From] Nil documentary Reaching tne Stere:

A Decade of Naves,

first ali red March 231, 20018

We had the chance [0 siit down and talkwith Randel Portman, "TIle Fireman.t'in an exclusive Nl interview, We discussed what It was like being a nova, how theworld has changed since novas' arrival and what the future holds .

.. N!: So,lv!fr., Portman, what is ~t Iike to be the first known nova?'

• Pertmam It is a distinct honor. Actually it's just luck, really, Fate just decided that I would erupt in a rather spectacular way, and I was lucky enough Ito save lives. In general, though, being a nova is a wonderful thing. Novas am simply people with special abilities. Yeah, those powers can make us seem weird or unapproachable, but really we are just people .

.. Nh You may be understating 'the case a bit. Experts postulate that, in fact, novas have the abilityto theoretically do ~ust abou t anything.

• Portman: The theory always sounds better than the actual facts. Novas' powers stern from om ability to manipulate tile fundamental forces of natiare: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak one .. Assuming a nova had no Iirntts in manipulating those forces, then

I _ - . -

he would effectively be God, but we all halve our Ianits. The Project

scientists tell me a lot has to do with how an mdrvidual nova sees his abilities and how they emerged.

• N!: You. emerged ~ erupted, as the saying goes ~ spectacularly, saving a school bus full of children, How did that shape YOUir abilities?

• Portmare I was a fireman, which is how I go~ the nickname, and had responded to a traffic accident, When we ga't to the Scene, an I Gould see was the outline of a school bus in the flames, Fire was coming out of every possible opening in the ,thing. It was awful, I heard all the little kids screaming, and [ just sort of froze. I could feel something happening, and putting outthe fire was aU I could thiirmk of. All of a sudden, nllY head felt like it

, was being hit by a sledgehammeT.

TIu'! last thing I remember seeing

was a huge gout of flame coming right toward me. After that every thing is hazy. The next thing I know, I'm kneeling iT!!. a puddle of melted

asphalt. At the time, 1 didn't even think to WOl1.ch;:'T why ] wasn't hurt. "I couldn't see ally more flames, and the guys were aID] starldiIlg around me shouting. The rest of it wasa blur of sirens and people I didn't know asking me bunches of questions l 'Could barely understand, The headache lasted fOT almost a week.

The Project docs toldme, later, that novas typka.Hy emerge during a time of great stress, and their powers reflect that initial situation" I can absorb energy. Only recently have 1 begun to learn how to redirect it We aren't all-powerful, Hen, 1 can't even fly. What kind of sl.1pel'guy can't fly?

• N!: How have your quantum powers grown, and how did you learn them?

" P,ortm,an: The flre-eating Uling - "radiant energy absorption," the docs call it - just came naturally, 1 [ust knet» how to do it Wiithin a few weeks of the initial discovery of novas, the Aeon Sodety contaeted a tot of us and asked us if '\<VIe would like training on how to use our powers. They had recrui ted some amazingly smart novas who had figured a lot out about our abilities .. I agreed .. I spent dose to two years with them, on and off, after they set up the Project. They teach various meditation techniques, and they constantlytest and d1.aUenge us to use our powers in new and different ways. A nova's abilities really are ill your mind. You have to convince yourself that you can do something new, a.nd you have to make it an expansion of something you can already do. We even got a crash course in. quanhun physics. so we would better understand what we' were really doin.g.

'. N!:What's your take on the recent criticism of Project Utopia? Some people are calling it at conspiracy to take over the world, others are claiming that it wants to create a socialist world government. How do you respond to those claims?

,_ Fortman: I don't think that's the cas€" at all. Project Utopia has done great things for everyone 011 this planet, from the global environmenta] cleanup to the PalesHnI.an peace'

agreements to the Ethiopian terraforrning project to fighting internarional terrorism ... ben, even the Zurich Accord, tba t made the world accept novas as people. It shocked people when Project Utopia got an advisory posil:i.on on the UN Security C01Jl1dt but as closely as they'd been working with the U-N, it shouldn't 'have surprised anyone. ~ love my country as much as the next guy.or the next nova -. but the recent talk of Utopia being a huge COI'lspiracy comes from a few rightwing nutcases with bad attitudes. Nothing rnore ..

Most of us novas would have been lost without Project Utopia. An erupting ]10V<1 can he cia ngE!"mus, whether he means to be or m1l0L AI~ einy

3

rate, the process is severely painful, as the M-R node just kinds grows

111 your brain. Hurts Iike hell, let me tell you" Project Utopia mtervenhem teams show up and offer help and training to new novas. They also offer novas a life and a chance to 11!Elp society and the world. You remember 1998: People went apesh-> . err, wacke when they found out there were "superpowered mutant freaks." running around. Project Utopia directed our energies toward helping the world. VVithout it, people would never have accepted us, and you and I wouldn't be 'talldng righ t now;

.. N!:' The world has certainly changed in the last 10 years. Do you think it bas all been for the better?

.. Porhnaee I don't think anything is t11at black and white, but the world is definitely a better place ... Like I said, the environment is dean, world wide organized. crime is on its way out, Utopia's col[ea.gues atthe Triton Foundation have discovered a vaccine for AIDS and cures fat luany types of cancer and we are even o®gin:rring to seriously explore the solar system. Yeah, 1 think the world Is a better place after the arrival of novas .. " Don't get me wrong, ~ don't think that this wouldn't have happened

without novas. We certamly helped, but anyone with these abilities would. Novas have not just worked toward making the world a better place, but have inspired the rest of humanity to do more. We've changed culture, fashion, politics, even religion in some cases. I mean, isn't this station the highest-rat-ed in the world?

• Nl: YOlJID.en tionedthe Triton Foundation, Medical and bio£qgicaJ science have made prodigious advances in the last decade. l'Vhat do you think about the recent work on the oti_gjns and distinctions of nova biology?

'" Portman: Everyone knows that novas, or Homo sapiens nouus as the eggh:eads Uke to refer to us, are novas because we have DNA coding allowing us to develop the Mazarin-Rashoud node. Who would have thought that something as small as the M - R node could change usthat much? As far as g,enetks, wen,it's not really 1UY field. I know that they

are saying that novas have a certain sequence of IDNAifrtrons or .

something, and that is what is responsible for us developing the M-R node. They also say that the DNA can be inherited only from Ylour mother, All I really know is what they ten me: tile docs know better than me.] hear that there are over 6000 known novas in the world.now, They come from. all backgrounds and from around the world.

I do know that we look different. Novas tend to be sleek and buff, with little body fat and great physiques. They say 'that j t comes f1'm11 our increased metabolism, from forcing the body to channel so much energy. We alsoear like pigs. Hell, [had two steaks and three baked

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potatoes for dinner last night. but _ can also absorb enough energy to turn just abou t anything into ash. I guess it the trade-off, Some or us also display what the religious kooks call an "anima." Many novas have a distinct field around them when they use their powers. I guess you've seen the footage ~ I look like jim covered in transparent flames when I absorb energy. l've seen weirder displays. I'm just glad that sante of the research has helped with older problems Iike cancer, T haven't had a cold in 10 years, and if a blood sample can keep everyone else from having one, all til e better,

• N!: ot a 11 novas, especially some who have spoken out recently, have taken such a philanthropic position .. How do you respond to Divis Malls melodramatically dubbed Nan Manifesto and organize Dons like his 'Ieragen?

• Portman. I don't know much about this Mal fellow, but I don't lik

what I've heard. Isn't he the guy who says that we aren't human? Of ceurse I'm humanl E can just do things some people can't, He says we're all governments of our own, and that the laws and rules of human don't apply to us, Personally, if he really believes that, and it's not just a publicity stunt or ratings gimmick, then he's a megalomaniac, and his morn should have spanked him more often. I wish he'd just mouthed off on Two Miuutes Hate" like the rest of the bored wackos, and: left it at that.

As Jar as the 'J:eragen is concerned, they giv1e all nove s a bad name. I can't wait until the Utopians or the UN or someone gets a hond of them .. I

don't care how popular or "cool" some folks think the Teragen is, Mal's group is nothing but a gang of thugs .. the Manson Family with sUlper~ powers. They've killedpeople, destroyed property, intervened in wars .and they say they are acting for the good of all novas? They are no better than Mal In fact, they're worse. At least Mal just mouthed off. These guys are wreaking havoc. They are the ones who are putting Ithis smearcanrpaign crap on the Project .

.. N:r: Does the future look bright?

• Portman: I think so. We've had problems and bad apples, of course, but all 'in all, novas have done a lot to make the world a better place, Guys like Mal will always pop up. but they'll get their due. I think the next 10 years will be even better than the last, I really believe that the 21s~ century will he the dawn of a golden age for mankind.

5

Ih

ne

The Getetee Explosion

'rom Ultimate Media's NR living -Day" audio collage

"' ... In the wake of the Galalea',s explosion, freak. accidents and catastrophes are erupting all around

th ld n

,ewor ' ...

II ••• earthquake, a least 4.,0 on th Richter scale, rocked Denver ... "

" ... series of explosions on the streets of New York City, including one threatening ell school bus ... '1

II ••• United States govenunent has declared a state of Defcon 3 ... "

'J f_..l~ • blamins p_l..! Ib .'

' .•. Ull.Ua 15 IJl _ . ' ,g a ,tU!..lSdllU

attack. for the sudden flood of the Ganges, which has washed away., ."

Ii ••• teenager v.,ras unable to be rushed to the hospital, remaining electrically charged for 20 minutes, despite paramedics' ,atteulp s to ground out the electrical charge ... ,1}

'; ... mass suicide of a California r-eligious commune, which detectives are attributing to a millennial death pact. .. 1!

March 23, 1998

Of all the days to change the world forever, why the hell did Cod have to pick a fucking Monday?

-lDr. Duke Rollo, postgonzo journalist

From the final broadcast of 'the Galatea, 103/23/98

• Galatea: ... Command, we're having some sort of difficWties 01'1 ard.

• NASA: Say again. What kind of difficulties?

• Galatea: Lights aren't functioning properly ... dj~1gI1OStiC seems to indica te some sort of. ..

• ASA: Corne in, Grtlarea. Can you hear us?

• Galatea; Yes ... the signs are ...

• NASA: GnilJte-nt do YOt read us?

• Galatea: We read you, Command. This isn't. .. Command, system failure seems ta indicate core shiekling breach. We ...

'. NASA; Dear God. Hold all, Galuten. Are you sure tbat~

,. Galatea: Jesus ... Corm 1rnJdf we're gOlma. , . Please, tell out kids. - .

ISigt1al ends] 6

Excerpt from Reaching the Stars: A Decade of NOVt1:s

., Chantal D' Amelion: "Iheexplosion of U:1!e Galatea, tragic though it was, was just the first step in thllI.t long series of dramatic events that marked the birth of the Nova Age, The first eruptions of novas took the world by surprise, but in America, one particular event stands aut-We found an eyewitness Ito that w'st dramatic eruption - and what a story it is."

.' Doseen Maxwell lvolceever as .. "dt-am__atic re-creation" :fotOtage rolls]: "Lord, I'llnever fO~'ge,t it. TI,e TV5 in the storewindows had just started up vvi'th the news breaks taIkingaboul: the Galatea. I can remember the C11alienger explosion, and I was just thinking JOh my God,not again ~ not another crew of astronauts lost,' and that's when 1 heardthis screeching behind me, Iturned around, and there wasthis school bus an smashing across the median and slamming into CMS. Fire was (JOIning out of the windows and everything, and the driver actually shot up out of the roof into the air. ] don' [ remember seeing hun come down

"The flames "vas getting bigger, starting to shoot all over the place, and we could see that the kids couldn't ge:t out I was screaming for SOUle body to do something when thefire truck got on the scene. The firemen started moving people back. out of the way, trying to get there, andthe poor kids was just Screru.1lltlgf and that's when it happened,

~'TIJl!e fire just shot up and! out of file windows and twisted up toge-tIter like a braid, and then it shot down a.t trn_s one fuen~LIl and hit him right square in the chest. His helmet blew off and he took a couple of steps back, but he didn't fall over . And that fue just- kept on shooting up out of the bus and pourlng iI'lto him until the bus didn't have any fu-e in itleft at all. And the fireman, he was down on one knee, holding his head, and he koked like he was on fire ~ but Ilooked OOC€, andthe fire just soaked on up into his body !:ike he was a sponge, and Iffile asphalt around him was tun'ring all red, and I swear he sank dOM1- into the rnelted road!

lWei, things kept on getting crazy after that. The police arrived and started shooing us all back, and I heard aboutfhe rest on TV - how this sort of tlUllg was going all aJ] over the placet with earthquakes, explosions, frelaJc thunderstormsand all that,and the goverltlllent all goirnrg to, Defcon 'cause they tll,ought it was some kind of attack-s- but the news finally told us that the fireman was all :right, and 800n after U18.t, 1'V'e started finding out about all these people with powers.

"But when people ask me, '\IVll:ere were you when the Oliafm exploded?'! I can look themin the eye and &1~ '1 was on the street where the Firemanerupted,' Ain'ttoo many people can say that,"

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The public is now fuUy convinced tlilatthe Ga'latea disast,er is the ilink. A payload of radioactive isotopes, detlQnated in :<1 spectacular explosion and spread "Ilia jetstreern to every comer of 'the globe: The 'image has certainly caught on with tile common mart "Radioactivity breeds mutatiolilt - I:hat's an the expl1cmatior! most people seem toneed

1 have to wonder, however; :If the isotopes, weren't somehow cherqed with refined "quantum energy" dIJring the' process, No,fhing in modern science explains ho,w SI ch a thing wa,s possible - but then ,ZlgCllilil. modern science is skaHng by wltl1 the !barest excuses 'For how aberrant powers function; anyway. U seems more p~aUSa)~e to me that the genetic coding for the M-R node would be stimulated by focused! quantum than by outright radiatioifl: hO"lIVever~ there's no way to test this theo,ry. Quantum is netorioes for not rernairnnq in the backgrolJlild I'ong in concentrated qUl!lntfities.; short >oF having an allr,eadrymanifested aberrant there at the time, ~ suppose '~here S 110 'Wart 'We coul:d ever have known for certain. Which is a damn shame, because otherwise, this conulldrum may y.ery well haunt me to my grave.

I wonder: SilrllCe the, 1111,0$[ common source of foc~sedl quantum illppears to be abernm:t powers., is it possible' tha~ some mutant actually manifested 81 funetioninq M-R node before'the less of the Galatea? ls it pcssiblethatone of the men and women aboard was the first aberrant, :and ~hat he or she som.enow eng_nee red the ex.p~osion to cr-eate others li'~e himself or herself? If so, then logically this aberrant wouldlstill survive" why 'sacr,ifri,ce yourself. after all? The question is - where is he?

Must look into this further, pr,efelialbly by enlisting an eberrent wllth enhanced reasoninq capacities, Are the rumors of psychometric powers tme'? Whatever the case, I'd better ikeep this to myself; no need-to endanger my current position by earning a reputation as a crank conspiracy theorist 1 can collect the Nob ell ane,f l've glotten proof.

B

• ~-,.,-,--:-w:

March 23, 1.2: 18 PM GST: Ga.la'fea research saielme exp'lodes. ~IS rapidl'y 'decaying orbit dumps radioactive matenal into the jetstream. In a matter 'Of days, ,nc'l'easing radiation levels are

, worldwide.

Maroh 23, 3:31 'PM EST: Randel Portman becomes the first publicly MOwn nova. "The Fireman:' as-hs media ,later dub Perman, emerges during a ecbool-ous 'lire in New~od\. Hfs nascent powers absorb the energy from the fir,e. pUlling it out and saving dozens otlives.

March·Aprll~ N'ovas emerge worldwide em an almost daily basis,. Governments SGrambte'lo deal wilh '!he phenomenon. tntemar~ianal re1a1ion.s become tense,

with Ute US going to Defeon 3. Otn er nations respond in kind. Em.ergency sessions of Ule UN are called. F[rst

usage of the term 'nova" by the press, in response to scientists • unoff[cia I categ:Jrtzation iQf 'IIi.€! newly erupted as HomQ sapiens nO\f:U$,

April' 12: The Aeon Soolety. an lniem8lNonal philanthropic organization da~ngl back to the League of Nations, Initiates a diatog with the UN, offering to seek out ;and study novas.

May' : The Aeon Society pub'[tdy' announces its UN support and issues. an invitation to open dialog with any interested novas. The lJN works. be'hind !he scenes to calm and reassure the world thai Aeon can handh3:the nova outbreak.

June 30; The UN overwh~Jmingly passes '~he Zurich Accord" a dooument doolm;ng novas to be human beings" with alll1e rights, and responsibflitie-s thereof. A few fundamentalist Islamic nations ,ana dictatorial regimes, all coumries with poor human- rights, records protssl the resolutlon.

Augusl 13: Project Utopia, a multipurpose private' foundation, is formed under the ,guidance of both '~he UN and the Aeon Society. Project Utopia's stated gOailS are to study the nova phenomenon and utillze novas' abllities to bette·r 1Jhe qualilty of life on EaIF!hfor aJl ns in'habltants .. lMembership and training are open to all interested novas, under the d'lrecUofi of Drs. Henri Mazarin ,and Farah Rasho~Jd.

October: First use of the tetm "baseline" to refer to 'humans withaut an M~R node,

December 4; Dr; Henri Maza.nn ,and Dr. Farah R.a.snolJld release theirind[ngs on the discovery of a uniq ue gland found in 1he brain of novas.The lMazarinRashoud. or M-R, node IS believed to be the root a,f a nova's ,abilllt!f.es. Novas official!y dubbed subspecies Homo sapiens novas. An independent pllarrnaceutical research facility, the Triton Foundation, providesfundrng fm Mazarinand Rashoudi's research, and much oflhe other nova research over 'the next deca,de. A nova's powers are '~eorizled to derive 'from manipulation of fle basic forces at the universe, a:150 known as the quantum forces: gravity, electJromagnetism,. weak nuclear force

9

andstrongl nucllearfol"Ge. The oM-R node allows the nova soma degree of channeling and control over tI1e quantum forces.

December 31 : Aeon Soc~ety census reports approximate Iy 600 known novas in the wmid populanon ..

Iinspired by the coming of the novas and fueled by millennialist anxiety; various apocalyptic and transcendentalist religious sects arise I'hmughollt 1998 . .Many lOt lhasa groups see novas as the cho-sen of Goo or the unima:!e develo;pmem of hlUmanil.y. The most n.otable of hese is 11l1e Church .of the Immanent Escheaton. founded by OJ charismatic nova :styling l1imself Chrystian K.alpa. The Vatican does not release an official .statement of position on the status of novas. Protestant sects and Judaism release statements of support for novas, with wordlng in line with tha,t of the Lurlch Acco:rd, Fundamentalist Iisiamic sects decl)' novas as the Devj1's children. but incrieaslngly come inllJ ron-met with Sunni philosophy e~Hing novas as the chosen of AJlah.

1999

January i: In a media spectaole attended Iby former P'res:ident Carter and the UN Secretary-Genera.I, Project Ulopia. introduces its "learn Tomorrow," a 9 roup of novas from around the world (l'rga:nized to imp lament Project Utopia's ,goals, of a better ·future. Team Tomorrow beg'ins to combat glObal terrorism,. organized crime and natu ral aisa..sters wiitli the cooperation of law-enforcement agencies wOl1ldwide. Utopia's fledgling Sc!ence and Technology Department begins warking on sdll.rtions to famine· and environmenlaJ crises.

January 8: Project Utopia opens tile first Rashoud facilily in midtown Manhattan. The faoility is intended to be a place wlhs'r'8 nascent novas can go to leam about and explore therr powers in a ,controlled environment. Overttie next decade, dozens of other Aashoud ·fa.ciliijes open worldwide.

FebrualY 1 fl.; Borfs Yeltsin dies, setting off a breakdown of the Russian govemment The chaos I'eads to IRussia's total economic co"apse. Russia"s financial woes spread th rough a.11 ready weaJkenedl worl'd msrkets, and cause the world's wo rst ol1le~day' market: 'bsses 'ever. "'The Moscow Cras-h,." as it is llialter tanned, plunges the, world into a massive recession.

February 19: The, WOlrld Bank responds immedlately by calling lor temporary treezes on all intemationall loan payments.lntema.~onall currency markets dtose farfha wee.k due to pressure 'from the Intema~ional Monetary Fund. Wa~1 Str'eel and otherworld lrading ceoters vo!:untariiy dose trading for tile rest: of the week to allow a thorough assessment of 'the si'tuatlon, and to a.1I!ow the panic to calm, Many governments. induding the US and fhe rest at the G7 na'tions, implement emergency price' controls an consumer goods.

March 1: PIiQ]lect. Ulopia announces: thailt its now."em.ployingr research depa.mfH::li1t is worldng on a solution to the economic cnsls, It also offers the' services of the novas associated wi~h utopj'a to H18 UN, and any Igov,emment that asks. for r;eHef work. The news leads to a. slight upswing in world markets.

Aprlt 7: Microsoft becomes the first pri:vate company to h ire a nova 'for public rela~ions and research. Mungu Kuw8!sha is hired 'for 'h~s abmrty '10 interface with oompuler syslems.

April 30: -World unemp10yment rates q;lJadruple in only two months .. Philanthropic organitzations worldwide follow the Aeon Society's lead in off1e,ning reli!ef assistance. Project Utopia novas-help with distribution of perishable suppHes, creiliting the most eflkient relIef effort iiln history. Governments enlist nova aid in quemnQ' food riots. Same novas, use their abill~es to keep basic utilities, such as water' andl electrioity, ftowing in areas where they' would otiMenNise be inaccessible.

June 2: The Internationall Monetary Fund announces its inabilily to ameHoratethe 'g'loball frnanciall cnisis. The Japanese 'take the news especia:illy poorly. The Ni'kk.st I ndex loses 50Q/t1 of its \I;a~ ue overnight Tokyo newspapers report over 2,000 suicides that night

alone. -

June 5: Actrng on the advice' of Project U~opia nOIJ,a prognosticators.; the UN

unanimously passes a resoltJtioli110 freeze eX!cllange ra~es in the worldl currency market The move cauoos massive infliation in the currency 011 dievefoping nations. bUiI ,leads to a 'gradual stre.n~he:ning1 of the industria~ powers' eeonorrses,

November 21: Japan announces Saisho, 'The New Beglinning,;' a. series oj' gov,emment subsidr.es designed to employ novas iin high-tech industries. The Japanese govemment agrees to pay for companies to hire novas tor researeh and development purposes, in hopesmat n.ew technologies w.illl saJvag'9 Japan's leconomy. The project is a ro.using success, and' within a decade! Japan regeins He pos~iorn as the premier devel'oper' of 1I18wtechnoiogies.

December 2: Projeot Utopia's Team Tomorrow announces it wililbe 011 call around me world to avert any problems that may come from ~he Y2K millennium bug. Prime~time televisIon specials aired around '~he world show novas working with oomputer desig:ners 'to prevent the problem,9lf1d teams, of novas performing disaster-conurol drills ..

December 31' Aeon Society census reports approximatevy 1350 knownl novas in the world population.

Novas continue to erupt throughout the year despite falling I~,evels iQf radiation from the Gatatea explosion.

201001

January 1 : The Yeaif' 2000 bug hits many of'the, world's ccmpul'er syslems, causing moderate problems. Power oroducnon, airlinetrafftc control, lnternet traffic and financial inslfrtu1ion computers ;8ife the most afl;eoted. Utop'ia~affiliated novas race around the globe to restors (Of, in some oases, generat,s) emergency power and direct wha~ few planes are ln the air. Most peop:l,e' notice only that the aj~ines and banks are s!hUlI. down fora couple of days, and lha.t Web pages and e-mail have glitches for a few weeks, Y2K becomes Utopia's big:gest public~ relations. w~ndfan since the coming of the novas

Janua.ry 28: The Triton Foundation announceslhe I'i rat successful gene~ therapy treatm,elllt for breast cancer, By 200ft ~is 'ireatrrJsf1t, co.miJinedl wilh childhood geneWc sc;r,sening, makes ibreast careera tlhing of tlhB past.

Ferrrua ry 1: Project Utopia announces, before ~l1e UN General Assembly; its in~ention to, perform .a wQIiI'dwide environmental cleanup. The walid press app!auds the news, and various ,countries use the .cleanup proleo\ as a core to create civil works program s to. harp, EliUevia.te !he massive unemployment that has plagued them srnce 1999'.

April 8: Fidel, Castro dies. Cuba spends thefollowing' weeiks in poliWlcal turmoil. When the dust clealS. a democra~icailly elected president and ,legislatiVe body take control of the

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,govemment Cl.lba"s relations wifJ·dle. rest of the won'd normalliz,e by July:

May 31 : The first movie to feature nova actors opens to rave reviews. Sreven Spfielberg-directed No"o/'tj is the story of a young man who. emerge!;, as a nova, then dedf.ootes hlsl ~I:e ta.rlghting the wrongs of SOCiety. Various famous novas 1iigurs' prominen11y in the cast. The' movie breaks all previous sales records, staying in the top spot hrough.outilhe summer, Nova 91005 on to sweep the Academy Aw,ards, wInning a record 1 S Oscars,

Ju~y 15: Second"quarter financia~ reports indicate w0ll'1dw~de economic improvement The upswing ma.rks th;t3 beginning of me largest sustained period of economic growth and prosperity in world history. The UN! drops its freeze af the currency markets, and most nations of West,em snd Central Europe agn~e to the adoption of'd"le aura cUlTency; 'linking much of EUl"ope into one econornc entity. The Un~ed Kingdom declines entry into the European Union.

September 6: Pr'DJect Utopia. announces that it has s,uc:cessfully closed the hole in the ozone layer and Introduced GFC-ea.~ing bacteria into the' atmosphere 10 prevent ,continued damage. ProJect Utopia requests itlat all UN member states begin transporlling "toxic and radiroactiiV9 waste to a collecUOn facillity in SiberflB fodutufe disposal.

November 3: Hobert ScllrQer;, a moderate' Republican representatwe from COloli'ado, liS elected 'President of 'tile United States.. Schroer .begins 1he Republican nomination process as at. virl.ual unknown; his platfonn calls for contirnued economc refonm and a "etum to so-cejed "common-sense" values" He wins a narrow victory in the general eleetlon ovef AI Gorel in which tl1,e As'rotllTl and Uberta.nian candida.tes ,aliso takie sizable proportions of the, vote. Follbwing Schroer;s win in the prlmenee, and escalating with hrrS election, mall1Y of the Republican Pal1Y'S far:"li':i'ght elemenrn divorce themselves from the party to found sprinter groups more appealing to their agendas.

Decemoor 31'; Wirth the Y2K problem and. mmennia~is1 anxiety distant memories, tile press r,ealizes that 2001 is ~he actuallbeginning ofd1e new mjllennium. This announcem.ent inspires the largest New Year"s ce~ebl3tions in

FestiiVities include nova",.vu .. ~,e-u energy releases in orbit that ale visible around the worfd.

Aeon Society census reports approxlmately 1800 known novas in the world popu~ation.

20011

January 24: Proj€d Utopia-mediated negotiations between lsrael and the Palestinian liberation Organizati:on open. The peace talks end wtIh the s.igning altha london Peace Accord which es,tabHshes. a Palestinian state aJong 1I1e border of Israel and EigyPt. Project UtopIa agrees, as part of the Accordl. to monitor the n9\lVly created Ixllt::ler, aliUhough Israelis rumored to have atmost a dozen novas under iils direct control.

March 1 B: Project Utopia announces 1hat bioremedial bacteria recently 'introducedl in the world's oceans, along wulh a large amount of physical c~e'anup" wi'll reston; the water quallity of the world's oceans to pre-,I'ndus,tllial Aevolll1ion levets by 2006.

