(SPOILERS) The Freedom Phalanx novel
By
Alloric,
Posted on: 2006-05-30 08:25 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Ray generates anti-matter on his own. He used to have fine control over how he would generate it (quantity, etc), but injuries suffered in the Rikti War have shut off that ability. Now his body just randomly makes anti-matter whenever it feels like it.
The suit contains and transforms that anti-matter into an energy source, propulsion, and projected blasts.
Positron
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Interesting. Would that make him Mutant origin?
Positron's antimatter problems sound to me more like "setting him up for a fall" in the creative sense. I don't want to completely ruin any storyline surprises if that's what's going to happen, but it makes me think of Batman's constant "I'm so freakin old" diatribes in The Dark Knight Returns.
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Interesting. Would that make him Mutant origin?
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No, the interview says it was an industrial accident kind of thing. Science experiment gone awry, you know how that goes. :P
I suppose that means that Positron is really a science origin instead of a tech origin like he appears to be.
The only point of contradiction is the question of whether the suit is creating the anti-matter or if it's being generated by Ray himself.
In the book it's being generated by the suit. Null is using basically the same suit and is also firing antimatter blasts. It would have (or should have, at least) rated a mention if Null was trying to ape Keyes' innate abilities.
Given Positron's comments here, the book is wrong. That's not a big surprise since the entire premise of the book doesn't jive with the history on the web site.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Positron:
And the reason Numina hasn't completely healed you and restored those abilities?
I mean, are you missing an organ or something?
Numina ought to be able to fire off Regeneration Aura or Heal Other or something and fix you up right away.
Also, you've worn the suit for how many years and NO ONE has the super power to heal you and/or MAGIC and/or SUPERTECH?
Meh. Feels too much like Ben Grimm being stuck as the thing.
Your situation would be a lot more believable if you didn't live in... the City of Heroes!
I mean, couldn't the alternate-earth Oranbegans have healed you?
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Wait, so Statesman has the essence of a god, Recluse of a titan...and yet Recluse doesn't pwn the stew out of states??
I thought the titans were more powerful than the gods.
(unless you happen to have a gorgon head in your pocket, I guess.)
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Totally random but... in the first novel; states *did* get "pwned" by Recluse <o.o> the times they fought States didn't win; he came 'sorta' close... but not really; it was the Phalanx that saved his tail <@.@>
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the inaccuracies with Ms. Liberty yet. In the Laws novel, she's reverted to her original name of Jessica, in spite of Manticore's claim that her first name is Megan. Additionally, she's shown manifesting superhuman strength in her childhood, whereas the current Ms. Liberty has no such powers.
And Monica Richter Cole/Maiden Justice apparently passes away in 1986 (the book does give this as the year the story is being told, several times). However, in the Top Cow comics, Lord Recluse has insinuated that she is still alive, ambiguously well, and possibly being held captive by him. Guh?
As for Positron's history, I do wish they'd pick a version and tell everyone, already. Did he have a Science-based accident prior to developing his armor or while wearing it that gave him his powers? Is he a Technology hero with powered armor that gives him his abilities? Prior to this discussion, I was led to believe that Positron came out of the Rikti War relatively unscathed, but a more recent accident damaged his armor and irradiated him, forcing him to remain inside of it full time; this was corroborated by the differences in Positron's image in the original CoH manual and his current look in-game and in the present manuals.
Also, the devs simply MUST have at least one day in which Ms. Liberty wears her alternate costume bedecked with bows and with a unicorn shoulder bag. 
Storm Summoning is great because it makes you better than everyone else in the game. - Camma
Knockback is mitigation. It won't be removed just because meleers ***** and moan. - Chaos Creator
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I'm surprised no one's mentioned the inaccuracies with Ms. Liberty yet. In the Laws novel, she's reverted to her original name of Jessica, in spite of Manticore's claim that her first name is Megan.
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That inaccuracy is even on the UK CoH website. I've been wondering about that for awhile. 
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And Monica Richter Cole/Maiden Justice apparently passes away in 1986 (the book does give this as the year the story is being told, several times). However, in the Top Cow comics, Lord Recluse has insinuated that she is still alive, ambiguously well, and possibly being held captive by him. Guh?
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Eh, he actually says "My sister sends her regards", which is ambiguous enough that it could mean he's in contact with and/or imprisoning her dead spirit or something...at least, that's how I took it. I haven't read the book, though, so is her death "on-screen"? The faked death is a classic comic book thing. And so is the non-permanent death. I still lean towards spirit, though.
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Also, the devs simply MUST have at least one day in which Ms. Liberty wears her alternate costume bedecked with bows and with a unicorn shoulder bag.
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*snort* Okay, I don't get the reference, but I think I must hunt the books down now.
