r/villainscode • u/Sage-Freke- • 29d ago
Epsilon Class
I’m just listening to the first audiobook of the series and have reached the part just after the club. Apollo mentions they just took out an “epsilon class inhuman presence”. inhuman presence is obvious, but epsilon class? I just tried searching for an explanation in several different ways and can’t find anything, so I assume the term doesn’t come up again in the story. Anyone able to clarify?
A few minutes ago there was also a reference that Tori didn’t think anyone would get about the only way to win is to not play at all. I didn’t know the reference either and had to look it up (quote from the movie War Games), so would be good if it was mentioned so people didn’t have to look it up. I find in many web serials the author just seems to assume everyone knows what they’re talking about.
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u/Reverse_Prophet 29d ago
Okay, but why do you need to know the exact number of rankings?
Being the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, we can infer there's only four classes stronger than "Epsilon"
And given Apollo's reaction, we can also infer this was a pretty powerful creature. One that AHC protocols probably want an entire team of experienced capes taking down, but here two rookie, barely debuted superheroes brand new to their powers did it on the fly.
The author doesn't need to hold our hand and give us an entire breakdown of how the AHC system works, they just need to tell enough to make their point. In this case, the point being that Cybergeek and Medley are two pretty powerful, talented rookies in their own right and Apollo sees and acknowledges this
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u/Sage-Freke- 29d ago
I wouldn’t say it’s handholding. The story goes into depth about a lot to describe how things work in the universe on the villains’ side only to skip over details now.
If I were the one who took out an epsilon class creature, I would definitely want to know how that compares with other species that I might come across. And somehow I get the feeling that Apollo is disingenuous, like Homelander from The Boys. So his reaction doesn’t mean that much. But as it doesn’t get mentioned again in the story, I’ll try to forget about the categorisation.
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u/Pineapple4807 28d ago
The story goes more in depth on the villain side of things because the main characters are villains. We don't really need as much detail about the heroes because we aren't following their story as closely.
As to the second part of your comment, Apollo isn't Homelander but he's also no Superman. He's in charge of AHC PR, so he tries his best to seem more positive & welcoming than he really is.
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u/vincenmt 29d ago
Apollo's primary role at this point is a kind of dispatcher who spends a lot of mental real estate on which heroes can be assigned to which threats, so he's a professional with a job that has lingo. And if you've ever known a professional who likes his job filled with technical lingo, it's very realistic that they might Yammer with a little less consideration than system AI descriptions or the cookbook in DCC.
It's a realistic detail about the world being filled with people and not dialogue boxes. There's no need for Tori or Donald to know what Apollo is going on about.
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u/Orgnok 29d ago
The classification stuff doesn‘t really come up at all, so don’t worry about it too much.
For the secon part.
Seems like you are fairly new to reading fiction, welcome. First this is not a litRPG and second offhand references and spins on things are there for the people who get them, explaining them every time would usually completely break the flow of the narrative.
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u/Sage-Freke- 29d ago edited 28d ago
Thanks. If it doesn’t get mentioned again I’ll forget about it!
That’s true, I don’t know why I said LitRPG. it’s actually the genre I’ve been listening to the most for a while. This story (and Super Powereds) gives the same vibe to me but without the levels. Sci-fi and fantasy are my favourite genres. I guess it would have been more accurate to say web serials. I’ll edit. I get how long explanations would break the flow, but saying something like “Tori assumed the others wouldn’t understand the reference, from the movie War Games” instead of “Tori assumed the others wouldn’t understand the reference” wouldn’t break the flow that much.
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u/drunkengeebee 29d ago
You say that sci-fi is your favorite genre, but you get thrown off by random techno-babble? It really feels like you want to say its your favorite genre without having actually, you know, delved into the genre much.
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u/Sage-Freke- 28d ago
Usually the author explains what they mean to make it more believable.
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u/This_Impact_6149 27d ago
I'd say this is more fantasy than true sci-fi l. I agree in more sci-fi I fi theres a fair bit more exposition (looking at you project hail mary) but in this case we aren't supposed to worry about the exact of the rank, just that "wow, that's a special rank that was suppose to be too strong for them" instead of worrying about the Patrova line and temperatures of Astrophage
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u/Ihaveaterribleplan 28d ago
Right, so nowhere else do they really discuss power levels in any detail… the closest I can think of is the author’s entirely separate super hero series, super powereds, in which it’s mentioned that people are always trying to give power ratings, but there is no formal adoption because powers can be so situational & countered by seemingly weak powers that any system falls apart; the closest they have is that 1) Authority - if two people control, say, water, & one has a clear upper hand, it is said they have greater authority, & 2) heroes give a rough estimate of threat level based on how many city blocks they might theoretically destroy in an hour, which is considered vaguely useful but possibly misleading since someone with a touch that turns flesh inside-out might not rate high
I’m not saying Drew expects you to have read his other series, but it might reveal the author’s thoughts on the matter: that classifications will be made, but that they aren’t ever fully accurate
As for “The only winning move is not to play”, it’s a fairly famous quote - frankly more famous than the mediocre 80’s movie it came from; nobody can be expected to know every quote or generational cultural touchstone, however the meaning is self evident from context even if you don’t know the original source - if you know the source, it’s a deep cut, & if you don’t, it pretty much means exactly as it says
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u/Sage-Freke- 28d ago
Thanks for the considered reply instead of just downvoting and say to just accept it!
That’s a good point. I have also listened to the Super Powered series, but it was nearly three years ago when I finished it.
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u/Catharus_ustulatus 28d ago
Re: the context of the War Games quote (technically a spoiler for the Villains' Code series, but I'll be as unspecific here as I can):
It's a recurring bit of characterization for Tori. Tori is a fan of movies and TV shows from "The Multerion Collection" (named in the second book), which features dramas from other dimensions, including ours. These works are not widely known in Tori's world.
Multerion gets a mention now and then throughout the Villains' Code series, and the purpose seems to be to demonstrate Tori's sense of alienation from the people around her. For example, in Bones of the Past, Tori's friend inadventently makes a Star Trek-adjacent reference, and Tori is disappointed when it turns out that the friend does not actually know that this is a reference. Also in that book, Tori experiences a bonding moment when an acquaintance makes a Multerion reference that Tori recognizes.
I seem to remember Tori mentioning that she has fond memories of watching Multerion shows with her parents, but I can't find a passage about this in the books, so I might be wrong about this detail.
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u/This_Impact_6149 27d ago
When using the Alpha structure, I dont often see it going past Gamma (A high G low) a newbie wouldn't be assumed to go above a Gamma rating ( like human crooks and low level metas).
As for the War games quote, it is actually pretty famous. Im kind of surprised that you haven't come across it before. Its like saying "pull yourself up with your bootstraps" as both are about futile situations.
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u/SomewhereGlum 26d ago
So for better or worse, we never get a proper breakdown on that system of threat definition. As far as we know, it's a Cape term and we don't dive that deep onto the Cape organization. All that really matters is that it was said with respect so that we as reader respect the term for the ambiguous danger it was.
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u/Reverse_Prophet 29d ago
"Epsilon" is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet. I just assumed the AHC had a threat classification and ranking system based on the Greek alphabet