Aberrant: In the Beginning - Rivals' Lunch

[Courier]

Some time in the immediate future:

The dry, thin voice said, “I’ve reserved a back room for ‘Richard Smith and Companion’ in a Chicago restaurant at 1pm. Stevenson will walk into the steak house at 12:57 wearing a grey hooded jacket. He’ll be more wary than the image of ease he’s trying to project. I’m sure he arrived early and scouted the place out. In futures at restaurants which included armed men in the vicinity he doesn’t show up for the meeting.

In the rest room of the store next door Rich dropped his Radon form. Radon was an invisible, odorless, & tasteless gas; As such it was amazingly useful for scouting places out. As expected from a steakhouse in downtown Chicago during rush hour, the place was packed. It also appeared to be a legit meeting.

The email he’d gotten had been… interesting. For starters it was to his new account before he'd given the address out.

Richard Stevenson,

We met only in passing at the clinic, I’m not sure we even exchanged ‘hellos’. However it’s important that we meet and discuss politics and the future of our race. 1pm. Tomorrow. The reservation is in the name of 'Richard Smith'. Address Below.

Fahrenheit

Rich looked at his image in the mirror and his outfit into a grey ‘Unabomber’ non-descript hooded jacket. No way did he want the press to get hold of this, one picture of him with her in the paper and he’d have an uncomfortable talk with the President. He’d pay cash, but lack of his name on a credit card wouldn’t matter if he went in openly showing his face. Rich exited the bathroom and walked the busy Chicago sidewalk to the steakhouse. The hostess led him past mounted animals, including a Jackalope, to a business lunch/meeting room in the back.

The room could have fit two or three dozen people easily. There were several boothed tables but the one in the middle of the room had little name tags saying “R. Smith” and “F”. Each table had a lit candle and the lights were on the low side. Rich switched name tags so he could watch the room’s entrance and sat with his back to wall.

[Fahrenheit]

It didn’t take long and the door opened immediately increasing the temperature inside the room by several degrees. Fahrenheit was clad in a skintight dress that seemed to be made of latex and left little to the imagination. She could’ve been naked, it didn’t seem to bother her in any way. The black material contrasted strongly against her crimson red skin and Rich got a good impression of what it must’ve felt like actually touching her – the heat she gave of was tolerable... but uncomfortable. Fahrenheit took a seat straight opposite to Rich and placed a leatherbound book on the table which was wrapped in a linencloth.

“I half expected to find this room empty... thank you for accepting my invitation Mr. Stevenson, or can I call you Rich?“, she smiled at him as she reclined on her chair, one leg crossed over the other. Her intensively burning eyes stared at him lending her appearance an alien quality.

“The reason I have asked for this meeting concerns the future of our People, so you can relax, I have no intention of doing you any harm. Actually I’m most concerned about the wellbeing of our People – The One Race.“

[Courier]

Rich gave Fahrenheit a friendly smile and tried to not ogle her outfit. He replied, "Please, call me Rich." Whoa she's hot... in multiple ways. Her skin condition is more extreme than Pax's. She's got an intensity to her too. Interesting that she said she doesn't want to hurt me. That implies it's an option.

Rich continued, "On a side note, that's 'Species'. We're a different Species. But ignoring that quibble, what do you view as threats to our wellbeing?"

[Fahrenheit]

Fahrenheit didn’t hesitate to answer, ignoring Rich’s remark about the proper definition of their kind, “It is human nature to hunt and enslave those they don’t understand or can’t control. As long as we don’t unite as a Nation, as one People, every Government, every Corporation, anyone with enough money or power will take advantage of us and that’s something I will not tolerate. We have this opportunity to avoid the mistakes human society have committed in their past – if we only take action and don’t succumb to their temptations with easy money. That’s like prostitution and we deserved better than that. Trust me – it will come. They will try to control us and they already are in the making to ensure their success while we are still unfocused and easily swayed.“

The exotic beauty leaned forward resting her elbows on the table while granting Rich a good view of her mostly exposed cleavage. She had noticed that he was trying not to ogle her and if she could seduce him a little it would certainly improve her chances to win him for her cause.

