Starwind

[quote name='James' timestamp='1292833812' post='702982'] [font=palatino linotype]Bingo. From my perspective, there isn't even really a debate about whether we should or shouldn't have less nuclear weapons in the world - I am sure that, ultimately, pretty much every sane person is going to agree that the world would be better off without nuclear weapons. But we live in a complex world and the solution to this problem is not clear. It is unlikely, for example, that the United States would unilaterally abandon its nuclear weapons when other powers have not done so - not only is it unlikely, but it's something that most rational people would oppose. Can you imagine a world where the United States has no nuclear arsenal, but countries like North Korea and Iran do? To some extent, America's nuclear arsenal assures some degree of global security by way of being an effective counter-balance. Just a footnote to this discussion as well...Starwind, you mentioned 1945 and it being a "mistake". I just want to say something about that. First of all, hindsight is always 20/20. It's very easy to sit here now, in 2010 and look back at 1945 as being a horrific mistake. But I think it's important to just step back for a moment and consider other points of view. What was the alternative to dropping the atomic bombs on Japan? I can think of only one - a ground invasion of Japan by allied forces. It is not out of the question to imagine that a ground invasion of Japan at that time would have resulted in significantly more deaths than the dropping of the atomic bombs. Millions of Japanese are loyal to a derranged emperor and we already know that Japanese soldiers were prepared to commit suicide in order to protect Japan. I can't even begin to imagine what would have happened if tens of thousands of allied forces had actually tried to take Japan via a ground invasion. Secondly, those bombs essentially stopped the war. I live in a country that was underwent some four months of aerial assault by the Japanese air force just prior to the end of the war. By that time, Japan had conquered several nations to Australia's north (including Indonesia, which they occupied for some time). I say this because, again, it's easy in retrospect to say that something was a "mistake never to be repeated". However, I also think it's worth considering what we'd have done if America never had a nuclear arsenal to deploy in such a situation. Americans celebrated the end of WWII for obvious reasons, but the people here celebrated the end of the war because a) it meant the end of Japanese occupation of the region and b) it meant that no further Australian cities would be decemated as Darwin was. This is not to say that the dropping of the bombs wasn't horrific - of course it was. But I suggest that if Japan had begun to bomb San Fransisco and Los Angeles, some Americans today may view the atomic bomb attacks differently than they do. It's worth thinking about, anyway. <img src='http://www.otakuboards.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />[/font] [/quote] ad First off my opinion is not unique (in reference to 1945). I know for a fact that others shared my opinion then. Dwight D. Eisenhower felt that the very development of them was a mistake in 1945, before the bombs were ever dropped. And besides, like I said earlier, they weren't going to fight to the death. They had been trying to surrender for months before the bombs drop. The bombs had little to do with Japan, and everything to do with Russia. There are 183 countries in the world that don't have nuclear weapons, but most of them could. In 1989 when F. W. de Klerk became president of South Africa, he was informed of the nations nuclear arsenal. He was told that they had 6 bombs on the scale of the ones dropped on Japan in 1945. He responded by ordering the dismantling of all six. Next I see is that everyone focuses on the knowledge of the weapons. But there is one simple fact. Without the material, the knowledge means nothing. Without HEU or plutonium you can't build a true nuclear bomb, it's not possible. That's the first thing we should take care of. I mentioned above that they should be sealed in Fort Knox like structures, where no one could possibly get it. The material is key: without that, the threat disappears. Secure it where it can't be used and stop making more material. Then setup a police and intelligence agency that exists to make sure that there is no illicit transfer of this material. Then you begin destroying the material you have. There is about 1700 tons of material on the planet, that's about enough for 100 to 50 thousand bombs. Like I said above, the current number of bombs on the planet is about 23,000. That's a lot of unused material. You do away with some of it with things like International reprocessing centers or international fuel banks. The next step would be to take all US and Russian weapons (the majority) off launch ready alert. Maybe it made sense during the cold war, but this is 2010, with 2011 on the horizon, there is no need for these arsenals to be on launch ready alert. When you have weapons on hair triggers it's not a matter of 'if' there will be an accidental launch, it's a matter of when. We could take all the warheads off our weapons and share our safeguards technology. Then we establish a joint warning center to ensure that nuclear war can't happen by mistake. You are right that this will not be quick. It has to be a step by step process. Using diplomacy, phased reductions and international treaties. That's how we did it with chemical weapons. These weapons are now considered taboo. All nuclear states have to sign a legally binding, intrusively verifiable treaty to ensure that this can be done. When the Soviet Union collapsed the US succeeded in getting Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to sign an enforceable treaty and they gave up their nuclear weapons. Between the US and Russia you have 96% of the worlds nuclear arsenal. We will have to make the reduction first. Once you get to the low hundreds, you can begin to build up the confidence needed to get other nations to reduce their arsenals as well. Leaders of the world have tried to do away with these weapons for almost as long as we've had them. "Every man, woman and child, lives under a