Here is a list of characters from Chineigha, a Second Age country in the Far East.
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Chineigha
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General
Dai Dee Yao, the Earthshaker
Character: Villainous/Anti-Villainous/Mad/Tragic
Alignment: Neutral Good/Neutral Evil
Type: Reluctant Mad Scientist, Eccentric Inventor, Resentful Genius, Manipulated Pawn, Well-Intentioned Extremist
Faction: Chineighese government, himself, Overdom of Coltatia, Xhi-Fa Society
"Never again would a force of nature bring untold destruction without our control or permission. No matter what it takes, I will bring the very earth itself to heel!"
Professor Dai Dee Yao (his entry here
) is a renegade geophysicist from Chineighese Republic who is widely cited as a quintessential example of a person who became a villain when motivated by tragedy and resentment, as he ended up terrorizing the world in his determination to control and end the menace of earthquakes after being badly affected by them.- Alas, Poor Villain: While remembered as a villain, many tried to rehabilitate his image and work upon considering the tragic circumstances that led to his villainy. Bright Eyes, the Scholar of Justice did a school report portraying him more positively and later wrote about him and other Reluctant Mad Scientist figures in one of the books she research and penned about 'Tragic Geniuses'. Silversmith, who had tried to help him in the past, would take up the professor's work and refined it with his own genius until it is finally what Professor Dai originally envisioned it to be.
- Badass Normal: Having lost his family to a great earthquake in 1920, Dai Dee Yao dedicated his life to studying earthquakes and eventually finding a way to control it, no matter how long or what it takes. By all intents and purposes, he took on a force of nature and nearly WON. Even OVERMARE was impressed, so much that she agreed to help him finish his work in exchange for allowing her and fellow super-villain Fa Zhong-Ma to use it to Take Over the World.
- Cornered Rattlesnake: Cornered by a group of superheroes at the climax of the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis' of 1976, a still vindictively-angry Professor Dai threatened to use the master-key he somehow has in his possession to turn EVERY Seismic Resonator in the network to full-power, which would cause sustained, globalized earthquakes of Richter 7 to 9 magnitudes and level global civilization before they too are destroyed by their own power. Fortunately, he was talked down before he could go through with it and even had a Heel Realization which caused him to use the master-key to instead shut down the entire network. It's implied that because fundamentally he is still noble with noble intentions, he wouldn't had been able to go through with it, and still had enough of a conscience to avoid going into full-blown nihilistic madness.
- Earthquake Machine: This is what his invention essentially is, known as the Seismic Resonator, based upon radical scientific principles Professor Dai discovered/developed based on his own research and the theories of Pobede Iskra (who is the Codexverse's equivalent of Nikola Tesla) on oscillation. How
- The 'Seismic Resonance Network' is a globalized version of Professor Dai's invention, consisting of a vast network of synchronized Seismic Resonators positioned strategically around the globe which allows for earthquakes to be created or suppressed anywhere around the world. The supervillains (and Professor Dai) who built it intend to use it to force the world into submission under both the threat of precise/catastrophic seismic annihilation, as well as the promise of using it to prevent all future country-devastating earthquakes forever, in a carrot-and-stick ultimatum. If all of them are turned on at maximum, according to Professor Dai, it could level civilization with global, sustained earthquakes on a Richter 7 to 9 scale until all the resonators either shake themselves apart or are destroyed by the very earthquakes they caused, which could take anywhere from hours to days.
- The Seismic Devastator is a more blatantly weaponized version of Professor Dai's invention developed after the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis' by the very Chineighese government who originally censured him and his work, which eventually replaced nuclear weapons as the eastern superpower's primary Weapon of Mass Destruction, with similar city-busting/country-destroying capabilities. Smaller versions of the weapon are also used by terrorists and insurgents to level whole buildings and blocks with localized earthquakes to create terror and havoc.
- The Seismic Harmonizer is a benevolent and improved version of Professor Dai's Earthquake Machine which is much closer to what the 'Earthshaker' had originally envisioned his invention to be: a way to control and even end the threat of earthquakes. Silversmith, the World's Smartest Pony developed it using Dai's research as part of his own efforts to rehabilitate the poor geophysicist's reputation and work. It proved to be an effective counter to its weaponized Seismic Devastator counterpart, and thanks to Silversmith's own genius it has the additional benefit of affecting geological activity in other ways, which proved a great boon to technologies related to Terraforming and Geothermal Energy production.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Professor Dai was motivated by the death of his entire family when he was young to the 'Hay-Yuan Earthquake' (based on an actual earthquake in Haiyuan, China in 1920) to dedicate his life in studying and eventually stopping earthquakes, and it was remembering this was his original goal that finally make him realize how far he had gone off to the deep end and trying to undo his role in the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis' of 1976 by shutting down the entire Seismic Resonator Network with the master-key he has in his possession.
