I’ll admit it, I saw a random clip of Quantumania online, and found the joke of MODOK monologuing his backstory, only for Ant-Man to obliviously shut down the drama by realizing the acronym, to be legitimately hilarious. And while I might change Will Lasher being a Techna for my story, I am suddenly given this humorous idea for an exchange, if I keep that idea...
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Will: They left me to die, but Salazar found me, rebuilt me. Made me an ultimate weapon; A mechanized Techna armed with electric whi-
Nick: Whiplash!
Will:
Nick: Oh- Whi- Oh I get it, it’s a pun! *Calling out to Kate* It’s wordplay! Will Lasher... Whiplash... Do you happen to have a middle name that starts with a P?
This meme more or less describes Salazar’s hero complex and what he thinks he deserves for all of his ‘noble sacrifices’, AKA the atrocities he commits. Salazar thinks he’s a burdened leader forced to make a difficult call, when in reality he planted a bomb in a subordinate and blew them up to take out an enemy, without said ally being aware. Salazar weeps as he vows never to let their brave sacrifice go in vain, as the subordinate screams and curses him for his treachery; Salazar acts like he doesn’t hear a damn thing. It’s even worse when you remember this is a Techna that Salazar basically ransomed into obedience, under the threat of withholding charging and maintenance.
Given that he’s a dad, Salazar probably WOULD post memes on the Techna League’s official social media, specifically the kind that joke about how arduous our bodies are; Stuff like
It’s his attempt to be relatable to the younger generations with reminders of physical discomforts that could push them to become Techna! But of course Salazar’s just being
and Gene almost smashed her phone when she saw his first post... The ifunny watermark was salt in her wound.
Melissa Arakchos, science teacher at Arkley’s and head scientist of the Arkley Gang, is a Techna… But she doesn’t exactly fit within the Techna League, having that other aforementioned affiliation.
Arakchos once worked with Salazar, and I haven’t fully figured out the details yet. But I do know that by the present-day, she has her own Techna body that incorporates her signature style of ‘Spirius tech’ that is also manifest in her eleven Spirius Drones. Maybe as a human scientist, Arakchos approached Salazar during the early days of the Techna League, negotiated a Techna body of her own that didn’t have any of Salazar’s control, and then went her own way.
Maybe the Techna program had its origins in these two, initially just a foray into cybernetics; But while Salazar was inspired to impose an upgrade on everyone, Arakchos was content to leave it with herself and whoever asked, and likewise saw the Techna program as simply one of many projects. Not her life’s work or anything, and arguably more of a stepping stone and tool. Salazar became obsessed with being Techna and went down one path, and Arakchos the other.
Regardless, these two have a past. They don’t regard the other very well, with Arakchos seeing Salazar as an overly-sentimental fool who’s wasting time and resources, while Salazar is frustrated at Arakchos for wasting her Techna body on completely unrelated pursuits, and actively harming people in her experiments.
Arakchos unnerves Salazar, since she’s a Techna that isn’t under his control, and has a mind to rival his own; Though her ambitions are not as extreme, or at least are directed in a different place. While Salazar is at the top of his own organization, Arakchos is content to serve Arkley as part of his inner circle.
I’m half-tempted to have Salazar’s last name be Techna (and by extension Genevieve’s), since that was the original plan and all. This universe for my OCs did initially start off as Ninjago fanon, with some of the corniness you’d expect, and part of my inspiration was mashing together a bunch of different genres into a larger world, forcing aspects and characters from each to interact with one another.
So a corny name like ‘Salazar Techna’, whose bearer eventually converts people into technological upgrades, could fulfill that. Maybe it’s too silly and prophetic, who knows? Though this does create some implicit characterization, for Salazar to name his own program to upgrade humanity into a new form, directly after himself... and I’m not sure if that’s the direction I want to go with his character.
There’s definitely some arrogance but Salazar doesn’t care about being worshipped or anything, there is a legitimate, twisted altruism to his motives. But then that just leaves him and Gene without a last name for me to tag them as, so maybe I should just slap Techna at the end as a necessary placeholder distinction, since they are associated regardless.
The Techna League is led by Salazar, father of Genevieve (Gene for short), one of the students at Arkley’s. Its purpose is to eliminate all of the pain and shortcomings that come with the flesh by converting people, voluntarily or otherwise, into Technas. The brain is scooped out of the skull and contained within a cybernetic casing that is modular, able to interface and connect with any of the robotic Techna bodies that Salazar has designed and built.
