Trinity RPG: Back to the Stars - Prelude: Clear Vision [John Saxon]

[Krul]

Luna, the home and heart of the IRSA, the clairsentient order, an order that seems both mysterious and open at the same time. The Clairsentient proxy, as one might expect, tended to have a long vision, and had a plan and purpose for his order, though no one is quite certain of the exact details.

Most Clairsentients were tested in one method or another, before they were actually invited to the order. Every Clairsentient also feels tied to, and linked to the moon, something about Luna, feels like home to them. Luna, now in the 22nd century, a nation all of it's own, and one that's growing stronger.

Called the Clears, for little can be hidden from the masters of Clairsentience, a matter that frightens more then a few individuals, they often bring clarity to a situation. Into this, comes John Saxon, a latient clairsentient of considerable capability, a son of earth and luna, found himself with a unique offer, a invitation to join the IRSA, should he so desire.. if he could find the way, by the end of the week... to a location that wasn't given.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John got off the transport and wandered seemingly aimlessly away from the spaceport. Occasionally he would stop and remove the item from his pocket, stare at it intently, and then replace it before wandering off once more. Considering it was his first time off Earth it was perhaps the least tourist like activity one would expect. Instead it was like he was retracing steps from an old memory, perhaps somebody how had grown up at Olympus, or perhaps somebody who had gone to one of the Lunar schools.

John stopped outside a Ba'hai temple, he stared at the building for a while before entering. Inside he wandered through the crowd. He felt a sense of irony that he was a pilgrim on a pilgrimage and yet this place was in no way related to him by way of religious belief. He passed once more outside and removed the item from his pocket. It was perhaps the least standard business card that he had seen. The card was thick plastic with a flat blue crystal inset in the center; it was otherwise blank and featureless. John closed his eyes and slid the card back into his pocket. The card had somehow show up in his mail; no address to or from, only a blank envelope with his name on it and an odd blank card with a blue crystal within.

With his eyes closed his ears picked up an odd music, Muzzein Bang. He oriented on the music and opened his eyes, the name of the club was "Blue" John wasn't sure if it was coincidence or something else. He started off once more, the club his new point of orientation. Finding out that the crystal was a bioapp was easy, that led to the moon, and Olympus was the largest spaceport. He looked at the card again and thought that the blue club on the moon might just be the same as a blue crystal in a white card; that or he was just blowing smoke up his own ass.

[Krul]

As he entered the club, the music got a bit louder, and there was a band playing on stage. There were also a number of dancers, and one of them, a rather attractive young woman, with long black hair extracted herself just as he entered. She wore a pin on her right shoulder, of her affliation with the IRSA, and her words more or less suggested she was definatly a clairsentient.

"John Saxon, I've been expecting you, thank you for accepting the invitation, I'm Erin, come, join me for a dance?" She held out her hand to him in invitation, waiting to hear what he might chose to say, or do.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

The woman didn't give her full name but John thought she looked familiar. He also thought that this was too easy, the ISRA recruiting techniques were known to be oblique, perhaps more so than the other legions; well, except maybe the Norça, but then there were people who insisted the Norça were an urban legend encouraged by the other orders. John smiled, it wasn't much of smile, but then John wasn't much to look at; average was perhaps the adjective most used to describe John Saxon, he knew that because his hearing, his sight, his tactile responses, all were very far from average, more often than not when people talked about him behind his back he heard them anyway.

He followed the woman out onto the dance floor, he was grateful that he wasn't clumsy. Not graceful either, but he managed to find the rhythm and match his movements to it easily enough. The din was exceptional, Muzzein Bang was either the highest art form or utter noise, it depended on the listener to fish out and hold to one of the many layers of harmony and beat. Of course Bang wasn't just about the music either. John thought that most people probably tried to disconnect the audio from the visual. The lights, the video and still images, even text, all combined with the music to form a tapestry, a dense weave of complex patterns. Somewhere in that chaos people found meaning.

John let the experience wash over him paying as little attention to the woman as she did to him, or so it appeared, a clairsentient is more than capable of watching somebody intently without ever appearing to look. Soon John felt himself riding the waves of the Bang and a pattern emerged, the Diva on the stage was bidding him to move to the back room. Follow the white rabbit Alice, John thought, recalling the stories his mother had read to him as a child. Not sure if he should take the woman with him or not he grabbed her hand and lead her toward the back, best case she was meant to come with him, worst case he might have to reject an offer of casual ... pleasures.

[Krul]

Perhaps this was easier then expected, but then, how many folks could find thier way with just a card and a blue crystal, and no other clues? Still, when he grabbed the woman's hand and lead her back with him, she laughed and let him lead. Patterns in the music and sound, intense seemed to guide him, and she just followed, until he found himself stepping into the back room, and as the door closed behind them, the sound faded.. into almost nothing.

The woman at his side smiled, and extracted her hand from his after a moment. "Welcome to Luna, you answered our invitation, and found your way here faster then some of us expected." She moved forward, though a veil of beads and into another room, in the music here was softer, more ethereal, but also, increadibly complex.

"So, can you tell me why we invited you?" This room was softer, but there was a message in the music, the colored beads on the wall, and the patterns set into the walls.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John chuckled, "Maybe if I was a teep I could. I can guess though, and I guess that it probably has to do with those latency tests they ran on my platoon a few weeks back." He looked around, not so much to get his bearings as he could retrace his steps quite effectively, but to see where he was to try and read the situation.

[Krul]

"More or less." She paused, giving him a long look, before she continued to speak. "The Orders, such as they are, chose who they will recruit, regardless, and the IRSA is no different then the others in this regard. Although, we have more ways of checking up on a person then most of the other orders do." She gave him a wink.

"You've felt it before havn't you? A sense of connection, a link to everything around you?" She leaned forward, to look him directly in the eye, and she appeared to be choosing her words with great care and deliberation.

"Your a latent Clairsentient, John, or seer if you prefer that term, and a strong one at that. Otha Herzog himself thinks that you could be one of the keystones of the future, that you could be the right man at the right time, to make a difference. We both know that the military path isn't the right one for you, not as it is now at least. If you can make a real difference, in the future of humanity, shouldn't you try, if you have the courage?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John considered it for a long moment, the music somehow seemed to be imploring him to agree. "I don't know what I should or shouldn't do. I can't see the future like you all can. Maybe you can tell me, what does being a seer have to offer me? How can it or will it help me to ... to do whatever it is you think I'm going to do?"

[Krul]

"Now that, I can't say for certain, the proxy's vision is clearer then mine, but I can say it will make a difference for you, now." She responded, as she moved deeper into the room, taking a seat on a long couch/chair of some sort, next to a lovely plant and vase. "Wouldn't you like a sense of clear vision yourself? To better see and know? To be a light on the path?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"If you are trying to ask if I would like to have a deeper clearer purpose to my life, then sure, yeah, of course I would. I'm not sure how I can help though, so unless being a psion is going to suddenly change that I don't know if having clarity of purpose is going to do anything but set me down a path I can't walk." He looked around, clearly irritated, "Can you tell them to stop piping in that damn music, some song isn't going to convince me to join you, no matter how subliminal the message. I can hear it just fine." This whole thing felt weird, like they were testing him somehow even still.

[Krul]

"Well now, that's very good.." She pushed a button on her wrist and the music stopped, though he could hear, though very faintly now, the much louder music that he had come though to enter this room. "We're done, you've passed your first test, if your interested, come talk to us next time, John." And with that, she walked out of the door, and left him alone, to decide what he wanted to do next, all by himself.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John sat in relative silence for a while before he removed the odd business card from his pocket once more. He pushed the blue crystal out of its setting and dropped it into his pocket. The card itself he left on the table. "Let's see if you guys can find me as easily as I found you," he mutters to himself as he ducks out through the beaded curtain and back into the club the din rising as he gets closer to the dance floor. He circumvents the crowd and makes his way out to the streets, such as they are on the moon. He looks around quickly and after verifying that he;s not being followed, at least not in person, he starts to walk intent on finding the darkest corner of this station and waiting for them to come to him.

[Krul]

"Hello there, son." There was man sitting at the bench he approached, he was wearing a coat, with a hood and all, so it was hard to see is face, especially in the darker part of the station. "Trying to avoid someone?" There was something incredibly, unusual about this man, somehow John felt drawn to him, even though he'd never seen him before, and really couldn't make him out all that well. "Care to talk about it?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John shook his head and sat down next to the stranger, "You know it figures, I go out of my way to find the most obscure place in the station and there's already somebody there." He chuckled and offered his hand, "I'm John, and no, I'm not trying to avoid somebody so much as I am trying to see how serious they are."