March 29: The Russian ConfederaHon rises ~romlhe ponticw and eoonomic dhaos caused !by lhe Mosc{)w Crash of 1999. RlJSs~a's downward spiral

reverses, albeit slowly, 'ttlanlks to nova "economic savant" and Minister of the Triasury, Vladimir EHerka. The reorqa-

nized Confederation consists of .

sovereig111 msmber states al~jed fo r purposes of economIc strength and forei,gn I'Sla~ions. The Confederation has one CIi.lNency, the ruble, and reprssentat!ilJes of each mem'bef-sta~,e In the Corllfederation vote on all' 'foreign 'lr;ade decisions. The Con~ederation retains Us sea,! on the UN Security Council, but the member states are represented tndividually in the Genern.1 Assembrry. In Bffeolr the Confederatkm functions sornewiha11ike across bet\l\teen the European Un~on and the United States

of America. Belarus president And rei Stebrfans!;Ql is; elected the first Confed!eration president. Although Srebrianski ,is ofiiciBJly president, rumorseorfinue in the pfeSS that MinisterSierka is the lrue !eader of the Confederation

May-Novembe r:- Bn.lshfl re wars.

sweep frlrnugb slUb~Saharan West Africa, as 8iel13 leone, Nigelia and: Sudan use I'lOlla me rcenalies, dubbed '19,1 ites"i by tIi.9 press, to 'fighl as proxes, While-fewer than a dozen elites dle in the oConHicts, h,undl8ds of oMlians are killed as "coi'lateral damag:e,''' and the political borders of.Africa are redrawn several tim&s throughoullhe monms o.f conflict Tll1lam Tomorrow takes peacekeeping actions on beh9!1f ot the' UN and ·ftna:lly negoliB!tes a ooase1ire. P'ress ,coverage of 111e confl1cts becomes !he highestrated television evern of the decade, so far. Various conspir:acy theorists claim that "the oonrricts walie instigated by the US and o1lher major powers, so l1e1l

could see haw,effectiwe novas were when used as military operatives,

The Equatorial! Wars, as the fighting is later dubbed, prompt ~ntemmional negot~atlons conceming 'tIl:e LlOO' of novas in millf8ry appHcatlons, While the talks are never ~orrnab,edl, the UN and Project Wop'ie openly support discus-sion IQn the issue. International consensus fans shorn ,of banning the use .of novas in the military, but il is generally agreed tha.t due totl1s' unpredictable nature of novas" powers, they should 110t be used ag:ainst civilian or normaJ m~litary targets unless in all-out war. Strategists and' academics quidkly dsvise a newsooool oj millltaEy deterrent thought based around novas and formalizeihe idea of Ifmijed-scale conflicts fought by nova proxifes. Generall acceptance oflhis idea, as an economical alternative to certain ty-pes of conventional conflicts. leads to large numhers of e~~tes. being cantmotedi by world govemmenls in the following year.

May 21 : The Trit,on Foundation announ.ces a gene-th.erapy '~reatment 'for prostate cencer and a g,enettc screenIng process that predicts (with 94D/., . accuracy) whether a person wi~ dev,eJop any of the common forms of csncer,

June 10: lRepresema~ives 01'11"18' iJii'liited Staites. the Russian Confederaijon, the UK and Japan meet In Mosoow. They ,agree to 'form ,and sponsor,a mUltinational intelligence agency, which 'they term the Dlrectiv8'. The 01rectilJ·e's primary mis-sion is to monitor the .activities of Project Utopia and the world's growing popula'lion 'of novas.

August 7: Anibal Buendia a nova, wi~h the a:blilrty'to reoonngure his oOeJiular structure, creates the polymer deriva.tive known as eufiber .. Th~s Imaterial, which has: the ability to oond with no-va celli structure and channe:1 and redirect quantum and bloenergli,9S, becomes the most popular fash~on accessory for novas and the weal.thy. As a sfde effect. studies of 8u-fiber enabl·e, 'the development Qof" OpNet cable tedhnology.

October: Project Utopia. .begIns coordinating with raw-enForcement and intelHgence aqendes from around the world (Interpol, FB~, Soolland Yard, Mossad) to combat mgan~zed crime and tenorism.

December 31; Aeon Society census reports, approximately 2100 Imown novas in the world population.

i 1

20102

JanU8'IY 2002-early 2005: Much of the world's copperand fiber-optic cable communi'Cations nSMori<s are replaced wi!l11 advanced optic cable derivedfrorn sWdles of Buendia. eu~iber and wireless networklng .. The new hardware, coupled w~h new data-transfer protooolls, is dubbed "OpNet." OpNet replaces the lntemet. phone systems and ,oeltular networks, allowing for wir,eless communications from virtually any location. It boasts an initiaI700"'/fi increase in data speed over oonventional telscornmu nications technolC1QY ..

March 30: CNN breaks a sexscandall invo.Mng US president. Schroer. The sordtrj scanda~ involves a six,-year homosexual affair on the part ot the Pr&sident SOOmer giv,es a televi:sedt address 'that nightandl admits to the affair. Ev,en wifh his immediate response, his approval ratings plummet.

Au gust 12: Project Utop'ia gives its fina:1 report on the state of the environment tethe UN Ge.ner.al Assembly. Team Tomo'nrow oombnss physicall cleanup with ~e Ifnm>duction of the Zushima maerobe, a genetfcally engineered self~ r;egulating organism !hat will regulate furlher :pollution. The el1v:ironmenl: is in better shape than at any poim inme last hundred yealfS; and Projeot Utopia scien~s~s estimate that a sustaInable lev,e,l: of pre-Industrial Revoluti,on ai rand water qualiLy win be a real~ty by 2005.

September 15: rda, China and Pakistan face off over ownership, of the Kashm~r region. Quick intervention by "Fearn Tomorrow prevents an aH.,out war, but several COI1l.~ncts; wrrth govemmentsponsored novas; and me-roena~e 11tes occur, Kashmllr becomes a d'em~'Ii;talized zone under UN and Project Utopia surveiltlan:C€!.

November 21: The Viacom and Microsoft corporations announce their merger into an enormous corporate entity to be called V:iaSoft

Deosmbar 4; A.subway bombing in Tokyo brings, wor1d attent&on to lKamisama BuddhRsm, a hybrid of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs that is ~ncmasin:gly popular with Japanese youths. While Kami:sama Buddhism professes norwiolence, the medi'a play up the suspects' Involvemen~ wUh the sect Three young fanatics are oharged in the

bombIng. though the leader of the ireligion. nova guru IBodhiiSal!i!va Masato, disavows any knowledge of the artack.

December 31 : Aeon Society census reports approximately 2500 known novas in.1he world populatiol'l.

;mO]

January 1: The N! channel debuts on cable and satellite sy"Stems in 47 countries .. N!, a spinoff of the IE! channel, is dedicated sorely to ooveringilihe lives ,and exploits of novas. It features b~ogl'aphies of famous novas. quasl.scientific doc;umenta lies Dill nova abilities ,end phYSio~ogy" nova sporting competiti.ons, ~1'1~ElIv,rews with novas and novarelated news from amund the world. Wl1ihin three months of its iniUal ,a'lling, N! becomes 1ihe l"Ifg'hesHated channel ever.

March g. Team Tomorrow stages a dramalic rescue of ~he space shuttl'e Oisoov€uyafter a sizable meteor strikes the shuffie, knocking it of courseand igniting an oxygefl tank. The entire 'crew sUlvives 1:he rescue. This evenl mal'ks the point at w'hlch gOliriernments b-egin to consider novas for space operatbns and ,exploration.

May 6 Projeot ilJtopia announces plans to terraform the E1hiopian Highlands .. The project, ,a cooperative endeavor between Project Utopia, the UN and the Eth[opian gov,emment" marks. ~he first attempt at engineering wide5ipread geographical and environmentaJ changes tlhroughout a region,

September 25: A terrorist org:anizatiDll sets off an exploslon utilizing: prim'~tive fusion tec-hnology. OVer 30 oiW blocks, are' leveled and hundrieds d'te. Team Tomorrow Americas arrives immediately to supply humanitarian aid and assist in the criminai.if1Ivestig'ation. Oesplte fle:peated reports of nova involvement in the bombingp no one has been charged! to date. The Sao Paolo bombing is the most ,ex-pellS1ve mrrori'st at"tack ~n history, causing an estimated $20 bil'lTon in damages.

Oclober 7; The Triton Foundation announces the discove,ry of an AIDS

va.ccine. The Worl'd Healilh· 'Organization declares October 7th "Red Ribbon Day" BInd, with fie help of national and Il'acal health organizations, vaccinates 9010/0 of the wo:rld population over1he next tliree Imonths.

Oecembe r 10: Henri MazaJin and Faralh Rashoud recelve the Nobs'l Prize In biology for their pioll€ering research into nova physiology and the' discovery of '!he M-R node.

December 31: Aeon SOCiety census reports approximatefy 2800 known novas in the wo~d popUlation.

,11004 -

February 19: The Triitorn Foundation announces an advanced gene-therapy treatment ihatfights mast known f0I1118 otcsncer.

May 1: The World' Health Ol'ganilZaoon approves a host of new geneti.c enginee.ring techniques, many of Which were deve!opedi lin conjunction w~h the Tliiton Foundatlon over the pa.stfew years. Most naJtiona~ 'food rnspec1ion organizallfons (such as 'U"1e Food and Drug.A.dmi.njstration In the US) copy this move, marking the first widespread intematlonal use of genetic ,engineering for II~v,estook and crops- World' food production increases by 25% Oller the next two years.

June 1: The hypercornbustion engine is f,sleased. Designed by nova le-tsuD' Yamato', the hypercombustlon ,engine 1s a super-effioient intemal oambuslion engine, suitable for consumer and fndustriaJ appl'icaltion£. It boasts a tenfold decrease in fuel consumption while increasingl power by a like amount Within the decade, all automo~ive tmnsporta.t[on and fossil-fuel-based electric production use hltpercombus~on engrnes exclusively.

June 15: In the' wake of !he Sao Pao~Q bombrng; ~e' UN Secretary~Gel1em:~ grams Project Utop~~t's Science, and

T oohno'iogy Department .authority to mon~'Or; approve and regulate new technol'ogies, particularly Ilose' derived from the "nova boom:' Many member nati.ons and corporations 'Vehemently

protest tills decision. .

July 24: The flrnt Summer Olympic games to fealur;e nova-only competitions opens. The nova events includs' varianors on tradi~onal track and 'fieldl events, and the games become the' secol1d-htghest-rated sports event of l1e year:.

September 6: PfOject lltopla opens a special< Rashoud facility in Bahrain. This facUity is,.ostensibly designed to assist novas with high levels of Quantum buildup, but Utop~a is given ~eeway to confine novas constderedi ~n need of l:I1era:py by t.he UrN! as a whole. The facility's opening is not publicized, nor are the media or public allowed 011 the facility's 'grounds though documentaries of its existence soonftooc the OpNet

September 30: The inaugural match of the Xrreme Warfare Federation, XWF, tak'e-s place in Madison Square Garden • The XWF is founded rn response to increased demand hJr nova sporting events, and B correspond ng loss of intell8Sf in trad it!o:naJ sports over the prec.edlli1g years. The pay-per-view event gamers massive ratings and is cerrieo over OpNet. Ucensing revenues top the $1 biWon mark in a singlle year. The initial match is the hr,ghest-rated television event ot 2004.

Novem'ber 3: Lauren Pendleton is ,e~ectedl ,both U1e fl rat 'female ,and 'first

Li bertarian president af tlhe Uniil:ed States. The press creclts her victory to voters djsgruntled with two sex scandals, by Wvo consecutive presidents from both major political panies. The UlJertarian Party and various independent candidates daim a sizable portion of ~egisla.tive seats in 1he election.

December 31 : Aeon Socfety census reports. appwximate~y 3000 known novas in the wond population..

2'005

A,priI2: Puerto IRico becomes the 51st state of the United Stales of America.

April 19: Team Tomorrow' unseats lMaoedonian dictator Yaroslav IRadocani. Radooani came to power with the aid of m mtalY ~oy,alists and high-tech weaponry. Following the revelation !hat Radocani's weaponry had been pmdlJcec1 by Japanese oorporaJtions acting ,in violalJo.n of UN nonns, Utopia'S Science and Technologry Department is ,granted even greater Jisgulato:ry latitude in monitoring "'potentially dangeJ'ious tec'hnol'OQica:l advancements."

June 15: Pope Benedict XVI issues Ad Dei Lucem, a bu II declaring !hat novas, mre humans" have Immortal &luis, are tainted wilth original sin and can he saved through the grace' of Ghrist.

October 31: A previously unknown nova callingl himself Divi:s Mal issues tile Null ManUes10 in a. broadcast emanating from fhe Azores. 1iJ1e edict essentially counters the Zurich Accords, and claims the:1 novas are ",emancipated" from global cilizenship ,and any responsibilities Ilhereot The provisions of the' NuU Manifesto state ~hat novas are not human be~ngs and are fherelore lIlot subject to human law. boundaries or moral codes, nor may tl1ey oIaim ,citiz'ensh(p ;in any nation established by

beillgs.INO\!a£l may be gl3rlted diplomatic privileges. by human gClvemm.elll:s, but lltl,ey are essentially '"governments" unto themselves.

A now-only disslde.nt group ,calling tlseU the: Teragen publicly endorses the NulllManHesto and renouoces alii ties to governmental bodtes. Project Utopia cernes out in strong public opposttion agaInst the Te:ll'agen's, position, and it promises, in ~ront of a closed UN

Securily Council meeting, 10 monitor T~r:agenactivjly. Salles of Tem,genspecffic bootleg merchandise skyrocket, pa_rliclUlarly among the Firs,t World 1 8-35 demographic.

November 7: The first ever surgIcal mal"ot a oQmp~t!91 spina~ cord reconsnuedon is performed. The trial is a 'g~owing SLlccesS. Fundlng mr'the research

comes from ~e Triton Foundation.

De<::ember 31: Aeon Society census reports approximatelY 35001 known novas in the world pOpula1iJon.

2006

May 22: The Ethiopian ,government annnur'lces !he oomPl'eti:on of the telmtfo:rming proiect. The Eth1opial1 Highlands, f'On11erly a dry, flat, desert pl9JrlI, is now a verdant 'grassland. The gr:ate{ul Ethiopian govemment giVes Project. Utopia a lafge headq,uiSllrters in Addis Ababa. E1I1iopia soon becomes lt1e broo,dbasket of Africa.

July 5: A conservativ,e Tsh ran mullah is opet1ly assassinated' by novas. declaring 1lhemselves "members of tile Temgen.~ :Known Tefagen sympatniz:ers disaYOwthe assassins, daiming d1atthe Teragen Is neilt1er Sin or9anlzed ins\t!utian nor has any slngl'e ag'enda. Nonetheless, Project UtopIa ,and hl1e UN lake greater pains to monitor known or Su.sper;ted "Teragen novas,

August 30: Ongoing tensions in the Kashmir region erupt into a small-scaJe war. Nova elites, re,presen~ng India,

China and .pa!klstanflght across the region,. turning it irlto a. blasted ecological l1igh'tmare. Project Utopia steps in to stop the fighting. under UN aLJrthority, and arrests several of tie novas d~med respoosil'lle for Ule disaster.

November 5: A Quebec separatist group based lin Montreal claims responsibility for recent tenmislshikes in Ottawa and'lcronto. Given the nature of il:e strikes, Canadian authollffies fear1he group' may be ampl.oying a nova elJte.

December 31 : Aeon Society ce,II1SUS repol1s .approximately 4800 known novas in the world population.

20'07

January 11: Nova astronaut Janos Kamgian walks across j!he' lunar .surface wi1hout artificial life support gear. Plans are made tose:ndi nova astronauts to Mars,

March 1: The UN promo-lea a pad banning all nudlear, biological and chemical (NBC) weaponry. The NBC weepons ban jLs signed by all the member states. iMil'[tary observers claim that while thel'e is a trend towards. disarmament, most of the nudear powers stiIl11fM!l' stockpHed weapons,.

May-Decemt:ler.l'eragen attaoks of terror and random violence begin being reported bylhe' medIa. Allllough fewer man hal~ a. dozen terrorist strikes occur, !he Imedia goes into a frenzy.

August 3: Project Utop,a receives a permanent "advisory" seat an the UN Security Gouncil. Many political observers cr:edit the u nprecederrted move' as stemming from Project Utopj.a's agreement to pay 01 the UN dgbt, totaUng $1.6 biliiton.

December 31: Aeon Society census report'S ,apprmcrmately 6000 known novas in the world population. As of yet, no nova is known Ito have been impregnated or impregnated olihsl'S, eittler baseline or nova, Utopia"'laffiliated scientists vow to study ilis phenomenon, at the behest of nova. WOUld-be parents.

21018

May 13: PoptHar Team Tomorrow ,agent Jennifer "Slider" Landers is Idll'ed in Calcvtta. by parties unknown. The wol1d is shocked at the murder of its "sweetheart."

May 15: Jennifer Landers' closest friend, conooversial ex- T2M nova .Andre Corbin, 1nexplicably flees the site of her funeral.

May 16: UN and Utopia investigations finger Slidell's murder as the handiwork of GowIn. who lis bellie\l,ed to be i~ nked 10 the Teragen. This mvela:lion comes as part oOf a wol1dwide public broadcast on .a1I' major news ne'tWorks.

May 19: Scandall rocks Project utopia as unconfirmed reports of mel'iOOnary novas, Qovemment iniiiltration and nova black cps leak to the media, Aeon Society and Project Utopia spokespeople' immediate~oounter w~th evidence of a Teragen frame-up invoMingl the dead Slider. Wary observers and oonspiracy theolists see themselves as vrndicalsd and de'I'uge 'the media with dire predictions ..

May 30: Nova Sophia Rousseau contacts fugitive Andre Corbin. Their underground organization immedTate:ly beg~ns Gonta.ding friends and aoquain'lances in tile nova comma nity, as well as newly 'erupting' novas. The group·s goaJ ~s to expose the hidden OO'rruptiOfl in Project Utopia, and Comin dubs its members "Abenqnts" in ,an ironic usage of a papular epil;het

June 2: In a closed UN Secur:'rty Council meeting. Utopia's Int,emaJ Affairs. Department f,eveals findings ,lndicatfng a. frame-up of '!he ofganiza:tion. The US and Britiah 'govemments are unconvinced. and Directive survelllance of Utopia's. operations is stepped up.

June 3: The Tera.gen meets in council at a hidden re~reat Topics of the meeting include 'wh at precisely is going on wrth the now-weakened Project Utopia, and how to use the group's neiWfound weakne-ss to. dismantle it

J'une 4: Project Utopia begins. an internal fnvestigation for remaining alrfes of Corbin within its own ranks.

June 15: Tbere are approximately 40 ,Aberrants worldwlde, ali either ln deep cover orin h~ding. To date, neither Goroln nor Rousseau has been brought to justice, and the kientity of Slider's assassin remains a. mysl9,ry.

Abs,t'r,Qct' from the Rese"orch Prai'ec:t II"Th'e Ge'netic Basis of Homo sClpl;ens ,n'ovus"

[Dr. Sarah Lewli!>. Director dFthe Broloks L. Millef Center for Bi,Qscience'S Research, Georg ia l !Tstitute of Techno 1- og:y

September 13.,200'7

FU!'d~l1g provided by the Tliliton Foundation

1Wi! the nine ye,ar:o since the f~rst recorded appearance of I~:ovals •. many in ithesdentifl~c ICOf1i1.muIVllity have specula~ed asto it! possible genetic. basis for the individl.!a[s now elassified as Homa sapiens (:l'OVIJS. The, contioued emergence a'r novas, years after the wor:~dwide c lsanup of the debris from the Galatea ex.piiosi,on, has served onl'y to fuel the centreversy.

Aftelr five years ,Qlf research" involving datal collected From over Sf) novas and th€ Human Genome ,project"l~ee" COllrfident i 1111 say i ng that Homo gapiens nOYIJS defi n itely hs s a Q;enetic basis. The findings o·f this project bring int:I) questio~ sev,erallong-shmdinga,ssumptions on human genetics.

E~rly :anallysis showed nostatistically sigWllli:ficant link between Nomo sapter.ls {lOVUS DNA seque~ces or chromosornel typing anclthose of HOIDo s8piePls, W~~hout Bin I.SOlated DNA ~equel1ce bemliilg responsible for Homo sapien'S nOVU5 develcpment, it led I~S black to CDns,~dering environmsntslcauses. A review of the pioneeliing wo~k. or Drs. Mazarin and Ralshoud provided the clues to u:n~odldlf'lgl the mystery of Homo .sapiens novus genetics.

The M~R node is key to novas' ,!!!hility to l!narJlipul!llte qMiC'mtum ,energies and fQrces .. and provjdes the moslt consistent physiological distinction between Homo s,fJpiensClll1ld Homo sapiens noYUs. The node itself has an ~ntern!lll structure sim~hrr to th;;9t ,of a rmetaphase-sta,ge mitosis divisicn, the second sl:ag~e of oeiluillar division, illi which the DNA has been condensed into sister chrQm:at~ds. the nuclear membranes [h<iive disappeared. and the chromatids are lined up in the middle of the (,eil~1 on the spind~e fibers, prepanil~g to be drawn to the poles of tll.e (ellL~'rlteilesltinlgly, the M-R node does Inot coneein DNiA itself.ln a fas~~on sirniler to red blood cells. it relies on other cells to create and expand it

The similarities between the physical struchires of metaphase andthoseef M~R nodes [~edl to (In analysis of the genet.ic marterial within currently repilicating cells of Homo sapiens' nolVus. E.xtensiv,e anallysils and mapping of Homo $13'piens (lO!WS div1idingl DrNAshoweclth.al[ parficular sections of DNA seqlueli1lc:es were cemmen to al[i the novas tested.

The COlii'ill111on sequel1:ces were previc:HlIls!ythoug11tl,( to be introrrs. An intronis nontranscribed DNA sequencing. If eve,y indi\l'~dual base pair in all the D[NA illl ,Bin org<lni.sm were used 'to make needed proteins, tli1le orqsnisrn wO~llld be highlly

SWicepti'ble to even tlhe slightest genetic mutations, lntrons an~ a kind of blank space in the ONA chain that codes no needed in:fo,rmation. In fad, mest of ~h€ DNA nUlking ~tp a gene are acbl'Cllly introns . .As: such. their existence means that ;;,gny parti:c;uiar gene~ic mutation is statisticailly much less likely to be 'fatal to the organism. However, ~n normal dividing cells. no DiNA is being codled,as it is compliesse,d in preparation ,of division. All nova'S, must have some trigger that codes that DNA imm:edialt:le~:y preceding d'upiicatiron ·df the c,e!II~'ul~ar DNA fo:r replication and rnitosjs • or that codes introns w!hile the DNA is compressed.

All Homos:apief'J5 novustestsubJ,eds were found to have the same intron sequences in their DNA. The Humen Ge~ nome Project did not record sequencing of dividing !DNA, so mit~,ally, we isolatedand tested 30 researchers at our leb, Only orne showed the particullar se'qnencili1lg. Her excitement over the finda:pp,anently lied [0 the tri'ggering of the latent ge:nei::1ilc mater'ia~. because within days of the discovery, she erupted as, a nova.

Subsequently, a double-blind test was run with tissue samples fro·m 5,'000,00'0 diffellent ind~viduals. Six. or the samples were from Homo sapiens novas. All six (If tl1e .Homo sapien!j 110VUS sampl!e:s s'howedthe DNA sequerndt:mg. while norte ofthe Nomo Sap'iel15 samples did. We have not received U~@ f,unding ~or rnore extensive I~esting, btlillt computer models ~I"il:d:tcate thalt our current tests are 9'9.'198% statistically accurate.

M ... R N10lde D!e'¥ellopment'

The ,~alent genetic sequencing ina Homo sapiens t:lo'Vus is activated hy severely increased cellular divisio.nr broug~1t abou:t by ~Iarge-sc(,lle adrenalllilll1€ release .. Upon activstion, the plfevuoT,lsliy dormant DNA Sleq'lllences transcribeaseries of higbly mutagenic hormones. These hOm10f'H3S leave the diViding ci€!!lrs DN,A. and quickly inhrse the' cell, The hormones are then released! fnlm individusl cells,,, and m~ke their way iil1tO the bloodstr,eam.

Through <!II11L1nklli1iown mechanism. the hormones app!~renHy seek o~d and bind tospecfic neuron dusters linl the frontal lobes. There they cause a rapid mutation of the neurons ii:ilto' the M-R node, much as large dosesdF highly cercincqenic aqents carl cause cancerous turners ~!11 3. mflltter of hoers llhe mechanism by which the M-R node changes or expands after its init,~al~ genesis. is unknown,

Several of the hormones coded by the' DNAseq,uenoe were pr'ev'iO!lBsly u~known" and hiJve resisted all attempts art i ndep endent synthesis,

Conclusion

While we h.aveidenti'Fied the 9'enetic b,C!ISVS for Homo sapiens nov,uS'. the fitridli'li1g leave more questions andspeculations than :answers. The specihcity of the DNA 'seq;uenc-

14

ing would aeeount for the relative r:a.rity of Homo sapiens nov:us, but it is unknown why novas have conti!nued to appeer with 'greater frequency. The Gala'tea explosion, and its subsequent radioactive fallo'ut., could theoretically have caused the changes m the DNA sequence, but not in the fr,e~ ql.lel1cy shown by eruptinq novas.

'Given the inheritable gen.ebc basis of .Homo saplen.s novus, it wouMseem th~t we can expect 'Further generations" H~llf of ,a human beinq's DNA is 'From each parent, so it is possible that all or some HomQ' sap~ens rTOVUS 'females, thf}[ have children wi~1 produce Homo sapiens novus themselves; siimilarly for Homo sapiens flOVUS males. lP~e,a:Sie note tha!t. this assertion is just thii'lt; we have been unable to. locate .:my Homo sapien'S nQvu:s who ar,e currently pregillarnt. or haY'€: had children, In light or the, physiological changes inherent to, Homo sapiens n.o'vus. it is questionable wlivetiher a Homo sapiens li'OVUS fema.l.e can bear children at aU.

Our testing method would also imply the ,ability to test people for fiLuttlre M-R node devel,opment. possmbly even in at prenatal 'sta,ge, While technically this is now iii possibility, the process of harvesti~g arnti! analyzing II)NA is both leberious and V'!:llly expensive. It requires not just blood sampJ:e.s, but various tissue samples in lalr'ge quantit,ies. The DNA ,analysiis :requires intensive lab work, and ,even with t~e best computer al1alysis, ~:he process is prohibitively time-conssrninq. Wid.espr,€'C!d t~sting For Homo' sapiens novus is not something! that is likely to coeur in our lifetime.

lE'stimated. ~ l.evds ~ ~;fj IriftIIIe:cIi: 3 s"c£.d: 6 Off~C:': 4 !>dust!: 1

V Cl"SatiI ity';

From ,En,cyclO:P'edia Brit;annicQ, 200,5, edition

"Mazarin-lRalshoLld !Node"

The M81zarin-Ras!noud node, M=R node forsho:rt" is a smell ,gland between the fronbd lobes of the bli'al~IIiI' that ~s ~o:und only in novas! Homo s,apiens novus:. The MR. node ads as a catal'yst 'For novas' control and manipulation of quantum energy forces" As the node develops, it lncreases in size. taking up progressilvely more 'space in the cranial cavity. Relativ,eiy little is known about how the M~H node functions. The M-R node is named after Or. Henri 'Mi:!Z8lrin 8111d Or. Farah lRa,shoud. who first dOCIUIImented its eKist,ence il11998 end received a Nohd: Pri2:e For~h:eirwQrkin 2003. Se,e NO VA,. QUAN1UMFORCES

Olil a last pun:;!~ly spe,cu~atl~ve, note, we found ~t interesting that the genetic basis fOlir Homo sapiens novu:s came from previously unrecorded introns, and at a time whlen the cellular DNA is; not supposed to. be active, The t~i9geringl mechanism I~S stilll Uirlidel1ltified; il: could be a case ofspotev,olctiorr, or perhapseven olilltside source influence. Further research on thlis topic is definitelly in order:

Corbin

IInIIIIIII; And"l"e Corbin

I 1111_ Maf'C:h. 23, 1985 PIIGII .... m I,.eith. SC!~,JaJi1d

_~ eX-!!laa;cer Flayiilir! e:t:-a.duJ1'fd!m srer: e.:<-Tmm T(lroo~ agePli:t; co-foWldu of ,Airerroflt ml)"~~ mel'lt

, ...... = Corbin waS Oi profesSional Soccer player prior to his Eruption, end frhe 1rtll'1sformati·on from ham.Cir1 'to t1C)Vil! k{!!i e~l!~ced (I~ Q~re.ady uceptlonal ilJ,'th'die pfllwesS. HI,!> strength, speed QI'Id react lon t im~ are all well abol/'!!. the Immof1 norm. ,and he ~oS'sesS\as uncanny power,s of perceptiClr'l. II1Tuiltiorn ,a.nd acuity. Most not,llIble. though. is Carbin's self·titled "Bender''' -waves I)f Q'I.!C!ntumforc:e "that rodicte out fr~mi his body, P~rsorlS: berthed tl'1 these: wrrl'~ ru(:pell'ie:l1.ee ~ce~diI19Jy pDtell'lt em.otianc.l slili'hs: Would-b~ lovers hIJlrI11MI'!'l5'f!r",e;s at' ,emch ,other (,or af Corbin), r,ivalr,ie.s fhllre.il'lto viole;r;t hatred Md mHo unease. 'becomes mind'l1~m'bing terror.