nuclear sword of damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment, by accident, or miscalculation, or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished, before they abolish us." John F. Kennedy. "What a diabolic force, everything gets destroyed, everything. Absolutely nothing can stop it." Mikhail Gorbachev "We are not just discussing limits on further increase of nuclear weapons. We seek, instead, to reduce their number. We seek the total elimination, one day, of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth." Ronald Reagan at the nuclear summit in Reykjavik, in 1986. The key is public support, just like any other political action. When JFK passed the limited test ban treaty, every time he mentioned it on the stump he got thunderous applause and quipped 'Had I known it was so popular, I would have done it a long time ago.' This is where we stand. Don't just stand back and sing of lofty ideas and unattainable goals. In 1980 the idea that you could get the US and Soviets to agree to a reduction of 10,000 weapons was the most insane thing many had ever heard. And yet, before the decade was out, they had succeeded. It's not impossible, or simply some lofty idea, it's reality, but as long as you and others like you disregard it as 'lofty', then that's all it will ever be. Don't sit down, stand. Don't be silent, speak out. Don't let size intimidate you. There maybe great numbers against us, but this doesn't make it impossible. Half the battle is getting those that WOULD support this cause TOO support it. To stand up and speak out. That will be half the fight. If you stood up today and made your voice heard on this matter, we would already be one step closer. Don't call it 'lofty' or 'idealistic', because by doing so you diminish both it's reality and it's meaning. Lofty goals are purely quixotic in their nature, but this isn't some ridiculous notion. Social movements are impossible, until they happen, then they become inevitable. Well what's happening now is that this movement is starting to take on an air of inevitability. The US and Russia just signed a new treaty, agreeing to reduce both of their arsenals further. The civil rights movement, the womens rights movement, environmental protection, all these things seemed impossible when they first started, but now we can't imagine going back to how life was before these movements. That's what needs to happen here. The difference is is that these were national movements. This needs to be an international movement, because this issue is global in it's reach. Don't write it off and shrug your shoulders. Get out there and do something.

[quote name='AvalonAngel' timestamp='1292774186' post='702962'] [font="Tahoma"]Didn't stop Al-Qaeda, m'boy I'm sure terrorist organizations and other dissidents are perfectly aware of the capabilities of our countries' military. As would be any other first world countries with Nuclear Arms. The threat of retaliation didn't mean anything at Pearl Harbor, and that was before nuclear weapons. So what changed besides a better bomb? [/font] [/quote] You only focus on the intentional threat. The nuclear threat exists in three places. Intentional, accidental, and the miscalculated. You already seem aware of the intentional threat, which is actually pretty simple to obtain. As long as you have enough money and enough patience, anyone can get the material. You are also only focusing on the US. You forget that nine countries have nuclear weapons. USA (1945), Russia (1949), Britain (1952), France (1960), China (1964), Israel (1967), India (1974), Pakistan (1990), North Korea (2006). And that over 40 countries are capable of obtaining them. There is not a single country in the world that doesn't have at least one enemy. Every country can use self defense as an excuse to obtain nuclear weapons, but if they do it is a much more dangerous world. The United States doesn't have a monopoly on the bomb. You also forget that terrorism is like no other threat. You speak of terrorists as if they are afraid of us using bombs on them. Tell me, where should we bomb if Al-qaeda did managa to nuke us. Afganistan? There are less then a hundred members of Al-qaeda in Afganistan. What about Somalia? They have lots of known Al-qaeda members living there. Yemen? Guess they should get it too. Pakistan? We know they're there, maybe even Bin Laden himself, but they have nukes too, don't they? Tell me, what should we do about them? Should we just nuke all muslim arab nations, just in case? And not just them. The terror death cult, Aum Shinrikyo, in Japan tried to buy a nuke from Russia. They tried to buy a sheep farm in Australia to mine Uranium to make their own bomb. Osama Bin Laden has stated that his goal is to kill 4,000,000 Americans, including 2,000,000 children. Your not going to be able to kill 4,000,000 people by hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings. You have the added bonuses of suicide bombers, who would be more then happy enough to kill themselves even if they killed only one other person. The most difficult part about building a bomb is getting the HEU. Which isn't as hard as one might think. If I was going to get HEU, I would go to Russia, or another country of the former Soviet Union. Many people have succeeded in stealing HEU in this region. The people of this prestigious list include a truck driver, a plumber, a janitor, a small time drug dealer, and a carpenter. If small time people like this can get a hold of HEU then imagine what professionals could do? People with training, with an ideology, with brains. Once you have it, shipping it isn't that hard. 100 lbs. of HEU(Which is big enough for 3 Hiroshima size bombs) is smaller then a football. You could hide it in a six pack of beer. Now maybe your saying: Well what about port authority? Surely they scan cargo containers for radiation? This is true, but there are two parts to consider first. 1. Ever heard the expression 'Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.' Well this is the macro version of that. If your a terrorist and you think they might find your bomb, then you set it off in the port. Close is good enough in this situation. 