My big ol' topic-o-questions. Answer away.

[Gary Thunder]

I know, I know, flood of topics, but this is the first time I've found a group of people who actually knows of the book Nuklear Age, so I'm giddy. This topic will contain all the minor little questions I have about the book that I don't want to make an individual topic for each one. The Zeerox topic is an example of an abject lapse of sanity on my part, so ignore it if you like.

1. According to one of Brian's posts in the Atomiknight topic, the superheroes shown in the book make up most of the superheroes on Earth. Isn't that terribly convenient, that all these superheroes JUST HAPPEN to be in the same city? Although now that I think about it, only a handful of them (Nuke, Sparky, Norman) are truly super-powered. Genius, the Minimum-Wage Warriors, Angus, Shiro, these guys aren't super-powered, they just have the benefit of technology on their side. And in Genius's case, incredible intelligence.

2. The TSMSWCAOAN. What are the odds of four super-powered individuals (or mediocre-powered, in Chronotor's case) teaming up with three fairly mundane others and becoming villains? These people represent a major percentage of the superhero population. What are the odds that they all met, had similar goals, and shared a low IQ?

3. Speaking of the TSMSWCAOAN, the subject turns to Zeerox. She's easily the most powerful of any hero on Earth. She could theoretically mimic Nuklear Man's power, Superion's power, or even Nihel's power. And yet she lumbers herself with those lumps? (I know I said this already. Shut up.)

4. If Angus founded the International Dwarven Warrior's Guild and patrols the streets of Metroville, where's the American Dwarven Warrior? Is he in Scotland?

5. How, precisely, did Nuklear Man defeat Variel? I don't get it at all.

6. Is Norman alive or dead at the end of the book? Genius makes mention that he's in a Scientific: Suspension Chamber, and that "nothing will keep us apart", but does that mean she's going to resuscitate him or kill herself to join him in death?

7. Why didn't Radar attack Nihel? Was he killed by Crushtacean? I was under the impression he was just cartoon-flattened and that he would appear in the next scene. This book does not follow conventional physics, after all. (Nuke's regenerating cape leaps to mind.)

That's all I can think of, for now. More will almost certainly come later.

[Kurosen]

Isn't that terribly convenient, that all these superheroes JUST HAPPEN to be in the same city?
Yup. I believe Genius says as much at one point. "It's always Metroville," or something to that effect.

Überdyne, for whatever reason, was founded in Metroville. Since that's where Dr. Genius works, that's where she lived. Same for Dr. Menace. And when she quit, she wanted to fight Genius so why not live near enough to be a bother.. When Nuke arrived there, well, it's a somewhat natural that when he started hero-ing, people would start villain-ing nearby as well.

What are the odds of four super-powered individuals (or mediocre-powered, in Chronotor's case) teaming up with three fairly mundane others and becoming villains?
Apparently it's 100%!

the subject turns to Zeerox. She's easily the most powerful of any hero on Earth.
We're never shown the degree to which she can mimic powers. That is to say, does she get the full thing, 50%, 10%, is there a natural cap to any power she copies, can she only copy a certain number at a time, are certain powers beyond her abilities?

where's the American Dwarven Warrior?
Probably in a foreign country somewhere telling them how to run their nation.

How, precisely, did Nuklear Man defeat Variel? I don't get it at all.
Variel was a living inversion of space-time, I suppose. He was, effectively, nothingness given a form in our world. Probably an experiment in theoretical matter/space on Nihel's part. When Nuklear Man was inside of that nothingness he freaked out. In his panic, a little bit of Arel peeked through and unleashed some of his power. It effectively created space where there was none before. He gave Variel, a null-space thing, a little taste of the Big Bang, and thus created depth, length, and width within Variel. The inversion of space that was Variel came undone.

Number 6: If Norman is alive in any way, it's completely alien from anything we may understand as life.

Why didn't Radar attack Nihel?
Radar's joke was "over" in a sense. There was no need to bring him back. He probably had his hands full desperately trying to keep the peace when traffic everywhere went insane.