II~_ Born on the date that Liiould become N-Dal' 1:3 years ~ater, Andrl! Col"bill s'ell;m~d be rn to srerdam, FI"Qtrl oll'l(lrkJng-cJgss famHy in the indll:lstriQI to\!ln of L!l'!itn. CIlir>biri'rase to' becom!~ i!! IPr.s'f,e5!i,tolljJi ~C(:'(!I"' ",layer in Lo ncion, Qt1e of the. mOST tolked-al,QI.r1' ."p~QiIldcoming' :s1lllrs, Corbin seemed d~ti"~d to Save fhedeclfnil')g ;e,dif,Ir;t: f basf!;lin;i!l pli'ofeSsl~aml spans - if he didn't i;festroy it first. His athleticism was almOST as MfrIJOle 'Il!$ the fiery. heH-flaisifllQ persol1l1lity 11h.ot' ~ r:u::rfed rioif·s ncMSS the COP'l1'I,nelP1't ruld 'r.na.de 11!Dblai:d lteC!d'li~~ (lcross t~e world.

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And t~)Clt was bef,ore his erup.tian. Corbi;; mOJ1t" fested as Q !!IGVCl4.!i!lj',i "9 t"~ W.orMi::up ,playoffs between t'h'li!. Uk. and Nigeri!), c(ll;!i$i,lIg,a ,riot in the prOc:es5:. Se.ek,.i" ilig to bolsh~r its pllbli e imag.e, Project Utopia GOfi1ill:o~' 1h~ famoWl sports ce;I£l;)rJty nflq" timid ~meot Toni.moe', ahfliClifn",ed his erl.try I~to Team 1CllfI\"rI'(lW.

Thls I'I\OW! was. tg put it f;lfur'lfly, agisaStell', Corbin's lin-ylllrr~fgr;;c. hedonistic persorlllltty and lack of respect for authority made him completely uno.hl'e to get alol19 wijh h~ te:cmma,tes or take his role seniously. Scond'~ rockeJd f~e prodigiJfs'tenu:re, flrom the Prlru:e:ss fiazoul" Affair to ~e Woidorf·A.$toriOi Incident tothe:shockill9 direct-i'(HJpNet r-e!eos-e of Hordballf9, M "a.rt film" ieatul'iilg Corbin Wld'~erel pukhritudiMU5 Co-STars. SuspUided ·from the team, Corbin severed cll 'ties to TIM exc:e,pt for those: to his unflkeJy friCtld. Jennifer 'Slider" lAnders'.

And so ~It was' tu cOr"crll th[J,t S!ii;l1W turned wiler! 51i1e:: dtS'c,ove:red ev~den{;c6 rinkfng Pr(lject Ut'Cpra 1'0 a Stleifel' 'olack ope.ratio n" ca~ I ed Project P~ote>LJS:. M first ske.ptical. Corbin soon b eCiBme (on",1 need that 51 1der had ullco·.\~red the fjrst layer of a vas; global conspiracy, HIS conviction bl!~lll-e concrete whe.n Jennifer 1¥Ci.S i'm.i!r-d~d in CI,lI'C:lJ'tta on Nft1Y 11. ,l€lOa. Sino~ that d~. Con-bin: hllS glOne: 'nto ""ding, ill [y~,n!1 with iJI'lI~eri,o!Ji5 novo. Stlpn:i(il Ra.usseau.'rhe: Jl<iir n.ay,~ r~I"!JM'ed'app.I"O."'imately 40 lik!!!" tTiililded i'!ovQS',. ~olTlie of whom ar,e stm oHicfally tied fD Utopia. TQillj,ng the epithet· Aberool'if" 0$ 'fih~ir lironic sobriQue.t. thlil;Sll no,yClS s~kto Ujlco,,"er tf:l~ 1"ruth about P,rojeM Uf'oprlll and s10p tne ,Projecf:g, w.::pkliMtion of IlQIIQS. t;nrbj'~ hIlS a loct !liT growing up t" do In (! hllrry; c,l'lly f'lme wal terl jf ~e :;,ucceed's,

II'The 'Comilng of No,vas:

Evoll'ution.ls Next Step" by Dr. H,enr'i Ma%,ar'in, alnd Dr. F,arah Rashoud, 2003

We are often asked, "WI"B I ex.actly lis the M-R node?"

Simp!l)' put, it ,is a small 'gllandl located between the flrOntall lobes of the brain. H is siqnifieant 'for two reasons First, ~t is the ol'igan with w~lich novas manil~nJ,I,(!te quantum energies, hence ghling them their amazing albilities. Second it lis the most reliable and obvious physiol'ogical differenc'e between Homo sapiens and Homo sapiens nOVl1s.

For all of lits limportance the IM-R node itself is rather unexcitinq: a rough sphere, approximately 1 ern lin diameter, of grayis~ matter.The node has many bleed vessels and' nerve filbeliS extend'ing from it into the rest of the brain which make it look vag wely I ike an octopus.

The MI-R node's i]lremal structure b'S much more i~tei1eSting" and adlll1ittedl,¥, more thana bit 'Jl1ystify'ing. 'The node oonsists df a tough outer membrane that surrounds twin poles connected by 'fi_ bers, witb what appear to resemble chromosomes. The outer portion of the chamber, outsIde the! spindl'e." contains ~le Mood supply and nUmerOlij5 nerveendiil195t which relay inFOITnation beckand Forth to th~ r~ of the brain The innerspindl!e SUW'OUf!Gs a matrix dF COOlplex proteins, The matrix displaysC'l ~igh,level of electrochemi,ea! adiviEy.llIiIe specifitS dF wn t:Ch are still' a matter of swdy:

Wlh,~le virtually nothing is known about how the M-R node m,al'llipulates quantum forces, it is interestingl t.o note that the node itself h'ighly resembles another hiological structure. With the exceptions of the M-R node's connections to' the rsst of the brain Sind its size, its structure is very similar to thaI: ofmetaphaise in mitosis.

E:V13'lIlI tho~glfllthe M~R node's manipulations of ,extenlail energies ere (I mystery, how it affed:s a H(},mos~pi€ns Ravus' in&vidmrlph!)i5io'lo91Y is much more concretely understood. The M-R node connects to all portions o~ the brain both those controlling autonomic functions (such as heertbeat and respiration) and those responsiblefor creativity~ speech. and thought. Thlils allows the node to both innuence end draw from all aspects ,of a nova-

Novas control their abiili'ties with C0!1'li,CiO!l]5 thonJIght, but the' spe,df,tc actinns of the MI-R node that are responsible ~or the desired effect are unconscious. !Much lilke walking:

The nova decides: to walk somewhere" bl,llt the actual interplay of his leg muscles is handll,ed outside of his direct conscious awareness. The node seems to respond to subconscious. desires and stimuli, in a manner similar to muscular reflexes or other autonomic functions. There also appears to be a psychologically Silglmli:ficClll1t Inifll!eili'ce of the Um1ICOI:llseious on the MI-R node, as novas tend to display OJ kind of ~'si,gnCltL!lre" wh·en man~I'festingl a power. E:Kampl,es include

William Thcmpson, who ,21pp,ears to be surrounded by '~'se.rpents" of energy when usinq hi'S abr~ihes: or Randel "The Fireman Portman. who, appears Ito be sur-rounded Iby Hames when absiorbing energy from his surroundinqs, This effect is referred to by scholars as the nova's "emma,"

The, M-R node's conorol over autonomic Functions within the body is much simp,ler: The node is sble to effed considerable changes, iln physiology and metia'bolism within a nova Indeed" the node seems to adapt (II nova's body aurtomatically I~O cornpessate for any rnarnpulations that li~ makes ,t,o' the extemalll envirenment. This is not to say ~~at novasere ,infinitely adaptable. They adapt to environmental changes eaused by themselves. but do not nec,essariiy on('lnge in response to environmental conditions they did not cause. For ex~mp e. a nova may needa coat in the snow, but wouM automatically adept to his M-R node co,V'erin:g him with, cryokinetic frost

The M-R node is, ctlipable of prod'udrig 'gre'<!lt changes; within a nova's bodly. Some qeneral changes indude enhancement o'f physique and improvemen of efficiency in a,II bcdily processes. These cnang,es are in response to the increased stress caused by the mal1ipulation of fo,rces and ,energies that the unauqmented human body is not equipped to channel.

The M-R node litself ooap-ts over ti:1il't'e. With increased control df qlJEnrum rorces, t!he M-R node of a nova, ta~9rbly grows, It <1ppears that !'he size of the nocJe.affocts: ~1eamotlnt dF enetgy thflt it can ohan~, and Ule level o'Fcontrol it has overlfuose force'S. Some novas haiVe displayed M-R nodeses large (IS an apple. Wheat eFfed. if Clnty. '!his has on a nova is unknown at this time,

fro:nJ'l; Agt IKyle Landers, DE.A

to: Mich~n~i Padgett. Northe.ast Regional Director, O,EA Date; AprilS, 2006

Re: Tri-Cities Operation

The Tri-Cities, drug rinq has Finall:y been broken up, though no cenckrsivs ties to the C-Z were discovered, 1 just hJlrned tilt evidence' over to the District Attorney today. In Bill, 26 arresh were made. hut the group's leader a suspected nova" eluded c~p" ture, 1 911.119:5:5 we need our OWInI nova 'to g;et him,

One thing you need to be aware of, though. lihe Tri-Citie ring was peddlingl a mew drug. alongl with alii lhe eld fav.o,rites. Tm~ dealers calli it "soma." They claim it lis an extract fmm a nova s M· R Rode. TIle lab boys analyzed it and i,t is some kind of superadreno{;hrome. This, shit is scary. lrnaqine crack, but about 10,00 times more powerful, I't kills most people that use it, unless it is extremely diluted. Even worse. It'S rumored that SO!11tlJ is the only thing thart can !;,iiiv€: a nova a sustained high. Their mer,aibollmsm. makes leverything ,e~se seem hl<e aspirin.

If this shit ever qets out, it could be. a real mess. LllIckily .. you have to kill a nova to get it, and that C811111't beeasy, We should keep our eyes open ,anywa1y.

tFrolm .IIQuantulm "or'ce Mani'p,uIlat'ions alnd the .Mind" by tD'r. Sha'wn Worth

Scientific American. Febru8rry 2008

In the dec;ald:e since t:heirBppea~(mc,e •. then:~ has been much speculation abo:J!J:t how flomo sap.iens rlOVUS:. or novas. manipulate quantum 'forces. While lit is, well knowlliiI that the Ma.zarillll-Ras:h:oud node isthe g'!a,rild thai al'~ows these spec~ taculartf!biIH~es; little is known :about how~h8! node functions .. Urafortunateiy, th,i,s myslery is. un~~ke·ly to be solved in the neer future. Novas are understandably reluctant to Pi<lftidpate in the direct experimentatlioWi! needled tovalida~e alT'liy the'Qri·es propcsed, This mstter remains an issue of much deb.ate in the srciel1li:i'flc community.

1 wish to offer <'lll:h~or)" on tiu.(;;l·wori<ings ,of ·the M!-iR node. The release of Dr. Lewis' liOCf!fitstudy 'on time gene~ic bass of novas has opened "Ifle doors of ~spe<:UlatiO'n Q~ the 'Qrigin of l~g.1 feel that the ,6f'1iS'Wer ~o both llIrn,e a.rigin of novasomd their am~:zing abIlities He! ~ntheorigins of human 'COfIociOllSness:.

PhillosQphers have I,ong debated ~he nature of the mind Human consciousness is Oil unique phenomenon. In the ~ast decades, computer scientists have beg;tm to claim thatoon:sci:o~!S;ness and in tell ig;enc.earE! sim#lya fUl1cb'on ofa suffi)(iej;1ltly complex ,computaitiorlal abililty" Thlis theory is profmsedi by tho~e who,s~pport what is known ss strong Al (artif,icial i~lrteJlligenoe) .. These thill1l'kers daimbhait a fa,s,t ,enough and 'compie'x eillilough co:mfut.er wi II msn ic <1111 the functions of conscieusness;

1 say "'hogwash" to my esteemed coUeagues.. I say that eonsdoasness is .Zlin observabi:e physi.cal phenomenon that happens onthe qu<~nt!lllr1n level The nJl10ertailnty irlheJiient to Iquantum mochaWil:ics a~lows for the 5e~f- reBex.ivity of consciousness, urnlike ,the (,dd~ogk of:a bi~!ary5ystem. Although the prepenents of strong All would deny lit, ~here bas been signilfi,caWlit reseereh in the !Iast 30 years to point to tthi.s condusion.

The pherromenon of consciousness gtiv'es nevas the~r incre,dibleabilitlies. Novas: can manipumate the fundamentall forces of nature on a q!LIi8Jiilblm leve~. Given th18it ourconsciousness e'xists prilmarily on the qua,f'ltUtm level, theabil~:iti:es of novaSClIF€: merely nuall1~PIJIa.tiotFl:s of the p:rrimlary components of C.OI1l seious ness .. 'HllimtliflS maifllipulat:e qwali1ltnJm Forces every day by mereiy thinkingl. Novas., throuqh the M-R node. rnaqnifyand externalize those malliip!tJlations.

1116 tm:e[aphorL'CaI~ comparison between the M-R nodeand m ituc.hand1rh"!l m~y be more than an interes:ting eoi neidenee.

Fr,om IJ'lnlr,aatUction flO Physi,cs, 12 ed'ition", 2'008'1

entry .. level text

Q~iafllwm Forces: What ase .typncaUy referred toa~ the ~'quantum 'f,cn::es"aro in lfad the fundameiJiiljtal forces ·of the

ul11verse, The term I' CffiUl.an:tum;' cemeto De appMecf Ito such [forces as pho/sicists began to w'i1.dEH's[clnd that the ~or<:es Hlemse!v,es operate on an absol'~~:e~y full1d!81mentalleveland carry aspoct'S of both part ides and waves; see ,quantum physics end Iquantum theory: The quantum forces are gravity,eledm-omagll1:etism, strong nuclear force 311iJ:d weak nllJd.ear 'Force,

G~alVity: Sirnultaneously very weU understeod and not well understocd atell, gr"Iwity ,is a ~orce we're. aill familiar with. CIS most of I[.OS feel itevery day of OUIF lives .. G~avl~ty is the attraction of massto mass. In ,other words, matter is attraded to othelr maUer; with more aUr,adion bei~g caused by ob~,ects wi~:h greal[er mass. Newto'liiI was t~:e f,iiist Ito Slet down cencrete laws for gnwity, followed by the General,IReI[at'~vity of Einsfuejrt IHowever" -g,ra'!li::~ has yet ~g be fit comfortably ~~to the quantum mschani'cal picture, Many theeriles hav'8 been proposed, but none have been fwilly satisfactory. The f~d lhat novas can ma~,~pi!l.!lategravity is; perhaps the strroli!gest evidence to date tha:E g!Favity caa be fit into the qlJantUnl p,ic:t!.lr,l':!. howev€If,

Eledram,:t~netism: The seccad-etrengest of the 'four fun-· damental rorces-, it aliso has. an infinite ral1ge Ilike grav~ty does. Eas.ily the most fu.lly explored of ~~e quantum 'Forces. electrornagnetiic fi:e~d$ are f~eMs of photons generated ibY' charged ()bjec~,. IElectrorrJ;ag~etism reAeds the ~'eFld~m;y of ()ppos'ite chergies~o attract. Thi,s~o:lice is displ:ilIDted on: tile atom~:c level; via ionic bond~ngl and ana bSf,gers:cale with such materials as: maglllets" Elec:tromaglneti:smworks: thr10ugh the use 'of electro!'Iflagm;:tic fiel,ds produood by charged mamriaLThes.e 'f'ieilds are easy to defied: They can be displayt:sd by such pedestni:a nlilmeth·-· ods as :s,prinkJting i r~l1mings around tihe lend of ~ mrag,net lHh:e charge hs stOllhof1lary; we call Itt an ,electrkal fj.eM." and ~f thechilfg€ is mOving, we aliso get.~ magnet'icfi'eld.

Sbrofmg Nuclear Force!': TMs ~ar'Ce holds things tog:ether on ft:he atomic scale andsmil,Uer. H lhas a nling€! 'of only a f~w Femtome;ters (al millionrth ofa 'tdllio~th of a meter), but within that range is the stnJng.est Foree liliil the universe. It ~:olds quarks together ili1'[O hadrons, and holds lP.fOto~s arnd neutrons togeb~€1I" to form nud!eL Onl:y its ,extr,emely slhort rarngie B,llowsotlnl€'1i forces to overcome it at ani, ll~e particle wflioh carries the strong force lis calli the gll.l:on.

We:ai:{ Nudear Fercee lhe~EN:!s:t understood of all the fll!Jlndamelliil[aIForces, it also acts only at the mJ:dear sea~e, The weak force is nasponsiiblie for a number ,o:F nudea.r diecay reactions, [tillit is ~<li~d to 'e""xplai'lil beyond' th'!3lt. 8S ~It does not ad in any sod of ilf1ltuitive "push" Olf""'puill" manner lilke the obher three forces. The intermediate hesen, W, ~s responsilbl'e for [he weak ,imJ.t~radi.on. AIm! a.arly triumph in the search for a Grand Url1li'fiecllh eory (GUT) was the unification o:f the electromagnetli,c and weak forces in €~edmweaktheory

17'

From IN! doc.umentary "N ova Powers! I!!"

Novas display a multitude of amazing and! incredibl powers. Scientists have attri bu. ted these powers to a. nova's Mazarin-Rashoud node and Its ability to manipulatequantum nergies and forces. WIllie the mechanics of how Ilrhe M-R node tunc til ns ax: still a myst,ery, Hl,e 'effects of the powers themselves are

more documented.

ovas tend to "erupt' at points of great stress. The nature of this stre s oft<en dictates the kinds of powers the nova possesses. For ,ex(ft:mpJ,e. nova Micah Weedmoo, who emerged during a skydiving accident, gained the ability to fly; ovas often display an outwardly visual 'effee1t associated ""nth their powers, called the' "anima.' As we see, Micah displays a pair of glowing energy "wings" when he flies.

Besides the anima, most novas bear some obvious outward sign of their change, While many novas. possessarnazing physiques, some novas develop further changes to. their app arance, such as bio~umillescen't auras or silvery skin.

ova powers can roughly be divid d into three categories: internal powers, sensory I controlling powers and ext mal p wers. These categoTies are merely for purposes of demonstratiom few nova . .abilities are so easily das 1fied.

Internal Powers

Internal powenj, affect onlythe nova. Many novas display typical human traits that areheightened to an amazing degree. Some novas are incredibly st:rOtilg 0,1" unbelievably inteIDlIigell't. A quick: look at the evening news sometime shows nova s lilting tractor-trailer trucks, Of memorizing the complete works of Shakespeare, Many novas seem to display a heightened level of biological attractiveness and natural charisma. The many nova actors and actressesare testam t to how seductive-and appealing novas can be ..

Some novas display useful and amazing body modification "Nova with claws, wings or d1 ability to withstend the elements or massive amounts of energy are not un,common. Changing appear,ance at will or even turning completely invisible are other documented powers. And, of course, so is the ability 'tID fly.. ..

Sensory/ Controlling Powers

Potentially even more powerful are novas who Cern sense things beyond the limits of normal human experience, or control objects through acts of will At the simplest level, many ofthese abilities seem nothing more than norma] human senses I· xtended and heightened to an impossible degree, Other such powers include seeing ill other paris of the electro-magnetic spectrum (such as infrared, uJh'<'lIvio,lliet and x-ray waves) or

s ei:ng matter on a microscopic or atomic level.

·18

Novas occasionally display powers that were once considered psychic or extrasensory perception. Acts of clairvoyance Orr precognition faU into this category. Other so-caned psychic powers, such as the spectacular "telekinesis" ability, wiiU be mentioned later, Novas often seem more lin tune' with the world around them.and some are able to predict funrre events. No one knows the limits of these abilities, but they seem specialjzed and relatively rare among the nova population. H probably makes our viewers feel better to know that rro nova has

displayed the ,ability ito read minds, Yet

Novas have also displayed even more esoteric abilities. ViaSoft prodigy Mungu Kuwasha, for example, can manipulate and control computer-s and data s,eelllinglyby t.hougbtalone .. Novas have demonstrated control over purely mechanical devices, too .. Most novas with these abilities seem to "interface" with the object in question .....

External Powers

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lBy far the most spectacular and impressive of their

r abilities, the external powers account for tb.e most amazing and unbelievable of nova abilities. These powers allow novas to defy nature ~ to literally change the world ..

Many novas possess the ability to harness ambient energ~ then release it ill a focused burst. The tabloids have dubbed rhisabillty the "quantum bolt," and it can take maDY forms. Novas have been observed throwing heat and electrical discharges, even shooting lasers from their eyes. News footage from. the Kashmir crisis and African conflicts show the sheer power of these "quantum bolt," They can vaporize tanks, crumple blIndings. and even. simulate atomic discharges .. The nova generating a quantum blast seems immune to its effects, sometimes walking unscathed out of a conflagra-

Han of his 01lVIl making.

External powreTs displayed by novas take on even more bizarre forms. Sound waves, radioactivity and even. biological processes in other creatures can all be controlled by certain novas. Many of the other so-called psychic powers, such as

telekinesis, also fal[ into this category. 19

Just as SOUle novas can create energy from nowhere .. other can absorb and destroy en€'l"gy. Randel Portman, the famous "Pireman," is probably the most widely known energyabsorber. Last y,ear, an unknown nova even

walked into the EWes of ,11 nuclear power plant during the Calcu tta Meltdown, and when she left, there was notatrace of radioactivity left

rem inter,na:1 Dep'artment' of Def:ense rmemo, EYIES, ON rr, 6/6/03

Our scientists have completed their studies of known and theorized nova ,abilities .. What they found is shocking.

First" some novas do possess the ahility [0 manipulate emotions and even dominate individualls. Mind-reading is not confirmed but is not out of the question. either; This il1formati,on should be screened and censored from the media and thescientific community at I'arg,e. 1 also recommend that all sensitive operatives be screened for undue influences.

The scientists" 'C(N1d~sllon is tlhat. nOMBS can pot:e:nt'ially do anythinq, and l mean anything'. Theyaffed the v'e'ry fClibric df t!he universe, Our scientists speculate that, given enough time' and training, there is literallll,y nothing a nova could not do .. Even more' fri:ghtening are preliminary reports. that novas w~th greater levels of quantum controlappear to be less stable. The researchers theoriz'e tlhal the increased growth of the M-IR. node, necessary For greater powelr, also impinges the 'fronrtall!obe, possilblly leading to haliucinati,ons or even personality disorders. The last thlirng we need is a bunch of psychos with the power df gods" ..

From a Ne,w Nova Orilen,latian Mee':ngl ,Speech

Greetirl;~. everyone, and welcome to the dawn o'f your lnew future., 1 ani Dr. Yuji Go: you will !i1odoubt get to know me and aU of the other-Project UtopiB 5wffintimately dUring)!lOur hining stay here at th~s Rashoud bcility.l F you hl1We'any ,questions or concerns dwingl your stay. pl'ease contact YOlJr per5Omlliaiscn. who will take the proper prooedLrrlilI steps to have the matter addressed

As)lOLi all W1doubtedly know now you harlie demonstrated abilities that IdentiFY yoo as novas. T h a quick I~odk ifOU_nd you - most of)/OO. are in your 20s, whil.e a Few are ill your ,ea_rly 305 ~l1d a gooo~y nLfrlllber of you are still in yoUJr teens. ObviollSo/, erupbon ~ 'which is what 'we cail the oct ,of becoming an actirve nova rather than a latent one - happens to retalt~l~ YOUntgr members o,F society,. By [~ooking around you"ve also probably caught 1»1 to, the fact that l1.ovasarelil·t restricted 00 any sil1gje' class, race or ethnidLy. Some of you were dirt poor seven days ago. while 'others o'F you may have been born wirth silver SpOOI1S in your mouth. That d~oesn't matter a~ore. V/hat is rm,portant i!S t:hat!Ne're here to hel!p you realize your potential and, should you choose to remain among us, becone a ,contributing member of Project Utopia. ~ooe own 'goal is build'il':lg a betoor world for novas and humankind alike.

IF you wmilid. th'nl~ back to the time of YQiU" eruption, 11t may be ill bit treumatic for you. but. this helps us immensely lin direding your potential Recall the exact circumstances. as they have become psydhologkal catalysts For y,aurburgeoll1lling' powers, [for example, lif you were trapped in a burning bui~diRg and the stress ~riggered your eruption, you may ~ilnd y,ol!.UiselF indined ~oVV'ardi the' m(lJnirpulati:on of f'ire.]f ycDllilf eruption occurred while 'falling. you may posses-s, ,CJj flight potential. If you erupted 'wh i lie' faced by a menacing animal. you may possess ·comrol over nature's lesser beasts. Whatever the case, give III a moment of brief consideration. If you"d be so kind, please look over your enrollment dossier and make sure your pr,acessing rlia,ison recorded your eruphon circumstances correctly, There's nothing to be ashamed df - remember, if you don't hel~p us, we cao't help you.

Before we 'go amy'flirth€f, howeve:r.;II'd M<e to' offer ill bit of preemptory warn 1119. Yes, you are' an novas, and you poosess~mendous abilllties, and vast. power. But that poW€r comes with a price. 1 will ~ YOll now about using your powers .recklessly; Don't do it The upcoming Imooths will educate you in the Imdimoots 0 Why and hoW' yow-abilibies worl(, as we~ ,as [he ,dang;er mh.erent in abuslingl ~hffi1'. For now, '5im,p~y let IlJS guide and direct you ~n !the use of yoor nova pote'fltials. Your very health depends; 0.111 it.

l caasee some of you are unccmforteble with ~his already. We've antkip:a'ted that During your physical examination, you were administered a pill or ilnjedi,olfll of qm:mtlJrn-retarding mexincquantamine, Whatever potential you maY' possess, the drug limits it !.!lllIbl you have learned the control and restraint to do it yourself. We cannot ,oon.troO! the e,ffocts this quantum power has on your bodi"es, however, and ,if you insist 0111 rebeUing or making a show" you will damage yours·elf IFar in excess of tlile ,effect you. try to create, Pilea!se~ we do this for <II I'iiving. Let us work with you,

To: Ali field operatives clinic staff and recruitmentteemcaptains From: Michael Hodqe New Personnel Processing [)ir-ectoF

R·e: Preeederel Update

Effectiv·e iimmediatel:y, alii recruitment staff are to cease ·'snatch-andl-gr.ah" enirolilimellilt methods. Whil,e this ma,)! be appropriate to . orqanizations'l like the Teraqen, it is certainly out of place with the aims o,'f our organization, Project Utopia takes a nurturing stance on nova development. Although I am Irlot a nova myself. 1 have seen many of you brought into the .organization, ami! enCOLJrag,B you to remember the trauma of your own first eruptions,

AliiI'm asking is that team leaders show a little sympathy. If we adopt the methods of the' ether ·groups we me k.e ourselves no, better than they.

Clinic staff, iF you have any reasonto suspect that (I, newly discovered nova has been treated roughly or unfaiilly by his recruiter, please notify me ilmm:ediat,€lly.

Fra,m a Prog .. s. IReport on Nova Development led' a UtoiP'ia Facility D.at'e: 10 Jan 2'006

Datum~DIj,ta: Actualization conlJimJle5 slowly~ ltae newest detachment dfrecruits. Retarded IPFogr:ess SElems to rest in the nature of the: rocruiil:s: As M-.R. node eruption can oeaJrin anyone, ~ have no g,uarnnree of dealill1:Q witl1 a~lytir:a~ or E!'f;I'e:F11 S!1!JIlrtablyselfr-aVilatie su.lbjeds.lndeed, some.amo:ngi tf"e current roster ~ to, hair! worn ~at oourd be desoribed as wmerpri\!i~ieged. socia~o/ illtNJljitabi1e ar (for lock of more sui~le descriptors) Uwhite..brash·· Upbri~ljl"lg~,.

While tire development team contiJnUe5 to guide these prospects down their paths of el1n(:hment. it is. ilia opinion of this reseercber dlat some Sllbjocls. would aHect their envirorrment more radicall¥ than they possess drJe CiOI1SOIeIiilCe or intelltget1ce to um:ferstand.

