And that brings us to our problem. There is no mech warfare without exploitation. And yes, there are success stories, like Nexus Alpha's pilot who by all accounts seems to be a mostly adjusted individual but, crucially, she is an 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳. This is'nt a healthy industry and we have to reckon with that

The thing is, the thing is, the thing is that I get it! I get it! I want to fuck the big robot too. We all want to fuck the big robot! Look at it! Look at it! Carry me around you big hunk of metal! Cradle me daddy!

But the - 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 - but the point is that we're running out of normal pilots!

“Now, I know what you’re thinking

[John, how can this possibly be ethical]

And I’m here to tell you would be Handlers tonight…it’s not 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳

Seriously, if I wanted to spend my afternoons cleaning up a cockpit I’d just rewatch that one scene with Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers.”