Literature / Halcyon Park

Halcyon Park is a 2018 science fiction novel by Evan James Clark. It follows Archie Robledo, a former Army engineer turned cyborg by a top secret project to create the next generation of super-soldier. When the unstable government administration shuts the project down, Archie is unceremoniously cast out into a near-future USA where technophobia is rampant and the cybernetics that keep him alive are federally banned.

Effectively a non-entity in the eyes of the law, Archie lives off-grid, hiding among family members and relying on underworld contacts. Eventually, his engineering skills get him a job at Halcyon Park, a slowly failing boardwalk amusement park and “robot zoo” run by a washed-up robot boxer and a crew with just as many legal troubles as Archie. When the park takes a financial nosedive, threatening to expose the shady dealings of the management, Archie turns to the only other trade that might save them: bank robbery.

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Halcyon Park contains examples of

• Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Archie's "good" arm can easily hyperextend at nearly every joint. He uses this more than once to quietly identify himself as modified without drawing unwanted attention.
• Absurdly High-Stakes Game: Underground bot fights. Betting can easily range into the millions. Once Trinidad becomes involved, it becomes a Blood Sport.
• Abusive Parents: Gary and Archie's father is mentioned to be abusive toward their mother, and major abuse is implied to be part of Davies's backstory.
• Accent Slip-Up: Happens to Lao when he loses his cool, breaking his cultured Eastern businessman persona with his natural Brooklyn accent.
• Ace Custom: Each one of Archie's rigs is inspired by the highly customized rigs he worked on in India. This comes back to bite him when the police bring in their own veteran engineer, who immediately points out a dozen clues to Archie's identity based purely on blurry footage of the first machine's design.
• Ace Pilot: Crystal is both a natural AIR pilot and remote controller, even surpassing Archie. Mike Topher was an ace himself before being crippled.
• Action Girl: Crystal. She's easily the most aggressive participant during the robberies, tearing through entire buildings in her rigs. During the final siege, she sustains numerous life-threatening injuries, but they don't come close to stopping her.
• Affably Evil: Johnny Icaro. He's unfailingly polite, always keeps his promises, and will wait for someone to give a rational explanation for their actions before he kills them.
• Afro Futurism: The Ghana Confederation is a continent-spanning, high-tech society growing in power and popularity. According to Johnny Icaro, it became that way when its leaders handed over strategic control to A.I.s. He's right: attempts by the US and its allies to invade and capture the AI systems ended in catastrophic defeats in Madagascar and costal regions.
• After Action Patch Up: Of the unromantic variety. While Corcoran is present during Archie's leg amputation, she is clearly upset and angry about it. Her caring for him in during recovery is more of the traditional sort.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Izuz. Rather than a master AI, it is an insignificant intelligence which does not believe in the concept of sapience. Whether Archie keeps his promise to aid in improving it is left unknown. However, Gomez ends up as a positive subversion as an unintentional, empathic AI.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Depending on how one views Davies, he may count. A straight example is Johnny Icaro, who meets a cruel and unusual death after the Halcyon Park incident.
• The Alcoholic: Gary, although he stops drinking once becoming part of the Halcyon team, becoming an adrenaline junkie. Mike also tends toward this to self-medicate his constant leg pain.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Both Corcoran and Tempe are drawn to Archie, though Corcoran claims this is out of convenience (at first). Tempe also sleeps with Davies, though admits this was an otherwise meaningless fling.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Archie for Tempe first, then Corcoran. He ends up losing both. Astrade's affection for Corcoran long after she loses interest in him also counts.
• All Men Are Perverts: Nearly all the male characters have... thoughts about Tempe after meeting her. Gary also entertains the idea of sleeping with a student.
• All Women Are Prudes: Gary and Tempe's relationship seems to indicate this, though it later becomes clear that Tempe is less prudish so much as frustrated at how empty her marriage has become. Subverted with Corcoran, whose modesty comes largely from a need to hide her identity as a modified. When alone with Archie, she shows no such inhibitions.
• Alternative Turing Test: Gomez's rescue of the modifieds outside self-defense or programming protocols is a sign that he's developed true loyalty. While Corcoran does tell him to attack Trinidad, it's not a command but permission.
