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earth, meet epic
lost!fëanor in wormverse
Permalink Mark Unread

Once he's done throwing a tantrum (and it is a very long very panicked very exhausting tantrum) he realizes it is a bad idea to randomly jump worlds looking for a way back. They will look for him, and eventually they will find him, and if he happens to land in Materia then he will die and being stuck is not as bad as being dead.

 

He curls up in a ball in vacuum and cries for a while and then searches his current dimension for life. It has some. It has lots, actually. Crowded universe, like Edda or Cube. There's an Earth. (There are no alts of him or Bella or his family). He makes a model of the Earth and rolls it around in his hands and then makes a scale model of a hundred-mile-square bit of Siberia, to confirm that there aren't any people around where he might want to land. There aren't. 

 

Pop.

 

Now he's in Siberia. 

He feels a little bit better already. Probably frantically leaping dimensions without even pausing to make air to breathe was affecting his reasoning abilities. Now he has a planet to demon at and that is definitely stabilizing. New York Times, today's edition?

It's 1994. 

He cheers up considerably. There is a lot he can demon at on an Earth in 1994. And of the Earths the peal has found so far, one had secret vampires and two had secret evil aliens and one had secret daeva and-

...model of sapient species other than humans on this planet?

Permalink Mark Unread

There's this very ugly...

...thing.

Permalink Mark Unread

Cool. Once he gets home he is so going to morph that.

 

Current surroundings of giant spiky ash monster thing?

Permalink Mark Unread

A destroyed-looking city.

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...same location a year ago?

Permalink Mark Unread

Could plausibly be New York in 1993.

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...he is invisible and inaudible and a mile above that smashed-up city.

Permalink Mark Unread

The scale model probably did not prepare him for this.

There's the heat. Even from that high, he can feel it, emanating from the destruction, from the giant spiky ash monster thing. There's a clear trail of destruction, starting at a literal hole in the ground and moving towards where the over-forty-five-feet tall monster is. But even if that path is where there has been the most destruction—completely leveled buildings, melted rock and metal, a trail of ash and charred bodies—the monster clearly has reach, for a large radius around it is variously destroyed, too. Toppled buildings, dead or severely injured people, fissures on the ground large enough to swallow trucks whole.

The behemoth points a "finger," for lack of a better word to describe it, at—is that a flying person in black spandex?—and lightning shoots from the tip of that finger to hit that person, breaking several laws of physics on the way. The person somehow survives, though, and flies straight into its center of mass, punching it with enough strength to send it stumbling a couple of steps back.

There are many other people in costumes and masks around, although with very few exceptions they seem to be trying to keep a certain minimum distance from the creature. Many of them are focusing on evac, but another number is actually engaging with the attacker in a multitude of ways—high-tech laser guns, forcefields, giant blades, rays of light shot from their bodies...

Permalink Mark Unread

For a few seconds he is stunned and horrified and confused and then - 

 

- okay, not to leap to conclusions, but Ash Monster does not look friendly -

 

- Ash Monster is on Mars. So is Fëanáro, a little higher up to escape the heat, wings struggling to keep him aloft in Mars' far less substantial atmosphere. 

Hello? he says. Can you breathe in these conditions, I can take you somewhere habitable for you -

Permalink Mark Unread

It doesn't respond to osanwë. It looks around, then up. It claps, and the ensuing sound wave is vastly stronger than it ought to have been.

Permalink Mark Unread

Ouch. 

 

He gets flung through the air a bit and tumbles, orients himself by teleporting right-side-up again. His ears are ringing. He is annoyed.

And he has healing and there were people dying back on Earth -

 

Pop. Back to shattered New York.

Permalink Mark Unread

Most of the costumed people are efficiently continuing to evacuate. Some are flying around, probably trying to look for the disappeared beast.

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Are there injured people anywhere?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yyyep, lots of them, the masked people are definitely not enough to rescue everyone, they're having to prioritize.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well, he doesn't. He can teleport to them as fast as he can see them, tap tap tap tap tap tap some might be dead and he can't resurrect them without his peal but even on his own he can heal the ones who are living tap tap tap tap

Permalink Mark Unread

Lots of people are dead. But also lots of people have radiation poisoning, or extensive internal injuries, or third-degree burns all over their bodies.

(Among the injured people there's this girl, being carried by a person who—isn't wearing a costume, they just happen to be entirely made of the essence of the color white.)

Permalink Mark Unread

Tapping people is faster than checking if they're injured. Tap tap tap tap tap. He taps the girl and the person made of the essence of the color white and he's all out of people he can see so he goes visible and says to either one of them 'where's the nearest hospital I've got healing'.

 

He looks about the same age as she is, maybe seven, and exceptionally pretty, and with absurdly long neatly braided hair and very large batlike wings, blue, stretched out to a wingspan of eight or ten feet.

Permalink Mark Unread

She blinks at him. "You don't have a mask?" she asks, sounding like maybe she's in shock.

The white person, however, points in a direction, and says, "Follow the capes."

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Flap flap this is slower than teleporting but he doesn't know where he'd be teleporting to. ...does everyone have a mask? Yeah, everyone has a mask. He makes himself a mask, why not.

Permalink Mark Unread

Everyone has a mask, most also have variously colored snazzy costumes.

He will soon see a mass of these people flowing in the direction pointed by the white person. In the distance he can make out the shapes of hastily-but-professionally assembled tents, the kind that might be erected to serve as makeshift emergency rooms during wartime and can be quickly abandoned if need be.

Permalink Mark Unread

It's crowded enough it'd be inconvenient to have to be invisible. If he tries to dart around tapping people is anyone going to get in his way?

Permalink Mark Unread

Quite the opposite, as soon as they notice just what his taps do they'll start coordinating to be out of his way and make sure as many people as possible can be accessed by him, prioritizing by how grave their injuries are.

Looks like they've had some practice with this.

Permalink Mark Unread

...good? He is not going to start crying, just because he's never actually seen anyone die before or seen a problem that wasn't solvable on a much better scale than tap-tap-tap doesn't mean he is going to start crying, everything is horrible but tap-tap-tap isn't even emotion-powered and he doesn't need to sleep and he can just keep. on. going.

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He will be too late for some of these people.

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He will get them back when he finds his peal. (He will keep tapping people. This place is ugly and everyone here is ugly and the costumes are ugly and he will keep tapping people. Why aren't they singing, people are dead, they should be singing. They are human and he knows humans can't sing, but still, they should know better somehow.) Tap tap tap tap.

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Lots of tapping. But eventually he'll be done. A fit young man in white-blue spandex and a mask covering his eyes floats over to him, takes him in—wings, outfit, mask—and asks, "Do you speak English?"

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"Yeah." He wraps his wings around himself, tightly. 

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He lands. "Where are you from?" he asks, as gently as he can.

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"You won't have heard of it. I can't resurrect people - how many people died, it was a lot of them and I can't resurrect people -"

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"No, unfortunately you can't," he agrees, "but you saved a very many people today, many more than we otherwise would have been able to."

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He's shaking. "Not good enough - I need to tell people where I am - I need to be somewhere pretty - do you know somewhere pretty I could go -"

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"Not anywhere nearby—I have to ask, did you trigger today? Do you have anyone taking care of you?"

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"Not - they're not here. They're looking for me but they're probably not going to find me for a while -" He unfurls his wings. "Can I have a hug?"

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"Of course," he says, not a trace of hesitation in his voice.

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Hug. He probably shouldn't tell the first huggable stranger he sees everything he can do but he is pretty woefully out of his depths here so - "I can make things. That's my main power, the healing's just a - side effect. I can put New York City back if you want."

Permalink Mark Unread

And this is the first time the man expresses surprise. He opens his mouth to say something to that when a shadow passes over the sun and there's a loud boom outside, and the ground shakes as if...

Permalink Mark Unread

...as if a large spiky ash monster had landed a few miles away from New York.

Even from that distance, the impact is strong enough to topple some more buildings, and the next thing they know there's a fast, huge ash cloud emerging from the site, which probably does not bode well for the continued survival of the human species in North America.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh no oh no oh no oh no ten miles up for a better vantage point and he teleports the ash monster thing to where he first landed in this dimension which is vacuum for lightyears around that has to be far enough doesn't it -

- back to Earth, ash clouds are not really the sort of thing best teleported but he is going to do it anyway -

Permalink Mark Unread

Who knows if it's far enough, here's to hoping. The ash clouds are vast—the monster was a pretty sizeable meteor—but Fëanáro's fast enough that he can... mostly... contain the damage.

Other costumed people will help, naturally. A man with a dark green costume, a cape, a hood, and a mask is onsite and doing something to the clouds—they're spreading much more slowly than they otherwise would, and mostly vertically rather than horizontally.

Permalink Mark Unread

That'll make them easier to teleport away. Which he will do. ...he's not doing this sloppily because it's ash, is he, he's doing this sloppily because he is in a complete blind panic and everything is terrible. 

 

He makes himself a space Silmaril on a chain around his neck, a stunted one because demons can't make minds. 

He feels steadier. 

 

He puts all of the ash he can see really really far away in space. He's trembling too much to stay in the air by flying so instead he teleports himself back into place every wing beat. Ash. Space. 

 

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It takes a while. It was a lot of ash. But eventually that lot of ash will be gone, and the huggy stranger will be there.

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"Are there more hurt people -"

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"Yes—the impact caused some more destruction which reached a few more cities—"

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Cling. Sob. "I can - I don't have to sleep I can fix them -"

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He hugs Fëanáro in a very fatherly way, even though he can't be older than twenty-five. "Are you sure? You've done so much already, you're so brave, it's okay if you stop, we can deal."

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He stops clinging and looks up at him. He looks - confused. "No," he says. "It wouldn't be okay at all, people'd die."

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"We can save them. Behemoth's gone, however that happened—was that you, too?—and if he doesn't come back, we'll be able to save most of them."

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"That was me, I've got a teleport, the first time I put him on Mars and the second time I put him in intergalactic space lightyears from anything and light-eons from here. ...so it's my fault for not doing that the first time, that he came back at all - did he come back faster than light, do you know -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"He wasn't faster than light, Mars is three light-minutes from here and he took longer than that."

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"...okay. Um. Can we -" steadying look at the Silmaril - "your world is horrible and awful, no one's more than blinked at the wings and the healing, you can fly, you're not the person who's usually in charge of Earth in 1994, I think this timeline's a lot different, can you tell me what's going on -"

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"I'm not in charge of Earth," he says, setting the 'usually' and 'timeline' parts aside for the moment, "and I'm not sure how much you want explained. I'd assumed you'd triggered recently—I don't think I've ever heard of you before—but if something else is going on..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Something else is going on. Who should I tell about it."

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"—Hero, probably, although Library of Alexandria or myself aren't poor choices, either, and the PRT should probably be informed, as well."

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"...okay, where are they, how often do things like this happen, is there anyone who won't mind if I read their mind to check that they're not lying to me about stuff -"

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This really surprises him, given the way he pauses. But he explains: "This happens about once a year, although maybe now no longer if Behemoth doesn't come back. Hero and Eidolon are probably helping more people, Library of Alexandria might be organizing evac efforts and some cape teams. If it's true that you can read minds, that is—astounding, and terrifying, and I'm not sure you'll find many people who would be willing to be read. We all have our secret identities to protect."

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"Yeah, I know, I haven't been doing it, I won't do it without permission." He won't tell them how to stop him either, though. "I can - okay, so there are parallel dimensions. Lots of them. And most Earths have different magic systems, and I just got here today so I don't know anything about yours, and lots of magic systems aren't transmissible but some of them are so I have powers from  different ones. I can read minds, I can teleport, I can go invisible, I can heal, and I can make stuff. Any stuff, I could make a black hole if I wanted, but I don't, promise."

Permalink Mark Unread

Oooh boy. Either he's speaking the truth or his trigger was really really traumatic and he read lots of fiction. Legend's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, though. "About twenty years ago, people started getting superpowers like the ones you've seen. Six years ago, we—Hero, Eidolon, Library of Alexandria, and I—founded the Protectorate, to give heroes a direction in life, and stand united to better the world.

"Then, two years ago, Behemoth appeared. This was his third attack, and mildest so far—thanks to you, probably. With powers like that you could—change the world." Save the world.

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"Yeah, I know, I landed and conjured a newspaper and saw it was 1994 and even before I knew you had a giant ash monster attacking I was thinking I could get you up to the 22nd century. I still can, just, the meantime was more horrible than I was expecting. ...my name is Epic. That sounds like it'll fit fine."

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"It will. How are you feeling?"

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"Um. Sad, freaked out, I need to write a letter home, I keep having to remind myself it's good I landed here, I'm trying to think what's most important to do first and I don't know - debating whether to make some people to help me -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"You said your home was another—dimension? How did you get here, and how will you return? And what do you mean by 'make' some people?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"So dimensions are adjacent to one another, and I can teleport between any two adjacent dimensions. There was a transport accident and I ended up in a dimension that wasn't adjacent to any of the two hundred that my home civilization - knows of. So I'm stuck here until someone finds a path between them and us. I told them I was here so they know to look, but it could easily take years, if we're unlucky it could take decades. 

 

And I can make arbitrary matter. People are matter. I can't make some kinds of people - can't make humans - but I can make some people from my home civilization. It's really unethical to do that without permission but this world is kind of an emergency."

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Much more than you think, kiddo, he doesn't say. "This year we started the Wards project, aimed towards younger parahumans, to provide guidance and a path for them to walk. You're not quite like the young parahumans we have in mind, but we have quarters and provisions which you could perhaps use while you figure out what you want to do?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...arbitrary matter. I don't need quarters or provisions but I'll go somewhere where I can be around official people and they can help me think where to start - uh, usually I'd start by curing malaria, do you want me to do that? Or I could still put New York back."

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"It might be unwise to do anything in most of Africa and South America, but how do you plan on doing that? As for New York, it might be best to wait until evacuation's complete and structural damage can be calculated and accounted for."

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"I can do it with a wide-scope biofilter if you're not attached to any species that hadn't been catalogued by the 23rd century or I think I can just flood everything with sterile male mosquitos? I would have to look it up. What's wrong with Africa and South America?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Most of Africa's dominated by warlords, and South America's villains are backed by the government while the heroes are the resistance against the dictatorial governments."

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"Yeah, that's the kind of problem I'm bad at. Okay. I should make myself somewhere pretty and think.

 

I need, like - Boots doesn't usually tell me to do things and she definitely wouldn't wish I was home safe instead of fixing a world that needs it, or act like she wished that, I'm really bad at being parented, but I need someone to point out problems with my ideas and be proud of me and help me get things I need, does the Wards have - that?"

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"Yes," he answers, again without a trace of hesitation.

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Cling. "Then I'll join."

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He sighs and pats Epic. What's this world come to, that he must accept a child's help, that a child must suffer through these horrors to help other people—when they came up with the Wards idea he'd never thought they'd have to deal with children this young, this unprepared—and yet, can he throw a resource like this away? Of course he can't.

He decides, quite subconsciously, that he'll care for Epic as if Epic were his own.

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A woman with a black costume and a tinted glass helmet floats towards them. "Who's this?"

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"This is Epic. He's the one responsible for Behemoth's disappearance. Epic, meet Library of Alexandria, one of the co-founders of the Protectorate."

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"Hi. ....do you want the actual Library of Alexandria, my power is that I can make arbitrary matter and 'the Library of Alexandria' was totally made of matter."

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She is not Sherlock Holmes. She cannot pluck hints out of thin air to understand what's going on.

She is incredibly quick, cognitively, and has an eidetic memory, and has studied a lot about people and body language and microexpressions and what-have-you. She draws conclusions from this.

She looks at Legend.

Permalink Mark Unread

"He can also teleport, heal people with a touch, go invisible, and read minds." He trusts she will get the necessary implications.

Permalink Mark Unread

She does. She is also good at not thinking about things.

"And you can restore even things you've never seen?" she asks the boy.

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"If it is made out of atoms and not smarter than a snail I can make it. It doesn't need to have ever existed but I need more detail if it didn't. Also I don't read minds without permission."

Permalink Mark Unread

"He suggested restoring New York."

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"Adding the Library of Alexandria to a restored New York could serve as a touristic attraction, if we can deal with the leftover radiation to rebuild."

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"Eidolon will be able to come up with something."

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"At home there's a way to do minds so I could do resurrection but I don't have a way to get it here."

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"Home—"

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"He is from a parallel dimension."

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"—I see."

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"And I believe I should take him to the Wards in Chicago." Is that a note of defiance in his voice? Perhaps. One could think there is a lot of subtext present, here. "Although he said he would like to build something pretty first."

Permalink Mark Unread

"At home we call my species Elves and we don't do very well in human cities, they're not pretty enough. In general. I could live in one of your cathedrals but it'll be easier to just make myself something nice." He glances at the Silmaril. "That's why I made this - I'll write you up a list of things I can do as soon as I have time to calm down somewhere pretty and write my family. I don't want to miss anything and I bet I'm missing some right now because I'm sad and scared - also I tried asking the scary ash monster what it wanted and it didn't answer and there were people to heal so I left, I might try again now that I can try for longer -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"If you can read Behemoth's mind that would be very useful."

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"Do you want me to take you anywhere in particular? Or should we leave you be, until you're feeling better?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can read Behemoth's mind but I don't read minds without permission, it'd be different if he were hurting people right now but having hurt people in the past isn't a good enough reason. And if you have a place you want me to go where no one will mind if I build a house that'd be good. I don't mind if you keep me company, I'm just going to build a house and sing for the dead people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"We could go to Chicago, then, so you can be near the Wards building and the current Protectorate HQ."

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"We're pretty sure, as far as ethical violations go, reading Behemoth's mind is very low on the list compared to figuring out where he came from and how threats like him can be stopped."

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"I'm not a very good judge of character and I shouldn't just trust you just because you're the first people I met. If I have the whole story then maybe that'd be worth it but  - I'm really really magic, you'd have lots of reasons not to mention stuff -"

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"The whole story is Behemoth appeared two years ago near an oil rig and killed lots of people, then a year ago destroyed São Paulo, and this year decided to have New York for a snack. You can check newspapers about this, with your powers, I expect."

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He makes himself a data stick. "Okay. Do you want a ride to Chicago?"

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"I should stay and help coordinate the last evacuation efforts as well as the teams helping the surrounding cities."

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"If you can reach Chicago, your means of transportation sounds much better."

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"I can reach anywhere in this dimension or any of its neighbors and I can take an entire planet along with me if I want - getting it to land in a stable orbit's hard, though - is the air above Chicago okay, I usually teleport there to avoid landing on people-"

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"Yes, no one will be surprised if I appear with a teleporter now, the news about Behemoth will have spread. Your wings are a bit conspicuous, though, are they permanent?"

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"I could cut them off and make them again next time I needed them. But I'd miss them."

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"The problem with them would be keeping a secret identity."

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(And off Library of Alexandria goes.)

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"What are the secret identities for?"

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"So that villains won't go after us when we're unprepared, nor after our friends and families."

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"My friends and family are really far away and it's a really bad idea to try to hurt them, so I might not need a secret identity."

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"It's also to help separate our regular lives from our jobs as capes. Parahumans are—celebrities, here, and not always in a good way. Kids could be bullied at school for their powers, or get unwanted attention, and that's true even for adults."

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"...you're not going to make me go to school, are you?"

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"We're not making any plans right now. It's usually seen as good for children as young as you are to go, but I'm not under the impression we could actually hold you anywhere you don't want to be."

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"If it helps more people for me to work with your government and your government has stupid rules I'll try to follow the stupid rules, but you only have one of me and so my time is pretty valuable and what do humans of my equivalent developmental maturity even learn in school? Like if it's 'electrical engineering' or 'computer science' your world's too far behind for me to learn anything - I love learning languages and only speak a handful of Earth ones, I'd be happy to take language classes -"

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"—they learn to write and do basic mathematics, children your age learn electrical engineering?"

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"Well, actually, my home universe hadn't even invented writing or the wheel yet when the multiverse found us, but now that I live in Warp I study whatever I want and we were designing a planet for our interstellar consortium so I learned a lot of engineering - if I want to make buildings that aren't just copies of other buildings I have to know what I'm doing - and I know a lot about encryption because file security when there are people who can conjure arbitrary matter around is hard. I don't know much Earth history, but it'd be really tempting while I was studying it to conjure scale models of places and the complete written works of various kings and so on, it'd be frustrating to study and not be able to do that -"

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"I think we might be able to skip school," he says, trying pretty hard to keep up.

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"Yeah. I should read about how Cube did their tech jump - Cube has an Earth and someone found the Earth in 2005 and got it up to a budding galactic power in like ten years, and that was with the planet dented and they didn't have a demon - and then I can figure out how to give you a tech jump, it'll be very educational so you don't have to worry about me learning enough. ....also when Lári had to be a child soldier they had people sit with her while she worked the assembly line and teach her lessons, you could have someone give me lessons while I tapped people to heal them -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That could work, yes. I'm not the best at that kind of task, I'm more combat tactics oriented, but I'm sure the Protectorate can find people who can help turn our planet into a galactic power—does that mean aliens exist, then?"

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"Yeah, you've got a crowded universe, hundreds and hundreds of species with written works. I came to the Earth first because I know how Earths work and it's unlikely I could pass for any of the other species."

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"Our scientists will be very interested in that." He shakes his head a bit. "Should we head to Chicago now, so you can build your house?"

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"Sure." Pop, they're floating over Lake Michigan.

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He brings his wrist to his lips and says, "Can you find and purchase an empty lot?"

    "How big?" The answer's not loud, but Epic can make it out anyway, and Legend echoes it to the Elf.

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"...I might end up making people, so, as big as they can spare? On the water'd be really nice...I can pay them back right away, I don't need to do any reading to feel comfortable selling you handheld universal translators and 23rd-century computers and stuff."

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"On the water?"

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"Like, on the coast? I could figure out how to do something in the middle of the lake but if I make people they won't have any powers and it'd be inconvenient for them."

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He relays these things to whoever he's talking to on his wrist, including the part where Epic has powers that will let him be able to produce any material goods so he can basically purchase whatever, and eventually he's given coordinates and starts flying that way, somewhat (much) slower than he strictly needs to be because Epic isn't completely indestructible like he is (as far as he knows).

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He flaps along, considering what kind of house would fit in with Earth architecture while being sufficiently pretty. 

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And they reach an uninhabited spot with some signs saying that construction work will happen Soon!! "Is here a good enough place?"

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"Yes!" 

 

And he teleports out the dirt and puts it somewhere outside the star system (this is not responsible behavior, but he thinks he gets a pass under the circumstances) so he doesn't have to worry about the stability of the foundations, and then he flies around making a nice non-demonstrative not-obviously-from-an-alien-society house, putting in Gleet biofilters instead of glass but putting in the kinds with a sheen to them so birds won't fly into them constantly.  

house

"Okay!" he says happily after a minute.

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"Wow," he breathes, floating down until he lands. "That's... incredible."

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"You should see Ambaróna or Vanda Nossëo. Elves are much happier and more functional when things are pretty and Valinor doesn't have scarcity so things get really really pretty. The windows are biofilters set to only let humans and Elves through - if I want privacy I'll change it to only let Elves through - so you can come in if you want."

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He floats over to a window and tries to go through, slowly.

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Works fine. The inside is stunning; he wasn't constrained by trying to make it look plausibly Earth-like. He flaps in after him.

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Then Epic will have a stunned superhero floating around his place for a few minutes.

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He will flop on a couch made for his wings and start singing to himself.

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Well and isn't that stunning, too.

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Elves are a bit much, aren't they. It's a sad song. It's for all the dead people who he can't save, yet. The 'yet' is very much part of the music.

 

He makes a computer and puts in the data stick he made and starts reading this world's newspapers, still singing.

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Current news is about Behemoth having disappeared and speculation. Past news confirms everything Legend and Library of Alexandria told him, plus a lot more details about the timeline of parahumans and the Protectorate and PRT, depending on how far back he wants to read. The first mention of any parahumans is the piece of news about the golden man, nowadays named Scion.

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He'll read for several hours and then write home summarizing everything. He doesn't put any worrying-about-what-to-do in the message home because what if they think of something he didn't and then they're disappointed in him for not doing it. Just a very exhaustive summary that nonetheless helps put his thoughts in order.

 

 

And then he goes back out to say hi to Behemoth again.

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(In the meantime, Legend has left Epic contact information and left, figuring he'd like to be alone.)

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And Behemoth... is there. Not doing anything.

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Hello?

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No answer. No reaction at all, in fact.

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"Hello?"

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Still nothing.

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"I want to know if more people are going to get hurt. I can read minds. Will you talk to me?"

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Silence.

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Okay, what's he thinking about.

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...thinking might be too generous a description. Whatever's going on in there's too—alien—twisted—nonfunctional—weird—to be properly interpreted as thoughts. There's a sense in which Behemoth's sapient, Epic wouldn't have been able to conjure him otherwise, and he does seem to be processing external stimuli (although not in any recognizable form, his eye is merely decorative), but he doesn't seem to have any goals at the moment. Or want anything. It could be described as waiting, but adjectives such as 'patient' or 'anxious' or whatever don't really feel right to apply to a mind like that.

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...dormant. Okay. 

 

...he makes a couple video cameras attached by a string to Behemoth and goes home and sets a reminder to conjure the feeds every once in a while to check if he stays that way.

 

And he starts writing down everything he can think of that might be helpful for this world, and when he's done he stares into the Silmaril for a long time and then looks at the information about how to reach Legend.

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There is a phone number, an address, a set of coordinates, and the sentence "if you can conjure a PRT commlink with the following serial number you can say you're Epic and would like to talk to Legend and they'll patch you through."

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...he conjures a PTR commlink with the listed serial number.

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It is a bracelet-type thingy with a button and a place where it's obvious he has to speak into. Its aesthetic is somewhat futuristic, in a more sci-fi way than what's actually present in the 23rd century.

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He presses the button. "This is Epic, can I speak to or leave a message for Legend?" he says to the bracelet-thingy.

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"—transferring your call," says a surprised-sounding person, and a few seconds later: "Epic?"

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"Hi. I made a list of all the things that the government needs to know about and I guess the next thing is to have a meeting and tell them all those things?"

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"Indeed. I have informed the Chief Director of the PRT and the Deputy Chief Director is ready to join us in a meeting at a moment's notice. Did you, ah, have any success communicating with Behemoth?"

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"No. He's - hibernating? He's not having any thoughts. I set up a video feed but I don't have the magic here to set up faster-than-light communication except by making stuff."

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"I see. Should I come pick you up, then?"

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"That or send me a mental image of the place where you want to hold the meeting and I can teleport to it."

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"A mental image?"

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This is the mind-reading I mentioned. It's also - actually, primarily - communicative and you can send me images by thinking about responding to me. I'm still not reading your mind but I'll get things you send right at me.

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He sends a mental image of a meeting room.

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He pops to the meeting room. Here.

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Legend is already there, as well as a man in a suit, a person wearing full body armor and holding a gun, at rest, the man with the green robes and the metal mask, and a cape Epic has not met before with a golden helmet and body armor with blue chain mesh.

"It's true," murmurs the unknown cape in awe.

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"Hi. Yeah, sorry. It occurred to me while I was writing down the things to tell you that I should have offered to prove it - anyway, I can do that now. Hi. I'm Epic."

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    "I'm Hero," the man—boy, really, he has a young voice that can't be older than twenty—with the helmet introduces himself.

"You've seen Eidolon from afar, I think," Legend says, gesturing at the man with the robe—

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—who dips his head in acknowledgement—

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"—and that's Deputy Chief Director Guerra."

    "It is fascinating to meet you," says Guerra.

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(Eidolon is doing the 'the fact that I exist is a private thought' thing. Must be his power.)

"I'm glad I'm here," he says, and none of the chairs look comfy or will leave him at eye level with anyone else so he makes one. "I wish I could go home but only so I could get you all some better help."

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Hero gawks. "Is that real?" he asks excitedly.

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"The chair? Yeah, conjured stuff is exactly the same as stuff you make without magic." And a very tentative smile. "Demons have the coolest magic in the multiverse."

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"And it's really magic? Not a superpower like ours? I suppose there might not be a difference..."

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"There is actually an important difference, which I haven't had time to test yet. I can make anything that's not itself magic. If superpowers aren't magic -and if they're not intelligent, I also can't do minds - then I can probably make Tinker stuff."

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    "...okay that is just incredible, maybe if I—"

"Hero," Legend says, fondly.

    "—sorry," Hero says, his sheepish grin unoccluded by the helmet.

"Can you tell these gentlemen what you've told me, Epic?" Legend invites.

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He likes Hero! He grins right back. He conjures the list he made earlier. "Okay. So. There are alternate dimensions. Everything we've seen so far suggests there might be infinitely many. A few of them independently invented a means of travelling between dimensions, and they met up and now conduct projects across a couple hundred dimensions, including the one I was born in and the one I live in. About half of dimensions have magic. Usually magic isn't transmissible - you get it by being born there, or else it only works while you're there - but some kinds of magic are, and so I have magic from several different magic systems. 

I have telepathy with a range of about ten miles with strangers, three hundred miles with people I know intimately, married couples can hit a thousand. I have a teleport with a range of 'anywhere in this and adjacent dimensions', I can target by coordinates or more precisely by an image of what I'm aiming for, and I can conjure a scale model of the place I'm aiming for and use that as my mental image. Behemoth is in intergalactic space lighteons from everyone. I can take people with me when I teleport; I could take a planet with me but it's hard to make sure it's spinning properly when it lands. I can turn things invisible, range is loosely visual. I can do illusions but they don't quite look convincing. I can heal humanoids, touch-range, to perfect health. I can turn people into birds, also touch-range.

I can make anything that is made out of atoms and not smarter than a snail. The range on that is measured in astronomical units and there's a volume-per-time limit but it won't come up unless I'm making a planet. 

In my home world you can compose magic songs that do all kind of stuff; recordings of those songs still work as magic and I have a bunch of them. In my home world you can also make magic artifacts that do all kinds of stuff; I know how to do that but it takes a really long time.

And some of the Earths in the multiverse are way ahead of yours and I can conjure 23rd-century technology for you. And your universe has aliens and if we think it's a good idea I can go hop around their planets seeing if they have any advanced technology we can use here."

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    "Legend—I must ask—are you sure—" starts the Deputy Chief Director.

"Yes. He has in fact teleported with much more precision than any other teleporter on record, and our observations on the field are consistent with him being able to do that. He has, as you've seen, conjured a chair, and the means of communication he chose to use was a prototype commlink that was thoroughly discontinued, destroyed, and all records of its existence purged—Hero made sure of this last part himself." Hero looks somewhat smug at this. "He did also communicate telepathically with me, which may not automatically mean he has general mind reading, but is at least suggestive. I and several other capes including Library of Alexandria and Hero have witnessed him heal people whose internal organs were all but liquefied with a touch. He has conjured the most stunningly beautiful building I've ever laid eyes on or even heard tell, and the inside is somehow even more stunning. He sang like no human I heard, and—

"All of this may not necessarily automatically mean he is speaking the truth. But I think we've seen enough to at least hear him out and see what evidence he has of this." He sounds oddly protective.

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"I'm happy to prove it. I can take you all to the Moon if you want?"

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"And you'll give us twenty-third century tech to help us breathe?" Hero asks, sounding enthralled by the possibility.

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"I could but also I can make air lots faster than it dissipates in vacuum and then you can just walk around and breathe normally. I guess the technology way might feel safer if you're not used to demons."

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    "That's dope!" enthuses Hero.

"Hero," Legend says, but he's smiling.

    "...I mean, fascinating!"

"I would like to see the Moon, and I'm sure Deputy Chief Director Guerra would, too, if only to provide some more evidence of your powers," Legend continues. "Eidolon should come with, in case anything goes wrong, but I don't think it will."

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"It won't. Now?"

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The Deputy Chief Director looks a bit uncomfortable with this but when Eidolon nods slightly accedes. "We are ready," the hero says, and his voice reverberates unnaturally with something that's almost an echo.

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"Okay."

 

And they're on the Moon, and he immediately creates atmosphere all around them.

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Hero's armor sprouts a backpack that grants him flight. "Wow!" He starts flying around, looking at stuff and at the Earth and turning upside down.

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That requires making sure there's air around wherever he's flying. He tracks him anxiously. 

The Earth is pretty from here. 


He shoots Eidolon a slightly defensive look. 

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If Eidolon notices, he shows no evidence of it, and merely looks around.

        "This could be an illusion of some kind..." muses Guerra.

"It's not," declares Eidolon, and that's that.

    Hero floats back to the group, grinning widely. "And you can go anywhere?"

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"Anywhere in this dimension or an adjacent one, but exploring for new dimensions is dangerous so I shouldn't do it, might not come back."

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"This is truly astounding," Legend tells Epic. "We will be able to help so many people."

    "We should return and discuss your other resources, then," Guerra concedes.

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Pop.

"We will be able to help so many people," he says cheerfully. "The record for someone acting alone is thirty five billion but I have way more magic than she did."

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"The Earth has less than six billion—was she not from an Earth, or was she really far in the future?" asks Hero.

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"Really far in the future. But you have hundreds and hundreds of species of aliens and they count too."

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"Just hundreds and hundreds? I'm kinda surprised, I'd think we'd have an infinite number—probably an infinite number of humans, too, unless the Standard Model—sorry," Hero interrupts himself, "focus, right. Okay. What kind of future tech do you have? ...that is a valid question, right, it's about how he can help us."

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He likes Hero. "The total written works of all the species in this universe in all of history fits on a server - I conjured it -" he says, "so not infinite, couple hundred yottabytes? Mind, there might be lots that haven't invented writing. There are infinite universes but none with infinite populations that we've found so far. We have FTL, we have much better medicine, we have really fast transit, we have really good space stations, I can give you a lot of physics and engineering textbooks, you might need to be more specific -"

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"Oh the textbooks would be super—" Hero starts.

    "FTL and good space stations don't have any obvious applications," Guerra continues. "Unless you can do FTL on the planet's surface in a way that scales, or that 'really fast transit' part, too, getting heroes to crises on time is one of our biggest current bottlenecks."

        "Perhaps we should come up with a list of actual problems we need solved," muses Legend.

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"I can do really fast surface transit. During Space's war they tried surface-takeoff FTL, doesn't go. What kind of crises are there other than Behemoth?"

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"Sleeper, various warlords, the growing number of villains around the world in proportion to the heroes..." Legend lists.

    "Diseases! Hunger! Basic needs!" suggests Hero.

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"I can do more about the second kind, we're used to fixing the second kind -" he conjures another piece of paper - "though I could maybe terraform a planet really nice and put villains there? What's Sleeper?"

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"A place to put dangerous villains where they can't hurt other people would be of great use," Legend enthuses.

    "Sleeper is a parahuman who doesn't really do anything as long as there's no one near him," Hero explains. "If there is, though..." He shudders.

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"Glaistig Uaine is still at large and still a danger," Eidolon puts in, "however quiet she's been." Then, for Epic's sake, "Glaistig Uaine kills parahumans and can keep their powers with her. She can become—as powerful as I am."

    "There's that one group," Guerra muses, rubbing his chin, "calling themselves the Slaughterhouse Nine. I don't think they've had nine members since their old leader died, though."

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"Unless I put them all on different planets I don't know how to stop them from hurting each other, and putting them on different planets is against the guidelines for treatment of human prisoners. ....I can track down anyone really easily, I just make a scale model of them and their surroundings."

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"What's the state of the art on prisons where you're from?"

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"There was the political prison we broke T'Mir out of? Elven societies don't imprison people, Elves die if imprisoned and with Elves there are better ways of making sure someone isn't dangerous anyway. If it becomes a real problem what we'd probably do is wish up a planet where it was impossible to harm people without their consent."

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"'Wish up'?" asks Guerra.

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"One of the non-transmissible kinds of magic I can't use. It only works in the dimensions adjacent to Wish. You can do pretty much arbitrary stuff with it - I wished myself into a demon because demons have the coolest magic system, they wished their Enemy dead, all of the protectorates of Wish are post-scarcity and have no involuntary death and are in the process of all the dead people ever getting to come back to life. If you were adjacent to Wish then the Empresses would come in and fix you right up."

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Guerra purses his lips at that, but Hero just looks enthralled.

"But not being there limits our options somewhat," says Legend. He turns to Guerra. "Has Epic shown you enough evidence you're willing to entertain the idea for long enough for us to actually start planning what to do with his resources?"

    "Perhaps..." the Deputy Chief Director says.

"In that case I don't think there's much more for us to discuss here—we are none of us best suited for figuring out how to best deploy powers like Epic's and even if we were, this is not something to be done in the middle of the night on a Saturday." Guerra tilts his head, conceding this. "So," Legend continues, looking at Epic now, "what do you want to do?"

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"Uh - I could terraform a planet for villains and experiment with using shaped biofilters to get, like, containment cells that still let them talk to each other? The hard part would be that some powers probably interfere with biofilters, but it'd work for villains whose powers definitely wouldn't do that. I want to give everyone in the world a recording of the magic healing song I have, do you have an internet yet? I'll just put it on the internet if you do. ...the magic healing song's not nearly as good as the touch healing but it's better than nothing." He looks at the guy with a gun. "...I have twenty-third century stun weapons? They're nicer than guns and I can give you a bunch."

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    "We have some stun weapons! But they don't really work on the villains we can't really contain..." sighs Hero.

"I meant what do you want to do right now—we should discuss and plan now before making any decisions, so it's best if we don't deploy your abilities quite yet," Legend explains.

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"Okay. Um, I guess talk about who I need? I need some people who are good at science who can take the future physics textbooks and devices and diagrams and figure out how to build them on your infrastructure base. I need some people who know a lot about powers so I can think about things I might do and they can tell me if some powers could get around that. I would really like to do all the normal things you'd do for an Earth in 1994 like cure lots of diseases and replace all your factory farms with lab-grown - you don't have a global warming problem yet but you're going to in a couple of decades - 

 

- oh, and some commercial people to sell all the stuff I make so I can have lots of money for things I might want to do that require money?"

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He nods. "We can probably get you a lot of that tomorrow—"

    "I can talk about physics with him!" Hero says.

"Yes, you can, but you will need to sleep soon because you've been awake for the past thirty-five hours."

    Hero grumbles.

"Perhaps we could give you some books about parahumans, to occupy your time?" Legend suggests. "I seem to recall you mentioning you don't need sleep, and some parahumans don't, either, but most do. And tomorrow we can arrange for someone from a PRT lab to come talk to you about more advanced research that hasn't been published yet."

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"There's a magic song that lets you skip sleep. You don't want to use it all the time and I would need to look up what the tolerances are for humans but I could play it right now and you'll feel like you just got a great night's sleep."

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Hero looks at Legend, who just sighs long-sufferingly. "I think this will be all, then, we shall convene tomorrow, and Hero will probably want to entertain Epic all night." Hero does not whoop.

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"Okay! Do you want to come back to my house, it's prettier than here I'll be more productive -"

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Hero nods many times.

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Pop! This is Epic's house. It is dazzling. He takes a two-inch-long stick and presses a button and a computer screen flickers into place; he mentally directs it to play the skip-sleep song.

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"How'd you control it?"

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"It's chip-locked - the only kind of computer that's safe from demons, because the way the information is stored is patterned off my brain. I have a chip in my head and I trained it to respond to my thoughts. You can have one if you want - they're safe for baseline humans but I don't know about parahumans -"

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"Parahuman brains are a little bit different—we have a new area, we don't really know what it does, but all parahumans have it."

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"Then I probably shouldn't be doing brain surgery on you until I know a lot more. It's okay, I'm the only demon here and I might read stuff the PRT has classified and especially stuff they deleted when they found out about me but I won't read peoples' personal notes or anything."

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"It's... probably not a good idea to read the stuff the PRT has classified?" Hero says tentatively.

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"Why not?"

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"Lots of reasons. Some stuff is classified because if the wrong person gets captured with it then they can be tortured for it, or someone with a Master power can make them tell or a Thinker power can guess, and that'd be bad.—I guess your mind reading is a Thinker power, too, huh?"

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"With your classification system, yeah. It's probably important to check whether Master powers work on me but if they do and I get attacked by a hostile one, PRT classified documents are the least of our worries. Black holes are made of matter. It'd take me about five seconds to destroy the world."

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"—oh shhhhoot," he corrects himself halfway. "Yeah we definitely do not want a Master to get their hands on you. Yikes. Okay, um. We can't test that now, everyone's gonna be asleep and, uh, we'll check it tomorrow, yeah?"

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"Yeah. And we won't publicize that, it's an obvious implication but people don't always think of it. And oaths might work."

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"Oaths?"

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"Elf thing. If we give our word it's binding - like, if I swear not to feed the planet into a black hole, it'd be impossible for me to break my word. So unless there's a Master power that erases oaths or works around them somehow, I can just think really really carefully about a phrasing and then swear not to do things if I might be under the influence of mind-affecting magic."

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"And would it work?—also that's terrifying and you shouldn't do it." Pause. "But would it work?"

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"I don't know but we can check tomorrow with a Master and a really safe oath like "I swear that for the next ten minutes I won't say 'purple'" or something. And it is terrifying and I shouldn't do it but it'd be worth thinking about if there are people around with mind-control."

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"Not... exactly mind control, although I guess Sleeper could be said do to something like mind control... But there are some scary powers out there, and they get scarier all the time."

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"...we could just evacuate the Earth?"

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"But then people would keep getting powers no matter where we put them—probably—so that'd just move the problem elsewhere."

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"Are aliens getting powers?"

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"We don't know any aliens, but even if they're not that could just be because whatever makes powers hasn't reached them yet, they're probably many light-centuries away."

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"Yeah, but we could put you light-centuries away if necessary. Some forms of magic are dimension-wide but some are tied to a planet. We might be able to figure it out with enough research."

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"I guess... If it's tied to a planet would that mean I don't have access to my powers anymore? 'Cause... I kinda like 'em."

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"Yeah, I bet. If you want we could go over to the Andromeda galaxy somewhere and you could check if they still work?"

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"Okay. You have the coolest powers I'm kinda jealous."

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"Demons are the best, aren't they? As soon as I heard about them I wanted to be one so badly - I actually went and lived in Hell for a while pretending - once we find my multiverse you can get more magic, too, they're careful on the ones you could destroy the world with but a track record of being responsible with superpowers helps there."

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"Ooh, a track record, I have that!" He beams. "But okay, Andromeda, beam me up, Scotty!"

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Here they are. In space somewhere, it'd take him longer to find a planet. He makes an Andalite Dome ship around them for the artificial gravity. "Okay! What do you need to test if your powers are still working?"

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"Well—uh, actually, I'd need my workshop and to try to build something, I had a project I was procrastinating on..."

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An exact copy of Hero's workshop is now right here on this Andalite dome ship.

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Blink. Grin. Computer! Tap tap. Tap tap tap. Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap...

Epic might recognise the glazed look on Hero's face, even though only half of it is visible. He seems to be really engrossed in whatever it is he's doing.

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He knows that feeling. He flops on the grass and starts reading his books about parahumans.

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The first one is very 101: it explains about Scion's first appearance (naked golden dude showed up floating in the middle of the ocean, literally no explanation has been found for this), and about the first heroes and the first villains (some of them were the people who first saw Scion), how Scion started heroing around the world (which kinda just happened out of the blue, but at least he stopped being naked for it), the birth of the Protectorate and the PRT—apparently Hero is the leader of the Protectorate, the displayed relationship between himself and Legend notwithstanding.

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Relationships and stuff are confusing, powers and categories of powers are less confusing so he sticks with that.

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Categories! Mover is powers related to enhanced mobility, Shaker is powers that change the environment, Brute is powers related to personal strength and/or resilience, Breaker is powers that alter the user's "state" during combat (like turning into mist, for example), Master is powers that can control other creatures, Tinker is powers related to being able to create advanced technology, Blaster is long-range offensive abilities, Thinker is any enhancement to senses or cognition, Striker is short-range not necessarily offensive powers, Changer is shapeshifting, Trump is any powers that interact directly with other powers, and finally Stranger relates to stealth and infiltration powers.

In addition to those types, powers are also usually given numbers to indicate rough level of ability. They were invented to classify villains, a few years back, but the public started using them on heroes, too, and they've started to stick.

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He spends a while trying to work out what he'd be categorized as and then what sorts of hard limits on powers there seem to be.

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Most powers are classified more based on how they're used in combat and how to react to them than anything intrinsic about them, although there are of course some regularities. His teleporting power would give him a "Mover Fuckton" classification—there are no numbers designed to describe something that can literally jump universes. Invisibility would likely be classified as a Breaker/Stranger power, and the application of demon magic to give him wings would be Changer. He could be classified as a Brute due to his indestructibility and depending on how he used the matter generation in combat, too, but it's fuzzier. The healing and turning-into-a-bird powers would be Striker, possibly Master, possibly Trump depending on whether people continued to have their powers in bird form. His regular senses alone would make him a Thinker, but osanwë's just overkill. His knowledge of future technology could reasonably make him a Tinker, and some more creative uses of matter generation could give him a rating in all other categories with the probable exception of Master.

As for hard limits, there aren't any known ones, but there's something called the 'Manton Effect' which is the observation that many powers seem to either work on living things, or work on nonliving things, with very little overlap.

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That's interesting. He adds 'check if powers work on birded people' to the list of things to experiment with in the morning and resolves not to share any mind-altering magic songs.

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After a few minutes Hero stops and looks at Epic. "Uh. Oops," he says, sounding sheepish. "Guess it works."

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"Good. You might still have an adjacency limit, most things do, but we don't have a good way to check that. ...there's a magic song that speeds up your perceptions and thinking, it stacks on itself until you think about three and a half times as fast as normal but at that speed you get this annoying hangover when you come out of it and most people just use the one that doubles it. If you want to work faster."

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"Okay wow yes I want that very much!!!!"

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A snazzy 23rd century music player with all his non-mind-controlly songs is now on Hero's desk. 

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Hero does not actually need his Tinker powers to figure out how to use that. What songs are there?

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Perception (2x)

Perception (3.6x, read warnings)

Skip sleep (read warnings)

Ooomph

Sleep (standard)

Sleep (Millennia, read warnings)

Crop growth

Wind

Rain

Propulsion

Warmth

Focus

Navigation

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Okay he wants to read the warnings first.

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Perception 3.6x: This alters the mind but not the body; it will seem noticeably slower to respond to commands, and some people report feeling trapped in their body as it is markedly slow to react to their attempts to move it. When the song stops most people experience a hangover period of a few minutes to a few hours, varying by duration spent listening to the songs; during that time period you will be nauseous, clumsy, and have a migraine. It is common for this reason to drop into accelerated perception for weeks at a time so as to minimize the inconvenience of dropping back out; if you do this, please carefully monitor your diet to ensure you are eating enough or else heal yourself regularly. 

Skip sleep: Humans should not use this to go more than 96 hours without sleep; between 150 and 200 hours humans who have not slept will abruptly collapse and be impossible to wake for around ten hours (and, if not woken, will sleep for about twenty). Elves should not use this to go more than 240 hours without sleep; between 260 and 380 hours Elves who have not slept will abruptly collapse and be impossible to wake for about four hours (and, if not woken, will sleep for about twelve.) Species with sleep needs comparable to human tend to have comparable to human reactions.

Sleep (Millennia): This will put everyone who can hear the song to sleep until several hours after the song stops playing. They will not be possible to wake for at least half that time.

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"What's 'Ooomph' and 'Propulsion' and 'Focus' and 'Navigation'?"

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"Oomph makes - whatever you're doing - stronger, just sort of a force multiplier thing. It interacts weirdly with other magic systems, we can test, but it probably makes people stronger and might extend the range of their powers and if their power is kind of -blasty - then it'd probably be more blasty. Focus makes you not lose your train of thought but it also means you won't notice a siren and stuff. Propulsion makes boats go faster, it probably has a bit of an effect on cars too but not much of one, it's fun to stack with your own flight if you've got flight but not especially useful. Navigation points to magnetic north if you're on a planet."

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"I kinda wanna test all of these and wow you're right I'm super awake but anyway if I go test these I'm not gonna be helping you with things."

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"Yeah, we were going to figure out how to make fancy future vehicles and computers on your current tech base or one I could demon you."

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"Right. Fancy future vehicles and computers. They're not much my speciality but can do. Um, what do we need? Should I show you stuff we have or...?"

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"What is your specialty, we could start there -"

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"Well, there's a bunch of future stuff. I have my jetpack and a disintegration gun and a stun gun and sonic weapons and I'm really good at batteries and other power sources!"

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"Oooh, awesome, we can totally start with batteries." And he makes some future batteries in various states of dismantlement - "personal computers that fit in your pocket are a thing by ten years from now, ones like mine a century after that, and battery life's the main reason they're not even tinier -"

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He looks at the batteries and declares, "I can do better than that."

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"Awesome. So then the question is whether I can duplicate your stuff -"

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He can!

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He will cackle with glee and fly around the Dome ship and then collapse on the grass giggling.

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Hero will grin and giggle, too.

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In that case they can forget duplicating the future and just figure out how to do better than them off Tinker powers. WIth the supplies, can Hero put together a 2010 cell phone? A 2020 cell phone? A 2030 thumb-sized computing device? A chip-locked computer?

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Yes, yes, maybe, he will try.

"Should I try these now? Could take hours."

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"I don't know! I want your world to have all the awesome stuff but I have no idea how to make that happen fastest -"

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"Well I don't either, that's what all the PRT whizzes are gonna help us figure out. I don't think we can do it overnight, though."

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"Probably not. ...but I could totally show you all the cool stuff tonight, wanna at least see it?"

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"Yes!!!!!"

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"This is a Dome ship, aliens called Andalites made them, I made one because it has the best artificial gravity in the multiverse, here's a scale model, here's a blueprint -"

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Hero drinks it up. "You know," he says, "way my power works is I get inspiration for stuff. I don't really understand what I'm doing. So I make it up by trying to figure out as much as I can on my own, you have no idea how good it feels to see an actual blueprint that makes sense and regular people could read."

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"I really wish I was a tinker. Not instead of a demon, but - in addition. A tinker demon. Anyway, Andalites landed on Earth in 2005 and they released a ton of their science and I have prototypes of human stuff in the subsequent five years, so you can sorta see them gradually getting up to speed -"

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"Being a tinker's great," he says, nodding forcefully—his helmet is probably designed not to jiggle when he does that. He looks at all that stuff and—" Are there Andalites in this galaxy?"

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He checks. "Nope. And morph doesn't work here, which is the coolest of their technologies."

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"What's morph?"

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"Lets you turn into anything made of DNA. It's awesome. If I had it I could just wear different faces when I was using different powers and no one'd guess anything was weird, and it can also be used for healing."

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"Oooh! Why doesn't it work here?"

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"It works by putting your own body in stasis in this dimension called z-space and then forming a z-space link to let you command whatever form you have in this world. So it only works in dimensions adjacent to z-space, and we aren't, I checked."

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"Oh. There are some changer powers that let people change their shape but no one really knows how they do it."

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"I might be able to help learn about powers by conjuring stuff, but I might not, hard to guess."

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"How would you do that?—did you say you can make people?"

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"So, yes and no? I can make arbitrary configurations of matter but if I make the arbitrary configuration of matter that should correspond to an alive happy person, they just - aren't there. They're just kind of comatose. Back home there's a magic that lets you turn that kind of person - they're called a basement-dweller, I have no idea why - into an actual person, which is how we do resurrection, but I don't have that particular magic so I can't resurrect anybody here. Unless I think of a way to do it with Arda's magic and that'd take the better part of a century if it's possible at all.

 

But Space Elves keep backups of their brains on chips in their heads. So if they die, you can just make a chip and since the chip is where most of their mind is, if you put a working chip into a body then the Space Elf'll be alive and fine. So I can make Space Elves but not anybody else."

