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[RFC] Transformed - Black Aeronaut - 06-25-2010
So, I broke down and wrote a little bit.
Matteus Kail is a very young boy - younger than Nanoha was when she met Yuuno. He has three younger brothers at this time and still thinks in a child's terms. His father suffered a dibilitating injury while on deployment in the Army and has been unable to work - instead he goes to school for a new career that will better accomodate him. He loves Matteus, but at the same time the kid all-too-effectively drives him up the wall. Mother loves him to tears and sometimes she is too easy on him, though in a way it's justified when he gets the harsher treatment from his Dad.
His younger brothers strive to give him a hard time if only for their own entertainment. It's not helped when Dad only intervenes when they get on his nerves and not a moment before. Tends to result in a lot of 'property damage' from younger siblings raiding his room. His prized Transformer figures are a particular target for their brand of terrorism. Model cement and enamel paint figure heavily into their plots.
And then along comes a man named Scaglietti who simulteaneously tortures and empowers a boy that he felt would not be missed, at least as far as local authorities are concnerned.
He didn't count on psychological issues, though.
It hurts!
Everything hurts! Stop it! Stop it please! Mother! Help! I need my Mother! Somebody help me please!
Just make it stop! Please stop it!
No more! Stop it! I don’t want this anymore! I hate this! Stop it! Stop it now or else… I’m gonna do something!
I’m gonna do something and you won’t like it!
I’m gonna make you hurt like you hurt me!
I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!!
ALERT!
CONTAINMENT BREACH
CYBERNETICS LAB 1
SUBJECT 00 HAS ESCAPED CONTAINMENT
The pain was mostly gone now. He felt a lot better, but he was still angry. All he wanted to do was to make the person that did this hurt.
And he would find this person, no matter where he hid.
But he had to get out of that place first. He knew that it was the sort of room that a scientist worked in, but it had been painfully redefined as a torture chamber. One in which he was trapped. No matter how hard he pounded on the door it would not open for him.
But he left some dents in it. He took some grim satisfaction in the fact that he was stronger. But he would celebrate that fact later. Revenge would come first.
He growled in frustration, turning his gaze from the door in anger. But in doing so, he saw something like a control panel. Something in him recognizes it. It tells him to put his hand to it.
Without any other ideas, he does so, and then jerks his hand back as wires start growing from all sides of his fingers. They had begun to intermesh with the panel just as he reared back and a brief connection was made.
He realizes what he can do as bits and pieces of the panel’s face are ripped free, shards glittering as they seem to drift past his eyes in slow motion. He then laughs savagely as he then plunges both of his hands into the panel up his wrists.
He can feel it as his new circuitry invades the system, corrupting it and making it into his own – an extension of himself. Programming embedded into his cybernetically enhanced brain disables the security for him, opening the doors and clearing the way.
Now he would make someone suffer.
WARNING!
SYSTEM COMPROMISED!
SUBJECT 00 HAS INVADED THE SYSTEM
INITIATING FAILSAFE PROTOCOLS
FACILITY WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN FIVE MINUTES
EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!
He didn’t care about the alarms. He just opened every door that he could. Now that he was able to go wherever he wanted, he could find the person that hurt him. He pulled his hands free, the wires snaking back in under his skin and disappearing entirely.
He left the torture chamber and went into the room across the connecting passageway. This new room looked more like a place where things were built… and there was something there that looked very cool.
It looked like a gun.
It looked like a sword.
It looked like something he could use to make somebody hurt really bad.
He went and put his hands to it and the wires came right away, burrowing into the weapon’s handles and binding him to it. Almost immediately the incomplete AI succumbed to his will, becoming his own and recognizing him.
“LANGUAGE SET TO ENGLISH. PRIMARY USER SET AS MATTEUS KAIL. PLEASE SET DEVICE NAME.”
He grinned. Somehow, he knew exactly what was being asked for.
“Your name is… Shockwave.”
“UNDERSTOOD. PLEASE SET PASSWORD.”
“Let’s kill the one that causes the pain.”
“PASSWORD SET! PLEASE DESIGN BARRIER JACKET.”
Armor. It was asking him how he wanted his armor to look like. He wanted to look cool, and to him Transformers where the coolest.
“PLEASE AMPLIFY.”
More details. Jet fighters. He wanted to be able to transform into a fast and cool looking jet fighter!
“DESIGN SET. GIVE THE COMMAND.”
His grin then became savage. “Let’s kill the one that causes the pain. Shockwave, SET UP!”
“STAND BY: READY!”
A flare of light came and went. In its wake he was left, clad in haze gray armor with black features. The legs were powerful looking engines with shuttered intakes at his hips. Vectored thrust nozzles formed the feet while a folded fuselage enclosed his torso. Sharp wings were folded to his back, and his head remained unadorned. His left arm held a small shield while his right one carried the Intelligent Device that was now his.
He felt safe, protect, yet powerful.
He was ready to punish someone.
And then he heard a voice cry for help.
In the next room over, he found her. It was a tiny girl, like a fairy, with black hair and black eyes. And she was naked.
He yelped in surprise – he wasn’t supposed to see a naked girl! – and turned away.
“Please! Save me!” cried the elf.
He knew that something was going to happen here. Something bad. He had to get out, but he knew that if he left the fair there she would die. So, he turned around and kept his eyes shaded, diligently trying not to look at the fairy’s nude body.
His Mom taught him to be a good boy, after all.
“I’ll save you,” he said as he put his hands to the nearest control panel. The wires came through the armor and the bands that held the fairy to the wall were unlocked. She then dropped to the floor with a soft thud.
The boy went to her and, still trying not to look at her body, carefully picked her up.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll find something to cover you up as soon as we get out of here. Please don’t be angry at me.”
“No, thank you,” she said. “In fact, I have an idea. Stay still.” And suddenly she cried out, “UNISON IN!”
