Unveiled Memories: Layer 1

These events take place 41 years prior to the 1st season of Big O. Paradigm City is in its original form, 21st century Manhattan Island, New York City, similar to the place we see in Roger Smith’s episode 14 deliriums. I did not create the series, so I am not the authority on all things “Big O.” This is simply a fan fictional historical account dealing with the “memories” that were lost. This story has been separated into layers rather than chapters. I find this to be more appropriate considering we are uncovering lost memories. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you…

Beni Caes


Layer 1: The Players


Name: Rodger Smith

Rank: First Lieutenant United States Army

Post: US Army TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center), Governors Island Research and Development facility, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Military Police, TACOM (Tank-automotive and Armaments Command)

Special Skills: Conflict Resolution, Tank Automotive Weapons Systems, Megadeus Pilot.

Platoon Info: 1st Lt. Roger Smith’s Platoon consists of four Land Borne Tank Sections. Each squad is made up of one Big O class Megadeus walking tank, one 2nd Lieutenant Pilot, one Sergeant Major Lead Mechanic, three enlisted mechanics, and three enlisted artillery porters. In addition, Lt. Smith is in command of the Mechanic Section that maintains his tank.

Career History: Roger Smith was recruited into the United States Army out of college via ROTC. Smith has a Bachelors of Science degree, majoring in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Political Science. His first post was with the Military Police as a Conflict Resolution Training Specialist. His Commanding Officer was Captain Dan Dastun. Smith proved to be a highly competent trainer and was promoted to 1st Lt. and put in charge of the training program. Soon, due to a conflict with a foreign power, civil unrest and domestic terrorism struck American soil and Martial Law was instated. The Military Police were outfitted with armored vehicles in order to maintain order. Armored Artillery training was added to Lt. Smith’s program. The program was a tremendous success and Lt. Smith was soon recruited by TACOM as a New Weapons Systems trainer. Lt. Smith proved to have such a high aptitude for learning and understanding the operations of the newly introduced and experimental Tanks that it wasn’t long before he caught the attention of TARDEC’s Chief of Engineering, Timothy Waynewright. Shortly there after, Smith was offered the opportunity to volunteer for a TARDEC secret research and development project. He accepted the offer and was reassigned to the newly reopened Governors Island Army Base in New York City.



Name: Patricia Lovejoy

Rank: Second Lieutenant United States Army

Post: US Army TARDEC, Governors Island Research and Development facility, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Army Intelligence

Special Skills: Intelligence, Weapons and Tactics, Black Ops, Megadeus Pilot.

Platoon Info: Black Ops Classified. 2nd Lt. Patricia Lovejoy was temporarily placed in 1st Lt. Roger Smith’s platoon for training as a Land Borne Tank Pilot. After she was certified she was abruptly removed and reassigned to clerical duties. Even though she is classified as a secretary to Captain Alex Rosewater, she still occasionally drills with the active pilots.

Career History: Patricia Lovejoy was recruited into the United States Army out of college via ROTC. Lovejoy has a Bachelors of Science degree, majoring in Political Science. Her first post was a clerical position with Army Intelligence. Her commanding officer was Major Alex Rosewater. WORK HISTORY CLASSIFIED. She was later reassigned to TARDEC under the command of Lt. Col. Alex Rosewater.



Name: Alex Rosewater

Rank: Major United States Army

Post: US Army TARDEC, Governors Island Research and Development facility, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Army Intelligence

Special Skills: Intelligence, Megadeus Pilot.

Company Info: Major Alex Rosewater is in command of the Water Borne Tank Platoons. In addition, Major Rosewater is in command of the Mechanic Section that maintains his tank.
Career History: Alex Rosewater was recruited into the United States Army out of West Point Military Academy. His first post was with Army Intelligence, and he remained there until he was reassigned to TARDEC as a Company Commander.



