Aberrant: The Long March - Chapter 5: Breaking New Trails

[Mr Fox]

Max listens to Andrew and there is anguish in his expression. When Steve speaks he nods, "That is it exactly Steve." Looking back to Andrew, "You know I think somewhere deep down you always felt that way, even though you said you didn't hold it against me later." He sighs and takes his seat again. "How about this. If I see you about to make what I think is a grave mistake I will warn you. It is the best I can do. I've already said that I think what you've done so far is a good start. That includes hoarding nuclear materials. At the very least it helps keep you close to the decision makers and will keep you in the loop so that it will be difficult for any government to make the weapons without you knowing, and some will certainly try along the way."

[32767]

Phillip pipes up "I understand that there is a lot that you can't tell us. Fine. With this problem, you have created another problem if I am not mistaken. You ask us to change your friend because of what he HAS become from your point of view. If we do as you suggest, how will you be able to make the suggestion in the first place? Can you give us a message to give to you or something? You have more experience in time travel, could you tell me what will happen if we succeed. Or can you just give us a message for yourself? I definatly want to change the future for the better, but if we can truly create a paradox, I belive the consensus is that it would be bad." Phillip then says the the group "But if we do include him, how? Make him one of us? An advisor? Delegate things to him? As I see it, we either tip our hand and pray he stays of the low-taint path, or we placate him, which he is to smart to fall for... do you think... if we give him enough information to understand the consiquenses, including the consiquenses of him knowing to much, then we might be able to include him, say, in helping us evaluate our changes. That would also give us ongoing insight into his definition of 'right'"

Phillip, realising he has just monologed, sits back down and looks mildly embarised (although not as much as he used to in these situations).

[jameson (ST)]

Andrew throws his hands up, "Yeah maybe I have always thought you were the cause and not the solution. I'm still not convinced that your actions actually do help. Maybe you need to explain just how your time travel works, because you see, I can't figure out how paradox doesn't follow you like a puppy. Unless you are capable of the same time travel as Lorean was, down the infinite divergent paths." Andrew pinches the bridge of his nose and is quiet, clearly he's frustrated though his anger seems to have burned out.

[Mr Fox]

Max shrugs, "I really have no idea. I've only made the one jump forward, and it was to around 2125. I spent a year there, and jumped back. It can't be divergent lines though, or you wouldn't be here. This is definitely my original timeline, because the changes you made were from you being here at the Hammersmith event and staying, and as I understand it, this is a unique event to this line alone. Unless I travel forward again after making a change, such as getting you all to befriend Michael, I'll have no way of knowing if a paradox has been created."

[Omar]

Listening to the exchanges, Omar was shocked to see such passion from the others around him. At one point, Omar thought that Andrew was going to attack Max, and he readied himself to prevent harm to Mercer. If anyone was integral to Aeon, and indeed the future, Max was. It hurt Omar to have to pick sides in the issue.

When Andrew backed down, Omar was relieved.

"I would hope that if an even happened that results in the destruction of humanity, that you would let us know." He says to Mercer with a stern expression. "As for what to do with Divis Mal...I mean Mr. Donighal, I think that letting him in on the plan would be a dangerous gamble."

"Two scenarios could arise from such a course of action: One, Donighal appreciates that we tell him, and he moderates his positions. Or two, He resents that his position of power is compromised, and he seeks to work against us."

"Oh and one other thing...didn't Divis Mal have a way to deal with taint? If so, would he still be able to develope the process if his philosophies change?

[Mr Fox]

Morgan listens to Omar, "Well, he did develop a way to deal with taint, but it was by channeling taint and trying to focus it, not erase or prevent it. And given his actions, he was at the very least more than half taint mad by the time of the war. Plus, if you look at his followers, many of them were the worst of the tainted aberrants, and they were the ones that had the 'secret'. Personally, I think the best we can hope to do at this point is to educate novas in how to avoid the taint and create a culture that encourages novas to focus on maintaining their humanity."