Suddenly she was inside him and he understood everything. She was Umbria, a Belkan Unison Device. And from her he learned about magic and how he can properly use Shockwave.
And Umbria learned about him. She learned that his name was Matteus Kail. She learned about his impoverished family; all of his brothers that he strived against but would die for; his mother that loved him so dearly and his father that could not decide to love or hate him. But above all, how he had always wanted a little sister to protect and share an unconditional love.
Umbria decided there were far worse masters to be stuck with.
“I am with you now, Big Brother. Let’s get out of here before this place blows up!”
“Yes! Let’s go! Shockwave, let’s blow a hole straight through the top!”
“ROGER! GIVE THE COMMAND!”
Right away, the command popped into his head and he aimed the device up into the ceiling. “Drill Shot!” A beam of white light scorched the ceiling and punched through. With Umbria’s help, he didn’t even feel the effort.
“Okay guys! Let’s transform and roll out!”
The engines in his leg armor lit-off and sent him flying through the hole he made. As he went, his armor unfolded around him and his intelligent device somehow flew out of his hand and formed the nose.
Outside, a tiny, yet sleek and deadly looking fighter jet flew out from the secret base hidden in the base of Mt. Rainier. It was shortly followed by a massive explosion.
Jail Scaglietti hovered nearby in his dimensional ship, cloaked from view. He saw what happened and he grit his teeth in fury. His prototype, a work of art, was not simply lost. It had gotten loose, hacked his computers, made off with two of his other projects, and caused the auto-destruct system to be triggered.
Oh, he had no illusions. The child was only really a proof-of-concept – he would have been decommissioned sooner or later. But Jail had expected it to be under his own terms, with the useful parts kept for future examination.
At least he still had his research notes. Where others had failed with cybernetic implants, he had succeeded in creating a full-conversion cybernetic mage. Now, if he created an artificial mage like himself, only specially tailored for cybernetic augmentation… well, the possibilities were endless, weren’t they?
With this consolation in mind, Jail turned and directed his ship to depart as quickly and quietly as possible. While the TSAB didn’t often come to this unadministrated world, a mess this big would certainly draw their attention.
So... Thoughts?
- Jorlem - 06-26-2010
I can't help but feel that the jet armor and Umbria are a bit too much, too fast.
As far as I can remember, the barrier jackets and armor shown in the series don't have anywhere near that sort of effect. Near the start of the StrikerS manga, Nanoha explains that both barrier jackets and Rein's knight armor are combinations of barrier and field defensive magic. (link) Perhaps you could change it so the device was forcibly activating and controlling some sort of incomplete flight system that is part of his enhancements as a cyborg, and make the armor's appearance just a personal preference?
The too much, too fast feeling really hits me with Umbra though. As far as I am aware, unison devices cannot normally upload or download information from or to the minds of their users. The original Reinforce was an exception to this, as that was the original purpose of the Book of the Night Sky, but since we are shown Reinforce Zwei taking notes as Nanoha explains the basics of field defenses, it seems likely that Rein lost that ability. Also, according to the Nanoha wiki (which is drawing on liner notes that were only released in Japan, mutter mutter), people capable of using unison devices are rare, and use of improperly calibrated unison devices can be dangerous.
If you don't mind my asking, what kind of enemies is Matt going to be facing that he needs this much power, right off the bat?
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- paladindythe - 06-26-2010
Personally, I'd suggest replace the little boy with Alex Mercer, and you have yourself something interesting. On Crack, most definitely, but interesting.
Other than that, I pretty much agree with Jorlem: little kid just got about a dozen levels in badass.
- VladimirTherin - 06-26-2010
There really does need to be more decent prototype fanfics.
- Black Aeronaut - 06-26-2010
Unfortunately, I've never played Prototype. (^_^
Anyhow, this was mostly just to get it outta my head so it can quit bugging me for now. Later versions will be more toned down, however this kid is still going to be coming out of the gate with a few more levels of Bad Ass than is normally allocated to six-year-old boys, courtesy of Jail Scaglietti.
I can see him getting Unbria a bit later after he's taken to Midchilda. He's being examined (under the mother-hen gaze of Lindsy) at a TSAB Science facility and in the next lab over they happen to be examining Umbria... who doesn't appreciate the indignity she's being subjected to. Seconds later a bunch of scientists are staring down the barrel-blade of his ID as it hums ominously, a shaken Umbria clinging to him for dear life, and a helpless and exhasperated Lindsy palming her face in the background.
BTW: Got the wrong impression about UD's from Reinforce Zwei. It'll be corrected the next go around.
As for the armor... Oh well. Maybe later on he'll snag one of Scaglietti's Gadget Drones and go to town with it.
- Jorlem - 06-26-2010
Hmm... Maybe you could make his IS the ability to temporarily hijack other machines that he is in physical contact with? I have this mental image of him jumping off a building, landing on one of the flying gadget drones, punching through its armor, and the flying it into combat or something. Also, if his IS was something like this, it would explain why he was able to overcome the security in Jail's base so easily.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- robkelk - 06-27-2010
Quote:Maybe you could make his IS the ability to temporarily hijack other machines that he is in physical contact with?"IS: System Override"
It does have potential...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
- Black Aeronaut - 06-27-2010
robkelk Wrote:Alternatively, we could call it 'Root Access' if we wanted him to score geek points.Quote:Maybe you could make his IS the ability to temporarily hijack other machines that he is in physical contact with?"IS: System Override"
It does have potential...
It's pretty much what I was going for from the get-go: an ability that allows him to tap into just about any complex system and take absolute control. At least as long as he is able to remain in control. A sufficiently advanced security AI would be able to throw him out (but not until it knows it was definitely in a fight), however if it just has a dumb system... C'est la vie. *Evil Grin*
Also, wouldn't that just make him into quite the anti-cyborg weapon? I mean, sure, if said cyborg is good in a dust up then she stands a chance of fighting him off. But all he needs to do is get one finger on her and then it's lights out.
