opnet [OpNet] Hello there.

[Proteus]

I just found your Opnet site and thought I'd look around. You guys all seem to know each other in some form or another and well, instead of threadjacking another one of your fine threads I thought I'd just post an observation here:

You guys are Brutal-serious with most of your topics. Is it always like this? Most of the Opnet forums I surf through occasionally are filled with self-promotional crap or Baseline begz0ring or flaming..but here?

Top 4 threads:

1. Tell me about the Teragen! And Chrysalis?

2. Tell us about the cure for Taint!

3. "One day, Novas are going to rise up and have to fight the Baselines." :comment withheld:

4. For a good time, suck out a Nova's skull for a quick boost of Soma.

Wow.

You guys have some very interesting and intense topics sitting in front you.

Are there any rules you should warn a new person such as myself about before I completely make an ass of myself? (Of course it may already be too late.)

Your ever-changing friend,

Proteus

(Alex Moots)

(I noticed some of you go by your stage name while others go by their real names....I guess it's a personal preference thing?)

[kestrel404]

Yes, nova name versus baseline name is (generally) personal prefference.

As for the serious topics being up top, that's pretty simple. The serious topics get the most responses, and they end up at the top of the boards most of the time. We've got our fair share of threads about novas looking for dates, wishing people happy holidays, saying hi after being away, etc.

As for offending people, don't worry so much. We've only got three resident psychopaths on this board the last time I counted, and as long as you don't piss them off too badly, you should be fine. No, I'm not really joking. Wish I were, though.

Welcome to the boards.

[Neil Preston]

Welcome Proteus. I don't have a nova handle (as you can probably guess).

I like this place, too, even with the somewhat less stable members that hang about. If you are wondering, the Preston who posts is my Dad.

[Cody]

Unless you got a mind to sell toys there ain't no need for making names. I go by Cody. Its what people been calling me since grade school.

Got to know folks here are just like folks every where. Some know what they're talking about. Some don't know a damn thing but got something to say anyway.

Figuring out which is which is about half the fun.

[billy Horrorshow]

I'll make it easy (per Cody's system): I've no clue what the hell I'm talking about...ever.

Btw, I loved you in Uncanny X-man Annual 24 (I think?) you know the one where your mom drags around that fat energy-absorbing kid named Piecemeal who sucks up the missing parts of you and ends up exploding in a gooey mass once you're completed? Those were the days, right?

Come to think of it, Marvel's Proteus didn't have much to do with the actual mythological Proteus either (no offense), unless I get prizes if I can catch you. Come to think of it, Proteus is like the Leprechaun of Greek Mythology.

Anyway whether you're made up of Reality-altering Pure Energy, a small Irish creature of myth, or whatever, welcome to the board.

,,

Quote:

Originally posted by Alchemist:

We've only got three resident psychopaths on this board the last time I counted, and as long as you don't piss them off too badly, you should be fine.

Oh god. Who should I not have been heckling this whole time? I know DeathSquat is on there, but who else? Oh and screw you guys for warning the new guy and not me.

Also, note that Neil warns us about the less stable members on the board and then immediately mentions his father. Spooky, that is.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Welcome Proteus.

As you can tell, I like both the nova and real names.

I think another of that set would be Cull.

[Proteus]

Is Billy being funny or trying to get a foot through his stomach? I'm not sure. Funny guy though.

To say something a bit more substantial:

As for warning me about the psychos of the board, before I burn any bridges (Cull, sorry to hear about your parents) I'm curious as to what constitutes a PSYCHO on the boards. This isn't me saying I'm unstable or pro nut-job...I just try to find a balance between what people tell me and what I see or know. It's served me well so far. This doesn't mean I don't want to know who to look out for. I'm not that foolish.

Cody: I might as well go by my real name these days. My toys stopped selling a while back; DeVries took them off the shelf to make them "rare & collectible". That and every other endorsement/piece of secondary income I had going for me. It's fun being the blacksheep sometimes. Still, "Mommy" pays the rent, so I'll make due.

You know, it really is refreshing to find (presumably) an all-nova forum like this. Thanks for the welcome.

[Xeno]

Hello. You have come to a usually mostly good place, be further reassured Proteus.

The forum is much like an extra mind located on the Outside. Isolation of the unified individual the forum's constituents comprise is difficult, but possibly it is a fairly good individual.

You shall be part of its thoughts and you shall benefit from participation in the greater whole.

Somehow.

Probably.

Eventually.

[Edward]

Quote:

Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Welcome Proteus.

As you can tell, I like both the nova and real names.

I think another of that set would be Cull.

No, no. I am sorry Doctor Troll but you are wrong. He must have been talking about someone else. I am not crazy. I am very very sane.

[kestrel404]

Aren't we all?

