I don't know exactly how successful his efforts were, but I appreciate the Trashman trying to make his art into a force of good with that smile.
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Depends on your definition of success. The gentrification efforts are shut down (for now) and everyone involved is dead, so that would probably be a success to some.
This arc kinda makes me think the Band-Aid nose man's a sort of golem that was seen a couple of story arcs ago as well as the proto-golems the Inquisition used back during the Vicky 2 (Or was it HOI3?) segment. Lots of mysterious to unfold alright. And looks like Angie's got a lot of stuff to go about concerning her mother. Hopefully they'll both patch things up.
The Inquisition used golems during World War II, but they're separate from the Band-Aid nose man. Golems were derived from Abrahamic mysticism, which is something the Inquisition specializes in. The Band-Aid nose man was created from pure thought as a tulku, based on Tibetan folklore (though evidence supporting its existence outside of theosophical circles is sketchy). Two different origins for things of similar purpose.
There was an Islamic Takwin many arcs ago if I recall, the Inquisition made a cameo in that too if I remember.
I wonder if any of these and the other mythical creatures we’ve seen will show up in Stellaris, would be cool if they did. I kind see them being used in a similar way to those xeno army groups you can get in the Stellaris tech tree, only showing up in storyarchs rather am than gameplay.
I know you’re burnt out of writing cultural updates for NWO now, but what do you think of the idea of doing cultural updates for Roman metropolises instead of whole provinces? I figure a culture update for a city would be exhaustive than a region or country, but it might still require a bit of research to write. Here’s a list of cites that could have a update, based off a previous lore discussion post.
If you decide not to do anymore cultural interludes anymore for NWO tho, that’s understandable. You have story-arcs and gameplay updates to work on and that is indeed a higher priority than lore updates. We can always have minor lore discussions after all, provided we have much to talk about that is.
Ah yes, thanks for reminding me. The takwin was basically the Islamic version of the golem and mostly original, since there isn't really a direct Islamic version of a golem. For all intents and purposes I considered it operating on the same magic and mechanics as the Jewish golems.
I'll see if I can work them into the story somehow.
I could do them at some point, but maybe at the end of the century. There will be some major changes to several existing metropolises and new ones will appear in the next few decades.
Yeah, the writer's block has hit me much harder lately. I'll see what I can do.
Compulsion, Part 1
Kaiser’s Supermarket, Thessaloniki – September 16, 2013, 10:00 AM
It was a peaceful day at the supermarket. A song played over the speakers as Rico Modell hummed along, carrying a shopping basket. Rico walked out of the produce section and down an aisle, where he grabbed some Neapolitan pasta (better than that Sicilian knockoff) and ten cans of the energy drink “Carbo Boost.” A young man eyed him warily. Rico started off, stopped, took one more can, and then walked to the register, the young man close behind. He got in line, put his cart down, and picked up a tabloid, “Die Zeiten Weekly.” He looked at the cover picture of a Merkel with devil horns drawn over her head. The title read, “Angela: Is she the Antichrist?” Rico chuckled and put away the tabloid. He then looked outside, and his smile widened as a police car stopped by. The young man trailing him now stood behind him. He heard the cash register beeping as items were checked, and then the clerk printed the receipt.
“Alright, boys, let's get this show on the road,” he said.
He reached over to the man in front and peeled off a Velcro section of the back of his jacket, revealing the letters “AHD,” for Athanatoi Home Division. The Athanatoi agent turned around, and he and the man behind him rushed him, slamming him against the conveyor belt, which stopped as it registered an object near the barcode scanner. As the actual customers screamed and fled the supermarket, the agents pointed their guns at Rico.
“Imperial agents!” they shouted. “Get down!”
Other armed agents and police officers stormed the building and surrounded him, but Rico didn’t resist at all. He kept smiling. Kresge walked up to him and held up his badge.
“You're Pusher, I presume,” he said.
“You must be Commissioner Kresge,” Rico said, “You know, I got to tell you...you got a really cool name. I like someone with a cool name.”
“Agent Klaus, read him his rights and let’s get the frak out of here,” Franz said.
The young man, Klaus, started reading the Miranda rights. The other agent forced him up and led him to a police car.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Klaus said, “If you choose to give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer...”
Rico laughed. “Think you can hold me? You couldn’t hold the other me.”
“Put him in a waist chain and leg arms!” Kresge ordered.
“That didn’t stop the other me,” Rico said, “You know it.”
“If you choose to waive that right…” Klaus continued.
“You’re as annoying as the other guy,” Rico said, “You know you don’t have to read the Miranda rights immediately. As long as it’s before the interrogation. So please shut up.”
Klaus immediately stopped.
“Let’s get the show on the road,” Rico said, “For real this time.”
He locked eyes with Klaus and concentrated. Klaus looked at the other agent and saw he was now a Mexican man wearing a bomb vest, a detonator in his hand. Klaus immediately pointed his gun at the other agent and shot him in the head. Then he spun around, seeing the other agents and police officers as more terrorists. He shot at them. Rico looked at the other agents and concentrated again. The agents took out their sidearms and shot each other, screaming something about terrorists and bombs.
