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OOC: Omega & OT
You know, after re-reading the novel and the timeline again. It doesn't actually say that the forces that created the Omega's and the virus that killed the world were controlling Omni-Tek. It does lead you to conclude that but doesn't specifilly say that they are. For all we know they could be controlling the ICC, which would make more sense, seeing as how Ross has been making peace attempts and the forces don't like it, hence they send in the Peacekeepers (and the clan's being the misguided and niave (spelling?) people that they are will accept them with open arms. Hmm, just some thoughts.
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It gave me the impression that most if not all Omni-Tek employes, (on Rubi-Ka or any other planet) are normal humans like the rest of us who grew up thinking how awful the Omegas were. The Omegas are actually pulling the strings so discreetly that no one in or out of the company would notice.
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Agreed
An early TAG interview with Ross had him saying as much quite happily:
The ICC was formed precisely to stop another Farmatek incident, and that Omni-Tek were just as scared and insistent that a second round of Omega would be a bad bad thing.
If Omegas are pulling the strings of Omni-Tek, then they're doing so from well behind closed doors. The Omni-Tek board of directors are *not* the Omega. Or if they are, then they're hiding it very very well.
There is every possibility that the Dust Brigade are the work of the Omega. Strings pulled in the right places would certainly allow that.
I would be interested to see what the reaction from the bulk of Omni-Tek would be if an announcement was made that OT were actually run by the Omega. I'd not be at all surprised of OT-RK (and many other OT holdings) immediately disowned their board of directors and 'stole' the whole company - most probably siding with the Clans in seconds to protect the notum from such evil, de****able people.
And in so doing, every other hypercorp would turn around and go crazy too. The Omega enslaving the Solitus is something everyone remembers all too well. I think any overt actions by the Omega anywhere would instantly result in a rather massive rally of everyone else against them. SolBC, TruSpace, Omni-Tek, Clans and the rest of the ICC would put aside their differences and fight as brothers in arms against the Omega without a second thought.
If the Omega want control, they have to first of all gain control of / elimiate the dissenters. And that would mean another nanovirus or worse.
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I'm gonna read the novel full through again after printing it out. I'm pretty darn sure that it's explicitly stated that Omni-Tek was directly assembled by the remaining Omegas.
But .... it's also insinuated that it was sort of set free to run on its own albeit under the influence of certain founding principles and goals that would ensure the founders could re-assume the reigns at any time.
The fact that Omni-Tek was led directly to Rubi'Ka and made the decision to colonize before a single survey was done should make it pretty damn clear that the Omegas led their project directly to 'home base'.
Anybody who wishes to argue that the Omega's are not discretely nudging and prodding the Company to do their bidding is welcome to attempt such.
But, that said, it's fairly easy to see that the dark secret of Omni-Tek absolutely must be kept secret from everyone. This includes 99.9% of their own employees. Even Boss Ross should have no reason to know his company is nudged and guided by the Omega's. He only knows there are some orders that _must_ be followed with no questions asked.
I agree with the above poster who noted that once the truth is unfolded, we will probably see a great rift arise in Omni-Tek's ranks. At least I hope so. It's sickening to see this sorry 'Black vs. White' threadbare storyline.
If the Dust Brigade is being used by the Omegas to launch their endgame, it sure would make the game a bit more interesting to see the Clan players who sign up for DB alliance fighting alongside the O-T employees who remain loyal to the exposed Company leadership in hopes of grabbing a sliver of the immortality and power that an 'evil Omega' victory over the 'righteous David Marlin followers' would grant.
In any event, I'm more curious about finding out what Roland Drake saw when the 'thing' took off it's disguise down in his bunker the last time we saw him in the novel than anything else in this storyline. I'm also highly curious why these 'beings' would need to or want to resort to employing humans to play out their game. Why did these 'things' grant Roland Drake such powers? (note the analogy of the Devil who tempted Eve and gave her the power of conciense). Why did someone (apparently) run a course of Vision through certain other humans eventually resulting in a messiah in the form of David Marlin?
Why aren't these 'powers' simply battling it out with each other. What is the purpose of meddling with humanity and pitting man against man for millenia?
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OOC; I havent read the novel so I only know what has been said and happend in game. As it is now I see no reason why Omni-Tek deserv the 'evil corperation' status that some clanners seems to force on it... Just an corperation and goverment that tries to survive in an corperate world, and all governing systems must focus on money...
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Yes, this is exactly why the 'OOC:' is unecessary anywhere in this forum. If you are discussing 'Story', it is automatically OOC for your toon.
This is why I lobbied for seperate Roleplaying and Story forums.