[Jager]

Proteus, Cull is the "very, very sane" type that feeds bodies into (non-polluting) ovens and (eco-freindly) mass graves. Oh yeah, and he eats people one at a time in order to make the world healthier and safer for all the other bio-systems.

Mind you, I used to blow things up and kill people for a living (an Elite). Then I founded a now defunct humanitarian assistance organization. Some might say I'm conflicted.

[Proteus]

Jager you bring up an interesting and potentially volatile point. Does being an elite dictate that you are "very, very sane"?

I'll say that I'm semi-retired right now just so you know where I'm coming from. While I figure I'll be back at it some time in the future there are regrets. Three of them actually.

Some boards have different feelings towards the Elite occupation. Hopefully with the Teragen presence here it'll just be another "group" as it were. But I don't know.

[kestrel404]

No, this is a pretty 'come one, come all' kind of place. We don't discriminate, and I can only think of a few board members who have been hunted down and killed by other board members.

..Maybe I should just stop posting in this thread.

[Proteus]

I love it Alchemist. The brutal honesty is nice for a change. Care to Pm or just drop some names?

Share some "forum" stories as it were?

That last comment applies to anyone who wants to share by the way.

[kestrel404]

Don't mind me. I'm just worrying about Endeavor, is all.

[Walker]

Proteus, welcome to the boards may you enjoy the many interesting debates and slanging matches.

Alchemist, last time I 'checked' nothing fatal was 'scheduled' to happen, at least not for her...

Jager, no, no, no, you're just not getting it are you? Humans are the creatures most dependent on their ecosystems, just think where they'd be if there were no insects to pollinate their crops. If they screw things up it will only go badly for them, what Cull is doing is for their own good. It's like culling anything else you have to kill 'em or else they'll die.

[Jager]

Walker, you have got to be kidding me.

Mankind is one of the least dependant on the natural ecosystem. They bend life to their will/needs and have been doing it for millenia.

I am not saying they have been good, or consciencous stewards, only that they have both adpated and forced other things to adapt to their needs.

If there were no insects to pollinate their crops, they would either genetically engineer plants to not need it (with all those inherent problems) or alter another lifeform to take over that function.

If the soil got wasted to the point that all the pollinating plants died off, humanity could still exist off of aquaculture, but were would your insects be? Dead.

Though mankind has done some incredibly stupid things, they have also done some extrodinarly powerful things.

Now, if some novas says they would make them pay for their recklessness, that's a different story and very, very human of them.

Mankind has also been the first species we know of to actively move to defend, preserve, and restore ecosystems. It shares the ability to destroy and render others extinct with other lifeforms, though.

[Longboard]

Dude, Im in it for the cool schwag at nova parties, and the chicks. I also help out the coastal defense of Los Angeles in my spare time. I burn stuff.

Rock n' roll dude

[Proteus]

What Cull is doing is treating a symptom and NOT the cause. (Hence the Small Potatoes line in the other thread.) I'll actually lean towards what Jager's saying over Walker (as well as LongBoard) despite how Romantic Jager's notions of mankind may be.

I also like how the first definition of the word Cull is another word for Reject. Kind of funny.

cull [kəl]

A noun

1 cull, reject

the person or thing rejected or set aside as inferior in quality

B verb

1 cull

remove something that has been rejected; "cull the sick members of the herd"

╚cull

2 pick, pluck, cull

look for and gather; "pick mushrooms"; "pick flowers"

And Walker if you feel about the Eco-system the same as Cull, why did you make sure the men were off the boat? Because I think you're trying to address the cause and not the Symptom with a statement. Just my 2 cents.

[Jager]

I actually think what Walker did was cool and on the money (for his cause). It did play into the hands of the anti-nova legal types, but that's bound to happen from time to time.

Tricking the system, or finding non-violent ways to beat the oppostion (like "misplacing" their stuff) brings about a positive response.

Stacking up bodies (or leaving a trail of bones) only hardens the heart.

[Walker]

Oh brother

So much for my attempt to point out some logical flaws in the old 'thin out the numbers' argument. I should really leave all attempts at humour to those who actually have a half decent sense of it.

However because baiting Jager is always a worthwhile and rewarding experience...

Jager Mankind bends other lifeforms to their will. Sure. But they'd be buggered if they ran out of stuff to bend to their will. Bending stuff to your will still implies a relationship if not actual dependency, though you might say they are dependent on not running out of life to bend. Aquaculture still needs some sort of an ecosystem. Humans could adapt to any change but I wouldn't want to be one of those who had starved to death during the change-over.

Humans rely on seas, rivers, atmosphere and the like to transport their waste products. If business and industry were forced to pay cash for the trillions of dollars worth of work that nature does for free then it would near bankrupt the global economy. I do agree with your humanity-is-a-double-edged-sword proposition, the little critters are just as much a part and product of the environment as anything else.

