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Soma Scandal

NEW YORK, New York (AP) - Testimony continues today into allegations of misconduct by police officers in three precincts. Officers of the 62nd, 173rd and 198th Precincts are under investigation for accepting bribes in exchange for ignoring evidence of trade in the drug known as soma. Repeated allegations have been made by the District Attorney's office that the testimony of defense witnesses has been tainted. Meanwhile, anonymous death threats continued to be received by the New York Police Department against the accused officers.

Dissident Nova Remains Imprisoned

NANJING, China (AP) - Dissident nova Chi'en Lo will not be released from custody this year, according to sources within the Chinese government, despite Mr. Lo's continued hunger strike, now entering its fifth month. Protests by Amnesty International regarding what that organization has claimed as inhumane treatment of Mr. Lo have been rebutted in a statement by China's Minestry of Nova Affairs that Mr. Lo has, "progressed beyond a need for food, and that his hunger strike is not inhumane."

T2M Member Killed by Terat

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (AP) – Popular Team Tomorrow Europe member Min “Excavator” Ho, a naturalized British citizen and the pride of that nation, has been killed in the line of duty at the age of 27. Ms. Ho, a seven-year veteran of the European branch of Project Utopia’s nova action team, was killed in what Utopian spokeswoman Maria Villareal has described as, “a search-and-rescue effort that was derailed by actions of known members of the Teragen.”

The lead suspect in the death of Ms. Ho is the self-declared Teragen member known only as “Timeslip.” Sources within Team Tomorrow have stated that Timeslip, known for her distinctive stars-in-space appearance, attacked Ms. Ho without provocation as the Utopian approached in an effort to capture a rogue nova – a nova who, at this time, remains unknown and at large.

Shortly after the attack, a post was made on N!Prime’s infamous “2-Minutes Hate” board by someone claiming to be Timeslip, proclaiming that the deadly attack on Ms. Ho was an act of self-defense. Quote: “Yes, I killed Excavator. I did so a split-second before she was going to do likewise to me, in the same fashion as she had just previously obliterated a dozen or so cubic yards of street. Killing another of the One Race sickens me to my core, but I did kill Excavator - in self-defense.” A confidential source at N!Prime has confirmed that the identity of the poster has been verified, via their unique verification system, as Timeslip. When asked about this claim, Ms. Villareal stated that, “it’s ridiculous. Team Tomorrow does not kill people, period.”

Video footage of the attack has been obtained by the Associated Press from several sources, as news crews had cameras trained on the site of the battle – a massive hole in the middle of a major street in downtown Amsterdam. Analysts have been varied in their interpretation of this footage; however, several analysts have stated that it does appear that Ms. Ho was preparing to use an attack or power of some sort on Timeslip when she responded with a bolt of energy that, from all descriptions, effectively and instantly mummified the Team Tomorrow nova.

At time, Timeslip remains at large, having left the area via instantaneous travel and accompanied by another Teragen member who has caused controversy of late: former Project Utopia member Peter Nord, aka “Procyon”. It is uncertain at this time which of these two novas has this power, but authorities warn that both are extremely powerful and extremely dangerous.

Ms. Ho is survived by her parents, Chen and Ping Ho, and a brother, Dinh, all of whom reside in London, England.

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I've been following this soma investigation in New York closely. Much as I hate to say it, I suspect there are parallels with the soma trade in other major cities. The bastards that are behind this stuff have their fingers in more pies than Hostess.

China will let Lo out of house arrest right around the 5th of Never, or when the government finally falls, whichever comes first. But I will say that, if he really has gone past a need for food as some of us have, a hunger strike is a pretty damned empty gesture.

As for Excavator, my heart goes out to her family, as well as to her colleages at Team Tomorrow Europe. Losing someone in the line of duty is incredibly hard.

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Interesting.

Something tells me that the situation with Excavator was more of a "Frag the Terat" type of situation than an "evil supervillian interferance".

