And That's Okay (part 18)
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Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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21st July 2013
12:59 GMT
"Paul." Adam Blake smiles as he shakes my right hand. "I wasn't sure that you'd be coming back."
I frown mildly. "You weren't? I thought.. you were always sure about things."
"Not always." He steps back and gestures towards the interior of the Tamaran royal palace. I nod and follow him inside. "Between my telepathy, telekinesis and… Reasoning, I can usually tell how people will respond to things. But between your resistance to telepathy and the influence of the Ophidian, as well as the fact that I don't know you particularly well, it's more difficult."
"Are you in good health? No lingering effects from your imprisonment?"
"Several, but don't worry. Between the technology of the Crown Imperium and my knowledge of my physiology, it wasn't anything that we couldn't fix."
"Since your abilities are a natural part of your body… A stem cell solution would fix it, wouldn't it?"
He smiles. "I forget how far human science has advanced since I left Earth. But it wasn't quite that simple. The parts of my brain affected are the centres of my brain responsible for my telekinesis. And due to the damage, other parts of my brain had started adapting to the change in load stress. It was a fascinating problem."
"Phantom limb syndrome, except the limb is your brain."
"More like another limb. So what brings you back? Is there a problem on Earth?"
I… Hesitate, and he looks at me with an expression of concern.
"A big problem?"
"Have you ever heard of the Anti-Life?"
He nods. "Komand'r shared her ring's database while she was trying to seduce me. It sounds implausible, but I haven't investigated it for myself."
"Oh, it exists. Six months ago, Earth got hit by a mass broadcast. It was essentially weaponised clinical depression with a touch of mind control."
He blinks. "How long did it last?"
"About a month. We haven't quite had to rebuild civilisation from scratch, but… It's basically just a few dozen superheroes and quite a lot of gold currency keeping a lot of places functioning."
"Do you want my help?"
"Can Vega spare you?"
He wiggles his right hand dismissively. "I completed my reconstruction plan before we bombarded the psion world. I'm here to maintain morale and support King Myand'r more than anything practical."
"Not too bored, I hope?"
He considers the idea, then shrugs. "I've… Grown accustomed to slow periods. When I was younger, something like this would drive me up the wall. Now, I honestly find it a bit of a relief."
"I can give you almost complete data on Earth's logistics systems, industries and political structures. It's all a bit much for me, but Batman and Mister Atom have been going over it since we got rid of the Anti-Life."
"Who is this 'Mister Atom'?"
"An artificial intelligence in a robotic body. Very strong, very tough, very intelligent. Feeds on radiation. He's good at handling large quantities of data. Not so good with people, but he's willing to take advice."
"If they've managed the Earth's economy for five months, why are you asking for my help now?"
"Because I'm concerned about Batman's methods, and what they suggest about how his character is changing for the worse. I can't see a better alternative, but I know that you're a lot more intelligent than I am, so… If you can't see a better way, then I can take that as read and move on to damage mitigation."
"His methods.. being centralization of power in his hands, legislative change to keep it there, the creation of a private army answerable to him and… His own mind control system possibly derived from the Anti-Life?"
"From the Anti-Life broadcasters, yes. We're reasonably sure that he doesn't have access to an Anti-Life fragment. They're… Not subtle. And what we did to get rid of it should be flawless."
"And the other points?" I nod. "Has his behavior changed since the Anti-Life broadcast happened?"
"I'm.. not sure exactly when, but he became significantly friendlier and nicer. And.. I needed someone to use a yellow power ring, so I forcibly altered his mind." Adam's face hardens. "I know, I'm not proud of myself, but it was the best way I could see to remove the Anti-Life from Earth. Our civilisation was dying, and I.. thought I could undo it afterwards."
"And you couldn't?"
I shake my head. "I thought I did. He seemed alright. Angry with me, sure, but basically himself. And then… He started changing. I don't know it's because of me, but I'm the most obvious cause. I'll include a full report in the data."
He.. nods, his expression softening slightly. I suppose that as a telepath in a world of non-telepaths, he'd.. probably have been tempted to give people a bit of a mental nudge now and again. Particularly when they all seemed too slow to grasp ideas that he found simple. The fact that there's no record of him doing so indicates the strength of his morals… On the other hand, I imagine that the psions would have preferred it to what he did to them. And I don't think he ever ran into a situation like the Anti-Life.