• Always Save the Girl: Archie returns to save Tempe or Corcoran. Even he isn't sure which.
• Ambiguous Ending: The fates of Davies, Gomez, and Krensler (and his notes) are left uncertain. The identity of the Thousand-Year Dreamer is unconfirmed, as is that of whoever Krensler spoke to on the encrypted phone.
• Androids and Detectives: Featured during the siege. To a much greater extent, it's androids VS detectives.
• Anger Born of Worry: Tempe and Corcoran both have huge amounts of this; Tempe out of worry that they'll be bankrupted, and Corcoran after Archie's robberies.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Shortly before Gary's funeral, Archie and Tempe admit their feelings for each other. They both quickly agree that they're better off apart.
• Animal Mecha: Multiple examples, most notably the panther mech Crystal pilots during the Navy Federal robbery. The monstrous toad-like Cucuy also qualifies.
• Antagonistic Governor: While not a direct villain, Governor Marillo is in charge of the increasingly militant police forces of California. He's also clearly corrupt, to the point of possibly having his nephew killed to avoid political embarrassment.
• Anti-Hero: ...the Novel. Archie and Davies are both clear-cut anti-heroes (at least until Davies's realization that he's a full-blown anti-villain.) The Thousand-Year Dreamer is certainly one.
• Anti-Smother Love Talk: Attempted many times by Gary, in order to let Lilly go to public school. It doesn’t work.
• Anti-Villain: Declan Davies. He's an admitted killer, a dirty cop, unethical to the core, not to mention a stone cold jerkass. He also genuinely hates the system he fights for, doing so only because it's the one thing he's good at. His friendship with Kona, respect for Archie, and feelings for Tempe culminate in a heel-face turn, immediately followed by a Heroic BSoD.
• Anyone Can Die: And how! By the end, only two members of the Halcyon crew are alive, and countless police and criminal figures are dead. Ironically, the character least tied to either group, Gary, is among the first to go.
• Arm Cannon: The stripped-down rail field generator used by Archie in the Fresno robbery. Its enormous power makes it Awesome, but Impractical, and he subsequently ditches it.
• Armies Are Evil: Played with. While Archie's time in the army was a significant growing experience, the US military tends toward the tyrannical. That the military's scientist turned Archie into a highly illegal Super-Soldier, then threw him out on the street does not help matters.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Several, most notably Tempe calling out Gary for his apathy and later criminality.
• Artificial Limbs: Archie's super-arm, and by the end, two legs. Artificial limbs are relatively common among vets, though they're required by law not to exceed human capabilities.
• Artificial Limbs Are Stronger: Again, Archie's cybernetic limbs. At one point, he's able to move a several-hundred pound robot component with minimal effort. However, the toll it takes on the rest of his body is severe.
• Asian and Nerdy: Though he hides it beneath his crime-lord persona, Johnny Icaro geeks out over Izuz more than once.
• Asshole Victim: Numerous ones, though the top spot is Sahknussem, who has secretly played all sides against each other to build a heavily-militarized police force (possibly as a potential private army to boot).
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The reason Trinidad usurps control of the Caballeria cartel. Johnny Icaro is a cold, logic-driven killer, but Trinidad is an ax-crazy terrorist who completely dominates every enterprise he touches. It was only a matter of time before the more bloodthirsty and opportunistic members of the cartel fell in line with the bigger badass.
• At Least I Admit It: Davies says this word-for-word to Kona when the latter denies he might be working on the wrong side. Davies claims that Kona's good cop personality is a self-delusion, and that he himself is good at his job because he openly admits to being a chaotic-neutral asshole.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: A tragic example with Tempe, who only admits she did love Gary after he dies. A minor example with Ray and Crystal, who constantly bicker and argue. It's revealed in the last chapters that they're married.
• Ax-Crazy: Cofi Trinidad. After taking over the underground bot fights, he turns an already high-stakes sport into an all-out slaughter, where bot controllers are at risk of cruel and unusual deaths. He also brutally tortures and murders any competition and declares an all-out war on the SDPD.
