Amazing how everyone thinks they're right. I may as well be too.

The Teragen allows anyone sharing their beliefs to join yet, does nothing police those members when they get out of control. The Count is a prime example. He's not a terrorist in my opinion like Geryon is, but he backs up and supports the actions of his fellow comrades in arms. This makes him just as bad in my book.

If you are a Terat, you are a Terat. You cannot pick and choose the label you take for yourself. "I'm a Terat, but I'm not one of those kinds of Terats. I'm ony here for the popcorn shrimp." No, sorry, that's crap. If you are a Terat then you are resposible for the actions of your fellow Terats. Their sins are yours to endure.

You can, at any time, walk away from a group that commits acts that you are morally opposed to. If you know that the group is commiting those acts and you still choose call yourself one of them then you are guilty by association.

Elites... well, that's easy. An assassin is just an assassin no matter how you look at it. You kill people, you get a pay check.

I find it best to remain unaligned. While all the rest are bickering over who's the coolest and who's right I'm at your villa in Santa Monica swiping the stacks from your safe.

I do not claim to be part of The Teragen, nor do I claim to know what goes through Henry/Cain's head, but I believe that I have seen enough to answer a few of these questions. If I am incorrect, then I am sure that someone will step forward and correct me.



I believe that "more meaningful", in this case would mean: "a use of such importance and meaning to you that you would turn them towards it even if not paid to do so"



Again, I am not him, but I believe from what I have read above that the answer to your question will be yes. As described, the Teragen is like a political party. Much like the modern baselines have "democrat", "republican" and whatnot. Just as the parties have no means or desire to keep people from claiming affiliation ("I'm a Democrat" ... "I'm Teragen") though ultimately it is a declaration of belief.

Importance and meaning to me. So what you're sayin' is there is no objective answer to this question. So fuck you and your judgements.

Oh, and why don't you let other people speak for themselves fuckwad. Cain's a big boy, I'm sure he don't need you speakin' for him.

I believe a more appropriate comparison in this case(and I do understand that it was my own comparison in the first place) would be the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam in the middle East. The vast majority of them are decent people, but it's the ones that scream and blow themselves up on OpNet screens that get the attention while others condone their actions as 'the will of Allah' or whatever the logic of the season is.

I am not a fan of the 'guilt by association' judgement that would come from individuals who would judge you based on your group.(whether that group be DeVries, Utopia, or Teragen) And, as we have seen plainly that those judgments come from all across the spectrum. This is why I share some philosophical similarities with the Teragen, just as many as I share with Team Tomorrow, and while I claim affiliation with neither of them.

How colorful. Please forgive me for offering my input on a discussion thread. I had forgotten that this was a private thread. Oh, wait...

My recommendation is if you want Cain to answer your question and nobody else, that is exactly what Private Messages are for.

And you are right, there is no objective answer to "more meaningful" because different people, baseline and nova alike have different ideas of what is "meaningful"

A lot of words for sayin' nothing.

I don't have a problem with you pipin' up little man but don't speak for other people, even if you think you know what they're gonna say.

That's just being a dick.

My, what a fascinating display of testoterone. I do hope neither of you hurts yourselves.

My question was addressed to Cain, but I won't begrudge anyone the chance to give their opinion. Now I will be most interested to see if Zero's answer is the same as Cain's.

My money's on Spartan. He's put his ass on the line. Has Zer0?

What are you talking about? Has some sort of duel or battle been scheduled that I was unaware of? I have no issue with any of you. I do not understand how or why insults and questions of 'putting my ass on the line' are called for.

I state what I believe. That is all. I do not claim to be an expert on any topic we have discussed, nor do I claim to be telepathic. I actually state quite clearly the opposite. I simply offer my input on a public forum.

Where wagers and integrity questions come into the equation I cannot see.

I've recently been asked to join the Teragen. I like the people who offered me this opportunity, but I'm still put off by the violence associated with some of its members. I can't see myself remaining silent, much less voicing approval of, the taking of another sentient being's life. What I find seductive is the openness the Terats I do know have toward nova development.

I am inclined to agree with you, Neil. ((if you have a different preferred form of address, please say so))

I am of the mind that advancements in science and society have been called for since long before the dawn of the "Nova Age". I believe that at least some parts of Divis Mal's Null Manifesto are dead on. We are not human. It is a biologically proven fact. We are given abilities and skills that make us simply better than any baseline can ever be in that respect. Does this make us somehow 'superior'? No. Does it make us different, most definitely.

The Teragen, in my belief, is a fundamentally good idea with absolutely horrendous execution. The Teragen seems to be angled toward the development of novas as a race to reach their ultimate potential, something which I am all in favor o.

Where it falls short is that many of its members seem to forget that while we are no longer human, we once were, and also that there are still 7 billion baselines walking the earth. No matter how much power we have, they still run the show. It may not be that way forever. Eruptions may occur with such increased frequency that in a few hundred or thousand years there are no more baselines. However, it is that way now, and it is generally a bad idea to 'kick the beehive' or to promote 'kicking the beehive', if I may use Geryon and Count Orzaiz as examples.

