Friday, December 30, 2011

The Creation of the Earth


What really happened with the Creation of the Earth?  Did it happen by Accretion, or was their another method?  Lately, new information about the Earth has fallen into our hands.  First of all, we do know that the Earth is hollow.

There is a great many witnesses to the fact that the Earth is hollow.  From Admiral Bird's flight, to a heathen Scandinavian, to visitors from the Hollow Earth.  They are all consistent.  There is a "sun" of sorts in the inner Earth and there is no horizon.  It's bright, as bright as it is up here.  And that the "sun" of sorts provides light to the inhabitants of the Earth.

Also, information coming from the Space Age completely challenges the assumptions that gravity is in charge of everything.  From Dark Matter, to Dark Energy, to Dark Forces, the theory of Relativity used to govern the Universe has become something of a cart before the Horse.  It has gotten so bad that those who follow the Big Bang Theory have become little more than Astrologers.  They have created a religion where  Intellect is worshipped and that the Universe was started by the Big Bang and that there will be a big crunch afterwords.

Lately, however, there comes along another Theory.  This theory is the Electric Universe Theory.  The Electrical Universe theory is pretty old.  It really started in the Early 20th Century.  It's the theory that Electromagnetism is the dominate force in the Universe and that gravity is basically the ashes of this force.  So, what does this have to do with the Creation of the World?

If you notice, there is a "sun" at the core of the Earth.  This "sun" is made of plasma.  The core of the Earth isn't solid iron, it's plasma.  And that the land it shines on is abundant and rich.  So, if the inner core is plasma, what does that tell you about the Creation of the Earth?  Are we interpreting Genesis in correctly?

The Book of Abraham expounds upon the Creation of the Earth.  Abraham, the father of the Israelite Nation and father of a multitude of nations (the U.S.A., England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Georgia, etc.), was given an account of the Creation of the Earth.  The entire account is in Chapter 4, verse 1.

"And the Lord said: Let us go down.  And they went down at the beginning, and they -- that is the Gods -- organized and formed the Heavens and the Earth."

So, those who took part in the Creation of the Earth organized and formed the Earth.  The Earth was brought into a paradisiacal state, and that Man was brought on the Earth to till the ground and transform it into a Celestial Kingdom.

So, lets look at the words organize and form.


or·gan·ize  (ôrg-nz)
v. or·gan·izedor·gan·iz·ingor·gan·iz·es
v.tr.
1. To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole.
2.
a. To arrange in a coherent form; systematize: organized her thoughts before speaking.
b. To arrange in a desired pattern or structure: "The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest" (William Carlos Williams).
3. To arrange systematically for harmonious or united action: organize a strike. See Synonyms at arrange.
4.
a. To establish as an organization: organize a club. See Synonyms at found1.
b. To induce (employees) to form or join a labor union.
c. To induce the employees of (a business or an industry) to form or join a union: organize a factory.

and now Form.


form  (fôrm)
n.
1.
a. The shape and structure of an object.
b. The body or outward appearance of a person or an animal considered separately from the face or head; figure.
2.
a. The essence of something.
b. The mode in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself; kind: a form of animal life; a form of blackmail.
3.
a. Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom.
b. A fixed order of words or procedures, as for use in a ceremony; a formula.
4. A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information: insurance forms.
5.
a. Manners or conduct as governed by etiquette, decorum, or custom.
b. Behavior according to a fixed or accepted standard: Tardiness is considered bad form.
c. Performance considered with regard to acknowledged criteria: a good jump shooter having an unusual form.
6.
a. Proven ability to perform: a musician at the top of her form.
b. Fitness, as of an athlete or animal, with regard to health or training.
c. The past performance of a racehorse.
d. A racing form.
7.
a. Method of arrangement or manner of coordinating elements in literary or musical composition or in organized discourse: presented my ideas in outline form; a treatise in the form of a dialogue.
b. A particular type or example of such arrangement: The essay is a literary form.
c. The design, structure, or pattern of a work of art: symphonic form.
8.
a. A mold for the setting of concrete.
b. A model of the human figure or part of it used for displaying clothes.
c. A proportioned model that may be adjusted for fitting clothes.
9. A grade in a British secondary school or in some American private schools: the sixth form.
10.
a. A linguistic form.
b. The external aspect of words with regard to their inflections, pronunciation, or spelling.
11.
a. Chiefly British A long seat; a bench.
b. The resting place of a hare.
12. Botany A subdivision of a variety usually differing in one trivial characteristic, such as flower color.
v. formedform·ingforms
v.tr.
1.
a. To give form to; shape: form clay into figures.
b. To develop in the mind; conceive: form an opinion.
2.
a. To shape or mold (dough, for example) into a particular form.
b. To arrange oneself in: Holding out his arms, the cheerleader formed a T. The acrobats formed a pyramid.
c. To organize or arrange: The environmentalists formed their own party.
d. To fashion, train, or develop by instruction or precept: form a child's mind.
3. To come to have; develop or acquire: form a habit.
4. To constitute or compose a usually basic element, part, or characteristic of.
5.
a. To produce (a tense, for example) by inflection: form the pluperfect.
b. To make (a word) by derivation or composition.
6. To put in order; arrange.

So those involved had organized, or arranged the materials of the Earth -- and gave it form -- a shape.  Because of the core of the Earth is plasma, it means basically that the Earth was organized and formed from Plasma. In every case, those involved waited until they were obeyed.

So, was the planet composed in nothing around the Sun, Sol?  Early human traditions and beliefs say that wasn't the case.  Early astronomer priests among the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Greeks all held something in high regard: they called this Ra, or Shamash, or Helios -- or even Chronos or Saturn.  So, like a ship isn't built without a shipyard -- the Planet wasn't built without a shipyard.

Those who were involved in the Creation of this Earth built the planet in the Planet Saturn -- Saturn was the shipyard in this case.  And like every ship, there was a Christening and a Launching of this planet from the Sun, Saturn.  Everything was prepared.  The planet Earth was bathed in Saturn's Corona.  On the Earth, the animals and plants (and humans) were subjected to a soft twilight of red.  In the Earth, however, the plasma core had shined brilliantly allowing the plants and animals that were set there -- including Man -- to be subject to the entire spectrum.  However, everything was eventually set up to fall.

Abraham goes into the same detail as the Genesis account, but we turn to Genesis.  According to Genesis, there was light, and the light was divided from the Darkness.  It is also interesting that the Sun, Sol, appeared on the Fifth Day of Creation rather than the first.  So, what can we gain from this?

Scientifically, to stay within what Human Testimony has said over the years and to ignore the theory of Creation by Accretion, it leaves us with one alternative.   The Earth and Saturn were captured by Sol!