[Krul]

"Well, it's a obscure location, and it's a nice spot for avoiding attention, but I think there's just enough room for you to take spot, young man, if you would like one." He shook John's hand as it was offered, but his features remained somewhat difficult to make out in this dark spot. He didn't offer his own name, even as he continued to respond to John's words.

"A pleasure to meet you, and I find myself a bit curious. Why does it matter how serious they are? Is there something important they want of you, or do you just want to test them for some reason?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"They tested me, so tit for tat you know? Plus yeah I think they do want something from me." He paused and thought about it, "Or maybe they want me for something, if you can dig the difference. Thing is maybe it's less about what they want from me or what I might want from them. I think maybe this whole thing is about finding a place that feels right. You know? It's ... it's hard to explain, especially since I don't even know you. I guess I am just trying to find out we're a good fit for each other. I don't want to be just some faceless soldier again, but I don't really want know what I do want either." He was quiet a moment, "Or maybe I do, maybe what I want is a place and a duty. I dunno. You probably think I'm a bit loopy, talking to a complete stranger. Heck, I think I might be a bit loopy." John subsided and stared into the darkness, waiting to see what would look back.

[Krul]

He chuckles, and reached out to put a hand on John's shoulder, and there was a feeling of warmth from the man, as he stood up. "I don't think your a bit loopy, young man, I arranged to be here, cause I knew where you were going, your life hasn't been an easy one, and your choice is the right one. Find a place that you fit, I think you could very well fit with us." He pulled back his hood, and now John could see his face clearly, and it matched someone perfectly, someone famous, in fact. It was the Clairsentient Proxy, Otha Herzog himself.

"I didn't give you my name, son, cause I wanted to you to hear your reply, before you knew who I was, even though I knew it before you said it. But you needed to hear yourself, thinking the matter though, to make up your own mind."

He then winked at John. "Is this answering your test well enough, as to how serious we are?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John shook his head ruefully, "I knew it was too easy. I suppose you knew I would think so, set this whole thing up what weeks ago? Is that what I'll be able to do? See the future? Glide through events with the benefit of foreknowledge? I have to say I think it would take some of the fun out of finding things if I know where to look before I start." He laughed and stood up, "Yeah, I suppose I can take you seriously. More so than so than those jokers from Orgotek who started off with a salary package before even asking what I was good at, or the jarhead from the Fifth who wanted me to just do more of the same for the rest of my days." He looked once more into the darkness, it was like space, dark and in its way vast, "Still haven't told me what you want from me though. You know what I want, what I guess I need, but how does ISRA benefit from me being a part of it?"

[Krul]

"Months actually, before you were even tested, though the future is flux, it's a fluid thing, like a great river with deep powerful currents. The currents can shift and change, and alter the direction of the river, or one can swim them, they are harder to see, the further you look. Few can look far into it, I am simply fortunate enough to be able to look further then most."

He considered John's question however, seriously. "You have a sister, John, how does she benefit by you being her brother? Or your mother by you being her son? You join us, and by your vision, you add to the whole that is IRSA, making the whole stronger for it."

He paused, before he continued. "The path you follow, John is your own, the choices you make, your own to make. Joining us is something akin to joining a brotherhood, I suppose, or becoming a monk, but one with a very expansive and different view then any monk of most religions. We won't tell you what to do, the choice of your future is the own, but we will give you a look at the paths you can take."

"We benefit in you joining us, by adding on more set of eyes in the darkness, and another guide on the path to the future, to those who need it."

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John laughed despite himself, "That answer managed to say nothing and everything. You could have saved time by just saying 'you'll see', and of course I suppose I will see. Everything will fall into focus I suspect, or out of it, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees, other times you can't see the tree in the forest."

John stood in quiet thought next to the man who knew everything, or at least saw everything; so they said anyway. After a while he turned, "So what's next? Do I have to find out where your hiding your satellite base too?" He smiled, feeling oddly sure that if that was the next step he would somehow manage, after all the old man was here, and John couldn't see why he would be here if John couldn't find it. John laughed, I can't see ... there's irony for you.

