Harbinger #4 Discussion Thread

[grendeljd]

It occurred to me that Harada isn't as young looking as he appears... I

It is always possible that being a powerful Harbinger may extend a lifespan - perhaps the nature of psionic powers naturally keep the metabolism running strong over an extended period of time. But I'm thinking about all the examples we've seen so far of what Harada is capable of, in particular when he projected himself as a dog to everyone in the neighborhood, even through video footage to Mr Tull in the truck. So, perhaps he is actually much older looking in truth.

What would this mean? I dunno, maybe just a reflection of his megalomaniac type personality, despite his reserved & patient 'public face'. A streak of vanity to go along with an over-inflated sense of self importance. He could be more desperately driven to reach his goals if he is that susceptible to mortality & closer to dying than anyone knows... Desperate enough to manipulate Pete into joining him by any means necessary.

I also think Harada is capable of triggering Harbingers, and keeps that card close to his chest. It's probably him doing it, using the machine as a front.

[BugsySig]

It occurred to me that Harada isn't as young looking as he appears... I

It is always possible that being a powerful Harbinger may extend a lifespan - perhaps the nature of psionic powers naturally keep the metabolism running strong over an extended period of time. But I'm thinking about all the examples we've seen so far of what Harada is capable of, in particular when he projected himself as a dog to everyone in the neighborhood, even through video footage to Mr Tull in the truck. So, perhaps he is actually much older looking in truth.

What would this mean? I dunno, maybe just a reflection of his megalomaniac type personality, despite his reserved & patient 'public face'. A streak of vanity to go along with an over-inflated sense of self importance. He could be more desperately driven to reach his goals if he is that susceptible to mortality & closer to dying than anyone knows... Desperate enough to manipulate Pete into joining him by any means necessary.

I also think Harada is capable of triggering Harbingers, and keeps that card close to his chest. It's probably him doing it, using the machine as a front.

The original Harada was obsessed with living forever, so perhaps this version has a similar bent and is using various techniques to help him slow the aging process.

I like your idea of the machine as a front...not sure if that is how it will turn out, but it would be interesting.

[Blood of Heroes]

It occurred to me that Harada isn't as young looking as he appears... I

It is always possible that being a powerful Harbinger may extend a lifespan - perhaps the nature of psionic powers naturally keep the metabolism running strong over an extended period of time. But I'm thinking about all the examples we've seen so far of what Harada is capable of, in particular when he projected himself as a dog to everyone in the neighborhood, even through video footage to Mr Tull in the truck. So, perhaps he is actually much older looking in truth.

What would this mean? I dunno, maybe just a reflection of his megalomaniac type personality, despite his reserved & patient 'public face'. A streak of vanity to go along with an over-inflated sense of self importance. He could be more desperately driven to reach his goals if he is that susceptible to mortality & closer to dying than anyone knows... Desperate enough to manipulate Pete into joining him by any means necessary.

I also think Harada is capable of triggering Harbingers, and keeps that card close to his chest. It's probably him doing it, using the machine as a front.

The original Harada was obsessed with living forever, so perhaps this version has a similar bent and is using various techniques to help him slow the aging process.

I like your idea of the machine as a front...not sure if that is how it will turn out, but it would be interesting.

It's an interesting notion, but I think it's just a machine recreating the radiation levels of an atomic blast.
If it is him, he's personally killed a lot of would be psiots. A lot. That's pretty disturbing.

[grendeljd]

It occurred to me that Harada isn't as young looking as he appears... I

It is always possible that being a powerful Harbinger may extend a lifespan - perhaps the nature of psionic powers naturally keep the metabolism running strong over an extended period of time. But I'm thinking about all the examples we've seen so far of what Harada is capable of, in particular when he projected himself as a dog to everyone in the neighborhood, even through video footage to Mr Tull in the truck. So, perhaps he is actually much older looking in truth.

What would this mean? I dunno, maybe just a reflection of his megalomaniac type personality, despite his reserved & patient 'public face'. A streak of vanity to go along with an over-inflated sense of self importance. He could be more desperately driven to reach his goals if he is that susceptible to mortality & closer to dying than anyone knows... Desperate enough to manipulate Pete into joining him by any means necessary.

I also think Harada is capable of triggering Harbingers, and keeps that card close to his chest. It's probably him doing it, using the machine as a front.

The original Harada was obsessed with living forever, so perhaps this version has a similar bent and is using various techniques to help him slow the aging process.

I like your idea of the machine as a front...not sure if that is how it will turn out, but it would be interesting.

It's an interesting notion, but I think it's just a machine recreating the radiation levels of an atomic blast.
If it is him, he's personally killed a lot of would be psiots. A lot. That's pretty disturbing.

Very disturbing. But I think Harada is more than capable of it.

We now know (or can make an educated guess) that he is aware of the vine presence & possibly the coming invasion. He is so passionate in believing his own vision of the future is for the betterment of mankind, that he is at a self-delusional stage where he can probably justify things like killing however many potential psiots just to be certain of developing as many as he can. But if the people in his little 'cult' knew it was him doing that and not a machine... They may be a little less supportive of his ideals.

All of these ideas make me happy to think of how complex a character Toyo is this time around. No blatantly cheesy or obvious actions that can simply be labelled 'evil'. He has real depth, and believability. It's fantastic writing, IMO.