First Day of Creation -- the Solar Wind assaults Saturn's Corona, blowing it away literally.  The first sign was a brilliant light.  God declared that this light was good, and the division is marked by Twilight at daybreak and at sundown.  The darkness was called night, and the light was called day.

In the Second Day of Creation, the waters were gathered together to form an ocean or Sea, and the dry land appeared.  Well, since Man had saw this happening, there had to be land on the Earth already.  So, again, this is symbolic of what actually happened.  The clearing of the Atmosphere is the best candidate.

On the Third Day, the atmosphere of the Earth had grown transparent.  At first, the Atmosphere was dominated by a thick cloud cover.  Not as thick as the Atmosphere of Venus, but thick enough to obscure the stars from view.  On the third day, humans could see stars and nebulae.  They could also see the first sun, the planet Saturn.  The Planet Saturn was given the role of being in charge of time.

The lord said the Sun, Sol, was to rule the day and that the Moon, Luna, was to rule the night.  Suppose if you were to transpose Moon with Saturn, you will get a better understanding of what ruled the night.  According to the fifth and sixth days of creation, the animals and plants were brought forth abundantly on the Earth and man came to till the ground.

When did the Creation actually happen?


A. Presumptly after the Age of Virgo and at the beginning of the Age of Leo.

Q. Why are you using the Zodiac to keep time?


A. Because the Zodiac was placed in the Heavens to help us with the roll of years.  This has nothing to do with Astrology rather than just time keeping.  Each sign of the Zodiac has an "age" about 2,000 years.  To find out what Age we are in, you just track which sign the sun rises in during the Vernal Equinox.  We are currently in the Age of Pisces -- the Fish -- and are currently moving into the Age of Aquarius, or the water bearer.  To ride through the full Precession of the Zodiac takes about 26,000 years.

Q. Are you equating Saturn with Kolob?


A. Yes, actually.  Saturn is Kolob.  Although it can be shocking to most Mormons since my dad bellowed that Kolob is actually close to God and that God isn't anywhere close like Saturn.  However, if one takes a look at the scriptures intelligently and take human testimony immemorial into account, one has to come to the conclusion that Saturn is Kolob.

One revolution of Kolob is liken unto a day to the Lord.  Or a thousand years.  Saturn has an orbit of about 30 years.  The polar revolution of Saturn hasn't been measured.  Now it takes 26,000 years for the poles of the Earth to revolve one full circle.  Perhaps Saturn's poles are much more energetic and only take a thousand years to revolve.  Who really knows?

Q. Why haven't the Brethren (Thomas S. Monson and the rest) said anything about this?


A. They don't know.  They just plainly don't know.

R. But they are prophets, they are supposed to tell us these things.


A. Would it change anything if they had?  You can bring an Atheist to the Fountains of Truth, but you can't make him drink.  If Thomas S. Monson knew what was going on, do you really think that he would tell us?  Joseph Smith understood things that if he told the brethren, they would immediately turn on him and kill him.  If Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet, he would be urging us to prepare for the Second Coming in a physical sense and prepare us to live in a Zion Society.

He can't expound on the doctrine in the Temple because it's too urgent now to prepare to survive to the Second Coming.   Assuming that he does receive revelation and talks and walks with God (his talks never change, it's all the same sleeping gas.  I have never heard anything edifying from Thomas S. Monson, his talks are about stroking the ego and making us feel good -- I had to turn to other sources to find the truth I so crave).  This has been revealed to the World through other means than the Temple.  So this means that we must have rejected the knowledge.

Q. How do you know that the Core of the Earth is plasma?


A. I haven't been to Agartha or the city called Eden, so I can't really give a testimony that what I said is true.  I only have the testimony of others to go on.  I missed an opportunity to go. I should have signed on board, but then I wouldn't be writing this blog because I most likely won't be connected to this internet. (Some people would probably say: "You should have gone!")

Q. Is the Earth truly hollow?


A. It has to be.  When it was in the great constellation of planets, the Earth vibrated with sound frequency singing "eeeeaaaaooooaaaaeeeee," which is the Name of God.  This is the music of the Spheres.  You can't get such a beautiful sound with a perfectly solid sphere -- but you can get one from a hollow sphere.  A hollow sphere acts as a sound speaker.  A solid sphere acts as a buffer.

Q. How does Gravity work with a hollow sphere?


A. I don't know.  A scientist named Rodney Cluff can explain this one better.

If you have any other questions, leave them in the comments section.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

My Impression of Skyrim


Skyrim is probably the best Fantasy CRPG that has ever been produced.  You still don't Roleplay as well as you could around the table, on open RPG, or any other virtual table, but Skyrim has the best engine for generating characters for a computer for a 1 player CRPG.

Not an MMO, Skyrim is the next generation in Fantasy CRPGs.  Based off of concepts made for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim is not based on Dungeons and Dragons, or it's leveling system, or anything of that nature.  Based on watching playthroughs on Youtube (which, if Anonymous has his way, will be illegal even though they are protected by the Fair Use Doctrine) when you create a character, you are no longer putting him in the straightjacket of a class.

Nay, for a one player CRPG, the straightjacketing of classed-based play makes absolutely no sense.  When you play a game like Skyrim or Morrowind, you should be able to be immersed and given the chance to do anything you like.  Pickpockets, learn some martial arts, or some magic.

As you level, specializations are handled by picking up perks, which grant you certain abilities (if you play 3e or 4e, think of perks as FEATS or POWERS).  Some perks allow you to duel wield spells and weapons.  Others allow you to summon more effectively, power up your spells, or block attacks more effectively, or be better at lock picking.

As you specialize in perks, you create your character's speciality.  Play a warrior?  specialize in weapon and blocking perks.  Play a mage? Specialize in the schools' of magic perks, play a rogue?  You can specialize in perks that allow you to sneak around, lock picks, and pickpocket.  Play a knight? specialize in weapon and armor perks along with speech craft.  Play a spellsword?  Specialize in Armor, a chosen 1 handed Weapon of your choice, and blocking while you specialize further in Destruction, Alteration, and Restoration.  Play a scholar?  Specialize in lock picking, speech craft, mercantile, and possibly 1-handed weapon perks.  Play a ranger?  Specialize in Archery.  Play a certain Dark Elf duel wielding 2 sabers?  Make him and get the Dual Wielding perk in 1-handed weapons, need you ask?


Anything is possible.  Even a pugilist.  When you create a character, you just input your name and race, customize what you look like and have a blast.


