DIVA/META: The Platinum Line

[deucexm]

I mentioned a meta thing, well, here it is.
Companion piece to Platinum Soul and Epilogue, delving deeper into the mystery...
(And appreciated by my tokusatsu-loving friends.)

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The Platinum Line: A DiVerse Alpha Meta-Thing
by Felix

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It is often difficult to explain what a Deity does - what indeed they /can/ do -
other than by looking at the results of their interventions upon the DiVerse. 
As such, the establishment of the Platinum Line provides a fascinating case
study for one of the least understood members of the Pantheon: Dio, God of Time.

Empirical evidence (if one may call it that) is not the whole truth, to be sure;
but it is solid ground upon which to stand and build the structures of knowledge
and wisdom.  So let us begin, dear readers.

WHAT IS THE PLATINUM LINE?

To be as concise as possible: the Platinum Line is the entire lineage of
Platinum Heroes, beginning at the Founder (Platina Soul) and continuing all the
way to whoever the most recent Hero might be.  With a unity forged not by
bloodline, but by spirit and creed, the Line is an entity unto itself.  And from
this entity each individual member derives not merely strength, but knowledge,
wisdom, and even companionship.

WHAT POWERS THE PLATINUM LINE?

The ability of each Platinum Hero to connect with all the others (to include
Heroes from alternate universes and timelines) is provided by the Line's
association with the Whisper entity, a transdimensional being not originally
native to the DiVerse but which has - for its own reasons - taken great interest
in it.  Apart from that, the Line derives its strength from each member - for
every Hero can call upon the powers of every other Hero, and each addition to
the Line expands its potential even further.

WHY DOES THE PLATINUM LINE EXIST?

Here ends - for the moment - our attempt at brevity, dear readers, for the
answer is not easily told in a sentence or two; there is always a deeper 'why'
than the one a surface examination provides.

The Line exists because the Founder, Platina Soul, defied fate in order to
/make/ it exist.  Why?  Because the Line's existence would prevent the disaster
that should have killed her from ever occurring at all.  And why should this be
so?  Because the Line is a better, brighter extension of the organization that,
in one timeline, destroyed her world - the Hero Corps, with its Hero's Creed.

And why, then, is the Platinum Line merely an extension?  Put another way, why
not simply wipe out the Corps?

Platina says: because a Hero desires not the /destruction/ of their enemies, but
their /redemption/.

WHAT FATE DO YOU MEAN?

The Founder's fate - before she was the Founder - was to die among the ruins of
her shattered world, a victim of the Hero Corps.  But she, and in turn the
Whisper, refused to accept such a fate; and so she fled the planet's
destruction, and united with the world-mind Matris Cerebri.

Freed of her physical limitations and brimming with cosmic power, Platina
crossed the chasm between future and past, and for the sake of the Line, made
the ultimate sacrifice: her entire history.  Family, friends, experiences - all
existing only in memory now.  For the Line to exist, the timeline that
precipitated it must needs be lost to the DiVerse.

And so that timeline was lost - but not without great effort.

HOW DOES ONE 'LOSE' A TIMELINE, ANYWAY?

A valid question!  And: quite carefully indeed, and only with Dio's help - or
rather, his directly applied might.  For none save the God of Time himself can
hope to weave the fabric of time and space on such a grand scale without it
unraveling disastrously (as is so often the case with lesser beings' attempts).

The 'true' timeline of the DiVerse - the Alpha - is an unbroken line from
distant past to far-flung future.  Dio makes it so, moment by moment, closing
off possibilities here, guiding events to new conclusions there; once, upon his
throne, he charted the course of history as a sea-captain would that of their
vessel.  But the Dio of the Cosmic Era is not so heavy-handed; his adjustments
are gentle, reactive, letting time flow as it will and only involving himself
when absolutely necessary.

Doubt not for a moment, however, Dio's strength and resolve.  For the God of
Time knows not only what was and what will be, but even all possibilities that
could be, that might have been; and if he chose, he could very well orchestrate
whatever future he desired.  Yet he refrains.

WHAT WAS ADDED, IF A WHOLE TIMELINE WAS LOST?