Salazar is a passionate believer in his cause; He believes the Techna program will eliminate nearly all disability, and act as a great equalizer for society. No more will people have to worry about physical limitations and shortcomings, nor be discriminated for them. While he’s still working on the natural aging and diseases of the brain, Salazar is convinced that he has come with the ultimate solution, granting people the protean ability to assume whatever body they desire, and conquer dysphoria.
…Of course, there are limitations to the Technas. Their ability to replicate natural senses and bodily experiences is flawed, but Salazar is working tirelessly to achieve the perfect recreation of the body’s nervous system and other functions, and is certain it’ll be achieved eventually, so why wait when you’re squishy and soft, vulnerable, and prone to any kind of mishap? Being a Techna provides so many benefits, as one can control when and how they feel pain, if at all; Blood sugar levels are constantly maintained to ensure you’re always energetic, but if you miss the pleasure of sleep, that is also provided!
The internal systems of a Techna are maximized, able to store and provide nutrients directly to the brain, and keep it alive. If the body is damaged, the casing containing the brain will send it into a ‘hibernation’ state in order to preserve it, even as it sends out a signal alerting anyone who’s listening to the location of the Techna. This way, the Techna can be tracked down if alone, and their body either fixed, or the brain moved to a new frame.
As far as Salazar is concerned, there are only benefits to being a Techna, and the ability for humans to design any body they want for any situation, and switch between them like clothes or cars, is the final step in their evolution. And while he’s aware of the shortcomings of technology, Salazar sees no reason for that to deter; Just because medicine is limited doesn’t mean people shouldn’t use it after all, especially when others work to improve it! Likewise, Salazar acknowledges the existence of magic and other supernatural forces, and plans to eventually study and understand these forces to implement into his Technas.
Salazar is traumatized… His daughter died of a rather mundane and easily preventable accident, and he never recovered from the sense of helplessness and vulnerability it gave him. Constantly haunted with the knowledge of how soft humans are, how easy it is for them to die or be killed, he sought to conquer this with his skills in cybernetics. Along the way, he cloned his daughter, leading to the birth of Genevieve… Whom, proved insufficient in replacing his lost beloved.
At the same time, there was still some compassion for the child he brought into this world, and Salazar couldn’t quite bear to destroy or cast her out entirely, even if Gene’s face disturbed him. Thus, he sent her to Arkley’s, entrusting her under the care of its staff to be raised and given a proper education. Gene, naturally, has a complex about being a clone, and has poured in much effort to differentiate herself from her ortet. Salazar intends to eventually convert Gene into a Techna, but for now has opted to let Gene grow up with the sensations of the flesh. It’s… complicated between these two.
Will Lasher, Trexdis’ brother, is a Techna. Officially, he died in service; But Salazar found the injured Will, and without really waiting to ask, scooped his brain out of its skull, wrapped it in a cybernetic casing, and uploaded it to a skeletal Techna frame. Will is loyal to Salazar, a convert to his ideology, and believes he owes Salazar everything for giving him a new chance at life, better and stronger than he ever was; He hadn’t mentioned it to his sister, but he was dying of cancer, hence his willingness to risk himself in such a dangerous occupation for her. But the cancer had been left behind in his old body, and Will was free.
Alas, the Techna League is not exactly a legal organization… Salazar is paranoid on behalf of society, and like an overbearing parent, has decided he knows best for everyone. Whether they like it or not, and they’ll eventually grow to accept and appreciate it, all must be converted to Technas ASAP. As of now however, the Techna League doesn’t have the resources for a full-scale takeover of the world, so…
They keep themselves content, recruiting those suffering from disease or other form of disability, or are otherwise just not content with their bodies. Some are coerced, others fully willing. Due to a lack of resources, not everyone has been converted into a Techna, so those in waiting have armed themselves to act as recruiters and enforcers for the growing Techna League, anticipating their upgrade.
In truth? There’s a lot of potential good to the Techna program, which HAS helped quite a few who are legitimately grateful and better off this way; But it really is an issue of consent. Yes, there are many who’d love to embrace becoming robotic, but there are also plenty who like their current bodies as is, even with the disabilities they’ve learned to live with. It’s a matter of bodily autonomy, the conflict with the Techna League; Becoming a Techna is a wonderful option to have, but Salazar has made it mandatory and doesn’t intend to negotiate.