2. As long as it's contained in lead, HEU gives off very low levels of radiation. The port authorities know this, so the sensors are cranked up to there maximum level. Unfortunately, this means that just about anything will set them off. Porcelain will set it off, old school CRT TV's, various household chemicals, kitty litter. As a result, port authorities get thousands of false hits a day. If you wanted to ship HEU into the country, hide it in a bag of kitty litter. As soon as port security sees that litter, they'll never even bother to open the bag. Plus, anyway you would ship drugs into the US would be just good as well. But what about the accidental threat. Now, I know in the United States, we like to believe that our military is infallible. That they could never make such a disastrous mistake as to accidentally set off a nuke in this country. Allow me to assure you, that from personal experience, the military can be just as incompetent as any other organization. We once had an incident where a B-52 blew during a refueling mission. The four nuclear warheads fell on to Spainish territory and into the Mediterranean. A B-52 crashed over Greenland with nukes on board, spreading radioactive plutonium over the ice cap. In 1960 a Bomark air defense missile exploded on the launch platform, melting the nuclear warhead. In 1968 the USS Scorpion, a nuclear submarine, sank. The nuclear weapons on board were never recovered. A B-47 bomber was lost over the Mediterranean. The nuclear weapons are board were never recovered. In 1959 an aircraft crashed off the coast of Washington. The nuclear depth charges were never recovered. A sky hawk strike aircraft rolled off the deck of an aircraft carrier with a nuclear weapon on board in the sea of Japan. The weapon was never recovered. In 2006 a B-52 with 6 nuclear warheads on board was flown across the United States. The problem: Nobody knew that there were nukes on board. Not the crew or the command on the ground. In 1961 a B-52 broke up over North Carolina, dropping two nuclear warheads. One had it's safety parachute deploy and it landed safely. The other ones didn't, and it had 5 of 6 fail safes malfunction. A single switch prevented a full blown nuclear explosion. When I came into the US military, I believed that the odds of an accidental nuclear explosion in the United States was very low. I still believe that, but the reality is is that low probability events happen all the time. There is a first time for everything. And even having it happen once, could be disastrous. Then there is the threat of miscalculation. In 1995 Pete Sampras won the US open and Wimbledon, George Clooney made his first big movie, a bomb blew up the federal building in Oklahoma city, OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder, and we also came close to an accidental nuclear launch. On January 25th 1995, the US launched a missile over Norway to study the northern lights. We sent word along to Moscow about this, but word never got passed along. When they saw the 4 stages of this missile, it looked exactly like a nuclear strike. For the first time in the nuclear age, they opened the 'atomic football', the command and control box. The brought it into president Boris Yeltsin and assured him that the country was under attack and that he had five minutes to give the launch command for the nations nuclear arsenal. Luckily, Yeltsin wasn't drunk, and he didn't believe that it was true, that there had to be another answer. The Russians have the same launch protocol as the United States, which is 'Launch on warning'. If you THINK you are under attack, you launch your own missiles. You don't wait for their bombs to hit first. To this day, we have no idea why president Yeltsin didn't launch his bombs, all we know is that he didn't. During the cold war, we had a number of false alarms. There have been instances where the rising moon was interpreted as a Russian ICBM attack. A flock of geese was mistaken for bombers. A training video was slipped into the command and control center at NORAD. Everyone involved believed it to be real. No one noticed til after the launch procedures had already gotten underway all across the country to launch an all out assault against the Soviet Union. In some cases, mobile air command ships, including the presidents 'doomsday' plane, took off in anticipation of the destruction of all US military command centers. Another incident was caused when a malfunctioning computer chip set off a warning of a full scale nuclear launch. Command codes were removed from their safes, keys were put into launch switches, President Carter was woken up in the middle of the night, 8 minutes worth of launch prep was carried out, before they realized that it nothing more then a malfunctioning computer chip that cost less then a dollar to replace. When you have nuclear weapons on hair triggers, it is not a matter of 'if' an accidental launch will occur, but when. The question is: What can we do? For starters, we do away with the material. Without the highly enriched uranium or plutonium a bomb is impossible to build. Not an ounce of gold has ever been stolen from Fort Knox, so we should seal up all the material in Fort Knox like structures to ensure that it never falls into anyone's hands ever again. We then sign binding and legal treaties with all other countries forbidding any nation from possessing them, just like we did with chemical weapons. These are now taboo, just as nukes should be. And, since you sited Pearl Harbor, I would like to point out the inaccuracy in your own assessment. The dropping of the nukes on Hiroshima and Nagasake was unnecessary. We think of that time today and think that if we hadn't dropped the nukes on Japan, that they would have kept fighting, but once the nukes hit they instantly caved. The truth is is that the Japanese had been trying to surrender all that summer before. But president Truman wanted to drop the bomb as a show of force. He did it, not to break the Japanese, but to frighten Stalin. To change the balance of power in the world. To declare war on communism. Your own world view, this idea that he who has the mightiest arsenal stands atop the world, untouchable, is straight up delusional. When you say that people fear our might, you're right, but just as many people hate us for it as well. When unstable countries like Pakistan and North Korea have bombs, how long til you think someone uses theirs?

