Daedalus Alliance

Daedalus Wept - A Superhero Campaign

The World of Quasars

The World of Superheroes Known As Quasars


The Modern World

The year is 2022 and superheroes known as Quasars have been around for almost 30 years. While Quasars did not become truly embedded into popular culture into the early 2000’s, they now represent a major element introduced into all parts of modern society. Quasar superpowers, fortunately, almost always require more than one focus point (i.e., superhero) to “resonate” enough to be able to activate their powers, so they can be captured and imprisoned effectively. Further, resonation required to produce superheroes is not generic, but rather a keyed resonant frequency and modulation that is specific to individual subsets and groups. Altering quasar teams by adding or removing members only works if they have compatible resonation, hence quasar team do not alter their membership often or easily.

Unaligned Quasars (those not sponsored by an approval UN governmental council called UNCOS) and Quasar imbuing technologies are regulated by United Nations working AEGIS (an enforcement branch of UNCOS). The technology to imbue Quasar powers into humans can be found in black markets as well as in any major governmental research facility. Considered more dangerous than nuclear technology, the escalation of Quasar technology derives from the greater simplicity and more dangerously precise ways that superpowers can be wielded. Additionally, since the Quasar technology to create new teams is often “use and throw away”, criminal and terrorist organizations are more frequently seeking Quasar technology to create teams of loyal members to carry out their illicit goals.

The world is coming to grips with Quasars and their super-powered abilities, and while the number of Quasars is still within the hundreds, their impact, both socially and physically, is undeniable and will not fade as time goes on.

Quantum Array

Projected Model of a Duorubidium Quantum Array


What are Quasars?

The term Quasar (Quantum Amplification of Superabilities through Augmented Resonation) was coined in 1999, after the first super-powered fights were publicized on the earliest Internet-based social media. Quasar was derived from a phenomenon theorized in 1984 by Dr. Helrich Terbo, a Hungarian-born NASA physicist, who predicted the possibility of Quasar phenomenon while quantum battery technology was still a novelty. Dr. Terbo proposed the theory that quantum fields were attuned much like capacitance, and that human nervous systems were implicitly linked to quantum phenomenon. While quantum arrays can be established in inanimate technologies, the scale of power would be miniscule when compared to the power of quantum fields when energy is stored within the harmonically resonation of a quantum field within the human body. Although he only deduced theoretical possibility of Aces, his theories and calculations eventually applied to other classes of Quasar. Because of this, Dr. Terbo was referred in popular media as the “quantum-era Faraday”, because many of his field calculations were derived from capacitance theories based on Faraday’s laws and some mathematical projections on natural field theory published by Nikola Tesla. In fact, Dr. Terbo's works are highly pursued after it was discovered how accurately they could predict the stability of quantum field expression in living subjects and his works are considered as highly classified as nuclear research secrets by modern day governments.

The complexities of quantum field induction through human resonation, while lent some theoretical support in calculations, are still unpredictable because of the highly variable nature of their human host. The ability to put together a group of Quasars who will successfully resonate is rife with hazards, both to the subjects involved and to the surrounding environment. While most individuals dismiss the warnings, even Dr. Terbo, who originally identified the possibility of Quasar phenomenon, theorized in later discussions on his own works that the "apotheosis of a large enough population of individuals, resonating with a integrally defined combination of frequencies, could endanger the structure of even the Earth itself."

Although the U.S. government has officially denied any deaths related to the apotheosis of its own Quasar teams, enough unofficial sources have indicated that the mortality rate involved in apotheosis of a team of Quasars can be high -- with a subject survival rate less than 20% based on the methodologies and technologies utilized. Failure often results in violently brutal deaths involving uncontrolled power expression, explosive feedback, and even disintegration on at the atomic level. Emergency responders practice the all-too-common scenario of a failed attempt to create a Quasar team. The common American term for such a disastrous scene is a meltdown; but derogatory terms such as burnt omelet (specifically referring to a body found at such a scene and failure to launch becoming popular parlance among social media. Recent crime reports published by AEGIS and InterPol have validated that the danger of creating Quasars is significant, but the reward for a team of stable Quasars makes underground apotheosis, while highly dangerous and illegal, an irresistible activity by criminal organizations and fringe paramilitary groups.

Quantum Field Projection

Quantum Superconditions Along A Single Resonance Nexus


The First Quantum Arrays

The discovery of quantum resonation and the invention of the first duorubidium arrays in the early 1980’s led to what would become the first super powered human. The initial quantum arrays saw application most often in laboratory and space exploration environments, where physical constraints limited the use of traditional power sources. The first space arrays were combined with solar chargers to slowly capture and retain solar powers and convert it to both electrical and heat energy for use in space hardware and in circuits. The output of such was not predictable at higher power levels and arrays were only able to capture energy in the scale of a few coulombs of consistent output. While initially utilized by NASA, soon Russian and Indian programs were utilizing quantum arrays for smaller power needs when external power sources were too clumsy. The technology was initially hampered by the lack of a reliable medium within which to enable quantum resonation and the general difficulty in deactivating quantum arrays without physically separating the components.