[Gary Thunder]

Righty-ho. That answers all of those. One other thing, though.

Why is a singularity of matter a point of infinite mass?

I may have an answer for this, though. Prepare yourself for a Physics I-borne techno-babble BS masterpiece.

A singularity is a single point. Thus, it is zero-dimensional - it has no dimensions, no length or width or height. It cannot exist in this universe - a three-dimensional (four-dimensional?) universe will have a tough time accepting a zero-dimensional object. Regardless, if one were to appear, its dimensions would be null. Given a three dimensional object, one reads its measurements according to its dimensions. Say a cube of stone, one foot to a side:

1 ft. (length) by 1 ft. (height) by 1 ft. (width).

But a singularity, having no dimensions...its measurements would read like so:



(Note: No spoiler text there, it's intentionally left blank.)
See? It has null for its measurements and thus its mass. But wait! You get the same result if you divide any number by zero! Two equations resulting in the same result equal each other. (If a=b and b=c, then a=c. That's...some dang property of math, I forget which.) Therefore, the dimensions of a singularity of matter can be expressed by the equation 1/0.

Look at a graph of 1/X for a minute. See? It asymptotically curves towards infinity if you approach zero from the right, and it asymptotically curves towards negative infinity if you approach zero from the left. Which explains why 1/0 is undefined and not infinity or negative infinity. But negative mass is impossible! Even more impossible than a singularity! (Going back to our block of stone that's 1 cubic foot, cut 2 cubic feet of stone away from it. What do you have? Nothing that can be reasonably expressed as existing.) Therefore the domain of our 1/X graph is now X is non-negative. It must be either positive or zero.

Since we're taking this at 1/0, let's look at our graph now. Great Scott! 1/0 is infinity!

Thus, a singularity of matter is a point of infinite mass.

But what's a singularity of energy? Other than a Nova Rage?

[Thought]

If I might take a crack at question # 6...

We are told that Norman is solid metal. That is, he doesn't have metal bones, a metal heart, etc. Just metal. Nihel melted him, but it isn't like there were any internal structures that were damaged. That is, if we may extract the lack of metal bones to a lack of a metal brain. So even though Norman was melted, whatever contains his conciousness would reasonably still be there. Presumably, Dr. Genius hopes to be able to re-order Norman's body so that it allows him free movement again. Of course, he has undergone a whole lot of pain and, probably, sensory deprivation, so who knows what mental condition he'll be in when/if he is returned to active status.

Of course, I doubt we've seen the last of Angus either. Oh, I doubt he will be back in an active sense, but Brian DID introduce, through reference, Odin and Ragnarok. So, logically, there is also a Valhalla and if there was ever a warrior who deserved to go there, it is Angus.

[Gary Thunder]

I agree, pretty much. But being that Angus already VISITED Valhalla on his drinking spree with Shamus, I'd say he'd end up there. He did die in battle, after all.

[Kairamek]

When Nuklear Man was inside of that nothingness he freaked out.
That was a tactical expansion burst of solar plasma energy. Heroes do not "freak out."

But what's a singularity of energy? Other than a Nova Rage?
If a singularity of mass is the center of a black hole, than a singularity of energy is center of a white hole. Which would probably be the other side of a black hole. And for clarification, a singularity is formed when the density of an object goes to infinity (density = mass / volume, as volume aproaches 0).

[Gary Thunder]

That was a tactical expansion burst of solar plasma energy. Heroes do not "freak out."

No, that was a random freak-out. Heroes don't? Nuklear Man does. I don't think he knew quite what he was doing, even while he was doing it.


If a singularity of mass is the center of a black hole, than a singularity of energy is center of a white hole. Which would probably be the other side of a black hole.

But that makes no sense. Other side? Aren't black holes the same from all angles? Or do you mean "other side" as in they're wormholes which open up elsewhere as white holes? It's just a glob of really, really, REALLY dense matter. Why would it be a transport system? And what could survive the transit? Bearing in mind this is all purely theoretical.