- robkelk - 06-27-2010
Quote:Also, wouldn't that just make him into quite the anti-cyborg weapon?Only if it works through the Numbers' outer layer of flesh ... which might come as a shock when he tries using the IS that way.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
- Black Aeronaut - 06-27-2010
Or if it does work, I can imagine that it would not be something that is comfortable at all for the Number he pulls it on. And considering that the most likely path of invasion would be the nervous system, the first thing he'd get a dose of would be the pain inflicted... possible flashback to when he was made into a cyborg himself.
This'd shake him up pretty good, and the Number he tries it on gets a double-dose: she never experienced pain quite like that, and getting a hit off his pain-rage-hate is probably going to leave her decidedly unhinged at least for a moment.
Hrm... Just imagine if it was Quatro - she's loopy as it is. For some reason I see her going all happy-fun-space-marine on Matt until he manages to stick Shockwave in her face and and hit her with Blunderbuss.
- Jorlem - 06-27-2010
If he can manage to touch Quattro at all. IS: Silver Curtain makes it rather hard to hit her, unless it is by surprise, or with a wide area bombardment attack.
As a side note, would it work on the Numbers? His IS was designed by Jail, and he went rogue presumably before the Numbers were built, so I can't see why Jail wouldn't include some sort of firewall or something when he designs the Numbers. Of course, Ginga and Subaru wouldn't have this defense...
Also, would he need to remain in physical contact with whatever he is controlling to avoid loosing control?
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- Star Ranger4 - 06-28-2010
I would say he would. Makes a nice limitation
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children
- Black Aeronaut - 06-28-2010
Quote:Jorlem wrote:Aside from his IS, he is unique in that he can do some of Hyate's wide-area affect tricks and the long-range surgical-strikes of Vice Granscenic's Storm Raider. Essentially, he's a gunnery specialist capable of artillary assaults, danger-close missions (friendlies right in the middle of the action), and anything else a sniper is well suited for. It's all because of his ID - which winds up being the arch-type for Nanoha and Vita's Strike Cannons.
If he can manage to touch Quattro at all. IS: Silver Curtain makes it rather hard to hit her, unless it is by surprise, or with a wide area bombardment attack.
And since he is a gunnery specialist, I'm thinking he probably has a better, faster Wide Area Search spell than Nanoha does, especially if he's figured out a way to multi-thread.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:I plan on having Matt go missing due to an encounter with an interdimensional anomolly sometime around MSLGN-A's (this is going to be his big-wild-adventure where he comes home with Alita) and he is subsequently listed as MIA/Presumed Dead. Jail doesn't really count on him showing up at all, so he only equips the Numbers with the usual anti-intrusion protocols. And since I imagine that an effective measure against Matt's IS would be something to do with the hardware itself... well, sucks to be them, don't it?
As a side note, would it work on the Numbers? His IS was designed by Jail, and he went rogue presumably before the Numbers were built, so I can't see why Jail wouldn't include some sort of firewall or something when he designs the Numbers. Of course, Ginga and Subaru wouldn't have this defense...
In fact, to make it tie in we can say that the anomolly was something that Scaglietti did to get rid of an unwanted variable. This could be where Matt discovers the identidy of his tormentor and vows his vengence.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:
Also, would he need to remain in physical contact with whatever he is controlling to avoid loosing control?
Quote:Star Ranger4 wrote:Yup! That's exactly the idea! The only way he would be able to retain control otherwise would be if he completely rewrote the security subroutines to recognize him as the sole user and permit a 'wireless' access. However, he wouldn't be able to do that until after the JS Incident, and even then only on simpler security systems. For example, if he were around for MSLGN-A's he might have been able to disable the Book of Darkness's security mechanism, but it would have taken a huge effort on his part, and the victory would only have been very temporary. And that's not even getting into the fact that the security mechanism was a regenerating one that Reinforce was not able to get rid of, even after Hyate took full administrative control.
I would say he would. Makes a nice limitation
- Jorlem - 06-28-2010
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:If Jail was capable of building all this, why weren't the Numbers more powerful? Even if it was to avoid danger if another went rogue, it seems as if Matt could take on half the Numbers by himself. And while he is a superpowered prototype, there are limits.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:Aside from his IS, he is unique in that
If he can manage to touch Quattro at all. IS: Silver Curtain makes it
rather hard to hit her, unless it is by surprise, or with a wide area
bombardment attack.
he can do some of Hyate's wide-area affect tricks and the
long-range surgical-strikes of Vice Granscenic's Storm Raider.
Essentially, he's a gunnery specialist capable of artillary assaults,
danger-close missions (friendlies right in the middle of the action),
and anything else a sniper is well suited for. It's all because of his
ID - which winds up being the arch-type for Nanoha and Vita's Strike
Cannons.
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:According to the supplementary manga, Nanoha ran mental combat simulations for training, while at school and succeeded in everything. Her ability to multitask is insane. (look at the next two pages as well.)
And since he is a gunnery specialist, I'm thinking he probably has a
better, faster Wide Area Search spell than Nanoha does, especially if
he's figured out a way to multi-thread.
Also, the better Wide Area Search sounds a lot like Dieci's IS, Heavy Barrel.
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:Yeah, but the first time he shows up where Jail can see him, he'd likely try to hijack one of the gadgets, which look like machines, rather than one of the Numbers, which look like people. And once he shows up on Jail's monitors, well...
And since I imagine that an effective measure against Matt's IS would be
something to do with the hardware itself... well, sucks to be them,
don't it?
