Instead of the runner and the frame forming a friendship, the latter takes control of the pilot completely. installed, but instead had an illegitimate mind of its own (as well as a conscience that is, oddly enough, depicted as female). However, IDOLO reverses this concept the frame was a prototype model with no A.I. A subplot throughout the series is the growth and development of the AI, as well as her attachment to her runner. which becomes a major character in her own right. The main character's Orbital Frame comes with an advanced, intelligent (and always female) A.I.

Dolores, is an ironic exception to this, as while James Links does come across Dolores by chance, it was being sent to him in the first place.

The main character of the story usually comes across the Orbital Frame by accident.

Also, many of the bosses and enemies in the series (like the Mummyhead), are linked to ancient Egyptian culture and myth.

The two main Orbital Frames in each series (such as Jehuty and Anubis) are named after Egyptian gods.

Each frame ends up on opposite sides of the conflict, and the final confrontation is between the two and their pilots.

The story usually revolves around two specific Orbital Frames, created as part of the same project.

Throughout the Zone of the Enders series, a number of themes and dramatic devices show up prominently, in every series except IDOLO: A new weapon given to these rebels is the Orbital Frame, a mecha that makes extensive use of Metatron-based technology, These Orbital Frames come to shape the destiny of Earth and its colonies, for both good and evil. Eventually, different groups on Mars begin to rise up in opposition to Earth. However, those in power on Earth begin to take a dim view of the colonists of Mars and Jupiter, calling them 'Enders', and imposing harsh and exploitive laws and taxes against them.

Fueling this expansion are two scientific advances: the development of the Laborious Extra-Orbital Vehicle, or LEV, a mecha used for labor and military use, and the discovery of Metatron, a high-energy ore found on Callisto. Humankind has colonized Mars, and space colonies are also set up in orbit around Jupiter. The Zone of the Enders series is set in the late 22nd century.

2.3 Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars.