[Worm x MGSV] On Missing Limbs
- Thread starter fallacies
- Start date
Squirrelly-Sama
Founder of QQ
- Location
- I don't know... Somewhere?
Reincarnation?
Op said Taylor Annette and Danny weren't related to big boss.
kamenhero25
The Masked Writer
- Location
- United States
Boss and Big Boss are different characters. Though I do agree that it's probably not that simple.
VC Project
Infinite Possibilities at the Point of No Return
Blood transfusion shenanigans like in Kafuka's case in Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei. Or Joker's after-death surprise in the Batman Arkham games.
I mean, Liquid's arm does it to Ocelot.
I mean, Liquid's arm does it to Ocelot.
No, Liquid's arm doesn't do jack, that was all self-hypnosis on Ocelot's part
- Location
- Quezon City, Philippines
Maybe Magic. Maybe Mundane.
Ocelot probably has some minor psychic powers, but not on par with his pops. For all we know, Liquid's ghost actually possessed Ocelot, until Ocelot got his powers under control. The ambiguity of the series leaves much for interpretation.
12. Epilogue I: Philosophers
fallacies
Puyo Mage
12. Epilogue I: Philosophers
It was a board room that wouldn't have been out of place in any multinational company -- unexceptional aside from its location; it occupied the top floor of a building that existed nowhere within the world, surrounded on all sides by endless virgin wilds.
Above the circular table in the center of the room, there was a holographic display of a seaside city.
"This is Port Victoria, in Seychelles," said a dark-skinned woman in the lab coat, speaking with a slight accent. "Population 26,450, as of a 2010 census."
The display changed: A wire-frame representation of the Earth and its land masses slowly rotated.
Over the surface, a point of light traveled, leaving a gradually fading path of roughly circular revolutions around the planet. As it crossed northwards through eastern Europe for the second time, its direction abruptly changed -- subsequently trailing in a line of solid red.
"On January eleventh, the Simurgh diverged sharply from its anticipated path," the woman continued. "Dragon's predictive algorithm previously gave that it would make landfall in Australia sometime in late February, targeting either Sydney or Canberra. This forecast was independently confirmed by PRT and Protectorate Thinkers, and matched the projections modeled by the Trismegistos."
The display shifted again, focusing into the western reach of the Indian Ocean.
"Following the divergence, the only major population center that fell within a 0.01% allowance of the Simurgh's anticipated course was Port Victoria."
"A city of a bit more than twenty-six thousand isn't a real population center," commented a hooded figure, seated on the opposite side of the table. "And in any case, there wasn't an attack there. Why are you telling us about an incident that never happened?"
The woman in the lab coat didn't regard the hooded man. Impassively, she clicked her wireless mouse, and several new windows opened in the holographic flat-screen immediately before her seat.
"I called this meeting today," she said, calmly, "to provide you with a general background on the so-called 'Fourth Endbringer.' The pertinence of this information should be obvious momentarily."
"In that case, proceed," said another woman -- well-built, and clad in a cape and skintight suit.
The first woman nodded.
"On the eighth of March," she said, "the Simurgh's advance temporarily halted three hundred and twenty-four kilometers southwest of Port Victoria, in an area of open ocean. For roughly twenty hours, it remained geostationary in the upper atmosphere. Seven hours into its vigil, seismic stations in the region registered a minor undersea earthquake -- a two on the Modified Mercalli scale."
"And the 'giant in the skies' was first sighted off the coast of Madagascar on March tenth ..." said the hooded man, trailing off. "You're saying that the Simurgh bore witness to the creation of the Fourth?"
"As we've previously established, the Fourth is capable of cloaking itself from long-range optical and radio surveillance. Ergo, the precise time of its origination isn't presently confirmable -- but to answer your question, there's a high probability that it's a man-made construct merely 'appropriated' by the Simurgh."
"A Tinkertech weapon?"
"No. Or at least, not originally."
At the center of the table, three axes extended perpendicularly from a point, forming a cubic space graduated with dotted grid-lines. Within, a blurry shape scanned into existence.
"On the twelfth of May -- thirty hours ago -- a research vessel in the southern Pacific recorded the displayed atmospheric bogey via synthetic-aperture acoustic imaging. We've managed to digitally enhance the read-out."
A plane of light moved across the blur, adding definition to its shape. After several passes, a humanoid form with sharp, mechanical lines emerged. Per the scale of the grid, the actual figure would've been roughly fifteen meters tall -- larger than the Behemoth.
"... Metal Gear!?" said the man.
The lips of the caped woman drew into a frown.
"You've suppressed the release of this information to the PRT, I'm supposing?" she asked.
"Correct," the woman in the lab coat replied. "We've permitted rumors to circulate online, but filter bubble isolation has been enacted to restrict the dissemination of accurate knowledge -- effective at least until media coverage exceeds critical volume. Ironically, the stealth measures the Fourth itself employs have been of substantial aid to our efforts. What you see before you is the sole recording of its outward appearance so far extant."
"When it inevitably makes its debut, how do you intend to respond?" asked the caped woman. "Any way I look at it, the mere existence of this thing reverses over a decade of ideological regulation. The public isn't blind enough not to notice what it looks like -- and dependent upon the sort of threat that it poses, it might be taken as evidence toward the viability of the Metal Gear as a countermeasure against parahumans."
"The current plan is to sell the Fourth as a unique Tinkertech creation. Thirty-five of the Marine Corps' brand new Mass-Production Model RAY Mk. II's are on standby for rapid deployment in the event of an attack on American soil. If it's demonstrated that a supposedly state-of-the-art weapon isn't a match against the Simurgh's toy soldier, comparability or equivalence to a conventional Metal Gear shouldn't be as readily assumed."
"In other words, we're running a repeat of Manhattan, 2009?" asked the man. "We'll really need to stage an exhibition of the Mk. II's performance beforehand ..."
"The Trismegistos has already begun to make arrangements. Several expendable A-Rank assets are being considered for elimination, and we've taken great pains to avoid another Romanenko situation."
The hooded man shifted in his seat, crossing his arms before his chest.
"What I want to know is, who built this thing?" he asked. "It isn't one of ours, is it?"
"About that," said the woman in the lab coat. "Contessa's been looking into it."
The central display cleared, and a flat image loaded -- the photograph of a humanoid silhouette drifting above a savanna, discolored to a dark blue by distance and aerial perspective.
"Thought you said there weren't any other images," said the man.
"You misunderstand. This was taken near Lake Natron in Arusha, Tanzania in 1985."
"Four years prior to the end of the Cold War," the caped woman observed. "And you said the Simurgh might have 'appropriated' the weapon from the territorial waters of Seychelles. Any connection with the defunct Diamond Dogs PMC?"
The woman in the lab coat shook her head.
"We initially hypothesized that there might've been a link," she replied, clicking her mouse. A top-down satellite image of a sprawling off-shore facility appeared in the central display. "The approximate coordinates to the PMC's former base of operations does indeed overlap with the Simurgh's position as of March eighth. Digging into it a bit more, however, we uncovered partial documentation of a weapons development project that the XOF completed on Soviet funds in the mid-1980's."
The hologram switched, tracing out the three-dimensional schematic of a humanoid Metal Gear in wire-frame.
"This was an early design for the ST-84 Sahelanthropus," the woman continued, "a plan prepared by the XOF Commander code-named Albatross, prior to his death in 1984. You would know of him better as 'the Transylvanian' -- the man responsible for the downfall of Zero."
"Sahelanthropus," the caped woman carefully pronounced. "The Man of Sahel." She narrowed her eyes. "It seems that we aren't quite through with the phantoms that Cipher's left behind."
-
Notes:
a) David is not Solid Snake, and is not genetically related to Big Boss.
b) Leviathan attacked Manhattan in 2009. Twenty Metal Gear RAYs were deployed to fight it, but over half of them were wrecked.
c) The nanomaterial coating applied by the Simurgh to the surfaces of the Sahelanthropus serve as active camouflage via counter-illumination and the real-time modulation of light and radio-wave reflection. Certain other capabilities exhibited by 'the one that covers' are mimicked.
d) Nastasha Romanenko was assassinated in 2006.
e) The primary servers of the Trismegistos are situated on alternate Earths, and connect to the internet via redundant iterations of the Arsenal Gear. Said iterations do not all take the form of a submersible craft. Somehow, a non-Tinkertech solution was found for latency issues.
Have some Fultons:
It was a board room that wouldn't have been out of place in any multinational company -- unexceptional aside from its location; it occupied the top floor of a building that existed nowhere within the world, surrounded on all sides by endless virgin wilds.
Above the circular table in the center of the room, there was a holographic display of a seaside city.
"This is Port Victoria, in Seychelles," said a dark-skinned woman in the lab coat, speaking with a slight accent. "Population 26,450, as of a 2010 census."
The display changed: A wire-frame representation of the Earth and its land masses slowly rotated.
Over the surface, a point of light traveled, leaving a gradually fading path of roughly circular revolutions around the planet. As it crossed northwards through eastern Europe for the second time, its direction abruptly changed -- subsequently trailing in a line of solid red.
"On January eleventh, the Simurgh diverged sharply from its anticipated path," the woman continued. "Dragon's predictive algorithm previously gave that it would make landfall in Australia sometime in late February, targeting either Sydney or Canberra. This forecast was independently confirmed by PRT and Protectorate Thinkers, and matched the projections modeled by the Trismegistos."
The display shifted again, focusing into the western reach of the Indian Ocean.
