The Inner Workings of Azel

[Snow_Girl]

I’m currently working on a portrait of Azel, drawn in the simple bust type representation. While I was working, however, I started thinking about her actual structure. Shadow and I chatted briefly about it yesterday, and he suggested that I introduce the topic for discussion/theorising/speculation.

We know that Azel is a drone, but she states that she is biological, “like the creatures they had been fighting.” While I can’t claim to be any sort of expert on cybernetics or synthetic tissues, I’m just curious to know what you all think? I told Shadow that I believe Azel is flesh beneath her suit of armor, just like a human. This would seem an obvious conclusion based on the images of her released by Sega because her right leg is bare below the knee, giving way to a foot complete with toes. My guess is that she has skin, but wears that sort of tight black suit with the white armor plates layered on top.

This all seems simple enough, but I wonder even further what it is exactly that’s beneath her skin. Do you believe that Azel has all of the biological parts of a living creature, only synthetically created? Or is she more like a cyborg with mechanical pieces that control her body with a layer of biological tissue on the exterior to make her appear to be human-like? Of course, we have seen sketches and concept work of other drone type characters that didn’t have as human an appearance as Azel. Abadd would be a good example of this. We know that she was an important drone, so perhaps drones with more imperative tasks were given the “honour” of appearing more human like? Purely speculation on my part.

Was Azel assembled like a robot, as seen in Ghost in the Shell? Was she herself grown in a large tube like the image we’ve seen from Orta labeled “sexual act?” Clearly she is depicted as female, though her build does lean toward a more androgynous manifestation. Do you think there was a deliberate purpose for her being created as female?

Lastly, if you do believe that she is flesh and blood, albeit synthetic, what keeps her tissue from decaying over her thousand year slumber? Do you think her suit has any sort of restoring/protective qualities?

[The_Ancient]

First, I have a little trouble with terms like “synthetic” pertaining to PD, because I’m not sure how someone means it. As in: yes I think Azel is entirely artificial, in the sense she was created the same way any other bio-engineered creatures are. I suppose I’ve always thought of her “armor” as a part of her body, I don’t think it’s something she can just take off anyway… but, as with the other more cyborg looking creatures, it makes sense to me they would be manufactured as composites of modified complex organisms and discrete components. In Azel’s case, I don’t think any of those components are inorganic, so nothing synthetic in that sense. Once assembled, I believe she may be considered an integrated organism.

Why female? It’s the base gender, male is the modification. It may be that simple, since Azel was intended to have a higher level consciousness than most drones, much of her genetics probably is human. And there would be no reason for say, high testosterone levels in a servant, I don’t think? Of course… someone was obviously concerned about her aesthetic package as well…

She doesn’t decay for the same reason other BEC’s don’t, they were designed not to. How that’s possible we can’t know of course… but I will guess part of her hybrid construction includes systems that can repair damage to the more static components. And perhaps there is some other process that arrests cellular decay in more natural tissue. The question makes me wonder if Orta will eventually grow old and die… since she doesn’t appear to be a hybrid like Azel?

[Solo_Wing]

We know that Azel is a drone, but she states that she is biological, “like the creatures they had been fighting.” While I can’t claim to be any sort of expert on cybernetics or synthetic tissues, I’m just curious to know what you all think? I told Shadow that I believe Azel is flesh beneath her suit of armor, just like a human. This would seem an obvious conclusion based on the images of her released by Sega because her right leg is bare below the knee, giving way to a foot complete with toes. My guess is that she has skin, but wears that sort of tight black suit with the white armor plates layered on top.

Is this section of Azel’s leg flesh or another section of white armour? On the other leg, Azel’s black armour covers the length of the leg, but the shape of toes is visible as the armour is moulded to Azel’s form. If we look at this picture of Azel, the division between the two sections of the white leg is less apparent, which makes me wonder if the colour change is simply an appearance change in the armour partway down the leg.

This all seems simple enough, but I wonder even further what it is exactly that’s beneath her skin. Do you believe that Azel has all of the biological parts of a living creature, only synthetically created? Or is she more like a cyborg with mechanical pieces that control her body with a layer of biological tissue on the exterior to make her appear to be human-like?

I’d say Azel is biological, rather than mechanical - consistent with the internals of the monsters and dragons. The suit may actually be irremovable, similar to how an Armadillo is constructed. The Tower could have used some sort of biological or thought based process to interface with Azel. It could have recognised her DNA pattern and reacted accordingly, for example, eliminating the need for a mechanical interface between the two. I like to think of the Ancient technology as almost purely organic… the Ancients not only created life, but were able to use it the same way we use electronic and mechanical technology today.