Quasar Powers, Aces, Kings, and Jacks

It was from the original theoretical works from Dr. Helrich Terbo that most of the theories of quantum function were defined. Before his work, the concept of quantum manifestation involved one or more super positioned subatomic structures, whereupon a channeling controller could capture and manifest only the ones that suited their needs. Dr. Terbo likened it to the function of stellar radiation, in that while there are a staggering number of electromagnetic frequencies, humans were only able to perceive a small fraction of that radiation through their senses and their bodies utilized only a slightly larger fraction in the form of infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

Dr. Terbo compared the array to a filter, that while open to all quantum energy possibilities, was focused on just the energies it required at the time. Original quantum array batteries crudely filtered this energy using micro-sized quantum array channeling elements, such as duorubidium and argentium cobalt, or cobalt-60s (an synthetically created isotope-based alloy of cobalt and silver). Apotheosis, the method for awakening quantum arrays in humans, is more complex, however, With humans, the quantum arrays are defined by their relationship to the central nervous systems' channeling of lambda patterns, which are brainwaves deeper in frequency width and scope than even alpha, beta, or even theta waves. Using a force-feedback system, human lambda waves patterns can be taught (the formal term is referred to as attuning). As of now, the need for individuals who have the ability to attune (and thus more effectively utilize Q-tech) has led to the establishment of courses and and programs in quantum attunement in most major universities.

The process, however, cannot be maintained for a long (except in the case of Aces) and resonation with other nearby Quasars is required to stabilize the arrays. This process is difficult to control artificially, and can easily lead to massive unexpected energy surges when the fields are tied directly to human subjects. Apotheosis is a careful process, which involves a first stage of tapping into a human's lambda waves and altering them (through a variety of methods) to allow control of existing linked quantum fields. Once a number of humans is connected by a quantum mesh network such that it reaches stability, the field attunes and grows in sync with the user's lambda patterns. Attunement is difficult, but when performed as a group, the lessening the volatility and severity lethal quantum hyperexpression drops dramatically. The key is to attempt to induce all members of a team into a similar lambda state and from there, adding and subtracting quantum field strength and team members in the array until it stabilizes and the lambda force feedback components can be removed.

After that, the nervous system will naturally 'tune in' to the resonating frequencies of their array. Most often in the early days, Quasars could only attune to their original attunement group (the ones who all gained their powers together). However, with more research and sophistication into the process of lambda feedback, adding members to a Quasar team has become more common. And of course, there are those that naturally attune to a team's lambda patterns (Aces and Jacks, for example) with as little effort as changing their clothes. Of course, the stability of the quantum array reaches a point of diminishing return based on a direct function of the power of the individuals involved and the number of individuals involved. The more powerful a group and larger the number of members, the harder it is to induce apotheosis or attune a new member to the team.

The term Aces comes into play, based on George RR Martin's science fiction Wildcards novels, which portrayed superheroes with designations based on card suits. Aces, Jacks, Kings, and Suits became quickly adopted popular parlance and soon become commonly adopted by more traditional institutions who had no common language to describe Quasars. The weakest Quasars are designated as Drones, primarily because their powers are non-unique (they are duplicated almost identically among all members). Most well-known hero or villain Quasars are designated as Suits, which means they must be in the presence of their teams to use their powers. Aces are those who require no other Quasars to manifest their powers, while Kings are superior in that they can influence and even disempower team members on a group to which they have attuned. Jacks are unique, in that they do not attune to a single team, but can exhibit their powers in the presence of any other Quasar (even Drones).

Initial attempts are creating Aces, Kings, and Jacks proved disheartening. Attuning Aces, Kings, and Jacks to existing Quasar teams makes the initital empowerment easier, but in some cases, the result has often proved spectacularly disastrous, with side effects ranging from complete disemmpowerment to a catastrophic level of apotheosis that is both destructive and fatal. In spite of these dangers, many nations and organizations still attempted to create new superteams and went with a variety of strategies to increase their chances of creating Elite Quasars.

Using the infinite possibilities of energy arrays possible at the quantum states, Quasars can channel energies and absorb energies directly through their arrays. The human elements required to manifest a power are limited to the methodologies involved in teaching the Quasar and their direct mental constructs created through their minds. Many have noted that the concept of observation by a sentient being is part of what drives the function of a quantum field, much like it has been noted that observation alters perceived reality in quantum physics. The process of power visualization occurs almost instinctively in some individuals, while for others, the process of invoking or evoking their supranatural abilities may involve complex ritualistic exercises, kinesomatic motions, or even the function of external pieces of equipment with which the individual will interface.

The volume of research being performed on Quasars grows each year, but the only consistent fact that researchers can agree upon is that applied quantum physics is rife with exceptions and inconsistencies in practical behaviors. According to Dr. Terbo, "We are little more than children playing with fire, and while we know how to make it and control it in for limited purposes, we do not truly understand the phenomenon or the mathematics to model it effectively."

How Quasar Powers Function in the Physical World

Dr. Stephen Anson has done extensive work in the field of Quasars and Q-tech physics. His general explanation poses that quasar powers are not new, but rather expressed themselves as psychic phenomenon and spiritual anomalies. His theory, one of the more accepted in the field, is that the ability to supercharge the normally inactive quantum field that comprises a person's consciousness allows a newer, more resilient and complex field in the host. The fundamental change in consciousness alters the field such that Quasars are able to channel power from a quantum matrix, which forms when multiple Quasars bond into a single resonating group. He further theorizes that Aces and Kings have self-resonating fields, which allows them to operate without other Quasars nearby. Taken to its natural conclusion, Dr. Anson has stated, "Human consciousness is, by its definition, an expression of observation between quantum superstates and as such, operates quickly to the point that time does not exist. Human consciousness operates beyond the speed of light and it is only through our physical forms are we limited to the speed of light. Thus, control of quantum powers is a function of will, and not thought, and the scale of time required to induce countless quantum processes alter reality on a physical level is not limited by the speed of conscious thought. Quantum powers are potentially omnipotent."