"Following the divergence, the only major population center that fell within a 0.01% allowance of the Simurgh's anticipated course was Port Victoria."
"A city of a bit more than twenty-six thousand isn't a real population center," commented a hooded figure, seated on the opposite side of the table. "And in any case, there wasn't an attack there. Why are you telling us about an incident that never happened?"
The woman in the lab coat didn't regard the hooded man. Impassively, she clicked her wireless mouse, and several new windows opened in the holographic flat-screen immediately before her seat.
"I called this meeting today," she said, calmly, "to provide you with a general background on the so-called 'Fourth Endbringer.' The pertinence of this information should be obvious momentarily."
"In that case, proceed," said another woman -- well-built, and clad in a cape and skintight suit.
The first woman nodded.
"On the eighth of March," she said, "the Simurgh's advance temporarily halted three hundred and twenty-four kilometers southwest of Port Victoria, in an area of open ocean. For roughly twenty hours, it remained geostationary in the upper atmosphere. Seven hours into its vigil, seismic stations in the region registered a minor undersea earthquake -- a two on the Modified Mercalli scale."
"And the 'giant in the skies' was first sighted off the coast of Madagascar on March tenth ..." said the hooded man, trailing off. "You're saying that the Simurgh bore witness to the creation of the Fourth?"
"As we've previously established, the Fourth is capable of cloaking itself from long-range optical and radio surveillance. Ergo, the precise time of its origination isn't presently confirmable -- but to answer your question, there's a high probability that it's a man-made construct merely 'appropriated' by the Simurgh."
"A Tinkertech weapon?"
"No. Or at least, not originally."
At the center of the table, three axes extended perpendicularly from a point, forming a cubic space graduated with dotted grid-lines. Within, a blurry shape scanned into existence.
"On the twelfth of May -- thirty hours ago -- a research vessel in the southern Pacific recorded the displayed atmospheric bogey via synthetic-aperture acoustic imaging. We've managed to digitally enhance the read-out."
A plane of light moved across the blur, adding definition to its shape. After several passes, a humanoid form with sharp, mechanical lines emerged. Per the scale of the grid, the actual figure would've been roughly fifteen meters tall -- larger than the Behemoth.
"... Metal Gear!?" said the man.
The lips of the caped woman drew into a frown.
"You've suppressed the release of this information to the PRT, I'm supposing?" she asked.
"Correct," the woman in the lab coat replied. "We've permitted rumors to circulate online, but filter bubble isolation has been enacted to restrict the dissemination of accurate knowledge -- effective at least until media coverage exceeds critical volume. Ironically, the stealth measures the Fourth itself employs have been of substantial aid to our efforts. What you see before you is the sole recording of its outward appearance so far extant."
"When it inevitably makes its debut, how do you intend to respond?" asked the caped woman. "Any way I look at it, the mere existence of this thing reverses over a decade of ideological regulation. The public isn't blind enough not to notice what it looks like -- and dependent upon the sort of threat that it poses, it might be taken as evidence toward the viability of the Metal Gear as a countermeasure against parahumans."
"The current plan is to sell the Fourth as a unique Tinkertech creation. Thirty-five of the Marine Corps' brand new Mass-Production Model RAY Mk. II's are on standby for rapid deployment in the event of an attack on American soil. If it's demonstrated that a supposedly state-of-the-art weapon isn't a match against the Simurgh's toy soldier, comparability or equivalence to a conventional Metal Gear shouldn't be as readily assumed."
"In other words, we're running a repeat of Manhattan, 2009?" asked the man. "We'll really need to stage an exhibition of the Mk. II's performance beforehand ..."
"The Trismegistos has already begun to make arrangements. Several expendable A-Rank assets are being considered for elimination, and we've taken great pains to avoid another Romanenko situation."
The hooded man shifted in his seat, crossing his arms before his chest.
"What I want to know is, who built this thing?" he asked. "It isn't one of ours, is it?"
"About that," said the woman in the lab coat. "Contessa's been looking into it."
The central display cleared, and a flat image loaded -- the photograph of a humanoid silhouette drifting above a savanna, discolored to a dark blue by distance and aerial perspective.
"Thought you said there weren't any other images," said the man.
"You misunderstand. This was taken near Lake Natron in Arusha, Tanzania in 1985."
"Four years prior to the end of the Cold War," the caped woman observed. "And you said the Simurgh might have 'appropriated' the weapon from the territorial waters of Seychelles. Any connection with the defunct Diamond Dogs PMC?"
The woman in the lab coat shook her head.
"We initially hypothesized that there might've been a link," she replied, clicking her mouse. A top-down satellite image of a sprawling off-shore facility appeared in the central display. "The approximate coordinates to the PMC's former base of operations does indeed overlap with the Simurgh's position as of March eighth. Digging into it a bit more, however, we uncovered partial documentation of a weapons development project that the XOF completed on Soviet funds in the mid-1980's."
The hologram switched, tracing out the three-dimensional schematic of a humanoid Metal Gear in wire-frame.
"This was an early design for the ST-84 Sahelanthropus," the woman continued, "a plan prepared by the XOF Commander code-named Albatross, prior to his death in 1984. You would know of him better as 'the Transylvanian' -- the man responsible for the downfall of Zero."
"Sahelanthropus," the caped woman carefully pronounced. "The Man of Sahel." She narrowed her eyes. "It seems that we aren't quite through with the phantoms that Cipher's left behind."
-
Notes:
a) David is not Solid Snake, and is not genetically related to Big Boss.
b) Leviathan attacked Manhattan in 2009. Twenty Metal Gear RAYs were deployed to fight it, but over half of them were wrecked.
c) The nanomaterial coating applied by the Simurgh to the surfaces of the Sahelanthropus serve as active camouflage via counter-illumination and the real-time modulation of light and radio-wave reflection. Certain other capabilities exhibited by 'the one that covers' are mimicked.
d) Nastasha Romanenko was assassinated in 2006.
e) The primary servers of the Trismegistos are situated on alternate Earths, and connect to the internet via redundant iterations of the Arsenal Gear. Said iterations do not all take the form of a submersible craft. Somehow, a non-Tinkertech solution was found for latency issues.
Have some Fultons:
Last edited:
thefluffyone
Big Ego for Something so Small, eh?
- Location
- Earth
So all this time Simurgh just wanted to re-enact one of her favorite vidya game series? 
Now all we need is a kick ass Senator, NANOMACHINES, SON!, and RULES OF NATURE!
Now all we need is a kick ass Senator, NANOMACHINES, SON!, and RULES OF NATURE!
Hold it, wasn't Armstrong the name of a PTR Director? So, maybe he joined the PTR rather than entered politics. He did have a millitary background.
Nanomachines?
Psycho Mantis?...!
Psycho Mantis?...!
fallacies
Puyo Mage
Explanation for those unfamiliar with Metal Gear canon, as requested on SB:
In 1985, following a showdown with a son of Big Boss in Tanzania, Venom Snake managed to recover a giant mecha called the Metal Gear Sahelanthropus -- originally created by one of his enemies to propagate fear and ethnic conflict. He relocated the mecha to the headquarters of his organization, an oil rig in Seychelles waters, off the coast of Africa.
In present day, the Simurgh salvages the mecha from the seabed where Big Boss' organization once situated their base. Reconstructed with Tinkertech, it's a humanoid robot larger than the Behemoth -- measuring 15 meters in height. It has stealth functions -- including invisibility -- and it's armed with weapons that contain a microorganism that metabolizes metal, capable of instantly rusting over most conventional military equipment. Due to Simurgh's Tinkertech, it can now fly, and it's piloted by some form of AI pod. It possesses miscellaneous other abilities that permit it to believably present itself as a threat on par with an Endbringer.
In this setting, Cauldron has subsumed the primary antagonist in the Metal Gear series -- a hidden organization that once manipulated the government of the United States from behind the scenes, referred to as Cipher. The events of MGSV were the result of a subordinate organization of Cipher -- the XOF black ops group -- going rogue. (They're the ones who built Sahelanthropus.) In the overarching plot of Metal Gear, however, Cipher created an artificial intelligence known as the Patriots, which was later installed as the controller of all of the organization's assets -- including the thought/emotion/behavior-manipulating nanomachines manditorily injected into all battlefield personnel per United Nations sanctions as of 2014. Under Cauldron's control in this particular universe, the Patriots have been repurposed as the hacking tool and ideological regulation system known as Trismegistos. Mostly, it manipulates information on the internet to promote Cauldron's agenda.
For *certain reasons*, Cauldron has used Trismegistos to carefully cultivate the belief that 'conventional weapons' such as Metal Gears are incomparable to the power of capes. As a result of the Simurgh's reactivation of the Sahelanthropus, however, Alexandria worries that their efforts will be undone. To address this concern, Doctor Mother has prepared a plan in which the brand new mass-production model Metal Gear RAY Mk. II's owned by the United States Marine Corps will end up being trashed by the Sahelanthropus in the event of an attack, despite being presented to the general public as state-of-the-art technology. She believes that this will prevent people from imagining that any random Metal Gear out there is capable of taking on S-Rank threats of parahuman origin.
On the subject of Sahelanthropus being a creation of Cipher's, Alexandria observes that 'the phantoms left behind by Cipher' haven't all been taken care of yet.