• Back-Alley Doctor: Astrade caters to modifieds and other members of the underground. He uses a series of secret drivers, carries an anti-personnel mine in his medical bag, and in a pinch, will perform surgery on pool tables, kitchen floors, and in bathtubs.
• Bad Boss: Nearly every boss, period. Johnny Icaro makes a habit of killing off problem subordinates, and Trinidad has no problem putting his men in danger. Mike Topher, while not malicious, allows his gambling habit to endanger his staff more than once. Finally, there's Sahknussem, a manipulative bastard who thinks nothing of how many of his officers are killed to create his private army within the SDPD.
• The Bad Guys Are Cops: The SDPD and especially Tech-Crimes are pretty corrupt, whether due to ties to organized crime or pure self-interest. The biggest example is Sahknussem.
• Badass Crew: The Halcyon crew. They pull off multiple robberies, evade the police, cause major property damage with home-made powered armor, and demolish an entire hotel-casino, all while hiding under the guise of a boardwalk amusement-park. Were it not for Trinidad's arrival, they may well have gotten away with it.
• Badass Driver: In this case, drivers of powered-armor and improvised vehicles. Crystal easily takes the cake. In traditional vehicles, Kona outpaces any other police cruiser while remaining cool and collected.
• Badass Teacher: What Gary aspires to be, showing first true signs in his Hannibal Lecture toward Clara Sealie. He never fully gets there before his untimely death.
• Baddie Flattery: Both Icaro and Trinidad have nice things to say about Archie. Trinidad also compliments Mike about his previous battle record, which he then uses to rub in the upcoming curb-stomp battle between their bots.
• Badges and Dog Tags: Davies and Simms are both military men, with Davies claiming he remains more of a soldier than a cop. Simms, who was already a Marine MP, makes the transition seamlessly.
• Balkanize Me: Has happened to much of Central and South America, particularly the diving of Mexico between Northern Mexico and the southern Pacifico Republic. China has likewise split, with the southern areas becoming part of a multi-state alliance with Japan and much of Indonesia, appropriately named the South China Republic.
• Ban on A.I.: The first Amendment of the Waller-Rosenthall Act specifically bans even R&D that might create an AI. This turns out to be a smoke-screen, as the US government has attempted to capture or replicate the A.I.s that control Ghana.
• Bank Robbery: The entire plot. There are five major robberies, most of which are successful. They only fall apart when subjected to Gary's complexity addiction.
• Batman Gambit: Lao exploits several of Mike's flaws, particularly his gambling and poor money-management, to take over the park. A greater example is that of Captain Sahknussem, who plays Davies and the cartel to pull off a police take-over, though he occasionally has to play Xanatos Speed Chess, such as after Gary's accidental death.
• Battle Couple: Ray and Crystal could be considered this, playing off each other during the robberies. Archie and Corcoran avert this hard, as she repeatedly calls his dangerous lifestyle stupid and predicts he'll end up imprisoned or dead.
• Better as Friends: Suggested by Tempe toward both Gary, with whom she has an unhappy marriage, and Archie, whose unrequited attraction to her leads to numerous complications.
• Betty and Veronica: Tempe and Corcoran for Archie.
• BFG: The rail-field generators capable of destroying mechs with one blast. Their weight requires them to be vehicle mounted... until Archie strips one down into an arm cannon.
• Big Bad: Depending on the moment, Johnny Icaro and Cofi Trinidad. Ultimately, the Robin Hood investigation and the siege at Halcyon Park are the work of Captain Sahknussem.
• Big Bad Ensemble: There are two baddies working together, and a third playing off their chaos. Not to mention smaller-scale villains like Lao and Governor Marillo.
• Big Brother Instinct: Gary's defense of Archie under all circumstances, even if Archie doesn't need it. Tempe states the Robledos would kill someone before turning against each other.
• Big Damn Heroes: Mike Topher pulls off a particularly impressive example. He manages to not only to climb into his converted animatronic fighting suit unnoticed, but uses it to absolutely pulverize Cucuy before it can finish off Archie and Kona.
• Big Eater: Both Archie and Corcoran, as their augmentations burn calories constantly. Archie can eat multiple large pizzas in a sitting and be hungry again a few hours later.
