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Aberrant: The Middle Children of History - Change of Venue


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Angus set the ladder up against the outside of the building and climbed it with an ease he hadn't possessed in a minimum of fifty years, if ever. Up and down the street, he could feel the eyes of the neighborhood busybodies on his back as he took the wrench to the bolts holding his sign to the brick exterior of his office. The sign had hung on that building for so long it had been a fixture in Drumgask, and it saddened him slightly that it wouldn't be staying there any longer.

"Come off it, Angus. If there's nae doctorin' to be done, ye go whar yar needed", he said to himself in a mutter. Finally, the last bolt comes undone and the sign comes off the building with a bit of a crack. Cradling it, he slowly climbs back down the ladder and puts it in the box in his Jeep. Taking one last look at his office, he puts up the sign that will signify his (mostly) last contact of choice with the town that he gave most of his life to.

On indefinite sabbatical. Please use next closest medical office, located in Aberdeen.

Which is a three hour drive

---->

that way.

Nodding slightly, he climbs into the driver's seat and turns the key. Engine roaring, he drives down the road...

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Angus stood there for a minute or two, looking down at the headstone with his hat in his hand, before having a seat on the soggy ground.

"Hello, lover. It's been a long while since ae could be here by meself."

He lapses into silence, a usual thing when Angus talks to his wife nowadays, what with her being dead and all.

"Ae dinnae want ya to be thinkin' ae've forgotten aboot ye. Ae never could."

A few moments pass and he continues. "But I cannae stay here anymore. Wittout ye, this town..." He sighs. "It dinnae feel like home any more. Thar's work to be doin', and since it looks like ae won't be joining ya any time soon, tha means ae've gotta stay busy." He chuckles for half a second. "Thae always did say ae was too stubborn to die, and now I know that they're right." He grabs his right hand in his left and pulls on the gold ring on his ring finger for a few seconds before it pops loose. Angus bends down and buries it a few inches into the soil of the grave, then quickly covers it back up and gives the site a brief kiss. Leaning back up, he spits a bit of soil out of his mouth.

"Goodbye, lover mine. Don't be waitin' up fer me, I might be a while."

He places his Tam O'Shanter back on his head and starts making his way back to his vehicle, dashing the beginning of tears from his eyes before they can get started too badly to not show...

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Angus slides the last box into place in the back of his Jeep and slams the tailgate back into place. The old Army-model Jeep was damn near as old as he was, but in a bit better shape, all things considered. Stubborn cuss that he is, it still runs of good old fashioned diesel fuel. None of that 'fuel cell' shite. Internal combustion was good enough to help run Hitler out of power, it's good enough where Angus won't upgrade until he's made too (but considering his temperament, pity the poor soul who tries).

He takes a step back looks over his work. The whole of his life, condensed into 8 boxes and the backseat of his Jeep. Angus shakes his head slightly as he heads back inside his house to throw away the groceries and switch off the power.

After contacting his ride, of course.

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Ayato smiled and waved good bye to his mother, with a small jumpdrive in his pocket. She'd agreed after seeing the videos, and though she couldn't offer overt help, she'd provided A few ships worth of supplies, from one of a number of shadow corporations. They would help alleviate some of Sierra Leone's problems for a time, until things could be done to facilitate a more permanent solution.

The gate opened at the end of Dr. Sinclair's Driveway and he spotted the loaded Jeep. He knew it would be a stretch, but he could manage it.

Ayato looked around for the Doctor, and spotted him, wondering how he missed him at first. "Hello Doctor Sinclair, I am Exile."

He smiled. "It's nice to meet you. The coordinates worked perfectly."

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The lanky redheaded man nods amiably at the teleporter, a look of wonder fading from his face. "It's ae pleasure to meet yu, Exile. Please, call me Angus. Only fair, since yer givin' me a ride. Any special preparations yu need done, or do we just climb in?" The doctor runs a hand through his brick red hair with a bit of a 'Aw Shucks' air. "I'm afraid I don't know much aboot novas. Only started reesearching the subject since I erupted, which wasn't long ago at all."