Thank you, Cain, for insulting my intelligence and my reasons for joining Team Tomorrow. It tells you how little you know of me and my background.

Before eruption, I was an unashamed comic book geek and highly intelligent; all eruption has done is given me some extra abilities and the chance to help the world. The fame and fortune are nice extras, and I won't be hypocritical enough to deny it, but when it comes down to it, I am living a dream.

I won't even presume to understand why you or Ausrine left T2M. In the end, we all choose our own paths, and must live with the consequences.

P.S. My observation about Divis Mal's behaviour was based on a pop culture thing, just like your previous discussion had been about. It was also quite mild, because I'd imagine Pax would have been much more forceful about the matter.

You're not too bright, are you?

Apparently not, enlighten me.

Does anyone have information on nova groups dedicated to being constructive without a particular agenda?

Wealth, power, social engineering and philosophical cohesion are fine and dandy, but is there a place for novas who just want to work on building a better mousetrap (or solar panel or whatever) for the unambiguous Greater Good without getting lumped in with busybodies, zealots and hired goons? And I use those terms endearingly, because it looks like lots of folks here (myself included) fall into one or more of those categories.

And when I say The Greater Good, complete with sarcastic capitalization, I mean stuff that you really have to stretch to claim that it's actually bad for someone. Better mousetraps and solar panels are good examples.

Okay, I'll put on my Mistress of the Obvious cap now:

What I'm saying is that Spartan's been in the stink, putting his life on the line. That gives his words a lot more weight to me. You, on the other hand, come off like a do-nothing OpNet Warrior, full of wind and not much else.

Given how little you know of me, I understand the misconception.
However, I would strongly recommend that(as seems to be the theme of this thread) you not make judgments based on first impressions. Simply because in the future you could offend someone who would take it personally and exact fierce retribution much as the firebrands of our race are wont to do. That is simply my advice, you may take it or leave it. It ultimately does not matter to me which you do.

I consider this issue closed. Back to the subject of the thread..

I'll take that risk.

The trouble with forming groups around this sort of mentality is eventually someone will get it in their head to pursue some sort of agenda with it. It is why I maintain my distance from these organizations. As it stands I am doing research into the medical field and I like to think that I am making some progress.

If I were to put my studies in the hands of a 'group' I am fully confident that they would attempt to take over and redirect it towards some other purpose that I cannot support. While I cannot claim to have even half of the mental capacities that he does, I believe that Dr. Balmer is coming to a similar conclusion, if he has not already.

Wise beyond your years, Miss Danae. We may not agree on all things, but I cannot deny the wisdom of what you have said here.

I baked cookies for you when you were in the Rashoud. That's got to count for something.

Sadly. I wouldn't mind a little kicking out of the motherfucking jams, myself.



Your "book" is stupid, and your bystander, fence-sitting bullshit will only wash for so long.



Hurf fucking durf.



Well put.



I don't recall ever saying that, nor do I particularly recall any official representative of the Teragen openly saying that they endorsed murder. If you can point out for me an instance where a member of the Teragen speaking for the Teragen endorsed slaughter, I'd like to see it.

All the same, what does that prove? That it doesn't happen in America? Kid, maybe you live on Planet America or something, I don't know, but that sort of political maneuvering isn't startlingly uncommon throughout most of the second and third world.



I don't recall ever saying novas were a "superior" race.



Neither have I. Neither have most members of the Teragen that I know of.

But I'm no sap, either. I'll do what I have to in order to survive.



You'll be hard pressed to find a group that doesn't employ violence in some capacity. Team Tomorrow, DeVries, even the Red Cross.

I'll get to the rest of you later.

I'm not even looking for a charitable organization necessarily. I'd settle for "enlightened self-interest". There must be folks who enjoy spending their time making/doing useful stuff on their own terms more than they enjoy the largest possible paycheck.

...but maybe not. Contessa, you just out-cyniced me. Good job.

Also, I bet nova-baked cookies are worth their weight in gold on the right market. Especially if the heat-source was nova-derived.

Does this mean you're going to yell at me for taking cookies to Contessa?

They're not nova-baked, they're Nova-baked. It's a subtle distinction. However, the heat source was our trusty Whirlpool oven, and not a nova, so they're kind of mundane cookies in that regard.

Actually, I like first impressions. They are usually accurate, particularly when compared to someone's long-term actions.

Hand delivered Nova-baked cookies probably do just as well, value-wise.

Here's a business model for you Flicker: Set up a waiting list where insane rich people can sign up for Nova-Cookie delivery. Whenever you feel like it, make a batch of cookies, drop them off with whoever's at the top of the list and collect a couple grand or however much you want to charge (there's someone who will pay it).

Kevlar wrote:

Space exploration is pretty cool, and it would be hard to claim it as evil. Though I suppose some here will jump in and say otherwise just to be asses. The governments started using Novas in space after the near shuttle disaster a couple years ago. I've even read somewhere that some novas were thinking of forming a club. Don't know what they call it or if it's even been formed yet. It was just something I read, that I thought 'hey, that'd be a cool thing to do', but I don't have any details on it or names of the people to contact.

Is this really possible? *boggles*