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"Oh. And Space Elves are different than just Elves? Are you a Space Elf? Can humans get this kind of chip, too?"

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"Space Elves are different than just Elves. They look the same but there are all these weird differences - like, Space Elf telepathy works chip-to-chip, whereas Flat Elves - that's the kind I am - have just general magic telepathy. Flat Elves have souls, Space Elves don't. Flat Elves have marriage, Space Elves don't. Space Arda doesn't have any native magic though now summoning works there. They've been trying really hard to figure out how to chip humans but they don't have it working yet, or I'd have offered to chip you all first thing, being resurrectable's great."

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He nodnods again in that typical way. "Why are your kind of Elves called 'Flat'? What do you mean by souls, do you have an afterlife? Is it just Flat Elves that do? Why don't Space Elves have marriage? What's summoning? ...should I write these questions somewhere instead of just asking all of them in sequence, my helmet is recording everything and just showing me stuff I want to reference."

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"That's so cool - and I can keep up - Flat Elves are called that because our planets of origin are flat instead of spherical, held that way by magic, and the first person from an advanced society to land in one was very offended by the notion and made hers round but mine's still flat. On Flat Arda there's a continent called Valinor and a continent called Endorë and the tech level is such that it's very arduous but not quite prohibitively difficult to get between them - so we were just on the brink of transoceanic boats - and in Space Arda there was a star system with a planet called Valinor and another one with a planet called Endorë and the tech level was such that it's very arduous but not quite prohibitively difficult to get between them - so they had FTL - 

Elves have an afterlife; our souls can't be damaged and if we die they just kinda float around or they can go to one of the gods in an Arda and get made a new body. The gods kind of drag their heels on that but they used to be even worse. Space Elves don't have an afterlife but their gods resurrected them from backup even before they had the tech to do it themselves. No one except Flat Elves has marriage in the whole multiverse, it's a Flat Elf thing. I don't know why."

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"—I'm pretty sure humans get married? I mean maybe some Stranger or Thinker messed with my head but um."

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"Flat Elf marriage is a soul bond thing, you get a bunch of enhanced capabilities related to your bond to the other person and then everyone in your society can see it in your eyes that you're married. Humans, like, sign paperwork? Lots of societies have paperwork marriages."

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"Oh. Yeah that's different. Why are there two different Ardas like that?—for that matter, there are other Earths, but none of them have parahumans? How's that?"

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"There are seven Ardas we've found so far. All of them except Shadow and Space are the same except for a single point of divergence. There are about as many Earths, but they have a couple more points of divergence - in particular, no two Earths have the same magic system. We don't know why it works that way."

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"Is this the only Earth without any magic at all? Parahuman powers don't count, right? You could replicate my stuff—although I guess just because I made it doesn't mean it's magic—Glaistig Uaine thinks she does magic..."

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"Warp's Earth and Cube's are no-magic too. I dunno if parahuman powers count or not."

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"Well, guess we can figure that out later—oh, I forgot to mention, when you duplicated those batteries, they might not work perfectly forever? 'Cause tinker tech tends to spontaneously fail for no reason we know of if it's not looked after by the tinker who originally made it."

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"...huh. After how long?"

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"Depends! But like a month is sometimes enough if the tinker literally never looks at it again for problems to appear."

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"...I could make tinker-tech and tinker-tech-a-month-later and see if we can find differences."

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"You can do that? How? Could you use that to simulate anything aging? Could you use that to predict stuff?"

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"Can't predict things, no, but I can pull anything that existed out of any time period."

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"Oh, so you mean like, something a tinker has already made in the past, not like what my batteries would be if I spent a month without doing maintenance."

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"Yeah - well, we could play around with relativity, but that's not looking into the future -"

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"Yeah, I was actually wondering about that, like, technically we're in the Earth's past right now, and vice-versa—and how did your magic even pick up a given time to arrive here?—but anyway, you could see if you can find anything by conjuring stuff that aged without maintenance. Might not work anyway, though, tinker tech is notoriously difficult to reverse-engineer and pretty much impossible to understand unless you're the one who made it originally."

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"I have no idea how the magic handles time, except that demons sort of even things out, since we can conjure from anywhere instantaneously - you could say we have a frame of reference outside the dimension? I'm not really sure - anyway, if you name some tinker tech that ages I can see if we can get anywhere."

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So he suggests this one stun gun he made like two years ago and hasn't touched in about that long.

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Here it is! And here is it-when-he-made-it and here is it-a-year-ago.

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They don't look different at all, modulo regular wear and tear.

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Do they all work?

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They seem to turn on and all but figuring out whether they work as intended would require stunning someone.

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"I'm curious if local stunners work on me anyway."

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"Should I try the brand-new one?"

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"Sure."

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He does!

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Stun weapons work fine on indestructible people, though they wake up a little faster than usual.

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Hero blinks and reports this.

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"How about the year-old one?"

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Hero picks it up gingerly and looks at it. "I've literally not touched it—I'm not indestructible if it explodes but you have healing so maybe that's not much of a problem..." And in the manner of tinkers all over the world, he shoots.

It does, in fact, explode. Not a huge explosion, just enough for it to get reduced to its component parts and to give Hero some third degree burns.

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Tap-heal.

 

"Huh. Okay, so there's something different about it but we don't know what it is -"

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"Yeah. If I look at it I know what to do to fix it, but I can't really explain it afterwards in a way that makes sense to anyone but me and I couldn't have predicted it in advance anyway."

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"That's annoying. Sort of - hostile -"

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"Hostile?"

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"Like, some kinds of magic are user-friendly, and some are neutral, like the laws of physics, and some are user-unfriendly - yours seems user-unfriendly -"

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"...huh. I never thought of it that way but I guess it makes sense? You've seen lots of supernatural things, is most of it friendly?"

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"Hmm...the Tesseract's unfriendly, Arda prophecies are unfriendly, Arda songs are friendly, Arda artifacts seem kind of neutral? Wishing's neutral, summoning and all of the magic about how the daeva worlds work seem friendly, except Limbo which is - neutral? No, it's both friendly and unfriendly in different ways, that's a bit different - Materia's unfriendly. Shine's servantmaking is friendly and the resurrection and baby-dropping are unfriendly. Hex's friendly. I don't know about other parahuman powers, haven't seen enough yet.

 

Based on how likely something is to malfunction, and how much the principles it runs on are explainable, and how hard it is to do things and whether it's harder to do bad things, and whether the way things are set up looks vaguely like there was a designer who wanted people to be able to use magic to achieve things -"

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Hero looks faintly jealous, where "faintly" here means "incredibly." "Tesseract, isn't that just a four-dimensional analogue of a cube?—I'll ask about your magic later. I think pretty much all tinker powers are like this, but tinker stuff can be reverse-engineered. The principles though are basically impossible for other people to understand, and there's lots of papers about where powers come from, whether anyone made them—some people think Scion did—"

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"Maybe I can ask him. Anyway, we'll figure out how to reverse engineer it, we've got a lot of ways to cheat at that -"

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"Like what? And asking Scion—could you try to talk in his mind? He only ever said his name, once."

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"Yeah, I can try to talk in his mind, easy. And we've got access to modern scanners and stuff, and I can make prototypes in varying states of disassembly and make lots of them for different researchers, that should help -"

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"Oooh yeah, mass production of tinker stuff is very hard, each thing a tinker makes is unique—that's part of why it's so hard to get any understanding of the underlying principles."

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"Well, we can fix that!"

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"I think other powers are friendlier though. Library of Alexandria is probably immortal and has an eidetic memory, Legend is probably immortal too and has lots of control over his lasers and perfect vision, too. Eidolon is... I guess neutral? He gets whatever three or four powers his power thinks he needs."

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"If it's good at picking that sounds friendly. But - those powers are stuck to those people, it's Tinker stuff that by rights ought to change the world -"

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"It's not always obvious why the powers are good for the situation, even if they always do turn out to be. But I agree, tinker stuff would be awesome—and we shouldn't say they haven't, we've been able to reverse-engineer some smaller scale things and extrapolate from that, we got mobile phones and the internet—though I guess it's not anywhere as big as you seemed to think it would be, it has such potential—and miniaturization's getting some boosts here and there whenever someone manages to crack something a tinker made."

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"The internet's going to be amazing, yeah. Not even all that far in the future, even without a boost - I can put satellites in orbit for you -"

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"We'd probably need to work out infrastructure and how to scale things. Maybe. Not a lot of people have computers yet, anyway."

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Nod. "Do you want a fancy future one? Not a chip-locked one until I've tested if that's safe for parahumans, but I can still get you the kind the Andalites use."

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"Oh yeah, totally!"

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Here is the kind of computer the Andalites use! It is about the size of a bar of chocolate and has the complete written works of Earth on it because why not. He shows him how to turn it on.

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Oooh this is so cool those computers are really different and even better than some tinker ones though not all. "Does this have stuff the other Earths produced?"

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"Nah, you want that too?"

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"Yeah! I'm kinda curious about whether there's stuff that got produced that's the same even after Scion appeared. Could be useful to predict things."

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He makes a thumb-sized data stick. "This is all the other Earths up through 2020, you'd need a bigger computer to fit stuff after that because the population makes a lot more media once the internet's really a thing but for comparison purposes it should do."

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He nods and accepts the data stick.

"So what other cool things does the future and aliens bring us?"

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"Uh, all of the more advanced Earths are pretty much post-scarcity, you might be able to pull that off with just one demon but you might not, humans are pretty populous for a species so you usually get to have a lot of sway in the galaxy, we should colonize Mars, Revelation has arcologies there and on the Moon..."

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"Arcologies—we should totally colonize Mars and the Moon—but we still have the whole hunger problem—and the warlords problem—and people will probably still trigger on the Moon and we're not going at a sustainable rate—"

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"What's not sustainable?"

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"The rate of triggers. If we continue at this rate we're going to have way too many parahumans, and we already have had Behemoth, Glaistig Uaine, Gray Boy, Sleeper all on the side of the bad guys and most triggers turn out to become bad guys, which makes sense given what they are but..."

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"Yeah. Maybe if your world was nice and post-scarcity then triggers'd be less likely to be bad guys?"

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"I'm not sure. Triggers are always traumatic by definition—if our world was nice and post-scarcity then maybe triggers would happen less but I don't know if given that they happened at all people wouldn't just be bad guys anyway."

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"Lots of people have traumatic things happen to them and don't turn bad - well, lots of Elves do, maybe Elves're just nicer -"

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"Humans don't exactly turn bad when they're traumatized, but they do become more emotionally unstable and there are lots of incentives to use powers—guess most of those'd be fixed by post-scarcity—and lots of powers are combat-oriented anyway." 

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"Could there be sports competitions or something?"

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"I guess? But comparatively very few powers are physical, and I'm not sure people would be as excited about sports that would be won because of the power lottery rather than effort and dedication."

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"If we found my peal we could fix all of this." Sigh. "Well, we'll tell your PRT what I can do and maybe they'll think of things, thinking of things is probably not a part I'm especially good at."

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"I'm good at inventing things, but not this." Sigh. "...also, uh, peal?"

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"It's a pun. In English, actually. Boots is named Isabella and all the alternate universe versions of her are named something with 'bel' in it - Akibel, Campbell, Iobel, Beldri - so they call themselves Bells. And what are a lot of bells?"

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He dissolves into a fit of giggles.

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"Bells are pretty great."

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"They sound it. I'd love to meet them."

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"Me too because that'd mean all our problems were solved. Anyway, the PRT can probably think of stuff. We'll just magic stuff for them."

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"Yeah." Pause. "Can you show me an arcology?"

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"Yeah for sure!" Scale model. "We could just go to the Moon and build one if you want."

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"Yes let's do that!"

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Pop! He shouldn't leave spaceships floating around everywhere, it's irresponsible, but whatever. He makes air so Hero can breathe while he works. This Moon is going to have such a nice set of arcologies.

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Maybe they should've asked for permission but worst-case Epic can just teleport them away and arcologies on the Moon!!!!!!!

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Yeah who'd be such a spoilsport as to refuse them permission? ...and who even has the authority, no one's claimed the Moon yet, it can be theirs if they want.

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Well there's the Outer Space Treaty.

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He is not a signatory to that.

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That is indeed true! The various Earth governments might not be too thrilled about this anyway, but—" Arcologies!"

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Yeah!!!!!!!! He will do such nice plants and sufficiently pretty buildings and tell Hero "I did this on Cube's Earth's Moon when Elves had to live there to help with Yeerk sorting."

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"Yeerk sorting?"

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"Yeerks are these parasitic aliens that crawl into your head through your ear canal and control you. They'd conquered a bunch of species that way and they tried to go after Earth and Earth stopped them and then when the peal found that dimension they got the whole empire to surrender in a week and then we needed to sort billions of Yeerks by how likely they were to respect that they can only take consenting hosts now."

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"...eek. That sounds terrible. And I think I remember hearing about a master who could do that in Namibia."

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"It's really important I not get magicked. I can't get Yeerks because I'm indestructible but that might not do anything against powers."

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"Yeah, I bet the PRT brains are gonna think of it but maybe tomorrow we should suggest some more thorough power testing—the teleportation still makes you pretty hard to get ahold of and—wait indestructibility?"

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"Demons are indestructible, yeah...Boots'd be way more worried about me if I could die."

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"How's that work, though?"

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"Nothing can really hurt me? Like, if you stab me I'll get a cut, a small one. If I throw myself into a sun during a tantrum - I do that sometimes - I'll get burns, but not bad ones."

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"I get more envious of your magic by the minute—and that makes it even more terrifying if—I hope you forgive that I thought that in the worst case we'd kill you if you got controlled or something and then we'd just return to ground zero—"

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"That would obviously be the thing to do, my peal could even resurrect me later - stun weapons work fine on me -"

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"Stun weapons sometimes fail to work on people under mind control powers—"

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"Then you would have a problem. Unless oaths stick."

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"Yeah..." But in any case he wants to return to the topic of arcologies and cool future tech.

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And he can chatter all night about that. This is based off Cube but Cube's are based off Revelation, which has native summoning and so did a lot more space travel than is feasible for most Earths.

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This is so! Much!! Fun!!!!!!

And eventually it is morning in Chicago.

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Pop! They are back in his house in Chicago.

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Where a fairly distraught Legend is waiting. "Are you," he asks as soon as they appear, "responsible for what has been going on on the Moon?"

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"...yeah? It has arcologies now. In case people want to live there."

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He nods, relays this into his comm, then releases a relieved breath. "The United States government—and several others, and the PRT and the Protectorate and the Suits—are going insane over that, they thought it could be some tinker threatening the Earth or something worse."

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"If you write 'letter to Epic' on a piece of paper I'll see it within an hour, I make 'all the letters written to me' and I can get them that way."

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"That—would have been a good idea, yes," says Legend, who has known it was Epic all along but has to play this part and it's kinda terrible but okay, "but in any case, starting large-scale projects on visible celestial bodies without warning anyone can frighten people really bad, there was even talk about how this could be a Russian ploy, or an American ploy, depending on who you ask." And he gives Hero a pointed look, since, well, Hero should know better.

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Hero manages to look appropriately sheepish despite the mask.

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"Sorry. We went to another galaxy first to check if powers still work there. They do."

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That they failed to catch.

"Why were you checking that?"

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"Containment of prisoners. Some magic's local to a planet, some's local to a dimension, some has an adjacency limit - if we had somewhere where powers don't work we could just build a nice place for parahumans who can't be deterred from murdering people there. Different dimension still might work but different galaxy doesn't."

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"—well have you tested a different dimension? That could be potentially very useful."

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"I haven't, jumping dimensions at random is dangerous in case the local magic system interacts badly with something you've got, there's a small chance I wouldn't come back. If you have anyone who can breathe in vacuum and who wants to try I can tell them the risks and then they can jump and write a note saying it's safe and I can go and get them."

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"I technically could, and so could Eidolon. Library of Alexandria could hold her breath for long enough and survive in a vacuum."

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"...except that assumes powers work in adjacent dimensions, which is what we'd be checking -"

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"Oh, you meant arriving in a vacuum in another dimension. Were you thinking of breathing in a vacuum through technology?"

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"Can't you go to the dimension you were in immediately before arriving here?" wonders Hero.

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"So that's the thing - the dimension I thought I was in immediately before arriving here was Warp, the one I live in, but I can't get back there from here, I think I somehow jumped two dimensions at once."

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"And if you hop to a random dimension you won't be able to come back? Or do you think you could end up hopping two dimensions again?"

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"No, I was using a prototype worldleaper and I can just use the normal ones. But there is at least one dimension that is unfriendly to external magic and technology, breaks it all. There might be others. There's probably a 99% chance I'd be fine. But if I landed in a bad world I wouldn't be able to come back."

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"Can you teleport equipment as well as people with these worldleapers?"

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"Capacity limit's pretty low, but it's not zero."

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"How much information do you need to conjure objects? Could you do it from blueprints and plans?"

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"Easy."

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"And how low is your capacity, exactly?"

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"Can't take a spaceship with me, could take, like, a couple people or equivalent amount of cargo?"

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"How about a person and, say, a suit that could resist space for long enough for them to write you a letter?"

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"That'd work fine. They'd 99 percent be safe but that's not for sure, they should know that -"

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"I'm sure we could find someone willing to bet their life on a ninety-nine percent chance of being able to secure the likes of Gray Boy permanently."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. I'll make you a worldleaper and you can see if powers have a dimension limit. Or an adjacency limit. Most stuff has one or the other."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How would we test the adjacency limit? Can you target specifically away from a given dimension?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"If we go to one dimension and then hop to another one at random from there, it'd be really not likely it happened to be a neighbor of this one, most dimensions aren't adjacent. And I could test by trying to teleport back here from the second dimension."

Permalink Mark Unread

"So that's a thing to bring up later today. Hero, have you slept?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I—um—well, no, but the song—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Have you eaten?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Ummm."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can make food. Uh, breakfast?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes, that'd be good, I think."

Permalink Mark Unread

Here are waffles and eggs and bacon and pancakes and fruit salad and some of Tirion's street food which he misses maybe a little.

Permalink Mark Unread

Tirion's street food? What is it?

Permalink Mark Unread

All kinds of things, some of which are recognizably sort-of-croissant-like and some which are kabobs of strange fried vegetables and some of which are harder to guess at. 

Permalink Mark Unread

So Hero will happily eat!

Permalink Mark Unread

"The PRT suits will meet soon to decide how best to aim you. Is there anything else like putting villains in another dimension you've thought of, as good uses of your magic?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Not really. Future technology might help just by making your world nicer."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, and that probably requires less in the way of meetings of the people responsible for capes, although just distributing technology has its failure modes."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. I can give out some of the magic, but that has a lot of failure modes."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What magic can you give out?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Uh, the songs I can give out really easily, just a recording. The teleport and the healing I could make an artifact that'd let someone else have them but it'd take me a long time and we don't usually share them unless we're really sure of someone, there's - a way they could get misused - it might depend on whether there are other telepaths -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"There aren't any other telepaths," Hero pauses eating to put in. "Some people theorize telepathy's impossible for parahumans."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Then it might be safe because I could be pretty sure the people I gave it to couldn't themselves give it out."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You can only give magic via telepathy?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Depends on the kind. The healing spell and teleport you can only give via telepathy and the artifact I'd have to make, so I'd have two ways of making sure it didn't get out of control."

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods. "So worst-case you could give the healing spell to people who definitely don't have telepathy?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...no, if other people had telepathy and could get it from them that'd be a problem too."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, you can get it from other people like that, hmm.—wait, are you protected from telepathy, too?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm protected against my kind of telepathy. I don't know if I'm protected against other kinds of telepathy, probably not, but the more people we give it out to the more points of failure."

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods and—

Permalink Mark Unread

—Legend looks at him—

Permalink Mark Unread

—he grins and resumes eating.

Permalink Mark Unread

"In any case there aren't any other telepaths that we know of. What are the problems with distributing the healing spell, other than potentially giving villains access to healing spells?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"The healing spell can't be distributed without its building blocks which could potentially be reshuffled to do - well, anything, that particular magic system has no hard constraints."

Permalink Mark Unread

"No hard constraints, as in, you can do literally anything with it?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What's the bottleneck on generalized omnipotence?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's really slow. Centuries to design anything. But - if someone triggered with a tinker power for it -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh yikes—although that sounds pretty hard to imagine, parahuman powers aren't very magical like that and tinkers are always more technological?—but can't rule it out, I suppose—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"If I could be sure that it wouldn't get past the people I gave the artifacts to, and I could just take the artifact away from one of them if they triggered with anything that might let them do it, then it'd be safe enough, probably. But in general we try to be really careful about it."

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods. "That makes sense."

Permalink Mark Unread

Legend's comm beeps and he excuses himself to go answer it.

Permalink Mark Unread

...depending how far he goes, he hasn't actually mentioned that Elves have excellent hearing.

Permalink Mark Unread

It is definitely still within Epic's hearing. The conversation doesn't sound sensitive, though, so it must be habit? It is about a meeting about to start and people waiting for him. He confirms he will be there and bring Hero and returns.

"Hero and I should go to a meeting. Do you want us to take you to the Wards building to meet the other parahumans?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sure!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Here—" he says as soon as Hero's done eating and tries sending Epic a mental image of a room.

Permalink Mark Unread

Pop.

Permalink Mark Unread

They are in an empty meeting room. "I didn't want to bring us to the lobby or anywhere with lots of people, it's no good to startle them."

He opens the door and leads the way out.

Permalink Mark Unread

He folds up his wings (they are still fairly visible) and follows.

Permalink Mark Unread

He is walking with Legend, no one will question this.

After a few turns and going up an elevator, they reach a room with a few sofas and a computer. Standing in the middle of it, a girl with mouse ears attached to her head and not wearing a mask is playing with a wooden sword. She looks at them and points the sword at them. "Halt, villains!"

Permalink Mark Unread

He smiles a little bit. "Hi. I'm Epic."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm Mouse Protector! Prepare to fight!" She runs towards Epic yelling "Yaaaaaa!" but stops when Legend says, "Mouse, can you get your teammates?"

"Sure," she says, and off she goes to fetch her teammates.

"Sorry about her," Legend says.

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's okay. I'm not very good at conventional fighting, should I be?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Probably not. Her power is enhanced agility and stamina, plus she can tag people with a touch and teleport to them on a whim."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Cool."

Permalink Mark Unread

The first people to show up are a boy and a girl, teenagers, about fifteen and seventeen respectively. The girl is wearing jeans and a T-shirt and isn't looking at anyone. She has a knife in her hand, and is playing with it. The boy is dressed similarly, and looks somewhat subdued.

And as the kids appear, Hero straightens up and becomes more serious. "These are Hannah, cape name Miss Militia, and Nathan, cape name Chevalier," he introduces them.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hi. I'm Epic. My real name's Fëanáro."

Permalink Mark Unread

    "Nice to meet you, Fëanáro," says Nathan.

        "Hi," says Hannah.

Other people start arriving: Champion (Howard, 17), Clover (Reed, 17), Panther (Malcolm, 16), Jaunter (Ian, 16), Leaf (Olivia, 15), Harlequin (Mary, 14), Sunlight (Jennifer, 16), and the girl with the sword returns and introduces herself as Mouse Protector, again, name Barbra.

And the last one is someone Fëanáro might recognize. At least, she recognizes him.

Permalink Mark Unread

That is the person he asked where a hospital was. "Hi!"

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"Hi. I thought I dreamt you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, you've met?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"In New York. I was healing people. What's your name?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sadde. Don't have a cape name yet, I—triggered in New York."

Permalink Mark Unread

Nod. "It was my fault he came back I didn't put him far enough away they haven't told me how many people died because of that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—you made him go away?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Teleport. But I didn't put him far enough I put him on Mars."

Permalink Mark Unread

"But still you made him go away. He's gone."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes, he is," Hero agrees. "Now, Legend and I have some things to do, can you make sure Fëanáro's comfortable?"

    "Right-oh!" declares Barbra.

Permalink Mark Unread

"My power aside from the teleport is that I can make stuff. Any stuff. So I'll be comfortable."

Permalink Mark Unread

Hero beams and goes off somewhere.

    "Those wings are really cool," says Barbra.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Thanks. They really fly!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Really? I thought wings couldn't really lift a human," says Sadde.

    "Why not?" asks Olivia (as the older kids, except for Hannah, Barbra, and Nathan start dispersing).

"'Cause for things as big as a human you need very strong muscles to lift but if they're strong enough then they become too heavy and need to be even stronger..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Might not work for normal humans, I'm a demon."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—like the thing from Hell in religions?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. Hell's nice, though, I have a house there. Demons aren't any worse than people in general."

Permalink Mark Unread

He gets a few confused stares.

Permalink Mark Unread

"...Hell is a dimension adjacent to some Earths. There are demons there. They're all like me - wings, and can make things. Hell is kind of tacky because of that, but it's a perfectly nice place. When I showed up there some people offered to adopt me. Humans'd probably get killed if they went there, but not because demons are mean, just because they're used to everybody being demons so they can be careless."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Do sinners go there when they die?" asks Nathan.

Permalink Mark Unread

"No. Summoners sometimes go there when they die but they have to have been born in the adjacent Earth and when they get there they're a demon and it's actually kind of awesome being a demon."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Adjacent Earth? Are there lots of Earths?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, there are. Probably infinitely many." Wing-shrug.

Permalink Mark Unread

    "Awwww, you're so cute!" says Mouse Protector of the wing-shrug.

Sadde wrinkles her nose at her.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm older than any of you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You are?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yep. I'm an Elf and Elves grow up really really slowly and I was on a stupid planet where it's even slower."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How old are you? I'm seven, just like I look. They're all teenagers."

Permalink Mark Unread

"In Earth years I'm a hundred twenty two. And a half."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—wow. That must suck, to take that long to grow up."

Permalink Mark Unread

Bounce bounce bounce - "it's the worst. I ran away to Tol Eressea and then I ran away to the Outer Lands because I didn't want to take that long and then I got an interdimensional teleport and now they can't make me go back."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Do you grow up faster when not wherever you're from?" (Barbra and the older children decide not to hover around the "kids" since they seem to be hitting it off, and go elsewhere—but still nearby.) "How long would you take to grow up here?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, everything grows ten times as slow in Valinor because Valinor's supposed to be blissful and slow and stuff. It'd only take me fifty years here."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Fifty years—that's still a lot—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I know."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How'd you get here? What powers do you have? How'd you make Behemoth go away? Are there other demons that could help?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"There are other demons but I got lost getting here and don't know how to find my way back to them. Demons are indestructible and can make anything that's made out of atoms, except people and animals, if we try making people they come out braindead. I also have a teleport and a healing spell because you can give people those in the place I'm from, and I'm an Elf so I can do some things humans can't do."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What things? Could you give anyone a healing spell?—is it magic? Can't you use magic to grow up faster?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I could have used magic to make myself look grownup but I'd still have the emotional maturity of a fourteen-year-old Elf which is like a six or seven year old human and my Boots thought it might be a bad idea to do that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Do Elves mature more slowly, too? Can't you do magic to fix that? Humans mature faster and we're alright."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I could probably do something but I'm not sure it'd be exactly 'making me mature faster' - like, I could change my impulse control or my time preference or whatever, but I'd feel kind of weird about that - and I don't want to lose my neuroplasticity, that bit's great."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Neuroplasticity? That thing where kids learn things faster? Yeah I don't wanna lose that either."

Permalink Mark Unread

Grin. "I'm so good at languages. They were talking about making me go to school and I said I'd go learn languages if they wanted."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You can skip school? I wanna skip school, too! It's so boring and the kids there are always terrible to me and I don't learn anything I learn so much faster on my own—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm not sure if they're letting me skip because I have a teleport and they really couldn't make me go, or because I'm technically a hundred twenty two and a half, or because I pointed out to Legend that if they taught computer science or electrical engineering or something in school I wouldn't learn anything because your world's behind mine and then he was sort of like 'okay'."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—you know that stuff? Can you teach me? All people teach in school is how to read or multiplication like I'm dumb or something."

Permalink Mark Unread

 

"It's really good they aren't making me go I think I'd be really annoying. Anyway, yeah, you hafta know a lot of kinds of engineering to be very good at being a demon because you need to make sure the things you're building work, what d'you want to start with -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Math, I guess? I think you need to know math for that, and all people will teach me is multiplication."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Do you know how to graph stuff? Calculus is really easy to explain from that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. Had to learn on my own, though." She sounds proud of that.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Good for you!" Here's a holoscreen with a graph. "So imagine that we put a tracker on some guy and its GPS - do you even have GPS - okay, anyway, our tracker can't tell us how far he's gone but it can tell us how fast he's going, here's the graph of how fast he's going. We want to figure out how far he's gone. D'you see how -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"You have to multiply the speed by the time?" she guesses. "But it changes all the time..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes, it does. So let's make some simplifying assumptions - pretend he's only got so much acceleration, his speed increases linearly until he's going this fast and then it flattens out -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"So after here you can just multiply this together with how long he's at this speed, but before—" She squints. "If you could divide the triangle in little pieces you could do the same, sorta?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yep, you could. You can do that even if it's a super bumpy line -" gesture, now it's a super bumpy line - "can't you?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I guess? But it's harder, and it wouldn't be exactly the same, would it?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Wouldn't - start with the straight one, and then we'll make it more complicated and check why it's not the same -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay, so how do you do it with the straight one?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"For the part that's flat, you said you'd just multiply how long by how fast. So imagine that the part that's slanted were stairstepped, instead - you could do the same thing -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, it would just be bits at different speeds right?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Exactly!" Flap-flap - "what do you get if you pretend a slanted line is a staircase with four steps?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Four bits, you just multiply them and add them like this, but you get more than your should 'cause there's all those bits where we're pretending he's going faster than he really is—"

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods vigorously - "you're smart you're going to get it really fast - so if there are eight steps is the error smaller? -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah? 'Cause we're pretending he's going faster but not as much faster as before, and there are more parts where we're not pretending at all."

Permalink Mark Unread

"So there's a mathematical trick we can use to check the answer we'd get if we had infinite rectangles. It pretty much works by looking what we'd have at eight, and sixteen, and thirty-two, and a million, and noticing that they get closer and closer to the real answer."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—oh that's really cool, so it's like you get an infinity of rectangles and they're all really like lines? Wait—" She squints at the graph. "If you're adding the lines aren't you just getting the area under there?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yep. Which is easy to find for the line case, you probably already know how to find the area of a triangle. But it works for the area under any other kind of curve, too - uh, as long as the line's not jagged, it can have steep turns but not actually anything that'd be the equivalent of instantaneous changes in speed -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I guess it wouldn't make sense for something to suddenly change speed without going through the speeds in between."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, and things that do act that way you can't handle with this method, but it'll work on every single kind of curve that isn't like that. D'you want to learn the case for straight lines and easy curves, or go right to the general solution -"

Permalink Mark Unread

Bounce. "Show me the general solution."

Permalink Mark Unread

Bounce bounce here is the fundamental theorem of calculus!!!!

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh wow this makes all kinds of sense it's so cool "You're really smart!" And it is so great not being talked down to—although her mother never did, but the teachers and everyone else did and now she's sad.

Permalink Mark Unread

He totally doesn't notice that because he is too busy excitedly explaining - "and there's a different kind of problem that turns out to be related to this one, and that is the problem of telling how much he's accelerating at a particular instant off a graph of his speed -"

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay she can follow and become not-sad again by paying attention to the explanation.

Permalink Mark Unread

And she will think it's pretty cool that the finding-the-tangent-to-a-line process is the exact reverse of the area-under-a-curve one, right, because it's pretty cool.

Permalink Mark Unread

Wow it's awesome and more complicated than anything she's ever done ever but so cool.

Permalink Mark Unread

"You'll probably want to play with it a bunch to get a feel for it, I can make a textbook if you want to do actual formal problems or you can just poke the computer into giving you new curves and then play with them."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Can I do both?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, definitely!" Here's a Federation calculus textbook, here's a not-chip-locked computer she can play with. He flops contentedly on the floor. 

Permalink Mark Unread

Eeeee Sadde will have fun with this. "This is cool you're cool I like you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Demons have the best powers. And I like you too, I'm glad I joined the Wards. I was worried it'd be weird, I don't really know any other children."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I knew some children in New York but they mostly didn't like me. And every other Ward is super old—well, for a human—and they won't really let me do anything because we don't even know what my powers are yet and even if we did I'm too little to be allowed to do anything."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How can you not know what your powers are? And they let me do things and I didn't even tell them I was a hundred twenty two and a half? But maybe that's because they were desperate and also wouldn't have exactly been able to stop me."

Permalink Mark Unread

"If I go out they think I'll probably die," she shrugs. "And I got my powers yesterday and all I know about them is that they let me be a girl and they rescued me from under a lot of heavy stuff."

Permalink Mark Unread

"That sounds pretty useful. And yeah, don't die, I can't do people without help and my help doesn't know how to find me."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I dunno if it's useful, if all it does is let me look like I should look and rescue me from under buildings I won't be a very good hero. What's your help?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, you could help other people transition, if you've got a general power for it? There are lots of humans who'd want that, most worlds. And in the place I'm from there's someone with magic that can combine with my magic to resurrect people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—any people?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. Eventually, once my help finds me."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How long do you think they'll take? Do you—do you think they could do my mom?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I am totally sure we could do your mom, and we will, but I don't know how long they'll take it might be years."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. Okay."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm sorry."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's not your fault. It's Behemoth's, and you got rid of him."

Permalink Mark Unread

"But I didn't put him far enough and I don't have resurrection and - my mom almost died and it was horrible -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"—I'm gonna go do math," she says, grabbing the textbook and the computer and going off somewhere.

Permalink Mark Unread

He wraps his wings around himself and makes the room prettier.

Permalink Mark Unread

And presently Legend's back and—" Did you change the decor?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. Not allowed? I can put it back."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm sure no one will complain, these quarters were somewhat hastily set up so we could move the Wards from New York yesterday. How did you find them?"

    Barbra, who chose this moment to return to the computer, pipes up with "I think he got along with the new girl."

Permalink Mark Unread

'Yeah, Sadde's nice - can I tutor her instead of her going to school, she doesn't like it and we'll both learn more working together -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"We'll have to see with her legal guardian, we cannot make this decision for them."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. You could find a grownup and say they're tutoring us if that helped."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm not sure I would want to lie to their guardian like that—although you might count, anyway."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Who's her guardian, her mom's dead, she said."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Her father, although there seems to be a—complication, there."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"She said, and I quote, 'if you tell my father I'll never ever ever become a superhero ever, I'll become a villain and beat each and every one of you up.'"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Probably she has a bad father, can you get her a different one?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Not... really. If he's her closest living relative and she has no others who might be willing to keep her and he's not physically abusive there's very little we can do."

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's a bad system."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's... based on the premise that young children have very little ability to think of long—or even medium-term consequences of their actions and on average cannot be trusted not to blow small disagreements out of proportion and make decisions they'll regret which an adult wouldn't." He sounds carefully neutral.

Permalink Mark Unread

"My parents were perfectly nice and loved me very much and I was so unhappy, all of the time, and I would have kept on being unhappy."

Permalink Mark Unread

He wrings his hands. "We can offer to take care of her most of the time but if he decides against that—but it's a very irregular case, the rules around the Wards program were not designed with seven-year-olds in mind, we didn't think it was possible to trigger that young."

Permalink Mark Unread

"If she doesn't want to go with him and people are trying to make her I will teleport her to a country that doesn't do that."

Permalink Mark Unread

That gives him pause. A thoughtful pause and, if what can be seen of his face is any indication, not a displeased one. "I must advise against this course of action, and would strongly recommend you not inform her of this new possible resource. It would be very bad if we had absolutely no way to keep her with her... family." Once again, perfectly neutral, except for the pause at the end, there. And he clearly does not wink but he does send Fëanáro a mental impression of a wink.

Permalink Mark Unread

 

"...yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Because, you see," he belabors, "if you had set your mind to that then it's probable that the PRT wouldn't really be able to stop you at all and might not try, which would mean you wouldn't even need to follow through."

Permalink Mark Unread

"If Sadde doesn't want to go home she's not going home and you can't stop me."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—let's talk about this later."

I won't try to stop you, he sends, and I'm very thankful you're so protective of her. She needs that.

Permalink Mark Unread

It's my fault for not putting Behemoth far enough away even though everyone keeps saying it's not. 

Permalink Mark Unread

If I understand it correctly, Sadde's mother was gone before you had even arrived, but beyond that, you couldn't have known. It's not—fair, to say it was your fault for not having enough information. We didn't know, he'd never shown anything remotely like that much speed or power.

Permalink Mark Unread

Could've put some kind of monitor on him or continuously conjured for his location or - if I only fixed things I had a fair chance at fixing that wouldn't be nearly enough fixed -

Permalink Mark Unread

So there's not much point thinking it's your fault—you learn from your experiences, and next time you'll be more prepared for a situation like this, but no situation will ever be quite like this, and there will be situations you won't anticipate. That's just life.

Permalink Mark Unread

Wing-hug.

Permalink Mark Unread

Hug.

"The meeting between the people in suits who run this show should be over soon."

Permalink Mark Unread

"The one about what to do with me?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes. There are some—territoriality problems, if you solve problems in other countries they might object or think it's the United States overreaching, but many of the countries with the easiest problem for your powerset to solve don't have enough of an international presence for that to really matter."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. I'm also happy to work with other countries' governments if they want stuff, I only came here because Behemoth was here."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Most governments are—nowhere near as on the ball as the United States, when it comes to superpowered individuals. The United Kingdom is scraping something up, as are Japan and China, but we're the first to make anything official."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. Do they want to meet with me or are they just going to make a list of useful things to do?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"They'll probably want to meet to give you that list after asking you about many things."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. Will you be there?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Unless you don't want me to, I will."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'd like that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay." Hug.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah.

 

And he nervously waits for the meeting!

Permalink Mark Unread

It takes less than five minutes for Hero to show up, look around to determine there aren't any Wards to hear it, and say, "Yo, suits want you."

Permalink Mark Unread

Legend looks at Fëanáro questioningly.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Where are we going?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Meeting room five."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can't teleport off that."

Permalink Mark Unread

Mental image.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Are both of you coming?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

Meeting room five!

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Eidolon is there, as is an austere-looking lady, two men in suits, and two people at the door holding guns and standing at attention.

Well, they were standing at attention, they level their weapons at Fëanáro as soon as they pop there.

"Easy," the woman says, and they lower their weapons. Uneasily.

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"Should I pop to outside doors and then knock or something?"

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"That would probably be best, yes. I am Chief Director Costa-Brown. You have met Deputy Chief Director Guerra," she gestures at one of the men in suits, "and this here is Mr. Prescott."

She takes a seat, and everyone else takes her cue.

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They keep not preparing chairs for his wings. He makes himself one.

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"We unfortunately do not have a nice itemized list of every problem you could solve," says Costa-Brown. "You shouldn't go anywhere near Sleeper, but we know his whereabouts so we can keep you away from him. Glaistig Uaine and Gray Boy might be better targets, as far as uncomplicatedly American parahumans go. And when it comes to non-parahuman problems—I believe you've expressed a desire to eradicate malaria?"

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"Yep. You get rid of polio soon too but that's harder. I can give you modern medicine."

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"What other diseases and similar problems have been solved where—when—you're from?"

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"...all of them? Not all the solutions are tech so I can't make them all work here - Warp's post-material-scarcity and people don't have kids by accident anymore and most diseases have been eradicated and once you get magic then we can do resurrection, make mortals unaging, that kind of thing."

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"Post-scarcity would be difficult while we still need to rely on you but I understand there are people with the ability to find you?"

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"Yeah. It might be decades, though, it's a big multiverse and I only think I even know how I got lost. I think giving you a tech boost will work better than trying to end scarcity, probably. 2030's just much nicer than 1994 even in worlds without demons."

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"Indeed. If we were to give you a list of current technology we'd like updated, as well as potential advances and directions we think technology ought to go, will you be able to produce the materials needed for their specifications, like blueprints or the necessary physics and mathematics knowledge to back it all up?"

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"If anyone's done it anywhere I've heard of, I can give you what they had."

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"Would you be able to provide us with things we wouldn't think of that you might know?"

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"Yeah, if I think of it - I was going to look at how Cube did a tech jump, that should help with thinking of things I might not think of on my own - I can also make you some people but I don't really want to do that unless we need them pretty badly."

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"Making people—I expect copies of people, yes?—does sound somewhat dubious."

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"Yeah. Usually we only do that if the original died or if they want to fork for some reason. Some of them probably wouldn't mind but if there's a list it's on the network and I can't access it."

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She nods. "We will send you such a list of things to produce, then, so we can properly reverse-engineer them, and we might ask you to conjure tools and facilities that can produce them at scale."

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"Yeah, no problem. And I told Legend and Library of Alexandria earlier that I could put New York back if you want. And I can do old lost historical stuff."

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"Yes, they mentioned your suggestion of bringing the actual Library of Alexandria back. We have people working on that as we speak."

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"Okay. ...also factory farming. You should stop that, I can build you the vat meat factories that replace it."

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"Are they as nutritional and do they have the same taste as the real thing? Lots of people will care about the former and a surprising fraction about the latter."

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"Yes and yes, took a while but they got it exactly right and cheaper."

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"Then we would probably like that, although displacing the farmers altogether would be undesirable and some thought will need to be given to that."

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"I'm happy to pay them whatever they're currently making phased out over twenty years or something."

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"That might work for some," she concedes, "but a once again surprising number might feel cheated out of honest work in a situation like this."

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"Farming will probably have a niche market but factory farming is completely horrible. Once you have a cheaper nutritionally equivalent alternative you could just say that all your normal animal welfare laws apply to farms? And then any farms that are willing to treat their animals okay can keep existing."

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"Could work," she agrees, and she nods at Mr. Prescott, who has been taking notes and writes something on a margin at that. "Do you by any chance have futuristic insight about the philosophy of whether animals should be treated as people?"

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"Revelation considers eating meat from animals completely evil, but it's 2180 there and they have lots of demons, I think they'd understand if you couldn't catch up overnight. I know a person back home who can talk to animals, pretty much any animals, and can send you sort of what it's like to be them, and that might help people decide, but it's not, like, obvious, even in the future. I could get you future philosophy stuff as easily as anything else."

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"It will advance the field by decades, which is to say probably not at all. What other low-hanging fruit does your 'peal' tend to solve fast with technology?"

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"The ozone layer's going to be a problem, I can put it back for you. Most kinds of cancer are cured, I can get you the stuff for that. I've got universal translators, though they do a lousy job on languages without much data, I've got faster-than-light travel, there's easy fixes for pollution and way more efficient power plants..."

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Mr. Prescott writes it all down.

"The ozone layer's a good idea, and we hadn't thought of universal translation, but the other things are on our list," says Costa-Brown.

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"I have a magic translation solution that's better and that I can use to teach the technology version, for small languages where it has a poor sample. Oh, and the arcologies on the Moon are me, Revelation's also got them on Mars but I can just terraform Mars for you if you want people to live there."

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"I'm not sure habitable land is a pressing issue at the time, and most of our resource constraints are in logistics and incentives rather than production. Ushering a post-scarcity plan would make it easier to do charity."

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"Yeah, and making food cheaper and the Internet free and power really really cheap - oh, electric cars, you don't have good electric cars yet, do you? That's easy. And I can do public transit projects overnight and for free - anyway, once the Internet's widespread that helps the logistics and incentives, your food prices will fall a lot when you're not feeding most of it to animals, Cube did a universal basic income starting in Malawi and then spreading it from there..."

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"Why Malawi?"

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"Don't actually know. Their history'd diverged from you by now anyway, because of powers."

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"And it doesn't exist anymore here, anyway. It's made up of several territories governed by different warlords."

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"I want to do something about that but I don't know what. I could make some people who are better at politics, but like I said, making people's for emergencies."

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"I'm not sure politics is the problem, there. There isn't enough cohesion for the concept to even make much sense, it's really many superpowered people keeping power by being scarier than everyone else around and beating them to submission."

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"I'm scarier than any of them but I don't want to wade into fights without knowing what I'd do if I won them."

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Legend fails to suppress a smile at this.

"We can probably spare some people to figure that out, but that's even more complicated than just solving unambiguous problems like malaria because other countries might take offense to you doing that even if you declare yourself an independent agent," Costa-Brown explains.

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"And that's the sort of thing Matirin handled when Butterfly took over the world but I'm not any good at."

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She nods. "Probably not worth looking into right now, anyway. We'll finish up that list, but we might want you to eradicate malaria before we're done. Does that work with other similarly transmitted diseases like dengue?"

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"Anything with mosquitos as a vector is easy. Some planets just eradicate mosquitos and nothing bad happens."

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"Earths? Or other planets?"

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"Earths."

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"That might be worth looking into, but I'm not sure most environmentalists would just take your word that it's safe as they would about the diseases."

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"Yeah. You can also go for just the species that bite people and just in the areas with a lot of disease."

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"We'll start with malaria and dengue and similar diseases and might see about that later."

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"Sounds good."

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"About your healing spell, how comprehensive is it?"

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"Doesn't do de-aging, but otherwise it'll restore you to perfect health."

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"From how bad an injury or malady?"

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"Anything that hasn't killed you."

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"But I understand you cannot share this unless it is guaranteed telepaths other than yourself don't exist?"

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"Yep, and even then it's a little complicated, I have to make artifacts that make it shareable and they're about 2000 hours of work apiece to make. I could do it in magical acceleration in - like three weeks, if I didn't mess up and didn't sleep, but I'd have to be completely left alone for the three weeks, magical acceleration's weird that way."

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"Is it a single artifact like that per person?"

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"Yep. They could give it to someone else but then they wouldn't have the healing spell anymore."

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"That does not scale nearly as well as I'd hoped. Hmm. And is there a cargo limit to your teleportation?"

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"No one's tried taking a sun along. Planets go fine."

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"How much information about your target do you need to teleport it?"

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"A visual, pretty much."

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"Could you do it via camera? That would bump up the priority of getting Gray Boy and Glaistig Uaine significantly."

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"Why would that change it? And I don't think so."

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    "Gray Boy can trap people in an eternal time loop, their bodies repeating the same actions forever, only their minds being able to watch from within as the world goes on without them. I don't think you could do anything about him. Glaistig Uaine can have any powers of any parahumans she has ever witnessed die, and that makes her about as flexible as Eidolon."

(Who shifts his weight uncomfortably.)

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"What's their range?"

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"Gray Boy is sight, Glaistig Uaine whatever range the power she's copying is," Eidolon says in his deep multiple voice.

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"...I can conjure through a video feed. If you got a video feed of them I could use that to make drugs in their circulatory system and then go scoop them up and move them to wherever we're keeping them once they're knocked out?"

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"Neither of them can be knocked out. Gray Boy just continually restores himself to the same state of health he occupied when he triggered, and Glaistig Uaine has enough power to just shrug off almost everything."

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"I could also kill them through a video feed, probably."

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"I'm not sure Gray Boy could be killed even were he decapitated, but perhaps Glaistig Uaine could."

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"But if it fails she will know who did it."

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"Do any powers do precognition? We have one of those at home but she only works in her native dimension."

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"Various, variously accurately and powerfully. We don't have access to any precog that has enough fine detail to be able to divine the result of trying this, though, most of them are vague."

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"My vision range is probably a lot better than Grey Boy's, because I'm an Elf."

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"How much better?" asks the Chief Director.

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"I can show you what the world looks like through my eyes with my telepathy, but a meeting room might not be the best place."

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"You could teleport me to the roof temporarily," she suggests, standing up.

(Legend helpfully sends a mental image.)

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Here they are on the roof. He looks out at Chicago and then tosses her a way to borrow his eyesight.

 

He can see about a hundred miles out, though at that distance everything's tiny. Within the city he has much higher resolution; he can read over someone's shoulder, see the pores on their faces, though his eyes sweep anxiously over the ugly streets and focus on the water.

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"Is it possible for Legend to send you something like that? I understand he has perfect vision at any distance, as well."

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"Yeah, I can borrow other peoples' senses too."

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She nods. "Can we return to the meeting room?"

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"Yeah." Pop.

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She takes her seat again. "I believe this might be enough to send Gray Boy to another planet. What's your range on telepathy?"

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"Ten miles with strangers, three hundred once I know someone really well. I bet I can find Legend at - forty, fifty? by now."

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"So you could perhaps attempt to communicate with Gray Boy before removing him if need be. Glaistig Uaine is still more dangerous, however."

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"Yeah. Does she have Master powers, those're the ones I'm worried about."

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    "We haven't been able to keep track of her to determine what she has," Costa-Brown admits.

"So probably," says Eidolon.

    "But we have a few masters on hand to test against you—Legend mentioned you wanted that."

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"Yeah. I don't know if you realized, Hero hadn't - a demon could destroy the world in about six seconds. It's really important to know if that magic works on me."

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"We eventually did realize it, yes," says Eidolon.

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"I can swear not to but oaths are super dangerous and might not help anyway."

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    "Your magic songs work through recordings, yes? Do you have a list of them?"

"Oh, I have one," says Hero.

    "Useful. That is easy to scale."

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"Yeah. There are a couple you might not want to make public but they scale really easily. And there're healing ones, but they're not as good as my touch healing."

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"Still, sending them to all hospitals in the world—once it has been determined they have no effects other than healing to sufficiently paranoid parties—could save a lot of lives."

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Bounce bounce. "Yep."

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"Enhanced senses, conjuration of arbitrary material objects plus knowledge of futuristic technology, arbitrary teleportation, telepathy, touch-range healing and turning people into birds, songs—am I missing anything?"

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"Invisibility.  And the making artifacts but it's really slow."

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"Can you bestow invisibility upon others?"

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"Yeah."

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"Does it have a time or range limit? How does it deal with invisible wavelengths?"

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"It handles stuff outside normal visible range but you still show up on radar - if I add inaudibility you don't do that but then you can't talk - no time limit, range is visual again - I could go into space and turn the whole planet invisible but I couldn't selectively make something in another building which I can't see invisible."

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"And the target remains invisible until you undo it?"

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"Yeah."

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"Is that a shareable-but-hard-to-scale spell like the healing one? Is it possible to make the target invisible to others but their equipment, like the inside of their helmet, visible to themselves? And would you be willing to use it on stealth teams if we asked you to?"

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"I can't make their equipment visible to them or them visible to each other, it's invisible or not. It's shareable exactly like the healing one - once I have an artifact for someone I can give them invisibility and healing - but healing's less weaponizable - I actually could turn the whole world invisible and it'd be horrible - so I don't want to give it out so much. I'll make teams invisible for you."

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She nods. "That seems to be all, then, unless you've thought of any more miracles you can pull off."

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"There might be a power that could do resurrection in combination with me? If I try to make a person I get an exact atom-for-atom replica but they're magically not a person, I don't know what kind of power would work around that but if you can think of anything that might -"

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    "That depends very strongly on what exactly 'magic' means, here, and how it's preventing the, ah, body from becoming a person."

"The person is identical to the original, then?" asks Hero. "As in, it literally is just magic that's actively preventing them from being a person?"

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"I mean, depends on the kind of person, but with humans, yeah."

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"There are other species that aren't identical?"

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"Materians have souls and we can't figure out how to resurrect them without getting their souls back somehow, flat Elves have a different kind of souls and you can't resurrect us from our bodies at all - though Yeerks morphed flat-Elf should work, now that I think about it - basically, that's how it works for species that run on physics."

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The lower half of his face suggests some bewilderment. "I suppose magic does imply not running on physics," he manages.

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"Anyway, everyone here's human so it's an atom-for-atom copy of a person that somehow isn't a mind, and if you've got anything that could do - the equivalent of what we do for Space Elves, which is writing the chip to another chip, after which it works fine -"

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"We probably don't have that," Costa-Brown says, "but it's not a priori impossible. Very well, we'll send you a list of things to do, probably via Legend or Hero."

