Aberrant: Dead Rising - Constitutional Considerations

[Dawn OOC]

9:00 a.m., May 17, 2007

The massive area that Fox had chosen for the assembly was open and wide, yet it was already crowded by the time that Fox arrived. “Told you everyone was here,” Markham said warily, his eyes scanning the crowd to judge their moods. The day was already warm; summer was signifying her coming presence early.

Fox nodded. “Looks like everyone,” he said after a moment.

“Wouldn’t be able to tell if it weren’t, with all the newcomers,” Ger said from his position on Fox’s other side. He looked just as nervous as Markham, but that softened into a smile as Jules joined them. “Good morning, ma’am.”

“It’s Jules, Ger, I’ve told you that,” Jules said with a warm grin. As his ear tips reddened, she looked at Fox. “Hey, Morgan and Markham. We ready to roll?”

“As close as we can be,” Fox said, meeting her eyes before they darted away. Hiding a sigh at the status of their relationship, he lifted himself into the air. The crowd fell silent has he hovered out over them. Reaching out with a touch of his unnatural charisma, he started, “Welcome to the first assembly to determine who Fox’s Refuge will be governed.

“When I first began to allow succor to those who needed aid, I never imagined we’d grow like this. At the time, my leadership was enough. Now, we need to move beyond that. We need to become truly representative of the many people we have living here. I’m proud of how far we’ve come as a community, and how much further we will go together.

“My proposal is this: we will divide into groups of fifty, and each group votes a representative to serve on the Leadership Council. There will be no judges to make bench-laws, no president to force his will through executive orders. This will be the rules you want, made by the people you pick.

“We’ll need to draft a constitution to outline terms and limits, and that’s what today is about. If we can get it all done, we can hold a vote soon – July 4th sounds like a good day for it.” He looked around and said, “Let’s hear what you want in it. Come on, speak up!”

Click to reveal..

Fox, sorry to steal your thunder; I needed to get this started ASAP, though.

I’ll let a couple of PCs say something, then add some NPC’s opinions. I don’t want to drag this out, so if you haven’t replied by the 28th, I’ll assume you have nothing to add. That’s more than a week.

[Venus]

Kristin had spent most of the day with her, helping her out to rearrange the club and basically enjoying her presence. The young extremely buff teenage girl displayed a happiness and peace of mind unlike she's ever seen before. All she had to do is be around her and give her a reassuring smile.

Violet was happy in many ways. She was expecting triplets, Dan seemed to be up to the task of being a father and raising his children and Jill wasn't as reluctant as she used to when it came to having her own children. Kristin's demeanour had completely changed and the darkness that clouded, no infected her soul was mostly gone.

Now this meeting was an interesting issue but Violet wasn't sure if she liked the idea. On one hand it was a good thing that the people of the community got a chance to form a government on the other hand Violet felt safe and good how things were running right now. Captain Fox was a good leader and together with Jules their decisions were reasonable and for the better of everybody. They were King and Queen - but no tyrants.

Kristin had found a good place for them to sit and watch the whole meeting. People were staring at them but there were more than enough guards around to keep order and Dan was closeby, watching over them all. All women in Violet's entourage felt save with Dan around but she was sure that soon would rumors arise about Dan's Harem. He was the only male in a group of 5 women, three of which were among the most beautiful women in the entire community.

As soon as Fox was done with his speech Violet almost felt compelled to ask a question but she was sure it would be counterproductive so she opted to remain silent. She would wait for an opportune moment or most likely keep all questions to herself. Her opinion could insite a riot she feared. A proxy would be a good idea, someone who spoke in her stead and thus reduce the amount of shit thrown at her. Suddenly she didn't feel as good anymore. What if the community voted on something that would force her to leave? What if they took away everything she had? She would have to do something against that but what? What wouldn't make her look like a demon if she was forced to act?

[Dylan Harvey]

Dylan sat to the side playing on a Gamboy Advance. He came to hear this although he wasn't sure how much he could add. His talents all leaned towards fixing problems in things. The problem with this was every system had problems, and often fixing one caused another. Still a thought did suddenly occur to him. He called out without really looking up.

