Examining the Dramatic Effect of Nova 6 Gas in Call of Duty
Nova 6 occupies an integral, albeit controversial role in the fictional history of Call of Duty‘s Black Ops sub-series. According to the games‘ storyline, it was a deadly nerve agent developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Even in small doses, Nova 6 can swiftly cause convulsions, bleeding, and necrosis prior to lethal respiratory failure.
As a key plot device, the threat of Nova 6 ratchets up dramatic tension and the feeling of danger for covert operatives facing off against nefarious villains. This raises interesting questions on the use of weapons of mass destruction as storytelling tools in military media and why they captivate audiences on a primal level.
Nova 6 as a Plot Device
Nova 6 drives much of the high stakes cat-and-mouse conflict between the player‘s CIA black operations squad and the antagonists of the early Black Ops games. Its mere potential for catastrophic lethality adds urgency to missions to capture or kill those in possession of the gas.
For example, the threat of Nova 6 getting into wrong hands fuels the dramatic setup in the "Rebirth" mission. The protagonist must infiltrate a Russian gulag to assassinate the Nazi scientist Friedrich Steiner before he can sell the biochemical formula. This race-against-time scenario makes for gripping action set-pieces.
Like many fictional doomsday weapons, the idea of something so deadly yet so easily deployed plays into people‘s subconscious fears. Itcreates volatile situations where the line between life and death feels extremely thin for the game‘s heroes.
Balancing Realism and Sensationalism
The developers of Call of Duty clearly took creative liberties in envisioning the scale of suffering Nova 6 can inflict. As nerve agents like sarin and VX have shown, even small amounts can indeed be extraordinarily lethal.
However, the games risk glorifying and almost fetishizing chemical weapons in continuously upping the ante for shock value. Portraying how these substances painfully and indiscriminately kill soldiers and civilians alike would arguably establish the proper anti-war tone. But the series often uses Nova 6 merely as set dressing rather than seizing it as a chance for emotional resonance.
There are certainly counterarguments about unrealistic depictions serving the escapist power fantasy that defines CoD‘s brand. Still, Nova 6‘s prominence raises questions about drawing from real-life wartime horrors purely as stimulant entertainment.
The Fine Line Between Intrigue and Insensitivity
While the Nova 6 storyline captivates through its foundation in history, it also underscores some ethical quandaries.
For one, Nazi Germany indeed ran brutal chemical weapons divisions, conducting lethal human experimentation under the banners of "science." This includes the likes of IG Farben chemical conglomerate behind Zyklon B poison gas. There are echoes between the fictional Nova 6 tests and concentration camp atrocities that should give us pause in terms of casual depictions.
Furthermore, the nova gas evokes parallels to Imperial Japan‘s Unit 731 which inflicted horrific biological warfare experiments on prisoners during WWII as well. By invoking real programs, could the games risk making light of this immense suffering? Is there an obligation for reverence when borrowing from such atrocities for popular fiction?
These questions become especially relevant given the tonally inconsistent, often gleeful approach Call of Duty takes in players mowing down enemies. While thoughtful criticism is warranted, there are no clean answers with such emotionally-charged subject matter.
Conclusion
The Nova 6 storyline undoubtedly ratchets up engagement through piling imminent threats upon the player. Yet its sensationalized presence points to a tricky balance that military shooters face. While CoD builds off the real-world history of state-sponsored weapons research, its commercial goals risk glorifying the horrors of war. There are merits in closely examining how evoking the human terror around chemical weapons taps into our senses of fear and power.