Great Teacher Onizuka. I don't know why, but this story just grabbed me. I started watching and I just couldn't stop.

Dirty jokes and pointless posts are so OtakuBoards.

[url="http://www.takepart.com/countdowntozero"]Demand Zero.[/url] Today we live in world where nuclear weapons are within the reach of all industrialized nations. There are an estimated 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Terrorists and extremists the world over seek them, and are getting closer everyday. When I severed in the military I learned that surprisingly, of the three ways to obtain a nuclear weapon(buy it, build it, steal it), terrorists were in fact trying to build one. And that as long has you had the uranium or plutonium all the needed parts can be bought commercially. 17 kg of HEU (Highly enriched uranium) is all you would need to level a city. That's roughly the size of a grapefruit. The sad reality is is that these are weapons that can be trusted with no one. So long as even a single nation has them, the world will be in constant peril, because so long as one has it, others will seek it. We must do all in our power to rid the world of the weapons and the material used to build them, before someone gets the chance to use them again. It was a mistake in 1945 and we must never allow it to happen again.

When drinking always be aware of your hands. Sometimes they can lead themselves astray. When drunk, make sure the woman hitting on you isn't wearing a ring. If she is stop. If you get to her place anyway, leave if you see a picture of her and another man. If you fail this one, leave when you see two night stands by the bed. If you fail this too, leave when you hear a door open. If you fail here, you will definitely leave when you hear her husband tell you to 'keep it up soldier'. (This is based on a true story that will haunt me to the grave.)

There are some among us who are born unique. We don't ask to be, but we are. In the early days those like us were either feared or revered. Having these powers made us not unlike gods to these primitive people. However, as mythology and faith gave way to reason, the definition of our kind changed ultimately from God to Psychic. The exploration of psychic power as a weapon has been around as long as our kind has existed, but it really met it's heyday during World War II. The NAZI's were obsessed with finding a way to weaponize us. To make us both pliable and reliable. Not wanting to be out done, many other governments around the world sought the same kind of advancement. The Third Reich fell without realizing it's goal, but the various programs around the world continued on anyway. These programs have gone by a variety of different names, depending on where you live, but the current slang among us is 'The Division'. They horde psychics and do every thing in there power to train and prepare them for life as soldiers. Those who resist or refuse are often held indefinitely, if not killed outright. The only hope for escape is to run and never stop. Some have grown tired over the years and have decided that they would rather fight. To this point no one has ever even gotten close to a successful assault on any Division center. With the combined strength of hundreds of movers, bleeders and sparks, matched with the security of hundreds of watchers and shadows, there is just no way to get close to them. Which has never really bothered me personally. I've always been pretty good at running so I'm happy to just keep going. But this doesn't work for some people. Recently there has been some big commotion about an incident in Hong Kong. Apparently 'The Division' lost a syringe full of that strange chemical that's suppose to boost our powers. Now, I know that sounds pretty cool, but considering the fact that the stuff has apparently killed thousands of psychics, just in it's initial application, I can't stay far enough away from the stuff. And besides even if you survived there is a whole variety of treatments you would need just to keep the radioactive material in these injections from melting your insides. But this has been the spark many have needed to move forward with their crazy plan. Why would anyone go through with this, you might ask? In some cases it's about equal rights. The belief that we are people too and shouldn't be experimented on. For others it's about revenge. When they find us, bad things tend to happen to our friends and family. My father was a watcher, like me, and when he refused to join they came for him and my mother. When my dad realized that no matter what he did, they would chase him, he gave me a single slip of paper and a watch and told me that as long as I did exactly what was written on this piece of paper, exactly when it said to, I would be able to safely escape the city. I never saw either of them again. As sad as that may sound my story isn't unique. For others it's about power. They think that things should be the way they used to be. You know, when we were Gods and everything. But no matter the reason, the goal is the same. 'The Division' must go. That's where I come in. My name is Sam Harris and last week I saw something kinda strange. I saw myself sitting on a park bench all by myself. Then suddenly this guy in black coat just walks up to me, hugs me, hands me a letter and tears off. Unfortunately that was as far as my vision went, so now here I am, sitting at this park bench like I have been everyday for a week. I have no way of knowing which day since my vision didn't give me any time indicators other then shadow positions to indicate time of day, roughly between 2 and 3 in the afternoon, and this one location. I usually only use my power to see short distances into the future, handy for escaping a dangerous situation before it even becomes one, but I'm not great at the long off predictions, which is why the fact that this has taken a week now seems so strange. Normally I can only see two days ahead, and the most, but this is just crazy. My traveling companions are starting to think I'm nuts. Plus