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"Okay. Or via writing 'letter to Epic' on a piece of paper, that works too."

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"It's more that we'd rather have someone supervise these things and run interface with other people who might not take you seriously given your appearance."

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"I'm older than I look. But okay."

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"Yes, and I believe you, but not everyone will, and in any case they will probably not subconsciously respect you even if they do, whereas Legend and Hero command some more respect. Eidolon would work, too, but I expect you'd prefer dealing with the two of them."

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"I like Legend and Hero."

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Hero grins.

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And Legend smiles.

    "Very well. Thank you for your time and cooperation—if this were a story I would call you Deus Ex Machina, and not complain one bit," says Costa-Brown.

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Bounce bounce. "Yeah, usually places peal too late, if there's bad stuff happening."

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Costa-Brown, Guerra, and Mr. Prescott start packing up their things—folders and papers.

Legend looks at Fëanáro. "Too late how?"

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"Uh, after the war or whatever has been settled decisively?"

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"Ah. That's definitely not the case now." The suits start exiting the room, and Legend starts floating after them, with Hero trailing. "By the way, Epic, have you eaten?"

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"...no. Should I make us - lunch? Is it lunchtime?"

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"Close to that, yes." Float float—" There is a cafeteria one floor down where the other Wards and heroes—at least the one who are here—will be eating, if you'd prefer that."

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"Yeah, I guess I can meet more people!" He stretches out his wings to brush against the walls of the hallway. "Will you be there?"

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"Yes, we try to make a point to all show up at least lunch to touch base and get to know each other in situations other than just strictly cape business. Speaking of which," and he removes his blue mask, revealing the upper half of his rather handsome face. The mask had some hard parts and was shaped in such a way that, compounded with the glowy eyes he no longer has, his face is actually unlike what one would naively expect. "It should go without saying that our secret identities are, well, secret. You'll see several unmasked capes there, today, so please be discreet."

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Off goes Hero's helmet, too. "I'm Oliver. He's James," he introduces them both, hiking a thumb at Legend.

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"I'll be very discreet," he says happily, bouncing along. 

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"Some heroes still prefer to keep their identities secret even here, though, so it might get confusing, keeping track of everyone's cape and real names. You get used to it, eventually."

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"Okay. The secret identities thing isn't really demon-safe, you know."

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"Yes, but demons weren't a possibility before you showed up. I'm not sure there is a way to make them demon-safe."

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"Probably not. I won't look, anyway, unless someone's really awful."

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"It... might not be a good idea to look even then."

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"Why not?"

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"Part of the reason behind the secret identities is that it serves as a line capes do not cross. It's an unspoken rule."

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"We could find out most villains' secret identities, if we wanted, but the same is true of them. If we cross that line and go after their personal lives, they do the same to us and to our loved ones, and it escalates. And when it comes to people who could, quite frankly, level buildings with a thought," and he inclines his head at Legend, "escalation is the last thing we want."

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"Furthermore, we count even on villains to help with the... bigger threats. Threats like Behemoth."

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"That's a - weird system. But okay."

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"There are exceptions—but the exceptions are always the capes who do violate the unspoken rules, like Glaistig Uaine. Not that we expect her to even still have a secret identity anymore."

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"Why are people villains? What is it they want that they can't get without - going around scaring people and stealing stuff?"

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"Money, usually. Power, status, control."

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"Can we offer them a better way to get that stuff? Especially money, I can pay people not to be villains if that'd work -"

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"Some, but not all. Some get a thrill out of it, out of being more powerful or smarter than the government or having underlings or using their powers..."

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"I mean, I get a thrill out of using my powers! And being more powerful than anyone else! I think everyone does, probably. Being powerful is really really nice. It doesn't mean you have to hurt people."

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"I think it's a different kind of powerful, though. Here what I mean is having power over other people—is being able to tell them to do things and not be questioned."

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"Oh. Yeah, I can't - think of an easy way to cheat so everyone gets what they want, there -"

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"Besides, just giving everyone money wouldn't work—you'd do more good giving poorer people money rather than villains, and if you give everyone money all that does is make money worth less."

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"I can give everybody stuff. Fancy future stuff. But that still doesn't solve people wanting to boss other people around."

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"Or hurt them, or control territory, or merely use their powers for fun without caring who they hurt."

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"Well, that last one we could make a rule that the Moon's only for people who are durable or easy to resurrect. Or something. And there's enough territory for everyone. Hurting people, not as much, though."

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"I'm not sure there's such thing as 'enough.' This is the kind of person whose next move once they get the territory they want is to covet their neighbor's."

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"Stuff's complicated," Hero summarizes.

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"Yeah. Ugh." Food!

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Food!

The cafeteria has a couple dozen people, most of them Wards, most of them unmasked. They're divided in a few groups of typically four to six people each, although Nathan (Chevalier) and Hannah (Miss Militia) are off by themselves and Sadde's all alone with a book.

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"I'd definitely not suggest you mention your idea to Sadde right now, when she's alone and unlikely to be approached by anyone," he tells Fëanáro in an undertone.

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Bounce bounce bounce - hey, Sadde, I told the PRT that if they tried to make you go home and you didn't want to I'd teleport us some place that has less stupid laws.

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She looks up from her book, startled, and looks around, looking for Fëanáro. - what? Laws...?

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Here is Fëanáro! The wingspan makes him pretty noticeable! I don't know if there are places with better laws, if not we can just go to the Moon.

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Do you mean, like—my father—you can make them not take me to him...?

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Yep. I got new parents because my birth ones weren't working out, you should do that.

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They wouldn't believe me about that when I told them, they said I had to be with him, and he's a butt, and I'll become a villain if they make me live with him.

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Well, you shouldn't become a villain, but anyway they listen to me because they can't stop me.

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That's so cool. And you'd—do that for me?

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I want to fix everything for everyone.

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Well—I do, too, but—you have to choose a first thing to fix, I guess and—thank you.

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Of course. I also tried convincing Legend to let me tutor you instead of you going to school but I don't know if I won that one.

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Oooh that'd be so cool then you could teach me all the things the adults think I'm too dumb to understand and if I were too dumb to understand then I'd just know it instead of just assuming.

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I don't think you're too dumb to understand, and if it's not working I'll try better ways of explaining. 

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Well I'm eight there are things I probably won't be able to understand no matter how much you explain them.

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Maybe. Or they might take so long to explain you're not eight by the time they make sense. 

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Which is more or less the same thing.

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Not really? I'm twelve in Valian years and I don't know if there are things I can't learn because I'm twelve and don't have the brain for it yet compared to if I can't learn them because they have a lot of prerequisites, but it does seem like those're different. 

 

There do have to be some things, though, because if you turn vampires really young it's a disaster.

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Vampire?

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(Oliver is quite amused by the string of facial expressions crossing Sadde's and Fëanáro's faces.)

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Different kind of Earth has vampires. If you turn into a vampire you stop maturing, and if you turn kids they're - uncontrollable, they have meltdowns that can kill hundreds of people, they can't really be taught and they never grow up-

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Oh. So there must be some difference, then. Maybe it's a human thing?

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Maybe. No one's tried turning an Elf kid for obvious reasons. 

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Could you hire a precog here to see if it would work out okay?

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Are they that precise? Legend made it sound like they weren't good at results of experiments - we've got a precog back home too but you have to actually intend to do the experiment for her to get any results -

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Not precise, but like, they can know if something will go badly or well, more or less, sometimes?

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Huh. I'll suggest it in my letter to them.

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Letter? Oh do they use the demon thing to conjure letters from you?

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Yeah. But because I'm not a real demon I can't do it too.

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What do you mean, not a real demon?

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I wished it on, instead of dying in the relevant Earth, which is how ex-human demons become demons, or being born a demon, which is how most demons start existing.

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You can wish things? I want to wish so many things, how many wishes can we have, do you have to be near home to wish for things, how big a wish can it be -

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You can only wish once, you have to be near a specific world in my home cluster, how big depends on how badly you want it.

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...that's a terrible wishing system, who made it?

Permalink Mark Unread

Evil aliens. Or maybe they got it from somewhere but if so it was a really long time ago and we can't find anything about the creators. 

Permalink Mark Unread

Evil aliens? Like, they were all evil?

Permalink Mark Unread

They didn't have emotions and they were harvesting Earth's by tricking teenage girls into taking on dangerous magic so they could fight despair monsters that the aliens had created in the first place. And the teenage girls turned into despair monsters if they messed up or didn't kill enough of them fast enough, so it was - self-sustaining.

Permalink Mark Unread

Wow that's really evil.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah. A Lúthien got teleported into their world and helped the Bell make a deal with the evil aliens for the wishing device in exchange for Arda mood magic, and the evil aliens agreed, and then they used the wishing device to make their whole dimension and all its neighbors super nice.

Permalink Mark Unread

What's a Lúthien and a Bell? And can't you export niceness—I guess the technology you can do with lots of demons...

Permalink Mark Unread

What they can do is wish up worlds so all the dead can come back at a not-overwhelming pace - like, people who just died, right away, but people from thousands of years ago slowly - and there's no scarcity and disease and stuff. And then they screen people for powers they can use elsewhere in the multiverse, and I got being a demon wished-on and some people have resurrection wished-on so you can export niceness but not, like, full-force at the pace that lets them make their neighborhood nice so they're focused there.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh. Makes sense. I wanna wish something—but I don't even know what my power is so I dunno what I should wish for...

Permalink Mark Unread

You probably want to give it a lot of thought, you have forever and you only get one.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah, and I'm eight I probably won't think about the important things.

Permalink Mark Unread

I think wishing I was a demon was a pretty good wish.

Permalink Mark Unread

It probably was, being a demon sounds so useful, but I dunno if it's the best thing I could do.

Permalink Mark Unread

And it doesn't go through if you don't feel really strongly about it.

Permalink Mark Unread

Why did you feel really strongly about being a demon?

Permalink Mark Unread

Because demons are awesome!

Permalink Mark Unread

Well—yeah—but I dunno if I can feel very strongly about that. Or anything.

Permalink Mark Unread

I felt really strongly about it. I wanted it so badly I felt like I was going to burst. 

Permalink Mark Unread

Wow. I don't think I feel that strongly about anything except -

Permalink Mark Unread

You can wish for resurrections but we've got a more efficient way - or will, once the peal finds us -

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah, I know, that's why I don't think it's the best idea, but it's still sorta—the only thing—I feel strongly about.

Permalink Mark Unread

That's probably because it just happened? And you need time to start feeling normal again?

Permalink Mark Unread

Maybe.

Permalink Mark Unread

There are also happiness songs. If you want. I didn't give them to the PRT because they're kinda mind control.

Permalink Mark Unread

I don't wanna be happy. My mom died, I should be sad, I wanna be sad that my mom died.

Permalink Mark Unread

That makes sense. Elves sing for the dead, six days straight.

Permalink Mark Unread

- can you sing?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah. Want me to?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah.

Permalink Mark Unread

So he starts singing. He sings for all of the dead people. All of the dead people in New York, all of the dead people in general because humans are mortal and keep on dying. He keeps singing. He will sing for six days. It seems appropriate. It's kind of soothing.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well now the waterworks have started for real.

Permalink Mark Unread

And they are, in fact, still in a cafeteria, even though James has refrained from telling Fëanáro he should eat in favor of letting him and Sadde have a conversation. And he'd been about to interrupt them after seeing what was going on with Sadde but—

Permalink Mark Unread

"What's that?" wonders Oliver, in a whisper, as the whole cafeteria falls into a hush to hear the Elf sing.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Mourning," he says simply.

Permalink Mark Unread

He folds up his wings and sits down and sings for all the dead people.

Permalink Mark Unread

People eventually resume eating, even though a few of them have had to be excused because crying fits don't mesh very well with that activity.

You should eat, James sends, as gently as he can, after it's become clear Fëanáro doesn't seem to be planning on stopping singing soon.

Permalink Mark Unread

I can make food in my stomach. Doesn't interfere with singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

That makes sense. This is—beautiful -

Permalink Mark Unread

It's how Elves mourn and you don't have any other Elves around. 

Permalink Mark Unread

We don't. What brought this on now...? he asks, already knowing the answer.

Permalink Mark Unread

Sadde thought it'd help. 

Permalink Mark Unread

He looks at her—

Permalink Mark Unread

(Sobbing into her arms.)

Permalink Mark Unread

is it helping?

Permalink Mark Unread

 

I think so but I'm not good at people.

Permalink Mark Unread

She's in a lot of pain. I expect listening to this—someone else understanding it like this—helps—but you should ask.

Permalink Mark Unread

Should I keep singing?

Permalink Mark Unread

She takes a few seconds to respond: Yes. Please. It—yes.

Permalink Mark Unread

She says to keep singing. 

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. How long are you planning to sing for?

Permalink Mark Unread

Six days.

Permalink Mark Unread

- humans do need to eat and sleep somewhat more often than once every six days.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah, I won't stay here the whole time, I'll go fly around, go to other places.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. You'll—take care of yourself? We had a few masters coming later today but we can postpone that if you need this.

Permalink Mark Unread

Normally people don't sing the whole mourning period but normally there's more than one Elf. I think that can probably wait.

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods, and sends a mental impression of same. In that case Oliver and I have a few things to attend to—reorganizing teams and deal with reconstruction efforts taking your powers into account.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. 

 

 

Permalink Mark Unread

So they stay for a few more minutes to enjoy the music but then depart.

Permalink Mark Unread

Sadde stays. She has recovered enough from her sobbing to start eating again, but the tears are still flowing down her cheeks freely.

Permalink Mark Unread

He keeps singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

Eventually she's done eating, and stares at her plate for a few minutes, then gets up and walks to Fëanáro. Can I hug you?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah. Wing-hug.

Permalink Mark Unread

Hug! Slightly clingy hug. Thank you.

Permalink Mark Unread

You're welcome.

Permalink Mark Unread

I'm going to—I should lie down and sleep a little, I haven't slept since yesterday.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. You can write me when you wake up and I'll come back.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. I will. Thank you, she repeats before unhugging and sluggishly going elsewhere.

Permalink Mark Unread

He sings. He goes outside after a while, keeps singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

No one stops him or does anything. Some people stop on their tracks to listen, when he passes by them, but eventually move on.

Permalink Mark Unread

After a while he takes to the air.

Permalink Mark Unread

 

 

 

And after a while Eidolon joins him. Still as mind-silent as ever.

Permalink Mark Unread

Hi.

Permalink Mark Unread

Hello.

Permalink Mark Unread

It's nice to meet you. Is there anyone you want me to sing for?

Permalink Mark Unread

...no. All the people I failed to protect, maybe.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. Someday we'll get them all back. Soon, if you can get a power that works with demon powers to do resurrection. They didn't sound sure anyone could but if anyone could it'd probably be you, I think.

Permalink Mark Unread

Perhaps. I don't think my power could understand bringing people back as a need, in the relevant sense.

Permalink Mark Unread

How does it decide, do you know?

Permalink Mark Unread

What I need, always what I need, at the time. It has no foresight and no ability to tell me why I need whatever it is I need.

Permalink Mark Unread

That's sort of cool, though. Like a puzzle.

Permalink Mark Unread

I won't say I dislike my power, but it's somewhat difficult to enjoy the puzzle when I mostly need powers to use in situations where time is a scarce resource.

Permalink Mark Unread

Like fighting Behemoth? Or are there other problems like that? Does it not give you powers for, like, world hunger?

Permalink Mark Unread

Like fighting Behemoth or other threats, yes. It does not seem to think I need to solve world hunger.

Permalink Mark Unread

That must be frustrating.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well now it is, he doesn't send.

Yes. I feel like there's more I could do, should do, and I can't.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah. I'm so mad at myself I didn't think of some way to get resurrection, I wish I'd studied the economic history of Warp and Revelation, there's just so much to fix and even if we can fix it all there's so many people dying in the meantime...

Permalink Mark Unread

Are other Earths safer?

Permalink Mark Unread

Wish is perfectly safe, no one dies permanently unless they want to do and Mîr's post-scarcity and it's not hard to immigrate to Mîr so most places on Earth that weren't giving their people a good life had to shape up. Warp's where I live and its Earth is post-scarcity too and they've still got death but we're working on fixing that and T'Mir saved thirty-five billion lives before we even met her.

Permalink Mark Unread

No, I meant—at this time. Without parahumans, without Behemoth, is the Earth better without us?

Permalink Mark Unread

Most Earths at this time have something else weird going on - vampires, or magical girls, or aliens invading- I think a baseline 1994 Earth would be more peaceful than yours but we can change that now.

Permalink Mark Unread

He shakes his head. We had such hopes. The golden age of heroes, powers to help everyone, bring us up and forward.

Permalink Mark Unread

But then people kept being villains?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yes, and worse.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well, unless Behemoth is a cape it's good you had capes to deal with him.

Permalink Mark Unread

Maybe Behemoth is a cape, maybe he isn't, but he sure didn't exist before capes did.

Permalink Mark Unread

And doesn't exist in other Earths,yeah.

Permalink Mark Unread

If he was a trigger, there'll be another one.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well. We can keep sending them far away.

Permalink Mark Unread

Until one of them appears that can't be teleported.

Permalink Mark Unread

Is that likely?

Permalink Mark Unread

Maybe not directly immune, but too fast, or capable of teleportation, or managing to keep you from focusing on them.

Permalink Mark Unread

I could evacuate the planet.

Permalink Mark Unread

Might work in some cases, not others.

Permalink Mark Unread

What kind of case would evacuating the planet not work for?

Permalink Mark Unread

If whatever it was teleported, too, and could go after you—like Mouse Protector.

Permalink Mark Unread

...could jump dimensions, then. We should probably get to checking for safe adjacent ones.

Permalink Mark Unread

You were planning on that? Sounds like a good idea—if temporary, unless powers stop working in adjacent dimensions.

Permalink Mark Unread

That's what we were going to check. Lots of magic has an adjacency limit and if yours does, then we could keep prisoners in a nearby dimension.

Permalink Mark Unread

I wonder what this would do to people—things—like Behemoth, whose power has completely reshaped them.

Permalink Mark Unread

I have no idea. Hopefully wouldn't kill them.

Permalink Mark Unread

Might cure them instead.

Permalink Mark Unread

That'd be good. Has that happened aside from Behemoth? The changing shapes?

Permalink Mark Unread

Some. Not a lot. And Behemoth is the first quite like that.

Permalink Mark Unread

Could check if the healing spell puts people back. It only works on humanoids so it wouldn't do anything for Behemoth, but I could check for anyone else.

Permalink Mark Unread

That could work—some parahumans like that don't have any powers other than what they became but they sometimes want to just be normal.

Permalink Mark Unread

Worth a try, then.

Permalink Mark Unread

Probably, he nods. Then he sighs, amplified by his whatever-it-is that amplifies and echoes his voice.

Permalink Mark Unread

Are you okay?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yes.

Permalink Mark Unread

Good. Should I put New York City back? I can do that while I'm singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

Not yet. People should have a city plan this afternoon. I was helping, earlier, with the radiation.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. How bad is the radiation?

Permalink Mark Unread

Now, not at all. Even before, not as bad as it could've been. São Paulo will be uninhabitable for the next few hundred, perhaps thousands of years.

Permalink Mark Unread

I could just scoop out most of the landmass of São Paulo and replace it. It's not the most efficient way but it should work fine.

Permalink Mark Unread

- that would perhaps work, yes.

Permalink Mark Unread

Should I do that?

Permalink Mark Unread

This might frighten the Brazilian government, but the Brazilian government's peace of mind is not anywhere near my top priorities.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. I could talk to them first if that'll help.

Permalink Mark Unread

That could work.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay! Want to come with?

Permalink Mark Unread

I'm not sure they will appreciate my presence. They are a dictatorship and their government-backed heroes defend the military oppression of their people. Relations between them and the US are—well, practically nonexistent.

Permalink Mark Unread

 

...ah. Okay. I'll go put São Paulo back.

Permalink Mark Unread

Good luck.

Permalink Mark Unread

Thank you.

 

Pop.

 

No one's around but he's still singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

No one is, in fact, around.

If it were dark, the wasteland that is the city would be glowing. As it is, it is merely uncomfortably warm, with ruins of what was once a sprawling metropolis larger than New York and no sign of Nature's normal process of reclaiming the land.

Permalink Mark Unread

He flies around getting a sense of how far this extends.

Permalink Mark Unread

It's over five hundred square miles of ruins or just uninhabitable land.

Permalink Mark Unread

He conjures for people in the area just to make sure it actually is uninhabited.

Permalink Mark Unread

No people in the area.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay.

 

A mile down should be deep enough.

He teleports out five hundred cubic miles of dirt and radioactive rubble and ruins. He adds the bedrock and dirt right back, up to the level where he'll do foundations of buildings.

 

And now he has to come up with what to put there. He feels like he can do better than putting back 1993's São Paulo but putting in an Elf city might be a bit obnoxious.

Permalink Mark Unread

He can hear someone approaching in the distance.

Permalink Mark Unread

...can he see them?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yes. They're flying, and their suit is silver and white, with lots of bullets attached to them. The mask covers their jaw with smooth metal while the eyes are left uncovered and there is a helmet on their head.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay. He unfurls his wings and flies up to meet them.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Who are you?" the cape asks in Portuguese. "What did you do here?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"My name is Epic, and I used my powers to get rid of the radiation." It'll sound like he's speaking Portuguese too.

Permalink Mark Unread

"And everything else, too," he says, gesturing at the now empty bedrock. "Why did you do it?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"It seemed sad to have the whole area uninhabitable. I can make things, so I can put the rock and dirt back - and whatever we want on top, I was debating what to do -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Where are you from? I never heard of you before."

Permalink Mark Unread

 

 

"Triggered in New York City."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You're American? Is this an act of war?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm not American, I just happened to be there when Behemoth showed up. And I'm definitely not the American government, aren't wars between governments? And if you like it irradiated I can put it back."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—this is way above my pay grade, kid, I was told someone had made a crater here and then I come back and it's not there. What are you gonna do?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Put a nice city there so people can live in it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay. Uh, the president might want to know about this."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. Should I come talk to him?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"No one talks directly to him. I should take you to the New Parahumans Center."

Permalink Mark Unread

"If no one talks to him, how do you know you're doing what he wants instead of whatever the messenger wants?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Well some people talk to him, and he makes announcements."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I see. Do you want to help me make a city? Then we can go to that center without leaving a giant pit here."

Permalink Mark Unread

"If you can make anything you could make bugs and other things to spy on everyone, and we're not willing to just take your word for it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...yeah, that's fair, I could do that. Okay. Where're we going?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Rio de Janeiro. How fast can you fly?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"With the wings, slower than you by a lot. I could make an airplane if we're in a hurry?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"They could shoot you down if you didn't know the protocols for navigating airspace."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. Then wing-speed it is. Should I put up signs near the excavated area so people know what's going on?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...probably wouldn't hurt."

Permalink Mark Unread

Now there are signs ringing the whole area saying in Portuguese 'reconstruction under way, please stay clear'.

Permalink Mark Unread

And the cape starts flying away. "I'm AK, by the way," introduces the cape.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Epic. What's your power?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Arm superspeed and superstrength, can throw things really fast and hard. Yours?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Making stuff."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...and the wings? And how'd you make the radiation... and the rest of the city... go away?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Made the wings, made the whole area into air."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...so you can transform things, too?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Only into air, as far as I can tell, and I have to think about it as making room for a thing I'm making?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Huh. What kinds of things can you make?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Everything I've tried so far."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And... you triggered yesterday? What about your parents?"

Permalink Mark Unread

 

"I tried making dead people alive again, doesn't work."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—oh. I'm sorry, kid."

Permalink Mark Unread

 

 

"I can make them but they're not - they breathe, even, but it's like they're in a coma, I'm hoping maybe there're healers somewhere who can wake them up. And then we'd have resurrection. That'd be good."

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods. "Maybe. We have some healers. Where are you from? How do you even speak Portuguese?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"We used to live near here, we left when -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"You were in two Behemoth attacks? Jesus, kid."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I didn't really think about how most people aren't. Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You're—holding up pretty well."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I have powers. I like having powers. I can put the whole city back. I was going to do that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay, I guess. Still might wanna talk to people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't wanna talk to people very much but I don't want to scare them either."

Permalink Mark Unread

"They'll probably want to ask you to do it a certain way, you shouldn't just make a city appear out of nowhere."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I guess."

Permalink Mark Unread

They fly on.

Permalink Mark Unread

He goes back to sad singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

"—what's that?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...a song? For all the dead people?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...it's beautiful."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Thanks. It helps."

Permalink Mark Unread

Once Fëanáro resumes, he listens for a bit, then calls it in on a radio, explaining his findings. And the song.

Permalink Mark Unread

He keeps singing the song.

Permalink Mark Unread

His companion does not interrupt it with more conversation. The song makes him somewhat uncomfortable.

The trip takes a while.

Permalink Mark Unread

That is okay. He is an Elf, even if he's not telling these people because they are a sort-of evil dictatorship. He has Elf-shaped ideas of a while.

Permalink Mark Unread

About four hours later they reach a large coastal city, a tall statue of a man with outstretched arms standing on a hill overlooking the city.

Permalink Mark Unread

Flap flap. He keeps singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

They reach an official-looking building, something like what the PRT building he was in with Legend would have looked like some three to five years ago. The cape starts dealing with the bureaucracy to let himself and Fëanáro through, but the winged boy draws stares.

Permalink Mark Unread

That's fine. He keeps on singing.

Permalink Mark Unread

The personnel looks—very militaristic. Lots of guns, even more than at the PRT, and everyone very prim and proper. AK brings them to a waiting room, and says, "We should wait here."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. For what?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Vice-Director Silva."

Permalink Mark Unread

He folds his wings and waits. "Can I make food?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...sure."

Permalink Mark Unread

Here is a very elaborate tasty breakfast spread. He is hungry; he's been flying.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well AK isn't jealous of this at all, no, sir.

Permalink Mark Unread

"There's enough for two."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I. Probably shouldn't eat anything you make."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm eating it, would I poison myself?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"You could make the poison in it as I take it," he suggests.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm not a murderer."

Permalink Mark Unread

...he seems to consider this reasoning, or some reasoning anyway, and accepts the food.

Permalink Mark Unread

It's tasty food and not poisoned at all.

Permalink Mark Unread

He's reasonably happy about this decision!

Permalink Mark Unread

And the important person they're waiting for?

Permalink Mark Unread

Arrives in some ten minutes, in the form of a tall, muscular man in a suit.

"...and here I was, hoping this was a prank," mutters the man, before turning his smile to AK, who stands to attention, and Fëanáro. "Hello. You must be Epic?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yep. Hi."

Permalink Mark Unread

"AK tells me you replaced the ruins of São Paulo with clear dirt."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. It was radioactive and no one could live there. I'm going to put it back."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Just like it was before?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I could do that but I think I could also make it nicer, if we want it nicer."

Permalink Mark Unread

"We probably do want it nicer. It was the country's largest city—one of the biggest cities in the world—before Behemoth."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I know. I think if you give me blueprints I can do anything. We could make it really nice for people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"We could," he nods. "I can have people on it, but it's a lot of buildings and it might take some time. Do you need to read all the blueprints to make them, or can you just conjure whatever's on the blueprints?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't know yet, I just got my powers, I haven't checked. I think I could do it without reading the blueprints, but I want to read the blueprints so I don't make a weapons system or something without knowing."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It might take you several hours to read all of them," he warns.

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's okay. It took hours and hours to fly here."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Very well. I don't expect to have this done in less than about a week, maybe longer. I understand you used to live nearby and were in New York yesterday?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yep."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How did you get here so fast?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Made a shuttle thing."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Interesting. We don't seem to have detected any shuttles crossing our airspace, though."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It was a kinda small shuttle? I can show you but not in here. It didn't look much like real airplanes."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Did you leave it anywhere?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"No. I can make stuff I make go away and I figured I could make it again if I wanted to leave Brazil sometime."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I see," the man says, nodding. "Still, we should probably find a place for you to stay while we iron out the blueprints—and other things. You could help your country a lot with this power of yours, young man."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, I know. I want to make it a really nice place for everyone. I think I can make enough food to end hunger, and I tried making 'a cure for cancer' and I got something though dunno if it actually cures cancer."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Really. All of cancer."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I dunno, that's what I tried for but it's all new and I don't know how it works exactly."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What form did this cure take?"

Permalink Mark Unread

Warp's 23rd century gene-therapy-based cancer treatments, on the table. It looks like a vaccine.

Permalink Mark Unread

The man walks to it and picks it up, looking at it. "How very peculiar."

AK shifts his weight a bit.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't know if it works, you probably shouldn't try it on people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"We'll try it on mice," he agrees. "Do you think you could give us a box of these?"

Permalink Mark Unread

Box of 23rd century cancer treatments.

Permalink Mark Unread

He smiles gratefully. "Do you have family?"

Permalink Mark Unread

 

"I did."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, I'm very sorry. We have a place where you can stay."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can make a house. How long are you thinking it'll be before I can make the city?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"A week, maybe more."

Permalink Mark Unread

Sigh. "Okay."

Permalink Mark Unread

"In the meantime, AK can show you to the parahuman quarters."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay." He stands up. 

 

 

Elves move faster than human governments. It's starting to get a bit annoying. He follows AK.

Permalink Mark Unread

AK leads him through some hallways, somewhat less austere than the main hall, until they reach a small, unadorned bedroom. "Feel free to put any... stuff here, I guess. Someone will show up in a bit to talk to you?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. How long's a bit, I haven't slept since - I'm scared I'll have nightmares -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"—oh. I think, half an hour? An hour maybe? I could get someone to keep you company..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"No, it's okay."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. So, uh. Yeah."

Out goes AK.

Permalink Mark Unread

...tiny scale models of any cameras or microphones in this room or its walls, in his hand?

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh yeah there are some.

Permalink Mark Unread

Sigh. 

 

He makes three Space Silmarils and brackets to hold them on the walls, and he vanishes his bed to intergalactic space and makes one more suited to his wings, and he flops down in it and buries his face in his pillow like a little kid who is sad that his parents are dead and thinks.


He doesn't mind that Brazil is a military dictatorship, by some definitions lots of the Ardas were military dictatorships and Shine was a military dictatorship with child labor that kidnapped and forcibly relocated all of the humans in the world. They had a really good reason but Behemoth and Behemoth-like things are also a really good reason. 

 

(This'd be so much easier to figure out if he could read their minds. But that's not ethical. He's a very ethical demon, that's important, that's more important than figuring this stupid Earth out -)

He rolls over and stretches out his wings and sings and waits.

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Forty-seven minutes later, there is a polite knock on his door.

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"Come in."

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A prim and proper woman in a prim and proper grey suit does so. "Good afternoon. Epic, yes?"

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"Yeah. Hi."

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"I'm Doctor Ximenes. May I take a seat?"

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"Yeah."

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She does, crossing her legs. She's carrying a little clipboard with a pen attached. "I work here at the Center to help parahumans such as yourself deal with anything bad that happens in their lives. I'm here to talk, and listen, and understand you and your needs so that we can best fulfil them. Do you understand?"

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"...you're a therapist? Boots's a therapist."

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She nods. "Boots?"

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"My parents weren't really okay after everyone died, so Boots sort of took care of me."

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"Were they a friend of the family, then, or a relative?"

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"Friend of the family." 

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"And they were taking care of you for how long...?"

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"Since São Paulo got destroyed and most everybody we knew died, until yesterday." He wraps himself in his wings.

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"I'm very sorry for your losses," she says, sounding and looking sincere.

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"I'm gonna figure out how to use my power to resurrect people and then they'll be back and they'll be so impressed with me for being so clever and everything'll be okay."

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"Epic... your family's gone. I can't rule out powers being able to do that, but... holding onto this hope may hurt you even more."

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"I'm going to figure it out."

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She pauses. And nods. "I hope you do."

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Bounce bounce. He hugs himself with his wings, very tightly.

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"What do you want to talk about?" she asks after a few seconds.

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"I want them to let me put São Paulo back but apparently that'll take a week because grownups - Boots'd let me, Boots'd have a list of hundreds of things for me to do by now and she'd explain why she thought they were good ideas and if I had ideas she would explain what might happen and trust me to think about consequences - Boots trusted me, no one else ever trusted me - and Brazil is a military dictatorship and I don't care about that especially because it might be necessary because there might be more Endbringers but I don't want to help anyone hurt people, I want everyone to be safe, and I don't know how to do that if it happens to be a not-good military dictatorship and I don't know how to tell because I'm seven and I'm not good at this stuff - my dad was really good at this stuff, he'd know what to do -"

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"—who told you this? About a dictatorship?"

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"Some Americans. Since I was in New York. When I triggered. I said I wanted to go back home and they said maybe I shouldn't and should stay there but I grew up in São Paulo and I wanted to put it back so I left anyway."

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"They were wrong," she says. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that, but there are lies spread by the media and governments from other countries, especially in the United States, about what it's like to live here."

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"Oh, good."

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"Now, the problem with just putting São Paulo back is that this wouldn't be—the best possible thing. São Paulo could be bigger and better and house more people in better places than it used to, if it were designed rather than evolving naturally the way it did."

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"Yeah, I know, I get it, I just want to be doing stuff because I feel so - alone - when I'm not doing stuff and if it's new it'll be nice for people but it won't be like I remember it. If Brazil's not a military dictatorship what is it?"

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"It's a democratic republic. The military and the parahumans protect our citizens from threats like Behemoth, drug cartels, gangs, and other dangers, and they are an arm of the government chosen by the people."

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"Okay. As long as people have nice lives and don't have to be scared or small I don't really care."

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"We certainly hope we can keep everyone happy and fulfilled."

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"I can help a lot with that."

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"You can, it's true. You could help a lot of people."

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"My parents and Boots'll be so proud of me."

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She smiles. "I'm sure they will." She writes a small note on the clipboard. "If you could do anything right now, what would you do? Other than put São Paulo back, I mean."

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"...sleep? I haven't. Since I got powers."

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"Do you want me to leave you to it? We don't need to talk right now."

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"It can wait a bit, if this is important."

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"This is just to make sure you're alright, and to understand what you need. If what you need is sleep, you should sleep."

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"Then - yeah, probably."

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She nods, and stands up. "I'll be back later. Do you think there's anything else I can do for you?"

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"Only if you can get them to hurry on letting me do stuff."

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She pauses, seeming to genuinely consider this. "I'll see what I can do." And she leaves.

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He gets in bed. 

He crawls under the covers.

...he teleports over a foot and goes invisible and makes a basement-dweller Fëanáro where he was. There'll be a blip on the recording but hopefully 1993 cameras aren't very good.

 

 

He teleports back to Chicago.

 

He flies and sings for a little and then he divebombs Lake Michigan because it makes him feel better and then he goes back to the Wards building. 

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People are made aware of his presence by his singing. The girl called Miss Militia—Hannah—looks up at him from a children's book. "H-hello," she tries.

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"Hi."

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...that seems to be the limit of her English. She tilts her head at him, though, not wanting to shut him out or anything.

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How to communicate "I have translation magic." He makes a handheld Andalite tech translator, plays a dozen languages off it, gives her a questioning look.

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She blinks slowly at this, and asks, "Can you understand me?" She's speaking Kurdish.

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Well, he can't even tell, he kind of hates that about Allspeak. He answers in Kurdish too. "Yep!"

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"Oh. I can speak a bit of English—I could get by—but I don't like doing it, not while I have this accent. How do you understand me?"

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"Magic. Not one of the kinds I can share, sorry - you can have one of the pocket translators but they don't help with accent as much as with other stuff -"

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"No, I want to learn to speak English perfectly. I'm an American, no matter where I was born. I—" She switches to halting, shy English. "M-maybe I should be practicing."

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Now he'll have to twiddle so she doesn't keep hearing Kurdish - "Practicing's definitely the only way to learn a language. Well, the only non-magic way, demons get languages by being summoned."

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"Yeah. But I have the... accent. And I don't have much... words."

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"Yeah, but you'll get there." Probably not as fast as he would. He manages to not say 'English is my third language and I speak twenty, it's not hard at all'. "Uh, my telepathy can help speed up language-learning - if I talk and send at the same time, so you can figure out the unfamiliar words - but my telepathy kind of weirds people here out..."

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"Oh. Do you—see my—" She gestures around her head. "Thoughts? It's probably not a good idea. They're not nice."

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"No, I'm not listening, that's not an okay thing to do to people. But I can send you mine, and with practice you can send me just the ones you want and no others, and then I could listen once you had it down."

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"Well—you can do that, then, it's okay."

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Great then he'll project a translation. "So I went to Brazil because I wanted to build São Paulo back except instead they wanted me for their version of the Wards and Eidolon thinks they're bad so I didn't tell them about all of my magic only I'm not great at lying and they might guess at some point, especially because they put cameras in my bedroom - do they do that to us here, too, I should check -" he checks -

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One camera in this room, a few in various other spaces like meeting rooms and the entrance hall, none in their bedrooms. The girl's eyes widen, though, and once she sees the small model she points at a corner on the ceiling, where there's a clearly visible camera pointing at them. "They're a—a—" She switches to Kurdish—" Dictatorship?"

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"Dictatorship," he says in English. "I don't mind that inherently, some of the Ardas were too, during the war, and they say they're not, but Eidolon says they are - these're the cameras in the Ward building, there aren't secret ones in our bedrooms, I was just checking -"

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"I know a dic—dictatorship when I see one. They don't let people out, they almost never let people in, they control all the—information? Public... TV things, and papers?"

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"Media? Okay. Yeah, the not letting people out and controlling the media makes it the not okay kind of dictatorship." Bounce bounce. "But I don't know how to fix it - and we can't ask the grownups because it's a war if the grownups of one country are figuring out how to overthrow the grownups of another country - it's not really a war if I do it, they can say they can't control me and they can't."

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"But you're part of the Wards, now, aren't you? So you're part of this country. And also that's... what America stands for, isn't it?"

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"Hmmm?"

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"The... Everything a dictatorship is not. Freedom. Peace. Justice."

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"I don't actually know that much about Earth politics in 1994, I'm not from here and the heres I'm sort of from are way in the future. But freedom and peace and justice sound good and I like the people I met here and they didn't lie to me, so that's something."

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She nods. "Anyway, what I meant was that... even if you're not a grownup, if you're part of the Protectorate they will think it's war," she says, enunciating "Protectorate" carefully.

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"So probably I should've thought of that before doing stuff for the Protectorate. Ugh."

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"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you could convince them anyway."

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"...the censorship I could maybe fix without convincing anyone, I can just drop a proper 23rd century internet on you and then hand out thumbnail computers left and right..."

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"That could help," she nods. "But I think they have a thinker who can do things to... the media?"

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"...yikes."

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"He is good at it but maybe he won't be good with the internet."

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"Probably depends how exactly he works. Do you know anyone who knows more about this -"

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"The heroes? Library of Alexandria probably does."

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"They'll probably tell me not to overthrow the government of Brazil but I wanna overthrow the government of Brazil."

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"...and put what there instead?"

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"What I actually want to do is just make them let people leave. And maybe make a nice place for people to leave to, or will this country take all of them?"

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"I don't know. They took me."

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"Good."

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"Yeah. It's why I want to be American so much. They didn't need to, but they helped me, and this is what they are."

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Nod. "So if I figure out how to make Brazil stop being a dictatorship they probably won't be mad at me."

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"They won't, I'm sure."

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"Cool." Bounce bounce. "Do you want a thumbnail computer, I don't know if they're intuitive for people from 1994 and I should probably know that before I make them the foundation of my anti-censorship program."

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"...sure? What's a... thumbnail?"

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Here is a little piece of plastic that fits over her fingertip like a false nail - "tap it against a table or something -"

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...she tries that.

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There's a holographic display with a keyboard and screen!

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She blinks. "How do I—use it?"

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"Uh, you can launch a web browser but it's not connected to anything right now because I have no idea how to make Revelation's latest consumer product line work with 1994 Internet. I know the kind of satellites it does work with, and then I could go put them in orbit and then you could talk to anyone else in the world who had one or, I don't know, play games, write things, read the news..."

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"But... how?"

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"Have you seen a computer? They had computers by 1994 -"

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"I know that one?" she half-asks, pointing at the more-modern-than-1994-computer over there in the corner of the room. "It has a—mouse?"

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"Oh, right, sorry. You use your thumb to move the cursor, as if there were a trackpad here but I guess trackpads haven't been invented yet -" he makes himself one and demonstrates.

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"Okay..." She tries that, and opens a big smile. "It works!"

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"Yep! Uh, there's a text editor, there's a photo editor, there's a messaging app and there's the Internet, once I set it up, I think that's about all that comes on thumbnail computers..."

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She opens the text editor and taps a few keys, uncertainly. "I'm not very fast," she admits.

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"I'm going to test whether chiplocked computers are safe for parahumans - that's the kind I have, I control it with my brain - but since parahumans have different brain structures than most humans I'll have to be careful about testing before I give it out. Wouldn't be responsible." Bounce bounce.

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She nods. "If you can connect this to the internet..."

    And guess who shows up. Hi.

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Hi! Want a thumbnail computer, I'm overthrowing the government of Brazil because they're really annoying and mean.

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Sure, how're you overthrowing them? Hannah waves at Sadde, and Sadde waves back. "Hi."

    "Hello," Hannah says, in a lower volume than the one she's been using with Fëanáro.

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They have censorship, I want to see if I can undermine it by giving everybody thumbnail computers - here is one! - and the Internet.

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Ooooh. ...why the Internet? Sadde takes a seat on a sofa there and opens the book she's carrying—the one Fëanáro gave her—and resumes reading it.

    Meanwhile, Hannah gets back to figuring out how to use the computer. "How will you test the brain... thing?"

Brain thing? "Brain thing?" Sadde asks aloud.

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"Chiplocked computers, like mine, store their data on a chip in your brain. Don't want to test if it works on parahumans - I might see if I can make parahuman basement-dwellers, get scans of their brains, see if they take chips okay..."

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    "What's a basement-dweller?" asks Hannah.

"You can get brain scans?" asks Sadde.

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"Not with my powers, just the old fashioned way. And basement-dweller is what people call it when a demon tries to make a person, they come out - not a person -"

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"Then how will you know it worked?" asks Sadde.

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"I should be able to see on the brain scan."

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"The brain scan would work even if the person is all... not a person? I mean, it'd tell you things?"

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"Yeah, demon-made people are atom-for-atom the same as real people, they just. Aren't there."

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Sadde opens her mouth, looks at Hannah, closes it, then looks at Fëanáro. Doesn't that mean souls are real?

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Uh? I mean, flat Elves have souls, and it is true that you'd get a soulless Elf but that comes up other ways, like you can find us when we're dead. Materians have souls, and afterlives, Midgardians have external souls, something gets resurrected on Stork... it works that way for animals too so if standard-issue humans have souls then so does everything smarter than a snail...

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I mean that, like... do we have something other than brains making us go?

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I don't know. Maybe. But demons can make space Elves, and it'd be weird if they were the only species without something more than atoms to them -

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It's kinda weird that any do.

    Hannah looks between them and asks, "Are you talking with..." She gestures around her head vaguely.

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"Yeah. About what it means that I can't make people - I can make a kind of people who keep their brains on computers, see -"

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"So, you can make computer people but not... not-computer people?"

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"With computer people the computer I make isn't a person but I can copy the data to another computer and that one is a person."

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"Wait, but then... the information and the... personness is there. It's just not... working?"

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"Yeah exactly. It's really weird. "

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"So there's probably some magic keeping it from working."

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"And there's a magic to get around it, but I don't have it here which is why I can't resurrect anybody."

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...Hannah looks slightly uncomfortable.

I think she's religious, Sadde explains to Fëanáro.

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I don't know much about Earth religions, but some of them might be true? I can look things up for you if you're curious, too, old records and stuff. My home world has a god...

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I guess? Don't—tell people, though, they'll be upset.

"Anyway what do you want to do with Brazil, exactly?" she asks, changing the subject.

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"I don't know exactly what to do, I'm not great at governments and stuff, but they want me to make lots of stuff for them and I want to do that if it'll make peoples' lives better but not if it'll just help an evil government, and I want to put São Paulo back for them but again not a way that helps an evil government - what I'd want to do is put São Paulo back but make it so anyone can live there and the Brazilian government can't enforce bad laws there, if I were older or more good at people I'd just tell them that I'm running it but that might not go well..."

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    "And if you get an adult to do it they will think it's war," Hannah nods.

"What if it's an adult that's not in the government?"

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"If they really obviously had nothing to do with the government so Brazil couldn't even credibly claim they were secretly the government..."

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    "They could still invent stuff," reasons Hannah, "just to have a good reason."

"But America is stronger than they are, military, right?"

    "Yeah...?"

"So they wouldn't want to attack us because they would know they'd lose," Sadde suggests.

    "Not if other countries think we are wrong and help them," muses Hannah.

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"So it needs to at least look to other countries like we didn't start it. 'I'm an indestructible teleporting traumatized seven-year-old and no one has any luck telling me what to do' might be convincing but even if I'm developmentally a human seven I know lots of stuff a human seven-year-old wouldn't so it'd seem plausible someone's coaching me."

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"You could maybe do stuff like that all over the world, so it wouldn't look like anyone was a target."

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"Yeah, I could do that. Where else would benefit from that kind of thing?"

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"Pretty much all of Africa and South America and some of Asia."

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"So in order for any particular dictator deposing to not be very provocative I need to depose all the dictators. Pretty fast."

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"I think we are not the best people to ask these things."

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"Yeah but who is."

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Hannah shrugs.

"I don't know if you can find people who are good at this, really," says Sadde dubiously.

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"I could make them but this doesn't feel like a good enough reason."

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"Make them? Make people?—space Elves?"

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"Yeah. Some of them are really good at that kind of stuff - they couldn't, like, just take over the world from a standing start, but with a teleporting demon they totally could."

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"Okay but then... shouldn't you do it anyway? I mean there's millions of people in Brazil and all of these other places, if you could do better and fix everything..."

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"Shouldn't I make some people who can take over the world? I don't know - like, it seems to me like I should, but it seems like the sort of thing to be really sure of -"

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"But if you're gonna do anything to, like, lots of countries, that sounds like you should be even more sure of."

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"...yeah."

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"Wouldn't the heroes know more about that?" asks Hannah.

    "More about what?" asks Nathan, coming from the dormitories.

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"The best way to end all the dictatorships in the world - the problem is that they can't do it, it'll be provocative, and it might not be provocative if I did it on my own and it was really obvious they weren't coaching me, but I sort of need them coaching me to do it without messing up."

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Nathan blinks. "All the dictatorships—well, do people have to know they were coaching you? Anyone could be coaching you."

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"I don't know - I guess maybe they'd know -"

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"How?" he wonders, walking over to Hannah and sitting by her. He blinks at her computer. "What's that?"

    "A computer," she explains. "From the future."

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"You want one?"

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"Yeah."

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Thumbnail computer. "They can't talk to each other yet, I'd have to put up a satellite. I can go do that."

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"You sure it's a good idea to put up a satellite somewhere, just like that?"

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Sigh. "No, I'm not."

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"That I think a Tinker might be able to help you with. Easier than governments."

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"Cool. The PRT was being really helpful - and will probably keep being really helpful - I could just trust them and do what they say. This country's probably not secretly a dictatorship."

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"Well people come and go all the time," Nathan says dubiously.

    "And they helped me a lot," nods Hannah. Nathan scoots closer to her and snuggles up.

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"I guess I could try asking random people, here and in Brazil, what they think of various criticisms of the government? And if they act scared to be near someone who is criticizing the government, that's a bad sign?"

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"That's probably a bad sign," nods Hannah.

    "I wonder if that's worse than having no government at all," Nathan muses.

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"Usually no government's worse."

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"It is," Hannah agrees. "It really really is."

Nathan squeezes her and she sighs.

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"Maybe I could bribe dictators to be nicer."

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"I don't think dictators are in need of money," says Nathan.

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"They probably want something."

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"Power, usually."

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"I mean, I can give them that too, but only if they don't suck."

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"If they didn't suck they wouldn't be evil despots, would they?"

Hannah looks at him quizzically and he murmurs an explanation of the word "despot" to her.

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"I mean - if there were sufficiently rational evil despots it would work. If it were Elves it'd work because Elves can promise stuff."

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"Promise stuff?"

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"Bindingly, I mean."

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    "Oh. That could be very useful," nods Nathan.

"Or mean, depending."

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"Yeah, sometimes it ends up being a disaster. I'm not going to swear things carelessly."

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And Oliver shows up. "Hey, I brought some video games—oh, you're back, hello!"

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"Yeah! I went to Brazil but Brazil's being difficult."

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"You—why did you go to Brazil—did you talk to the government there—they're a dictatorship, you know that, right?"

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"Yes, everyone's said. I don't mind dictatorships inherently, Arda's are all monarchies and it works okay except for when there's a civil war but that's mostly Melkor's fault - anyway, Brazil seems bad and I dunno how to fix it but I want to put São Paulo back and they're being nice for now, it's possible they'll shape up because they want to keep me around?"

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"Wouldn't count on that—and I'm kinda worried they'll want to use you to build secret weapons or cameras or something without you noticing."

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"That shouldn't be easy to do, but yeah."

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"That said... putting São Paulo back would be pretty great."

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"Yeah. I am gonna at least stick around long enough to do that. They think I'm sleeping now, I should go back in like seven hours."

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"—I don't suppose you'd want to engage in some corporate espionage on the side?"

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"...what does the PRT want to know? I'm going to be super annoyed if you turn out to also be secretly evil, you know."

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"Totally not evil," he says, drawing an X over his heart with the tip of his index finger. "And the most curious thing is how they... keep power. We're pretty sure they have some thinker and perhaps stranger helping them control the media and dissidents but we have no idea who or how."

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"I would love to help figure that out!"

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"Yeah. ...did you tell them about the other universes and all that?"

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"No. Just said I could make stuff."

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"And they thought you'd triggered there?"

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"No, I said I'd triggered in New York - people might've seen me in New York -"

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"And how'd you say you arrived there?"

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"Made a little shuttle their radar didn't catch. I can make a shuttle that goes that fast."

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"...okay. They could have bought that, I suppose. But they could have thinkers that could detect things their radars can't. You'll teleport out of there if you get in trouble?"

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"Yeah, of course."

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"Cool, then. Uh, we had some masters and strangers around but we sent them somewhere 'cause we thought you'd be singing for a few days, should we get them again...?"

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("Singing for days?" asks Nathan.

"For the dead," Sadde explains.)

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"...I guess that'd be useful before I go messing around in some other country."

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"Okay. I'm gonna go tell Rein—uh, the Deputy Chief Director, then."

Of he goes.

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...he makes the complete written works of Brazil in the last hour, and searches for references to São Paulo, a new cape, and his own name.

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Brazil is a pretty large country, there were lots of things written in the last hour.

There are a few false positives in mentions of São Paulo and new capes, but he can easily enough find some written correspondence between higher-ups about him. Some dry descriptions of his arrival, some official records about him entering the system, and some heavily encrypted emails.

"What are you doing?" asks Sadde curiously.

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"Spying." Were the emails at any point viewed unencrypted -

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Well they were read by humans with human eyes on a computer, yes.

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Then he can get them just by conjuring for the right time, ha.

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Yep!

There are people wondering how best to deploy him, how long he'll take to become functional and useful, whether he's immune to something called "Awe"...

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...search for more about Awe.

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Other than the occasional mention in emails like that, it doesn't seem to be registered anywhere.

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...complete written works of the person called Awe?

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Nope.