Of course, we have seen sketches and concept work of other drone type characters that didn’t have as human an appearance as Azel. Abadd would be a good example of this. We know that she was an important drone, so perhaps drones with more imperative tasks were given the “honour” of appearing more human like? Purely speculation on my part.

According to PDO, there were whole tribes of drones in hiding, pretending to be human. I’d imagine these drones would need to look human in order to do this, so perhaps Azel’s close resemblance to a human female is not an exception to the rule.

Was Azel assembled like a robot, as seen in Ghost in the Shell? Was she herself grown in a large tube like the image we’ve seen from Orta labeled “sexual act?” Clearly she is depicted as female, though her build does lean toward a more androgynous manifestation. Do you think there was a deliberate purpose for her being created as female?

I think the scientists who created Azel liked the female form.

Azel wasn’t finished when the rebels stole her, so maybe the scientists intended her to be used for something other than an instrument of destruction, i.e. something symbolising birth/rebirth.

Lastly, if you do believe that she is flesh and blood, albeit synthetic, what keeps her tissue from decaying over her thousand year slumber? Do you think her suit has any sort of restoring/protective qualities?

According to Zadoc, Azel had to return to the plant beneath Uru in order to survive, so perhaps this can give us some clues. Perhaps the bed that Azel slept in preserved or even regenerated her, similar to how the dragon (potentially) recovered inside the dragon crests.

[Snow_Girl]

First, I have a little trouble with terms like “synthetic” pertaining to PD, because I’m not sure how someone means it.

Well, by “synthetic,” I meant artificially created. That doesn’t mean inorganic components, rather that they were crafted or grown rather than pertaining to a natural source. If you were to take a sample of human tissue and grow organs from it, that would be more natural. However, if you have the technology to craft living tissue from chemical components, that would signify a form of synthetic or artificial materials. Both are still organic.

Why female? It’s the base gender, male is the modification. It may be that simple, since Azel was intended to have a higher level consciousness than most drones, much of her genetics probably is human. And there would be no reason for say, high testosterone levels in a servant, I don’t think? Of course… someone was obviously concerned about her aesthetic package as well…

I find this interesting, because in our own history more often than not, males are generally preferred over females when it comes to positions of power, authority and knowledge. Women are generally considered weak and incapable of discerning emotion from logic when it comes to decisions. Not that I can rightfully juxtapose the history of our Earth with the realms of PD, but you may notice there aren’t many women present. Perhaps female was the base gender due to the shortage of actual women. Not that I’m suggesting they were to perform the functions of women, but that they would be more aesthetically pleasing. I don’t think testosterone and aggression would really play into the whole drone existence, though. Obviously, if they are able to program Azel to not have emotions and to merely perform her functions and duties, they can craft a male drone that is not aggressive? It was my understanding that Azel has the ability to develop human emotions, as is apparent as the story develops, but that seemed a rare gift bestowed upon her due to her unique role. There has even been discussion on this forum as the whether the rebels who stole Azel away from her original creators are the ones responsible for giving her the ability to feel.

She doesn’t decay for the same reason other BEC’s don’t, they were designed not to. How that’s possible we can’t know of course… but I will guess part of her hybrid construction includes systems that can repair damage to the more static components. And perhaps there is some other process that arrests cellular decay in more natural tissue. The question makes me wonder if Orta will eventually grow old and die… since she doesn’t appear to be a hybrid like Azel?

Well, of course anit-aging/decay technology is something that we can’t completely fathom with our current level of science, but it’s certainly a possibility. It could be that she was engineered with a sort of self healing cellular structure (like the X-Men’s Logan/Wolverine for example). However, I always find the claim of dependent-free organic tissues an interesting topic. How can you have living tissue that doesn’t require the basic necessities of existence? Cells require oxygen and nutrients. If drones are meant to be lasting servants, why give them the vulnerability of human tissue? By crafting an organism that doesn’t require food, water or oxygen, aren’t you creating a paradox of life?

[Snow_Girl]

[quote=“Solo Wing Dragon”]

We know that Azel is a drone, but she states that she is biological, “like the creatures they had been fighting.” While I can’t claim to be any sort of expert on cybernetics or synthetic tissues, I’m just curious to know what you all think? I told Shadow that I believe Azel is flesh beneath her suit of armor, just like a human. This would seem an obvious conclusion based on the images of her released by Sega because her right leg is bare below the knee, giving way to a foot complete with toes

. My guess is that she has skin, but wears that sort of tight black suit with the white armor plates layered on top.

Is this section of Azel’s leg flesh or another section of white armour? On the other leg, Azel’s black armour covers the length of the leg, but the shape of toes is visible as the armour is moulded to Azel’s form. If we look at this picture of Azel, the division between the two sections of the white leg is less apparent, which makes me wonder if the colour change is simply an appearance change in the armour partway down the leg.[/quote]

If you look at this image, there is clearly a division between the plate armor and the skin on her leg. I think that picture was just the concept artist being lazy. =P Even in the CG sequences of the game, there is a clear division of where the armor is layered over her leg.