And for clarification, a singularity is formed when the density of an object goes to infinity (density = mass / volume, as volume aproaches 0).

Infinite density implies infinite mass. Infinite mass would have infinite gravity, which would inhale the universe. I find myself doubting that actual zero-dimensional objects exist in this universe.

[Kairamek]

Ask Dr. Hawking. He's the man. But yes, my limited knowledge tells me that the theory is a black hole dumps somewhere. It has something to do with moving at the speed of light and gravitational curvitures of space. As for the implied infinite mass, look at your own bullshit explination. D=M/V as V=>0 is the same as y=1/x as x=>0 It doesn't matter what constant is on top, as the bottom number goes to 0 the function goes to infinity. (For the record 1/0 does not equal infinity, it is undefined) Ergo mass does not have to infinite because the volume of that mass is getting close to 0, thus compacting the mass into a single point. And how would you know if something with negative dimentions existed here. We probably wouldn't be able to see it. On a side note, have you heard of a "Suspention of Disbelief?" Makes Sci-Fi alot easier to read.

Lastly, that "Hero's don't freak out," thing was from the book.

[Gary Thunder]

It doesn't matter what constant is on top, as the bottom number goes to 0 the function goes to infinity.

Or negative infinity, if the constant on top is negative. But you can't have negative mass, volume, OR density; so we can assume the constant is positive. However, when you're talking about zero-dimensional objects existing in a three-dimensional universe, maybe negative mass is feasible.

Another question: If Shiro's suit has the ability to change reality, why doesn't he just run up to Nihel and, say, turn him into a kumquat? Likely Nihel would be amused enough at his presence to allow him one attack, and if he can really change reality the way Nihel can, that's the ball game.

[Kurosen]

Well, Shiro's super special attack/power just gives him a special affinity with machines. He kind of unlocks what they ought to be or could be. Sorta. Hard to explain.

[Gary Thunder]

Oh, just machines? Being that his power was worded in Shiro's broken English, that was hard to decipher from reading it. Seems to me Shiro has a lot more functions in his suit than Angus does (did...poor guy). Great. Long as we're up here, two more things.

Is Shiro alive or dead at the end of the book? He's alive in the last scene in which we see him, but it kind of foreshadows that he's dying.

What of the TSMSWCAOAN? Are any of them still around, and if so, will they be in the next book?

Those dream sequence scenes with Nuklear Man's father...was that Odin he was talking to? Loki? Maybe even Nihel? Who was that? Or was it left intentionally ambiguous?

At the very end, Nuke makes reference to "beings of incredible power" he's angered by killing Nihel. I ask you...what could possibly be of greater power than Nihel or Arel? Odin and Thor and Loki themselves? Why would they be pissed off by Nihel's demise? And if there are stronger dudes out there who are angry at Nuklear Man, if they're bigger and badder than even Nihel, shouldn't they be able to turn Nuke into a lemur or blow up the Earth or something remotely?

[Kurosen]

Shiro is alive. He's a major character in the sequel. His suit is "fancier" than Angus's because Angus's suit is the prototype for all the others while Shiro's is apparently the new thang straight from Japan.

All of TSMVWCAOAN should be fine and dandy.

Nuke's dad was Loki. The first dream was Nuke remembering something Nihel (or Arel?) did many, many years ago. There are references in other dreams that make it explicit that Loki is Nuke's father if you know enough about Norse mythology.

Well, Nuke/Arel was an integral part of Loki's plans to disrupt fate and free himself. So the other beings of incredible power are probably Loki and any of his allies. The most likely allies would be the types of things that are depicted as his fellow Giants from Norse mythology. They are a brutal, violent race but they're also nearly as old as time. Whatever horrible revenge they want to exact against Nuke will be done on their timescale. Nuke took the initiative and got Earth out of the battlezone.

[Thought]

If I recall right, Nuke had a dream about his father being in a dank cave, asking to be freed. That was when I was sure his father was Loki, because Loki is supposed to be bound until shortly before Ragnarok, when he will break free and talk the giants into building a ship entirely out of dead men's nails. Icky.

