Crowdsourcing the Timeline

[Acyl]

Mark Skarr wrote:

---

How deep into Asia does China go?  Do any of their neighbors ally with them (Hey, Acyl, any idea if anyone in that area, other than NK would be on that bandwagon)?  Do any of them resist exceptionally violently.  Are any of them likely to use nukes (keeping in mind the IST world, and not our world.)?  Do any of them put up token resistance and let China roll over them?

Nearby countries that might align with China would include Burma/Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. I don't think the state of politics for those countries has been well-fleshed out in canon, but all of those at some point in real-world modern history have had military/communist governments.  These are the Asian countries that have governments ideologically similar to China in how they run their countries...and more to the point, these are countries most likely to strongly resent the UN status quo, the Edicts and the IST system.
I'd suggested Vietnam as a potential adversary to China in a war - but it's one of those things that could go either way, it depends on how history's worked out in the IST world. In the real world, China's had a brief war with Vietnam, and Cambodia's gone to war with Vietnam, Laos has cut trade ties with China because Vietnam asked them to...this all happened in the 70s, during the Cold War. Yes, they're all Communist countries. These things happen. Mostly because they're similar, not different.

As a side note, China has good relations with its neighbours on its western borders, like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, but I don't know enough about Central Asian/Middle East politics to gauge where those countries might jump in IST.

Regarding countries that would resist really strongly, and are incredibly ideologically different from Chinese Communism - besides the obvious answers of South Korea and Japan, that'd be Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. These are the countries that made various security pacts in the Cold War era, so that gives you an idea of where they stand.

For countries that might be walkovers - Bhutan, Brunei and the Philippines. I'd say they'd all certainly want to resist any invasion, but wouldn't have their own capability to do so, unless IST is drastically different from the real world in that regard. The Philippine Navy's flagship in the real world is a WWII-era destroyer. This is not due to sentimental reasons. The Philippines would probably try to fight, it's just a question of how well they'd do. As noted in Bob's 1990s timeline, the UN has bumped up forces stationed in the Philippines - I always read that as necessary, because they couldn't do it themselves.

The Philippines has the population size to have a good number of native supers, though.

Brunei is a really small country in terms of population, and would be ill-pressed to resist militarily; they'd likely try to deal themselves out of any probable regional conflict. Bhutan isn't so small, but it's pretty much a really relaxed and laid back sort of place...with not much military to speak of. That said, Brunei is rich, so they might have bought themselves some nice toys in an IST context. That's the case in my own supers RP campaign setting; Brunei fields a powerful Royal-sponsored tech hero. 

Papua New Guinea is in a similar position, though I'd doubt conflict would spread so far. Timor-Leste likewise, though Timor-Leste might not exist (or not yet exist) in IST; in the real world, it officially gained independence from Indonesia in 2002. If it does exist, then Timor-Leste probably has a larger-than-normal IST team stationed there (I think the real-world UN peacekeeping mission only fully ended in late 2012), with work in progress towards the establishment of a permanent IST embassy. 

As a side note, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines have a long real-world tradition of being considered US allies, and host US military bases. In an IST setting, they'd probably - similarly - be stronger supporters of the IST system and embassies than Indonesia and Malaysia; the latter two are countries that are more...mm, keen on going it on their own? More sensitive about foreign interference?

I've not really discussed the South Asian countries like India, Nepal and so on. But India's certain to have a lot of nukes to throw around, and certainly has wary regional rivalry with China. I can't recall if Pakistan and Bangladesh exist in IST; it's possible that India never split up in IST, though I'd assume for the sake of simplicity that they do. But my area is East Asian politics, I don't honestly know much about South Asia proper.

...

One question I don't think has been addressed is Taiwan. Taiwan does exist in IST - it's mentioned in Bob's timelines. Military-wise, Taiwan itself is certainly going to be as much a war front as Hong Kong...but I'm interested in the political implications. In the real world, the question of Taiwan just flat out declaring themselves their own country or making stronger claims to being the legitimate representative of China has always been a contentious issue even in domestic Taiwanese politics.

But with China going full-on flying-mammal-waste pariah rogue state in IST, that movement is probably a lot stronger in IST. It's quite possible that by the 2000s in IST-world, Taiwan is recognised as a sovereign country by the UN, and they've regained their place in the General Assembly - with occasional talk of also returning them the China seat in the Security Council.