1 dblw on sociological ifnistol}' to make my point Star athletes of 'the latter 20th oerJwry made a good deal of money. often wi~h little mor'13 UmrilCllrsory 'OOlJlCation, Thisahrupt oocumulation'or money. combined with poor knowledge bases and insufficientsocializartion. made fOIl aberrations of society - 'hilibWies with money," who ,could not conceive of u'e problerns they potel'[tial~y rpoS€d,

Taken ruthe next log iCE! step! li1I.ovas poosess Far m()reenvlroJ1me1:1tal fln~uerwe lten money represents :in, lhe precedirng pm-aU,!ete, exam;p!Ie. 'Vi(h€11 a sUbject possessesthe abiliEY' to. distort the minds of ·those aroarnd him or CEUge· a rfudear 'GOnflagr:ationl in a haiF-mile radius" ~t locks the .abiliLyoo disLin~ish between not only right alld WFoogJlbut appropriate and inappropriate as welJ; upon whom does the burden of responsibility mll~

f ,As ~urther evid~!1ce, 1 oitec~ UT-117 -UK, Marjorie· McCannagh. At 60 lQ. MNjorie was on1¥ lmf9inally aware·ofher sLirround~ngs solherpmwr to sever organic molocular bonds and Ibm livinglthing~ into puddles ,of cerbon sludge posed more threat than OOVantage.

(Granted, thllSe aberrations are isolated occurrences, All evidence suggests Klat, most 'lfrequent1¥. the M-R. node acclimates ;and oc,c:elera'tes the mind 'ilnd body to peak'Qr even superhuman !~s of rrmess and parfom'lat1ce.ll!i:s problem" on a I~rger scale, seems I'D be more of.(I sociologiad pheoomeoon, ~hough McCannagh is hardly an inappropriate example)

To '!hat end, this. reseereher must rocommMd cootltmJ:ed pursuit of Itheproposed "M-R lobotomy" treatment In S!OC[~patthic. Modal and criminally inclined subjects., tile fmjed mustame it urpon itself to cauterizetne M-R node as early in irtsen.rption;ag possibl!e. Waitiin'91 too longl may allow the node ~o grow back UrlOOr the heal~n91 ausp~ces. of ~ts lbiodl1emk:al adj ml1erns,.

21

To:. Mi:chael: lHIodge, New Personnel Processinq Oilredor IFrom: Bruce Mc1nerny

To,: All fi·eM operatives clinic s,taff and recruitment team captains Re': Procedural Updlate

LOOik l,~lre.ady t6Jd you that McKinney kid refused to calm down once he'd already agreed and his parents. had si'gned 'the release, Read tlhe report, This job's already Ihar,d enough without some pencil-pushing, third-rate bureau(rat 'tryi!1lg to tie my hands even more because he's Qlot nothingl better to do Oil Project Ut,opia time.

The more yOIJ C(H11lplicate this, 'the more dif'Ficuilt ],t becomes, and the easier it is for these new novas to Falll in with otlller; potentia:lly danqereas orgalniz.Eilt:ions.

Screw you, Hodge. It's already ridiculousthat someone with my cepsbilities has to filH paperwork to keep a tick like youlilappy, so OOUlr'lt your blessinqsthet 1, haven't had to "ensure complicity" by knockinq you out with a manhole cover.

Welcome to the Nova Sitel the only site on the OpNet devoted to self-made novas by self-made novas.

So you want to be a nova .. Join t.he club .. Only one in a million people becomes a nova , because its really hard to do .. First, you have to have the devotion to do it. Second, you have to have the time to exp Lor'e your powers. Third, you have' to have an ext.ra bi t of meat in your brain, which causes all your powers to happen.

You can't be a nova wi thout causing that bi t of meat (called the node) to open up. Of course I its not. that easy. The node only opens up under stress. (l-ion;1us. says he opened his by drinking an entire case of A.frican Malt Liquor. but I think he's lying.) That's the hard part. You have to cause yourself enough strless to open the node •. but if whatever you do to cause the stress might kill you, so. be car'e fu L.

Also, your nova power's have to do with the thingie t.hat; caused your node to open •. so pick something cool. If you open your node by holding up a go.lf club in an electric s t.o.rm you. get lightning powez s, but if you open your node by slamming your head Ln a. car door a lot. you probably get some really crappy powers like only making car doors open ..

L·earning powers and opening the node usually makes you really sick. Most peopLe get huge hea:da·ches (mig·raines.) when the node opens up, because the node pushes its way out from t.he "inact.ive" part of the brain to the "active" part physically. Seriously.

Al S o,the power (W'·e ncvaa call it jolt or ] U1 ce or magnum) aomet; Lme.s eaus es illn.ess in a body not used to it. Your going t o be z ea.LLy tired when you first become a nova, because all the juice just wears. you out because you don't know how to control it yet, Also, you'll pr'obab'l.y get some kind of disease like a cold oz the flu bec.ause your so tired your immunity' system is tired wi th ·the· res t of your body.

The best thing to do is practice your powers I t.houqh , so let the headache and sickness wear o f f and ge·t:: to work. Practice makes perfect, but here's a few easy 'tips to help you on the way.

1 . ) Do it (prac ti ee) away from people unti 1 you ·get the hang of .i.t , If you' re just learning you migh·t kill someone or hurt them. so stay away from other people.

2 . ) Practice a .. t the same 'time every day. Let your body get used "to a regular series of practice exercises, so you can be at your maximum ability each day when you "work out."

3 . ) Go slowly. Only t.r a Ln your powers for a f,ew hours a day - rro more than two until you can learn to control the power flow. Too much will wear you out; and ei·ther burn out your node or make you sick a'gainl;'lith exhaustion.

4 .) Raa .Lot;, If your really a nova and not a poser, you'll eat a bunch of food all day long. The.s,e munchies are caused. by the power in your body, as you have to keep giving it fuel.

5 . } Don j t. wear a cos tume , A. nova with a costume is ei t.he.r an Eli te or a poser.. Do not wear capes especially becaus.e when you get in a fi'g'ht /tha t ,. s the first thing people pull. This isn't. a comic book , it· s real lif'e, Do pick a cool name for yourself though, but you pr'obably a.Lr-eady knew that, Being a riova is being important. You have to look like somebody worth noticing for anyone to care.

CL~CK HERE to r,eglistellr with the Renegade Nova League

[Translated fmm French]

. Trainer. You made some excell'ent progress yesterday. [can.How do you feel today?

"Jealil::.A bit [ired.

· Trainer. Any s~mptoms ~Q report? Djld you 1llleea.any meds last ni'ght~·

.. Jeam Ihad ·8 nosebleed after dinner last ni'ght And ~he nu~se ,gaye me one' ack,enodlin. but 1 only took half the pill. 1 slep·t Ilike 8, baby, but I've g.ot kind 'Q,f a headache now.

· T niner: I see. Whalt cl,id you do w ith the rest dr the piU? llike YOlJr cap, by the way. Are yOIU! ::J Y~ln~ees Fan?

· Jean: Flushed lit. Yeah. l like the Yankees. I've Q,ot 81 jersey. too.

· 'Trainer: .Alii ri,ght. Are you ("Ieady to start fo:r todSl)l'?

· Jiean: 11 gues·s.

· Trainer:. Okal)'. [To tedhniClilalls] Let shave 4.00 migs ,of moxinoquantamine. Okay, Jean. 1 want you to think about moving this, magnet 8gawn.

• Jean: We did 'this yesten:la~.

Trainer: 1 know'l jeall. but 1 don't w,ant to. giO forwalrd without making sureyou remember how ro do wha,t we C{)oVered yeste.rdaY. [Jean sighs ] Ready?

.,. Jean: Yep. [magnet moves visibly. suspended in airr.

Ma,gnet rotates ,in air]

· r ~iline:r.: Fantastic, j!esl1! Not onlly do, you remember. you're a'~n3ad'y controlling better than you did yesterday! Great work! Okay- now slow it down .. ,good. !Put i't down carefully. I[ magnet clatters to surface oFtabl,e ]

· Jean': Damm,it

• T miner:: INo problem. Jean; we"1I just try algalin. You were doing awesome. This time, tholLlgll, fee/the magneUhe w,holet~me. ~ saw you k,il1ld of relax. your mind berore:lhe !i!a:Qnet was on . hetabl!e. Make· sure you g~\I"e: it yorur full concentration ali the 'Way through.

.. ' eOOD eVENING, LAOIES AN'D ,G6NTL6M6N, 'I'M NATHAN ,6t.ACK. YOLl MAY 1F(5CDGNlIZE ME FFtOM M.TV'.$ SMASH HIT 5HOW MAXfM.VMi ,eXTReME .ON THAT 5HOW, WE L.OOK IINTO POPUI.APt NOVA ,CUt TUPtE:

AND T.R5ND5 FRO/VI A BASE:UNE'5-EY,E VIEW, SHOWING YOU WHAT'S GOING ON IN THe: WO,RlO ,oF THe SLJPElRPOWeR'EO AND 5tJF,e:RFABUI...DU5. TOMGHT, HOWEVef'{, W&'Re: L..ooKING A llTTI..6 mORS ,ClOseLY AT pp::eC15ElY WHAT' MAKES, 'f1"'l6:56 NOVAS 1Ih::~K

WITH ME NO'1I5D NOVA

F'ARAPHYSICIAN IDQCTOR TA5m f'1ARV,!ER. T ASMIN'S ,S:L1FiIISER ,SODYSUijT COMes COU~TESY 0 ANilBAL BUENDIA"S AlB AKTIF 5POR"fSI,IV,eAR LINS. t,.,6T5 $TAR' WITH >,'OLJR P05~T10N. T A~IN; WHAT, ~XACTLY IS. A PAPAPHYSICII,AN?

AS WE AWL KNOW. NOVAS' eODIe'S ARE mORe EFFICIENT THAN THose Q,F NO~AL ,HIJMANS.

THEY H5AL FA5,T,lEFt, MOVEFA5liC'SR, aFU~AJ<DOWN

FOOD IINTO ITS COMPONeNT NUT~IEENT5 WITH GREATep; REl:.5tJL TS, CAN WIITI-iSTAND ,GFtEI\TI6~ EXTR15MES OF STRESS AND ENVIRONMENT AND THOSE: TYPE5 OF THINGS. AS A PA~APJ4Y:5ICIIAN I

speCIALIZE IN THe II INNeR WORK~NGS OF THese OPTIMiZeD, S'LJPe:RMUMAIN aDDlES.

~IND OF A SPOR,S 'DQCTO.R, TO , 5UPERHEROlE'5. ,51-11 'DOCTo.R?

DON'T /VlIII'J'D IF I DO, DOCTOR.

WOW! IT'S D8TROI'T'S SANCTIONeC? MPI)SLI!C DSFSNDSR/' KIKJ'A~!

IT'S mOI=tE: THAN Belf'JG, A SPO~TS DOCTOP:, NATHAN. I~M PART PSYOHOLOGIST, PART PHY510L.OG'ST, PART F'H'1:S'I'CAt. l"H6R:API5T, PART F11:S;U,? /VIISDIC AND TWO PARTS 6'~N5RAI.

P:RAGTITION8ER

BUT AIR£i: TH~5e NOVAS ~EAlLY THAT DIFFEPteNT? A~SN'T THISY JUST HUMANS W~THl.. wr;:L.l.. B~TT~P:

PHYSIIGAL ORGANS?

Re'AU.Y. wau, MAyaE: A I,.ITTL.E', I GU~SS. S1I"EP IINTO OUR RS56ARCH t.ASOPtATORY AND 1'i..t.5HOW YOU A BIT MORlS ABOUT HOW THe: 80Dles OF NOVAS WQ.RK

H? Atom,. NY POP. KIO~, ST.AY IN SCN~'" A/Vt? OON''T I?O ORV6S AWt?Re~Af6~ yat &;4N ~'Yal'R P~~JVi"7M 8A5S/ft/E~ t1IeYA

/,N /v11f.'6SP~W64R.

NIKIi, 5E::ND YOUR: ,E:NDOR$,/1VlSNT CHiSCK TO ...

AS A NOVA, K1K,JA'KCAN WITHSTAND 5U;NIFICANTtf 6RIi?AT6R ~~ECT~IC.AL CURReNT. ru, JI)ST ser THe G:5Nr.:::~ATOIit·5 OUTPUT TO 10-

A BSOLUT,SLY, BUT YDU~Ll TO TAKS MY WOAO FOR: rr, II DOUST M!~. KH<JAK WOUL.D ALLOW US TO 5~T HI/Vi ON i=JFtEE~

WHAli!5VER: YOUR NAMe FOR. THEM" TH6H~ CONTROL STEMS FROM THE F;:LOW OF "QUAN1Ui1"f EN6J~c:;.y - ,~NERG'" THAT NlO~MAl HUMAN BODI'ECS AREN'T De5h~N~" 1'0 peRCEIve, LeT AlONe MANIPULATE.

II DON'T !HiNK SO. 50, WHAT'S THE DEAL, DOCTO~? WHY

DO NOVAS FEiSL L.E::S5 OF THE: PAIN AND HE:AI. F~OM rr MORE QUICKLY?,

ALL OF THE:'5E TIINIY "PATHWAYS" OR NE:RVe GROIJPS ALLOW THAT ENEORG't TD Move T,HRO!JG'H THE NOVA'S 60D't.

THISSS N6FtIV,E:i GROtJPS ALSO "f,P{ANS~ NUT THE;: FIe=E2DBACK FROM MQRE:

TRADITIONAL :STMWl.I, lH<e 8U:iCTRICITt, H8AT OR KINE1"lC PORes. TJriAT'S, WHY MANY NOVAS. CAN WIITH5TANO BeATINGS, STABB!lNGS AND EVSN GUNSHOT WOUiN'D5.

W,E:ll, 'TO 6,E:T TeCHNICAL, THEY'RE: NOTR:8AiLLY NeRves, T1HBY'R8 CAllED /IfI-R CD:11-5" aur WE'LL,Gi§T TO nt4T LA.T6~. AS TO' WHY rr 0055N'THUR'T MO,rtES; 'THE D6LW'e~e::D SI~MULUS IS 51'ILl THe: SAME, BUT DI5Pf3~5i.iO MU,CH MOiRe:: ~X_PE:DmOUGLY . .LJ~T'5 SAY YOW AND KIK.1AK eE:T tilT BY A CAR YOU BOTH FLY THe: SAMe: 'DISTANCe: AWA.'I~ YOU BOTH 5UFFeF=!: THE SAMe Afli\OiJNlT OF P'H'f51CAL KINSTIC FQRC6 ,oN IMPACT, aUT YOUR 60DYDI5f'8RS8S THE FORes; THROUGIH SfU.ION'5 OF NERveS, WHILe: KUKJ.A1<'5 BODY

DI5PE:R5!SS IT THROliGH A LOT MQF'l:E., GETTING ~ID OF IT QWICKLY,

.4#1> .vat t::'RY A ,U77 .41.t7RGr NA7"N'AtlI;

:, DOCTOR:, HA:VSN'T WE: 60TH SUFFERE'D l,He: 5AM!E - E:R,fRAUM,Af'" ~ IfIE:AN, W~'lil 60TH STILL KAViE B~DKeN ,BONES" aUT HE'lL JUST FEEl. rr CO~R:SCTr'

-YOU M'~GHT ACiUALLY .8,E GIVING HIM .MORI5 poweR, IN THIS CAse OF WHAT AR~ ,CALLED "A6WR,SEER NOVAS" '''QUANTUM

ALMOST, NATHAN" IE:ACK OF THOGe L'ITrL~ MR COILS T'RAN5FBR5 QUANTUM 6NSRGY 'DOWN ITS L..SN~TH. WITHOUT ~tEITI'N~ INTO !"oNG?~

WINDED THeO~ie.5A~D Me-T API-I1SIC$, QUANTUM E:NE:P:GY ,BA:S~CALlY COMPRISES THe ,FOl.JR FL.lN'DAI'VISNTAL FORless OF THS L1N~'V6:R56;eRAV~iY" !SL..5CTROfflAeNrETl5M,

STP:ONG, AND WE:'A,:K NIJC'''':~AR FORceS.UNDElR THe QOI'J'TROl OF' A NOVA,QUANTUM ,!:'N5FtGY 85comE,:G •.... weLL. A ,S,OP::'f OF "COS/VIiC POWe=R," IIF THAT DOB:5NI'T SOUND TOO CQRNY.

AcruALLY, IT ,CONV6~T5 OTHiSPl:

IENe'~611~6 TO QUANTUM ,J::NE:RGY. 'N ,FACT, IF YOU WERIS' FOOlJ5H ENOtJ5J1 TO PUNCH ,oUR FRIEND KIKJ'AK-

WAIT, GO' NOVAS ,MAf£ TH8:IIR OWN powr;~?' TH6N HOW C,AN lH!l:Y S!:S ,BROUGHT 'DOWN? ~

/VleANI, JUST lAST weeK, KU<.1 AK HIS~J5 FOUGHT ONE: OF lN05!;S n::RAGE::N NOVAS - KNOCK'e:=D HIIM aUT WITH A FORCE SOLT

TO THE' HeAD~

lfi

,NEU/. ytf'Ah':: K-JAK t::Y.I'TTA ,1/"" 7"a-YN SrNt&lliSNT r"~dll:" - NA7'"'t'~/N ON;"'~/6HT.

I~U ~"""" ,Y;'at ~lIf6',Ct:J$AlIC .Pl~~ SUC,.t'A.

T,HB M-R COILS ONLY TRAN5FE:'R;, QUANTUM, NOVAS HAV~ ANOTH5R ORGAN - AI G~AND, TO BIle: IF'Re=CISE:, KNOWN AS THE: M-'Ft NOD,~. fI"l~R STANDS FOR MA:ZARIN~RASHOti.JD. THE NAMes OF THE' SCre:NTI5TS WHO 'DISCOVERED' THe NODe A DECA~ AGO" BY Tr1te:

WAY. THEi {I\'1-R NOP,[S Al.LOW5 TH8(1t1 TD CONTROL Ci'HJ,4NTUM. AND CONVERT

THOSE OT,HER FORCe::S INTO Pf;RSONAl QUANTUM REseRve5. we'VlCE ALL ~OT QU,ANTtU/YI RUNNING THROLlGH US, BUT NOT ALL OF US KNOW HOW TO use: ~T

COP';A.eC:TI!-,Y, DR eFFIICIE:NTLY" IF ,AT ALL

OKAY, so, ONSOM8 FlJrNDA/'IIieN'TAL Level~, THIS HI,GH R.E.$~5TANCE T06EING ~t.JRT-

... IG, ACTLJ ALLY HYtPERA,CCSU:;iRATeED He=ALING, AS THIS QUANTUM AUGMENTS THe: BODY'S NA'TU~AL HEAUNG PROCESS. KH<JAK MUST HAVis: MANA,GE'D TO DOLE: Ot;T MOP:'E: T.P:AUtvwA THAtNI HI'SE:NE:MY COULD CONViE:RT AND

HGAL THE BOTTOM lINS IS Tf-tA,T E:VEN WiI'TH AU.. THE QUANTUm ~N THE: WORLD,

IF YOU CANT DO ANY'fH~N'G WITH 'IT, IT 'DOeSN'T DO :tOLJ ANY ,GOOD.

S:NlCKtSt? NO, THIS'Rr:::: ARE:

STI,L.l. NOFtMAL, HUfII"AN BUIILD:ING BLOCKS LlND,E\R.

"THOSe M-~ COlloS. 10Ul CAN snu. BReAK BONE5 AND CAUSE: HEEf1VIORR·HA!!~'E::5. THEY 'DON'T ELIIMINATE At.t., lrH8 NOR/'o'!AL. OBS1" ACLe'S. IN .MOST CAses, AT LEAST. IN FACT, 6!SCAnJ.5E THEIR BoODlES SPEND so mUCH '[11'me: AND EFFORT DEALING win .. !

QUANTUM, fII'lOST NOVA6 i5:AT /I"IOR.E: TH.AN NOPtM,4L. HiJMAN5,; GOMETIIME:5 jQJ TI.Mrs:S AS /''VIlJGH OR Mo.FtE.:'" DAILY.

wow. I N6V,EIR.

I'JOTIC8D THAT B!SFOI=t:E. ALL NOVAS GLOW IN THS DARK?

YOU TH'~NK "0' HAV,E:

SG,E:N rr liN MGHTCt.U85-

NO, NOT PFt8G!5!E,;LY. NOVAS 6lJs8D OFF "f}lEIIi=t UNUseD' QU,ANTU/'iI'I IN DI'F'FEJ:l6NT WAYS. :SOME MAY' HAVEl A STRANGE:

COLOR CAST TO l"HEIR Sl'<1'N,

OTHE:RS MAY "HUM" (~Ul6TLY OR HAve UNSTABlE:: ceLLULAR BONDS THAT ,~SLlL T IN .A WATERY CONSI&m:=NCY TO

1"J-I:E1I':;:, 600185. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE: INDIVIDU'AL. IVlOST

NOVAS H!A,V,!S RlElATlVet.y M!INOFt ANOMAt-It8S, BUT '("Hose: WHO' HAVE USEiD A GRiSAT PliAl OF QuANTLIM IN .A 9iORT ~ME: ,OR:

HAVE: USED ~T aI/6Ft MANY yeAR:5,. W~ .SUSPECT,. COtJLD 'D'5F'l.AY MU'QrI MOPte= ... PRONOUNceD' QU,IRKS.

NOT OIRECTLY, BUT WE B~lIiEve IT TO ae A 51Dti 6FF~C;T, S'I.M~lAR. TO THIS ATTUNE:ME:N'1 .AND ":STFU::,A,/¥H.JNING" OF NOVAS' eODIE'S·, YOU'V,S NOTICE'D HOW MOST NOVAS AfP,E:AR TO HAVE urrcs BODY FAn'

OF COU,~56.

THE:Y,A.CTnJALLY HQVElPt 68TWE:ISNI Z;:~RO ,P:SROENT AND OJ>JE::-HALF PERCENT MORe: FAT niAN Tl-tE

JIIlIIN ffl/itJM NEEIDED FOR ,f3A5IG NERVOUS :SYSTEM IN5IJLATlION,. A$ we: QUANTuM mOCE:S5e:D BY THe; M-R.NODE MAXIMiZES TH8TR ,BOD~eSJ NATURAL FUNCTIONS AND MINIMIZESTH!E

OBSTACLES THAT I.MPe:[;I!;:THOSS ,F41NCllONS. ALONG THE SAME' UlNas, NOVAS CAN 6Xl5T AT VEiRY LOW AIR.OXY6EW COUNTS, AND CAN NEl.Jl"ftAl.~

IZE: TOXINS ALMOST.AS QUICKLY AS THeY' SNTeR THE=' BLOODSTF'I:E:,t!tvI.

TIRUEE, BUT NOVAS fiilAAI2l.Y GET SICK ~ IN' J!tOOrTION TO 'SHUTTliNG OUT TOXII\J5,TH8IR ~M"M UNE:SY STE:f'II5 W~PE: OUT E:veRiTiH~NG aUT TFle: MOST D8f3I~ .. rrATIN6 DiSE:,A5E25 INST Af'JTt.Y. NOVA WED~CINe:S'" LI.~ AQRENOC:I~lrJ, WHIOI e:NHANCES, QUANTl,.I\/'Vi CONTF':OL, ARlE: ve:IP<:Y p[.u~e: RATIOS. OF THE COMPONENT QHEfVlICALS. WHICH WOULD DROP A S,IQ15NGIN8E'RJ8D cow OE:AO IN !TS TR:AOK'G. L.I~e:WI.5e, ~F A NOVA WANTS TO 'NAVE A QUiCK 'DRI'NK~ IT HAD BE?rfE:R Blf' Vt!SRY NSAR 100 P8P;CE:NT ALCOHOL FOR H:IM TO ISViEiN FEEL THE EFlFBCl"S, BUT I CANT I{VIAG~NE' THAT T A5Te:5 VE:R,YGOOD:

27

I ram this iourn,olll of Dlr. N'ilmall DharmIGSe!nal; November 3, 2001 1 wonder iF Darwin would ~eel this way. if he were lin my pl~,c€,

For the I,ast few nights. I haven't even gomE! home. I've called lmira over and over again. reassUiring her that l'm stilt! a!111 6ght, that I'm just at (II critical stage. And r ~eellilke I'm Iyi,ng' whe'lIlt 1 say thalt- after a:ll. the I!ast batch of bast results has salt on my desk for a long while. But 1 really am beinq truthfu~,afteraill. II am at a critical staqe. lt's jlll!Jlst one of decision. not

d" rscovery,

The novas seemed so impossible when they started emerqinq, 1 swear, ~I almost Igave up science and ran out to, Nevada to preach the' g;ospd Q,f chaos theory by the freeway. But as it turns o:wJ[, they might just be quanti'Fiable i1lfterall- snd no,w that Utopia wants me, 1 feel like l've belen given the keys: b) the kingdom. No. scratch th:at _. the blueprints.

IHumanity isn't realily ,evo.lvill1tg ,anymore I'm sure ,of that. And the emergence of the novas t,e:llls me that Nature knows this. 'too; so she jumped a few people ahead. 'to whatever stage we mi'ght no:nmally hav,e reached. The novas ere her gift to US;B way ef examining what w.e mlight become - and evoh/ing ourselves. Us, not herr.

The potenfial is endless, One nova al~one, wlith the right gifts" could end hung'ef; rework the world economy or terni!l~o:mll a continent. If we achieve some' level of control over 110va powers, and who, we inv,est them ill, we could achieve Star Trek several centuries early ~ my kids could '9mw up in a world witho,ut, pollutiort, without crime, w,itil1out famine or lfear or disease. Amid! the thoLlght UUilt my research migl1tt help brinq this abouL ..

W~110 am I k,iclcl,irng? ~1'V'e wanted to jmniP aboard Utopi;a 'for as long a's if's been in existence'. I'm s,itting here fr,eUiilg and mo,anli~g about what it'll mean to. my personal ~Ijre, what: 11 m~g'ht have to qive LIp" when eliI'm n:~ally alfratitd of is the poslsiblil~ity they'll change their mind.

If.s time 1 made that phone calt

Ccmn anyone nerne the movement that: disagrees tota'l~y with the Zurich Accord? Anyone? Good. Emiry - the Teragen. But we"II'get to them ~a~er.

Anyhow" Project Utopia was formed at the same time the Zurich A'ccord was si,gned. Its stated goalll was "to utilize the vast powers or novas to beUer the quality of li'~e for all humen cm:d nova alike. on Planet Earth. That's on pa'ge 227 - better memorize that They aliso wound up having <lin envirQnment~I'ilst ageili"lda as we~II., but: people have definitely benefited u'Omthat as muchilllS animals and plants r;a;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;a~ have.

The next step 'For Pro~ect Utop,i,BI was two~o,ld. First, hey beganl their !'nt'erv,enhon pro'gr,ams where th.ey'd 'contact newly erupted novas and invite them 'to their Rashoud facli ities, s,peciall clinics desiqnedtohelp them adjust to their new powers. Then they announced the ~fH'matuOIl'1I of t~eili speciel team of alii-nova operatmves, 17eam-

AIh, there··s the be!lt AU ri,ghtl people •. finish reading Chspter 24~ 1 want to he able 'to pick up where we ~e'ft off tomorrow, and II don't want to heve to quiz yOU' - but 1 will if 11 don't start hear~ng some feedbalck!'

The Glenesis

Flrom ii, Socia~Sci.lllnces ledl!lre, Enka High School, NDrth tC'aI'iDli:_na

Obviol!lsly. nobody knew what to do about the manifesting novas, ]t turned science reliqion and society all on their heads. We dI~dn·t even know vJhat an M-R node was .. We were hafHe,d.

Thet's when the A.eon Societyentered the picture, This p!hlilanthlfopic orqanization hadan extensive, iF not widely publicized, history of a:ssilstilnlg and backing various large~ scale goodwill pfOljJlrams" such as, the Red Cross, the' Wor~cl He,Clltih O,rgani:zation and similar projects. These fe'lilows dle,dd'ed that somebody needed to stick up fOor the novas, and j,t might as wen be 'they. 'Good ithing they did, too. So' they started ta'tking to the UN. and they evenbually worked out a possiele solution.

The Zt.Hilch Accord ,of June 19"7'8 - 0311"1d you had bette!" be!ieve this, wiJlbe on the test - publicll)! declared novas to, be' human beings. 1 know~ ~Iliis I~ilnd of sounds Ii'!{e a cornmort-sensa thing, but there was a very real case ~or considering novas an entirely differ- I entspecies, in which case they wouldn't h'03lve all the rights, and responsibilities that 190 witl~ be~rmlg human.