I'm just a holy fool, oh baby it's so cruel
Thessalia, by Darkchildx2k
I haven't read the book, though, so is her death "on-screen"? The faked death is a classic comic book thing.
Oh yeah, she's croaked. There was a body.
Of course, that has to be taken for what it's worth in a comics universe.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
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*snort* Okay, I don't get the reference, but I think I must hunt the books down now.
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At one point, Little!Ms. Liberty draws Statesman a picture of the two of them fighting crime together. In it, she's described as wearing a costume full of bows, with a unicorn shoulder bag.
Storm Summoning is great because it makes you better than everyone else in the game. - Camma
Knockback is mitigation. It won't be removed just because meleers ***** and moan. - Chaos Creator
LOL! Too cute. 
Thanks for the explanation.
I'm just a holy fool, oh baby it's so cruel
Thessalia, by Darkchildx2k
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Tartarus on wiki
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I've got a couple of good bits and some related info on Tartarus from the book "A Dictionary of Angels" but I'll have to post it later as I don't have the book here with me at the moment.
Huh. I read the novel, and had the impression that it was the Positron armor that generated the anti-matter. That left me curious how you got turned into pure anti-matter during the Rikti war.
Just an after thought, if it's a natural power for you to generate anti-matter what could you do with it without the armor (prior to your ... disability)?
And have you met Dr. Null since the Rikti War? I have a feeling he'd gloat six ways to Sunday now that you effectively have the same curse as him.
FireWild - lv 50 Fire/Fire Blaster (Justice)
FyreWyld - lv 40 Energy/Energy Brute (Justice)
... and way too many others
I have to confess, before reading the novel, I didn't really have any feelings on Positron (the character). He was always that guy who gave out the really long task force and was part of the "and the rest" in the comics (which were "Manticore, Statesman, and the rest").
However the book left me with a definite fondness for him. He reminded me of Sam Beckett (per Quantum Leap) -- the brilliant scientist with an idealistic streak that's somewhere between sainthood and Quixoticism. Statesman lost the faith somewhere over the years. Saving the world became just this thing he had to do over and over again. Positron reminded him why he got into the hero biz in the first place. (Hoping that's broad enough to avoid ruining anything for people who haven't read it thus far.)
The question I was left asking is that if Paragon goes through these cycles of crisis and rebirth -- which are we in now? Are we on the high end of the sine wave or the low end?
"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides." Lord Vetinari, Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett.
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In the book it's being generated by the suit. Null is using basically the same suit and is also firing antimatter blasts. It would have (or should have, at least) rated a mention if Null was trying to ape Keyes' innate abilities.
Given Positron's comments here, the book is wrong.
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Yep, you're right. I'd somehow missed that Null was firing anti-matter blasts at Ray. Looks like Laws got the info wrong. Unless maybe you want to REALLY hand-wave an explanation that the industrial accident affected both of them. I don't seriously think that was Laws' intention, though.
Oh, well. Just goes to show the problems of keeping all of these different media in sync. It'd be interesting to get a hold of that story bible and see just what the original source material says about some of these things.
Perhaps the fact that Null's suit functions the way it does made it the perfect alpha model for Positron's work.
After all, it's like the difference between needing a power supply for your suit and BEING the power supply for your suit. Positron, in effect, makes the technology function better simply by being both user and power source at the same time.
(Note to self: Get copy of book ASAP, for some reason local store only has first novel)
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Perhaps the fact that Null's suit functions the way it does made it the perfect alpha model for Positron's work.
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Technically speaking, Ray designed Null's suit. They have a bit of banter during their first battle that goes something like this:
Positron - "So, you corrected that dorsal vulnerability"
Null - "A flaw in the original design!"
Positron - "Yeah, but who was the project manager who signed off on that particular set of compromises?"
Null - "Fortunately, I am no longer concerned with petty budgetary limitations."
Ray worked for Bein aka Null, and built the prototype which Null is now locked into due to the usual sorts of mad scientist shenanigans that power mad people like Bein get into when they're left unsupervised.
The upshot being that you're correct, in a sense. Ray DID base his suit(s) off of Null's suit but only because both suits are his work.
On a tangential note, it seems that the big difference between the two suits is the user interface. When Positron offers to try and help Null get free of the armor, Dr. Null replies "I prefer not to risk having my spinal cord severed." Null's armor apparently uses some sort of direct neurological interface. He's in the same position as Doc Ock in _Spiderman 2_. The interface (so it appears) has become permanently welded to his neural system. Ray learns from Bein's mistake and uses some sort of retinal scanning input to control the Positron armor.
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I thought the titans were more powerful than the gods.
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No, just older. The gods did usurp the titans after all. In fact it was Zeus who "pwned" his old man, Cronos, and send all the titans to Tartarus.