One should feel comfortable discussing the story as an artistic work in progress and be able to surmise and hypothesise to one's heart's content without fear of the RP gods reigning down flames from heaven.
As a matter of fact, this entire forum should me marked 'SPOILER' as far as anybody's toons are concerned.
The effect on the Story of the incoming ICC Peacekeepers can be freely discussed in this forum while your character's opinions and all the diatribe and rhetoric spewing that goes with them fits nicely in the Roleplaying forum.
As followers of the Story, we've been given glimpses of Omni-Tek's past and present that no player's character can be aware of. As players many will need to be ready for the day the truth will be revealed. How will their characters respond?
It should be fun to see the side-switching (hopefully both ways) or even better realignment along philosophical lines rather than political lines.
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In a way it is black vs. white. Humanity vs. the omegas and the ones controling the omegas. But still even though the Omegas are evil you can't help but feel sorry for them on how living forever has destroyed them.
Thinking of the Shadowlands and how clans look angelic and omni looks demonic. Could the Shadowlands be trying to tell us something? Is it trying to help us and warn Omni employes about the bigger picture?
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Yes, to bring to light some information from the pages Nepenthia referenced:
"The slaves would remain slaves, but this time they wouldn't even know it
"In the meantime, he (Roman Zubov/Roland Drake, the Omega who is at current game time underground on Rubi'Ka with a complete feed into Omni-Tek intelligence) would build an empire to span worlds - a corporate entity that, in time (remember, the Omega are immortal), and if all went well, would bridge galaxies. Nothing like FarmaTek (Omni-Tek's predecessor that destroyed civilization and resulted in humanity being enslaved), true: Faramatek had been an autocracy, and there were limits to what one man could accomplish, even an adept puppet master like himself. No, this new beast would be something much, much greater.
"From the ashes fo Farmatek would grow the Hydra, with countless heads that would spawn and mulitply. And every head would think alike, yet be autonomous, and together they would gaze down upon a universe where no person would ever remain invisible, and where no event would go unnoticed.
"It would be omnipresent, omnipotent.
"Omni. All-encompassing.
"... Drake, the man who'd began his voyage into immortality ten millenia ago, cleared his voice.
"It was time to get started."
Comments in parens are mine.
You see? Omni-Tek may not necessarily be rotten to the core. But, they are most assuredly rotten at the core.
We know this as followers of the story. Our characters, however, I'm sure can only base their actions on what has been put to light in the past, oh ... 500 years? That's a blink of an eye in terms of the total story timeline so far.
Thus anyone who wishes to drop an 'Omni-Tek isn't evil' post on the forums had best put it in the Role Playing forum. Basically, if David Marlin is the Messiah whose destiny is to save humanity, then the 'being' who essentially gave Roland Drake the keys to immortality and the power to enslave humanity must certainly be 'the Devil'. Having the devil on their side has certainly helped Omni-Tek prosper through the years. It should make (if FunCom can get their act together) for an interesting fight.
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Agreed again
In that case, it's certainly not in the Omega's best interest to ever show their hand. In so doing, they place a label on their holdings (Omni-Tek and others) which would give the very people they are trying to control a focal point and target to strike against.
I'm quite surprised they didn't take this approach the first time around. Controlling large numbers of people is actually very easy if you know the right tricks. It is a little harder when you're working in the same timescales as your target audience, but when you're living many many times longer than they are playing puppetmaster is a piece of cake.
The trick is in playing on the basic beliefs that are shaped when a person is growing. If you're living longer, then you can target the very fabric of the education system as well and ensure you've got proper-thinking drones from the get-go.
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It's also entirely possible that the Omegas are behind some, maybe even many, of the Clans. As far as I know there isn't any proof of this (Note: I am reading the book as it's released on the website) but it makes a great deal of sense. I doubt they started the Clan movement, though they may have, but I'm sure they'll have taken advantage of it in several ways.
I would not be surprised at all if several of the Clans were also "rotten at the core."
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And most importantly, I think, we all need to realize that the Omegas are not the end-all and be-all of 'evilness'.
There would be no Omegas and Roland Drake would have probably been dead before the women's liberation movement and affirmative action if not for his sponsors.
As powerful and evil as we see the Omegas/FarmaTek/OmniTek to be, they would never have existed if not for the assistance of the unknown beings who are pulling the strings of the string pullers themselves.
Omni-Tek would never have been pointed in the direction of the Eden that is Rubi'Ka if not for these 'people' (or probably more appropriately 'entities'). Too many players forget that Omni-Tek was basically sent on a bee-line to the opposite side of the galaxy from Earth or Omni-Prime to set up shop on Rubi'Ka no questions asked. These 'entities' want the players (in in-character game terms) to be on this particular stage.