From an Orientait.DIilI Speecht MaFtihattanRa,shoud !Facility

BeUev,e 11ne.1 ve seen it.lbefore. andl can tell whalt you're thinking. You"r,e thinlking~ "What is this 'seve the p!lali1et' poli'tj,cally correct 'garbagle?" You're thinking ·'Why the hell, ~i1th all the new opportunities available to me! would 1 wanl:ta thmw ilrr'l W'l;th thisqiant worldwide hipIPY-c!l!~ppy '~o\fe-il1'?" Weill", ['rn !i1IIOE 910ing to give you SOlIN! fe,el-good, Iloveys,dovey sOIi'mg and dance' about sacrifice and al:truism for the gre:ater good. No 'one - not even the chirpiest Project PR repl - i,g that naive, Now. don t get me wrong" Ut,opial does a, lot of go,od for the world every day, and I'm damn proud to be a part or it.But, f~,rst and 'Foremost Utopila exists f,or novas, For us _. 'for our proteetion and, ye,a~l. sel f - interest, ,a,lbei,teliil!~g htened self- interest. Bees lise undlenlle'ath ,aU the hype, [he celd hard 'facts, are", there are a few thousand of 1.115 end billions of them. And those t.erms - Us and Then], NQrma~ and Aberrant -alr'e exactly what Utopi;a is: commiltte,d to avoidl~l1g at alii costs.

Look. hum,amity has a long, long history of des.troying the Other the different. We don't want CQ!lAkt with the harsel~ne'SI.llkey·re O:llllir 'flrlends" OILn" families, B~~ while my ~ri[eIMids arel!;!'t a threat to' me, t~l,ey milght be.291 ,threat to YOU; 'For example, Mob mentality and scapegoats are ancient human traditions, What Utopira"s doingl IS ,aI9gr,€S,sively de:monstra,ting what we novas can offer, how we can help .. 1t is and it isn't altruism; you mighil: even call it a~:'truistic self-interest, It's 1000ing your nejg~hor now 'So that your neilghbors. those billion's and billions dF anxious. sh€'~~I-sl~ocked, lIInclersttmdablyworrie,d people, will realize thal'nJIltimat'e'l:y. we're' not so very different after ell.

And that's a goa~l. for one, can work fuo support '(:our 'Future is your own, but lhope you'I'1 glive some tho'llg.ht to staY'ing with the Project, We ve ,got a plaice for alny nova who asks. and [he world could lise' someone' like you.

&l;ill'l!iliRd p,CftIi' Levels:

Strenglih: 4 bitEliect: 3 Sipef:d. I) Cl'ffusr;: 7 IlefetlR: 7 V,f:fS11tHII1ty,: 7

IbIIIIIIII<: ,A,l1d'r-ew ThOi1l~ ParkiU' 1IIII11I[0ta; Sl!ptember 15, 1989 '*" .... J{J:i:;ks,onville, Fli!lrida 1 __ Team Tomorrow fige!'l't

~ Skew ~p&"g)(cep11ionoliy' pqteM eO:r;tr,DI rlV€1' magnetism, and he is c.apil.bJle of manipulating up to 22 t'OM 01 ferroUls metal ar a cHSfance of 300 meters_ He call9,enenrtec electromag,netic pu ISles: c:opab Ie of shorting out ev,ensni'!3lded elecTronics and manipulate magl'leik f[,elds to Cl'eate powerful force shleids, He has ellen been nQt~cI to exert his pow-e.!' wildly in a20·meter ra,diu5. crea;rt1lng ,a, "fdo"€: loaded with :metaJ weapons. H~s tap flight speed is presently unclocked (or pos.5ibly Just Uin'Iilvailable. t'o the public), but he is certainly capable of

holdrng his OWl'! lir1 Q C~liiilJ dogfjgh1i, .

Rumors give Skew some abiHty to effect 'tile iroll i[1'iI (]I fo~:s b~codstream, aUowfng h,im 10 tamper Wl11iJ the. blood t I ow to (! targ~l"d!rai(l (ind induce vertigo or halluc:in.a1:foi\S, He is etso allegedly able to genel"llTra pulses 'fl1O!l' in1rerferejlilltln the ~Jectri.col impulses in a human ner\lOllS sySTem. H,cnve\!~r. he has ye 1"(1 publfciy demo~tra't,e (lnyt~jng r-t:4I.i,,.ill!j[ thls~e.ve~ of sLlbtle1y and control.

IIc:IUIII' Antlrew's' erL.ll)tkm wasn't on~ with CI lot 9f witl'lMS'e5', but i1 certail1ly <C<lptlJre.d tn& nation's at1ierrtiaii SC:tlI1 I!:f!Dugh. After 'iln el'edromagl!etic pljl'~e hit th:~ greater portron of Miami in febrllaryof '07. eeusiog wld~prMd blackouts, governmoot and U't"'jlia per-semllel tiLrl~ combed the IlP£.Ia for months !l1ft.e'lI,Illrd,

S'~rehrl!1g for "Ierrori:s1' a.etili'df)! 01' new!y erupted novas. It liVosn''t uhtillAliiri r that t~~ foumd' who \they were. looking of' - or tatiher, he fou\1;d thtm, !-Ie arrived with tI crasn ,0.1 M[rumi's Utopia. office's. dl"opp'img Wi OI'\I'IUlred ellr in,fp flole )7lIrking iQltth.ni' WM found' fo oontair1 a ,smo.tl 1&glom of Spllngler Posse I"~peot offend~f5. When UtIp r~ pell'~l'1nt;;1 PQllre.t:t out f;1:!I rll'l,vesTigtl:i'e. the:y fo<iJflclthat tne.self-titled·Skew· w!ilSi'it gDIMl9 totcheO_ll)'thing f'r'Om 1hem but G job c:pplica1riol'l, He go1' iT - deli v ered In perSon by Caestus Pax.

As wildl:! ut'QHc o.t1ld creative as the .skew-mef.Qr ITLUSq,t: from which he tokes his nome, AMII"1f:W is often hafled 05 T&om Tomol"r'low's "ioo'sl;: cannQii,· H~'s (J;S IIkeJl" to' wl'ap a foe up i r:; It mid's:iLZ;;:d sedan as: 'he. is to 1ry subcluing him with (I b(lrr<!g~af bJilllft .. edge.d metal projectife-s (whiGh double CIS jacket ,(lcces:SIor[ies. 1'10 lass), Some observers wryly ,note. 'I'hM he, has i'he. dubious heneres ~e.CidEr in thg ·ccswl prc:rp,el"ty damage" $fatisi'i.cs" but nab ad}' cal] accuse Sk~1II' of I"\e.fus~tlg to h~lp (Jut wi1'1i! dlUlflLiP ofter'WW'ds,

tbenews

CNN News report, 4l19.12005

Daphne Myung; Skopje, Macedonia

• MyU_]lg:: "Suddenly and abruptly, before anyolle could blink, i.es over. Yaroslav Radocani, the dictator who declared himself the president-forlife of Macedonia} has been removed from. power by Team Tomorrow Europe. The operation literally took the world by surprise; not more than 15 minutes after Secretary-General Ghali of the UN announced that Project Utopia had been designated to acta. a peacekeeper in this instance, Radocani's personal flag had been toppled from the royal palace.

h Although the exact details of the operation have yet to be fully dis-

do ed, it's apparent that T2M managed to infiltrate the city under cover of nova powers. Radocani and his b]ack-market technology didn't go down lightly- reports of devastation to the royal palace and its bunkers beneath estimate that an earthquake would have been far more gentle, However, T?...M has an nounced that they have suffered no casualtles, and that only a few of Radocani's loyalists were killed in the fighting.

"Radorani 'is, byall reports, scheduled to be entered into. Project Utopia's controversial Bahrain rehabilitation center. There he is to} in the words of TIle Saxon, "receive all the psychiatric assistance and rehabilitation he require ." Many authorities. are divided on the i sue of whether the

in ten: of this is someh W to cure the "Bitola Butcher" of his sociopathic tendencies and release him back into society, or whether this is simply incarceration by another mUI1I.e. However, at the moment, many of Radocani's former subjects couldn't care less."

Ifr.om thejeurnal of Dr. 'Nilmall Dharmasena;' Maroh 16~ 2007

Got to report to Antaeus again il:oday. It 91e't8 more unnervingl each time. He was very, very deep illl Sector 3; I couldh . ave sworn that one of the imported leopards was Qioing to Jakie my throat out, s.a~ety transmitter or not, I walked asound flora Whole hour, sweatilllgilike a pig~ until i flinally sat down to rest And sure enouqh, them! he (she?) was, heavingi h,is body out ow the groilmd, geocarapaoe and all.

(ls it reall~y a carapace? I'm starting to reatly wonder .. Is it possible that Antaeus' entire oell structure has bsen replaced wrn~h soil and plant matter? Is he re.aUy disembodied? 008- slp is that he sometimes mentions hav~lng "transcended" in same way ..... )

Anyway" I laid OIJl~ the month's plan of: attackto him. He listened to iev'9'ry word, and then sat there quietly for a few minutes afterward. I was stal1in:'g to i~hink maybe, he wasn't listeniing a.ft:er aiilllnt~il that straillJlge" deep, rich voice came welling out of his .... well, vicinity.

- Turns out tha~ there's some sort of prwvatel:y owned p~a:nt starting up in Madaga.scar, and Antaeus has jus~ made it our next concern. I double-cheeked the 'OpNet for as much wnfo as I could serounqe, and couldn't find a thiing about It 'But sure enough, there was at dossler w.ai~~ing on my desk by 5:00.

How the het~1 Antaeus g,ets thlslnforrnation is beyond me; we 'ge~ visits from other dlrectors maybe once every' three months, and they don't usuaUiy visiit the gardens. Hie makes me redefine my idea of the wordnova," that·s ~:o.r sure. How is it that he. can be so imposslbly brilliant in the field olf ecoscience, so srudlte as "Dr. Balmer," and vet, as "Antaeus," practic.a~lya.Ultis[ic when deaUngt with people? 'I swear, 11\1'19 learned g~g'aby1'es of lnforrnatlon snce coming to Utopia, but I semetimes feel more confused than ever.

OpNet post, alt.tarr.utcpia Subject Re: LOOK AT TH~IS!!!! Date; 91/1 8107

Sender: Slide'lriF,eti.sh@unca.edu

2.Wiikk:d @ lmnot. going. to.let. them. trace. me. com wrote:

>i can't believe you peop,~el! 9:veryon,e hairs isjust talks on and on >about how great project utopia 'is but none of you see the whole »picturel wha.t about aU thet'hi,ngs they don't let us S€H3 or have? my >brothar is a scientlstand he was wQrk~ng an sornethlnq reliy important »that would have made aU our I~ve alot easier bum they came in and. »took all his files and now 111,9 drinks slot and can't get at raise cause >he just wasted all his time working on samethirllg that utopia. WOI1~ let

»us havel you utopiaslaves 5LiC!!<[ by the way ~his. story is TAUE but i'm nat going to say who my brother he works far because they (utopia) rnilght >fmnd out and held get fired 01" arrested or something ..

>you .811111 suckl

So? Look, hobq obi in, the UN granted Project Utopia tile power of scientific rS:Qulalian for a reason. Did you hear about the guy who was wa:rking on a virtual OpNet runterface that would be wired r~glh~ intio the user'a pleasure centers? Now, il know that sort otthling sounds pretty good at fitrst. but do yOlu know how damn addictive that'd be? It'd be like unleashing a new drug', something worse than spiikel As far as l'rn concerned, Project U~opia (something properly sps,IUed with the "'shift* key, loser) has every 16gM to their environmental and solenUfjic regulatory powers .. Mwgh~ as wen go to somebody w~th the staf smart enough to use, them wis,el~y_

Dev

:::::-If you're reading this. Slider, please many me. -::::::

32

flrom a guest lecture at Bowling] Greern Unlversjty,j tfestuli!ed speaker !Dam ian LOlll1broso~ date 10/02/01

.J know thart when most :peop~e tiM~k of Project Utopia, they immediately tl~:~liIlk of learn Tomorrow. But T2M is ,cl'lly part of our organization's overalll stmdjlL!lne.lthey'r,ethe ones wh(I'get a lot o,'F our work done, th.:d·s tn~:e, but l'd like to focus first on the maliltythousainds of man and wome!lii wihtO wonk just as hard to fll~rt~jer the Utopiarn ideals - the unsung h:eroes, if you wi~ll,

l know thst the edministretive wing isn't w'h,<:!t most people ere interested in -·aHer' all. when you have Caestns Pax destt!i'oying entire ch~m~jca~1 weapons Iplanb by his: ~O!l:€some.the ,~otoF a bunch of paper-pushers does~'t seem all tlhat: i!ilteresti:ng. Bui[ IF it weren't for Admin" w;e wouldn't be here today. Admm keeps our budg€t~s ba!a~cedl -- even tl10fJgh we 9,et 8J good amOUllliE affllnding from our parent organizatllon air Aeon tillnd nsmereus ph~~anthropi:c or~alr:l;zations, to say nothing of lioensing and corporalteenterprises, we arren't as f~llthy ridUJ 8iS you m~ght think. Mast of that money gets susk right back into our variousprejects. Admin also operates our Rasihcmd facill'ities (where we helpnewlyerupted novas came to grips with their new selves) and coordinates our maiiIT1 offices - ccnsiderinq t~alt we~'ve '9ot.an oiFfk€ ill1l :a~mos:t every US state, and almost every country acress the glohe, tlhat's a lot OfcoOfdinatjo~,~

Oh, andl can't forget OHr overworked ~e9al depertment; if it wasn't for [heir effQ:rts" we'd be so restdcted by m~s,'guid'13,d lawsuits. ou~m'oded strictures end just plein cressIboundary ieglall C01llfU5 ion that we wou~dn't get a nytlhling done. 1he f,oilks in lega~ Ihrave done a lot For promoting civil n'ghis ,of tnova and beseline alike, as well as helping pass ~~egislation thrat takes the planet we~11 away from the ,ecoliogi,cal and soci,ehli,1 s~:aglfilancy ,of the late 20th century. Our diplO!1l1atic eXpe!its, le'gal ,ea'Qlies, fund-raisers, planners and educetors aJf,e all psrt ,of Adtmin - as you can see', it's liiIot as boring as you mi,ght think Thllm1lk of wOf~,<iHl:iJ,gfor achari,l:y org,ani:lattion and! a national govefillmelvnrt at the same til!'!lr€! ~ that's w,hat lit's like for us,

I'm sure you'veell heard qUlite ,a b:it ,about our 5& T ne~ partmelfi1l~:a,s,wBIL UIIiI,less: y(nJii're in the fie'~d yourseltr. you might not know the names of our top experts _- but I'm sure you're fammar with their results. Anyibody here been on 81 cruise lately? RjghL Did ),'OILm !i1ot~ce how much better the ocean looks? If the beys and '9lrls lirn Science can he~p It. your ehildren won't believe you when youtell them ho,w lPo~iuted and misused thewortd 'Was when YOIillI were' 'the~rag€. Them are ti~n?;e marjordivlilsio:ns to thesdlentific wing ~ Environmental', Medica~and Harcl'~ech. Eachan€! has labs, scattered around the worM. arid the staff does a lot of f~eld work. We dO:rll't encourage Qur'staff to stay locked in their labs. neverseeing much o:F bhte world they'retrying, to better, And the results

are pretty dynamk. -

The TritoWli Foulldation isn't part of our direetchaine] command. but it's the best exemple of the semi-independent projects that we t~nd bJ'sponsor, Naturally, it's also one of the divisions that we're most proud! of. Not oUile ,pen.o,nirm the'w'OFld~· espedatl'~yyolJ college s~jl!dents - misses AlIOS one bit. We can only wait and :s~e wh(llt the w.izards at Triton e ure 0113')(1.

All right,. 11 can see you"re about ready for me to start talking about T team lomorrow, (laughter) As you KirlOW:, T2M has fOlllr main branches, each one with abeutsix tCleight nova personnel, pl~5 a n)tating: pOQlofflo9iting operative-so Heck. ll'm 'sur€' )lUll can probably 1ilJ81'11e them ,aiL But T2M is, <91 lot mote tha,1iII1 just novas. You don't sseas rniUehl of the pilots. translators, tra i ners, i nvesHgators. support staiff and - competer wizards whoere alias much part of 12M 8iS our nova agewats- ibut they"'re there. Any one of you could be part of

T2M, if you imrpressed us. .

So as YOlil can see, we'r,e keeping OlLlrrs;~I:\les quite busy _ .... _. atnd we're doing] ,our hast to 'grow even further alii the tirne, ~ hope to see some ·of you ina few yeaJ5 ,8trouncl the offices - trust me, we're always; i:ookitrng for the best

Now I'd ~iike tiD open UIP the R:oor to questions, Wino's first?

So you've gotten on the wrong side of the Utopians have you? 8lhame: on you. You knew they would enjlOY nothwng better than tweak!ilng au r noses, and to actively put yourself on their list before you're ready to cops with the eonsequences .- well, darlinq, a lacks class. I should leave you to their tender mercies: MaJI would like nothmng better than such a illest l'rn certain. But .. wem~ l've a:iways hade compassionate streak. So at least II can teH you where 'to hide.

There's no getting around the fact that Proje,ct Utopia is quite tight with the United Nations. For Heaven's sake. now they've rnanaqed to buy off the UN debts of every single member of the Se,curity GouncU - and now they"r,e a member, albeit an "advisory" one, of the council itself! This just makes it even more difficult to get ,an "in" among the r'iglh~ people, Most UN member nations just won't hear It, and ~he Continent, of course, 1s. night out.

Of course, this heapi:ng IheilpiJ~I,g ofi goodwilil doesn't extend everywhere.

The United States btsss lts jealous little heart, can't stand Utopia's suecess. Of course, the publlc-oplnion polls miight not necessarily reflect: that ~. but just try to push some' bit cf pro-Utopia ,Iegislatulre through Conqress and watch what happens. lit doesn't seem to bother Utopia much; note that their c,ontinen~allt1,eadquarters are situated mn the much more receptive Mexico City, and nobody seems to be unhappy with that arranqement. But you wen:m't planning a trtp into. Mex.ico" were you?'

The United lK.ing'dom's not iin IIov'9 with Utopia, either; that might be a secure placetor YOUl to lie low for a while, although you might we'i~1 be bored to death there, Mumbai might be at better choice, since the K.ashmiir intervention left a mUdl'y bitteraft,ert;aste in ~ndia's mouth. You can ming!le with the up-and-corning movie stars wl:lile you're there, although tor Heaven's sake don't be seen with them!

Ironlcally enou.gh. J.apaJ11 seems to be doing its best to create a Proleet Utopia of f'ts own - or hadn't Y()IU noticed the simillaJities between Nippontai and Team Tomorrow? I suppose Utopia really strlkes a chord wiithl the Japanese psyche, but it irks them that they've lost a nova or thr,ge to Utopia, particularly T2M Asia, rather than to their own patrloticlnterests. So here tihey go with thslr own natlonalistic project. Whalfun. They miighf ignore you. since they have no personal problems with you -then ag.amn~ it m~ght tickle them to captu re one O'f Utopia's sworn lIerag,en enemies.

Asa last resort, there's China -_ but frankly" they're not friendly to anyone. ~ have ,eli h~end' or two, there" but they',re quite busy with their own conversion IPro~e'c~s and wouldn't have time 1'0 nursemaid a I:itt~e whitel girt Well, that's about as much as. I felelll like sharing with you. You realily should've thotl'glht this thingl through a HUle more before starting your little war with them. II hope ihi:s will teach you some subtlety.

Raoul

34

Fr10m "The World's Opinion," segment dated 4111/08

Is Project Utopia handling its power responsibly?

• Soon Pak,poHcem,an, Seoul: ~'They are a filne example to aU of humanity, nova or otherwise, Who el e has achieved so much?"

'. Terrence Rather, prosecntion lawyer, Chicago: "I suppose it could be much wor e. It' an awful lot of power they've got, but they've done all right by it - so far."

., Jeanne Criseault, elementary school teacher, Paris; HWhat sort of example do they think they are setting if they are willing to resort to violence? Nothing can ever be settled by the fist, no matter how powerful the fist"

.' Cory Evert, student, London: "Utopia' com-kin'! So what if those stateside wankers get all knotted up over "en'?' If I had that power, I'd use it too! Screw the polls!"

.. Ketema Alemu, farmer, Ineware /IWhalt kind o answer could you expect? Ten ye'cus ago, I and my children were sick" poor and hopeless.

N ow I 'eat three meals a day and my son is second-placed on his university} s trackteam, Utopia and the Team Tomorrow are a blessing, and I cannot believe that you would ask otherwise."

35

Excerpt from introductory sequence to N' news show, Nova

Good evening, this is Violet Cameron, and welcome Plenet; alr

to Nova Planet,. TO,~ig~ltt ~OU~ feature ~T{)~iles ar: four date 03/20/08

of the most prominent figures 01 Project Utopia - . . -'

people who daily work harder 'han we can imagine to make our world a be ter place, Whetber they work on Team Tomorrow 01' behind the scenes, onsite or in the labs, these four novas are beacons to a brighter future,

t

Caestus Pax - the center of Team Tomorrow Central, and Ule heart and soul of the entire Team 'Iomorrow project. Some say he's the most powerful nova in existence today. But more than that, Caestus Pax is the ideal of dedica lion -_ he is the voice of Project Utopia's vision of hope" peace and the betterment of life on Earth, Tonight, we'll follow him around to watch a day in the life 0 Pax ..

A]] tonight: on Nova Planet.

jennifer "Slider" Landers - the spirited young : member of 2M whose gifts have saved countless lives from dise stcr ·r violence. To many; she is the living counterargument to the Null Manifesto-the girl who proves that no rna tter what/novas and baselines are not so very different after all. Our cameras go to the locations of her operations, and tonlghtwe'f hear from those who might not be

here today if not for her intervention.

Ana. Gra'c;a Texeira - the Brazilian beauty who's equally at horne scouring; the ocean bed, taking guns a"vay from terrorist ,guerrillas or helping in the construction of new housing for the homeless. We trace her career from h r eruption to the modern day and collect reports from around the world on her latest activi ties.

Antaeus - the reclusive ecological mastermind who spearheaded the dose of the' ozone layer, the revivification of tile world's oceans, the terrafonn:iing of the Ethiopian highlands, the AD1iaZOll restoration project and countless local environmental-recovery programs, E erything he touche' turns to green - so what's next on this hypergenius's schedule? W:e'll find out.

36

Excerpt ~rom iii Il1l'CilJln~ gWIE!n ,to !p1"'OspetlwE!1 Teaml TomDrliow applicatnts~, ''1'/1,4/06

11'11 skj,p introductions, By this point. the fiv,e of )IOU should know who I am and whlY you're here. YOll.ltll halve plel1fty ,of time to g,et to kmow one another, too; this train~ng' program rna!kes For excellent bonding material. Think of it as ,EI kind a'f boot camp' - ~f that scares YOIIJI, you sho'LWldn"t even ~!ave made it this ,far. Yo!!lre po,werfut sure, bl,lt are you ready to, represent:

all of Project tlt,apia whlen the entire world's ,~aoklingl at you:? .

You've allready ul'1Idiergoli"le the Project's traininq, so we know you're eble to control your powers. Here you'llllearn how to masterthem. You need to knCHIY eveuytlhillQ you're capable of; raw pcwer can cover UP' ~or Cli ~ew mistakes, but one's illl it takes ito screw y.ou up for good. ¥ou,''IIle:am how t,o' apply your !potential, and you'llllearn self-defense. Aner alii. )I,ou'ra novas, - you ,al!'1eady n:a'lIe ,enemies., whether yo lUI know who they are or not,

But this isn't the Army. You'll learn much more than self-,de~eflse'. You'll learn f1l1ency ~n foreigniang,L1agles, iF you didn't have any ,already .. That S Iriglht you have to' leave your isoleticnist ideals ,a,t the door here - weh3 Teem Tomorrow, and we represent the world. Not your hornecountry or state or province or ,county or v'ilUag,8 - the world. Look around £lIt yOlJlr ,Fellows, here; doesn't seem too representative of anyone country, does it?'Your cell won't seem that way. eithe'r. We take the best, and IBXcellene,e doesn't rec,Q>gllllwze politicall boundaries. lit's no. accident that Caestus Pax and Slider serve alongside Makara, and A,na Graea Texeira.end th'em ailongside Andr'c' Corbin end Jinshu Shan,

With that in mind, you"1111 :a'iso be 'taught etilquette. And] damn weill recommend you p,ay attention during your tutoring.

You wi~1 be taught how to die,al wllth public speakingl. hew to ad resporrsiblyaround crowds, how to be an ideal specimen of

humanity whenever the carneres aile on you. A poor' p.ubllic imeqe WOi:il't get you illillywher,e in this world. .

Ycu're probablly aslkingl yourselves, "Why should J 'go to, all this trouble wh.en 1 can 9,el[ an easier job elsewhere?" You already know the reasons. A gel1l:enJl.II's le:ight-'figIUllre salary. Unmatched hea'ltlfn csre end insurance benefits, falme and fortune - a whol,e wmid'sacclanmt:ion if you think you can. handleit, And most importantly you can gotoyoulilbeds8it night richer? more popular and without a scrap of a guilty conscience - because you are do'ing the 6ght thing Wirth us. And YOUI cannot g;et ti~1t!lt to such ,e degree ;anywhere, else ..

'reM AmEricas

M'e1iCQ ~. Mexim

TiiM. E!.WIOPE .

V€nlcE', Italy

nM. Asia/Pacific

falalJd Island

Flromtranscript of Homo .Sapien5 N'OVfJS. Histoli)' (·hanneil,documelFltary. ol"ig:nal air date Febrnmy 3., 2008

So what ,exactly does someone do. once hws MC1IZ<l'lIin-iRashoud node manifests, and' he finds hirnse!IF possessed of tile power of a demigod?

Some have jo:ilmled with ProjEl'I::t Utopi.a, to pit their astoundillmig powers (i'gainst acha,lIel1l9,e just <'lIS great·- changing the world IFor the better .. Here novas from all countries 'UIS€!· €,illrth-shilft.lng te,~ekinesisto di~91 canals, or superhuman scientific prowessto cure diseases, Some of these even join wlitl~1 Team Tomorrow the elite cadre ready to Figlht roque novas or raise housing .• all depending on the need's .oif the ,day.

Others fO!I~ow their lP,atriotism. joil1Jing with 'governlment agendes such as the armed ~orces or aerospaoe programs.

Now the human Filice has w.alked uneided on the moon, and the possibility of colonizinqcther planets has leapt centuries toward us, At least one FBl nova has managed tosolve baffling cases on an almost daily basis, bringing previously untouchable eriminsls to, justice ..

Some have entered the entertainment industry., and they cOl1tinue to o.ner us spectacles of sl!giht and soundthe likes of Which wflve' never seen.

Some hsve entered the employment of powerful nuliitination~1 corperatlons, serving as 'spokespersons. speciel secunty consultants and even advisors to their employers,

Some have ,gone freel.ance, oHeriingl their powers to the highest bidder - often in a military capacity, These, the "elites," have been the deci.dingl [actor in border conlT!liicts areundthe gllohe·,

Sadly. a Few have decided to use their phenomenal powers, fOF persoli1llall g:ain or advancement, In fad if noll [or the efforts of Project Utopia and other novas. working for law-enforcement agie!1cies, it's dliHiclll~t to say lif any of these ubercriminsls would ever have been Ibro'~ght te justice at all.l. And looming beyond:all the independent nova ·cdmrilnals is the terrorist organization 'known as. the Tersgen.

The spectreof conflict hangs over ami these clii:ques and orqenizshons. Larger than II:ife in every way, many novas find themselves drawn into conflict with their fellow superpowered beings at least once in their Ii Fetirne. Sometimes the d!ecidilng factor is ,egotiism run out of hend; sometimes it is a ·conAkt of interest, whether ~:m emp.loyer·"s or one s personel issues. But in ,iii world where the onlly thin9ll:halt can reliarb~y5it:0p' ,8 nova is.anot:~I€F nova, the·se Promethean Qliants findti~emselves thrown against each ether by chance or design. And the results are: alwarys drematic.

Tonight we'lIlbe looking at the role of the nova in modern society, from that. fat,eful day in 19'98 until ...

ES'lirlM'l'ed IPow~r LcY'lllS1 S~h:2 lntell!!-u: 3 ~cdl; 3 Offense: 5 befli!n5e: '1 VcrS4ti~i1y: 6

I ; Alejal'llifra MDl1ig MagaIJJ.eina. Car.r,gnza

1 1 February 5,1$1,6-4· -

I I'I'~ M~t(l City.l!r\u:tclO

I N'ov'O)( ~inger

I~ .A~~llndf"{il 'is gifted with the powu tit enMnced voc·aJ proj,e-e:tion, (IS well !l5 som.e manner .of control ,oiler soni c ,e:rnugy. She is capable of pro.ducing 50LJltds from :200 dB to s",IJ\$Qllic !e\!'els. Her abiHty rOI ·celritrCir ambient sound is currel'lllly IJnmoosLired, but she: cal'! lower or im:recse the v'Qlyme of bocJ.igl"OlJ'l'IId nois~ in 1'1E:r'. I"icil'lity,and often doesso with preci5!i:. CQMi"ol as; part of her no .... ex ccncer-ts. She is also capolblle of a form of superpowered vMfrlroqlJism. mimicking ClInd pr-.ojeding ~pe,r;ific '!Ioice.s or sounds ony~here. wtl'hl,i'R earshot>

1IIr!:tmI- AleJandra is '1iIl'lOther of ~he d"t:lmmtk r(il9s-"Iro-rknes sTorces tho; the M~R oode Ihas madepossible, Hl!<rfomiJy !"I'(IIS eig~t str·ong,. (Ill stuck in g Mexico City tenement. As 'She tells it. Qnry 1'lleirfllitk kept theim going e'<'efl in t~~ wake of disasters such as the wrthqlilQ~e ·ilf 200.2.