Space Station AcadiaQuantum Powers Explained (Click Image)

Dr. Anson's explanation also explains why Q-tech does not operate without a human operator. Without a conscious element of observation and choice, quantum technologies remain in a state of unspecified superstates and thus do not have an expressible path to the physical world. Dr. Anson's theories have also created a great deal of metaphysical furor over the nature of souls, spirit, divinity, and even the definition of God. As a note, he has received more than a few threats from religious factions who have interpreted Dr. Anson's discussions on the subject to imply that god does not exist, while Dr. Anson has argued that "quantum powers don't mean God doesn't exist, but rather that every human has the potential to be God". This assertion, while intended to allay the anger of some religious groups, has actually infuriated others.

Space Station Acadia

Space Station Acadia, Later Renamed The Tower


Team Eagle - The First Quasars

The original Team Eagle for STS-67 consisted of team leader and Pilot Captain Desmond Barrister, Copilot Captain Stephen L. J. Smith, mission Navigator Captain Ellis Drennon, and mission specialist Captain Edgar Nunez. The original Team Eagle was billed as a new attempt to bring patriotic fervor to the space program, but the disastrous marketing and abysmal failures in their pre-mission interviews when mission second-in-command Captain Smith lost his temper in a group interview, ranting at the irrelevance of the interviewer when they made a dismissive insinuation about Team Eagle going on their mission to test space suits for real astronauts going on more important missions. Although considered a public relations disaster, Captain Smith was kept on the mission because his outburst did minimal damage and his mission lead insisted he remain on the team.

In, 1995, the STS-67 mission utilized newly designed "Hexapod" suits. The new suits utilized implanted quantum controllers to control and power the new suits’ ambient energy systems through quantum array. The original quantum power arrays were very small and difficult to maintain, but such fragility made them ideal for the controlled use within suits maintained in the environs of space. During one of the last mission spacewalks, all four astronauts were in EVA after a medical emergency and they were struck by a very unexpected high-energy solar flare induced by tangential gammar ray burst. The circuitry in the suits were overloaded and the suits themselves were burned and torn from the astronauts' bodies. Their quantum implants went into a state of state of spontaneous apotheosis. Despite being flung hundreds of miles out of orbit and away from their space capsule by the high energy solar discharge, three the four astronauts survived the incident and managed to return to Earth under their own power. They did so by literally flying back to Earth, descending through the upper atmosphere and flying to Houston, where they made a perfect touch down at the Johnson Space Center.

Later analysis of the “Team Eagle” incident revealed that the quantum array implants became supercharged by the solar winds, creating a stable, high-energy resonance that found stability and increased energy retention potential when forced into the team of astronauts with similar temperament, thought processes, and emotional states. The resonance created an increase in an energy scale from a few joules of potential output into realized output that measured in the range of gigajoules. While three of the astronauts were able to tap into this energy using their implants, Pilot was able to project a force field that allowed the team to survive the environmental and gravity constraints of freefall, the fourth astronaut, Alwin Harrell, died in the initial event - his body lost to the depths of space.

Within a few weeks, the engineers at NASA discovered the drawbacks that channeling this amount of energy had on the astronauts. Two of the remaining Team Eagle were dying, suffering from multiple tumors and radiation-sickness induced illnesses from unrelenting solar radiation. The members of the team dubbed “Team Eagle” gained immediate popularity as American legends and heroes. However, within three short months, two of the three surviving members of Team Eagle succumbed to their illness and died painful deaths. The only remaining member, Edgar Nunez, whose later superhero sobriquet became Pilot, survived and eventually learned to control his powers without the aid of his implant.

For the next three years, the activity behind quantum array research was accelerated and almost completely unrestrained. In the interim, however, the public attention, especially in the United States, was captured by the romanticized legends surrounding their first superhero, Pilot. American exceptionalism and pride soared as Pilot demonstrated his mastery of incredible powers. He demonstrated his ability to fly at speeds exceeding the fastest jets and could project force fields which could stop physical forces ranging from intense heat to bullets and even lasers. Acting with the U.S. military and NASA, Pilot used his special abilities to help build Acadia Station, a research facility located at the L3 Lagrange Point. This achievement is heralded by U.S. leaders as America's mastery in space and other nations looked on with some concern as the assumption of U.S. governance in space, assured by both Pilot and by Acadia Station, became closer to fact than assertion.

Pilot

Pilot, the First Quasar



While Pilot initially acted in concert with the United States government, the hero became increasingly dismayed with the nationalism and jingoistic arrogance that was surrounding him and his deeds. It was assumed he would act primarily for the protection of U.S. interests and would act within U.S. foreign policy. Pilot worked diligently to remain philanthropic and altruistic in his actions, but his allegiance to and relationship with the U.S. government grew increasingly strained. The legal experts argued that he was U.S. military and that he was obligated to act on behalf of U.S. interests because of his implied commitment to service. His failure to follow orders could be considered insubordination at its least and insurrection and treason at its worst. Eventually, Pilot renounced his citizenship after being sent to restore a hostile regime after a greater earthquake struck Haiti. Pilot addressed the United Nations in 1996, with the following statement:

“I can no longer in good conscience use my powers to favor the political agendas of one world power over another. I am no longer a citizen of just the United States. I am a citizen of the Earth and my actions and decisions will be based on what is best for all beings on the Earth.”