"As for informing Donighal, I don't think we can pick anything other than one of the two extremes, either we bring him full in or we eliminate him altogether. Max here has indicated that keeping him on the outside of our counsels will not work out. I hate to be cold blooded about it, but as a military man in my former life, there's one thing I know with every fiber of my being, and that is half measures are always the worst thing you can do. Either we harness his brilliance and make it work for us or we prevent the threat from ever developing."

[Courier]

Steve says,

"Historically Divis' followers, the ones with the so called cure, exploded with aberrations and then attacked humanity. At best the cure is like using amputation to deal with broken bones, at worse it was a lie. I don't think we want any part of that path."

"As for Donighal, we need him. The task we've set ourself is so hard that in 2008 the Watchers thought it was impossible to avoid the war."

"We need every break and every resource we can get or we're going to lose. We might even lose with them."

[Andrew Murphy]

"Lets keep in mind that if we need to," Andrew changes form to look like Divis Mal around the time he first delivered the null manifesto, "we can always replace Mal, or anybody else for that matter ..." Andrew shifts once more and stands next to Max like some sort of clone or doppleganger.

Shifting back to normal he continues, "The point being that any and every person that we need to help us can do so. Even if the actual person is not willing to.

"We can always take over Mal's life if he goes out of hand but is too intertwined to be removed 100%"

[Mr Fox]

Morgan frowns, "Hmm... and I thought I had put things rather coldly."

Max watches this display outwardly impassive and just gives a sigh, but does not otherwise respond.

[SkyLion]

Cody responds to Andrews shape-changing.

*You can duplicate the form but neither the knowledge nor unique capacities of the man. If we need Donighal it won't be for his appearance, but for his command of the intellect, his vision and his powerful charisma. You would be hard pressed to duplicate those, I'm afraid. No offense...*

[Andrew Murphy]

Andrew shakes his head, "You guys need to think like a team, I may not be able to take on powers and abilities, well some I can but that's beside the point. If we need somebody to back a plan publicly, if we need a figurehead to speak for our cause, between my capacity to take their form, and Cody's ability to enter thier mind we can do what we need to do."

Looking at Morgan Andrew just rolls his eyes, "And reprogramming people is acceptable, warm, and fuzzy? I think not."

Turning to the rest, "You want to save billions? I do too, but eventually we're going to find somebody who's mind is too strong for Cody to manipulate. What's your plan then? What if Mal wants no part of our plan? Is he better dead or 'alive'?"

[Courier]

Steve says,

"The general answer is, it depends. There's a lot of things we can do short of murder, and a lot of things we should do short of murder. If Thetis is born to this timeline rather than kill we should just get her a job in another industry."

"In Donighal's case, it would again depend on the circumstances... but it's very difficult to imagine him not wanting a piece of this action. It's likely Divis' actions were driven by loneliness as much as anything. He is our brother, and before we condem him its worth pointing out most of us would have fared worse if we'd been in his situation."

"My intentions are to change the situation. If hard choices need to be made then they'll be made... but that is always true."

[Mr Fox]

Max frowns at Andrew's comments, "I don't approve of those kind of tactics, but if it becomes necessary then I'm sure you will all do what you have to do."

He nods and smiles at Steve's comments. "That's the approach I've come to know and respect. I think that you'll find Michael will be much more of an asset than a liability if you include him. He improved a great deal between the original version from your own timeline and the unaltered version from this timeline that I saw on my trip to the future."

He becomes very serious and says, "I guess this is my first test of whether or not I will create paradox. If he changes because I've given you this warning, then I will be greatly relieved. If he doesn't, or becomes worse, I would not stand in your way if you decided to take action. Better that the billions be saved than one man no matter how close a friend he is."

Brightening a bit, "So if you all agree, to include him, I have invited him to my home for dinner next week. I've told him it will be a small affair with others of our kind to discuss the future. I hope you all will attend." He looks around to see if you all have any other business that requires his attention, if not he will shake hands with everyone and make his way to the door.

[Cytorak Ruby]

A thought hit Bradford like a ton of bricks.

