Noah's Ark (Spriggan)

Noah's Ark is a piece of technology that features in the Spriggan universe.

History
Noah's Ark was a large construct created by an ancient unknown civilization who had built it long ago and had vanished due to unspecified reasons. This device shared its name with the mythical ship in the Old Testament that concerned the legends of the flood that impacted the world. In Genesis, chapter six, the story of Noah's Ark was present where it stated that after time passed that evil came to thrive on the Earth that God had created. Thus, the Lord repented and resolved to destroy mankind where a righteous man called Noah was responsible for building an ark where he placed his family as well as two of every sort of creature within it. Some believed the legends in the Old Testament had some basis in truth and that Noah's Ark was actually responsible for creating the flood and served as a weather control machine. In fact, it was believed that the Ark was likely responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and bringing Earth into an ice age. In addition, the contents of the Ark contained various animals such as dinosaurs that were held in stasis which were believed to be used to repopulate the planet after it was ravaged by natural disasters. However, some theorised that the Ark did not simply store animals for repopulation but rather contained the blueprints of the next generation of organisms to populate the world thus serving as a repository for new life after the end of the old one. Regardless, the truth was not entirely known with many theories relating to the artifact. All that was known was that it was at some point buried deep beneath Mount Ararat in Turkey where it became frozen in the ice. Some claimed that the reason for the dormancy of the device was because the mountain exerted a strong magnetic field that suppressed it. Furthermore, the construction material and technology of the Ark meant that it was not considered to be made by human hands.

This relic remained undisturbed for countless years until the late 20th century when an expedition into the mountain was launched that incidently discovered it. These consisted of a group from the ARCAM Corporation's investigation unit that were wiped out around six months ago when they unintentionally activated the device which emitted a strong energy field that killed those that discovered it, melted the ice and created an overload that destroyed a spy satellite in high orbit. Despite this being the case, the United States Machine Corps became aware of the Ark's discovery. In addition, the ARCAM Corporation also learnt of its existence at the mountain and stationed their forces at the site. The U.S. Machine Corps later were responsible for attacking a separate site from the Ark around three weeks ago where they attacked the ARCAM investigative units in order to acquire ancient plates linked to the civilization that built the relic. This was with the goal of deciphering the inscriptions and finding a means of activating Noah's Ark. The Pentagon tasked the young Colonel MacDougall with the task of uncovering the secrets of the device and bringing them under the control of the United States government. ARCAM listed the Noah ruins as very dangerous and kept them under guard whilst doctors Miesel and Margaret studied the artifact. Despite the heavy guard, the U.S. Machine Corps under MacDougall launched an assault which was initially repelled but the arrival of the Colonel himself allowed the base to be conquered despite the presence of Spriggans.

Once inside, Colonel MacDougall took Dr. Miesel and Ms. Margaret were taken hostage in order to decipher the means of access into the Ark. They were successful in breaking the seal and the Colonel took them to the control centre where he was shielded by his psionic powers from any harm. Unknown to him, the Spriggan Yu Ominae followed him into the darkness within the Ark. After activating the relic, MacDougall revealed that he had no intention of delivering Noah's Ark to his superiors but instead pursued his own objectives which he believed were God's mandate to him. He desired to activate the weather tampering features of the artifact in order to cause the polar ice caps and create warmer waters thus causing abnormalities in the weather. The intention was the destruction of mankind and bringing about the emergence of a new race as he saw humanity as God's only creative failure. Thus, he saw the Ark as being similar as the atomic bomb which was a weapon of power whilst Noah's Ark was a symbol of peace. The warming mode in turn would lead to the majority of land being flooded and thus creating the second flood of legend. However, Ominae Yu began firing rockets within the Ark in order to find the control centre where he managed to gain entry into the chamber. Yu managed to get Miesel and Margaret to escape whilst he battled Colonel MacDougall though was initially overpowered by his opponents psychic talents. However, he ultimately managed to fatally wound the Colonel and MacDougall in his last act of spite activated the self destruct sequence which could not be undone. In his last moments, the Colonel laughed where he stated that the magnetic field of the Ark revealed other such similar sites around the world whereupon he was swallowed by the void-like singularity. Yu managed to escape only with the aid of fellow Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo with the two witnessing as the risen Ark shattered into pieces and fell into a black void that closed after the completion of the destruction sequence.

