in the last half of the 20th century there were two top secret companies experimenting with fringe science. One was titled Aperture Science and the other Black Mesa. These two large companies were competing for a government contract to create a means of teleporting soldiers from one location to another. Aperture had made a break through with the invention of their portal gun but were determined to make it the best they could in the time they had so they initiated a testing facility in which they would take human clones and run them through a series of tests with the portal gun to make sure that the guns were at optimum performing efficiency.
Black Mesa however believed in the theory that there are unlimited parallel universes to our own and that if they were to make a conduit from one to another, in essence, the user could travel a great distance in our universe by traveling a small distance in the other, parallel universe (as i understand it). Through extensive testing they accidentally stumbled across a certain element that had a similar color to gold or brass but had a similar texture and crystaline structure to obsidian which allowed them to open small portals to a "waiting room" universe so to speak. This universe was then dubbed Xen (Pronounced zen).
Black Mesa hired on a new Theoretical Physicist who was a fresh MIT grad named Gordon Freeman who was then placed on the Hazardous Materials Unit and was trained in the fine art of pushing carts of the Crystaline test subjects into the generator which creates the portals to Xen. By the control of a higher being known only as the G-Man swaps one of the purest test subjects Black Mesa had found with a tainted sample. Thus influencing a resonance cascade allowing all of the residents of Xen to flood into our universe effectively infesting the entire Black Mesa facility. Gordon freeman being fitted in a Hazardous Environment Suit Mark IV is the only one in the vicinity of the test chamber to survive.
Escaping the test chamber it becomes his primary goal to reach the surface to call the outside world for help of any form. However the Government sensing that their top secret project is getting out of control, sent in a Hazardous Environment Combat Unit (or HECU) to clean up the mess. Shortly before gordon reaches the surface, the HECUs begin to swarm Black Mesa slaughtering anything that moved and wasn't wearing an HECUniform. Gordon manages to evade these people and on many cases outsmart them leading to massive casualties and loss of large equipment such as tanks, artillery turrets, and even helicopters. Gordon is then informed by scientists who had survived by hiding in the worst of elements that in order to send for help Gordon needs to launch a satellite into orbit.
After launching the satellite into orbit Gordon proceeds to make his way to a sector of the Black Mesa Facility called Lambda Core where he reactivated a largest testing chamber on the facility. With the assistance of Dr. Issac Kleiner, he is successfully sent into Xen at the risk of opening a second, even larger resonance cascade. In Xen, Gordon defeats the leader of the assaulting forces, Nilhilanth. Nilhilanth, unbeknownst to Gordon or anyone at Black Mesa, was created by a species known as the Combine (probably because they're notorious for gaining power by fusing their DNA with other superior species to make super races).
The Mysterious G-Man then plucks Gordon Freeman out from our universe into what seems to be a dimensional observation room and forces Gordon into working for the G-Man and his superiors. Gordon is put into cryo-stasis for an estimated twenty years after which he is pulled out again by the G-Man and told that his hour has once again come. This time he is placed in one of the last cities of the human race known only as City 17, located somewhere in the heart of the former USSR. The combine have invaded the human home world in full force and seized control of Earth in 7 days, then proceeded to create the human super soldiers which became a mirror image to the Stazi of the 1960's.
Gordon accidentally runs into Barney Calhoun, a befriended security guard from Black Mesa who guides him the Dr. Kleiner's lab. Dr. Kleiner is about to trade him off to another Scientist from Black Mesa, Dr. Eli Vance, when the newly inaugurated teleportation technology goes awry sending Gordon on yet another epic quest against the entire combine military. Eventually gordon makes it by foot to Dr. Vance's laboratory which was amusingly dubbed Black Mesa East and he is then forced to make his way to the Citadel, the control tower which looms high over City 17. There he destroyed the primary reactor to the Citadel causing a cascading series of explosions which destroy the top half of the Citadel.
The G-man attempts to pull Gordon back into stasis but is prevented by the now liberated Vortigaunt who were enslaved under Nilhilanth. The combine that are now in terror that one human could best their entire army are in full retreat mode and open a massive portal to retreat through above the remains of the citadel. With Dr. Vance's daughter, Alyx, Gordon plunges back into the Citadel's writhing remains and stabilizes the secondary energy core which would have wiped out the better part of City 17 but only to delay it's breeching for a short period of time. The dynamic trio (Gordon, Alyx, and Barney) rally as many citizens of City 17 as possible in the time permitted and gets them safely out of City 17. Gordon and Alyx board the last train out of the city and are derailed by the explosion of the Citadel.
After waking from the explosion Gordon finds himself in an unknown part of the USSR countryside. meeting up with Alyx, they discover that what used to be the Citadel and about 500 miles in every direction surrounding that, is nothing but a giant crater. Alyx, knowing of an emergency research facility run by a Dr. Magnusson leads Gordon through the forested areas which are littered with remnants of the Combine occupation forces and members of the human rebel faction (which receive their sense of direction from the liberated Vortigaunt). Once they reach Dr. Magnusson's laboratory, their objective is to launch a second satelite into space to communicate with the satellite that Gordon had originally launched into space thus creating a means of locking the combine out of earth for good.
After a long and dangerous battle, the satellite was successfully launched into orbit and communications were successful. The final piece to the puzzle was a ship located in the antarctic that was originally owned by Aperture Science called the Borealis. It's contents were rumored to be the long since lost portal technology which was shipped away from Aperture Science's testing facilities some time in the 70's. However right before Gordon and Alyx set off for the Borealis, Eli Vance dies at the influence of the G-Man causing Alyx to be strongly dissuaded from going on the hunt for the Borealis. The rest of this story is yet to be written and this blog will resurface when it does.
Have you played the Half-Life series? If so, what did you think of this post?
Next Up: Fallout
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Open Source book Project
Hey everyone, i wanted to take a moment to reach out to the budding author in all of you and let you know of a new project i have just recently started. I am spearheading a new open source venue that i don't believe has ever been done before (if it has, my searching Google did not yield it as a result). It is called the Open Source Book Project.
