Elevator Pitch

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Revision as of 01:08, 30 January 2021 by Iritscen (talk | contribs) (Daodan's a noun used adjectivally, but let's just phrase it this way; added sarcastic supporting link to elevator comment; also removed redundant signatures in the opening stmt)
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this page belongs to the canon/fanon consolidation project "Eye To Eye"
(consolidation project)
Oni's premise and storyline as I'd explain it to total strangers. Just to see if I can fit it all on a single page.
Probably too long for an elevator ride (well, depends on the elevator). But I tried very hard to keep it concise.
Overstatement (if any) is only for the sake of conciseness, and tries to conform to the community canon-so-far.
The talk page can be used to discuss/refine some statements until they are comfortably ambiguous/consensual. geyser (talk)
TLDR  In a dystopian world, a totalitarian government (WCG) is managing a worldwide environmental crisis (24/7 air filtering in all the big cities) and cracks down on illegal technology (Tech Crime Task Force).
Some of the environmental/technological troubles are of "alien" (transdimensional) origin, some are man-made. All of the threats are seemingly contained, although somewhat precariously/hypocritically.

TLDR  Biological hazards claim the life of a young eco-activist. The grieving husband - a brilliant scientist - starts looking for the ultimate cure that would allow humans to survive in an increasingly poisonous world.
Instead he discovers an eerily powerful mutagen that allows humans to "hyper-evolve". The criminal Syndicate harboring the research realizes the lucrative/military potential of the project, and seizes control.

TLDR  The rogue scientist had set up his young children (a boy and a girl) as prototypes for the hyper-evolution process. The Syndicate (bad guys) raise the boy as a super-soldier, but he rebels and becomes the new head of crime.
The girl avoids the fate of her brother and ends up at the TCTF (good guys), as a ward of the state. Raised as a policewoman, she is unwittingly subjected to "hyper-evolution" as well - as a contingency against the bad guys.

TLDR  The evil brother (Muro) continues his father's work towards the hyper-evolution of Mankind[7], but as part of a planned bio-apocalypse: the air-cleaning facilities are sabotaged, and survival will only be granted to a loyal elite.
The girl/heroine (Konoko) completes her combat training and is ready to confront the Syndicate as a rookie field agent. At this point she is unaware of her relation to Muro, of his plans, and of her own nature as a "symbiote".

TLDR  On her first mission, Konoko "coincidentally"[10] comes across Muro, who is personally raiding a bio-research lab as part of his endgame. In hot pursuit, Konoko fights through Muro's men and pulls a number of daring stunts.
The drawn-out chase allows Muro to scan Konoko's wireless communication patterns. Upon discovering that the TCTF are monitoring Konoko via an empathetic android housed at their HQ, he orders the android's kidnapping.

TLDR  After her "sister soul" is abducted fom TCTF HQ, Konoko breaks away from TCTF subordination and is perceived as an increasingly dangerous liability. The TCTF makes several attempts to terminate her, which she eludes.
Aware of her missing memories, Konoko tries to steal records about her past from secure archives. A mysterious "super-ninja" from the Syndicate beats her to it, but Konoko chases/confronts/kills him and retrieves the data.

TLDR  After studying old records and meeting her father's coworker, Konoko recollects her past and discovers her "hyper-evolved" nature. Cornered by the TCTF, she nearly dies, then resurfaces to confront TCTF command.
Finally, she single-handedly attacks Muro's base and unravels his evil plot. Upon discovering that the Atmospheric Processors worldwide are sabotaged, she opts to destroy them (and then proceeds to defeating Muro).

TLDR  The aftermath is somewhat similar to Muro's supposed apocalypse: destroyed infrastructure, huge death toll, disrupted air filtering, and hyper-evolution as a forced solution (although it is no longer in the wrong hands).

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Oni canon does not say what Hasegawa's field of expertise was prior to Jamie's death, but biotechnology is the most likely. Besides Daodan tech, Oni's world notably features another universal cure/palliative - the widely accepted hypo sprays -, so it is tempting to imply that Hasegawa's initial research revolved around those "active neuro-biological reinforcing elements".
  2. As an activist Hasegawa was already guilty of denouncing uncomfortable truths about the BioCrisis. Trespassing into a Wilderness Preserve and mercy-killing his wife only made his case worse.
  3. The Network may have been head-hunting Hasegawa for a while prior to Jamie's death, and would naturally make him a new offer once he ended up on trial as both a murderer and an enemy of the state.
  4. The transdimensional (a.k.a. "out-of-Earth-phase") origin of Daodan symbiosis is not explicit, but it makes sense considering the paranormal superpowers that seem to come with it (regeneration, telekinesis, teleportation, summoning), as well as the existence of such "alien" entities as Screaming Cells and "Devilstars".
  5. In Oni canon, "Daodan" is always used either as part of a compound noun like "Daodan latency" or as shorthand for "Daodan Chrysalis" (which is fitting, since a proper substantive form would be dǎo dàn guǐ 捣蛋鬼). The notion of an immaterial entity supervising the symbiosis (called "the/a Daodan", or perhaps "the/a Guǐ 鬼", i.e., "ghost") is a speculative interpretation of the nondescript "hyper-evolutionary process" (i.e., the seed of the symbiosis) along with the sheer amount of intelligent coordination required by a (meta)stable integration process. Whether a man-made "quantum (bio)computer" or a sentient entity from another dimension (akin to Screaming Cells), Daodan symbiosis seems to be driven/powered by some sort of extraordinary (unearthly?) intelligence.
  6. Dǎo dàn guǐ 捣蛋鬼 is Chinese for "troublemaker", and dǎo dàn 捣蛋 means "to stir up trouble". Hasegawa may have coined the name "Daodan" in memory of his and Jamie's past as "troublemakers" (activists).
  7. 7.0 7.1 Oni does not state Hasegawa's fate after the takeover, thus we don't know if he personally inspired Muro's radicalization, or if someone else took his place as Muro's role model.
  8. According to Sturmanderung reports, toxin levels rise by >50% over the monitoring period (duration unspecified), mainly owing to the defective air filters. Apparently the sabotage eludes inspections through the continued efforts of Muro's on-site teams and/or because of built-in "defeat devices" reminiscent of Volkswagen's Dieselgate.
  9. The final consoles of CHAPTER 14 . DAWN OF THE CHRYSALIS mention the development of "Daodan core technology" as part of Sturmanderung, singling out two tasks/projects/experiments called "uwlb" and "ssob". No further details are given, but it is likely that Mukade and Barabas are "test beds" for different techniques, with Barabas as the more stable variant.
  10. Muro not only dictates the entire chain of locations of Oni's "Act 1", but also anticipates Konoko's involvement, even describing her as "an exceptional agent" based on some sort of intel. Barabas's defeat at Konoko's hands is an unpleasant surprise, but Muro turns it into an opportunity to confront Konoko and assess her skills (which leads into Act II). It is almost as if Muro's whole operation was planned to coincide with Konoko's field training, both geographically and chronologically.