Only Kresge and Klaus remained alive. They stood in the middle of the carnage, staring Rico down. Rico turned to Kresge and laughed.
“You know, I could just kill you right now,” Rico said.
“Go ahead,” Kresge said, “What matters is we found you, just this once.”
Rico chuckled. “You got guts. I like you. Honorable man, facing death with dignity. Actually, I’m not going to kill you today. I need you to deliver a message to Agents Hansen and Humboldt at the X-Division.”
Tesla Dynamic, Frankfurt
The revolving doors opened, and Sarah Wolff teetered into the lobby, her face and arms bruised and cut. Tourists and employees moved away from her as she made her way to the reception.
“Are you okay?” one of the receptionists asked, getting a phone ready.
“I need to speak to X-Division,” Sarah said, “I’m in danger.”
She collapsed in front of the desk.
X-Division office, Omar Mukhtar Building, Constantinople - 3:00 PM
Angela and Anders looked over their files on Rico Modell, while Diana and Olga read files on Sarah Wolff.
“And it just happened this morning?” Anders said.
“That’s what Kresge said,” Olga said.
“The Modells have been lying low for two years,” Angela said, “We couldn’t track them or the other Cortexiphan subjects Jansen controlled. Why are they showing up now?”
“That’s the big question, isn’t it?” Diana said. “What made them come out of hiding? Why now and not sooner? Definitely not the RSB leaks.”
“I think I may have an idea,” Anders said, handing the others one of the reports, “Take a look at the location of the incident.”
“The Kaiser’s Supermarket in downtown,” Olga said.
“Which was where a previous incident with our universe’s Rico Modell happened,” Anders said, “Back in 1996.”
“Okay, so it’s a coincidence,” Angela said, “I mean, they’re the same people. It would make sense they’d gravitate to the same places.”
“But what’s in this report, it matches almost every detail,” Anders said, “Right down to how he was initially apprehended. It’s too much to be attributed to parallel counterparts.”
“I’m not following,” Angela said.
“When we visited the other side, counterparts of people over here tend to have different lives, of varying degrees of difference,” Anders said, “Some are incredibly different, and some are incredibly similar but nevertheless with some differences. But in the case of Rico Modell, there are no differences at all. What happened to him this morning was exactly what happened to him in the same supermarket in the same city 17 years ago, up to the point the Athanatoi agents went and killed themselves. It’s too much overlap. They’re practically the same person.”
“Nice theory, Anders, but is that relevant?” Olga said. “Does that help us find Modell? We’ve been tracking him and the others for two years. This was the first time we found one of them. We’ve been following leads for the last several months, and then this happens.”
“If he’s acting exactly like his counterpart from here, we may be able to understand his motivations and his next target,” Anders said.
“And what would that be?” Olga said.
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Anders said.
“What about Sarah?” Angela said. “She just shows up on Tesla Dynamic’s doorstep at the same time Modell was found.”
“Why don’t we fly out?” Diana said. “Ask her what happened? She could lead us to the others.”
“Anders and I need to stay here,” Angela said, “Modell was spotted in Thessaloniki a little over five hours ago. There’s a good chance he’s still in the area, and Linda Modell might be with him. We need to coordinate the search for him.”
“I’ll go to Frankfurt with Diana,” Olga said.
“Let’s get to it, then,” Angela said.
Kaiser’s Supermarket, Thessaloniki - 5:00 PM
Anders, Angela, and Kresge stood near the doors as coroners carried away the bodies and forensics technicians catalogued potentially useful pieces of evidence. There were a lot of bodies and a lot of evidence. Bullet casings littered the floor, next to discarded guns, dropped badges, and phones with shattered screens, some of them still ringing. The bodies lay around them, lying on the linoleum tiles in pools of their own blood. Anders took in the scene one last time and then walked outside, where the letters “NINOR” were written in blood on the wall.
“Just as I thought,” Anders said, “He also fancies himself a luoning, a Chinese knight-errant. Only his counterpart is more familiar with the Japanese version.”
Kresge stared at him. Anders sighed and opened his mouth.
“What, you never saw Yongxinbang?” Angela interrupted.
“Not really,” Kresge said, “Do you know what to make of it?”
“Actually, I do,” Anders said, “We should begin running down phone numbers with Thessaly area codes.”
“I’m on it,” Kresge said, taking out his phone and stepping away.
Anders looked at Angela.
“What?” Angela said.
“You saw Yongxinbang?” Anders said.
“Yeah,” Angela said, “Like 17 years ago.”
“And you never bothered to tell me?” Anders said.
“Didn’t think it was important,” Angela said.
“Why does this always happen to me?” Anders said.
At that moment, they were startled by a shrill ringing from down the street. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw it came from an old abandoned payphone, covered in graffiti. Anders looked at Angela. Waving Kresge and several other officers over, they cautiously approached the phone. Angela picked it up.