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He shook his head. "No , just drive on through, I'll follow afterwards."

He chuckled. "You'll find every nova is different, especially those like me who are beyond the first generation." He Opens a Gateway, just wide enough for the Jeep to travel through, the other side in a deserted lot near the hotel in Sierra Leone.

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Angus climbs into the driver's seat and starts the engine, black smoke and grinding noises emanating from the old vehicle. Finally, he shifts it into gear and drives through the glowing portal and onto the deserted lot. Almost instantly, the temperature change has him reaching for a handkerchief to wipe the sweat away. While he waits the bit of time for Exile to come through, he silently marvels at what just occurred. I never woulda thought it possible. Hell, with just him, ol' Hitler woulda lasted one day in office. Heh, brave new world, indeed.

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Ayato steps through, unfeeling to the heat and uncaring about what he just did. "Let's get checked in, do you have any personal effects you'd like to bring with you, or is everything going out with you?"

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Angus shakes his head. "Not a blessed thing. Everythin' in tha boxes is either for permanent change of residen-cy or fer settin' up tha clinic. Let's go ahead and check in, I guess." He grabs just a small kitbag the size of a lady's purse, and shrugs slightly at Exile. "Might need tha shavin' materials again after all this time."

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"Eh, I'm blessed with my Father's original cleanshaven face." He led them inside, the clerk familiar with Exile. "Mr. Connelly, we've been expecting the two of you. Your rooms are ready."

The entire floor was reserved for them, and Ayato smiled. "I do so love being remembered."

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Angus shifts uncomfortably, his kitbag in hand, as he looks into the luxurious hotel floor, its opulence more than he's really comfortable with. Finally, after a few moments of just goggling at the sights, he finally attempts to get settled in a bit by stowing his kit in the bathroom and lying on the bed for a moment as he thinks for a few moments.

His thoughts are almost immediately interrupted by the growl of his stomach, which rouses him from his pondering to exclaim "Och, sounds like ae'm gonna need summat to eat suun. Yu as well, or will it be a case of me eating and you talking?"

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"Oh I assure you, I'll be eating." He nodded. "The Hotel Restaraunt is great, I've eaten here several times, and they're accustomed to nova appetites."

He lead him donstairs, and the waiter made note that this was going to be for novas.

"Order what you like."

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Sinclair has a seat and browses the menu for a few moments before putting it off to the side and announcing "It's all Greek ta me. Just bring me whatever the chef has ready and keep it coming until ae say stop." As the waiter walks away, Angus turns to his lunch companion. "Not ta be rude, but tell me a bit aboot yerself. Yu volunteered to handle my travel arrrrangements awful fast. Not to put too fine a point on it, but why go to so much trrrouble for a total strangerrr?"

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"Because it's one of the best ways to meet someone." He nodded. "My name is Ayato Connelly, Son of Rianna Connelly, CEO of Connelly Securities." It was one of the rare times he mentioned his mother's massive Conglomerate by name in conversation.

"My Father is the MIA Elite Ryu "Long" Hideyoshi."

He shook his head. "I've never met him."

He looked at the Doctor. "Honestly, Elspeth is one of the few novas I know that genuinely sparks my interest in helping her. I'm suprised the other, Connor, didn't offer you a lift."

"The people of Sierra Leone need help after the dictatorship, and you offered to help them, helping you helps them, So in the end everyone wins."

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Angus looks appropriately blank at both of the name mentions, but regains facial animation at the mention of why he decided to come down. "Well, ae'm a doctor. This is the sart of thing we're supposed ta do. Go places, help people. Hell, that's the only reason I registered for service way back when." He chuckles a bit. "Of course, the German blockade dinnae exactly help, either."

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"I did do a little digging. You don't look like you could ever be that old. Quantum's miraculous like that."

He nodded. "You can't even tell my mother ever had me, She looks the same pretty much."

The first order of food came, a well cooked plate of steaks.