Or even if the above hasn't happened, there'd probably be at least some serious talk about making it happen, which may be useful as yet another trigger to drive nationalists in China absolutely crazy.

I'll drop a post in the release thread - thanks for the reminder, Mark. Appreciated.
-- Acyl

[Acyl]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

And by the way, anyone reading this -- if you'd like cameos of your own teams or supers, let me know. I'd be happy to slot them in where I can. Especially if you have someone who died in action -- even though it looks like the IST NY memorial plaza has been glassed, I'm still going to list the KIAs.

I'd be amused to have one of my signature City of Heroes and Champions Online characters be a bunch of drifting atoms - possibly Alec Kazam, a British mage. 
But who I'd really love to see slotted in, if you have the space, is another of my characters - a name and concept I have been extremely disappointed to never see done in any mainstream media. A Chinese super, one of the country's most distinctive and recognisable metahumans.

Codename: Great Wall 
(Mandarin: ??, Chángchéng)
Powers: Giant growth, super-strength and durability scaling with increased size and mass.
Description: A very large and cheerful man in red armour, with a big star on the front. A very very large man.

Look, c'mon, you know China must have a giant super going by THAT name. It's the most obvious thing ever. =)

I've generally characterised him as looking visually like Marvel's Juggernaut, but extremely calm and relaxed. I'm not sure he's actually genuinely that calm, but it's important to at least give the impression...if you're occasionally visible from space. In my own campaign notes, he actually has shrinking powers as well. The Champions Online version I play has teleport to model this, since CO-teleport works like an invisiblity-phase power. This is a carefully guarded secret; nobody expects the giant guy to be an infiltrator.
-- Acyl

[Mark Skarr]

I only have a couple of minutes on break to comment:

But with China going full-on flying-mammal-waste pariah rogue state in IST, that movement is probably a lot stronger in IST. It's quite possible that by the 2000s in IST-world, Taiwan is recognised as a sovereign country by the UN, and they've regained their place in the General Assembly - with occasional talk of also returning them the China seat in the Security Council.

I think we have a cause for our war: The U.N. gives China's Security Council seat to Taiwan.  China throws a tantrum and leaves--again.  Then, they sabotage the peace talks in North Korea, framing the U.N.  At the beginning, it looks like it's just a war between China and the U.N. (poor South Korea begins to feel like Belgium) and most countries are "eh, let them duke it out, probably be good for them."
Will work on more, at home.

[Mark Skarr]

Codename: Great Wall (Mandarin: ??, Chángchéng)Powers: Giant growth, super-strength and durability scaling with increased size and mass.Description: A very large and cheerful man in red armour, with a big star on the front. A very very large man.

Um . . . the one I'm working on for the IST Seoul game doesn't wear armor.  But, he does wear a jumpsuit designed after the Chinese flag.  I'll try to get him statted out and posted.
  
ETA:  AAAAAAAH!  Yuku formatting screw-ups strike again!

[Acyl]

A quick glance at the IST timeline - I have the PDF in my dropbox account - verifies that the situation between Taiwan and China in the 70s went down pretty much as in the real world. The government of Taiwan held the UN seats for China, until the place in the UN was handed over to the People's Republic of China in 1971. 
It totally makes sense to me that at least someone would try to start the ball rolling on readmitting Taiwan to the UN, sometime between China's diplomatic meltdown after Tiananmen and the present day. It would probably take some time, so it's realistic that the trigger for conflict is only some 10-15 years after Tiananmen - it took a long while for Taipei's hold on the China seat to shift to Beijing, after all. 
-- Acyl

[Mark Skarr]

Great Wall (1100 points)??, ChángchéngMetahuman(called Monument Man by IST Seoul . . . or at least by MonkeyFist)

ST 14 [40]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 14 [40].Damage 1d/2d; BL 39 lbs.; HP 14 [0]; Will 10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP 14 [0].Basic Speed 6.25 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Block 7 (DX); Dodge 10; Parry 9 (DX).

Social Background TL: 8 [0]. CF: Eastern (Native) [0]. Languages: Chinese (Native) [0]; English (Broken) [2].