Jail: So, that one's still around after all. *Sends out a message to the Numbers that it's time for an upgrade.*
The only one who wouldn't be able to report for an upgrade would be Due, and given her IS, Matt would never be able to detect her as a cyborg.
If I may suggest, you should probably ease off on Matt's "I'm suddenly more powerful than everyone else"-itis, and consider making him eventually become a jack of most trades, master of one, the one being the powers granted to him by his IS.
You might also want to consider the possibility that the ID might not be able to handle a combat cyborg's full power, like what happened with Subaru's device. Also, keep in mind that he is a prototype combat cyborg with no one to do maintenance checks on him. Even Subaru and Ginga had someone doing that for them, and a prototype would likely be somewhat more maintenance intensive than the production models.
EDIT: I was trying to figure out relative ages, and about where this scene takes place in the timeline, and this is what I came up with. (For reference, the first two seasons of Nanoha take place in 0065, while StrikerS is in 0075.) Most of this is taken from the Nanoha wiki, with the stuff I added in italics.
0039: Alicia dies.
0050: Jail Scaglietti develops reliable means to produce Combat Cyborgs for the first time. Matt is born.
0051: Uno is activated.
0052: Due is activated.
0055: Tre is activated.
0056: Nanoha and Hayate are born, official date of birth for Fate.
0056-0059: Jail Scaglietti experiments on Matt, Matt escapes.
0060: Cinque is activated.
0061: Quattro and Sein are activated. Fate is activated/decanted/whatever.
0063: Dieci is activated.
0064: Ginga and Subaru are adopted. No knowledge as to exactly when they were created.
0065: First two seasons of Nanoha, Due steals the Shroud of the Saint King.
0067: The Combat Cyborg Incident, Reinforce Zwei created.
0068: Nanoha is injured.
0069: Nove is activated.
0071: Wendi is activated, the Airport Fire Incident takes place.
0073: Agito is rescued.
0075: StrikerS takes place, Sette, Otto and Deed are activated.
I placed Jail's experimentation on Matt when I did because I felt that there was a significant jump in combat power between Tre (extremely high speed) and Cinque (can turn any metal she touches into an explosive). There is also a five year gap between them, which makes me think that he had acquired data on the type zeros, Ginga and Subaru, and was conducting his own research on combat applications, of which Matt is one of. It also means that Matt will be 25 when StrikerS happens, which will give him time to learn how to use his powers, and be more than a wild berserker.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- Black Aeronaut - 06-29-2010
Jorlem Wrote:Matt's development is similar to most prototype projects: they're sometimes a lot more capable than the production models due to cost effectiveness. And Jail needed a small army. Part of what saved time and resources for him was that Matt was intended to be disposable - a true prototype only has enough life-expectancy to last through the testing phase, and nowhere is this more true in the field of Midchildan/Belkan Cybernetics, where they have severe issues with rejection. This is why all the Numbers + Ginaga and Subaru started out as Artificial Mages - their DNA could be custom made to accept the cybernetics.Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:If Jail was capable of building all this, why weren't the Numbers more powerful? Even if it was to avoid danger if another went rogue, it seems as if Matt could take on half the Numbers by himself. And while he is a superpowered prototype, there are limits.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:Aside from his IS, he is unique in that he can do some of Hyate's wide-area affect tricks and the long-range surgical-strikes of Vice Granscenic's Storm Raider. Essentially, he's a gunnery specialist capable of artillary assaults, danger-close missions (friendlies right in the middle of the action), and anything else a sniper is well suited for. It's all because of his ID - which winds up being the arch-type for Nanoha and Vita's Strike Cannons.
If he can manage to touch Quattro at all. IS: Silver Curtain makes it rather hard to hit her, unless it is by surprise, or with a wide area bombardment attack.
That is not to say that Matt was a freak success - rather an unintended one. One of the experiments carried out on Matt was a gene-mod that made him compatible with the suite of cybernetics that was implanted into his body. Jail felt that he had a pretty good idea of which way to go, he just didn't imagine that it would work so effectively, so he applied that success to the Numbers.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:I figure that has something to do with her heritage. Ninja, anyone?
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:According to the supplementary manga, Nanoha ran mental combat simulations for training, while at school and succeeded in everything. Her ability to multitask is insane. (look at the next two pages as well.)
And since he is a gunnery specialist, I'm thinking he probably has a better, faster Wide Area Search spell than Nanoha does, especially if he's figured out a way to multi-thread.
Also, the better Wide Area Search sounds a lot like Dieci's IS, Heavy Barrel.
As for Heavy Barrel... yep! Prototype! (^_^)
Quote:Jorlem wrote:Maybe so. It would make for a much more difficult fight, but that still doesn't mean there wouldn't be some sort of feed-back loop if he tried it.
Yeah, but the first time he shows up where Jail can see him, he'd likely try to hijack one of the gadgets, which look like machines, rather than one of the Numbers, which look like people. And once he shows up on Jail's monitors, well...
Jail: So, that one's still around after all. *Sends out a message to the Numbers that it's time for an upgrade.*
The only one who wouldn't be able to report for an upgrade would be Due, and given her IS, Matt would never be able to detect her as a cyborg.
Another thing this would do is that it would severely delay Jail's plot - probably by as much as a month. The upgrade is major - a comprehensive rewiring of their nervous systems to make them resistant against his ability to override systems. So it'll take a while and I can imagine Jail wishing to do it with only two or three at a time so he still has plenty around to run errands or interferance. He's not too concerned about Matt having an encounter with one of them because he's going to be busy debriefing for ten-years of unaccountable activities (most of which is going to be his time spent with Alita and straightening out her messed-up universe).
Quote:Jorlem wrote:This is going to be part of the plan. As a prototype, he has a broad range of capability, and a certain flexibilty the others will be lacking in, but it also lends him towards being more maintenance intensive than any of the others. Part of the drama in the first arc is going to be his medical care, something I should be paying more attention to.