"And… Thank you. I don't like having to ask people to help clear up my messes, but there are-."
"The Earth is at stake. And that's more important than pride or shame." I nod. "That's… Almost surprisingly human of you."
"No it isn't. I desire things more strongly than momentary ego-gratification. All the work I put into Earth-. I'm not having it wasted because an evil god wanted to study what happened when he treads on us. My guilt doesn't matter. My goal matters."
"Still surprisingly human. Will you wait while I perform an initial analysis, or do you need to return to Earth?"
"I.. can probably wait. I'm not much of an investigator, and I won't really know what the next step is until you give me your opinion."
He regards me curiously. "That's interesting. I've seen how both Komand'r and Koriand'r behave when they channel the orange light. How it changes them. Less in Komand'r case, but there's a noticeable shift in how both of them prioritise things."
"I'm enlightened. I'm at one with my desires. If you want to take a closer look, I can take a moment to undo my anti-telepathy defences. But I'll warn you, it's a bit… Odd."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Only if your intent is hostile. My friend M'gann's communicated with me telepathically hundreds of times."
"I think I'll take you up on that, just not right now."
I nod. "And I noticed that about Koriand'r too. I think she'd be better suited to a blue ring, but I don't.. have any spare."
"I thought you gave Alan Scott-."
"Yes, but the guy who made it won't make another one unless I kill Lantern Sinestro, and I can't.. do that…" Huh. "Alright, I don't have a major philosophical reason not to do that any longer, but I do have practical ones. There's a Guardian who knows how to make them, but I'm trying not to get him into trouble." He nods. "Alright, if you show me your office I'll stick the files onto your computer, then clear off-. Unless you've got something you'd like me to do here?"
"Because you'd rather repay me right away rather than owe me."
"Partially. Not because I think you'd ask for anything particularly outrageous-."
He smiles. "You just don't like the feeling of an unfulfilled obligation. I understand. Honestly, I'm not sure there's any singular task that requires someone as powerful as you, but… The southern continent was deliberately infected with engineered diseases and vermin. The princesses and I have taken a look, but it might be helpful if you checked our work."
I clench my right fist, calling up their reports… I nod.
"Shouldn't be a problem. I'll head there next."
12:59 GMT
"Paul." Adam Blake smiles as he shakes my right hand. "I wasn't sure that you'd be coming back."
I frown mildly. "You weren't? I thought.. you were always sure about things."
"Not always." He steps back and gestures towards the interior of the Tamaran royal palace. I nod and follow him inside. "Between my telepathy, telekinesis and… Reasoning, I can usually tell how people will respond to things. But between your resistance to telepathy and the influence of the Ophidian, as well as the fact that I don't know you particularly well, it's more difficult."
"Are you in good health? No lingering effects from your imprisonment?"
"Several, but don't worry. Between the technology of the Crown Imperium and my knowledge of my physiology, it wasn't anything that we couldn't fix."
"Since your abilities are a natural part of your body… A stem cell solution would fix it, wouldn't it?"
He smiles. "I forget how far human science has advanced since I left Earth. But it wasn't quite that simple. The parts of my brain affected are the centres of my brain responsible for my telekinesis. And due to the damage, other parts of my brain had started adapting to the change in load stress. It was a fascinating problem."
"Phantom limb syndrome, except the limb is your brain."
"More like another limb. So what brings you back? Is there a problem on Earth?"
I… Hesitate, and he looks at me with an expression of concern.
"A big problem?"
"Have you ever heard of the Anti-Life?"
He nods. "Komand'r shared her ring's database while she was trying to seduce me. It sounds implausible, but I haven't investigated it for myself."
"Oh, it exists. Six months ago, Earth got hit by a mass broadcast. It was essentially weaponised clinical depression with a touch of mind control."
He blinks. "How long did it last?"
"About a month. We haven't quite had to rebuild civilisation from scratch, but… It's basically just a few dozen superheroes and quite a lot of gold currency keeping a lot of places functioning."
"Do you want my help?"
"Can Vega spare you?"
He wiggles his right hand dismissively. "I completed my reconstruction plan before we bombarded the psion world. I'm here to maintain morale and support King Myand'r more than anything practical."
"Not too bored, I hope?"
He considers the idea, then shrugs. "I've… Grown accustomed to slow periods. When I was younger, something like this would drive me up the wall. Now, I honestly find it a bit of a relief."
