What are the Stalker Soldiers in Mortal Engines?
CAUTION: EPIC SPOILERS BELOW FOR BOTH BOOK AND FILMThe Stalkers of Mortal Engines are a kind of 'universal soldier
' / Robocop combatant, that can be programmed for warfare and assassination.Stalkers and their variations play various parts in each of Philip Reeve's Quartet of Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.
What are the origins of the Stalkers?
Stalkers originally were designed as mechanisms for humans to transfer their consciousness from one body to another, thus defeating death. The human mind could literally be saved to the hard drive and then transferred into the body of another human.
It was long after the events of 60 Minute War that 'old technology' was adapted to make Stalkers into emotionless monsters to serve at the whim of their masters.
Often referred to as 'Resurrected Men' Stalkers were originally built by the Nomadic Empires that battled each other across the volcano maze of what was once Europe long before the Traction Cities Era began.
The Nomadic Empires built Stalkers by recovering dead bodies from the battlefields, placing them in laboratories and then bringing them back 'life' by using 'Old Tech' machines that were physically connected to the dead body's nervous system.
Often referred to as 'Resurrected Men' Stalkers were originally built by the Nomadic Empires that battled each other across the volcano maze of what was once Europe long before the Traction Cities Era began.
The Nomadic Empires built Stalkers by recovering dead bodies from the battlefields, placing them in laboratories and then bringing them back 'life' by using 'Old Tech' machines that were physically connected to the dead body's nervous system.
This practice continued on to the Traction City Era.
The bodies were also operated on so internal organs were no longer necessary. The designers also would graft on a metal carapace to the body. Weapons could be implanted into the body and the use of claws was a common feature.
Shrike did not have claws in the film, unlike in the novel.
The best subjects were taller specimens and they looked a scary sight with their glowing green eyes that all Stalkers had.
Stalkers are generally considered emotionless automatons, only acting at the will of their Masters.
Once a dead human is resurrected as a Stalker, they have no feelings, displays no emotions and they will not have any memory of who they were before they died. Any past memories are jumbled messes and lost glimpses of their former life.
In Mortal Engines, the City of London manufactures its own Stalkers.
The London Guild of Engineers builds new Stalkers from dead prison convicts at their experimental prison in the Deep Gut. These particular Stalkers are not considered as refined as the infamous 'Shrike' due to the use of less sophisticated stalker-brains, the devices used in the brains and nerves of Stalkers.
The origins of these Resurrected Men, begin to be explained in the first prequel in the Mortal Engines series, Fever Crumb. Scrivener's Moon expands on the details as well.
 |
| Shrike was played in the film by Stephen Lang. |
What is the Shrike in Mortal Engines?
The 'Shrike' was the first Stalker to be mentioned in the original Mortal Engines book.His character was under the control of the Mayor of London Traction City, Magnus Chrome. Chrome used the Shrike to find Hester Shaw and Tom Natsworthy and he was ordered to kill them.
At face value, this seemed a straightforward plot point however it was later revealed that The Shrike had once looked after Hester in a past life.
Due to his emotionally retarded state, his own goal in life was to turn Hester into a Stalker like himself, so they could live together forever.
In terms of memory retention, Shrike appears to be the exception to the rule as was able to recall his past life as 'Kit Solent' shortly before his death at the hands of Tom Natsworthy by the sword. Kit Solent's tale and how he became a Stalker of the Lazarus Brigade was covered in the prequel novel, Fever Crumb.
In the film Shrike is played by veteran actor Stephan Lang - you may remember him as the evil general in Avatar.
>> Stuck for yeast when making beer? You can ferment your beer with baker's yeast! <<
Due to their 'programming' they do not feel any pain as their nervous systems are rendered. This means they are pretty handy in hand to hand combat as even if their opponent is able to stab them or cause injury, they will not feel it and be able to continue to fight and thus increasing their chances of winning.
In Mortal Engines, Tom Natsworthy did manage to kill the Shrike Stalker with a sword by impaling it through his neck. The Shrike was however suffering from some performance issues as he'd actually been run over by a Traction City!
But there's a reason Stalkers are known as Resurrected Men....
In Mortal Engines, Anna Fang was Tom and Hester's rescuer from the Shrike when he originally caught up with them on Airhaven.
Despite her heroics, Fang was ultimately killed by the dastardly Thaddeus Valentine in a sword fight.
In Predator's Gold it was revealed that a splinter group of the famed Anti Traction League called Green Storm had recovered Fang's body and applied the Stalker Resurrection techniques to it.
Green Storm had intended that the revived Anna Fang would lead them in battle against the remaining Traction Cities.
Eventually, the resurrected Fang stalker would take part in many battles and features in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain where her character wreaks some pretty spectacular havoc using the ODIN device.
Are Stalkers invulnerable?
Stalkers are heavily protected by their armour but vulnerable to small arms fire and hand-held weaponry.Due to their 'programming' they do not feel any pain as their nervous systems are rendered. This means they are pretty handy in hand to hand combat as even if their opponent is able to stab them or cause injury, they will not feel it and be able to continue to fight and thus increasing their chances of winning.
In Mortal Engines, Tom Natsworthy did manage to kill the Shrike Stalker with a sword by impaling it through his neck. The Shrike was however suffering from some performance issues as he'd actually been run over by a Traction City!
But there's a reason Stalkers are known as Resurrected Men....
Anna Fang as a Stalker in the sequel novels
In Mortal Engines, Anna Fang was Tom and Hester's rescuer from the Shrike when he originally caught up with them on Airhaven.
Despite her heroics, Fang was ultimately killed by the dastardly Thaddeus Valentine in a sword fight.
In Predator's Gold it was revealed that a splinter group of the famed Anti Traction League called Green Storm had recovered Fang's body and applied the Stalker Resurrection techniques to it.
Green Storm had intended that the revived Anna Fang would lead them in battle against the remaining Traction Cities.
Eventually, the resurrected Fang stalker would take part in many battles and features in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain where her character wreaks some pretty spectacular havoc using the ODIN device.
 |
| Shrike fan art |
Extra for Experts (spoilers):
- Stalkers are sometimes referred to as 'Jaegers'
- All Stalkers have green glowing eyes
- Stalker tech can be used on animals such as birds and even whales
- In some American versions of Mortal Engines Shrike is named 'Grike'.
- Shrike is named after the bird of the same name.
- Shrike is actually the narrator of the Mortal Engines books as discovered in the final paragraph of A Darkling Plain. making beer
0 comments:
Post a Comment