Unfortunately it ended in death for one of the combatants. This is just and example of misunderstanding gone horribly, disgustingly wrong. Or Utopia having a shoot first, ask questions later approach. Timeslip and Procyon seem not to have had anything to do with the crisis, so why were they attacked other than the fact that they were there?

I have Questions, Dissapointment, and Sorrow.

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Unfortunately, Excavator died for the humans. What a waste.

Did any monkey's die in the fight? It would be a shame if we had to lose one of the 'One Race' while that pathetic organism called humanity got away unscathed.

Timeslip: I suggest you atone, for killing Excavator, by actively working to stop exploitation of Nova by humans.

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There are worse things in the world than being killed.

Bahrain, for example.

If Timeslip had been captured by T2M, she would have ended up in that notorious facility. Death is certainly preferable, as is killing to avoid such a fate.

Or killing to prevent another nova from ending up in that death camp.

In answer to you, Wakinyan, Timeslip and I were there, entirely independently of each other, to try and assist the rogue nova who was rampaging around the Damage. Others were also there, most notably some mysterious sorts who had 'Directive' practically stamped on their foreheads, and of course, T2M Europe.

T2M, upon being appraised of our presence by the euphemistically-named Utopian 'Intervention Team', were all fired up and ready to capture or kill (Yes, they DO kill, Mythic. You just never hear about it. Ever hear from Cobalt after his last fight with Pax?) some notorious Terats.

Namely Timeslip and quite possibly myself.

It is always sad when people die from violence. But every creature that exists has the right to defend its life and liberty by any means necessary, including depriving others of said life in self-defence. I am bitterly sad that this whole incident led to pointless deaths, nova and baseline.

Perhaps all involved can take a step back next time an 'enemy' is sighted, rather than charging forward with the horns of glory sounding in their ears. Novas killing novas, especially over baseline concerns, is a horrific waste. I never got a chance to know the personal universe that was Ms. Ho. And now I never shall. My condolences to her family on their loss.

I would also like to thank Timeslip for rescuing me from that situation. Without her, doubtless I would have been attacked in her stead by the vengeful Utopians. More lives would have been lost, likely my own amongst them.

Postscript to the White Rat: I did not see you there attempting to save a nova from Utopia's clutches, as Timeslip and other Terats were. Too busy counting how many ways you hate baselines?

How else would you define "actively working to stop exploitation of Novas by humans"? Ass.

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Quote:
Originally posted by Procyon:
There are worse things in the world than being killed.
Please don't think this rude of me, or a response to your own rudeness in another thread but have you really considered this statement?

If I am dead then its over. If I am captured by someone that means me harm then yes its going to be unpleasant for me. Yet even in pain, anguish and other unpleasantness I am alive therefore I have the opportunity to act and to think. If I am dead there's no more to be said or done. If I am alive however painful the circumstances there is opportunity.

Excavator has no further opportunities. Therein lies the tragedy in my mind.
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I have a brief window of access.

I'm physically ill at what has occurred. I killed another of the One Race, and nothing can bring her back. But the fact of the matter is, she was about to do likewise to me.

In retrospect, there were likely other things I could have done, at least with regard to Excavator. But in the heat of the moment - with nine (yes, nine) Tomorrowites rushing in on me, and with Excavator raising her hands toward me in the same distinctive way she had used against the street she had just vaporized - I simply reacted. The end result is nothing short of tragic, but it is a tragedy that either she or whoever ordered the attack brought upon her.

And yes, there are worse things than death, if you consider quality of life. A lobotomy is worse than death, in my opinion... and from what I have gathered, there are things done to our kind in Bahrain that make a lobotomy seem benign by comparison. But all things considered, I wasn't looking at a "worse than death" situation; had Excavator not been stopped from using her namesake power on me, my atoms would have been every bit as scattered as those of the asphalt and concrete of that street. Whomever we may be - whatever we may be - we have the right to defend ourselves in the face of imminent death.