Advantages Combat Reflexes [15]; Damage Resistance 100 (Growth Size; Super; Tough Skin) [100]; Enhanced Move (Ground) (3) (Growth Size; Super) [18]; Extra ST 86 (Affects ST; Growth Size; Super) [258]; Great Wall (Crushing Attack) 16 (Area Effect (64 yd); No Knockback; Extended Duration (x100); Melee Attack: Reach C,1; Persistent; Super; Wall: Rigid (Any shape desired)) [279]; Growth 6 (Reduced Time (+1); Super) [65]; Injury Tolerance (Accessibility (Only when grown to SM +2 or more) (+1); Damage Reduction (Extended) (/5); Super) [100]; Military Rank 4 [20]; Patrons (CHINA!) (Equipment: more than starting wealth; 12 or less; Special Abilities: extensive social or political power) [150]; Reputation (National Hero) 4 (All the time; Large class) [10].

Disadvantages Chummy [-5]; Duty (CHINA!) (15 or less (almost always)) (Extremely Hazardous) [-20]; Fanaticism (CHINA!) [-15]; Lecherousness (12 or less) [-15]; Overweight [-1]; Sense of Duty (Weaker comrades) (Large Group) [-10]. Quirks: Likes Western Women; Proud [-2].

Skills Animal Handling (Equines)-9 (IQ-1) [1]; Armoury/TL8 (Small Arms)-9 (IQ-1) [1]; Farming/TL8-10 (IQ+0) [2]; Gunner/TL8 (Cannon)-13 (DX+2) [4]; Guns/TL8 (Pistol)-11 (DX+0) [1]; Guns/TL8 (Rifle)-11 (DX+0) [1]; Karate-14 (DX+3) [16]; Knife-11 (DX+0) [1]; Lifting-14 (HT+0) [2]; Public Speaking (Oratory)-12 (IQ+2) [4]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-10 (IQ+0) [1]; Sex Appeal (Human)-14 (HT+0) [2]; Soldier/TL8-9 (IQ-1) [1]; Sumo Wrestling-14 (DX+3) [12]; Swimming-15 (HT+1) [1]; Writing-9 (IQ-1) [1].

Notes:His Move and DR increase with his SM, just like his ST does.  Each level of SM gives him 1/2 level of Enhanced move.  His DR is always equal to his ST.

His enhanced stats, based on his SM are:SM  0 DR/ST are 14, Move  6, Thrust/Swing 1d/2dSM +1 DR/ST are 15, Move  9, Thrust/Swing 1d+1/2d+1SM +2 DR/ST are 25, Move 12, Thrust/Swing 2d+2/5d-1SM +3 DR/ST are 35, Move 18, Thrust/Swing 7d/9dSM +4 DR/ST are 50, Move 24, Thrust/Swing 15d/17dSM +5 DR/ST are 75, Move 36, Thrust/Swing 27d/29dSM +6 DR/ST are 100, Move 48, Thrust/Swing 40d/42d

[Acyl]

I'm amused by the writeup. I mean, we aren't thinking along the same lines, but I soundly approve of the fact that I'm not the only person to see the immense potential in naming a Chinese giant growth character "Great Wall". I've always been a big fan of the giant hero motif in mainstream comics - Giant Man, Atlas, Atom-Smasher, Stature, and so on. It just seemed like a hugely obvious thing to do for a Chinese hero.
...damnit, I swear, I wasn't planning on those size puns, I honest-to-god-typed typed that without thinking.

I'd typed out a bunch of stuff on characterising Chinese supers, but that's a further derailing of the timeline and events discussion, so I'll post that in another thread.
-- Acyl

[Inquisitive Raven]

Monument Man should be the code name for a Western super. I'm not exactly what his powerset would be, although including Body of Stone seems apt, but he should have at least one art related hobby skill (or maybe he's an expert in art restoration/preservation when he isn't doing the super thing). Historically, the Monument's Men were an Allied task force given the job of recovering art works stolen by the Nazis. My grandfather was one of them.

[Mark Skarr]

Actually, Monument Man is an extremely old inside joke beteen me and MonkeyFist. It's from an old episode of Eek: the Cat. They're in Washington and, in one scene, there's a troop of boy scouts looking at the Washington monument, I think. The scoutmaster is shouting "IT'S A MONUMENT! IT DOESN'T DOOOOOOOO ANYTHING!"

