D'Juhn Keep on 28/8/2002 at 11:17

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I see your point Daffyd, but I think I disagree with some of the underlying assumptions. 1, that Page is so far ahead of the rest of the world in terms of technology. Could he have a dominant grasp of that technology and has forced his competitors off the market, ala Microsoft? Yes. Could he be the only person who can use this technology, meaning there's no one left to replace it when he's gone? I don't think so. This leads to the technology being replaced quickly, if not by his corporation, then by the U.S or the other countries.

2, that the governments have no power. The governments still have the power, even if they were only using it for the purposes of MJ12/Page. Once these controlling influences are gone, would the governments crumble into nothing? No, they still have their police and organisations, seen in the cops in Hell's Kitchen, the soldiers in the naval yard, the soldiers/police in Hong Kong. They would still have the power, but it wouldn't be manipulated anymore. Until the next evil people come along (which wouldn't happen under Helios, and happens with the Illuminati, obviously).

The more I think about it, the more I think that the Dark Ages does absolutely nothing to change the world. There is still a huge Page corporation with enormous influence, even if there is no Bob Page. There are still the armies of MJ12 troops, ready to follow whoever pays them. Destroying their central installation would be a huge blow to Page Corp, but not a fatal one by any means. Their facilities are too large and widespread for that to happen. With the amount of money, technology and man-power that must be at their disposal, I think whoever takes over Page Corp could rebuild, or relocate their central building, have control over all communications again and not miss a beat.

Nethawk on 28/8/2002 at 16:50

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Realistically, the only scenario that could bring about a "true" dark age for humanity would be...

a global environmental catastrophe such as a huge solar magnetic flare knocking out all chips and electrical powerstations: Besides worldwide panic and riots and murders for acquiring survival supplies, populations would also immediately become downsized due to a lack of medecines and vaccines for viruses. Really, the only thing keeping everything "together" is the fact that we have electricity. Without it, we are FUBAR. When Montreal had the huge ice storm five years ago and everyone in one section of Montreal was without electricity for a month and a half, people were committing suicide and getting into near riots. And that's with electricity being knocked out in only one part of the city. Think about the implications worldwide. Scary...

Forget the net and communications. Not having electricity for an extended period (say, for a year) would have a far more disastrous effect.

The ending I chose nonetheless, was Tong's. Placing the power in the Illuminati's hands to me was lunacy. Though they've been around for centuries prior, last thing JC wanted to do IMO, was take orders from another secretive organisation. Besides, Everett's ambition almost ensured that he'd soon become another Page - and thus another enemy to go against. Nah, screw the Illuminati.

Merging with Helios sounded good, except for the fact that Helios, rather than being a God, would actually be an administrator. And administrators rarely have the type of vision required to fulfil the people's desire to evolve beyond their current emotional and mental states. Machines, regardless of their state of evolution, operate with rules, and humans consistently attempt to break free of themselves and restricting regulations. Besides, JC must have killed dozens and dozens of enemies to be where he was (unless you successfully played the game without killing anyone). Do I really want a machine to merge with a killer and rule my life? Screw that too.

So I went with Tong because for one; he's likeable though a bit delusional. I couldn't find any wild or natural areas in DX's world, and creating a situation where individuals/nations are forced to deal with the elements and start again from scratch alongside nature seemed to me the best way to go.

Oh, and I like to blow stuff up. The other endings didn't have explosions...:laff:

Daffyd on 29/8/2002 at 06:04

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A Dark age is still preferrable in my opinion, because at least from there you can work to something better, where as with Helios or the Illuminati the decision is final, and you have to put up with the bad points.

In the power vacuum created, there would be plenty of room for Chad, Paul (if you kept him alive) and other idealists to create something better. And JC could protect the new system by doing what he does best: killing fascist scum like Everett.

Daffyd on 30/8/2002 at 09:53

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Man, how can you be a living, thinking human being and still think that that is a good option for humanity?

Eyrd Parker on 30/8/2002 at 21:11

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All hostilities have been started by conflicting thoughts, actions, and emotions. If we all think the same thing, we would likely be in complete harmony.