A few have asked me by private means if I will turn myself in. Apparently, my brief statement in "2-Minutes Hate" hasn't been taken seriously. I will do no such thing, for the reasons stated there. Turning myself in means a one-way trip to Bahrain; my freedom, my self-identity, and quite possibly my life would be forfeit. A fair trial is simply impossible, even with the heroic efforts of the finest nova defense teams; a baseline jury would get no farther than "inhuman Terat killed Utopian hero", and I would be deemed guilty by a court of my non-peers. Not, mind you, that Utopia has bothered with trials for many of us that they have locked away in that slice of hell; never forget that for all their protestations against the ideals of self-governance and separation from baseline law espoused by the Teragen, Project Utopia and their Team Tomorrow have repeatedly shown themselves to operate outside of baseline law when it serves their purposes.

For any here who knew Excavator, I will say that I am honestly sorry for your loss, and that if my grasp of time were better than it is, I would surely go back to that fateful event and - armed with hindsight - find some way to extricate myself from that deadly situation without causing the death of another nova.

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I'm going to sign up with Worst Batman Villain Ever, this time, Golden Boy. You can't be fucking serious. No, maybe you are, and you're just stupid, I don't fucking know. I know that when you die, it's pretty much lights out, so no, in fact, there is nothing "worse than death", because anything short of death provides an opportunity for something more in the way of life. Torture me, beat me, cut out my eyes, but I can compensate for that, and if there's anything those adorable gimps at the Special Olympics or that sloppy fuck Joe Bennatti has taught me, it's that a crippled, retarded, or acid-viscera-y life is better than no life at all. And yeah, little god, I do know what goes on at the Bahrain "Rashoud Facility", so don't bother getting on your pipe flute and playing out that dog and pony shit. Once you're dead, that's it. No coming back. And ain't nothing more final than that.

Oh, and I ain't gonna say that what happened to Excavator was right, but that in mind, anyone who tries to kill me better be prepared to get their ass dusted, themselves. I don't pull punches when it comes to my life. And hey, lighten up, Golden Boy, it ain't always a goddamn tragedy when some fucker eats it. Sometimes it's a goddamn hoot.

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Quote:
I did not see you there attempting to save a nova from Utopia's clutches, as Timeslip and other Terats were. Too busy counting how many ways you hate baselines?
It would have been nice to lend a hand. Tell that to the Airport authorities who would arrest me on site. Or the local municipal monkeyphile league, who will kill me on site. I have a problem with transportation.

Next time you do go on a mission, let me know. You will need to provide the ride however, and I don't have cab fare.
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Wait a minute. A terrorist killed a Utopian and people are blaming the Utopian?! What is wrong with this picture?

Team Tomorrow members are trained to not use lethal force in combat situations; I doubt that Excavator, someone who's never killed anyone in the line of duty, was trying to kill TimeSlip.

I think some people around here have forgotten who the good guys are.

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Quote:
Originally posted by Girl Made of Titanium:
Sylvan: I disagree with every particular of what you have written.
Fine. I can respect that; you're allowed to have your opinion. Next time, some reasons why rather than a dismissive blanket post would be more helpful. wink

Quote:
Originally posted by Long:
I can show you all undoctored footage if you wish. Then you can see exactly what the rest of us saw.
You've been very nice to me, Long, and I hate to have to say this. But footage from the husband of the woman who has admitted to murder is suspect. If it makes you feel better, I don't unconsider Utopia's footage to be unbiased either. And I've looked at both N!'s and CNN's footage already, thanks. In fact, I did so before making my post.
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Damn. All those jokes about Minimum Ho and her lesbian lover, Maximum Ho just aren't as funny as they used to be.

:sigh:

As for the under-discussed Soma issue guys: There's a reason I keep making jokes about it and wearing T-shirts that read: "My Node is Your Nose-Candy". It's far more popular than anyone wants to admit. Of course, those deaths aren't linked to the great utopian Justice League so they don't have the public appeal of the latest celebrity blooper tragedy.