"Two year term limits on the council."

[Courier]

James had walked in with an all female crew. The harem was back. Violet was impossible to replace but clearly James had done his best. JoAnna and Nashwa were on either side of James and openly admitted to being 'with' him. Jan and Helen claimed they were both 'just friends', but it stood out as odd any woman from Paradise would be friends with a man. Pat was the odd duck out in both looks & age and was next to her daughter Nashwa.

James stood where he couldn't easily see Violet.

James yelled out, "Fox to sit as head of the council!"

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan smiled. He looked to the security personnel, and the other greasemonkeys who worked in the garage. They knew he'd serve if asked, but he wasn't arrogant enough to raise his own name. He also knew many would see him as a slave to Violet, though that was far from the truth. He felt his actions spoke louder than anything, and it was clear that he believed in the Refuge, and that Fox had his confidence as a leader.

He looked to Violet and nodded. Having known ahead of time about this, he knew a course of action that needed to be taken. "First I'll throw my support behind Captain Fox, but I'd also seek to nominate Reverend Gerald as a member of this council."

It was very unexpected for a Man in Dan's position to nominate the Christian Reverend, but Dan hoped it would speak of his desire to advocate cooperation and tolerance in the Refuge.

[z016]

Gabrielle held up her hands and laughed, not at anyone but in honest happiness at the enthusiasm of people to get involved. She pitched her voice to carry over the field. "Hold up, hold up! Okay, today is for people getting together and getting know one another and for deciding how we're going to have the council function. Nominations can be done this evening or tomorrow morning after people have gotten together and figured out their groups. The idea so far is one representative for every fifty or so people, which right now would mean a council of 14 representatives from the numbers we've been counting over the past couple of days."

She nodded to James, "As for any sort of head of the council or such, I think we should let the council itself decide if it needs a specific 'head'. A tie-breaking neutral party to run meetings...I forget what they're called, but I remember something like that from the mock government things my brother used to go to, might be another alternative to a 'High Counciler'." She grinned and chuckled, "That and I'll be forever making Star Wars jokes if we go with that title." She wrinkled her nose, "Though I think was Chancellor and not Councilor...."

She shrugged and shook her head, still grinning, "Anyways, I think two year terms are a good idea, but we should work up to it. We're still mostly straners to each other and it'll take time to really get to know who here is good at leadership and good at governing. How about starting with six month terms and each new term will be extended six months - so six months for the first term, a year for the second, and so on - until we hit two year terms?"

The question was somewhat directed at Dylan, but also to the gathering as a whole. It was a good question, and one that should be answered before power was handed over to this council.

[Fox]

At the edge of the gathering, a large camo-painted hummvee was drawn up, the hand-painted license plate reading 1K FALCON and a small group of people clustered around it. A few folding chairs were dotted nearby, though the common consensus amongst the small group was that the best seats were the hood and the roof. As a brave new world was forged from memories and ideals of the last, Bond & Co. sat, lay or lounged on and around the Falcon, drinking coffee and sodas and watching the shenanigans.

"You said this would be in-ner-restin'!" Pumpkin twisted around in Bond's lap to glare at him accusingly as the crowd started to get organised, the hubbub rising and falling, now and then to die away as one or more of the inhumanly magnetic supers stood up to speak before starting up once more. Bond was sat in a chair on the Falcon's roof, a beer in one hand and the other arm looped loosely around the indignant Pumpkin. "'s jus' a lot of people talking!"

"Patience." Bond murmured back to her, a sly smile on his face. "Some of the most interesting things can happen when a lot of people are talking."

"Is this like the barg'ning?" Pumpkin brightened as she saw the familiar smile. When she was bored, one of her 'favritist' hobbies was to sit in the 'shop' and watch Bond barter with the Refuge people. Craning her neck, she looked around. "What 're they tray-ding?"

"Ideas." Bond replied. "They are trading ideas. And we- " he tapped her nose gently, "... that's you, me, Jasmine and Hana - as traders need to know which ideas get sold and which ones get thrown away. But you can't see ideas very easily, you can only hear them. There's a secret there, too." He leaned close and stage-whispered to her.