The open source book project is a project where a community of people get together to wrote short stories all located in a central universe (a series) for a time period of 6 months of 1 year depending on the series initiator. The users are free to create the own characters and use locations predefined by the initiator to write stories of any length up to 50 pages. Once the time period has expired, We will gather together all of the short stories, organize them by chronological order or occurrence in the series universe, spell check them, review them and publish them onto a webstore for free for the public to read. All of the authors names or aliases (depending on the author's comfort level) will be added to the book and it will be a prime opportunity to get your name and your writing craft out into the world without feeling intimidated.
If you are interested in participating in the OSBP, please check us out at our newly formed vBulletin website. We are welcoming any authors and will be happy to receive all of your ideas!
The open source book project is a project where a community of people get together to wrote short stories all located in a central universe (a series) for a time period of 6 months of 1 year depending on the series initiator. The users are free to create the own characters and use locations predefined by the initiator to write stories of any length up to 50 pages. Once the time period has expired, We will gather together all of the short stories, organize them by chronological order or occurrence in the series universe, spell check them, review them and publish them onto a webstore for free for the public to read. All of the authors names or aliases (depending on the author's comfort level) will be added to the book and it will be a prime opportunity to get your name and your writing craft out into the world without feeling intimidated.
If you are interested in participating in the OSBP, please check us out at our newly formed vBulletin website. We are welcoming any authors and will be happy to receive all of your ideas!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Lore Master: Battlestar Galactica Part 3
Kara Thrace, not wanting to jeopardize her crew, took a Raptor (the humans crew transport ship) to the coordinates where the Cylon defectors were lying. entirely crippled from what was meant to be a genocidal strike. Kara Thrace helped get the defector's flagship back to operational capacity just in time to rendezvous with Kara's crew and ship.
The Cylon flagship joined the ranks of the human fleet and together the launched an offensive on the hub of Cylon resurrection technology. Rescuing the recently unboxed DeAnne in the process and also taking out 2 Cylon flagships as well as severely damaging another. The DeAnne took refuge on the Cylon flagship demanding that the 4 surviving Final 5 members be released to her custody so that she can find the path to earth for the Cylons.
After a long and grueling stalemate, it was agreed that the Final Five can choose to come and go as they please and stay anywhere they wish. It wasn't until a civilian coup on the Galactica brought on by the unrest of allying with the cylon defectors that the shape of the ending begins to form. One of the final five, Samuel T. Anders, was shot in the back of the neck, severing his spinal cord and causing his mind to become hyperactive. The fifth of the final five arrived having been resurrected shortly before the resurrection hub was destroyed, rallied the final five together and returned their memories of the previous lives with a long case of story time.
With the Galactica on it's last dying breath from all of the abuse it had received in the 4 year journey, the Colonial fleet finally made it to earth to find a nuclear wasteland from 3000 years before. Disheartened the suicide rate in the colonial fleet spiked and the necessity of finding a new, non-radioactive home was paramount. By the time they had found a new location, an 8 that had come back with the fifth of the final five had stolen a child that would later play a critical role. So the Galactica jumped to where she was being held, a secret Cylon colony which was trapped in the Event horizon of a singularity, took her back and destroyed the colony with a nuclear barrage.
Returning to the fleet with the child in tow, they began colonization of this new planet with no known name at that point in time. It was resolved by Admiral Adama and Laura Rosalin (in her last dying breaths) that the planet would be called Earth since their journey was to settle on Earth. It was deemed necessary that in order to break the cycle of violence that had repeated itself twice now, everyone would have to start from scratch, no technology, no equipment, just start over completely. With that, Samuel T. Anders, being hooked up to all the primary systems of the Galactica and the remaining ships of the fleet (including the defector's flagship) flew the empty fleet into the sun of the solar system.
The little girl they fought so hard to save was the Eve of human civilization on what is now known as earth, and 148 thousand years later, the still hasn't repeated.
Have you seen Battlestar Galactica? What did you think of this post?
Leave your opinions and criticisms in the comments section below.
Next Up: Half Life
The Cylon flagship joined the ranks of the human fleet and together the launched an offensive on the hub of Cylon resurrection technology. Rescuing the recently unboxed DeAnne in the process and also taking out 2 Cylon flagships as well as severely damaging another. The DeAnne took refuge on the Cylon flagship demanding that the 4 surviving Final 5 members be released to her custody so that she can find the path to earth for the Cylons.
After a long and grueling stalemate, it was agreed that the Final Five can choose to come and go as they please and stay anywhere they wish. It wasn't until a civilian coup on the Galactica brought on by the unrest of allying with the cylon defectors that the shape of the ending begins to form. One of the final five, Samuel T. Anders, was shot in the back of the neck, severing his spinal cord and causing his mind to become hyperactive. The fifth of the final five arrived having been resurrected shortly before the resurrection hub was destroyed, rallied the final five together and returned their memories of the previous lives with a long case of story time.
With the Galactica on it's last dying breath from all of the abuse it had received in the 4 year journey, the Colonial fleet finally made it to earth to find a nuclear wasteland from 3000 years before. Disheartened the suicide rate in the colonial fleet spiked and the necessity of finding a new, non-radioactive home was paramount. By the time they had found a new location, an 8 that had come back with the fifth of the final five had stolen a child that would later play a critical role. So the Galactica jumped to where she was being held, a secret Cylon colony which was trapped in the Event horizon of a singularity, took her back and destroyed the colony with a nuclear barrage.
Returning to the fleet with the child in tow, they began colonization of this new planet with no known name at that point in time. It was resolved by Admiral Adama and Laura Rosalin (in her last dying breaths) that the planet would be called Earth since their journey was to settle on Earth. It was deemed necessary that in order to break the cycle of violence that had repeated itself twice now, everyone would have to start from scratch, no technology, no equipment, just start over completely. With that, Samuel T. Anders, being hooked up to all the primary systems of the Galactica and the remaining ships of the fleet (including the defector's flagship) flew the empty fleet into the sun of the solar system.
The little girl they fought so hard to save was the Eve of human civilization on what is now known as earth, and 148 thousand years later, the still hasn't repeated.