As for giants (or etins), they existed before any of the Aesir (the line of gods that Odin and Thor are from). The stories contrast each other, but the short is that the giants hate humans (in Nuklear Age terms, this means mortals) whereas the Aesir tend to be devoted to "helping" humanity. I put helping in quotation marks because their help isn't always helpful. People hated Odin because it was believed that he often gave the victory in battle to the lesser of two men because he wanted the better in Valhalla, to prepare for Ragnarok.

[Kairamek]

Which would be why Nihel almost won, but since Nuke was built to defy fate he came out victorious.

[Kurosen]

Technically, Arel/Nuke never did actually defy fate in the grand scheme of things. He was meant to be a catalyst for an early and unscheduled Ragnarok. But then a weird chain of events put him on Earth -- of all places -- for a short time and he fought to keep the status quo. He stopped an early Ragnarok so the "normal" course of fate has been preservered.

This begs the question: could Arel have ever had the ability to start an early Ragnarok?

[Kahkau]

Maybe Fate really did know about his birth, and Loki was just wrong.

Brian, If the battle of Ragnarok doesn't happen in Atomik Age, I'll be sad.

Edit: was Nihel a son of Loki as well?

[Kurosen]

No, I think Nihel was just a very powerful being -- whether a "god" or "giant" I'm not sure and it doesn't particularly matter -- who was bound by fate due to Odin's actions.

[Kahkau]

Ok, thanks. But now I have another question: If Odin is the all-knowing wise god, wouldn't he know about Nihel and Arel? And furthermore, wouldn't he try to stop the pre-ragnarok ragnarok?

[Kurosen]

Odin is a very tragic figure. In the mythology, he knows everything. He knows that he will die, he knows how he will die, he even knows that his own actions lead to his death. He knows that there will be a great war, Ragnarok, and that it will destroy everything. He knows that he will build an army to combat it, but that it will be ultimately futile.

And he goes through with it all anyway.

In the book, Arel was supposed to be created "outside" of fate and, by extension, outside of Odin's awareness. The fact that Arel never defied fate the way he was supposed to may be considered evidence that the plan to usurp Ragnarok was never going to work. So it was fated to be attempted and fail and therefore be something Odin was always aware of already.

Or maybe Arel did defy "fate" in the sense that he had one designated purpose in life and then acted against that purpose. He broke his own fate. Now, did this happen because the overall fate of reality had more "priority"? Do we know? Does it matter?

It's difficult to gauge the reactions/motivations of a being like Odin. He probably wrestled with fighting his fate in the beginning, but he's so old and wise that I imagine he's come to accept his role in the universe. Nihel seems to imply that Odin is crazy for all this, but I feel there's a kind of peace in the certainty he must have in all things.

[Gary Thunder]

Interestingly, for all of Nihel's struggles against Fate, he ultimately failed in the end, didn't he? With his death at the hands of Arel, he failed in creating a premature Ragnarok and thus failed at defying Fate. Haw haw.

One other thing, though:

...

Dang, if only I could remember what that thing was. It'll come to me.

[Gary Thunder]

Oh yeah, now I remember. I re-read near the end a bit, and I realized a few things I hadn't before. When Nihel was bulling down Atomik Lad, Angus intentionally kicked Shiro so as to magnetize him to Norman, right? Such would explain the "I told ye I owe ye one" comment. He knew he was going on a suicide mission, didn't he. It's kind of sad and glorious at the same time. If there is a Valhalla, he is DEFINITELY going there. Will you mention it at all in Atomik Age?

And yes. Regarding Atomik Lad, how did his parents die? With all his dream sequences and alternate realities flickering in and out all the time, I never got a straight answer. Was it the "Eat your peas!" scene? How did that kill them?

[Kairamek]

Young John got angry, as children are wont to do, about being forced to eat a vegetable he didn't like. He got so mad his field manifested, trying to protect him from eating peas, inadvertantly killing his parents. As I said in the "Few Questions (spoilers)" thread, the field doesn't always act in his best interest when it comes to protecting him.

