MASK OR MENACE

Three years ago, I arrived to this world, on this exact day. I have met many people, I've seen many go and return, though many don't remember ever being here. I have seen so much happening and I've lived through a lot. It's hard to keep a track of everything. I have done so much as well. [ and so much has been done to him, too. But he digresses ] - but I think what happened before we started arriving in 2014 is also important, and it's good to remember it from time to time.


The Porter was found in the Atlantic Ocean in 1985 and the first wave of imPorts arrived in 1986. Before this time, America was not the country you know; if you look at the history books, you won't find much information on America's 1984. Because of the extended tension between the United States and Russia, continuous attacks and an arms race, at the time there was an almost totalitarian government ruling over the country; citizens were arrested, brainwashed, they were spied on, censored and repressed at all times.

After finding the Porter and the first imPorts arrived, an imPort named Hernan Soñé, aka "Nova Man", brought to light the government's actions. From this, it snowballed: imPorts, native heroes, even some sectors of the military and the government - our current sponsors-, joined together to reform the militant corruption on going. This is why imPorts are seen as heroes: we are. We saved them from a very dark time and we helped them to have a brighter future. The reform ended around 1990's and everything worked well enough, with both native Heroes and imPorts working together to keep the country safe.

In 2008, everything changed again. There was a scientist - it's still questionable if he really was under Soviet orders. He built what he called a "Death Ray" on an island which has the name of Death Island. [ you can laugh because this sounds so silly, but it's not funny ] This ray was designed to counteract the active nanotechnology used to revive imPorts should they die.

In other words, it could kill imPorts permanently.

Seven imPorts were sent to investigate his island, most of them being teenagers and they were all killed. While the scientist was caught and taken in to custody, the imPort Benedict Katzenberg aka "Promise" executed the prisoner without orders. While he was court-martialed, the charges didn't stick, but again it was just a step to start a whole new chain of events.

A strong decline of costumed heroism and vigilante activity followed, due to accusations from imPorts, the natives, the native heroes and the government, each side claiming the death of these imPorts had happened because of the other. Heroes retired and the ones that remained became reckless, acted independently or opposed the law enforcement rather than alongside, and that caused for new laws to be made: native heroism and vigilantism became illegal, "Registered" and "Unsettled" became marks heroes had to wear, and by 2011 the government decided it was best for imPorts to go back to their home universes. Every imPort left and all native Heroes retired or went underground.

[ and finally: ] In 2014, the Porter started working again, without any notice. Lachesis infected the Porter and this world is once again receiving imPorts. That is us.

I hope this bit of history helps to explain why we are loved by most in this country, and helps us to remember this isn't just a dream. [ not for the natives, certainly. And also not for those seven imPorts who were killed back in 2008 ] If you have any questions, I can try answering. I was around when all of this was found out, but it was two years ago. My memory can be a bit shaky. [ except Kaneki has notes on everything so maybe not so much ]