If I may suggest, you should probably ease off on Matt's "I'm suddenly more powerful than everyone else"-itis, and consider making him eventually become a jack of most trades, master of one, the one being the powers granted to him by his IS.
You might also want to consider the possibility that the ID might not be able to handle a combat cyborg's full power, like what happened with Subaru's device. Also, keep in mind that he is a prototype combat cyborg with no one to do maintenance checks on him. Even Subaru and Ginga had someone doing that for them, and a prototype would likely be somewhat more maintenance intensive than the production models.
And yes, Shockwave will eventually be outsripped for power, so it too shall be receiving upgrades over time - not only from Midchildan and Belkan technologies, but just about anything else Matt gets his paws on, too. If you are thinking somewhat along the lines of Megaman, then you're on the right track, except it wouldn't be instantaneous. The upgrades themselves would be prototypes, built by Matt and prone to failure, until a competent Midchildan ID technician can have a look at it. (Part of the reason why he's on First Contacts - he brings so many goodies home.)
Awesome Timline! Thanks for that, it's very helpful.
Really, I was thinking of having him be born at around 45 or 44. Although yours has its merits, too. That Uno, Due, and Tre were strictly REMFs from the original designs lends to the idea that Matt was a combat prototype intended to be a testbed for weapon systems. But I'm still leaning towards him being the original prototype, given the idea that Jail's all-too-successful genemod experiment gave him the right gene sequences for cybernetic compatability in artificial mages.
- Jorlem - 06-29-2010
I didn't note it on the timeline, but you should keep in mind that [img]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Jeremy/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/img]Jail was behind both the Combat Cyborg Incident, and Nanoha's injury, which means he was active on at least two different worlds, at least seven or eight years prior to StrikerS. If Matt is working for the TSAB at this point, I think there is a significant chance that Jail might find out that he's still around during that interim. Jail seemed as if he had files on most of the more powerful mages of the TSAB, and if Matt is bringing in as much new tech as you implied, that would likely attract Jail's attention all on its own.
At that point in the timeline, almost half the Numbers would still be in some stage of development, or just completed and probably still in the shakedown phase, so it wouldn't be too difficult to install the necessary defensive upgrades. Especially seeing as these Numbers are intended to be front line combatants, and so would be the most likely to encounter him. At the very least, once he discovers that Matt is alive, Jail would likely brief the Numbers on Matt's known capabilities, and that his knowledge is however many years out of date. I also wouldn't be surprised if Jail at some point assigns a few of the Numbers to the task of ambushing Matt and bringing him back to Jail's lab, so he can find out just what Matt has been up to for the last 10-20 years, and then brainwash him like he did to Ginga in StrikerS.
EDIT:
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:Numbers 1-4 were actually based on Jail's own DNA, and I believe that Uno is actually a gender reversed clone of Jail, with cyborg enhancements. Given that he is an artificial mage himself, specifically created to rediscover the lost secrets of Al-Hazard, its not too far fetched. If I may, I recommend reading this entire chapter of the StrikerS manga. It gives a lot of insight into the personalities of Jail and the Numbers, as does Due's monologue as she is killing the giant brains in episode 20.
I'm still leaning towards him being the original prototype, given the idea that Jail's all-too-successful genemod experiment gave him the right gene sequences for cybernetic compatability in artificial mages.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- Black Aeronaut - 06-29-2010
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:
I plan on having Matt go missing due to an encounter with an interdimensional anomolly sometime around MSLGN-A's (this is going to be his big-wild-adventure where he comes home with Alita) and he is subsequently listed as MIA/Presumed Dead.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:(o_O
I didn't note it on the timeline, but you should keep in mind that Jail was behind both the Combat Cyborg Incident, and Nanoha's injury, which means he was active on at least two different worlds, at least seven or eight years prior to StrikerS. If Matt is working for the TSAB at this point, I think there is a significant chance that Jail might find out that he's still around during that interim. Jail seemed as if he had files on most of the more powerful mages of the TSAB, and if Matt is bringing in as much new tech as you implied, that would likely attract Jail's attention all on its own.
Uhhhhhmmm... not quite sure that you and I are on the same page here.That aside, there is one idea I forgot to/not sure I mentioned: Jail could be the person responsible for Matt going MIA/KIA.
The plan is simple. Matt has been hot on Jail Scaglietti's tail for a while. He is unaware that Jail was his tormentor - it's just another assignment to keep him the hell away from Midchilda.
About the only thing he does know about his tormentor are the creepy, yellow eyes.Jail gets access to plotdevice!Lost Logia that is capable of making holes in the multiverse. He know that his old project is on his tail, and while studying his capabilities from a dubious distance has been illuminating, it has gotten old. Thus, he lays a false trail to lure Matt in and triggers the booby-trap. Of course, not before popping up the screen and doing the "I AM YOUR FATHER!" bit.
...and then Fate inherits the caseload.
Jail figures that's done the trick. If Matt isn't dead, then his ship's interdimansional transit drives are so far gone that they can't be salvaged. Except that he gets caught in the void-buffer of a certain computer, causing a certain Goddess of Technology to screw up her face and say, "What in Father's Name is that?" And so Matt finds himself in Asgard, where his craziest journey begins.
Quote:Numbers 1-4 were actually based on Jail's own DNA, and I believe that Uno is actually a gender reversed clone of Jail, with cyborg enhancements. Given that he is an artificial mage himself, specifically created to rediscover the lost secrets of Al-Hazard, its not too far fetched. If I may, I recommend reading this entire chapter of the StrikerS manga. It gives a lot of insight into the personalities of Jail and the Numbers, as does Due's monologue as she is killing the giant brains in episode 20.Yeah, I kinda gathered between the anime and the wikipedia articles. And Uno, Due, Tre, and Quatro are all, like Jail, bat-shit crazy. Wanna do Therapy no Jutsu to them.