Have you seen Battlestar Galactica? What did you think of this post?
Leave your opinions and criticisms in the comments section below.
Next Up: Half Life
Lore Master: Battlestar Galactica Part 2
The cylons planned and then encroached on the 12 colonies infiltrating them from within to shut down their defense grids, their capital ships and their air superiority. They destroyed everything they could find and then nuked it all from orbit. Their goal was to exterminate the humans from the universe for their destructive tendencies. However to their dismay, two of the colonial Battlestars (ships of the line) managed to escape the assault on the colonies. The Battlestar Galactica and the Battlestar Pegasus.
The Battlestar Galactica escaped the extermination along with approximately 70 other ships leaving for a total of 50,000 human survivors. Realizing that the way against the cylons had been lost long before it even started, Commander Adama, the commanding officer of the Battlestar Galactica changed his focus from hunting down the cylons in a futile chase to protecting what was left of the human race, the 70 ships in his fleet. A woman with terminal breast cancer named Laura Rosalin (the former Secretary of Education) was deemed the new president of the 12 colonies. Through an experimental treatment for her cancer, she led the civilian fleet back to Kobol where they found a star map leading them to earth.
The Battlestar Pegasus also escaped. Being the last battlestar to escape the supply yards orbiting one of the 12 colonies, it also ran into a civilian fleet not unlike the one that the Galactica ran into. The Commanding officer of the Pegasus, Admiral Kane, decided to commandeer any useful personnel and supplies from the civilian ships and throw the rest to the dogs for the crusade to glory against the Cylons. After a year and a half of cat and mouse games the Pegasus accidentally stumbled upon the Galactica. However the two mindsets that the two warships had adopted in the year and a half of running for their life was polar opposite.
This disagreement stemmed from the most fundamental definition of what it meant to be human now with 50,000 survivors left in the galaxy. Gaius Baltar, the main responsible for the Cylons breaking through the colonial defenses released an imprisoned model six cylon on the Pegasus and armed it. Soon after it's release, it Murdered Admiral Kane and was taken into hiding by Gaius. Following those events, Pegasus had two temporary replacements, Commander Adama was promoted to Admiral, and his son, Lee "Apollo" Adama, was promoted to Commander of the Pegasus.
Another half a year passed by and finally the humans found a new home to rest their heads. A barely habitable planet they dubbed New Caprica in commemoration of the crown jewel of the 12 colonies that was subsequently the first colony to be hit when the cylon nukes fell. There was a large amount of disagreement over whether or not the fleet should colonize New Caprica which was only resolved after Gaius Baltar was elected president during the bi-yearly elections. However, the day before the fleet was ordered to settle onto New Caprica by the new President Gaius Baltar, the six he had released from custody on the pegasus detonated a nuke which he had supplied her with for sex which acted as a beacon for the Cylons who had long since lost the scent of the Galactica.
The civilians spend a year and a half in a Stalag-like internment camp under the Cylon control. The Galactica and the Pegasus has jumped out when they saw five Cylon flagships jump in (flying skeleton crews and knowing it was a suicide mission to even attack now). However after a year and a half, Admiral Adama and Commander Adama formulated a plan to rescue the colonists on New Caprica. The mission ended in the loss of the Pegasus after abandon ship of all hands was issued and the Humans continued to survive in thinned numbers.
Back on the road, supplies were beginning to wear thin, primarily, food. Several weeks were spent trying to find a planet with any form of edible vegetation which eventually came in the form of a planet which was rich in algae. During the collection operations for the Algae, the Deck Chief for the Galactica stumbled up a temple called the Temple of the Five. This caused another encounter with the Cylons as a specific cylon model 3 who called herself DeAnne, needed to know who the final five (or the five survivors of Earth) were. After her Discovery of the faces of the final five, the system's star went nova forcing all parties to vacate the system. DeAnne died by a brain aneurysm and when she resurected, the cylon model Ones put her entire clone line into mothballs.
The Deck Chief, however, picked up on some clues he remembered from the days when his father, a pastor, used to tell him about the chamber of the five, and pointed out a nebula which the next clue to earth was supposed to be. A nebula. Along the way, Kara Thrace, a hot-shot degenerate viper pilot, saw a vision of earth which caused her to dive straight into the eye of a gas storm on a gas giant, causing her viper to explode.
Arriving at the nebula 2 months later, however, they were greeted by two Cylon Flagships and Kara Thrace. This was to everyone's dismay. No one could explain how she had arisen from the dead or how she managed to find them after 2 months worth of jumps. It was at this moment that the 4 of the Final five (the fifth being dead) began hearing a song that allowed them to realize that they were the final five. But all the other pieces to their puzzle were still missing at this point.
The Cylon Fighters, now realizing that the final five were among the human fleet refused to engage them any longer and as such the nebula was finished. Kara Thrace, however was their roadmark to earth. This fact was contested by everyone in the fleet being long set in their ways of "trust no one that just spontaneously appears." Admiral Adama, not wanting to discount any means of finding earth again, gave Kara Thrace a ship and a skeleton crew to go search for Earth on their own. It wasn't until the final hour before they were bingo fuel, that a Cylon heavy raider (their transport ships) showed up with shocking news. A Cylon civil war had broken loose.
The Battlestar Galactica escaped the extermination along with approximately 70 other ships leaving for a total of 50,000 human survivors. Realizing that the way against the cylons had been lost long before it even started, Commander Adama, the commanding officer of the Battlestar Galactica changed his focus from hunting down the cylons in a futile chase to protecting what was left of the human race, the 70 ships in his fleet. A woman with terminal breast cancer named Laura Rosalin (the former Secretary of Education) was deemed the new president of the 12 colonies. Through an experimental treatment for her cancer, she led the civilian fleet back to Kobol where they found a star map leading them to earth.
