Kane (Command & Conquer)

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Kane is a fictional and prominent character from Westwood Studios' benchmark Command & Conquer series real-time strategy video games, and the nefarious and seemingly immortal mastermind behind the ancient and secretive Brotherhood of Nod society. Little is truly known about him; many of his followers draw a direct connection between him and the biblical figure of Cain, which Kane does not go out of his way to confirm or deny.

He is portrayed by Joseph D. Kucan.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Quotations 3 Appearances 4 References

[edit] Biography

There are those among his followers who place him to be thousands of years old, in holding true with the tradition of equating him with Cain — and as the man does not seem to age even though his known activities in our modern times span almost an entire century, this somehow appears to be entirely possible.

Numerous biblical allusions to Kane's nature are known to exist: he uses names like Jacob and Caine as aliases, Nod's first stealth tank prototype was called "Ezekiel's Wheel", presumably after the manner of angels witnessed by Ezekiel, and the name of "Nod" itself can also be seen as alluding to Cain's state of banishment after his killing of Abel; allegedly the first incident of murder amongst human beings. Additionally, in the Soviet outro of Command & Conquer: Red Alert, one of Kane's followers cites the very passage from the Bible which describes how Cain settled in the Land of Nod. Most importantly, in the original Command & Conquer's Nod campaign, the player's superior initially is a man named Seth, biblical Caine's second brother, who is Kane's right-hand man. As the player progresses through the campaign, it becomes apparent that Kane begins to favour the player over Seth, who becomes increasingly enraged with the player following each consecutive success. Seth then plots to have both Kane and the player removed, by attempting to usurp Kane's position while ordering the player on a suicidal invasion of the United States of America. Before this can occur however, Kane shoots Seth in the head as he is briefing the player on the planned assault; his body is preserved in the Temple of Nod as a "trophy" and constant reminder to any who would plot against Kane. The trophy was seen in Renegade by a Global Defense Initiative commando who infiltrated the Temple in Sarajevo. This commando also discovered a coffin bearing the name "Abel" along with the story of Cain and Abel written in Hebrew beneath the Temple, which according to Kane marked the site of Brotherhood's original Temple.

"We have waited centuries for this moment. The rivers will flow with the blood of those who oppose us."

This particular quote from Kane refers to a Global Net Interpol file designated #GEN 4:16. The reference appears to be also biblical however, leading to the early days of the creation of Earth and Mankind and more specifically to the 4th chapter and 16th paragraph of Genesis, which reads:

"Cain went out from Yahweh's presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden."

Regardless of his origin, Kane often appears as a serene and genuine prophet, as well as a composed and highly accomplished strategist in both political and military spheres, but is prone to violent actions and is quick to remove underlings who disappoint him, as was evidenced when he shot Seth or launched an ICBM to eradicate the island of one of his own Generals.

Kane's first canonical appearance was as an advisor to Joseph Stalin during the Soviet invasion of Europe in Command & Conquer: Red Alert, set almost half a century before the events of Tiberian Dawn. He was the true power behind Stalin and used the USSR to further the Brotherhood's goals together with Nadia, Stalin's closest advisor and a member of the Brotherhood herself. When the USSR's conquest of Europe was completed, Stalin was assassinated by Nadia, and Kane revealed himself. Nadia revealed that the Brotherhood planned to 'disappear' for several decades, re-emerging in the '90s. Kane closed with the foreboding words, "Comrade Chairman, I am the future".

His reappearance marked the beginning of a new age. Under his direction the Brotherhood of Nod began to research the alien substance of Tiberium almost instantly after its arrival on Earth through a meteorite impact, arguing that it would bring about the dawn of a new age for humanity. This guidance of Kane led the Brotherhood to gain a near monopoly on the world's rapidly increasing Tiberium deposits, as Nod technologies for harvesting Tiberium were the only viable method of extracting the Tiberium crystals, giving them enormous amounts of capital in a relatively short period of time and causing the Brotherhood to pioneer unique Tiberium-based technology in virtually every field. Kane himself is believed to have invented this technology, which is frequently referred to by his many followers worldwide as "the Technology of Peace".

The period in which these events transpired, which would increasingly come to be known as the First Tiberium War, was marked by the Brotherhood of Nod openly beginning to preach to many of the third world nations to throw off their "shackles of slavery" under the industrialized countries as well as Kane discreetly travelling to countries to spread the ideology of a Tiberium revolution as well as seeding unrest against GDI by stating that it was hoarding the new resource solely for use of developed, rich countries. Many would sign up for Nod's utopian vision of global peace and prosperity, blind to the implications of Nod's mantra "Peace through Power". For all these actions, Kane rose quickly to the top of GDI's most wanted list as the war between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod continued escalating into one of the most brutal and dirty armed conflicts in human history.

The end of the war saw a GDI strike force laying siege to Kane's temple and main base of operations in Sarajevo, which would lead to the Brotherhood's first downfall. Reports of Kane's demise were inconsistent however; some say he was buried underneath rubble when the temple started to fall apart but other sources stated that the GDI Ion Cannon firing upon the main temple complex had killed Kane — indeed, a security video eventually substantiated this story. In it, Kane is seen embracing the light of the Ion beam seconds before the Temple exploded under its force.