A1eJondrll WM a fl'Iil!frtlber:of her church's choir. am:il it was rhe.fl'Ie hat Mer pClwel'fir.rtmonifested it;i.aif, fillIng tl'le church with a So,lIg or .celeStial beaury. It didn' take Ic:mg fo· the "e:ws ;Ill! Il'ic:k up on this. Md almost instonlt1y her fumily wq$ be$ie:g!td with Ofiel'.l1 O'F ~IOY. mem fr'{lrt'I mu:;ic ag.enTsl Hollywood i;u:td BCllr!b(iLY Il'1Ji:i\'1j,e; studIOS'. Pf'Pjett UTopia i1r:Jd f!I1IlJre'_ AI'ejand!'\Q and flier far

tHgr 9r'll.odu!l'l s!tooed ihe m.aj Qr;rty cf these people:-aWIl,/,_ ne91!l't'iateio III .$imp.le: contrnc:t with New River Rec{ll'-ds; Qn<fpr~te,ede;d tt!i make I'I01lQX history.

I'rn waiting on the patio of DluMonde's,

sifting through the publicity photographs her office sent for this interview, and already 1 don't feel up to vvriting this article. She's possibly tile most beautiful woman I've seen -..' Elizabeth Taylor and MarHyn Monroe, two of the 20th century's biggest sex symbols, seem almost tawdry when compared to her. As I shift over

a shot of her pensively sitting on the balcony of her Cancun home, it occurs to me that words just don't EH::elTI to do her justice.

Then she whirls into the room and settles at my table like a strmmer wind, a zephyr adorned with. a 'white silk button-down blouse and flared collar, per~ fectly flattering black Rochellaux pants, and the midnight hair and ey,es of an Aztlan angel ~ and I realize that the pictures didn't do her justice, either"

This is" of course, Alejandre - the nova who has redefined Hispanic pop music and is currently shaking the pillars of the entire music industry. She laughs an apology for her tardiness (as if anyone could hold anything against a novox deitydiva like herself) and gently asks the waiter what local fruit is in season right now: .. I've never seen a DuMonde' 5 waiter so attentive

40

before ._ he hangs 'on €,very one of her murmuring-stream syl-

181 bles as if she were telling him her phone number, and then he snaps off to the kitchen like St. George after his dragon. Then she turns her attention fully to me and I feel like Moses having brunch with the burning bush. You would, too.

.. V()x': ill don't know where to begin, except to thank you profusely for agreeing to this interview.

!Ii Vox: You've captured the hearts of the world in less than two years. Since your eruption, you've been consistently wooed by music agents, Hollywood and BOH1bay studios, Project Utopia - the list goes on and on. And yet you signed a contract with the then-obscure New Rtver Records, and went on to make novox hisrory,

'. Alejandras And still the offers come. (smiles) ThankfullYI my family is always there for 111e; 1 don't kt10W what I'd do

• Alejandrar lr wasn't easy. ]Vly parents raised u, as best they could! bu t we did no' live in" ne of the better port ions of Mexi ' City. Life was \1, -TY dlfficult, and] almost never saw Papa on weekdays Dr Saturdays unless, I had secretly

, taved up very late to ee L

him come home. Sunday 1" __ -.--_.'

mornlng was our pedal time, when ail the family was 'together and we could go t , church together. God was very kind to us in allowing us 'chi rime, and [ always looked forward to it all week. We had faith -lnerd~ fully, enough faith to. 1keep us together during the earthquake of 2002. (pauses) We lost almost more than we could bear. But we worked harder, and prayed harder. And then. .. We 1 l, then 1 erupted.

without them p litelv shooing away ome f hese people.

[She beGomespen~~i~),e herej and rests one exquisite finge~' along her chin.}

• Vox: 1 's common knowledge that you've used a portion of your earnings to move your family to wonderful houses and put your siblings through college. Obvi uslv, th re's a strong bond th re. Can you tell us something about your childhood.

• ' Vox: Yes, of course. In y iur church's choir: we only wi h we had a recording of your first ong with your new powers. By description, it was positively celestial. But if you'll pardon the question - I know you're probably asked this all the tilne- what was your eruption like l' r mean, can you

de cribe the ens ar ion ?

• Alejandrar (laughs) I I not so easy to describe as you might think!

• Alejandrar I think it might e best described as being blind and deaf. and

U 0 K

uddenly becoming exposed to light: and color an lund ail at '[he same time. It was a idal 'wave of new sensation, a wave that drenched me from my skin down to lUY skeleton. l hear things now that nobody else cart, and my voice ... (laughs) It is sorn ~ thing 1 believe I have 0 write a song about; perhap the experience can be

properly conveyed only through novox.

• Vox: ~ can hardly wait. U ill, now an obvious questi n is one. of musical influence. Apart from your own ewers, what other influences have there been on your unique sound?

ill Alejandrar (wmsome, apolDge tic smile) don't know if I can say for certain. Artists rudy their art from all angles and choose the dements they prefer. 1 don't think I can be caned an artist - I'm more of a channel for the ound that runs through me. Oh, I've always loved mu ic, every hing from

. Ider Crystal Method to DJ Faiz 0 Roy Orbi m - but when I am on stage, my voice is not quite my own.

iii V:ox:: Youmake it sound as if i has a mind of its own .

• Alejandrar (savei;Y lat.Lgh) Oh, I don't think 01 A river doesn t have a mind of it own; it j USiI: flow where it must and pours through where it \1Va5 meant to.

• Vox: The media has already made a fairly I ig deal of your open commitment to your religion, With the rise of

ecrs uch as Kamisama Buddhism and th Church 0- he lmman nt Escheaton, as well as the media cults a nova in general, it seems almost that tradi ional religion i falhng out of favor .

41

.' Alejandrai (gentle smile) Religion isn't something that

matters only when it's in avor, Christianity was not "in style" run the time of the Roman Empire.

.' Vox: Good point. Do you like to think of yourself as .8, role model for Catholicism" then?'

'. Alejandra: Yes. The word "aber-

rant." What has originally started as at term of mi understanding i- becoming a thing of hate .. (stem ;tone) I advise your readers never. ever [0 use the word around me,

'. \lox: Oh, of course not! WeIll 'move on. Nowsome might say you're bucking all the hottest nova trends .

... -_.-... You haven't taken a stage

name, and you don't bother with any mask ~ which, I understand I' was a tradi tion originating in Mexico.

• Alejandra. Not really, no. I aspire to live a good life. My mother always taught me that pride was

[he firstand worst sin, so I don't want to think ofmyself as a role model. If other young people 1 ok at me and say) "Alejandra is being a good Christian

e en though it i nit popular - maybe I should give it a second chance,' [hen wonderful, But 1 cannot let rm sel believe thar this is what should be happening.

• Vox: So I take it you don't care fom:

Reverend Tuley's accusations that the nova population will naturally set themselves up as well, gods on earth?'

• ' Alej81Dcb:a: Madonna, no! These powers we have are extraordinary, ye -_. but to place ourselves above God is. ridiculou !, You might a, wen have announced Albert Einstein .or Kevin Tuleaud as the second

coming of Christl To. be sure, these powers are a gift - but how very 'much different is that from being bom rich, or intelligent, or with wonderful parents?

• Vox: Beautifully put.

'. Alejandras (laughs) Why, thank you, sir ..

-Vox:, Does anythingelse really get under your skin?

42

,'",.

• Alejandrar It has something to do with the persona, you see. Many no as) particularly the elites and! those who emulate them, believe ilia the mask is their "battle face" - that the-if persona and their own" personal selt are two different people. 1 understand mat Inflemo and Esteban Caracon are in many ways just ths r, different people with different goals - bu I no Inatter whether I am on stage, in church or here with YOU1 I am lway Alejandra . I(scintfllating sm:ile) l am perhaps a minority among novas, but I prefer to think of myself as in. the majority of people.

• Vox: You're maybe too modest, Do you have any idea how ... how easy it ns for you to change

omeone's life, simply speaking a few kind words. to rhemi

• Alejandrat "mischievous smile) How da you mean? Have I changed yours just now?

• Vo- : Trurhfullyi

(8 Contract 8etw'een a noua and an Emp'[oyer]1

Go~ntracl 8et~aen Linda; Raphael dba Lotus Infiinlt~?_ndl Transeurope Exped.iming, Inc. This contract we; entered into effect as ot 5 October .2007 between the parties hersto, who agree as follows ln consideration of the mutuel prom~se'8 contained herein:

.~ 1. PA.!1,TIES. This is a contract by an~ between TransEurqp'Q EXlPedii~ing; Inc, (hencleWorth uCorporatlon")'I. who,se 1m ail I ng ?ddms~; ~ I~ _ ~54 Pharr Rd,_. ~ lenard.s BUI~'dmg S~llte11 0'8:1)-, Atlanta, Georgl18 30341; and:-L11 nda Raphael dba ~otu~~ I_n~mnite, with _ offices at the lO,e Vries Ag'ency, 808 7th Avenue, Suite 1301, New York Clty~ New York 1 0011 (henceforth "Operativie"),

2. RESPONSIBIIUT~ES OF 'OPERATIVE .. The Operative hereby aglresSifo locate' and retrieve 113 Op~e .... t-capable complJter information servers, ser:ia.··.1 ,numberedi, XB4365023WQ, X!B43,'65023V~IFI. X B43166023WS; XB4,3650,23,WT, X.!B43'65023,WU, X B43650,23'WV, XB4316S023'WW! XB4365023WX, XB4365,023'WY,: X B43'O,So02,S,WZ" K843,6,5024 WA'I X~49S5P24W'B" and XB4865024WC" tentativsly titled "Operatlon: Upgrade'" (henceforth, Itthe Missloln") .

This MIs.sion shall be pertormed according to certain slpecifications provided b,y ihe Corporation, and tlll,e, Mission -shall be, undertaken tor, and in the name of, the Corporation. The IG9IfP:of,ation i~ the splle ovyner ,of gQPyri,g_h~~ ,e~cl~~ive of the OlPer~;tiV'e's paymenttees; the M,!ss!on constitutes work for hire .. The Operative IS solely responsibls for completion of the MISSion.

The Mission shall incur operational expenses of no more than one' mHlllion (1 ),00'0,0.00)

dollars in e:xc~ss ot the Operative's payment fees. . .... .

The: 1M~:ss'l(}n shall commence upon: 11 October 2007"

I~;p~iMS~NT~h¥,~ CfA!~U8~~~2~,~~,~Ober 2007',

a. The corooranon agrees to pay the operative a flat fee, of four hlJndred thirty-seven thousand (4~7,OOo)~lollars in twa installments, 110 percent of which shall be paid as. management fee to the De Vries Ag'enoy,

_ (.!) The f:im·t Installment of 1'72, total, payment, willlli be paid u. 'Po. n th~ Corporation's receipt 01 thle sll,gned~ ~C?n~r,~,~!. The second lnsrallment, o~ 1/2 totalll payment, wl,11 be paid upon receipt of the aforementlonsd servers ..

b. A kill! 'f,ee 'l?qua'l1,o, 10'%,91 t:he, total payment will. be pawld to the operative should ~hrs contract be terminated by the Corpcration,

. m 1m thsservers or any Pi8.t1 ot the s'~rvers or thej'r iregluir'9'Q components are deli~V'er~d to the Corporation atter the specifled deadline, a pena.llty of 20;0 o~ proJect"e total payment Will be'

impos.ed for each d~.y t:h6~J the Mission r~mains unfinished after the. sp,ecifted_, oate, .'

c. The Ocrporation Willi pay 10 Operative a royalty of VOtU percent (4°/0) of the net profit per recovered server sold.

(I) On servers pestroy~d,given 'f}.way or sold ,at or ibe~ow cost, nOlroyalti'~~,~h~l~ be~ paid. 4. RELATIONSHliP. The Operatmve represents and warrants that" Between the MIS-Sian D~tes specified by theCorporefion, th,s Mission shall be ,disavowed and deni:eq' b'y.1he, Corpor~~~on, and ref-.· r~sentatlv,e8mhere'9f. nor shall the"Corp:orat~ ~e ~nderany ~jegaljllat)lhty to a.vow this Contract or tne terms herem, The Operative .sham not Ife[~y on or reveal the nature of contents of this: c0I1.tra9m" to any in:di'Vidual outsldethe Corlr0.rati~n or Its. d!uly r,e.9ogn~zedl f~llows. Should such mdlvldua.ls exist, the Corporation shal provide detailed, written desonpti9'.ns of ~hem and shall assume B;1I1 responsibility for the _veracity o.f those descriPt.io,ns provlded suitable prscautrons reqardlnq security are taken, In glood faith, by the Operative. The Operative shall under no clrcumstarieas discuss the Mission wlilh government or Iaw-entorcernent aqeneles, even if the circumstancea of the Mission lead the Operative into coniliet 'W1~h

said agencies,,_. ~ __ . ~ . .. " . . .. ,. _, ~ .

5. CIV!L LIMITATION~" T~e Operative wIU.,e'ndanger no Innocent IIIve~, parncpats in no unwarranted attack ~pqn mdlV'lduals not ,~~ss,091,at!3'~ ,with th ... I,.e. ' person or !3nt1ty r~sP9nslble for theft 0.1 the Gorpa:ratllon's property, and I<~II no 1,l1dlvlduaJs, dl.l'leCj~y assoclIB;'b:;d w~tih the person or entlity responslble fo~ thief[ ow UH3 Corpor;atlonl:s property, pue to poll,cles uphe~lid by',. t~,e Corl;l'9ratlon" ths Operative shall perfQ~fI1 neither the lnfinite Wmd Technique 1I110lr thelnfl11l1y Justwfl'el' wf'lI{,e canymg out the- terms ot this contract, Property d~m@J,ges. caused by the' operatlve are conslderedto fall under operational expenses olJtillined: in Paragraph ,2; and are to be

reimbursed loy the! Corporation to the extent discussed therein. .

6. CONFrDENTIALlTY. In consideration o~ the confidential material and business plans supplied by the Corporation t9 assis] in the performance of the Mission~ the Oper,ativ.e agr,ee's ro~. to rev1eal any ow said .co~:fIigen~lal material or~,usyn~s,s p_1~~S.~t!? an¥.o~e not working: lor or

In behatt of the Gorporatmon ~Ithou! the Corpcraticrr s pnoe wntt~n perrruseron. . ..

7. TIR,ADEMAR..KAND PROPERTY PR.ODUGTlONAND PROTECTION. In consldsration 9'f:th~ fee.paid,u!1,der i,ris contract, t]1e Ope'raUve agrees tha1~, upon execution of this ccntraot, he Will not partctpate lin any Operation; Upgrade-related project sxceptfor the Corporation or jts liic;e'~lse:~s, un~,~ss. !~e Operative receives direct wriitten perrnlsslon from the Corporation. UPartlclpa~lon':. shalllnlclude.:aubsequ~nt '(re-f8<COvery': of the speclfl~«( serv~rs orthelr contents, destruction of or securny relaxation off thespecliled servers or their contents, ta.mpenng

w~~h or (lIther consultation on matte~rs roegarding the, sJ:l'9cjf'ied! servers 01'" their contents. '!Contlen~s~'1 shan in[:Jucle. int6!ngU)le da.ta. or lnfo~matNon .cotltaJin19dl.·as data an th®·sp€cilfied· s~f\ferg: This sh,alll in no way Hlhilit the OpEu,ative~s right to writ~ or b,e' ~r)tervij,e'wedvot m.ag.aZ:lnrB articl:e$} perform compensated e·l1oersements and the hke, subject to Paraqraphs 4 and 6.

8. MISCEILLANIEOUS.

. . 9. G<?v·,emingl Law. Thi:s cordract~,induqing all matters ~eliating tq the vaHd~~~, C01~SVllC~. non, pertorm,a.m::i@ and lenforc:~:mlellt thereof, shall be ,governed lby the laws of the State of

~~g~ . - -

.b. Sevlera~i1ity". The pr;ClIvisions of this agli"€:ement an~:.s@v'€irabh~i. and, if any p:~ovisw:on shall be ih1'l911,d IUegal.l· I'nvalhd or un·enforcealJle, sueh nolldm'g 5:ihaJ:l not err·act the 1"9,g,a.llty,. valid~lty or enforcea,brmy of any atiherllrovision. ~~Y such illr.egal,_ invaJ~'~ .C!~. u.n.e:Qt~r-~·~abre proVI1SI0l1 shalll be deemed! stnc!k!enherefrom as II~ If had never been contained herein, but all Gl'ther provisions s,haU to:ntinue in fUl111 ~olFOe·and e·l1ect

IG., Final Agr'9·ement. This eontraet conm:a;ins the entire 8grre,e·msird: D,etwe,en this parties with respect m,o,the' 8u,bject matter hereot and s_sedesany prior agre1e:.mentis bletweelI'il

th,e partle~, written ~r oral, wi,t:h r,e~.pect to SUCh... .. at matter. . .. - .. ...

lei' .. Na:tlc.es.a.n:d Reports. AI:I notices orde'mantils reqwrled or permltt~d unlde:r~lhiIS agr,e:e·mlent shall be lin wrltmgan·dl shatl be deemad served. when depOSited m the Un lted Slats,s M .. ·· . .iai.I,. first .c~ass p.ostage··~repamd, celrtifw,ed er re@istered ma.iil! .lretufl1r6cei.p~ req~.ested, addressed as prov~ded in Paragrap!ih 1 of mhJ5Go.ntlratt, or mOl such oth,er,addre'$s as ,SlIther

~.~rty may from tims to' time c1e'sl,gna.te, ~nwdm'ingl .. f.\11 r.~p()rt8 or pa:YrJ)snts: n9q,ilJired urruder tlh,IS c·ontr:act sham be' g·elI"Vled as ,~dj()ve, but no oert~~lcatlloln or re'QII.stra\lon shalll bile! requlre·d.

CarpO:fat,ian Ope·rativl9 SOCial Security N umt)er

Date

Es1ttmatti!:d P;ower unl's: §~ngth.6 ~U'e:c:t: J Speol!d: 11 OO~(!:8 Ibc:.fl:l'1!!l::: 7 VusQfHlty; :)

Corti!: is i1\lO:st- fatnous f~r lihe I"mian.t ye~ ~'"-I.w-whlt~ glol\l' .~f hIs: e:fltrQy POw€I'!!, which ·e,mQ~e:s: fitGl'O nhr e;ye:s ond mouth wlle.rn h.e-'B>:lPsI'iJ!!i'(ce.:5l ·power bui.l'du:~~ .""" OiJll eye;i"I1f aftert (Ic,e(lm (l~l"ng ~n0.99r(f!.v(lif,~d .~moti(l~(li !Stal1~. \Ill oilier words, th1lt et~9l'jer he. 9I!it~, the mor'e ~.~s ~Qw<!!1" builds.ThTs haPIJe{i!! "WI' ant:! a9$!fi'\ [In t(lw"nlll- 1J:I~~t~. tlInd whe:1'! if dOI!$. watch owrl'- .l:!e,Cf;1iUSe: the Cere MeHdcwn;'" fsn't fa!' beMnd~

BbIII"_lo~rs li.li.ar~jlil F.re"eiliIoil'! IIiItIl.~ Aliigust 4, 197!:l PIICI.Iff. BrIlQ.!d'lr:L, NYC

IICCIIIU .. Tb~rn(llt1i.ent sno'CI·tfigh'l'iI3l"; CIJ1~rent XWF World: Hea""fW:e:igM ChQ.mpfon

~: Core; possesses pCl\v~r'fl.ll p!ClSlm(l~gengna.tiQt]. powers, which ke .r:an mIlnifMt in5e.,"e!ra~ 1\!'''',),.:5. /IIIO:5i' c:oi'rrn,oi'l i!lil the proJeeflon of' piasmdL belts eO pi!lJo.l e of liqYify~n9 :S"oHd steel. However, he 'is a~s(! dble ito man~re;$jf' ,a ~iasmtl'l!tield rka1 con Silicip ~III1biII-orm;$ fire., om; weU (IS channel hi,s txce:!i:5 enel"9Y thl"ou_g:h his own h.r.i'I!J to il'u::reaee 1M is phySical sfrengrh and dU!'(!!OiH'fty.

1_ ~ By his' own aC:CQunt.:s:, Louis Fr.21S!1'IIo,fl! mgrJiif·~ited his powersalmo'st irnm~drQt~ly ~her the lMfatM explosiOI1 or 1998 Nobody could] approm::i1 the w~r.rHl'lg m~s:s of ,plla.sma "l'iha.t $ur.r·OUP1dedi him- y,:rl"li! The ,effediS died dO'wn TWO hour'S later. Lou!is f~ed a.tthc.t lim~, .e;vading police "t\d N .. t&~r1O:! GUOI'd am~etc!' find hls wily 1IIldergr-ound.

H~ resurfaced iPl J'~Rii[1 two yeur'S lafer. where thl';; Hrsr 1iI(I\tO.-I!i;\ltiil.\\ilh$1)tf~ghr (it;lmpet;tiQI'!S :h(ld begl::flil. HaVing I'earne:dl 'tQ coniC'CJ his l'ni1ti11re ilIbiJiti~. ~s wen as 1,,- .' ,L" I·. -'c. ,.... ·f· f'"'t' .. '. S - t~ ..,jcj\-

No'e;Il'Ii'1,g rll_J 'Ci!.re.a",·tP(l",,~~, !'~r'U plilQl\!'~_~P' 0 "to,e-.

he IiClpidly mace a naJn~ foil' hi lri the il'uJepend'ffrtt fightfn9lGir<;u1rs. When thre:X .ffrst fQr'1meG in ~004, rreem.Qn ~. J'lOW' under a n~..w name - be~(lme on"B o.f its f'irst re<!:ryits ..

44

· Meade: f:onmallirti·es aside, Carson, it's wOl1lderflllll to have: Y'OI.l aboard. We're all very excited about the potential you're bningilfil'Q te Hollisbc:s .

.. Wihit~and: Thanks very much. Ms, Meade. I'm l,aok:ilt1l:g forward to it.

· Wh~tland: Um. Sure thing1, Sara.

·lMoo.dle: Great! Now, lief's 'get staF~ed, We're cedainly p.ieased that you"V€! a,cce'pt:ed our offer of employment;,J can't stress eno,ugh how happy we erete ~a\le you aboard.

· Whl~land: Weilll, to be honest. 1 have heard the 'Stor~es ~bout nova-run {;orrP 0 rations , and it d!~d sound pretty tempting _. but I'd ratl~erg!oi2lhead and work Oi'U resear,ehfun-tlime.I don't have much of a head for business. and my .. , urn, powers seem to lendthemselves better toward research and 3na!ysils~han playing the stoelk n~arket.

I Meade: We!III'. we'.fe cert~linIY91.8Icl to l~ear that. And as: I've tmentkl!ll1ted befon~~ we'lre more than wi~~liiIil9 to make ~t worth your whil~e to stay on wiUlI us.

I Meade: More than that, Carson, Ymlr hyper~e'li1lhal1ced sensessre a very va~uab!lle asset to us; to say nothing of youii'" ability te handle dan~le'rous c~lIemic:aJs: without harm. We've P!Jt tog,ether-one ve.ry attractive package of benefitsfor yo:ufull medical 81f1td1 dental wilththe Rostrem Ci~~m1I~C~

• Whi~land: Reallly! Ahem ~ sorry.

• Meade: Qll!Ii]te ail riight. Anyw'iily." there's also a rnultimillica-dollar .life insurance ,policy" expense account! company lranspert, provisions for retirement, shares in the 'co,mpany stock - ~ don't think yotl.'11 be ab~le to 'find abetter offer (lU,t there,

· WhirHand: W~~dl. uh, prohsbly not But reaUy. l'd already !been kind of keep~119 track of the various reseerch institutes while 11 was in (:011,ege., a~dI this sieemedl1ike a great place to come and work. DOlilliilg what I W<3:nt to do, l mean. You know.

· Mea;d!e~ (laughs) You've got the jab. Carson!' There's no needto butter us !Up .- yO'WlI can save that For )'Ql.lr first performance review~

• Whifland: Sounds great, so long as we stop somewhere and grab some lunch soon .. Nlova~sized 8Jppetit,e, you know ....

· M!eade:: (laughter)

We are proud to report a unilateral success in the Desert Hawk operation, ill the most parr owed to the successful dep oyment of our official US Armed Forces nova operations agents. Over the course of three days - which was the operating 'Window ~ the United States military suffered only three casualties, Om nova ops completel y disabled the enemy's nuclear silos and brought down the two launched missiles without so much as a scratch in the casing.

t enews

Excerpt from General Tobias Gahagan's press conte re nee, Auqust 10th, 2000

It is the intention of the United States Armed Forces to continue to recruit novas for just such operations. One nova can prove to have all the firepower' of a jet squadron at a fraction of the cost to the taxpayers, That's why I'm pleased to announce the Nova Recruitment Initlative, a program which offers benefits and rewards commensurate to the obviously high value of a. nova volunteer, We want any young novas out there to know fhat they have a place in the United States, military; a place where they will be trea ted with honor and respect ....

t's no surprise that t l€ nilitary potential, 0 novas was put to file test almost immediately. fter all, a combatained nova-is worth a l?latoon of men, and he doesn' t require near the amount of resources to aintain, As costly as retaining a nova (or a force of novas) is for military purposes( Cloif"Lg .so relieves a much greateT tax

I rden otherwise spent on conventional armaments, thusfreeing 'Up freviously tUlh~~~of resources for social rograms or otherwise ~lkinder, gentler"

government initiatives,

Scriptexcerpt from documentary program "Cuttlnq Edg,e"episod,e #53

(u naired)

hi

The "elites." Nova. mercenaries. Superpowered soldiers forhire,

By all accounts, HIS a glamorous job. A standard contract can pay an elite over $10mUUon a ye;u"- and that's for a relatively raw and! Ullp'fov,en nova. Veterans can demand much, much mor-e. They are among the most notorious and! respected lllen and women in. theworldl ,_ and yet, they are also tied into aworld of blood and death, 'where "minor' wars such as the 2007 Trans- Tanzanian Conflict are fought entirely by elite proxies.

Tonight we delve into the' deadly world of the elites, where international boundaries mean little next to nova-level power, tarnished glamour and, of course, the universal law of currency.. We look at the practices of these mask-wearing, code-named agents for hire and even travel on a mission with one. All tonight, on the Cutting Edge.

[Opening credits roll]

When discussfng the! elites/the! most obvious place to begin is with the mask Where so mrulY other novas are proud to let the world look on their features, the elites have evolved a subsociety in 'which the mask, the persona.Is more important than the person beneath, Certainly, sante of this stems from the desire to keep one's identity concealed, particularly when jobs take one far from home - or 'too dose Ito haute.

But a. mask is hardl y anonymity, It' s a persona, a character larger than life, Take, for' instance, the golden skull mask of Totentanz, It's a symbol

41

tha t has come to represent professionalism and surgical precision - not mercy. When hils mask comes into view, his opponents, whoever they may be, give little thought to the man underneath the mask. Instead, it's Toteruanz they fear, a modern-day incarnation of death. The mask is. pure intimidation, pure publicity, without giving away anything of the man beneath.

In such a society, it's 110 ",'onder that unmasking is a ritual of its own. When two elites develop such a grudge that they're driven to duel with one another, the stakes are rarely to the death. However, sometimes one's whole pers.ona is on the line, as the winner takes the loser's mask as.

a trophy. In lnany ways, this is very much like the myth of the Old Wesit, where gunfighters would challenge one another to see whose legend would emerge paramount. The winner of such a duel gains boasting rights"whkh 'can

lead I~O more lucrative contracts ~ after all, he's just proven himself a better fighter 'than at least one rival But the loser can never really put on his mask again. The image has been shattered, Th immortal is now a little more mortal,

And yet, the power of a nova is such that even an unmasked elite can command great respect. One need Look no, farther for an example than the self-proclaimed "Stone Badass," Lance Stryker, Wl1el1 unmasked by rival elite Borealis in the spring of 2007, he rallied back with such drive and charisma that his name is now ,a household word .. FH licensing arrangements are as profitable as even those of Caestu Pax and Andre Corbin - not bad fora nlercenary~

[Add footage of interview with Lance Stryker} prior to resolution of 5/06/07 Corpus Christi incident]

Stryker: "Yeah, I've h ard your fancy-ass press releases about how you think your sorry asses are so superior to normal people and how you think you can lick just about any man on the face of this plan l. You bitch and you moan and then you don't get anything done unless you count hiding behind a bunch of women and children. You wauna sit there on top of your "moral superiority"? wen, you're about to get Lance Stryker's boot so far up your ass that your moral superiori Iy' s gOnI'la be fired on au t your nose, and that's at damn fact!'