Main Quest


In the main quest, you play a chosen of Akatosh.  As a Chosen, you are one of the Dragonborn, a mortal who is capable of absorbing the memories and knowledge of a dead dragon.  So, you aren't some half dragon that runs around looking like a human with a dragon's head on top covered in scaly skin.  You are either human, elf, orc, kitty, or argonian that has this power.

It is your job to free Skyrim of the terrible evil that is Alduin the World Eater.  Alduin, an ancient Dragon, has been awakening his children from their long sleep in pursuant of goals of his own.  Along the way, you will learn the ancient language of the dragons in order to cast dragon magic, or shouts.  You must do this order to cast Alduin back into the demonic world of Oblivion.  Along the way you will gain both allies as well as make enemies.  Some deserved, some undeserved.

Side Quests


Side Quests include:
* The Whitecloaks and the Imperial Legion, which gets you embroiled in the regions politics.
* The Companions -- which may turn you into a Werewolf.
* The College of Winterhold -- which is magic based and deals with the Lore of Magnus and the Psijic Order (who are a bunch of psions that have laid low all these years).
* The Den of Thieves called the Thieves Guild.
* The Dark Brotherhood that specialize in murder as a profession.
* The Bards College -- why not go learn how to sing?

There are the usual daedric quests, the divine quests, and quests related to the Forsworn.  The Forsworn aren't as bad as it sounds, but it looks like they are bretons who settled in Skyrim anciently.  There are the usual main city quests and village quests.  And a few miscellaneous quests.  You can even get married.

Like Oblivion, you can mod for the game.  While body replacers haven't been made yet, you can get retextures -- just for females so far.



Q. What do you think of this Marriage in the Game Business?

I think it's great!  Marriage has been missing from the Elder Scrolls game series since FOREVER!  It isn't perfect, but it's wonderful that they are pushing this principle in the game.  Marriage celebrates the coming together of two (or more people in the case of Polygyny and Polyandry) and the principle of union of the sexes.  The main good thing about marriage in the game is that your character can have a traditional marriage or a gay marriage, or an interracial marriage or an interracial gay marriage.  Whether this scares people away from the game matters little, the game celebrates something good and pure.

Q. What is wrong with marriage in the game?

Currently only one Temple, the Temple of Mara, performs marriages.  All temples of all faiths should perform marriages.

Secondly, in the case of all, certain faiths have the right to marry certain couples. A priest of Akatosh won't perform interracial or gay marriages for instance.  While a priestess of Dibella should be able to perform polygamous marriages and gay marriages, for example (as Dibella is the real Goddess of Beauty and the tender Passions).

You can marry anyone of any race except Khajiits.  A Kahjiit should be able to be married in the game -- both a male and a female for completeness.  It casts a bad light on the race, as to say: "all Kahjiits are promiscuous."  Which isn't fair to the race as a whole.  It's a gross generalization.  While cats in real life are promiscuous does not mean that a race of living, breathing humanoid cats should be.  This means that a PC Khajiit won't be forced to marry into an interracial relationship if he or she doesn't want to.

Q. Any sex in the game?

You will be able to have sex with your spouse when someone can craft some custom animations that shows two people performing this sublime and beautiful activity.  Sex never was bad, but all sex is good and to see it performed in game between your character and his/her spouse would be a lovely thing in deed.   I can see fellow Christians decrying this:


  • a. If sex is bad, then why would the Creator endorse the activity and create Sexual Reproduction in the first place?
  • b. Yahweh/Yahshua Messiah has placed sex in certain bounds in order to teach us certain truths.
  • c.  A homosexual relationship is not good for the race as a whole (since a couple consisting of two males or two females can't reproduce the species), but is good for the individuals who are in love.  Sex is never wrong as it produces positive emotions and positive energy between two people -- no matter who the two people are. 
  • d. Yahweh/Yahshua Messiah decries homosexual activity because He desires Israel to be a nation of Priests and Priestesses, Kings and Queens.  He told the Israelites (and incidentally, all peoples now living in America, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and parts of Italy along with Japan, parts of India, and Israel) to punish known, unrepentant homosexuals with a death penalty in order to remove the evil from Israel.  A homosexual community that is active politically and culturally within a nation leads to national spiritual cancer. 
  • e. It is the purpose of this game's creators to make Tamriel as living and as breathing as possible as within the computer.  A large number of people play this game, and many are homosexual.  It does not make sense for Bethesda to disallow gay marriages within the game, since Marriage itself is a living principle to be enjoyed by all -- black, brown, red, yellow, or white.  Straight or gay. 
  • f. Consequences, good and bad, comes with all choices.  Making choices that draw you closer to the Father and the Son brings unpopularity.  Making choices that draw you closer to the World brings popularity.  
  • g. If you are gay and you marry someone of the same sex, then you must be able to accept the Consequences that come with that.  Increased risk of homocide, increased incidence of parasites, and other nasty diseases comes with being in a homosexual relationship.  However, as a homosexual you will be doggone popular today.  Homosexuals are so popular that you can go to Walt Disney Company parties and see at least one.  And Walt Disney says they are the family friendly company, go figure. 
  • h. Certain ordinances of Marriage is reserved for those who want to be Kings and Queens, Priests and Priestesses.  This type of marriage is not reserved for the homosexual couple, nonetheless, the ability to get married is not withheld from them by the Spirit (who trumps the Father and the Son in almost every matter).  The reason why Sealing Ordinances are withheld from Homosexual couples is because the Son's House is a House of Order.  The Title 'God' is reserved for those hetrosexual couples who want be as the Father and the Son, to create a family of spiritual beings that will gain their own bodies through sexual reproduction as immortals, and then to give them physical bodies as mortals.  A homosexual couple is unable to sexually reproduce so their making into Kings or Queens would be fruitless. 
  • h. In Skyrim, you are roleplaying an alter-ego (or a CRPG's definition of "Roleplaying"); so the Consequences are what you can imagine.  (the game creates a world without many consequences.  Sure, you can go to jail, but the game is only limited for a reason.)  Skyrim isn't a perfect world for anyone, but it's the best that many can come up with so far.  Especially with the addition of Marriage.
Inspite of the problems, Marriage is a step in the right direction that makes Skyrim a more complete living breathing world.  Skyrim isn't a perfect world, the world here on Earth is a perfect world. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Case for Open Access in China (and indeed, everywhere)

From QuestionCopyright.org:


It is amazing how the Internet makes it possible for people to connect with one another in ways that were not possible a decade ago. Jennifer Howard published an article "What you don't know about copyright and should" in The Chronicle of Higher Education in May 2011. As a research student on copyright from China, I was naturally drawn to this piece and quickly added a comment suggesting that any introduction to copyright would be considered incomplete without a few words on the free culture movement such as Open Source Software and Creative Commons. My opinion was echoed by Mr. Karl Fogel at QuestionCopyright.org, who later invited me to write about "how people feel about copyright in China, especially focusing on the general public's attitude toward copying and sharing and attribution" for QuestionCopyright.org. This article is a result of that fortuitous interaction between Karl and me, which would have been unthinkable if access to Ms. Howard's article were restricted by copyright. This anecdote illustrates the first point I want to make about copyright in general: the copyright regime restricts the distribution of creative works and stifles the conversation that creative works may generate. The Internet has emerged as an antidote to this restriction, as Karl and I could read and discuss Ms. Howard's article online and work together for new articles on the same topic.