we've been here for a while and soon we are going to have to move anyway. Mike, our mover, has always been the antsy sort, so he just wants to get out of town because he's kinda bored of the back woods town. Sean, our shadow, is more skittish and just wants to bolt before the Division watchers start getting close again. And Paul, our shift, is just kinda following there lead since he doesn't give a crap one way or the other. I managed to get them to agree to another day, but if this guy doesn't show up today we're gonna have to leave. Sean is good, but if we stay still for too long, it's only a matter of time til the Division watchers find us. Change to is coming. You don't have to a watcher to see that anymore. The Division has made it their business to keep our existence secret, doing whatever is necessary to make sure it stays that way. But with all these new moving parts in play, it's really any ones guess when **** will hit the fan. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [center]Psychic Classes [b]Mover:[/b] An individual with the ability to move and affect physical objects with their thoughts. Also known as telekinetics. [i]Limitations:[/i] A movers abilities are limited by their concentration and experience. Most are only capable of simple things (moving small furniture and people), but it is believed that with artificial enhancement, they could become much more powerful with much less time needed to train. [b]Spark:[/b] An individual with the ability to create flames with their thoughts. Also known as pyrokinetics. [i]Limitations:[/i] See above. Sparks face much the same trouble as movers. [b]Watcher:[/b] An individual with the power to see into the future. [i]Limitations:[/i] Though one of the most sought forms of psychics, they are also the most unreliable, due to the untenable nature of the future. Sometimes the simple act of seeing it can change it. [b]Shift:[/b] An individual with the ability to use their psychic energy to change the appearance of an object. [i]Limitations:[/i] The technique employed is purely illusory and has no real physical form. As such, most only shift objects of similar size and shape to the illusion they wish to cast. The illusions can hold even in absence of the shift, but the time is limited to only a few hours to a day at the most. [b]Push:[/b] An individual with the power of the persuasion, able to convince another into following there commands. [i]Limitations:[/i] The push can only employ the technique with direct eye contact. Their power over other psychics has yielded mixed results. [b]Sniff:[/b] An individual with the power to track another with the aid of an object belonging to ,or handled by, the person being sought. Power is connected to the olfactory system. [i]Limitations:[/i] The sniff requires both an object and a precise target to track. The must know who they are looking for or they just get images of any person who has touched the object in question. [b]Shadow:[/b] An individual with the power to block the tracking abilities of Sniffs. The power is less effective against watchers. [i]Limitations:[/i] The average range for a shadow is only about 20 feet. While more powerful ones have been recorded, most are limited to mentioned range. [b]Bleeder:[/b] An individual with the power to create intense sonic pressure from their mouth. The common cause of death from their attacks is internal hemorrhaging. [i]Limitations:[/i] The attack used by the bleeder is a focused attack. Meaning it is only effective one direction: Forward. The bleeder must turn their head to re-aim the attack. [b]Stitch:[/b] An individual with the power to heal any injury inflicted on a person short of amputation, so long as the other person is still alive. They are also capable of using the power to inflict harm. dislocating joints and even causing internal and external tissue damage. [i]Limitations:[/i] The stitch must have physical contact with the targeted person in question. [b]Reader:[/b] An individual with the power to read the thoughts of another. [i]Limitations:[/i] The reader must be within a certain distance. The further from their target, the less affective their ability to read their thoughts becomes. Beyond 150 feet it becomes impossible. [b]Wipe:[/b] An individual with the power to erase memories from the minds of others. [i]Limitations:[/i] The wipe requires direct physical contact with the target. Specifically the head. [b]Faze:[/b] An individual with the power to pass through solid matter. [i]Limitations:[/i] The concentration needed to use their ability leaves the faze mentally drained. Prolonged or over use can result in mild to severe migraines and even brain damage if pushed too far.[/center] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those who haven't already noticed, this is a RP based on the 2009 film Push. You do not have to have seen the movie to understand, as I have already given all the needed information above. All the different types of psychics from film have been included, as well as two I came up with myself (Fazes and Sparks). I'm looking for at least three people to play Sams' traveling companions, but this isn't mandatory. If you have a character of your own, go with it. I'll fill in some of the basic information I'll be needing on each character. [b]Name: [/b]Sam Harris [b]Age:[/b] 21 [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Appearance:[/b][url="http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/GeneOutlaw/cameron.jpg"]Sam Harris.[/url] He is about 5'9 and 167 lbs. He has two scars on his back from being shot by Division sniffers while trying to escape them. [b]Personality:[/b] He isn't the leader sort. He still finds it shocking that the other three have fallen in on him like they have. He has a strong sense of responsibility and always follows through on what he starts. He feels responsible for the well being of the group and is constantly looking out, sometimes at a personal cost to himself. [b]Psychic Class:[/b] Watcher [b]Writing snippet: [/b] See above.