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Angus spears a couple of the steaks and transfers them to his plate. His method of eating is very neat and orderly, while also being fast. He cuts each steak (all cooked rare) into bite size pieces before he even takes the first bite. Finally, he starts taking bites of bleeding, barely cooked meat like he was in a mess hall and not a very high class restaurant. "Believe me, laddie. Ae lived every one of my one hundred and four years. If anything, ae would ha' rather had this happen to the missus before her death, God rest her soul. Marianne would've just been tickled pink by summat like this. Mostly the past few years was me waitin' to go meet her." He gazes off into the distance, the surreality of his situation catching up with him for a moment before he shakes it off and goes back to his conversation. "But enough of me ramblin'. Ye said yer ma was a 'nova' also?"

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"And my Father." He nodded. Normally second generation novas didn't advertize it, but he didn't care here. "She used to be an engineer and Geologist for the University of Montana, then she was nearly killed in a cave in, developed control over gravity, metal, magnetism, and the ability to become living metal. Due to the life sympathy between twins, my aunt Elizabeth also errupted in the middle of a stunt shoot she was on. When my granparents passed away, they inherited the company. Since then they've run it together, and my Uncle Access, (not really my Uncle, but that's what i've called him. He also helps things go smoothely."

Awhile back while she was still young and wild she met my father while he was doing some consulting work for the company, and then he left. Nine Months later he was gone, completely, and I came into the world."

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Angus nods slightly as the young man recounts his bit of background to him, then after he finishes the bite he was working on, he says "Sorry tae hear that, lad. Glad tae see yer relatively well-adjusted, regardless." He polishes off the last of his steak and suppresses a burp, then continues. "It amazes me more than a little tae hear ye be so blase about the superpower bit, though. Heh, showing me age and lack of information-followin', probably. Tae be honest, until I dealt wit' those two jackasses with tha masks a few weeks back, you probably couldn'tae convinced me that they were real. It's more than a wee bit nuts, don't you think?"

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"It can be."

He smiles. "I have powers that both my parents have, and a bunch the didn't. I grew up with powers, so it's just natural to me. The only two first generations I know well besides my mom and aunt are Connor and Darren, the guys I did the last big movie with. Hazuki and Mina were involved too so it was alot of fun." Realizing he was naming people this guy had no clue about he stopped.

"Thanks to the site, there's a group of us that get together to have fun, without all the drinking normally associated with it. I don't think you've seen it, but one of our number is a famous Movie Actor, Connor Fontenot, his nova handle Is Mech for obvious reasons."

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Angus shakes his head as he sips his water, enjoying the conversation even if he's bereft of the normal shared facts. "Nae, nearest movie place was a two hour drive from tha house, and ae couldn't make it that far from a head. Old man's bladder and all. Last movie I saw in theatres, though. Miracle on 34th Street, the original one. The missus wanted tae go, and I obliged. Glad ae did. " His brow furrows slightly. "Well, Ae'd imagine it'd be short for 'mechanical' for some raeson, but ae don't know why that'd be obvious."

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"Because he can generally transform into a fifty foot mechanical mecha."

He smiled. "I can call him up if you'd like to meet him, though I imagine he and his wife are occupied."

He finished the plate as the waiter brought another. "So you really have no clue about anything regarding being a nova?" He was quite blunt, but it wasn't out of rudeness.

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Angus, having no idea what the hell a 'mecha' was supposed to be, drops the subject with a small shake of his head. "Nae, nae sense in botherin' the man on a stranger's behalf, especially one who's naeer heard of him anyway." Sawing through his steaks yet again, he answers Ayato's question equally bluntly. "Not a one, honestly." He shrugs. "Dinnae see the point in owning a television. Hell, only got that 'OpNet' thing installed the other day, and ae was the first one in town to do so."

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"I think that would actually be pretty refreshing for him." He finished another steak.

"You've missed a whole lot then. The Young woman we're here to see, the one who invited you, that's Elspeth, She's the Queen of Sierra Leone, and a Third Generation nova."