-billy

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Sylvan: I'm not interested in laying out a carefully-written and thoughtful explanation of why it is that my opinion and yours are at complete opposites.

First off, it'd be tiresome in the extreme to explain to you what should already be obvious. Second off, I can see that you are still struggling with self-hate issues that stem from your rabid anti-nova indoctrination--excuse me, upbringing--and I make it a rule not to stick my hand in crazy.

Third, you called my friend a terrorist, and as non-violent as I am, I nevertheless find myself quaking with rage. Not at you, but at the failure of our entire reality which has caused an otherwise intelligent person such as you to cling tenaciously to a preposterous belief system and worldview.

You, Sylvan, are programmed. You are the victim of a cult of death that has filled your head with poison and vitriol, and now that you find yourself in the unenviable position of being that which you hate, you are going quite mad. Not in the "drooling and flinging poop" sense, but rather in the "not understanding reality in a lucid, thoughtful, and productive way" sense.

I'm convinced that you have a beautiful heart, but you've been messed up by your so-called family, and they've laid layers and layers of crazy onto you, and now you perceive the world through those crazy filters, and it colors your thoughts, actions, and words. You can't help it, and I'm not saying any of this with malice. I want nothing more than for you to get better and shake off that indoctrination, but I'll be damned if I know how to do it.

Sorry.

Since you asked, I told you. It wasn't very polite. That's why I didn't want go into detail in my first reply.

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Meghan: Thank you for the clarification. I really do appreciate you telling me the reasons behind your opinion. At least I know where you're coming from now.

I will only say that my personal anger and dismay in this situation comes not from my anti-nova background, but from a sense of moral indigition that someone would kill a member of Team Tomorrow, then proclaim that because she'll never get a fair trial, she will not submit to the law. I'm sorry - that's not the way things work. Well, unless you're the Teragen, and then you can ignore those laws that inconvienence you.

I'm sorry if you feel I personally attacked your friend. I didn't mean to single TimeSlip out. I'd have the same reaction if this had been Pax, Mal or any other nova who declared that they were above the law.

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While I do not harbor the same trust for Team Tomorrow that Sylvan apparently does, she is absolutely correct on one point: unless Timeslip answers for her actions in a court of law, she is quite thoroughly in the wrong.

Now that said, there have been all too many incidents of Team Tomorrow (and the parent organization, Project Utopia) acting outside the law as well. Indeed, it is why I take a rather dim view on this quasi-law enforcement agency. I do not have the urge to dismiss out-of-hand claims that Excavator in specific or Team Tomorrow Europe in general was preparing to use deadly force in a pre-emptive fashion.

The matter of a fair trial is a somewhat valid concern on Timeslip's part, at least on the surface; however, given the plethora of recorded evidence, I have faith in the system to provide a just verdict in the end, even with the problem of Timeslip's involvement with the Teragen. I think that the example of Wakinyan should demonstrate that novas - even Teragen novas - are capable of receiving a fair and equitable hearing in a court of law.

If what Timeslip has claimed is a true accounting of the events as they transpired - and from the footage I have seen from various sources, it is at least a plausible claim - she should surrender to the Dutch authorities and have her day in court, that she may enjoy some measure of freedom in the future. If she refuses to do so, she is nothing more than a fugitive from justice, and will be treated accordingly in any jurisdiction where I serve in a law-enforcement role.

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Demons talking of capturing another demon, for the crime of shooting a demon, while that demon protests.... it's a sick parody of humanity. God's punishment will come down upon your heads, no matter what false face you may show or what lying claims you may make.

No law of man can save your twisted souls; no verdict on earth can release you from eternity's prison. Repent, and save yourselves! Beg the Lord Almighty for the forgiveness that only his Son Jesus Christ can grant you, that you may spare your souls from the fiery hell that the demon within you will surely inherit!