In present day, the Simurgh salvages the mecha from the seabed where Big Boss' organization once situated their base. Reconstructed with Tinkertech, it's a humanoid robot larger than the Behemoth -- measuring 15 meters in height. It has stealth functions -- including invisibility -- and it's armed with weapons that contain a microorganism that metabolizes metal, capable of instantly rusting over most conventional military equipment. Due to Simurgh's Tinkertech, it can now fly, and it's piloted by some form of AI pod. It possesses miscellaneous other abilities that permit it to believably present itself as a threat on par with an Endbringer.
In this setting, Cauldron has subsumed the primary antagonist in the Metal Gear series -- a hidden organization that once manipulated the government of the United States from behind the scenes, referred to as Cipher. The events of MGSV were the result of a subordinate organization of Cipher -- the XOF black ops group -- going rogue. (They're the ones who built Sahelanthropus.) In the overarching plot of Metal Gear, however, Cipher created an artificial intelligence known as the Patriots, which was later installed as the controller of all of the organization's assets -- including the thought/emotion/behavior-manipulating nanomachines manditorily injected into all battlefield personnel per United Nations sanctions as of 2014. Under Cauldron's control in this particular universe, the Patriots have been repurposed as the hacking tool and ideological regulation system known as Trismegistos. Mostly, it manipulates information on the internet to promote Cauldron's agenda.
For *certain reasons*, Cauldron has used Trismegistos to carefully cultivate the belief that 'conventional weapons' such as Metal Gears are incomparable to the power of capes. As a result of the Simurgh's reactivation of the Sahelanthropus, however, Alexandria worries that their efforts will be undone. To address this concern, Doctor Mother has prepared a plan in which the brand new mass-production model Metal Gear RAY Mk. II's owned by the United States Marine Corps will end up being trashed by the Sahelanthropus in the event of an attack, despite being presented to the general public as state-of-the-art technology. She believes that this will prevent people from imagining that any random Metal Gear out there is capable of taking on S-Rank threats of parahuman origin.
On the subject of Sahelanthropus being a creation of Cipher's, Alexandria observes that 'the phantoms left behind by Cipher' haven't all been taken care of yet.
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Without reading the explanation, I briefly got my hopes up that the Demon Lord of the Round Table was making some kinda crazy last second appearance.
- Location
- Quezon City, Philippines
Wrong franchise. However, I don't blame you for thinking of Ace Combat, the Demon Lord of the Round Table was badass.
- Location
- Europe
Heh, what if it was a gift for Taylor, from The Winged One?
Have to counter a certain treat, afteral.
Breaking the status quo, is also a way of trolling and Simurg is quite the troll.
Especially since she was using Dragon her tinker ability to update that thing.
Have to counter a certain treat, afteral.
Breaking the status quo, is also a way of trolling and Simurg is quite the troll.
Especially since she was using Dragon her tinker ability to update that thing.
Last edited:
thefluffyone
Big Ego for Something so Small, eh?
- Location
- Earth
fallacies
Puyo Mage
It's probably schematically modeled after the Mammal Pod AI.
However, the Simurgh may not have chosen to faithfully reproduce the personality of the Boss.
Last edited:
They haven't had screen time, but they do exist.
- Location
- UP!
This is pretty damn good.
Squirrelly-Sama
Founder of QQ
- Location
- I don't know... Somewhere?
Throw him under a cardboard box so he forgets his own existance.
13. Epilogue II: Valkyrie
fallacies
Puyo Mage
13. Epilogue II: Valkyrie
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♦ Topic: Virtue (Dedicated Discussion Thread)
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► New Hampshire
Zacharias (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)
Posted On May 26th 2011:
Just to prevent the occasional discussion on Virtue from being lost to the constant, torrential updates on BB News General, I've decided to launch a dedicated thread. Some ground rules, first:
1) Speculation is allowed, but let's try to keep things founded in fact wherever possible. No extremely outlandish theories, m'kay?
2) As usual, if the subject of the thread makes an account and actually decides to post, please be respectful. Flooding them with inane questions will probably result in moderator intervention, and generally makes you look like an ass.
With that out of the way, the following is an abridged copypaste of Virtue's profile in the Wiki (accessed June 5th, 2011):
----------------------------------------
Virtue
Alignment: Hero
Affiliation: Guild-Vancouver
Power Classification: Stranger 1
Aliases: Venom (unofficial)
Costume: n/a
Sex: n/a (male pronouns used for convenience)
Age: n/a
Nationality: Canada
Period of Activity: January 2011 ~ present
Area of Activity: Vancouver, British Columbia (previous), Brockton Bay, NH (current)
----------------------------------------
Virtue is a junior/rookie Hero affiliated with Guild-Vancouver, acting under the direct supervision of Dragon. A recent arrival in Brockton Bay, NH, he began to contribute to cleanup of the local crime scene sometime between late April and early May, 2011.
To date, Virtue has made no official public appearances, and claimed no credit for crime-fighting activities. However, authorities have to his efforts attributed the capture of numerous criminals, including Cricket and Rune of the Empire-88, and Trainwreck and Mush of the Merchants; specifically, Virtue is associated with a large number of 'suspect dropoffs' reported by use of a distinct synthetic voice to the Brockton Bay Police Department and the PRT-ENE. 'Citizen's arrests' of a similar presentation have been attributed to Virtue by Vancouver authorities since January 2011.
Testimony from arrested criminals gives no consistent visual description of Virtue; opponents are generally rendered unconscious moments after becoming aware of his presence, and frequently recall only that a 'shadow' entered their peripheral vision. Documented methods of incapacitation utilized by Virtue include physical trauma and choking -- though in some cases, criminals have reported compatriots falling unconscious without obvious outward cause. Whether this is a direct effect of Virtue's power is unknown.
According to an official profile provided by Guild-Vancouver, Virtue is classified only as a Stranger 1. However, the PRT has confirmed his use of unspecified Tinkertech equipment, thought to be supplied by Dragon.
[/wiki]
The Wiki entry pretty much covers all of the relevant content so far posted to BB News General. If anyone has corrections or new information, please post it here!
Edit: Updated Aliases. (06/22/2011)
(Showing page 3 of 45)
♦ Topic: Endbringers: Boston - June 20th, 2011 (Post-Incident Discussion)
In: Boards ► News ► America
Genos (Original Poster) (Verified PRT Agent)
Posted On Jun 22nd 2011:
This is the official post-incident discussion thread for the attack perpetrated on Boston by the Endbringer "Sahelanthropus" on June 20th, 2011. For news and other information regarding the incident, please refer to the navigation links below.
Official Incident Report
General News & Updates
Casualties & Missing Persons
Disaster Relief Updates
Insurance Information
When posting, please be mindful that other users may have lost family members or loved ones during the incident.
(Showing page 31 of 108)
♦ Topic: Iriomote appointed Director to PRT-ENE
In: Boards ► Organizations ► America ► PRT ► Press Releases
PRT_NewsBot (Original Poster) (Verified PRT Press Release Agent)
Posted On Jun 15th 2011:
Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, June 15th, 2011.
Mr. Charles Adam Iriomote has this afternoon been appointed to full authority as Director at the Parahuman Response Team - East North-East (henceforth, PRT-ENE) in Brockton Bay, NH. Resituated as Interim Director to the PRT-ENE in the wake of Emily Piggot's dismissal earlier this year, Mr. Iriomote has devoted the duration of his temporary assignment to the investigation and removal of the systematic corruption alleged to pervade the branch. These efforts are expected to continue along the course of his official posting.
"As a federal law enforcement body, the PRT exists at the pleasure of the people of the United States," Mr. Iriomote stated at a press event today. "As such, its actions should be answerable to the people, rather than to the inscrutable agendas of the few. In the coming year, I hope to implement a number of policy changes toward the improvement our overall operational transparency, and to build stronger ties with the community here in Brockton Bay."
Formerly serving as Deputy Director at the Houston Regional Office, Mr. Iriomote is the architect of the experimental PRT-sponsored Hero team 'HAVEN,' which functions independently of the Protectorate. So as to assist Mr. Iriomote in his plans to mitigate the growth of organized parahuman crime within the metropolitan area, the members of the HAVEN team -- Kalika, Ash Raven, and Devilfish -- are due for reassignment to Brockton Bay as of Friday, June 18th. Their inclusion within the amended patrol rotation of the local PRT forces is expected to substantially bolster the performance of the branch in the capacity of incident prevention and suppression.
For further information, please refer to the official PRT Press Releases website.
(Showing page 1 of 1)
End of Page.
-
"Dave?" called Hal.
He turned his gaze from the flat-screen television, tilting his head.
"Yeah?" he called back.
"You might wanna take a look at this."
With a grunt and a sigh, he pulled himself from the couch, pacing from the living room to the cramped confines of the rear office. Avoiding the neatly piled stacks of Earth Aleph comics, he made his way to the side of Hal's workstation. On the left of the three screens, there was a press release of some sort. David narrowed his eyes at the photograph near the top.
"Ocelot?" he asked. "What's he doing in the Parahuman Response Team?"
"According to his public profile, he's been there for awhile," said Hal. "All the while that Revolver Ocelot was in active service as a member of FOXHOUND, a 'Charles Adam Iriomote' was working his way up the ranks at PRT-Houston."
"Living out a double life, huh?"
As an elite unit specialized in the execution of covert directives, FOXHOUND favored the solitary, unsupported deployment of ground personnel as a standard operating procedure -- insulating the nature of any given mission from other members of the same command for purposes of security and deniability. If Ocelot and his superiors so desired, in other words, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to embed himself as a deep cover plant in separate organization without the awareness of his colleagues.