He nodded. "I think the biggest thing you need to keep in mind is this. You've had 104 years to be a normal human. Novas like Elspeth and I have NEVER known that, and at best, we can only pretend to be so at times. You'll probably hear some comments made that you might find offensive, so I want to give you a little context for them."

"I've got nothing against regular people, I have a large number of normal friends, but the only ones who I can really relate to are other novas. As a second Generation nova, that's just how it is for me, what comes natural."

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Angus lets out a low whistle at the actual identity of his host, and falls silent again as Ayato continues. After the other man finishes, Angus eats in silence for a few moments, his brow furrowed.

Finally, after yet another plate of rare steak is laid to waste, he takes a sip of his water and speaks up finally.

"Offensive like how?"

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"Well, you probably still think of things along the same lines as a normal human right? Most novas of the second generation or higher don't, at all."

He sighed. "It's mostly due a lack of reference, We can't have the ability to dorm, so we don't have the option of ever turning quantum off. Elspeth's pretty good about it, being a ruler, so it probably won't be a real concern, I just didn't want it suprising you."

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Tossing the rest of the water down his throat, Angus ponders for only a moment longer, then nods. "Ah, so it's a frame of reference difficulty. Ae can deal with that, if it arrrises." He smiles gently. "And to be quite honest, ae've spent the majority of my life human, and been a 'nova' for about a week and a half now. Ae'm afraid ae'll probably just consider myself human more than ae will something else."

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Angus wipes his mouth with a napkin, dislodging the remnants of his 'snack' and getting the last bit of juice of his lips. "Aye, ae'm finished here. Good thing ae packed everything ae might need to have on hand. Ye never know when ye might need a spare suit."

Upon returning to the room, he opens his campaign bag and pulls out his shaving kit and garment bag. After a few minutes in the bathroom, Angus emerges, cleanly shaven and wearing a tweed suit that is extremely out of date, and just a touch faded. He swings his arms a bit, checking the feel of it.

Smiling, he says, only partially to himself. "Fits like I just bought it..."

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Angus's eyebrows rise as they are quickly hurried through parts of the palace to be finally left in a very large room with an obvious throne at the end of it. He looks around for a few minutes before turning to his companion/guide. "Are ye sure she doesn't hae better things ta do? Ae mean, she must be awfully busy..."

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"Never too busy for friends." Elspeth swept into the room and moved toward the two men. It had to be a shock to the good doctor. Ayato was a friend and had lived all his life among novas so he was as used to the nova fueled beauty and charm of those like Elspeth. She was nearly 15 now and was considered by many to be the most charming person in the world and well into the range of attractiveness that only novas can manage. She was tall for a girl of her age, with long red-blonde hair and pale nordic skin in complete contrast to the people she ruled and the reason she was known by the nickname the Ivory Queen. Most people took a few seconds of staring and mental processing before making it to her eyes. They were ice blue today and shone with intelligence and humor.

She gestured off-handedly and two chairs flew across the room to settle in front of her throne. "I apologize, I had meant to meet with you in my study rather than the throne room, but I had an audience just before your arrival." Her gown flowed and reformed into a more comfortable and casual outfit of black pants and a long flowing dove grey shirt with baggy sleeves.

She took the doctor's hand and shook it with a confidence perhaps not surprising in a Queen but would have been for a normal teen. "Welcome to Sierra Leone Doctor. Thank you for coming, my people have need of skilled hands. What do you think of it so far?"

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Elspeth sees the usual reaction on the Doctor's face before he shakes his head for a moment in a clearing motion, then smiles at her and nods. "It's a pleasurrre to make yer acquaintance, miss. No apologies needed, indeed, if ae'm intruding in any fashion, ae'll bugger off if necessary." He says with a bit of boyish grin on his face (never mind the fact that physically, he is indeed a boy again). He shakes her hand in a firm grip and has a seat in the self-moving chair. When she asks for his opinion, he smiles almost ruefully.

"Well, yer probably tirrred of hearing this, but it's damn hot." After a bit of a chuckle, he continues. "Ae did a bit o' researrrch beforrre ae came, and that's a bit o' an understatement, isn't it?"