I am well aware of what elephants do to trees and such like. I am also well aware that biological invaders can alter and wipe out eco-systems. In fact because Utopia have done such a good job of cleaning up the environment most of the species that remain endangered are in danger from things like rats, feral dogs and Crown-of-Thorns starfish. One can educate Baselines to play nicely but even I would have difficulty educating rats on what birds eggs they couldn't eat. Fact remains though that these biological invaders wouldn't be there in the first place if not for the actions of humans. Fact also remains that you can educate humans, I know it doesn't always seem that way, but it's usually worth having a go.

Sure predators and parasites may drive individual species to extinction but as far as is known only Mankind has managed a mass extinction event. I know the planet is saved and the worst of the damage is over but...

Corporations still pollute and don't give a damn because the Zushima-macrobe will clean it up. Sure it will clean it up but what about the damage done before the macrobe gets there and starts feasting? Even if the corporation plants some nice Zincweed to clean up it's tailings that simple Zincweed ecosystem displaces the native ecosystem, don't even ask what happens to any animal that takes a nibble on it. Factory Farming. Fur Industry. Massive areas of monoculture out competing the wildlife. etc... Individual plants and animals continue to suffer.

As to Nova action appearing very, very human, I think it is a bit selfish to label something a human characteristic. By being loyal to my friends and associates am I being very, very human simply because Baselines are capable of displaying loyalty? I say Baselines know nothing of loyalty compared to the loyalty of an ant for it's sister.

Oh yeah, and thanks for the thumbs up that you will post while I am still writing

Cull & Proteus My personal preference is for respecting all life. I find this difficult to do by killing any stuff. Dry docked scientific(sic) whaling ship, barnacles already lazered off. Made sure all lifey stuff on board removed. Super dooper maxed out enveloping warp gate. Elegant and tidy.

[Jager]

Walker, well said. People should really remember to think. After all, thinking is what drove mankind to the top of the world's ecosystem. Lack of thinking is the most surefire way to fall off of it.

The fact remains that there are plenty of far more eco-friendly methods of doing business out there that make more sense than currency. The question is how to make people take global stewardship to heart.

[Ramone Gemeos]

Hello Proteus. Your Quantum Expression sounds rather similar to my own. I wonder how they would interact should we come into contact?

[Proteus]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ramone Gemeos:
Hello Proteus. Your Quantum Expression sounds rather similar to my own.

If such is the case you have my deepest sympathies and empathies. Though perhaps I'm confusing what you mean by Quantum Expression.

[Neil Preston]

Proteus, I refer to "powers" as Quantum Expressions. It sounds a bit more appropriate to me.

[Proteus]

I'd agree with you Neil. I think Aberrations are part of whatever Quantum Expression is, for obvious reasons.

[Preston]

Greetings, Mr. Moots.

[Walker]

What is it with the spooky, Opnet stalk the noo-bies, print out their personal details, real name and what they had for breakfast? Why is this considered polite (if not expected even) on this board? Isn't it more polite just to ask them?

Is it a Plod/Utopia/Man o' Mystery type of thing or what?

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Walker: Corporations still pollute and don't give a damn because the Zushima-macrobe will clean it up. Sure it will clean it up but what about the damage done before the macrobe gets there and starts feasting?

The world is getting cleaner, not more polluted. This is a good thing. The big reason this is true is because we have the money to pay for novas to do this. This is also a good thing. Poverty generates more pollution than wealth because things like clean air and water are goods that the rich are willing to pay for, but the poor can not.

Walker: Factory Farming. Fur Industry. Massive areas of monoculture out competing the wildlife. etc... Individual plants and animals continue to suffer.

Yeah, they do. But less so than before. “Ethical” treatment towards animals is also something that the rich are willing to pay for, but the poor can not.

[Ramone Gemeos]

Quote:

Originally posted by Proteus:
If such is the case you have my deepest sympathies and empathies. Though perhaps I'm confusing what you mean by Quantum Expression.

By Quantum Expression, I mean the manifestation of my abilities in general. I do not absorb the taint of others along with their abilities, though I do perceive it in a unique fashion.

Dr Troll: We might be better than we were before, but is that really a good reason to stop improving?

[Walker]

Troll I hear what you are saying, civilisation is only three square meals away from anarchy and that sort of thing. Yep, being rich is loads better than being poor, if you're not desperate to survive you have time to think about things like treating animals ethically.

That being said, even poor but religiously inclined Baselines can treat animals ethically, don't forget that. Just look at buddists, hindus and jews for example.

What can I say, if you're Nova and can talk to animals or have some sort of empathy with them, it changes the way you view things. Even baselines can

It can't not change you.