The President of the United States condemned Pilot’s statement, contending that by law, he belonged within the structure of a governing body. President Bob Dole declared that outside of any world government, Pilot's actions were little more than vigilantism and perfidious self-indulgence. Pilot’s actions were received with mixed emotions – many openly commended the morality of his decision, but others pointed out that individuals, *especially* super-powered ones, must be subject to the laws of a higher moral compass than just their own. The arguments raged for months, while Pilot made appearances helping in situations where only his talents could prove beneficial. Smaller nations offered him asylum and succor only as far as it would not incite U.S. reprisals. Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, officially offered Pilot a position within their military as Chief of General Staff, but Pilot publicly responded stating that “While I am not a pawn of the United States government, neither would he be a pawn of other, more obviously oppressive regimes.” It was reported that Yeltsin grew so angry at this rebuff that he used his influence to make Russia's airspace restricted to flying non-vehicular entities and warned that any attempt to enter Russian air-space would be "swift and immediately lethal reprisals."

Team Liberty

Team Liberty, Second Generation Quasar Team



Team Liberty and the First Superbattle

In 1998, the United States military found a way to replicate the process of resonance in quantum arrays and using newly designed dendrimitic quantum implants. Thus, they finally unlocked how to imbue stable superpowers into human subjects. The questions behind the morality of these programs were immediately challenged after their results became public, but the U.S. response was that while Pilot did not represent an immediate threat to the United States, he did represent a potential threat to any given government's interests and as such, it was their responsibility to introduce counter-measures to Pilot's "unchecked" power. The introduction of a new superpowered team, dubbed Team Liberty, brought about shocked asseveration from the United Nations and many of its member nations; the accusations that the U.S. was engaging in “super-powered brinksmanship” was brought to the floor of the U.N. However, there was little the United Nations member nations could do against a nuclear and space superpower that had now displayed the ability to create Quasars.

It was less than three months after their introduction that Team Liberty came to conflict with military forces in Bosnia. Pilot warned the U.S. not to intervene as a military presence, warning that their presence would undermine the VRS and ARBiH operations. Team Liberty's orders to pacify the region would mean disarming the JNA and ARBiH forces and make them helpless to JNA aggression. Pilot eventually engaged Team Liberty outside of the city of Tuzla, demanding their stand down and depart the region. Pilot issued a public warning, audible across much of the town. "This region is under my protection. As U.S. military operatives, you have no political or military justification for being here at this time. If you do not leave, I will be justified in using all of the force at my disposal." Agent Exemplar and the rest of Team Liberty refused to leave and confronted Pilot in the world’s first, but not its last, super-powered battle. The air over Tuzla thundered for long minutes as spectacular forces in the range of gigajoules rebounded back and forth between Pilot and Team Liberty. Pilot and Agent Exemplar struck each other with blows so powerful that their sonic booms were audible for miles. Brightstar's vast explosions of light were visible from as far away as Sarajevo. Eventually, one side had to give way. Team Liberty suffered its first casualty when Brightstar was pummeled into unrecognizable form by Pilot. The camera footage, being reported live, hit the world like a lightning rod. Team Liberty's weakness was revealed when Pilot removed Brightstar from the proximity of other Team Liberty members. Outside of the team's resonance range, her power abruptly shut down and without the protection of her powers and Quasar abilities, she was vulnerable. Pilot blasted her unpowered body and the force blast obliterated her body. Although Pilot was attempting to show restraint, it did not help that the young girl's death was played on an near endless loop by news agencies across the world.

Team Liberty withdrew and the news quickly spread of Team Liberty’s weakness – that the only way to maintain stable powers was to maintain resonance proximity range of other team members, which allowed the quantum fields to supercharge and hold the quantum energies used in expressing superpowers. Pilot, facing public condemnation for murdering the unpowered Brightstar, was vilified by media across the globe. U.S. sources created an outpouring of nationalist press to justify Team Liberty's actions and vilify Pilot. Shortly thereafter, special public relations team even began public auditions for Brightstar’s replacement on Team Liberty, and it was within six months that Neostar (Brightstar's actual younger sister) was added as a member of Team Liberty. It was at this time that the phenomenon of Quasar (Quantum Amplification of Superabilities through Augmented Resonation) was coined in popular media. Superpowered individuals became known as Quasars in public media and the term stuck as a popular recognition of the phenomenon

The U.S. attorney general filed charges against Pilot for war crimes, and the U.S. pushed hard for the U.N. to sanction the capture or neutralization of Pilot using Team Liberty. The U.N. condoned the use of conventional forces to seek out Pilot and to take into custody anyone who sheltered him. As the U.N. was considering the issue, a Russian-based Quasar team was made public – the Zaschitniki (a.k.a. the Guardians). They engaged a team of Chinese-based Quasar Team known as The Shen just outside of Kamchatka. The resulting destruction led to tens of millions of dollars in property damage and scores of deaths. The United Nations realized drastic action was necessary.