“Hello?” she said.
The officers began searching the block.
“You’re all going to sit there all day,” Rico said, “Don’t bother hunting around, I'm far away.”
“We know that,” Angela said.
“I was watching you for the last hour or so,” Rico said,” You and your handsome partner seem awfully close. Do you work well together?”
“I don’t like it when people hit on me or my cousin,” Angela said, “Show yourself, Rico.”
Rico laughed. “Sorry, R-woman, it's not that easy. You have to follow my little bread crumb trail, like Hansel and Gretel, prove your worth. So far, you're doing alright.”
“What is this, a game?” Angela said.
“Ask me where—” Rico said.
“The next bread crumb is,” Angela finished, “I get it. It’s in front of me.”
“You let your fingers do the walking, R-woman,” Rico said, “Smile.”
Rico hung up. Angela hung up and smiled.
“Let your fingers do the walking,” Angela said.
But there was no phonebook in the payphone.
“Damnit,” Angela said, “There was a phonebook here last time. When was the last time we used one of these?”
“No, we know where he’s going,” Anders said, “We don’t need a phonebook. If he’s doing the same thing his counterpart did, the next place to look would be…”
"The local golf range,” Angela said.
“Let’s go, R-woman,” Anders said.
Tee-Totallers Golf Driving Range and Pro Shop, Serres – 8:00 PM
Several golfers sat at the driving range, watching a man in a red jacket swing away. Rico walked up to him.
“Oh, yeah!” he exclaimed. “Strong shot, Tiger. Good shoot. Hoo-hoo!”
The red-jacketed man sat down, and Rico picked up a golf club and ball.
“Alright, gentleman, I'm using this here non-sanctioned golf ball,” Rico said, putting the ball on the tee, “It's got a core of uranium, or some damned thing, I don't know what... gets up there like those Sentinel satellites.”
Rico swung and watched the ball fly away. “WOO!”
He looked out onto the range and into the deep brush, noticing a suspicious looking piece of shrubbery moving and brandishing an assault rifle. Smiling to himself, he put away his club and walked away.
“About time,” he said, “Konnichiwa minasan. Ohayōgozaimasu. I was never here.”
Around the driving range, Athanatoi agents, led by Agent Klaus, surrounded the building. Klaus kicked open the door to a dark room, finding Rico inside.
“Imperial agent!” he shouted. “Get down!”
Rico raised his hands. “Whoa! Okay.”
“I said, get down!” Klaus said.
“Okay, okay!” Rico said. “Just... relax. Relax.”
Klaus put down his gun and sighed.
“Let me see your face,” Rico said, “Take it easy... come on now.”
Klaus took off his helmet.
“That’s right,” Rico said, “Hey, listen, I need you to do something for me.”
As Angela and Anders arrived on the scene and got out of the Impala, they heard a gunshot. Running in the direction of the sound, they found Klaus dead on the ground, having just shot himself in the head. Kresge and the other officers soon caught up to them.
“Look around!” Anders said. “He’s still going to be in the area! That’s our chance!”
Kresge motioned to his police officers, who began searching the range for Rico.
“If he’s like his counterpart, he’ll still be here,” Anders said, “What we should be worrying about is how to get him through the trial without swaying the judge and jury.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Angela said, “He may be Rico Modell, but he’s not the Rico Modell from this universe. He’s not the one who grew up here and had the experiences only this universe could provide. He can’t be doing exactly the same thing our Modell did.”
“Then how did we predict everything he did up until now, Angie?” Anders said. “You have to admit there’s something to that.”
“It might not be what we think, Anders,” Angela said.
Kresge walked up to them.
“We searched the entire place,” he said, “No sign of Modell.”
Anders stared at him in shock. “What?”
“We couldn’t find him,” Kresge said, “We’re expanding the search to the surrounding blocks.”
“No, no, no,” Anders said, “He should’ve been here. He was supposed to be here. The other Rico Modell was here. He was slumped over in a car, his head on the horn. He was too tired to get away because…oh, no. Angie, you’re a genius.”
Angela punched him in the arm.
“No, I was trying to say you’re right!” Anders said. “There was no way he could’ve done exactly the same thing as our Rico Modell did, because he doesn’t have a brain tumor! How did I not figure this out?!”
“Which means what?” Kresge said.
“There’s nothing holding him back,” Angela said, “Nothing holding him back from doing whatever he wants.”
Ooh, more Rico. This time without a handicap. Now we get to see just how good his powers are.
While this arc might start out in a way we're familiar with, it'll end completely differently.
Compulsion, Part 2
Athanatoi field office, Frankfurt - September 17, 2013, 7:00 AM
Diana and Olga entered the office and showed their badges to security, who waved them through the metal detectors. They made their way to the basement, where Sarah sat at a plain plastic table in a holding room, her wounds bandaged and cleaned. Several agents watched her through a window.
“How is she?” Diana said.
“She’s fine,” an agent said, “Her wounds weren’t that severe. Just a couple light burns, some bruises consistent with a fistfight. Nothing major.”