"Sometimes, if you listen properly and think sharp, you can hear people's real ideas under what they say." He glanced over at Jasmine and Hana, who he knew could hear him, and winked as Pumpkin's face took on an attitude of ferocious concentration, the young girl peering at the crowd and the Supers that moved among them.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine shot a small grin at Jim from the ground, and grabbed the soda Hana had requested, handing it to where the girl lay, stomach-down, on the hood of the Hummer. Then she climbed up herself, one foot stepping effortlessly on the large wheel of the vehicle to boost herself up onto the hood next to Hana. She leaned back against the windshield, careful not to bother the windshield wipers, and popped open the top of the can she'd grabbed for herself - a Hawaiian Punch this time.

"Of course, the more honest they are about their real ideas, the harder it might be for them to come to any compromises."

Then she leaned over and murmured playfully in Hana's ear, too low for the others present to actually hear her.

"I have a feeling we're going to be here awhile..."

[Atomicweasel]

Hana grinned bashfully at Jasmine and popped her soda top. But for her Adidas, she was dressed exclusively in Kristin hand-me-downs: little athletic shorts that left her slender thighs naked to the sun and a white tank-top that allowed for just a thin swath of tanned midriff to peek out between the hem and waistband. She would have been burning herself on the hot hood of the Hummer, were it not for the faded yellow towel that Jasmine had thoughtfully laid out for her. The Adidas sneakers were neatly lined up to one side of Hana’s left leg, and her dainty bare feet were raised up, and swayed gently back and forth behind her as Hana sipped from her Mountain Dew.

Turning her attention back to the gathering, Hana watched quietly for a moment, then turned to whisper back at Jasmine, “That girl looks just like an angel...what’s her name?”

[Jasmine Gentian]

"Her name's Gabrielle. She used to belong to an enclave in Kansas where this guy was brainwashing people, it was like a cult. It was a cult. He convinced people to be injected with the Z-Virus in order to infect others, because the Z-Virus was the will of god and the end times or something crazy like that. Well, he injected her but instead of dying and spreading the virus, she changed instead, became like she looks now. The change kind of.. broke his hold over her, I guess. She and Dr. Shattuck escaped that enclave together - you can imagine they were ready to kill them once they found out what had happened, and what she'd tried to do. So if we ever go to Beaver Lake in Arkansas, don't ever mention anything about Gabrielle there, okay? They came here instead, and told Fox about what was going on in Kansas. That was about the same time I got here, or not long after. We went to her old refuge and dealt with the crazy bastard. We left the rest of them alone though, except for kicking out those people who wouldn't agree to stop what he'd been doing. When they realized he was going to blow they place right on top of their heads, most of them wised up pretty fast. And Fox swore he'd come back and.. deal with it, if they did it again."

She took a quiet sip from her can as she listened to a couple of Fox's refugees voice a heated agreement to the six-month term limit idea, and another one argue against it - a year at the least, they said - six months wasn't enough to get anything done. When neither one seemed willing to relent on the debate after a moment, Jasmine continued to talk, quietly but not in a whisper, since they were far enough away not to disturb anyone else.

"Gabrielle offered to take over the leadership of the refuge then, and they all seemed willing to follow her. They're still definitely religious - but from what I can tell, in a more humanitarian, Catholic-charity, lead-by-example kinda way. Gabrielle told me they came here to help out after what I told them was going on at the prison. And I think they're considering merging with Fox's. She's.. nice. And she tries really hard , for as young as she is."

It was an odd statement, coming from Jasmine - almost as if she had forgotten that she was only a year or so older than the angelic-looking figure she was talking about. She felt older than Gabrielle looked, but that wasn't unusual for the young super - she'd always been that way, ever since being diagnosed as a child. You grow up awfully fast when you don't know how much growing up you have left.

"I took Pumpkin to meet her, considered it as a place for her to stay. But.. she'd gotten attached, by then. And me too, to be fair. So I promised her we'd stick together after that."

