» Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:25 pm War.
War Never Changes.
Typically I think most of us take that to mean that war is a constant throughout the course of humanity, not that the dynamics of war don't change. So given that, who came closest to stopping war?
I have a suggestion that may shock you. A suggestion that I believe is simultaneously the most and least appropriate answer. The answer is a character that I consider so undeniably bat[censored] insane above all others: Elijah, and to an extent, the Brotherhood ideologies as a result.
How? Quite ironically, the Brotherhood's ideals of technology = everything seem practically proven (or disproven?) by Elijah. Elijah's plan, without peer, stops war. Regardless of your opinion of him, Elijah effectively DOES succeed in stopping war on a smaller scale in the form of the Courier, Christine, Dean and Dog/God. His ideas and his plan would undoubtedly conquer the entirety of the Mojave, and if he had the means to do it on a full scale...? Attitudes can indeed be conditioned: a bomb collar around every neck would ensure compliance.
Or would it? Sure enough, the ending of Dead Money is variable by nature. Perhaps Dean turned on you, and it's very likely that you as the player desired to break Elijah's neck the moment you got your chance. In that sounds, for as brilliant as Elijah was at playing everything out like chess pieces on a board and making tangible efforts to ensure compliance and no violence between humans, he did an atrotious job of pleasing people. Before the Courier, scores of people fell and died as failed teams of his. Yes, the collars weren't linked, but people still chose the rather illogical path of attempting to go rogue with a bomb around their necks....
But for all it's worth, Elijah's plan covered the most bases, and the first time with their collars linked, they succeeded. Whereas Caesar seeks only to indoctrinate, a plan that fails to address generations after his rule, Elijah seeks to feed on people's logic by giving them a tangible threat that forces compliance; a means that'll live onward even after his passing. Elijah's would both indoctrinate and provide a constant logical reinforcement, and between the Cloud and the holograms, any opposing nations would quickly fall to his own until there was unification.
As a side thought, I find it interesting that....whether Elijah's plans could be called a success or a failure is up to debate. On one hand he succeeds in basically setting up a chess board to force compliance and non-violence between people, on the other he utterly fails at appeasing the very people under him and, as such, sure enough multiple teams died and even his successful team is itching to put a bullet through his skull the moment the collars come off; their desires live on and the moment a problem with the collars arises, every logical being would also attempt to remove them. This, to me, parallels how these days, I often see Indy and House named as the two most debated endings as having the best focus: House with all his objective, tangible progress and Indy with it's X-factor that allows for the most base human desire of happiness while treating everyone with an equal chance and equal respect. And sure enough, as House vs. Indy is debated to this day, you could debate whether Elijah's plans could be called a success or a failure.
So I just wanna hear your opinions. Who do YOU think came closest to changing war, what do you consider Elijah's plans and perhaps how do you think humanity could possibly change war, if at all possible?