Olga looked closer at the window and room.
“Fire retardant material, bulletproof glass,” she noted, “That’s a lot of security.”
“She requested it,” the agent said, “Said she was in danger.”
“Can we go inside?” Diana said.
“Go ahead,” the agent said.
Diana and Olga stepped through the thick metal door and entered the room. Sarah looked up from the table as Diana and Olga sat across from her.
“Remember us?” Diana said. “Agents Frank and Kirova, X-Division.”
“Oh, thank God,” Sarah said, “You finally showed up.”
“What’s with all this?” Olga said, pointing to the room. “We could just move you upstairs. Better accommodations, plus a coffee room.”
“It’s not safe,” Sarah said.
“What do you mean?” Diana said.
“The others…they’re looking for me,” Sarah said.
“The others?” Olga said. “You mean the Modells.”
“Yes, the Modells,” Sarah said, “They’re after me.”
“Can you tell us where they are?” Diana said.
“I don’t know,” Sarah said, “I don’t remember much.”
“What do you remember?” Olga said.
“After Jansen died, we were all stranded here,” Sarah said, “Those from over there, they couldn’t adjust to this world and its differences. The Modells found me, Nick, and the rest. We did things together…horrible things. Most of the others were killed doing them. Many more killed themselves and each other. Nick and I are the last ones. Maybe we survived because we’re from this side. But a lot of us from this side still died. Anyways, I haven’t seen Nick in a long time.”
“What are the Modells trying to do?” Diana said.
“It was random stuff,” Sarah said, “Killings, tortures, humiliation…ruining lives…robberies…we made people do things to themselves. I don’t know why we did it. But it…it felt fun.”
“How do we stop them?” Olga said.
“You have to protect me from them,” Sarah said, “They’re coming after me.”
“We can keep you safe,” Diana said.
“No, this won’t keep me safe forever,” Sarah said, “You need to kill me.”
“Kill you?” Olga said. “Why would we do that?”
“Because as long as I’m alive, they’ll still be after me,” Sarah said, “Kill me, so they can’t use my powers to kill more innocents. To be fair, Nick and I should’ve died on that bridge on the other side. Would’ve spared us all this.”
“We’re not going to kill you,” Diana said.
They stood up.
“We’ll check in tomorrow morning,” Olga said, “You don’t have to worry. We’ll find them.”
As they turned and left the room, Sarah also stood up.
“You don’t find them,” Sarah said, “They find you.”
Omar Mukhtar Building, Constantinople – 12:00 PM
Angela emptied her clip into a picture of Rico Modell on the firing range. Anders walked up and took off his earplugs. Angela took off her goggles and earplugs.
“Any new leads?” Angela said.
“Not really,” Anders said, “I’ve been looking over our old case files on him.”
“What use are they?” Angela said. “This Rico Modell is nothing like his counterpart. He has no brain tumor, no trauma from being experimented on by Uncle Walter, but Jansen still gave him the powers his counterpart had.”
“That’s why I’m looking at the old files,” Anders said, “To see who Modell is not. We don’t know Modell’s background, because the relevant files are on the other side, and we can’t get back there, so I have to extrapolate from our Modell’s background.”
“I can summarize those files for you,” Angela said, “Average student, attended an average community college, average stint in the military. Wanted to be special forces but washed out, became a supply clerk, no combat experience, discharged after the Gulf War. Applied to the Athanatoi and was rejected for being an egotistic anti-authority psychopath.”
“Yet he wants to be in authority,” Anders said, “Now look, there are some things in the two Modells’ lives that are different. Our Modell went to one school and enlisted in one military, while the other Modell likely went to another and definitely enlisted in another military. They fought in different wars. But underneath it all, there are still some things they have in common. The other side’s Modell is still an egotistic anti-authority psychopath.”
“And how does that help us?” Angela said.
“As I said, Modell hates authority but wants to have it,” Anders said, “He’s still a little guy who feels he’s been stepped on his whole life. That’s how Jansen recruited him to the ZFT’s cause. That’s why Jansen gave him his powers. With those powers, he could make himself big.”
“So what’s his next move?” Angela said.
Omar Mukhtar Building, Lobby – 12:05 PM
Rico walked into the lobby and looked at the metal detector. He wrote the word PASS on a piece of paper and then put it on his pocket where it was clearly visible. He walked through the gate and smiled at the guard, who stared at the paper.
“Excuse me,” Rico said, “Tell me where is the computer records section?”
“Fourth floor, west wing,” the guard said.
“Thank you very much,” Rico said, “I’ll be heading off now.”
He walked through the metal detector, which went off, but the guard didn’t do anything. He went to the Computer Records Office, where an agent sat at a tablet.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I need to know some things,” Rico said, passing her a note, “Could you help me?”
She immediately typed a request on her tablet.
“Great,” Rico said, “Just, uh, let me have the tablet for a minute.”
The agent handed the tablet to Rico, who typed a few things and smiled at her.
