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 Giant robots; this is
something each of us must contend with sooner or later.
Believe it or not, giant
robots are not the invention of Japanese anime, but have graced the
covers of pulp sci-fi since the '20s. It's a logical next step
for the times when you think about it. One of things that
typified people's ideas about technology in those days was gigantism;
the more advanced a technology, the more it expressed itself with
bigger, faster, more powerful and... uh... bigger machines.
You start with the Savannah and you soon get the Titanic. You
have the Wright Flyer and soon you have the Spruce Goose. You
have the 15¢ hamburger, and before you know it, you're struggling with
the Super Deluxe Jumbo Burger. So, it's only natural that the
robot, which is often a personification for machines in general,
should become a giant.
Mind you, since, as G. K. Chesterton
pointed out, "Giants, as in the wise old fairy tales, are vermin,"
most of these giant robots tend be a bit on the hostile side.
Maybe it's just as well that we've been found so slacking on realising
the giant robot idea.
Outside of Mechwarrior, that is.
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