An executive office in the Parahuman Response Team wasn't precisely a low-visibility posting, though. Given Ocelot's role in the Shadow Moses Incident, David would've expected him to vanish off the grid entirely. The fact that he would so brazenly expose himself raised a lot of questions.
"Well," said Hal, "unlike you, he isn't exactly a fugitive from the law. 'Revolver Ocelot' isn't mentioned in any official account of the events at Shadow Moses Island six years ago -- even in the internal records at the Pentagon and the Department of Defense."
"You bothered to check?"
"Well, yeah. Awhile back."
David frowned.
"We're not gonna have to move again, are we?"
"I'm absolutely certain I covered my tracks this time!" Hal replied, slightly flustered. "In any case, my point is -- whoever it is that Ocelot was working for during Shadow Moses, they're powerful enough to wipe away any evidence of his involvement. If he's managed to assume a new identity, it wouldn't be something that they're unaware of. Rather, he'd only be able to pull it off if his backers decided to permit it." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Maybe it's their idea of a retirement present or something."
"A cushy job at the PRT is one hell of a severance package," said David. "Not sure if I agree with your conclusion, though."
"Why's that?"
"He's left behind loose ends from his previous life -- people who know what he looks like, and what he did."
"You're referring to us?"
"I'm sure we aren't the only ones. A man like him doesn't make a lot of friends. Unless there's a specific motive behind it, there's no reason for him to show his face in public."
Hal leaned back in his chair, scrunching his brow in thought.
"In other words, it might be a trap," he said. "He's using himself as bait to draw somebody out of hiding."
"It's a possibility," said David. "Probably not the only one, but it has its likelihood." He turned to the door. "C'mon. Let's pack up. We're going on a road trip."
Hal blinked.
"What?" he asked. "Why?"
"Your sister's got a teaching position over at MIT, right? She was in Boston when the Endbringer turned up?"
"Well, yes -- but when I contacted her, she said she was fine ..."
"And as her only family member in the States, shouldn't you drop by to check on her, just to be sure?"
Hal stared, unamused.
"You're going to Brockton Bay, aren't you?"
David let out a slight chuckle.
"The Endbringers have access to a Metal Gear," he replied, "and Ocelot's just gained the command of a PRT branch. Things are converging in New England, and I think it's time Philanthropy got a piece of the action ..."
-
She awoke in a plain, windowless office, seated as if for a job interview. Upon her lap, there was a hand pistol -- fully loaded, given the weight.
"Good afternoon," said the person behind the desk -- a clean-shaven Caucasian man in his thirties or forties, nondescript aside from his spectacles. "For now, I would advise that you refrain from speaking, accessing your powers, or attempting to escape. The Tinkertech choker on your neck will make things quite uncomfortable if you fail to comply. If you understand, nod once."
Without hesitation, she raised her pistol -- cocked and pulled the trigger.
In the moment of recoil, the man had raised his arm -- moving without particular speed as he plucked the bullet from the air. He placed it upon his desk, and a thin stream of smoke trailed from where the metal came into contact with the wood beneath.
"You do have a history of insubordination, don't you?" the man asked blandly, as if speaking about the weather. "But, of course, we were already aware of that. It's why the gun was given to you in the first place. You've just now received an object lesson in the nature of your circumstances, and of our relationship henceforth. To summarize, nod when I tell you to nod."
Glaring, she set the gun upon the desk and nodded once.
"Very good," said the man. "Allow me to get to the point, then." He folded his hands before him. "Personally, I despise you. You're weak and immature -- too full of yourself to comprehend that you aren't as important as you pretend to be within the confines of your little mind. However, there are those within my organization who feel that your power might someday prove to be useful. They've consequently requested that I make you a job offer -- to help you realize your full potential as a parahuman. Nod once if you understand anything I've just stated."
Again, she nodded.
"Dishonest too," the man observed, removing his spectacles and wiping the lenses with a handkerchief. "No matter. Disarm Eight-Nine-Three."
She heard a click from the choker about her neck.
"For now, it's safe to speak," said the man, putting his glasses back on. "If you have any questions, ask."
She did as directed.
"What happens if I say no?" she asked.
"Your choice would be taken away from you," the man replied. "It's a quick, relatively painless procedure, and you wouldn't suffer for very long. You'd be given a lobotomy and a series of neural implants -- and for the rest of your days, you'd live out a pampered life as a radio-controlled drone. Potentially, we'd lose the use of your power, but that isn't a very big concern for me."
She clenched her jaw. The man was utterly unreadable -- as if he'd trained extensively to remove any tells of intention from his face and gestures. Whether or not he was joking about invasive neurosurgery, she couldn't guess.
"What do I get out of this if I say yes?"
"Eventually, your freedom," said the man. "But in the short term, your strongest desire is revenge. As incentive, we'll bankroll your efforts -- provide you with the means and the opportunity to carry out the deed."
In the very short term, her strongest desire was in fact to be rid of the man seated before her -- but choosing not to voice the thought, she fixed him with an icy glare.
"I'll bite," she said. "I'll play your game."
With a tight, business-like smile, the man nodded.
"My name," he said, "is Harbinger. Welcome to the XOF."
-
omake / why he couldn't recruit her:
"Time for another bed time story, _____. This one's about _____ ___."
"You don't need me to tell you there's whole nations in Africa tearing themselves apart in the name of ethnic cleansing. Well, she was born into that environment."
"When she was a little girl, her village was attacked by rival armed factions. Her parents and siblings were slaughtered, and she was left a refugee. She took her last surviving relative, her baby brother, and ran as far away from the war zone."
"One day, they came across an enemy unit, so she took her brother and hid in an abandoned shack. And then her brother started to cry ..."
"She knew that if the soldiers heard the noise, they would find them and kill them both. So she wrapped her hand as tight as she could around his mouth. As the footsteps gradually went away, she came back to her senses."
"Her brother wasn't crying anymore."
"Horrified, she pulled her hand away, covered in sweat and spit."
"He wasn't breathing."
"They say ______ eat their own when they die. She was spotted wandering through the thick of battle carrying her dead brother in her arms. She had visions, too -- a ____ walking alongside her. Every night, the ____ would howl and cry just like her brother did that day."
"Eventually, she made it to a government-run refugee camp. But by then, her brother's body had rotted away."
"The camp was crowded with refugees like herself, and little children like her brother. Day and night she was tormented by the cries of babies. The ____ that followed her heard her sorrowful screams and answered. He made his way around the camp. And one by one ... He silenced the children."
"She tried to stop it, but she was powerless. A few days passed, and on the eve of the enemy's raid, there wasn't a child left. The adults who survived were torn up pretty bad."
"Of course, there was never any ____ in that camp. She was the one who'd killed those babies. When the creeping realization of the truth finally overcame her denial, she forced herself to remember: She recalled the feeling of the children's necks as she crushed them; the howls that issued from the throat of her ____ as it stalked the nursery; the terror in the eyes of the adults. Each and every death she brought, she carved within her heart."
"To her, they were an epitaph -- a promise to her brother. For his sake, in his memory, _____ ___ would descend -- the night that falls upon the field of battle."
-
Notes:
All that remains now is Snippet Ex.
a) A bullet isn't evenly heated in the process of firing, and the burst of gunfire and friction isn't of sufficient duration to raise the temperature of the entire metallic mass. Thus, in theory, you would be able to touch parts of a bullet in flight without burning yourself.
b) Gallant was originally supposed to appear in the PHO section, noting that he sensed 'an incredible lust for revenge' from Sahelanthropus. I decided to cut it because it would've been out of character for him to reveal anything so controversial to the public at large without permission from his superiors and/or PRT + Protectorate PR.
c) In keeping with the long-standing Emmerich tradition, I originally intended to have Emma die at the hands of Sahelanthropus. However, even implying the possibility of such a thing would've messed too much with the tone of the Snake and Hal scene to be practical.
d) The girl in the scene with Numbers Man is not Taylor. It was originally supposed to be Sophia, but I decided against it.
e) Prior to Taylor's awakening, the identity of "Virtue" was utilized by Dragon to test the performance of a certain stealth-oriented suit within the metropolitan area of Vancouver. At any given time, Dragon maintains several throwaway identities like this.
f) Due to memes unintentionally propagated by Greg and Clockblocker online, Taylor ended up with the nickname of 'Venom.'
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■
♦ Topic: Virtue (Dedicated Discussion Thread)
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► New Hampshire
Zacharias (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)
Posted On May 26th 2011:
Just to prevent the occasional discussion on Virtue from being lost to the constant, torrential updates on BB News General, I've decided to launch a dedicated thread. Some ground rules, first:
1) Speculation is allowed, but let's try to keep things founded in fact wherever possible. No extremely outlandish theories, m'kay?
2) As usual, if the subject of the thread makes an account and actually decides to post, please be respectful. Flooding them with inane questions will probably result in moderator intervention, and generally makes you look like an ass.
With that out of the way, the following is an abridged copypaste of Virtue's profile in the Wiki (accessed June 5th, 2011):
----------------------------------------
Virtue
Alignment: Hero
Affiliation: Guild-Vancouver
Power Classification: Stranger 1
Aliases: Venom (unofficial)
Costume: n/a
Sex: n/a (male pronouns used for convenience)
Age: n/a
Nationality: Canada
Period of Activity: January 2011 ~ present
Area of Activity: Vancouver, British Columbia (previous), Brockton Bay, NH (current)
----------------------------------------
Virtue is a junior/rookie Hero affiliated with Guild-Vancouver, acting under the direct supervision of Dragon. A recent arrival in Brockton Bay, NH, he began to contribute to cleanup of the local crime scene sometime between late April and early May, 2011.