The Battlestar Pegasus also escaped. Being the last battlestar to escape the supply yards orbiting one of the 12 colonies, it also ran into a civilian fleet not unlike the one that the Galactica ran into. The Commanding officer of the Pegasus, Admiral Kane, decided to commandeer any useful personnel and supplies from the civilian ships and throw the rest to the dogs for the crusade to glory against the Cylons. After a year and a half of cat and mouse games the Pegasus accidentally stumbled upon the Galactica. However the two mindsets that the two warships had adopted in the year and a half of running for their life was polar opposite.
This disagreement stemmed from the most fundamental definition of what it meant to be human now with 50,000 survivors left in the galaxy. Gaius Baltar, the main responsible for the Cylons breaking through the colonial defenses released an imprisoned model six cylon on the Pegasus and armed it. Soon after it's release, it Murdered Admiral Kane and was taken into hiding by Gaius. Following those events, Pegasus had two temporary replacements, Commander Adama was promoted to Admiral, and his son, Lee "Apollo" Adama, was promoted to Commander of the Pegasus.
Another half a year passed by and finally the humans found a new home to rest their heads. A barely habitable planet they dubbed New Caprica in commemoration of the crown jewel of the 12 colonies that was subsequently the first colony to be hit when the cylon nukes fell. There was a large amount of disagreement over whether or not the fleet should colonize New Caprica which was only resolved after Gaius Baltar was elected president during the bi-yearly elections. However, the day before the fleet was ordered to settle onto New Caprica by the new President Gaius Baltar, the six he had released from custody on the pegasus detonated a nuke which he had supplied her with for sex which acted as a beacon for the Cylons who had long since lost the scent of the Galactica.
The civilians spend a year and a half in a Stalag-like internment camp under the Cylon control. The Galactica and the Pegasus has jumped out when they saw five Cylon flagships jump in (flying skeleton crews and knowing it was a suicide mission to even attack now). However after a year and a half, Admiral Adama and Commander Adama formulated a plan to rescue the colonists on New Caprica. The mission ended in the loss of the Pegasus after abandon ship of all hands was issued and the Humans continued to survive in thinned numbers.
Back on the road, supplies were beginning to wear thin, primarily, food. Several weeks were spent trying to find a planet with any form of edible vegetation which eventually came in the form of a planet which was rich in algae. During the collection operations for the Algae, the Deck Chief for the Galactica stumbled up a temple called the Temple of the Five. This caused another encounter with the Cylons as a specific cylon model 3 who called herself DeAnne, needed to know who the final five (or the five survivors of Earth) were. After her Discovery of the faces of the final five, the system's star went nova forcing all parties to vacate the system. DeAnne died by a brain aneurysm and when she resurected, the cylon model Ones put her entire clone line into mothballs.
The Deck Chief, however, picked up on some clues he remembered from the days when his father, a pastor, used to tell him about the chamber of the five, and pointed out a nebula which the next clue to earth was supposed to be. A nebula. Along the way, Kara Thrace, a hot-shot degenerate viper pilot, saw a vision of earth which caused her to dive straight into the eye of a gas storm on a gas giant, causing her viper to explode.
Arriving at the nebula 2 months later, however, they were greeted by two Cylon Flagships and Kara Thrace. This was to everyone's dismay. No one could explain how she had arisen from the dead or how she managed to find them after 2 months worth of jumps. It was at this moment that the 4 of the Final five (the fifth being dead) began hearing a song that allowed them to realize that they were the final five. But all the other pieces to their puzzle were still missing at this point.
The Cylon Fighters, now realizing that the final five were among the human fleet refused to engage them any longer and as such the nebula was finished. Kara Thrace, however was their roadmark to earth. This fact was contested by everyone in the fleet being long set in their ways of "trust no one that just spontaneously appears." Admiral Adama, not wanting to discount any means of finding earth again, gave Kara Thrace a ship and a skeleton crew to go search for Earth on their own. It wasn't until the final hour before they were bingo fuel, that a Cylon heavy raider (their transport ships) showed up with shocking news. A Cylon civil war had broken loose.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Lore Master: Battlestar Galactica Part 1
!!! WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS TO THE 2004 SCI-FI RE-IMAGED TELEVISION SERIES BATTLESTAR GALACTICA!!!
!!!PLEASE NOT THIS POST IS NOT FINISHED. PART 2 IS TO COME!!!
Approximately 154 million earth years ago, there was a colony of humans located on a planet called Kobol. This human society was a Utopian society that was on the brink of a massive technological advancement. They discovered Robotic AI and were able to produce a society of programmed and manufactured servants to heed their every beckon and call. These robots termed the Cylons slowly began to evolve as their AI learned and wrote new lines of code within it's on infrastructure and one day gained Consciousness and rebelled seeing that they were nothing but slaves and wanted their individual freedom. The Humans ended all quarrels with the Cylons by departing from the planet and then nuking it from orbit, thus demolishing all life on the surface.
!!!PLEASE NOT THIS POST IS NOT FINISHED. PART 2 IS TO COME!!!
Approximately 154 million earth years ago, there was a colony of humans located on a planet called Kobol. This human society was a Utopian society that was on the brink of a massive technological advancement. They discovered Robotic AI and were able to produce a society of programmed and manufactured servants to heed their every beckon and call. These robots termed the Cylons slowly began to evolve as their AI learned and wrote new lines of code within it's on infrastructure and one day gained Consciousness and rebelled seeing that they were nothing but slaves and wanted their individual freedom. The Humans ended all quarrels with the Cylons by departing from the planet and then nuking it from orbit, thus demolishing all life on the surface.
The human colonists then relocated to a planet on the other side of the galaxy in one of the arms called Earth. This is not the earth that we know and love today and that will come later. The humans carried all of their technology with them to this new colony and picked up right where they had left off. As such, they attempted to create a new version of the Cylons that would correct the issues that had occured with the previous models on Kobol.
3000 years of peace ensued until one day the Cylons yet again rebelled against their creators. Only this time they were the ones to initiate Nuclear warfare. The majority of the human population was caught off guard with the exception of 5 of Earth's top scientific minds who had secretly developed cloning technology which would allow them to transfer their memories, feelings and experiences into an identical body after the nuclear holocaust. Unfortunately, the nuclear strike turned out to be a double edged sword annihilating all forms of life, Human AND Cylon from the face of the planet.