• Big Guy: Kona is easily the biggest man in the Tech-Crimes division. During the siege, he proves strong enough to tear the arm off an 11-ton destroyer bot.
• Billy Needs an Organ: Or rather, Lilly needs a transfusion, leading Archie to suggest implanting her with nanomachines. Subverted as there's nothing actually wrong with Lilly, and Archie's grand very costly plan is based on a lie.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Silvio is an obvious example, though he's too sleazy to fully pull it off. The true example is Sahknussem, the most respected commander among Tech-Crimes and the PD.
• Bittersweet Ending: The villains are defeated, Lilly and Tempe escape to the Pacifico Republic, Corcoran is granted asylum, and Archie escapes to become a rebel leader in South America. Dozens of people are still dead, Halcyon Park is destroyed, the hero does not get the girl, and the fallout from Davies's actions have destroyed all trust in the police and military, putting an unstable nation on the road to being a 3rd World country. Even after his explanation to Krensler (and whoever sent Krensler to begin with,) Davies will still likely die in prison.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: The Halcyon crew and the Tech-Crimes division against the brutal and horrific forces of Icaro and Trinidad. In a darker-shade-of-gray example, Icaro and Trinidad after their split.
• Black Dude Dies First: The first death in the novel is a Japanese man, followed shortly after by the very-black-dude Le Nuit. Of the Halcyon crew, Gary, a Hispanic, is the first to die.
• Blatant Lies: The MO of the Tech-Crimes division. With the dramatically sensationalist media of 2036, they don't have to add much.
• Blood Knight: Davies's obsession with taking down the major villains comes from this rather than a belief in justice.
• Blood Sport: The bot fights after Trinidad takes over. The descriptions of what happens to the losers disgusts and terrifies even hardened criminals.
• Bluffing the Authorities: When Kona and Davies first arrive at the park, Mike talks them up like a promoter, offering them free passes and inviting them to look over all his paperwork. The charade works on Kona, but when Davies returns later, Mike's attempts to bluff break down into threats. Gary also tries to play it cool with Kona and Davies, and fails miserably.
• Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: The description given to all Socialist sympathizers in the media, though Davies is quick to point out that it's completely inaccurate. The one accurate example is a group of wannabe-terrorists who take a mech for a rampage through London, and are quickly and viciously gunned down.
• Book Ends: The main plot is told via Krensler's interview with Davies, starting and ending with him. In a minor example, Mike Topher is introduced obsessing over perfecting his mini-golf course, and goes out in a blaze of glory which he calls, in his last words, perfect.
• Born Detective: Davies seems to be this, though his method mostly involves poking at people to see what they'll do. It takes Kona to reel him into doing the job properly.
• Brain in a Jar: Played with. Izuz has a partial wetware CPU made of cloned brain tissue. Icaro’s certainty that Archie will be able to complete Izuz is based on the fact that Archie was unknowingly implanted with the same cloned tissue.
• Brain Uploading: How Johnny Icaro intends to complete Izuz: by copying Archie's consciousness and forcing the system to become sapient. It doesn't work.
• Break Out the Museum Piece: The champion bot Tikhemoth has been converted into a barely mobile animatronic outside Halcyon Park's arcade. Archie is so used to seeing it in that state that he doesn't register that it has moved until it body-slams Cucuy. The 17-ton Ecuadorian mech used to create Halcyon also counts.
• Breaking Out the Boss: Archie escapes from prison in a prison-break that used many of his old heist tactics. When Krensler points out that none of the Halcyon crew remained, Davies reminds him that Gomez as never accounted for, implying the sentient bot was behind it. Later, Krensler asks the mysterious source on the encrypted phone if they will break Davies out, but gets no answer.
• Breaking Speech: Surprisingly, straight example comes from Gary, directed at a politically ambitious student. After the siege, Sahknussem's attempt at motivating Davies becomes an unintentional example, leading to Davies's Heroic BSoD.
• Bright Is Not Good: Johnny Icaro wears bright white clothes. One wonders how he keeps them clean.
• The Brute: Cucuy is this among the bots.