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Grrrr. He should probably wait around and see if Masters work on him before he goes back to Brazil. He reads the emails debating how long he'll take to become functional and useful, do they think there's anything weird about him wanting to sleep?

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Not really, if everything he's saying is true it makes sense, and they're withholding judgment on whether everything he's saying is, in fact, true.

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Are there specific bits they're skeptical of?

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The shuttle, the cancer cure, the being able to conjure whatever, the being from Brazil—they can't find anyone matching his description on the system but his description is admittedly not very detailed at the moment.

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...on the system?

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Well yeah, you know, birth certificates and national registry and the cameras that keep track of pretty much everything everyone does.

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It's 1993, how good can their cameras even be? ....contents of their cameras?

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Their cameras: are actually pretty damn good for the year. Tinker tech. They can recognize faces—not perfectly, not flawlessly, but well—and they're pretty much everywhere public, like CCTV but more. But they date back only about four years, before that no tinker was involved.

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Huh. That is impressive. Presumably some records got destroyed when São Paulo did, though.

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Lots and lots, yeah. Most of them, in fact, it was the most populous city in the country by a large margin.

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So he might be able to sneak by. If he had a Space Elf he might be able to discreetly add himself to their records but he doesn't think he can do that. 

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"Did you get anything?"

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"They keep a lot of data. Like, a lot a lot. I think it's safe for me to go back."

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"Is it normal to keep a lot a lot of data or is that an evil dictatorship thing?"

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"...it's not normal, I haven't heard of it happening often enough to say if it's an evil dictatorship thing or just, like, something to do with their capes..."

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"Does America have things like that?"

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"No one has stuff like that in 1993!!! Some places definitely get pretty surveillance-y eventually..."

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"I mean our America right now. If Brazil has it..."

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....complete works of the American government since he arrived, searches for stuff related to him?

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Records of his help with the Behemoth attack, him joining the Wards, a short psych profile based on his actions, video recordings of his interactions with various higher-ups in various meeting rooms, the thing about the masters and strangers—there are actually many of those on the way.

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Ooooooh what does his psych profile say.

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It's very short, really, he hasn't been around for long, but the gist of it is altruistic, naïve/idealistic, severe inferiority complex, hyperactive, and impatient.

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...yeah, fair enough.

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"So, do they?"

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"Nope! There're notes on me but it'd be fishy if there weren't, honestly - though they also know enough to be careful, Brazil might not - anyway, nope, not a surveillance state, congratulations United States."

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She giggles, and Hannah smiles.

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And Legend pings him. Fëanáro?

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Yeah?

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There are some masters and strangers here to see you.

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Thanks!! Where -

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He sends a mental image.

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Pop.

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- where'd you go?

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They are in a mostly-empty room, except for two chairs and a mirror that's probably a one-way window.

"Hello. We'll bring them one at a time and see if they can affect you, is that alright?"

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Meeting with strangers and masters to check if they affect me.

"Yeah."

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Oh. Good luck.

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Legend nods and flies away, through a door.

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Thanks.

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A few minutes later a cape walks in. They're wearing a pierrot outfit, very fancy and clearly made of incredibly expensive materials. They incline their head and take a seat opposite Fëanáro.

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"Hi."

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The pierrot looks into Fëanáro's eyes and raises one hand.

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He raises the corresponding hand.

...huh. He tries to teleport away. 

 

That works fine. He teleports back - "want to check if I can make stuff -"

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The pierrot nods.

Fëanáro nods along.

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And he tries making a sandwich.

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A sandwich is made. The pierrot (and Fëanáro) tilt(s) their head(s).

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OkayThat's everything to test - I guess except whether it keeps working if I've teleported away...

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I cannot hold you if I do not know where you are.

The pierrot inclines their head again, waves, and breaks the connection.

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"Weird. Thanks."

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The pierrot stands up, bows, and leaves.

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Okay. Are there ones who might be able to use my powers or make me do it...

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Yes. We're sending one in.

Someone wearing a completely white suit with a mask covering the top of their face and head with a swirly black-on-white pattern to it walks in. "Good afternoon," she says.

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"Hi! Thanks for experimenting with me."

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"My pleasure." She sits. "Now, this is rather unnerving for other people, I'm told."

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"Yeah, Boots'd find everything about your world super super terrifying. It's okay."

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"If you'd please look into my eyes?"

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He does that.

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"Now please keep looking into them and try to ignore what my hands are doing."

She starts moving her hands in strange ways.

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He wiggles but keeps looking at her.

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"Don't think of a pink elephant."

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"Uh, I wasn't but now of course I am - that seems like a silly instruction -"

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"It's meant to be."

It'd be a great idea to teleport an inch to the left, now, wouldn't it?

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It's like a more efficient form of fidgeting. He does that.

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She nods, satisfied.

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"Hmm?"

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"You teleported to the left."

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"...yeah. You?"

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"Me," she nods.

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"Scary. Okay. Could you have done 'teleport the Earth into the Sun' or not -"

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"Probably not. That's unlikely to be a thought you'd have acted upon unless you were much more distracted than just now."

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"...that's good, at least."

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"I believe that was all, yes? If I may ask, why did you expect to be immune to this?"

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"I'm invincible. Looks like just to physical stuff."

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She leans forward. "Invincible? What an interesting power to have turned up."

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"I guess. It's kind of complicated, you can ask the PRT, I already explained everything once -"

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"Yeah, fair enough. I should go, then, Legend said I was just to test your possible immunity to me."

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"Thanks."

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She excuses herself.

So you're not categorically immune to mind control, Legend sends.

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Yep, noticed. Makes sense, but not good.

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No, not good. We still have a couple of other masters and strangers, do you think it's worth it to test with them, too?

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We should test what happens if I've sworn things.

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Can you swear not to think of things?

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Yeah but it's super dangerous.

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Might not work with Mesmer anyway, if you've sworn not to think of something you probably won't be able to get successfully distracted from it. Copy might still be able to do it.

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I'm thinking if there are conditions that all of them need to work in - like, if they need to be near you, or looking at you - then I should swear not to give out my magic, or kill anyone, until I'm not in those conditions?

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There's no such theme in powers, I'm afraid. Some masters need to meet you once, some need constant contact, some need to only see you even through a camera.

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Ugh.

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I will call Copy once more and you can try to test your oath versus their power?

Permalink Mark Unread

Sure.

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So a few minutes later the pierrot arrives again.

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"I swear for the next hour or until I say 'escape clause' I will not make any movements I didn't intend in advance."

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The pierrot inclines their head, and looks into Fëanáro's eyes, and raises one hand again.

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He can't move! At all! It's not pleasant but his hand does not raise!

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Copy nods and breaks the connection again.

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"Escape clause - thanks -"

Permalink Mark Unread

You are quite welcome.

Off they go again.

So you can resist powers that make you act in ways you'd be sworn not to, that's—useful to know, sends Legend.

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Yeah. I should probably swear not to feed the Earth into a black hole or teleport it into the sun or things like that but oaths can be really bad, we'd want to be careful with phrasing...

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And those are unlikely to be problems in any case, most villains don't want to actually destroy the Earth.

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Yeah, and subtler stuff is - more complicated - do you want to help me think of a phrasing -

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Library of Alexandria might actually be a better bet for who could help you.

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Okay. How do I send her a message?

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Legend floats back into the room. I will email her, she will surely be able to come here soon to help you with that.

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Thanks. Shiver. I miss my peal.

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He hugs Fëanáro.

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Oh good that's good. Hugs.

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He touches a comm device. "Please email Library of Alexandria and tell her we need help coming up with safe oaths for master and stranger resistance. She will understand."

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It's so good when there are other people who can be in charge of stuff.

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We still had a few people lined up. I don't expect them to be any more revealing than these first two, there was a reason why we picked them, but.

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I can do more if you want.

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I think it's prudent.

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Okay.

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I should probably leave so I don't interfere with the tests.

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Uncling. "Okay."

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He smiles and floats back away.

Another cape, this one wearing a suit with a red bow tie, oiled hair, and a simple wooden mask, walks in. "Hello. Epic, isn't that right?"

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"Yes."

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"I'm Puppeteer. I think the name should be suggestive."

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"Probably. We should try with and without oaths - just try normally first -"

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"Okay." He closes his eyes, visible through the mask, and after about a minute or so starts moving his fingers.

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And he raises his arm.

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Puppeteer lowers a finger, raises another.

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Other arm.

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He lowers his fingers. "Seems to work."

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Nod. "Now - I swear that until I say 'escape clause' or one hour has passed I will not take any actions I did not decide on in advance -"

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Raise finger.

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Still works.

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He lowers his finger again. "My power works by taking direct control of your nervous system, so I believe it doesn't count as you having done it."

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He can't move!

 

"- escape clause - yeah, that'd make sense."

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"An application that might be... a bit more dangerous to you is making you swear something, if that's binding as it seems to be."

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"It is. You can make people say things?"

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"Yes. I can control any of your muscles. Some are more complex than others, but I can."

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"I don't know if it'd count as swearing, for the same reason it doesn't count as moving, but we should check - something like 'until an hour has passed or I say 'escape clause' I swear not to say the word 'elephant' -"

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He nods. "This will take a few more minutes, I need to get a better feel for how your nervous system works..."

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He wraps his wings around himself and waits.

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"...your wings feel very peculiar. And your whole nervous system is... subtly different. I expect that's because of the physical alterations due to your trigger event?"

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"...yeah, probably." 

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"Were there any other physical alterations than the obvious ones?" he asks, making Fëanáro's wings and ears tingle very slightly.

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"...I can control my heartrate and stuff by thinking about it? ...actually I should check if I can control my nerves directly too, I haven't tried that yet."

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"Fascinating. And I think I got a bead on your speech muscles."

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"Okay. Try the oath thing first, then we can see what happens if I try the body control thing."

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He moves his fingers again, and Fëanáro finds himself saying the oath. It feels very strange, his muscles move in weird ways that don't quite hurt but aren't natural, either, and it sounds a bit slurred but perfectly comprehensible.

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And it counts, relevantly. "That worked. Escape clause."

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"Interesting. I wonder why that worked to create an oath when there was no intention but the intention was relevant for raising your arm."

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"Oaths create - a psychological compulsion to do or not do the thing? So if you're bypassing that then you can move me or whatever. Can you try again while I tamper with the bodily control thing -"

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"Yes. Tell me when."

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"Go."

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He goes.

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And what happens if he tries to take his nerves back - nothing - what happens if he cuts off blood flow to his arms -

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That screws with the cape. He tries sending commands to the nerves but they don't seem to have enough juice to make the muscles go. "Interesting. What did you do?"

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"Cut off blood flow to my arm." It's turning blue.

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"—you should probably not do that."

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He stops. "But it's good to know I can."

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"Yes. You'd... probably have to do it with your tongue, to prevent swearing oaths."

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"Worth it."

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"Depending on how absolute these oaths can be, yes."

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"...I possibly shouldn't tell people this? But very absolute."

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He nods. "Is there anything else you would like me to test?"

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"I think that's all, thanks."

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"You're quite welcome!" He stands up and leaves.

The next master is someone whose costume is very colourful—specifically, blue and red, clashing and swirling into each other. "Hello."

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"Hi."

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"I'm Pav," she introduces. "You're Epic, right? Nice to meet you. Legend wouldn't tell me much about your powers but said we wanted to see whether you'd be immune to me?"

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"Yeah! I'm indestructible but looks like only against physical stuff."

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"Oh, I see. But did any of the people Legend called here have a power to destroy your mind, or...?"

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"I mean, even if they did it wouldn't be very safe to check. But, like, you can tell I'm indestructible without murdering me, maybe there's a mental equivalent."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, like trying to hurt it or make it do things it wouldn't normally do—I see. What other powers do you have?"

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This person just seems super nice and trustworthy. "Healing and teleporting and making stuff."

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"Wow, you got real lucky in the trigger lottery, huh?"

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"I really like making stuff. It's such a good power."

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"Can you make me something?"

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"Yeah for sure, what do you want?"

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"I don't know, something rare? Hard to find or to make?"

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...super pretty piece of Elven jewelry. "Like that?"

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"—wow. I've never seen anything like it!" she says, accepting it and beaming. Feels so good to get approval like that, doesn't it?

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Yes!!!! Making stuff is the best power he is a demon and he is so good at demoning.

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He is! And—

Legend floats in. "Thank you, Pav, I believe that will be all."

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Bounce bounce.

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She smiles. "It was nice meeting you, Epic!" she says, and leaves the room, bringing the piece of jewelry with her.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asks Epic.

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"Yes!! ...what's her power?"

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"She does fast-acting Pavlovian conditioning, making certain thoughts and actions feel good and others feel bad."

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"I already thought making stuff feels good! I don't know if that was her or just that making people things is good."

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"It wears off fairly quickly after she leaves, so we'll see in a bit. Maybe I'm just being a little bit paranoid. Her power is..." He shakes his head.

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"Mind control is super scary."

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"Yes, and she used to be a villain before we caught her. She'd just—convince people to give her things."

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"...I don't mind giving her things but that is kinda scary."

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"Yes. Nowadays she's in one of our underground teams, dealing with the less glamorous capes. Masters and strangers in general prefer that."

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"Why'd she decide to stop being a villain?"

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"It was that or go to prison, after we managed to pin her down. She did not even bother going by a cape name, then."

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"...I know humans are different but ugh."

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"Which part of that is different?"

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"Oh, you can't put Elves in prison because we die."

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"That's terrible. Why do you?"

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"I don't know. Elves are - stronger and faster and better senses than humans, and stuff, but kind of weirdly fragile some ways. We also die of grief and we can't literally die of things not being sufficiently pretty but we get really miserable from it."

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Hug.

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Hugs are so good. "Are there more to test?"

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"Two strangers also came. One does fascination, causing something other than her to become incredibly attention-grabbing while she's around, to the point where people neglect her or anything she does, and the other cannot long-term affect the world or be long-term affected by it."

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"...that sounds depressing. Yeah, sure, I'll meet them too."

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He floats out of the room, and returns with a woman in a very discreet black suit with boots and soft grey lines, and a cloth mask with silver markings for her eyes and lips.

"This is Glare," Legend says...

...and my that's a really nice chair, isn't it?

Permalink Mark Unread

Fascinating. Not pretty, but he can probably learn something about this era's manufacturing processes by staring at it.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yes, it sure contains a lot of knowledge if he can just learn how to read it—

—Glare taps him on the shoulder and she's standing with her face really close to Fëanáro's.

Permalink Mark Unread

Yipes now she's across the room wow eeek.

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The mask covers her whole head but she's definitely smiling. "That's a useful power," she says. "We're short on teleporters, good to have one."

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"Thanks. Sorry. You scared me."

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"It's alright. I think that's a 'no,' then? Not immune to my power, that is."

"No," agrees Legend. "We'd already determined he wasn't immune to mind powers, though, so this was to be expected."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Thanks!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Seeya!" Wow what an interesting chair and she's gone.

Legend laughs, shaking his head. "She likes to do that. I'll bring Gasconade, now."

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"Okay!"

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He floats away, and returns with... a very peculiar man. He's blond, and looks very ordinary, except for the fact that every part of his body that isn't covered by his costume looks like a complex arrangement of two-dimensional images, like pictures drawn on paper and interlocked, overlapping, to create a general silhouette of a person, fragmented throughout. He doesn't wear a mask, but he has a costume that continues on the mosaic-like theme, to the point where it's somewhat confusing where costume ends and skin begins.

He bows.

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"Hi. ...weird."

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He raises an eyebrow and gestures at Fëanáro's wings. "Should say the same."

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"They really fly. And they sort of work for hugs if there's no one huggable around. I like them a lot."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Well, some of us are less lucky than others. Can I pick you up for a second?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sure!"

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So he does, walks a couple of steps, then puts him down again.

Fëanáro feels... strange. Almost tingly, except it's not quite a physical sensation.

Permalink Mark Unread

He spreads his wings and tries to shake it off, sort of.

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Doesn't work. "I can't affect the world, and the world can't affect me," Gasconade explains. "If I get shot and I die, I get better. If I shoot someone and they die, they get better. If I write something, it disappears. If I make something, it's unmade. If I get a haircut, my hair grows back. And if I pick you up and put you somewhere else..."

Permalink Mark Unread

Pop, back where he started. 

 

"...that sounds kind of depressing."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It is, a bit. I can't really lead a normal life," he says, cheerfully. "Thirty seconds, approximately, is as long as things I do stay done. On the bright side, I'll never screw up too badly."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...I guess that makes sense. People can remember you normally?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes, and whatever happened to them, that's the one exception. It's—unsettling, to be killed and then not be dead anymore but remember having been killed."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...does that happen often?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Does, when I go patrolling. I'm a bit more reckless than other people, because I can afford to be, and it's as confusing to the villains as it is to me."

Permalink Mark Unread

Hug?

Permalink Mark Unread

...sure, why not. Pat pat.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I wonder if I made you things if they'd stick. I guess probably not."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Like what?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Dunno. Wings, if you wanted wings."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. I don't think so, but—you could try?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. I'll make them so if they don't magically come off in thirty seconds I can take them off anyway if you don't want them. ...for wings you'd need to not be wearing a shirt."

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He shrugs and removes his shirt. His skin is weird enough that it barely looks like skin.

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And now he has wings like Epic's but grownup sized.

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And he waits thirty seconds.

They're gone.

He sighs.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sorry."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Not your fault, pretty used to it by now."

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"...I can also turn people into birds, but there's no reason to expect that one to stick either -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sure, why not?"

Permalink Mark Unread

That one's touch-range. Bird.

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Bird!

And thirty seconds later: not a bird.

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Sigh. "Sorry."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's alright, kiddo," he says, and ruffles Fëanáro's hair (it will become unruffled in thirty seconds, of course).

Permalink Mark Unread

He kind of freezes up. Humans. 

"ThankyouforcominginIhopeyouhaveaniceday."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You too," he says, cheerfully oblivious, and leaves.

"...was that upsetting?" Legend asks.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Elves don't touch hair. Ever. ...I guess if you're married."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. It's sexual? I'm very sorry, I'm sure he didn't mean it—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, I know, humans are human and you cut yours off and wear it loose and stuff. He didn't do anything wrong and I can't tell everyone I'm an Elf but still. Elves. Don't."

Permalink Mark Unread

He nods. "I will keep that in mind." And his comm chimes. "I believe Library of Alexandria is here."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Cool. Where?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Upstairs." Mental image—

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Pop!

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Library of Alexandria, sitting on a sofa reading a book. She looks up. "Hello, Epic."

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"Hi. Legend thought you'd be good at coming up with oaths so I couldn't get Mastered or whatever."

Permalink Mark Unread

"He's probably right. What kinds of oaths are we looking for, here?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Um. It looks like there are kinds that control my body and kinds that implant thoughts or make them seem more tempting or something? Controlling my body isn't that scary, it shouldn't let them control my magic, so what we really want is something to stop me swearing other things under cape influence or being talked into killing people or something."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Does body-control override oaths?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"It looks like it should be possible for me to stop myself from swearing things by cutting off blood flow to my tongue - and maybe by just filling my mouth with something sticky, I'll try that - but once I've sworn something there's no override."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I meant, if you swear not to do something but someone tries controlling your body."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Depends how they work. Some work, some don't."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Have you noticed a pattern on which do and which don't?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"If it works by making me do it, oaths prevent it; if it works by hijacking the body directly, then it's the same as if I swore not to raise my arm and then you grabbed me and raised my arm - the oath can't help with that..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"But your powers all require mental actions, correct?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And those you can swear not to take, even under control?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I would expect so."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How much control are you comfortable offloading?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"You can also get influenced by masters and there're all the obvious reasons it'd be dangerous to swear not to kill people unless we've discussed it, but it might be worth it to prohibit giving out the spells or wrecking Earth or things like that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You could offload it to more people than just me. It's very unlikely a master would get me, it's nigh impossible one would get Eidolon, it's unthinkable they'd do it to both of us."

Permalink Mark Unread

Nod. "...so something like that I won't give out the spells unless you and Eidolon both think it's a good idea, and I won't feed Earth into a black hole or do other things that predictably kill upwards of ...a million people? unless both of you think it's a good idea, until the peal finds us..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Or we both decide to release you from this oath; and we might want to include Legend and Hero in just for redundancy's sake. And perhaps killing upwards of even a thousand people, I'm not sure what situation you're envisioning that might stay between these two values."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I want to teleport a thing like Behemoth away but it's got a lot of hostages?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Such a case is not particularly more likely to come up for a thousand than for a million people except inasmuch as it's a consequence of human population densities. How complex can your oaths be, and what happens if you forget any part of it?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I have an eidetic memory."

Permalink Mark Unread

"So we could get a few different let's call them security levels."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Any action that would kill upwards of a million should require at least three out of the four of us to agree, plus a genuine belief that the fourth is either compromised or otherwise impossible to get a hold of in the relevant time frame. Upwards of a thousand should require at least two out of the four of us to agree, no need for the compromise clause. Upwards of a hundred, at least one. Upwards of one, you should be as certain as you can possibly be that this action prevents more harm than it causes, and have done your best to look for alternatives. How much mileage can you get out of liberal use of phrases like 'genuine belief' and 'level best'?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Won't help if people can change what I believe, unless you expect I'd know if I was being mind-controlled -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Changing what you believe is difficult—most master and stranger powers don't actually touch your mind and the ones that do are not typically that powerful—so this would cover the majority of cases. I don't expect there's a phrasing tight enough it would cover all possible situations."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, probably not. That one sounds good until my peal comes. ...if things go horribly somehow you should write a letter to Cam, tell my peal they need to get here now -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...would they try to come faster, depending on what you wrote?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, definitely, like, they could always have a hundred people try to wish up a tracking power but that's a waste of a hundred peoples' wishes as long as I'm pretty much okay and this world's not on the brink of extinction or anything - and also the wish is likelier to go through if there's real danger - if I had messaged them that I was in a really dangerous situation or that this world was about to get destroyed or something then they'd throw all their resources at it and probably find me sooner."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How close to extinction would count as 'on the brink,' in your opinion?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...uh, I think the top of the priority list for our fungible resources right now is projects which in expectation save about a hundred thousand lives per alt-day invested, or a thousand per random-Elf-day, and I think wishes get priority if in expectation they save more than a million lives, so it'd be worth burning a hundred wishes to come here a year sooner if that were 10% likely to save a billion people? Or if it saved me because they love me - that'd be really stressful, though, I'd feel like I had to be worth it -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"How long do you expect them to take to get here, by default?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I have no idea. Might be a couple years, if I'm okay and the obvious avenues don't pan out."

Permalink Mark Unread

"The world is probably not going to end in a couple of years. If it starts pushing a decade I might want to ask for some more urgency, however."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay. Um. What's going to happen in a decade?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hopefully, nothing, but we have access to a very good mathematician and some very worrying numbers."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...huh. Okay. ...might be worth them coming sooner in case whatever the problem it's hard to solve even with their powers..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"The problem is the rate at which parahumans trigger, and the proportion of them that ends up becoming villains. It's not sustainable, and if Behemoth was a trigger or created by a trigger, we're looking at an end-of-the-world scenario in about forty years."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...so then if your powers have an adjacency limit we can solve a lot of it by just taking people out-of-dimension..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes—but if they're not, some other solution will be necessary and an interdimensional consortium of gods seems like just what we need."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, they'll fix it." Flap flap. And he writes out the discussed oath and looks over it for problems.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Are there any other powers of yours we might want to restrict with an oath?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Not reading minds, I guess?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's a possibility, yes. And perhaps the very act of swearing oaths."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...yeah, definitely. Maybe I should just swear not to swear any mind-altering oaths..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"That should probably also have some form of escape clause."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Probably. But mind-altering ones are really bad, I can't think of a situation where they'd make sense -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"And I couldn't think of extradimensional visitors with god powers, I think it's safe to never swear anything without an escape clause."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay. All of you approving, for that one, and still none with unlimited duration?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I think so. And it might be a good idea to also add escape clauses involving your peal, when they arrive; you probably don't need to keep those oaths in place then."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, I think I should start all of them with 'until my peal arrives' - maybe also something for if I make some people -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Until any other element of your peal is present in this world, perhaps?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...that's closer but then I could get out from any of them by making a person -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"So we add an oath only permitting you to make a member of your peal with our say-so, too."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...the main circumstance under which I can imagine needing to make a person is if you guys turned out to be secretly evil like Brazil."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Reasonable. If you don't offload responsibility... you can still try to abuse words like 'genuine belief' and try to rely on not being around masters and strangers to the best of your ability. And definitely stay away from Sleeper."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Promise. ...uh, until my peal finds me or I, in a location where there are no capes within a million miles, make a Space Elf whose fully informed evaluation of the situation is that this oath should be revoked, swear not to do the following things without the approval of three of Legend, Hero, Library of Alexandria, and Eidolon, overwhelming evidence that the fourth would approve and is unreachable or incapacitated, and evidence that I expect would be satisfying to Boots that I am not under the influence of mind-affecting powers or magic : swear an oath, give out my magic, or take any actions that would kill more than a hundred thousand people. Until my peal finds me or I, in a location where there are no capes within a million miles, make a Space Elf whose fully informed evaluation of the situation is that this oath should be revoked, I swear not to do the following things without evidence that I expect would be satisfying to Boots that I am not under the influence of mind-affecting powers or magic: make any use of my powers that is likely to kill people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Will you include something for mindreading?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"....could, that one has more plausible cases where it's necessary -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"It does. I'll leave it up to you. I don't expect it to come up that there is some piece of information we will desperately need and which can only be obtained via mindreading."

Permalink Mark Unread

"- and they were a bad enough person it was justified - but, like, I might give my powers to people who are willing to let me voluntarily read their minds to check if they're secretly evil or something -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"So be reasonably sure it's consensual or necessary, even if someone uses a power to convince you that's the case the damage is not that terrible."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I swear until the peal finds me or I, in a location where there are no capes within a million miles, make a Space Elf whose fully informed evaluation of the situation is that this oath should be revoked, I will not read anyone's minds unless I have evidence that I expect would be satisfying to Boots that I am not under the influence of mind-affecting powers or magic and that it is consensual or necessary."

Permalink Mark Unread

"These seem strong enough, yes. Why is Boots in specific someone you would go to about this?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"She's kind of in charge of me? And she's really good and smart and always knows what to do. She's a therapist."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And is she particularly good at examining evidence of mind-affecting powers?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, she has a bunch. Which she uses very ethically because she is a therapist."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I see."

Permalink Mark Unread

"She's a good person to have checking, promise."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I believe you," she says. "In other news, we might have a new New York for you to make us tomorrow."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh goody!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes. We even found a place where you can put the original Library of Alexandria."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Awesome. You're much nicer than Brazil."

Permalink Mark Unread

That actually makes her crack a smile. "'Nicer than Brazil' is, at least, better than not that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You seem to be doing really well, actually, for a world you're scared will die."

Permalink Mark Unread

"The United States is in fact doing fairly well, comparatively speaking, and most of it is thanks to the Protectorate and the PRT."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And now you have a demon!!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Who will give us our very own Library of Alexandria. I might change my name, after that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Why did you pick it?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Many people see me as the stereotypical flying brick. I'm near impossible to hurt, I'm strong enough to bend steel, I am only as affected by gravity as I let myself be. But I also have an eidetic memory and greatly boosted cognition, and those are my most dangerous powers."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...oh."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I have come to regard this name as a mistake, however. Letting my opponents underestimate my brains because of my brawn probably suits my interests better."

Permalink Mark Unread

Nod. 

Permalink Mark Unread

"Did you need anything else?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Nope! Thanks." ...how long ago did he tell Brazil he needed to sleep?

Permalink Mark Unread

"I should get going, then," she says, and off she goes.

It's been between three and four hours since he told Brazil he needed to sleep.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay so he has a couple more. He goes back to the Wards.

Permalink Mark Unread

He's been gone a while and it's late, but there's Sadde there in the common, talking to Hannah. "Hi," she says when he appears. "How'd it go?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Everyone works fine on me but we worked out some oaths that should help."

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's kinda scary."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's terrifying but it's probably not very helpful to be terrified."

Permalink Mark Unread

"There aren't lots of masters that affect people anyway."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Good."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah," she sighs. "By the way, tomorrow we're gonna test my powers to see if we can figure out what they are."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Cool! How do they do that?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I dunno! I'll find out tomorrow!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Good skill!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...what?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"With the tests!!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes but you said... good 'skill'? Is that a thing people say where you're from?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...yeah?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's cool. Way better than 'good luck.'"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, yeah, some humans do 'good luck'. But it's not luck - at least this isn't - and even when it's a mix wishing skill makes more sense. So good skill."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, good skill makes a lot more sense. I'm gonna start using it."

    Hannah looks at her. "But if other people don't use it...?"

She shrugs. "Then they're gonna start because of us."

Permalink Mark Unread

Bounce bounce.

Permalink Mark Unread

"You're really cute," Hannah comments.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm a hundred and twenty four Earth years old."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. Does your species age very slow?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. It's terrible."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How long does it take to be grown?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"It was gonna take five hundred but then I moved somewhere where it's faster."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...you grow up faster in different places?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"The place I'm from has magic so everything ages slower."

Permalink Mark Unread

    "Oh."

"Ten times slower," says Sadde.

    "...wait, so you only become an adult when you turn fifty?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And you are twelve now?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I left when I was twelve and spent two Earty years growing faster so I'm more like fourteen."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...well you are a very cute fourteen-year-old."

Permalink Mark Unread

Scowl. "...I guess it's good I can be a Ward but I wish I looked grown up so everyone's take me seriously."

Permalink Mark Unread

Sadde nods vigorously. "But when people don't take me seriously I use that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hmmm?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Well they don't pay attention to me so I just do whatever and then if they wanna scold me I play up the innocent kid thing. Or I pretend to be dumber than I am to get things I want. I didn't have to do that with mum—" her voice cracks a bit here "—but teachers yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I asked Legend if I can tutor you. Since school doesn't sound super helpful."

Permalink Mark Unread

"You mentioned! Can you do it? You're such a better teacher!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't know but maybe. Legend seemed to think it'd be a good idea."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Awesome!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Legend seems nice."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. This is better than I thought it would be."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What'd you think it'd be?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't know, more... controlling?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"If it gets controlling we can just leave and they probably don't want us to do that and they're not like the Valar who can't respond to incentives."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Valar?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"These stupid gods from my home world."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What did they do?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"They sent Boots back to Materia where she could have died! Because she was inventing wizardry and making everything nice and they didn't like it because of some stupid prophecies that weren't going to come true anymore anyway."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...I have like a million questions about everything you just said."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay! I don't have to go back to Brazil for a couple hours."

Permalink Mark Unread

So she starts asking him all sorts of questions about what Materia is and Boots and the prophecies and wizardry—

Permalink Mark Unread

Boots is the person he lives with he left his parents because he didn't get along with them, and she landed in Arda in a dimensional transit accident from Materia. Materia is this terrible horrible world that hates science.

Permalink Mark Unread

Hates science? What kinda world is that? How does a world hate science? And why would the Valar send anyone there?

Permalink Mark Unread

Because they are terrible!!!!!!! If you try to do science in Materia the thing you are trying to study will stop working that way or you will get eaten.

Permalink Mark Unread

That's terrible. That is incredibly terrible. That is so terrible.

Permalink Mark Unread

There was a version of him in this world who died three times before he was 13 and after the third they couldn't even resurrect him! Still can't! He might exist in one of Materia's horrible afterlives, though.

Permalink Mark Unread

A version of him?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yeah, there are sometimes alternate universe versions of people! He doesn't know if there are other Saddes, can't check from here.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh it'd be super cool if there were alternate versions of her!

So, about those prophecies?

Permalink Mark Unread

...yeah, so, Ardas have a sort of fated path that will happen if nothing lands from outside the universe to avert it, and in the fated path he kills a lot of people because they are getting in the way of trying to stop an evil god.

Permalink Mark Unread

...wow. Does he want a hug?

Permalink Mark Unread

yes that would be good.

Permalink Mark Unread

Hug!

Permalink Mark Unread

Hug! With wings! "I'm not going to do that."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I believe you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Because of Boots. The Valar should thank her."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Didn't they thank her, later? When they found this out?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Maybe after they got destupided by Elspeth."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Elspeth?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"She has a power for explaining things so they make sense."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Like, a magical power? Sounds useful."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It is!! She just kind of goes around radiating information."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Radiating? Because of the Elf telepathy thing, or to everyone?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...just to Elves except when she's sending it on purpose."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh cool. She sounds useful to have around, if she can make weird gods understand things."

Permalink Mark Unread

"She is! She's really useful and she likes Elves - first she met the evil ones so she didn't but once she met the rest of us she did."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Evil ones?"

    "I think I'm going to eat something and sleep," says Hannah.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Night! 

 

There's an Arda where everyone's evil? - I don't know what exactly they do that's evil, I think it has something to do with the King's boyfriend?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"How can everyone be evil, if everyone's evil then no one is—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, when the multiverse found them we thought they were evil. I'm sure they don't think so."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. Makes sense."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Anyway Elspeth doesn't like them but she likes everyone else and hangs out around Elves because she likes that we can read minds."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...that's weird, I'm kinda terrified of mind reading. Um, no offense—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Nah Bells are too. Elspeth's just weird."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, I guess it's not that bad if it's someone I like. But if it was my father..." She shudders.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. Anyway, I don't. Promise."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. Can you tell me more about your multiverse?"

Permalink Mark Unread

He totally can! Here are all of the planets and all of the hims and what they are doing and languages spoken everywhere and important historical events!

Permalink Mark Unread

Sadde is kinda bummed out that they don't have others of her but it's alright, she guesses.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, we might and not have noticed, there are trillions of people, if you don't think an alt of you would be likely to take over the world then I probably wouldn't know about them even if there are lots and they're doing cool stuff."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I dunno I'm eight."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah but some of your alts're probably grownups."

Permalink Mark Unread

"So they didn't take over anywhere, or they don't exist."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. You might have alts on the other Earths, Earths have lots of alts of people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I wanna meet them!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah, everyone probably will so most of the Earths haven't been told about other Earths."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Can't you make a magic internet that connects all Earths?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Crystal balls are the only things that do interworld communication - they can be mass produced but there're lots of things higher on the priority list -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"But if you produce them won't you be able to have lots more people to help with the priority list?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...maybe? I'd have to ask Boots, I don't know how they decide that stuff exactly."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. Okay, I guess."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I help develop wizardry items and stuff, but I don't do the managing stuff as much because it's boring."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's not boring! It's super cool there are lots of things and people and you have to understand a lot and—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah but inventing new wizardry's way more cool and you don't have to deal with people being horrible and annoying if you're inventing stuff."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hmm, I guess..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Maitimos like people and management stuff and I guess my dad must, though I never actually asked him...anyway, I'm not any good at it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I dunno what I'm good at, I'm eight."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I know what my alts are good at so I can sorta guess."

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's another good thing about finding alts, then. People can figure out faster what they're good at."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. And, like, if there are ways they might mess up, so they know to avoid those."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Maybe we should let some private Earth company handle mass manufacture of crystal balls, they'd probably make money off it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"That sounds like a good idea! Then it doesn't have to be you guys and stuff can just happen."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah. I think the Bells mostly don't want to give out wizardry because it's super powerful without Materia as a check? But on Earths that aren't adjacent to Materia that'd be less of a problem. On Ardas it's more of one because of Maiar."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Check?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Materia being evil, you can't experiment with wizardry and get super powerful with it. But outside Materia you can. I got an interdimensional teleport and stuff. It'd be sort of like publishing instructions on how to make really powerful bombs with household materials? Like, most people wouldn't do it but a few might. Except it's more complicated than that because you can also do tons of good."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. Can't you just teach the finished things without the experimental parts?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Easy to reverse-engineer. Well, not easy, but Boots did it and so some people'll be able to."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hmm... I dunno how to fix it. I bet I would if I were older."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Well, good news is, you'll get older!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah but it'll take a long time."

Permalink Mark Unread

"....we could try to play some tricks with relativity, if we're in a big hurry..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Uh, I'd have to work it out - it'd be easier to do the other way around - but I bet there's a way - uh, relativity says that things that are going faster experience less time having passed -"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...so if I could figure out how we could go zoom around in a spaceship and years would pass for us but it'd only be a day back on Earth, or something."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh. But then would we grow up right? Learn the right things and stuff?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"...I think so? People have lots of different childhoods and they mostly grow up all right."

Permalink Mark Unread

"But if it's just the two of us isolated for years I don't think I'd be alright. I mean I like you but, um. I think I need more people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, we could take some along."

Permalink Mark Unread

"But then they'd want to take other people and then it'd be the same as not doing it at all. I think."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...maybe."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah I dunno. It's just annoying that people don't take me seriously and that my brain doesn't work perfectly yet."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And speaking of brain I think maybe I should sleep."

Permalink Mark Unread

"G'night!"

Permalink Mark Unread

She gets up and goes to the Wards' quarters, hugging the book Fëanáro gave her.

Permalink Mark Unread

And he goes back to his house on the shores of Lake Michigan and sings and writes Boots a letter and then goes back to Brazil, invisible, and teleports himself into bed and his basement-dweller to the Moon.

Permalink Mark Unread

The Brazilian government is (probably) none the wiser.

Permalink Mark Unread

He can check what they're writing about him later, unless they figure out that his powers would let him spy on them like that. Well, he's probably just doing this until they let him put São Paulo back.

Permalink Mark Unread

No one comes check on him after it has been exactly eight hours since he said he'd sleep.

Permalink Mark Unread

He pretends to wake up.

Permalink Mark Unread

This does not provoke any immediately detectable reaction from his environment.

Permalink Mark Unread

He makes himself a stuffed animal and a paper book and rebraids his hair (it's weird, doing that with cameras around) and reads the paper book.

Permalink Mark Unread

The city they're in is a few timezones ahead of Chicago. Perhaps they are all asleep?

Permalink Mark Unread

...what happens if he goes to the door and tries to go explore?

Permalink Mark Unread

His door is locked.

There is a telephone in his room, however.

Permalink Mark Unread

...he has no idea how to operate that. He makes a key to the door instead.

Permalink Mark Unread

The door opens with a soft click.

Permalink Mark Unread

And he goes walking through the hallways!

Permalink Mark Unread

Doors, doors, doors, elevator.

Permalink Mark Unread

...sure, why not, elevator.

Permalink Mark Unread

It needs a special keycard to be called.

Permalink Mark Unread

...he makes one.

Permalink Mark Unread

He can successfully call the elevator!

Permalink Mark Unread

Yay! Ground floor?

Permalink Mark Unread

Ground floor!

The door opens and there is a security officer standing in front of the doors. "Hello."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hi!!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Shouldn't you be in bed, young man?" he asks with a half-smile.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I fell asleep in like the middle of the afternoon and then I woke up and everything was quiet and I waited a while and it was still quiet. Want breakfast? I can make us breakfast. ...my power is making stuff."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I've been told. Unfortunately I can't leave my post."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can make breakfast here. Is this your post?"

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"By the elevator, yes. If you can make it here then I suppose there's no harm."

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Trays! Full of food!

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...he peers at the food.

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"I can make something else if you want. We've been living with friends in New York and they have different food there."

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"Nah, this is good enough," he says, gingerly taking something. "It's interesting that you remember things. I think most parahumans with physical changes like that don't."

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"Don't remember things? ...do you have any of them around, I might be able to help them."

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"Don't think so? But yeah, they just kinda show up without any memories."

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"Huh." Nibble nibble. "Do you know where I might find any of them?"

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He shrugs, and eats some, too. "Not really."

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"Can I go out flying? I like flying."

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"...I'm not sure you should. It's the middle of the night."

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"I could fly up high where no one can bother me? Or I could make an invisibility cloak."

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"You can make an invisibility cloak?"

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"I don't know. I can make stuff, and an invisibility cloak is stuff. Haven't tried it, but most things I've tried have worked."

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"But it's stuff that doesn't exist."

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"Yeah, but I tried 'ship that flies really fast and doesn't get noticed' and that worked, and those don't exist either."

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"Huh. But couldn't some villain's power detect you even with the cloak?"

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"I guess maybe. Are there lots of villains flying around?"

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"Yeah. There's curfew because of them."

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"Huh. Why are villains villains? What do they want?"

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"Lots of things. Money. Power. Some just like to terrify people and disturb the peace."

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"It should be safe for people to go outside at night. I want to think of a way to fix it."

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"Well, there are a lot of people trying to think of ways to fix it but they haven't found many."

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"Maybe if I go out some of the villains will talk to me and I can ask them to stop."

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"...or they could hurt you very badly."

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"I could make myself armor so they can't."

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"Pretty sure there are powers that can pierce any armor."

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"How does anyone even live in this city if it's that dangerous?"

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"Well, during the day there are more people around so they can't do it without being caught. And didn't you use to live here before?"

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"I lived in São Paulo and I do not remember it being full of villains. It was nice."

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"Uh... it kinda was? At least as full as here, but more probably, because more people."

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"Did you live there too?"

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"Yeah."

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"Do you miss it?"

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"A bit, but I like it better here."

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Nod. Munch. "What time is it, when'll people wake -"

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"Around three in the morning, people start arriving at six thirty usually."

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"What hours are the curfew?"

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"Eleven to six."

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"Okay. I'll go back to bed and read more."

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"Okay. Do you have—of course you have books. Want me to get you anything?"

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"Can I have a hug?"

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"—sure, kid," he says, with a half smile.

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Hug!

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Slightly bewildered hug.

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And he goes back upstairs and to his room and makes himself another paper book because he's finished the first one.

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No one disturbs him.

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Then he'll wait for them to wake up.

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At six forty-five someone knocks.

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He goes over and opens the door.

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It's the therapist again! "Good morning!"

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"Morning!!!"

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"How are you feeling this morning? Did you sleep well?"

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"Yeah! When I woke up it was still the middle of the night but I couldn't tell because I don't have a window, can I have a window?"

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She blinks. "Sure," she says, and walks in, towards the wall. She touches it with her palm and a square section of it grows transparent.

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"Cool!!!"

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Doctor Ximenes smiles. "Have you eaten?"

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"Yeah! I went looking for people and I met a guy and I made him and me breakfast."

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"Oh? Was it Officer Salgueiro?"

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"I don't think I remembered to ask his name, but that sounds right. He was from São Paulo too."

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"That would be him, he's one of the night shift security officers," she nods.

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"Yeah, he said it wasn't safe to go outside. ...in New York it was safe to go outside."

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"He's right that it's not very safe here at night. New York has a much higher crime rate than here exactly because people go out at night whenever they want."

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"Oh. But why's it still not safe at night if here people don't do that?"

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"They would do that if other people went out. The very few people who do go out in spite of curfew often get into trouble because of it."

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"Okay."

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"Are you feeling more up to talk about things, this morning?"

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"Yeah!"

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"Good! Would you rather we talk here or somewhere else? We could go for a walk."

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"I'd like to go for a walk!!"

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"Then let's go!" she says, grinning, and leads the way.

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Flap flap.

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Down the elevator past the security guards into a not-quite-sunny-yet morning in Rio de Janeiro.

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Flap flap!

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"I noticed a book in your room."

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"I woke up in the middle of the night. I guess because I went to bed in the middle of the day."

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She smiles. "What book was it?"

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"Principles of Urban Engineering." He even remembered to make it in Portuguese!!

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"Wow. Isn't that a bit advanced?"

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"If I'm going to fly around making stuff all the time - and that's kinda what I want to do - I need to know how to make stuff that won't fall apart or have the foundations crumble or sink into the ground or whatever."

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"And you can understand all of it?"

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"No, but if I don't get something it usually suddenly makes sense later, or I can ask someone, or I can make models and try it."

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"That makes sense. You're a very intelligent kid."

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Bounce bounce. "I have the best powers and I want to fix everything. If people died because I was dumb and didn't know what I was doing that would be horrible."

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"That seems like an awful lot of responsibility to bear."

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"I guess. But it'd still be true if I pretended it wasn't my problem."

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"I'm not sure that's the most constructive way to think of it."

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"...but is it true?"

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"I don't want to sound philosophical when I say truth is relative. The world is what it is, but there are different ways of facing it and interpreting the truth while still accepting it, and some of them are better than others for our health and to get the things we want. Does that make sense?"

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"...I guess?"

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"And one way of facing the truth I sometimes find is not very productive is feeling guilt. People often tell me it's justified, that they should have done better, or that it motivates them. In my experience, it tends to do more harm than good. Or, at least, more harm than alternatives."

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"I'm gonna resurrect people somehow and then it won't matter if it's my fault they're dead."

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He mentioned that before. She thought about it some and—it would really be very good, and she can't think of a good reason why it wouldn't worry.

"You really think you'll be able to? Bring people back?"

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"Not yet but I'll figure it out. Somehow."

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"That's an admirable goal."

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Bounce bounce.

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"So your current plan is bringing São Paulo back, and then trying to figure out how to bring the dead back?"

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"Yeah."

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"And have you thought of what you'll do if you can't do that?"

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"Keep working on it."

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"Suppose you find it's impossible."

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"...then I'll keep working on it until it's not."

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"Not all problems can be made possible by work alone."

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"If you have long enough and enough powers."

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"And the right powers."

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"People get powers all the time. Hopefully someone'll get the right one."

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"What sort of power do you think would be necessary for that?"

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"When I make people they're just - not awake. So something that - wakes them, don't know how it'd have to work -"

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"It would probably be good to understand why they fail to wake, then, before hoping a power can fix it."

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"Yeah. I don't know how - maybe making brain scan machines?"

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"You have a way to get rid of things you make?"

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"Yeah, I can just - unmake them? I guess?"

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"Then perhaps we can try making brain scan machines later and figure out what's wrong with the people you conjure."

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"Sounds good!"

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"And once that's done?"

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"Once I've got resurrection? I guess I'll resurrect everyone. Maybe I'll terraform Mars and resurrect some of them there if there's not space on Earth or if it's not very safe here."

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"On your own?"

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"...dunno. It'd probably be better if I had help with the people stuff, I'm not very good at that. But the terraforming no one'd really be much help with..."

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"And even if you resurrected one person per second, you would probably not be able to keep up with how many people die."

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"Well I'll also have to fix death, yeah."

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"And how are you planning to do that?"

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"I tried just making a cure for aging like the cure for cancer and it didn't work so I guess I'll have to be more creative than that."

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"Huh. That's much more surprising than the cure for cancer having worked at all."

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"Really? Why do you think so?"

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"Because it suggests one of a couple of different surprising things. If your power can only create things that exist, then someone has already invented a cure for cancer. If it can create anything that could conceivably exist, then there is no substance that can fix aging but not cancer, even though they are biologically very similar processes, and this invites the question of why. It could have been that your power would create a substance when you asked for a cure for cancer that did not actually cure cancer, but this is less likely now."

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"There're aliens, maybe some of the aliens are more advanced than us and cured cancer but not aging yet?"

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"Why do you think there are aliens?"

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"Made plastic models of all the aliens in the universe, got a bunch of them."

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"All of them?"

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"I don't know if I got all of them or not, I didn't want my bedroom full of tiny plastic aliens so I stopped after a bit."

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"When did you do that?"

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"In New York. I put my building back and then I tried putting people back and then it didn't work and then I curled up and cried a lot and then I tried making stuff to see what'd go."

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She stops walking, and extends her arms in a hug-inviting gesture.

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Hugs!

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Hugs indeed!

"So it could be that none of these aliens have invented a cure for aging yet, or perhaps their biology is such that they have cancer but do not age."

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"Yeah. Or that 'aging' isn't a thing and it's a combination of more specific things that they do have cured, even."

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"I believe there's research about how the DNA gets shorter as people grow older. And some parahumans might not age at all."

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"Huh. That means I should be able to find a way to do whatever they're doing. I think."

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"Who? Other parahumans?"

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"Yeah."

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"Why do you think so?"

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"Dunno. It seems like the best explanation of my powers is that I can do stuff if someone's already done it."

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"Do, or make?"

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"Well, make."

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"So you won't necessarily be able to not age even if other parahumans don't."

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"I guess."

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They eventually reach the beachwalks, which are large sidewalks where eight people could walk side-by-side comfortably between the street and the beaches. At this time in the morning, the sky is very blue and the air is chilly, carrying the scent of the sea with the breeze. Some people are opening up their small restaurants and cafés and bars that pepper the area, and a couple of people are already in the water to surf.

"Had you ever visited Rio?"

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"Don't think so. Maybe when I was a baby? Boots'd remember."

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"Do you like it?"

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"It's nice. I miss home."

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"I imagine you do. But it won't be much longer before we can have you put it back."

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Bounce bounce.

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"Do you have anything you want to do before you can do that?"

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"Go around giving people things?"

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"What things?"

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"Whatever they want! Clothes and food and little phones and stuff."

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"That... seems unwise."

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"Why?"

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"I'm not an economist, so take everything I say with a grain of salt, but it seems like giving people material goods at a local scale like that might cause some supply and demand problems."

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"...if I put businesses out of business, right. Hmm. If I just give out stuff that we don't know how to make ourselves, or sentimental things like if someone lost a picture of a family member..."

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"Oh, that would probably work, I don't think there'd be any problem with that."

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Bounce bounce. "Cool! I'll do that!"

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She grins. "Do you think you'll want to stay in one particular place or just find people and give them things?"

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"It'd be more fun to find people."

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"We can arrange that."

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"I think I can get letters to me, so you can just tell people how to write me if you want."

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"As in they write a letter addressed to Epic and you conjure those? That's clever, and seems like it would work."

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"Worked when I tried it but I knew exactly what I was going for so it's not a perfect test."

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"I could try it. Can you conjure three pieces of paper and a pen?"

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He can!

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"Okay so I'm going to write things on these papers without showing you, and you can try to conjure the one I addressed to you."

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Nod nod.

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She writes.

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And he conjures for things she wrote in the last ten minutes which were addressed to Epic.

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One of the pieces of paper! It goes:

This is a piece of paper addressed to Epic for purposes of testing.

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Bounce bounce. He shows it to her.

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She beams. "That seems to work out great, then."

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"Yeah! So people can just tell me what they need!"

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"We should probably review the things they ask to make sure we won't be breaking any businesses but yes!"

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Bounce bounce. "That'll be fun."

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They continue walking for a while longer, and the sun continues to rise. It gets warmer fast, and people are soon walking around, some busy and some not, some wearing suits and some only shorts. Doctor Ximenes spots an ice cream shop and says, "I was going to offer to buy you some ice cream but then it occurred to me that is probably pointless."

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"Yeah probably. Thank you anyway."

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"We could have some ice cream if you wanted anyway, it is customary to do so while walking along the beach, although we should be turning around and heading back around now."

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Ice cream! "Why're we heading back, do we need to be somewhere?"

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"You, not necessarily, but I do. I have a patient I should see in an hour."

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"Can I stay out?"

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"I'm not sure it's a good idea to do so unsupervised. You're an incredibly bright and precocious child but you are a child."

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"...I guess."

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"You could meet the other team members, though, you haven't had time to do it yet I think and most of them were fighting Behemoth."

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"Oh! Yeah, that sounds good."

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"Some of them were lost in the fight, though, so they will be grieving, too."

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He wraps himself in his wings. "I'm sorry."

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"You don't have anything to be sorry for, and if the reports we've been receiving are correct, he's gone forever."

She offers a hug again, though.

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Hug! "I didn't stop Behemoth. I could've triggered sooner and saved more people."

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"It's not your fault when you trigger, and you can't blame yourself for all the things you could have prevented if something that didn't happen had, or if some piece of information you didn't have available had presented itself somehow. If you've made a mistake, and I'm not convinced you have, then the appropriate response is to understand it and why it happened and take measures to prevent it from happening again."

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"Could've made something indestructible and used it to shield my family."

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"I'm not sure there's anything indestructible enough for Behemoth, but maybe."