UNCOS Logo

UNCOS (United Nations Council on the Obligation of Superhumans)


Creation of UNCOS and AEGIS

The United Nations Security Council, already faced with the threat of superhero-level world conflict, reacted quickly. In spite of attempts by Russia to block it, the United Nations Security Council proposed the creation of a supra-national body to determine policies relating to Quasars. This led to the creation of a sub-branch of the UN Security Council known as UNCOS (United Nations Council on the Obligation of Superhumans). UNCOS would have jurisdiction to oversee the legality of super powered forces and to ensure that superpowered teams were only authorized to act by governmental decree. By the UNCOS charter, only teams that were aligned with an authorized member government and recognized by the Security Council would be allowed to operate, with the necessary UNCOS oversight to ensure their compliance. The U.S. fully backed this decision, offering Team Liberty as support for any U.N. military actions. UNCOS began by recommending the creation of the AEGIS Initiative (Alert and Engagement of Global Incursion by Superhumans), a security organization designed to monitor and response to super-powered threats outside of control of member governments.

AEGIS Logo

AEGIS (Alert and Engagement of Global Incursion by Superhumans)


One of AEGIS’s first acts is to issue a public demand for Pilot to surrender himself to their custody. Pilot resisted the order, hiding out in third world nations and non-member territories. After two superpowered battles, in an Addis Ababa and the other in Huntington, New York, Pilot was eventually surrendered to Team Liberty. He was detained in a quantum-shunting chamber. He gained the distinction of being the first detainee in Acadia Station, now renamed the Tower. The irony that Pilot is kept as a prisoner in the very space station he helped build using his powers was not lost either on the public media or on the Pilot, who in his only interview as a prisoner, declared ominously that “humans were both the victims and aggressors for all injustices committed on the Earth. Humanity's reciprocation for the crimes of the unrepentant few is a foregone conclusion.”

Quasar Attack on the WTC

Quasar Attack on the Twin Towers


World Trade Center and Quasar Terrorism

As organized terrorist and Quasar threats grow in both number and prominence, militaries and police forces struggle to find a way to combat them. Their presence is seen in a number of high-profile criminal actions, most common of which is the assault on the World Trade Center, where thousands died as the twin towers were collapsed by a team of dedicated Quasar terrorists known as the Shafrat Alnaar (Blades of Fire) led by the charismatic Haqana Sulba (Righteous Steel). The Blades strike New York first, then make their way to the Pentagon and finally, as they were moving to another target were intercepted by multiple AEGIS Teams and Rolling Thunder, a renegade Quasar vigilante group. The resulting fight led to the death of several members of the Shafrat Alnaar as well as Rolling Thunder, and the military manhunts and investigation afterward led to accusations throughout the UN Security Council and UNCOS, with recriminations echoing for years afterward. Additionally, Haqana Sulba and the Rustungkafer, both Aces, become the first formal nemeses. After more than a dozen public battles between the two, Rustungkafer finally kills Sulba just outside of a small Dubai city. AEGIS takes Rustungkafer into custody and finds out that he was the medical experiment of the German right-wing National Offensive movement (of which he killed many of them escaping them). After a popular public outcry for leniency, AEGIS offers Rustungkafer a posting on Team ASTRA.

Following events, such as the Chechnyan Quasar attack which killed over 25,000 took over public media for over a week. This, followed by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) in the Central Congo where nearly a thousand victims in Bujumbura were murdered, led to a growing number of high body count attacks, each attempting to gain the same notoriety as the Twin Towers attack. While UNCOS reports show that AEGIS stopped dozens of attacks before they were initiated. Their efforts, however, prove almost invisible as the infamy of the graphics scenes and stories from successful attacks eclipses any heroic efforts to thwart them. The sensationalism of the terrorist attacks and their exposure on public media prompted condemnation by the United Nations, who claim the media were 'glorifying criminal and terrorist actions and unwitting furthering their agendas'. It was not until the Primevals attacked the 2007 AFC Divisional Playoffs which led to the death of promising young champion quarterback Tom Brady did the media truly turn their backs on terrorist reporting. AEGIS recommends reporting guidelines (Civil Limitations on Authorized Monitoring and Public Reporting), which outline that certain types of reporting on certain attacks be portrayed as such and treated with the solemnity they deserve. Most news organizations openly endorse this code, although they do grow liberal in its intent when new disasters and stories loom on the horizon. While AEGIS claims they are not censoring the media, but instead are "asking the media to censor themselves for the greater good of all societies", many extremists point to this as another step toward a one world government.

Team ASTRA

Team ASTRA Logo



Explanation of Apotheosis and the Creation of Team ASTRA

Aces, known for their ability to reliably generation self-sustaining quantum energy arrays without the need for other Quasars, begin to proliferate. As Quasar teams are fielded and come into conflict, so do the incidence of new Aces. Agent Exemplar, Neostar, Titanium, and Schwartzenhammer were knwo to transform from normal Quasars to Aces after deaths on their teams. The phenomenon of Apotheosis becomes common knowledge after investigation of al-Jihad shows that they were intentionally killing Quasars to create Aces, and that this was the reason why the Primevals were so powerful. The public backlash that UNCOS and AEGIS was hiding this information plays out for weeks, especially following their introduction of the Civil Limitations on Authorized Monitoring and Public Reporting Guidelines (referred to in the media as CLAMP Reporting Guidelines).

While participating nations deny the intentional promotion of Aces through Apotheosis, the reality is that every organization who has a team is guilty of playing the lethal lottery that, hoping for the payoff of a powerful Ace through the escalation of conflicts that cost both Quasar lives and unpowered human lives. UNCOS issues strict guidelines on Quasar-based operations parameters, with the use of lethal powers strictly forbidden without AEGIS oversight. Agent Exemplar is appointed leader of the team, with the durable Rustungkafer as one of Team ASTRA's most popular members in the U.S. His down-to-earth colloquialisms and unrefined mannerisms made him a dynamic element for the new team.