The one thing that does escape me... I understand Jail is actually programmed to seek out the lost treasures of Al Hazard... but what did he intend to do with them? Or was that just part of his insanity?
One other thing. In the end, I think there may be a way to rehabilitate Jail and the first four of the Numbers. It's a tad questionable, but it would tie in beautifully. It has to do with Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. The main protagonist, Nita Calahan, picks up a dangerous skill sometime midway through the series: locating and adjusting Kernels, which are almost exactly what they sound like. They are the magical operating code that defines being or object. People and planets in particular. By making adjustments to a Kernel you can change any characteristic, from the effects of chemical compounds or the gravitational pull a planet has... or even a person's personality.
Yes, it is dangerous stuff. So much so that the Powers That Be provide a 'Practice Universe' for people learning this skill to hone their capabilities. It also doubles as a sort of hacker tank as it has a lounge for these Wizards to relax and discuss what they're doing - it even has its own Kernel readily available to play around with, though it is appropriately nerfed. The Wizards that visit this lounge often play games using this Kernel. Of course, this tends to devolve into "Where'd you put the remote?" moments.
Of course, the idea is to have Nita come along and poke around with the Kernels of Numbers I-IV as well as Jail Scaglietti.
Thoughts?
Also, been jumping to and from the comic you linked and I couldn't help but notice Quatro's comments about Due: kind to her sisters, but cruel to anyone that is an opponent - I was intending for that to be a sort of theme for Matt. Dysfunctional as they are, his family is stuck together like glue. Matt falls into Big Brother role nicely after his modifcation. His younger brothers all gain a new level of respect for him and watch his back whenever possible. In turn, anyone that messes with them winds up with Matt coming down on them like the proverbial ton of bricks. (Thus causing poor Lindsy no end of headaches since she's been apointed as one of his 'handlers'.)
Makes me wonder if it would be too farfetched to say that Due has some DNA from Matt.
- Jorlem - 06-29-2010
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:Ok. I was building off what you said about him being in First Contacts, and I thought Matt was wandering around the multiverse for the TSAB while Jail assumed that he had run down and broken in the last however many years, without any maintenance. I forgot about the timing for when he goes missing, which I think you said in a different thread. Sorry.Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:
I plan on having Matt go missing due to an encounter with an
interdimensional anomolly sometime around MSLGN-A's (this is
going to be his big-wild-adventure where he comes home with Alita) and
he is subsequently listed as MIA/Presumed Dead.Quote:Jorlem wrote:(o_O
I didn't note it on the timeline, but you should keep in mind that Jail
was behind both the Combat Cyborg Incident, and Nanoha's injury, which
means he was active on at least two different worlds, at least seven or
eight years prior to StrikerS. If Matt is working for the TSAB at this
point, I think there is a significant chance that Jail might find out
that he's still around during that interim. Jail seemed as if he had
files on most of the more powerful mages of the TSAB, and if Matt is
bringing in as much new tech as you implied, that would likely attract
Jail's attention all on its own.
quite sure that you and I are on the same page here.
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:I think the TSAB head brains' intention when they created him was for Jail to deliver the lost knowledge and secrets of Al Hazard to them, as part of the project Unlimited Desire. However, Jail went rogue, and somewhat nuts, and started doing this combination blackmail /bribery thing to the brains for funding and materials. The brains figured they could get what they wanted this way as well, so worked with him. I think this is where his whole "I want to be free" speech comes from, as he's been manipulated by the brains since he first came into being.
The one thing that does escape me... I understand Jail is actually
programmed to seek out the lost treasures of Al Hazard... but what did
he intend to do with them? Or was that just part of his
insanity?
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:I don't like it, to be honest, unless you can make it clear that it is completely voluntary for those that it would be used on, in this case Jail and Numbers 1-4. Otherwise, it seems to me that this falls somewhere between super-brainwashing and mind rape. It seems like saying, "Oh, we don't like the person you are now, so we are going to kill you. But don't worry, we'll replace you with someone with all of your memories, and a personality that is acceptable to our own moral system, instead of the you who you are now."
One other thing. In the end, I think there may be a way to
rehabilitate Jail and the first four of the Numbers. It's a tad
questionable, but it would tie in beautifully. It has to do with Diane
Duane's Young Wizards series. The main protagonist, Nita
Calahan, picks up a dangerous skill sometime midway through the series:
locating and adjusting Kernels, which are almost exactly what they sound
like. They are the magical operating code that defines being or
object. People and planets in particular. By making adjustments to a
Kernel you can change any characteristic, from the effects of chemical
compounds or the gravitational pull a planet has... or even a person's
personality.
Yes, it is dangerous stuff. So much so that the
Powers That Be provide a 'Practice Universe' for people learning this
skill to hone their capabilities. It also doubles as a sort of hacker
tank as it has a lounge for these Wizards to relax and discuss what
they're doing - it even has its own Kernel readily available to play
around with, though it is appropriately nerfed. The Wizards that visit
this lounge often play games using this Kernel. Of course, this tends
to devolve into "Where'd you put the remote?" moments.
Of course,
the idea is to have Nita come along and poke around with the Kernels of
Numbers I-IV as well as Jail Scaglietti.
Thoughts?
To be honest, I can't see them being that willing to have their personalities rewritten, so they can be accepted by society at large.
Quote:blackaeronaut wrote:I'll be honest. I've never quite understood why personality is transferred with DNA, with clones or with children. I think the DNA bit is important to them, because it is another connection between Jail and those Numbers. It was Jail who raised them, and has been with them for 15 to 25 years in the cases of the earlier Numbers. For the older cyborgs especially, Jail really is their father, which is why they are loyal to him, and he to them. It seems wrong to me on some level to say that it is just because they have his DNA. He does send them out to fight, but they are not expendable, like the gadgets are, and in Sound Stage X he is shown mourning Due's death.
