Everything you Wanted to know about the Worldmind but were just too afraid to Upload

By D. Blackburn

  

“I am everything the Xandarian culture has ever been.

All its arts, sciences, history, technology, philosophy.

I contain a bio-template of the entire race.”

The Worldmind. Annihilation Nova 1

In the current Nova arc, Richard Rider is getting a lot of grief from his former partner, the Class G Collective Artificial Sentience known as the Worldmind. Worldmind has been instrumental to the revitalized Human Rocket – as much as Annihilus was for getting them pair-bonded. Their relationship has been a defining aspect since Abnett and Lanning started writing Nova – often strained, a clash of ordered logic against Rich’s stubborn anti-authoritarian streak. Events have now come to ahead with Worldmind reforming the Nova Corps despite Rich’s protests. Now, stripped of his rank and powers, Rich faces a defining 48 hours that may well see a new resolution to their unique relationship.

Long time Nova fans are quite familiar with Worldmind’s background history but readers new to Nova, jumping into War of Kings, may not realize that Worldmind has played a pivotal role in Nova’s development right from the beginning. So to get everyone up to Rocket Style, this is a handy insight to what makes Worldmind crunch those quantum processors. So let’s ride a phase tube back to the 70’s...

Right from the beginning it was clear Nova’s creator, Marv Wolfman, loved Science Fiction and wanted to bridge the gap between classic SF noir and Marvel’s superhero genre. We see that on the splash page for Nova 1 (Vol. 1) where dying Nova Prime Rhomann Dey’s mile long spaceship closes in on Earth to bestow a lucky Terran with his abilities in order to exact revenge against a ruthless foe. It was clear Dey came from a very advanced technological race – but the first time Richard himself encounters it directly is in Nova 7/8 (Vol. 1) when he interacts with PRIME.

PRIME, (Planetary Recording for Information Maintenance and Education) was the controlling computer (today we’d probably dub PRIME an A.I.) that kept everything ship-shape and Bristol fashion while Dey was preoccupied fighting Zorr. After Dey’s demise, PRIME kept on fulfilling its duty, waiting for the new Centurion Nova (Prime) to take responsibility. Its here we get the first clue to the exact nature of how Xandarian computers differ from their Terran analogues. No state of the art Spectrum ZX81’s – PRIME utilizes bio-circuits – brain patterns of all previous Centurions, crew, etc are stored within its “mindframe” so that any information can be accessed instantaneously.

I’ve often considered that if Marv Wolfman had decided to play more with the Nova/PRIME relationship we could have seen the present Rich/Worldmind partnership 30 years early – as is Nova was destined to stay on Earth for another fifteen issues, continuing his attempt to be the “next big thing since Spiderman.”

So okay, we got the concept of wetware brain/computer interfacing but we would not see exactly how integral this technology had influenced Xandarian society until, in irony, after Nova’s first series ended. If the Nova/PRIME, go out in space concept had been fulfilled, maybe in another sidereal dimension, Nova Volume 1 could have gone on a lot longer than it did.

The next big revelations started just as Nova’s first series was cancelled. In Nova 23 (Vol 1), Nova encounters Doctor Sun. Sun is an obscure villain, created by Marv as a pariah during his tenure on Tomb of Dracula. Sun was a disembodied brain encased in a mobile life-support chassis, needing blood to keep his cerebellum alive. It was an existence that Sun desperately wanted to end. Likewise, he wanted to gain power; just what all Supervillains crave. Learning of Nova’s extraterrestrial origins, Sun takes Nova back to the Nova-PRIME ship. While aboard the ship, Sun learns that PRIME doesn’t just consist of bio-circuits - that actual living brains, Xandarian brains, form an integral part of its structure (although sadly we don’t get a visual, that’s reserved for FF 206!). Sun wants to know how the living tissue is preserved to give him immortality – but during his rant Sun is also the first to share that Centurions have far more abilities than Nova known he’d possessed. It’s an intriguing possibility that had Marv Wolfman carried on writing Nova, that the precursors to Gravimetric Pulses, Stargates and other powers that Nova possesses today could have premiered 32 years ago. Alas, only Rich’s lack of experience prevented him from learning more (that and falling sales).