"Max, before you go, does the name Annabelle Lee Newfield mean anything to you?"

[Mr Fox]

Framed in the doorway, Max turns back, "Yes I do, what do you ask?"

[Cytorak Ruby]

Bradford paused, unsure of how to begin. "After I was recruited by this group, I spent a lot of time researching "future history", for lack of a better term. I can't remember the exact source, but a few of the experts of the subject of Inspireds and Novas, feel that her betrayal of the Aeon society due to her unrequited love of Donighal and her subsequent death was the catalyst that changed Donighal into Divis Mal." To the others, after the phrase "a few of the", Bradford's words come out as though from a recording or being read directly off a page. (Any careful observer's will notice his eyes flickered different colors briefly)

"With that in mind, maybe it's for the best to either not recruit her for the Aeon Society, or at the very least keep her out of harm's way? Or maybe just give her the heads up on his, 'personal status' before things become awkward."

Bradford lit a cigarette, took a quick puff, and smiled. "That's my 2 cents. But, then again, I'm just the magician."

[Mr Fox]

Max nods to Bradford. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll see to it before bringing her in."

[Omar]

"I guess it is dinner next week then." Omar was both excited and nervous. He remembered, from his original timeline, Divis Mal being an enigma, that wielded a lot of power. Surely he would not be as powerful, and for that, Omar was grateful. The last thing he wanted was for a fight to break out and Donighal wiping the floor with them. Maybe he erupted extra stong?

Omar would have to wait until the dinner.

[Courier]

Steve starts to say something then changes his mind, then says,

"Dinner it is."

[Courier]

Steve waits till after Max leaves then says,

"He told us to deal with him differently. Interesting. That's a truely significant change... whatever was in the future must have been bad enough to merit re-direction. I don't think we can expect too many more of those hints from Max."

[Mr Fox]

The time passes and the evening of Mercer's dinner comes around. His mansion is elegant but understated. It is obvious that he has both a great deal of money and taste, or at least whoever decorated did. When you arrive you are greeted at the door by a butler and he escorts you into the library where Mercer and Donigal wait already seated in comfortable leather chairs with drinks in hand. When you enter Mercer stands and greets you with his usual charm and offers to pour anyone drinks that is interested. He also introduces everyone to his good friend Michael Donigal.

Michael stands and sets his drink down and shakes hands with everyone. He seems to be a little curious as to the nature of the your group, but is very polite in greeting everyone. Though he is an impressive man who is plainly very intelligent, he doesn't seem to have quite the presence you have always known him to have in the videos you've seen of Divis Mal. He is of above average height, has blonde hair and piercing eyes that seem to read more than the average person in what he sees.

Once everyone is seated and served drinks, Max will break the ice. "Thank you all for coming. I know my friend Michael for one is likely curious as to the purpose of this gathering. Aside from hopefully providing you all with some more than passable food, I wanted to give Michael the chance to meet you all and vice versa." He turns to Donigal and smiles warmly. "Michael, I know that you have spent the last year adjusting to your new circumstances and studying how you have changed, and as you know I have also changed somewhat as have others that were at Dr. Hammersmith's ill-fated gathering as well as others who were not there." Turning back to the group and gesturing broadly at you all, "These individuals, some of whom you may recognize as having been at that event are like us, and I wanted to make sure that you made their acquainted as I have. I hope that you will find each other to be enjoyable company." Looking back to Michael with a grin, "I think you will find these people to be not only excellent company, I think you might find an association with them to be quite rewarding in terms of satisfying your curiousity."

[Courier]

Steve says,

"Mr. Donigal, it is an honor and pleasure to meet you. Ah... I'm afraid we have you at a disadvantage here, we know more than a fair bit about you and what's happened. Hammersmith's event was just as much of a surprise to us as to you, but for very different reasons."

"We are, for lack of a better word, investigators. We have been using our abilities, abilities quite similar to your own, to investigate history. Specifically our own history with a view of trying to figure out which events were key in making the present and the future the total mess they turned out to be."