[SalmonMax]

There was at that point a metallic knocking on the frame of the humvee. When Jasmine and Hana turned, they saw Myfwany gently rapping her knuckles on the metal skin of the vehicle to get their attention. Bond of course had seen her coming a mile off. The doctor was without her usual white coat, and in regular clothes she looked somehow younger than when in full on 'doctor mode.' A green t-shirt with a faded 'recycling' logo on it, combined with plain old brown corduroy pants lent her a kind of college studenty vibe.

"Hey guys," she said with a sunny smile. "I heard you were going to be leaving for a while soon. Mind if I ask you a favor before you go?"

[Atomicweasel]

Hana rose up on her elbows and smiled demurely past Jasmine at Myfwany. She guiltily realized just then that she hadn’t bothered to tell the doctor she was leaving. Her little job at the infirmary would be over. It hadn’t been much of a job to begin with, cleaning and sweeping and tidying up the doctor’s already tidy and clean office, finding things to organize that didn’t need organizing, and, when she was lucky, following the doctor along on her rounds and helping to fetch instruments or gauze or whatever. It had been busywork, and Hana suspected that the doctor just wanted to keep her nearby and under watch until the oft-threatened, but never executed, ‘more thorough exam’ was done. She had tried her best to distract Myfwany from such ideas with quiet obedience—doing everything that was asked her of without complaint—but she still worried that Myfwany had seen something, had looked into her as the doctor had looked into Kristin and Jasmine...and seen not a baby, but the umbra that lurked inside of her.

Now Hana felt a twinge of fear. Had Myfwany come to ask her to submit to the exam? They were leaving soon. She was almost home-free. Bond hadn’t even wanted to stay this long, but the spectacle of the Refuge’s ‘Constitutional Considerations’, as he called it, had been too tantalizing a curiosity to pass up. Hana suspected Bond even cared about the outcome a little, though he pretended not to.

“Hi, Doctor Myfwany.” Hana murmured in a quiet aside, then looked back at Gabrielle. She lifted the binoculars from the towel and held them up to her eyes. Like Violet and Kristin, and that Native American woman Hana had seen once or twice, Gabrielle was unnaturally beautiful. But of them all, Hana thought Gabrielle the most lovely. Her looks lacked the darker edge that the Indian woman had, the wicked allure of Violet, or the muscled perfection of Kristin...but she was breathtaking just the same. Radiant. Just looking at her filled Hana with hope and made the darkness nibbling at the edge of her consciousness recede into a faint tingle...

...so why had Jasmine hesitated when she’d said Gabrielle was nice? Hana pursed her lips thoughtfully and then lowered the binoculars back to the towel. She looked between Jasmine and Myfwany, sipped from her soda, and waited to see what the doctor wanted.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine glanced up at Myf at the sound, and smiled Myfwany, motioning towards the cooler on the ground.

"Sure, doc - help yourself to a soda or beer, or whatever, if you'd like. What can we do for you?"

She sat up a little more, waiting to hear Myfwany's request.

[Stargaizer]

Nathan stood silently, for the moment, towards the edge of the crowd next to Dylan. He had several ideas, including a public works program, but he'd wait until they were broken up into groups to discuss them.

He seriously doubted that he'd be chosen as a representative, but he definitely had ideas for whomever was chosen to represent him.

[Fox]

Bond looked down from the top of the hummvee at Myf and smiled in greeting. "Yes, do join us, doctor. We're kibitzing here: Jasmine and I have a bet running as to whether my view of human nature makes me a cynic or an oracle."

He winked slyly at Jasmine, then turned his attention to Myfwany.

[Venus]

Violet couldn't stop thinking Why change something that was good? She didn't see anything wrong with the way things were run by Captain Fox and Jules. They tended to all the needs within reasonable limits, given the resources the community had. Why create a governmental body all of a sudden?

She looked around grasping for Jill's hand and squeezing it tightly. Violet was getting nervous and worried but maybe she was projecting too much into this. Maybe she would find a way to get her opinion represented somehow, she'd have to wait until the smaller groups were founded and then she would see how well received she was among the people. Right now she didn't think that people were very fond of her but at least she had done everything she could to change her public image.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany chuckled and shook her head. "I take it as encouraging that humanity has a history of setting up relatively stable systems of governance despite its inner nature and flaws."