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Ayato remained quiet his part in this was more of a facilitator in this endeavor, his own part could be handled later. He simply nodded and took the offered seat. "Always a pleasure being here. Mina says she's almost done with her classes, and wanted to know if she could visit."

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Elspeth gave the men a gracious smile, "Doctor, you are more than welcome here anytime for a visit. As for the heat, well, as bad as it is, it could be much worse. Sierra Leone is cooled by the breezes off the ocean and we get weather systems with moisture thanks to those same air and water currents. It really doesn't get above the mid 90s here too often. In fact we have weather very similar to the American Gulf Coast states, nothing compared to the Sahara region and the heat there." She grinned, "I wouldn't worry too much Doc, as you get used to your Nova abilities you will eventually learn to overcome variations in temperature. I'm as comfortable in the vacuum of space as in the heat of a blast furnace, we feel the temperature, but it doesn't effect us. Honestly, I think that has to be one of the best things about being a nova. I see my poor people suffering and sweating in the heat and I intellectually understand what they are going through, but it's not something I'll ever really experience, and honestly, I'm glad I won't."

Turning to Ayato, "Tell her to come by whenever she wishes. It will be nice to see Mina. I've had so little chance to meet other nova children it's always a pleasure to meet another."

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Angus was usually a pretty taciturn person, but it's plain to both the other novas that that last sentence wasn't as reassuring as they'd probably hoped. Indeed, for someone who has sweated under the sun more times than he could count, the thought of someone growing up without that honest byproduct of a day's laboring scares the shit out of him. The implication that he might also become the same way is just as frightening, even more frightening than when he charged Omaha Beach after his landing craft blew up not two paces away. After a bit of an uncomfortable pause, he forces a smile.

"Never been to the Americas. Got me fill o' the Yanks in th' trenches, so to speak. I heaer that they've maybe changed since then, but we dinnae get many Yank tourists in Drumgask. Not relly anything there to see o'r than the countr'side, and they could see that anywerre."

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"Of course I'm not speaking from experience, but rather from what the history books tell, but I think the US has changed a great deal in that time. WWI taught the nation that they were powerful and that their actions could steer the course of world events. WWII confirmed that and over the second half of the last century they became more and more involved in world affairs, at first welcomed then later unwelcome. They are still a first world power, but seem to be having a difficult time reconciling to the fact that China is the big dog on the block now. I don't know about belligerent, arrogant and just a little desperate perhaps, but not really belligerent." Elspeth's smile took the potential sting out of the comments.

The doctor's reaction to her statement had not gone unnoticed by the perceptive nova so she turned back to address him, "This gift, or miracle, or curse that we've been given is staggering in it's implications. Try not to stress over it. There really is no difference between those like me who were born as what we are and the regular kids of any previous era. The TV generation grew up never understanding how the would must have been before the days of instant communication. The Opnet generation has a world of information at their fingertips that dwarfs the knowledge available even to their parent's generation. People like Ayato and I are only a difference in Scale not in principle. We don't have the experience of the world as homo sapien sapiens, but every generation for the last century has been faced the same challenge to one degree or another. The world is progressing so fast now that Utopia has taken to limiting developing technologies."

It was clear that Elspeth wasn't comfortable with that last thought. "They are saving lives by preventing destructive technologies from getting out, but I wonder how many revolutionary positive inventions are being lost every day to their heavy handedness."

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His rush of fear almost forgotten in the moment, Angus replies as he folds his arms. "Och, so yer sayin' that yer all a booncha snot-nosed punks who ne'er listen, then?" It's insanely hard to miss the twinkle in his eye as he said that. When Elspeth brings up Utopia, Angus looks like he's getting ready to spit on the floor at the mention of them, but holds off due to his surroundings. "Ae been around quite some time, Miss. The UN has ne'er had a good idea. Ne'er. This 'Utopia' rubbish is just the latest in a long line of idiotic maneuvers. In fact, if I gave them credit for ha'ing an IQ more'n 2, I'd say that they've never analyzed where the name they chose came from."

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