[Kurosen]

If there is a battleground on the other side of life, you better believe Angus is one of the generals.

And Kairamek got it right.

[Gary Thunder]

New question. If a Negaflux field can only multiply a force so much, say 200 times (a direct quote from Doc Menace), then how come she claims she'll multiply gravity 6,000 times with her Field in the beginning when she's trapped Nuklear Man?

[Kurosen]

One field countering another, countering another, etc.

[Gary Thunder]

All right, then...how can she do this without two complementary Negaflux fields?

Also. You make mention to MANY deities, but they all conflict each other. You can't have the Christian, Hindu, and Norse mythologies all existing at once. Yet you have Odin and Loki, Satan Lord of Evil, and the Many Hands of Vishnu. How is this? They contradict each other every which way.

[Kurosen]

how can she do this without two complementary Negaflux fields?
I don't believe that she can. She didn't go into a big spiel about it in the beginning because it was already the introduction of the idea of Negaflux and that was complex enough as it was.

You make mention to MANY deities, but they all conflict each other.
Do they? Each pantheon can be a metaphor or version of what really happened. Maybe each one holds a specific place or role in the grand scheme of things, but the versions we Earth men are familiar with aren't entirely correct.

[Gary Thunder]

I have trouble believing that the Christian God would accept any other than a monotheistic universe.

Ah well, it's your book, you're allowed to grossly warp every idea of religion ever conceived.

[Kairamek]

That's the idea, the Christian God doesn't want compatition, so he tells his followers that any other diety is really The Devil or one of his minions in disquise. It works out quite nicely.

Plus that suspention of disbelief thing.

[Kurosen]

One of the original ideas for a sequel was to chronicle Nuke's adventures in the universe. The premise was that a being of his power would have been picked up by the supreme being to join his great cosmic superteam. The head guy was Lord Man, his sidekick was Kid Christ, and the superteam were the angels. The main problem with this story was that it really depended on Nuke acting like the jerk he used to be. He was going to cheat on his Angel Entrance Exam and, in one scene, he was going to be committing all seven deadly sins simultaneously (and in multiple ways in some cases).

In the end, there's a much more compelling fate for Nuke. Plus, the story of what happens to Sparky is way more interesting anyway.

[GoldenPlatypus]

When Nihel first appears, he explains the whole shabang about the "Cow goes moo" that made another civilization flourish and trive a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Couldn't it be possible that, by absorbing all of earth's history, legends and religions, those people found it easier to do just like the hindus, and use religious icons as moral standards and social manners? That would surely explain the amalgamy of different idols and aparently conflicting nature of them all, since none of them are absolute per se, but instead represent a facet of reality as those people saw it.

[Kairamek]

in one scene, he was going to be committing all seven deadly sins simultaneously (and in multiple ways in some cases).

I don't suppose you would write that up as a "What If...?" Issue someday? That's a short story I would really like to read.

[Gary Thunder]

I wouldn't mind a slightly AU story to that effect, either. It sounds hilarious.

[gaffit]

I have a question.

What exactly is Alex Halo's power? Does he deflect force like Superion or create it altogether?

[Kurosen]

To the degree that Alex understands it in the book, he can manipulate forces. By Atomik Age he's figured out that's a relatively small application.

[Kairamek]

To the degree that Alex understands it in the book, he can manipulate forces. By Atomik Age he's figured out that's a relatively small application.

DAMNIT! Must you always tease us with little hints for a book you know isn't going to see the light of day for at least seven years?

[Subpar]

Seven years?! Hot damn...

[Kairamek]

Got a new question, I think. How does Atomik Lad fly? I get that his field repulses energy and destroys any matter that comes in contact with it, but that does explain the flight aspect. Normal magnatizes himself, the Dwarven Warriors use rockets packs, and Nuke is a demi-god (flight comes with the spandex outfit).