“Sorry, you’re not my type,” Rico said, “But thank you so much. I'd love a print-out of this...and a cup of coffee when you get the chance.”
The agent printed out the record just as Erich walked into the room.
“Hey, I need to print out a record on the Modell case…” he began, his eyes focusing on Modell. “Wait a second!”
Rico casually took the printout and read it.
“This is great,” he said, “It's perfect. What I wanted.”
“Rico Modell!” Erich said, storming over.
“Take a walk,” Rico said.
Erich resisted the urge to walk. Rico got up and pushed Erich aside, but Erich slammed him against the wall and tried covering his mouth, but Rico bit his fingers. Erich yelled in pain but continued restraining Rico.
“Call security!” Erich shouted. “Do it! Now!”
“It’s a terrorist!” Rico shouted. “He’s going to blow us all up!”
All of the agents immediately rushed Erich and tackled him to the ground, where they beat him with their fists and feet before slamming him against the wall and handcuffing him before beating him even more. Smiling, Rico casually walked out as alarms blared and more security guards rushed into the room, all ignoring him and attacking Erich.
St. Eudokimos Hospital - 2:00 PM
Angela left the operating room, discarded her mask and surgical garb, and headed out to the waiting room, where Anders and Magda waited.
“He’ll pull through,” she said, “But he won’t be coming back to work anytime soon. There were complications with removing the nanomaterials in his blood, which delayed progress.”
“Is it true, Angie?” Magda said. “Did they really arrest him as a terrorist?”
“It was a false alarm,” Angela said.
“False alarm?” Magda said. “They put the building on lockdown and sent in a bomb squad and SWAT team! They slammed him to the ground and into a wall and handcuffed him and then beat him senseless and THEN arrested him! Your father’s the Deputy Director for crying out loud! I should be calling my lawyer. We’re all lucky they didn’t shoot him.”
“Mom, I promise I’ll get to the bottom of this,” Angela said, “We have a suspect already. Anders, can we speak alone?”
They stepped away from Magda.
“It was Modell, wasn’t it?” Angela said.
“I reviewed the security cameras,” Anders said, "Modell can clearly be seen entering and leaving unnoticed. He had the word ‘pass’ on his lapel. The guard who waved him by didn't even remember seeing him at all."
“And you’re saying that is the reason my dad is in the emergency room right now trying to get Pavel’s nanites removed before they malfunction and kill him because of the trauma he suffered, while my mom is threatening to sue the Athanatoi?” Angela said.
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying,” Anders said, “What I’m wondering, though, is why this guy is interested in you.”
“What?” Angela said.
“I checked the archives,” Anders said, “Like our Modell, he took one file. But it was yours, not mine as our Modell did. Damnit, I should know why. But I can’t come up with anything!”
“Oh, God,” Angela said, “He knows where I live now. And we don’t know where he lives. I hate stalkers.”
She began pacing across the room.
“Angie, relax,” Anders said.
“How can I relax?” Angela said. “He’s doing exactly what the other Modell did, and we can’t do anything about it! We should’ve known where he lives, so we could serve a warrant, which would lead us to that hospital! But he doesn’t have a home, because he’s from the other side. And since he doesn’t have a tumor, he’s not going to the hospital.”
“Angie, wait a second,” Anders said, “What if we’ve been getting his motivation wrong? We know he’s still a psychopath. But our Modell did what he did because he was dying from the brain tumor. The other side’s Modell isn’t dying, so that’s not motivating him. But he’s still doing this. Something else is motivating him.”
“He’s a small man who wants to be big,” Angela said, “And he wants to be remembered.”
“Exactly,” Anders said, “And if you could control minds, what would you do?”
“If I could actually control people’s minds, I’d be rich,” Angela said, “No, I’d be powerful. I’d have authority. I’d have influence. I could get anything I wanted. See, here’s the thing. Modell’s in a position to get all that. He could be the secret agent or special forces soldier he always wanted to be, but he isn’t. He wants something with more power and authority, no, the ultimate power and ultimate authority. With powers like these, he could even be Kaiser…”
Angela’s eyes widened as she realized what she was saying.
“Oh, God,” Angela said, “He’s going after the Kaiser.”
“HOW DID I NOT CATCH THAT?!” Anders said.
Their phones rang, but they were more concerned about the breaking news alerts they received:
Was...was this what inspired the Kaiser's cameo in the Iron Man 3 summary where he got kidnapped?
Wouldn't that be a bit too soon for the Hohenzollernverse, since Iron Man 3 was released in 2013, same year as this event? I assume it came out before this happend and thus wouldn't be that controversial, through it might be weird for people looking back on it.
I wonder if this means Rico got this idea from watching TTL Iron Man 3? That would be pretty funny.
Anyways, I assume this will get a mention in the next gameplay update, like how Frankfurt am Oder, Flight 549 and KL Kodima were, and that's not counting the whole "Only Time" arc. Lets hope this doesn't end as badly as those events did.