Despite the Brotherhood's defeat at the end of the First Tiberium War, Kane's followers never wavered and always believed that he lived in death, and were vindicated when he rose again in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun almost thirty years later, to once again lead waiting Nod forces worldwide and start a new open war with the GDI. Although he appeared to his followers during a ceremony with a flawless face, looking almost exactly the same as during the First Tiberium War, his real appearance was less aesthetically pleasing - almost a half of his head was covered by a metal plate, obscuring the massive burns presumably inflicted by the GDI Ion Cannon thirty years ago. He focused Nod's efforts on Tiberium weapons research anew, resulting in the development of a world-altering missile. The missile's launch was foiled by a daring GDI assault under the command of Michael McNeil, who ignored his superior's orders to refrain from the attack in order to allow GDI more time to plan and prepare for the deciding conflict. Kane was confronted by McNeil within his pyramid, and was impaled by him which resulted in the Brotherhood's defeat once again, though it is worth noting that in the ending for the Nod forces in Tiberian Sun Kane is seen to glow and disappear after the missile's launch, as if ascending in a transfiguration. With the confirmed introduction of an alien species (and a new playable side) in Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars, there has also been speculation that Kane is in fact a humanoid alien, another explanation for his disappearance.

During the events of Firestorm an unholy alliance was formed between the GDI and remaining Nod forces to stop the actions of Nod's advanced logistical and tactical AI system named CABAL. After the final defeat of CABAL and his cyborg forces, the Nod ending shows Kane's dormant body hooked into the CABAL interface and being kept alive in a cryonic capsule with life support systems, apparently recovering from his injuries sustained at the end of the war. The screen continually splices between CABAL and Kane, both referring to Kane's vision with their disjointed individual voices. Suddenly only CABAL's voice can be heard, and the last words spoken by what is presumably the continued union of Kane and the AI are:

"Our directives must be reassessed".

Following the Second Tiberium War a man known as Jannero Drake released a biased book "Kane: False Prophet" dedicated solely to debunking Kane's image and claims. The author was soon silenced by Nod Fate Squad assassins and the book was seized before release. Of the released excerpts, many were censored by GDI InOps.

[edit] Quotations

• "Rule of thumb, Hassan. You can't kill the Messiah!"
• "Behold! The Technology of Peace!"
• "The time has come, to claim this world as our own. The time has come, to destroy GDI!"
• "Yes. Power shifts more quickly than some people think." (Right after shooting Seth in the head for his attempted insurgence.)
• "Well, of course it's not true. But the world only believes what the media tells them to believe, and I tell the media what to believe. It's really quite simple." (Speaking to the player-controlled GDI commander after framing the organization for a widely-known atrocity.)
• "Remind them whose side the Gods are on."
• "One Vision, One Purpose!"
• "It's time you saw the future... while you still have human eyes."
• "For the foreseeable future... Comrade chairman, I am the future."
• "He who controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future conquers the past." (Slightly altered quote from George Orwell's 1984)
• "No, I'm not God. But I'm a close second."
• "Peace through Power!"
• "Kane... LIVES!"
• "If I'm cut, do I not bleed?" (Quote derived from William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice)
• "It would be a sad error in judgment, General Solomon, to mistake me for a corpse."
• "I've seen the future. Our Tiberian future. And as you see this battle just beginning to unfold I've already witnessed the final act. It is my destiny to lead the way for all mankind."
• "We have waited centuries for this moment. The rivers will flow with the blood of those who oppose us."
• "You'll come for the sunshine, but stay for the people." (Mocking first words to General Solomon.)
• "Were I in your shoes, I would spend my last earthly hours enjoying the world. Of course, if you wish you can spend them fighting for a lost cause. But I think that you know, you've already lost."
• "Now that I know where you live, Commander, it's only a matter of time."
• "You're only delaying the inevitable. I have the Tacitus. I am invincible. The Tacitus told me of Tiberium missiles, of invulnerable flying ships, of real-time genetic mutation. More than alien. More than human! The next step in our evolution as a species!"
• "This morning was the most glorious morning in the history of the Earth. Peace is upon us, a gift to every man, woman, and child, from the Brotherhood of Nod. Victory - not just for our people, but for our species! The time for questioning is over. Rising from our trenches, our bunkers, our factories, we must all now partake in the Technology of Peace. One purpose, one vision. Tiberium is the way and the life. Today, the sun rises on a new world, and a new people. The end... is the beginning." (prior to launching his world-altering missile after the final Nod mission.)
• "Your efforts have landed us here, my faithful friend. The temple is complete, and we will now prepare for our greatest exploit." (before accessing GDI's security matrix with Nod cyber-soldiers and aiming the orbital Ion Cannon to destroy a major western-world city of the player's choosing.)

[edit] Appearances

Kane appears in:

• Command & Conquer
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert
• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
  • Firestorm (Expansion pack.)
• Command & Conquer: Renegade
• Command & Conquer: The First Decade - (Compilation pack.)
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Kane is played by Joseph D. Kucan, who has also directed the movies in all C&C games except for Command & Conquer: Generals. Although he will reprise his role as Kane in the upcoming Command And Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars [1], the directing of the C&C 3: Tiberium Wars cutscenes will be handled by cinematic director Richard Taylor.^[1]

[edit] References