Project INITIATIVE By E. S. Strout

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Lester Curtis
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Re: Project INITIATIVE By E. S. Strout

Post by Lester Curtis »

Quite well done, but in the beginning, I found myself scrolling back up to look at the timeline.

And then, I kept wondering if all the fuss was quite realistic under the circumstances. I'm still not sure about that -- I mean, this was a drug experiment, not a shockingly destructive device of some sort.

Nice job, otherwise.
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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: Project INITIATIVE By E. S. Strout

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Lester Curtis wrote:Quite well done, but in the beginning, I found myself scrolling back up to look at the timeline.

And then, I kept wondering if all the fuss was quite realistic under the circumstances. I'm still not sure about that -- I mean, this was a drug experiment, not a shockingly destructive device of some sort.

Nice job, otherwise.
In Marvel Comics terminology, the Project was a crude attempt at creating a supersoldier formula. The recent "Captain America" movie suggests that Captain America's greatest foe was created by an earlier, flawed version of the process that turned Steve Rogers from a sub-98-pound weakling into the world's greatest fighting machine. The monster known as the "Man-Thing" was (at least originally) created by a failed attempt to recreate the Captain America formula interacting with the peculiar (mystical / cosmic) properties of the swamplands surrounding the secret lab. ("Venom", the steroid / stimulant cocktail that allowed the villain Bane to defeat Batman in close combat, is a variation on the same theme.)

The story illustrates the point that the military mind would continue to try to exploit the formula tested with such disastrous results because it WORKED, in many ways: those dosed with the drug were stronger, faster, smarter, and more ruthless. The fact that they also became violently psychotic would be viewed by some as a GOOD THING... Not so good for the soldiers themselves, but in West Point think, the lives of individual soldiers are just numbers in a zero-sum calculation where the winner in a conflict is the last one standing (with men and materiel still available when the enemy's resources have been exhausted).

What do YOU think the Pentagon would do if it had a formula that could make an ordinary grunt into a two-legged WMD?

RM
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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: Project INITIATIVE By E. S. Strout

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

gino_ss wrote:Robert, this reminds me of a story of mine from the June 2008 issue, Green T. Government scientists implanted thymus tissue recovered from the crashed UFO pilot at Roswell in 1947. It took over the immune systems of a teenager and transformed him into a strong, aggressive and hostile individual immune to bacterial and viral diseases. A female developed similar characteristics and was impregnated by the male. Supersoldiers thus were created under Department of Defense supervisions.

Maybe we can get some input from Bill Wolfe.

gino
Uh oh -- your story reminds you of your earlier story? Dum dum daaaaaaaa (ominous music)..
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

Jack London (1876-1916)
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