Earlier this year, I ran into a book named "Uncommon Sense- Economic Insights, from Marriage to Terrorism" when browsing Douban.com, one of the most popular social networking sites on books, movies and music for young people in China. Authored by two leading scholars from America, the Nobel economist Gary Becker and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, the book was translated into Chinese by a leading publisher and received a high rating from users at Douban.com. But the Douban users also grudged about the relatively high price of the book- RMB 56 (the monthly stipend for a PhD student in China is about RMB 1,500). A Google search quickly located for me a free e-copy of the book, which was uploaded by some netizens to Sina.com, a major web portal in China. The e-copy I got was the original English version, which I could read without worrying about the errors or loss of meaning in translation.

More importantly, I found one essay in the English version that has been expurgated from the translation- "Google in China" discussing how Internet companies like Google deal with censorship of Internet by the Chinese government. It was ironic that the article was knocked out even though both authors expressed certain degree of sympathy with the Chinese government's censorship policies for the sake of social stability. Yet, this removed article on censorship illustrates a paradoxical situation in which many Chinese readers find themselves. On the one hand, our access to information is constrained by the infamous Great Firewall that blocks Facebook, Youtube, Blogspot, as well as by the General Administration of Press and Publication that regulates paper-based publication. On the other hand, the copyright regime restricts what we could read based on what we could afford: no doubt I have violated both international and domestic copyright laws when I downloaded a free e-copy of "Uncommon Sense" from Sina.com. Here comes my second thought on copyright in China: unauthorized copying and distribution of materials from abroad may enable at least some Chinese to access information that is not otherwise available and thereby help build a more open and democratic China in the long term.

Under international pressure, the Chinese government is doing everything it can to promote copyright education. Every year, events are organized all over the country to educate the public about the importance of respecting copyright. But there is a general confusion over the distinction between unauthorized copying and plagiarism. It has to do with an obscure principle in copyright laws, namely, the idea-expression dichotomy or the merger doctrine. Because copyright originated from publishing, it is is primarily concerned with protecting the expression of works – whereas the ideas expressed are not copyrightable. In other words, it is illegal to copy or reproduce a work without authorization, but perfectly fine to borrow one's ideas by paraphrasing. Yet, if you talk with any scholars or professors in China, you will find that most authors are more concerned if others borrow their ideas without giving them credit. It is not a big deal if their papers or journal articles are posted online by others without their authorization. Some of the authors may even be pleased to know their ideas are more widely circulated so long as the works are attributed to their names and are not altered without their permission. Copyright advocates often argue for more protection to produce stronger incentive for authors to create their works. But scholars in general do not get paid for publishing academic papers. In fact, many authors in China have to pay the publishers to get their work in print. But publishing one's works is considered a means to an important end: to get one's works scrutinized and recognized by the academic community. With certain number of papers published in leading journals, the scholars will get a tenured professorship and other opportunities to advance their career, e.g. providing consulting services for commercial companies.

So what can we do with plagiarism which is technically not illegal under the current copyright regime? Recently, a software system similar to Turnitin has been adopted by many Chinese universities to check all master's and PhD thesis against plagiarism. Yet, it is fairly easy to outsmart the system by paraphrasing the papers one has to copy so that the software cannot find any verbatim copying. In fact, a more straight-forward solution for plagiarism in China is simply to abolish all copyright protection for the academic works. According to Linus' Law, all bugs are shallow given enough eyeballs. The mechanism of debugging for open source software can also be transplanted to the context of academic writing in China. By removing all obstacles of accessing the academic papers, any incidents of plagiarism will be easily detected by the public.

In fact, the public has every right to access the scholarly works. Recently, American scholars are making efforts to remove copyright restriction on their works on the ground that many research papers resulted from research studies sponsored by taxpayers' money. It makes little sense if the publishers appropriate the works' copyright and charge the public again for access. An even stronger case for free access to Chinese journal articles can be made considering the fact that most major research universities in China are funded by the central government and most papers with academic merit are based on research projects sponsored by the government.

Since the open door policy was adopted in China in early 1980s, the Chinese economy has taken off and Chinese people have enjoyed dramatic improvement of living standards. Yet, many people are worried that the Chinese have become increasingly obsessed with material goods but ignored the equally important spiritual lives. We spend more time watching TV and less time reading literature. One important difference between TV programs and literate works is that while TV programs are freely accessible in China through sponsorship of the advertisers most books are copyrighted commodities that have become increasingly expensive in recent years. The advent of the Internet may offer new opportunities for the Chinese to access more quality literate works under business models alternative to conventional copyright-based model. With the help of new technologies, we the Chinese may find ways to circumvent both the government censorship regime and the copyright regime to forge a collective readership that is constructive and beneficial for all.

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Raised in Mainland China and Hong Kong, Ho Simon Wang received his undergraduate education from Washington University in Saint Louis, USA and a Master degree in education from Oxford University, UK. He is currently living in Wuhan, China working as an English language teacher at Huazhong University of Science and Technology while pursuing a PhD degree in intellectual property rights at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

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End Censorship

Any ████████ who ███████ for ████ ████ ██████ ████ █████ ████████ and █████████████ ████████ for ████████ █████████ for ███████ █████ ████████ to ████! Uncensor This

Monday, December 12, 2011

New Story set in Skyrim

I finished Oblivion, and now I'd like to play Skyrim.

Here's a new story to show I'm interested.

*********


UNFORSEEN ALLIANCES
Part 1

By Elton Robb


It’s happened to be one of those days in the Bee and the Barb.  Talen-Jei, who is an Argonian from Black Marsh, was tending to the floor with a broom.  Like all Argonians, he has the look of a lizard with green scales and a lizard like head.  He had two yellow eyes, and a head full of spikes.

“Just what I need,” said Talen-Jei cheerfully, “another great day for the Bee and the Barb.”

Keerava, his partner and also an Argonian, replied, ”Yes, we took in quite a lot today.”

“You think you can sleep this time?” said Talen-Jei.  “You’ve been running the inn non-stop.  I think we can get some help to keep the inn running at all hours.”