• Bullying a Dragon: Downplayed with Astrade. While intelligent and inventive, he's easily cowed when caught by law enforcement (though justified in that he's protecting hundreds of modifieds by staying quiet.) Until, during the siege, Silvio attempts to strong arm the medic while he's prepping a landmine...
• Bumbling Dad: Gary. He tries to put on a mastermind persona to make up for it, but ultimately it gets him killed.
• By-the-Book Cop: Kona, occasionally to the point of Lawful Stupidity. That said, he is an extremely competent detective and the only one capable of keeping Davies under control.
• Caper Crew: the Halcyon Park crew.
• The Caper: The La Jolla and Downtown jobs count, with their crew-based strategies.
• Capitalism Is Bad: Market forces in the US are in a slow downward spiral, and supporters of socialism are vilified by all levels of government.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Trinidad, who operates largely For The Evuls.
• The Cartel: The Nueva Caballeria are specifically said to be this, combined with both The Syndicate and The Yakuza.
• The Casino: Crystal Pier is this, as well as the headquarters of Oceanside Inc.
• Celibate Hero: Archie considers himself one, both due to a lack of social life and physical limitations imposed by his implants. Corcoran convinces him otherwise.
• Chekhov's Exhibit: Tikhemoth, the two-story tall animatronic that overlooks the arcade. During the siege of Halcyon Park, it returns to its original purpose as a mecha exo-suit.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Mike Topher's vocabulary is liberally peppered with profanity.
• Coincidental Broadcast: Downplayed. While news from the Downtown robbery has been on every screen, Tempe makes an effort to ignore it. She just happens to look up as footage shows a minor clue to the Robin Hood bandit’s identity, whom she immediately recognizes as Archie.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Trinidad has a penchant for this, which includes personally beating up enemies before slowly feeding them to Cucuy.
• Combat Medic: Astrade was one during the Galapagos War, and still employs tactics including carrying a thermal charge in his medical bag to destroy his equipment in case of arrest or mugging. He goes full combatant during the siege of the park, and ends up turning the tide of the battle through his sacrifice.
• Confused Bystander Interview: A witness of the Fresno robbery compares Archie's improvised railgun as a "a […] cannon. Like in the […] comic books."
• Consulting a Convicted Killer: The framing device consists of Krensler interviewing an imprisoned Declan Davies eight years after the destruction of the park.
• Cool Teacher: Gary. Despite his various failings, he is a good instructor and wins the respect of several students despite his political views.
• Cool Uncle: Archie is this to Lilly, often to Tempe's chagrin.
• Corrupt Bureaucrat: Nearly every government official seems to be this, with Werner, the aid to the governor of California at the top. Only Sahknussem stands apart until the ending.
• Creepy Monotone: Johnny Icaro tends to speak this way to intimidate his enemies and subordinates. He drops the act when Archie informs him that Izuz doesn't work.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Trinidad has a penchant for these, doling out crucifixions, disembowelments, and feeding victims into the mechanical grinder in Cucuy’s jaws. He gets his own when Gomez throws him across the pool house with enough force that his modified skeleton rips loose from the rest of him.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Up until the siege of Halcyon Park, any battle with Cucuy was this. Then Cucuy meets Tikhemoth...
• Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: More like "extreme physiological modification to make room for cybernetics makes you crazy". It is implied that Archie avoids this because his brain had been intentionally rewired for that reason.
• Cyberspace: Archie's interation with Izuz takes place in a 3D simulation, which Archie creates specifically because his human mind requires a semblance of reality.
• Cyborg: The modifieds in general, but specifically Archie and Corcoran. Trinidad is a more extreme example, created voluntarily through rather gruesome surgeries.
• Da Chief: Sahknussem is a hardass boss, but also often a father to his men. These factors make his reveal as a manipulative bastard all the more shocking.
• Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Out of all the Halcyon crew, Gary experiences this the most. His reckless overconfidence ends up crippling Archie, ending his marriage, and getting himself killed.
• Darkest Hour: The siege of Halcyon Park. Trinidad has taken over Mike's fleet of bots, the park is surrounded by a small army of police, military reinforcements are on the way, and half the crew are gravely injured or dead.