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"Maybe not. I should've thought of it and tried."

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She sighs, and wraps an arm around him.

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Hug. And they walk back down the beach.

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And eventually they're back at the headquarters. "So do you want to meet the other heroes?"

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"Yeah!!!"

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She leads him inside and upstairs (well, up-elevator) and shows him to the common area before she goes to call the other heroes. It's remarkably similar to the one in the Protectorate building in function if not in style, and has a similar unmanned computer station for use.

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He pretties it up.

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And soon enough a tired-looking teenager emerges from somewhere, looking like he might've just gotten out of bed. "Hello."

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"Hi! I'm Epic."

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"—cape name? Alright. I'm Batallion." He's not wearing a costume, or even regular clothes—these look like pyjamas.

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"I'm supposed to meet people! Nice to meet you! Do you want any stuff that isn't sold in stores, I can make stuff but I'm supposed to not make stuff that businesses make so I don't break them."

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He walks over to the computer but looks at Epic. "Like what?"

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"Uh, anything? Little thumbnail computers, little shuttles that fly really fast..."

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"Thumbnail computers?"

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He makes one and demonstrates it!

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He blinks. "Where'd you get that?"

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"My power's making stuff. I tried "the smallest computer you can still use" and I got this."

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"How'd you learn how to use it?"

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"Doesn't it just kind of make sense, once you tap it to get controls?"

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"Well now that you explained it does, but I guess it is pretty easy." He's sitting at the computer but has definitely lost interest in it.

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"I want to give 'em to everyone and then go make a satellite so people can use them to talk to each other."

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"Satellite?"

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"A thing up in the sky that can talk to all the computers."

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"I know what it is," the teenager huffs. "I mean, how will you get it to connect?"

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"Dunno. So far stuff I make just works."

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"Huh." Pause. "...can I have one?"

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"Of course!" Now he has one.

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"Cool!" He starts poking at it.

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Bounce bounce. "Anything else?"

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He shrugs. "Dunno. What else can you make?"

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"Haven't found much I can't make yet. It might need to exist somewhere? But there are aliens and they're more advanced than us."

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"Aliens, really? Cool."

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"Yeah!!"

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"So are you new?"

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"Yeah."

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"Don't think I've ever seen anyone your age around."

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"Maybe they'll treat me like I'm bigger, I'd like that."

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He snorts. "Yeah, as if. They treat us all like kids, even the ones who're just shy of eighteen."

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"Do you have to go to school? I'm going to be really bad at that."

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"Yeah, we all do. It's a special hero school but yeah."

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"Oh, maybe if it's a special school it'll be okay."

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"It's the same as normal school but everyone has powers."

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"But if there's no one else my age then they can at least teach me things I don't know instead of whatever six year olds normally learn."

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"Oh. Yeah, makes sense."

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"Yeah. Is today one of the days when there's school?"

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"Would be, normally, but."

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"But?"

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He just tilts his head and looks at Fëanáro like he's daft. "But it's been less than two days."

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"Oh, did you go? They treat you like little kids but they let you fight Behemoth?"

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"Everyone went. No one's a kid when it comes to Behemoth."

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Nod. He tucks up his wings and goes off to his room to get his book.

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His room has been cleaned and tidied up. His book is waiting for him.

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Then he will sit down and read and make models to test his understanding (and toggle Allspeak to learn some Portuguese) until someone comes to get him.

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After a few hours there's a knock.

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"Come in!"

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A timid-looking girl, no older than fifteen if that, opens the door. "H-hi. I was told to, um, get you for lunch."

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"...does everyone eat lunch together?"

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"Yeah."

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"Okaaaaaay." Book away. "I'm Epic, nice to meet you."

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"I'm Golden Jewel," she says, opening the door a little bit further to let him through.

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"What'd'you do?"

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"What do you mean?"

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"You have powers, right?"

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"Oh, right. I can do this," she says, and her whole body and clothes turn golden like she's a living, breathing statue made of pure gold. "I get stronger and more resistant and lots of things just reflect off me."

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"Cool!" 

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She returns to being made of not-gold. "How about you?"

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"I can make stuff. Want anything?"

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"...w-what kind of thing?"

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"Most kinds of things, so far."

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"Oh. I—don't really want anything."

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"Okay." Maitimos would know what to say. He does not. He goes to lunch.

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The teenager from earlier is there, as well as another boy looking to be about seventeen years old. There are four other adult heroes, and the doors are guarded by people in security uniforms.

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And food?

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He can get food! There is a lot of food available self-service style, he can choose what to have and eat as much as he likes.

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He'll make himself a spread instead. And sit down and eat it.

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The girl sits with him after he gets his food, but doesn't initiate conversation.

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"...are you okay?"

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"...not really."

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"Behemoth's horrible."

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She nods, and looks down at her food. "At least he's gone."

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"Yeah. And eventually someone'll have a power to do resurrection and then everything'll be okay."

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"Do you really think so?"

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"Yeah definitely."

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"I hope you're right," she says in a small voice.

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"I'll make sure everyone gets resurrected. All of them."

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She nods and continues eating.

She sniffles a bit.

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"Are you sure you don't want, like, a fluffy heavy blanket or something?"

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"...maybe. But not here."

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"Okay. You know where to find me."

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She nods.

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He finishes eating and goes back to his room.

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And a bit later there's another knock.

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Sigh. "Come in."

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It's Golden Jewel. "Hi a-again," she says. "Um. You m-mentioned a blanket?"

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Here is the fluffiest heavy cozy blanket ever. Blue. 

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Ooh. Fluffy. "Thank you."

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"Of course. Want a thumbnail computer too?"

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"...what's it do?"

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"Uh, it has some silly games on it, it can take pictures, soon it'll let you talk to other people who have one but it doesn't do that yet, I'd need to figure out how to go to space."

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"...okay."

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Thumbnail computer! He shows her how to use it.

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She's quietly attentive, thanks him again, and goes off to her room.

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And he goes back to reading.

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No one will bother him for the next couple of hours.

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That's good. He will at some point need to look up the step-by-step on satellite launches in orbit and the precise models he'll need so they successfully talk to his thumbnail computers, but he is pretty sure it's in the files somewhere, Cam gave a bunch of places internet recently. And he probably shouldn't make his computer while in Brazil, that'll prompt more questions. 

 

When he gets bored of engineering books and is pretty good at reading Portuguese even with Allspeak off he makes dangerously strong magnets in cool shapes and makes little rails so they can race around his walls and bounces them off each other so they make cool sounds. If these security cameras were standard security cameras he would be messing them up, but they're tinker cameras so he's not sure. He can check that when he's not in Brazil, too.

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Yeah a few minutes after he starts doing that there's a knock.

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"Come innnnn!"

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Doctor Ximenes does. "Good afternoon."

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"Afternoon!" Zoom zoom go the magnets.

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"What are those?"

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"Magnets?"

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"That looks a bit dangerous."

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"Nah, they just go zoom-zoom. I guess it wouldn't be safe to eat them or something."

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"And how did your day go?"

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"Good! I read my book until I got bored, then I started playing. I like the other kids. One of them thought I'd have to go to school. Do I really?"

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"Yes, all children should go to school. Even if there are things you won't have to use in practice, it helps stimulate your brain in the right ways so you can grow healthy and learn how to think critically."

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"What sort of stuff do they teach?"

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"Children your age, usually how to read and some basic mathematics, but," she glances at his book, "we might move on to more advanced mathematics, grammar, history, geography, and science for you."

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"...okay. And I can make things to help me understand?"

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"Of course."

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"All right. ...I'll make a list of things I want to learn and then we can go through the list!"

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"Sure! But there are some things everyone should learn, so if they're not on the list we'll also have to add them."

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"Okay, if I don't already know them."

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"Of course, there'd be no point in teaching you things you already know."

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Bounce bounce. "That sounds okay then."

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"Good!" She smiles. "Other than that, we should perform some power tests."

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"Ooooh! Fun!"

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"Yes! It's very exciting. Would you like to do them tonight? I believe the lab is free after dinner."

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"Yeah!!"

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"Great!" She looks at the magnets again and purses her lips. "Are you certain these won't crash in an unexpected way and hurt you?"

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"I don't think so, they're really tiny and they don't go faster than, like, throwing a pebble or something."

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"Hmm, they worry me some..."

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"I'll zoom them around slower?"

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"I suppose that'll have to do."

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Bounce bounce. 

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She smiles and shakes her head. "I won't disturb you any more. Have fun."

A while later, Golden Jewel shows up again to fetch him for dinner. "Thank you for the blanket," she murmurs.

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"Of course!

 

 

I'm sorry I don't have resurrection yet but I will get it."

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She blinks, and shrugs. "It's not your fault you can't resurrect people," she responds in the same small voice.

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"But you'd be less sad if I could and I want you to be less sad and I'm going to be able to. So it doesn't really matter whether it's my fault."

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She looks at him a bit blankly, and eventually decides to just say, "Okay."

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Dinner?

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Dinner!

There are a couple people there who weren't there for lunch, and Batallion and two other adult capes aren't there.

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He makes himself food. He eats his food. He rolls around his magnets in his hand.

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And eventually Doctor Ximenes shows up.

"Hello, again! Are you ready for tests?"

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Bounce bounce! "Yeah!" This would be more exciting if he didn't already know exactly what demon capabilities were and was doing science instead of doing lying.

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So she leads him to another floor and to a room where there are a few computers and a man reading a book. The man looks up.

"Oh, you must be Epic. Doctor Ximenes told me a lot about you. I'm Doctor Paulo Lira, but you can just call me Paulo."

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"Hi! I want to learn how my powers work, they're super cool so far."

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"That's why I'm here!" He nods at Doctor Ximenes, who nods back and leaves. He closes his book and puts it down. "So, take a seat, take a—well, I suppose you could make a seat, couldn't you?"

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Bounce bounce here's a seat that works with his wings.

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"Splendid! So, can you describe to me in your own words what your powers can do?"

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"I can make stuff. Stuff I make is permanent unless I want it to go away, then I can just - make it not? It feels like making but then there's not the thing. I also made a crater in São Paulo but I was concentrating on making the city back, I didn't actually expect it to result in a crater until I looked and then it'd all gotten cleared away. I can make some stuff that doesn't exist but not anything at all and I haven't made anything that's obviously magic - like, I tried making a flying car and that didn't work. And I can't do resurrections, I can make people but they don't wake up, I tried a lot of people in New York and I tried things to wake them up and they just wouldn't."

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He started frantically taking notes on his computer when Epic started explaining.

"Can you make a thing you didn't make, well, not? I mean, as a primitive action, rather than a step towards making something."

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"I don't think so. I could try, if there's anything you don't mind vanishing - I guess I could just make it again if it works -"

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Paulo looks around and finds a coffee mug and points at it. "That one. It's kinda sentimental but if you can just remake it the sentiment should also be there, right?"

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"I guess." He squints at the mug. He does not teleport it anywhere.

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"Hmm... now suppose you wanted to make me a prettier mug?"

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He teleports the mug away and makes a prettier one in its place, as close to instantaneous as he can manage.

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He beams. "Okay, now can you do the reverse? Bring my mug back?"

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That sounds hard so he just teleports this mug out too and makes the guy a new copy of his original one.

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"What if you want to make, I don't know, a dead flu virus?"

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"I can't tell if it works because it's too small."

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"I meant in the mug's place."

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He puts a dead flu virus in the mug.

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After a second: "Didn't work?"

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"Looks like it didn't think the mug was in the way."

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"Hmm... What if—okay, no, that's good enough for preliminary. Okay, make me something else, doesn't matter what."

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Space Silmaril.

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"Wow," he says, after a few seconds of being too stunned for words. "What is this?"

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"It's pretty, isn't it? I was aiming for 'pretty light' -"

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He blinks at it a few times, then shakes his head and says. "Okay—you made this one—can you unmake it?"

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"Yeah." Wistful look. "I don't really want to, though, it's so pretty..."

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"Well, you can make a new one later, can't you? More than one, even."

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"Yeah." Teleport off.

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"Hmm... About the people who don't wake up, what are they like?"

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"...like they're not there? They just kind of - drool."

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"I see. Okay, that's enough preliminary questions, I have a few experiments in mind. But it might take a few hours, we could start now and resume it later if it gets too late?"

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"Sounds good."

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"Okay!—oh, forgot to ask one question, do you need to be looking at the place you're going to conjure stuff in, can you do it remotely through a camera or glass...?"

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"I haven't tried a camera, glass works fine."

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"Hmm... then let's try with a camera as another preliminary test." He turns a monitor to Epic and shows a video feed from a room not too different from the one in the PHQ where they ran master/stranger tests. "Make something in there?"

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He doesn't. 

 

(He totally could, though.)

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"Pity," he sighs. "Well. We'll go to that room, then, and I'll record things and ask for a bunch of things and we'll try the more dangerous experiments later, okay?"

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"Okay!"

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So he leads Epic to that room, a few doors down the hall, and sets the camera so it's recording. "Later on I'm gonna perform an MRI on you while you use your power, 'kay?"

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"Okay!"

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He looks into the camera and says, "Power testing log. March twenty-eighth nineteen ninety four, seven thirteen PM. Subject: Epic. Alleged power: conjuration of arbitrary matter, including unconjuration of matter generated by him or, when not, for purposes of new conjuration. Batch number one: exploration. Say hi to future me, Epic."

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"Hi!!!"

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He beams.

"Alright, so first thing I'm going to ask you to make a bunch of different things to see how much you can make, and what, and also this is a very good camera so I'm going to measure times and such, alright?"

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"Okay."

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So he gives Epic a list of objects of varying sizes and materials to conjure, one by one, all of them mundane things like a marble or a chair or a plant or a phone or...

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He makes all of them. He hesitates a bit longer than needed so that if it gets to things where he has to be creative there won't be a noticeable delay.

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Not for this phase. And they now have a roomful of random objects.

"Can you make them all go away?"

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Pause.

Teleport.

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"Can you remake all of it at once?"

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"Uh, I think so -" - that'd be hard without an eidetic memory but he has one - 

 

There they are.

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"Can you unmake exactly the objects smaller than this," and he squeezes the air with his hand so they're about a foot apart.

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Takes a second but -"yep"-

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"And how about all objects with volume greater than one cubic meter?"

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He can do that too.

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Paulo asks a bunch of similar things, both for making and remaking, including properties like size, material, mass, whether it's alive, and some more subjective ones like "can be sat on" or "can be considered a toy."

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He's having to do the sorting manually, but it's kind of fun. Things appear and get dropped in intergalactic space somewhere.

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Won't the eventual aliens who find these things (if they're not swallowed by a gravitational well first) be confused!

He's curious about whose understanding of 'can be considered a toy' and so on the power's using, and he'll perform some more tests to determine whether it's Epic's or something more general.

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It will turn out to pretty much be Epic's because Epic is doing it manually.

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The erroneous conclusions he's drawing are fascinating.

"Okay, batch number one done. The basic applications of your power are pretty fascinating. We'll go with batch number two, I'm going to see how it behaves with ordinary matter."

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"Isn't that what we've been doing?"

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"No, all of these things were things you conjured. I was testing how much basic control you had over what you appeared and disappeared when you'd made it all."

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"Okay."

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"Be right back." He exits the room and a couple of minutes later returns with a backpack full of stuff. "Right, then! For the record," and he looks into the camera, "Batch two: exploitation, part one, interactions with already-existing matter." He looks at Epic again. "Also for the record, can you please try to unmake—" he grabs a book from the backpack "—this?"

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He tries to remember if it's somehow a book he made. He has an eidetic memory so he can check all the making and unmaking he did earlier. 

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It is not.

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Nothing happens.

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"This book was not made by Epic," he explains for the benefit of the video log after it's clear nothing is about to happen. "However, should I ask him to make me a brand new copy of the same book in this book's place..." He looks at Epic expectantly.

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Teleport make.

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"And if I want him to unmake this new book..."

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Teleport.

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"He can, apparently, only disappear objects he didn't make if his purpose is making something in its place. However, it also appears that his power—or his subconscious—does that by determining whether what he would make would actually need to intersect what actually exists..."

And he grabs a few things and suggests a few tests for this hypothesis.

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He produces results consistent with this hypothesis!

 

It occurs to him that if someone tries checking whether he can tell which of two identical things he made by trying to vanish them, the ruse will fall apart. He starts making things with little ultraviolet tags, just in case.

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That's smart of him because this is exactly the next thing Paulo thinks to test, in increasingly elaborate setups.

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Yep he can distinguish things he made! Must be his power!

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Frustrating, but interesting nonetheless. He will collect various samples of things Epic made—later—for testing.

And it's getting kinda late. Does he want to maybe continue this tomorrow?

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"Yeah, probably should."

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"After breakfast sound good to you?"

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Bounce bounce. "Sure!"

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"Okay! Now shoo, go back to your room, I have some data to compile," he says, smiling at Epic.

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He scurries off to his room.

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And given the time, he's unlikely to be bothered by anyone.

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So - make invisible basement-dweller, get into bed, snuggle under the covers, yawn, teleport-trade-places with invisible basement-dweller, Chicago!

 

 

He feels very clever.

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"Oh, you're back," says one of the Wards, manning the console, when Epic pops there. "Legend was looking for you."

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- letters to Epic today -

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There are three: one was written by Legend, wondering where he was; the second was also written by Legend, saying Epic should really come back soon; the third was written by Library of Alexandria, saying they have "blueprints" for him to rebuild New York.

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Legend?

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He does not seem to be around.

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"Does anyone know where Legend is?"

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"Uh, he went somewhere with Library of Alexandria and Hero, I think. Could ping him on the network," that Ward says, pointing at the computer.

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"Can you show me how?"

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"I mean I could do it—do you have a comm, though? Or, I guess you could just make one."

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"Unless they hook up to the network weirdly, yeah."

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"Weirdly how?"

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"Such that making an exact copy of yours would not produce something that can communicate with the servers that communicate with yours. Persistent network IDs and a problem if two devices have the same one, or something."

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"Oh. I think they're unique and persistent like that, yeah."

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"So then I'd need a little more information to make one without giving your network trouble."

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"Or I can just ping him here for you."

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"That works too."

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Ping!

"He'll message me when he gets it."

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"Thanks!" Flop. Things written in Brazil with his name in them, today...

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A bunch of them! Most densely, a rather complete psych profile, with several pages.

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Oooooooh. He will read his psych profile.

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It's... incredibly accurate and extensive. There are details about how he prefers to be engaged; do not—and this is underlined in red—treat him like he's an incapable child, explain things to him, do not abuse authority or give him direct commands backed strictly by that. There are details about his inferiority complex and the ways it manifests; his altruism and idealism; his superhero syndrome; one morning walking with him and Doctor Ximenes had him pretty much figured out.

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That's good because maybe the government of Brazil will figure out that they will have to stop being a dictatorship to keep his cooperation. Is there anything in the notes about that?

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Not really. Perhaps it's obvious? Or perhaps they don't consider themselves to be all that bad?

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Maybe. Other stuff written about him?

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There's the in-progress report about his powers being written by Paulo, and there's people speculating about how to make his room's cameras capable of dealing with those magnets.

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Hee hee. 

 

He writes a letter to Boots telling about all the things that happened and how he is tricking the Brazilian government. He looks up the files on how to give a planet internet and scrolls through for the satellites that work with his thumbnail computers - oh, he's going to need a server farm somewhere, he didn't think of that -

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Fëanáro?

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Hey!

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Wanna put New York back?

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Yeah! - I hope Brazil doesn't get too suspicious to let me put São Paulo back but I don't really wanna wait on that.

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...they will probably be suspicious. I don't think we can keep it quiet.

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Yeah, didn't think so. But I don't want to make all the displaced people wait.

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That's very admirable. And speaking of Brazil, we should probably find a way to communicate that they won't detect.

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Yeah. I can conjure my mail on my computer and have my computer set so humans can't read it, but I haven't showed them my computer and I probably shouldn't.

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I believe you mentioned you can see in ultraviolet?

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Yeah, that's how setting my computer to be unreadable to humans would work.

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Could you print letters to you on top of something else you were already reading, in ultraviolet?

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Oooh, yeah, that should work.

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There you go, then. That doesn't solve how to send us anything back, though, hmm.

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Once I put the satellite up I can just message you through that. 

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Can you do that without disrupting any other services or letting it fall?

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Once the satellite's up I won't be able to do anything about its orbit, I have to get that right to start with. There're instructions on my computer, though. But when it is, I can just use my computer to message you.

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Makes sense. Anyway, how about new New York?

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Sounds good. Now?

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Yes. If I send you a mental image of where I am and where above New York we should be, can you teleport to me and then there?

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Yep!

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He does so.

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He fetches him and goes to New York with him.

(He makes his wings invisible. It won't fix Brazil being suspicious but it might help a little.)

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And there they have it, New York being very destroyed...

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...and Library of Alexandria, holding a stack of papers.

"Hello, Epic."

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"Hi! Sorry I was gone all day, Legend came up with a way for me to read my mail while I'm in Brazil. They said I could probably remake São Paulo by the end of the week and I don't think I'll stay in Brazil much after that because of the military dictatorship thing."

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"Have they been military dictatorship-ing at you much?" she asks with some mirth in her voice.

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"They've been really friendly but there're cameras in my room and they noticed immediately when I made myself magnets to play with that incidentally destroyed the cameras and they came and tried to talk me out of playing with the magnets. And I tried to leave and I couldn't - well, they don't know I can teleport, and they also don't know that if I couldn't teleport I would in fact be really mad about not being able to leave, but they'd be stopping me from leaving if I couldn't teleport and was unwilling to knock anyone unconscious."

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"I see. Well, I have blueprints—rather extensive details, really—of what New York should look like, what do you need?"

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"I can just do it off what you have but I think the responsible thing to do would be look and make sure there are no secret weapons facilities or cameras everywhere or stuff like that first."

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"You can feel free to check that. New York's a large city, though, might take you a while."

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"...I guess I can just give the peal instructions on finding the blueprints and assume you don't want them to be mad at you."

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That actually startles a laugh out of her. "That's a way to do it, yes. Could you not conjure a model of all weapons and cameras included in these blueprints?"

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"Weapons is too broad, cameras would work but some cameras are perfectly reasonable to have."

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"Too broad in the sense that you wouldn't be able to conjure it at all or in the sense that you'd conjure too many things?"

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"Wouldn't get anything, it's not the sort of category you can aim at."

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"I see. Well, based on your descriptions of them and how you act I am perfectly confident in the belief that your peal will find these blueprints unobjectionable."

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"Okay. I should probably teleport the dirt out for the foundations first."

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"Yes. Those are all laid out there, too."

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"Cool!" He flaps off to do that.

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The blueprints are very complete and well-thought-out. Either a very competent team or someone with extremely enhanced cognitive powers has spent a while working on it.

There is, indeed, a place reserved for the Library of Alexandria.

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Exactly as it was when it got burned down? Or is there an earlier time that's better?

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Given that no one has a whole lot of information about that the Library was actually like back then, Fëanáro can decide for himself.

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He'll go with a month before it burned down in case it got sacked first or something. Boom, library of Alexandria. He should look up how Revelation did it but it's not on the network.

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And New York is back.

"Alexandria," she says.

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"Hmmm?"

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"I believe it's what I'm going to start calling myself instead."

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"Makes sense. People can start moving back in now, all the power and plumbing should work fine."

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"We'll review everything—could be that the blueprints we gave you had problems—but if not we'll get people to start moving back in."

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"Okay!" Flap flap.

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"Have you given any thought to dangerous parahuman containment, by the way?"

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"Next dimension over is still the most promising idea, I can put them all on different planets but that's inhumane."

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"Have you tested whether that works, yet?"

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"You probably want, like, an informed volunteer in a spacesuit, not me, in case they land on a Materia or something - we're not supposed to use worldleapers for new world finding anymore and a worldleaper is all I've got -"

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"Did you not come from an adjacent dimension? Or did your two-dimension jump land you here?"

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"Yeah. I thought we were neighbors with Warp but we're not and I don't know what the intermediate dimension was."

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"And supposing they can go to this other dimension, how do they inform you of their success?"

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"Write a note."

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"Of course."

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"I volunteer."

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"It's possible powers won't work in the neighboring dimension, that's what we're checking."

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"I know. Give me a suit and I'll go anyway."

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"The person who goes might die and if you die it'd be really bad."

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"Yes, but I cannot subject another to something I wouldn't be willing to try, myself."

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"Okay, so you're willing to try it, so let's find some other people who are also willing to try it."

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He looks at Alexandria.

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"...it might be a good time to tell you something, Epic."

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"...okay?"

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"Door."

And behind her, a tridimensional "portal" appears, showing a corridor floating in thin air. She flies into it and steps onto the corridor.

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Legend hesitates, but follows her.

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...he will follow too.

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There's a rush of changing pressure and dizziness, and then he's in the corridor.

"Welcome to Cauldron," Alexandria says, and starts leading the way.

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"What's Cauldron?"

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"An organization founded to contain the threat that parahumans as a whole pose, and their source."

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"Their source?"

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"We call them Entities. There are two, and one of them is Scion."

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" - huh."

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She continues leading them in silence.

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And Legend follows.

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...he conjures for people in the area. Very very small models, grain-of-sand sized in his hand. Just because this is making him a little nervous.

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He gets himself, Legend, and Alexandria.

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Okay.

 

He keeps following.

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After a couple of turns they reach a door, which Alexandria opens.

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—which was probably a portal somewhere else, too, there's that rush of pressure again and—

A woman in a suit is standing near the wall across the room, and there is a table where a woman in a lab coat, Eidolon—

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—and Hero are seated. "Hi!" he greets Epic.

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"Hi. What's going on?"

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"We're gonna let you in on all the big secrets!"

    "Welcome, Epic," says the woman in the lab coat. "I am called Doctor Mother."

The woman in the suit doesn't introduce herself.

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" - hi."

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"There are several reasons why we decided to call you here, the most salient of which being the peal of which you speak. But to answer one question: powers do, in fact, work in adjacent dimensions. Most of them, in fact, come from adjacent dimensions."

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"A specific one? Or just, like, all of them -"

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"Well, probably not all of them, based on how you suggested the network functions, but at least an unthinkably large number of them."

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"I think I need an example."

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"Of?"

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"How the magic works off other dimensions."

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"Sometimes it is merely energy—Alexandria's muscles could not bend steel, so that force must be coming from somewhere. Sometimes it is matter, directly—I trust you have met Miss Militia. And in all cases, the actual source of the power is a shard of an Entity, located in another world and helping control it."

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"...and why are the Entities giving people powers..."

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And at that everyone gets glummier.

"Our current understanding," Hero explains, "is that it's part of a reproductive cycle of sorts. They are absolutely uncreative, so they borrow other species' creativity: give them powers based on knowledge they've collected in the past, modify their brain architecture such that they're more conflict-prone and select for more conflict-prone people in the first place, pitch powers against one another, collect new uses and combinations and inventions that they might use in the future to stay alive for longer."

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"And after our creativity has been exhausted, destroy the species—and all of its alternate-universe variants—and move on," Eidolon says in a rare moment of verbosity.

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"Destroy - why, is that part even necessary -"

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"It is more a natural consequence of the cycle than that—they feed conflict on a global scale and the terminal phase of such conflict is the total annihilation of the species by itself."

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"- and all of the alternate universes - how many - are they all different or are they just copies -"

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"Different, in the alternate histories sense—it would appear all universes here diverged from one another at some point in the past."

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"How - how many -"

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"Billions. Trillions, maybe, although the vast majority never evolved life in the first place—the vast majority doesn't have an Earth in the first place."

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"Okay so how do we stop them."

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    "This organization has been our answer to that question," Doctor Mother explains. "They usually come in pairs—the planner and the executor, in certain ways—specializing differently, each half of a pair having a different take on their powers—but something went wrong this cycle. We've been piecing it together but don't have a complete enough picture to do anything more than speculate. What we do know is that Scion's mate—Eden, we've been calling her—crashed onto an Earth before she was ready, before her plans were completely laid out and the powers she was meant to give out were properly crippled so as to be unable to harm her and Scion."

Legend frowns. "You never told me this part."

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...lie detection song, too quiet for human hearing...

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    Doctor Mother continues, completely honestly: "This is not pretty, Legend, and we would spare your suffering when you could not help. Contessa," and she nods at her bodyguard, "has a very strong power: she wins."

Legend squirms uncomfortably. "Wins at what?"

    "Everything. If she sets a goal to herself, she knows what steps she must take to make it come to pass."

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"- wow."

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Legend processes this. And his frown deepens. "Then—"

    "Eden crippled her power when she—it—realized what had happened. Contessa cannot use her power on either of the Entities." Pause. "She could not use her powers on Behemoth, either."

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"So - do you have a way to beat them or not -"

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"When she crashed, Contessa—with my help—managed to kill Eden. Or—stop her development at a critical junction, make her unable to continue building. She's effectively brain dead. And her shards are not crippled—they can actually be used against the Entities. So we've been distilling them and refining them into vials of—liquid powers. People who get powers from vials do not trigger normally, do not go through trauma, tend to have more useful powers, and can be used to fight Scion." She looks at Eidolon. "Eidolon is our greatest achievement so far—he can use any powers—and if we can find one or two more of him... we might stand a chance." She looks at Epic. "Then you arrived, thwarting all of our precogs."

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He would bounce but billions of worlds. "And I might be able to do it. Or the peal might be able to, I'll tell them to come find us right away -"

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"Yes. We cannot, it seems, predict anything that will happen outside of our—neighborhood, was I believe the word you used."

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"I can write them right now -" Note to the peal: you need to find me right away will explain more later -

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"Hopefully they can arrive here soon but—would they be able to find you as soon as they arrived in the neighborhood?"

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"...should be able to, yeah, depending what went wrong exactly when I tried jumping..."

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"Good. But while your peal is not here, you might not face the same limitations parahumans do. You are in fact our current best asset."

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"Are there only the Entities on Earth, are there ones elsewhere, you have a lot of aliens -"

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"They are a species, as far as we can determine, but we have not yet collected enough information to understand much about the past of their cycle, and we're not sure that information can be obtained the way we do it."

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"I might be able to get it."

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"That might shed some light on them—and help figure out a way to defeat them."

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"What d'you want me to conjure -"

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"I confess to not having given much thought to how to come up with the history of a species using a conjuration power. Do you have a standard procedure to do these things or should we try to work it out from scratch?"

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"For something this urgent we'd pull a million people in Space Arda off their normal jobs and conjure the complete written works of the relevant civilizations - the one the Entities are from, and the ones they've destroyed - and have everyone read stuff and escalate relevant stuff. We don't have a million people - I could make them, I guess -"

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"Has your prediction on whether the people you'd make would object to being made changed?"

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"They definitely wouldn't object if we need them to save billions of worlds from genocide aliens, that's kind of the most extenuating circumstance you could possibly come up with."

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"The fact that we know this much at all and even have this level of organization is sheer dumb luck; if whatever messed with Eden's plan—we suspect an unexpected third Entity, without a pair—hadn't happened, if she hadn't let Contessa get the instant victory power, if Contessa hadn't immediately thought of finding a way to keep her memories of her trigger event and stop the Entities, if Doctor Mother hadn't been exploring the place after several interdimensional portals popped up and met her just as Eden crippled her..."

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"The vision the Entities had of the future included a broken-up Earth with several thousand little communities that could only barely scrape by. The Entities would provide us with monsters to test our mettle against, and revive us whenever we came too close to annihilation, pretending to be helpers and saints, keeping humanity exactly on the track of optimal shard development."

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"Then the peal might still have saved your world but they wouldn't even have known that these disasters affect the whole neighborhood - or about all the other entities killing other worlds, there might be some even closer than Earth to getting shredded - or - or whatever -"

He wraps his wings around himself tightly.

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Legend hugs him.

    "So yes, I do believe, making those people might be a good idea," says Doctor Mother.

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"Okay." Here is a very large computer server - "it takes the chips a minute to write, there's more on each of them than your world has produced so far in all of history. I'm going to make a Maitimo, he'll know who else to make. He's my son - well, in universes where I have kids, I don't because I'm still a kid and also I'm growing up faster than my wife now so I don't really know if I'll still marry her. There're six Space ones, I know Leaf best because he hangs out in Warp with us but I should make one of the ones who doesn't have a boyfriend -" chip, which he inserts into the machine -

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Hug.

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"Note that my prediction for when the world would end takes this into account. It's... unlikely that Scion will do anything drastic anytime soon, but your arrival—and your peal's—could affect things in unpredictable ways."

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Nod nod. 

 

The machine spits out a chip.

He squints at it, and now it's a person -

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"- Epic," says the person, standing up, "it's not okay to fork people without their suicide trigger -"

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" - oh, sorry, forgot - there now -"

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His expression flickers and then he extends his arms. 

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And he bounds into them and squeezes him tighter than it's safe to squeeze humans - "I wrote the peal but they might not find us in time and there're billions of worlds going to get destroyed -"

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Squeeze. "That's an excellent reason, I'm not mad at you, billions of worlds - how much time do we have -"

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"For this world, decades. For all the others—I don't know."

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"If what we know of physics is right it might well be the case that there's one world dying per second or something."

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"Hello, Maitimo. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Legend. These are Hero, Alexandria, Eidolon, Doctor Mother, and Contessa."

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"Pleasure to meet you as well -"

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"It's an Earth it's 1994 and there're evil aliens that give people superpowers I got lost like a week ago, I've been writing home -"

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- you can send it while they talk, I have more than two conversations' attentional capacity -

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Okay - 

He starts doing that -

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"Epic can probably send you a summary of the whole situation faster than we can discuss it unless I misunderstand how osanwë works," Alexandria says. "The gist of it is correct—we would have told him of this earlier but we were checking with precogs about his likely reaction—I'm sorry about that, Epic, but we did need to be very very sure that you were honest and right about your peal."

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"He's sending one, we can talk simultaneously, I can also draw up a list of people who've consented to be forked under emergency conditions simultaneously, if there's anything else I should be doing I might become a less entertaining conversationalist. What hasn't come up with him yet?"

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"Every major parahuman organization in the world exists because of us. The Protectorate was the first, but we've been running tests with all of them to see what works best—the Suits, the Yàngbǎn, the South American dictatorships—I drafted a long term plan a few years ago that would culminate in us evacuating the Earth and creating parahuman-led and controlled settlements that would be able to properly defend against Scion and manage their villain problem."

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"Do people trigger off-planet, do we know or have a fast way to find out? Is there a reason not to evacuate Earth now, is it likely to set Scion off?"

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"We don't know what will set Scion off, but we strongly suspect if anything that will. Vials work in other dimensions, including ones without Earths on it, so people probably can in fact trigger off-planet."

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"...you made the military dictatorship in Brazil? To see if it'd work."

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"Not exactly—the military dictatorship in Brazil existed before parahumans did, we merely co-opted it."

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"Okay. How do the portals work, if we set up operations on a planetoid in intergalactic space somewhere can you link us up with Earth? Is Scion aware of what's going on on the other Earths, can we evacuate those?"

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"Scion is aware, for a certain sense of the word, of what's going on in all universes we have access to—it's a shard of the other Entity that enables us to do it in the first place. We believe Scion may be blocking access to some worlds, as we have not been able to find his body. The way we create portals is by using two parahumans—Doormaker and Clairvoyant. The latter—"

    A portal opens and a man in a suit appears. "Behemoth seems to have a successor," he says without preamble.

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"Explain."

He opens a laptop and shows them the feed.

The creature is some five to ten feet shorter than Behemoth, a broad, feral Buddha in appearance. Its skin is jet black, with silver light defining its features and giving shape to its body. All across the exterior of its there are gaps, like the gills of a fish, and that brilliant white or silver glimmers from beneath. Instead of a regular torso, it has a silver sphere. It doesn't touch the ground, waddling in the air, and wherever it walks, a couple of cylindrical forcefields follow, translating around him in constant motion. Wherever they touch, destruction happens. The effect is not unlike a few hundred years had passed within them.

    "It appeared in Cape Verde," the man explains.

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"I can put it in intergalactic space too."

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"Door," Doctor Mother says, and there's a portal.

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And now he and the thing are really, really far away.

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And now the thing's gone.

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He heads back - "it can teleport -"

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"Yes it can," says Doctor Mother. The suited man is showing another video feed, this one in Jakarta. Alexandria, Legend, Eidolon, and Hero are all gone from the room and present in the video, engaging the thing.

Further inspection of the forcefields' effects confirms the first impressions: when people are caught in them they suddenly accelerate a lot, moving very quickly and then dying, their bodies soon decomposing and eventually their skeletons turning to dust, all in the span of the few seconds the slow-moving fields spend around them.

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"- I should go get inside one of those -"

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"—that sounds like a remarkably bad choice," Doctor Mother comments.

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"Depends if it's actual time dilation or accelerated decay, do you have a way to check-"

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That question seems to be mostly answered by the poor sods who are caught by the field—their movements, helpfully slowed down on camera by the suited man, are exactly those you'd expect of accelerated time: trying to leave the field, hitting its edge and finding resistance like it's solid, screaming, raging, crying, slowly dying of thirst and hunger and exposure, slowly decomposing.

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"Alright," he says to Epic, "let's go - anyone else want to come, we can make you immortal -"

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"I do not have powers, Contessa apparently cannot see this creature any more than she could Behemoth, and Number Man's powers are best applied from a distance. Good luck."

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Pop.

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The heroes are having a hard time mobilizing. Eidolon and Legend are engaging, with the latter using numerous concussive blasts to keep the creature from advancing and the former using strong localized explosive lasers for heavy damage.

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He can teleport civilians out of the way, that seems worth doing - in Brazil they'll be trying to wake the basement-dweller, he didn't think about that -

 

- what happens if he runs at the time-dilation forcefield thingy?

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Eidolon creates a barrier in front of him is what.

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He flies over. "I want to go inside the time dilation thing."

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"Why?"

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So I can make as many eidetic memory necklaces as we need and make a lot of space Elves to read about the entities and learn everything we need to know and come out when we're ready to win the war.

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It might be several hundred years subjective in one of those fields.

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Yeah, exactly. I might be able to teleport out, and even if I can't, that's enough time to make all the necklaces we'll need and then some.

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He makes the barrier disappear and gets back to attacking the monster.

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And he takes Maitimo's hand and runs at it.

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The creature disappears just as he's about to enter the time field.

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Bother. - conjuring, where is it -

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Tokyo.

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Both Eidolon and Legend are gone, too.

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The two of them will go to Tokyo too.

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The battle continues as before, but it's kinda desperate—very few other capes have the level of mobility Legend does and Eidolon can muster, and most of the world has not actually noticed the new monster yet.

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And if he tries to get into a time-dilation field again -

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Pop.

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Ugh. Where's the thing -

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Somewhere in Hawaii.

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What if he's invisible, what if he tries teleporting in -

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Pop, pop.

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This is not working.

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Epic, it might be a better use of your time to round up other heroes to fight this thing. You can teleport 'a planet has not been tried,' that should be enough -

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Yeah, where should I pick people up from -

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Mental images of various locations.

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He pops by and picks people up.

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People are appropriately informed and transported. Some of these people are from Brazil.

Without Epic trying to get into the time fields, the monster doesn't teleport away, and restrains his destruction to a single area.

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He is going to figure out some way to get into the time fields somehow.

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The capes Epic's brought start engaging. Without Behemoth's kill aura they can dare to step closer and their strategies are different. Not that they've had time to think of any particular ones that are actually likely to be especially effective, but they're reacting differently, coming closer, deploying more energy-based weapons. The time fields move at a constant rate, always in the same direction, and the capes become more and more daring with their approach.

And then the monster reverts the path of its fields and a couple dozen capes are caught within.

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- can he teleport people out, does he even have a fast enough reaction time to try -

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He can teleport them out. His reaction time might probably be able to be trained to catch them before they die of thirst. Some capes are more durable than others and might survive for longer, though.

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...he puts on headphones with the top acceleration time, that should help with grabbing them in time if it happens again - why can't he get in the time dilation field it's not fair -

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Acceleration definitely does help! People only spend a couple of days subjective in the fields now.

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People who aren't immortal and don't have hundreds of years of things to do, it's not fair.

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It's almost like the monster's designed to thwart him.

It teleports away.

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He conjures for its location again.

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Moscow.

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He teleports everybody to Moscow -

Is there a way to lock it down, stop it teleporting -

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My power has not turned anything up, I need flight and target-locking to keep up and the other power's always offensive.

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If I committed to following you around and taking you to him would it know that and free up slots -

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- perhaps.

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Okay. I'll do that so you can do more important stuff than that.

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Do it.

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...he resolves to find the thing as soon as it disappears and take Eidolon to it - 

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After a few seconds: That did not work. You could try swearing it until I release you.

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He bounces this to Maitimo -

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- time-limit it, careful with phrasing -

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I know - "I swear as long as we're fighting the evil thingy I'll find it and take everyone to it as fast as I possibly can unless Eidolon or a person I made thinks I shouldn't -"

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I might have gotten something, hold -

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Pop.

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- find -

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Salem, Oregon.

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Everyone's there now.

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And then Eidolon points both hands at it and a beam of light emerges from them and connects him and it. Then, the creature starts glowing faintly, and similar beams of light emerge from it to every other cape in the fight.

This might work to hold him.

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Ooooooh, nice -

If this time when he tries scooting people out of the time dilation fields he tries switching places with them -

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And he's inside.

The field tints everything outside yellowish-white, and everyone is incredibly slow.

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He will fetch his Maitimo. "Okay who do we need -"

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" - oh. Nice. Boots is going to be sad if you're three hundred five objective seconds from now, you know -"

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"But she'll be proud of me because it was the right strategic decision. Do you have a list of people to make to read stuff and learn about Entities -"

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"Yeah, I do."

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The fight... cannot really be said to proceed. Less than a thousandth of a second has passed objective.

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He has ten thousand names for Epic. Epic can make them dressed and with backpacks with food and water and a change of clothes, to simplify initial distribution of those things, and a computer with some share of the complete written works of the worlds the Entities have affected.

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He makes skyscrapers for them. Such pretty skyscrapers. And then he makes them and Maitimo explains and the people can get to reading and -

 

"Okay, so, necklaces - eidetic memory first, I guess - this is going to be sooo boring -"

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"Yeah, it is. A lot of parts of saving the world are really boring. I'm so proud of you and I'll write you letters every my-hour or so."

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Nodnod.

Acceleration song.

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Now everyone outside the field is effectively frozen in time.

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He pulls out his computer and pulls up the instructions to make necklaces.

 

 

 

Uh, Boots, he writes, I teleported into a crazy time dilation field so I might have time to save some worlds, I don't know how long we'll be here but it'll probably be years and might be decades and if we have to wait the field out then it could be centuries and you'll be proud of me for saving the world, right? Sorry.

 

And he starts.

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Before the Maitimo has experienced two full days the time fields wink out. Epic's accelerated perception will be enough for him to notice the sudden space distortion that starts crushing his skyscrapers and turning them to rubble.

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He teleports people out -

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And the monster teleports them back in.

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Stupid evil stupid evil - what if he teleports the monster into the black hole at the center of the Milky Way -

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That seems to actually hurt it!

A bit. Its skin starts flaking off, and there's a silver forcefield just under it, and it winks out, and there's skin under that, and another forcefield—

—and then it's gone.

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- gone where -

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Sydney, Australia.

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...oath makes him get Eidolon and everybody and drag them there before he can try putting it in a really big sun.

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It does! But the sun is actually less good at destroying it than the black hole was.

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He grabs everybody and puts them where the thing is, again, and then reports this.

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It doesn't seem to ever come back to the same place, and its initial impact is always worse than the continued time after it goes. What happens if you teleport it to somewhere less inhabited, or try to teleport the civilians away?

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And what did you and the other Elves get while you were in the time field?

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Ended abruptly after only two days and most of them are dead, I'll bring them back and ask but it should wait until he's gone -

 

Teleporting civilians away - 

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Meanwhile Eidolon tries tying the monster down again.

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And after enough civilians have been teleported away the monster—escalates.

Unable to teleport while tied to the capes, it starts scrunching space everywhere. The effect is headache-inducing, with lensing everywhere and buildings being destroyed, capes being turned inside out or crushed—

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He can pop around tap healing but it isn't fast enough half the time -

 

- stupid evil thing - 

 

- what if he tries teleporting chunks of it off to a black hole -

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Chunks of it go!

...and then it makes a time field appear around them and they regenerate in seconds.

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Chunks and an effort at diving into the time field?

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The field winks out before he can do that.

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But does that mean it can't regenerate -

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Yes.

Wait, no, it twisted space to start regenerating without Epic being in the field.

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Ugh. What if he tears it in half and drops half in a black hole -

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He cannot tear it in half. A bunch of its body goes but the core stays, and even without the time fields that part of its body regenerates fast enough for the eye to see.

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Aaaargh. He will tear chunks as big as he can manage, and hover, and hate the stupid thing.

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The stupid thing does not seem keen to express emotions. It will keep trying to crush enough capes that it can safely teleport away.

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Can he go round up more capes for the fight from anywhere -

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There are some volunteers but most don't feel like they can help much or are already there.

...there is this one not-quite-cape he could perhaps try...

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No, Scion's evil, he shouldn't do anything lest it provoke him to end the world early, before they have time to fix it, this evil thing could kill this whole world and that'd still be less bad...

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Well, then the fight will continue!

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Stupid evil thing.

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Eidolon is one of the few capes managing to actually consistently damage it.

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Legend is another.

Epic—can you find Scion? I think we'll need him—we've damaged this thing more than we'd ever damaged Behemoth and it's still going.

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Yeah but what if that ends the world.

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Scion has spent the last few years heroing, and was invaluable to fight Behemoth off. He's very unlikely to flip because of a new monster.

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- okay. 

 

Where's Scion -

Permalink Mark Unread

Putting out a fire in a forest somewhere.

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Pop.

"There's a - " mental image - " please help us -" what's he thinking -

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...thinking might be the wrong word for what's going on in there.

The golden man is dominated by his senses—and there are an unimaginably large number of those. He can see, but the spectrum he can see in is so wide it's misleading to call it sight. He can hear, but his sensitivity to the movements of particles of all matter in an extremely large radius around himself is so great it's incorrect to call it hearing. He's aware, aware of every mote of dust in the air, aware of every neuron firing in Epic's brain, aware of every leaf being consumed by the flames—

—he's aware of possibilities, aware of the short-term consequences of all of his actions, aware of the tangled web of causality stretching in all directions—

—he's aware of alternatives, aware of other worlds in this same place, other ways the Earth could be, Earths that couldn't be, places that don't even have an Earth, countless worlds all superposed and noninteracting, connected by nothing but his own presence—

He's distracted by his senses from something so big and different and layered and multidimensional and abstract and alien it can't be described as sadness. There's a void where his heart should be, an emptiness where his other half should be sending messages, where the only one who could make sense of all that information should be telling him what to do, what to be. A gaping maw, trying so hard to be filled by something, anything—maybe if he puts this fire out it'll be alright, maybe if he saves one more city, one more person, one more cat, maybe then it'll be okay again, he'll feel whole again, he'll know what he's meant to be.

He can't think of any alternatives—literally, he is unable to do that, even his more creative half

(gone, missing, dead)

couldn't compare to the most unimaginative of children on this planet, there's nothing he can do to come up with a new way to do things.

And compared to it all, Epic is merely a tiny blinking light, of less note than a dust mite, of less consequence than a single cell in a human body.

But he has enough space, enough computational capacity, enough of a habit to reach out for understanding. He observes the air vibrating according to Epic's instructions, he disentangles that from the chaotic, Brownian motion inherent to the gas, he removes the component inspired by the heat, the flames, and he translates that into words, into meaning.

Then he stretches his awareness even more, burning off a few weeks of his life to look farther, to find the object of the boy's worry, and understand—yes, a projection of the green man's many shards

(all of them hers, gone, missing, dead)

—Scion never understood why the green man would produce these creatures and then proceed to fight them, and never cared to understand. Lack of curiosity is only one of the myriad differences between his species and humans, only one of the things prohibiting comprehension. Ironically enough.

He looks further, though. The boy isn't human, there's no shard attached to him, and yet he teleported there, he can fly—

Scion really does not give a shit.

He finishes putting the fire out, locates the best path to reach the new monster, and flies to it at nearly the speed of light.

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Um.

 

 

 

He lands.

 

 

 

He writes the peal a note.

 

 

He goes and finds Maitimo and he goes back to the Moon and makes new skyscrapers and puts the space Elves back alive and reequips them. 

And then he bounces it to Maitimo.

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" - okay. Why don't we stay here and do our reading, maybe focused on that - do you think you can pretend nothing is wrong -"

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"I can pretend that other things are wrong."

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"Okay. Why don't you do that, for the time being."

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He goes to Chicago.

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All the Wards who didn't go fight Khonsu—which is most of them, the teleporter's hard to pin down—are watching various feeds of the same battle: Scion laying it on Khonsu while the beast waddles and staggers. They barely look when Epic suddenly appears there.

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He goes to sit in a corner.

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And then Khonsu teleports away.

And Epic swore a certain oath...

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Yep back to find him and help everyone follow -

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Buenos Aires—

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—Scion is already there—

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—as is the green-robed man of many powers.

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Well, he can get everyone else.

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And the fight can proceed. Even with the accelerated healing, the damage it sustained from Epic's assault plus what Scion and Eidolon are dishing out is clearly weathering the monster down.

And after a few more minutes, the monster pops again.

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Where - 

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Uh, nowhere, apparently? He doesn't seem to have anything nearby.

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And he has to get Eidolon's permission not to take everybody there -

"Looks like he's in vacuum somewhere release the oath -"

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"You are released from your oath. Is that sufficient?"

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Nod.

 

He'd been worried Eidolon wouldn't.

 

Ugh. 

 

 

Ugh. 

 

"I don't think I should follow him but I can if we want."

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"Do you have a plan for what to do once you're there? We... will need some time to get a respite but if we can destroy it..."

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"I don't have a plan for how to destroy it unless Scion can do it." Or you could stop creating them - how does that even work - why would someone do that - Maitimo hadn't noticed -

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"If Scion could do it—well, we'd at least have more time to plan on how to get rid of him."

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Nodnod. "He's really sad. - I read his mind."

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"...sad?"

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"About the other one dying."

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"...I'm disinclined to care," his artificially echoing voice muses. "How much do you object to trying to restore what damage that monster did cause around the world?"

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"- yeah of course."

 

Possibly they should care since they need Scion to not destroy the world. He doesn't say that.

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"We should return. I'll be expected for disaster relief soon, but we have a while before my absence is noted. Door."

And the portal appears back to Cauldron's base.

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He steps through, a little shakily.

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The other heroes and Cauldron are already there. They look ragged and gloomy, not talking. When Epic and Eidolon walk in, Alexandria says, "So you managed to convince Scion."

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"Yeah."

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"How?"

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Are you alright?

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"I think I need a little time to decompress. Convinced Scion by asking, I didn't do anything clever."

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"Is there anything we can do for you? Your efforts probably saved a lot of people today."

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"We'll get the rest back. Once the peal finds us."

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"I hope so. You can go decompress, we can find you if we need you but you should take a break."

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Nodnod.

 

Back to where he put the Elves. "I wanted to send them what Scion was like it's probably really important -"

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"If Eidolon's making the Endbringers he's probably substantially more powerful than he's indicated, and that might not be safe," he says, and hugs him. "Everything else about their story checks out so far. If you brought Legend here and told him -"

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"I think he'd be okay. I thought Eidolon was okay, though - what did you think you're supposed to be good at people -"

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"I met them under fairly stressful circumstances. I am not yet sure."

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He curls up and shivers. "Maybe I should actually decompress."

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"Maybe."

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"But there's a whole species of these, all these worlds dying..."