[Kurosen]

It's not that the Field just batters anything it touches. The Field does so because it's a chaotic and concentrated storm of telekinetic energy. Atomik Lad has some limited control over it (like when he uses it to protect a few people instead of killing them) and at this point in his life the best he's able to do is sort of subconsciously will the Field to pick him up and carry him around in flight.

[Kairamek]

Telekinetic Energy eh? Well that explains... uh... the flight. Doesn't really explain much use yet, but it nice to know what the damn thing is!

That brings up another question, only slight related to the first, and asked about 8 hours before I posted the one you just answered. If a Jedi can pick up a starfighter with the Force, why can't he pick up himself and fly?

[Kurosen]

Because they're dumb.

[MFD]

Because they need to be stationary to lift stuff.

[gizmodude4]

Then, theoretically, Jedis could stand on a free standing sheet of metal and fly, right?

Okay, that's off topic, but I also had a question. Why does Uberdyne not have Negaflux weapons like Dr. Menace? She developed the field at Uberdyne and since Dr. Genius is such a...well...genius, she should be able to develop Negaflux weapons. Why does Uberdyne not have the Negaflux based products?

[Kairamek]

Dr. Genius is also very arrogant and belives her pet project, KI study, is more important. Also, they do have some Negaflux things but not many. Mostly fields to contain the hostile enviroments into which they must subject some beings in order to continue collecting KI data.

Because they need to be stationary to lift stuff.Why? They don't need leverage or anything, and I seem to recall Darth Maul moving a few items out of his way while running backwards at the start of his big fight scene. State your source please.

[Jhonka]

Why? They don't need leverage or anything, and I seem to recall Darth Maul moving a few items out of his way while running backwards at the start of his big fight scene. State your source please.

Overreact much? Sheesh, it was just a theory.


I think.

[Kairamek]

That wasn't an overeaction, just a reaction. I was hoping you had a source for that theory so I could finally answer this damn question. In episode 2 Obi-wan was going to die if Anakin hadn't shown up. Why couldn't he force lift himself out of danger? We know they can use the force to direct themselves in jump or fall, but not fly. Why?

[Gary Thunder]

That's the same reason that Jedi don't simply Force crush the hearts or brains or lungs of their opponents. When they're fighting dark Jedi or Sith, there's too much interference. When they're alone...it's tricky. Yoda flies with the power of the Force, but he's Yoda. He's kind of beyond any Jedi that ever existed.

[Kairamek]

When 900 years old you be, kick ass you will.
I thought Yoda was riding a floating chair, or levitating the chair while he was in it.

Back on subject, kinda, that Telekinetic force thing would explain why Atomik's KI field doesn't change. He isn't changing, he is manipulating the world around him, uncontiously, though the power of his mind. And that would explain why he and Field have a shared segment of KI field data. Both are controlled by the same mind.

[Bongo Bill]

As for the Jedi thing, I think maybe it's because Jedi can't move things that are alive, or things which the Force is actually flowing through (as opposed to just around - or whatever). It would be like trying to move water uphill using... water. So a Jedi can move droids, corpses, inanimate inorganic objects, and fruit, but not people (including themselves). The jumping thing is just because "A Jedi's strength flows from the Force."

Yessir, we are nerds.

[ThanosOfTitan321]

Wait but then how do they lift up people with the grip thing? Or jedi push... or is that using the force to manipulate the air around the people? Heh, sorry about being offtopic.

[Kairamek]

All I've seen them do to others is a "Force Push" that shoves things in the area of effect with... force. That makes sence, can't lift objects that the force flows though. Though I always thought the jumping thing was using a force push to propell themselves. Though the strength enhancing thing would be more consistant with the Force Run.

[Forlorn13Hope]

Brian...I just watched Mystery Men for the 2nd time in several years, and after watching it I noticed that even though your book, and that movie are nothing alike, they have so much in common. I was just wondering if any of your ideas or thoughts came from that movie.

[ThanosOfTitan321]

Hm, the Grammar and Math guys reminded me of characters from Mystery Men. By the way, how exactly do those guys powers work?