To date, Virtue has made no official public appearances, and claimed no credit for crime-fighting activities. However, authorities have to his efforts attributed the capture of numerous criminals, including Cricket and Rune of the Empire-88, and Trainwreck and Mush of the Merchants; specifically, Virtue is associated with a large number of 'suspect dropoffs' reported by use of a distinct synthetic voice to the Brockton Bay Police Department and the PRT-ENE. 'Citizen's arrests' of a similar presentation have been attributed to Virtue by Vancouver authorities since January 2011.
Testimony from arrested criminals gives no consistent visual description of Virtue; opponents are generally rendered unconscious moments after becoming aware of his presence, and frequently recall only that a 'shadow' entered their peripheral vision. Documented methods of incapacitation utilized by Virtue include physical trauma and choking -- though in some cases, criminals have reported compatriots falling unconscious without obvious outward cause. Whether this is a direct effect of Virtue's power is unknown.
According to an official profile provided by Guild-Vancouver, Virtue is classified only as a Stranger 1. However, the PRT has confirmed his use of unspecified Tinkertech equipment, thought to be supplied by Dragon.
[/wiki]
The Wiki entry pretty much covers all of the relevant content so far posted to BB News General. If anyone has corrections or new information, please post it here!
Edit: Updated Aliases. (06/22/2011)
(Showing page 3 of 45)
►Bagrat (The Guy in the Know) (Veteran Member)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
Personally, I'm concerned about his general MO. A complete absence of identity is dangerous, because it gives leeway for hostile parties to fabricate, distort, and misrepresent.
This is one of the (numerous) reasons the PRT usually advises independent capes either to join up, become affiliated, or at least set up a PR-friendly face for the public. It isn't just for the kiddies. It's to provide visibility, so that people have something to latch on to.
Yes, I *am* aware that Virtue's a registered member of the Guild. However, commenting without knowledge of his specific arrangement with the team, I'm expressing the opinion that as far as management of PR goes, he might as well be an independent. The sort of anonymity he presently 'enjoys' is of merit only to criminals. To a hero, it's a setback.
►Antigone
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Bagrat: I think you're presuming that Virtue /has to/ fit into the trappings of a particular kind of hero. There's no rule that says capital-H Heroes need to be public figures. They can be as private as they want to be.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Winged_One: So, a shape-shifting shadow monster, like in that one Earth Aleph comic series? I guess I can buy that. Nobody's actually seen what Virtue looks like, so it's entirely possible he's a Case 53 or something.
►Winged_One (Awesomest Write-tan)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ XxVoid_CowboyxX: You'll have to clarify? I don't actually read a lot of comic books.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Winged_One: I don't either, but he was a villain from one of the Spider-Man movies. I think his name was Venom or something?
►Ota-Tamashi (Wiki Warrior) (Not a tinker)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ XxVoid_CowboyxX: Venom isn't a shape-shifting shadow monster, and he didn't originate in any of the movie continuities. He's an amorphous extraterrestrial parasite that first appeared in the Secret Wars limited series published by Marvel in 1984. Spider-Man temporarily used him as a replacement for his damaged suit. Later on, he became his own character.
For more details:
Venom (comics)
If you're going to talk about comic book characters, the least you can do is look them up in Wikipedia first ...
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Ota-Tamashi: Dude, no need for nerd rage. Seriously.
Also, having now gone wiki-diving, I'm more and more confident that Winged_One's crazy theory isn't so crazy after all. It's totally possible that Virtue's some sort of shape-shifting Case 53 that's normally just an amorphous black blob. He's a "Stranger 1" because he's not actually causing people not to notice him through telepathic influence or whatever. He's just hard to notice, because nobody's looking for a puddle of black goo hiding in the shadows.
If you go with the parasite thing, maybe he can only take 'human form' by using a person as a host. That's why he's so camera-shy and private about his cape identity: He doesn't actually have a face or body to show anyone, and anyone familiar with the comic-book Venom would realize what he is if he pretends to be a costume in public.
And if you get down to it, Virtue's name begins with a 'V' too. An explicit reference?
►Bagrat (The Guy in the Know) (Veteran Member)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Antigone: I'm speaking less from the angle of "what should be" and more in terms of "what could happen." When a Hero doesn't have a face, they might as well be a Villain. Take the word of the press and give it the right spin, and they're already a demon.
Words have power. Identities can be bestowed. If you need evidence, look no further than the last few posts.
@ XxVoid_CowboyxX: ... I don't even have a response for this. Instead, I'm just gonna refer you to the ground rules posted by the OP. If you're going to be making outlandish claims, at least make an effort to provide evidence.
Also, Winged_One merely speculated that Virtue's power may entail shifting into a shadowy, immaterial Breaker state -- similar to Shadow Stalker. This thing about Virtue being a parasitic Case 53 is all you. Please don't arbitrarily misattribute the theory.
►Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
My god... It's all starting to make sense now...
You know what? I'm just going to start calling him Venom from now on. Freakin' Strangers ...
USER HAS RECEIVED AN INFRACTION FOR THIS POST: See PM. -Tin_Mother
►BadSamurai
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Bagrat: Not everyone cares about things like that. For some, a sense of justice is enough to act, no matter what anyone thinks.
End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 43, 44, 45Replied On May 27th 2011:
Personally, I'm concerned about his general MO. A complete absence of identity is dangerous, because it gives leeway for hostile parties to fabricate, distort, and misrepresent.
This is one of the (numerous) reasons the PRT usually advises independent capes either to join up, become affiliated, or at least set up a PR-friendly face for the public. It isn't just for the kiddies. It's to provide visibility, so that people have something to latch on to.
Yes, I *am* aware that Virtue's a registered member of the Guild. However, commenting without knowledge of his specific arrangement with the team, I'm expressing the opinion that as far as management of PR goes, he might as well be an independent. The sort of anonymity he presently 'enjoys' is of merit only to criminals. To a hero, it's a setback.
►Antigone
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Bagrat: I think you're presuming that Virtue /has to/ fit into the trappings of a particular kind of hero. There's no rule that says capital-H Heroes need to be public figures. They can be as private as they want to be.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Winged_One: So, a shape-shifting shadow monster, like in that one Earth Aleph comic series? I guess I can buy that. Nobody's actually seen what Virtue looks like, so it's entirely possible he's a Case 53 or something.
►Winged_One (Awesomest Write-tan)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ XxVoid_CowboyxX: You'll have to clarify? I don't actually read a lot of comic books.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Winged_One: I don't either, but he was a villain from one of the Spider-Man movies. I think his name was Venom or something?
►Ota-Tamashi (Wiki Warrior) (Not a tinker)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ XxVoid_CowboyxX: Venom isn't a shape-shifting shadow monster, and he didn't originate in any of the movie continuities. He's an amorphous extraterrestrial parasite that first appeared in the Secret Wars limited series published by Marvel in 1984. Spider-Man temporarily used him as a replacement for his damaged suit. Later on, he became his own character.
For more details:
Venom (comics)
If you're going to talk about comic book characters, the least you can do is look them up in Wikipedia first ...
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Ota-Tamashi: Dude, no need for nerd rage. Seriously.
Also, having now gone wiki-diving, I'm more and more confident that Winged_One's crazy theory isn't so crazy after all. It's totally possible that Virtue's some sort of shape-shifting Case 53 that's normally just an amorphous black blob. He's a "Stranger 1" because he's not actually causing people not to notice him through telepathic influence or whatever. He's just hard to notice, because nobody's looking for a puddle of black goo hiding in the shadows.
If you go with the parasite thing, maybe he can only take 'human form' by using a person as a host. That's why he's so camera-shy and private about his cape identity: He doesn't actually have a face or body to show anyone, and anyone familiar with the comic-book Venom would realize what he is if he pretends to be a costume in public.
And if you get down to it, Virtue's name begins with a 'V' too. An explicit reference?
►Bagrat (The Guy in the Know) (Veteran Member)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Antigone: I'm speaking less from the angle of "what should be" and more in terms of "what could happen." When a Hero doesn't have a face, they might as well be a Villain. Take the word of the press and give it the right spin, and they're already a demon.
Words have power. Identities can be bestowed. If you need evidence, look no further than the last few posts.
@ XxVoid_CowboyxX: ... I don't even have a response for this. Instead, I'm just gonna refer you to the ground rules posted by the OP. If you're going to be making outlandish claims, at least make an effort to provide evidence.
Also, Winged_One merely speculated that Virtue's power may entail shifting into a shadowy, immaterial Breaker state -- similar to Shadow Stalker. This thing about Virtue being a parasitic Case 53 is all you. Please don't arbitrarily misattribute the theory.
►Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Replied On May 27th 2011:
My god... It's all starting to make sense now...
You know what? I'm just going to start calling him Venom from now on. Freakin' Strangers ...
USER HAS RECEIVED AN INFRACTION FOR THIS POST: See PM. -Tin_Mother
►BadSamurai
Replied On May 27th 2011:
@ Bagrat: Not everyone cares about things like that. For some, a sense of justice is enough to act, no matter what anyone thinks.