The final five survivors set their course for a mythical grouping of 12 colonies of humans on a distant shore of the galaxy once again Traveling at sub-light speeds it took them roughly 2960 years to reach the 12 colonies with the intent of warning them to not create cylons in any way they could. But when they arrived they discovered their their 12 sister colonies were already at war with their own cylon creations. The five survivors of Earth, realizing it was too late to stop the cycle from happening a third time, decided to speak with the Cylon Centurions.
In exchange for the survivors resurrection technology as well as the development of 8 human models that were compatible with that technology, the 12 colonies' Cylons ended the war and mysteriously vanished for 40 years. Within that 40 years, all 8 of the Human-Cylon models were constructed. one model to represent a core type of human. The first model was made to represent corruption, the second was made to represent the religious Fanatics, the third curiosity, the fourth was medical expertise, the fifth was anger, the sixth was passion, the 7th was art of all forms and the 8th was insecurity.
The human cylon models that were created lived in coexistence for a very long time until one day, the one's decided that he was displeased with how human-like the 7's were acting. the 1's swiftly shutdown the entire line of 7's so they became nonexistent. Then decided he did not like his creators. Killing their current host bodies and shutting down their lines, they were now out of the way. At this point the 1's took control of the entire cylon force and spouted religious nonsense that he believed everyone and directed the Cylon race back at the humans on the 12 colonies saying that the creators were flawed and needed to be killed.
The human cylon models that were created lived in coexistence for a very long time until one day, the one's decided that he was displeased with how human-like the 7's were acting. the 1's swiftly shutdown the entire line of 7's so they became nonexistent. Then decided he did not like his creators. Killing their current host bodies and shutting down their lines, they were now out of the way. At this point the 1's took control of the entire cylon force and spouted religious nonsense that he believed everyone and directed the Cylon race back at the humans on the 12 colonies saying that the creators were flawed and needed to be killed.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Lore Master: Deus Ex
!!!WARNING!!! This article contains spoilers to the video game series "Deus Ex"
In the not-so-distant future the technology of the world will go sprinting past us faster then we will ever dream of being able to keep up with it today. Corporations will rise from the ground seemingly overnight and their regime will be that you work for them to make a living or you don't live at all.
Our story starts off with a certain evil individual named Bob Page. A shadow of a man, he is the head of a top secret underground syndicate dedicated on putting their own agenda through the cracks of society in an attempt to mold the society that they want.
Cybernetic implants had been out for several years now first being invented by an individual named Hugh Darrow in a case of necessity is the father of invention. Since then, several corporations scattered throughout the world picked up the technology and pushed it to it's limits in almost every field, medicine, athletics, fashion and (as none of them will openly admit to the press) military.
Bob Page being part of an underground operation with an agenda to control the world governments through use of the newly invented cybernetics technology recruited a lone scientist named Meghan Reed into her regime. Meghan Reed worked for the largest American cybernetics firm called Sarif Industries, in an extensive study to try to resolve rejection symptoms with cybernetic augmentations, an issue which had quickly began to plague the world.
Bob Page located "the perfect specimen". A human being who's DNA would naturally be perfectly compatible with cybernetic implants. Making rejection sickness a thing of the past. Meghan Reed was tasked with getting close to this specimen via any means possible. The specimen's name was Adam Jensen.
Meghan became deep lovers with Adam, they had their turmoils, arguments and an eventual divorce. They still managed to stay friends though (whether for genuine feelings or because Meghan Reed still had work to do is unknown) and Meghan eventually got Adam a security job at Sarif Industries.
This set the stage for Act 1. On the day preceding the release of Sarif Industries newest discovery, how to remove rejection sickness from the face of the earth, Bob Page moved. Running commands down the line to convolute the tracks leading directly to him, he ordered a siege on Sarif Industries. The mercenaries hired to do the job slaughtered hundred of employees, kidnapped Meghan, and nearly killed Adam Jensen. Adam was fitted with the latest cybernetic augmentations and proceeded to hunt down Meghan until he finally found her in a structure built by Hugh Darrow called Panchea designed to seize control of every cybernetically enhanced human on the planet and drive them insane to the point of homocidal.
Meghan escaped Panchea with the help of Adam, still unaware of her alliances, and destroyed panchea. Leaving the world to figure out for themselves whether or not Cybernetic enhancement was good for the human race or not. Through the turbulence of these events two new organizations was formed, the National Secessionist Forces(NSF). A coalition fanatically against bio-augmentation, who in an effort to make a statement decapitated the statue of liberty, and the United Nations Anti-Terrorism Coalition (UNATCO), an anti-terrorist group designed to combat the NSF and other smaller terrorist syndicates.
UNATCO was lead by previous FBI agent Joseph Manderley, who was secretly in the pocket of Bob Page. Several years after the event's of Adam, society had recovered from the devastation that Hugh Darrow unleashed on the world and the technology for bio-enhancement has advanced to where cybernetic augmentations are nonexistent. All bio-enhancements are now granted to a user by means of microscopic robots. The only telltale sign that users are augmented are sharp blue veins that never disappear.
One fateful day, a UNATCO agent named Paul Denton manged to get his little brother, JC Denton, a spot on the force. After a raid on the NSF in Grand Central Park, Paul uncovers evidence linking Joseph Manderley to a Bob Page's regime. Upon approaching his brother about this, JC Denton taken through a rabbit hole and eventually uncovers Bob Page's organization and kills Bob Page. This is however not before is it revealed the JC and Paul are clones bred to be the perfect cyber soldiers (using Adam's DNA to breed the no doubt). Bob Page, before he was killed was able to release one final, supposedly perfect clone from the Adam Jensen DNA string named Walter Simons. JC Denton destroys Walter Simons, and retreats within the catacombs of Area 51 and placed into frozen storage for several years. When awoken by Alex Denton, a clone, several generations later from Walter Simons, JC Denton continues on his quest to stop the cycle of violence by killing Alex. Unfortunately he fails in this endeavor and the cycle carries on.
What did you think of this episode?
