WereVerse Universe Baby!
WereVerse Universe Baby!
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).
My other website at:
WereVerse Universe Baby!
Posted in Fiction, Metafiction, What if comic book situations?
Tagged 2008, 2028, 21st Century, 31st Century, Bloodshot, comic book, comic books, EMP, Facebook, fanfiction, Green Alienator, HKP, hyperkinesix perception, Japan, nanites, Skynet, super hero, Survivor, technopathy, Terminal Island, Terminator, Tokyo, Ultraverse, Valiant Universe, virtual reality
The following study is an attempt to objectively explore the truism:
“Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there”
The operational version of this truism would be that tourist cities and livable cities are different cities. The truism has been named the Visit/Live Theory for the purposes of this study. Two lists that rank cities were compared. The first list ranks cities according the number of tourists that arrived in a city.
The list and a description of the list can be found at:
http://www.euromonitor.com/Top_150_City_Destinations_London_Leads_the_Way
The second list ranks cities according to livability. Mercer Human Resources looked at 39 quality of life issues including political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing and the environment.
The Mercer list and a description of the list can be found at:
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/livable_cities_worldwide/
Table 1 shows all the cities on both lists in alphabetical order. In addition, the difference in rank was calculated for each city when this was possible. If a city was on only one top 100 list then the difference in rank could not be calculated. The tourist destination study looked at 150 cities, but for the purposes of comparison, only the top 100 tourist destinations were used in this study. Many cities were only on one list and not on the other list. The number of cities on both lists was counted. The number of cities only on one list was also counted. If the number of cities on both lists was greater than the number of cities not on both lists then this would suggest the truism is not true.
Top 100 Cities: Tourist Destination vs. Livability Rank
Table 1: Alphabetical List of All Cities |
|||||
Cities | Country | Tourist Rank | Livability Rank | Rank Difference | |
1 | Abu Dhabi | UAE | 52 | 88 | 36 |
2 | Adelaide | Australia | NR | 30 | N/A |
3 | Agra | India | 99 | NR | N/A |
4 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 18 | 13 | 5 |
5 | Antwerp | Netherlands | 90 | NR | 99 |
6 | Athens | Greece | NR | 78 | N/A |
7 | Atlanta | USA | NR | 66 | N/A |
8 | Auckland | New Zealand | NR | 5 | N/A |
9 | Bahrain | Bahrain | 12 | NR | 18 |
10 | Bangkok | Thailand | 2 | NR | 90 |
11 | Barcelona | Spain | 10 | 41 | 12 |
12 | Beijing | China | 22 | NR | N/A |
13 | Benidorm | Spain | 33 | NR | N/A |
14 | Berlin | Germany | 34 | 16 | 18 |
15 | Bern | Germany | NR | 9 | N/A |
16 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | 81 | 55 | 26 |
17 | Boston | USA | 68 | 36 | 32 |
18 | Bratislava | Slovakia | NR | 99 | N/A |
19 | Brisbane | Australia | NR | 32 | N/A |
20 | Bruges | Belgium | 89 | NR | N/A |
21 | Brussels | Belgium | NR | 14 | N/A |
22 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | NR | 79 | N/A |
23 | Budapest | Hungary | 36 | 74 | 38 |
24 | Cairo | Egypt | 45 | NR | N/A |
25 | Calgary | Canada | NR | 24 | N/A |
26 | Cancun | Mexico | 26 | NR | N/A |
27 | Cape Town | South Africa | 57 | 85 | 28 |
28 | Chennai | India | 97 | NR | N/A |
29 | Chicago | USA | 64 | 44 | 20 |
30 | Chongquing | China | 100 | NR | N/A |
31 | Cleveland | USA | NR | 59 | N/A |
32 | Copenhagen | Sweden | 54 | 11 | 43 |
33 | Dalian | China | 87 | NR | N/A |
34 | Detroit | USA | NR | 64 | N/A |