■
♦ Topic: Endbringers: Boston - June 20th, 2011 (Post-Incident Discussion)
In: Boards ► News ► America
Genos (Original Poster) (Verified PRT Agent)
Posted On Jun 22nd 2011:
This is the official post-incident discussion thread for the attack perpetrated on Boston by the Endbringer "Sahelanthropus" on June 20th, 2011. For news and other information regarding the incident, please refer to the navigation links below.
Official Incident Report
General News & Updates
Casualties & Missing Persons
Disaster Relief Updates
Insurance Information
When posting, please be mindful that other users may have lost family members or loved ones during the incident.
(Showing page 31 of 108)
►Iblis
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Un_Owen: "Sahel" + "Anthropus" = "The Man of Sahel"
I find it incredibly annoying that even the newscasters are tripping up over the name.
It's really not that hard to pronounce.
►Chubster (Verified Cape)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ WaterGlider: The 4th wasn't really even "fighting" us with its full capabilities until 20 minutes in, when the Marines finally arrived with their RAY. It was actually holding back. Everyone gathered was initially encouraged by the fact that we could apparently damage the exterior chassis with attacks that packed enough force, unlike the usual -- but right when the Marines showed up, the dents and fractures that covered the surface magically healed away as if they never existed.
It was all downhill from there. The 4th started venting out brown smoke that rusted over any metal it touched. The RAY lasted for all of 5 seconds before turning into a hunk of noncombustible trash, and visibility was close to zero on the front lines. I never figured that a 50-foot monstrosity would be able to hide itself so easily, but it just vanished away and started to sing. Right about then, we noticed the zombies.
Putting it up front, I just got out of 48 hours of mandatory M/S isolation, so it isn't likely that I'll suddenly flip out and start chowing on people's brains -- probably.
To clarify for the people who tl;dr'd the PRT Incident Report and haven't been watching the news, though:
As far as we know, the 4th's singing-and-zombiefication gig doesn't operate like Zizz-style mind control. The effect is induced by some sort of microbe carried inside of the brown smoke, which puts victims into a zombie-like state where noises can direct their behavior. Most of the guys at the front were hit, and at the time, we had no idea it was a temporary condition. The zombies still had full use of their powers, and when they attacked, people defended themselves -- lethally. The majority of the casualties wracked up during the incursion ended up being the result of friendly fire. If not for the fact that somebody brought along a sniper rifle with tranquilizer ammunition, the body count would've been far higher.
Not being technologically inclined, I have zero clue how the zombiefication microbe actually works. All I know is, it's some sort of short-lived Tinkertech thing that starts to decay as soon as the 4th isn't around to regulate its behavior. If more details are necessary, you'll have to ask the PRT.
Edit: I sincerely apologize if the tone of this post and any other responses that I've made in this thread seem flippant or inappropriate, given the circumstances. For certain reasons, I basically haven't been sleeping, and I guess it's affecting me worse than I thought. Again, sorry.
►Tumbles
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
> it isn't likely that I'll suddenly flip out and start chowing on people's brains -- probably.
Zombie jokes? Really? There's a time and place for things, Chubster. I don't think this is it.
►Un_Owen
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Iblis: God only knows why they chose a name like that in the first place.
Doesn't even fit the pattern of the other Endbringer.
►Answer Key
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
Get off his case, Tumbles. Guy put his life on the line to save the frontliners caught up in the mess. The least you can do is be thankful that a cape present on the scene is bothering to answer questions.
@ Chubster: Is there anything else you can tell us about Shally's capabilities? Feels like information's being suppressed, because the news just keeps going on about the voodoo bullshit and nothing else.
►Chubster (Verified Cape)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Tumbles: I apologize. I'll try to be more sensitive.
@ Answer Key: Thank you. Personally, I haven't gotten the impression that the PRT is keeping anyone from speaking; at least, nobody's told me to sign a nondisclosure agreement or anything.
To answer your question, though: At the very very beginning, people were thinking the PRT made a mistake in sounding the Endbringer sirens, because the 4th in its initial state looked and fought exactly like an out-of-date bipedal tank. It was mostly just shooting at us with conventional weaponry you'd expect a typical metal gear to be armed with -- Gatling guns, missile launchers, a railgun, a flamethrower, etc. There wasn't anything that even approached Tinkertech.
Once enough capes arrived on the scene, though, it stopped 'crouching' and shifted into a 'humanoid' form more akin to the other Endbringers. It still shot at us, but now it was using a flaming sword-whip that could be driven into the ground to create a row of giant metallic pylons. The pylons were apparently structurally unstable or something, because they'd explode into shrapnel on contact with a solid object, tearing up anything nearby. I only managed to survive because of my power.
The 'smoke mode' engaged when the RAY turned up is already covered in my previous post, but to clarify: When I say the 4th 'concealed' itself, I mean that it literally vanished. You'd think you'd be able to track it down by homing in on its weird robotic singing, but the sound came from pretty much everywhere. Aside from generating the zombies and the rusting gas, though, no real offensive actions were taken. 20 minutes later, when the singing stopped and the smoke started letting up, the 4th was nowhere to be found.
That about covers everything I noticed during the fight. If there's anything that I haven't explained in enough depth, just ask away, and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to regurgitate all of the fine details, though.
►Chrome
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
Was it just hiding in the smoke? Or did people confirm that it couldn't be tracked with infrared / echolocation / etc.?
Unrelatedly, in this video at 1:45, is that a wolf kidnapping people with balloons? What's the story behind that?
►Ota-Tamashi (Wiki Warrior) (Not a tinker)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Chubster: I've read through the PRT Incident Report several times, and while it does seem to be a fairly comprehensive in its documentation of the battle, I can't help but feel as if it might have missed something in interests of brevity. If you have the time, do you think you could maybe list out anything you noticed on the scene that the Report didn't mention? I'd be interested to know if any comparison was made between the performance of the Sahelanthropus and an existing Metal Gear.
Also, regarding the mass-production model Metal Gear RAY Mk. II: The body is animated with carbon nanotube muscle fibers, and armor-plated with a certain type of ceramic (titanium nitride). Assuming standard atmospheric pressure at sea level, neither of these materials are particularly prone to oxidation, and it doesn't make a lot of sense that the same process that would rust over metals would immobilize a Metal Gear. Was there any official explanation for this?
Thank you in advance!
►Chubster (Verified Cape)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Chrome: One of the Tinkers I was working with tried to locate the 4th with infrared goggles, but she couldn't see anything through the smoke. I don't know if echolocation was attempted.
About the 'balloon wolf': It was apparently 'a normal rescue dog' trained by Dragon to extract people incapacitated in combat, according to the general debriefing. During the final phase of the fight, a Guild cape by the name of Venom was tranqing zombies from half a mile away, and the dog went around systematically ballooning them outta the hot zone.
Having seen the so-called 'dog' close up, though, I'm pretty sure that Dragon's mistaken about its species ...
@ Ota-Tamashi: It'll take awhile for me to complete your request, but off the top of my head:
a) There were people saying over the com early on (before it stood upright) that the 4th looked identical to the 'Metal Gear REX' -- the bipedal tank that the one villain group hijacked in Alaska a couple of years back.
b) The 4th isn't composed of the same stuff as the other Endbringers -- or, at least, Leviathan and Simurgh. Somebody commented that, aside from the Behemoth (because his dynakinesis interferes with analysis equipment), it's been shown that the Endbringers are made of a specific substance that exists nowhere else in the natural world. Comparatively, the 4th's structure appears to comprise mostly of depleted uranium. The Tinkers on the com were going on and on about uranium being far too heavy and impractical for use as an armor base in a metal gear.
c) There was quite a bit of disagreement about the 4th's classification as an Endbringer. Reportedly, PRT Thinkers unanimously voted in favor of applying the category -- but people were saying that it really only merits distinction as a 'typical' S-Rank threat, even given the zombies and the rust. Purely in terms of property damage and casualties / human cost, it's estimated that the Boston incursion is the fourth lowest in magnitude in the history of Endbringer attacks.
d) Owing to the bit about impracticality in point 'b' and other fine details that I'm not too clear on, there was a consensus among the Tinkers that the 4th probably isn't an actual refitted metal gear. Rather, they call it a 'hugely illogical construct' that just happens to superficially resemble a bipedal tank.
e) Following Leviathan's attack on Manhattan in 2007, this is the second time the United States Marines have embarrassed themselves in an effort to engage an Endbringer with a conventional arms. In the aftermath of the incursion, there were calls from folks in the armed forces for the brass to "leave cape business well enough alone," but I'm not sure how prevalent this opinion actually is.
About the RAY rusting up: Honestly, I have no idea. My knowledge of the science behind the 4th's capabilities is pretty sketchy, so I'm probably not the right person to ask in the first place. If you want, though, I can refer you to a friend of mine with a better handle on the details.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
The Sahelanthropus might be Tinkertech,
The Simurgh can make Tinkertech.
Coincidence? I think not!
End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 ... 106, 107, 108Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Un_Owen: "Sahel" + "Anthropus" = "The Man of Sahel"
I find it incredibly annoying that even the newscasters are tripping up over the name.
It's really not that hard to pronounce.
►Chubster (Verified Cape)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ WaterGlider: The 4th wasn't really even "fighting" us with its full capabilities until 20 minutes in, when the Marines finally arrived with their RAY. It was actually holding back. Everyone gathered was initially encouraged by the fact that we could apparently damage the exterior chassis with attacks that packed enough force, unlike the usual -- but right when the Marines showed up, the dents and fractures that covered the surface magically healed away as if they never existed.