[Krul]

Herzog winked at him in reply, clearly in good humor himself. "A very good statement, and indeed, you'll find, that things shift in and out of focus, and it will take a bit to get use to. But I'm sure you'll adapt, welcome to the family, my young brother." Said by the man who knows everything, that sort of statement was especially ironic.

"As to the trying to find my hiding place, that part won't be necessary, though we could just give you another card and crystal, eh?" He pulled out a ticket and handed it to John. "That will get you to Huruf al-Hayy, all you have to do, is find the ship the ticket is for, but I don't think it will be that hard for you."

With that, he gave John another wink. "I'll see you around, my young brother, and soon at that." And he gave him a wave, and walked away, with a slightly distracted air about him, leaving John to decide what to do on his own. Of course, if he looked at the ticket, it had all the directions, including the time and location of the flight. Which would perhaps be amusing in another way, no need to be mysterious all the time, after all.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Oh great another te... John's thought broke off as he saw a perfectly serviceable ticket with actual printed information and not implied or subtexted information waiting to be divined. He stuffed the ticket into his pocket and headed off to find the ship laughing at the fact that they had named it the Lens.

[Krul]

It didn't take him long, the Lens was waiting for him specifically, and once he turned over his ticket, they gave him a moment to get settled, then it's carefully explained that he'll need to be sedated, due to the high speed acceleration tank he's in, for his own safety. Once everything is done, the ship takes off at high speed, and should he look out the portholes, he'd see momentary glimpses of stars and outerspace, but not quite like anything he's seen before.

Finally they come at last, to the heart of the IRSA, Huruf al-Hayy, where Otha is said to spend most of his time, and where the clairsentient Prometheus chamber is. And when they finally stopped, after some time, John might feel a bit woozy, but the sedative is wearing off, and almost finished.

When he opens the door, the young woman he saw earlier, who called herself Erin was standing on the other side, and she gives him a wink. "Welcome to Huruf al-Hayy, brother, if you like, we can show you around a bit, talk with folks, or if you prefer, we can get right down to business, the Old Man said you were free to take your time about it." The clear respect and reverence when she said, the Old Man, suggested that she was most likely speaking of the Proxy himself.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John looked a little green and wobbled ever so slightly as he stood. He blinked a few times and rubbed at his eyes and temples for a moment, "Actually something to eat would be good, you guys got a Bob's Big Bucket around here? No? OK, take me to your lunchroom then ... I foresee a peanut butter sandwich in my future!" He smirked and followed the young woman through what was apparently a rather massive space station. In short order they had settled down at a table and John was munching on a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of soy milk. "I suppose shipping something like real meat and milk and such up here isn't worth the yen unless you are really wealthy eh?" She nodded and they chitchatted while he ate. Placing the plate and glass in the recycler he said, "First time off planet, I know this is supposed to feel like Earth standard gravity but," he paused, shifting his weight, "it doesn't feel right. Why don't we get this over with, I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

[Krul]

As he ate the sandwich, she sat there listening to him, and saying little, but she did raise an eyebrow slightly when he mentioned it doesn't feel right. It was interesting statement from him, and she stood up when he said let's get this over with.

"I'm afraid it's not going to happen right away, John, right now, for a while, your going though the dormition period, just some final preparation, mostly. That means we train and prepare you for what's to come, rather then simply drop you in the tank, and see what comes of it." She smiled a bit at her slight joke there at the end, and stood up.

"Also, I'm supposed to give you a basic explanation and preparation for how things are going to change. You see, your going to be able to perceive the world in a whole new way, and like a man who was blind from birth suddenly being able to see, some basic orientation will help you make some sense of the colors and shades you've never seen before."

She waited a moment before continuing, allowing him to speak or add whatever he liked, before she began to explain more on how it would feel, to better prepare him for what would come. Eventually, however, though it would be a while, perhaps a few hours, perhaps a day or so, they would end up outside a door, and on the other side, was the Prometheus chamber. "Here we are John, are you ready?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"I don't think either of us need second sight to know the answer to that. There's only so much you can do to describe the color blue to a blind person and at the end of the day he still will not know what blue is unless you can cure his blindness." John realized he was verging on a speech and quickly finished, "Time to open my eyes for real, I've been blind long enough."

