These are my notes regarding Cauldron:

Now 2011. World end 2013. Accord’s 23 year plan. Assuming began 1990. When did he start working with Cauldron and Yangban?

Death of Vikare 1989. Alexandria 1st meeting with Legend and Eidolon 1988. PRT director 1993.

Skitter replacement for Coil. Similarities?
Villain turned PRT member. Psychological state necessary for Cauldron? Project Terminus on Cauldron end. Purer but more fragile formula. Can’t interfere. Free will?
Dinah. Precog interference with Simurgh.
BB Portal? Project Terminus/Doormaker. Labyrinth/Scrub.

DM's Terminus Project is fairly ominous sounding. It was started before end of the world prediction. It used to hinge on Coil before Skitter replaced him, to be some kind of unwitting figurehead.

Given that Accord is involved, it should eventually bring about a new world order. Not necessarily a good thing.

Does anyone know if Christof was mentioned in any other chapter but Faultline's Interlude? Because he's apparently connected to Cauldron.

 

Even though Cauldron was formed well before the Endbringers, that doesn't mean they don't actually want to stop them. It's mentioned several times that they're working to stop the Endbringers and whatever this apocalypse 2 years from now is.

Anyways, you've left out a big relevant quote from that chapter:


“We’ll manage,” the Doctor replied. ”In the worst case scenario, we’ll explain the circumstances, explain our plan.”

“He won’t like it,” Eidolon spoke.

“But he’ll understand,” the Doctor said. ”If the Terminus project is a success, the end of the world isn’t a concern. And I believe we will succeed.”

“Provided we come up with a solution to the bigger, more basic problems we’re facing,” Eidolon said. ”Or we’ll simply find ourselves in the same circumstances after we’ve gone to all this trouble.”

Alexandria nodded. ”The Protectorate is proving to be a failure on that front. Recent events haven’t given me much hope in that regard.”

“So that leaves only my end of things,” the Doctor said.

“Coil,” Eidolon said. ”And if he fails?”

“Ever the pessimist,” Alexandria said.

“This revelation about the possible end of the world has decimated our projected timeline. We don’t have time to prepare or pursue anything further,” the Doctor said.

“If we assist him-”

“No,” the Doctor spoke. ”If we assist him, there’s no point.”

“In short?” Alexandria leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. ”He doesn’t even know it, but everything rests on his shoulders.”


And then in later chapters (Number Man, Accord), they talk about using Skitter instead of Coil for whatever their long term plans are.

I'm not quite sure what the "Terminus Project" is- that might be something totally separate from their Coil/Skitter plans.

I wonder if Alexandria harassing Skitter and possibly faking her death was part of the manipulation for whatever their end goals are?

Edit: Oh, and Ennead- Christof does not appear anywhere other than Faultline's chapter.

 

I'm curious about the Terminus project. I've been reading the Foundation series lately (which would have been written in the Wormverse) and the first book is based around the Foundation, a haven for knowledge and science after the collapse of a galaxy spanning empire. It's set up by what amounts to the Number Man (albeit with 'science' rather than powers), and he establishes the Foundation on the planet Terminus.

Could be that Cauldron are trying to establish some kind of bolt hole that will weather the End of the World.

 

By... giving people powers?

 

Isn't it a bit implied that the existence of powers is somehow connected to the existence of the Endbringers? There's no point in moving the human race over to a new dimension if new Endbringers will just spawn there - it would fit with there being 'deeper' issues than just the existence of Endbringers.

Also, the number of powers that Doctor Mother gives out are supposed to become negligible as time goes on so she can afford to do so if it helps further Cauldron's goal.

 

Actually, that does seem to suggest that DM's plans regarding Coil/Skitter and the Terminus Project might be different things. But we know that all of these projects had their inception before the EndBringers and the end of the world prediction came about; they likely only deal with these two major issues in a tangential manner. As in, these things don't matter if our plan succeeds.



It seems from their interest in that powered asylum that they're looking for...a particular shaker or thinker type power?

Is this referring to Coil/Skitter? The person they're trying to find/make? I'm assuming they are two different people.

 

Coil is definitely "the right individual" for the Doctor's plans.

 

Great chapter.

Contessa's claim that Cauldron collected the Indian cold capes for soldiers that are unlikely to be seen in Earth Bet again raises a couple of questions... where exactly are they fighting? And who? I assumed that Earth Bet was their primary world, not just their hunting/testing ground.

