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Bolo (literature): Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''Bolos might fail. They might die and be destroyed. But they did not surrender, and they never -- ever -- quit.''}}
A series of stories, originally by [[Keith Laumer]], that were later expanded into a [[Shared Universe]] by other authors. They detail the exploits of the '''Bolo''', autonomous AI tanks that [[Zeerust|are supposed to have evolved]] from the standard main battle tank of the 20th century.
These aren't your normal tanks. For one, their designers decided that [[Bigger Is Better|bigger was better]], and since the only thing that could really take down a Bolo was ''another'' Bolo, they just kept building the Bolos bigger and bigger, to the point where even the ''stealth'' tanks mass 1,500 tons.
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* [[Deployable Cover]]
* [[Determinator]]: See the page quote, above.
* [[Deflector Shield]]: "Battlescreens" provide protection, do [[Energy Absorption]] and render physical impacts harmless, so killing Bolos requires [[Energy Weapon
* [[Downer Ending]]: A lot of Bolos tend to sacrifice themselves for the sake of humanity, and the Bolos are generally the most likable characters in the story, so...
** the end of "Though Hell Should Bar The Way," kinda takes the cake, though. {{spoiler|Out of all the Tearse on the planet, only a handful will survive, but how much longer they will last is unknown. Plus, the Melconians are getting away with information on the Bolos, and the [[Forever War|Final]] [[Kill'Em All|War]] is looming on the horizon now, meaning that the survival of the Tearse -- not to mention everyone in this entire story -- is low, to say the least.}}
* [[Driven to Suicide]]
* [[Dungeon Bypass]]: As they grow bigger and heavier, the concepts of 'obstacle' or 'barrier' become less
** Bolo Mark 33's take it one step further. Mk. 33 is 32,000 tons, has more guns than any previous model, is the largest Bolo type ever made, and, oh yeah, one more thing: it can fly at 500 kilometers per hour (310 Miles Per Hour.) One tiny little detail after that- they were made to operate in groups of 24. So if it can't be flown over, run over, or blasted out of the way by ''one'' Bolo, chances are that it won't stand up to twenty-three more.
* [[Energy Absorption]]: Naval ships and later model Bolos have "Battlescreens", which both absorb attacks a la force shields AND transfer the absorbed energy to the onboard batteries.
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* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Bolos picked up a bit of this. In Laumer's short story "Field Test," the first self-aware Bolo makes a suicide charge [[Out of the Inferno]] that causes the enemy to break and run. When asked why, they expected it to demonstrate some superhuman strategic acumen that its human commanders missed. They're awestruck by its real reason: "For the honor of the regiment."<ref>Specifically, the 20th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, a unit whose history dates back to the American Civil War, to which the Bolo was assigned</ref> This has since become the catch phrase of the Bolos.
* [[Human Popsicle]]: In "The Night of the Trolls".
* [[Humans Are
** Notably, Bolos spend a lot of time explaining to their commanders (Who sometimes take a dim view of their fellow humans) that humans are ''not'' a race of total bastards.
* [[Impossibly Graceful Giant]]: Bolos are often described as moving far more gracefully than a multi-thousand-ton block of flintsteel has any right to.
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* [[Military and Warfare Tropes]]: Pick one. Chances are it's in here.
* [[Military Mashup Machine]]: Later Marks of Bolo are Land Battleships. And with the drones and flight ability the last ones become full fledged airborne aircraft carriers.
* [[More Dakka]]: The "infinite repeaters" fitted as point defense/antipersonnel weapons can be anything from flechette launchers to railguns to lasers. Later models even use smaller versions of the Hellbore [[Wave Motion Gun
* [[Mundane Utility]]:
** One Bolo once had a huge bulldozer blade mounted on its front armor so it could do some excavation work. Others have disguised themselves as giant tractors, or even been put in orbit as comsats.
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