"Anyway, what I wanted to ask was if you," she nodded at Bond, "and Jasmine would be willing to help me with an experiment before you go. I'll be asking most of the other 'supers' in the refuge too, but since you're leaving I came here first."

"Basically, I just want to make some detailed observations of what's happening inside your bodies as you use your abilities. My goal is to learn more about how to interpret what I see, so I can start to draw more detailed conclusions than just, 'He has powers,' or 'he doesn't.'"

[Courier]

James commented to his group, "This is the point where everyone tries to bore everyone else into submission. Hmm... I wonder what my odds are on becoming a delegate?" I wonder if I could buy votes? Wow, politics degenerates pretty quick.

[Dawn OOC]

The man in front of James snorted just after his comment, but didn't turn around. It was hard to say that his snort had been directed at James' comment but the timing was questionable. Nashwa stepped forward, poked him in the back and said, "Hey, buddy. Got something to say to my boyfriend? Then say it to his face."

Meanwhile, in less dramatic areas of the assembly, a woman spoke up. "Equal rights for us 'little folks' and you supers."

"And protection from abuse by supers!"

"A police force that doesn't answer to the military tyranny."

"Second Amendment Rights within the complex!"

"Separation of Church and State!"

"No more forced work detail... hire people for the jobs."

One women, one who was known to work in the red tent, shouted, "Let us make our livings however we can."

One of Pastor Gerald's people called out, "Proportional representation of supers and norms - no council full of supers."

"Hold on!" Fox raised his hands. "We're not making laws today. We're setting up how the council will work. The council will take today's suggestions into consideration when they make the laws. With that in mind, tell us what you want on your council, and what limits you want on those who can serve."

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine was about to reply to Myfwany, but people started shouting suggestions, and she held up a hand temporarily to her to indicate that she wanted a moment to listen. Sure, they were going to be traders, and what laws they created her only affected her and her new family and fellow band to the extent that if affected the trading. But hearing some of the comments, and the resentment seething under the surface, she spoke up with one of the few suggestions she had thought of during her time waiting for this Constitutional Convention to occur.

"Perhaps, Captain Fox, you should start by finding out if there's anyone who has civil service experience in your refuge. Lawyers, judges, people with experience representing others. There's no need to reinvent the wheel after all - just modify it for the current situation. People who are already familiar with the old laws and systems of government are probably best suited to help negotiate the tricky waters of readjustment, and are - hopefully - the most likely to treat both regular and enhanced people fairly."

Then she glanced back at Myf with a nod.

"Sure, Myf - I don't mind. Perhaps later today, after this is all over? I think we're planning to leave tomorrow.. right, Jim?"

She glanced at Bond for confirmation, just to see what he said. From the sounds of it the refuge wouldn't be getting a lot accomplished today, other than preparations for an election and perhaps a few basic guidelines they wanted to implement. So Jasmine didn't see any reason for them to stick around longer - they could find out what had been decided for sure the next time they came around. It would probably take that long to reach any serious, law-related decisions anyway.

[Venus]

Slowly it was dawning on Violet that Dan had known about this in advance as most likely some of the other supers, too. No one had told her that this kind of meeting was in the making but now it was too late anyway. Her eyes scanned the crowd and saw the angry faces clamouring for their rights.

Their going to take it all away - their going to put me up at a stake and burn me if no one stops them...

"I'm scared.", she quietly said to Jill squeezing her hand again. Right now she wanted to stand up and go away but then she wouldn't have even tried to speak up for her own rights. Why didn't Dan tell her? Why didn't anyone tell her what they were up to?

Jill looked at Violet sharing some of her worries but knew that this was one of those occasions she had to be strong for her. She placed an arm around her pulling her closer and giving her comfort. "Shh, it'll be alright. There are a lot of good people around here. We'll find a good solution for all of us."

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

The man in front of James snorted just after his comment, but didn't turn around. It was hard to say that his snort had been directed at James' comment but the timing was questionable. Nashwa stepped forward, poked him in the back and said, "Hey, buddy. Got something to say to my boyfriend? Then say it to his face."

James added, "Fox is the most experienced and successful leader we have."