[quote=“Solo Wing Dragon”]

Of course, we have seen sketches and concept work of other drone type characters that didn’t have as human an appearance as Azel. Abadd

would be a good example of this. We know that she was an important drone, so perhaps drones with more imperative tasks were given the “honour” of appearing more human like? Purely speculation on my part.

According to PDO, there were whole tribes of drones in hiding, pretending to be human. I’d imagine these drones would need to look human in order to do this, so perhaps Azel’s close resemblance to a human female is not an exception to the rule.[/quote]

Ah, yes. I’d forgotten about that. However, they could cover certain parts of their unhuman anatomy the same way Azel disguised herself in the ending of Saga before heading out into the desert alone.

[quote=“Solo Wing Dragon”]

Was Azel assembled like a robot, as seen in Ghost in the Shell

? Was she herself grown in a large tube like the image we’ve seen from Orta labeled “sexual act?” Clearly she is depicted as female, though her build does lean toward a more androgynous manifestation. Do you think there was a deliberate purpose for her being created as female?

I think the scientists who created Azel liked the female form.

Azel wasn’t finished when the rebels stole her, so maybe the scientists intended her to be used for something other than an instrument of destruction, i.e. something symbolising birth/rebirth.[/quote]

Which makes us all wish we knew more about the Ancients. :sigh:

[quote=“Solo Wing Dragon”]

Lastly, if you do believe that she is flesh and blood, albeit synthetic, what keeps her tissue from decaying over her thousand year slumber? Do you think her suit has any sort of restoring/protective qualities?

According to Zadoc, Azel had to return to the plant beneath Uru in order to survive, so perhaps this can give us some clues. Perhaps the bed that Azel slept in preserved or even regenerated her, similar to how the dragon (potentially) recovered inside the dragon crests.[/quote]

That would make sense, but I still question how she could survive for so long if she was entirely organic. Clearly she never needed food or water, even when she was awake. And quite literally, if she slept for such a long time, wouldn’t that in theory provide her with enough of a “charge” to live without resting for a considerable time span? Just a thought…

[Al3xand3r]

Well the monsters can also live for thousands of years so, why not the drones? They’re rather similar. How it’s done exactly we don’t know, but they certainly don’t all require a machine like Azel did, perhaps that was a special case for Azel, or even a special occasion for her, and she can live on fine after it does whatever needed to be done…

Also more rest doesn’t always mean more charge, there’s always a max capacity… Well, much like sleep. Also, wasn’t she sort of, I don’t know, traumatised, when they said she needs to be taken back to the tower? Perhaps she was damaged and it repaired her? Or did she just faint out of nowhere with no reason? I don’t remember that part.

[The_Ancient]

Azel was certainly traumatized, she’d just lost Atolm, the dragon created for her… created as basically a part of her.

Snow Girl, what I meant is female is the prime gender. We are all mutants, you are the archetypes. Male characteristics are developmental augmentations. Other than like, mammary growth, for the most part female characteristics are the norm.

[Solo_Wing]

If you look at this image, there is clearly a division between the plate armor and the skin on her leg. I think that picture was just the concept artist being lazy. =P Even in the CG sequences of the game, there is a clear division of where the armor is layered over her leg.

Yeah, the division is much more apparent in that picture. Assuming that is bare skin (it’s certainly the same colour), it’s somewhat impractical that the Ancients would give her one bare foot.

Ah, yes. I’d forgotten about that. However, they could cover certain parts of their unhuman anatomy the same way Azel disguised herself in the ending of Saga before heading out into the desert alone.

Makes sense. These drones would probably need to look more alike to Azel than Abadd, although I can imagine that Abadd would pass as a human from a distance if he was wrapped in clothes/armour. The appearance of the Sky Rider and Dark Dragon’s rider might be closer to what these drones looked like - human in shape on the outside, but fully armoured so that noone could see their face or body which might have little resemblance to a humans. Looking at it like that, you might be right in that Azel was one of the only drones to look very close to a human. This could have something to do with her importance, however I’d consider Abadd’s task of resuscitating the Ancients as equal or of more importance (to the Ancients).

That would make sense, but I still question how she could survive for so long if she was entirely organic. Clearly she never needed food or water, even when she was awake. And quite literally, if she slept for such a long time, wouldn’t that in theory provide her with enough of a “charge” to live without resting for a considerable time span? Just a thought…

Perhaps she was frozen Forever Young style. The whole ruin structure surrounding her could have acted as a power source to keep her alive. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the dragon crests have all been found near ruins and that Lagi left the dragon pup inside Shelcoof which could have acted as a huge power source.