• Dashing Hispanic: Archie, being of Chilean descent, certainly qualifies, and Astrade is said to have been this in his younger days.
• David vs. Goliath: Subverted with Archie vs Cucuy during the siege. Despite Archie's improved augmentation, Cucuy turns it into a curb-stomp battle, with Archie being saved only by Kona exploiting Cucuy's one weakness. Even then, it takes the Tikhemoth to save the day.
• Death of the Hypotenuse: Gary's death could be seen as this for either Archie or Davies, though Tempe quickly shuts this down.
• Don't Call Me "Sir": Said several times by both Astrade and Mike, in response to Archie's military conditioning to use 'sir'.
• Faux Affably Evil: Trinidad keeps his tone polite and friendly even as he explains how he intends to mutilate his victims. Even this façade breaks when he’s confronted by major resistance, such as that of the Halcyon crew later in the book and when he realizes that Gomez is no longer taking his orders.
• Flaw Exploitation: Cucuy is armored on all sides and capable of out-reaching any opponent. Kona manages to find a tiny opening in its shoulder joint, only exposed during its distinctive smash attack against Archie. The gap proves enough for Kona to incapacitate the bot's arm with a steel rod, and then to destroy the joint which causes the arm to tear off.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Gary and Archie have this dynamic in their normal lives, with Gary the responsible family man and Archie the rebel who is pressed into military service to avoid jail. The situation is reversed, however, when Gary's complexity addiction during the robberies proves disastrous.
• Forgot He Was a Robot: Gomez’s upgrades give him distinctive behaviors to the point that the crew treat him as if he has a genuine personality. Which He does.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: Leo Mushido, Archie's closest friend during the Figaroa Project, is killed during the very first robbery, and rarely mentioned afterward. His identity only comes into play when Kona uses it to uncover Archie's true motivations.
• Friend in the Black Market: Ray has several of these, which he uses both to acquire illegal parts and to dispose of ones that could reveal the crew's illegal fights.
• Friend on the Force: A major subversion when Stasia's brother ends up being James Kona.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Archie is one to the core. Even before his modifications, he could visualize and construct improvised robotic systems with incredible ease. His augmentations not only give him an even greater understanding, but the ability to code systems in minutes via direct interface.
• The Gambling Addict: Mike Topher. It destroyed his career as a professional fighter, caused him to be crippled by angry loan sharks, and contributes to his mismanagement of Halcyon Park. It really bites him back when Lao uses this to make it look like he intends to cheat Johnny Icaro.
• Given Name Reveal: A major twist occurs when Stasia is revealed to be Kona’s sister, which contributes to the collapse of the Robin Hood robberies. In a Tear Jerker example, Crystal's last name is Castellanos, meaning she's just been forced to murder her own husband.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Kona and Davies. When not in direct interrogation, they still manage to be Good Cop and Sleazy Cop.
• Heel Realization: Davies gets hit with this hard: even after spending months being a violent, manipulative cowboy cop, the knowledge that he's been used to create a police state causes him to finally break. It doesn't help that his Blood Knight pursuit of Mike Topher gets his partner and only true friend killed.
• Hero Killer: Trinidad, and by extension, Cucuy.
• Heroic BSoD: Davies suffers one of these upon learning that all his efforts were manipulated to create a military-like police force that could eventually take over the state. The breakdown culminates with him executing Sahknussem on live TV.
• Hippie Teacher: Gary is one. In the increasingly right-wing climate, it does not serve him well.
• Hot for Teacher: Clara Sealie may be this, though Gary suspects she may just be trying to further her academic and political career. In a downplayed example, Nicky/Dom gets in a comment that his teacher Tempe is "pretty hot."
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Archie and Tempe share a moment of this after Gary's death, promising to let each other go rather than consummate any previous attraction. Astrade also takes this attitude toward Corcoran, which leads him to sacrifice himself so she will survive to escape with Archie.
• Indy Ploy: Though they may look complicated, Archie's plans end up being this. It's only when they actually become complex that they start failing.