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I trust Timeslip to have done what needed to be done. Last fall when I attacked Jager I intended to kill him. While he might not have meant to kill me in my mind his actions were clear that he intended to do just that. Luckily he was fast enough to avoid me.

I cannot say I envy what happens next for you Timeslip. The fact you cannot be out in public without the sword of Damocles that is T2M hovering above you. That we all know Pax will have to become involved because your husband will become involved if they try and capture you.

I hope the little wayward Nova was worth what is about to come next.

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How gratifying. The otaking finds merit in my thoughts on things worse than death.

From the Project Utopia Codex of Nova Phenomena:

"Temporal Manipulation - An ability possessed in some degree by less than 2 percent of the nova population, a temporal manipulator exerts control over quantum forces to cause the appearance or fact of stopping, slowing or accelerating the passage of time with attendent effects of duration."

Well. It certaintly seems Timeslip had absolutely no other choice than to respond murderously to the situation. And some still wonder why Project Utopia Intervention Teams are trained to react with lethal force. Not as a first choice since team work and knowledge is usually more than effective in most situations. But neither are they constrained from it any more than is a police officer when there is a direct and credible threat.

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Though I also greive for the death of one of the One Race, I understand why Timeslip did what she did.

Bahrain is the closest thing to Auschwitz or Sobibor that exists today. Geryon called it right when he described what goes on in there as "Mengele on acid, and bad acid at that". Project Utopia has indeed acted as a law unto themselves on many an occasion.

Timeslip and others are correct in assuming that any baseline court would just follow the propaganda and condemn her.

What happened was a tragedy, what would have happened if Timeslip or Procyon were captured by Utopia's SS would have been an attrocity.

Oh Brother Jacob...

Baselines in Bahrain vivisect children, torture novas of all sorts, and inflict pain in the name of some sick "scientific" reason. This sounds far more demonic to me then posessing a Mazarin-Rashoud node.

"Seek not Wickedness amoung others, lest it find purchase in your own House"

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Quote:
Originally posted by billy Horrorshow:

As for the under-discussed Soma issue guys: There's a reason I keep making jokes about it and wearing T-shirts that read: "My Node is Your Nose-Candy". It's far more popular than anyone wants to admit. Of course, those deaths aren't linked to the great utopian Justice League so they don't have the public appeal of the latest celebrity blooper tragedy.
-billy
I have dedicated much of my nova life to hunting those who deal with soma. The Triad are particularly vicious about it.

I have seen the heads of little girls cut open to extract the node after it is... sparked, the best way to describe it is. In China, it is usually women, because male novas are considered more use.

I take... took ... great pleasure in explaining otherwise to Triad killers.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Machina:
Don't say I never gave you anything.
Oh but I didn't. I do not greatly value much of what you've "given" but I would never deny you hadn't tried to give something.

On the original subject, I want to apologize to Ms Timeslip. Please understand I have seen more than one footage of raw video. I've also seen the creatively re-edited footage released by Project Utopia that puts a different spin on the situation. I bring this to your attention so you will understand nothing I say is derived strictly from Project Utopia.

You've done a terrible thing. It is something that did not need to happen as it did. My apology is for coming so close to bluntly calling you a murderess without the courtesy of trying to explain to you why I feel as I do. It is not because of the awfull thing you have done in ending the life of Ms Ho. There is little worse but I do understand you, and your comrades judging from the tone and specifics of their posts, are of a totally different mind set. It is not a mind set that is cryptic or incomprehensible. Rather I do not believe in its validity. For that reason it is unlikely there will be any need to discuss this further. We are simply not equals in even so small a thing as the assumptions we accept as reasonable.
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Another moment of access, permitting a handful of brief and specific replies.

Sylvan: When last I checked, you were free on bail in anticipation of your trial for the murder of your father, whom you claim to have killed in self-defense. Given your faith, I would direct you to Matthew 7:5.