35 | Dubai | UAE | 7 | 80 | 73 |
36 | Dublin | Ireland | 11 | 27 | 16 |
37 | Dusseldorf | Germany | NR | 5 | N/A |
38 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 56 | NR | N/A |
39 | Florence | Italy | 46 | NR | N/A |
40 | Frankfurt | Germany | NR | 7 | N/A |
41 | Geneva | Switzerland | 98 | 2 | 96 |
42 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | 82 | 55 | 27 |
43 | Granada | Spain | 95 | NR | N/A |
44 | Guangzhou | China | 32 | NR | N/A |
45 | Guilin | China | 65 | NR | N/A |
46 | Hamburg | Germany | 83 | 24 | 59 |
47 | Hangzhou | China | 49 | NR | N/A |
48 | Helsinki | Finland | 77 | 30 | 47 |
49 | Hong Kong | China | 5 | 70 | 65 |
50 | Honolulu | USA | NR | 27 | N/A |
51 | Houston | USA | NR | 68 | N/A |
52 | Istanbul | Turkey | 16 | NR | N/A |
53 | Johannesburg | South Africa | NR | 90 | N/A |
54 | Katsuyama | Japan | NR | 73 | N/A |
55 | Kobe | Japan | NR | 40 | N/A |
56 | Krakow | Poland | 69 | NR | N/A |
57 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 15 | 75 | 60 |
58 | Kunming | China | 94 | NR | N/A |
59 | La Havana | Cuba | 70 | NR | N/A |
60 | Las Vegas | USA | 48 | NR | N/A |
61 | Leipzig | Germany | NR | 67 | N/A |
62 | Lexington | USA | NR | 51 | N/A |
63 | Limassol | Cyprus | NR | NR | N/A |
64 | Lisbon | Portugal | 47 | 47 | 0 |
65 | Liverpool | United Kingdom | 91 | NR | N/A |
66 | Ljubljana | Slovenia | NR | 80 | N/A |
67 | London | United Kingdom | 1 | 39 | 38 |
68 | Los Angeles | USA | 31 | 55 | 24 |
69 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | NR | 18 | N/A |
70 | Lyon | France | 84 | 36 | 48 |
71 | Macau | China | 27 | NR | N/A |
72 | Madrid | Spain | 17 | 42 | 25 |
73 | Manchester | United Kingdom | 73 | NR | N/A |
74 | Marrakesh | Morocco | 50 | NR | N/A |
75 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 19 | NR | N/A |
76 | Melbourne | Australia | 72 | 17 | 55 |
77 | Mexico City | Mexico | 30 | NR | N/A |
78 | Miami | USA | 39 | 62 | 23 |
79 | Milan | Italy | 42 | 49 | 7 |
80 | Minneapolis | USA | NR | 60 | N/A |
81 | Monterrey | Mexico | NR | 94 | N/A |
82 | Montevideo | Uruguay | NR | 76 | N/A |
83 | Montreal | Canada | 85 | 22 | 63 |
84 | Moscow | Russia | 21 | NR | N/A |
85 | Mumbai | India | 86 | NR | N/A |
86 | Munich | Germany | 40 | 8 | 32 |
87 | Nagoya | Japan | NR | 54 | N/A |
88 | Nanjing | China | 76 | NR | N/A |
89 | New Delhi | India | 92 | NR | N/A |
90 | New York City | USA | 6 | 48 | 42 |
91 | Nice | France | 61 | NR | N/A |
92 | Nurnberg | Germany | NR | 23 | N/A |
93 | Oahu/Honolulu | USA | 44 | 27 | 17 |
94 | Omuta | Japan | NR | 69 | N/A |
95 | Orlando | USA | 38 | NR | N/A |
96 | Osaka | Japan | NR | 42 | N/A |
97 | Oslo | Norway | NR | 26 | N/A |
98 | Ottawa | Canada | NR | 18 | N/A |
99 | Panama City | Panama | NR | 92 | N/A |
100 | Papeete | French Polynesia | NR | 97 | N/A |
101 | Paris | France | 3 | 33 | 30 |
102 | Perth | Australia | NR | 21 | N/A |
103 | Pittsburg | USA | NR | 52 | N/A |
104 | Portland | USA | NR | 46 | N/A |
105 | Port Elizabeth | South Africa | NR | 97 | N/A |
106 | Port Louis | Mauritius | NR | 77 | N/A |
107 | Prague | Czech Republic | 20 | 72 | 52 |
108 | Qingdao | China | 79 | NR | N/A |
109 | Riga | Latvia | NR | 92 | N/A |
110 | Rio De Janeiro | Brazil | 35 | NR | N/A |
111 | Rome | Italy | 8 | 61 | 53 |
113 | St. Louis | USA | NR | 64 | N/A |
114 | San Juan | Puerto Rico | NR | 71 | N/A |
115 | Salvador de Bahia | Brazil | 71 | NR | N/A |
116 | Salzburg | Austria | 74 | NR | N/A |
117 | San Diego | USA | 88 | NR | N/A |
118 | San Francisco | USA | 37 | 29 | 8 |
119 | Santiago | Chile | NR | 83 | N/A |
120 | São Paulo | Brazil | 62 | NR | N/A |
121 | Seattle | USA | NR | 49 | N/A |
122 | Seoul | South Korea | 9 | 87 | 78 |