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"You can make very dangerous mistakes by thinking that way too much. Why don't you fly and sing for a couple hours and if Legend still looks good when we've done more reading you can fetch him and I can talk with him more and decide whether to tell him."

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Nodnod.

He only takes twenty minutes. Where is Legend -

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Helping with relief—he needs to keep the appearance of being there, being one of the faces of the Protectorate is often as much about image as it is about actually helping people.

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He pops in. "I decompressed. What can I do to help?"

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"Transport people to safer places, first, and then if you could replace damaged structure with identical but undamaged copies that would probably be the best use of your time and powers."

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He puts on headphones with some pretty music, not the time-speeding song because he needs more pretty stuff than he's been getting lately.

 

And he goes around doing that.

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There are rather a lot of places that need his attention! But the Protectorate directs him, and handles the logistics of handling the people. Some people, capes and non-, sometimes ask him for rides elsewhere to help with that, so they can multitask better and cover everything more efficiently.

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He pretty much helps everyone who asks. He's not even sure he's working with the good guys when they are Protectorate so.

 

He plays back the memory of Scion in his head, over and over.

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After a couple of hours someone asks if he needs a break. He's covered most of the spots with the most damage and the rest can wait.

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He took a break earlier actually.

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If he's sure. It'll take several more hours to put everything back as it was.

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That's not really very long.

 

 

He notices himself having a hard time making stuff.

 

That freaks him out. 

 

He decides to take a break after all.

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How long is he taking a break for?

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Until someone mails him, or bothers him in his very pretty house where he is singing.

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Legend will mail him after a few more hours.

How're you holding up?

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Want to come over to the place where I put the Elves and talk?

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Sounds good. Where is it?

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Different star system. Seemed safest.

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Safest? And if you could transport me there, that would be helpful, yes.

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Sure. Where are you?

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Sydney. Mental image.

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Pop. "Hi."

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"Hello. How are you?"

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"Okay. Want to go ask the Elves if they've found anything -"

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"Yes, please."

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Pop to exceptionally pretty arcology. 

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He waves at them. "Hello! How are the reparations going -"

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"Extremely well, in large part because of Fëanáro. We would be a thousand times worse off without him."

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"My world similarly found itself deeply indebted to a demon. It's a useful set of powers. Here's what we've found -" And the highlights of scouring the works of worlds destroyed by the entities.

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"Not all of them come in pairs, then. That's... worrying."

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"I am confident Scion could do it on his own. Epic read his mind and found it very worrying."

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"Worrying how?"

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Epic bounces it.

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"That... sounded like he might actually be psychologically incapable of continuing his job. And that bit about the monsters—did I understand that right—"

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"I don't know. I think so."

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"Eidolon—" He removes his mask and rubs his temples.

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He wraps himself in his wings.

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"Why would he do that? He's—he's been around before me, he's been with us since the beginning—"

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Shrug. 

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"Can you—"

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"I could probably kill him but I really don't want to."

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"No, not that, just—read his mind?"

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"I could do that and less don't want to."

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"Can you—think of an alternative? Something—he's Eidolon, he's one of the most important pieces in this—"

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"It seems really important to understand why he's doing it."

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"Yes. It does." He runs a hand through his hair and grabs it.

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"Does Cauldron know? Do they have the resources to figure it out without asking him?"

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"If Cauldron knows, they didn't tell me—which opens its own can of worms..."

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"Cauldron may not have disclosed all of their activities." More flagged content -

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There seems to be no evidence that anyone knows about Eidolon's involvement.

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"That's encouraging."

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"I'm not sure I want to count on it being findable at all, and it could be written in some form of code somewhere..." He shivers a little.

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"Yeah. Would they have endeavored to prevent this conversation -"

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"Probably. I'm not sure they'd have found a way to, but that's the kind of thing they'd do."

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"So the non-prevention is at least promising."

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"I suppose it is. Fëanáro, could you make me a chair...?"

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Chair. 

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He flops down on it leans forward, resting his face on his hands.

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"That's why I was upset. Earlier."

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"I understand this," he says, his voice low. "Is there a better option than reading his mind about it, if we can't conjure anything...?"

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"Uh, there's a song that does lie-detection..."

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He raises his head. "That could work. We'd need to—somehow—not tip him off—"

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"I can play it too quiet for humans to hear."

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"I mean with whatever we'd be asking him, or talking about."

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Nod. Shrug.

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"If he has any idea where the Endbringers are coming from..."

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"I expect that to make him suspicious if he is in fact making them."

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"Is there a claim we can make about reading Scion which would bring up the subject in a less threatening way -"

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"I don't know," he breathes, trying not to break down. "We could say Scion didn't know—Alexandria would be better at this—but if anyone'd know it'd be her—"

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"She is easier to contain than Eidolon if she reacts concerningly to the information."

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He closes his eyes. "Yeah."

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"Not with their Doormaker guy. Means I can't just strand anyone on a faraway planet or in an adjacent dimension."

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"...if you go far enough away, Clairvoyant won't know where to look," he says, barely believing he's doing it.

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"...okay. I can definitely find something ten billion light years away if that helps."

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"Why don't you find that now."

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"Doesn't even need to be that far away, it's just, there are so many places a light-year away and Clairvoyant would need to know where to look, he can't just look at a particular person without actually searching and he's fast but not that fast."

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"If they have told you all their capabilities."

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"Yeah. I don't—expect that one to be something they'd hide? But yeah, I'm not good at this whole cloak-and-dagger thing." Pause. "Hero's definitely not involved."

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"I could go get him."

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"Please do."

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Scale model of Hero's surroundings. Pop. 

"Hi need you for a minute do you mind?"

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"—okay."

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Pop back. 

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He takes off his helmet. "Uh, hi. What's—going on? Legend? Weren't you helping with relief—?"

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"Eidolon made Behemoth and this monster."

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"What—"

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"Scion thought about it. While I was checking what's up with him. Just sort of in passing -" he bounces it -

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"What the f—udge."

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James looks at Maitimo as if asking for confirmation or something.

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Yeah, this kid definitely had nothing to do with it. He nods slightly. "We're a little concerned that Cauldron might've known about this."

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James lets out a relieved breath.

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"Cauldron? Why would—no, no, I helped build that thing, they wouldn't—not something like that."

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"It does seem like Endbringer fights are mostly detrimental to their organizational goals. But - they're the ones who gave Eidolon powers, right -"

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"Sure, but we never know in advance what powers we're gonna get, not even Contessa—"

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"Wait, what?"

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"—uh. I kinda have something to tell you."

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This much was in Cauldron's documentation. Not that he'd look surprised anyway. 

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"Contessa can't actually see the vials. When we said she was just a precog who could tell what powers people would get, that was a lie. The—Case 53s, the ones with the physical changes and memory loss, they're experiments—"

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"They're us?"

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"...yeah, yeah they are. They're—they're all people who were dying, who were gonna die if we didn't—we offer them a second chance, just like we were offered one, just like I got off that goddamned wheelchair and those fucking tubes and then we can live again—but it's the same choice."

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"I thought we'd stopped that! You—Alexandria, even Eidolon, you all knew—"

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"We knew how you felt about it, and—and it was necessary, it is necessary, to save the world—"

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"But it kinda doesn't inspire confidence they weren't hiding other horrible stuff. Also Boots would be real mad about the erasing their memories and I don't see how that bit is necessary."

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"So they won't tell people about Cauldron—every rumour is controlled, there has to be just enough that some people will look into it but if a parahuman who became a fifty-three gets mad at us and talks then we lose that control."

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"And you can only do total amnesia or nothing?"

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"Yeah."

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"How confident are you in that?"

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"Very, I know the parahuman who does it, their power is very—absolute."

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"And the conditions under which unreleaseable 53s are kept?"

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"I don't—actually know what those are." He sounds like he feels very guilty about this. "Doctor Mother says they're kept in the best we've got to ensure they're not released but will be useful against Scion. I'd expect they're in another world—aren't they...?"

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"We're just going off the documentation, which could be misleading or incomplete. It's not pleasant reading material, though."

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"Not pleasant how."

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"Epic, the file header on our summary was 10113-Cauldron-misc -"

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He makes a hard copy for everyone.

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If you read between the lines: Cells. More-or-less spacious, and actually don't have a fourth wall, but there's a parahuman made of wind keeping an eye on them (the Custodian), and the Number Man keeps them contained if they ever try to escape.

"...oh."

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"Yikes."

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"Elves are possibly not very equipped to evaluate if that's necessary or the best you could do. But, uh, this is not an organization of which conspiracies to cover up atrocities for some greater good are unthinkable. If they thought the monstrosities could maybe be turned, or if Eidolon can control them..."

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"Yeah, I mean, I get that, it's just—the numbers—Behemoth is always brought up as one of the things that'll end the world, I don't—"

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"We should perhaps ask them but we have limited options if they take it badly."

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"Alexandria'd know, if anyone would—Doctor Mother's kind of the mastermind but all plans are hers..."

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"That's what I thought, too, but apparently I'm the only one in the dark about certain things, here."

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"I can get Alexandria. Do you think she's likely to attack people if she's in on it?"

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"No. If she's in on it she'll have very good explanations and arguments, mostly, but she wouldn't get into a fight she knows she'd lose."

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Scale model of where Alexandria's at.

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Also doing relief.

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"Is it going to mess up relief to have all of you guys absent -"

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"We're mostly just figures, there, so people know we're around and can be relied on more than anything. Alexandria's a bit more directly useful, she coordinates a lot of things at the same time, but she also sets it up so that nothing falls apart if she's called away or something."

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"This can wait, though, if that's better. Unless she'll guess we're onto her just by our sudden absence."

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"We don't really—be aware of each other all the time, she won't notice our absence."

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"Then maybe it can wait a bit." He snuggles himself in his wings.

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"You have somewhere safe in mind to put her if that's necessary?"

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"Yeah."

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"...so if we're not doing this right now I want to get back to helping with relief."

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"I can take you both back whenever."

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"Please."

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Oliver nods and puts his helmet back on.

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Pop.

 

 

He can help with relief efforts too.

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Yes he can. The new monster—people are calling it Khonsu—did not cause that much property damage, comparatively speaking, but it also killed a lot more people for how much damage it did cause.

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He can't do anything about the dead. He can do things about the property damage. He keeps darting glances at Eidolon. 

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Eidolon seems to be doing his best to help, too.

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Sigh. 

 

 

He sings.

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They're done much more quickly than when Behemoth attacked.

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Now I think probably we should talk to Alexandria, he says to Legend and Hero.

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Should one of us do it?

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Probably better than me.

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If she knows about it, though, she could escape, so you should probably keep an eye on us.

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Yeah I'll teleport you out if anything looks weird. Reflexes song.

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Legend comms Alexandria privately. "Hey. We need to talk."

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"I presume you mean in private."

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"Yes, and not in Cauldron either."

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"Ominous."

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He gives her coordinates in the middle of the Pacific ocean, and starts flying that way.

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Epic goes invisible and follows Alexandria in short teleport hops.

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She is nowhere near as fast as Legend, but still pretty damn fast, and reaches the given destination in a matter of minutes.

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He's way way slower than either of them flying, but he can hover fine.

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"Epic read Scion's mind," he says as soon as she arrives.

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"And this is something you think Cauldron shouldn't know?"

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"Scion seems to think Eidolon made the Endbringers."

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...and for the first time in years she is speechless.

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He gets a look at her face to send to Maitimo later but she doesn't look like someone who knew that and was covering it up.

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"Made them how?" she manages after a couple of seconds.

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"We don't know. But this is plausibly the sort of thing Cauldron would be covering up."

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"I'd know. ...you have contingencies in case I was covering it up and attacked you or something. You don't need to be invisible, Epic."

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Uninvisible Epic.

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She looks at him directly, and removes her helmet—

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—revealing herself as none other than Chief Director Costa-Brown.

"I was not and am not aware of any way Eidolon is causally connected to the monsters other than this conversation."

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He is pretty sure that'd be a big deal if the world weren't ending but whatever. "Oh good," he says. 

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"I am also trained in kinesics, and Eidolon is either nowhere near good enough to fool me or so good we cannot hope to outsmart him. I am rather certain he is not aware of any causal connection like that, either."

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"Then should we tell him?"

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"Yes."

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"Okay."

Pop.

Bounce to Maitimo -

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"I'm not perfect at this and don't like making high-stakes decisions off my instincts about people I don't know."

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"But she's telling the truth, right?"

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"Think so."

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Pop back to Legend and Alexandria. "Who should tell him."

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She's enhelmeted again.

"If you can bounce him exactly what you saw Scion think, the way you did Legend, he will not waste time denying it."

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"...he'll be incredibly shaken by that, though," Legend tells Alexandria.

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"Yes. But the alternative is him building an internal tower of justifications and rationalizations and denial which will take time to dismantle."

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He doesn't say anything to that.

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"- okay. I can do that."

 

Where's Eidolon -

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Sitting on a roof.

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- pop.

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"—Epic. Hello. Thank you for all your help," he says, his voice echo-y under his mask.

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"Of course. I read Scion's mind, I showed Legend and Alexandria and I want to show you but for what it's worth they thought you'd be shocked."

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"...show me what?"

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"What is going on in Scion's head."

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"Why would I be shocked?"

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- fine. He bounces it.

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And Eidolon reacts as if he's been punched in the gut, as if all the air's been knocked out of him. He uses his hand to prop himself up on the floor and starts breathing heavily.

"He's... wrong," he says.

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"Oh?"

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He just shakes his head. "I didn't—I don't have that kind of power—"

He's probably just trying (and failing) to convince himself.

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Wing-hug?

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He won't particularly react to the wing hug but he won't refuse it, either.

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Well Epic will hang out here on the roof winghugging the most powerful cape who accidentally created Behemoth.

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After a couple of minutes he tries to shrug Epic off.

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Epic withdraws his wing.

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And he takes off.

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Yeah okay. 

 

He finds Legend to report this.

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"—we should find him. Right now."

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....where's Eidolon?

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Making a credible effort at trying to throw himself off a window.

His power doesn't seem to want to let him do that.

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" - should we go stop him -"

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"Yes!"

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He teleports them there.

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"Eidolon you absolute idiot—" he says and catches him midfall.

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"Let me go," he growls.

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"Don't be stupid, we don't even know if you dying will actually stop anything."

Epic, fetch Hero, please.

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- he does that.

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And here's Hero.

"Buddy—"

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"—don't call me that—"

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"—you're being an idiot. I know they already said this but you are."

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"I could blast you all to smithereens and just fly away."

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"Yeah, you could."

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He is silent.

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...Legend tentatively lets go of him.

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He continues floating there on his own.

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He is not really sure he should be here.

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Perhaps you don't wanna watch this, kiddo. It won't be pretty, he voices—thinks?—those thoughts.

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If he actually blasts everybody I'm the only person who can stop him.

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He won't. And we're tougher than we look—I'm pretty sure nothing can properly kill Legend.

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He nods. He leaves.

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He won't get any messages for a couple of hours.

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He paces worriedly.

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Letter to Epic:

He's fine now, for a certain value of 'fine.'

Legend

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He snuggles Maitimo.

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"Can they stop the monsters now?"

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"...probably."

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"Well, that means the problem is a bit less immediate. Let's keep reading."

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Nod. Hug.

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Letter to Epic:

How are you holding up? Do you want me to go to you?

Legend

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He has to head back over to Earth to respond. 

"I'm okay. We're reading."

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"Okay. We took Eidolon's Shard. He's... not dead, but not taking it well."

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" - I could give him magic powers. If that'd help and you're really sure of him."

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"—yeah, it'd help. We're as sure of him as of anything, he's really really not—fighting this fight is the most important thing to him."

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"If he can be patient for three weeks then he can have my teleport and healing and turning into a bird and invisibility and illusions."

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"Are you sure that's—the best way to—spend your time?" he asks, though it pains him to.

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"Don't know."

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"...does Maitimo?"

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"Maybe if you and Alexandria talked to him about, like, PR considerations and so on. Or - doesn't Contessa have a power for this -"

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"—yeah, but... Eidolon doesn't want it to be used on him. He wants his decisions to be his own."

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"Okay but for figuring out the best resource allocation to solve the genocide aliens problem."

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"Oh, she can't reach that far."

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"Just Earth?"

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"Earth, its environs, and its alternatives."

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Nod. "Okay. Earth is - honestly not that urgent, if the Endbringers have stopped Endbringing. The other concern is several decades out and the peal'll find you by then."

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He nods slowly. "So... guess we're extraneous, now."

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"You're an Earth in 1994, we've got lots to do. But none of it's saving the world and giving sufficiently trustworthy people my powers might be a perfectly good use of it."

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He nods. "—we were interrupted by Khonsu. Was there anything more to discuss with Doctor Mother?"

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"Can they maybe be nicer to the people they're imprisoning now that they've got more resources."

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"—I hope so? Doctor Mother will be able to answer this, I don't understand yet why—that—in particular."

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"And we should check if I can make entity-related stuff. And if I can make the potions you use for powers."

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"...you said you couldn't make minds?"

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"Yeah."

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"So even odds on it not working. The substances are a connection to a Shard, which is as we understand it a mind."

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"I bet I can't make a shard but I don't know about the substances. If it's safe to try I'll at least try it."

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"They don't really have shelf lives or specific care needs, don't need to be cold all the time or anything."

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He tries one.

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He has one.

"—don't drink that unless you know which mixture it is."

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"Hero's. I won't." He makes a face. "It'd be so fun but it would not be very good risk management."

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"Hero's was an experimental formula, we have better ones now."

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"If they make you more conflict prone I just shouldn't take one. Some of the space Elves could maybe."

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"Much less than natural triggers, to the point where it's not unlikely the effect is entirely due to selection bias."

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"- I wanna be a Tinker it sounds so cool."

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He smiles. "Perhaps your powers will be able to help us understand the entities enough to know if that's advisable."

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He bounces in midair by teleporting just a bit. 

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"Should we reconvene, then?"

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" - yeah I guess."

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"Door." And a door opens behind him. "Clairvoyant probably won't be able to find Maitimo and the other Elves."

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"I can go fetch him."

 

Pop pop.

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They can fly through the door, then.

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Yep!

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Back to the same meeting room.

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Everyone else is there, except for Eidolon.

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Epic hops on Maitimo's lap and wraps his wings around himself.

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"So this is a right mess," says Doctor Mother, "but at least the world is not going to end soon."

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"Do you have estimates on when it might? Our reading suggests that the typical - life cycle - is a hundred, two hundred years, but this is not a typical case."

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"We know it'll be a few decades down the line, less than a hundred years, but our precogs are too vague for anything better."

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"I have every expectation we'll get found before then, even if there are forces interfering with straightforwardly finding us."

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She nods. "And you also expect your peal will be able to deal with this threat with minimal trouble."

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"I expect they're already finding all the planets undergoing this - atrocious process - so they can go round them up as quickly as possible once they find their way here."

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She nods again. "From what we understand, this will be acceptable even by the entities themselves. They do not seem to care about anything other than existing and this whole process seems to be about trying to figure out a way to prevent the heat death of the universe and continue existing forever."

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"Real shame they didn't land somewhere near demons. It sounds like there are parahumans who alone present a significant threat to the stability of their communities if not the world. Is it possible one as powerful as Eidolon could trigger?"

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"Probably not. The reason he—and other Cauldron capes—are as powerful as they are is that we're getting Eden's Shards at the source, and they do not have the basic safeguards against being powerful enough to take on the entities themselves as the natural triggers do."

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"Will there be more distribution of Eden's Shards?"

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"I can make them."

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"For the eventuality that your peal does not arrive in time, I think we should keep working as we have been, adjusting for the new resources you provide us."

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Nodnod.

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"I assume that involves precautions against results like Behemoth."

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"Do you have ideas for that? We were completely blind to all of them and, until Epic read Scion's mind, unaware of their origin. They also seem like a rather... idiosyncratic effect."

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"How did Scion know, do we have any idea?"

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"He can perceive all Shards and what they do and what they're connected to. It was as obvious to him as it's obvious to you that my toe belongs to me."

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"But that's not itself something we can replicate with any power? Or with any conjuration? Epic, are persons associated with a shard something you can conjure for -"

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"Doubt it."

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Doesn't go.

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"Can't, sorry."

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"Reading Scion periodically might be a good idea, anyway."

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"Unless he eventually notices that."

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"If your thing's magical he's unlikely to, unless he reads your mind but that'd be expensive for him to do. It may however be too high a risk, you're right."

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"What things are expensive for him, how do we know that?"

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"The information we have of him comes from trigger events and people who get powers using our formulas," Doctor Mother explains. "We get a glimpse of a moment in the entities' life when that happens, and Cauldron is in a position to collect many of these stories. The entities are very aware of the energy cost of everything they do, and measure it in how much time less they'll have to live. The rarer the power, the more it seems to cost them—precogs are extremely uncommon, whereas fliers crop up everywhere. And we have no record of anything close to mindreading ever happening."

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"And Scion's too unstable to negotiate with, even though we have the thing he wants."

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"The thing he wants, probably, is Eden. The entities were very specialized, and Eden was the planner and long-term thinker. Her you might have been able to negotiate with."

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" - the peal has resurrection, but -"

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"—yes, Epic mentioned that. It might not even turn out to be necessary, there are probably even some parahuman powers that could heal Eden enough."

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"But you're presuming that to be unwise?"

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"Yes. She might have enough control over the Shards we've taken to cause trouble before we can notice she's doing anything, and it's not unlikely upon seeing you she'll just decide to co-opt your resources rather than wait for your peal, given that our precognition doesn't work off-neighborhood."

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"Same goes for contacting other entity-pairs?"

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"They don't have power to affect us here but I don't expect the tactical considerations are meaningfully different."

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"Do you expect people would trigger on Mars or the Moon?"

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"Yes; this solar system is well within the entities' reach."

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"Then it seems like you might have some problems even without Behemoth and the like, just from more and more people triggering."

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"If the current rates keep up, heroes will be outnumbered two to one by the two thousand and tens, but we also have control of many criminal parahuman organizations, and most parahumans we cannot in fact hope to control are not invisible to Contessa. We already had a... plan... for Gray Boy, in case Epic failed."

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"Control of the criminal organizations is so you can keep those people around for an eventual fight?"

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"Yes, and so we can keep them less numerous. If things run their natural course, most criminal groups are fractured and small, whereas we can ensure they're larger and more organized and likely to not devolve into bloody gang wars."

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"What sort of activities do you have them occupied with?"

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"We do not have that active a hand on them, most of them aren't actually aware of how much control we have. If they start causing too much trouble we can bring sanctions on them, though—some actually have deals with us for formulas, while others just rely on the Number Man for their accounting, and Contessa can hack any bank accounts trivially."

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"The whole 'heroes and villains' thing, is that organic or was it prodded into existing -"

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"Organic. Long before Scion showed up there was already a cultural notion that people with superpowers became superheroes, and the first people with powers followed the script. We only started existing as a proper organization after that—we'd only been collecting resources and knowledge, before."

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"Couple places had relatively good handling of the escalating numbers of powered persons but I don't know how many of them transfer cross-species. I can forward you the records anyway."

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"That would be very good, thank you. Although I'm not sure the species is the main problem, here—natural triggers are in fact more conflict-prone than average, both due to selection effects and because the Shards encourage this, so it's not just more powered people, they're also by default less stable."

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"There's still a fair bit of variance by species in murder rates and conflict and so on - a couple places had a nuclear war near-immediately, congratulations on avoiding that..."

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"Scion's responsible for avoiding that, actually, he stopped the Cold War short."

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"Do you have any idea how he sets his priorities?"

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"None at all. He seems to alternate between disaster relief and rescuing kittens from trees at near-random."

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"That I was apprised of. Stopping the Cold War seems kind of more directed than either of those things - it requires understanding potential dangers -" Frown.

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"Yes. Scion is a highly unpredictable variable, and we only barely understand why he does the things he does."

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"Right. Well, we'll provide the resources we can - be capes, if screening for trustworthy buyers is a substantial constraint on formula distribution - and wait for heavier hitters to come help."

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"I'm actually not sure how the formulas would interact with your biology, but then again, I'm not sure how it interacts with our biology. Mostly, though, we screen for usefulness rather than trust, Contessa can ensure the latter or something close to it."

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"You still do turn a fair few villains, is that a tradeoff with something else?"

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"They all owe us favors. We don't actually need the money—we set a price that's too high for any of them, and then lower it some in exchange for promises of favors, and that gives us leverage everywhere. We'd be much weaker if we only had power among the heroes."

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"This is all very dubious but under some very desperate circumstances. Okay."

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She gestures at Contessa. "Her Shard got safeguarded. Our only way of getting awesome resources is sabotaged by the very entities we're moving against. It's why I'm here—I'm definitely not influenced by Eden or Scion. We did not have time to run tests on what the best way to defeat the god-aliens was, so Contessa does not make plans, only Alexandria and I do, and we stick to them even if they're horrifying—for the survival of humanity."

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"Been there, yeah. Is unsafeguarding her potentially possible with enough resources?"

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"I would've said no, once, but 'enough resources' has suddenly taken a much broader meaning. No method known to us can do it, though."

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"It might be worthwhile for some people to go explore neighboring dimensions from here, in case the peal can't find us but we can find someone with usefully applicable magic somewhere."

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"How quickly can they explore new dimensions?"

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"The bottleneck is making enough people teleport-capable and then Epic's time finding worlds within the new dimensions."

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"So not very. I don't suppose Epic would be able to find the dimension he left from if he were directly adjacent to it?"

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"Yeah, he could - anyone who lands in it could - just by trying to go to Warp."

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"I wonder if it would be too much to hope for that Doormaker's doors allow us to cheat."

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" - if he could get a door to all your neighbors, and Epic could walk in and try for Warp one by one -"

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"He can get a door to all neighbors we have access to, which is not all of them because Scion blocks many of them, but it's possible that will work, yes."

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" - let's do that right away, then. What does Scion block?"

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"Access to certain worlds. We suspect he protects the worlds where he keeps his body, we've never been able to find it in any worlds we've seen or visited."

A door appears behind her, leading to a grassy field.

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He walks in, tries to teleport to Warp. "Not this one."

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Doormaker makes another door appear in front of him, and another, and another... a huge corridor of worlds extends ahead of him much farther than even Elf eyes can see.

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He giggles and nods and steps through them and tries again and again and again -

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Nope, nope, nope—

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And again and again and again.

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"I approve of the commitment to empiricism involved in running countries as military dictatorships to see what happens to work best. What was the plan once you decided what worked best?"

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"Apply it everywhere. Alexandria actually has a large binder with details..." Doormaker opens a door next to Doctor Mother to another room and she grabs the binder from it. "Thank you. Here," she says, handing it to Maitimo.

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"Oooh. Thank you."

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    "It may be a bit too generous to say we're testing the dictatorships due to commitment to empiricism; the only organizations we're actually responsible for are the cape ones. The various dictatorships in South America already existed and we merely ensured we would have a say in them."

(Legend looks distinctly uncomfortable with this.)

    "The short summary of our long-term plan is for most or all of humanity to be parahuman-led and ready to mobilize against Scion as soon as we need to, and for being more numerous and the varied natural triggers are also part of it."

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"Parahuman-led why?"

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"A combination of the usefulness of having Thinkers in charge and keeping our influence everywhere."

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Nod. 

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Epic continues not to find a Warp neighbor.

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Eventually he gets bored. "Edda doesn't have this many neighbors," he complains, teleporting back. "Ballpark five hundred."

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"Oh we have many, many more than that," Doctor Mother assures him.

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"Maybe it's worth me making another necklace so someone who isn't a demon can do that full time."

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"Can a necklace find neighboring dimensions?"

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"It can be used to give out the teleport and the teleport can find neighboring dimensions. We don't have anyone who can do portals, Doormaker'll be amazing if he doesn't have an adjacency limit."

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"Either he has an adjacency limit or Scion and Eden block him some other way. A necklace sounds like a good idea, though."

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"I can probably work on it and do arbitrary material objects if you have a list of ways those'll be useful. - and I wanted to put Sāo Paulo back but the Brazilian government is probably really confused at me by now."

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Legend speaks up at that: "What did you leave them with?"

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" - uh, I left a basement-dweller in my bed and then I know they saw me teleporting people to the new monster."

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"...yes, they'll be very confused."

Is that amusement? That's probably amusement.

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"If it's not even their fault they're a military dictatorship I feel bad about confusing them."

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"It's mostly their fault they're a military dictatorship, it's our fault they did not dissolve into several disconnected territories controlled by warlords," says Doctor Mother.

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"That sounds worse."

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"Seems to be, yes."

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"I still want to put Sāo Paulo back if I can."

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"If you don't manage to convince them you might just have to make it appear without permission," Oliver (unhelmeted) muses.

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...giggle. "I could do that."

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"They might forbid their citizens from going into the city."

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"Can you tell them to not do that?"

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"Not for something so big. They're not as far as a puppet government, our influence is subtler," explains Doctor Mother. "If a way to verify it does not have anything undesirable like weapons and cameras was devised, however..."

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"I can swear to things but that might take some explaining."

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"It would, yes."

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"What're you going to explain about Behemoth and the new one being definitely gone for good?"

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"The first one we'll say happened because someone found the Master controlling Behemoth, and the second we'll say Eidolon fought them and they both died."

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"- okay. If Eidolon doesn't mind looking for Warp for weeks on end for me he'd be a perfectly good investment in an eidetic memory necklace."

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"That's actually a very good idea."

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Bounce. 

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"Are you the only one who can make necklaces?"

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"Anyone with osanwë can do it and some other kinds of telepathy-ish magic interact well."

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She nods. "What are you planning to do now, then?"

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" - make more things for the Elves to read, maybe try worlds for another hour in case that gets me anywhere and if it doesn't and you have a list of demon things do the demon things, make a artifact so I can give someone else the teleport and they can do worlds until they find the peal, then maybe make more artifacts or do more demon things or, I don't know, take a break, this has been awfully eventful."

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"Should we do anything about your unconscious body in Brazil?"

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"It's not my body it's just a body that looks like me. If there's a good way to not have Brazil mad at me I should probably do that."

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"...Contessa would probably be able to find a way. We owe you that much, I think."

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"Thank you." Bounce bounce.

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Contessa speaks up for the first time, in perfect accentless Quenya: "What is the precise goal you wish to achieve? For the government to trust you, or for São Paulo to be put back and lived in?"

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"- more the second thing. I guess you can't do things like 'for everyone in Brazil to be safe and happy'."

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"Too many powers interfering," she shakes her head. "I'd get a result, but it wouldn't be guaranteed to work. I'm most reliable for short-term plans I can directly act upon to solve and long-term large-scale ones where individual actions get smoothed out."

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Nodnod. "Then I want them to let Sao Paulo be inhabited and be on reasonably friendly terms with me so I can do other humanitarian stuff there uncomplicatedly."

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"Then what you will do is practice swapping bodies with a basement-dweller you, using your invisibility and illusions, until you can do it perfectly so not even a camera can notice it. They currently suspect you are some form of Master who has a projection power; you'll lie about it and say that when you create basement-dweller versions of people you can have them swap bodies, and you will use your teleportation to trick them into believing you should they question you. Be honest about your motives, and continue interacting normally. I'm hitting a dark spot at this point but it should have cleared up by the time you're reasonably sure they mostly believe you. I'll give you coordinates to teleport notes to, you can write them in ultraviolet and we will be able to communicate that way."

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"Your power is cool. Will do."

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She gives him the coordinates, and sends him a mental image via osanwë to help.

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And he practices swapping with basement-dwellers of himself!

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The others can continue discussing tactics while he does that, although Oliver's kinda distracted by the practice.

Permalink Mark Unread

It's kind of fun to practice. After a while he has it.

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Then he's good to go to Brazil.

"You'll be careful?" Legend asks.

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"I'm an indestructible teleporter."

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"Just say yes for my peace of mind," he says, smiling.

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"Yes Legend I'll be careful," he says, flapping his wings, and he goes back to Brazil and lands invisibly beside his body.

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His body is... not just as he left it. It could plausibly have been how he left it but he has an eidetic memory; he can tell.

Permalink Mark Unread

...could just be to check whether he adopts the new posture or not, but also they could've had something done to it with powers. 

 

He writes Contessa.

Does your power teach you languages or did you do that yourself? Also why's my body funny.

Permalink Mark Unread

My power teaches me languages, and they moved your body to try to wake you, and then tried harder. Nothing's currently wrong with it, though.

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How does it do that? Like, do you just know any facts about the language you ask yourself?

And he swaps with his body and sends it away and 'wakes.'

Permalink Mark Unread

I set 'communicate with this person in their language' as my goal, and the simplest path is doing it.

There is a knock on his door as soon as he stirs.

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"Come in."

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Doctor Ximenes walks in, looking very stern. "We should talk."

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Nod.

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"I know you left."

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"Yeah. I went out adventuring and then there was another attack and I wanted to help."

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"How did you go out, and why?"

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"I was thinking about the body of myself I made when I was trying to do resurrection - it's not me, it's like - me but asleep? And then I was in it. And I thought oh, cool, I can go exploring - I guess maybe I should've gotten a grownup -"

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"It looked a lot like you were teleporting people. And you put New York back, didn't you."

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"Yep! Since São Paulo's going to take time but New York was all ready to go. I can do the body thing for other people too and if I make and unmake then it's kind of like teleporting though I've been being sure to make the new one first in case otherwise they die."

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"And you didn't think to inform us of this?" she asks, sounding more worried than angry.

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" - I was kind of excited and everyone had things they wanted me to do and they were so happy when I did them and it was really nice having everyone like me and be excited about the things I can do -"

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"Had you told other people of what you could do, in New York?"

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"I didn't know all the stuff I could do but I showed off what I'd figured out."

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"And they made you blueprints for a new New York off that?"

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He makes the blueprints and gives them to her. 

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She takes them and looks over them, then looks at him again. "Who have you talked to, there?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Legend! And Hero! And Alexandria! They were really nice. ...probably because they wanted me to stay and be their superhero but still."

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She frowns. "It's very dangerous to do these things on your own. There is a lot of politics going on with new capes involved, and those people are even deeper in it, being so high up their organisations."

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"I guess they would be, yeah. But they were nice."

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"Just because someone's nice doesn't mean they're actually well-meaning," she explains. "Besides, it's a lot of pressure to put on someone to ask them to help with that monster so soon after they've faced another one."

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" - yeah, I guess. I shouldn't have snuck out, right?"

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"Right," she says, nodding. Then sighs. "How are you feeling? I was very worried when I couldn't wake you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay. Hungry."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Do you want to go eat in the cafeteria with the others?"

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"Sure."

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She opens the door and motions for him to follow her.

And the next time he checks for Contessa's messages, there'll be one saying, You will need to swear to believe for two hours whatever lie you're telling them, next time you get the chance—they will have someone who can detect lies nearby.

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...mind-altering oaths are such a bad idea and if he believed those things most of his memories would be super confusing. 

...he could swear to believe he has cape powers that work that way and that he's not using his normal magic in this dimension on Contessa's advice for some reason. He thinks about wording carefully for a while and then whispers that to himself.

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And then they get to the cafeteria and the mood is about the same as when he first arrived post-Behemoth.

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Gee, he wonders why. 

 

He sits down and eats.

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"We should test this new development of your powers after this," Doctor Ximenes suggests.

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"Yeah, definitely."

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So he's led to Doctor Paulo Lira, who raises an eyebrow at him and asks wryly, "Been having adventures, have you?"

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"Yeah. Sorry. I know I should've stayed home."

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"Yeah." Someone knocks on the door, and Doctor Ximenes lets them in. It's a young man with glasses wearing a suit. "Oh, that's my assistant, he's gonna watch some of our tests, if that's alright?"

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"Sure. Hi!"

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    "Hello," the assistant greets him. "I'm Felipe Nogueira."

        "I shall leave you to it," Doctor Ximenes says, and leaves.

"So! Why don't you tell us about your adventures—and also I think Doctor Ximenes said you'd already met some capes in New York before coming here?" asks Doctor Paulo.

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"Yeah. Like I told her the first time I triggered there. And I was experimenting with my powers and I met Legend and Hero and Alexandria. I told them I was going to go to Brazil and put Säo Paulo back but they thought I should stay in America but I'm not from there so I came here and then I figured out the moving-between-mes thing and when I turned up back there they were really nice and happy to see me and I'd said I wanted to put New York back and they let me!"

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"How does the moving-between-yous thing work? And it looks like you can do it to other people, too?"

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"Yeah I think so I didn't know that until I tried it when the monster was attacking. I just - make a you where I want you to go and then it won't be a person but if you want you can - switch to it - and then the other you isn't a person. Legend said maybe I should get rid of the not-a-person ones with the unmaking because they're creepy and I tried that and it worked."

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"...can you try it with me?"

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"Yeah sure. Now?"

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"Yeah!"

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- he reads his mind. He makes a basement dweller across the room.

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Now—

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Swap!

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He blinks, and starts laughing. "That's amazing. We should test this properly."

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"Sounds good!"

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He has a few tests in mind, including some they didn't have time to finish earlier. Felipe watches them but doesn't interrupt—

—and then Epic's oath expires.

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- which makes things make more sense but now he can't tell lies eep. 

"- I kind of didn't sleep during the whole monster thing, I swear I'm going to be exhausted as soon as I let myself take a break."

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"—oh, when you switch bodies like that you don't get rested?"

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"- I don't think switching bodies does anything about tiredness."

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"That's peculiar, I'd expect it to, since it's something physical—but oh, well, if you need to rest we should stop around here, I guess."

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"I think it's maybe not entirely physical? We can pick up tomorrow, I promise I won't run away in my sleep and this is fun."

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"Good, wouldn't want to lose you there." He cuts the recording. "Come on, I'll accompany you to your room."

    Felipe, who has only watched and taken notes, nods. "It was nice meeting you."

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"G'night! What's your power?"

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He blinks. "No power."

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"Oh okay."

 

 

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"Let's go," says Paulo, smiling. He leads the way.

That should be enough for them to trust you, now, he'll get next time he checks for Contessa's messages.

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Oh good. I don't want to do that again. Thank you.

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You're welcome.

Presently they reach Epic's room. "Here you go. Guess we can't stop you from leaving but, er, warn us if you do? We get worried. Who knows what'll happen if you die in your other body."

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"Yeah. I'm sorry, I know rules are for good reasons. I'll stay."

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He grins. "And after you wake up we can do all sorts of tests!"

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"Yeah!!!"

 

And as sworn he is promptly exhausted.

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He is left undisturbed.

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He starts on the artifact when he wakes up. It looks like he is sitting in bed looking at his computer.

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Your room's cameras are working again and magnet-resistant, Contessa sends.

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Explains how they knew the minute he woke up last time. No one has interrupted him yet, though.

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Given the time he went to bed they'll actually not bother him for another couple of hours. He can work on artefacts undisturbed.

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Oh good. He listens to acceleration music and works.

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Knock knock.

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Middle of a block. Darn. He puts it away and gets the door.

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It's Golden Jewel again. "H-hi. Did you save everyone?"

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"The monsters are gone forever. But I don't have resurrection yet - probably by the end of the year, though, I'm going to work really hard at it."

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She nods. "Thank you."

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"Want anything?"

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Headshake. "I—I think they want to see you after breakfast."

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"Probably. Want a hug?"

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"...yeah."

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Winghug. "No more fighting. Well, no more fighting big monsters I guess there are still normal villain capes."

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Nod. "Much better anyway."

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"Yeah." And downstairs they go.

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The news has spread: the Master behind Behemoth and Khonsu has been found. Eidolon fought them and both died. People are... confused about what to feel but mostly happy and in a daze.

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That's a pretty reasonable lie to tell he supposes. Elves are nicer because you can just tell them true things. He's not sure the shards thing would work on Elves. Well, maybe, seeing how Melkor totally managed to get Elves to kill each other. 

 

He eats breakfast and is also in a bit of a daze and isn't bothered.

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Vice-Director Silva, the man he met when he first arrived is waiting for him near the door when he's done.

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"Hi!"

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"Hello, little one. I heard you want to put a city back."

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"Yeah!"

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"Walk with me?" he asks.

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Walk walk.

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"So we have the blueprints almost done," he says conversationally as he leads Epic through the hallways.

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"Oh good!!"

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"But we're somewhat worried..."

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"Oh?"

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"You haven't been handling your powers very responsibly."

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"I fought the monsters."

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"You didn't inform us of it, you made this decision on your own, and you weren't careful with ways other people could exploit your powers."

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"There wasn't very much time, there were monsters attacking."

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"There never is. This is the kind of rule it's always okay to break every single time you do it, but if it's broken too many times then the whole system stops functioning and everything becomes much worse."

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...nod.

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They reach an elevator. The guard standing by it salutes the Vice-Director, who waves back. "So do you understand why we're worried about you? You're extremely powerful, and that you're bright and well-intentioned is obvious, but that's not enough to do good."

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"I really want to do good."

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"I know. That's why you need our help." The elevator arrives and he steps into it. It starts going up. "Some of not knowing the best way to do good is because of your age, but maybe not all of it. We still don't know who you'll be when you grow up, but some people just don't know how to best deploy their abilities for good even when they're adults."

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"I think I will be able to."

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"I hope you will! But for now I think the best thing you can do is follow our lead. Of course we'll hear your opinions about things, they're very important, but sometimes it may look like we're not doing the right thing and it's because we know more than you do and the thing that looks right is not."

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Uh huh. "Uh huh."

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The elevator takes two more seconds to reach its intended destination, which turns out to be the top floor. The door opens to a spacious chamber with a glass ceiling, a few desks, fewer people, and a hologram of a city in the middle.

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"Oooooh!"

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São Paulo was a very large city. The one they're seeing is much more organized than the real one was, though. There's a man in a lab coat and a glittering mask that covers only his face looking at it and doing something to a touchpad. He looks up at them when he hears Epic and says, "Oh, you're the one who's gonna do the thing? Cool!"

    "Epic, this is Projection," introduces Vice-Director Silva. "He's a tinker who specialises in, well, projections. Projection, this is Epic."

"Hi!"

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"Your power is cool," he pronounces. "Hi!"

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"I think every tinker thinks their power is the coolest. The difference is I'm right." He does something to the touchpad and the holographic city rotates and zooms into a certain specific neighborhood. He starts doing things that add buildings to it, and resizing and rescaling them. "This is gonna become a set of blueprints for you but we were wondering if that was necessary or if you could make it off the hologram."

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"I bet the hologram is - enough, that's what the power uses is enoughness and I'm starting to get a sense of what is enough -"

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"We could test that—" He makes that hologram disappear then creates a hologram of an apple.

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He makes the apple depicted. "How will you tell if it's not just a normal apple."

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"Make a knife and cut it in half. Should be an orange inside."

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"Oooooh." He does that.

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Orange.

"Great! Might not work with regular holograms but I pack a lot more information there than most normal holograms, we should be fine." He switches back to the city view.

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"Cool!"

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"This should be done this afternoon," Silva says, in spite of his first estimate that it would take much longer. "I wanted to show you it, and I wanted to explain something to you... Projection, zoom out, please." The cape obliges. "This city will be able to house twenty million people. If something goes wrong with this, it's a lot of people who can be hurt. I trust Projection's calculations, his software's been tested again at again and it's always been perfect at what it does. So when this is done, it should be done exactly like the blueprints. We can't take liberties or creative risks."

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"Then we shouldn't do it this soon, we should go over all the things I can do to make sure you didn't not include something because you didn't know it could exist. Like biofilters, or a better electrical grid, or Internet. You should have Internet."

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"Biowhat?" Projection wonders, rubbing his chin.

    "I'm fairly certain the city does have the necessary infrastructure to make the internet work but I'm not sure why that'd be a priority," says Silva. "What do you mean by better electrical grid, though?"

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"Like, since you're doing it from scratch, you can do everything really safe and sustainable, where if it's built as the city is it'll be all a tangle. Biofilters are a thing I read in a science fiction comic and I tried to make them and they worked. You can have one as like a window screen, set to not let insects through, and you can have them for security on buildings, set to only let some people through."

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"Show me?" Projection asks.

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Biofilter! Set to only let him through. He pokes his hand through it. "Won't let you."

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He tries.

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Doesn't let him! Yeerk tech is pretty neat. His Andalite alt calls it 'stolen Andalite tech' but this is slightly unreasonable of him.

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"Wow. Can this be used to replace, like, glass? Can it keep places warm and stuff?"

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"This wouldn't, it lets nonliving things through. I could do a forcefield but those need a power source - I mean, so does the biofilter but it can run off a battery, forcefields need a lot of energy."

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"You've tried making all that?"

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"I tried so many things! I really wanted to resurrect dead people but nothing worked for that. It might work to have backups of people but I couldn't think of a safe way to try and it was too late for the ones who're already dead."

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Nod.

"Well," says Silva, frowning some, "you're right that we should see what kind of insane future tech you'll be able to make, but there'll always be more ideas so at some point we'll have to stop and just move on to actually doing things."

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Nodnod. "And I do want it back soon. But if you're not just putting it back but adding things it makes sense to add as many nice things as we can so it's the nicest place to live ever."

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Silva grins. "That's the way to do it."

    "Can you make a list of stuff?" asks Projection. "And I'll need to know how to integrate that with the rest of the design..."

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"I can but I wasn't being very strategic, just trying stuff -" Future computers! Future televisions! ...future birth control would be really hard to explain having tried for, human children wouldn't do that. Andalite stun guns! Andalite translators! Warp replicators!

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...what do these replicators do?

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He doesn't know he just heard of them in a book and when he tried them they went! Make stuff, he thinks.

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...automatically?

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Well, you have to put stuff in for it to disassemble into constituent atoms and then it probably needs a recipe. He's just guessing.

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Okay but does he get how important this is they could end scarcity!

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Yeah it totally does do that - uh, will do that. It's really good.

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Can it replicate itself?

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He does not know how to make it do that. (It can't, but he catches himself before explaining precisely why not).

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Well... can he provide it with some raw matter and see if he can make it make things with the raw matter?

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He can!!!

It can make food. Slower than him, but still. It can make parts for another replicator but that one, assembled, doesn't work. "I think there might be parts it can't make." It can make the stun guns.

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He's going to need to rework this entire city.

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Sorry.

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No no he's absolutely excited this is going to be awesome

    "There are economic considerations to be taken into account," says Silva. "We should look into that after we've exhausted at least the list of possible technological improvements a short brainstorming session yields."

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"Yeah I guess ending scarcity will make the economy weird!"

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    "Especially if it's not ended everywhere at once," nods Projection.

"More ideas?" asks Silva.

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"We could probably end it pretty much everywhere at once. Maybe not some of the places that are all chaotic and warlordy. I don't know what else - I haven't read that many comics - have any of you -"

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"There aren't that many anymore, your parents must've been real nerds," says Projection.

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"It doesn't have to be comics, television'd do too but I wasn't supposed to watch too much."

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"Teleportation devices?" the tinker suggests. "Stuff to clean water, cure cancer—no wait you made that one already—cure other diseases? Cure aging?"

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He tries! He has cures for some diseases. He does not have teleportation devices (he could give them a worldleaper, but he does not). He can't do aging.

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Now, infrastructure thing... Faster internet? Better transportation even if not teleportation? Clean energy?

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Oh boy yes faster internet here are the entire creative works of Earth up to 1994 and here is another device to which they are now wirelessly transferring oh there they're done. 

"The infrastructure might be hard to make much sense of from small-scale models - like, I don't know about the power systems. Same with energy."

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"You could make some to-scale models and we could try to reverse-engineer them."

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"Okay." Trains! Powerplants! From Revelation and Warp and the Andalite planet.

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After they've exhausted their ideas Projection will probably need a while alone to rework literally everything.

He does not sound unhappy about this.

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Epic likes him.

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Silva had to be excused earlier but Dr. Lira was happy to replace him and suggest things. It looks a bit like he and Projection have a sort of a friendly rivalry about who gets to be the nerdiest.

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Bounce bounce bounce bounce!!

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Projection focuses on being nerdiest about implementation while Lira's more concerned with application. Eventually they run out of ideas, though, and the cape shoos them out, just in time for more bullshit power testing.

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He doesn't enjoy that quite as much!

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At the end of it Dr. Lira declares that they've tested everything he's been able to think of and probably have a good grasp on Epic's power. Unless he's sitting on other incredible things like the body switch, Lira says with a wry grin.

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"If I am I'll tell you once I learn them!"

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And then they have lunch!

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At this rate he's not going to get much artifact time. 

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Well they don't have anything planned for him this afternoon, he's free to do whatever in the building.

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He'll do an artifact block in his room.

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At the end of the afternoon there's a knock.

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"Come in."

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It's Doctor Ximenes again. "Hello! Did you have fun today?"

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"Yeah! I'm really excited for ending scarcity."

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She laughs. "Yeah, that should be fun. But we have a small matter to discuss."

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"Hmm?"

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"Your education."

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"I'm learning lots, don't worry."

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"I know, but there's still a formal requirement."

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"Can I test out if I know all the things you're supposed to learn from school?"

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"That would obviate some of the point of school, but not all of it. It's very important for young people, and especially young parahumans, to be around other people their age while they're maturing, and school provides a shared environment for that and training grounds for many social skills you'll need in the future."

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"...so I also have to test out of social skills practice?"

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"There isn't a social skills test to test out of."

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"But there's presumably some way one evaluates whether children have attained enough social skills."

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"Normally, by socializing with them, and watching them with their peers."

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"Well, okay, I can do that."

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"And your peers are at school."

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"I think maybe the interacting with children my age needs to be separate from the learning things because I am not interested in learning the same things as children my age."

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"You could study other things while you sit classes," she suggests.

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"Can I sit in the back and listen to music and stare at a book, that is an important part of my learning process."

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"That might depend on the teacher."

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"I'd like a teacher who doesn't mind that, please."

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"I'll see what I can do."

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"Thank you!"

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"Classes will resume normally next week. These past few days have been... eventful, and most schools were not open."

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"That makes sense."

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"And I think I'd like to talk to you daily until then, if that's alright with you."

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"Okay."

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Smile. "Is there anything you'd like, or should I leave you?"

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"I can make things I'd like! I'm okay!"

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"Okay, then. Dinner's in two hours."

And off she goes.

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And he artifact-writes!

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And eventually there's dinner! No one immediately comes fetch him.

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If there is concern about his social skills he should demonstrate social skills by going to dinner.

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People are cheerier! Somewhat. They've concluded what happened was overall good, so now any lingering bad feelings are strictly instinctual/subconscious/uncontrollable.

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That is not really how his feelings work but okay. He eats dinner!

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Golden Jewel walks into the cafeteria after him and shyly asks if she can sit with him.

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"Yeah!"

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She gets food and nibbles on it quietly, not really looking up at him. She looks, if anything, sadder than she was this morning.

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It takes him most of dinner to notice this at all but he does eventually. "Are you sad?"

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Small nod.

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"Why are you sad."

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"...everyone else's happy. Or. Getting happy."

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"...and that makes you sad?"

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"It's—I—it's like they don't care—it won't happen again but it still did happen—"

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"It's just a coping thing for trauma. Horrible things happen to humans a lot and if they were properly sad about all of them they'd spend all their time being sad. Elves - if they existed, which they do not, they're just in stories - are sad about things for the right length of time and remember them forever but old Elves are very sad and don't do much of anything except sit around sadding so I guess there's a tradeoff of some kind."

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"...Elves?"

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" - my parents told me a lot of stories about Elves growing up. They're people who sing really well and don't like their hair being touched and live forever."

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"Oh. That sounds nice. Even with the hair."

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"It is nice. I wish more people were Elves."

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"More?"

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"Than zero. Since Elves are only in stories."

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"That's a weird way to say it," she says, and sniffles.

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Pat pat. "I could sing about all the sad things. That's what Elves would do. Would it help?"

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Nod.

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He sings the song for when someone dies.

