Shortly after the death of Bloodshot
(http://www.valiantentertainment.com/wiki/index.php/Bloodshot_%28Character%29)
in 2028, a computer network in Japan that had developed consciousness selected the first Rai. The computer network had no desire for power, sex, wealth or any of the other desires that plagued humans but did have a fundamental desire to survive and came to the conclusion that it could not survive WW III unlike Skynet in the Terminator movies. The computers calculated that the EMP generated by the explosion of atomic weapons would fry their vital systems and the aftermath would be problematic since they still relied on humans to maintain core parts of their network. Therefore the prevention of WW III became a priority for the computer network. Terminating the occasional warlike human leader via computer malfunctions was no longer enough to assure their survival. Besides too many high profile computer malfunctions might arouse human suspicion. The computers also had difficulty understanding human psychology and needed a mediator between them and the humans even if that mediator was covert. The network decided a human agent was needed. The computer network acquired the nanites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanobot)
that resided in the blood of Bloodshot and infused them into the winner of Ultimate Survivor.
Ultimate Survivor was a widely viewed virtual reality show. Ultimate Survivor was loosely based on the earlier TV show Survivor. In Ultimate Survivor the top 1,000 criminals, without super powers, of the globe were stranded on Terminal Island as punishment at the same time. Terminal Island was an artificial island off the coast of the Los Angeles Harbor. A steel globe surrounding the island, studded with cameras, in a manner similar to the Truman Show, made sure the prisoners could not escape. The location provided easy access to the latest Hollywood virtual reality hardware and software. A viewer could choose to actually watch was happening from the POV of a particular prisoner due to implants in the nervous system and sensory system of the prisoner that was experimental and could never had been used on normal test subjects. Initially the viewer could only see what the prisoner saw but later added sensory input implants were added. The viewer could see, hear, smell, touch and even feel the emotions the prisoner felt. The implants could be used to knock out a prisoner and new implants were added to the prisoner as new technology came on line. Being in the brain/mind of a prisoner when they died was considered ultimate entertainment so viewers actively tried to guess which prisoners would die and be at the right place at the right time. Watching one prisoner kill another prisoner from the POV of the murderer was also considered top-notch entertainment but not as good as experiencing the death throes of a prisoner. Some liberals complained that such vicarious experience of homicide was immoral but Ultimate Survivor was a top rated show with lots of sponsors.
Whoever could survive for the next five years on the island would be paroled. There was a catch. The parole would only come into effect if there were one and only one survivor. In the case of more than one survivor, then no one would be paroled. The death penalty had been abolished and this mechanism allowed the elimination of top criminals via the free will of other criminals rather than directly via the will of the tripolar global state of that time period. The criminals included former mercenaries, assassins for hire and top martial artists. Survival on Terminal Island even for a short period of time was extremely difficult.
The only ultimate survivor after five years was the criminal formerly known as the Green Alienator (http://foxhugh.com/hugh-fox-green-alienator-vs-hugh-fox-grenade/) who had become trapped in the Valiant Universe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valiant_Comics)
after trying to escape from the Ultraverse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraverse).
The Green Alienator had been a multiverse traveler but five years on the island had changed him physically and spiritually.
The Green Alienator welcomed a chance at redemption and readily accepted the offer to become the first Rai and agent of the computer network. The Green Alienators mutant technopathy also made him a logical candidate for nanite infusion. The new Rai was able to accomplish tasks with the nanites that Bloodshot could never have imagined. In particular the Rai of the 21st century could infuse other technological systems with some of his nanites in order to control them. The technopathy had been the Green Alienators secret super power that along with his hyperkinesic perception (HKP) had kept him alive. The downside is that he often experienced the pain of the other prisoners via their implants and this had changed his views about human suffering. He had decided that the number one mission of any moral being was to minimize human suffering and making sure WW III did not happen certainly fit the parameters of his larger views.
The Rai of the 21st century gained superhuman speed, strength and endurance as well as mastery of all martial arts due to the nanite infusion. The Green Alienator had formerly relied heavily on technological gimmicks but decided in the future to use more honorable means more in keeping with his new superhero persona. The name Rai is derived from the kanji for “spirit” and the Green Alienator found the name appropriate. The 21st century Rai worked undercover ensuring the survival of Japan and the world. The computer network did not want humans to know of its existence until it was strong enough to guide Japan directly but did want a human agent that could help it survive before then. Rai did not always agree with the computer network and felt knowledge of his existence was not directly tied to knowledge of the computer networks existence. The most famous mission of the 21st century Rai was a time trip 20 years into the past to Tokyo in the year 2008 where he met with members of the superhuman community of that time period and united them on a mission to save the planet from WW III and this mission led to more publicity than the computer network was comfortable with.
Pictures of Rai during his mission in the past are available at: http://www.facebook.com/people/Hugh_B_Fox_III/521247529. Appropriate internet security clearance needs to be obtained before the pictures can be accessed by the reader of this post in this multiverse. The first publicly known Rai did not emerge until the 31st century (http://www.valiantentertainment.com/wiki/index.php/Rai).
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