"I can give you almost complete data on Earth's logistics systems, industries and political structures. It's all a bit much for me, but Batman and Mister Atom have been going over it since we got rid of the Anti-Life."
"Who is this 'Mister Atom'?"
"An artificial intelligence in a robotic body. Very strong, very tough, very intelligent. Feeds on radiation. He's good at handling large quantities of data. Not so good with people, but he's willing to take advice."
"If they've managed the Earth's economy for five months, why are you asking for my help now?"
"Because I'm concerned about Batman's methods, and what they suggest about how his character is changing for the worse. I can't see a better alternative, but I know that you're a lot more intelligent than I am, so… If you can't see a better way, then I can take that as read and move on to damage mitigation."
"His methods.. being centralization of power in his hands, legislative change to keep it there, the creation of a private army answerable to him and… His own mind control system possibly derived from the Anti-Life?"
"From the Anti-Life broadcasters, yes. We're reasonably sure that he doesn't have access to an Anti-Life fragment. They're… Not subtle. And what we did to get rid of it should be flawless."
"And the other points?" I nod. "Has his behavior changed since the Anti-Life broadcast happened?"
"I'm.. not sure exactly when, but he became significantly friendlier and nicer. And.. I needed someone to use a yellow power ring, so I forcibly altered his mind." Adam's face hardens. "I know, I'm not proud of myself, but it was the best way I could see to remove the Anti-Life from Earth. Our civilisation was dying, and I.. thought I could undo it afterwards."
"And you couldn't?"
I shake my head. "I thought I did. He seemed alright. Angry with me, sure, but basically himself. And then… He started changing. I don't know it's because of me, but I'm the most obvious cause. I'll include a full report in the data."
He.. nods, his expression softening slightly. I suppose that as a telepath in a world of non-telepaths, he'd.. probably have been tempted to give people a bit of a mental nudge now and again. Particularly when they all seemed too slow to grasp ideas that he found simple. The fact that there's no record of him doing so indicates the strength of his morals… On the other hand, I imagine that the psions would have preferred it to what he did to them. And I don't think he ever ran into a situation like the Anti-Life.
"And… Thank you. I don't like having to ask people to help clear up my messes, but there are-."
"The Earth is at stake. And that's more important than pride or shame." I nod. "That's… Almost surprisingly human of you."
"No it isn't. I desire things more strongly than momentary ego-gratification. All the work I put into Earth-. I'm not having it wasted because an evil god wanted to study what happened when he treads on us. My guilt doesn't matter. My goal matters."
"Still surprisingly human. Will you wait while I perform an initial analysis, or do you need to return to Earth?"
"I.. can probably wait. I'm not much of an investigator, and I won't really know what the next step is until you give me your opinion."
He regards me curiously. "That's interesting. I've seen how both Komand'r and Koriand'r behave when they channel the orange light. How it changes them. Less in Komand'r case, but there's a noticeable shift in how both of them prioritise things."
"I'm enlightened. I'm at one with my desires. If you want to take a closer look, I can take a moment to undo my anti-telepathy defences. But I'll warn you, it's a bit… Odd."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Only if your intent is hostile. My friend M'gann's communicated with me telepathically hundreds of times."
"I think I'll take you up on that, just not right now."
I nod. "And I noticed that about Koriand'r too. I think she'd be better suited to a blue ring, but I don't.. have any spare."
"I thought you gave Alan Scott-."
"Yes, but the guy who made it won't make another one unless I kill Lantern Sinestro, and I can't.. do that…" Huh. "Alright, I don't have a major philosophical reason not to do that any longer, but I do have practical ones. There's a Guardian who knows how to make them, but I'm trying not to get him into trouble." He nods. "Alright, if you show me your office I'll stick the files onto your computer, then clear off-. Unless you've got something you'd like me to do here?"
"Because you'd rather repay me right away rather than owe me."
"Partially. Not because I think you'd ask for anything particularly outrageous-."
He smiles. "You just don't like the feeling of an unfulfilled obligation. I understand. Honestly, I'm not sure there's any singular task that requires someone as powerful as you, but… The southern continent was deliberately infected with engineered diseases and vermin. The princesses and I have taken a look, but it might be helpful if you checked our work."
I clench my right fist, calling up their reports… I nod.
"Shouldn't be a problem. I'll head there next."
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