Sun gets interrupted by Nova’s arch enemy, the Sphinx, so while Rich and the new Champions head for Xandar, the Fantastic Four (well Three) are already there, head first into a bitter conflict with the Skrull empire at Queen Adora’s bequest. It’s here (FF 205/206) that we see the full majesty of the Living Computers of Xandar. Keith Pollard obviously loved the classic SF film, Forbidden Planet. In fact the Thing very kindly says he’s seen better.

Prime Thoran Rul, Adora’s advisor and the Living Computer’s caretaker, explains that upon the moment of death, Xandarians allow their living brains to be deposited into the Consensus, a complex “over a mile high” – on the pretext that they believe every citizen, Corpsman, etc possess knowledge that is valuable. The ultimate think-tank. To Terrans, it could be considered a monstrous thing to do, a typical B-movie kinda plot device (Donavan’s Brain comes to mind (pun intended – probably the source of Doctor Sun’s origin)) but Egyptians believed the brain, heart and primary lungs were instrumental in ensuring a Pharoah, when mummified, went to the afterlife. Even today, some wealthy Californians, have been cryogenically frozen, their organs preserved, so perhaps Xandarian methodology isn’t that strange. The “why” has never been fully explored in Nova mythos, or “how long” it’s been going on.  The Living Computers are very old, possibly pre-dating the Kree Supreme Intelligence by a few millennia. But, it was also clear that the Living Computers had a definitive link to another integral aspect of Nova mythos: the Nova Force.

The Nova Force gives powers to Xandarians serving in the Corps – it was this power that the Skrulls craved in order to find a way to end their war with the Kree- the same power that Sun craved – the same power that gave the answer to the Sphinx and that drove him insane. All more parables that were explored in future Nova volumes. FF 206 is significant as we get to see the first time the Living Computers bestow powers to a Xandarian – in this case Prime Thoran becomes the Protector. It’s also a clear indicator of how the Computers work – the foundation of how  Worldmind really works.

DNA often use modern computer terminology- Worldmind is missing “a few files”, its “firewall” has been breeched by the Phalanx contagion. Okay, but it truth it’s quite misleading. Worldmind/Living Computer is a bio-organic/tech synthesis. Living, neural clusters. Wetware. Minds “engrams” working in a neural network that together is a bio-processing machine of infinite complexity. Prime Thoran Rul gets immersed inside the vat containing the brains, and finds his biological DNA altered, becoming something “very powerful.” The full extent of how “powerful” a Xandarian can get is later realized in Supernova. But here, an empowered Thoran, whose role not only acted as caretaker but also the “voice” of the Living Computers when the Xandarians required consul, leads the Novas against the retreating Skrull armada. But it’s a missed opportunity – most of the action takes place off panel. In fact a lot of Nova’s involvement during the war is sidelined in favor of following the FF dealing with the power-mad Sphinx thanks to roping in Galactus – introducing new Herald, Terrax the Tamer, H.E.R.B.I.E. and Sun getting his come-uppance*. But even so we get a few glimpses, notably Richard’s involvement on Epyrus 7. Plot strands still ripe for exploration.

Richard probably learned a lot about the Living Computers, as well as Xandarian culture, during his year long period in space. By time Rich reappeared in ROM 24, the war was over and a homesick Rich gives up everything to return to friends and family. It seems we wouldn’t get anymore insights. But then, along came the New Warriors, Fabian Nicieza, the 90’s and the Starlost Saga arc….

If any story defines the present Nova series it’s the Starlost Saga (NW 40-42). All the basics for Nova in the 21st Century are here. While Richard flipped burgers at a local Queens deli, out in space, Xandar was being systematically wiped out by the Granddaughter of Thanos, Nebula (a title disputed by the Titan as later links were established to Zorr.) Having faced near cataclysmic destruction by the Skrulls, the Xandarians decided to create a “get out of this jam” failsafe. Known to Nova fans as the Xandarian Protocols, in the event that the culture faced decimation, the Living Computers would transfer the near entire Nova Force into one candidate – to safeguard it until a time when Xandar could be restored. But this move had serious liability. Too much Nova Force would drive that unfortunate candidate insane. Garthan Saal, Centurion, goes on a rampage, first to wipe out Nebula and take out anyone associated with her  - this invariably leads him to Earth. While the Avengers deal with Supernova, a despondent Rich decides that living without his powers has become a burden…enter Dwayne Taylor and a rooftop fall. At the time it’s a lucky coincidence, Rich gets an adrenalin surge and before you can say Blue Blazes gets his powers back  - but later it turns out (Avengers 260) that Queen Adora and the Living Computers chose Rich to house Xandar’s spirit and a “little slice of Nova Force” – this cementing his role in the New Warriors.

