Originally Posted by
mewarmo990
------Perhaps so.
You see, the Deterrent is that "restorer of direction" which is both our greatest ally, and our greatest enemy.
We humans don't want to die. We want to live in peace.
The planet we live on also doesn't want to die. It wants to live a long life.
That's what the Deterrent is; it's the collective wish of the entire dominant species -- humanity -- to preserve its own existence. The fundamental instinct of the human self, coalesced and given form. That would be the "Counter Guardian" that we call the Deterrent.
For example, let's assume an extraordinary person A has conquered the world. Person A may be a just ruler with a benevolent rule. At least within the terms of common human morality.
But, in the case that Person A's actions are viewed as evil by not an individual but the entire human consciousness -- in other words, an extinction-level threat -- the Deterrent will take effect.
This is the unconscious desire of all of humankind, Person A included, to preserve its own existence. In order to protect humanity, this self-policing entity will manifest itself without anyone's knowledge and, unobserved, annihilate Person A. As a representative entity born in the swirl of the human subconscious, it acts without conscious will of its own.
That said, the formless consciousness does not manifest as some curse that kills Person A. The Deterrent usually channels through nearby humans who will act to exterminate Person A. This human medium is only granted just enough power to defeat Person A, so that it cannot become a threat that replaces person A.
The people that are able to receive the entire will of humanity -- who have the right "channels", so to speak -- are rare. Human history has glorified them as heroes.
But such titles are no longer used in modern times. Civilization has advanced to the point that humanity could easily destroy itself. If a certain company president funneled all of his corporate assets into expanding logging in the Amazon rainforest, the world would end in a year. See, the world is in trouble everywhere and all the time. And whether we know it or not, the Deterrent is constantly at work; in fact it's pushing a lot of friends out there working to save it all the time. There is one hero per generation. Something like saving the world is no longer enough for someone to be called a Hero.
Also, in the case that A cannot be stopped by human hands, the Deterrent will manifest itself as a natural phenomenon and destroy A, as well as the entire surrounding area. This was responsible for sinking that continent long ago.
I make it sound like humanity's guardian, but you should know it has no human emotion. At times, it has prevented things from happening that would have brought happiness to all humankind.
The problem is, in the end, it's still a representative of humanity. Even if you or I can't recognize it as such, the Deterrent is the ultimate form of our dominance as a species. Time and time again, it has appeared before magi performing their experiments, and slaughtered them all.