So, Monument Man is any super who grows to enormous size but is functionally too large to be useful and just sits around doing nothing.

Many thanks to your grandfather--both for his service and for his personal mark on history!

[Mark Skarr]

2005-
Strange transmissions are detected from a previously undiscovered planet orbiting beyond the Kuiper Belt. Dubbed “Eris,” the UNSS Wanderer is tasked with travelling to this new world as soon as they return from Myrr.
An intense solar flare on the sun sends X-Rays and Cosmic rays across the solar system.
A suicide bomber detonates at the Mandher Devi temple in India amongst 300,000 pilgrims. More than 100 pilgrims were killed by the explosion and ten times that were killed in the stampede to escape. The Blue Demon appeared and destroyed the temple and slaughtered thousands more pilgrims due to the remoteness of the location.
During a drug bust in Alberta Canada, James Roszko takes a massive dose of jugo and slaughters the entire Royal Canadian Mounted Police force assembled to stop him before dying from the overdose. Canada files an official complaint with the U.N. over the inability to employ willing, volunteer metahumans in their police force.
A massive earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan killing dozens and injuring thousands. Only a week later, another massive earthquake strikes Sumatra. IST forces, with the aid of the Kronin battleship, begin searching for another Chinese earthquake machine.
A massive explosion at a Texas City, Texas oil refinery rocks the state. A dozen metahuman terrorists attacked the site, triggering the explosion. Upon investigation, British Petroleum—the owners of the site, are cited with thousands of safety regulation failings. Many of their employees were forbidden to evacuate due to outdated safety protocols and cost-saving measures.
The final design for the new U.N. and the rebuilt IST New York are unveiled.
Hurricane Dennis is steered by Chinese Weather controllers to hit the Florida Panhandle. IWO teams are unable to prevent the hurricane from hitting the state but are able to reduce its intensity. The weather controller disappears during the confusion.
Mumbai, India receives nearly a meter of rain in under 24 hours. The city is shut down. IST Mumbai tracks and damages a Chinese weather controller, but is unable to destroy it before being driven off by Chinese metas.
The UNSS Wanderer reaches Eris and finds no trace of activity or extraterrestrial habitation.
The military of Mauritania stages a bloodless coup while their President is out of the country. The military junta requests the U.N. come in to administer their country and prepare democratic elections.
A rare tornado strikes Long Island, New York. IST New York tracks down and destroys the Chinese Weather Controller responsible for creating the tornado.
The Java fusion reactor becomes unstable and detonates. Thousands of people are killed in the explosion. The Blue Demon arrives adding to the chaos. The loss of the power grid plunges nearly 100 million people into darkness and leaves them without power for days.
The Toronto Supercell forms, spawning numerous tornadoes and causing extreme flash flooding in the city of Toronto and the surrounding areas. Several Canadian and US IST teams, and the IWO, search for Chinese Weather Controllers in the area, leaving Hurricane Katrina to form.
IST Houston tries to assist against Hurricane Katrina and spots nearly a dozen Chinese Weather Controllers driving and powering the storm. In a desperate, pitched battle, IST Houston calls down orbital fire from the Kronin battleship, destroying most of the weather controllers, but increasing the damage from the hurricane. After the battle, Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people, destroyed New Orleans, and severely damaged the US oil refinery infrastructure causing nearly $200 billion in damage. The Blue Demon appears amongst the wreckage, but is destroyed before it can cause any damage, by an errant shot from the Kronin Battleship.
Hurricane Rita is dispersed in the Gulf of Mexico by an experimental U.N. Weather Control system based on Chinese technology.
A Chinese space craft leaves Earth. A Kronin resupply ship identifies it trying to leave the solar system with a copy of a Meeranon warp drive. While the UNSS Wanderer is unable to catch it, a Kronin escort is able to disable the vehicle and capture its pilot and small crew.
A guerrilla uprising in Hong Kong dislodges the Chinese Army long enough for U.N. forces to take the city again.
American F-22 Raptors, capable of limited electromagnetic invisibility, enter active service. Many are deployed by U.N. forces.
Sudan backed rebels in Chad begin a Civil War in that country. Chad declares war on Sudan. Sudan openly supports the rebels.
--ETA:  Altered Weather Control owner from US to U.N.--Another technology the U.N. turn into a cash cow. 