By the end of 2007, there are eight Aces now imprisoned in the Tower (including Pilot). UNCOS issues a framework for the creation of Team ASTRA (AEGIS Superpowered Threat Reaction Alliance), which is comprised of only Aces. Pilot is offered a position on Team Astra, but rebukes the offer and chooses to instead stay imprisoned in the Tower. Pilot issues a chilling condemnation of the United Nations and vows that he would rather die attempting to destroy the "weak-minded oligarchs who have been appointed shepherds to the idiocy of the public voice". Pilot's radicalization is theorized to a mental instability caused by his trauma and imprisonment, however, a movement calling themselves "the Copilots" arises, supporting a variety of radicalized agendas and seeing Pilot as the languishing voice of their beliefs.

Team ASTRA is only invoked by unanimous decision of UNCOS members, and currently consists of a multi-national group that includes a team of Aces and Jacks that includes Agent Exemplar, Neostar, Rustungkafer, Vetra, Shiva, and Monkey King. Other individuals (only Aces, Kings, or Jacks) have been called into to aid Team ASTRA on very rare occasions. By their composition, Team ASTRA is as much a political liability as a physical force.

The Q-Age

Generation Q became known as the crossover generation that saw the creation and implementation of quantum array technologies. Generation Q gave rise to the Q Age, which according to Time magazine's 2010 Decade special issue, includes the era and generations that saw the presence of super-powered humans. Qagers (pronounced Cagers and defined as the generation of individuals born in the early 80's to the early 90's) identified more with growing up in a world where superpowered humans were active, both for the weal and woe of the human race. In 2005, the U.S. military unveiled its first Quasar-tech weapons and armor, capable of using quantum array implants and induction fields to create incredible energy outputs in laser and particle weapons. Utilizing the concept of induced singular quantum field arrays, the early Q-weapons, later dubbed, Q-tech, were multi-person systems designed to utilize transient quantum fields to power energy fields and beams. While these early technologies were capable of devastating bursts of destructive and defensive countermeasures, they are still far inferior and far less reliable than the powers exhibited by actual Quasar teams.

The increased speed of technological innovation, augmented by not only advancements in computer technology and software development, were driven by advances and technologies designed to both service and protect citizens who now face threats once believed only possible through protracted warfare. What was once the possible by well-financed military forces and multi million-dollar vehicles was now possible from a single or even a handful of individuals acting spontaneously. The need for effective portable communications, adaptive first responder technologies, and even regenerative medical technologies became necessary to help contend with the growing threat of Quasars and Q-tech. The unrelenting need for research drives a new era of advancement that dwarfs that of even the advancements made in the recently growing microprocessor era.

The first HOURGLASS (High Output URanium-Gold-Lead Almagamatic Self-Sustaining) reactor is built using quantum-induced catalyst reactions stabilized by array-bridge technology. The reactors are popular in that they provide remarkable energy output with almost zero waste or pollution. The reactors were met with suspicion in the U.S., as the possibility of quantum field collapse and subsequent kiloton-level explosions became a focal point for anti-HOURGLASS activists. Despite this opposition, a few reactors were built on the West Coast and the South, and their success has not slowed the HOLD (HOURGLASS Oppression Legal Defense) movement after the destruction of the Fall Sands HOURGLASS reactor by the Sisterhood Anarchy.

HOURGLASS Reactor

Blue Sky HOURGLASS Reactor in Wellington, Oregon



Second-Generation Quasars

In 2006, the next generation of Quasars were introduced onto the world stage. Based out of Mumbai, the Devas were improved Quasars with a greater variety of powers. Where previous Quasar resonation was relatively unstable and not always reliable, Team Deva, as modern media dubbed them, were more sophisticated in both their public media presence and in how they used their powers. They were, at heart, the first publicly stylized superhero team. Led by the charismatic Shiva and themed after Brahman deities, they were unofficially coined as the first of the “Second Generation Quasars”. They became the superpowered spokespersons for modern Qagers. Shortly thereafter, Team Thunderbird, based on American Indian mythos is introduced. They are led by the witty Gyrfalcon, and feature the Quetzal, Feral, Scarlet Owl, and Bloodraven. They are known for the fact that their entire team flies and they are considered among the more flamboyant of teams, often performing high speed aerobatic stunts at airshows and public events.

The in 2009, the first corporate teams were created, under the subsummation of major security council governments, including Quantek (US), Proknovsk (Russia), Pouvoir Necessite (France), and Shiang-Wu (China), although out of the corporate teams, only the Quantek and Pourvoir Necessite still remain active although even they are primarily low-threat support for local law enforcement agencies. Each of these corporations has a focus in quantum technologies and features their own impressive security teams augmented by Quasar teams. While corporate teams serve mostly nationally accepted interests, they do work internationally to protect corporate interests where governments are unable to do so. These new high tech security firms contract with other corporations, sending Quasars and Q-tech support teams to protect corporate interests in less developed nations where Quasar terrorism is too evasive for the slower-moving UNCOS and AEGIS. The super-powered battles in Third World countries and outlying territories becomes grist for modern media, where they are romanticized under the veneer of pervasive and powerful corporate public relations machinery.

