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.Uhhhhhmmm... not
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.
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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.