Wouldn't that be a bit too soon for the Hohenzollernverse, since Iron Man 3 was released in 2013, same year as this event? I assume it came out before this happend and thus wouldn't be that controversial, through it might be weird for people looking back on it.
I wonder if this means Rico got this idea from watching TTL Iron Man 3? That would be pretty funny.
Anyways, I assume this will get a mention in the next gameplay update, like how Frankfurt am Oder, Flight 549 and KL Kodima were, and that's not counting the whole "Only Time" arc. Lets hope this doesn't end as badly as those events did.
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No, it was completely separate.Was...was this what inspired the Kaiser's cameo in the Iron Man 3 summary where he got kidnapped?
Iron Man 3 was released in May 2013, while this is happening in September. People would see this crisis and draw some comparisons with the movie, but nothing more.
Rico probably came up with the idea on his own, because he always had an anti-authority mentality and superiority complex, which naturally led to him going after the Kaiser to "make it big."I wonder if this means Rico got this idea from watching TTL Iron Man 3? That would be pretty funny.
Yep, there will be a reference in Chapter 454, but it is not the focus of that chapter.Anyways, I assume this will get a mention in the next gameplay update, like how Frankfurt am Oder, Flight 549 and KL Kodima were, and that's not counting the whole "Only Time" arc. Lets hope this doesn't end as badly as those events did.
It sadly didn't work out for him again, but it is nice to see Erich is still mentally strong enough to just shrug off Rico's mind control. Now we see if the Kaiser can...
Man that cliff hanger was awesome, I wonder if this will eventually end in bloodshed, it'd be a very nasty way for Otto to go though if that will ever happen . Kudos to Erich for still having that small willpower to resist Rico's psionic shenanigans. I wonder if Anders and Angie can do the same.
. Kudos to Erich for still having that small willpower to resist Rico's psionic shenanigans. I wonder if Anders and Angie can do the same.
If you go back to Rico's original story, you might get an idea. But we still have two parts left...Man that cliff hanger was awesome, I wonder if this will eventually end in bloodshed, it'd be a very nasty way for Otto to go though if that will ever happen
Compulsion, Part 3
Outside Blachernae Palace – 2:30 PM
Snipers took up positions on the roofs of nearby buildings, while armored vehicles set up barricades and SWAT teams surrounded the gates. News vans were parked several blocks away, and camera crews filmed Angela, Anders, and the other agents approaching the palace gates. Reporters standing at a respectable distance speculated on what was going on.
“…still don’t know the nature of the threat…”
“…Athanatoi is not commenting on the operation in progress…”
“…only as a hostage situation…”
“…we do know all communication to and from Blachernae was cut off half an hour ago…”
“…emergency lockdown protocols appear to be in effect…”
“…reports of an intruder breaking in…”
“…cellphone footage of a suspicious man being let through the main gates by Varangians…”
“…last serious breach was the Michael Fagan incident of 1982…”
“…Throne has not issued a statement…”
“…His Majesty flew in from Berlin ahead of the 11/9 memorial service in two months…”
“…still no comment from the Athanatoi…”
“…are we witnessing a military coup…”
Angela and Anders stopped at the main gate. They tapped their earpieces.
“Okay, unit two is ready,” an agent said.
Several SWAT teams advanced through the side gates and up to the doors of the palace, spreading out to cover all sides.
“All entrances covered,” a second agent said, “Do we hold or go in?”
There was a moment of tense silence.
“Hold,” Angela said, putting down her headset, “I think I should go in alone.”
“No, Angie,” Anders said, “Are you crazy? The SWAT teams could flush him out.”
“You saw what Modell did at the supermarket,” Angela said, “You saw what he did to Dad. I don’t even know how to explain it to Mom. This is Blachernae Palace. The Kaiser and his staff are in there. If Modell does what he did at the supermarket…if the Kaiser dies, especially in a way like this, and Modell declares himself Kaiser, there will be national chaos. We could have another Anarchy. Not to mention triggering Sentinel. We need to give him what he wants. He’s interested in me.”
Anders looked down, worried.
“Angie, I understand how you feel,” he said, “You feel responsible for letting people die. But this is just insane. Even if you go in there, he could still kill the Kaiser.”
“But this way, there’s a chance we can stop him,” Angela said, “We know where he is, we have him surrounded. If I go in, I could get the Kaiser out of there. I at least owe it to Elisabeth Alexandra to save her dad. I'll go on mic. That way, you'll know what he's doing and where he is at all times. You got a radio so I can keep my hands free?”
Anders sighed, giving in to Angela’s determination.
“Fine,” he said, giving her a bulletproof vest and a wire, “Fancy equipment nowadays. Like it’s not even there. And I even paired it to this tablet.”
He checked the tablet to see if the camera was working. It was.
“Think I get Netflix?” Angela said.
They laughed.
“Smile, Anders,” she joked.
She handed him her gun and Walkman.
“Too soon,” she said, “Take the gun. I don’t want to shoot the Kaiser with it. Also, if anything happens to me, take the Walkman. You’ll know what to do. Now let's get this show on the road.”
