The Story of Alita (from Alita: Battle Angel)
I just type it so this is based on the YouTube video down below, but if you want to check it out, feel free!Â
The Story of the Great War (The Fall)
The fall of the worlds was the war to end all wars; there was no one left to fight, no war memorials, no wall with the names of the dead, no statues of heroes. Only 50 cities in the ruins of great civilizations on two planets had tumbleweeds, skulls, and crows, but only in Zalem did the lights stay on.
"Who attack first? It doesn't matter....."
Once it starts, there is always a wrong that needs to be righted, and an attack always needs to be avenged.
"Memory is short, but hatred is long."
And truth be told, with the first casualty, humanity's failure is that it started.Â
The past began as one; it looked outward, founding colonies among the stars. Earth and Mars were the interplanetary superpowers. Man was leaping for the stars, driven not by nobility but by greed, greed that consumed the parent world's pity, Mars and its interstellar colonies against Imperial Earth, and they went to warânot a war for independence but a war for all the marblesâtwo civilizations leaked by history but alien to each other, incompatible and fighting for the same resources. There were two planets throwing rocks at each other like little kids, but such rocks they drew in the grand expansion across the galaxies. Man had mastered matter and energy in time itself but learned no wisdom and found no peace, for with the mastery of matter and energy came fearsome weapons.
Alita was, at this moment in history, an innocent human child brought to life on Mars; she was called "Yoko" until the war between the planets destroyed her home and family. She was plucked for action by the URM War Machine; her brain was installed in a basic titanium core in a no-frills cyborg body for adaptation and training; she was only seventeen by the time her brain was transplanted into a class-one URM Berserker compatible core; she had been identified as a high-value military asset armed with the ultimate in 24th century cyborg technology.Â
"What role did the seventeen-year-old girl play in the battle between Earth and Mars? Was she good then? Was she evil? Was she the URM's instrument of destruction?"Â
But the endgame of the war came with a bioweapon penetrating Earth's defenses; humans were dying, and the spread was unchecked. Defensive action was taken, but there were no means to contain something of this magnitude. The skycity of Zalem was sealed to prevent the virus from getting in while the disease spread around the globe. A viral tidal wave quickly surpassed any efforts to quell the devastation. Mortality rates rose to 70%. There was carnage in the streets. Poor and powerful alike died by the millions, and they were unburied. Zalem above watched as the lights of the world went out.Â
Returning freighters and warships were turned away for fear of contamination; some took their chances descending to the infected planet (Earth) below; others just ran out of time and went dark; the enemy grew quiet well; and the nanobots led a counter-strike on Mars that found its mark.
Refugees from every place on Earth converged on Iron City under the shadow of Zalem. Isolated from the plague, Zalem ruled the world. The surface people grew their food and worked their factories; in return, they gave them power, medicine, and technology. In the rule of law, it was a cruel system, but the beacon of Zalem gave hope for the future.
The rest of the world was reclaimed by nature; the great cities collapsed and were overrun by forests; there were pockets of humanity; sometimes in the ruins of cities, sometimes in small towns and villages; they struggled with disease and starvation; those who could do so journeyed to Iron City; thus, Zalem has endured for three centuries; the world is at peace, a rigidly enforced one; there was no growth and no progress; though life on the ground is mired in squalor, the Zalem floats above, isolated and serene.
Unaware of a lonely cyborg core, a warrior of the forgotten war, discarded in the scrap life still blinking within, ready to rise again..
The backdrop of a devastating conflict between Earth and Mars sets the stage for a world ravaged by warfare, where the lines between right and wrong blur amidst the chaos of destruction. Through the character of Alita, a once-innocent child transformed into a formidable cyborg weapon, we explore the moral ambiguity inherent in war, questioning whether she was a mere instrument of destruction or a force for redemption.
The aftermath of the war, marked by the spread of a deadly bioweapon and the rise of Zalem as a domineering power, serves as a poignant commentary on the hubris of technological advancement and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Zalem's isolation and control over the surface dwellers underscore the themes of oppression and inequality, highlighting the dark underbelly of progress in a world plagued by division and strife.
The lush imagery of nature reclaiming the ruins of once-great cities with the stark, sterile allure of Zalem's technological superiority, creating a visual dichotomy that mirrors the moral complexities at play. This juxtaposition serves as a powerful metaphor for the eternal struggle between chaos and order, growth and stagnation, encapsulating the overarching themes of decay and renewal that permeate the narrative.
The realization emerges that humanity's greatest downfall lies not in its mastery of matter and energy, but in its failure to cultivate empathy and understanding. The war between Earth and Mars, fueled by greed and territorial disputes, serves as a stark reminder of the folly of pursuing power at the expense of peace. Despite the advancements of the 24th century, humanity remains mired in the same age-old patterns of conflict and division.
The devastating impact of the bioweapon and the subsequent rise of Zalem as a totalitarian regime underscore the fragility of civilization and the ease with which it can be undone by the folly of its own creation. The juxtaposition of Zalem's gleaming spires with the decaying ruins of Earth's cities serves as a poignant reminder of the cost of progress and the sacrifices made in its name.
Through Alita's journey of self-discovery and redemption, we readers confront the uncomfortable truth that even the most powerful weapons of war are ultimately shaped by the choices of those who wield them. The realization dawns that true strength lies not in the ability to destroy, but in the capacity to forgive, to heal, and to build a better future from the ashes of the past.