123 | Seville | Spain | 60 | NR | N/A |
124 | Shanghai | China | 13 | 100 | 87 |
125 | Shenzen | China | 41 | NR | N/A |
126 | Singapore | Singapore | 4 | 34 | N/A |
127 | St. Petersburg | Russia | 25 | NR | N/A |
128 | Stockholm | Sweden | 66 | 20 | 46 |
129 | Suzhou | China | 59 | NR | N/A |
130 | Sydney | Australia | 43 | 9 | 34 |
131 | Taipei | China | 24 | 81 | 57 |
132 | Tallinn | Estonia | 67 | 89 | 22 |
133 | Tianjin | China | 75 | NR | N/A |
134 | Tokyo | Japan | 51 | 35 | 16 |
135 | Toronto | Canada | 14 | 15 | 1 |
136 | Tsukuba | Japan | NR | 55 | N/A |
137 | Tunis | Italy | NR | 95 | N/A |
138 | Valencia | Spain | 93 | NR | N/A |
139 | Vancouver | Canada | NR | 3 | N/A |
140 | Varadero | Cuba | 53 | NR | N/A |
141 | Venice | Italy | 28 | NR | N/A |
142 | Victoria | Seychelles | NR | 95 | N/A |
143 | Vienna | Austria | 23 | 3 | 20 |
144 | Vilnius | Lithuania | NR | 82 | N/A |
145 | Warsaw | Poland | 29 | 85 | 56 |
146 | Washington DC | USA | 63 | 44 | 19 |
147 | Wellington | New Zealand | NR | 12 | N/A |
148 | Winston Salem | USA | NR | 52 | N/A |
149 | Wuxi | China | 96 | NR | N/A |
150 | Xi’an | China | 78 | NR | N/A |
151 | Xiamen | China | 80 | NR | N/A |
152 | Yokkaichi | Japan | NR | 63 | N/A |
153 | Yokohama | Japan | NR | 38 | N/A |
154 | Zhuhai | China | 58 | NR | N/A |
155 | Zurich | Switzerland | 55 | 1 | 54 |
NR, no rank, no top 100 rank in this category
N/A, not applicable since the city was on only one of the lists
Table 2 below shows cities that were on both lists ordered from the least difference between ranks to the greatest difference between ranks.
Top 100 Cities: Tourist Destination vs. Livability Rank
Table 2: Comparison of Ranks |
|||||
Cities | Country | Tourist Rank | Livability Rank | Rank Difference | |
1 | Lisbon | Portugal | 47 | 47 | 0 |
2 | Toronto | Canada | 14 | 15 | 1 |
3 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 18 | 13 | 5 |
4 | Milan | Italy | 42 | 49 | 7 |
5 | San Francisco | USA | 37 | 29 | 8 |
6 | Dublin | Ireland | 11 | 27 | 16 |
7 | Tokyo | Japan | 51 | 35 | 16 |
8 | Oahu/Honolulu | USA | 44 | 27 | 17 |
9 | Berlin | Germany | 34 | 16 | 18 |
10 | Washington DC | USA | 63 | 44 | 19 |
11 | Chicago | USA | 64 | 44 | 20 |
12 | Vienna | Austria | 23 | 3 | 20 |
13 | Tallinn | Estonia | 67 | 89 | 22 |
14 | Miami | USA | 39 | 62 | 23 |
15 | Los Angeles | USA | 31 | 55 | 24 |
16 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | 81 | 55 | 26 |
17 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | 82 | 55 | 27 |
18 | Cape Town | South Africa | 57 | 85 | 28 |
19 | Paris | France | 3 | 33 | 30 |
20 | Boston | USA | 68 | 36 | 32 |
21 | Munich | Germany | 40 | 8 | 32 |
22 | Sydney | Australia | 43 | 9 | 34 |
23 | Abu Dhabi | UAE | 52 | 88 | 36 |
24 | Budapest | Hungary | 36 | 74 | 38 |
25 | London | United Kingdom | 1 | 39 | 38 |
26 | New York City | USA | 6 | 48 | 42 |
27 | Copenhagen | Sweden | 54 | 11 | 43 |
28 | Stockholm | Sweden | 66 | 20 | 46 |
29 | Helsinki | Finland | 77 | 30 | 47 |
30 | Lyon | France | 84 | 36 | 48 |
31 | Prague | Czech Republic | 20 | 72 | 52 |
32 | Rome | Italy | 8 | 61 | 53 |
33 | Melbourne | Australia | 72 | 17 | 55 |
34 | Warsaw | Poland | 29 | 85 | 56 |
35 | Taipei | China | 24 | 81 | 57 |
36 | Hamburg | Germany | 83 | 24 | 59 |
37 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 15 | 75 | 60 |
38 | Montreal | Canada | 85 | 22 | 63 |
39 | Hong Kong | China | 5 | 70 | 65 |
40 | Dubai | UAE | 7 | 80 | 73 |
41 | Seoul | South Korea | 9 | 87 | 78 |
42 | Shanghai | China | 13 | 100 | 87 |
43 | Geneva | Switzerland | 98 | 2 | 96 |
Conclusion
