text; filtered away from Newton Geiszler

[mathemagier]

Hero
[heer-oh]

noun, plural heroes;

1. a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.

There are a great many heroic types among the imPort population, and this is probably a rather tired question, but indulge my curiosity if you would.

What is it the elevates a person from simply well-intentioned, to someone worthy of such a distinguished title?

Deeds? Bravery? Strength? Capability? Righteousness? Nobility? All of the above, or some combination thereof?

Or is it simply that there's one person in the world that believes it?

Comments

[mathemagier]

That is a rather long story, I'm afraid. I'll attempt to sum it up.

The Jaeger Program was formed to combat monstrous alien life that entered our world. It was largely successful for a time, but after a handful of years, the United Nations began to lose faith in it as that alien life continued to grow in strength, and eventually defunded it entirely in favor of constructing a wall. Knowing the coastal wall was doomed to failure, Marshal Pentecost did everything possible to keep the program afloat. He was all too aware that we were the world's only real hope in combating and ending this threat.

He held onto the remnants of the program and fought to keep it afloat through whatever means necessary. He died fighting one of those aliens during our final operation, had known the odds of survival going into it in the first place. That sacrifice was a large part of why the operation was able to succeed, and enabled us to finally neutralize the global threat after 12 years of war.

[bad_in_latin]

.........giant alien robot fights?

[mathemagier]

[Oh shit. But wait. Maybe. No. Hopefully not.]

Essentially. You've heard of Jaegers before?

[bad_in_latin]

[ Definitely not. But ... well, he's seen the classics before. ]

no but dont take much to figure thats what it takes

either that or giant spaceships

[mathemagier]

No spaceships, unfortunately. My world has yet to make any such advances.

[bad_in_latin]

then the giant robots?

[mathemagier]

Yes. Our alternative to nuking our coastlines. Massively complex machines, controlled by a pair of pilots. There is a fascinating amount of work and new advances that went into their construction. Unfortunately, the cost also crippled the world's economy, but we didn't have many options.

[bad_in_latin]

well no not with monsters at your door

but you won?

[mathemagier]

Yes, we were able to destroy their entry point into our world.

[bad_in_latin]

good. glad his wasn't in vain.

[mathemagier]

He will most certainly never be forgotten.

[bad_in_latin]

glad to hear it

so who're you anyway?

[mathemagier]

[Wow way to wax on about someone else before introducing yourself]

Deepest apologies. I got rather carried away. I am Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, a theoretical physicist. I was tasked with charting the Breach and discovering its vulnerabilities]

[bad_in_latin]

so whats that mean here?

[mathemagier]

Here, it means I should be qualified to assist in solving this inter-dimensional issue. However, a quantum physicist friend of mine already familiar with portals and dimensional travel was unable to create a solution. Still, we will continue to examine the reasons for that failure.

[bad_in_latin]

and find us a way home

i'll be first in line when you do

[mathemagier]

We'll certainly endeavour to do so, but don't expect a quick solution. We're not just dealing with simple physics.

[bad_in_latin]

well sure. i figure that. i just dont take kindly to tight quarters.