Keerava, who was of a lighter color, just nodded.  Unlike Talen-Jei, she didn’t grow the spikes on her head.  Her head had spikes on it in a circle pattern, which was what you could expect from an Argonian.  She just yawned, “Lets hire some help tomorrow and see where this goes.  I could use the rest.” 

Keerava then shuffled to her room.  She wore a dress made of green and tan velvet, which shined in the light.  The dress had a mid cut, which showed her cleavage.  Her shoulders were bare except two shoulder straps.  Her dress didn’t have a bell, which was the craze of the upper class, but the fabric moved with every movement.  Her dress was cut so that her tail could be free.  Her tail swayed lazily, betraying her state of alertness.

“I’m going to bed,” said Keerava.  “You just clean up and lock up.”

Talen-Jei nodded as she went to her room.  He was happy to mind the tap while Keerava handled the business side of running the Bee and the Barb.  He finished cleaning up and putting chairs up when there was a knock on the door.  Rap-Rap-Rap.

“Hmm?” asked Talen-Jei.  “Who could be rapping on my door at this hour?”  Talen-Jei opened the door and in fell through a human being.  Wearing white, pure white; he wore a long coat like a duster.  His hair was dark brown, long and curly, and his eyes were baby blue.  His skin was reddish white and the shape of his face betrayed that he was from High Rock – a Breton.  Maybe from Daggerfall or Wayrest.   His pants were made of canvas, also pure white, and his boots – white except for the dark brown soles made of tough leather.  He had a brown leather satchel slinged around his shoulder and neck and resting on his right side. His shirt had some color, white with a blue trim.

“I’m so tired, I came such a long way,” he said.  In Tameriel, most humans were white; except for the people of the desert country of Hammerfell and probably the settlers in Elsweyer that eventually became the Khajiit.  Talen-Jei grew up in Black Marsh, and unlike his brother, didn’t mind the humans.

“Okay, my name is Talen-Jei,” Talen-Jei said.  “But you can call me Talen, it’s easier.  You speak Cyrrodillic with almost no trace of accent.”

“Really?” said the human.  “Do most humans speak it with no trace of accent?”

“No. Everyone has a slight to thick accent.  Even those from the Imperial City,” Talen explained.  “Let me get you a room for the night so you can be well rested.”

“Thank you,” said the human.  “You’re too kind.”

Talen led the human up into a room and set him on the bed.  He then returned to lock the door to the Bee and the Barb and retired to his own room.  For as long as he could remember, his crèche-mates – and especially his brother Haldan-Kai; didn’t like humans or trusted them.   However, Talen traveled and his travels took him to Skyrim.  He settled with Keerava and both of them went into business with each other.

Talen, however, went to bed with the strange events of the day.   A human, speaking Cyrrodillic with no trace of accent, wearing white . . .  A strange event, a very strange event indeed.

* * *

The next morning didn’t start becoming busy until 9 AM.  The human, however, looked rested as he came down dressed in the same manner.  He sat down and opened his satchel, removing a book to read.   The book was bound leather, and when one of the waitresses arrived, he ordered his breakfast.  Which was shepherd’s pie with some strawberries and a good mead to wash it down.   Talen, however, was busy mixing one of his famous drinks when the waitress, a buxom busty Khajiit, returned with the human’s order.

“Coming right up,” said Talen.  Talen poured cream into this drink – a White Gold Tower, which was a popular mix of his.  He served it up and took the order.  He then got a cut from the shepherd’s pie and put strawberries and mixed a good mead.   Although he wished he knew what the human preferred in a “good mead.”

The busty Khajiit served the shepherd’s pie while the human read and compared notes.  “Here you go, sir,” she said.  “Boy do you read a lot.”
“Thank you,” said the human.  “And I am a scholar, it’s my duty to read and to report on what I read.”

“Oh, what can you read?” asked the Khajiit.

“Ancient elven script, human Hieroglyphs from Hammerfell, ancient Ogham, anything really,” the human replied as he took a bite from his shepherd’s pie.

“Oh, does this make you a magic user?” asked the Khajiit.

The human looked up with a startled look on his face while he chewed.  The Khajiit wench just said, “oh, nevermind.”

The human just went back to his books and got out a map after he ate the pie.  Talen was surprised at how attractive he looked, but then, he was engaged to Keevava.  Well, at least he should ask his name.   When he had a free moment not mixing drinks, and adding that special cream to his beers and ales; Talen went to the human.

“Hey, what is your name?” Talen asked.

The human looked up from his maps. “Call me hanan, or John if that is easier for you.”

Talen then said, ”Alright, Yohanan.  Nice to know your name.”

“Likewise,” said Yohanan. “So, is there anything else?”

“What are you reading?”

“Ancient Skyrim texts,” said Yohanan.  “I’ve been trying to trace the original homeland of the humans.  It seems that I’ve hit a dead end when I studied Redguard texts and all I have to go on is ancient legends and folklore.”

“Sounds like a hard thing to do.”

“It is.  This land used to belong to the elves or mer, the khajiit, and the argonians respectively.   We humans must have immigrated from somewhere else.”

“I hope you come to a discovery,” said Talen.

“Well, already, ancient legends have described a creation – the end of the old world and the beginning of ours.  The last of the emperors was slain more than two centuries ago, bringing the empire into another phase,” said Yohanan.  “As far as I can tell, this may be the fourth Age, but usually the turning of an Age is apocalyptic.  The turning of the fourth age wasn’t all that apocalyptic.  I’m trying to find out why.”
Talen looked like everything went over his head.  “Okay, whatever,” said the argonian.  He left the weird young man to his scholarship.   He often wondered why the attractive young man was so single.  No hard guess as to why he remained a bachelor.   The young man was just too smart for marriage.

Yohanan tried the mead, and finding nothing wrong with it, continued to drink it.  He was trying to make some corellations between the legends of the Nords and the map of Skyrim.  However, sources were scattered and often the legends didn’t agree.   Yohanan just made an audible sound of grief!

“Of all places I have to go visit some tombs!” he wailed.

Talen was taken aback.  “What, you aren’t an adventurer?”

“Most of the time you have to do research,” said Yohanan.  “Now I have to go dig!”

“Where?” Talen asked, curious.

“Darkwater Pass first, and then Septimus Signus’ Outpost,” said Yohanan.  “The first may have some snow elf writings, and the last contains an Elder Scroll.”