[lEND SCRIPT EXCEIRPT]

48

[IBEGln HIUDIIO ell' ; RE,CO'RDIED mESSHGE]

Good eveninq, Dr. Maran. I hope this message reaches you in good health.

My name ts IElaine Katzenbaurn, and I'll be your contact with the De,Vries Ag,enoy. First of all, I'd Uke to Jhank you for your interest in our operation. We've worked very hard to attain our reputanon as this foremost oontracnnq agency for freelance novas, and we hope that we can prove to yO'l! tnatour reputanon is justifried.

Reglullations toreld us from attachlnq an '9xte:nded fi:ls om our nova, operatives, so you'll pardon me for the omission, I'd like to arrange a ms,eting with you at your earliest convenience: there we can discuss the nature of employment and the available agents that would be best sultsd for your purposes. Rest assured that should you require a task that runs a high risk Qof nova-level ccnflict, we have aqerrts that are fruilly capable of m~,eting that ch,,aill'enlge. Nlatur,allY1 our elite-agents such as Pursuer are available as waUl sh-ould you r,equ~re a v,ery visible presence. Our reS,QUrC'9'S a rei such that we ~eal confident we'll have someone available to suit your needs, no matter the pIIBC8!, time or jab descrtpnon.

We'v,9' already completed our credit check, so don't list that be a worry.

Wf!) can discuss exact terms whlen we me,et taca-to-tace. AglSlin, I look 'forward to it, and thank you once more for Gaming to us. Rest assured that yo.ur task is as g'ood as completed.

(CI:II[ your dish n.,twOlfk to subscribe today!,)

Tlheycha,nge the world:

un-

thIDa

TheYi'lr,e the hottest thing o,n tlhe pi anet ..

.. . And in KYO'bO today, the highly enthusiastic reception for the vacaHoning Pursuer fell a little flat with the arrival of Caestus Pax, Pursuer was disembarking from his private jet and acknowledging the' crowds when Pax dropped out of the skies; landing well clear or Pursuer's entourage but certainly dose enough for conversation. Seemingly, no dear words. 'were exchanged, but a s taredown of sorts emerged, one that the crowd encouraged with cheer for both sides. It

ended inconclusively when Pax

pointedl y turned his back on Pursuer

and lifted off in 0 the skies again,

Although Project Utopia has made no official comment, most experts believe tha t this was certadnly a statement of disapproval regarding Pursuer's part in the latest Argentinian operation. It certainly wouldn't be the first 'time that the Utopian agents have dashed with Devries elites over ideology; the Devries Agency has constantly and aggressively promoted the belief that their elites are more professional and efficient than the "Tomorrow idealists, "

Walk am_ong the gods.

And when these two forces dash, even nonviolently, 'W no benefits?' Wen, the licensees, for one. Toy sales show an average 10% increase for Utopia and Devries licensed products just after any threat of hostilities between the two. Apparently if the nation's youth can't see the Highwayman and Skew duke it out on national TV, they'll have to. settle for staging their own battles on the' playground at in th arcade.

~o

From an N! Broadeast of Two Minu,tes Hs'te on ,Januar;y 21, 2008

Recommended hi.ghligkt:s, th$~, 'week 'On Nl:

'. S1)ll'ldaYI &pm~ The broa:dcuSf prel}tier~ of Yt;ishil\ID KumUo's COlltro'V6s1al film. H~fld !JJ/ God, S'tarring Michelle Caspar and Tera. Re~!g[o:n (mo quem:J;rni\ powers a re 'I?xplo~d in ~his pow'erfuJ vision 01 what it ~ans to havei:h:e po:wertcf~hla:n;ge t.l€ world. Vie1i< ... 'er d.iSt;;re,tio.n ~s advised,

• Td,esdmy, 9 pm: Bttr:ki~g l/u.' Odds/the d.Dcumentary ,cove:rrng the XVilF freJn i1:s 'ine;epl;]on t~ 'eod:!llY- See what it's like tt} wod:: behind the seenesat t'his ml]J~t!mil.riWri-~Uru: orgall1zatinn, ,ulld find ou.t juS~ ho",' it manages to keep on deUVl~dng tDP,l"Iotcit battles eve:ry week.

'. Wedr!J,esday, 10 pm: Tl1erughliy CQlnb:oversial ~nl:er\!"ie'iJl!;' with MeHstofaleez make I:ltis v-re.eR's edi lion of :Con:!' tellf!'t1tm a standout, Parental filters are strongly lencouraged.

'. Frb:laY12 pm.: KRs~oo Dumt returns to 5tonus at Sunset as Violet rises from ~be '~ead ill rl1!:~ landmark 2JOQfu epi:So~Q'. Will

nyth]~'rg ,e:'!l'er be the same in Storm. Bay?

Tbe following television program does not represent the opinions of N! or its employees, Two Miuutes Hate is intended &5 a public forum, whereby novas of an creeds and orientaeiona 'may make ,their views known, It also serves as an abstract Index of nova popularity, as interp:reted_ from mdependent polls conducted by the' NJ Network.

52

As [ had no doubts, Issue 37 sparkled and shone, particularly WiU Fraser's fascinatingloo]; at the decline of the two-patty system in American politics. Not that ie's any of out business what the presidents choose to do, butrhev musraccept responsibiliry 'For those actions should they come to a public light,

Three years ago, Congress brought up a legislative proposal that would have created a greater role for the government in. media, entertainmenr and culmral development. Proponents of the bill, cnting too much emphasis on novas in the media, on the big screen and in other entertainment venues, claimed society sought unattainable role models. Those opposing the bill upheld the independent studios' rights to rnakewharever their audiences wanted to see, cnlminating in then-presldenrial candidate Earvln Waterman remark, "as long as. it: keeps [novas] out of pol[tics.uWelll I've got news for you, Mr. Warerman. From what the public sees of nOVaE." we knowtheir plans and agendas, They don't hide hehind petty smokescreens and spin; doctoring campaigns funded by taxpayer money; Perhaps if this count].")' took a poli,r;icaL cue from irs novas, we wouldn'r have suffered the collapse of our political engine in the first place.

Allthony Freeman,

Tulsa) OK

Anthony's plea for honesty in politics, couldn't COU1.e at a bettie! time - to refute his point Se'8 Mim Udovitch's shocking expose' of RuS'Con' s Sierka administration, page 12S, tor more insight into the novapolitical arena, ~ Ed,

ZlnE,

m

Sports Entertainmen

Most team sports simply don't allow nova participants. After all .. where's the fun. of 1:1 basketball garo.e if one man with superhuman r-eflexes consisterulywins every game for Jus team single-handedly? At least Michael [ordan's opponents had a chance .. ",

Nonetheless, the 2004 Olympics saw the first nova-specific track and field events, although naturally, not all countries, were able to field a representative, much less a team. Similarly, Project Utopi often sponsors certain all-nova athletic events as charity fund-raisers; even a cornparably sedate sport like tennis gets pretty amazmg when the participants are Skew ID1d Hammerlock, Conversely, there has been a marked decline III interest for most sports without nova involvement; the glory days of multimillionaire professional athletes are' no longer with us:

Of course, there is one arenawhere novas can test their 'talents against each other and rake in a. fortune in merchandising, pay-per-view proceedsand endorsement deals ... "

S3

Farew,ar'd::

"Response to the 'coming of the novasaad their role in the modern world has been so strong that, as of this printwngl of the Book o.fKalpa'. membe,ship in the Church or the ~mmafilent Escheatorn ~aS! edipsed thait or many Chr~stial1 dencminatiorts, Since our ~fi1ceptioi1l~n 199'a,we have converted a vast cross-section of the Western world to our poirwt of view, glory beta the O,~e'. through the' mysteries, with which Hie has 8'iaed our crusade,"

_, Chrystisrn IKa,lpa

'C1h,op,ler Thilree::: On Holy Li:vinlg:

"The thetans, which may suffer p,!agueor sp'lirHliJl8!1 decay, may bes,t be kept at pealk health -through a reg:llimenited d,tet. As the Apostles the mselvesal['€ b read and dra nk wi'nEl' w~th the neva thrist at tlhe Ilast Supper, SiD' should the pure seek to emulate them, succumbing, neither to ,gi:uUony nor the lusts of ind1uigence.lBiand foods do Ir:lOt excite the body IJf1diullly. and so shm~ldthey SUppolrtti~:e mind wmththeir fO[lI1l~

d ,,' [" '1' it "

_ ar~~;On Or simp lei y:

Ch.c'pter ,',o,ur: ,As,censi,on to hnmenenees

"We may all become llmmanent. 9\111a1<ening the b~ood or ttte novar wi'thi~ all ·of IIiJl'S~ A proper dliet, and observance of the 30 Esch.ootic (;bmmandm~nts~ :pavesthe Wfij.llisrento tlI1!l higher ootul during the daily medimtlions, For only Iby denying the IOV!rersoul may one' rey,e~1 the p~ t~f:dlmmal1lence,

"Atndi:hose wlho hav;e earned their m:.nsc-erdence sha!1 beer dIe, Unblown''S Eye. though ilt sh~l~ be il1v~s[ble' tID' a1llbut others who, share it. Whelherth~s is ikoown iby ibl18li11pornl name - the MlaaniH']~ Rashoud node ~ or by ~b5pirihla'~ 'Signific8'roce as the mark of [he de.itY~s favor, !hose,lmmanent5 vmo haw; become so blessed :shaH know'the 'Nay to, iHesval1."

Chaptelr Six: Meditations,::

~"Yet thefll!lJldametrrts behind d1e revelatory 01urch of the: lmIInanent Escheatolfl are logical outgliowths ·Qfestabllis~edFaith. We do not. fonn C} cult. nor CllI'e we heretics. Olbservanc.e of·the lmrnanent Eschea:ron is a IPhi~QSQphy; a w<ry of fi~e. God is he:reamoflg us. justa'S He !Na$ among ~le Cati'lolics of~1e Middle Ages: and 'the P'rutesb:Hm,ts; during tifne Reformation, 8ind just as He is still amOJiilQj ti1.€m. God ~ the One ~·Ioves all HIs chi~'dren;"

ChCllpt',erSeven:A, ,Choru:s ,of Voices:::

"A'Uld so numbered aUllong tih()5€ pr;aldicitrll91 the lmm'snent Escheaton wereGa~tama Buddha; j,€SUS Christ: Martin Luther King, Jr.; the GomteSt. 'Germ:ali1n; Louis X1Voffiranc,e; and MadameB~a\latsky. And so liIumberedamongthose practicirlg the ~lmmanell1it Escheaton are those who ar-e born into the wor[~d. fer in the purity of birth lies the intreduetioate lmmanence and the fa:ith bh:at one basks for·ever in t~e' kwe of our lord God,"

From CNN Worldspan Ata-,Glance, November 16, 2007

ene

All eyes, in japan have turned upward to view HIe grandeur of Bodhisa ttva Masa to, the nova leader of the country' s nascent Kamisama Buddhist movement.

From' Full Nova Extrs" on N!

According to Kamisama Bud dhist belief, novas are reincarnated 'bodhisattvas' and 'asuras,' divine beings placed on Earth as avatars to lead the rest of the world toward enlightenmen t.

"Hell .. I should go over to Japan. They ,worship novas over there'. HiS part oftihat Buddhist thing."

- Starchylde

Such beliefs are not uncommon

elsewhere in the world" and this phenomenon sees pa.raJ1els in the 'Weste:Ill doctrine of the Church of the Immanent Escheaton and several smaller, less re:Dg:niz€d but no less devout faiths in any number 0'£ countries.

The trend has taken a disturbing tum in Japanese culture, however as the nation's youth, obsessed. 'Wi.tl1i the nova as a popular cultural icon, form cults of personality centered 011 certain msntbers of Japan's nova population. In a society so 111tm.dated with a constant flow of media as Japan, these 'new messiahs' come and go as qukldy as, one can change the channel, For the devoted; however, the nova becomes a way <of life as well as a conduit to the heavens,

Seven youths were found in an Osaka school yesterday, naked and cold-bodied, their bloodstreams robbed of oxygen by fatal quantities of adrenocilin, a chug used by fledgling novas to control their quantum powers. Less than an hour after the students' bodies were found, 14-year=o]d Toshiro Shigematsu turned himself in to Osaka authorities. A documented nova for three months" Shi,gematsu claimed to have persuaded the other children to take his prescription adrenodlm, telling Hl€ITl it would make them novas. When questioned as to his motive for telling the children this, Shigematsu stated that he was a demon sent back from Hell to reap the souls of the innocent.

Bodhisattva Masaio has issued a, public censure of the event, but when pressed by Japanese media representatives, he claimed that, quote, !ViTitb good must come evil, and the asuras wickedly follow the paths the bodhisattvas tread.' Other members of the Kamisama Buddhist camp have expressed displeasure at

.I!.I!..~ ..-.i"..,.,...,..,.,,,l.-.-.-..~, S -ur."'''''1 mdin g th . ""'.,.".1-.-:;, ,_L;1 d-si 'I',...-ide I.II.lt:: '-LL ... ,LUJ."-L'Lru.I ...... ~"' /LU;.tV'-'!.Ll·.. e ~,;;:t u. Ul_ LIL.lLL, •

Osaka authorities, with corroboration from other Japanese law-enforcement agencies, dsimthat incidents like this are not isolated, however: In fact, though the island nation claims as much as anine percent population of Kamisama Buddhists, several known groups draw constant police scrutiny, as officials grow ever wary of terrorist acts performed under the auspices of religious fervor,

U ntil further events develop, I' m Lotta, \loornies1 CNN Netherlands correspondent in Japan.

57

F'rom the Associated Presa

Dime Box, Texas ~ Houston-sponsorednova Craham "Houston 'Iornado" Herron was found shot repeatedly wlth heavy-gauge shotguns and high-powered hunting rifles, then stabbed and beaten Monday night just afternine p.1U. Dime Box Sheriff Tom Boddard found the body, which was reported to have been markedwith various symbclsassociated with the Church of Michael Archangel, Powder burns marked the weapons as having been discharged at dose .rru]!ge.

"There must have been a lot of the Mlchaelites to take 01112 of these boys down," stated Slteriff Boddard, IlWe haven't heard of an y of their compounds around here, but maybe they came from Austin or Nacogdoches. We rarely see Cllly of that group around here, let alone novas,"

A spokesman for the Church of Michael Archangel's Austincompound, Grand Deacon Micah Piper, had much to sayan the subject ,,1We don't lfke aberrants, I'm [lot saying we did what ha ppened to Herron or whoever he was; but be obviously melt his match in God's chosen .. 11 Other members of the Mlcbaelite church shared the sentiment viaOpN et and Internet, issuing letters of support to the Austin 'branch. According to Disciple Stephen Leeds of Montana, 1./ Aberrants don't belong anl0ng normal people": in the words of Virginia Michaelite Suzanne Haslett/ IIWhy shouldwe weep for the passing of the Devil's own?"

Seven-year-old Lucy Corgan issued perhaps the most telling remark: "'My papa has a gun thatwill drop 0111 aberrant dead in his tracks, and so do all his friends."

The weeks to COl11.e may be tense, as Craham Herron's Devries-represented companions Linda Raphael and Elijah Crane have returned to Houston to IIraUy some novas interested in justice. II Grand Deacon Piper claims not to be scared .. boldly responding, "The righteous God is with us, you spawn of Satan, We've got enough guns and faith to lay you out just like what happened 'to your friend."

Church lof Michael] Arch,ang1el,

Talke Toor Planet Bac,k!

A.1i a HUMAN y011) are a CHltLD Q'F GOD, 'CIII1I,d yo'Uor1,e DES1TIN'ED to ~NHE,R,1l H:i:s 'garden a,nd everythingl ilnit. 5,tay 'ru'e 'to 'GOD'S ONE WAY 'Qnd yaur ,SALV~ nON lis AS"SURED.

But SArAN hlGlS s:enit his IDE'MONS to IP~a9u,e this earth QII1~EI] 'IDI'emiptr t'he ri'ghte1ou,s with theiir TERII'ILE P,OW·ERS. Wa~k

FIIO!t 'wi'l,h the aberrant NOVAS, tor in thre' path Janows! the DEV'n. and lhi":sEYII L C~UISE.

'Ihis is fhe Fiinl1lll dawn r the AGE: 'of:

AP'OCALY'P'SI" and thie A.NT:ICH RII 51' has d,eliYlered h~,s MIN'U,)NS e,yery·' w:he'reac:r055 the world.

Take yaur p~anet back - f',ec-y,eal these abern::lllnis ,for wihat t:hey are.:

TOQ'L5 of IDAMN:And.N!

58

"U:lu~ Forth ,:mgd pOUITd his boud 011 Ihl: sun. Jnd it mas, J lIowrd [0 scorch prop[r wirh nrr; t~[l! mtrr s(nfcllCO bq [Ihr llrm luu, bur [11CQ cursed '[he mmc or ('od, WhD ~iJd Jutluorlu! oun rhrer plngura, Qnd [1l't4 did 11I0[ r[pcnr Jnd (tIUC hml glorq.'·

~ RrlJll:i~tlDn 10:8

Ast,aroth has spoken, and his word takes precedence of those of the f,eeble Christian armies lined up for the slaughter. In the name of our lord Astaroth~ the w'orld .shall be consumed in a.firey e l oud , burning those who welcome the Word of God or the Immanent '.' And 10 I the world shall end on the Candelmas of 2017, for that is the number of the gr,eat Harbinge.r Belial.

News of Astaroth;

.. Thanks to everyone for the donations for Brother Eliasls court appeal legal fees. Send money to Brotther Elias {Stanley We,lty), *68291-013. MCFP Springfield, PMB ,4000. Springfie.ld! NO 65808-4000. DO NOT T.ALK ABOUT THE CASE OR THE INFANTS. That .. will just get your letter torn up. You can also email brother Elias a.tilrr,o,r! :Reference s,ourc:e not foun.d.

• The Burning Man Astaroth Reunion drew over 100 (,!) Astiarot.h servants. Click here to see same of the pictures and read the Convocation Lita.ny as spoken by the Astaroth himself!

• Legal procedures have been finished! 'The Dark Altar ~ under the name Church of Astaroth, is nO'~J' a legally-re'cognised,t,ax exempt Church!

AS:~9!roth. IBeltalne. Belia! and Grirnsk:ull are not 3ssodated with Ulopia. Teragen Or a,ny oti1e'r partisan novas society.

rei gnofeull.com

hI

From] "M1asks and Marvels" in Nova Nouveau Mag,8zine, April 2007

Novas, often perceived as "superheroes" among the less educated ranks of our society, seem to have adopted a few of the comic-book traditions of their fictionalized predecessors. A Mexican innovation formerly sported only by elites, the mask hasbecome fashionable a.mong other novas recently, and lnay be well on itsway toward becoming the hot accessory for novas and wannabes alike, Nova Nouveau looked into this burgeoning trend, hoping to gain a bit of insight into the trend. What w,e found was ... interesting to, say the least.

Why do you wear a mask?

• Shannen "Shard" Borland: Urn, 1 thought all novas were supposed to. You know, part of the tradition and all that

'. Mefis,tofaIeez:::5o when I beat your punk white ass, you can't serve nile with a summons, [Ed .. Note: In the case of Hogan v. Mefistofaleez (Dec. 2(07), the Supreme Conrt If.p'held 110rlnooue' rights to bn'ng charges ,against the perS011t1S of knOllm- ?IOVaS, regardless of lohe#1e1' or not those novas were opera.ting in a public 01' pr.i'Ot1te capacity,}

'. [onas "Kikjak" Kincaid: A mask commands respect. You know you're dealing with a nova when YOlll see the mask - when 1 yell at an ogling crowd to get the hell out of the way, they all

know that I'm about b) throw something big over there.

6.0

.' ha "Lady Monti' Iguyen: It lets me ad opt a different personality, I've actually got two nova personas, one of which has a contract with ViaSoH and the other with IBM. Of course, they were smart enough to put noncompetition clauses in those contracts, so just made up another "character" to get around that little obstacle. And 111ly lawyer says it's airtight.

" Sean IISwi'kil" Connell: It looks cool, and it hides the fact that Illy eyebrows grow together; I keep a secret, private identity aside from my public, nova identity, so I doni t have to deal with all the public-servant bullshit when I'm notron,"

• Lance "Stone Badass" Stryker: Masks are for cowards. I don't do nothin' I'm afraid to own up 'to" and that' s at damn fact!

61

from The Londoner Hbroad

Uo(umle II, Issue 9 (Septe,mber 2007)

NOlv',as,·Only' ClllIb !Dr'ls,w,sF'ir,e Fr'om Local ,Soene'smer's,: 'When entrspreneusse Travlus Dlaz des"iglne,d her latest nignt,-spot for the beautifull people" Sh'6' had a speclflc group of beautiful people ,in mind: novas. A strict novas-only policy at theglamour,ous Amp Room (with one exception made for hostess Dlaz herself) ensures that: onlly the superpowerful 'gle;t iln. and the mundane remain w~thout.

"This isn't blqotry," Diaz claims, despite no lnllmatiort ot tile journanst to that effect '!Novas prefer leach ather's company. That's what I'ed me to my decision for the novas-only club, Rscent research into the sociology of novas mnldicates that their biochemistries cause sympathetic reactions in other novas. Thsy may 'figh,~ and: Ieud on N!, but on a basic nova lev,e,I~, they f,eallly do share a viba."

Diaz'· theory seems to have more than a. gra~n of: truth 1,0 lt, if her caviar charges and rstrsshment prices are any mndiC'a~or. The price to pass from the street to the door lis £160 and the price of a signature "Amp 'W,ell" fa drink con.sisting of fruit [ulces, coca extract and dubi .. tOUS other inglredi'8'nts" rumoured to ilnclude adrenaline from human glands and ketamine dosages fatal to baselines) .. On a special night, the club s,s'as as many as 300 nova glul9StS and rnixssas many as 2,000 Amp Weilis.

LOGal n~lglhtliife~ veterans are outraqed, however, Rang~nlgfrom the usual cries o,f prejudice to the more rare lega,1 actions I(which Diaz has already employed a full-tlme sollcltor to handle), lccal patrons want accese ..

"tt's Irlidiculo'Us not to let us in. Parties make lblza what it Is, and the: professional partiers .should b,e aUowed to, enter. So says Nero Krauss, a Gierman transient who washed up on lblza's beach w~th 10 quid in his pocket and haU Bin eil9lht-balJl: of cocaoe 'in his brain, As part oflblza's Insolvent population of sterstruck, unemployed clubqoers-by-trade, Nero's statement echoes through the ranks of the, youth.

Diaz has 1110 sympathy. "These Eurotrash drifters, they want to get in, but all th.ley do is UpSI8t the ellentele. I vacationed in Ilbiiza 12 years ago, and a 1111 the clubqosrs snubbed the v:isitin!J1 middle-class continental men, calliing them 'Ia.ger louts.' Now that the sam Ie' thingls happening to them- they're up in arms about it"

Don't expect anything to ohanqe either. Amongl the ,jet-setting novas who attend thl9 Amp Room - many offi whom travel to Ibiza for one or two nights s.olilely to vm.sit the club-· are noted Indian movie producer Deepak Pam" Amerlcan elite Sarge ln-Charqe, Iradical Teragene:rrnsto,cram, Raoul Orzaiz and ,even hiqh-soolety celebs Hke~ Amanda '\N'u. Ae:cord'illl'Q to alii ot these: and more, novas enjoy' the policy, ~IWe!re very publlc figures., and this, gives, us a place to be private," says superrnodel lydia Divine. (Ne,edlllss.s ~o say, the Amp Room bears a constant: wreath ot paparazzi .. )1

"11"viB glot 1 OO-plus enormously famous and 'fabul,ous personalines tOI deal with nightllYr all of whom F'eqlUmreindividual attention,' claims Dlaz, "My poUcy is no more restrictive thanand just as .app:roprii,a1e, to my patrons as ~ a dress code." .

62

Don't do anything stupid. As a j oumallst, -l had often found myself in curious places, fun of curious, foods, looking down the barrels, of curious guns and running like alii hell with curious people on the lam from evert more curious people. AU for the sake of the story; I jumped headlong into whatever situation 1 was supposed to be covering. After a few sessions of balls-out, all-hell, batshit

lunacy, I decided that sooner or Later this reporting thing was going to get me killed, In an effort to even out some of these

rough patches of m·y investigative techniques, l sal down to make a list of rules that wouldallow me to get the story and preserve my hide.

I never got past rule one. It seemed to sum up everything] needed to avoid.

The problem with such generalities, however, is that they are, by nature, less than universal. in application. While I thought to myself then, "Going with these heroin dealers to seal a buy is just the element I need to lend this story on

Russian drug traffic some gravity by way of example," [ think to myself now, "What kind of dummy leaves his passport In the hotel and hops [lito a broken-down Eastern European sedan with a cell phone and expects not to be beaten senseless by the: undercover cops who invariably show up for this kind OF thing?"

In any event, hindsight is 20/20) and there I stood, handcuffed, legs spread wide and with at mouthful of post-Czarist masonry, No small amount of snow had found its. way past the collars of my shoes.

"Barg zerg gudania flovosh harms harma woodle berdla," the cop wi rh his nightstick poking the base of my spline grow lied at me.

1.<1' I

. m sorry,

don't speak any

" Russian. Habla Bng!ai.s!" I replied. My

erstwhile companions sneeredrhev spoke English, but they sure weren't going to translate for me.

"Flermovich grim gram boobla stcenick. n "You mean to tell me I'm being arrested! What the hell cue you saying? Why don't

you hounds speak any English ?What the hell

is [he world corning to:

Darnmi r, I want to see mv ambassador!" I quit screaming in time to see the Cyrillic thugs with whom I had foolishly aligned myself pointing at me. The officer above me raised his stick! and about seven marginally interesting seconds of my life passed before my eyes in an instant.

And then my phone rang.

No doubt thinking he was intercepting the cruelest of phone calls) perhaps between dealer and client, the Police Hun grabbed the phone from my belt and answered it with a sneer. Expecting him to offerme a wicked smile and begin dashing my brains out: with his stick, ] sniffled feebly. Instead; however, he coughed out: a few words, turned white, looked around with. all. air of panic, and placed the phone in my jacket pocket. He then undid my manacles and helped me to my feet.

With mv freedom returned, I grabbed my phone and praised the gods.

~fWho is this?" I mused.

"I t's Lester, you fool, now get out of there and go to the airport. Flare wants a videoOpl-Iet documentary on 'the world after the novas carne' or something." Bless him; Siegfried Lester, my agent, had pulled my (at from the fire.

"You told them that and they let me go!" "No, I told them you were 8i. Utopia agent under deep cover and that 8! He ld team was surveying them, Now get [0 the airport!"

I only hope that in [be future, when 1 ring up 8. friend and some foreign brute answers the phone, I have. the presence of mind to not only speak me language but come up with an impossibly implausible vet compel-

From Flare's

"Normal

Lives" column by o« Duk«

63

ling story with which to save my acquaintance's life.

Anyway, wirhour further ado, 1 headed w rhe airport, catching the next plane to Arnstenlam and billing it to my revoking expense account mainrained bv N!

•••

I stopped at the hotel in Amsterdam just lung en: lugh III shower, shave and pick up my media hag fn .... nn a rapscallion Hindi named Nazir. A Dutch citizen in only the loosest sense of the word, Nazi r h;'ld relocated from Saudi about 10 minutes after [he Mickllc Eastern "Midnight Sun" eVl:IU [he rogue nova Asif ibn Karim had caused 'in late 2004. "It's okay," Nazir told me. "1 don't miss it.'! The little f~enl...l. had originally established himself in the global nightlife circuit as part of the btl' 1990si world music scene, bur rhar had since ~unt' bottom up and N,lzir had reinvented

h imself <'IS ;'1 "shaman" of techno music. That term - techno - has nlv v ays caused a subconscious shudder in those who don'r understand it. Perhaps it's ingrained in us; after centuries of making music wirh "analog" equipment like sitars, drum - and flutes) some people just can't relate [n music composed with no instruments. Since its creation in the late L 9705) what may generally be called "techno" has

evol ved to eclipse the more rradirional rock and roll of the late lOth century. P,~st its primitive (yet compelling) beginnings, techno has become the lingua franca of music - the "establishment," as it 'Were, Whereas the American "rebel" would rick lip a guitar, his European counterpart would instead learn to make music on a computer Somewhere after Aerosmith's 75rh album, [he pop musk enthusiasts of the world grew bored with tedious power ballads sung by 60-year,old men pining for

h tth ii, . l' .

t e ot sugar In teenage gir S pannes.