The problem isn’t ‘robotics eat your soul’, it’s losing your agency when your body is now prone to commodification. Technas who step out of line are essentially threatened with starvation, deprived of the maintenance and energy they need to live. So if you want to become a Techna but disagree with forcing it on others, hard luck; Salazar is not above manipulation. He has given Techna bodies to others, and coerced them into serving his larger goals, promising they’ll be freed when the work is done. And he means it, but that hardly justifies what he’s done.
The fact that Salazar has a shut down switch installed in every Techna doesn’t help, either; Again, he sees it as a temporary necessity, in order to enforce order and cohesion amongst the Techna League so that no rebels interfere with the worldwide upgrade. Right to repair? Not yet… Not until all are Techna. Your body, your choice? Only to an extent, but once the default is Techna, it will certainly feel that way, because why would becoming organic even be considered as an option? And I wouldn’t be surprised if Salazar had override commands and surveillance systems installed, to keep track of his Technas for loyalty and ‘security’ purposes.
Salazar really does mean it. He truly believes in his cause, and his passion for it can come across as almost endearing… but there’s such a darker side to it, and that darkness is growing as Salazar digs deeper into his cause. And that stubborn refusal to accept weakness, the sense of shame he feels and inflicts upon others for their own human vulnerability, is bound to mutate into something even more horrible.
Some of the Techna designs? Deliberately modeled after and inspired by old drawings of Salazar’s daughter, before she died.
On a lighter side, I’m just imagining the hilarity of Salazar awkwardly, brute-force inserting his way into just about every conflict in the GEverse with a salesman’s eager offer of “Have you heard of the Techna program?” the same way as a Christian missionary who smells a troubled soul like blood in the water.
Sally and Monarch Man have a profound conversation as fellow victims of the Phantom Alliance’s project, cursed with bodies not their own, and then suddenly Salazar smashes through the invisible wall that is the scene’s tone like the Kool-Aid Man because he’s been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty the Techna program. The young’uns tell him to fuck off.
There’s an almost endearing, childlike enthusiasm to Salazar, an eagerness that jumps out at every chance to help people. But once you actually get to know him, this trait of his becomes infuriating, as Salazar casually stampedes over every boundary under the natural assumption, the insistence, that he’s the hero and good guy who’s saving everyone, he’s the parent who’s applying firm yet loving control to his child. Salazar sees that you have what is called a You Problem and is like Let’s make that a We Problem!
But then it quickly becomes apparent that he’s decided it’s a Me Problem instead, something for him to fully handle on his own, decide the solution for, without much thought to your input. His passion takes a darker, deluded side as Salazar becomes frustrating and impossible to work with, and then himself gets frustrated at others for simply not getting it, can’t they see how much he cares?! Why are they shutting him out, do they NOT want help?
Salazar is someone impossible to talk to, because he’s so swept up in his certainty that he’s doing the right thing and it’ll all turn out just fine in the end, and thinks himself as graciously patient with everyone else. There are multiple characters in the GEverse who suffer from some sort of physical disability, and/or a body they aren’t happy with, and Salazar is so EXCITED to offer help, to recruit them into the Techna program and vow it’ll give them the impossible solution they gave up on, so long ago!
He really is a true believer in his own cause, but in some ways that’s even more deadly. He’ll have an ally hold an enemy in place, and then shoot them both down (because his ally has to be there as well to keep the target still), and then weep afterwards and promise the sacrifice of his ‘friend’ won’t go in vain. Out of context, you’d really think with how Salazar composes himself, offers to enemies, and reacts to victories and setbacks that he IS the hero of the story.
And while that confident altruism may initially seem virtuous and redeemable… In reality, it’s damning for Salazar, because he’s too proud to admit he’s wrong, even if the whole world is whaling against him to say so; Instead, he wallows in his persecution complex, feeling unfairly treated if opposed as an agent of justice. Because that quality of Salazar’s just makes him profoundly out of touch with reality, and that distance enables him to commit atrocities.
What was once seemingly so charming is actually so deeply infuriating, because Salazar still has the gall to act positive about what he’s doing and frame it as part of the greater good. Salazar is arguably one of the most despicable people ever out there, the kind of evil that doesn’t even realize it’s evil, and can’t imagine it despite all the creativity it dedicates to other pursuits. Salazar is simply too closed-off in his Techna shell, not willing to listen, ironically disconnected for someone who’s always forcing connections and his own involvement in things; He accuses everyone of being close-minded but it’s all him. Salazar is the fine line between compassion and control.