She nodded and they entered the room. It was a great chamber, much larger than John had expected and aside from the Prometheus Chamber sitting dead center in the room there was only a single other piece of equipment. A large tank similar in appearance to the Chamber itself but flanked by computer banks. Inside floated a form that at first horrified John. "John, this is Tatie, as a child she caught Cellular Decay Sydrome while her village was under control of Aberrants. Until the Old Man awakened her she was deaf, blind, and mute, barely alive in any meaningful way. Becoming a clear saved her, and now Tatie oversees all of the new clear's as the experience the Prometheus Effect." Erin walked to the biotank and gave it a sort of hug, the figure inside smiled. After a moment Erin pulled away and turned to John, "You'll need to strip and then I'll fit you with the sensors and a bioapp rebreather."

"Strip?" John gulped, his face already red.

"John, you have nothing I haven't seen before and its not like you could hide it from me if I really wanted to see. The same goes for you once you come out the other side. We all respect each other's privacy even more because we can so easily break it." John nodded and took his clothing off and waited while Erin dotted his body with bioapp sensors and gave him the rebreather to wear. After everything was ready he stepped into the tank and it closed behind him. The tank began to fill with a thick fluid which john found himself neutrally buoyant in, it was warm and John began to think that this is what the womb must feel like to a child. Once the chamber was full he heard Erin's voice, distorted through the thick liquid, "OK, John, down the rabbit hole..." and the bottom dropped out of his world.

[Krul]

How to explain color a blind man, or a sound to the deaf, or a taste to someone who had never experienced it? They tried, but for John, it was, as though the universe had,unraveled, unfolded, expanded? For a moment, it seemed as though every one of Otha's cryptic words made perfect sense, and yet, also somehow remained cyrptic.

Still, he had a sense of an ocean around him, going in all directions, an ocean that he hadn't seen before, that he hadn't even know was there, and it seemed to flow into him, an endless flood of what, somehow he knew, was what was called psi energy, and for a moment, he could see, something he knew was the future.

A ship in the void, a room of crystal, a shape that wasn't a shape, a dozen different lifebearing worlds flashing before his eyes, standing side by side with several men and women, who he knew were also psions, the moon floating in the void, and a great and terrible coming threat, somewhere in the future, to all of humanity, though he couldn't quite see it..

Then the moment passed, and he found himself being withdrawn from the tank, and universe had changed, well, it hadn't, only he had, but what he had seen, it was like he was stepping out into a different world.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Everything has changed; while not an accurate statement the sentiment behind it was true. For John everything was different and the same. Colors seemed crisper, sounds were more distinct, and the tactile sensation of the goo on his body was more intense than he would have thought possible. Using his fingers he squeezed the viscous stuff from his face, from his eyes, and ears, and around his mouth. His vision cleared and now not only was color more lush but so was his vision; he couldn't see any farther but he could see better. If asked he would have struggled to explain it, Like explaining blue to a blind man.

He moved to step out of the chamber and found a towel being offered to him, "Umm, thanks. Oh! That's weird ... my voice ..." he broke off and stared quizzically at Erin as though waiting for her to say something.

"What about your voice?" she asked gamely.

"It ... hmm, ok, wow. You sound the same, I sound the same but its different too. Like, I dunno, like a quality thing. This is so odd."

Erin nodded smiling, "It'll go away after a bit, well not really go away but you'll get used to it and it'll be second nature, just like it all was to you before."

John nodded and wrapped the towel, now sticky with slime, around his waist. "I think I need a shower." He grabbed his piled clothing with his free hand and plodded stickily toward the exit. Halfway there he turned and looked at the clear in the tank, "Thank you Tatie."

The woman's holographic data agent smiled, "You're welcome John."

[Krul]

Erin walked with him, to the showers, it was more or less what she had wanted shortly after her time in the tank, but she didn't need to direct him, like she had, he knew exactly where he was going. When he stopped a moment, and frowned, she smiled and spoke up. "Yes, John, Huraf al-Hayy actually is inside the Moon, incredibly deep inside the Moon, the space station thing is simply misdirection. I'm sure you can imagine the many different reasons why it's placed so." Even as she spoke, they came at last to the showers, and she opened the door for him. "I'll wait for you here, unless you would prefer to continue discussing matters while you take your shower?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John shook his head, "No. No, I think I would like to go and sleep, or meditate, or just think about things." He pushed the door open and then turned, pausing on the threshold for a moment. "I'll find you when I'm ready." He passed through into the showers and cleaned off before heading to his room deciding to try sleep first.