[b]Name:[/b] Micheal "Silent thunder" Burrows [b]Age:[/b] 27 [b]Nationality:[/b] USA [b]Personality: [/b]He is quiet and calm by his very nature. Years of military training have only further honed these dispositions. Though no one would guess, based on his rather unmoving and carefully managed expressions, he is passionate. He has a strong sense of justice and honor. He is known as Silent thunder for his tendency to explode in anger without warning or sound. If he feels that someone has crossed the line and has acted in an dishonorable way, he is likely to react with seemingly spontaneous violence. [b]Appearance:[/b] [IMG]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/GeneOutlaw/RobLabou.jpg[/IMG] He is about 5'8 and 178 lbs. He has Numerous scars on his right forearm and tattoo of an eagle on his left shoulder. [b]Specialty:[/b] CQC [b]Weapons:[/b] [i]Primary:[/i] [url="http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/GeneOutlaw/equatorianfinal_06.jpg"]Double sided Combat Knife[/url] [i]Secondary:[/i] [url="http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/GeneOutlaw/p7.jpg"]9mm Pistol with optional silencer[/url] [i]Special Weapon:[/i] [url="http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/GeneOutlaw/ballistic_knife.jpg"]Ballistic Knife[/url] [b]Outstanding Assignment:[/b] It was 2003. Micheal was on assignment in Somalia. They had received word that a high ranking member of Al-qaeda had taken sanctuary in the HQ for the local militant Muslim group. If they could get this guy it could set back their operations for at least a year. The problem was that they were working out of a large urban sector, meaning that the risk of collateral damage from airstrikes was too great. That's where Micheal comes in. He had been given only one objective: Capture or kill the target. The movement would be fast and without mercy. The enemy HQ was a ten story stone structure that was several years old. The estimated number of enemies inside was between 45-50. In normal circumstances this would be seen as a suicide mission. But Micheal had no intention of dieing here. He was placed in command and was given three additional men. The plan was simple. He would have his three men draw attention and the ground floor while he infiltrated through the roof via the neighboring building. As he and his men moved into position Micheal began considering all contingencies. His men had a strict retreat policy should the enemies numbers exceeded 5 to 1. In other words, if more then 15 men started storming there position, they were to leave the building, escape any pursuers and await for Micheal to return. If he didn't return within 4 hours, they were to radio for pick up without him. Micheal braced himself. The distance between his roof and the next was about 14 feet. Seeing as failure meant falling to his death, he was very focused on using all of his leg strength to build up as much speed as possible for the jump. Suddenly he heard a pop down below. That was his team, and that was his signal. With all the force of an Olympic sprinter, Micheal burst forward and for the ledge of the building. With his last step, he pushed off the elevated ledge and went flying for the next roof. He rolled as both feet met with the hard surface perfectly. He was instantly back on his feet and he ran forward, toward the roof access door. He saw the door already starting to open. Undoubtedly, enemies who were hoping to take advantage of the high ground and pick his men off from the roof. But Micheal had thought of this. Without thinking, Micheal grabbed his knife in a reverse grip. The door popped open and the man saw Micheal just long enough to have his throat cut from ear to ear. Micheal then grabbed the downed mans shirt and pushed his body back into a second man standing behind him. The two feel back the roughly ten steps leading from the top floor to the roof. Micheal quickly jumped down from door, his knees landing on the dead mans chest as he took and drove it's blade through the second mans left eye, killing him instantly. He could still hear shooting outside, but the sound of the guns were becoming more numerous. His men would fall back soon, meaning he would be on his own. He had to move quickly. He looked about the mostly bare room around him and moved for the door. He stopped just off to the side of the door knob and listened for a moment for any commotion in the hallway just beyond. It was tough due to the gunfire, so the replaced his knife with his side arm and prepared to move. With a quick burst of motion, he was out the door with his gun up in front of him, silencer in place. He caught two more men and the end of the hall who were distracted by the noise outside. With two quick shots, they were down. Micheal ran forward to the end of the hall where if forked right and left. This was dangerous. He had a fifty-fifty shot. If he chose wrong and men were on the opposite end, he could be spotted and shot before he turned around. At the last moment he chose left and saw nothing. With almost inhuman speed, he dropped to a knee and spun about to face the other end of the hall. Still no one. He was relieved for a moment, but quickly marshaled himself and headed down the hall to the right. he could see a door and the far end. Again, he braced himself just outside the door and listened. While he couldn't make them out clearly, he could definitely hear voices inside. He came about and kicked the door open. Two men at the window on farside of the room. Micheal fired just as they were turning about. He checked their faces. Neither was his target. The shooting outside grew distant for a moment before stopping. His men had retreated. He had to move quickly now, before the enemy noticed he was inside the building. He ran back into the hall and headed back down the left side hall way. One more room on this floor. If he stayed much longer they would find him. He hoped this was it. He braced himself on the wall and kicked the door just as before, this time without listening. There were three men this time. He popped the first two without incident, but the third managed to turn around and fire a shot, catching Micheal in his left thigh. Micheal was quick and shot the third man in the head. He hobbled over and checked the three downed men. The second one had been his target. Now he just needed confirmation. He grabbed his combat knife and cut the mans right thumb off as proof of his death. He shoved the thumb in his pocket and quickly made for the roof again. The injury to his leg meant he wouldn't be able to make the jump back to the other building so he had to improvise. He started scanning the ledge around the roof, looking for and easy way down. There was an emergency staircase, but that would draw too much attention and take too much time on his bad leg. He was losing a lot of blood. he had to hurry or else he was dead. That's when he saw it. A dump truck filled with sand was coming down the road. It looked like it was going to pass right in front of the building. If he timed it right, he could jump down to the vehicle with only minimal injuries. He could already hear shouts inside. They had found the dead bodies. He had no time left to debate. It was either risk death by fall or certain death by bullets. No contest, he jumped. He made sure to bend his knees and try to roll with his momentum. It was partially successful since he only sprained his left knee in the fall. The truck kept moving, he would just hop off when it stopped next and head for the evac point. He arrived to find all three of his men still in one piece and shocked to see he made it out alive. Today would be the day that his legend would be born. Over the years the story would be and exaggerated, but one thing was for sure. SSG Micheal Burrows was one Bad Ass Mother Fucker.

