Ah, the ZERO System. It is, without a doubt, one of the most pivotal parts of Gundam Wing's plot in the second half of the show, and plays important roles in several of the spinoffs. And yet, the functions of this important system remain a mystery - what IS the ZERO System? How does it work? Is it just a program, or is it self-aware? Does it have its own agenda?
Well, let's start with the basics of what we DO know. The ZERO System is a combat computer program designed by the Gundam Engineers about fifteen years before the series began, and was originally intended to go into the Wing Zero. The system can be installed on just about any MS, but they won't be able to use it as well because Wing Zero was optimized for it. Though the system provides an incredible boost to one's combat abilities, it has horrible detrimental side effects upon the user if they aren't capable of handling it. Though about nine people use ZERO during the course of Gundam Wing, only two of them are said to have "mastered" it: Heero Yuy and Zechs Merquise. Though all the Gundam Pilots use it at one point or another, Quatre Winner seems to be the only other one who can handle its side-effects. Dorothy Catalonia is often considered to have mastered the system as well, given her one-time use, but this remains unclear given the unique circumstances of her use of it.
Now we start hitting upon the mysteries. So, to start with the big question, what exactly IS the ZERO System? Let's start with the closest thing we get to an official source - the dialogue of the show itself. In Episode 26 (The Eternal Flame of the Shooting Stars), OZ recovers Wing Zero, and Trant begins experimenting with it. What he tells Tsubarov...
Trant Clark
"This cockpit system penetrates the pilot's brain waves and increases his combat abilities. Our test pilot is reacting as quick as the mobile dolls."
Later, Heero, Quatre, and the Gundam Engineers are rescued from OZ by the Treize Faction, and apparently return the favor by gathering data on the System for them (which explains where Treize got the data to make Epyon's system). During conversation...
Quote:
INSTRUCTOR H: The system amplifies and controls brain waves for fighting. It also brings battle results greater than the pilot could normally ever achieve.
DOKTOR S: It would've been okay if the pilot saw OZ as the enemy. But the mind-warping side effects caused a target error.
DOCTOR J: The pilot was incomplete as a soldier so he attacked his very own allies. Extremely regrettable.
DOKTOR S: It would've been okay if the pilot saw OZ as the enemy. But the mind-warping side effects caused a target error.
DOCTOR J: The pilot was incomplete as a soldier so he attacked his very own allies. Extremely regrettable.
Furthermore, the episode introduction from episdoes 35 to 38 states...
Narrator
"ZERO System. A cockpit system that quickly calculates battle data and feeds the large amounts of stats on estimated values directly back to the pilot. But this system also drives a pilot to his limits. To the extent that he won't even fear his own death. Thus helping him gain absolute victory."
And just to add to the confusion, the preview for episode 34 (Its Name is Epyon) says...
Heero
"But the new mobile suit is evil, much like Zero."
Rather interesting, calling the main character's personal MS, and the MS that comes to represent the series and its sequel, as "evil". Unfortunately, that's about all the series itself says regarding ZERO. Therefore, it's time to turn to other sources. First off is the Encyclopedia of Gundam Wing which, as its name implies, gives some rather important and useful information in encyclopedia fashion. The entry for the ZERO System states...
Encyclopedia of Gundam Wing
The system is an MS operating system that takes analysis and predictions based on the combat situation and and transmits the information directly into the pilot's brain. In short, it can show the pilot the future, but unless his skill is at the utmost level, his mind begins running wild. After all, it was developed by the Gundam Enginners 20 years ago. Wing Zero and Epyon possess it.
This actually provides some new information here. In-series, it's said that the system modifies the brainwaves of the pilot. The EoGW says that, instead, information is fed directly into the pilot's brain - much faster and more efficient than just reading it on a computer screen. As has been pointed out many times in the past, this function is nearly identical to another piece of technology in Gundam - the Biocomputer in the movie Gundam F91.
Regardless, our quest for information continues. Now we move on to the Gundam Wing Data Collection, published in Japan by Media Works and imported by Tokyopop under the name of Gundam Wing Technical Manual. Before jumping right into their comments on ZERO, a brief stopoff to make one important note:
Gundam Wing Data Collection
In the creation of the Tallgeese, the MS developers believed they had created a machine too sophisticated to be controlled by a single person. The machine, they said, was perfect - it was the human pilots that were the problem. In order to make it a viable weapon, something had to change.
There were two paths that could make Mobile Suit combat a reality:
1) The human pilot would be eliminated entirely, making the MS an unmanned vehicle.
2) The pilots themselves would be altered to make them perform better.
There were two paths that could make Mobile Suit combat a reality:
1) The human pilot would be eliminated entirely, making the MS an unmanned vehicle.
2) The pilots themselves would be altered to make them perform better.
This may seem like a non-sequitur, but bear in mind that it's extremely important to the ZERO System's existence. You see, at the point they made the Tallgeese, the five engineers were faced with that very choice. Romefeller, always focusing on the financial gain, probably would have pushed for the latter option (as they did in the future with mobile dolls). However, as shown by the Gundam Engineers' attitudes throughout the series, this was not an option; they weren't about to create a soulless weapon that could rampage across the planet at the command of anyone rich enough to buy his own army. Their personal disgust for that kind of "push-button war" lead them to create the ZERO System in the first place.
And now we move on to what the Data Collection actually says about ZERO itself.
Gundam Wing Data Collection
Zero System was developed to be an interactive interface between a human pilot and a Mobile Suit. The system computes the results of possible courses of action, and the pilot considers these and mentally feeds directions back to the system. What this means is that the pilot knows the results of his actions before he performs them.
The system is programmed to think tactically, and the options that it feeds the pilot might include civilian death or unnecessary destruction. It is up to the pilot to guide the system and lend it a conscience, so the relationship becomes a balance of emotion and logic.
Another advantage of Zero System is its ability to offer physical stimulus back to the pilot, allowing him to feel the strain that the MS is undergoing. This causes great physical and emotional stress on the pilot, but allows for intuitive controls beyond any conventional means. Ultimately, Zero System allows the MS to become an extension of the pilots thoughts and movements.
Due to the extreme mental strain on its users, Zero System could never be used on a wide scale. It can literally tear a users mind apart if they are not strong willed. Only Gundams Wing Zero and Epyon were fitted with it, but a modified version was used for the centralized control system of Libra's MD fleet.
The system is programmed to think tactically, and the options that it feeds the pilot might include civilian death or unnecessary destruction. It is up to the pilot to guide the system and lend it a conscience, so the relationship becomes a balance of emotion and logic.
Another advantage of Zero System is its ability to offer physical stimulus back to the pilot, allowing him to feel the strain that the MS is undergoing. This causes great physical and emotional stress on the pilot, but allows for intuitive controls beyond any conventional means. Ultimately, Zero System allows the MS to become an extension of the pilots thoughts and movements.
Due to the extreme mental strain on its users, Zero System could never be used on a wide scale. It can literally tear a users mind apart if they are not strong willed. Only Gundams Wing Zero and Epyon were fitted with it, but a modified version was used for the centralized control system of Libra's MD fleet.
This pretty much does it for the officially published information on the system. The rest of what you'll find online is mostly people (like myself) speculating. But for now, let's move away from the fact and start getting into the enigmas surrounding the ZERO System...