Talen just shrugged.  Yohanan was going on a dangerous mission poking around falmer caves like that.  And then even an Elder Scroll, it was just too much.  Since the troubles started with the last of the Septims, the Elder Scrolls were kept in the royal University of Magic.  Talen thought that Yohanan was chasing after legends.  Someone ordered another of his signature drinks – the Cliffracer.  Still, if Yohanan was going on a fool’s quest he should need some help.  Fortunately, he may have some contacts.  He thought if he could talk his brother into helping the unfortunate scholar, everything would be easier.   He didn’t want Yohanan to become falmer food.

****************

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Spider-Man, Superman, and Ms. Marvel

One of the things that is good about Nuclear War is the destruction of the Copyright Law via the Destruction of the Supreme Government of the United States.  Nuclear War will wipe out those who abuse Copyright, but will allow some new storytellers to take the folklore of our age and finally have the ability to comment.

Now, I hear that some people are scoffing at Nuclear War, but you've got to know that man is stupid.  When man invented a weapon, they will use that weapon.  ITS INEVITABLE!!  Now, Yahshua stopped Global Thermonuclear War once.  Now, he won't stand in the way.  If you want to live, move out of the city, build a fallout shelter, and have 1 to 3 years of food storage.  Ahem, once Global Thermonuclear War is declared, Seattle will be covered by a mountain of sludge.  Los Angeles will fall into the Sea. Washington DC will burn off the map.  New York City will be ruins, and Salt Lake City will be under a very large lake.

Ahem, that's not even the worst of it.  But the best of it -- We will be converting into an economy based on sharing.  We will have a barter economy for a while, and certain laws will not be enforced.  The best of this is the Copyright Acts of America from 1913 onwards will have no one to enforce them.

I can write a Spider-man, Superman, Ms. Marvel team up without nary a Breach of Copyright Notice.  In the new landscape, these three characters will just be men and a woman with super abilities.  They won't be worshipped as gods, but they will have super abilities that they can put to use.

Superman, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man rescuing survivors is a good story to write.  In my story, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel turn to each other and become a couple, while Superman -- with Black Canary and Lois Lane being cared for -- does what he does best.  Sees to it that other survivors are safe and well.  So, why Spider-man and Ms. Marvel?

Didn't you like Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson being together?  Well, yes I did. In fact, they were a perfect match made in Heaven. However, Joe Quesada had their marriage annulled in a brief moment of insanity.  Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel are also perfect together, however.  The two of them may not have a perfect compatibility score, but no one on Earth is perfectly compatible.  Even Yahshua had marriage problems (his wives -- yes, wives -- had to travel with him and I'm sure some of them didn't like to travel).



The possibility of a relationship is explored in Ms. Marvel #47, and the two of them bonded over fast food. And I thought, why didn't Marvel run with it?  A permanent team up between the two would be wonderful (it would be tres awesome if Spider-man was Polygamous.  Mary Jane Watson wouldn't be incredibly worried when Spider-Man is out there, fighting crime and risking his life because her sister wife: Ms. Marvel -- would be there to protect him).

So my story would go like this:

Having survived in underground shelters, the Kents and the Parkers teamed up. Superman would be taking care of Black Canary, making sure she was safe and then he would team up with Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel to find survivors and to bring them to a place of safety (there are several counties in America that are designated as places of safety).

All three Superheroes will be tested at the limit, and their god-like status revoked as they find irradiated victims.  Kal'el would not be dressed in his super suit, and the job he has to do is so big that he can't save everyone at once.  Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel are in a similar vein.  The non-powered Mary Jane Watson and Lois Lane would be organizing the survivors and when Superman and Spider-Man bring in the last of them, they would be organizing a mass exodus to a place where there is food (i.e. Utah) with the three of them protecting the little band.

Once they reach Utah, Superman, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Man enlist in the war against the Russian Invasion.  They would be fighting Omega Red (yeah, Omega Red) in altercations against the Russians.   However, they won't be decisive in defeating the Russians.  A group of American Militia will perform a Gideon Maneuver that will defeat the Russians once and for all.

After that, Kal'el will retire from Superheroics and Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel will protect those who immigrate to Zion, and then they too will retire from Superheroics and live out their lives happily.

:)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Ally Reports: The Psion Force! Update

The Psion Force is going in for a rewrite (revision).  After running 3 M&M scenarios for friends of mine on Open RPG, I have better grasp of the rules and how they work.

It is the d20 system, but its rewritten to handle a 4-color Comic World.  If you recall, the Psion Force is a comic book superhero team of heroes who aren't mutants like the X-Men, they aren't experiments like Captain America, and they aren't metahumans like Superman or mutates like Spider-man.  They aren't results of accidents.  They are designed to represent the human potential in extreme ways.  And they all had a common origin -- an experience that drastically changed them.

Nucleon used to be an ordinary man who lived day to day.  But he changed for the better and now lives for eternity.

Doctor Psi found his true fear, loss of popularity.  A follower of what is popular in Psychology today, Doctor Psi is increasingly feeling distant after his origin experience, and it scares him.

Hammer wanted a normal life.  After his change, he is thrust into the role of a superhero, and he didn't want that.

The Golden Alacrity is the "Speedster" and "transporter" of the team.  She has accepted her awakening because it gives her a new lease on her old life.

Aletheia was a Jewish domestic terrorist.  Since her change, she is no longer involved in domestic terrorism, but wants to repair the damage that she had done.

Stilletto is a U.S. Agent who can't quite leave the CIA.  Her change just enhanced her abilities and usefulness to the CIA.

Major Force's status in the U.S.M.C. changed from an ordinary ground pounder to a curiosity that is hidden away in Area 51.

While Lioness and Icon are at odds with each other.  Her emotions spark her power, and his power is at his best when he is at an emotional balance.

Their powers maybe outside the realm of what we see everyday, but they could be probable.

Monday, December 5, 2011

First Issue of Dynamic Duo released

Whoa, what a DC Adventures session!  Set in Keystone City, the Duo defeated their first Supervillain -- which isn't a real Super Villain anyhow, just a kid with flame powers he hardly knows how to fully control yet.

So, I need to make a list of villains.  First of all, I need to make a list of the Flash's villains.

Here are a list of the Rogues --



Then a list of the Reverse Flashes
The Rival • Professor Zoom • Zoom • Inertia

Then a list of the general vileness that the Flash deals with on an ordinary crime stopping spree.



So . . . Opening Heroes and Villains, Volume 1 I need to pick out the best villains from this list.

Da Krusha is a Powerhouse (like the Hulk), and the Burst is a Paragon (like Superman, but his powers need a special chemical to activate.)  So, the best way to find the right villains is to look up the Hulk's rogues gallery.  The hulk deals with many other powerhouses.