Have you played the Deus Ex series? If so, how accurate do you believe this post was?
Next Episode: Battlestar Galactica
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Lore Master: The History of EVE Online
In the beginning, in a magical land called Earth, the human race had finally discovered space travel. The year was 1961 and the vessel was the Freedom 7. This successful space flight sparked the larger-scale curiosity of "what else is out there?" flash forward about a hundred years and mankind discovers the profitability and efficiency of interstellar mining. Bringing into the world a wide variety of much needed minerals and even some foreign ones. It was not long after this discovery that the humans were able to develop a means of opening micro-wormholes for their ships to go through. This allowed them to travel much larger distances in much shorter times. By this time the human race was already scattered across the entire galaxy like pollen in the wind.
Large corporations began selling out the uninhabited planets for money and life became a living hell for everyone. Galaxy-wide poverty, Sometimes stuck on foul planets with Foul atmospheres causing deadly side effects and the only people well to do where sitting at the top of the corporate ladders.
Then, one fateful day, We came across a naturally occuring wormhole. A phenomenon that had long since been proven to exist but never actually seen before. People were curious as to where the other end of the worm hole would be. So like any logical society, we sent probes to scout out whatever was on the other side, come back and report. When they came back it was announced that there was an entirely new galaxy, unexplored and unpolluted by corporate greed. The wormhole was then duely titled EVE. as it represented a beacon of hope, a fresh slate for the people of the milky way.
Colonization of the new galaxy began almost immediately. Civilian, military, and corporate fleets all gathered together and crossed into the new galaxy that had been dubbed Tranquility. A short bit of time passed and then something terrible and unexpected happened: EVE closed. Leaving all of the settlers alone with hardly any resources, no advanced technologies and no where to retreat to. All of the colonists began to settle on planets that they could find that were ideal for life. In the beginning there were dozens of smaller colonies scattered through out the galaxy just like there were in the milky way. However there were 3 large colonies that would shape the galaxy in the time to come. The Amarr, The Gallente, and The Jovians.
The Amarr, a colony of religious fanatics, strongly believed that they were gods chosen children and that it was their divine right to conquer the entire galaxy and claim it in their name. They were a strict heirarchy, always led by an emperor or empress who was fitted with old and archaic implants to extend their life out to approximately 600 years.
The Gallente was the polar opposite of the Amarr. A democratic society that strongly believed in personal freedoms and individual rights. This disagreement would cause conflicts later down the line which reshape the galaxy.
The Jovians were an isolated peoples. Who believed that the only important thing in the galaxy was information. As such they strove to be the most technologically advanced all the time and devised ways of bringing ears into the core of all other governments. The Jovians themselves, being on the forefront of technology, always leaped at a chance to mutilate their bodies. Of all the human colonies, the Jovians are the least human, in biological structure and in appearance. Their technology is often sold to other colonies since it far surpasses that of anything else ever created.
The first note worthy article after the close of EVE was the rediscovery of Warp. Amarrians were the first of all the colonies to rediscover warp technology and as such it fueled their religious fanaticism and they began to conquer the galaxy. Inside out, they assimilated smaller colonies, turning them into salves and justifying with religion. By the time the Amarrians were ready to fight the Gallente, the Gallente had amassed a noteworthy fleet of warships and the two races had at it in conflict. Both of the colonies were equally matched in strength and for every powerful laser volley that the Amarrians unleashed the Gallentians unleashed just as many rounds from their rail guns and gauss cannons.
After several grueling months of stalemate, the Amarrians decided to withdraw seeing no reasonable way to penetrate the Gallente borders. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the Gallentians were out for blood. The Amarr decided next that god willed them to show their all powerful might against the Jovians. So they assembled a fleet of their 200 most middle-grade ships (oh the ego) and sent them warping straight into Jovian space. However, since the Jovians were so interested in information more than anything else, their spies in the Amarrian government tipped them off on the attack; telling them vital information such as where, when and how many. So as the Amarrians entered the first system and prepared to conquer the first planet, a Jovian fleet of noticeably smaller size jumped in and turned 90% of the Amarrian fleet to rubble. The rest, that did not face their demise that day, fled for their lifes and were turned into slaves along with their families.
The Amarr, having been insulted decided to rally a fleet twice as big and warp it in. That fleet also met the same end as the first. Behind the scenes of these two battles, the Gallentians were secretly arming small factions of slaves within the Amarrian government. Encouraging them to Coup and gain their freedom after the last Jovian Assault. One of the most notable slave factions were the Minmatar.
The Minmatar were one of the first colonies to be assimilated by the Amarrians having no first line defense against the Amarrian navy. By their free nature, they had a very tribal society with very low-grade technology. They were also the largest group of slaves to the Amarrian empire. Once the Amarrians had run away from the Jovians with their tails between their legs a second time, they were left weak and underpowered. At that moment the Minmatar rose up and fought their way to freedom. With the help of the Gallente and the significantly bruised muscles and ego of the Amarrian fleet, The Minmatar managed to get across the galaxy and settled down at the polar opposite side of the galaxy from the Amarr. Not all the Minmatar were freed though, about 2/3rds of the Minmatar slaves under Amarrian rule are still that way to day.
This power play that the Gallente made towards the Amarrians had serious backlash within their own government. As the Gallente Federation was not unlike the Amarrian Oligarchy in that it was many colonies under 1 name (except the Gallente colonies were actually WILLING to be under the Gallente name) there was a lot of diversity in the people and colonies that united under the flag of Personal Freedoms. However, there was one colony that was merely putting up with the personal freedom concept and when the Gallente Federation made the move to arm the Minmatar slaves, they could not take being united with the Gallente any longer. This group called themselves the Caldari. The Caldari started an insurection within the Gallente Federation and seceded from the federation. Placing themselves on the polar opposite side of the galaxy as the Gallentians.
The Caldari formed a more favorable government system which is run and rulled by big corporations. The government itself was run like a corporation and it's board of directors were smaller corporations and controlling them several smaller corporations and the whole matryoshka doll of a government continued further and further down the rabbit hole. Everyone in the Caldari Colony is placed into a corporation and if they aspire to be great and are given the tools, they can live well but rejectors of the system usually live (for a short time) and die in poverty for the rest of their lives.