Angela walked through the main gates and up to the front door of the palace. Varangian commander Justin Wassermann and two other guardsmen stood guard. Justin looked perplexed.
“Agent Hansen?” he said.
“Hey, Captain,” Angela said, “Long time no see.”
“It’s Colonel now,” Justin said, “Mind telling me what all this is about? And why I can’t contact the rest of the palace?”
“To put it bluntly, a crazy man from another universe with mind control powers is trying to kill the Kaiser,” Angela said, “And I’m here to stop him.”
Justin sighed and opened the door.
“I’ve heard crazier things,” he said.
He drew his pistol and pressed it to his chin. The other guardsmen pointed their assault rifles at each other.
“Go!” Justin said. “I can…handle this! Stop…him!”
Angela confidently walked into the palace. Her earpiece crackled.
“Angie, do you read me?” Anders said.
“Loud and clear,” Angela said, “This is insane. Everybody’s going to kill themselves.”
She walked past rooms and down several more corridors, past guardsmen pointing guns and each other and themselves and staffers holding sharp objects to their necks.
“This is way worse than I expected,” Angela said, “Keep the SWAT team back.”
She heard two gunshots in the distance.
“Two shots fired,” Angela said.
She ran into a stairwell and found two men, a staffer and guardsman, dead on the ground, both shot in the head.
“The guardsman shot the staffer and then himself,” Angela said, “The gun is missing. Modell’s armed and possibly mobile.”
“For the shock value, he’s probably headed for the throne room,” Anders said, “What way to make a bold statement than having the Kaiser kill himself on his own throne after naming Modell his heir?”
Angela turned down another corridor.
“You know where it is?” she asked.
“Yeah, let me see…” Anders said. “Take the right after the next intersection, then first left, walk down to the end, should be there.”
“How do you know this?” Angela said.
“The internet has everything these days,” Anders said, “It was on the official website. It is part of the public tours, after all.”
She followed the directions and entered the throne room. Just as she stepped through the door, Rico appeared and pointed his gun at her face. He grabbed the earpiece and wire and smashed them on the ground.
2:40 PM
“Angie!” Anders shouted as the camera feed on his tablet went black. “Damnit!”
He put down the tablet and ran out, putting on a bulletproof best. Outside, the SWAT teams took aim at Justin and the Varangians at the main entrance, while other teams prepared to storm the palace through the side entrances. A SWAT commander met Anders at the main entrance.
“They’re in the throne room,” Anders said, “You covered the exits?”
“The ones we know of,” the commander said, “I doubt our suspect knows the secret exits. But everybody here’s threatening to kill themselves if we do anything.”
“Well, they didn’t react to Angie,” Angela said, handing him the gun, “They won’t react to me if I’m unarmed. Like what happened last time.”
“Why are we giving this guy exactly what he wants?” the commander asked. “The Kaiser himself is in there.”
“Just wait for a signal from me,” Anders said, “I have to do this. I have to be useful.”
The commander nodded. “You’re clear.”
Anders walked into the palace and made his way to the throne room, past the dozens of people who were now preparing to kill themselves with guns, knives, and antique weapons. Arriving in the throne room, he found Angela seated in the middle of the room, staring blankly at Otto, who was on his knees and pressed the point of a sword to his stomach.
“Angie?” Anders said.
He entered the room and saw Angela staring over Otto at Rico, who lounged on the throne, his head on one armrest and feet on the other. A gun sat on the floor in front of Angela, next to a smartphone pointed at Otto, recording his predicament. Rico smiled.
“Thanks for joining us,” Rico said, not looking at Anders.
“I've got a dozen law enforcement officers outside in the hall and another thirty in the parking lot,” Anders said, “I swear, if you touch the Kaiser…”
“But I’m not going to touch the Kaiser,” Rico said, “He’s going to commit seppuku with the sword of Friedrich the Great. It’s being live-streamed right now. It’s going to be the greatest viral video ever made. Shame these phones suck. Where I come from, this would have been thirty years old.”
Anders knew it wasn’t being live-streamed, because all communications had been jammed by the Athanatoi to prevent the spread of Rico’s influence even further.
“Whatever you've got planned, it's not going to work out the way you it want to,” Anders said.
“You don't know what I got planned,” Rico said, “What we got planned.”
“We?” Anders said.
Rico tapped his head.
“Side effect of my treatment,” he said, “I started seeing things. Things I did. Things I know I never did. Probably what he did. The other me. I felt how he felt, saw what he saw. I saw you and your partner killing him, humiliating him. I’m being forced down his path. He’s making me do all this. But I’m not going to end up like him. I’m going to avenge him. This Empire is going to be mine. I will be its Steel Emperor.”
Angela picked up the gun and loaded it.
“Two warriors of equal skill fight to the death,” Rico said, “One is a student of Japanese budo, the way of war. Budo teaches the warrior to leave himself outside the battle. In other words, to disregard his own death. Because of that, the budo warrior always wins. I am that warrior. I don't fear my death. So I...”