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

Meanwhile, in less dramatic areas of the assembly, a woman spoke up. "Equal rights for us 'little folks' and you supers."

"And protection from abuse by supers!"

James winked in that general direction and asked, "You mean we're not? And is someone abusing someone?"

Quote:

"Separation of Church and State!"

"No more forced work detail... hire people for the jobs."

James said with approval, "Here here."

Quote:

"Hold on!" Fox raised his hands. "We're not making laws today. We're setting up how the council will work. The council will take today's suggestions into consideration when they make the laws. With that in mind, tell us what you want on your council, and what limits you want on those who can serve."

James called out, "Have them spend two months putting together a constitution, then we'll vote on it and new councilors."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan noticed Violet's discomfort. "The council will be fair. Don't worry. Things will work out."

He put an arm around her and smiled. "Everything's going to be allright. I'm here with you."

[Venus]

Violet's fear and worry instantly changed to hate and anger which was partially directed at Dan, "You knew about this meeting, didn't you? How long have you been planning this and when did you think would be a good time to tell me? Obviously never because now we're right in the middle of it...", Jill had a hard time keeping Violet restraint.

The unearthly beauty pulled the hood of her robe deeper into her face hiding the hateful glow of her unnatural purple glowing eyes. She wasn't doing Dan right, he didn't deserve this outburst of hers but the fear she was harboring needed some way to be vented...

"Violet...", Jill carefully protested. "I don't think this was done on purpose...", the buff barbie looked at Dan sighing at him and giving him a compassionate smile. She really didn't want to be in his shoes right now. Sometimes Violet was like a vulcan - you couldn't predict when she would explode.

[Dan Hawkins]

"Violet. I have been so busy since we got back I have only slept maybe twenty hours in a handful of days." He sighs. "I did know about this meeting, but it slipped my mind to tell you."

He was annoyed, but he did understand where she was coming from.

[Venus]

Busy... right. Busy enough with other stuff instead of making out with me. I got it figured out, Dan., Violet was wallowing in her theories about why Dan was so reluctant to have sex with her on every fucking single occasion they had. He was too busy with... what? His work? Sure he had a lot to do, a lot of responsibility, but when he came back home - why did he keep her waiting for so long?

Violet fumed underneath her hood glaring angrily at Dan but he couldn't see it. Jill felt how Violet's breathing got faster and agitated. Whatever was going on, Violet was really upset.

"Hey... calm down, honey. This is by the people for the people and we're all in the same boat. Everyone has to pull himself together if we want to make it as a community, as a civilisation. ", Jill was surprised of herself but she got the general idea of this meeting and approved much with what has been said so far. Things will certainly change to a certain degree but it will be fairly distributed and accounted for. "Dan is right, things will be alright.", Jill added reassuringly to her lover.

[Fox]

Bond nodded in response to Jasmine's query, then smiled at Myf. "I'd be happy to help out after this. I don't know exactly what you'd get from me, though. Most of my abilities seem to be passive: second-nature and internal as opposed to leaping tall buildings or weightlifting."

He paused for a moment, pale eyes sweeping over the crowd as his sensitive ears and eyes measured individual reactions at the previously-identified flashpoints. A small smile playing over his lips, he looked back at Myfwany.

"That said, I am at your disposal, doctor."

[Atomicweasel]

Hana watched the conversation between Jasmine, Myfwany and Bond with interest. Her eyes moved from one speaker to the next as if she were following a ping-pong match with avid concentration. Her feet were still now, her legs stretched out flat upon the towel.

"How do you know?" Hana abruptly asked Myfwany. "How can you tell if someone has powers?" Before Myfwany could answer, the little teen hastily added, "Can you tell what kind of powers they have?"

[Mr Fox]

Fox listened to the suggestions people called out. They were about what he expected, but he had a few concerns of his own that he made sure were represented in the constitution. Fairness toward the 'normals' was important, but so was fairness to the supers. There were a lot more normals than there were supers and he didn't want to see one group enslaved to the other, either direction.

As the morning moved into afternoon things were shaping up nicely. People were debating and talking and 'having their say', which was what this was all about, but they were also getting organized and moving toward electing representatives.