- The Everyman: What made him stand out and also tragic compared to other Mad Scientist villains is just how unremarkable and ordinary he is. He looked not so much different from any other average Earthpony scientist in his 60s, which made it 'jarring' when he found himself in cahoots with genuine world-menacing supervillains and their minions like Fa Zhong-Ma and Overmare. And it also made him even more tragic as it meant at the end of the day, he is still just an ordinary Pony who was driven to do bad things because the world screwed him and his dreams over, and is way over his head with the legitimately more dangerous characters who are using him and his invention for their own nefarious ends.
- Evil Gloating: Actually, no. Overmare did it for him in the hijacked global broadcast where she and Ma Zhong-Ma demanded the world's submission under the threat of seismic annihilation. He only gave an overview over how his invention works and then demonstrated the power of the Seismic Resonance Network on several targets across the world.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Fate or whatever else dealt him a particularly cruel one at the climax of the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis' of 1976. He had underwent a Heel Realization with persuasion from one of the superheroes who cornered him and even tried to undo his mistake by turning off the entire Seismic Resonance Network. Just when it looks like he is in for a full redemption, however, a signal misfire caused one of his Seismic Resonators to go off and destroy the city of Dacheng in Chineigha, with him powerless to do anything about it. Overcome by guilt, he fled the scene as the entire network self-destructed, became gravely injured in the process, and was never seen alive again. The world would remember him mostly as a villain, and he is damned in his own country as a traitor by his own people and government.
- He Who Fights Monsters: One of the superheroes who eventually cornered him near the climax of the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis' of 1976 tried to talk him down by pointing out that Professor Dai is close to becoming the very menace that he had dedicated his whole life to tame and end in his vindictive rage. He is asked if that is what he wanted his legacy to be: to cause the natural disaster that took his family from him all those years ago? It worked, making him undergo a Heel Realization and personally shut down the entire Seismic Resonance Network that he help built, just before next seismic strikes commences.
- Hope Spot:
- After decades of stalled, frustrated progress due to technical hurdles and lack of government and international interest, Professor Dai appealed for help from Stellar Innovations in Ponyland, which attracted the attention of none other than the world-famous Silversmith, the World's Smartest Pony, who agreed to help him finish his work and get it the publicity it deserves. For a moment, things were finally looking up for him... then he was humiliated one times too many when most of the credit for his work fell to Silversmith (even though the Science Hero of Ponyland did his best to give Dai the credit he deserved), while his country's government over-reacted to his 'betrayal' via associating with a foreign genius known for his links with the government of one of their geopolitical rivals, leading to the censuring of Professor Dai and his project. It was no wonder that he snapped after that.
- Played for tragedy at the climax of the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis' of 1976: he had been talked down from unleashing a seismic apocalypse and even had a Heel Realization that made him instead shut-down the entire Seismic Resonance Network. Everything seemed to be looking up for him and the world... until a signal misfire caused by either an attempted Villainous Override or a military strike damaging a communications relay activated one of the Seismic Resonators to trigger an earthquake in Chineigha before the network was fully deactivated. Professor Dai Dee Yao was Forced to Watch in horror as his invention leveled the Chineighese city of Dacheng in what became the known as the 'Great Dacheng Earthquake' of 1976, which killed hundreds of thousands of Ponies. Thus the cold hard reality of his work and actions finally dawned upon him in the absolute worst way possible.
Professor Dai: What have I done? - Humiliation Conga: Subjected to this multiple times and contributed to him eventually snapping. The worst part is that some of it had been as much due to simple bad luck as it had been due to the apathy or malice of other people.
- Meaningful Name: Professor Dai Dee Yao's name is Romanized-Pinyin for 'Great Shaking Earth' when translated into English, which complements both his Cutie Mark (a city being shaken apart by an earthquake) and his goal to tame the uncaring force of nature that are Earthquakes which killed his family.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Had this reaction when near the end of the 'Seismic Resonance Crisis', a signal misfire in the Seismic Resonance Network he help designed caused one of his Seismic Resonators to trigger a devastating earthquake that leveled the Chineighese city of Dacheng, killing hundreds of thousands of Ponies in what became known as the 'Great Dacheng Earthquake' of 1976.
