Ford Otome
A game based upon the Mai Otome anime and manga. System currently in prototype stage courtesy of Shrike.
Note that the only biology and physiology texts allowed in this game are those published before 2006.
Introduction
On the distant world of Arl, the ultimate weapon is not a gun or a bomb or any machine.
The ultimate weapon is a woman.
Z-type HiME nanotechnology - noocytes able to rewrite the quantum metric and materialise photons as solid matter. Its true origins are shrouded in myth. Perhaps it is a component of some awful interstellar weapon. Perhaps it is the blood of God. In any case, its exact makeup and even its exact capabilities are beyond the ability of modern science to determine. What is known that when these miraculous nanomachines colonise an appropriate host, the host takes on equally miraculous abilities. Able to freely manipulate the metric altering properties of Z-type dust, the host is seemingly able to violate the laws of conservation and manifest matter and energy seemingly from thin air.
'Appropriate host' here means 'female'. By some quirk, these nanomachines are allergic to prostate-specific antigen, a glycoprotein found only in males ACCORDING TO THE SCIENCE OF THE YEAR 2006 and present in male ejaculate. The introduction of PSA into a woman's body will inoculate a woman against the Z-type dust; as such, a further requirement of wielding this ultimate power is virginity. At the very least there is an impression that these abilities are tied to a woman's virtue. It is perhaps for this reason that women hosting this nanotechnology are called 'Otome'.
The real power of any given country is tied up in its Otome. Their individual destinies drive the prestige of nations, their people and their leaders. In Zipang there is a saying: one sword keeps another in the sheath. The awesome power of Otome is enough to bring down civilisation, and the presence of Otome in the service of various superpowers keeps the world in balance and at peace ... even if that balance is uneasy and that peace false.
Otome
One part idol, one part officer of state, one part intercontinental independent cruising anti-landmass strategic superweapon. Possessing supranormal abilities than cannot be replicated by even the most advanced cybernetic technology, Otome represent the true military power of any given nation. Though not invincible, using conventional military forces to defeat a full realised Otome, a Meister, is typically a waste of resources. It is the skill of individual Meister Otome that determine who Arl's superpowers are; those nations without Otome are strictly speaking at the mercy of the nations that do employ them.
There are several aspects to any given Otome. The first is the Otome herself. It is not enough to be injected with the Z-type dust, though this is the vital technological aspect. Unlike a machine, or even a cyborg, the power of an Otome is built from her skills as a person. Popular media has created an image of the Otome as the soft-spoken, elegant maid that happens to possess power than can literally change the shape of countries, but this is just an image created by vapid celebrity culture. While it is true that etiquette is an aspect of an Otome's training, the reality is that this is just a small aspect. Typically selected in their early teens on the basis of intellectual and athletic brilliance, an Otome is extensively educated in languages, world politics, the hard and soft sciences, international law, history, military tactics and strategy etc, while being trained for physical combat. Even those women who do not subsequently go on to serve as Meister Otome will typically possess the skills to eventually excel in any given position in the public or private sector.
The second is, as mentioned, the Z-type nanomachines. Taking hold after a few days and fully developed after one year, even in a dormant state the dust provides numerous advantages. The average Coral Otome, usually only fourteen years old, can finish a 100m sprint in 8 seconds, jump a 3m bar from a standing start and curl the kind of weight that a strong man might bench press. Exceptional Otome have been known to be able to fight evenly with high end combat cyborgs without activating their nanomachines.
The nanomachines themselves are managed and regulated by the Generable Enigmatic Matrix, or GEM. Set in a special piercing of the ear and resembling a precious stone, the GEM is an infinitely fuzzy hypercomputer which interprets the commands and subconscious of the Otome and manifests them through the Z-type nanomachines. The GEM also forms the basis of the Contract system, where the activation of an Otome's powers lies in the hands of another (usually the leader of a nation, or some other important officer of state). For every Meister GEM, there exists a twin containing the activation permissions for the Z-type dust linked to a particular GEM. The owner of this GEM is called a Master, and the Contract cannot be broken without extremely specialised technology and expertise. Otherwise, only death can revoke a Contract. Additionally, an Otome and Master are linked, with Masters experiencing sympathetic pain if their Otome is injured, and if one dies then so does the other.
On activation, an Otome is able to materialise higher-order matter from photons, creating their Robe and, if they wish, their Element. A 'Robe' is a battle uniform incorporating suites of e-war, defensive, offensive and propulsive technology, and is emblematic of the Otome generally. While Coral and Pearl Otome -students - make use of largely identical Robes, Meister GEMs are all essentially unique - passed down from Otome to Otome and incorporating subconscious design changes recorded by the GEM. Typically all Robes incorporate a varying number of prehensile ribbons or coat tails that can act as additional limbs or as cutting tools, and all Robes feature distinctive ring-like protrusions around the wrists and ankles as part of the propulsion system. Otherwise the appearance of a Meister Robe is incredibly varied (and infinitely merchandisable).