"At which point I need to mention that by 'present' I mean the early 21st century, and by 'future' I mean the mid to late 21st through the early 22nd century. By 'history' I mean right now. By 'total mess' I mean Billions of people dead and civilization shattered."

[Guest Michael Donigal]

Michael listened politely at first and then with growing incredulity. By the time Steve ended he had an open look of skepticism on his face. "Well, that is very interesting and while I can quite plainly see that you all possess the look of what I have, for lack of a better definition, begun to call Homo Superior, I find your talk of the future to be a little hard to believe. It was one thing when Max here returned from his journey and claimed to have visited the future, but now you tell me a large group from the future has returned? Forgive me if I ask a bit of proof of you before we proceed to more important questions such as why billions of people die in the future." As he finishes his speech he sits back down and to get comfortable and picks up his glass of scotch no doubt preparing for a long explanation.

[Andrew Murphy]

Andrew smirks inwardly, You'd think we'd be good at this by now he thinks. Outwardly Andrew does nothing, waiting to see how his freinds will try to convince a man who could become either mankinds greatest ally or its worst enemy.

[Courier]

Steve says,

"Sure. This is the point where if I were lying I'd explain why we don't have any actual proof. However, we came here on a space ship the size of a city block which we'd be happy to show you. The view of the earth from orbit is breath taking. We have dozens of crew, all of whom come from the future, and yes, we have the various nit knacks any society tends to create."

Steve reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small plastic box. Steve slides it over to Michael saying,

"It's a calculator. Press the buttons and it will do the calculations indicated. The black part at the top is a solar cell, it absorbs light and uses it as a power source. The case itself is made of a strong and lightweight substance called plastic which is made from oil. The numbers displaying aren't glowing like a light bulb, the screen simply changes color. It's a common consumer item, at today's prices it'd cost about a dollar."

Steve pauses to see how he reacts to the item from the future.

[Guest Michael Donigal]

Donigal smiles as he listens and seems to nod to himself toward the end like he is satisfied with the answer. He does reach out and take the calculator and plays with the buttons for a few seconds and grins. "Fascinating. That's a handy little gadget. I will accept your story for now, but I will reserve full belief for after I've had the chance to examine more of your proof. One toy does no matter how ingenious does not make for conclusive evidence after all."

He smiles more warmly and continues, "Regardless, I am intrigued by you and your companions and I look forward to learning more. Perhaps after dinner we could take a ride on your space ship and take in the view."

[Omar]

Omar watched the infamous Donigal with a wary eye. He didn't look to threatening at the moment, and Omar was sure that if push came to shove, he could take him out. What Omar didn't expect to hear, was that Mr. Donigal already saw himself as different than the rest of humanity, simply by his use of 'Homo Superior'.

"Short of taking you to our ship." Omar spoke, gently pushing quantum into his appearance to make himself awa-inspiring. I don't think that any amount of talking or 'show and tell' is going to convince you of our sincerity." Omar hoped that Mr. Donighal would either appreciate the attempt, or if it succeeded, cause MD to show some respect. What Omar hoped did not happen, was that he would offend him.

[Courier]

Steve nods and says,

"We'd love to. On a personal note I'd like to challenge you to a game of chess at some point, there's not many who can play at my level and I'm guessing you can."

Steve sighs and shrugs,

"At least the time travel thing we've got solid proof on. Not that we dare travel in time much any more, we're pretty much stuck here. Hammersmith changed something fundamental and we're still trying to figure it out."

"But there's a fair amount else going on for which we don't have proof. We have records, we have personal experiences, but we don't have proof. I can tell you that the world is about to enter a period of darkness, but since we're actively working to stop it and since history has already diverged a lot from what our records say it may not mean anything."

"Similarly, I can tell you that there are at least three to five different sets super-folk, and that our type, novas, which includes you but not Max, is by far the rarest in this era."

"In a nutshell, the world faces two big threats, one internal, one external. The lesser one is a group of aliens who don't like the idea of other space faring races around and are willing to exterminate potential rivals. They're nasty but they aren't here, and to tell the truth I'm not all that worried about them. By the time they show up humanity should be ready to deal with them."