New teams begin appearing, with Quasar teams that include the corporate teams such as the Lonestars (Texas), The Elites (New York), The Angels (LA), Héros de L'oracle (Oracle Corporation), and Die Machtgruppe (German-based Allianz Corporation). With the other regional and governmental sponsored teams, including the Shen, the Devas, the Zaschitniki (Guardians), Team Brittania (Great Britain) all join the ranks of prominently marketed superhero teams. The new teams often have conflicts over regional jurisdiction, how to respond to larger threats, and how to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies. However, they are incredibly famous in the public eye and the public appearances are met to overwhelmingly positive crowds and public media coverage.

Q-Games 2012

Q-Games 2012 Logo


The Q Games and Q-Rock Phenomenon

In 2010, the Quasar Games (popularly dubbed the Q-Games) were hosted in Phoenix, Arizona and sponsored by several major corporations, including Ford, Pepsi, Budweiser, Burger King, and the major quantum technology corporations sponsoring Quasar teams consisting of very minor heroes (Gamma Level or lower). The first competition was opened to all officially sanctioned UNCOS teams. Comparing powers such as super-strength, super-speed, energy projection power and precision, and head-to-head goal-based conflicts, the Quasar Games saw the first non-conflict world contest involving Quasars. The televised event became some of the highest rated television events, shadowing any previous Olympic games and rivalling even the Superbowl and the World Series. Sun-Boy and Giga-Fox became popular winners in the areas of energy projection and speed, while The Devas proved insurmountable foes in the head-to-head scenarios. At this time, original Q-Game trading cards are valuable collector items, as are any items signed by Quasars.

The 2010 Q-Games sees the first introduction of the formalized Q-Rank System, a numerical scaling system for measuring speed, strength, and scale of volume and space affecting powers along with an Elo system for zero-sum head-to-head competitions such as Team Combat, Team Open Challenge, and Obstacle Races. Powers are ranked according to the scale, and the first tiering of competitions is implemented in the Q-Games, with tiers rated as Junior-class, Bantam-class, Alpha-class, Beta-Class, Gamma-level, Delta-level, and Omega-level competition categories. The ranking systems provide an expansion in competition to the point that the games extend from their original two and a half days to a full six days.


Immortals Q-Rock Band Logo

First Q-Rock Band - The Immortals


Q-culture exploded across the Internet, with entire sites and marketing sites dedicated to Q-culture merchandise and collector pieces. Unfortunately, with the focus on Q-culture also came the rise of Quasar-based criminal groups and gangs. Using technology and secrets stolen, found, or discovered during the unrestrained period of quasar phenomenon, many underground groups have taken their chances to create human-augmenting quantum interface technologies. It is these groups that UNCOS has tasked AEGIS with finding, investigating, and bringing to justice. Given the entire support of the United Nations and its member nations, AEGIS is currently the only real protection that modern nations and societies have against the unrestrained use of force by Quasars and their organizations. Another unique offshoot of Q-culture was the birth of Q-Rock bands. In 2011, the Immortals, consisting of Kronos, Athena, Odinson, Dagda, and Daikoku, take the world by storm with their superheroic activities and their incredible showmanship. With the aid of top-notch production values and inspiring concepts by their leader, Kronos, the Immortals create a new milieu of rock in which the groups cross musical genres and in their shows and videos, utilize their superpowers for incredible effect. Using a majority of the proceeds for restoration efforts following Q-related activities, the band grows to legendary proportions in a short time. Within a year, other superhero bands appear, such as Demonbrew, the Circle of Life, and the country-based Children of Texas help bring about a level of glamour and fantasy to Q-culture that crosses over previous artistic and real-world boundaries.

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street and Q-POSSE Protests


Nequals and Occupy Wall Street

As the inevitable slow-down in economies follows the unrestrained growth of the quantum technologies inspired 90's and early 2000's, so then did the attitudes that people had towards Quasars and AEGIS. While they did their best, terrorist and criminal actions by Quasars and Q-tech gangs still happened often enough that people began to question the figures behind all of the hype. As massive destruction in some areas repeated over and over, so did the rising costs of replacing infrastructure and maintaining current infrastructure. "We'll rebuild better" was eventually replaced with "We'll make do what we can manage". The quantum security organizations realized this and began driving the creation of Quasar teams to help in the restoration of devastated areas. The Eco-Squad became more popular, with members such as Matriarch, Echo, and Silent Green acting both in media and in physical effort to restore damaged environments and urban landscapes.

On another front, however, as economic stresses began to take their toll on major populations, the issues of perceived oppression against economic and political freedom came under attack. Norms, as the press dubbed them, became more vocal and outspoken in social marches and protests. After Rustungkafer's infamous William Street Attack on members of the Nequality (a phrase derived from the phrase Normal Equality) left four people dead and a dozen injured, the press cooled their Quasar hype and even grew openly critical of the new, powerful elite. Rustungkafer is demoted from AEGIS active command and left as support. Shortly after, he is moved to the Tower to fulfill a role in Tower Security Operations, but many say that he should be in the prison, not guarding the prisoners.