So we have:

1. Abra Kadabra (Flash Villain)
2. Captain Cold (Flash Villain)
3. Flamester (Original Villain, based on Fire)
4. Gorrila Grodd (Flash Villain)
5. The Joker (Batman Villain)
6. Killer Croc (Batman Villain)
7. Killer Frost (Firestorm Villain)

if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments section.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Dynamic Duo, Issue #1???

No, it's not Batman and Robin, it's Dragonburst and Da Crusha.

Sometimes, you give a copy of DC Adventures to a player and they are overwhelmed with what they can do with it.  It shouldn't take a whole two hours to hash out a superhero that can beat up the bad guys.  You got a concept, design some complications, and run with it.

Fox and Heather took about an hour to hash out their characters, but these guys were stuck at concept phase.  Just create a character and go with it, that's what I always say.  Being stuck at concept phase just grind things down to a halt.  Ambush Bug not withstanding.

Anyway, they want to play, I want to run something where they aren't limited, and boom.  They are stuck. To many ideas.   So, will you see an issue of Dragonburst and Da Crusha?  Maybe.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

The First Appearance of Ferro Girl

I GMed a second game based on the DC Universe using DC Adventures (M&M 3).  The player was a Canadian, goes by Fox on OpenRPG.

Ferro Girl was designed so that her power would increase the more clothes she took off.  Strangely enough, there is a scientific explanation for this sort of power.  The human body produces its own electric current and magnetic field (some would equate this with the aura).  When we wear clothes, our bodies' electrical currents are disrupted.

In the case of Ferro Girl, she has a bioelectric signature that is about as powerful as Magneto's. While Magneto's costume doesn't interfere with his power, Ferro Girl's does.  Ferro Girl is PL 15 when nude, but the power level reduces the more her body is covered.

The first adventure is more cerebral than the last.  Fox's character goes to college at a young age, and takes psychology.  Both Heather (my first DC adventures player) and Fox (my second) approaches the world in different angles.

They were discussing the superhero community in the city where they were going to college when a bank robbery took place.  Fox's character excused herself and turned into Ferro Girl, and zoomed in there to fight.  She managed to stop three bank robbers, and one of them managed to blow his face up.  Apprehending two of them, she returned, and changed.  Happy, she bumped into Richard, an older student compared to her.

Polaris is not Ferro Girl, but Ferro Girl's costume is similar to this.
He talked about how Ferro Girl's first adventure had gone public and how it was a big success and an inspiration to Nudists allover the world. Even more elated the civic Ferro Girl returned to her dorm to see any of the news about herself.

Fox enjoyed it, even though I never referred to the books and played it ad hoc.

Next Issue: Ferro Girl meets the girl with super powered Prothesis.  And what about Nucleon anyhow?

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Rifts to D20

Okay, so this yet another Rifts post.  This isn't an actual conversion, but giving you some ideas on how to DIY Rifts to d20 by yourself.  I bet there are tons of Conversions out there, all taken down after Kevin wants to steal his work back.  After all, there is a Fanwork Ban.  One of the most notorious ones in the RPG industry. Kevin (Hi Kevin!) forbids people from converting RIFTS to other settings and publishing the rules anywhere, and makes legal threats against people who do publish them.


Kevin, there is this thing, called an Internet.  Did anybody ever tell you how it's architecture is set up?  Give it up, you lost. 


Ahem . . . On to breaking the Fanwork Ban!  (The Defend IP Act must have a clueless fan boy with irrational man love for it somewhere in Michigan -- or wherever he lives now.)


RIFTS is something of a game where you take Tolkien's Middle Earth, World Mythology (I don't know why you would, the First Story is based on a Planetary Constellation anyhow), the tropes of Science Fiction, 4 color Superhero comics, the Old West, Anime, and Horror of all kinds.  Put it all in a pot, add water, simmer and stew.  What you get is the Chop Suey of all RPG settings.  However, I say Chop Suey instead of Goulash because it actually tastes good and goes down easy.


The system is worthy of converting to d20, because d20 still has a lot going for it that makes the Palladium System look like it's 30 years old (actually, 40, but whose counting?)


The major problems are these:


Mega-Damage: Most fans say -- use SDC damage, it's much better. Convert everything over to SDC and use SDC weapons.  However, I say use a rule in d20 that would work that much better.  It's called Damage Reduction.  



Some magic creatures have the supernatural ability to instantly heal damage from weapons or ignore blows altogether as though they were invulnerable.

The numerical part of a creature's damage reduction (or DR) is the amount of damage the creature ignores from normal attacks. Usually, a certain type of weapon can overcome this reduction (see Overcoming DR). This information is separated from the damage reduction number by a slash. For example, DR 5/magic means that a creature takes 5 less points of damage from all weapons that are not magic. If a dash follows the slash, then the damage reduction is effective against any attack that does not ignore damage reduction.

Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury poison, a monk's stunning, and injury-based disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.

Attacks that deal no damage because of the target's damage reduction do not disrupt spells.
Spells, spell-like abilities, and energy attacks (even nonmagical fire) ignore damage reduction.

Sometimes damage reduction represents instant healing. Sometimes it represents the creature's tough hide or body. In either case, other characters can see that conventional attacks won't work.

If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation.

Overcoming DR

Damage reduction may be overcome by special materials, magic weapons (any weapon with a +1 or higher enhancement bonus, not counting the enhancement from masterwork quality), certain types of weapons (such as slashing or bludgeoning), and weapons imbued with an alignment.

Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is 
treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon (in addition to any alignment it may already have).

Weapons with an enhancement bonus of +3 or greater can ignore some types of damage reduction, regardless of their actual material or alignment. The following table shows what type of enhancement bonus is needed to overcome some common types of damage reduction.

There you have it, Damage Reduction.  Damage Reduction can effectively replace Mega-Damage points.  For biological creatures made with carbon-based chemistry.  Vehicles and piloted Robots (Mecha) have something similar -- Hardness. 

Skill System based on a percentile: Okay, there is a lot of skills.  Only SpaceMaster and Rolemaster beats the number of Skills.  However, they are based on percentiles and you have to roll low to succeed in your skill.  However ICE was experimenting with Target Numbers with their Middle Earth Adventures RPG, and this became the basis of Shadowrun and other modern RPGs.  Roll a die, beat the target number, and you succeed.

The d20 System uses a TN-based skill system, called DC.

P.P.E., ISP casting system:  The spells can be cast by any wizard by any level.  The psychics can cast psychic effects based on their effective power level.  This is governed by Potential Psychic Energy and Inner Strength Points.  This is basically to replicate book wizards.  But Authors have one superiority over games.  Rifts is a goal-oriented game (i.e. uses Levels).  An Author can write a story about a befuddling wizard's Apprentice who can control the weather. 