Name: Norman Burg

Rank: Sergeant Major United States Army

Post: US Army TARDEC, Governors Island Research and Development facility, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Infantry, Artillery, Special Forces, Motor Pool Mechanic, Tank Automotive Weapons Systems.
Special Skills: Weapons and Tactics, Megadeus Mechanic.

Platoon Info: Sergeant Major Norman Burg is the Lead Mechanic in the Mechanic Section that maintains Lt. Roger Smith’s tank.

Career History: Norman Burg began his military career as an Enlister Infantry soldier. He was assigned to a platoon in an artillery battery. He soon made Private First Class Squad Leader and then Corporal. His success earned him a Special Forces placement. While on tour of duty during a conflict with a foreign power, Corporal Burg was promoted to Master Sergeant through a series of acts of valor, and made second in command of his platoon. After his tour was over Sgt. Burg requested to be assigned to motor pool so that he could pursue a career as a mechanic. His request was granted. Sgt. Burg proved to be an outstanding mechanic and was recruited by TACOM to maintain New and Experimental Tank Weapons Systems. His success at TACOM caught the attention of TARDEC’s Chief of Engineering, Timothy Waynewright. Shortly there after, Burg was offered the opportunity to volunteer for a TARDEC secret research and development project. He accepted the offer and was reassigned to the newly reopened Governors Island Army Base in New York City.



Name: Dan Dastun

Rank: Major United States Army

Post: US Army Military Police, The Battery, Castle Clinton, Military Police Headquarters, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Military Police

Special Skills: Military Police Administration

Platoon Info: Major Dan Dastun is the Company Commander of the Manhattan Island Military Police. His jurisdiction is Manhattan Island.

Career History: Dan Dastun was recruited into the United States Army out of college via ROTC. Smith has a Bachelors of Science degree, majoring in Criminal Justice. His first post was with the Military Police and he has remained there. During a conflict with a foreign power civil unrest and domestic terrorism struck American soil prompting the instatement of Martial Law. During this time, Dastun was promoted through the ranks to Company Commander. Due to his reputation as a top notch Military Police Officer, Brigadier General Gordan Rosewater personally requested that Dastun be assigned to Manhattan Island to ensure the security of the Governors Island Complex. The transfer was granted and Dastun was reassigned to The Battery Military Police Complex in New York City.



Name: Jason Beck

Rank: Civilian Banker, Sr. Vice President, Banc of America Securities.

Post: US Army TARDEC, Governors Island Research and Development facility, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Banking, Financial Advisor

Special Skills: Banking and Finance

Business Info: Sr. Vice President Jason Beck is a Sr. Vice President and a financial advisor with Banc of America Investment Services. He manages the accounts used for the Black Funds that pay for the secret projects that take place on Governors Island. His responsibilities include dispersing monies and accounts payable across the accounts to conceal the true identity of his client.


Important People Places and Things


Brigadier General Gordan Rosewater: Commanding officer at Governors Island.

Timothy Waynewright: Chief of Engineering at US Army TARDEC, Governors Island Research and Development facility.

TACOM: Tank-automotive and Armaments Command

TARDEC: The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering
Center (TARDEC) is the nation’s laboratory for advanced military automotive
technology.

Governors Island: Governors Island is located in Upper New York Harbor at the mouth of the East River, a half of a mile from the southern tip of Manhattan and the Brooklyn waterfront. The Island fortification dates back to 1806 but the Island was used for military functions since the 1700. In 1996 it closed down military operations and was acquired by the Department of the Interior National Park Service and turned into a national monument. Unbeknownst to the general public, a secret underground research facility was being constructed underneath the Fort Jay complex. During the civil unrest and domestic terrorism that resulted from a conflict with a foreign power, the military actively reclaimed Governors Island in order to protect the research facility. The fort Jay Complex became the home of the administrative offices for the Army base, and TARDEC. Beneath the Fort Jay complex, the R and D facility continued to work on secret projects. The Castle Williams Complex became the entrance to a new underground tank hanger. The Castle Williams Complex is connected via underground tunnel to its sister fort, Castle Clinton, in The Battery, on the Manhattan southern shore. The remainder of Governors Island was vacated and reserved for tactical training.