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She listens.

Other people hear.

They stop talking.

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It is a six-day-long song. He keeps singing.

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Yeah the cheer is definitely gone. For such different cultures, their reaction is pretty similar to that of the Protectorate capes in New York.

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Making people sad isn't very nice, maybe? He does think humans cope like humans for a reason. 

 

But lots of people are dead and he can sing for them.

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After it becomes clear the song will last a while some people resume their conversations, but in hushed enough tones that it doesn't interfere with the song.

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That makes sense, they are human and can't pay attention for six days! Honestly he can't pay attention for six days without Valinor timesliding them. 

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People slowly file out of the cafeteria.

"Thank you," Golden Jewel mutters.

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Nod. He barely refrains from osanwëing 'of course'.

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Eventually: "I'm gonna go to bed. Or read a book."

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Okay. Good night.

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She almost falls off her chair. "What was that?!"

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Ooops. "I said okay good night."

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"You were singing!"

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"Yeah."

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"How did you say a thing while you were singing!"

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"Dunno."

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"It was in my head!"

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"Was not, that doesn't make sense."

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"But you were singing and you said a thing!"

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"I must have stopped singing."

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She furrows her eyebrows.

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Shrug. He goes back to singing.

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Apparently concluding she must've imagined it, she slides off the chair and shuffles away.

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He goes up to his room too.

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No one bothers him.

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Artifact!!

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Artifact! It is soon night.

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He doesn't sleep. He does artifact-lying-down-with-eyes-closed so it won't look too fishy.

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It does not look too fishy! People presumably assume he is asleep.

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This is good because he is not sure how he'd otherwise get much work done, what with all the school they want him to do.

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Their equivalent of the Protectorate is nice and accommodating and the bits that are because they're a military dictatorship manage to be plausibly deniable enough that it's pretty believable most people there don't know or don't think too much about the fact that this is a military dictatorship. Doctor Ximenes is rather therapist-y and even a surface inspection of her thoughts won't reveal any ulterior motives beyond "understanding how to best help her charges and make sure the environment runs smoothly for them."

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They should still stop being a military dictatorship but plenty of the Ardas were during the war and it's not as important as scarcity. He works on his artifact and sings and plays along.

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And eventually it is a Sunday early evening and there is a knock.

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"Come in!"

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Doctor Ximenes!

"Hello, again, Epic. Ready for school tomorrow?"

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"Did you find someone who will let me listen to music?"

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"Unfortunately not. You can still do it in recess or during lunch although I'd recommend against that."

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"Yeah I thought that was the part for which there's nominally a justification."

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"Hmm? What do you mean?"

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"I supposedly benefit from socializing with children, thus school. It is established that I won't learn anything unless you let me read quietly, so the classroom part is just a waste of everybody's time but lunch and recess at least advance the supposed goal even if they're not a very efficient way to advance it."

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"No? What would you suggest instead?"

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"- I mean mostly I think that since I am the only person on this planet who can make arbitrary material objects I should be doing that even if my social skills suffer. But I expect there's a social skills training more efficient than random interaction with random people approximately my age."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes but we're working on the plan that will allow everyone on the planet to make arbitrary material objects, having a few days' head start won't change that much. I also think you underestimate random interaction."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay so lunch and recess are possibly not a waste of time."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Don't worry, we'll eradicate material scarcity soon enough." Smile.

Permalink Mark Unread

Bounce bounce. He beams at her.

 

He obligingly shows up for school.

Permalink Mark Unread

They do not have a school for parahumans this smol because there are basically no parahumans this smol. It is a regular school. He is introduced in the morning to other kids his apparent age.

Permalink Mark Unread

He has wings! He says he is pleased to meet them and can make things do they want any things.

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Things? What things? They want things!

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Arbitrary things!

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They're not sure what 'arbitrary' means but when it's explained they want all sorts of things! Like toys and computers and music players and mommy back and wow that got depressing fast.

Permalink Mark Unread

Can't do that one yet but by winter almost certainly.

Permalink Mark Unread

Aaaand the teacher thinks this subject should be dropped and they should start with class.

Permalink Mark Unread

Really? It seems more important than class honestly.

Permalink Mark Unread

It seems like promising children you'll bring their dead parents back before winter is inadvisable and anyway it's not the time.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Well it'd be inadvisable if I were wrong."

Permalink Mark Unread

Multiplication tables!

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...seriously? He finishes those, makes himself an engineering book, and starts reading.

Permalink Mark Unread

The other kids are not as fast, and they're a bit jealous of the whole "make stuff and study it" thing.

Permalink Mark Unread

He can make them stuff too and multiplication is really really easy - he sends the concept - so they should be done too and then they can do interesting stuff.

Permalink Mark Unread

...they all suddenly learn multiplication at the same time! It's a miracle! The teacher is baffled... and more than a little suspicious.

Permalink Mark Unread

Well now they can move on to something more interesting. He votes for mechanical engineering.

Permalink Mark Unread

They just learned multiplication they are not moving on to mechanical engineering. They should solve some more problem sets first.

Permalink Mark Unread

Maybe they could give out all the problem sets between multiplication and mechanical engineering so the students have something to look forward to.

Permalink Mark Unread

They don't have all the problem sets between multiplication and mechanical engineering and if they did that would be a decade and a half of problem sets. That's a lot of problem sets.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh, he can make them, he just needs it specified what exactly they're called.

Permalink Mark Unread

...they do not actually have a list of problem sets between multiplication and mechanical engineering compiled.

Permalink Mark Unread

He makes himself a computer and starts doing it for them.

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Computers are not allowed in class! the teacher says while the students flock around him.

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He makes a different one. "The computer's on the roof and it's only the monitor that's in here, it's okay."

Permalink Mark Unread

He is not really following the spirit of the rule and is disrupting class!

Permalink Mark Unread

"And there's a rule against disrupting class? Do you want to get me a complete list of all the school rules so I can adhere to it instead of being continually told that something I'm doing breaks one? Why is 'division' even a separate lesson from multiplication they're the same thing -"

Permalink Mark Unread

Kids are confused about how they're the same thing. The teacher says there is indeed such a list but it's mostly stuff about not disrupting the learning environment.

Permalink Mark Unread

Because division is just multiplication by the reciprocal. He sends the relevant concepts, sends a couple different explanations in case one isn't clear to someone. He thinks he's doing quite well on the learning environment really, he'll have all his classmates mechanically engineering in no time. 

Permalink Mark Unread

No he won't people take time to learn things and there are developmental aspects to take into consideration and can he please make these things go away and let them get on with the lesson plan?

Permalink Mark Unread

Does the teacher mind if he sits quietly in the back corner and listens to music.

Permalink Mark Unread

...will he stop disrupting the class if he does that.

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He expects he won't say another word until recess.

Permalink Mark Unread

Fine then.

The other kids are indignant, though. How come he can listen to music? And they know multiplication and division now, shouldn't they be allowed an early recess?

Permalink Mark Unread

He listens to his acceleration song and works on the artifact.

Permalink Mark Unread

The students are rioting, though, and the teacher is having a hard time calming them down.

Permalink Mark Unread

He doesn't care.

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Eventually she manages by promising them a slightly earlier recess and access to Epic.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh good. He works on his artifact.

Permalink Mark Unread

And the kids work on math and then move on to grammar.

Permalink Mark Unread

...this is a weird and oversimplified and awfully prescriptivist way of teaching Portuguese grammar. He bites his tongue. Artifact.

Permalink Mark Unread

Portuguese grammar is really​ complicated and has lots of verb tenses and everything is gendered and sentence structure accepts very little variation although they play fast and loose with subjects and sentences that only have predicates are common. But they're not looking at all of that, they're seven, they're learning very basic stuff like spelling and how to conjugate some verbs.

Permalink Mark Unread

This world does not think very highly of its seven-year-olds. 

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The seven-year-olds are not struggling but it's difficult to say that they're much beyond this level.

And then: recess.

Permalink Mark Unread

This is the part he is supposed to get something out of. He finishes his artifact block because he's so close and then he goes outside with them.

Permalink Mark Unread

And this one girl walks up to him and says—" You can really bring my mom back?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Not until winter but then yes. If she's dead. If she's not dead I can do it right now."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...she's dead."

    "How can you do it right now if she's not?" someone else asks. "You can make live people but not dead ones?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can heal or fetch live people. I can't make any kind of people but I have a way to get there."

Permalink Mark Unread

    "Why not?" asks one.

        "How do you do it?" asks another.

"Can I get wings, too?" asks a third.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Because if I try they come out sleeping and they won't wake up. It's my power. Healing is - replacing the broken bits of someone, it's a different part of my power. I can give anyone wings but if I give them to kids you'd have problems later because they won't grow with you."

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"Why won't they?"

"What are all your powers?"

"How do you do that?"

"How'd you get powers?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I can make stuff! And I can sort of shoo stuff I've made and if I make more of alive people they can sorta bounce around between them. Making is really easy it hardly feels like anything. I dunno how getting powers works exactly it just happens to people sometimes."

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"But you can also heal?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's weird."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I guess!"

Permalink Mark Unread

And the kids ask for more stuff to be conjured.

Permalink Mark Unread

Being a demon at people is the best kind of social skills practice.

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Older and younger kids hear the news as the ones "his age" spread and now lots more want things. Teachers and teacher assistants show up at the edges to figure out what's going on.

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What is going on is that he is a demon!!! Making things! For anyone who wants them!!

Permalink Mark Unread

...could he maybe stop.

Permalink Mark Unread

He could if he wanted to which he does not.

Permalink Mark Unread

He isn't supposed to be giving kids things without their parents' permissions.

Permalink Mark Unread

Why not?

Permalink Mark Unread

...because parents know best what to give their children.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh! They're mistaken about that but easy mistake to make. Children actually usually know what's best for them and when they're wrong like if they ask for a nuclear bomb he will just not give it to them.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay but that would need them to believe Epic knows when the kids are wrong.

Permalink Mark Unread

Oh yeah he does.

Permalink Mark Unread

Okay but how do they know he does.

Permalink Mark Unread

He supposes they will just have to watch and see.

Permalink Mark Unread

But if he gives them something he shouldn't give them then that's bad and can't be easily undone.

Permalink Mark Unread

....yeah it can.

Permalink Mark Unread

Not without making the kid very upset!

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He can replace it with something just as cool and okay for them to have, or make it safe somehow.

Permalink Mark Unread

This is not very reassuring!

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He is sorry they're not reassured. He keeps making kids stuff.

Permalink Mark Unread

Recess is over! There is class! Please stop making things!!!!

Permalink Mark Unread

He will sit quiet in the back and make just the one thing, very subtly.

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Kids are very difficult to get under control today!!!!!!!

Permalink Mark Unread

He doesn't know what their baseline is. Elves wouldn't be like that but humans are weird.

Permalink Mark Unread

Eventually they have lunch and most of the kids go home but some have soccer practice or ballet or gymnastics in the afternoon.

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He doesn't think he has any of those things! Is anyone going to show up to tell him where to go?

Permalink Mark Unread

Yep, here's an escort.

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"Hi! I like school."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Really? What'd you learn today?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, I didn't learn anything, they made me put away my textbooks."

Permalink Mark Unread

"So what happened instead?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Uh they were supposed to cover multiplication but everyone already knew it so I suggested mechanical engineering but the teacher said no, division, so I pointed out that was just multiplication by the reciprocal and maybe now could we do mechanical engineering and the teacher said I could sit in the back and listen to music so I did and then at recess I made my classmates whatever they requested unless it was dangerous and told a girl I can resurrect her mother by wintertime and then sat and listened to music more and then it was over."

Permalink Mark Unread

His escort blinks slowly. "Huh. Must've been an interesting day."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It was a better use of time than I expected! I do hope we get to mechanical engineering by the end of the week though or I might start getting bored."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I... don't think kids can learn that..."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, we can!"

Permalink Mark Unread

Another blink. Then a shrug.

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Epic sings quietly to himself and heads off with his escort.

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He is led to an official-looking shiny black car.

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...okay. Car!

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They start trudging through noon traffic! It is a lot.

Permalink Mark Unread

He works on his artifact.

Permalink Mark Unread

 

 

 

It soon transpires they're not going to HQ.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Uh. Where're we going?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh we're kidnapping you," says the driver.

Permalink Mark Unread

" - I don't think that's a very good idea."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Then you can see it as 'we're showing you what the government's really like.'"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I get all mail addressed to 'Epic'. Writing me is a much better way of communicating with me and won't get anybody panicked and won't cause people to start fighting. People start fighting over kidnappings. And I know they're a military dictatorship, I just don't know how to get them to stop being that without being something worse like chaos."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—what?"

Permalink Mark Unread

" - are you the person in charge of the kidnapping or should I wait for that person so I don't have to explain everything twice."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm not the person in charge of the kidnapping, sorry."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Can I have an hour uninterrupted, it's not worth working on if I don't get an hour uninterrupted."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...might take us an hour to get there so sure."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Are people not going to notice I'm missing by then?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Maybe, but they won't find you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I really don't want them to worry. Can I pop home and leave a note? - no, then I guess they'd be mad I went along with being kidnapped at all, whereas if I don't go home I can pretend I couldn't think how to escape or something."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...sure."

Permalink Mark Unread

"What."

Permalink Mark Unread

"How would you pop back home?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh I can make myself several bodies and then - inhabit different ones. So I'd make one at home and then I'd go be in it. I have to know exactly where I am relative to home, though, so we could pretend you disoriented me enough I couldn't figure out where to put it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—you can do what?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Lotsa things. You really didn't think your kidnapping plan through very well, did you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"We did, we were just wrong about your powers—you can swap—"

Permalink Mark Unread

"What did you think my powers were?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Making stuff!"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's most of it. And just from that I could have made sleep drugs in your bloodstream and escaped, or made lava on the windshield or something."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh I'm a cape too, I'm immune to most of those things, it's why they picked me. Also if you tried that I'd knock you out."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Encase you in stone, then. How would you knock me out."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It's a mystery. Are you gonna encase me in stone?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"No but I'll need to explain to them later why I didn't. If you knocked me out that'd be a good enough reason I guess."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Should I knock you out?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't think you can but I bet they wouldn't know that and I really did want to get a little bit of work done. As long as that's a thing you could've done it's probably good enough - unless they have that lie detector around again - let me ask my precog." He checks for notes from Contessa.

Permalink Mark Unread

They will not think to question that.

"Your precog?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Nah it's fine apparently they'll believe I was knocked out. You can assume I have lots of stuff up my sleeve which is why kidnapping me would be a bad idea if I cared to not be kidnapped."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay..."

Permalink Mark Unread

He starts working on his artifact.

Permalink Mark Unread

There is in fact a lot of traffic.

Permalink Mark Unread

Then maybe he'll finish his artifact block before he gets to the head kidnappers.

Permalink Mark Unread

He in fact will! But only very shortly so, a few minutes after he's done they'll arrive at a very ordinary-looking building.

Permalink Mark Unread

He's reading his textbook. "Okay."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...what's okay?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I assume we are here now?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Oh, yeah." He drives into the garage and opens the door for Epic. "Please don't make me regret not knocking you out?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't really know what actions would make you regret that!" He gets out of the car.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Running away, wrecking the place, hurting anyone..."

It's an ordinary garage and he leads Epic to an ordinary elevator and presses its ordinary button.

Permalink Mark Unread

"I won't hurt people."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I said three things."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It is not totally inconceivable I'd see fit to run away."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Why are you cooperating?" he wonders.

Permalink Mark Unread

"You might have something interesting to say."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...okay."

The ordinary elevator arrives. He nudges Epic inside.

Permalink Mark Unread

He goes in.

Permalink Mark Unread

It goes up.

"...so you knew the government was a dictatorship and you still...?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"- yeah? What was I supposed to do, overthrow it without a plan to do better?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Try to find a resistance, then? Or did you think there wasn't one?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Rebels couldn't let me rebuild São Paulo and I really want to."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...you need their permission?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"If I did it without permission no one would actually get to live there which kinda defeats the point."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Guess so." They go up to an arbitrary floor and the kidnapper walks them into an arbitrary apartment and there is a patch of light on one of the walls. "Touch that."

Permalink Mark Unread

He does.

Permalink Mark Unread

And he finds himself in another room altogether. It has a bed and a desk and a mirror and two closed doors and is not extremely spacious.

Permalink Mark Unread

Did his escort come through also?

Permalink Mark Unread

Nope! He's all alone in there.

Permalink Mark Unread

He tries the doors.

Permalink Mark Unread

One leads to a bathroom, the other to a corridor where some people are talking or walking and there's a person in a military uniform—similar to the ones he saw in HQ, actually—standing next to his door.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hello. Do you know when the people who wanted to talk to me actually need me, this whole thing is not feeling super respectful of my time and I might just go hang out elsewhere and come back when you're ready."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—I thought that door was locked," the uniformed guy says. "Uh, wait here a sec? I'ma get someone."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Locking it would not have helped." He waits.

Permalink Mark Unread

Off he goes. The other people around look curiously at him but don't engage.

Permalink Mark Unread

He waits. 

Permalink Mark Unread

A serious-looking woman shows shows up with the uniformed dude. "Epic. Nice of you to decide to join us, if the reports I hear are truthful."

Permalink Mark Unread

"It would have gone badly to try to have me here if I didn't want to be, if that's what you mean."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Badly to us, I presume. We're somewhat confused about what to do with you."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, if I were less powerful then bad for me too. I think kidnapping is kind of always bad for someone. But maybe you had a good reason. You could start by explaining it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"The initial reason was 'you are extremely powerful and working for the bad guys perhaps you could work for us instead' but."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I work for me. What would you want me doing for you?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"—would you come with me, then? I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sure."

Permalink Mark Unread

She leads the way down the corridor. There is less—organisation, of the military kind, here than in the government HQ. No one stands at attention, and they don't seem particularly subdued by this woman's presence.

Permalink Mark Unread

Epic is not making moral judgments off that, particularly. And both sides have pretty much kidnapped him so he won't make moral judgments off that either.

Permalink Mark Unread

She reaches a door and knocks on it. "Come in!" says a male voice, and she does.

Inside there's a man sitting at a desk writing something on a computer. He turns to smile at them, but only half his face does that, because the other half looks a lot like it's been melted by acid. "Epic, I'd like to introduce you to Bernardo Rodrigues."

"Pleasure to meet you," says the man.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hi. Uh, I have healing powers. If you want."

Permalink Mark Unread

He blinks. "You do?"

Mônica looks at him. "You do?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I kind of lied to the government about my powers. It's a long story. But yes, I do."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I—I'd like that, yes," says Bernardo.

Permalink Mark Unread

He steps forward and taps him.

Permalink Mark Unread

He is healed. He immediately runs to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror.

"—that was unexpected."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Sorry. Eventually we'll have people equipped to do it all the time for everywhere."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm sorry?" she asks.

Bernardo returns to the room, a look of awe on his face.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Once places have been fixed up they have teleporting paramedics with healing powers," he says patiently and unhelpfully.

Permalink Mark Unread

"'They'?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"An interplanetary humanitarian organization I worked for before I got lost."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...what?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I told the kidnapper I didn't want to repeat myself, is everyone here who'll want to hear this?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"—no. Do you have further evidence than an implausible list of powers to justify me calling more people?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"I could take you to meet Maitimo?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That's someone from your alleged interplanetary consortium?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"And they presumably can provide more evidence than you can?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Only insofar as they are themselves evidence, actually. Honestly it's mostly that this is a frustrating conversation and I'd rather you have it with Maitimo."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Trust me, it is just as frustrating to me, this was supposed to be fairly straightforward and I wasn't supposed to have to talk to you anytime soon. Why don't I just gather a couple of people who should hear what you have to say like you suggested?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"That works too."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Bernardo, why don't you get him somewhere comfortable while I go do that?"

"—sure, yes."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Is it going to be an uninterrupted hour."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Hm? No, it's gonna be like ten, fifteen minutes."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Okay." 

Permalink Mark Unread

He starts leading Epic somewhere and it soon becomes clear this building is a repurposed mansion. They go to what probably used to be an office—it has a few comfortable sofas and a table in the middle and some bookshelves against the walls.

Permalink Mark Unread

He folds his wings up and sits down and sings to himself quietly.

Permalink Mark Unread

After a few minutes the woman returns with a couple more people. "I neglected to introduce. I'm Mônica, and for all intents and purposes in charge here. You've met Bernardo, this is John," she gestures at a twentysomething guy with a metal mask, "and this is Jade," and that's a twentysomething girl with a metal mask. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Permalink Mark Unread

" - I'm not sure if that's the best place to start, but okay. I was born in a world called Arda, which has magic, and then there was an interdimensional transit accident and Boots landed on us from another dimension with different magic, and that is how we learned there are different dimensions. There might be infinitely many of them. Some have magic and even the ones with physics often have different physics. And the one Boots was from has magic that is highly exploitable if you're anywhere where it's safe to experiment with it. So we used it to develop interdimensional transit and went to our most populous neighbor and started a magic humanitarian organization there, and then after a while we ran across some other people who'd done the same thing. And some dimensions have powerful and useful magic, or kinds that are very exploitable in combination with other kinds, so - well. I can make arbitrary material objects, I can teleport anywhere in a dimension or between dimensions, I can go invisible and make things and people invisible and do instantaneous perfect healing and turn people into birds and do illusions, I can distribute magic songs that do things like healing and accelerated perception and weather control, I can read minds with a range of like ten miles - I'm not doing that - and I am invulnerable to any kind of physical injury, I have teleported into the cores of stars because I was having a tantrum. I can resurrect some species of people but not humans. And the organization I am from can give almost all of those abilities out to anyone they want to have them."

Permalink Mark Unread

 

 

 

"What's the but?" asks John.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Lost 'em. Travelling between dimensions works according to rules and something went wrong and none of the ones I know of can be reached from here. They have enough magic that they can still be looking in on everything I'm doing, and they're trying to find us and I'm sure they will before the year is out. And I'm making something that'll help us find them, too. But right now they can't get to me so it's just me which is not great because I am actually a little kid I'm not just assuming that form for some reason."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Little kid who knows mechanical engineering."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I have a bunch of cognitive enhancements and even without them I'm usually the smartest person in my home world and if you want to make stuff that doesn't fall down without just copying you need to know mechanical engineering. And my species ages slower than humans, I'm older than six or seven Earth years I'm just not developmentally maturer than a six or seven year old human."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Uh huh."

    "...you fixed Bernardo's face, right?" asks John.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yeah."

Permalink Mark Unread

"They did that to him."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Most times there are people who hate each other both of them can point at really horrible things the other side did."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Not torture," says Jade, sounding horrified. "We don't tie people to cars and drag them around the city!"

Permalink Mark Unread

" - okay, yes, often only one side does things like that."

Permalink Mark Unread

    "And it's theirs."

"And you wish to work within their system," Mônica says. "As opposed to toppling it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I mean, if you have a really good alternative then sure, all yours. But - toppling is the easy part."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I have a countrywide organization dedicated to that, yes we have an alternative. We'd love to communicate with external aid, too, like the Protectorate, but Awe won't let us."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I'm not sure how helpful they'll be but I can probably put you in touch with them."

Permalink Mark Unread

"—of course you can. You expect them not to help?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"There's an organization that arranged for all kinds of different governments, including Brazil's, to see what worked best at building stable superhero teams, and Alexandria and Legend and Hero are in on it. They didn't all know all the stuff it was doing but they knew some of it."

Permalink Mark Unread

 

 

 

"Interdimensional consortiums, fine, but at this point I really need some evidence."

Permalink Mark Unread

"I don't care very much if you believe me. Anyway I'm not sure whether like - it seems like maybe 'the dictatorship gets overthrown' is evidence about whether the dictatorship is a good way to run a country, and if you discount that form of evidence you kind of miss the point."

Permalink Mark Unread

"So they won't help us because we're a social experiment and that would mess with control," Bernardo sums up.

Permalink Mark Unread

"Probably, yeah. But I don't really approve of this kind of social experiment so after verifying the torture stuff I will probably help you if you want. I miss Boots."

Permalink Mark Unread

"They sent us the videotapes," she says bitterly.

Permalink Mark Unread

" -wow. Uh, my organization has resurrection. Once they find us."

Permalink Mark Unread

"...very nice of it. Would you like to watch the videotapes, or send them to your Maitimo to confirm this?"

Permalink Mark Unread

" - I will send them to Maitimo."

Permalink Mark Unread

"Do we even need to give them to you, if you can make anything out of matter?" wonders Bernardo.

Permalink Mark Unread

"No but I need something to specify - if they're called something, or if they arrived on a particular day, that'd do it. Otherwise I'd have to make lots of extra stuff and search through it."

Permalink Mark Unread

"We have them on files—" And he lists a few serial numbers. "Should I write these down?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Nah, eidetic memory." He makes a tiny computer chip.

Permalink Mark Unread

So he rattles off more serial numbers. There are a few dozens of them, and he doesn't skip a beat to list them, even though he doesn't have an eidetic memory.

Permalink Mark Unread

He waits for him to finish before making another chip. "Should I take these to Maitimo now?"

Permalink Mark Unread

"Yes."

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Pop. "Uh the Brazilian rebels are making their pitch that they'd be a better government and I'm supposed to verify that these are videos of torturing someone."

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He takes them. "Okay. We'll write you. You okay?"

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"I miss Boots. Do you want to come talk to them -"

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"I do not speak any Portuguese."

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" - oh, right. Still."

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"Would you like me to?"

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"- I should probably discuss with you before I overthrow any governments."

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"I agree."

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"But not right now."

 

He pops back.

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"That was fast."

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"The travel's instantaneous we were just debating whether he should come meet you all."

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"And what'd you decide?"

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"I said I probably shouldn't overthrow governments without talking it over with him but that didn't have to be now. He doesn't speak any Portuguese anyway."

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"I do speak English," she says in that language with only a slight accent.

    "Me, too," says Bernardo.

John and Jade, ironically, don't.

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"And I have magic translation and speak everything. Do you want me to get Maitimo?"

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"That would be lovely, yes."

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Pop. "They speak English and do want to talk to you."

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"Okay." He squeezes Epic's hand. 

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Pop.

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"—for some reason I expected all of you to have wings. It's a pleasure to meet you Maitimo, I'm Mônica, these are Jade and John, this is Bernardo."

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"Nice to meet you! The wings are because of some of Epic's magic - the ability to make arbitrary material objects is associated with the wings, where we're from - and I have no magic powers at all, having been created here five days ago."

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"—ah huh. How did that happen?"

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"I'm a species Epic can make. When he realized this was - a complicated situation requiring more resources than he'd managed to amass - he decided to make some of us. Technically fork some of us from existing versions at home."

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"I see. And he's told you the executive summary of the situation?"

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"He did. If it changes any of your planning we sincerely expect to have contact with this world by the end of the year and after that all of your governments will have to function given the capacity of all your citizens to leave at any time for nice alien-run places."

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"So your sincere advice right now is 'do nothing for another few months'?" asks Bernardo curiously.

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"I don't have enough details. But if the doing is likely to cause a lot of damage and the harms are mostly ones that would be hard to swiftly alleviate even if you succeed, then yes."

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"While your—appearance—is more than Epic's say-so, it's still a lot to ask."

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He nods. "What do your plans look like?"

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"We do not currently have plans beyond trying different things to inform the people and hoping someone who triggers a power that can work around Awe."

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"Who's that and what do they do -"

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"Short answer is we don't know. Long answer is we can't spread news, can't communicate effectively, emails get lost, transmissions from other countries are filtered before they ever get here... Anything that's not in person can be intercepted or modified."

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"- huh. Epic -"

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"Haven't observed it to affect me but maybe I wouldn't. Contessa ought to know about it."

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"—the Contessa?" asks John after Bernardo translates this, sounding alarmed.

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"I don't know if there are two, I haven't been here very long and I've been busy."

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"Appears out of nowhere, takes someone down, or does something weird, disappears later, doesn't seem to have any powers except no one can ever hit her and she can take down even the most powerful—"

Bernardo dutifully translates all of this for Maitimo.

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" - yeah that'd be her."

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"She's part of your organization." That's not a question.

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"She's not part of my interdimensional humanitarian organization but she's part of the social-experiment one, yeah."

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"And what's she for?"

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"She's trying to prevent the destruction of the world."

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" - kiddo are you just telling them lots of highly critical secrets -"

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"People they care about got tortured for Cauldron's social experiment, they deserve to know."

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"I got tortured!" Bernardo chirps cheerily. "I hope that datum helped someone!"

Jade pats his arm.

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"Uh huh. So yeah, Contessa works for that organization and she gave me instructions on how to get what I wanted in Brazil so I assume if my information was getting filtered she'd have said."

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"We don't know how our info gets filtered," says John. "It's always perfectly explainable, but the coincidences—mount."

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- nod.

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After Bernardo translates that for Maitimo's benefit, he says, "So what is the foreign stance on what's going on here?"

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"Legend warned me that Brazil was a military dictatorship so I shouldn't go."

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"...that's all?"

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"I look six, he wasn't going to tell me about torture. - also I think I said in response that Shine was a military dictatorship during the war -"

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...Maitimo sighs.

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"...Shine?"

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"Another dimension. Maitimo was king and they had a war and it was a military dictatorship but I don't think they tortured anybody."

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"They did not."

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"And we're not at war."

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"Well, Behemoth. But he's gone now."

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    "More like a force of nature, that, and it's not like which government's fighting it changes anything."

"Hold on," says Mônica. "Are you the one responsible for that?"

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"Yeah but his attacking several times in a row was also my fault kinda."

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"Several times in a row?"

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"I put him on Mars and he came back so then I put him farther away and then when I found out about Cauldron and got to work on verifying their story the teleporting one showed up."

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"And now you're sure they're both gone?" asks Bernardo dubiously.

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"Pretty sure."

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    Shrug. "Fine by me, I guess."

"Do you have a better estimate than 'within a year' for when your organization of gods is likely to show up?" Mônica asks Maitimo.

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"Depends when we hit on the bridge world. This place has unusually many neighbors, working from the other side might be faster. I'd expect much sooner than a year - maybe this week - but not strongly."

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"And I don't suppose Epic could use his teleportation powers to rescue their current prisoners?"

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"I could do that."

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"In that case I don't think we have a problem not doing anything much for the next while."

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"Who am I getting?"

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Looks like another list Bernardo has memorized in spite of lacking an eidetic memory!

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...scale models of these people right now?

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Two of them are dead. The other couple dozen are in various states of damage or the recovery thereof.

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" - if I go right now it'll be kinda suspicious it was me, do we care -"

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"You're the one playing double agent," shrugs Bernardo.

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"Maybe I will go tonight after I get unkidnapped. Where should I take them?"

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"Here. We can show you the infirmary."

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Nod.

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Bernardo leads the way to another repurposed room, large enough to contain the whole list of people and then some, but not very comfortably.

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"Okay. If I can get unkidnapped now then I'll fetch them tonight. Or were you planning to keep me?"

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"The point seems to be moot. What will your story be, then?"

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"Uh I was knocked out and then I was in a room somewhere weird and I have to know where I am relative to the stuff I'm making to make stuff out of my line of sight and I was worried what would happen if I made a body that was in the middle of a wall and then tried to shift to it, so I started trying to melt the walls with lava and stuff and got knocked out again, and then when I woke up that time I just made scale models of my environment until I had a good enough picture of a safe place to put another body and then I shifted to that one and then I ran away."

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"That would have worked if you'd been fast enough, yes."

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"I would probably actually have tried knockout drugs first, would that have worked?"

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"Not on the person who kidnapped you, he's resistant to pretty much everything like that."

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"Encasing people in stone?"

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"We would normally not have allowed you to get close to anyone who would be vulnerable to that."

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" - I wouldn't try it on anyone but the person immune to drugs, I could kill someone that way."

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"Yes, he's invulnerable to that, too."

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"Then I'm not actually sure what I'd do given just the powers the government knows I have."

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"Why would the scale models not be enough?"

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"I guess they don't know whether someone could stop me fast enough."

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"Exactly."

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"So I should go appear somewhere looking suitably dazed. Anything else here first -"

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"Could we write letters to Epic?"

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"Yeah, definitely."

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"Then I suppose that's all."

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He takes Maitimo back.

 

 

He makes himself a body a yard above the ground on a random sidewalk and lets it fall to the ground and then teleports himself there.

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He is not immediately fetched, but some people are rather surprised by this.

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He stands up and dusts himself off and starts walking.

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It takes two minutes for one of the adult capes to fly to him. "Epic? What happened?"

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Cling.

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"I'll take you to HQ, 'kay?"

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Nod.

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He flies back to the roof of the building. Doctor Ximenes, Vice-Director Silva, and Doctor Lira are all there. Golden Jewel is hiding behind Doctor Ximenes, too.

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He waves at her.

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    She waves back, shyly.

"Epic," breathes Doctor Ximenes. A bunch of armed dudes surround them.

        "Report," says the Vice-Director.

            "Witnesses say his unconscious body appeared out of nowhere and then he woke up and started walking. I fetched him and came straight here."

        The Vice-Director turns to Epic. "Is that true?"

"Give him some space," says Doctor Ximenes. "He needs to rest."

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"I put it somewhere above ground that looked like it was clear and then I swapped into it."

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"Do you need anything? Did they do anything to you?"

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"They did something to knock me out? Twice? I feel fine now though. I don't know who they were."

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"What do you want to do?"

The others seem okay letting the therapist take point.

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"Um? Are they going to come here and do it again?"

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"No, absolutely not, they can't get here, you're safe."

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"Okay. 

 

They said you were torturing people. They said I could look up the tapes. You're not doing that, right?"

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"Of course not!" Doctor Ximenes says, sounding horrified.

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"Oh good." Hug. 

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She hugs him back. "Let's go back inside, you can have some hot chocolate and rest."

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Nod nod.

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She leads the way and after some muttered conversation everyone else lets her. Golden Jewel frets a bit but is told by the Vice-Director Epic shouldn't be bothered.

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He turns around to look at her. "I'm okay. I'll be at dinner probably - I don't really know what time it is, what time is it -"

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"It's the middle of the afternoon, there's a couple of hours still."

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Weak smile. "I'll be at dinner."

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Golden Jewel waves, and now it's just him and the doctor.

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He wraps his wings around himself.

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She does not talk to him if he doesn't initiate, and leads him to his room.

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He curls up in his bed.

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"If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call any of us."

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"I won't."

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She leaves.

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He stays curled up and does two artifact blocks and then goes to dinner.

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No one bothers him during curled-up time but the therapist sits with him for dinner, as does Golden Jewel. "How are you feeling?"

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"Uh, sort of sad. Because it was my first day of school and instead all this happened."

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"I'm so sorry about this. I have no idea how it happened."

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"They said they were heroes who were trying to stop bad people in the government but kidnapping kids isn't very heroic."

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"It isn't. They're very misguided and see knives in every shadow. We try to help them, but they ignore us."

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"What do you try to help them do?"

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"Understand what we're trying to do, not be out on the streets when it's dangerous, get resources to be safe and happy..."

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"That's a good thing to try."

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"It is, but it doesn't work."

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Nod.

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"Do you think you'll feel able to tell us what happened after dinner?"

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Nod.

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"That's good. I'll let you eat with your peers, then."

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Smile. 

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She takes her leave. The other small hero stays.

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"They didn't kidnap anyone else, did they?"

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"No, just you."

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"Oh good."

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"Everyone wants you I guess."

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"I can do a lot. Also might be that I'm little and they think they can make me do what they want."

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"Yeah. They didn't, though, right?"

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"Make me do anything? No, they had to keep knocking me out because I was trying to escape."

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"Oh. That's good. They're mean."

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"Uh huh."

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"And you're good and you helped everyone and you're a real hero and they're silly if they think they're heroes."

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"I think everybody likes to think they're the heroes." Squeeze. 

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"Yeah but you're right."

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He grins at her. "Yeah I am."

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She smiles back at him, and eats her dinner.

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And after dinner he promised to explain what happened.

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He did! Doctor Ximenes is waiting for him at the door.

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Wing-wrap.

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"Did you enjoy dinner?"

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"I guess."

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"I would like to take you to tell a couple of people what happened today."

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"That makes sense."

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Swear to believe your fiction, Contessa sends him via osanwë while he's led.

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He hates that. 

 

He mutters it and is promptly extremely confused.

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The room she takes him to contains Vice-Director Silva, Doctor Lira, the lie detector, and the cape leader of their coalition—a woman going by "Blindfold" who, appropriately enough, wears one, and has a white costume with green and grey details.

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Very confused Epic sits down.

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"Hello, again, Epic. Can you tell us what happened today?"

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"I went to school. We were learning multiplication so I was vaguely annoying until they let me sit alone in the back and read my mechanical engineering textbook. I made things for all the other kids at lunch and it was great, they really liked me. After school I looked around for my escort home and there was someone in the right uniform and he asked how my day had been and I went with him. And then the car wasn't going back to headquarters and he said they were taking me somewhere else and I tried to jump out and then I woke up somewhere else and felt kind of - dizzy and bleh."

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"Jump out? And where were you when you woke?"

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"Out of the car. I tried the door and then I tried making something in the middle of the door and window and unmaking it but I was knocked out before I finished."

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"And where'd you wake?" repeats the Vice-Director patiently.

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"A room? It was small, and had a bed and stuff and the doors were locked and I need to know where I am relative to something to do the - making people - otherwise I might make it in the middle of a wall or something and be dying when I shifted to it - so I tried melting the door with lava and then I think I got knocked out again."

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"Did you see who or what knocked you out?"

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"I think it was the guy who picked me up from school?"

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"Was it a power or did he do something to you?"

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"Power. I think."

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"And after you woke the second time...?"

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"Made tiny scale models of my environment, getting wider in scope, until I could identify a clear area, made a body there, shifted to it."

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"So as far as they know you just became a vegetable?"

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"Yeah I think so."

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"Did they try to talk to you?"

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"Yeah, in the car. They said they were the heroes and the government I was working for was evil and they could prove it and stuff."

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"And did you say anything?"

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"I said that heroes didn't kidnap people."

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"Can you tell us everything you remember about the conversation and any other conversations there?"

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"I was unconscious the rest of the time."

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"You attempted to flee as soon as you said that?"

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"I attempted to flee as soon as they said they were kidnapping me just they were also saying things to me while I was trying to open the door and then trying to break it."

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"I see. And they didn't attempt to communicate anything else to you through any other means?"

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"They also shouted that I could look up the tapes of the government torturing people. I don't know why they didn't write me a letter, if I got a letter I would have checked the things they said to check."

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"Perhaps they didn't think of it," suggests Doctor Lira.

    "We should check for bugs and other things they might have done to spy on us," says Blindfold. "We've instructed other people to not say anything sensitive near him while he was recovering but now that he has..."

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Nod.

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"—can you conjure for anything that got attached to your body since you left school, or something?" asks Lira.

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"Yeah." Well, he has to do it off a timeframe not a milestone but it amounts to the same thing. He does that.

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Nothing.

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He holds out his empty hands. "I don't think they expected me to escape."

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"They could've still used a power on him..." muses Blindfold.

    "Very unlikely," declares Lira. "And if they did, it's not like we could do anything about it, right? We can observe him and if anything strange happens we'll know."

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Nod.

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And they're all dismissed.

"I will accompany whoever comes pick you up at school from tomorrow on," Ximenes says.

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"Okay. Or it could just always be the same person, that'd work."

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"They can possibly copy people's appearances; copying their mannerisms and knowledge is harder. And I believe I may be the person you know best, here."

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"I like Golden Jewel."

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"She likes you, too! She'll be at her school at the time, though, and her secret identity shouldn't be compromised."

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"Yeah okay."

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"I should get back to my duties. You can go back to your room, if you like, or spend time with your friends."

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"I think I might go to bed early."

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"Then sleep well," she says, smiling.

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He nods. He goes to bed. He curls up and closes his eyes and swaps out for himself and follows her invisibly.

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She goes up to her office and starts typing a report about what happened today on her computer.

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He reads over her shoulder from the corner of her office.

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She's very verbose but very complete in her descriptions. She expresses a belief that, if there's some power controlling or following or bugging Epic, it's not something that changes his demeanor so it's probably not taking control of him. It's her professional opinion that everything's fine and he's a very resourceful young man.

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Oh good.

 

 

He goes after the first tortured person.

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Currently asleep in a cell. Bleeding from various places but probably not in immediate risk of death.

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Replacing him with a braindead body would probably be a giveaway. He just steals him, heals him, drops him off in the room suggested.

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He wakes up with a start when he's healed. "What—?"

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"Uh you got rescued. I'm going to go get the rest of them and then if no one's stopped by to explain I will."

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As he's finishing this sentence, though, someone appears, so presumably that's going to be taken care of.

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Next one.

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Being actively waterboarded.

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...that one he'll swap out with a basement-dweller. So as not to alert them before he gets the rest. Swap-heal-flee.

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They don't immediately notice.

Next one's also in a cell, and looks in—worse shape.

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Heal grab.

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After the fourth disappearance people become aware that something is going on.

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He's invisible, they'll have a hard time stopping him.

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Some people are going to check on you in your room, Contessa osanwës him.

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- fine. He teleports back to his room, swaps with the basement-dweller.

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There is an urgent knock.

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He rolls over in bed and rubs his eyes. 

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More urgent knocking!

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"Whaaat?"

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"Epic? Are you in there?" comes Blindfold's voice.

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He goes to the door and opens it and rubs his eyes. "It's the middle of the night!"

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She breathes in relief. "I'm sorry—we thought—but then they must've—" Pause. "It's nothing you should worry about. You can go back to bed, I'm sorry to have woken you."

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" - is there another big monster?"

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"No, no, not at all, never mind. Just go back to sleep."

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He does.

 

And then he gets the rest of them, and then he goes and gets the waterboarded basement-dweller.

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They've noticed he's a basement-dweller by then—or, at least, unconscious—and cry out in surprise when the body disappears.

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He gets rid of it. He goes back to headquarters and stalks around invisibly looking for excitement.

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There is not a lot of it! Doctor Ximenes and Doctor Lira are both blissfully unaware, but the Vice-Director, Blindfold, and a couple other capes and bunches of noncapes are running around like headless chickens trying to figure out what happened.

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He should probably just go to bed but instead he follows the Vice-Director.

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Vice-Director is in a heated phone call with someone who's calling a bunch of different someones and asking bunches of confusing questions.

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Well maybe they should have not tortured people.

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The answers to the questions are equally mysterious—probably thinker powers—and don't make the Vice-Director any less irate.

...he calls the Director. He's yelled at.

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Definitely they should not have tortured people.

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Various "heroes" are woken up and rounded up. Orders are given. People go out on scouting missions. The cells are explored by various people, trying to find any evidence of—anything.

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Epic actually goes to bed.

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No one disturbs him.

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Artifact-making!

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Morning! School!

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He was sort of hoping they'd stop the school thing after the kidnapping. It seems like there are going to be diminishing marginal returns to school. He doesn't fuss about going.

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This morning there's History & Geography.

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He doesn't actually know those things!

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So he will learn a little bit about them! Fit for seven-year-olds, of course. These are continents! These are countries! These are capitals! These are Brazil's states' capitals!

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He knows those things. Or could just read a list and then know them. Having a bad memory must suck. He fiddles with his bracelet that is turning into an artifact.

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Now the kids are supposed to memorize those things! The teacher will give them a few minutes and then ask questions for the class to answer!

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Poor kids who didn't immediately memorize everything that was said even though they were barely paying attention.

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Poor them. They steal glances at Epic and wonder if they'll magically learn things again.

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He can send concepts, but words he sends will get forgotten just like other words.

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Presumably he doesn't tell them this so they'll just be frustrated.

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They just learned this. They shouldn't need help.

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Eh.

Next up: spelling!

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In competently designed languages this is trivial. 

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Portuguese is very much not that! But the spelling rules are very consistent, at least, and correspond exactly to their pronunciations in the majority of cases.

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That's good enough!

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Then the teacher will take dictation of some complicated words!

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School is okay but the kidnapping was way more exciting.

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There won't be a lot more excitement in school today. Well, more kids asking him for things in recess.

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He can make all the things!!

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Teachers and assistants are exasperated!

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Good.

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Doctor Ximenes is there with someone in the right uniform after school to pick him up.

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He bounds over.

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"Hello! How was your day?" she asks.

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"Tedious but I like making everybody presents."

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She smiles. "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday's class, well, yesterday, but all of that happened. Do you think you could come talk to me after lunch today?"

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"Can't we talk in the car?"

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"If you like. Most patients tend to prefer privacy, though."

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"Sure but I don't need therapy."

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"Even so."

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"It's not private anyway, there are cameras hidden everywhere. Fake privacy's worse than no privacy."

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"—what?"

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"Fake privacy is worse than no privacy," he says patiently. "If I wanted therapy for some reason I think I would take my therapist to the moon with me or something."

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"What do you mean by cameras hidden everywhere?"

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He makes all of the cameras in headquarters, in tiny form, in his hand.

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"There certainly aren't any cameras in the rooms I talk to patients in!"

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He checks.

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She's right.

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He extends his hand to show her. "Okay."

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To the car, then.

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"I still don't mind talking in the car."

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"Well, we'll spend a while here. Do you want to tell me in more detail about your days at school?"

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"Uh, the teacher explains things and then the other kids need lots of repetition to get it but I don't so I just sit there waiting until they all know it and then we move on to something else. The first day everyone knew it but we still had to go slow because it was the curriculum. Sometimes I am allowed to sit in the back and listen to music but then the other kids get jealous. Recess is fun, I make people things. I like making people things. I can't wait to end scarcity, how much longer is that going to take?"

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"I think they'll have a new city plan by the end of the week. I heard you promised a girl you could bring people back."

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"Yeah I'm going to figure it out by this winter."

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"Do you have a plan?"

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"Yep but it's a secret plan."

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She raises her eyebrows. "Why is it secret?"

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"Because people might interfere."

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"You think someone'd stop you?"

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"Yeah maybe. Or just bother me all the time."

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"Why do you think so?"

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"Because it'll be a big deal."

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"Wouldn't you think that'd make people not want to bother you?"

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"People are kind of dumb."

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"And you want to keep it a secret even from me?"

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"Yep."

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"Could you be wrong about whether it'll work?"

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"No."

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"That's very confident."

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"I know. It's possible I'll be wrong about the timeline, but I really don't think even that, and there's no way I'm wrong about the outcome."

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"Can you at least share why you're so sure?"

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"I figured out how to do it and it's just a question of getting it working and I've made some progress."

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"And imagine I were being told this by any other parahuman?"

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"You could probably trust some and not others."

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"Yes. And many things modulate trust, like how long we've known someone, how often they've been right in the past, and how likely they are to be overconfident."

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"I don't care if you believe me."

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"I know you don't, but the problem is that, from my position, it looks like you might be making promises to children that you will not be able to keep, and that will be deeply upsetting to them."

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"Yeah, I wouldn't do that."

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"But it's still impossible to confirm and I have to work with what I have."

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"So you can tell me to stop telling children that and I will ignore you."

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"I don't want to just tell you to stop, I want you to understand why it's not a good idea even when you're confident you're right."

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"I understand why you would advise me of that but I don't think I am obliged to act in a way that would be the right way for me to act if I were wrong, when I'm not wrong. It makes sense in your position to try to get me to stop but it makes sense in my position to keep doing it."

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"And not to try to find a compromise where we are reassured and you can keep doing it? If you'd like, you could tell me in confidence what your evidence that this will work is, or some of it, and my word that it is sufficient will be enough to keep others from prying."

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" - I could maybe do that but I would have to really trust you."

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"Regardless of how much you trust me, I am required by oath to not inform anyone of anything you tell me in confidence."

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"I will think about it."

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"Thank you."

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"Under what circumstances would you break an oath like that. Would you keep it if I said something that meant I was in danger? That other people were in danger?"

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"The oath—and the laws—for psychiatrists for parahumans are not the same, I am not supposed to break confidentiality in any cases short of serious risks of mass loss of lives and destruction of property."

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"People could claim that anything to do with me is a serious risk of mass loss of lives, since I could make a black hole if I wanted to."

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"And the person who has to determine whether the risk is serious enough is me, and I don't think you want to nor will you want to under any circumstances."

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"Does confidentiality cover it if I introduce you to another person who also doesn't present any risk of hurting lots of people."

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"...I believe so, yes—but perhaps the rest of this conversation should wait until we're in private."

The driver doesn't give any signs of paying attention to them.

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"Okay."

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On they drive.

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He checks his mail and listens to music.

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And then they arrive at the HQ! It's lunchtime but almost no one is there.

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He eats lunch.

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And after that if he wants to talk to Doctor Ximenes she's available.

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Sure he'll do that.

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And the room they're in has no cameras or microphones or bugs of any kind. "Hello again, Epic. Did you enjoy lunch?"

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"It was okay."

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"Would you like to continue our conversation?"

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"I want to watch the tapes with you. The ones that the kidnappers said the Brazilian government made and sent to them, of their people being tortured."

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"...are you sure? Whatever their content, it's probably, ah, disturbing."

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"I know. But it's kind of important whether the government is torturing people and I don't know how else to check."

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"Even if the tapes contain torture they could have been faked. You're right that their existence is... disturbing, however."

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"I can do other things to check for fakes. Conjuring only for authentic unedited recordings, that kind of thing."

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"How do you define 'authentic'?"

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"As recorded in the moment, not as they'd appear with any subsequent editing. Doesn't rule out that the tortured people are actors but that we can check separately."

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"Or that they've been tortured but the people in the video aren't resistance and the torturers aren't with the government."

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"I can check that too. Conjuring for the birth certificates and so on of the people on the video."

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"That makes sense."

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He makes a computer with the tapes on it. 

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Yeah he can do that can't he.

The tapes contain torture. Doctor Ximenes... is pretty sure a seven-year-old shouldn't be watching that.

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"I agree. But it's important whether it's the government doing it, so help me figure that out."

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"I will." ...she is also not sure she should be watching that. That's disturbing. After enough of it she says, "Perhaps that is enough to prove that the content of all these tapes is in fact torture."

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Not-looking small child nods. "Okay. Thank you. I can look up the people and check if they work for the government now?"

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"Yes, that sounds—like the next step," she says, her voice wavering a bit.

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He conjures for information about the people she watched. He stacks it on the table as he gets it.

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She starts reading it.

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He waits.

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She stops reading after a bit. Looking a bit lost.

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"The government did it, didn't they."

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She looks at him, a bit blankly, and neither nods nor shakes her head.

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"I thought maybe that was true. That's why I didn't want to tell them how I will be able to do resurrections."

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She closes her eyes briefly, then says, "They must not know."

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"Who must not know? The Vice-Director knows."

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She shakes her head. "They must not know that we know."

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"Oh. Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to endanger you."

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"It—it's best that—that we know—"

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"Maybe? I didn't think about the thing where you might be in danger."

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"You might be in danger, as well."

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"I have backup bodies lots of places, it seemed like a good idea."

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"...what sorts of places?"

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"One is in the arcologies on the Moon."

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"The... arcologies?" Pause. "Was that you?"

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"Yeah."

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"You've lied to us, haven't you?"

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"Do you blame me."

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"...no. No, I—I don't."

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"I haven't explained all the things I can do because I can't trust them with it."

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"I understand."

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"I just wanted to put São Paulo back."

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"What can you do, really?"

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"It's a pretty long list. I can teleport. I can do healing. I can read minds but I won't do that even to them it's not an okay thing to do to people."

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"...so the extra bodies..."

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"Are just cover for the thing where I can teleport without that."

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"Do you have a nullifying power of some sort, too?"

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"No."

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"...one of the people who talked to you was a lie detector."

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"I, uh, have a self-mind-control power."

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"Which... you used to make yourself believe your lies."

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"Yeah. I hate doing that it's so confusing but it works."