“I need your help, Rich – I need your help so we have a future as a species, because if we don’t act soon it’ll be too late for us., she didn’t sound desperate but instead had a very commanding presence and a strong sense of determination.

[Courier]

The dry, thin voice said, “There's an 83% chance that he'll open up to you. He's worried...."

***

Rich hesitated. Fahrenheit was very convincing, and earnest. It wasn't that he didn't believe her... it was more like he did and wasn't sure where to go with it.

Rich said in passing, "You've seen it then. OK..." She's an amazingly odd choice for someone to open up to, but you might as well.

Finally he nodded and replied, "OK. The difference between rape and good sex is consent. It's a good thing to oppose the first, opposing the second is a waste of time and resources. Companies don't scare me. Beyond a certain point, money is power and companies want to give us it. The entire economic system favors us. Most of us will rise to the top of our fields, we're going to control industries without too much effort. D.R., the company I 'work' for, will never abuse me because I own it. I am DR, I set the work load, I set the schedule. I’m not money motivated but I’m going to be a Billionaire in a year or two.”

Rich frowned, the good news was coming to an end. He said, “The problem isn't prostitution, the problem is slavery and/or witch hunts. We're an easily identifiable minority, it's going to occur to some politician he could win some votes by playing off on jealousy and racism.” Rich pitched his voice to mimic some no-name politician, “It's not fair for a Novus to earn a billion dollars a year when the average person only gets $50k, ergo Rich should be working for the government, doing what they say for amounts they set. Or, because some Novus somewhere abused their powers, we the people need special laws to control Rich because his powers are similar.”

Rich returned to using his own voice, “Companies don’t scare me, but governments do. It could even happen accidently, someone passes a stupid law that novas won't follow, and suddenly most novas are criminals. Or worse, at some point it will be popular to bash the novas."

There it was. That was the future as Rich saw it, and it had more problems than solutions.

[Fahrenheit]

Fahrenheit remained silent for a moment slowly nodding at Richard, "I see you have a very clear picture of the future and you may be in a position to be as independent as possible - all by yourself. But for one like you there'll be 20 others who will be enslaved without them realizing it and once they do it'll be too late. It is mandatory that we prevent this by any means and with your help we'd be a good step closer to achieving that goal.", she smiled at him obviously more at ease now that he wasn't entirely opposing her arguments.

"The more brainpower we can unite in these fledgling days the faster we'll find a solution to this problem. My vision is creating a government of our own, declaring ourselves independent from human society and find a place where we can live and prosper without their poisonous influence and politics. I offer you a chance to be part of something far greater than you can imagine - something truly Earth-Shattering because that is our destiny.", Fahrenheit was leaning even more forward this time, not to grant him an even better view of her voluptous features but because of her conviction that was getting the better of her. Her temper and thus the temperature in the room increased slightly making the wax of the candles bend slightly to the sides.

She forced to stop herself and the temperature decreased slowly as she cooled down enough to not sound like a crazy demagogue.

[Courier]

The dry, thin voice said, “If the conversation goes down this path, then at this point he'll reject the idea. He's too tied to his own plans, his family, and his own vision of the future to openly join us at this time. But there are degrees of rejection and some ideas grow on their own once planted. There are three potential issues he could raise as objections, they might also come up at other points in the conversation so we should go over them."

Rich was tempted to dismiss Fahrenheit's 'separate but equal' idea out of hand but instead frowned and seriously considered it. After a moment he sighed and replied, "Maybe it will come to that. Maybe the problems of integration will outweigh the problems of segregation. But there are non-trivial issues that come with seperation, North Korea and the US are at opposite extremes and should serve as warnings. I like the France and Germany example. People don't go to war with their trading partners."