There were a total of 155 cities on either list. 112 cities were only on one list. Only 43 cities were on both lists. Cities that are only on one list outnumber cities on both lists 2.6:1. Even for cities on both lists, the mean difference between ranks was 37.6 and quite high. These findings suggest that cities that are visited are not the same cities that are more livable. The truism that some cities are nice places to visit and different cities are nice places to live in is correct. Table 2 showed which cities had the least difference between ranks and the greatest difference between ranks.
The city with the least difference in rank was Lisbon. Lisbon had a rank of 47 on both lists. Toronto had the second least difference in rank and has the honor of having a relatively high visitor rank (14) and livability rank (15). Amsterdam showed a similar pattern to Toronto with a visitor rank of 18 and a livability rank of 13.
Geneva had the greatest difference in rank. Geneva is a great place to live (2) but doesn’t get very many tourists (98) relative to other cities. Shanghai had the second greatest difference in rank but in the opposite direction as Geneva. Shanghai is a city that many tourists visit (13) but only ranks 100 in terms of livability. A practical implication for expats is to be wary of deciding to live in cities you like to visit without taking the Visit/Live Theory into account.
WereVerse Universe Baby!
Tagged Abu Dhabi, Adelaide, Agra, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Argentina, Athens, Atlanta, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Belgium, Benidorm, Berlin, Birmingham, Bo, Boston, Bratislava, Brisbane, Bruges, Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Business Week, Cairo, Calgary, Canada, Cancun, Cape Town, Chennai, Chicago, Chile, China, Chongquing, Cleveland, Copenhagen, Cuba, Cyprus, Dalian, Detroit, Dubai, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburg, Egypt, Estonia, Euromonitor, Finland, Florence, France, Frankfurt, French Polynesia, Geneva, Germany, Glasgow, Granada, Greece, Guanzhou, Guilin, Hamburg, Hangzhou, Havana, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Houston, Hugh Fox, Hungary, India, Ireland, Istanbul, Italy, Japan, Johannesburg, Katsuyama, Kobe, Krakow, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, La Havana, Las Vegas, Latvia, Leipzig, Lexington, Limassol, Lisbon, Lithuania, Liverpool, Ljubljana, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Lyon, Macau, Madrid, Manchester, Marrakesh, Mauritius, Mecca, Melbourne, Mercer Human Resources, Mexico, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Minneapolis, Monterrey, Montevideo, Montreal, Morocco, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Nagoya, Nanjing, Netherlands, New Delhi, New York City, New Zealand, Nice, nice place to visit, Norway, Nurnberg, Oahu, Omuta, Orlando, Osaka, Oslo, Ottawa, Panama City, Papeete, Paris, Perth, Pittsburg, Poland, Port Elizabeth, Port Louis, Portland, Portugal, Prague, Puerto Rica, Quingdao, Riga, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Russia, Salvador de Bahia, Salzburg, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Santiago, Sao Paolo, Saudi Arabia, Seattle, Seoul, Seville, Seychelles, Shanghai, Shenzen, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Suzhou, Sweden, Switzerland, Sydney, Taipei, Tallinn, Thailand, Tianjin, Tokyo, Top 100 Cities, Toronto, Tsukuba, Tunis, Turkey, Twilight Zone, UAE, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, United States of America, Uruguay, USA, Valencia, Vancouver, Varadero, Venice, Victoria, Vienna, Vilnius, Visit/Live Theory, Warsaw, Washington DC, Wellington, Winston Salem, Wuxi, Xiamen, Xian, Yokkaichi, Yokohama, Zhuhai, Zurich
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18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
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