[Bob Schroeck]

Just a heads-up -- I'll be gone all this weekend and while I won't be in unwired terrain it's unlikely I'll have the time to check in until Monday, or Sunday night at the earliest.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

The Java fusion reactor becomes unstable and detonates.

I was under the impression that the point of fusion technology was making this sort of bang impossible.

Canada files an official complaint with the U.N. over the inability to employ willing, volunteer metahumans in their police force.

'Undetected' metahumans, or for that matter, civilian contractors who just happen to be in the area. Depending on the country, the Police are a civil, not a military force. I'm sure there's a loophole for them to politely abuse.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Mark Skarr]

I was under the impression that the point of fusion technology was making this sort of bang impossible.

That's the theory.  However, as it's a catalyzed fusion reaction, and that catalyst is based off of a metahuman power, destabilize the metahuman power (say, Neutralize with Derange) and you have the makings of a nice catastrophe.  Something the U.N. will be quite interested in learning about so they can try to shield their reactors from it.

'Undetected' metahumans, or for that matter, civilian contractors who just happen to be in the area. Depending on the country, the Police are a civil, not a military force. I'm sure there's a loophole for them to politely abuse.

Bob covered this in a side bar in IST:

The Edicts of 1982 banned nationalized super military forces. It did not force civil servants who happened to be metahumans to lose their jobs, unless the job was designated as a military specialty. In the United States, state National Guard units and the Coast Guard both qualify under that definition. Police functions, though, are a special case. A national police force qualifies as a military operation under the Edicts; thus Britain has no supers in the CID, nor can any Canadian super publicly operate as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In general, the U.N. looks upon metahuman policemen as metahuman soldiers.

The US police force is different.  However, the Canadian point is that the U.N., by forcing Metahumans, who are willing volunteers, out of a certain job market, is committing discrimination based on genetic disposition.

[Mark Skarr]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Just a heads-up -- I'll be gone all this weekend and while I won't be in unwired terrain it's unlikely I'll have the time to check in until Monday, or Sunday night at the earliest.

Okie Doke.  I'll just keep plugging along.  Hopefully I'll get through 2007 written out.

[robkelk]

'Undetected' metahumans, or for that matter, civilian contractors who just happen to be in the area. Depending on the country, the Police are a civil, not a military force. I'm sure there's a loophole for them to politely abuse.

Bob covered this in a side bar in IST:

The Edicts of 1982 banned nationalized super military forces. It did not force civil servants who happened to be metahumans to lose their jobs, unless the job was designated as a military specialty. In the United States, state National Guard units and the Coast Guard both qualify under that definition. Police functions, though, are a special case. A national police force qualifies as a military operation under the Edicts; thus Britain has no supers in the CID, nor can any Canadian super publicly operate as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In general, the U.N. looks upon metahuman policemen as metahuman soldiers.

The US police force is different. However, the Canadian point is that the U.N., by forcing Metahumans, who are willing volunteers, out of a certain job market, is committing discrimination based on genetic disposition.

An aside: in Canada, only Ontario and Québec have provincial police forces (the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec, respectively); all the other provinces and territories rely on the RCMP for what an American would expect to be done by a State Trooper. Thus, the Edicts also discriminate based on place of residence...

On the other hand, the Canadian Coast Guard is a civilian body under the umbrella of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
--
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

[nocarename]

robkelk wrote:

---

An aside: in Canada, only Ontario and Québec have provincial police forces (the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec, respectively); all the other provinces and territories rely on the RCMP for what an American would expect to be done by a State Trooper. Thus, the Edicts also discriminate based on place of residence...

On the other hand, the Canadian Coast Guard is a civilian body under the umbrella of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Three actually. There is also the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Not that this changes the main thrust of the comment.

[Mark Skarr]

2006-

Sydney, Australia is struck by its worst heat-wave ever in January. Temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius started fires and caused power disruptions across the nation. IST Alice Springs tracks down and destroys a pair of Chinese weather Controllers. These are the last weather controllers to be destroyed.

A massive earthquake near Kythira, Greece inflicts significant damage to the island and is felt through the entire Mediterranean. Evidence points to a Chinese Earthquake machine.