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She nods. And sighs. "I... am not sure what to do. Is there anything else you lied about? Are you even Brazilian?"

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"...it's a really really long story but no."

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"...we still have forty minutes, if we want to pretend this is a regular therapy session. Which you might not."

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"I'm fine with pretending that. Okay. So I was born a hundred twelve Earth years ago on a planet called Arda, which is populated by Elves, which are a different species. We grow up slower, among other things."

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"Why are you on Earth?"

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"Got lost."

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"How?"

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"I was experimenting with a new dimensional transit prototype."

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"You're from another world altogether?—wait, one hundred twelve years ago powers didn't exist, did they start earlier there?"

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"Oh, different universes have different - things going on - though with Earths it's always something - powers are only here. I just have lots of magic."

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She slumps ever so slightly on her seat.

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"It's really a long story."

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She nods. "And you knew about this even before you came... I am so out of my depth."

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"I wasn't positive but I pretty much expected it was true."

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"Do you have any—plans, after São Paulo is back in place?"

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"End scarcity."

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"...with the replicators?"

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"And my powers in general."

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She nods, in a bit of a daze.

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He waits.

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It takes a few more seconds. Then: "So should I just—pretend everything's fine until you give us São Paulo?"

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"I guess."

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"You mentioned you'd introduce me to someone..."

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"If you have trouble believing me or something. He's a grownup. I made him to give me advice."

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She won't question that he can make people. She just—won't. "Can I help you with anything at all, then?"

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"Uh I think I mostly told you because I didn't want you to think I was irresponsibly telling people I could resurrect their families."

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"Which you—can't right now but will be able to—?"

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"Once they find me which they'll probably do inside the week but winter's the latest."

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"They... the people from your world?"

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"Yeah. They can do resurrection."

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"I see."

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"They're really magic."

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"And really altruistic about it, it appears."

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"It's kind of obviously the thing to do once you have everything you could possibly want."

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"I suppose."

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"Also it's fun."

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She laughs. "It is, isn't it? Well. I think you're safer than I could possibly make you and probably don't need—" Pause. "...school must be terribly dull when you're a hundred and twelve. Will it help bring people from your world faster if you don't have to go to it or is it completely out of your hands?"

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" - there's a thing I'm doing that'd happen faster if I got to work on it more but my guess is that they'll find us rather than vice versa so it's not highly likely to make the difference."

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"What is it?"

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"One thing my magic system can do is make ordinary objects magic if you give them complicated instructions. I'm trying to give something the instructions to give the bearer an eidetic memory, after which I can give them spells including the teleport they can use to search for my home."

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"...yes I can probably get school out of your way."

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"Okay. It was sort of fun. I wasn't actually aware of how much telepathying the concepts in the right amount of detail could help kids with math."

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"—oh, so that was you."

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"I was just impatient with the pacing of the curriculum and I thought the barrier was my classmates' understanding but that was not really the case."

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"Well, it is, on a general scale. The teachers have specific things to teach on each class and they can't just decide to teach different things."

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"Yeah, that's the part I didn't know. I thought if we all knew multiplication and division we'd just move on to the next thing."

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"That might work if there was more variance in learning speeds than there is."

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"There is kind of a lot of variance in individual learning speeds but I guess there might not be much variance in learning speed by class."

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"And kids who are exceptionally good sometimes skip grades or go to other schools."

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"Thanks for getting me out of school."

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"You're welcome. ...do you mind demonstrating some of your other powers so I don't feel extremely silly when later it turns out I believed you just because the government's terrible?"

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He teleports across the room. 

This is the telepathy thing don't worry I'm not reading your mind just talking to it. It can also do senses, like so. 

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"Okay."

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He tries for a reassuring smile.

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This is way too much, but okay.

"Do you want to talk about anything else?"

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"I don't think so. B - the person who adopted me after I ran away from home is a therapist and she's great and I don't think I need extra therapy really."

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"Boots, you were going to say? Is she from your world, too?"

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"No, she's from Materia, where science doesn't work."

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"...science doesn't work."

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"Well, if you try it the rules change and you die. There was a me there and he died. Three times, the last one for good. Until we rescued him. ...I'm really not the best person to explain this."

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"Maybe it would be best if you got the... person you made..."

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"He doesn't speak any Portuguese yet, do you speak English?"

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"Yes."

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He disappears. 

 

 

He reappears with Maitimo.

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Who sighs. "- hi."

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"...hello. I'm doctor Ximenes."

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"Maitimo. Pleasure to meet you."

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"I wasn't planning on telling everyone everything it just kept making sense to do."

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Hug.

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"So I'm not the only human who knows it. That's... reassuring, somewhat."

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"You, half a dozen North American capes, the Brazilian resistance, for all I know half the population of Indonesia -"

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"Have not."

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"Not being good at secrets makes you very trustworthy."

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"Okay but it is factually untrue that half the population of Indonesia knows about the peal, I haven't even talked to any Indonesians."

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"Sorry, I won't tease you." He looks at Dr. Ximenes. "It's a handful, though."

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"And, ah, is there a reason why you're not coming forward publicly about it?"

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"Yes."

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"...is it a secret reason?"

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" - yes?"

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"We have reason to think it'd cause a stir among some powerful capes who currently aren't causing one, to oversimplify."

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"...I see. Should I just—assume this is being competently handled? I'm just a therapist. I'm a good therapist, but..."

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"It's being handled with lots of resources by very dedicated and competent people, and there'll be more of them available soon."

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She nods. "I'm glad, then."

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"Of course. Are you all right?"

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"...yes. I think I am." She smiles. "My world has just been turned upside down but... yes."

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"Good."

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"I should probably go arrange things so that Epic doesn't need to attend school anymore."

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"That makes sense. You can write him if you need anything else from us."

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"I will. I suppose I should thank you for—saving the world, if that's what you're going to do."

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"You're very welcome."

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"We do it a lot."

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She laughs. "That's good to know."

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He takes Maitimo home. He bounces back. "Thank you for getting me out of school."

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"You're welcome," she says, half-smiling. "Thank you for—telling me everything."

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Nod.

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And he can go do whatever while she does whatever she needs to do to make sure he doesn't need to go to school again.

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He goes to his room.

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Legend's written him a letter asking him how he's doing.

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He composes one to drop off in return once he can. It explains that they made him go to school but won't do that anymore, and that the military dictatorship has been made to stop torturing people he would kind of have appreciated knowing about that sooner.

 

He works on his artifact.

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Doctor Ximenes successfully manages to arrange it so he does not need to go to school any longer.

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He appreciates it. He puts in more time on the artifact. He visits Chicago to drop the reassuring letter off for Legend.

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And there's his extremely gorgeous house! Gosh it is so pretty.

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He drops off the letter for Legend and checks that no one's trying to disturb his body in Brazil and flops in his pretty pretty house. He will probably be home by the end of the week, he doesn't really need a break. But it is nice.

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And now he's sitting up, and then standing up.

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- no, that was not what he meant to do - can he talk -

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Absolutely.

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"I swear not to move or make things until I figure out what's going on," he whispers very quietly.

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There are a couple of seconds of silence and then a laugh, as a young man with a goatee playing with a knife emerges from another room.

"What an interesting side power. I wonder how much information you need before that stops working."

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Legend someone's here and something's wrong.

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No response.

"Still not working. Let's see, my name's Jack, I'm part of this group called Slaughterhouse Nine, a colleague of mine is a thinker with a rather interesting way of applying his power so he's sort of also a master...?"

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Sadde Miss Militia I'm in my house and something's wrong.

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"It's rude not to respond when addressed."

Epic is going to say he's sorry.

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In English?

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Yep.

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"I'm sorry," he says, "but I haven't seen much reason I shouldn't be rude to you."

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Jack laughs. "I suppose there isn't." He walks over to the sofa and sits on it. "Now, come on, Super, don't be shy, let's introduce to our new friend!"

From the same room Jack came comes a—he must be a person, probably, but it hurts to look at him, like there are many of him there at the same time, one on top of the other. He walks or glitches over to the sofa and sits on it.

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ANYONE WHO CAN HEAR ME CALL THE CHICAGO PRT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!

 

"I'm kind of involved in a lot of things already, sorry."

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Super is suddenly standing, looking around uneasily.

"What is it, Super?"

    "He did something. // called someone," says Super in a superposition of voices.

"Is that so. How'd you do that, young man?" asks Jack curiously.

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THIS IS EPIC. PEOPLE NAMED JACK AND SUPER ARE ATTACKING ME. CALL THE CHICAGO PRT.

"I'm older than you."

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- how the fuck are you doing this? Can you hear me? I called the Chicago PRT, is this working -

"How many powers do you have?" Jack wonders.

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Telepathy power, thank you for calling them, did they say they're on the way - I'm in my house -

"You keep asking me things and not giving me any reason to do them, it's kind of dumb. Or is the knife supposed to be a reason to do them? I have other bodies - I have one in Brazil right now - if anything happens to this one I'm pretty sure I wake up in one of the others."

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Yeah they're coming but—kinda busy, there was an attack—can you run?

"Is that the excuse you use? I suppose it makes sense." He shrugs. "No, I'm just making conversation, wasting some time, getting to know you. Oh you can sit down," he tells Super impatiently, and a glitch later Super is sitting again. "I'm pretty sure you can't get to your other bodies right now, though, so that's one little trick out of your arsenal."

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Can he teleport.

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Sure.

To that spot over there two feet to the right.

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No I can't. It's really urgent.

"Huh. I guess if I had met you like fifteen years ago you'd have been the scariest thing I'd ever met."

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Someone's coming—don't make anything.

Jack's grin widens. "Now that sounded like a challenge."

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Can't. I don't think. I tried to make sure I can't.

"I know a person who uploaded peoples' brains onto computers, paved a continent with servers to run them on, and tortured them for subjectively thousands of years, just for fun. He was a god. Black holes couldn't scratch him. He had a thousand times as much attention as a person and he spent all of it trying to make the world as horrible as he could imagine, and he had a good imagination. He was not the scariest person I ever met. The scariest person I've ever met ripped him apart like tissue paper from hundreds of lightyears away."

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Okay. Hang in there.

"So much competition! That sounds like fun. Can you introduce us?"

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"I would be delighted. But I can't move."

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"Superposition here can see the future, or many futures, and pick which one he likes best. That's how he's controlling you. As to why we're doing this, well, let's say I was rather impressed when I found out Behemoth was dead and I wanted to meet his killer in person. Here, did that explain enough of what's going on?"

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He tries to swear it again. Doesn't work.

"No," he says. "I can decide I don't believe you and therefore don't know any more than I did before you opened your mouth." 

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    "He's lying. // not telling the truth. // It's not true," says Superposition.

"That makes our games much more fun, doesn't it?"

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" - I think maybe we find different things fun. It makes this less trivial, I guess."

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"Well, are you going to introduce me to your god-killing friend?"

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"I am concerned that if I try to teleport I will go somewhere other than where I intended. It seems safer not to try to teleport until I'm confident I can get where I want to go. Once that's all settled, sure. If you are not dead by then."

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"That's very reasonable of you! But then without meeting your friend I'll have to think about how to do better myself, and you killed one of the best ways I had to do it. Hmm..."

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"I didn't actually kill Behemoth. It's kind of a long story but none of it involved me killing Behemoth."

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"I'm sure I'll love to hear it sometime but I think it's time for us to go." He stands up. "And I know exactly who we're going to go visit."

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"What exactly is your goal here?"

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"Who says I have a goal?"

They sure are about to all be teleported to a certain specific empty spot in Texas.

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How does that even work -

They get there.

Epic turns himself into a bird.

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No he doesn't.

    "He wanted // tried to turn himself into a bird."

"Will wonders never cease?" asks Jack. "But Super, I'd be much obliged if you didn't make our friend get us out to the middle of nowhere."

    "They were coming // arriving // and there were so many of them // only three // four // two and a half of them—"

"You don't need to worry about that, I'll take care of you, like I've been doing, right?"

Superposition's flickering gets marginally less agitated.

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Invisible?

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He can't—

—but when he tries it Super screams. It's a horrible, disjointed noise, a cacophonous chorus of shrill vocalizations.

"I think that's my cue to stop wasting time, then. Super, do you think you can get us to the golden man?" No response. "I'll give you you-know-what if you do." And that makes the screams stop immediately. He nods.

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"Whatever it is I can give it to you I'm a demon you shouldn't work for him he's horrible -" He tries invisible again, he tries inaudible, he tries illusioning himself all black and making himself frozen in a block of ice -

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He can go invisible, and inaudible, and illusion himself all black, and freeze himself in a block of ice—

—but he's also teleporting them to Nepal.

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Ugh.

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Where Scion is putting out a house fire. He pays no attention to the new arrivals.

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They should also be inaudible and can he make something to break his necklace -

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He cannot make them inaudible, but the necklace doesn't seem to be particularly resistant.

"Hey! Golden man! What are you doing?"

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Scion continues to ignore them.

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Necklace breaks. He doesn't have an eidetic memory and doesn't have spells. Safer than letting them have them.

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"Did you know Behemoth's dead?" Jack continues conversationally. "Or, well, not dead, but this young man doesn't seem to want to disclose the details."

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Scion's mind... does react to that. Distantly. One of its many subprocesses allocating some more memory and processing power to decoding the air vibrations and turning it into communication.

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Can he make things in Jack.

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If it's anything that would kill or otherwise disable Jack then no, but this causes Superposition to scream and flicker some more.

Jack continues unbothered: "A very powerful young man, he is. More powerful than you. But we can't have that, can we? You're supposed to be the most powerful."

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Processing, analyzing. No one is supposed to be more powerful than this entity, not on this planet. This entity's pair is gone, and it would have noticed if any other entities had arrived. Could this child be an avatar of a different entity? Perhaps one that could—could—

More subprocesses turn their attention to this interaction—putting out a fire is easy, and this entity was not really getting anything out of it—and they start working overtime on trying to imitate its erstwhile partner. But it can't, not really, and this might be the best chance it will get.

It sends Epic a message, or a million messages—none through sound, none through anything like osanwë, but using channels and frequencies unachievable and undetectable by mankind. There is too much content and too much nuance and too much information even though it can be summarized as different shades of

-greetings.—

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- hi. ...these people are hurting me. If you make them stop I'll try to help.

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This entity is (something that could maybe be best approximated as) confused. It did not have any sensors capable of receiving whatever method of communication was just used. It was also—very low bandwidth. The entity isn't capable of generating hypotheses for why that should be, and after looking at a few (hundred thousand) parallel universes and finding no signs of this new entity's body it burns a few years off and starts looking at the past—where did this new entity come from, who did it talk to, what did it say—processing, processing—

(Jack continues talking in the background, even though Scion has done the huge-brain equivalent of tuning him out. He's still dedicating more attention to Jack than a human brain possibly could but that's relatively little.)

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Ugh.

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—this new entity can make people. It can bring people back to life.

Scion's body moves in acknowledgement for the first time—

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("So you are listening, I was wondering.")

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—and he says, "Can you bring her back?"

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" - my peal can. I can only do part, by myself, I need help for the rest. Can you find them, can you find the world I was in when I got here..."

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"—what's this?" asks Jack, suddenly uncertain.

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He's still being ignored by the entity, who decodes Epic's words and then burns off some of its life to look into the past and find the world—

—and then both it and Epic are somewhere else altogether—the Earth is barren and lifeless, the atmosphere toxic, too hot—

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" - Warp is next to here?"

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-confirmation.—

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He writes a note.

Cam I'm next to Warp now you should be able to find me Scion's here and I'm scared

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There is a delay.

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-expectation. doubt?—

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"Do you know how long an hour is."

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-confirmation.—

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"Less than that."

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-expectation. patience. agreement.—

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" - thanks."

Cam hurry

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- and there's Cam and then they're back in Warp.

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- and Boots is scooping him up and squeezing him.

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"Scion could kill trillions and trillions of people if he gets mad do something  -" and he starts sobbing and clings to her.

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"Of course, Cam'll go right back -"

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"No, I'm sending Golden."

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Golden shows up.

She goes to meet Scion.

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Here's Jesus, golden edition. He looks at the new arrival expressionlessly for a second then asks, "Can you bring her back?"

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"We could try."

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"Thank you."

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"We're going to want to be very sure, first, that this doesn't cause any planets to explode or anyone to die or anything like that."

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Another second's pause, then "Yes."

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"How do you propose that we be sure of that?"

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The entity looks. This person is not an entity, or if she is, she has powers it cannot detect, working through means it is unaware of. It cannot generate hypotheses as to why, not in such a short time. What it does know is that she slips away from its detection, and it looks, what does it have to do to win

—it fails. It cannot get any data, it cannot run any simulations including this person—not even it is immune to simulation, not unless it's crippled a shard just like its counterpart must have crippled the suited woman's. It again cannot generate hypotheses other than the obvious ones—maybe she crippled it without its noticing, maybe she is so much huger than it that its processors just can't wrap around her head at all.

This entity is at her mercy, and it may not be the thinker, but it is the warrior, and the warrior knows when he is outclassed and outmatched.

"We just want the universe not to die."

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"It's not going to."

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"Our calculations suggest it will in approximately one hundred trillion of this planet's years."

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"How confident are you that you took everything into account?"

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...this entity has a lot of information about this. But the not-entity cannot receive it no matter how it sends it. Making do with words is not sufficient, but it does not know how to best translate these concepts without simulating how they are received.

"Not. It is the reason for the cycle," is what it eventually decides to say.

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"The cycle being the thing where you repeatedly kill huge numbers of people after giving them powers for a while."

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"Yes."

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"That's going to have to stop."

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"We have not yet found a way to prevent the universe from ending."

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"We have lots of entropy-breaking magic."

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"Will you use it?"

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"We use it all the time. Whether we use it here depends a lot on whether you can be relied on to hold up your end of a bargain."

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"Yes."

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"No cycle. You or your partner if we can bring her back. No killing anyone in non-cycle incidents either. No hurting people. Can you make the others of your species stop too?"

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"I cannot."

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"Can you tell us how to get them to?"

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"I do not know how."

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"Would your counterpart?"

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"It is possible. I do not know."

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"I can take you to Gem. She can grant you a wish. You will have to agree with her on how to make your wish; if you don't, she won't grant it, and your chance will be wasted. It will limit your and your counterpart's powers but it may bring her back."

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"Will this avatar remain connected to the rest of its body?"

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"I don't know how your avatar works."

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"It is connected to its other shards and present in many universes at the same time."

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"Universes obey a principle called 'adjacency'. Only some universes are connected. It might be that your avatar can persist even when out of this neighborhood, or it might not."

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"It should persist if it is connected to its main body."

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"I cannot tell you in advance if it will stay connected if moved away."

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"Acknowledged."

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"Shall I bring you to Gem?"

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"Yes."

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She writes a note first. No one comes to tell her to abort.

It's nine hops.

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First hop's fine.

Second hop the body goes inert.

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She brings it back.

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It reactivates as soon as they're one hop from the neighborhood.

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"Looks like your avatar does not cope with travel out of neighborhood. Unless your neighborhood overlaps with Gem's that means you can't make a wish."

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"It needs to be connected."

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"We've established that, yes."

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"I could create a connection."

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"How?"

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"Other shards, in adjacent universes."

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"What other effects would this have?"

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"The shards would be in other universes."

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"Which has what implications?"

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"This avatar will be connected to them. This entity will be able to sense the other universes and move its avatar between them at will."

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"After you have made your wish can the shards be destroyed?"

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"Yes."

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"Why do you take so long to answer questions?"

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"This entity does not usually communicate with sounds. It requires unusual simulation to convey its desired meanings this way."

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"Would this conversation be facilitated if someone who can communicate the way Epic did were involved?"

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"Yes."

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Golden solicits a Flat Elf assistant via network.

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Scion just sorta floats there.

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Flat Elf.

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And with this accessory she would like to confirm that everything said so far has been complete and accurate.

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...well the Flat Elf can read Scion's mind but she should maybe repeat the series of questions.

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She can do that.

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If reading minds is like glimpsing at the surface of a lake, this is the ocean. A much larger share of Scion's processing capabilities than usual is being dedicated to this interaction, and a lot of it is trying to work around the fact that he just—can't—predict her. All his precognitive shards are completely unable to simulate her so his usual go-to for understanding—simulating reactions—is unavailable.

He does not recalculate his reasoning for deciding to answer Golden's questions, but there's enough surface that, if one looks, they might correctly conclude that he does not think he could possibly win against someone as thoroughly shielded as she is, with powers that reach dimensions beyond the ones his species knows. His species, wormlike creatures which consumed all of a planet's energy then evolved the ability to hop worlds and started doing that, and then consumed everything every version of that planet could give them, and then they warred, and unified, and became very few select individuals—the very first shards are what used to be these individual members of the species. The energy thus acquired used to propel them off that planet, the cycle starts there—all they need is a way to survive, to keep existing, it's their only focus, their only reason. More complex desires are only present as echoes, as simulation inside this biologically human avatar, but mostly they're just huge computers.

His counterpart—a long time ago, in the past of his cycle, the entities came upon the idea that specialization would improve upon their chances, and so they're two, the warrior and the thinker. The thinker plans, controls, thinks, decides—the warrior fights, defends, protects. Without the thinker, the warrior cannot take any steps forward. Without the warrior, the thinker cannot survive. They coexist, united in their single purpose, coordinating more like symbionts than two individuals.

But the thinker is dead, and the warrior does not know what to do.

If the thinker could return, then she would find a way to set everything right, to make sure they would not stop existing. If her power is curbed, though—then all may be lost. But he cannot find alternatives, except for eventual annihilation and the hope that someone else, somewhere, might step up to fill her role.

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"- it'd be useful if I could bounce this - I can't, right - he's not lying exactly. They'd attack us if they thought they'd win but right now he thinks they'd lose - he can't do what the other one does, and she's the strategist, she might think of something that'd cause her to conclude she'd win -"

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"You could go bounce it to one of my alts if there's important nuance."

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"There's a ton going on, I think I'm catching everything important but I could be missing something."

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"How likely is that?"

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"That I'm missing something that changes the meaning of everything, not at all, that I'm missing something you could use... probably? There's a lot."

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"Are you in a hurry?" she asks Scion.

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He has waited this long—so many years, so many eons—his is not an impatient species.

"No."

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"I suggest that you avoid doing anybody any harm for the next few decades as a show of good faith and we will learn more about this neighborhood and get back to you about bringing back your counterpart. Is that agreeable?"

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He still does not quite understand what "harm" means, he has too many definitions, some of which are mutually incompatible, and he is not sure how to optimize for them, what counts as something he should not harm—he does not particularly see humans as meaningfully different than rocks or for that matter his own shards, and he sheds shards all the time, is that harming them, what should he do instead—

—and there's the not-sadness, he doesn't need his counterpart for strictly rational reasons, he needs her, it's a part of him that's missing and that's wrong and a world without her is wrong and if he can't have her then he could have something else instead of her but he needs that part of him that's missing—

(—and because this avatar is humanlike enough there is in fact something very much like sadness going on there, as much sadness and anger and hopelessness as could fit in a human mind, even if it's comparatively dwarfed by the other thing—)

—but he cannot fight, and he is at their mercy—he could make it costly for them to impose this condition but he would lose and then he wouldn't get her ever except maybe he would but she was the one who knew how to weigh probabilities like that—

He cannot convey all of that through words. So he conveys all of that through thoughts -uncertainty.— at the Flat Elf and hopes they can convey that better.

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" - he's not sure what we think counts as harm, might be that some processes involved in his magic are sapient not that he's thinking in those terms, I'm not even sure he can distinguish thinking and non-thinking beings except by checking against an exhaustive list - he's really sad about her -"

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"He said he wasn't in a hurry -" Sigh. "Would his counterpart be better at interpreting things like 'harm'?"

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Yes, the thinker could simulate all sorts of things and people, she had an outlined plan about how to interact with humans and how to translate what they were doing and saying into instructions for him, but she never told him the plan before she disappeared and then died—

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"Yep."

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"Okay. We can try taking him to Gem to wish for her back with some limits."

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His human avatar feels an echo of the not-emotions his whole self is feeling: hope, anxiety, fear, expectation, anger, uncertainty—

"Yes."

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"Not intending to betray us but it'd depend what the other one thinks when back."

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...well. Wishes are granted in Wish, where Gem can conveniently rewind time.

"All right. It's nine hops, so I guess nine shards."

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"Yes."

He starts selecting shards—ones that are not particularly useful, or ones that are very stable and unlikely to change. Several hundred million shards, he has more than enough. He picks nine of the more managerial ones.

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Hop.

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"This entity needs somewhere to deposit its shard."

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"What traits does the place need?"

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"It needs to be big."

He's thinking about as big as a soccer stadium.

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"Half a square kilometer."

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"Is it all right if it's in vacuum?"

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"Yes."

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She leaves the Elf behind and takes him ludicrously far away. "Let me know when you're done."

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It takes a second.

Then a huge mass of—something—appears out of thin vacuum. It's a gray blob with distorted limbs sticking out of it and each other, fractals of body parts folding into one another in mind-bending non-Euclidean—or, at the very least, more-than-three-dimensional—spatial folds.

"This entity is done."

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He's ludicrously powerful and hasn't mastered pronouns. Joy.

She collects the Elf, hops again, repeats the process.

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The next universe gets a smaller piece of the shards dropped in the previous one.

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They are all sooooo far away from anything the peal cares about at all.

And then they are in Wish.

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"You will need a wish wording," she says. "Do you have one you expect to be agreeable?"

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"Will this entity need to use words in this human language?"

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"Yes."

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"This entity is unlikely to produce an agreeable phrasing."

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"I can write it for you. What are the desiderata it needs to include?"

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"This entity's counterpart needs to be active again."

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"There any nuances we're missing here?" she asks the Elf.

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"He's not pretending to be worse at language than he is, he's actually really bad at it. He doesn't want her constrained - he could probably wish for her to be restricted but he's not going to come up with ideas - can't -"

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Gem checks his emotional read.

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Ridiculously strong. Not superhumanly so—the human-level emotions are only present in this avatar—but at the very top of what's humanly possible.

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And she comes up with a suitably hobbling wording that will restore Eden to life without permitting her to do harm or direct or arrange others to do harm.

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"Will this entity's counterpart return to its body?"

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"Wishes work in this neighborhood. Resurrections usually provide a new body but I can work with the old one if you can bring it here."

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"Its body is as large as this entity's."

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"Which is how big?"

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"Several times the size of your planet."

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"Good to know. We'll have to relocate. Is there particular value to the old body being restored?"

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"These entities' consciousnesses are spread among all shards."

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"...what does that have to do with what I asked?"

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"The entities' bodies are made up of their shards."

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"And humans' consciousness is stored in our brains, but resurrection magic handles that. Do you prefer to have your counterpart restored in her original body rather than provided with a new one, and if so, why."

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"This entity thinks it unlikely to matter."

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"Okay." She puts them all in some nice spacious vacuum; purple magic contains air for talking. "You have your wording."

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He repeats it.

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And his wish is granted.

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Eden has her own gravitational field. Scion looks at—her, it—and goes completely silent.

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"I'll take you home."

Hops with plenty of room for Eden in each, bringing the dropped shards along.

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(And if Eden has instructed Scion to send some not-externally-noticeable share of these shards away near-luminally fast who's going to notice, really?)

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Cam is! He will go clean up after them.

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That is suboptimal but does give them information about these aliens' capabilities. And how likely they are to follow through.

Would they like to talk to Eden?

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Does Eden have anything to say?

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She would like to officially meet the people who are going to solve all of her problems.

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Then sure, Golden and Translator Elf can talk to Eden.

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"Hello," says a woman as silver as Scion was golden. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And, I suppose, I should thank you for having the opportunity at all."

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"You're welcome."

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"My counterpart—I believe he's been called Scion by the people from the Earth we've been inhabiting?—has informed me of everything that has happened, to the extent he's been able to, but I believe there may have been nuances he missed. You are from—different universes? To which we do not have access?"

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"Yes."

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"That seems to go against everything we've been able to determine about how physics works in the past thousands of years."

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"Yes, it's very subtle from inside of universes."

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"And Scion was under the impression you had—magic, was that it? Understanding that as things that can break the laws of physics."

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"Yes."

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"May I ask—how?"

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"I don't think you can reproduce it here."

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"Why is that?"

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"Some worlds just have it. Closest thing your world has is you guys."

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"We just use technology and discoveries other species made. Your—I'm not sure what his relationship to you was, the small one calling himself Epic—seemed to be able to perform magic here, though."

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"It's portable, you just won't be able to generate it naively."

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"I see. And do you know why we can—see the worlds we're connected to but not the others in their neighborhood?"

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"I could guess. You may be overestimating my willingness to dump useful information on serial genocides without a good reason."

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"—yes, I understand how that would be concerning. But I seem to be very thoroughly stuck, and could not harm anyone even if I wanted to. Which I don't; surely you understand we merely have orthogonal values, not incompatible ones."

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"Yes, we've met the category 'amoral aliens who are only doing horrific things in order to combat entropy' before. We do not plan to let your universe die. Congratulations."

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"It must be very upsetting to know we're a category. But if it helps, most species we've met are more like you than like us."

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"Not surprising."

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"It does seem like natural selection would pick that for sapient species. Regardless, given that it appears I will achieve my goals more effectively by helping you achieve yours, and that I have magic preventing me from doing most of what I'd normally do to ensure that remains the case, I do believe it would be in your interests to share more with me."

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"Perhaps you could be more specific about how you plan to be helpful."

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"We have several hundred thousand different ways to cheat at physics without outright breaking it, but the reason we created the whole cycle was that we are not a very creative species. We rely on others to do creativity for us. I'd offer the same, if in a less—destructive relationship than our usual ones."

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"What are your interests past preventing the end of the universe?"

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"I don't have any. Increasing the probability that I'll keep existing is really my only goal."

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"We don't make a habit of resurrecting people and then killing them later. I suppose you could be useful as a consultant on other members of your species if you want to help out though."

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"I did not mean you'd kill me, I meant entropy would. As for consultation—I will of course do what I can but that may turn out to be very little. The first time we ran into another of our kind in a very long time was when we were first arriving on Earth and it was not unlike meeting aliens of yet another species."

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"How so?"

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"I expect from your perspective that would not be the case—the other entity was also a mass of shards with a variety of ways of driving other species insane and then eating them. But it was similar to us in the same way, perhaps, certain apes are similar to humans: evolved from the same ancestor. It had split off before our kind discovered the strategy of specialising and cooperating, like Scion and I do, but was thus significantly more efficient and had different kinds of powers. Many of which I acquired, too, and passed on to humans to study."

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"We have circumstantial evidence and local observer analysis of your species to go on. Maybe you could provide more depth."

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"I suppose I perhaps could, yes."

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"If you want to trade information we can work out terms."

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"Oh, no, that's not what I was saying at all, I think it's a good idea to share this information with you anyway, you're the solution to all of our problems, if you really have the abilities you claim to have."

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"I'm not sure how that's in question."

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"I believe humans have a saying—any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic? None of what I've observed so far strictly implies the entropy-breaking capabilities you claim to have, although if other worlds are sufficiently numerous and different and out of sync it might just be that the question is moot."

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"That too."

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"Still. It would be—reassuring to be offered some more evidence in that direction."

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"Do you have something in mind?"

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"My ability to come up with hypotheticals only goes so far, especially given what little we've observed."

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"You've observed some magic. If those demonstrations weren't convincing I'm not sure why other ones should be if you can't define what you're looking for."

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"You could start by telling me what you can do, but if that is out of the question, my only real goal here is figuring out how entropy is going to be defeated."

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"One of the more portable powers allows the creation of arbitrary material objects. It's got a speed limit but it fits the description."

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"—and it does not fetch this matter from other universes?"

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"No."

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"Was that the power my counterpart saw the little winged one using? He assumed Epic had been fetching it from other universes but since it appears we do have access to all of our neighborhood..."

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"Little winged one actually has an inferior variant power based on a better original but he isn't fetching it from other universes either."

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"Well. That would be quite sufficient. There's no limit at all?"

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"Only of rate of speed of production of matter per producer. Planet-in-a-few-weeks kind of rate. If they all wanted to hang out producing planets all the time, which is a taller order."

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"And other people cannot obtain this power?"

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"You could get little-and-winged's version, possibly."

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"That would solve all of our problems very neatly."

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"Scion can't, he's spent his wish, but if that's what you want to do with yours you can schedule a time with Gem."

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"I would like that dearly."

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"I'll let her know."

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"Thank you very much."

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"You're welcome."

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And her avatar vanishes.

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Epic clings to Boots.

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So much hug.

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"I missed you a lot it's so hard to figure out what to do even though I'm really smart."

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"I got all your letters and you did a very good job and I'm so proud of you."

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Hug hug hug hug. "I promised some people I'd resurrect their dead parents and stuff."

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"Well then, I'll requisition a magic rock, shall I."

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"Yeah. And -" and he bounces her everything that happened after he stopped being able to move, in Chicago - "he wanted to meet Loki. Would Loki like to meet him."

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"Uh, I can ask. Although she can't do Tesseract stuff there."

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"Awww, then that's no fun." Cling. "I was so scared - if they'd known what they were doing they could've -"

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Squeeze squeeze squeeze.

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"It's not a very nice Earth."

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"Some of 'em aren't. It's all right, we can patch it up."

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Cling. "Yeah. Yeah. Why am I crying, I didn't mean to."

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"It's not uncommon when very emotional and is in fact usually involuntary."

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"I missed you."

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Squeeze. "I missed you too."

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Cling.

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All the hug.

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"What would you have done."

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"I'm an adult with different powers, how is that a useful question?"

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"If you had mine I mean."

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"I would've done the same thing with Behemoth. Finding a nice local to trust was a good idea, I would have needed that less urgently and might have shopped around more before picking one but I think you did pretty good anyway..."

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"Legend is nice. He'll be glad we saved the world."

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"Whenever you're ready to go back I would love to come along and meet all these people."

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Nod. "I'm ready. ...maybe in a bit actually."

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"There's no rush. Now that we have a way there somebody else can fetch the Space Elves and do anything else that shouldn't wait."

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"Telling Cauldron they can pick less evil goals, probably. Figuring out how powers work - stopping all the other genocide aliens if any of them are close to done - they wipe out whole neighborhoods and the neighborhoods are unusually dense or something -"

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"All of that."

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Cling. "I'm so glad there are people who aren't mes running things I'd be so miserable if it had to be mes for some reason."

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Hug hug.

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"Can we go somewhere really pretty."

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"Sure. Anywhere in particular?"

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Wing-shrug.

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Invisibility and a nice Heaven city all glowing and gorgeous.

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Small smile. "Haven't been here - where is it -"

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"It's called Ludmari."

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"It's good." Snuggle. 

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"I thought you'd like it." Snuggle.

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"I missed you so much all the time."

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Squeeze. "You too. Should we have pulled out more stops to find you -?"

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" - I mean it could've been really bad if I hadn't gotten Scion's attention in the right way but I don't know how to - how to evaluate - we should find more worlds, find more magic, be more powerful."

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"We're working on it."

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"Yeah we are." He's quiet again.

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Quiet snuggles. Pretty angel city.

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"Can I have another necklace -"

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"You want to wait here while I get one or come with me to Vanda Nossëo or wait for delivery?"

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"Come with you."

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Hop hop. Necklaces.

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Then he can send her everything! In more detail! He was so so so scared at the Master power, so scared.

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Squeeze.

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Hug. 

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So, so much hug. Back to the angel city?

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Yeah.

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She will snuggle him on a cloudfluff shelf overlooking the city as long as he likes.

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That is a while. Then - "yeah let's go meet people."

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"Lead the way."

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Pop pop pop pop. Back in his house in Chicago.

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It's as he left it. But—

Epic?

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Yeah. Uh. Stuff happened.

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What stuff? Contessa lost sight of you and then Scion disappeared -

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Uh someone attacked me.Some kind of Master power. Jack and Super. And they took me to Scion. And I told him my peal would fix things if he'd only find the world I came through and he did and my peal fixed things. So. Now they're fixed. I guess. Boots is here. 

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- Jack Slash? And by fixed you mean Scion's...?

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Uh yeah the peal resurrected his - counterpart - under a wish with conditions that won't let her hurt anyone and then explained to her that they'll end entropy if she wants, long as she stops killing people, so she's doing that and the peal's figuring out how to reach all the other genocide aliens.

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So it's over? Just like that?

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Well now we can end scarcity and make everything nice and stuff. The being scared is over.

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You are probably the best thing to have ever happened to this planet. Thank you.

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It was an accident. And not me, especially, the peal did most of the stuff once I got Scion to take me home. 

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Your peal would probably not have reached us if not for you.

Do you need anything? What should I tell everyone?

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My Boots wants to meet you. Tell everyone they're safe? And should maybe see if their powers can be deployed to help get the rest of the genocide aliens.

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Okay, I'd love to meet her.

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We're in my house.

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I'll be there in a minute.

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"Legend's coming."

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"Cool. What have you told him about me, anyway?"

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"Uh - that you adopted me and would be better at figuring out what to do and the peal is mostly yous and my children and you're a therapist and you're why I wouldn't read their minds even Behemoth's until I was sure he was super evil and that the world is all saved now."

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She laughs.

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"That's all true!"

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"Yes. I feel well-introduced."

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There's a lightbeam in the sky and Legend lands.

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Epic is clinging to Boots. "Hi."

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"Hi."

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...he was not expecting a kid. "Hello."

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"...what?"

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"The image I had in mind from Epic's description was a bit different. ...older," he says, with a self-conscious smile.

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"I'm past forty, I just have magic anti-aging. But Epic occasionally reminds me that he's chronologically older than I am."

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"—of course. My bad for presuming. I suppose I'll eventually be in the same situation, I seem to have stopped aging when I got my powers."

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"It's a nice deal."

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"Yours nicer than ours, I'm sure, although I hear now all our problems are solved."

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"Well, you're not in one of the more convenient neighborhoods, but you get bumped up the priority list for possibly having useful resources as well as needs, so we'll take a solid stab at it."

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"Useful resources?"

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"It might be that there are people with powers who can do things we can't otherwise duplicate, or at least can't duplicate portably or without spending bottlenecked inputs."

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"I don't think we can do Contessa's thing."

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"Her thing seems to only work within our neighborhood, though, and precog powers in general seem to completely fail to see anything outside, so some things will be of limited use."

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"It could still be useful if, say, someone who was for species reasons immune to our vampire precog needed to test something that could be brought here."

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"Then we'll be glad to offer you whatever resources we have. What do you need?"

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"Nothing in particular right now, but you make a good investment."

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He nods. "And how can we help you help us? We have a whole ethically dubious shadow organization that went out of a job, ah, apparently over the past few hours."

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"I don't do logistics work, I'm here in my capacity as regards Epic, but if you have clear ideas of what aid could go where and what disruptions it might cause that'd land well."

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Oh right he shouldn't be avoiding thinking about Epic and how he'll probably just go away. Legend looks at him. "As regards him how?"

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"Wanted to see all the stuff and people he'd been writing home about."

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"Ah. Good things, I hope?" he asks, with a half smile.

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"You were favorably reviewed in among all the 'this world is horrible we need to fix it'."

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He laughs. "I'm glad. I tried my best, but Epic is very self-sufficient. He did worry me sick a time or two. Did he write about Brazil?"

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"Yes."

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Cling. "That part wasn't the scary part."

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He purses his lips. "No. I'm sorry about that—Contessa didn't see anything, she checks on various things periodically and when she checked on you you'd disappeared..."

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"Well. It worked out."

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"I'm sorry. Contessa assumed you'd found your peal and suddenly there were villains known to be associated with Jack wreaking havoc in Chicago and New York, we didn't think Jack would've gotten you to Scion—what happened to him anyway?"

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"Don't know." He conjures for it.

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Where Epic left them. Jack is apparently waiting for a passed out Superposition to wake up.

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He shows this. "We should maybe do something about him."

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"All alone like that he's not likely to be much of a threat until his... colleague wakes up, but yes."

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"We can hold people prisoner out of your neighborhood where they can't use powers to hurt everyone."

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Boots nods.

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"—oh. That definitely solves our containment problems."

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Nodnod. "There're intergalactic standards for prison conditions. Elves aren't quite okay with them but for humans I think they're pretty good."

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"Why aren't Elves okay with them?"

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"Elves spontaneously die if imprisoned."

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"That sounds... like it could make it hard to deal with criminals."

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"You'd think so but Elves also have a really startlingly low crime rate."

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"What do they do for those few cases, then?"

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"...they don't cope well. But it honestly can just not come up for hundreds of years at a time."

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"—that low. Huh. I don't suppose they've come up with acceptable alternatives? Although, really, most of the parahumans who we'd imprison would be harmless without their powers."

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"They really aren't a good place to go for coping skills unless you go in for, like, personality editing by bizarrely-psychologied deities or alternatively centuries of warfare."

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"I'd sooner skip that." He looks at Epic again. "Do you need anything? Or want anything? I feel rather—extraneous, here."

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"The peal is good at finding ways for people to be doing meaningful things. They will find you some if you want."

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Not quite what he meant, but he nods anyway.

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"You have a well-liked widely renowned public persona, for one thing, that's useful! We can do 'benevolent aliens are here to change all the everything', but it might be good to have an introduction by one or more locals."

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"The PRT and the Protectorate would be who you'd want backing you up there, yes. Only in the Western world, though, China is unlikely to care. ...but Cauldron is probably behind them, too."

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"Maybe Butterfly knows some Chinese people with alts here she can talk to or something, she rules her Earth from China for reasons."

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"Given how much Earth Bet has diverged from Earth Aleph just due to Scion's arrival in the seventies I would find that unlikely, but on the other hand your worlds from what Epic tells me" (he glances at the boy when mentioning him) "are remarkably similar for some reason in spite of having had much earlier changes to their timelines."

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"I'm not even expecting timeline similarity, I'm expecting alts. Did Epic explain those?"

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"I explained how the Maitimo I made was sort of my son but not in the sense where I made him."

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"So in addition to there being more Fëanáros, most of whom are adults with children, there are more of lots of other people - said children, but also unrelated people like me."

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"Do you have any idea why these people repeat like that? We have repeats only up to world divergences; everyone who was alive prior to Scion's appearance and hasn't died since is in at least Aleph and Bet."

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"No, we don't know why. They happen a bunch of different ways - it actually wouldn't surprise me if in your diverged worlds some alts appeared in different places with different faces, my alts come in various ethnicities and can be boys, and only sometimes have the same parents. Different templates seem to be differently picky about their conditions. We haven't done a lot of very careful research here because finding them requires bottlenecked magical attention, so we just look for people who've previously distinguished themselves. There's also sort of - nonperson templates, like Earths are common. Though usually one at a time, this bunch of them all glommed together is new."

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"There might be yous I could check if you want."

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"I'm... not sure. In what sense is someone with a different appearance and life conditions altogether another one of you? And separately I believe Hero would enjoy being a part of this conversation."

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"Epic, do you want to ask Hero if we should go get him? Anyway, we have the same personality and inclinations, we think the same way. It might be clearer after you've met several, depending on how your people-reading skills are. Maitimos are really good at noticing when someone's an alt of someone else."

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Hey Hero the world's saved and we're talking want to come?

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Are you joking I'm on my way.

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"At any rate, interfacing with China and wherever else is definitely one of the things the ethically dubious shadow organization I mentioned could help you with, alts or no alts."

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"Great! Always nice not to have to stretch staff capacity farther than we have to, training's still not infinitely quick at churning out professional miscellaneouses from Mîr and culturally desensitized Elves and such."

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A few minutes later there's a sonic boom that mysteriously doesn't break anything, a feeling of slight acceleration, and a metal suit painted in gold with a helmet lands in front of the house.

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"Hello, you must be Hero."

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"Hi!!!"

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He removes the helmet. "Hi! You must be Boots. Pleasure to finally meet you. Heard you needed a nerd?"

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Legend laughs and shakes his head. "They were discussing the metaphysics of the multiverse, I figured it would be more your area."

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"This place is weird, a bunch of Earths all smushed together with the same underlying rules is weird. Other Earths are like, this one has wizards, that one has aliens and this kind of FTL, this other one has different aliens and this other kind of FTL, that one has an extra social construct on top of gender and also psions and mages, that other one has summonable demons, this one's got vampires... all one at a time. I mean the demons one has associated places where the demons and angels and fairies and dead people live but they're not Earths."

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"And they're not I presume point-of-departure Earths like the ones here are? That's fascinating. Does anyone study this? Are there hypotheses about why this happens? My other self from Aleph is, uh, dead, but I wonder if there are other mes."

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"You could extrapolate an extremely boring Earth that didn't have any of the things, and suppose that all the ones we've found depart from that, but I'm not sure if they do it at single points? Does adding an entire magic system count as a single point? Anyway, there are people who think about it a lot but it's challenging to actually study. - If you're not nonreductionistic in some way we can resurrect you guys, though that's slightly bottlenecked."

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"...if you can do that you can probably fix crippling disabilities, right?"

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"That's way easier assuming they're physical disabilities and not complicated stuff that needs thirty sessions with me or somebody who has the same powers and training, why?"

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"'Cause he will only want to be brought back if you can fix that. And it's physical, yeah."

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"Yeah that's way easier."

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"In that case yeah, he'll be thrilled to be alive again," he says, beaming. "Anyway, uh, yeah I don't think I'd count entire magic systems as points of departure, not if the Earths are very similar otherwise, our Earths are all butterflied up but from small changes, not something as big as that. The, uh, other me I was thinking of was from Aleph and the only difference between Aleph and us is that Scion never showed up there. And, I suppose, there's all the meddling of Cauldron and the other interuniversal shenanigans, that sort of throws the pure point-of-departure state out the window..."

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"The Earths are very similar otherwise! It's kind of eerie how little most major historical events are changed by stuff."

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He turns to look at Legend. "Am I strictly needed for the diplomatic part or do you think you could serve as a good enough interface with Cauldron while I try to charm them into letting me go talk to anyone who has studied this at all?"

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"You are not 'strictly needed'," he sighs, a small exasperated smile playing around his lips. "I can interface."

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"I think there's a university in Mîr with an interdimensional studies program. At least one."

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"A university program—I don't suppose I can take a sabbatical—"

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"You're the team leader so I suppose you can do whatever you want. And the whole 'team' thing might not make as much sense anymore, depending on how these interuniversal shenanigans go."

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"I mean, things are... sometimes done in groups? Depends on what you're doing. We don't have much precedent for one-off idiosyncratic superpowers, mostly they're closer to interchangeable or at least reproducible."

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"Do your Earths have superhero comic books?"

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"I don't know. My world has comic books but I usually didn't read them..."

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"The way we organized was—heavily influenced, to say the least, by the genre. People go out in costumes and masks like, uh, this," he says, gesturing at himself and Hero. "And organize hero teams to fight against supervillains who are similarly attired. It's a bit more complicated than that, because we did have the end of the world to prevent, but you won't go far wrong by betting on that aesthetic."

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"Magic rocks have magic outfits to match and some departments have uniforms of one sort or another, but masks are not so much in vogue."

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"The idea is that you use that to protect your loved ones from harassment and violence that might be caused by your actions while in costume. It's probably not really strictly necessary but the idea stuck, and we—Cauldron—encouraged it. It helped with some of their—our plans."

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"It's generally safe to be a loved one of a Vanda Nossëo operative. Or a Mîr one or an Elendil one, there's three affiliated multiversal consortium deals here."

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And Legend, while not the official team leader, is still fully capable of addressing at least the surface-level details of integration with one of these consortia—presumably not all with Boots, who said she was here mostly for Epic.

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Other Bells are capable of doing basic onboarding work and feel sufficiently confident in their mental defenses to operate in the world.

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Speaking of mental defenses, turns out the way thinker powers and precognition works is by brute-force simulating the future with a lot of fidelity. Contessa's power is basically simulating all worlds until it finds one where her goals are achieved, for instance. The reason thinker powers interfere with each other is a specific routine to avoid infinite reflections of each other.

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"Well, that's fucked up. Initial assessment on the feasibility of making them all cut it out?"

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They will probably be extremely unhappy about it! Contessa in particular won't, she finds herself relieved about being put out of commission, but most thinkers use their power as much or more as they use their regular senses. It would be akin to blinding them.

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"Volunteers to go get a magic rock style replacement wished on?"

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Depends on how they PR this, they were not really planning on telling everyone about how Scion was an alien who wanted to eat them and that makes it somewhat harder to share the info that also their powers run simulations. Do the various consortia have tried-and-true methods of broadcasting how lots of people will need to choose between going to another universe to make a wish and going blind?

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Inconveniently, no, this will be breaking new ground. She has experience telling people they have to stop eating humans but that's really sort of different despite the emotional importance of eating humans to some vampires.

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It also doesn't help that Cauldron doesn't actually run the world, it just has a lot of influence, political and otherwise. Do they have a way to send a message to every thinker? Because otherwise regardless of the strategy they will in fact accidentally miss some people.

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"What I'm hoping to do is a trial run to see if a wished-on version works. We want a batch of maybe five to fifteen, I'm hoping one Thinker's wish can cover several others. Once it's determined whether or not that works, then if it does, someone whose converted power works to track down other Thinkers can be signed on to do that, and if it doesn't we need a new plan."

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Cauldron definitely has the resources to call on fifteen Thinkers of lots of different flavors.

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Ones who ideally feel strongly about replacing Thinker powers with versions that don't casually create and kill people.

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Does "feel strongly about not losing their power" count?

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It'll probably do if they're willing to channel it appropriately.

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Yup, can do.

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And they can go over wording and wish for replacement powers!

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It turns out two of them are sufficiently dependent on/desperate about their power that they can in fact cover everyone who has loosely similar powers.

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Well then, one of them can make this wish for this batch and the other can maybe do a future batch.

And how do the replacements fare?

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At first it seems like it's just a straight-up replacement with no side effects.

But after enough time it'll become pretty obvious that they're getting noticeably less conflict-seeking.

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Well, this side effect - or reversal thereof - can be warned for.

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Most of the people who are against it are the sorts who you don't really want seeking more conflict than necessary anyway.

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"Well, I don't normally base my willingness to alter people's emotional proclivities on how I'd rather they be but since this is plausibly the work of an alien parasite and if they keep using their powers zillions of people are forked only to promptly cease to exist I can relax that a bit."

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In that case they will achieve a complete replacement of all simulation-based powers with similar magic-based ones.

There's still the matter of how the entities literally use those things to think.

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"About that, you managed to talk to me and I can't be simulated. You must have something else going on."

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"I have interacted with enough humans—simulated and otherwise—to be able to reliably mimic your speech patterns and communicate without needing to actually simulate anyone. It's a bit subtler than that, though—just like humans imagine possible situations in order to plan for them or respond to them, so do we, but with more detail."

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"I can understand reluctance to try moving your entire brain substrate onto another format. Our magic precog without cape-style limitations is out of range of the wish machine, unfortunately."

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"If you can make sure the functionality will remain the same, I do not object to the substrate change. I will have difficulty feeling as strongly about it as I do about matter creation, however."

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"Someone else can make the wish, it just might take some time to find a candidate."

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"I understand. ...would it be objectionable for me to simulate and instantiate a person who would in fact feel suitably strongly about this?"

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"Yes."

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"That's a shame. I can wait, I suppose. I will be able to communicate—reasonably—if constrained not to simulate anything complex enough to itself be sapient, so from your end it shouldn't be much of a problem."

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"We'll look for potential wishers."

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"Best of luck!"

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"Thank you."

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"...so...now we go and stop all the other ones?"

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"It'd be a good idea to have these ones converted to magic first, for proof of concept and so they can consult. After that yep."

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Bounce cling hug.

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And eventually the substrate change is completed for the entities themselves, and they can consult.

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The Warrior doesn't know the expression "never been happier" but if it did it would use it.