a device called the Shell Forge, Hardware coats his body from head to toe with this material. Once polarized, the shell serves as a skintight, impact-resistant foundation upon which his external armor rests. Though not bulletproof, the shell is highly bullet resistant and can easily shrug off small caliber gunfire. It also has ablative capabilities that offer protection against low-level energy attacks like electricity and laser beams. Perhaps the shell's most formidable feature is the programmable polymers integrated into its structure. These polymers enable the shell to stretch and contract like human muscle, but with considerably greater force. Hence, the shell increases Hardware's natural strength to superhuman levels. Initially, the shell amplified Curtis's strength so that he could lift (press) about 5 tons, but Hardware's battle with the SYSTEMatic Mark III indicates that Curtis has significantly increased the shell's strength augmentation abilities. The polymers in the shell can also "remember" movements that Curtis programs into them that he can trigger at a later time. For instance, Curtis has programmed complex martial art katas into the polymers that when activated enable him to unleash a high-speed combination of blows. It is due to this feature that Curtis refers to his basic armor as his "smart suit". The drawback to the basic armor is that while wearing it Hardware cannot eat or drink. External armor The external systems of Hardware's armor are stored within the nano-robot housing pods in his helmet and shoulder pads. These systems are constructed by nano-robots, microscopic machines that are released via main control systems in the helmet. The external armor is powered by high efficiency batteries called power packs installed in the shoulder pads. In addition, the helmet includes a Multi-Optics Display Unit (MODU) with wide-range spectral scanning capabilities. This unit enables Hardware to see in wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum including infrared, ultraviolet, and magnetic resonance imaging. The MODU is fully integrated into the tracking and target sub-system that beams a sighting crosshairs onto Hardware's right eye. The target sub-system determines target acquisition by following Hardware's eye movements and then fires on verbal command. Hardware also uses the tracking system to send hands-free visual commands to his onboard computer, DOBIE. He can spell out these commands by focusing his right eye on letters and short commands from a special menu bar on his tracking monitor. Hardware refers to this system as his visual input mode (also