It was all downhill from there. The 4th started venting out brown smoke that rusted over any metal it touched. The RAY lasted for all of 5 seconds before turning into a hunk of noncombustible trash, and visibility was close to zero on the front lines. I never figured that a 50-foot monstrosity would be able to hide itself so easily, but it just vanished away and started to sing. Right about then, we noticed the zombies.
Putting it up front, I just got out of 48 hours of mandatory M/S isolation, so it isn't likely that I'll suddenly flip out and start chowing on people's brains -- probably.
To clarify for the people who tl;dr'd the PRT Incident Report and haven't been watching the news, though:
As far as we know, the 4th's singing-and-zombiefication gig doesn't operate like Zizz-style mind control. The effect is induced by some sort of microbe carried inside of the brown smoke, which puts victims into a zombie-like state where noises can direct their behavior. Most of the guys at the front were hit, and at the time, we had no idea it was a temporary condition. The zombies still had full use of their powers, and when they attacked, people defended themselves -- lethally. The majority of the casualties wracked up during the incursion ended up being the result of friendly fire. If not for the fact that somebody brought along a sniper rifle with tranquilizer ammunition, the body count would've been far higher.
Not being technologically inclined, I have zero clue how the zombiefication microbe actually works. All I know is, it's some sort of short-lived Tinkertech thing that starts to decay as soon as the 4th isn't around to regulate its behavior. If more details are necessary, you'll have to ask the PRT.
Edit: I sincerely apologize if the tone of this post and any other responses that I've made in this thread seem flippant or inappropriate, given the circumstances. For certain reasons, I basically haven't been sleeping, and I guess it's affecting me worse than I thought. Again, sorry.
►Tumbles
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
> it isn't likely that I'll suddenly flip out and start chowing on people's brains -- probably.
Zombie jokes? Really? There's a time and place for things, Chubster. I don't think this is it.
►Un_Owen
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Iblis: God only knows why they chose a name like that in the first place.
Doesn't even fit the pattern of the other Endbringer.
►Answer Key
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
Get off his case, Tumbles. Guy put his life on the line to save the frontliners caught up in the mess. The least you can do is be thankful that a cape present on the scene is bothering to answer questions.
@ Chubster: Is there anything else you can tell us about Shally's capabilities? Feels like information's being suppressed, because the news just keeps going on about the voodoo bullshit and nothing else.
►Chubster (Verified Cape)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Tumbles: I apologize. I'll try to be more sensitive.
@ Answer Key: Thank you. Personally, I haven't gotten the impression that the PRT is keeping anyone from speaking; at least, nobody's told me to sign a nondisclosure agreement or anything.
To answer your question, though: At the very very beginning, people were thinking the PRT made a mistake in sounding the Endbringer sirens, because the 4th in its initial state looked and fought exactly like an out-of-date bipedal tank. It was mostly just shooting at us with conventional weaponry you'd expect a typical metal gear to be armed with -- Gatling guns, missile launchers, a railgun, a flamethrower, etc. There wasn't anything that even approached Tinkertech.
Once enough capes arrived on the scene, though, it stopped 'crouching' and shifted into a 'humanoid' form more akin to the other Endbringers. It still shot at us, but now it was using a flaming sword-whip that could be driven into the ground to create a row of giant metallic pylons. The pylons were apparently structurally unstable or something, because they'd explode into shrapnel on contact with a solid object, tearing up anything nearby. I only managed to survive because of my power.
The 'smoke mode' engaged when the RAY turned up is already covered in my previous post, but to clarify: When I say the 4th 'concealed' itself, I mean that it literally vanished. You'd think you'd be able to track it down by homing in on its weird robotic singing, but the sound came from pretty much everywhere. Aside from generating the zombies and the rusting gas, though, no real offensive actions were taken. 20 minutes later, when the singing stopped and the smoke started letting up, the 4th was nowhere to be found.
That about covers everything I noticed during the fight. If there's anything that I haven't explained in enough depth, just ask away, and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to regurgitate all of the fine details, though.
►Chrome
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
Was it just hiding in the smoke? Or did people confirm that it couldn't be tracked with infrared / echolocation / etc.?
Unrelatedly, in this video at 1:45, is that a wolf kidnapping people with balloons? What's the story behind that?
►Ota-Tamashi (Wiki Warrior) (Not a tinker)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Chubster: I've read through the PRT Incident Report several times, and while it does seem to be a fairly comprehensive in its documentation of the battle, I can't help but feel as if it might have missed something in interests of brevity. If you have the time, do you think you could maybe list out anything you noticed on the scene that the Report didn't mention? I'd be interested to know if any comparison was made between the performance of the Sahelanthropus and an existing Metal Gear.
Also, regarding the mass-production model Metal Gear RAY Mk. II: The body is animated with carbon nanotube muscle fibers, and armor-plated with a certain type of ceramic (titanium nitride). Assuming standard atmospheric pressure at sea level, neither of these materials are particularly prone to oxidation, and it doesn't make a lot of sense that the same process that would rust over metals would immobilize a Metal Gear. Was there any official explanation for this?
Thank you in advance!
►Chubster (Verified Cape)
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
@ Chrome: One of the Tinkers I was working with tried to locate the 4th with infrared goggles, but she couldn't see anything through the smoke. I don't know if echolocation was attempted.
About the 'balloon wolf': It was apparently 'a normal rescue dog' trained by Dragon to extract people incapacitated in combat, according to the general debriefing. During the final phase of the fight, a Guild cape by the name of Venom was tranqing zombies from half a mile away, and the dog went around systematically ballooning them outta the hot zone.
Having seen the so-called 'dog' close up, though, I'm pretty sure that Dragon's mistaken about its species ...
@ Ota-Tamashi: It'll take awhile for me to complete your request, but off the top of my head:
a) There were people saying over the com early on (before it stood upright) that the 4th looked identical to the 'Metal Gear REX' -- the bipedal tank that the one villain group hijacked in Alaska a couple of years back.
b) The 4th isn't composed of the same stuff as the other Endbringers -- or, at least, Leviathan and Simurgh. Somebody commented that, aside from the Behemoth (because his dynakinesis interferes with analysis equipment), it's been shown that the Endbringers are made of a specific substance that exists nowhere else in the natural world. Comparatively, the 4th's structure appears to comprise mostly of depleted uranium. The Tinkers on the com were going on and on about uranium being far too heavy and impractical for use as an armor base in a metal gear.
c) There was quite a bit of disagreement about the 4th's classification as an Endbringer. Reportedly, PRT Thinkers unanimously voted in favor of applying the category -- but people were saying that it really only merits distinction as a 'typical' S-Rank threat, even given the zombies and the rust. Purely in terms of property damage and casualties / human cost, it's estimated that the Boston incursion is the fourth lowest in magnitude in the history of Endbringer attacks.
d) Owing to the bit about impracticality in point 'b' and other fine details that I'm not too clear on, there was a consensus among the Tinkers that the 4th probably isn't an actual refitted metal gear. Rather, they call it a 'hugely illogical construct' that just happens to superficially resemble a bipedal tank.
e) Following Leviathan's attack on Manhattan in 2007, this is the second time the United States Marines have embarrassed themselves in an effort to engage an Endbringer with a conventional arms. In the aftermath of the incursion, there were calls from folks in the armed forces for the brass to "leave cape business well enough alone," but I'm not sure how prevalent this opinion actually is.
About the RAY rusting up: Honestly, I have no idea. My knowledge of the science behind the 4th's capabilities is pretty sketchy, so I'm probably not the right person to ask in the first place. If you want, though, I can refer you to a friend of mine with a better handle on the details.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Jun 23rd 2011:
The Sahelanthropus might be Tinkertech,
The Simurgh can make Tinkertech.
Coincidence? I think not!
■
♦ Topic: Iriomote appointed Director to PRT-ENE
In: Boards ► Organizations ► America ► PRT ► Press Releases
PRT_NewsBot (Original Poster) (Verified PRT Press Release Agent)
Posted On Jun 15th 2011:
Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, June 15th, 2011.
Mr. Charles Adam Iriomote has this afternoon been appointed to full authority as Director at the Parahuman Response Team - East North-East (henceforth, PRT-ENE) in Brockton Bay, NH. Resituated as Interim Director to the PRT-ENE in the wake of Emily Piggot's dismissal earlier this year, Mr. Iriomote has devoted the duration of his temporary assignment to the investigation and removal of the systematic corruption alleged to pervade the branch. These efforts are expected to continue along the course of his official posting.
"As a federal law enforcement body, the PRT exists at the pleasure of the people of the United States," Mr. Iriomote stated at a press event today. "As such, its actions should be answerable to the people, rather than to the inscrutable agendas of the few. In the coming year, I hope to implement a number of policy changes toward the improvement our overall operational transparency, and to build stronger ties with the community here in Brockton Bay."
Formerly serving as Deputy Director at the Houston Regional Office, Mr. Iriomote is the architect of the experimental PRT-sponsored Hero team 'HAVEN,' which functions independently of the Protectorate. So as to assist Mr. Iriomote in his plans to mitigate the growth of organized parahuman crime within the metropolitan area, the members of the HAVEN team -- Kalika, Ash Raven, and Devilfish -- are due for reassignment to Brockton Bay as of Friday, June 18th. Their inclusion within the amended patrol rotation of the local PRT forces is expected to substantially bolster the performance of the branch in the capacity of incident prevention and suppression.
For further information, please refer to the official PRT Press Releases website.
(Showing page 1 of 1)
End of Page.