Makes me wonder if it would be too farfetched to say that Due has
some DNA from Matt.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- Black Aeronaut - 06-29-2010
Quote:Jorlem wrote:It's cool.
Ok. I was building off what you said about him being in First Contacts, and I thought Matt was wandering around the multiverse for the TSAB while Jail assumed that he had run down and broken in the last however many years, without any maintenance. I forgot about the timing for when he goes missing, which I think you said in a different thread. Sorry.
Quote:Jorlem wrote:That's the tough thing about Jail. Yes, he's been repressed in a way, but those bonds are a part of his physical and psychological makeup. He couldn't stop himself from doing the things he did even if he tried - he had nature and nurture working against him here. Hence why I had the notion of at least tweaking his nature a bit - at least just enough to give him room to trully reform. (Although it might make an interesting AU fic where he was stone-cold sane and went through all that just to stage a coup detat against the obviously corrupted TSAB. Copy/paste into a Plotbunny thread if you think it's worthwile.)
I think the TSAB head brains' intention when they created him was for Jail to deliver the lost knowledge and secrets of Al Hazard to them, as part of the project Unlimited Desire. However, Jail went rogue, and somewhat nuts, and started doing this combination blackmail /bribery thing to the brains for funding and materials. The brains figured they could get what they wanted this way as well, so worked with him. I think this is where his whole "I want to be free" speech comes from, as he's been manipulated by the brains since he first came into being.
Anyhow, I'm wondering how weird I can make this. You see, I love a story where the big bad goes so completely over-the-ckuu-ckuu's-nest; scary, and you feel a bit bad for them, but we all know that mad dogs need to be put down. (Quatro came close, but then she started showing self-preservation when she realized that yes, Nanoha could shoot through the whole damn ship to get at her. Did anyone else have an internal omake with all the major players standing off-stage, watching that scene and literally going, "DAAAAAYYYYYUUUUMMM!!!")
Jail could take a sort of sick, twisted paternal pride over Matt. While he possesses none of Jail's DNA a lot of Jail's hard work did go into making him into what was really an outstanding success, pitfalls aside. Perhaps even to the point where he would secretely intervene when someone's about to stab him in the back, claiming that the only person that is going to kill Matt would be Jail himself.
And then later on, when he comes back and has his final reckoning with Jail...
"I could hardly believe that you had come back, you know. You were supposed to be dead. At the very least, gone forever in some null-space."
"Well, too bad for you then."
"No, don't you see Matteus? You are special. In all the years I have been alive, I have never seen anyone like you. When I saw you as I child I knew that I had to make you mine."
"What in the hell are you talking about?"
"You, Matteus, You! You were my first child! My one and only son! And I was right to choose you out of so many millions in your world. Only you could have come back from death to defeat me! I and I alone gave you your destiny!"
"Maybe. But that doesn't mean I have to appreciate you."
"You can join our family. You can rescue your sisters from those short-sighted people. You will be loved and adored by us all, I promise you that!"
Hrm... Jail's not creepy enough here. That, or I'm just desensitized.
One other thing that bugs me now that I am on the subject of creepy behavior... he impregnated all the Numbers with clones of himself... *Excuse me while I shudder* (O_o) What were the conditions of this? Was it supposed to be a standard pregnancy, or was it something that was triggered by a dead-man switch? Jail is unpredictable - I don't know if he would love or hate the idea of twleve (thirteen?) chibis of himself running around, redundancy or not.
So... at the end not another word was mentioned about what became of those 'backup copies' of his... would it be worthwhile to persue as a final complication for the denoumont?
- Jorlem - 06-29-2010
I have to agree with you on the subject of Jail's clones. He is nuts, and creepy as hell. That said, it's wasn't a bad plan, per se, just really creepy. I imagine the impregnation was somewhere between natural and a dead man's switch. He probably reset them every week or every time there was a battle, to ensure the back ups were up to date. Really really creepy.
Even with that though, I don't think mental alterations would be ok, at least without his permission. I also don't believe that Nanoha and the others would allow it, or at least would find it exremely off putting, especially after what Jail did to Ginga. There's also the slippery slope to consider. I'm sure you can see where it being acceptable to alter criminals' personalities could lead.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- Black Aeronaut - 06-29-2010
Quote:Jorlem wrote:Hrm... Well, if not actually going through with it...
Even with that though, I don't think mental alterations would be ok, at least without his permission. I also don't believe that Nanoha and the others would allow it, or at least would find it exremely off putting, especially after what Jail did to Ginga. There's also the slippery slope to consider. I'm sure you can see where it being acceptable to alter criminals' personalities could lead.
"I actually feel bad for you."
Jail Scaglietti pointedly ignored Matteus from the confines of the cell.
"Were it my choice I would have killed you as soon as I had the first chance to do so. You know, put you out of your misery."
Not a single movement.
"Or I could have done something far worse. I made many friends over the years, both before and after you tried to kill me."
He certainly found the bulkhead to be interesting.
"Some of them are quite good at reworking somebody's mind through one means or another. I wonder what you would be like if you no longer had that burning desire for Lost Logia or to push the envelope with your inhuman research."
A glare. "Research that made you what you are today, my son."
"And something I would have done well enough without. I would have grown up as a normal guy, married a normal woman, and raised some normal children. You want to know the funny thing though? I'm at stage two there. The only thing that's really changed for me is that nothing is normal for me anymore."
"You'd prefer to be one of those ignorant weaklings?"