Castle Clinton: Castle Clinton is located On the Southern tip of Manhattan in The Battery Military Police Complex. The Battery public park was reacquired by the military during the first actions of martial law to be used as The Manhattan Military Police Headquarters. Castle Clinton has an underground installation that was constructed prior to martial law to serve as a military museum and show place. TACOM intends to use this facility to house their upcoming Military Expo where they intend to have a press release for the Arch Type. At the request of Brigadier General Gordan Rosewater, The Battery was transferred to his command. After the completion of the first run of prototype walking tanks, Brigadier General Rosewater ordered a tunnel to be built between Castles Clinton and Williams so that Castle Clinton could be used a platform to launch walking tank defenses against foreign aggression and domestic terrorism.

The Union: As it was with Area 51, certain aspects of the Governors Island work environment have to maintain complete secrecy. Sometimes working conditions suffer as a result. There is a growing buzz that there are plans to start a Civilian Workers Union to protect the interests of the civilian workers on the island. In order to avoid further civil unrest, Brigadier General Rosewater, increased the Military Police presence on both Governors Island and the Island of Manhattan recruiting Major Dan Dastun to be in charge of this operation. This didn’t settle too well with the workers…

Dorothy Unit: As the walking tanks became more complicated, piloting them became more complicated. Pilot fatigue and stress would result in the Tank going haywire. To solve this problem the engineering teams developed an android “Copilot Unit” was designed to take on many of the operational stresses. The “Copilot Unit” went through a number of different phases and was redesigned a few times. During primary construction of the final design “Copilot Unit,” Chief of Engineering, Timothy Waynewright’s, daughter was killed in a terrorist attack. To honor her, the android was physically modeled after her and dubbed the “Dorothy Unit.” Its first use was as a copilot pilot for the experimental “Dorothy 1” Manned Walking Tank prototype.

Megadeus: The Megadeus was the greatest of TARDEC’s designs. Other foreign powers had begun experimenting with walking tank designs. Not wanting to fall behind militarily, Brigadier General Rosewater ordered that all resources be put towards the creation of a walking tank that would be so far ahead of the technology available to the foreign enemy that nothing they could make would be able to stand against it. TARDEC answered this call with designs for a series of Land Sea and Air tank classes they called Megadeus. The Megadeus class tanks were so mechanically complicated that they would require sentient AI (Artificial Intelligence) for their OS (Operating System). This, of course, led to a whole new set of operational complications. The tank was no longer physically demanding, but it had become extremely mentally demanding. The new OS would refuse to operate for a pilot who’s mental state it reasoned was irrational. This would result in the tank shutting down in the middle of long term training exercises due to “Pilot Instability.” Fortunately the Dorothy Unit was able to maintain stability and control over the OS functions, so the new OS was approved. A controversial failsafe was also implemented to insure the stability of the Megadeus. In the event the pilot was near death or completely unstable, the Megadeus had the ability to completely bond with the pilot’s central nervous system in order to maintain operation. Unfortunately, there was no way to remove the bond without killing the pilot. By the time the three Megadeus class prototypes were completed the Conflict with the foreign power had escalated. Brigadier General Rosewater ordered the hastily tested tanks into mass production. Unfortunately, there were a few unforeseen bugs…

The Venus Project: After the Megadeus were put into mass production, the air and water borne prototypes were put into storage, but the Big O class walking tank prototype was taken to the Fort Jay underground R and D facility. The new project was dubbed “The Venus Project,” and put under the authority of Army Intelligence. Rumor had it that TARDEC was now working on a weapon system that could even defeat the Megadeus Class Walking Tanks. There were no further developments…