Overview
According to the Old Testament, Ark was three hundred cubits long and fifty wide but in actual fact was at least four times that size. Its central form was gray coated oval shaped with the design of a whale and a central monolith-like tower rising from the top. A further contrast to its mythical counterpart was that Noah's Ark was not constructed of wood but rather of an unknown material that resisted efforts to breach it by 20th century mankind. Attempts such as the use of lasers and diamonds were not even capable of scratching the hull let alone break through it. Direct contact was also impossible as the material of the Ark was made with some form of time-stopping qualities that actually disrupted the flow of time around them that meant that it was incapable of being broken at all. This was another hint at the otherworldly nature of the construct as it was not constructed by human hands. Entrance was only achieved through a correct deciphering of the inscriptions linked to the Ark and utilizing a triangular key to open the doorway. Visually, the surface of the Ark projected numerous luminous features that initially prevented one from finding the lock to break the seal. However, when sunlight shined on the surface then the triangular lock for the seal manifested. Even when opened, the time defying nature of the relic came into effect as the door did not allow any form of illumination through. Thus, whilst objects were capable of passing into it, light itself was not capable of being used as objects entered a different dimensional space upon entry.

Inscriptions on a stone tablet from another site that was linked to the relic stated:
 * I am Lord of the sky
 * When evil runs rampant on the Earth
 * change the blessings of Heaven to those of Hell
 * and create humanity anew

Deciphering the nature of the inscriptions thus helped determine the true nature of the Ark. Its ability to adjust the ozone layer and carbon dioxide levels that circle the Earth along with the control of ultra-violet radiation indicated its nature as an atmospheric control system. Thus, the correct input of data into the controls allowed it to affect the weather conditions on a global scale such as causing the ice caps to melt and creation of tidal waves. Its capabilities were to such an extent that it created natural disasters that were able to wipe out all life on a planet. This was all initiated when the device was placed within its warming mode able to create acid rain, ozone depletions and global warming. Furthermore, it emitted powerful magnetic fields capable of killing humans and melting its surroundings with only those properly shielded capable of surviving its activation. In addition, the strength of the energy was able to overload satellites in high orbit and causing them to explode. Yet, a proper analysis of the focusing of the magnetic fields can lead to further clues into the machine. When fully activated, the Ark was capable of actually ripping itself from its surroundings without any harm and break through any environment it was entombed in. Once done, it rose to the surface of the planet in a manner similar to a floating vessel.

The time altering nature of the craft was present within the vessel which was actually an alternate dimensional space. Inside resided complete blackness and darkness with no easy means of finding a correct route. However, there did appear to be stone pillars located at several spots within the Ark. Any attempt to speak led to an echo-like effect that seemingly resonated inside the ship. Those that travelled inside the Ark were capable of also seeing various animals that were seemingly frozen in a form of temporal stasis. These were seemingly in motion but stuck in their places with animals including ancient dinosaurs but even more alien forms of life. It was this reason that the nature of the Ark as a repository of life was suspected but some believed that the alien forms of life represented new organisms created that were meant to be introduced into new ecosystems. Thus, the strange creatures within it were experiments needed for the next generation of new animals and thus served as a machine for the generation of life. All these living creatures were trapped in this state until the time dilating effects of the Ark were ceased in which case they returned to life. Whilst seemingly invulnerable from the outside, heavy weapon fire such as rockets within the Ark caused notable damage as the craft shook due to the severity of any attack.

A control centre of some sort was present within the Ark which consisted of a floating black skinned monolith and a similar blocked shaped pedestal. Correct deciphering of the inscriptions can lead to its activation where a user painted the symbols onto the stone block. Once done, the chamber transformed into a white dome that separated itself from the greater darkness of the ship. Furthermore, transformations occured such as the pedestal turning into a circular partially domed shaped control console with various designs on its surface. Complete control of the Ark was achieved by placing the key into the triangular surface. Once done, a user gained the capability of activating Noah's Arks weather capabilities and other features. The controls were also able to project seemingly holographic rectangular viewscreens that showed features outside the Ark or within it. These screens were able to be projected anywhere within the vessel. Furthermore, the pedestal allowed the user to create a portal for anyone within the control centre to exit the chamber. Another key feature was a self destruct feature that when activated shut down the time altering nature causing it to be swallowed up by normal third dimensional space. Internally, this saw the stone pillars within the dark corridors collapse and the stasis on the various animals collapse which allowed them to be active but any organism caught within the self-destruct's effect seemingly were devoured on a temporal level as their flesh aged to bones whereupon they were caught in a void-like singularity. As a result, the ship shattered in a violent fashion starting with the control chamber and a black void formed outside the ship where its shattered pieces fell within it. This was because the time defying nature had ended and allowed the weight of years impact the vessel.

Appearances

 * Spriggan