One woman from the prison called out, "I don't like the idea of electing people to this council before we even know what they will be voting on. I want to be part of making the constitution!"

Fox grinned, "That's what this is all about. Don't think of this as electing congressmen and women, but more like appointing delegates to the Constitutional Convention." He spoke for all to hear and his words cut through the chatter, "The people we elect here today will be the ones forming the constitution, not the ones eventually governing, although they might be elected to the government later if you vote for them. The representatives will be the people that you can speak directly to in order to get your concerns voiced in the new documents of our government. There are just too many of us to debate and each say our piece before this whole assembly, we'd be here for months and months if we did that. So, with that all said, lets divide into groups of 50 and get to it. Once we have the delegates chosen we can get down to the real business of writing the Constitution and Bill of Rights."

Looking to the entire crowd making eye contact with various people across the crowd he finished, "Don't worry, once the delegates have a first draft of the documents we'll publish them for everyone to read and we'll vote on them, we'll do that over and over until we have something that is as fair as possible to everyone, and I can assure you I will not sign off on anything that I don't feel best represents everyone in the community."

[SalmonMax]

Myf nodded at Bond. "That's one reason I want to try this," she said to him. "I want to see how your more subtle abilities work...if I can see them at all."

Hana's question brings a smile to her face and she shakes her head. "Right now I can't. One of my powers is that I can see different kinds of...well, I'm not sure what to call it. Energy, maybe. Supers draw on some kind of internal 'power' when they use their abilities, and I can see that. Sort of the same way I can see a person's life as if it was green light, I can see their power as if it was golden yellow light."

She nods at Pumpkin. "That's how I can tell when she's making things, or how I can see Walker even when he's invisible."

"But I haven't been able to do it for long, so I'm still not sure how to understand what I'm seeing sometimes. If I see golden light in a man's arm, is that because he's using superhuman strength, or because he's about to shoot fire from his hands? I can't tell right now. I figure I just need some practice though."

[z016]

Gabrielle stepped over to Fox once people began milling about in search of groups. She pulled him away from the crowds, Caleb and several others quietly stepped between the two leaders and the other people to give them so privacy. The two spoke back and forth for several minutes, looks of concentration and concern flitting from one to the other and back again. Eventually Gabrielle nodded, her expression somewhere between neutral and resigned, and the two parted ways.

The angel gathered up the other leaders of her people with a look and made her way towards the bulk of her congregation. A murmured quest from the grey-haired Emma was met with a swift shake of the blond girl's head; Caleb tensed and Emma sighed, glancing back to the handsome Captain with a pensive look. Followers from Hayes slowly matriculated around the three, drifting in with curious and guarded expressions as they caught the somber mood of their angelic leader and her advisors.

Eventually the group made their way into the thick of Pastor Gerald's flock, Gabrielle speaking in her soft but insistent way. "I need to speak with Pastor Gerald, if he's available please."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan watched the happenings as well, and nodded to Violet. "Fox will Win a place." He walked over to Morgan and nodded. "I don't know who else you'll end up with, but you've been fair enough in our dealings, and a good leader in my time here. I'll support you."

[Mr Fox]

Fox looked with concern after Gabrielle, she had asked some hard questions, but he'd given her the honest answers, and that was the best he could do.

He gave Dan his attention, "Thanks. It's appreciated. We'll see what happens, people are wanting what they want. I just hope they will keep in mind that for a government to survive and function properly it has to be based on compromise and equal treatment for all. I won't be party to anything that doesn't ensure freedom for everyone and equal rights under the law." He frowned after the religious faction gathering up. "Worse comes to worse, I'll pack up and move someplace more defensible and leave the refuge to whatever they elect if it's not something I can approve of."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan nodded. "I can understand that." He offered Fox a rare smile, "I hear Hawaii is nice, worse come to worse."

[Dawn OOC]

A black woman walked forward, gently stepping forward out of the gathering crowds. The group of hard-faced women behind her gave away her former residence in Paradise. The woman approaching didn't look as hard; her eyes were intelligent instead of flinty. Stopping in front of Fox, she waited for him to acknowledge her. When he did, she spoke.