I’m not sure about the whole charged up idea. Azel didn’t need food and drink in order to survive, but even the dragon required sleep at the campsites. I think the dragon was able to go for the length of each game without recharging, but used the dragon crests to hibernate and recover. Perhaps the drones have their own recharging tools in Uru.

Well the monsters can also live for thousands of years so, why not the drones? They’re rather similar. How it’s done exactly we don’t know, but they certainly don’t all require a machine like Azel did, perhaps that was a special case for Azel, or even a special occasion for her, and she can live on fine after it does whatever needed to be done…

Can we be sure of that? The monsters may also need to go into hibernation at intervals in order to recover, perhaps using the Tower as a hibernation/recharge chamber. I’m not sure if the regular monsters could live for thousands of years, but the dragons had purposes which lasted for millennia. However, they may have slept until needed, e.g. when the Tower that they were guarding was awakened. I think this is what happened with the Dark Dragon in the first game. The Empire unearthed the Tower, and the Dark Dragon was called by Sestren protect it.

[Al3xand3r]

Well hybernation is still surviving. I mean, all monsters we meet are thousands of years old, aren’t they? Clearly they survived.

Don’t they have the purpose of regulating mankind and what not though? That must mean they wake up at intervals at least. Maybe at programmed intervals, maybe whenever they get a purpose, whenever someone approaches as in forbidden zone…

Whatever works. I guess we can’t know if they really hybernate, or if they hybernate if it’s done to survive or simply when they have no current purpose or whatever…

I imagine they don’t all have a bed like Azel though, unless we imagine that they ALL return to their birth place, one of the towers (we know towers can manufacture them, but are ALL manufactured there?), to recharge at other intervals…

Too many ifs?

[Solo_Wing]

Don’t they have a constant purpose of regulating mankind and what not though? That must mean they wake up at intervals at least. Maybe at programmed intervals, maybe whenever they get a purpose, maybe whenever someone approaches like in the forbiden zone…

The Towers/ruins were built for this purpose according to Lundi. The pure types are deployed by the Towers to guard the ruins, etc.

Whatever works. I guess we can’t know if they really hybernate, or if they hybernate if it’s done to survive or simply when they have no current purpose or whatever…

I don’t think the game contains any evidence either way, but the dragon crests suggest this, at least about the heresy dragon.

I imagine they don’t all have a bed like Azel though, unless we imagine that they ALL return to their birth place, one of the towers (we know towers can manufacture them, but are ALL manufactured there?), to recharge at other intervals…

Who knows… they may recharge inside the ruins that they guard.

Presumably, Atolm was sleeping in the ruins near Azel too. I don’t believe this is ever properly explained though.

[Snow_Girl]

Yeah, the division is much more apparent in that picture. Assuming that is bare skin (it’s certainly the same colour), it’s somewhat impractical that the Ancients would give her one bare foot.

Unless, of course, the armor was to continue over her leg and completely cover her foot originally and this is just one way to visually depict the fact that she is “incomplete.”

Presumably, Atolm was sleeping in the ruins near Azel too. I don’t believe this is ever properly explained though.

I seem to recall that they had unearthed Atolm in a separate site, further away from Azel. I need to go back and play it again to be certain, but I think that they had found Atolm first and needed Azel in order to wake him.

Snow Girl, what I meant is female is the prime gender. We are all mutants, you are the archetypes. Male characteristics are developmental augmentations. Other than like, mammary growth, for the most part female characteristics are the norm.

My mistake. =) However, I still think that they could craft unaggressive male drones, should they choose to. I think by assigning a gender specific appearance, they were more concerned with the aesthetics. Otherwise, why not make an androgynous model?

[The_Ancient]

I basically agree Azel is female as an aesthetic choice, as I already represented. As a complete rationale, it just seems plausible to me that it was predicated on the fact she was more “human” than other drones, at a genetic level. As you said, her build is relatively androgynous, and a truly sexless human will look more female than male, so perhaps they chose to lean her to a clearly feminine identity - estrogen facial characteristics, maybe a little extra in the hips - so it’s less… unnerving?

[link1987]

i think shes like half crab like, and the white armor is actually skeleton-like stuff

[Snow_Girl]

i think shes like half crab like, and the white armor is actually skeleton-like stuff

Sorta like an exoskeleton? Interesting theory.

[link1987]

[quote=“Snow Girl”]

i think shes like half crab like, and the white armor is actually skeleton-like stuff

Sorta like an exoskeleton? Interesting theory.[/quote]

yeah kinda like the robots in the manga ultimo

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/1404/16451742.jpg