"Short" version of a longer thing coming later.
Message:I typed up notes on my interpretations of EE Suits for Todd. When on computer, not phone, I'll add them here. I've wasted way too many hours of my life thinking about EE-Suits.
Just noting, in the real world, we already have "memory" materials that can transition between shapes depending on applied or environmental circumstances.
In Era Ten J-unit can function as plastic wrap or armor plate depending on how it's configured.
So, yeah, the EE-suit totally has "rubberized" (or "floppy bits") armor sections, used for exactly the reasons stated. The "Art Director Emeritus" and "Soul of the Mythos" agree on this, and, together, we override the creator and copyright holder of the IP**.
Of course much of an EE-SUIT is "memory-J." Of course that "floppy" outer arm plate can go into a rigid mode and extend to become ailerons and such when in flight... Heck, that's why the outer edges of those plates are thicker! Conservation of mass applies, but, when those arm plates extend and go rigid as a flight surface, they also lengthen and widen (and form a proper curve) those "thick edges" are the J Unit allowing for the reshape. Same goes for any "tripoding" for ordinance modes. Once the need for a rigid surface is complete, those plates "relax" into "rubber" for maximum mobility...
There is no truth to the rumor that Walker-made EE-suits use actual rubber, and certainty none to the whispers that Skimerrian-made EE-suits have faulty code that sometimes "locks" the "rubber" plates in rigid mode...
Of course all the plates magnetize! Boots magnetize to hulls cuz there's no magic artificial gravity. Magnetic Pulses are a Suit Function. Heck, Spacegamer 6 or 7 has an article on supplementary EE Suit functions which discusses the magnetic properties of Suits. The apron holding Sarge's pen has NOTHING on the Skia who started magnetizing their gauntlets for better grip on their hand-cannons! Besides, wasn't paper banned in Era Two? Sarges fill out paperwork in WDF (Walker Document Format). The best use of a pen in Era Ten is playing "fetch" with the Cruz.
Now Duro-Armor dropped the "rubber" for more overlapping "rigid plates." Yes, Duro Armor is a different thing than an EE-Suit, despite underlying similarities. Evidence? Well, the artwork certainly shows a totally different shell. "Ah, but it's all J-unit over Components!" Red says, to which I reply there are a bunch of Suit Functions unique to Duro-Armor - and it's not just software..."Upgrade 24B" is described as a "biological ooze." As a unique function, that means there a storage tank for the ooze, an incubator to grow more, and a network of capillaries so the ooze gets to damaged areas. That's all hardware, my dude. QED. This also means Duro-Armor "bleeds." Now while MACE is perfectly willing to buy cut-rate Walker or Skimerrian gear for the Battle Born, the G-Sol get 100% genuine War Cartel gear!
Think that's bad? Todd draws an EE Suit as basically the same size as the occupant. I say a Terran-style Suit is about ten feet tall and the occupants elbows are what is supposed to line up to the Suit's shoulders... Yes, this does mean the trooper's arms are straight out to the sides at all times. Yea, more than one trooper has short arms and had their forearms snapped by Suit arm movements. That's just a serious wound, and the Active Cells will regrow that arm at an angle where it fits in the Suit. Corrective surgery to straighten the arms once leaving MACE is available. Still beats being a Skia in a Walker-brand Suit where the Skia chops off gliding membranes AND tail to fit! At least Skimmerian Suits have tail-armor! Of course, the best option for a Skia is to try and find two War Cartel Suits - a Terran top and a Cruz bottom*. The Skia's tail fits nicely... Feet? Not so much.
I did say I've wasted way too many hours of my life thinking about EE-Suits, right?
*Thanks to Laura for telling me her Skia character wore the bottom of a Cruz suit. I laughed out loud and told her I wished I'd come up with that in the 90's...
**On the concept of Todd and I "overriding Red" on Era Ten's fictional history and tech details... Frank Herbert wrote "Dune." Decades later his son, Brian, slapped his name on some books really written by Kevin J. Anderson. In their first Dune prequel the author's note says the prequel's timeline and events contradict Dune itself, and, where there is discrepancy, then Brian/Kevin should be considered correct and Frank is wrong. Um. No. Frank Herbert created the story and wrote the original books, and his kid's bad fan-fiction isn't "more canon" than the original books. Which means I just took a really long time to explain my dubious joke. Still, Red is gatekeeper of the "canon."
Yours,
IronMike
20-Jan-2021