"The real problem is 'How will mankind integrate Novas and other super-foke into society?' We Novas are by far the most powerful and least stable of all the super-foke. When more and more of us show up, and we will, there's a very good chance that society will tear itself apart and we'll end up with a massive ugly war."

[Guest Michael Donigal]

Donigal raises an eyebrow at the mention of chess.

"Hmm... To address your points."

He smiles, "I accept your challenge and look forward to matching wits with you in a game of chess, or perhaps many games. As you say, it is difficult to find a decent opponent."

"As for the rest. I am more than willing to accept your word until and unless such time I find you less than honest, but as you are all honorable people I doubt that will be a problem."

He sits forward in his chair and allows a certain amount of interest show in his face as he continues, "So you say there are more groups of Homo Superior than just our own? I had begun to suspect this in my own research, but it is in the very preliminary stages and with limited subjects to observe I have been limited in the conclusions I can make. I will look over everything you have on this matter and share with you what little I have found so far."

"As for the threats, I am sure we can face anything that comes our way. Given the rate of progress I would surmise we should be capable of interstellar travel in less than 100 years, and with your assistance no doubt we will reach that milestone even sooner."

As he finishes his words, the butler enters the library and with a look to Max for permission announces, "Dinner is served; if you will please follow me." He waits politely for everyone to rise and follow before leading you into a large but somehow cozy dining room, with a large table just the right size for everyone to gather around. As everyone is seated other servants enter and serve the first course.

[32767]

Phillip motions for a servant, and asks for them to serve a 'human' portion for him and Elizibeth, as they didn't have the varatious apitite of the others.

When everyone settles, Phillip asks Donigal in a idle conversation voice (or at least tries to) "I was wondering about 'Homo Superior' Donigal. This lable suggests that we are 'more' than everyone else. While we are definatly more capable, the same could be said of a 'normal' person in comparison to someone who is disabled." Phillip pauses a moment.

"We call ourselfs better than the animals because we can reason, but not all 'Homo Superior' are gifted with enhanced minds. If that where the deciding factor, then I would not be one. What about Plato, Homer, Michelangelo? They where smarter than a lot of 'Homo Superior', does that make them one? Oh, and could you pass the water?"

[Guest Michael Donigal]

Donigal listens and smiles at what Phillip says then passes the water. "Well, as to label, the modern human race is designated Homo Sapiens, the thinking man. I have been basing the label Homo Superior on the fact that we are more than merely Homo Sapiens. True not every subject that I've seen exhibits superior intelligence or even particularly impressive abilities, but superior in the sense that we are more than the average human. I grant you that there have been many throughout history that have stood head and shoulders above the rest of humanity in one way or another. It has occurred to me that perhaps they too were Homo Superior. You are from the future and have more knowledge on the various groups of Homo Superior, note that I use that term for lack of a more perfect designation and with a minimum of research. What would be a better title that does not offend those not of our kind?"

[Andrew Murphy]

"We are more of a sub-species than a truely divergent species. Regardless though we should not think of ourselves as apart from humanity, that has only lead to a dangerous rift between those with abilities and those without.

"We are still homo sapiens but perhaps we could designate further, homo sapien mutaris. Mutara is the latin for change and we are exactly that, changed humans. Anything more would differentiate us and as soon as we begin to feel we are different from the so called normal humans we are likely to starting viewing them differently."

[Mr Fox]

Donigal listens to Andrew and nods, "I understand what you are saying. I'm not sure 'I' like the designation mutaris. Sounds a good deal like mutant, which has rather negative connotations." He looks shrewdly at Andrew, "So, what are the groups called in the future you come from. I am guessing that this was not the designation used, am I correct?" Without waiting he continues, "If you wish we can wait on this discussion until after I've seen your proof and reviewed your records."

