Reflex Cannon
In
the science-fiction
anime television series
Robotech,
the
Reflex Cannon is an ultra-powerful
energy weapon, used as a heavy anti-spacecraft
weapon to destroy enemy warships in a single blow.
The name
reflex was derived from a mistranslation in the
scripts (provided by Tatsunoko Productions) of "reaction," the shortened
euphemistic term for thermonuclear reaction in
The Super Dimension
Fortress Macross. [1]
Coincidentally,
Genesis Climber
Mospeada had a location crucial to its story named Reflex Point.
Macross and
Mospeada were two of the three Japanese
animated series which were adapted into
Robotech. The term
reaction
is used in the context of power systems and warheads in the Japanese
Macross
series, whereas the term
reflex is used in the context of energy
weapons, in addition to power systems and warheads in
Robotech.
In Robotech, the term "reflex" refers to any major power generation
system that is Protoculture based. Protoculture based powerplants are
sometimes called "reflex furnaces".
The first known usage of a reflex cannon on Earth was the firing of
the SDF-1's gigantic main gun at the beginning of the
First Robotech War in 2009. The
front of the ship opened into two gigantic booms. The protoculture
charge built up between these two points until enough energy was
collected to fire. The range of this weapon was great enough to hit
interplanetary targets and usually everything within the line of fire
was vaporized. In a state of disrepair by 2014, the battle-ravaged main
gun of the SDF-1 disintegrated after its final firing and was too weak
to destroy just one Zentraedi vessel, its intended target.
Synchro Cannons
By the
Third Robotech War, a
new portable reflex cannon called the Synchro Cannon
[2]
was introduced on Shimakaze-class battlecruisers, and later adopted by
the
SDF-3 and
SDF-4 Izumo. A smaller unit was also hidden on
Earth by Sue Graham of the Jupiter Division. The smaller version was
used by
Rand as a prototype and was
destroyed to keep it out of the hands of the
Invid in the
New Generation episode:
Reflex
Point.
Veritech mecha
The
Veritech fighter (occasionally misspelled as
Varitech[3])
is a fictional fighter aircraft can transform into combat walking
machine in
Robotech.
[4]
In the late 1990s, an official
backronym
was invented by
Harmony Gold USA for the term "Veritech:"
Variable Engineering and Robotic Integration TECHnology. The name is
derived from
variable fighter, the term for transforming
fighters used in
The Super Dimension
Fortress Macross (the series from which the first part of
Robotech
was adapted). Veritech is sometimes abbreviated "VT," though mostly in
the
Jack McKinney novel adaptations.
The nomenclature for Veritech Fighters partially follows that
established in the 20th century by the
United States Armed Forces. "V"
is added to the beginning of the fighter's designation to stand for "
Variable" or "Veritech". Unlike in
Macross,
manufacturers are generally not mentioned.
Any vehicle that is considered or referred to as Veritech, their
considered transformable machine forms it can assume. Using
VF-1
Valkyrie as example: They are Fighter Mode, Guardian Mode
(Half-fighter/half-mecha/Battaloid) & (Mecha) Mode.
There are non-flying veritech type mecha in Robotech universe. A
canon example is the
VHT-1 Spartas Veritech Hover Tank seen in
Robotech's
2nd season named "Southern Cross Saga".