Flashing forward 400 years, Tranquility is now at peace and has been for a while, however that does not mean that the colonies are not plotting each others destruction. Since the early times, everyone has rediscovered warp technology as well as cloning and memory transfer. There is a new, special breed of pilots who roam the land and are born by the flocks to the different colonies called Capsuleers. Contained in a amniotic sac inside a pod no more than 2 meters tall, they're cybernetically enhanced to control almost every function of a ship with nothing but their thoughts. This is EVE.
Large corporations began selling out the uninhabited planets for money and life became a living hell for everyone. Galaxy-wide poverty, Sometimes stuck on foul planets with Foul atmospheres causing deadly side effects and the only people well to do where sitting at the top of the corporate ladders.
Then, one fateful day, We came across a naturally occuring wormhole. A phenomenon that had long since been proven to exist but never actually seen before. People were curious as to where the other end of the worm hole would be. So like any logical society, we sent probes to scout out whatever was on the other side, come back and report. When they came back it was announced that there was an entirely new galaxy, unexplored and unpolluted by corporate greed. The wormhole was then duely titled EVE. as it represented a beacon of hope, a fresh slate for the people of the milky way.
Colonization of the new galaxy began almost immediately. Civilian, military, and corporate fleets all gathered together and crossed into the new galaxy that had been dubbed Tranquility. A short bit of time passed and then something terrible and unexpected happened: EVE closed. Leaving all of the settlers alone with hardly any resources, no advanced technologies and no where to retreat to. All of the colonists began to settle on planets that they could find that were ideal for life. In the beginning there were dozens of smaller colonies scattered through out the galaxy just like there were in the milky way. However there were 3 large colonies that would shape the galaxy in the time to come. The Amarr, The Gallente, and The Jovians.
The Amarr, a colony of religious fanatics, strongly believed that they were gods chosen children and that it was their divine right to conquer the entire galaxy and claim it in their name. They were a strict heirarchy, always led by an emperor or empress who was fitted with old and archaic implants to extend their life out to approximately 600 years.
The Gallente was the polar opposite of the Amarr. A democratic society that strongly believed in personal freedoms and individual rights. This disagreement would cause conflicts later down the line which reshape the galaxy.
The Jovians were an isolated peoples. Who believed that the only important thing in the galaxy was information. As such they strove to be the most technologically advanced all the time and devised ways of bringing ears into the core of all other governments. The Jovians themselves, being on the forefront of technology, always leaped at a chance to mutilate their bodies. Of all the human colonies, the Jovians are the least human, in biological structure and in appearance. Their technology is often sold to other colonies since it far surpasses that of anything else ever created.
The first note worthy article after the close of EVE was the rediscovery of Warp. Amarrians were the first of all the colonies to rediscover warp technology and as such it fueled their religious fanaticism and they began to conquer the galaxy. Inside out, they assimilated smaller colonies, turning them into salves and justifying with religion. By the time the Amarrians were ready to fight the Gallente, the Gallente had amassed a noteworthy fleet of warships and the two races had at it in conflict. Both of the colonies were equally matched in strength and for every powerful laser volley that the Amarrians unleashed the Gallentians unleashed just as many rounds from their rail guns and gauss cannons.
After several grueling months of stalemate, the Amarrians decided to withdraw seeing no reasonable way to penetrate the Gallente borders. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the Gallentians were out for blood. The Amarr decided next that god willed them to show their all powerful might against the Jovians. So they assembled a fleet of their 200 most middle-grade ships (oh the ego) and sent them warping straight into Jovian space. However, since the Jovians were so interested in information more than anything else, their spies in the Amarrian government tipped them off on the attack; telling them vital information such as where, when and how many. So as the Amarrians entered the first system and prepared to conquer the first planet, a Jovian fleet of noticeably smaller size jumped in and turned 90% of the Amarrian fleet to rubble. The rest, that did not face their demise that day, fled for their lifes and were turned into slaves along with their families.
The Amarr, having been insulted decided to rally a fleet twice as big and warp it in. That fleet also met the same end as the first. Behind the scenes of these two battles, the Gallentians were secretly arming small factions of slaves within the Amarrian government. Encouraging them to Coup and gain their freedom after the last Jovian Assault. One of the most notable slave factions were the Minmatar.
The Minmatar were one of the first colonies to be assimilated by the Amarrians having no first line defense against the Amarrian navy. By their free nature, they had a very tribal society with very low-grade technology. They were also the largest group of slaves to the Amarrian empire. Once the Amarrians had run away from the Jovians with their tails between their legs a second time, they were left weak and underpowered. At that moment the Minmatar rose up and fought their way to freedom. With the help of the Gallente and the significantly bruised muscles and ego of the Amarrian fleet, The Minmatar managed to get across the galaxy and settled down at the polar opposite side of the galaxy from the Amarr. Not all the Minmatar were freed though, about 2/3rds of the Minmatar slaves under Amarrian rule are still that way to day.
This power play that the Gallente made towards the Amarrians had serious backlash within their own government. As the Gallente Federation was not unlike the Amarrian Oligarchy in that it was many colonies under 1 name (except the Gallente colonies were actually WILLING to be under the Gallente name) there was a lot of diversity in the people and colonies that united under the flag of Personal Freedoms. However, there was one colony that was merely putting up with the personal freedom concept and when the Gallente Federation made the move to arm the Minmatar slaves, they could not take being united with the Gallente any longer. This group called themselves the Caldari. The Caldari started an insurection within the Gallente Federation and seceded from the federation. Placing themselves on the polar opposite side of the galaxy as the Gallentians.
The Caldari formed a more favorable government system which is run and rulled by big corporations. The government itself was run like a corporation and it's board of directors were smaller corporations and controlling them several smaller corporations and the whole matryoshka doll of a government continued further and further down the rabbit hole. Everyone in the Caldari Colony is placed into a corporation and if they aspire to be great and are given the tools, they can live well but rejectors of the system usually live (for a short time) and die in poverty for the rest of their lives.