• Inspector Javert: Davies is this to Mike Topher. Even when it becomes obvious that Mike isn't the mastermind of the Robin Hood crimes, he remains Davies's prime target. Davies finally lets this go during the siege, when he and Mike both fight the 17-ton mech Halcyon.
• Interrogation by Vandalism: Davies pulls one of these on the fight promoter Le Nuit. The property being destroyed isn't Le Nuit's, but that of his connection in the Caballeria Cartel. It works quickly.
• Just Shoot Him: During the downtown robbery, Mike repeatedly tells Archie to fire on Kona. Archie refuses, knowing even a non-lethal round as such close range will kill the man. Archie's hesitation results in the destruction of his rig and the loss of his leg.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Johnny Icaro has one in keeping with his connection to the Neo-Yakuza. He uses it to execute those who have outlived their usefulness to Izuz.
• Killed Offscreen: Johnny Icaro is revealed to have been killed in the eight years since the siege. He's apparently given an ironic Cruel and Unusual Death.
• Lady of War: It is suggested that Crystal becomes one of these after her escape from Halcyon Park and later Macau.
• Loan Shark: Several, though most notably Perkin Lao, who intentionally sabotages Mike's attempt to pay him back in order to gain full ownership of Halcyon Park.
• Made of Iron: Subverted by Archie, who, while capable of superhuman feats, is susceptible to injury and takes major damage. A straight example is Crystal, who shrugs off being tortured, shot at point-blank range, and dragged across a battlefield. The last anyone sees of her is a bloody streak on a wall where Davies left her.
• Magnetic Weapons: Rail field generators use "rails" of laser-ionized air to launch plasma charges. Archie uses a stripped-down version to very poor effect during the Fresno robbery, and Kona even notes that they're ridiculously overpowered minutes before Davies nearly kills Archie with one. During the siege, Mike in Tikhemoth takes the brunt of three of them and is vaporized.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: Inverted when Astrade and Silvio make Gary's accidental death look like a murder. This serves both to drive the Halcyon crew into a desperate move and to keep the investigation going until Sahknussem's plan to consolidate power is complete.
• A Mech by Any Other Name: Armored Infantry Rig, or AIR, is often used to describe both military mechs and Archie's suits, despite not being used by the Armored Infantry.
• Mecha Expansion Pack: Archie proves his engineering skills to Mike by building one of these for the work bot Amy. An unfinished one meant for Gomez becomes the core of Archie's first rig, and is built upon further for the following robberies.
• Mini-Mecha: Unlike the AIR powered suits, the 17-ton Halcyon is one of these. Its cockpit was originally designed to house two drivers, and piloted much like an aircraft.
• Moral Guardians: The US government has shades of this, with vices discouraged through heavy taxation, though according to Davies, Britain is far worse. Among the things banned are violent sports, mature video games, and pornography.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Downplayed. While Davies isn't directly responsible for Gary's death, Tempe had specifically asked Davies to protect him after their one-night stand. At Gary's funeral, Kona suggests that she's right to a degree.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: Gary's view of the US, inherited from his and Archie's father. No matter the political state of the country, he responds angrily at any suggestion that the family should flee to the safer Pacifico Republic.
• No-Sell: Almost every attack on Cucuy is as effective as punching a steel wall. It is only after Kona manages to incapacitate one arm that the bot becomes vulnerable at all.
• One World Order: A goal of the Trans-British Alliance, a military federation that includes Britain, the US, India, and numerous other nations. If Johnny Icaro is correct, they're a very long way from achieving it.
• Organ Theft: Mentioned by Astrade regarding an elderly patient who needs a new liver. He's relieved when she dies before the family can obtain a black-market liver from organ thieves.
• Organic Technology: Izuz is augmented with a biological neuro-system. This becomes key when Icaro reveals that Archie's brain contains the bio-ware, allowing them to connect directly.
• Origin Story: For the Thousand-Year Dreamer, a super-hero like leader of a machine revolt in South America.
• Outlaw Couple: Unbeknownst to Archie, Ray and Crystal are this. Averted with Archie and Corcoran, who refuses to have any part in the crew's robberies.