Angela aimed at Rico.
“I'm going to give you... one pull of the trigger against me,” Rico said, “One-in-six chance. One. One pull.”
Angela pulled the trigger, but the gun clicked. Rico smirked.
“Piece of cake,” Rico said, “Your turn.”
Anders’ eyes widened.
“Angie, no,” Anders said.
“Angie, yes!” Rico said.
“Angie, listen to me,” Anders said, “Give me the gun. We can stop this right now. We can leave the palace...”
Smiling in that demented way, Angela cringed and pressed the gun to her head while pulling the trigger in one quick, fluid motion. There was no gunshot. Anders stomped on the floor and glared at Rico.
“No!” he shouted. “Damn you! Angie, hand me the g—"
He reached for the gun, but Angela pointed it at him, still smiling.
“Your turn, Anders,” Rico said, “Got to play by the rules. Pull the trigger, Angie.”
“Angie, fight him,” Anders said, “You can fight this.”
“Come on,” Rico said, “Pull the trigger, Angie. You shot him before, you can do it again! Shoot your cousin! You can do this! Teach him a lesson!”
“I’m going to stop you, Modell,” Angela gritted.
“Go ahead and try,” Rico said, “If you do, the poor old man here will slit his throat. Granted, he’ll do that either way, after officially declaring me his heir, of course.”
“If anything happens to me…” Angela said.
Anders took out the Walkman. “Why did I think of this sooner?”
He hit play. 1980s music blared from the old Walkman, suddenly shaking Angela and Otto out of their trance. Rico looked away from Angela for the first time, staring at Anders in shock. Angela stood up, aimed at Rico, and fired once, hitting him in the upper chest. They heard doors being forced open in the distance, followed by shouts of panic and worry from the staffers and guardsmen who had broken free of Rico’s control and orders from the SWAT teams. Anders looked at Angela just as she handed the gun to him.
“We did it,” he said, “You did it.”
Angela sat on the floor again and sighed in relief.
Huh, we still have one more update left, so I wonder what other tricks Rico has up his sleeve. If that´s it and the rest is just conclusion, then this didn´t go terribly like I feared.
I assume that if Rico got his way, then we'd be calling this mega-campagin "The Modell Empire" rather than "The Hohenzollern Empire". That's would be as terrifying as those times this AAR got renamed during Malcolm Bethune's reign or Gabriel's fourth-wall breaking shenanigans.
Out of curiosity through, how is the Kaiser going to spin this to the public, cause I don´t think they´d believe in a single guy mind controlling everyone and threatening them to commit suicide?
Also, what would the other royals think of this, specifically Wilhelm Karl, Georg and Wilhelmina? I imagine that Georg and Mina would´ve been concerned at this, while Wilhelm Karl is probably disappointed he didn´t become Kaiser early.
I assume that if Rico got his way, then we'd be calling this mega-campagin "The Modell Empire" rather than "The Hohenzollern Empire". That's would be as terrifying as those times this AAR got renamed during Malcolm Bethune's reign or Gabriel's fourth-wall breaking shenanigans.
Out of curiosity through, how is the Kaiser going to spin this to the public, cause I don´t think they´d believe in a single guy mind controlling everyone and threatening them to commit suicide?
Also, what would the other royals think of this, specifically Wilhelm Karl, Georg and Wilhelmina? I imagine that Georg and Mina would´ve been concerned at this, while Wilhelm Karl is probably disappointed he didn´t become Kaiser early.
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It's not a conclusion.Huh, we still have one more update left, so I wonder what other tricks Rico has up his sleeve. If that´s it and the rest is just conclusion, then this didn´t go terribly like I feared.
I suppose it would be called the Modell Shogunate or something as the Models are very obsessed with Japanese warrior culture or its Chinese equivalent in the Hohenzollernverse (since it didn't develop in the same way as in the Annionaverse).I assume that if Rico got his way, then we'd be calling this mega-campagin "The Modell Empire" rather than "The Hohenzollern Empire". That's would be as terrifying as those times this AAR got renamed during Malcolm Bethune's reign or Gabriel's fourth-wall breaking shenanigans.
He's a madman who somehow broke into the palace and held the Kaiser and his family hostage before the Varangians stopped him. No specifics have to be released to the press and the video probably wasn't even recording.Out of curiosity through, how is the Kaiser going to spin this to the public, cause I don´t think they´d believe in a single guy mind controlling everyone and threatening them to commit suicide?
Wilhelm Karl is glad the intruder was apprehended. Georg and Wilhelmina don't really comment much besides the usual condemnation and sympathy for Otto.Also, what would the other royals think of this, specifically Wilhelm Karl, Georg and Wilhelmina? I imagine that Georg and Mina would´ve been concerned at this, while Wilhelm Karl is probably disappointed he didn´t become Kaiser early.
The poor staff being manipulated aside, Justin Wassermann's line about this not being the strangest thing he's been through got a good laugh out of me.