On the last day at the Hajj, in Saudi Arabia, the Blue Demon appears, ironically, during the Stoning of the Devil ritual. The Blue Demon kills hundreds while the stamped to escape it kills about the same number. More than 1,000 lose their lives before IST Riyadh manages to bring the beast down.

Greenpeace ecoterrorists board the French warship Clemenceau as it reaches the Suez Canal on its way to be decommissioned in India. They sabotaged the vessel and teleported away with several tons of contaminated matter from within the hull. The vessel returns to French waters while U.N. authorities examine the ship.

A powerful winter storm inundates the Northeastern United States. Between three to four feet of snow fall from Washington DC through New York City. IWO experts identify massive changes to the Earth’s weather system due to Chinese weather controllers.

A retreating Chinese unit detonates a massive bomb in the rain-saturated area of Leyte in the Philippines. Over a thousand people are killed, causing the Blue Demon to appear and add to the carnage.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo returns to power as U.N. forces free the last of the Philippines from Chinese control.

A massive earthquake strikes Java, devastating Bantul and Yogyakarta, killing more than 10,000 people. The Blue Demon appears. A Chinese earthquake machine is detected, but withdraws before it can be attacked.

North Korea launches ten missiles aimed at South Korea and Japan. All missiles have nuclear warheads, but are all intercepted before any of them hit their targets.

Kronin and U.N. forces liberate South Korea and capture Pyongyang.

The IAU redefines the term “planet.”

A one-megaton nuclear device detonates in the Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, devastating the surrounding city. Investigators determine this was a “suicide” bomb emplaced to prevent the capture of Kim Il-sung’s remains.

An intense earthquake devastates Hengchun, Taiwan. Kronin and U.N. forces track and destroy the last of the Chinese earthquake machines.

On New Year’s Eve, Kronin and U.N. forces seize Beijing.

[Mark Skarr]

2007-

A domestic passenger flight between the Indonesian cities of Surabaya and Manado vanishes. Chinese forces are presumed to have shot the plane down, but no evidence is ever discovered.

China surrenders, unconditionally, to the U.N. and its allies. Kronin forces arrest and hold all of China’s heads of government for trial.

Stock markets across the globe flounder with the realization that the U.N./China war is, functionally, over.

With the end of the war, The Warrior steps down as the leader of all IST forces.

A pair of suicide bombers detonate in Algiers, killing 200 people. The Blue Demon appears.

Hong Kong is returned to British rule.

Trains begin running across a now-unified Korea.

An earthquake off the coast of Niigata damages a Fusion Reactor. Safety protocols shut the reactor down, cutting power to tens-of-thousands.

The first U.N. combat starship, the UNSS Phoenix is unveiled. She was constructed in secret, but not completed before the end of the war.

A tremendous earthquake off the Pacific coast of Peru devastates numerous areas. Over five-hundred are killed in the event. The Blue Demon appears and adds to the damage.

All US fusion reactors have been decommissioned, and the last one is dismantled.

A record-setting cyclone strikes Bangladesh, killing more than five-thousand people. The Blue Demon ransacks the area. IST Dhaka, does battle with the beast, destroying Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, in the process.

An earthquake off the northern coast of Martinique shakes the entire Caribbean.

A new round of massive winter weather blankets the US, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing hundreds across the country.

A suicide bomber detonates in Omaha, Nebraska at a shopping mall. Hundreds of Christmas shoppers are killed and thousands injured in the blast. The Blue Demon appears.

[Mark Skarr]

So . . . do we want to involve Homeline/Infinity in the story? Since they’re official GURPS, I think we’re sorta required to include them. Plus, they make a good mastermind behind the war.

It would be well within Infinity’s personality to try to start the war to forestall research into parachronic technology and exploration. After all, they don’t want super-powered competition for worlds. Sure, they’d like to have IST/supers as subordinates working for Infinity, answering to Infinity, but never as equals.

Before the reality quake, IST is on Quantum 3, so it’s generally inaccessible to Centrum, and at the limit of Homeline’s ability to reach. So, if IST came up with reliable parachronic travel, they’re within striking distance of Homeline. Coupled with phenomenal cosmic powers (itty-bitty living spaces usually optional) and alien allies, Homeline can’t afford to have IST discover The Secret.