- Nice Guy: Even at his worst he couldn't bring himself to really hurt anyone in his vindictive rage. He did his best to minimize casualties even when he was demonstrating his invention to a terrified world, and insisted to the supervillains he threw his lot with - who could had easily disposed of him if he stepped out of line or simply outliving his usefulness - that they uphold their promise to let him control the Seismic Resonance Network for the benevolent purpose of stopping earthquakes worldwide after they had won. While he did threaten to cause globalized, civilization-demolishing earthquakes as a threat to the superheroes who eventually cornered him, he retained enough of his conscience which allowed the heroes to talk him down from it before he goes into full-blown nihilistic madness and experience a Heel Realization, even immediately did his best to undo his work before it could do any more damage.
- Recognition Failure: The lack of interest of his work by his own country and the rest of the world contributed significantly to both the lack of progress in his project (due to lack of funding) and his eventual Mad Scientist villainy after repeated humiliation. Overmare, who helped him finished his work and is hinted to quietly sympathized with his plight, which mirrored her own father's, lampshaded this to the rest of the world and rubbed it in their faces, even letting Professor Dai do the honours of giving an overview to his now weaponized invention and demonstrate its power by causing surgically-localized earthquakes across the world.
- Tragic Villain: One of his defining traits. He wanted to stop earthquakes, but frustration, humiliation and resentment from his inability to realize his vision and unable to prevent many more disastrous earthquakes due to world apathy and circumstances beyond his control led to him snapping and throwing his lot with supervillains to realize his invention as a weapon.
- Uncertain Doom: Was never seen alive again after the 'Seismic Resonance Crisis', having become gravely injured during the collapse of the Seismic Resonance Network platform he was on before he made it to an Escape Pod. The only thing ever found of him was a blood-soaked coat wrapped around around what's left of his research and a final written note which was discovered near his adoptive relatives' home.
- Unwitting Pawn: His vindictive rage after being humiliated one times too many and being censured by his own country's government led to him being easily manipulated by the supervillains Fa Zhong-Ma III and the Overmare into joining forces to realize his invention as a weapon for their plans of world domination.
- Villainous Friendship: With Calculous, a super-villain in service of Overmare whom he met while he worked to finish his invention in Overmare-ruled Coltatia. Both of them shared similar predicaments: Calculous was originally a Bitish genius computer science pioneer whose work during the 'Second Great War' helped win it, but his contributions were never acknowledged due to wartime secrecy, and he was even subjected to persecution when his sexual orientation was revealed, eventually leading to him being castrated. Calculous would had committed suicide or die from further bigotry-induced persecution were not for him being kidnapped/rescued and repaired by Overmare. Calculous' contributions in the form of advanced computer and control systems proved instrumental in Professor Dai's efforts to create a fully-functioning Seismic Resonator.
- Who's Laughing Now?: Skepticism, sheer apathy and simple bad luck resulted in his country and the rest of his world ignoring him and his potentially world-changing work, and humiliated/persecuted him on the few occasions they do. It's entirely understandable that he eventually snapped and decided to throw his lot with supervillains just to finally realize his invention - as a weapon of conquest. This is Lampshaded by Overmare (who is hinted to sympathize with his plight because it also happened to her father), during the hijacked broadcast where supervillains put forward their demands at the start of the 'Seismic Resonator Crisis', who didn't hesitate to rubbed it in to the world powers and establishment that none of this would had happened if they had listened to him earlier. Professor Dai took some special glee in explaining how it works and then demonstrating his invention's power to a shocked and terrified world in that same broadcast.
Fa Zhong-Ma
- Expy: Of the classic oriental Yellow Peril villain Fu Manchu.
Historical Figures
Confusious
Confusious (first introduced here) is an early Chineighese philosopher who played a big role in the influence and development of Chineigha as a country.
) is an early Chineighese philosopher who played a big role in the influence and development of Chineigha as a country.- Politically Incorrect Hero: He's genuinely well-meaning and only wanted to stop the extreme political unrest that was plaguing Chineigha at the time. However, his attitudes turned out to be horribly misogynistic, reactionary, and oppressive by modern standards. This gets deconstructed when Chineigha, in following the Confusionism philsophy he created, ended up falling behind the rest of the world socially, culturally, and technologically, leading to its infamous 'Century of Humiliation' at the hooves of its imperialistic Western counterparts as well as creating more internal instability down the line. Come the Fourth Age, the latest Oriental pantheon realized that Confusionism was a bad idea and replaced it with philosophies that were more egalitarian, ethical, and tolerant of progress.
