Elite

An Elite (エリート) is the pilot of an Object, a colossal fighting machine far superior to conventional weaponry. All Elites are selected by the military and trained to pilot a specific Object.

Development
Not everyone can become an Elite, as the talent to do so is uncommon. There's a series of unspecified conditions called Element (エレメント) that all Elites have to conform to. This set of conditions is what the military uses to scout candidates for Elite training. Natural talent is one of the required qualities but every Elite has those qualities refined in order for them to become Object pilots. This talent is not some strange psychic power. What is needed is an exceedingly high proficiency in skills anyone can develop such as memory, calculation ability, multitasking, and situational awareness. These qualities will be further developed by training and various types of experimentation in order to raise an Elite's data processing ability to the limits so that they can process all the data an Object pilot has to deal with during combat, which would overwhelm a natural genius.

The process of training an Elite and refining his/her natural qualities has not been described in detail, but it includes things like chemical and electric stimuli, suggestion, etc; with the exact method differing greatly from nation to nation and army to army, but all basically use human rights loopholes that allow Elites to be treated like human experiments. For example, the Faith Organization seems to use drugs that are exceedingly difficult to synthesize. In the end, an Elite's developed abilities easily overcome those of a standard genius.

A visible result of this training can be seen in an Elite's eyes, which are very light in color. This is a result of being modified to increase the effect of one of the Object's input devices, weak infrared lasers that read eye movement. It's also rumored that the genetic modifications undergone by Elites alter their bodies in other ways, like changing the sheen of their hair.

Because of the extremely specialized nature of this training an Elite can only pilot the Object he or she has been tuned for or other Objects further developed from it that use the same tree diagram.

Elites also need to regulate their bodies at regular intervals. There is no standard method of regulating an Elite’s body, nor is there a different set of standards for each army or nation. The ideal method is built up specifically for each individual Elite. The methods can go from simpler ones like meditation and suggestion to swimming within a large pool aiming for the fastest time, solving every single problem on an answer sheet similar to a college entrance exam or playing chess against a super computer.

Pilot Suit
Besides their training all Elites are equipped with a special skintight suit exclusive to Object pilots. The design of the suit varies from Elite to Elite, but all are pressure-resistant like those used by air force's pilots, stop the blood flow to the legs to preserve the brain's funcionality and generally help the Elite withstand the huge inertial Gs result of piloting a massive machine like an Object at high speeds. Even with the help of the suit Elites get tired after long periods of time piloting an Object.

Additionally, Elite's suits can withstand any environment including underwater, and provide protection against blades and bullets.

Status
Every faction treats their Elites differently. The Legitimacy Kingdom treats its Elites like patriotic heroes and rallies support from the people by spreading doubtful stories about them being part of legendary bloodlines that stretch hundreds of years into the past, while the Information Alliance controls all information about Elites and treats them like idols. Still, due to the general reliance on them to pilot Objects, all militaries tend to treat Elites extremely well, with a lot of weight being given to keeping the Elite's mood up and catering to his or her personal preferences in matters of food and the like, while most other members of the military are limited to eating flavorless eraser-like rations most of the time. Most normal soldiers that know little of Objects and Elites tend to put Elites on a pedestal removed from normal humans, some even viewing them as manmade espers.

Elites are usually high-value targets because killing the Elite is the fastest way to neutralize an Object, since it would be a long time before another Elite could be trained to pilot it. This, coupled with the money invested on their development and the possibility of the Elite leaking classified information to the enemy leads to the military devoting a lot of effort into protecting them, like assigning them special bodyguard units and armored vehicles for transport, with a perfectly air tight interior in case of firefights, explosives, or chemical and biological weapons. The selection, development and protection of an Elite usually accounts for a tenth of an Object's cost.

There are ways for Elites to retire from service, however, they are usually managed by higher-ups to prevent skilled Elites from retiring. The Legitimacy Kingdom's Civilian Acclimation Assistance System is one example.