That's the one thing that'll have me following the story even after I'm no longer playing the game. I want to know what these beings get out of the deal if, for example, they manage to get the Omegas/Omni-Tek to pull off a victory. Why do they need humans to fight what presumably is their battle and what are the spoils of said victory?
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Unfortunately everything I can think of from this point would be pure speculation.
However I think it is likely that these entities, both the 'good' and 'evil' ones, are closely related to the Shadowlands in some way. Very likely the Shadowlands is related to (or outright is) either their goal, their origins, or both and more.
I think it is likely that notum is also closely related to the Shadowlands and entities in some way. Notum's properties and uniqueness in the Galaxy... and its almost limitless abundance on Rubi-Ka (but only on Rubi-Ka)... are significant to this and probably is why the entities are focusing on Rubi-Ka.
I bet that notum's effect on nanotechnology is actually a side-effect of its true nature.
That's my speculation as to what storyline revelations the future is most likely to bring.
Edit: As to why the entities need humans... it would depend on the nature of the entities. Assuming one side truly is good and the other truly is evil, then my guess is that the battle is a battle for the human soul, since humans are the only entities in existence to have the capability to freely choose their course.
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A few points
One of the developers spoke with a guild mate at a convention and pointed out a few things:
The Bible (and most other similar religion's creation epics) is a loose interpretation of the story in AO. In the AO continuum, most of the events of Genesis actually happened. Just that it was mostly happening on Rubi'Ka.
Mankind was kicked out of Rubi'Ka (the real Garden of Eden), a real place; not from some sociological pedestal of innocence after the species experienced self-awareness.
Notum flows in it's pure liquid form only in the Shadowlands.
Notum is what makes the soul able to return to the host. Notum makes immortality possible and resurrection possible.
Can't remember more and the guildie hasn't been on in quite some time (go figure).
Just think about someone changing water to wine, raising someone from the dead, or curing leprosy and translate the wonderful acts of all the Prophets of the past and then think a bit about Rubi'Kaan lore.
It kinda works.
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Okay, that's it, I'm going to have to order the book and not just read it on the site a chapter at a time.
As for the Omega being evil....okay, maybe I'm a sicko and don't know it, but in the first 14 chapters that I've read, I kinda like the Omega side. Man has been trying to destroy their brothers for ages. They come out of the ark, and the survivors are still warring with each other. Now the clans are warring with each other.
Of course, I am ignorant of what's in the rest of the book, but I'm so sick of man warring with each other.
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I guess releaseing some viruses on the Earth and killing billions of people, stopping the survivors chances of rebuilding society, and enslaveing the Solitus isn't as bad as I originally thought. :D
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If God did it, would he be evil too? ;)
Warning: Rant ahead:
I know I'm out of line on the larger scale, but I was raised with two sides in the family....an indian side(m;y dad's parents and family) (and I'm not saying ALL tribes are like this, just my particular side of the family) that wallowed in self-pity and blamed everything on the "white-man" while they rocked on their porches collecting their government cheese and government flour and government checks and thought the world owed them. (which I see as the clanners that expect Omni to fix their weather and give them access to the insurance machines, etc)...
And the other side of my family (mom's parents) that came from starvation in the Scotland highlands with nothing before there was such a thing as welfare during the prohibition and dust storms in America and pulled themselves up and worked their arses off and are proud of their accomplishments and expect NO ONE to give them anything. They work for it. The Scottish side of the family are now well off. The indian side is still wallowing.
This is NOT an example of white vs. indian, this is an example of man's mentality. Like when my first husband went to prison for drunk driving (killing three people) and I was suddenly on welfare and surrounded by "career" welfare people.
I pushed myself through school with that little baby on my hip, and made a life for myself that I am proud of. No one owes me anything, and I own up to my mistakes without blaming other people. When I can help pull others up out of a hole... I do. If they WANT out of the hole, I pull them out. I have helped out three teen-agers that were addicted, or lived with abusive parents and they live great lives now, OUT OF THAT HOLE. I have a downs-syndrome friend that who cannot comprehend paying bills or the basics in life, but she knows right from wrong and volunteers in a day-care assisting. She doesn't just collect her SSI check, she gives something back to the community. She gives those kids love. I know handicapped people that are better human beings than completely physically/mentally "norm" people.
But I have no patience for the part of humanity that wallows in their self pity, blames the "evil" people of another race/religion/creed/political belief system. They disgust me. Get yur arses up and empty your own garbage.
So anyway, that's where MY personal take on how RL compares to AO fantasy.
/rant off
I am sorry if I offened anyone, and I know many won't agree with me, but it is my humble opinion and experience in life.
