Marc Stiegler
1999
"Armor frames" powered by compressed air, because the ferromagnetic materials of electric motors would ruin the stealthiness of their approach. (Somehow build radio transceivers regardless.) Limit their combat endurance. Nit, because this is mid-21cen and haven't figured out polymer/bucky electrical systems? Combat against the Shivas, a series of moon-sized automated attackers arriving every five years. Ten miles of stony armor, immune to any conventional weapon; must be disabled from within. Earth Defense Agency recruits intelligence of whole human race: live telecast of assault, with prizeboards/(fore)castpoints on which specialists propose, bid on answers, each their area of expertise: layout of corridors based on echoes, effective combat strikes against new models of defender robots, ways to utilize remaining supplies.
In the mid-21st century, Earth was attacked by a moon-sized invader, and several major cities were destroyed before a small team was able to infiltrate and disable it. Dubbed "Shiva", it was followed five years later by a second and improved model. By the arrival of "Shiva V", Earth had reorganized itself to repel these periodic attacks: the Earth Defense Authority had been established, teams were trained, a mechanism to quickly tap the population's net expertise developed, and the EDA had started airdropping web-connected PDAs into underdeveloped areas to improve its "workforce".
... "prizeboards" and "castpoints" (short for "forecasts") (aka "idea futures"), in which a prize was offered for solutions, and people (with relevant expertise) voted with money for the candidates they thought best. During the first and second assaults during the so-called Month of Shiva, ... live broadcast by the five-member Angel Teams, Angel Controller, while forecasts posted as to what hazards they'd encounter, and prizes to resolve them: rapid improvisation, and gear destroyed and members killed.
The five-member "Angel Team" wears "armor frames" optimized for endurance (in the long trek to the Shiva's core) and agility (in combat against the defensive robots). Since the robots were (until Shiva V) equipped only with swords and grippers, the suits were armored against melee trauma: cutting and crushing, not piercing or projectile impact.
Armor frame strength enhancement can be adjusted to conserve power, which is provided by compressed air, since the metal in electric motors would ruin the team's stealthy approach. (See also: compressed-air guns.) The frames are colored to match the sandstone of Shiva's interior. Each carries a camera and transmitter (for live coverage), plus a video transceiver to the Angel Controller on Earth. (Relays are deployed as the team penetrates deeper; a fiber-optic cable is unspooled through the ten miles of outer armor, to the X-ray laser transmitter mounted in the docking bay.)
Recommended by Vernor Vinge. Author's website at ...