Normals are Equal

Nequality Protest


Nequal becomes a common term in modern media, referring to Normal Equality (also Normal and Equal, and Normal but Equal depending on which etymology and media being referenced). Nequality supporters call for accountability among the Quasars, arguing that the laws in effect to stop Quasars from being created are not enough, and that Quasar creation should cease altogether. Moderates call for a moratorium on Quasar apotheosis research and call for strictly enforced rules of engagement. While AEGIS attempts to enforce these rules and some attempt to follow the rules, it merely emboldens more militant elements to target Quasars. The year 2015 marks the Rio Incident, where large riot gives rise to a local superpowered group. By the time the fighting is done and local rebellion is pacified, over two dozen superheroes are dead, including all members of the local Espada Vengadora (Avenging Swords), whose actions in prior years were to brutally pacify the extremely violent favelas. Local criminal elements, funded by one or more unknown parties, use Q-tech weapons to kill and ambush several responding Quasars after the Espada Vengadora is wiped out in a single encounter. The year marks a significant toll in Quasar lives, with the sixty-eight deaths that year exceeding all other years combined. The Rio Incident marks a significant downturn in Quasar popularity and as newscaster Valli Fontaine states on his show "The Q Report", "Quasars are not the gods we once dreamt them to be. Gods do not bleed and die in such inauspicious manner. They are, unfortunately, just emboldened versions of this flawed and desperate humanity."


Sine Nomine

Sine Nomine


Sine Nomine and the Q-POSSE Act

With the growing disillusionment in Quasars, with social movements begin targeting them on social platforms and through hacking efforts. The hacker group Sine Nomine publishes several operational briefs by AEGIS. Leaking thousands of pages of operational review and documents, the words of AEGIS are used to target the behaviors and actions of several popular Quasar groups, including the Team Liberty and The Devas. They focus on actions taken during the Occupy Wall Street movements, calling out instances where Quasars used powers on rioters, and even some protesters. It also revealed that AEGIS, under UNCOS direction, suppressed coverage of these events.

While governments reacted by targeting these groups with increased surveillance, it only served to antagonize and empower social movements to support hacker groups, especially Sine Nomine. Since Nomine even targeted Quasars, releasing their personal information (known as doxxing) to the public and encouraging retaliation against them and their associated friends and family. The issue grew to a head when Sine Nomine doxxed The Five Stars, a U.S. based Quasar group sponsored in Texas. This led to a domestic terrorist attack on the Five Stars headquarters, a chained gas explosion that led to the destruction of a city block and the death of the entire team and several members of their family during a team dinner.

This prompted the U.S. to quickly enact Q-POSSE, or the Quasar Privacy and Occupational Security and Surveillance Enforcement Act, a set of federal guidelines designed to restrict targeted security and intelligence actions against Quasars and Quasar families. The acts also restricts monitoring and actions taken against AEGIS staff and personnel. The Q-POSSE was received with anger and dismay by many who believed that the government and corporations were protecting the superheroes and removing accountability. Incidents of citizens arrested for filming Quasar activities brought prominent arrests and subsequent trials, which further acerbated enflamed public opinion against Quasars.


Rusty for President

Rusty for President 2016


Tobian Helzberg, aka Rustungkafer Becomes U. S. President

In a shocking development in U.S. politics, the populist movement upsets the traditional two-party structure as the infamous Rustungkafer retires from the world of Quasars to enter politics. Facing physical debilitation from the strain of years of superheroic efforts, Rusty (as he is popularly referred to by the American media) is enticed into bringing his political views to office. Raised in Germany, it is discovered that Rusty was actually born to U.S. parents abroad and is legally a United States citizen. While running for the Normal Party in the 2016 election, Rusty remarkably manages to defeat the incumbent president with the aid of a divisive political landscape, popular rhetoric, and a savvy and well-organized Vice-Presidential candidate by the name of Andrew Darrow. The world reaction to Rusty's election to POTUS is polarizing to the world political arena. The United Nations publicly admonishes the United States for electing a superhero, even a retired one, to one of the most powerful offices in the world. While Rusty is socially awkward and unrefined in his public engagements, he nonetheless provides stable leadership in crisis situations. He champions the QUIT (Quasar Utilization and Inference Technology) Acts to ban the creation of Quasars and highly restrict Q-tech, citing that the benefits are dwarfed by the liabilities inherent in possible immeasurable and uncontrollable power. The U.S. still maintains the agreements set forth by UNCOS and AEGIS, while corporations such as Quantek re-organize and re-structure their ownership in other countries that are "Q-friendly".

Dr. Anson Warns of Quasar Proliferation

Based on a leaked AEGIS intelligence report from 2022, Dr. Anson issues a public statement warning about the long-term implications of unchecked Quasar proliferation. He refers to the 'Doomsday Clock' and explains that while the nuclear threat may have it turned back, the Quantum threat is "pushing it to a precipice of unwitnessed alarm". AEGIS and UNCOS issue a statement at the report is a contextual projection and that the actual numbers are not complete based on number of Quasars in detention or working in UNCOS approved capacities. One popular meme found on Twitter shows Dr. Anson's head on chicken little as he is running from a volcano and an asteroid. Shortly thereafter, Ferrotech issues a statement that Dr. Anson's duties on Ferrotech's board has been reduced in anticipation of a Board of Directors re-alignment. Theories are that this is just a ploy to distance Ferrotech from Dr. Anson, but some believe that Ferrotech has actual plans to shuffle its upper leadership.

Quasar Proliferation by AEGIS Classification


Quasar Proliferation by Quasar Power Type

Excerpts from AEGIS Intelligence Brief 2022-UC13-ODH-4

Return to Top

Campaign-Related Pages
The Daedalus Foundation

Return to Campaign Pages
The Mutants and Masterminds 3E Variation
The Champions (Hero 5th Edition) Variation