Sandcaster: You have been a nova for fourteen years. You have worked in law enforcement for the vast majority of that time. You have, by your own admission, seen beyond the veneer of T2M and PU. So I must ask you: are you willfully ignoring what they have done with novas that don't meet their vision of a "better tomorrow", or have you somehow really just remained that naive? Look to the first sentence of Sylvan's first post in this thread, and you will see the problem with believing that I would have anything remotely resembling a fair trial (let along anything resembling a trial by my peers).

Mr Frost: You are absolutely correct. There were other things that could have been done, and I would give much to have done them instead. Excavator did not need to die. In retrospect - even in the seconds after her death - that was clear to me. Unfortunately, I did not have the benefit of hindsight, or the luxury of long seconds of consideration, when I reacted to her. Phenomenal temporal powers, I have... but omniscience, I do not - and that means that yes, it is possible for me to find myself without the very thing that is normally an endless resource; to find myself without time and pressed to made a snap-action without consideration beyond the immediate. I took her life, and in the process lost a part of my own. I have killed another of the One Race, and that dread knowledge has been seared into my mind and my soul. You have no idea what I would give to have had the benefit of even a tiny handful of extra time, to have been able to exercise an option that would have retained Excavator on this mortal coil. That your involvement is limited to providing alternate solutions via armchair objectivity several days after the fact is to be envied, Mr Frost. For your sake, I hope that you never find yourself forced to act without time for consideration.

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My views to do not form an inpenetrable armor that protects me from the very circumstances that would force me to demonstrate my committment. I recognize this and so I limit my involvement as you point out. But what I would greatly desire you to understand despite our differences in philosophy is actions once undertaken will cascade into larger actions and results. While the final outcome is not always readily apparent, the seed from which that event germinates lies in the first action.

I believe there are things worth dying for. Yet how many of those very things are worth killing for? And of those things you would consider worthy of an act of murder, how many will be remain untainted by the blood? For all my revulsion at the actions of your comrade Geryon, the one thing I've always found worthy of some small respect is his committment to preserving nova life. He doesn't trade one life for another.

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Quote:
Originally posted by Timeslip:
Sylvan: When last I checked, you were free on bail in anticipation of your trial for the murder of your father, whom you claim to have killed in self-defense. Given your faith, I would direct you to Matthew 7:5.
I have not condemned you for acting in self-defense. I have not offered an opinion on that at all. My posts have largely reflected dismay at the stances others have taken.

And yes, I am facing trial for murder. But I'm obeying the law, working my way through the system, and for good or bad, I will be judged accordingly.

You have proclaimed that the laws don't apply to you because you won't get a fair trial and it would have baselines as the jury. The first is a matter of concern to me; you killed a peace officer, and that is generally treated with a certain amount of hostility by authorities. But the second is not; I'm well aware of the Teragen's stance toward baselines and it is wrong. Even if we're not human, there's no reason that we should treat them as lessor. In that, Procyon is right - we should work together as a world.
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For the record Sylvan, how could Timeslip, or any Terat, or for that matter any nova, be assured that they would not be railroaded into a death camp or execution chamber?

For that matter, who is to say that she would not just "dissappear" KGB-style in the middle of the night without ever seeing a courtroom?

Yes, it would be nice if we could all work together as a world. Unfortunately, many baselines' hearts (or subconscious minds) are filled with hatred.

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If it were not for Project Utopia's interference and the certainty of their influence-peddling in order to guarantee that "this dangerous Terat be remanded into their custody for proper containment", I would have much fewer qualms about Timeslip standing trial in front of the Dutch authorities. Unfortunately, Utopia's interference is unavoidable.

One of their sonderkommandos was killed on prime time TV. Utopia won't let the insult stand, and will act publicly and behind the scenes both in order to gain their pound of flesh.

If the Dutch authorities could ensure a complete lack of Utopian power-brokering, I might be inclined to counsel Timeslip to let the truth speak for itself. But truth won't stand for much with the situation as it is.

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