unassuming. A small chip in the Talinz frame and a crown-like headpiece together make the entire system.  The crown itself non-invasively reads neural signals from the pilot’s brain and wirelessly transmits these to the Talinz. The interface chip then over-rides the normal Talinz OS, replacing it with a direct piloting mechanism which allows full human control of the frame. This over-ride can occur without the permission of a Talinz frame.

During interface, the Talinz OS is relegated to an advisory mechanism. Generally, a pilot, when interfaced, will experience an ‘inspirational’ thought pattern. In reality, the Talinz unit is directly transmitting calculated information to the human brain. In this sense, the Talinz OS becomes a calculator and neural processor, acting as additional cranial hemispheres for the pilot. The transmitted data can be anything processed by the sensor packages of the Talinz unit. This can range from advanced ballistics profiles, threat ratings or criminal records of observed individuals, radiation profiles of the environment, or any other information available to an artificial intelligence with access to the internet and a high processing capability. Likewise, damage to, or the lack of, sensor systems in a Talinz unit can deprive the pilot of the relevant sense. In early testing phases, damage to sensory systems in a Talinz unit had a chance to cause permanent damage to the pilot by shattering the neural link between the real sensory organ and the brain, depriving them of the sense after the interface had been closed. This problem has since been fixed.

Different pilots have different reactions to the interface system. Some describe the experience as similar to wearing a metal suit of armour, with all of the additional weights and balances that this implies, whilst others talk about the existence of a ‘second skin’. Others become more detached from the interface, and claim it feels similar to piloting a car or plane. These differing experiences have led directly to the field of robotic psychology, with some researchers suggesting a correlation between the experience of the interface system and the relationship between pilot and Talinz. Whether this is a purely psychosomatic effect or not is a matter of debate, and the relationship between pilot and frame appears to have no notable effect on performance or ability to succeed when interviewing top Talinz pilots.

Three leagues ago, during the quarter finals of the African Cup, a major cash prize tournament, one of the ace pilots, a 24 year old woman by the name of Sonia Bah, disappeared. In the middle of a match. Despite over 30,000 people watching her in the arena. Sonia was well known for having a close friendship with her Talinz unit, a medium-weight purpose-built sport unit provided by Aswegen and Modise, who would frequently accompany her to press conferences and publicity events. Sonia and her unit, Abenaa, had been together since the pilot was plucked from obscurity by the company at the age of 17, and the media leapt on this opportunity to promote a fighter with such a unique ‘gimmick’, rather than the constant changing of units that characterised many of the other pilots in the African Cup at the time.

The Quarter final itself, against another African pilot, Youssef Shenouda, was an intense fight that pushed both to their limits. Youssef was using a much faster unit, but was struggling to make an attack against Abenaa that connected strongly enough to throw the pair off their game. Cameras recording the event were cut by electromagnetic interference about 15 minutes into the second round. After the event, spectators reported a blinding flash in the arena, after which Sonia was nowhere to be found. Abenaa continued fighting as if nothing had happened and won the round, and the match, before the officials managed to make any formal decision. Abenaa, without a pilot, was formally disqualified. Youssef went on to win the tournament. Sonia’s body was never found.

Abenaa has been incapable of interfacing with another pilot since. New interface chips have been installed in the frame, but any pilot trying to connect with the unit finds themselves ‘blocked out’ by some unexplainable force…