Pathfinder still uses the casting system based on Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, but there are ways to overcome this (Advanced d20 Magic anyone?). 

Combat Progression: As you attain more levels, your combat experience increases.  This isn't half bad, as the Palladium game system is rules oriented.  And yes, you do get better at hitting and/or killing people as your experience increases in real life. 

While combat systems in Rifts are leveled, however, the Pathfinder/d20 System uses feats -- leveled feats -- to achieve this.  Fortunately, you can get feats every odd level or so.

O.C.C.s: Last point, the Occupational Character Class is blown up out of proportion in RIFTS.  Great idea, poor execution.  Similarly, the prestige class has been also blown out of proportion during Wizards' run of the d20 System.  In Pathfinder, you don't have this problem, but you're getting into the problem of Class Bloat. 

So, basically, you have to limit your class options. 

For a Rifts conversion to Pathfinder you will need:
* One Rifts book, you might have several. 
* Pathfinder RPG (Paizo)
* Pathfinder's Bestiary and Bestiary 2
* D20 Modern (WotC)
* D20 Modern Weapons Locker (WotC)
* D20 Mecha (Guardians of Order, defunct -- or Dream Pod Nine)
* Dragonstar Players Handbook or D20 Future (for laser and other energy weapons)

to go around the "Theme Park" of Rifts you might find these handy:
Rifts: England -- Pick up a copy of the Arthurian Legend for Pathfinder. I think it's made by RPG Objects.  Sprinkle in a copy of (3e) Forgotten Realms -- especially the Dalelands and Cormyr; and simmer. Don't forget the laser weapons!!

Rifts: New West -- Deadlands d20 with D&D monsters, robot horses with carbines sticking out of their noses, and laser guns! :)

Rifts: Japan -- Pick up a copy of BESM d20 and you pretty much crossed the line into Rifts: Japan. 

RIFTS: Dinosaur Swamp -- pick up a copy of Prehistoria d20 from RPGnow.

Superheroes: There are strong differences between Mutants and Masterminds and Pathfinder judging by DC Adventures.  While you can have Superheroes in RIFTS (ala Heroes Unlimited), Mutants and Masterminds is the d20 System totally rebuilt around the 4 color Superhero Comic genre.  Although you can solve some problems with RIFTS using Mutants and Masterminds 3rd edition, your best bet is to convert the entire game of Rifts to Mutants and Masterminds.  And given Kevin Seimbedia's mindset while he wrote Rifts, you might be much more successful at doing so than by using Pathfinder as your base. 

Yeah it's weird, but if you read Rifts, the whole thing is ridiculous when trying to apply Real World physics.  And Mega-Damage makes sense, how? that kind of stuff.  Judging how ridiculous the whole game is, Rifts is probably inspired by 4 color comics.  

Since even Marvel and DC have "theme park" locations in their universes, they carry on certain antiquated ideas.  And even their heroes are ridiculously overpowered (Superman, for instance, is PL 14, while Wonder Woman is PL 15, while Captain Atom might be misjudged by Green Ronin; while the Hulk maybe the most powerful being in either universe in terms of raw, muscular strength!).

Rifts is, quite simply, trying to stick a 4 color-universe made up of square pegs and putting it into circular holes and using a hammer to force them in.  The game works, kinda, but you have to suspend your Disbelief when you are exposed to better games. 

Everything Else: You're pretty much on your own.

Step-by-step-by-step:
Since Kevin is ridiculously backward in his thoughts about the OGL, you will never ever see an official conversion of Rifts to d20, or Mutants and Masterminds.  There is a clause in the OGL that simply says that Wizards has the right to take your work (but everyone else has the same right).  However, due to the amount of material that Palladium has published over the years, I can only focus on the classes in the main book.  For the rest, you are on your own. 

Borgs:  There are no rules dealing with Cyborgs in Pathfinder or in Dragon*Star.  In d20 Future, however, there are rules dealing with bionic enhancement (they were published in Dungeon once, I believe).

Coalition Stuff: d20 Modern Fast Heroes and Strong Heroes with the Soldier Advanced Class.  SAMAS pilots, however, are Mecha Pilots. 

Cyber OCCs:
Crazy -- You have Mind over Matter implants that supercharges your brain.  I suggest either Smart Heroes or Charismatic Heroes with the MoM implant.  Crazies also get a Sanity score and are governed by the Insanity rules found in Call of Chthulu d20. 

Cyberknight: Psychic Warrior or Soulknife class with the code of Chivalry.  They have cyberarmor bonded to their skin.

Glitter-Boy: Mecha Pilot class from BESM d20 piloting a Glitterboy! :D

Headhunter: Strong Hero, Tough Hero, or Fast Hero with cybernetics.  Your typical Shadowrunner. 

Juicers: the class that fits the Juicer best is the Fast hero.  But remember, they are augmented by chemicals rather than expensive Cyberwear. 

Adventurer types:
--- Body Fixer: Dedicated Hero or Smart Hero with medic advanced class.
--- City Rat: Punked hero -- can be replicated with any d20 modern class except Smart. 
--- Cyber-Doc: Dedicated hero with medic advanced class specializing in using Cybernetics to treat injury and disease.
--- Operator: Dedicated or Smart hero specializing in mechanics.  Might have some psychic powers, in that case, give the player a wild talent feat and pick 3 psionic powers that can be machine related.
--- Rogue Scientist and Scholar: Smart Hero yet again!  One specializes in the Sciences and the other the Humanities.  Both may overlap.
--- Wilderness Scout: Tough hero all the way with an advanced class based on survival.
--- Vagabond: Catch all concept, may be any d20 modern class. 

Magic types:
--- Ley Line Walker: WIZARD class.  Not witch, not alchemist, not sorcerer, and not magus!  Wizard.  Bar none.
--- Mystic: a PC who plays a cleric that has dipped into the Psion class and sorcerer class for a couple of levels.
--- Shifter: Summoner Class from Advanced Player's Guide. 
--- Techno-Wizard: Alchemist or Wizard with item-creation feats.  However, we all know that the Artificer from Eberron is a better fit. :)

Dragon Hatchlings: Entirely possible to play.

Psychics -- Psychics are given better treatment with the Rifts: Mindscapes supplement.  Again, remember, I'm focusing on the main book so. . . 
--- Burster: Psion with Control Flames power who has dipped into the Pyrokineticist prestige class.
--- Psi-Stalker: Psychic vampires who feed off of emotional energy.  Psions for sure, but they have unique powers that need to be converted over.  Telepath is suggested. 
--- Dog Pack: There is a whole RPG supplement called Fursona that deals with this and is for Pathfinder.
--- Mind Melter: The PSION melts my mind! see PSIONICS UNLEASHED!
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