The Force of Heresy: Prologue

Excerpt from Inquisitor Wynd's private diary

Unpublished, declared Damnatio Memoria by order of Lord Inquisitor Schuld

…The Warp defies explanation. Although we, especially those of us in the Inquisition, like to believe we have corralled even a small segment of its powers, beaten it into submission, and now can harness its use, such beliefs are fallacious to the core. Should the majority of the Imperial citizens ever comprehend how little we understand of Warp travel, and how loosely deciphered the Geller phenomenon is. Should such understanding ever surface, we could bid farewell to the notion of any sane Imperial citizen ever stepping foot off his homeward.

With that said, anyone who ventures into the Void certainly understands the risks of Warp travel: the possibility to arrive centuries later, to be thrown off-course by magnitudes difficult to comprehend, and of course the possibility of losing all-hands to some unmentionable horror that had been patiently salivating at the very edge of the Field (if such fields can be said to truly have edges, which is another point entirely). However, such instances are usually caulked up to the vagaries of the Warp rather than our understanding of Warp travel, but any brief introspection upon this notion rapidly reveals the core flaw. 

The important point that anyone seeking to research the Warp and its related phenomena must understand is that nothing is impossible when it is involved. Full stop. If there is indeed an exception to every rule, that exception is to be found in the Warp. Nothing forbids an individual from amassing power greater than the sum of all armies currently fighting in the galaxy. Nothing stops an entire Segmentum from suddenly flowing directly into the Warp. Nothing stops the laws of the universe as we know them from suddenly becoming outdated.

Why, I wouldn't be surprised if some extraordinary Warp-related events happen on a near-daily basis. Take, for instance, the common occurrence of ships disappearing into the Warp. Various theories exist, of course, the most common being time-delay, and the other being total destruction. However, both are hard to prove conclusively, so chances of something else happening are, well, possible. Perhaps the ships are sent back in time, or to an alternate dimension. Perhaps they reform to a new shape, utterly unrecognizable from its prior form. Or perhaps some are nearly misplaced, thrown far enough away that they are good as lost. If the Warp is capable of ejecting a vessel on the entire opposite side of the galaxy, what is there to stop it from hurling it to another galaxy, much as the Tyranids are known to have made their way to ours? Perhaps some ships declared missing in action still exist, fighting for their lives on alien soil, in some galaxy far, far away…

Seek and Destroy: Thoughts from "Zero Dark Thirty"

The other weekend I was able to finally see Zero Dark Thirty, and I was overall very pleased with it. It found a good balance between action, political thriller, and psychological drama, and I definitely understood the critical acclaim it had been accumulating. However, between the critical reviews, Oscar nominations, and all the like, I don't see much of a point in offering up a detailed review of the film. Instead, I'd like to focus on some of the controversy surrounding the film.

Specifically, I was somewhat surprised to find when reading about the film on Wikipedia after I viewed it that it had ignited a fierce debate in the media as to whether the film directly supported the idea that torture was essential to finding Vin Laden. I suppose I missed the controversy since I was in Europe and my following of the news, especially American issues, is limited to important events, but it was weird to read about that kind of contention after viewing the film.

For those of you who haven't seen it, in particular the movie features a very explicit scene of a detainee being waterboarded for information. It's implicit that information gained from this torture scene did help in some way lead to other bits of intel that eventually led to bin Laden. Opponent of the film claim that this essentially praises such tactics, whereas the filmmakers and its supporters claim it's merely attempting to show the truth behind the decade-long search. Whether it was moral or not, helpful or not, the facts stand that US intelligence operatives used such methods: that is the stance they stand behind. 

I can definitely see both sides of the issue, but can only offer my personal reaction to the movie. I definitely did have a moment earlier on after the scene where I went "well, this guy clearly deserves it, and the torture is bringing results." So yes, for that brief moment you could say I was a proponent of torture. However, as the movie progressed and I analyzed my own thoughts further, I came to the (I think obvious) conclusions: how do you know any answers given are reliable, and how do you determine who "deserves" such treatment? Even in cases where it might be blindingly obvious, by allowing it in certain circumstances, you open up the possibility of it occurring in more ambiguous cases. Essentially it comes back to the cornerstone of our judicial system, the idea of "innocent until proven guilty."

Revivals: Once Again Into the Breach

So, once again, I feel like I'm not writing as much as I would like to be, so I'm attempting (once again) to revive this blog. We'll see how long it lasts this time, but I need something to do other than play videogames and watch shows.

Anyway, I don't know if any of you actually still check this blog: if you do give a shout-out in the comments. Some of it may be getting cross-posted to somewhatunruly.com depending on how publishable it is, but again, we'll see.

Here's to this, then.

-HTMC