In every major Gundam series, the mobile suit known as Gundam has always been on the bleeding-edge of technology. It was a newly developed mobile suit in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, it was a secretly developed technology in both Gundam Wing and Gundam 00, and it was an advanced missing technology in Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphan.

The same thing can be said about the Gundams in Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. In this series, Gundam is not only leap and bounds beyond the regular mobile suit, but there’s also only a handful of them left in the entire universe. The reason why it is so rare is simply because people are so afraid of this new technology to the point that they actively look for every remaining Gundam and destroy them. It’s basically a witch hunt, but for Gundam. What makes people so afraid of Gundam? Is that fear justified?

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How Gundam Works in The Witch From Mercury

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Before we talk about the feeling of fear and dread, let’s begin by understanding how Gundam works first. In Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, a Gundam is the application of a revolutionary technology called the GUND technology. Interestingly enough, GUND Technology itself is actually conceived for medical purposes. This new invention allows a true connection between human’s brain and the advanced prosthetic limbs that are installed in their body. With this technology, humans will be able to treat, feel, and control their new mechanical limbs as if it is a real part of their body.

The people behind this technology, the researchers at the Vanadis Institute, see the GUND technology as a way to augment the human body so that it can adapt and thrive in space. However, things begin to change when they are acquired by a company called Ochs Earth. It doesn’t take a long time for the GUND technology to be developed into something that can be used for military purposes.

This led to the creation of something called the GUND ARMS, which is a mobile suit that makes use of the GUND technology to bridge a direct connection between the pilot’s brain and the mobile suit itself, also known as GUNDAM. This application means the pilot will have a much greater control over the movements and the maneuverability of the mobile suit, as well as fully harnessing the full capabilities of the machine.

The Source Of The Hate And Fear

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The connection between the human’s brain and the machine through the GUND technology is measured by something called the Permet Score. When activated, a user will begin their connection at Permet Score 1, which is more than enough to control something as simple as a prosthetic limb. For a more complicated machine, a deeper connection is required to fully control it. For something as complex as a fully loaded mobile suit, you can expect at least a Permet Score of 3.

The problem, however, is the fact that a higher Permet Score means a heavier burden to the pilot’s brain. After all, you can imagine how hard it is for a normal-sized human brain to control a mobile suit the size of a building. Regular human beings will struggle and inevitably suffer negative effects such as headache and nausea at Permet Score 2. Those effects are highly intensified when you reach Permet Score 3, and there’s also a risk of long-term brain damage. On Permet Score 4, the pilot’s brain will be overloaded, which leads to internal bleeding, irreparable damages to the brain, and eventually, death.

The people at the Vanadis Institute and the Ochs Earth are fully aware of these risks, but they choose to keep it a secret. Because rather than dealing with a potential public outcry, the researchers decided to keep working hard to find a way to negate the adverse effects and make it safer for the pilot’s brain instead. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a long time until a pilot accidentally dies when testing the newly built Gundam. This information somehow leaked to the public, which sparked an immediate negative reaction and a push-back over the GUND technology. The people begin to view Gundam as a cursed mobile suit that can, and will, kill its own pilot.

Why The Hate And Fear Are Justified

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When you have a weapon that can effectively eliminate the enemies at the expense of its user’s life, it’s normal to hate and fear such a weapon. You can even call it common sense. After all, despite the researchers best effort, they still haven’t found an effective way to solve that alarming issue. This means Gundam is still a fancy death trap for its pilots.

Rather than waiting for technology to get better by sacrificing more pilots, it’s understandable for the people and the politicians to choose to destroy such a deadly weapon instead. Nobody wants their loved ones to lose their lives by being a pilot of a Gundam, no matter how advanced or revolutionary the technology may be. And that is why the public fear and the hate towards Gundam is actually justified.

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