"I'm Inanna," she told him. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Fox."

"Not a problem," he said, giving her a charming smile.

"I have one question," she said, her voice firm. "If we're supposed to vote on this, and we're all equal, every last one of us, then why do you get a veto vote over us all?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

There was a movement in the crowd and Gabrielle heard her request being carried into Gerald's flock. After a moment, the middle-aged pastor stepped forward, smiling. "Gabrielle, it's a pleasure," he said, his voice rumbling in his chest. "I'm sorry I haven't had time to come see you, but the needs of the flock from Paradise have been pressing. What can I help you with?"

[Mr Fox]

Fox chuckled, "I never said I get a veto, I said if it wasn't a fair constitution that I wouldn't sign off on it. If the majority of people gathered here make a document that decrees that one group can be forced to do something against their will by another group, or that people don't have the right to their property, or any other blatantly unfair thing law, then I'll leave and let the majority have their government, but I won't be part of it. You and everyone else here have that same right. I was a Captain in the US Air Force before Z-day, but even then I wouldn't have followed an order that went against my conscience, and I won't start now under a shiny new constitution. There are a lot of people here that want to see what they believe incorporated in the new government, but I'm more concerned that nothing be put in that establishes any one group over another. The will of the majority cannot be allowed to override the rights of the minority whether that minority be a skin color, a religion, a profession, or a genetic condition."

[Dan Hawkins]

He wasn't sure, but he had a good idea the woman was referring to the nukes. He waited to see how Fox would handle this, prepared to rise to the occasion if he had to.

When Morgan answered he smiled. Well said.

"The point is to make this government fair to everyone, no one group has more power than the other. I served as a Captain in the Marines, and I still believe in the values this country was founded upon."

[Courier]

James tried to let his personality fill the room and called out, "Vote James! Separation of Church and State! Equal rights for all people! No Sex laws about consenting adults! Keep the bedroom police from forming!"

James started to talk to people, shake hands, try to generate support for his 'platform', and generally convince people of his leadership potential. He asked a young man he knew wasn't married, "Question for you, do you think Gerald will try to shut down the red tent?" Now where's that guy with three wives?

Click to reveal..

4x Chr+Command rolls, with relevant quality, 2 mega-dice first. Done to try to attract people.

8d10.hitsopen(7,10) → [5,8,8,2,[10, 6],4,2,[10, 10, 2]] = 6 sux

8d10.hitsopen(7,10) → [2,7,7,4,[10, 3],3,2,7] = 5 sux

8d10.hitsopen(7,10) → [9,1,5,4,8,8,5,4] = 4 sux

8d10.hitsopen(7,10) → [8,5,9,5,3,[10, 5],5,8] = 5 sux

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2428727/

[Dawn OOC]

At Fox's chuckle, Inanna's mood changed. "I'm glad you find this amusing, Mr. Fox," she snapped, her eyes filling with anger.

"No one is questioning anyone's values," she added coldly. "I asked a question based on a poorly worded statement." Her dark eyes turned back to Fox. "And no, we don't have the same right to leave. If you leave, you fly away to a new place that you spot from the air. If I leave, I spend the next several weeks looking for a new place, dodging zombies and praying I don't find the next Paradise. It is easy for the privledged to say, 'Just leave,' but you have no idea what living like me is. You never have. You're white, straight, male and... whatever you are, super, I guess. And only a white, straight male super would say none of that matters.

"You have the guns, you have the power and you have the immunity to that damned virus. Now, Mr. Fox, are you going to look me in the eyes and tell me we stand on equal footing?"

[Atomicweasel]

Back at the Hummer, Hana wrinkled her nose at Myfwany in an adorable little squint.

"So, you can only tell if someone has powers when they're using them?" Hana asked Myfwany. That's a dumb power, Hana thought. Anyone can do that. She felt some of the tension slip away from her. Myfwany didn't know anything. Hana lifted her feet back up into the air and kicked them slowly back and forth.

"You know what we should totally get?" Hana asked, sipping from her soda and looking up at Jasmine.

"What should we totally get?" Jasmine grinned.

"Straws." Hana answered, blushing, but undeterred.