• Parenting the Husband: Tempe believes Gary needs this sort of treatment. Whether she's right is neither here nor there.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Johnny Icaro's philosophy. He admits gladly employs monstrous thugs and remorselessly kills subordinates who have endangered his operations. He then claims that his war against the US is to shield the more peaceful Pacifico Republic in Central America.
• Photographic Memory: Johnny Icaro is able to put Archie back together quickly and efficiently after having only watched the footage of the cartel surgeons taking him apart.
• Police State: Sections of California border on one, and Sahknussem intends to solidify police control for the sake of his own power.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Among other faults, Mike Topher throws around slurs against immigrants in conversation, with the added hypocrisy that he is one himself.
• Politically Motivated Teacher: Gary attempts to seed his classes with doubts about the right-wing administration, and later outright bullies a politically opportunistic student out of his program. Played with in the case of Tempe, who is shown to have been fired and denied further employment because of socialist sympathies. She remains ignorant of this until Johnny Icaro shows her her own sealed files.
• Power-Upgrading Deformation: Unlike Archie's streamlined, organic design, Trinidad's cybernetics are disturbing, including the voluntary replacement of one arm with a claw-like prosthesis that allows him full control of Cucuy. Izuz's files show that Trinidad's entire body is saturated with painkillers and steroids to deal with the severity of his surgeries.
• Powered Armor: All over the place. Archie's first three rigs count, and are based on military Armored Infantry Rigs, which are regularly used in combat. Mike's Tikhemoth is a particularly gargantuan example.
• Psycho for Hire: Trinidad is definitely the Chaotic Evil sort. Davies suggests that he was removed from military service before he could become one.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Halcyon crew includes a Super-Soldier, a history professor, a theme park manager/ex-bot fighter, a Combat Medic, and an engineering Outlaw Couple.
• Real Stitches for Fake Snitches: Davies implies that since Johnny Icaro will slaughter arrested subordinates whether or not they inform for the police, they might as well comply and get police protection. He's right about the former, and the latter doesn't work at all.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Once brought aboard, Simms serves as this for Tech-Crimes. He even manages to work effectively with Davies, something no other commander accomplishes.
• Red Baron: Mike Topher. Even years after his retirement and relocation to the States, his name gets immediate recognition by anyone who has ever watched a bot fight.
• Red Scare: Both communists and socialists, and anyone who sympathizes with them, are viewed as enemies of the Trans-British Alliance, of which the United States is part.
• Redemption Equals Death: After becoming a police informer and nearly getting the crew killed and inadvertently causing Gary's death, Astrade seals his Heel–Face Turn by destroying the park's comm hub with a landmine. Lacking any other way and about to be caught again, he activates it by hand.
• Regretful Traitor: Astrade. In order to protect countless modifieds, he becomes a mole for the police. His hand in Gary's accidental death nearly pushes him over the edge, causing him to pull a Redemption Equals Death Heel–Face Turn.
• Transhuman: The modifieds to varying degrees. Davies states the modification is only legal so long as it does not elevate the abilities of the patient beyond those of a normal person.
• 20 Minutes into the Future: The majority of the story takes place in 2036-38, while being told from Davies's perspective in 2046. While there have been large-scale advances in technology, people still drive eco-friendly cars, use personal computers and phones, and police have gunpowder-based firearms. Some technologies have even regressed, either due to criminalization, resource restrictions, or lack of public trust in some institutions (for example, the return of cash purchases rather than credit).
• Unwilling Roboticisation: Archie underwent this in Project Figaroa, though he was barely alive at the time. Regardless of whether it saved his life, his modification made him a public enemy for life.
• Villain Ball: Trinidad latches onto this in the last act. Even with the city becoming a warzone, he takes over Halcyon Park in broad daylight, allowing it to be surrounded by the police. Then when the battle turns against him, he stays to harvest Archie and Corcoran's implants, even gloating as the Marine gunships arrive. This may be somewhat justified in that his increased modification has driven him out of his mind.
• Wham Line: "He isn't a stupid machine. He's protecting his friends."
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Codified by the Waller-Rosenthal Act, which forbids cybernetic modification. Modifieds in the US are treated as subhuman, and are targeted by Tech-Crimes taskforces.

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