When the timelines were merged, Dio erased everything from Platina's original
timeline - save for her, her memories, and everything on her person at the time
she traveled.

Upon her person, Platina carried a precious treasure - a world-mind memory core,
filled with her history and that of the events bringing her from a doomed
timeline to the Alpha.  When Matris received it, she became the Founder's close
companion for all time - for none other shared the erased past.

(None save the Whisper, of course.  For the Whisper exists across all times and
all places in the DiVerse - and most assuredly other times and places as well! 
But those need not concern us at present, dear readers.)

Thus, the additions were: one Platina Soul; one Prisma Soulblade; one collection
of digital memories; and of course, the Platinum Creed itself, and all else that
Platina accomplished.  For without her, none of it would have been added at all!

HOW DOES THE PLATINUM LINE GROW?

Even though Platina herself originally intended the Line only to extend, passing
the Platinum Creed from individual to individual, it has become rather more
complicated than that - beyond even the Founder’s original designs, though she
remains a key part of the process.

In most cases, the original idea does hold true.  Each Platinum Hero acts as
mentor to the next generation, sometimes for a short time before passing on the
torch, sometimes for many years.  In some cases the previous Hero exists only as
a collection of writings, or in digital form - perhaps as an AI - but in all
cases it is the mentor/mentee relationship that produces a new Hero.  That, and
following the Creed, of course.

However, in the case that a Hero feels very strongly about those who follow
them; if they are fully convinced that not merely one, but two or perhaps even
three, have the worthiness of becoming a new Hero; in these cases (and with the
Founder’s approval) the Platinum Line branches, each Hero of the next generation
beginning their own line of mentorship.  Thus the Line itself over time has come
to resemble a tree, if considered metaphysically, with the Founder as the single
trunk (and the Whisper as the roots, perhaps).

CAN I BECOME A PLATINUM HERO?

You, dear readers?  Well, it’s highly irregular, but…

I suppose with the power (and capricious nature) of the Whisper, many things are
possible.  If the Founder can approve new branches of the Line within the
DiVerse, why not outside it as well?  All you need is some superpowers -
mystical, magical, technological, otherwise - of your own, and a willingness to
follow the Platinum Creed.  And of course their approval.

Perhaps to finish, an examination of the Creed itself would serve well.

1. A HERO NEVER QUITS - IF THEIR WAY IS STILL TRUE
It is not enough to set your course only once; even the finest ship captains
must adjust their heading when conditions change.  But if you have reflected,
and your heart and mind are still telling you to press on - then press on!

2. A HERO SEEKS JUSTICE - BUT FIRST OFFERS MERCY
Justice means many things to many people, and often depends on how much of the
truth is known.  But rarely is it ever improved by hasty or unyielding
application.  If there is a chance to resolve matters with kindness and
forgiveness, by all means take it!

3. A HERO BELIEVES IN THEMSELVES - AND THEIR FRIENDS, AND EVEN THEIR ENEMIES
If you trust only yourself, you miss out on some very good advice from people
who may see things much more clearly than you.  Even those you consider your
enemies may have surprising insights - and if you respect them, they may not
always /be/ your enemies!

4. A HERO DOES WHAT IS RIGHT - AND MAKES AMENDS IF THEY HAVE DONE WRONG
Being a hero, even a Platinum Hero, does not guarantee that you will never make
mistakes.  It also does not give you the freedom to claim that everything you do
is right.  Reflect and consider, and if you are in error - swallow your pride
and fix it!

5. A HERO MAKES THE WORLD BETTER - BY WORD AND DEED AND PRESENCE
None of these are optional.  But neither is there a required scale.  Are you the
cosmic hero?  Or are you the neighborhood hero?  So long as you make things
better, when speaking and acting, and by simply /being/ there - then you are
doing things right!

6. AND A HERO LIGHTS THE WAY TO THE FUTURE THAT LIES BEYOND
Platina says ‘the Creed must survive beyond any individual member’.  Thus, every
Platinum Hero should carry with them hope - hope that they can create a brighter
future, that they /are/ creating it with everything they do, even if the effects
may not be visible until later.  See beyond the moment, and help others see - be
the light!  Be the hope!

SHINE!  PLATINUM HERO!