I understand a desire to solve the greatest mysteries of the universe, but something about this whole thing seems more then a little dangerous. I'm just as curious about the creation of the universe as the next guy, but maybe there are simpler things we could be looking into first. Jumping straight into seems a little reckless is all I'm saying.

Marcus's ears were still ringing and his head was still throbbing. What the hell was even going on anymore. And where the hell did these damn thing keep coming from. He'd only ever even seen one werewolf before today and now it was like they were sprouting out of the ground like daisies. As another one of the monsters started to charge him Marcus put one of his hands on the ground. The earth shatterd just beneath the beast and it slowly was pulled beneath the surface. There was a screeching sound in Marcus's brain, but he couldn't afford to lose it now. He could see from where he was that everyone already had there hands full with whatever the hell was going on. He couldn't become everyones burden. He leaned his back off against the wall and pushed himself to his feet. The next one started coming and was caught through the neck by another rock harpoon, severing its head from his shoulders. The whole room started to shaking. His power was starting to go rampant. Marcus grabbed hold of his head with his hands and started to surpress his power as best he could. As the room stopped shaking he started to feel himself sliding to the ground again, but he caught himself and tried to push himself back up to his feet. Marcus wasn't certain why his powers had gone haywire all the sudden, but he did know one thing, something bad was about to happen.

As a wolf rushed for Marcus he offerd up his right hand, palm facing out. The floor beneath his hand burst up in long flat slab. Marcus heard the thud as the beast collided with solid rock. Marcus then brought up his other hand slapped the two together causing the flat slab to fold in half and crush the beast with a sickening crunch. It had been a few years, but Marcus still had what it took to kill a couple of wolves. A second one tried to flank him. Marcus placed his left plam flat on the ground, then thrust it up and out toward the wolf, sending a jagged pillar of earth up and through the animal. It was at this point that it hit Marcus. His head started throbbing. It had been too long since the last time he had done this. He wasn't ready for a full out fight yet. He saw a third wolf charging him. He couldn't get a fix on the animal cause the room seemed as if it was spinning. Marcus kneeled down and set hands on either side of him and brought them up and around him, creating a dome of rock to stop the monster. When he heard the thud he pushed out and sent it smashing against the wall, crushing the creature on the wall. Marcus leaned over and was now on both knees and using his hands for balance. He could hear the pounding in his ears and his head felt like it was being burned and crushed at the same time. He slumped back and bit and fell to his butt. One more wolf charged him and as it approached Marcus brought his right hand up and with it a large rock with it. He pointed his hand and took aim at the wolf as best he could and fired the rock from his hand like a canon. The rock collided with the wolf's head, crushing it. Marcus fell now to his back and stared up at the ceiling. His head was throbbing and he couldn't hear or barely even see anything around him.

Tommy wanderd out into this long dark hallway. Whatever this place was, it looked decrepit. There was little to no lighting in this place. It looked like an old hospital and it was starting to creep Tommy out. As he started to walk off to his right he heard voices coming from behind him. He turned and started to run down the hall. As he came to the end of the hall it opened up and he could see three people already out there. As Tommy came running in all eyes fell on him. He looked out and kinda smirked at them as he walked through the door [B]"Am I late for the party?"[/B] Tommy said, in typical smart ass fashion, as he came up to the group. The looks quickly turned to looks of irritation at his comment. Tommy chuckled nervously [B]"Geez, tough crowd. And here I thought you'd be the good humored type."[/B] It was at this point that one of the girls spoke up "Are you gonna tell us why your here?" Irritation still in her voice. Tommy jumped back a bit, this chick was awfully up tight [B]"Hey just woke up here. I was wondering if maybe any of you had an idea of whats going on around here."[/B] The shook her head, not sounding quite as upset [B]"Sorry, we all have about the same story. I bet your phones missing too."[/B] It hadn't occured to Tommy to check, but he went ahead and reached into his pocket. Sure enough, it was gone. Tommy stomped his foot and looked around the room again. He looked back down to his hand and back to the rest of them [B]"Do the rest of you have one of these?"[/B] He asked, showing his right palm to them and the bar code on his hand.