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Only with the help of other Titans, though. Gaia (Zeus' grandmother) helped him take down Cronos. (well, in one set of the stories anyway)..and Cyclopse and some others helped fight the rest.
It's been a while.
It may just be that they were more powerful because they had more experience and wisdom or something.
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Could Zeus also be considered a Titan since he is the child of 2 Titans?
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No, he's an Olympian, not a Titan.
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Technically if a titan and another titan had a child it would also be a titan. But since the damn titans/gods/and whatever else were sooooo into incest that I guess the product of such coupling just can't be called normal and not the same as the source but more of a mutation.
I guess the moral of the story is that if you want to have a better chance of having normal offsprings, then don't sleep with your mother or sister =) Or you will have 1 eyed freaks with 3 ears.
I picked up the novel at the bookstore the other day, thumbed through it, read some passages, and put it right back on the shelf. The prose overall isn't that bad, but the word choices are horrendous. Don't use "unconciously" when you mean "reflexively." Especially if the character is, you know, awake.
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
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I've been looking, but I can't find any substantial information about the titan Tartarus, only the place. Does anybody know anything about this guy?
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From what I remember, there is no Titan named Tartarus. Tartarus is where the Titans are held captive. Although, IIRC, Hesoid described Tartarus as both a deity and a place, maybe a personification. Anyway, it's a CoX mythos novel. I wouldn't be surprised if it's as accurate as Hequat's connection to the RL mythological goddess Hecate.
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Here it is:
Tartaruchus ("Keeper of Hell") [see temeluch] - Chief of the angels set over the torments of Hell. Tartaruchus alternates with Uriel at this office, Uriel being "chief of the spirits who preside over Tartarus."
Tartarus - the angel who presides over Hell (or a term for Hell itself). The angel, usually Uriel or Tartaruchus, is in charge of the torments of the nether regions, as already noted. There are other angels in these regions see particularly the entry for Duma(h), who is "prince of Hell" and "angel of the stillness of death".
Temeluch (Temeluchus, Abtelmoluchos, Tartaruchus, Temleyakos) - A caretaking angel, protector of children at birth and in infancy; also an angel of Gehenna (Hell) and the "merciless angel, all fire" in charge of torments, to whom souls are delivered at the death of the body.
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Perhaps the fact that Null's suit functions the way it does made it the perfect alpha model for Positron's work.
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Technically speaking, Ray designed Null's suit. They have a bit of banter during their first battle that goes something like this:
Positron - "So, you corrected that dorsal vulnerability"
Null - "A flaw in the original design!"
Positron - "Yeah, but who was the project manager who signed off on that particular set of compromises?"
Null - "Fortunately, I am no longer concerned with petty budgetary limitations."
Ray worked for Bein aka Null, and built the prototype which Null is now locked into due to the usual sorts of mad scientist shenanigans that power mad people like Bein get into when they're left unsupervised.
The upshot being that you're correct, in a sense. Ray DID base his suit(s) off of Null's suit but only because both suits are his work.
On a tangential note, it seems that the big difference between the two suits is the user interface. When Positron offers to try and help Null get free of the armor, Dr. Null replies "I prefer not to risk having my spinal cord severed." Null's armor apparently uses some sort of direct neurological interface. He's in the same position as Doc Ock in _Spiderman 2_. The interface (so it appears) has become permanently welded to his neural system. Ray learns from Bein's mistake and uses some sort of retinal scanning input to control the Positron armor.
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So... Posi designed/made(?) the suits; Null was trying to save money and used a sub-optimal spinal-clingy thinger; Null went power hungry in a similar, ironic fashion as to resemble Green Goblin or Doc Ock and got stuck in the suit by his spine?
But Posi knew a major flaw in the suit reproduction spec's and changed the spinal thingy?
That sound about right?
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So... Posi designed/made(?) the suits; Null was trying to save money and used a sub-optimal spinal-clingy thinger; Null went power hungry in a similar, ironic fashion as to resemble Green Goblin or Doc Ock and got stuck in the suit by his spine?
But Posi knew a major flaw in the suit reproduction spec's and changed the spinal thingy?
That sound about right?
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Keeping in mind that we're primarily speculating here on the basis of a single sentence of the novel, then yeah. That's about right.
*edit* I don't believe the novel explicitly says when Bein put the prototype suit on and got trapped in it. From Ray's dialog with Bein, he (Bein) clearly tried it on before it was completely tested. He was sloppy that way; a classic science villain mistake.
I would speculate (emphasis on "speculate") that when the shite hit the fan about the Revenant project that Bein attempted to steal the suit and use it as a getaway vehicle. Once he got away, he discovered the Awful Truth about what he'd done to himself. Thus was born Dr. Null.
Roger.
[Edit: And thanks.]
Right right. I guess we'll find out in the third book.
