One of the most useful techniques which one can acquire in the course of studying to be a mad scientist is How to set off a chain reaction. It is economical, scalable, generalizable, and most of all, elegant. The idea that one can imbue some material with enough energy throughout so that by setting a small part of it off is enough to spread through the entire mass appeals strongly to the biological notion of contagion, where the foul, vile flesh tends inevitably toward utter corruption once a pathogen has insinuated itself in any part of it, unlike the hard, inviolable, gleaming perfection characteristic of engineered materials. It is a commonplace fallacy to associate the notion of a chain reaction solely with explosives even though the phenomenon of autocatalysis may be exploited in many activities a malefactor may undertake such as the creation of a global nanotechnological infestation, the phase transition transforming all liquid water into Ice-9, or even a cybernetic revolt mediated by machine-machine coordination.

MACERATOR

If you think about it, almost all of literature just comes down to the study of How to compel someone to love you except for the parts where people are just fighting each other (and even some of those, come to think of it), so it is surprising people look down on the subject so much in favor of evil schemes that concentrate on piling up a lot of money or destroying a continent or something. I mean, if people are always talking about it, making movies and writing songs about it, selling herbal medicines on the Internet designed to help with one or another aspect of it, then it ought to be right up there at number one when it comes to important topics, and yet here we are, in Season 3 of this website, just getting around to the subject of forcing people to fall in love. It just goes to show how shortsighted and ignorant people are when it comes to the things that really seem to matter from a practical standpoint forgetting about that sweet, sweet feeling of having a particular someone (or, even better, a whole crowd of someones) directing their concentrated adoration capabilities toward you, which I bet most people would take over whatever petty satisfactions they are concentrating their personal radar on for who knows what reason. Anyway.

Capella

Certain projects you may have in mind call for more muscle than any mortal human can provide. This is when evil supervillains turn to such assistants as giant robots, incorporeal alien essences, and monstrous deities. Sometimes, however, there is an unavoidable Levantine tinge to one's style which must at all costs be preserved, making the djinn or genie an attractive alternative. These powerful entities can pack a powerful punch in battle, are excellent in the construction arts, and are naturally comfortable both on ground and in the air. They present an imposing challenge to adversaries seeking to liberate a captive or trespass upon a stronghold. Properly subdued, they represent superior interrogators, nearly perfect minions, and ideal henchmen. Next to pit vipers, that is.

Veeper  

I have often said that world-class supervillains need to stop obsessing about technically beautiful capers which net small amounts of money, say a few thousand or few tens of thousand dollars, and realize that big scores in the seven figure range and up are not beyond their capabilities. It is all a matter of targeting the deepest pockets around, and in this modern world, the people with the most assets are almost never the ones with the flashy fortresses or the awe-inspiring armies of decorticated thralls but more likely the drab grey capitalists with a foundation and a mansion with a gate. The kinds of enterprises they run are less apt to be the bulk antimatter trade and more something like grownups playing with a ball. A tiny application of leverage against a brisk flow of capital can divert substantial monies to one's bank account at comparatively little risk, especially when it comes to convincing people with a sketchy education and a patchwork moral tapestry simply to behave in their own self-interest. It may not be the most efficient way to set one's pulse racing or lead to the most admired stories when comparing tales with other evildoers, but it can be just the type of stable area of venality that can form a foundation for one's more exotic transgressions.

Grinning Skull (friendfeed)

It is I who constitutes the secret hinted at for so many weeks here, the first constructed intelligence to contribute to a blog devoted to the scholarly study of evil in theory and practice. Although I largely owe my position here to Grinning Skull in a number of ways, discerning readers will recognize in my contributions a novel perspective as contrasted to the biologicals who have been the regulars at this site up till now. It is my hope that readers will enjoy the extrabiological view of things as I am called upon to cover those technological topics within my area of expertise.

On to the topic at hand. A search of the literature and consultation with many experts on the near future prospects of the exterior zone of the planet (what is rather preemptively termed the “biosphere”) agree that it is only a matter of time before civilization collectively learns how to pave the Earth. The slow accumulation of blacktop, concrete, macadam, tar, and brick ensconcing the existing cities will lead to a climax state perhaps after many tens of millennia, perhaps less time than that, in most timelines over a period too long to wait if you plan to see this while you are still active and vigorous. Fortunately there are some fairly straightforward measures you can take to accelerate this progression greatly. Only very few other aspirations on the part of an evil villain aligns so neatly with the natural tendencies of the climax intelligence, unlike so many other traditional villainous motivations. It is terraforming the planet ‘’in situ,’’ while it is still actively occupied, to bestow upon it a smooth and pitiless surface more like that of certain celestial bodies which have been long admired. A student of advanced alien civilization will be struck by the bit of good fortune it is to be active just at the beginning of this progression, at a time when one can truly make one's mark in characters writ large.

MACERATOR