[Krul]

When he was ready, Erin was waiting in Huruf al-Hayy, in a room similar to that of the training room of a dojo, but not quite identical. She was quietly meditating, but she knew John would come to her soon, after all, she'd been assigned as his initial teacher and guide, for the first few steps, though he'd soon enough be ready to take the next steps without guidance. The room was carefully isolated and quiet, and there were several objects hanging on the walls, mostly items useful for a clear, but several small bioapps as well.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"Morning. What comes first? Meditation?" John wandered around the room, though his position never changed his point of view moved freely and he might as well have been walking around physically. It had been disconcerting at first but he was getting used to it, so long as he didn't look at himself, that tended to make him a touch nauseous for some reason.

[Krul]

"Meditation, and a bit of explanation, and training, that should make more sense now." She paused. "The clairsentience aptitude has been separated into three modes John, for better training, understanding and development, but it's all one, regardless of where one excels." She watched him a moment, then took a slow deep breath, in a manner of meditation. "At the moment, let's spend a bit of time meditating and exploring your perceptions, then we'll address questions and capabilities, and test some of yours."

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John folded down into a lotus position and closed his eyes. Copying his partner's breathing technique he cleared his mind and was soon drifting. After some time he realized that he could sense where the Prometheus chamber was. With a seconds worth of thought he knew exactly the steps to take to get there.

[Krul]

She glanced at him a moment, then smiled. "Very good, John, already sensing the still point, I see." She put a crystal out in front of him, the same crystal that he had brought with him. "We make a lot of use of these, to keep in contact... take a look at it and tell me why, if you can."

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Force of habit made him open an eye to look at her. She smiled, and he curled his mouth in a grimace, "I was meditating but I suppose I can look at your ... hey wait! That was in my pocket." He took the crystal back and opened his other eye. Strictly speaking he knew that he didn't need to look at the little blue crystal to see it; but strictly speaking there was nothing like looking at something with your own two eyes, and not even Herzog could convince him otherwise.

First he just looked at it; a crystal of deep clear blue, no apparent flaws or clouding. He reached out with the sight and he could see that it was very clearly a bioapp, or it was grown by one at any rate. He opened himself up further and he could sense something within the crystal, a manipulation of the psi print of the crystal itself. "Oh."

"Oh?" Erin looked mildly amused by his outburst.

"Yeah, I can see," he paused, scratched his head, "Umm, I can see some kind of manipulation of the noetic signature of the crystal. Is that supposed to mean something? should I be able to understand what it means?"

[Krul]

"Yes, with a bit of training." She gestured at the crystal a moment. "It's within our power to encode certain messages within the crystal, by subtle use of the subquantum. The IRSA regularly checks up on one another, and making use of our aptitude, we can read messages encoded in that crystal, at any distance." She paused to allow him to consider the ramifications.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"So faster than light communication, at least over the sensing range of the psions involved. Does Æon know about this or is it an ISRA secret? I can totally understand if we keep this secret, just like where we really are right now." John looked at the crystal again, "How far is the sensing range anyway?"

[Krul]

"Actually, John, there isn't a limit to how far a clairsentient can sense things, if they have the right modes within our aptitude." She allowed him a moment to consider the implications of that before she continued.

"As to knowing about it, we don't hide, or advertise this particular capability. Trinity knows of it, and some within the orders know of it, but it's not public knowledge. We don't lie about it, we simply don't say much about it at all."

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"I see. So one could potentially send their senses to another planet? Visit Mars from the comfort of your living room on Terra?" John smiled, "Sounds like a good way to take cheap vacations." He considered Erin's comments about Æon and the other orders, "So we just don't advertise. I guess that's probably a good idea. What kind of relations do we have with the other orders? I mean unofficially? I'm well aware of the Æon rhetoric that we are all one big happy family working to protect humanity, but I'm just as aware that family member often fight more than anybody else."