Yun Hee Ryeon
Dead Six Initiative
Lokun Listamenn
320
   |
Posted - 2013.10.14 05:09:00 -
[1] - Quote
I've been thinking about these lights on our suits, the ones that seem to serve as eyes, but which seem to occupy several different variations of "the wrong place." They seem to be present on suits of virtually every race and type; if anyone knows of an exception, I would very much like to hear about it.
But considering that they make us glow like instrument panels, even those of us who are theoretically supposed to be as stealthy as technologically possible, I really have to wonder why they're present in all cases. However small the chance of being visually spotted by eye-glow alone might be, it still seems easier to just switch it off.
I've been thinking about this, and want to try out a hypothesis: they're running lights. Like running lights on a ship, they're signs of life. Someone is aboard, systems are powered up, and the ship is underway-- or at least, not just drifting without power.
It would make sense, in our case. How do you tell the difference between an empty dropsuit, or one containing an unoccupied or dead clone, and an occupied one? The literal light in the eyes. The purpose would seem to be the protection of non-clone soldier personnel, who might not otherwise be aware when a clone goes active.
Of course, one purpose of running lights on a ship is to give a clear idea of the ship's heading. That doesn't apply so much to us, though our eye-configuration could be used to infer that. Maybe not so usefully, though.
I'd appreciate any observations you all might have that would either support or debunk this idea, especially when the lights are and are not visible on combatants, including the dead and dying (I've thus far been too busy running off towards my next objective to stop and take notes).
Any thoughts? |
Yun Hee Ryeon
Dead Six Initiative
Lokun Listamenn
320
|
Posted - 2013.10.14 17:55:00 -
[2] - Quote
If we do, currently, have any substantial degree of nightvision or infrared, it doesn't seem to make it onto our fields of vision most of the time. Snipers, for example, have very little trouble staying hidden at night, so long as they avoid being silhouetted against the sky.
I suspect that we've foregone such things, at least with current-gen equipment, for the sake of enhanced protection and sensors of other sorts. |