Born 2 Play

by Ben

February 17, 2006

In looking back on sci-fi television of the 1980s, I am reminded of a very common and very interesting premise - children, especially teenagers between the age of 13-19, have a great deal of ability when it comes to learning. It's not surprising that, in these possible futures children are often used and manipulated into fighting the wars and battles of adults in the form of a game. The Last Starfighter, a couple of episodes of Seaquest DSV and an episode of 7 Days come to mind. So is it so unbelievable that young adults and teenagers are the regular pilots of mobile suits in many Japanese series? Sure, the fact that the individual is being put in eminent danger would play a role, but the truth is that fear can easily be overcome or at least suppressed with the right kind of mental conditioning. Some teenagers are so fearless, or have such a god complex that they will blindly charge into a challenge.

So is it real? Will it prove to be reality that the most successful pilots, warriors and heroes will be those people who have never held down a job or earned a diploma? Being a soldier requires not only innate skill but the ability to learn and react quickly, a proven problem for adults who learn much less quickly or easily than those of us still developing. Through modern testing, we already know that between the age of 5-15, we learn at a significantly faster rate than we do for the rest of our lives. It is the best time to learn complicated training and habits.

Training young individuals however is not without it's downside. Though their ability to learn is dramatically better, their sense of critical thinking is still developing as well. Teenagers tend to act first, think later, and it can lead to unpredictable behavior. So is it smart to put the giant war robot in the hands of the 15-year-oldwith a god complex? It depends on your goal.
Heero Yuy was a perfect example. A 15-year-old, trained in warfare,
taught to only destroy his enemy and avoid casualties. He was able to
remain emotionless and fearless only because he felt he was doing no
harm to those he was trying to protect, but when he made a mistake,
when he hurt those he was supposed to defend, he lost all sense of
rational thinking. He could not justify his actions as an adult in the
same situation would.

Almost all children have heart, chivalry, passion and fear. The passion and chivalry is what shows through while the heart and fear only show in dire or extreme circumstances. A kid playing Gundam Vs. Zeta Gundam on his PS2 will be fearless, passionate about his mission and take on the role of the hero, fighting for what is right. It's only when that final shot to kill him is seen that his fear shows through, and only when the main character's love or family dies that the player truly empathizes with them. Any other time, the game is a challenge that requires the utmost attention.

Soldiers don't have the luxury of unlimited continues or replays, but the fundamentals of the role are the same. Children step up to the challenges that appear before them with little or no rational thought, and will jump into a fight without any worry for themselves. It is this blind faith in their own abilities that makes them such powerful and dangerous people to deal with. When your 5-year-old tells you no, it's hard to refuse them. They believe they are in control of their own destiny, and it will take all your effort just to turn them away, but I'm going on a tangent. In truth, we may see this kind of warfare tactic more often in our future, and it may be our children on the front line instead of ourselves or our fathers.

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