Saal, having forsaken his revenge lust needs the lot to restore Xandar. Taking Nova to the dead bubbleworld, Saal and Rich merge into a composite being. Rich fears insanity and attacks Xandarian Heralds Firelord and Air Walker, even the Shi’ar Imperial Guard show up!  However tragedy is averted - for you see Adora and Worldmind having recognized Rich’s indomitable spirit would negate the compelling madness of having the entire Nova Force within, something Saal couldn’t control; thus Xandar is restored. Rich gets a power up and promotion as Protector of the Terran Sector of the new Starcorps, even a commendation from the Worldmind – the latter speaking to him for the first time utilizing the visage of Prime Thoran Rul.

With Rich’s eventual return to Xandar on the eve of Thirdfall (Annihilation Prologue), Worldmind has taken a key role in the functionality of the Corps, acting as its eyes and ears, linked to the thousands of Nova Corp officers who try valiantly to quell the Wave forces. It’s also clear that Worldmind has a few more tricks: It can data squirt directly to the mind – providing tactical data instantaneously, even maintaining medical scans, administering chemical inhibitors to keep Corpsmen hale and hearty. When Wave technology disrupts that link; all hell breaks loose. With Xandar wiped out for the third and final count, it sets the stage for Rich to reacquaint himself with the Xandarian Worldmind, now on the verge of system death.

While it’s a bit of a contradiction that DNA’s first story (Annihilation, Nova 1) somehow ignores Rich’s previous interaction with the Worldmind (maybe its due to Rich being psychologically disoriented); Rich considers the Worldmind’s now arrogant self-survival/preservation attitude like his Dad’s. Giving Rich a much needed boost of endorphins and with the enemy at the gate, Richard Rider, the last of the Nova Corps merges once more with the totality of the Nova Force getting the Worldmind transferred into his synaptic neural pathways as a reluctant father-figure to help him with the burden of carrying the Nova Force, hopefully avoiding another Saal scenario.

Even though Worldmind is inside him, the component aspects of Worldmind’s Consensus, the billions and billions of individual engrams of every deceased Centurion and Citizen that comprise the Xandarian legacy – live on. In fact those memories save Rich when infected with the Phalanx contagion (Nova 4-12 Vol. 4), having become a Select in Ultron’s Conquest. Gone are the floating brains in preserving fluid. Now Worldmind and its entirety exist in the realm of quantum computing – at least that’s a Nova fan’s theory. Even so, Worldmind cannot endure against the vast energies of Galactus’ siphons as they deconstruct Orbucen (Nova 14 Vol. 4). Crash and burn, excessive electromagnetic energies disrupt Worldmind, shutting him down. Alone, Rich perseveres facing the Skrulls’ Secret Invasion. Gone; but not quite the same. How Worldmind endured has yet to be explained, while in the gap, Worldmind, having lost a few files (qubits) starts planning his new Corps. Has it lost its ethical sub-routines, or did the damage occur long ago? Maybe it was damaged when it asked for Rich to merge, In fact, could Richard’s humanity have somehow stymied Worldmind’s own degradation, so in the end its not the noble hero that goes mad, but the supercomputer comprised of the countless lifetimes in its matrix?

Now, as we enter War of Kings, its clear that Rich isn’t the one that’s insane, that power, absolute power, has not dampened the noble spirit that Adora, and the Living Computers, once recognized – that instead Worldmind, a concept whose comes from a long line of super-computers has gone Hal 9000. Out there, while the Corps faces the might of the Shi’ar Imperium and Black Bolt’s Kree/Inhuman alliance I wonder if somewhere in Worldmind’s sub consciousness he’s singing a little song about daisies….

Thanks to Bill for additional bits and proof read!

  

  

  

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