"Ignorance is bliss, asshole. Right now, I got half a mind to head on over to this one group of multiverses. They got these mages they call Wizards over there... fairly formalized, greet you as being on Errantry for their Powers That Be. Most of them are D and C rank, but they specialize like you wouldn't believe. Three of these B-Ranked mages probably would have taken you and the Numbers apart like a pocket watch. One of my friends in particular specializes in Kernels. As in the operating code of living beings and planets. She could rewrite your code to the point that no one would ever recognize you. You'd be just another sheep. Blissfully ignorant and content in mundanity."
Jail Scaglietti gazed back at Matt, his face pale, mouth agape, and eyes wide in horror. "You... You wouldn't dare! TSAB would decomission you for certain!"
"Heh. And I would be no more a monster than you are. Of course, that would make you happy in the end, wouldn't it? At least, if you were the same person. Fortunately for you, I was raised better than that by my real family. So as much as I would like to, I won't. Enjoy your stay, Scaglietti. You're going to be here for a very long time."
Quote:Jorlem wrote:Oh wow... extra creepy thought for you: I know for sure that Numbers I-IV were well aware of it... but what of the others? That would have to be all kinds of psychologically damaging to give birth to the clone of your father, especially if that clone has accelerated growth and all of Jail's knowledge. My brain would shatter, except I've seen worse horrors.
I have to agree with you on the subject of Jail's clones. He is nuts, and creepy as hell. That said, it's wasn't a bad plan, per se, just really creepy. I imagine the impregnation was somewhere between natural and a dead man's switch. He probably reset them every week or every time there was a battle, to ensure the back ups were up to date. Really really creepy.
- Jorlem - 06-29-2010
That, I like. And I imagine that the TSAB will be stepping carefully around that world once the recording of this interview makes it to the higher ups.
I like how Jail reacts to the threat as well. Even the villian is appaled.
There's a quote, I'm not sure where it from, which was used to describe how fate and free will didn't have to be completely opposed. I think it can apply to the different levels of brainwashing as well. The quote was "You can do as you will, but not will as you will," or something like that. What Jail did to Ginga altered her ability to do as she willed. She was still herself, deep down, and was able to recover eventually (with a forced reboot). What the Wizard can do affects the latter portion, and would most likely be far worse, in my opinion.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- robkelk - 06-29-2010
blackaeronaut Wrote:One other thing that bugs me now that I am on the subject of creepy behavior... he impregnated all the Numbers with clones of himself... *Excuse me while I shudder* (O_o) What were the conditions of this? Was it supposed to be a standard pregnancy, or was it something that was triggered by a dead-man switch?It seemed to me to be on a dead-man switch, but that's just the way I took the lines from that episode.
Also, if Jail was right and that was SOP for important people in Al Hazard, it would almost certainly have been on a dead-man switch - who wants a dozen copies of the Crown Prince running around? (Digression: Or the Crown Princess, and that casts the Fatora/Allelle relationship in a completely different light... Ew. (Don't try to tell me that was a different Al/El Hazard. The name isn't that common.))
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
- Jorlem - 06-30-2010
Looking back, something occured to me. If you decide not to go with Jail being the one to toss him out of the known multiverse, there already is an anomoly that can do the job, at the point in time you want him gone.
Remember those imaginary space holes/portals that appeared when Precia started to try to open the gate to Al Hazard? It was specifically mentioned that magic doesn't work in imaginary space, including flying magic. As a combat cyborg, he doesn't require magic for a number of his abilities, and might stand a better chance than any mage, ever, to survive and come back from one of those things.
If he happened to be in the area when the Arthra sent out it's call for backup, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to want to help out with the attack, especially if he gets there in time to hear what Precia says to Fate. Given the impression I've gotten of him, I think he'd go berserk. Once he's in there fighting (against powerful, pure robots with likely little in the way of AI or firewalls,wink wink), it wouldn't be too hard to knock him into one of those imaginary space doom pits. I've always wanted to see more of the imaginary number plane space. It's neat, and far too underused in canon, though I understand why.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- Black Aeronaut - 06-30-2010
Now there's an interesting idea... and I got a spin-off idea.
Matteus doesn't rely on magic foir a number of things, indeed. And Imaginary Space strikes me as something like wild or chaotic space. Hang out there long enough and you'll be reduced to mathematical garbage. But, I'd be willing to bet that if you hung out just long enough... you might hit an eddy in the time-flow and wind up getting aged or rejuvenated.
So what if Precia and Alicia get stupidly lucky...
The maths.
Dear sweet god, the maths!
The numbers were starting to eat at my mind. I had to get out of this place somehow. I could feel portions of myself starting to unravel.
Worse than that I was starting to see... shadows? No... that's not right. They were possibilities. Various outcomes...
... this could be useful.
Farantic is not a good thing to be when you're trying to clear your mind and focus on everything around you in general. But if you're good, you manage somehow. And I don't just strive to be 'good'.
I glimpsed something - a hole in the chaos that led back to the Arthra. I started to make my way there when I saw something else: Precia and Alicia. Only Alicia wasn't in her tank anymore. In fact, she looked very much alive as she clung to her mother for dear life!
Crap.
I changed course and made my way to Precia and Alicia instead. As I approched, the little girl looked up at me with fearful eyes.
"It's okay," I said calmingly. "I'm here to help you."
"Momma..." squeeked Alicia. "Momma won't wake up!"
"Okay then," I said as I carefully gathered them up - Alicia shifting her deathgrip from her mother to me. "Let's see if we can find our way out of here." I looked around once more, hoping that possible outcome still existed... or was it actually just a hole through space and time? Who cared! It was a way out!
Lady Fortune was favoring me it seems because I spotted it once more. "Hang on tight, kid! Maximum burn!" My thruster pack punched me in the back and sent us flying at the hole, but the thing was starting to close up. Crap, it was do or die now! Engage burnout mode! Triple self-override granted! My thrusters punched me in the back once more as my reactor began feeding the thing with everything it had.
DANGER
SYSTEM INTEGRITY FAILURE
>>>IN PROGRESS