 

Well it turns out that the Endbringers might just be unbeatable.

 

Unbeatable by Contessa. Big difference.

Contessa, 24.2

Legend, 14.5

Individuals that she can't possibly harm with the weapons she has would be immune to Contessa's power. Not just the Endbringers, but people like Alexandria and Legend. Eidolon too, depending on what powers he is using.

I suspect that Skitter would fall into that category but only if conditions were ideal. Like, Skitter has a giant swarm prepared and is sitting in a sealed bunker 500 feet away from Contessa when she appears. Contessa would have no choice but to hope Doormaker opens another portal for her to escape.

Or Siberian would be another example with the right conditions. Contessa would stand absolutely no chance against the projection, but if she had a ranged weapon and Manton even has a chance of ever stepping into any position even for 1/100th of a second where it is possible for Contessa to kill him, she wins.

 

Also, looks like Skitter is no longer Cauldrons replacement for Coil.

 

I took Contessa's explanation to mean that she could also factor in any tools at her disposal. So if she had a gun her power would use that as a possible avenue of victory. Now considering that even when the PRT and Cauldron at the height of their power and influence she wasn't able to use those 'tools' to come up with a plan for victory. This suggests that either the Endbringers are invincible, at least for the current batch of capes. Your example of her thoughts towards Legend in 14.5 only shows that the current tools at her disposal, her baseline human body and presumable a knife or gun of some kind, would be unable to defeat him.

 

I could see her being able to use her power with rocket launchers, guns, grenades, containment foam, even nukes if she could get her hands on some. But I don't see her being able to directly use other people as tools with her power.

I bet Siberian would have been able to beat the crap out of Leviathan or Behemoth, if Manton could manage to stay a safe distance away.

So no, I don't think Contessa's statement proves that no capes could beat the Endbringers. Hell, I'd say that Lung did beat Leviathan.

 

A possible limit to Contessa's powers is that she always wins through physical violence. Her path to victory is never destroying someone with words, or changing their mind, or seeding a new idea, nor is it through creating complicated tinker type gadgets. I don't think she could win a fight the same way that Tattletale would, for example. Contessa's precog doesn't seem to allow for that.

At least, that's what I'd thought.

This chapter is the first time I can recall where Contessa has convinced someone to do something. Did she use her power to convince the Indian capes to leave, or was it pre-arranged, or just a really good deal?

Is Contessa's path to victory limited to methods using basic Newtonian physics?

 

I noticed that Contessa pretty much never speaks. I think her only line before this chapter was when she told Pretender that the Doctor was ready to see him.

I'm not quite sure what the meaning of this bit is, but I think it could be significant.

24.2

Obvious could mean "Because saying this is what I saw myself doing in my victorious path" or it could mean "Because I want you to know that."

Edit: Also, wanted to toss this in. Since Alexandria's body was taken from PRT custody, I'm betting it's Pretender, as opposed to her body double or a faked death. That matches up with her being "more cautious" and possibly afraid. Pretender might have studied her fights against Behemoth, but this is still his first time actually using her body.

 

This was my thought as well, but it makes me wonder why the PRT still has her body a couple of weeks after her death. They don't believe in burials? And even more troubling, why does her dead corpse still have her powers?

 

Couple notes: Contessa's power probably just doesn't work on Endbringers or has a very narrow margin of "victory." We've seen them be beat, we know "Hold them off until Scion arrives" is a victory condition (and thus any plan that allows the capes to delay an Endbringer works) so Mrs. Midnighter here either isn't telling the whole truth in regards to her power or it's just not being explained well.

Got a distinct Invincible/The Boys vibe from Alexandria being back though, interested to see how that goes

 

Victory is very subjective as a power, does it mean achieving your current goal or what do you think is your current goal? Does it consider the possibility you might change minds in the future or how everyone else reacts to such victory?

The only way I see for it to really be correct is making her a slave of her power which I don't think anyone thinks would be nice...

 

It's a flexible power, Chrnno. Contessa can use it provide victory solutions to problems which are only hypothetical.

“So you’re blind here, useless,” Grace said, a touch bitter.

The woman shook her head. “No. I can consider a hypothetical scenario, and my power will provide the actions needed to resolve it.”
--Crushed, 24.2

More than that, Contessa can see multiple ways to win - multiple paths to victory - and she presumably picks the one she wants.

“What I mean is that I can see the paths to victory. I can carry them out without fail.”
--Crushed, 24.2