-
"Dave?" called Hal.
He turned his gaze from the flat-screen television, tilting his head.
"Yeah?" he called back.
"You might wanna take a look at this."
With a grunt and a sigh, he pulled himself from the couch, pacing from the living room to the cramped confines of the rear office. Avoiding the neatly piled stacks of Earth Aleph comics, he made his way to the side of Hal's workstation. On the left of the three screens, there was a press release of some sort. David narrowed his eyes at the photograph near the top.
"Ocelot?" he asked. "What's he doing in the Parahuman Response Team?"
"According to his public profile, he's been there for awhile," said Hal. "All the while that Revolver Ocelot was in active service as a member of FOXHOUND, a 'Charles Adam Iriomote' was working his way up the ranks at PRT-Houston."
"Living out a double life, huh?"
As an elite unit specialized in the execution of covert directives, FOXHOUND favored the solitary, unsupported deployment of ground personnel as a standard operating procedure -- insulating the nature of any given mission from other members of the same command for purposes of security and deniability. If Ocelot and his superiors so desired, in other words, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to embed himself as a deep cover plant in separate organization without the awareness of his colleagues.
An executive office in the Parahuman Response Team wasn't precisely a low-visibility posting, though. Given Ocelot's role in the Shadow Moses Incident, David would've expected him to vanish off the grid entirely. The fact that he would so brazenly expose himself raised a lot of questions.
"Well," said Hal, "unlike you, he isn't exactly a fugitive from the law. 'Revolver Ocelot' isn't mentioned in any official account of the events at Shadow Moses Island six years ago -- even in the internal records at the Pentagon and the Department of Defense."
"You bothered to check?"
"Well, yeah. Awhile back."
David frowned.
"We're not gonna have to move again, are we?"
"I'm absolutely certain I covered my tracks this time!" Hal replied, slightly flustered. "In any case, my point is -- whoever it is that Ocelot was working for during Shadow Moses, they're powerful enough to wipe away any evidence of his involvement. If he's managed to assume a new identity, it wouldn't be something that they're unaware of. Rather, he'd only be able to pull it off if his backers decided to permit it." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Maybe it's their idea of a retirement present or something."
"A cushy job at the PRT is one hell of a severance package," said David. "Not sure if I agree with your conclusion, though."
"Why's that?"
"He's left behind loose ends from his previous life -- people who know what he looks like, and what he did."
"You're referring to us?"
"I'm sure we aren't the only ones. A man like him doesn't make a lot of friends. Unless there's a specific motive behind it, there's no reason for him to show his face in public."
Hal leaned back in his chair, scrunching his brow in thought.
"In other words, it might be a trap," he said. "He's using himself as bait to draw somebody out of hiding."
"It's a possibility," said David. "Probably not the only one, but it has its likelihood." He turned to the door. "C'mon. Let's pack up. We're going on a road trip."
Hal blinked.
"What?" he asked. "Why?"
"Your sister's got a teaching position over at MIT, right? She was in Boston when the Endbringer turned up?"
"Well, yes -- but when I contacted her, she said she was fine ..."
"And as her only family member in the States, shouldn't you drop by to check on her, just to be sure?"
Hal stared, unamused.
"You're going to Brockton Bay, aren't you?"
David let out a slight chuckle.
"The Endbringers have access to a Metal Gear," he replied, "and Ocelot's just gained the command of a PRT branch. Things are converging in New England, and I think it's time Philanthropy got a piece of the action ..."
-
She awoke in a plain, windowless office, seated as if for a job interview. Upon her lap, there was a hand pistol -- fully loaded, given the weight.
"Good afternoon," said the person behind the desk -- a clean-shaven Caucasian man in his thirties or forties, nondescript aside from his spectacles. "For now, I would advise that you refrain from speaking, accessing your powers, or attempting to escape. The Tinkertech choker on your neck will make things quite uncomfortable if you fail to comply. If you understand, nod once."
Without hesitation, she raised her pistol -- cocked and pulled the trigger.
In the moment of recoil, the man had raised his arm -- moving without particular speed as he plucked the bullet from the air. He placed it upon his desk, and a thin stream of smoke trailed from where the metal came into contact with the wood beneath.
"You do have a history of insubordination, don't you?" the man asked blandly, as if speaking about the weather. "But, of course, we were already aware of that. It's why the gun was given to you in the first place. You've just now received an object lesson in the nature of your circumstances, and of our relationship henceforth. To summarize, nod when I tell you to nod."
Glaring, she set the gun upon the desk and nodded once.
"Very good," said the man. "Allow me to get to the point, then." He folded his hands before him. "Personally, I despise you. You're weak and immature -- too full of yourself to comprehend that you aren't as important as you pretend to be within the confines of your little mind. However, there are those within my organization who feel that your power might someday prove to be useful. They've consequently requested that I make you a job offer -- to help you realize your full potential as a parahuman. Nod once if you understand anything I've just stated."
Again, she nodded.
"Dishonest too," the man observed, removing his spectacles and wiping the lenses with a handkerchief. "No matter. Disarm Eight-Nine-Three."
She heard a click from the choker about her neck.
"For now, it's safe to speak," said the man, putting his glasses back on. "If you have any questions, ask."
She did as directed.
"What happens if I say no?" she asked.
"Your choice would be taken away from you," the man replied. "It's a quick, relatively painless procedure, and you wouldn't suffer for very long. You'd be given a lobotomy and a series of neural implants -- and for the rest of your days, you'd live out a pampered life as a radio-controlled drone. Potentially, we'd lose the use of your power, but that isn't a very big concern for me."
She clenched her jaw. The man was utterly unreadable -- as if he'd trained extensively to remove any tells of intention from his face and gestures. Whether or not he was joking about invasive neurosurgery, she couldn't guess.
"What do I get out of this if I say yes?"
"Eventually, your freedom," said the man. "But in the short term, your strongest desire is revenge. As incentive, we'll bankroll your efforts -- provide you with the means and the opportunity to carry out the deed."
In the very short term, her strongest desire was in fact to be rid of the man seated before her -- but choosing not to voice the thought, she fixed him with an icy glare.
"I'll bite," she said. "I'll play your game."
With a tight, business-like smile, the man nodded.
"My name," he said, "is Harbinger. Welcome to the XOF."
-
omake / why he couldn't recruit her:
"Time for another bed time story, _____. This one's about _____ ___."
"You don't need me to tell you there's whole nations in Africa tearing themselves apart in the name of ethnic cleansing. Well, she was born into that environment."
"When she was a little girl, her village was attacked by rival armed factions. Her parents and siblings were slaughtered, and she was left a refugee. She took her last surviving relative, her baby brother, and ran as far away from the war zone."
"One day, they came across an enemy unit, so she took her brother and hid in an abandoned shack. And then her brother started to cry ..."
"She knew that if the soldiers heard the noise, they would find them and kill them both. So she wrapped her hand as tight as she could around his mouth. As the footsteps gradually went away, she came back to her senses."
"Her brother wasn't crying anymore."
"Horrified, she pulled her hand away, covered in sweat and spit."
"He wasn't breathing."
"They say ______ eat their own when they die. She was spotted wandering through the thick of battle carrying her dead brother in her arms. She had visions, too -- a ____ walking alongside her. Every night, the ____ would howl and cry just like her brother did that day."
"Eventually, she made it to a government-run refugee camp. But by then, her brother's body had rotted away."
"The camp was crowded with refugees like herself, and little children like her brother. Day and night she was tormented by the cries of babies. The ____ that followed her heard her sorrowful screams and answered. He made his way around the camp. And one by one ... He silenced the children."
"She tried to stop it, but she was powerless. A few days passed, and on the eve of the enemy's raid, there wasn't a child left. The adults who survived were torn up pretty bad."
"Of course, there was never any ____ in that camp. She was the one who'd killed those babies. When the creeping realization of the truth finally overcame her denial, she forced herself to remember: She recalled the feeling of the children's necks as she crushed them; the howls that issued from the throat of her ____ as it stalked the nursery; the terror in the eyes of the adults. Each and every death she brought, she carved within her heart."
"To her, they were an epitaph -- a promise to her brother. For his sake, in his memory, _____ ___ would descend -- the night that falls upon the field of battle."
-
Notes:
All that remains now is Snippet Ex.
a) A bullet isn't evenly heated in the process of firing, and the burst of gunfire and friction isn't of sufficient duration to raise the temperature of the entire metallic mass. Thus, in theory, you would be able to touch parts of a bullet in flight without burning yourself.
b) Gallant was originally supposed to appear in the PHO section, noting that he sensed 'an incredible lust for revenge' from Sahelanthropus. I decided to cut it because it would've been out of character for him to reveal anything so controversial to the public at large without permission from his superiors and/or PRT + Protectorate PR.
c) In keeping with the long-standing Emmerich tradition, I originally intended to have Emma die at the hands of Sahelanthropus. However, even implying the possibility of such a thing would've messed too much with the tone of the Snake and Hal scene to be practical.
d) The girl in the scene with Numbers Man is not Taylor. It was originally supposed to be Sophia, but I decided against it.
e) Prior to Taylor's awakening, the identity of "Virtue" was utilized by Dragon to test the performance of a certain stealth-oriented suit within the metropolitan area of Vancouver. At any given time, Dragon maintains several throwaway identities like this.
f) Due to memes unintentionally propagated by Greg and Clockblocker online, Taylor ended up with the nickname of 'Venom.'
Sunny & Big Boss:
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