Let's track similiarities to see VEI "master plan"

[erwinrafael]

Regeneration:
Bloodshot due to nanite abilities
Shanhara, including its "extension" in Aric's hand
Armstrong, because of the Boon but may also be because of nanites based on Ivar's slip of the tongue
Mary-Maria, because of the Boon
Gilad (is it because of the Boon or because the Earth won't let him die? When Gilad heals, his eyes do not turn white like Aram)

Absorption of souls:
Bloodshot's nanites, if the scientist in Bloodshot #0 was successful
The Boon, which then transfers the souls to those who receive the gift of immortality
Master Darque's spell, which granted Sandria immortality

Downloading of abilities:
Archer, through accessing the Akashic record
The Nazi Lamas
Hard Corps
Shanhara, in a way, when it switched to stealth mode without Aric instructing it to do so

Access to a repository of knowledge:
Archer, although limited, through accessing the Akashic record
The Nazi Lamas
Shanhara, as shown in its download of Earth's history to Aric and its transfer to Aric of multi-lingual capacity
Geomancer
Master Darque, through the Lyceum
The Bleeding Monk (?), or is this more of a precog ability?

Based on these similarities, I think the psiots (including Archer) and Bloodshot may be seen as the raw materials that would lead to the development of two technologies in the future: Shanhara and the Boon. These future tech found its way to the past and the present through the Faraway.

I think these future tech are developed so that humans could defend against psiots. And the tech was brought to the past because these human tech, no matter how advanced, can not withstand a very strong psiot (which, I suspect, is not Harada, but rather Stanchek who would become the Great Destroyer). So Shanhara and the Boon were planted in the past so that the rise of the psiots would be nipped in the bud while Stanchek is not yet that strong. It's like the Terminator solution with Stanchek as the target.

So who is the one who brought Shanhara and the Boon to the past? Some of us speculated that it might be Ivar given his access to the Faraway. But there is somebody else who can access the Faraway and can travel through time now: Archer. I think this is the reason why Archer's disciples are guarding the Boon. They were taught not to interfere so that they could freely give the Boon to the Anni-Padda who would then become the "heroes" needed by humanity to withstand Stanchek and Harada.

The future of the Bloodshot tech? There's Rai directly. But the real future is Armstrong. He is the Bloodshot with the soul and humanity that the scientist in Bloodshot #0 hoped for. I really give a lot of weight to Ivar's slip of the tongue. Aram is immortal because he is living in a nanite body that has absorbed a lot of souls. And both the immortality and the humanity of Aram is needed to defeat Stanchek.

But where do the mystical elements fit? I can think of how Shadowman can fit in the bigger picture. It could just be a matter of the Faraway and the Deadside just being different realms that people can access and the powers manifesting in different manners. There are processes that are too similar to ignore. Soul absorption to fuel immortality. Accessing other realms to gain wider knowledge.

The only thing I can not yet reconcile is the Eternal Warrior mythos.

Why would Stanchek become the Great Destroyer? Because Kris would die.

[Mandrakk]

Some nice ideas here,but I got some slight nitpicks already(might havez more when I gt the time to think on it more properly):
- I do not think Armstrong boy is nanite based,to me Ivar's slip of tongue was more about Aram getting one of those in the future(could be wrong though)
- Also shanhara switching to stealth mode without Aric's order doesn't seem to be ability download but something like the automatic activation of one of the suit's many inbuilt feature.
- Also concerning Shanhara,the material about armor hunters implies that there are more than one of those suits in the universe

[erwinrafael]

Yep, the Armor Hunters interviews seem to indicate a different explanation for Shanhara. But why does it bond only with humans?

[bygranddesign]

Some really cool thoughts on the Master Plan .. i agree with a lot of them

I think Rai will be the culmination of the main building blocks of the universe - he'll have aspects of magic, mysticism, technology, science and PSIOT powers. I think all of these aspects that are currently being built up now will dominate the world in 4001 AD.

My question about the Master Plan is how will VEI universe builders resolve some of the seemingly paradoxical questions that they are tip toeing into in regards to technologies introduced in the past influencing the present and future in creating the same technology. The Far Away will ultimately play a huge part in how this all gets played out.

[Carson]

I truly HOPE they have it planned out as interconnected as you have suggested, even if it's in different ways... it would be great to see some seeds planted now bear fruit in a year it two as the line expands into new books and new timelines.