[Courier]

Steve waits till any servers aren't in the room then says,

"We were called 'Homo sapiens novus'. It was mostly a popular media thing, but being named after an exploding star isn't bad. The other two groups, and for that matter the other nova-ish sub-group, were unheard of in our future and didn't get names. We visited an alternative future where one of the other groups were called psions, so that would make them 'Homo sapiens psionus'. You may have more information on the third group than we do, they pretty much exist only in this era... I think. It's possible they just got overshadowed by the others in the future. They were pretty close to baseline human and it'd be easy to mistake them for a talented and/or lucky baseline. A baseline gets lucky once and it saves his life, he'd have to be crazy to put himself into situations where he'd figure out he was consistantly lucky."

"Novas manipulate Quantum and our powers weren't well understood, even in our era. Sub-novas in this era also manipulate quantum and are called Stalwarts. Whether they are a seperate group is unknown, but I strongly suspect the answer is 'Yes'. Their power and medical problems don't appear to have been on the same scale as novas."

"We'd talked about looking up the greats of history and checking them out, but we never had the time and it would have taken more effort than it was worth. In my opinion, while Plato, Homer, Michelangelo, and the others might have been enhanced, they weren't us. If we're going to claim people from history the ones we need to claim are Zeus, Jesus, Moses, the Titans, the Minitor, various Demons, or in short the gods and monsters.

"That's one of our big missions here, to prevent the former from turning into the later."

[Mr Fox]

Donigal listens with his usual attentiveness then replies, "New Humans. I think I like it. It avoids the negative connotations and if presented properly, it should not cause the adverse reactions that Superior might engender." He pauses for a moment to take a bite of the roast duck then adds, "If I understand correctly, the crux of the matter is two fold. First, jealousy from the regular Homo Sapiens, and second, there is an issue with the development of the Novus that causes some to become 'monsters'? Is that accurate?"

[32767]

A large smile appears on Phillip's face. This may be easier that I thought he thinks.

"Thats prity acurate. There are other issues we wish to deal with along the way, but if we succeed in those two, it is a success. When we show you what we have... well... I hate to say it, but it is better for us to save billions than millions."

[Courier]

Steve says,

"Yes, mostly, although it's not just some of us. Given the wrong lifestyle we all mutate and go insane. There's also going to be a few neccessary side trips as well. The current economy doesn't have certain neccessary parts that are needed to truly function. The banks need reforming, that sort of thing."

"That sounds minor but the coming economic crash will pave the way for the next two world wars, both of which will make the last one look small."

"I'd be tempted to try to head them off anyway, but considering which countries' systems dealt with novas well and which ones dealt with novas poorly, I don't think we have a choice. The clock is ticking and we can't really afford to lose the next 70 years demonstrating that communism and fasism are failed ideas."

[Andrew Murphy]

Andrew looks uncomfortable and finally speaks up again. "It should be noted that the mutations which occur do not unilaterally cause a break with sanity. I myself have changed drastically after my eruption, that after I gained my powers. Perhaps after the meal I can demonstrate what I mean, but by example; Cody's loss of speech, and very probably Philips unqiue dietary requirements are likely both the result of some small levels of what we call 'taint'. My own changes are by far the most extreme within our group ... I will demonstrate later if you like."

[Mr Fox]

Michael looks thoughtful as each man speaks earnestly of the coming problems. "I can see that you are sincere in your feelings. I will want to review all you know of this 'taint'. I can see from some of your expressions that you know something of my own future when you speak of the taint and it's consequences." He looks very increasingly introspective and says quietly, "I hope that you don't gloss over my own fate to spare my sensitivities. I can handle the it no matter how grim." Making an effort to lighten the mood, "I trust I do not grow an extra head or anything grotesque."

[Andrew Murphy]

If Andrew was uncomfortable before he looks downright nervous now. Nonetheless he answers Donigal's question, "As I said, not all mutations accompany madness. The reverse is often also true. Taint madness need not be accompanied by physical changes. There are many an individual who will loose all touch with humanity, morals, and ethics becoming homicidal or worse while maintaining a wholly human exterior. The future has monsters of all varieties..."