Flashing forward 400 years, Tranquility is now at peace and has been for a while, however that does not mean that the colonies are not plotting each others destruction. Since the early times, everyone has rediscovered warp technology as well as cloning and memory transfer. There is a new, special breed of pilots who roam the land and are born by the flocks to the different colonies called Capsuleers. Contained in a amniotic sac inside a pod no more than 2 meters tall, they're cybernetically enhanced to control almost every function of a ship with nothing but their thoughts. This is EVE.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
EVE Online: Prelude
So with the school semester now over for me and Summer starting up quickly, my mind has already transitioned from the classroom back to the video games that i love and enjoy. I've been meaning to get Diablo 3, and i actually had a preorder for it, but financially i was in a terrible spot this week so i ended up having to pull the reservation and put the 65 bucks towards other constructive things like food and gas. However when i found out that i could play my lost passion, EVE Online, without actually paying for it by buying game time with ingame cash i was more than elated. So now i have an EVE Online subscription and i'm delving deep into the lore. As such, my next blog (coming out the day after tomorrow) will talk all about the lore of eve as i understand it so far.
Have any of you ever played or are currently playing EVE Online? What do you make of it? Have you ever broken through the mountain of a difficulty curve?
Have any of you ever played or are currently playing EVE Online? What do you make of it? Have you ever broken through the mountain of a difficulty curve?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Test Taking
With finals approaching rapidly for all of my college faring subscribers, i figured i'd take this moment to do a little bit of a survey. See where everyone stands in terms of your test taking strategies and how you get by when it comes to tests.
I myself have always been a bit of an enigma when it comes to test taking. Everyone around me is always stressing out about the content of the test, whether or not they will remember all of the information, yadda, yadda, yadda. I always found this to be counter productive when i'm taking tests.
Ever since as far back as i could remember i never studied for tests, i mean sure, if i did i might have scored better here and there but overall i've never once studied for a test and it doesn't show. Usually i can fail at homework, fail at taking notes, but for some reason, once i'm told something, i usually retain it within a certain degree of accuracy and i never have to retouch on it in order to recall it to memory. I don't have a eidetic memory but, like i said, i can remember just about anything within a very high degree of accuracy. I'm not always 100% accurate and i can rarely recite exact verbage, but i can paraphrase it to what my mind remembers.
This comes in handy with test taking because all i need to do is sit back and relax. Most importantly, i don't stress, i show up for class, i take the test and thats it. there's no study there's no late night cramming, there's no stress 10 minutes before the test and there's no blanking out half-way through the test. My freshman math teacher in high school used to always get angry at me because it looked like i never paid any attention to him in class but whenever he called on me i would recite the last 2 minutes of his dialogue word for word or pretty damn close to it.
So when it comes to actual test taking, i walk in cool as a cucumber. Take the test and if i don't remember how to pull the answer to a certain question, i just use question logic to deduce what it should or shouldn't be and then carry on my way. for instance, if you don't know there are usually 3 things i look for or try to do:
I myself have always been a bit of an enigma when it comes to test taking. Everyone around me is always stressing out about the content of the test, whether or not they will remember all of the information, yadda, yadda, yadda. I always found this to be counter productive when i'm taking tests.
Ever since as far back as i could remember i never studied for tests, i mean sure, if i did i might have scored better here and there but overall i've never once studied for a test and it doesn't show. Usually i can fail at homework, fail at taking notes, but for some reason, once i'm told something, i usually retain it within a certain degree of accuracy and i never have to retouch on it in order to recall it to memory. I don't have a eidetic memory but, like i said, i can remember just about anything within a very high degree of accuracy. I'm not always 100% accurate and i can rarely recite exact verbage, but i can paraphrase it to what my mind remembers.
This comes in handy with test taking because all i need to do is sit back and relax. Most importantly, i don't stress, i show up for class, i take the test and thats it. there's no study there's no late night cramming, there's no stress 10 minutes before the test and there's no blanking out half-way through the test. My freshman math teacher in high school used to always get angry at me because it looked like i never paid any attention to him in class but whenever he called on me i would recite the last 2 minutes of his dialogue word for word or pretty damn close to it.
So when it comes to actual test taking, i walk in cool as a cucumber. Take the test and if i don't remember how to pull the answer to a certain question, i just use question logic to deduce what it should or shouldn't be and then carry on my way. for instance, if you don't know there are usually 3 things i look for or try to do:
- Process of Elimination - probably the most self explanatory one, if you remember bits and pieces but not the exact answer you can usually use a process of elimination to narrow the choices down to three or two. Once you're there, your chances of being correct have jumped substantially.
- The Longest Answer - Read the question, read the longest answer, does it make sense with the question? If so, it could very well be the right answer (this is a last resort more than anything)
- The Answer C - People tend to over analyze things when creating a multiple choice test. If your teacher creates it by hand, chances are they're no exception to this rule. I once read a statistic that said something to the extent of the answer C is correct 40%-60% of the time on multiple choice tests. It may have changed and those numbers may not be wholly accurate but it was a shocking majority compared to the other possible answers.
So just relax, if you botch a question here or there it's not a big deal, if you put the time and effort in during the rest of the semester, that will do you more good than aceing the final exam. Besides, if you're failing by the time you get to the final, there's no way you're going to make that A you're stressing about.
My freshman biology teacher in high school used to always tell us, if a vegetable could push a pencil and fill out a scantron, it will always score at least 25% because there's only 4 answers and one would assume the vegetable would answer the same for every question. So to all of you still in school, best of luck to you on your finals and i wish you all the best, but seriously, chill out, it's all gonna turn out fine :P.
Still here and workin hard!
Hey everyone, i did just want to give you all a quick update, like many of you (i would imagine) school has really picked up as the end of the year nears as well as an influx with my personal computer repair job. As such, i have been unable to produce new content consistently because i'm either not in the mood or i just don't have the time. However, with my classes coming to an abrupt halt next monday, please expect that i will begin releasing new content every other day once again!
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