So, they sabotage peace initiatives. Spread lies and rumors. Plant false evidence. Generally, make a nuisance of themselves. Sure, the IST world will notice the “errors,” but they have criminal masterminds and megavillains to deal with—all who are more likely culprits than a parallel reality that wants to see the IST world hobbled. Infinity plants the seeds of a war and ensures that every opportunity for peace is wasted or lost.

Infinity gets their war . . . and a reality quake to shake all the realities. IST becomes its own quanta, equally accessible to all quanta, everywhere. Through the actions of a few, desperate people the truth comes out. Evidence is gathered by U.N. forces and presented to the rest of the IST world. China and the U.N. mend fences and clean house of Infinity infiltrators.

The U.N. strengthens ties with its member nations and launches its own parachronic research division. Cross-world raids increase as IST plays catch-up to develop their own parachronic conveyors root-out entrenched Infinity and Centrum agents in a multitude of worlds.

While this does make Infinity the bad-guys from an IST perspective, really, their Homeline-FIRST attitude toward anyone else having inter-dimensional travel paints them as a fairly hostile force. It’s only a matter of time before they rub IST the wrong way.

I wouldn’t worry too much about our powers not working –both Centrum and Homeline have World Jumpers. something tells me our powers are going to be just fine. After all, maybe the Seeders had Parachronic travel.

[robkelk]

So . . . do we want to involve Homeline/Infinity in the story? Since they’re official GURPS, I think we’re sorta required to include them. Plus, they make a good mastermind behind the war.

They're usually included as a sidebar, if I'm reading the style of recent supplements correctly...
--
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

[Bob Schroeck]

We'll do it that way -- lay out the plot, but put it a box as an option.

Because I really like the idea of the usual good guys in a crosstime campaign being massively villainous to protect themselves and their interests...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

I have been using Infinity as a bad guy since Infinite Worlds came out and it was made “the official GURPS setting.” As much as they hate and fear Reich-5, it’s amazing how close Infinity, themselves are to a fascist regime. Homeline, itself, seems somewhat tolerable, but, if they had to choose between any timeline and theirs . . . everyone knows who they'd choose. Plus, how many inventions have they stolen from IST, and copied, and now Infinity holds the patent on a dozen different worlds?

The main reason I bring up that we might want to think about more than a text box is, well, with few exceptions (I can think of just two: Caliph and Steel), no other worlds could stand up to Centrum and Homeline at the same time and still have a reasonable chance at not only survival, but victory. It would require more information (like U.N. and IST agencies) for dealing with the Many Worlds. And it would be more fun with supers.

My second reason is that, at the end of the day, it should help reduce some of Bob’s work since the big-bad is already defined and he can crib from Infinite Worlds.

[Bob Schroeck]

Mm. Something to include in 1997:

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Plot by Joanne Rowling is released. The first book in the wildly-successful Harry Potter series, it tells the story of the orphaned child of a pair of metahuman heroes, raised ignorant of his heritage by his anti-meta relatives. When his own powers manifest on his 11th birthday, Harry finds himself whisked off to Charles Academy for Metahuman Children (a thinly-disguised stand-in for the IST Academy), where he learns the truth about his history -- and learns that his parents' arch-enemy is still alive and has targetted him.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

Okay, so it was 1997 (not that big of a Harry Potter fan--great for getting kids to read, not my cup of tea).

However, it couldn't be Harry Potter--there's a Harrold Potter in Supertemps: head of Truly Amazing Metahero Investigations, Inc.

That's something that will probably get sharp focus in IST Academy, as it's going to be the focus of a lot of the kids. However, depending on how much Charles Academy is like Hogwarts and isn't like the actual Academy (Hogwarts would be a horrible model for the actual Academy), there are going to be a lot of disillusioned youngsters. Also, there may be a lot of "accidents" involving children shortly after that book is written as children learn how to try to activate their own, latent Metahuman abilities.

This book could be a bad, bad thing for the world (from a realistic view point, not from a setting view point--it's solid gold for that). That might be an interesting origin for a super: they put themselves in harms way, trying to develop metahuman abilities so they could be taken to Charles Academy like Harry Potter. It "worked" in that they got powers, but it was an eye-opening experience as the actual Academy was nothing like the books.

[robkelk]

However, it couldn't be Harry Potter--there's a Harrold Potter in Supertemps: head of Truly Amazing Metahero Investigations, Inc.

Call him Harry Tailor, then...
--
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