[B]Name:[/B] Aaron Kiel [B]Age:[/B] 23 [B]Gender:[/B] Male [B]Side:[/B] Hells Salvation [B]Human Appearance:[/B] [URL="http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/GeneOutlaw/RobLabou.jpg"][U]Aaron[/U].[/URL] Aaron stands around 5'9 and weighs around 185 lbs. He has 2 scars on the right side of his rib cage from a stabbing a year ago and 2 more on his stomach from being shot 2 years ago. [B]Alterd Appearance:[/B][URL="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1/Mao610/digital%20devil%20saga/art-008.jpg"][U]Alterd Aaron[/U].[/URL] In his alterd state he grows about 2 feet taller. [B]Personality:[/B] Aaron is a pessimist by nature. He sees the ugliest parts of the world and sees the world for the dark and unforgiving place it is. But at the same time, he would have it no other way. He believes that no matter how ugly the world is, it is a world crafted by mans own hand and thus it is the right one. He believes someone needs to make there own path and that no one has a right to tell anyone what they should be doing. [B]Snippet:[/B] It was another day on the beat. The life of a cop had it's ups and downs, but it was just as good as anything else. And helped Aaron keep his perspective on the world. Drug dealers, murders and rapists were his bread and butter and nothing made him feel better then bringing them in. It was what made the day better. Recently things had been getting out of hand. It was like the whole world had gone crazy. Reports of small nations in the middle east being destroyed, thousands of convicted criminals being killed and nearly as many dissapearances. People were starting to say that the end of days was coming. But then again people have been saying that for almost a thousand years now. Well, even the crack pots have to be right eventually. It happend early last year. Aaron had come home early today. He usually didn't get home til around 8, but he managed to slip out and hour early so he could surprise his girlfriend back home. His parents being the devoutly religious type they were said he was going to bring about gods wrath living with a woman out of wed lock. Just the the thought of them chastizing him for it again made him chuckle as he came down the side walk. He was about a block from home when he heard the first blast. He immediatly started running and as he came around the corner. Fire was pouring from the third floor window of his apartment building. His apartment. On the ground below he saw someone standing and just staring up. They turned their head and caught eyes with him for an instant then dissappeared. It only took the FDNY about 2 minutes to show up on the scene but it was already too late. They found Kimmi, his girlfriend, dead inside. There was no official reason cause ever given for the fire. They just put it down as an accident, but Aaron knew it was no accident. He knew that person on the ground knew something, but how was he suppose to tell everyone about a glowing person who dissappeared and was seen by no one but him. It was only 2 days later when he was lying in his hotel bedroom when he heard a voice coming from the shadows. At first he was frightend, but as it spoke it began to tell him what had happend. About how the man he had seen was one of those know as "The hands of God". They were the divine punishers of sin and were here to bring about a new age of paradise. Kimmi was a sacrifice to this mission for allowing herself to be corrupted by him. Aarons sorrow began to subside to rage. It was as this anger over came him that the voice offerd him something. It offered him the power to crush those who wrongfully punished her. If he offered up his soul to the darkness, he would be given the strength to fight back. To rebel against god himself. It has been almost a year since then and Aaron has become every bit of the monster he appears to be. His only mission is to stop "The hands of God" no matter what that meant.

[CENTER]The world is diseased. Corruption has become the standard and moral decay is the only truth of the world that still remains. The world is slowly burning itself and calling upon it's own hell. God has decided the world is too sick to be allowed to continue. The world of the divine is decending to bring about the end of this world to usher in the new age of paradise. As heaven decends they reach out to the people of earth and call for their aid. But not all are welcoming this new age. But when you stand opposed to heaven, would you sell your soul to hell to gain the strength to rebel.[/CENTER] [COLOR="Blue"]Ours is a world of war and moral decline. This is all that God sees from heaven anyway. To bring an end to the destruction and finally bring utopia to the people, God has sent his archangels to earth to recruit like the men and women of earth aid in the final atonement. The people who have answerd their call are blessed with their divine strength and the power to end the death and destruction. They call themselves "The hands of God."[/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"]The world is an ugly, but beautiful place. That is the philosophy of the rebellion. Some of those on earth find intervention of the divine to be an affront to humanity and an attempt to forge an absolute rule. They believe that a utopia would be the end of human will and individuality. But no power of man can strike back against the strength of the divine. So to take on the powers of heaven, these rebels have sold their souls to the darkness to strike back against the "The hands of God". This organization call themselves "Hells Salvation".[/COLOR] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sign up: Name: Age:Try to be reasonable with this. I don't want a crew of nothing but teenagers trying to save the world. Gender: Side: The hands of God/Hells Salvation Human Appearance: Altered Appearance: Using these powers (divine or evil) result in an altered physical form. Both descriptions and images are acceptable. Personality: Snippet: I want this to be about how your character came about there powers and why they have taken the their side of choice. One can have as many characters as they like, but I would like to put out that not all characters submitted may be accepted. I'll be sure to let anyone who submits more then one character know which are accept and which, if any, are not.