"Imagine political strength to match our future economic power. I want to fund dozens of political campaigns and have influence enough on industry to be able to tell a Congressman that if he's against novus rights then he's against jobs in his district. I want to hobnob with Politicians and be able to say that pissing me off means if your daughter gets a life threatening disease then I'm just going to be too busy to save her. I want to bring energy to the world, and thus be able to say that kicking the novas out litterally turns off the lights."

Rich snorted and added, "And I want to be thanked and paid monstrously well for doing all that. None of this requires any big changes to the system. None of this is even illegal."

[Fahrenheit]

Fahrenheit blinked several times completely caught off guard by Rich's words. She looked down at the table, then to the door and after a moment that seemed to last an eternity she looked back at Rich, almost past him or through him.

"Your vision is short-lived and will lead to war sooner or later. You are trying to play their game and be better at it, since you have the power and the ability to provide a unique resource. Given the nature of humanity as it is today you will have guaranteed success... but you're not building a future, you're wasting your time.", her nostrils flared as she struggled to keep her temper in check. The conversation had taken a turn she wasn't expecting and didn't even consider as an option.

"You preach Novus Supremacy? Is that what you want? To be recognised by... humans for who you are, for what you are? I believe this path will create more suffering than it will heal. But your selfish approach is admirable, you are only focusing it wrong. Why should we waste our time with trying to fit into a system that was never designed for us? I have no problem in treating them like trading partners but as long as there are Novus who think like you... who want to get what they deserve - that's the kind of poison that will cripple the growth of our People. You already shed your human skin, Rich - why cling to it's antique ways if we can choose to walk a completely new path? A path we create unfettered by human flaw?", this was definitely her last try to make him reconsider, she didn't know a different way to make him believe. Maybe it was enough to make him rethink his options, but she couldn't force him to deviate from his chosen path. Rich would have to realize for himself what her message was - or maybe he understood too well and simply decided to oppose her... she didn't like that thought, it would delay her plans.

[Courier]

Rich was silent for several moments. Fahrenheit got the impression he was measuring her arguments and fitting them into his past, then he said almost hauntedly, "Fahrenheit, I've seen a lot, experienced a lot, which says we still have the old human flaws. Greed, lust, you name it. Whatever we've gained, we haven't given that up."

[Fahrenheit]

"You think like that because you cling to old habits. You may call it human nature to try to fit in. Maybe it is even universal and something that social beings strive for - fitting in. But you have to learn that your destiny goes further than making the most profit out of your powers. Now is the time to make any change happen. You can be the architect of a future that will make everything made by human hand appear like the clumsy attempts of a toddler. All I'm asking Rich is to consider my words and I want you to know that I'll be there waiting for you should you decide to join my cause. If you need time to evaluate what I said, that's fine and I absolutely understand but you have to make a decision sooner than later because each day that passes without us making the most of it to built our future is not only wasted but also giving them more time to find a solution to the problem our kind poses."

Fahrenheit took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she waited for Rich's response. Something told her he wouldn't agree with her but maybe she could befriend him? Win his trust and stay close...

[Courier]

Rich answered, "I think like that because I met a serial killer who didn't change his nature after he converted. Then we have me, and every other nova I've met with the possible exception of you. Granted, we're going to have to work hard to avoid being an oppressed minority or worse. And..."

Rich struggled but Fahrenheit was persuasive and it'd be dishonest to not continue, "And granted, my success isn't certain. Yugoslavia. Rwanda. It can happen, it can happen here, it can happen to us, and it may already be in motion. There's a quote you may like, 'The avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote'

"The system wasn't built for us, or for the potential existence of us. You want to start fresh, I want to work with what we have, make adjustments to what exists. I think I have the easier task, and more importantly, I think it has to be tried. If I'm just holding back the tide, then think of it as buying you time. The world is big enough for both of us to succeed... and god help us all if we both fail."

Rich looked into an uncertain future and wondered if he'd regret this. She could be right.