They turned to electronic musk - dubbed techno for ease of reference - which \\121.5 created by and for energetic young audiences, and which W85 performed in the greatest quantity (if not quality) in Europe. Vulgar, raw and at once emotionless and furiously passionate, techno ignites the hearts of the dance floor-regular and partygoer alike. It is not that unrealistic, then, to understand how techno has "taken over the world," to use rnediaspeak. Music is an escape, and where better than the synthetic drums and electronic Avalons evoked by techno?

64

To simply say all that, thuugh, I..leni.es the h"lSic atti tudes of youth and mUSIc. Music is for nightclubs and nightclubs are about excess performed ro a backdrop uf music. This much always rings l rue, ,)S Nnztr showed me nr <I nightclub called (rllughly translated) the Echo','; Lick. no marrer where in the world one finds himself. Bodie;\, whirled ancl rogued like rhe pistons in ari internal combustion engine. Cluhcmwlers threw back drink after drink - beer, liquor, erwyme-boosting veJ~cttlb[e el ixirs, you name it - 31111 catapulted themselves back (1n,1 forth ilCWSS the dance floor. Every pharmaceutical q.f man's device and then some could be found in the Echo's lick, often over the counter. (The club h<11...1 somehow procured a license (0 prescribe drlUgs. which, when coupled with the Netherlands' lax conuollcd-subst.ancc laws, made for one hell of a refreshment har.) Sp.keheads bumped intoherbsmokers, who crawled past .clgitClt,ed M iroids who whirled like dervishes through dusters of hallucinogen trippers and common druriks alike. After raking apair of red bennies for nostalgia's sake (much ro my later chagrin), I cur a rug to an old favorite - \Xt'onder Factory's anthemic j'B;::ll,y Left Me No Kidney" - and demanded Nazir rake me some .. vhcre else.

"These cretins are danclng to the same damn l o-bcats I've heard since] was born." [ spat at him. "Take me somewhere I can hear some modern music, vou son of a dingo."

In the cab, my head exploded. My hermies, which I had thought were measured in milligrams of potency, were actually measured in centigrams. The "nickels); I took made up more than a "dollar" worth of dosage. After we found enough pieces of my head to rudely fashion a replacement. we moved on to Groove Yard" (1 bar specializ ing In terr'r,

Terr'r music (pronounced "tear") grew, I think, om of the 20th century's nihilistic hyper-affected "gothic" (sic) genre. From seeds originally sown by urban industrial and goth music, rerr'r takes the experience one step beyond. Using special subsonic frequencies, terr'r music stimulates the fear centers of the human (and nova) brain. These subtle sounds "create' fear in listeners.

Of course, any postgoth worth his salt is going to appreciate the irony of th is, and while the vast majority of rerr'r bands (like

the Crypt Roses and V31h~l1atl Reavers) tUTI"l out some truly overwrought spooky tunes! cerebral bands like Lacefisher focus on crafting what would be entertaining, amusing pop and la-la songs if they didn't creep [he hell out of you whenever you heard them.

Ar, for the ar's patron' 1 you've een them, U

bef 'I' d"

erore: a lenate . ttens,

.'

alienate voting adul s

and indulgen ly alienated Older

People. Mo t of them .. seemed bored by the scene. but Nasir told me that ennui is part of the culture. "Tbev want 'to be

dead. Or ..

, 11'1' ..

vampues, • 1e "

told me. 1 didn't gifrr .' In yr.

Corresp.' •

opinion. for a group so alienated, these scenesters sure seemed to hrill ac sniping at each other, If 1 bad a dollarexcuse me, a euro - for every time one of 'them called another a poser. I'd be archduke of the Low Countries.

11 is curious to note mat the Dutch have severely llmlted the venues in which terr'r music may be played. Because of the psychological effect i' creates, err'r is forbidden in moving vehicles and in public houses of less than certain size" It makes a sort of vicious sens '" terr'r care norma] people, on [he level of mortal fright or amphetamine derangement. ensible individual, flee from fear though human society eems to have bred h adcases who actually thrive on this on of thing.

After flogging Nazlr, ill managed '[0 persuade him to show me a novox bar, Our rront, we meta woman who cl: imedo have a gun "with enough power to stop a nova dead in his tracks." It sounded like a good deal to me, and l Looked over her ware. Indeed) the gun l eked like it: would stop

rampaging nova, prim rily by exploding the-shooter and everything within, a few yards of his vicinity. Thanking her and refusing politely, we entered the bar. On our way out, we noted that her 'car was a flaming wreck and. the woman was no-

where to be seen, but 1 refuse [0 render an.y judgment based on my incomplete observation of the situation.

Novox music (pronounced no~VEAU, sort of like nouveau) is defined not so much by its sound as it is b~r I ts creator" Performed by novas, novox ma.y sound like

literally anything.

. Most of it take's the form of

, enormously accelerated rhythm~ but some songs

! invol e a manlpula ion. of soundwaves,

, a!· tortion of '[he audience's perceptions ancf',the creation of effects previously impossible-without the abilities of the erforrners. Aficionados of the movement subscribe to some fairly extreme (though they call it "pure") distinction. A given novox song" if performed by a non-nova, suddenly ceases to be a novox song, Likewise, a nova :may choose to perform an ~'~ill1tp~u.gged~1 version 0_ a novox song, thusmaking i no longer novox by removing the "super' elements. Exactly what genre this leaves thesong in is not exceedingly dear to me, and Nasir offered lt . le in lgltt on die

m trer, preoccupied as he was with a cu e little Dutch girl with blue hair that had sporadic, visible waves oflow .. wattage electricity running though it.

"Damn it all," 1 whispered 0 the aging Marlene Dietrich done across the table from me, "what's the word I'm looking for to describe this mu ,icP1

"Imp s ible," came the reply which was wholly accurate .. She punctuated her revelation by standing suddenly and

flap ing award the bar amid her wintery leather wrap. With the' ; I Looked around die bar and surmi ed one of the great, baffling and ultimatelv stupid truths about l1.0VOX music: It is for genuine individuals. Becau e it lacks a genre and a definitive sound, novox app ah {; rho e who sub~ scribe '[0 [he cult of personality surround-

6,5

ing variou per ormers which may be anyone. Legions of unique conformist" the fans of novox are an unsettling breed even more disturbing [han 'me rno t morbi' terr'rmuslcian,

B following up wi 11 my ba Like bar-mu e, I learned that she bad meant it was

u'. ibl If d f b f

impossi Ie -0. ,e, me novox, U my irst

Impression seem more po de and appropriate, so I'll continue to support [hat,

As the evening waned, Nazir and I left the nOVOx bar, "For God's sake, you shin .. steai~ng Lowland terrorist" hasn't this city got an aggressive side?" [ bellowed, cuffing roy guide on the ear and pulling the door o_ff_a passing taxi to make my point.

I What do you meant' a . ked azir, wrap .. ping his boxed ear with a bandage he

lib rate from a drunkard slumbering in the gutter. In. tandem, we stomped the hobo and rifled hLS pockets for loose change, which e· rned 0 com .only in the form of French francs.

tii

whatever job unskHled a sembly-line ratmen can. turn up .. It's no wonder, then, that their children are such hollow, monstrous brats. Robbed of a chance to grow up normally, these sons and daughters of the hafted proletariat instead mature into bitter, resentful c~eatur,es" blaming the rest of the world (or blaming small pans of it with greater vehemence) for taking away their chances. These kids don't want

chool- they want to be given a fair hake,

Of course" skipping school leaves them with even fewer chances, but don't tell th~m that or they'll shiv you and take your wallet. (If you don 'r believe that kind of thingtUl happens, go rea Punch Nardella's De'trait to Dresden,) Undereducated, mean and angry! they '[urn to celebrity, which they can attain through catastrophic violence broadcast on local news and Op let newsfaxes or by making undereducated, mean, angry music. Here! for example, 3ire the lyrics to Blood

, i mple' underground hit, "Too Big World" (lyrics reprinted by ASCAP permission),

. Hate

Hate

Hate

You

Aberrant

Spic

Red-dot

Jew

Charm tog ruff, to be sure. Upon making it to the iso bar, Nasir and [ decided it would be ssfer to just hang our in the parking lot, where we could still hear [he musk, and drink malt liquor from [he package '[ore. Those clubs are every blr a ugly a [he music they play, and they're probably none too receptive to an aging doctor ofjournalism and his not-white conta L

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From opnet Hypert,echl's m'onthly netZine TechStep, Dec,ember ,l007

Here we are ,again. wil~h a brand new sma.ttering ot what's chic and what's p,lll,8'in wea,k.

We editors here, at TechStep take no small amount of effort to eyeball the current and coming trends, and we pick the, most prornislnq of them to relate to YO'IJ, our loving readers. At title same tiime, we keep our fingers on the pulse of what's on its way out, because God 'forbid a nyorne' should see you !Ulsrnng outdated apps or last year's floor model. You'n thank us. we promise.

Weak: Internet Diehards Ch le: 'Op,Net Piiioneers

Okay, call us biased, but as the aging US information network degrades ~

be. n.- eath billi.'ons of da,ily,po.nZi-SCheme e-mailsand .• ~LiiikeK.9 .. rnag.e.KOm!b .. at .. ..' _ ...

, XIV Gold Turbo" websites, the OpNet looks better and better wlth each .•

new dawn. Faster data transmlt times, hardwired fiberoptic routing inf'ini1'9 . . ..

POP subscriber capacity and, most important of all, registered user licenses - -

(to fi~mer out ~he d~mw~ts and plebes) make the OpNet the wavra of the digi'ta~ future ~ which is here and now,

Weak,: C:lunky Lap'tops and Palmtops Chiii,e:: Ceillifl'ar Voi;,c:e-R'ecogl11ition Iintert·a,ce'

Why carry your computer when you can talk to. lit from any phone? Typing ~_~ I

takes too longl and SUffers. tl1e.- va..ga. rles 01 low mot.or skiliis B. nd sausage- .. ..

fingers aiike That, and they always scan your laptop's hard drive at the ' .

, ai'rport, which is pretty invaslive" from a personal privacy standpolnt, In- .. _

stead, adopt ally of IBM's~ ViaSoft's or Apple's vocal interfaces and

telecommute at 1he speed of thought and speech .. As ~on9as your computer's OpNet-capable. processing power is only as far away as your pocket or gllove box (or wherever you keep your diglital phone).

Weak: Bat-Swinging Vigi'lant,es, ,Chic:: Nova ,Ac'tivlsm

Look, the novas are here 10 slay. Sure, a few of them are selfish bastards '~.- _-_.'_: .. _ , .

who. crash local economies or wipe out city blocks, but most Oof them are O';S

fairly normal people underneath il~ au. Maybe it's a naive optimism, b,ut

here at TechStep, we still bel'ieve in thefundamental goodness, of alill peope,

novas includ.ed. Rathelr than let a few bad apples spoj the bunch, we'd

rather see another lFi reman than another Bernard Goetz or Percy Andreesen ,{the

New York fall riots of 03. anyone?).

Weak: lnternal Co,mbustiorl C'hic: Hyrpel'lc,ombu:stioll1l E,ngil1Q'

Okay" maybe the hypercornbustion engine is still a bit sketchy, but we can -1-

h "?- A- t tv-ti h d t d . . I b I 11- ' ..... II~:?·I ... _.- .. '_ •. I ... , •. ,

__ opel can t we-~ ,wen y~l/ve t ousem percen re - ucnon m goa. po u- "',.,

tlon from transportation and maintenance vehicles is a good thingl and

one that we're wiUing to risk a few isolated eases of brain cancer for.

We'ark,: Grass, .. Aoots E,colo'gy inv1iig'Q,ratio:nl Chic:1iheZushilma

Macrobe ~_.~ .• ~,.I._- .. _ ... _' .... The ednors here at TechBtep are baslcauy lazy people, but 'firmly devoted

to better IiIfe through techlllo'iogy, Now that we have garbage-e.atingl"'good"'

, bacteria: courtesy of the boys and girls at Utopia, lees use it, dammit! The

Zushima rnacrobe dsqrades waste material and converts it to carbon diox-

ide (which- granted, is a simplified statement but even the, post-rnacrobe undlgestibles occupy less than one hundredth of their origlinal mass), whi'ch our environment iis prepared to handle, Doesn't the grass look partlcularty grs,elll today?' Now that we no ~ol1lger have to bury our trash or shuttle it around the oceans in toxic garbage scows, let's .all take a bri,ef moment O'f reverence to n:hr,ow a discarded McDol1l,a:lld~s cup lmo the street

W'ea 'k:: Proprietary ass Chic: Vi,B.Soft One 'World Yeah. you Mao enthusiasts are goiing to raise a stink, but com'€ on. Enough plattormwarfare - let's get back to computing. Word is the VS wants to have a rsrnote-companble version of One Worll'd (nicknamed lntra, according [0. our sources ~n the R.&D labs) by early

next year, whm,oh should be music to your ears If you're running OeskAway 1.031i.D'on''t get us wrOl1gi Big Blue; we love using the phone', but that awkward keyword interfaoe needs to Ig'o - and to have' the IMac-"s floatlnqpoint coprocessor on its side.

We:ak: Neura.lllMe,s,sag'ing Chile:: Go,od air' D':igi'tiilll Cell~lUlar

P~'~lhalPs, tills se~.rnl_S I~~ddite,of US~ b~t does nsura.llrn9ss,sgiing offer 8ill_Y'- . ,-,. '

thing that pocket 'or wet phones don't do better?' Why read a message .... ~. ..',

I Wh9 .. · .. n ~.~ can.-, talk dire. ~C.··tl.:~ to, the per.son, who. wants. our aU.:_®nt.io. n? Global ..•. ,.,

long .. distance - when you even need rt - IS cheaper than neural m€s~ '_'

s,ag-ing: hubs and Ibaclkup nerve tapes' ,anyway. Here's a case of the "break- .

thr,QughlJ not living up to the hype. ,s,orry', PacBe'III;: nilc,e try.

*Y;es,. w,e know they're not tapes", but they may as weI.! be, Sesue us.

W,eak: PII"a,QllJe and New' Vorlk City' Chi,e:: A,ddiis, Ababa

So long, 'global telecom. Goodbye I! Madlson Avenue brand doctors. Hello, entertalnment, teohnollogy and hospitaUty. Since Utopiajs "terratcrminq" of IEthiopia) :h und reds of thousands have been fr:lockiirng· to A-A. to take advant.slge of the citis boom in growth. Corpor,ate ano private citizl8'ns have made Addis Ababa at hlLJge~y important cUy, rival ii I1'QI Tokyo and New York fror finance Bombay for entertainment and any of those crumrbling o,lld European citiestor cullturB. Provided 'YQU Uk.'€!! a WE\lrm (er, hot) cJmmate and no hlumidil.ty.. you can live Ilike' a cal'iph in Africa, because it's s.tiilll burgeonil1g" so rent can be found on the cheap.

'W,e,ak:: IE,ndlange,ri n'i S'peciies rClh ic:Gene'Uc,a~ Ily En gliinee,redi Fauna,

H_. e_y. we leaveth. I.e. _ Offi~. e. so m.:- .. "etim.1 .I'9s ... we kn.o.=. W th ... la.t.' ~UJ .. ~. a.-I.n."s .• are .. nl't.' the o.~nl.Y ~.I;.' ' .. animals fhat share ~h'e earth. We~re happy, thouqh, tha.t mew soences and ~ ... ,

nova-assisted developments have, made! it easier for !JIS to exist with those

animals, The end O'f the last oentury saw over ,200 individual species on ' .. ', '

tne endangered I,i,st. Through cloning teQhno~loglies~ we've brought that down .

tOI a mere 12~ and tadaptatlons" of existiing animals (such as the Trltcn-baeked "g!arbage plgoon") give us a mora harmornous environment, IEngineer'ed catt~el chickens and fish provide more nutrifional output per anlrnal and in IS'$,s, tJime than Mother Nature s w,a.y. Even Utopia's Zushim,a macrobeis vectored by a spsclally bred rat It may not be Ba'mbi, but it sur's beats ,eating species IJke popcorn,

We,ak: NIBC and Iinfiantry ,A,ctiions, Chi'lc': Nova IElites

While it pains us to, think that we can oommunicate wi~h our fri,snds nine thousand mille·s, away at the speed of light but we're s1iilill tlghting with each other over ski:n I color and religlion, at least ~here's ,8, bs,tlJrer way to do iit IGas,? No thanks, Germbombs? F,orget it. 'We'll just hire nova elites todo the necessary ass-,kiicking and watch it ,allill on the NI Report. Why risk countless il.ves when the novas are wil~jng to pound on each ,oti1erfor a few million bucks p:lus licensing options?'

Weak: Pol'ymer C'hic: Eufiber

Polymers are .art~fflicia.~I" sxpenslve, unstable and able to transmit less data. per- mlilllim,eteir than the alternative. Eufiber, even the synthetic stuff, is blodeIQiradablle" cheap univ811'Saii and able to transmit enough data at a one- I milllim,et'sr thickness to qrant 6velry'One in the UK access to every' subscrlption-servloe OpNet porn sns .in the world at speeds in excess of a grig a. second .. Andl it makes a, snazzy running suit, No contest.

Weak': Big 'Five ChilO: IN'!

For God's sake, people. how many more sitcoms and gritty UN-a'gent ora- ~_d.,.~.·' , ...•. , ,,

mas do, we need?' The answer lis none! Maybe we"ra just geelks I(though ,,,.

the' Nielsens s;luggest otnerwisle .. , a, .), but we"d rather watch the Stone Badass

duke it out with El,ectricWilliam amy day ,of the week, And ABC, here's at

clue; Urk,el is 40 years old. Retire him'!

68

GLO'BAL GiEOGRAP'HY IN 2'00'8

-- ----- -

few things frustrate customs officers more than smart-mouthed travelers. and! [0 their credit. that's probably fair. Spending all d.ay behind a desk while supposedly weeding . 01l1t international terrorists and the ~ike

isn't a very rewarding or fulfilling job, considering that most people who pa.ss through.their checkpoints are hopelessly

. borin.g .. This has the unpleasant result of dulling the officials' senses, making them slothful and ireitable. Their vigilance turns to ire, as days pass without a single terrorist or dissident upon whom 'to swarm and pumme], and their only solace is a half. sleep, which amarrniness only serves to agitate.

But then, that's my job - to witness reaction and record it.

Needless to say, customs officials rarely

have any degree of tolerance fot people who state, "To observe the mating rituals of Mite-dealing ghetto barons in your decadent city, you. taxfattened hyenas~" when all they really wantto hear is "business" or "perscnal'latrer asking your reason for leavmg YOUl: own country. I've had more hands inside me than OpNet interactive porn starlets. My bags have been setzed and searched I1101[1e often than ~. care

'to count, and riVe had to sit in more national police stations - airpcrtbranch -. than [he most deserving of global

feIafts. Indeed, I'm probably more familiar With evading 'their long-term scrutirrythan the people they're there to' I?I"OIect the

. good people of theworld against.

My wife says I bring it upon myself.

U nited States

Surelv, someone exists somewhere in Los A.n!ie1es who doesn't want to kin me, sell me drugs or convert meta some bizarre religlon, but] haven't [net him,

LA vices begin with the high society and trickle down to the most offensive levels of scum ever seen. since the twc-partv system degraded. %y Godhasn't stricken this city from the earth for the modern Gomorrah lt has become ls bevondme .. Like France before ltslli8th~century

I revolution, Los Angeles' population

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consists of a fe w hyper-rich haves and a hellbtoth of have-nets. The haves-crumbling relics from the days of Hollvwood's prominence - still lead opulent, drug-addled lives I subsisting on money earned before the

.Ex1ce'rpts from Dr: Duke R'ollo's Why C·,usto'ms ,Offic.iails Hste Me - The Wre,tched

World of COlntra1ct' Joumslism

OoU'rtesy of ViaSoftP:ress.

was once apinnacle of American- even Western -. civilization.

One modern development, particularly among the crime-ridden warrens of (hie inner citv, seems to be a polarization of gang activity .. Once renowned as the United States' breeding ground of low ... grade organized crime, Los Angeles appears to have undergone a homogeneitvwith relation to gangland participation. Signs paint to the dty'is; ubiquitous dans of black and Hispanic hooligans rallibling under a cOIDlnoit anarcho-militarv banL1er:!though

precisely who the leader is remains -

unknown. Of course, rumors of this son. change little OIl the surface, as the various warring urban tribes and vaws: locos continue to gut each ocher over matters of drug distribution and who be sleepin' wit' who else's bitches, but police and media trends indicate a puuing asrde of these minor rivalries when something grearer ~OOLns on the horizon. Of cOlu8e)~s police forDe has one of the greatest

reputation for brutality in [he free world, but uch i he price f e ernal vigilance. At least, that' what the nova rent-a-cop

ells you when he" ratchetirig your arm behind your back ....

New York has always been the rotten apple, but those deific novas have certainly done their par :in excising the worm from the fruited ovary. By making New York. the place to be for novas (as it has been since time immemorial for us baselines), the elite superpeople have breathed new life: into what would have certainly festered into another LA. American fashion moves through New York, as does any event of any national or intemanonal igniflcance. More culturally diverse than perhap: - ny other city in the world, New York is a nexus of global civilization. Needless to

say, this means YOll can't park anywhere.

'Canada

Yeah, yeah, you know how boring and big and cold Canada is. I've heard thos

stat, m nts of dubious comic value as much as the nextperson, Go ahead, mock Canada and tell us how Canadians all talk funny ..

Dismiss Canada offhand, however, and you leave yourself out of what the Uni ed

State could have done if they'd wanted '[0 become better people instead of bigger; louder richer people, Canada enj y n appallingly low crime rate, which work if you like to retain ownership of your belongings but can make things difficult if you find yourself :U the tail end of a bender. "May ill see your [D; sir ?~. the officer asked, HS1" , inl n ertam y.

"Are you intoxicated, sir?"

"That depenz. Whuss die BAC distincshin! I'm probly toxlcainted by my mother stannerds, but who call the shots round here ?'t)

"Corne with mel sir."

10

C nada: well-adjusted, civil, re pectful, clean and quie . Probably the scariest plac , n Earth.

Obviouslv, none of thi applies to Quebec, Once again, the French element has raised its hackles in its long-lived history of being a thorn in the rest of the countryside. Again clamoring for secession, radical element of 'Quebecois society have 'even begun printing their own money, which is worth roughly two quick belly laughs, but little more. S ick with the Canad ian dollar, and embargo [he hell out of Quebec if it: finally does secede.

Mexico

For a destitute nation onlvmarginallv

.bove he tatus of the Third Workt Mexico sure knows how to celebrate, thoughmost of the festivities stem from religious events .. That's no big deal if you're a heathen like yr. Corresp, but devout individuals of any faith had bes acclimate or stay horne,

Mexico celebrates the most morbid of affair including Dia de los Muertes. or the "Day of th Dead," which apparently involves massive arnountsof drinking) massive amounts of other ingestions and setting things on fire, but my memory may be' bit fragmen ed from the Fe uivities .. Then again; ~ speak only enough Spanish to order eer and menace [he caballeros with a sharpened scr w irivervso I'm not very well versed in the custom's greater meaning.

Other celebrations observed in high style Includ Cinco de Mayo - th fifth of May - which commemorates Mexican victory

over a French invasion at Puebla, and the worldwide N~Day m March. At either of these celebrations (or any of the le ser Catholic

" fe t~v~ls), M~xican_~itizens

.•• I participate With reckless

abandon. Bewar,e of partaking of the c.erv,eza too liberally, however, as the government has a bit [0 learn about

f irne and honesty, and mol' than one gringo has ended up on t11. wrong ide of a wrought-Iron gr' te forever,

AU f these celebrations, of course, involve the ubiquitous mascaras for which Mexico is duly famous. No, not the stuff the terr'r

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kidz put on their eyes, but actual fun face. masks, which the locals wear to party or hold up liquor stores with little dlscriminacion. Once a localized phenomenon, masks spread to the scurrilous elite caste and, in [rue consumerist fashion, are now being bought worldwide by skinny white boys wbo want to play soldier for an evening. Mexico City, home ofT2.M Americas, has turned itself around miraculously in the past 10 years, Once an overpopulated breeding pit of poverty and violence, Mexico City has benefited greatly from the presence and investment of the novas who dwell there. Now one of the cleanest cities in North. America, Mexico City also intends to revive the national economy, starting locally .. It is another multicultural huh, and all but the most daft of visitors can. find someone who speaks their language, In addition, the young economyon-the .. upswing has drawn a fair share of entrepreneurs who, if you can look past their awful suits and omnipresent cellphone conversations, may tum Mexico City into a metropolis of global import. Perhaps in spite of themselves ....

Central America

I can say little about Central America of timely value, as any given government has shifted hands in three coups in the last 15 minutes .. Also, ] fear to sit at my desk, as the risk of catching one of the 2,500 stray bullets that have made their way into my room .. Racked by popular discontent, poisoned by ITLOney from the MedeUrn drug cartels, and home to what seems like every bushwhacker conflict in the Western Hemisphere, Central America is a dangerous place En live and an ignominious place 'to die. At night, the fighting dies down in some of the cities, somenmes, and the stalwart 0'11" stupid can creep into town for delicious food or to strike up a dalliance with some of the most beautiful latin people on the continent.

Nova Anibal Buendia makes. his home here, as wel], in the relatlvely calm (meaning that only every other citizen carries a firearm openly on the streets) Costa Rica. Costa Rica, (unjfortunately, is one of the places God has created naturally occurring wells of rum, so my experience is limited to sandalwood bars that cool the fevered foreigner's flesh. Also. the "Jesus Christ lizard," which earns its name: by running across the surface of still waters, may 'be seen here, but if one has overin-

z~nf

dulged, one may take [he lizard's name too far. Posting bond in a San [ose jan costs an ann and a leg, given credit-card conversion rates, and you may not take the lizard wi h you ....

The Caribbean

Once a mainstay of the cruise circuit, the Caribbean has become simultaneously more and less a leisure locale. An influx of wealthy novas who have purchased islands for themselves reduces the amount of public lands available for visit. Of course, the other side of the coin is that many novas have developed their private holdings as commercial resorts, catering to the most lofty and basest whims imaginable. For example, Alain Huur' Heaven resort is 8! literal garden of earthly delights, 3[ which each visitor receives he services of a slave concubine. Urn, or so I've heard, By way of contrast, nova Darryl Kmgston's Splash resort see almost exclusively family traffic, offering scuba tours, fishing charters! coral-gathering expedi tions and other fare less suited to the drunken, fornicating hordes of modem Sodorn,

Politics have become a pressing issue in the Caribbean recently, and more than one dark rumor has circulated about a secret Teragen stronghold among the region' islands. This is the kind of thing one overhear in dimly lit drinking establishments decorated with postersof Che Guevara and trafficking in knives and boats headed off-island, but those muttered misgivings eventually make it to the press, and certainly have some basis in reallry .. Again, so I've heard.

Cuba) as anyone with an eye for the decadent knows) has become the SEn Capital of the W:est. After Castro's death and t'he island's sudden (read: violent) shi.ft [0 laissez~faire capi talism, money took precedence over morals and the once-peer Cubans established the closest thing to a true "free' market anywhere, al: least as far as yr. Corresp, has seen. Like the classic movie Casablanca, Havana has become a crossroads of infidels, cretins" archfiends, radicals and other on-the-run sorts) who mix their company with Medellin associates and drug-crazed college students

alike ....

South America

Colombia (wh:h all HO~'~; you spell it with a "U, n you're talking about: the capital of the equally godforsaken South Carolina) is

71

perhaps the on.ly country 1 have visi ted in which it is not imposstble 1:0 order an ounce of cocaine from one's restaurant waiter. Skk with the venom of the resurgent Medelltn trafficantes, Colombia's government remains weak thanks to drug money and a: martial law imposed by the criminals who exist ostensibly on the wrong side of it.

Brazill ontheother hand, has taken a cue from former filth-spawningpit Mexico City and embraced the novas' ameliorating ways. Much of the Amazon deforestarion of the past 30 years has been reversed in a scant six" as Utopia-conmbuted geneticengineering projects have yielded plants and wildlife that grow to maturity in as little as six months. Project Utopia's Environmental Division maintains a strict quota over what may legally be felled 0[' mined ill the area.

Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro have risen quickl y as welt becoming the third and

1 Zrh-largest cities in the world, pen" capita, respectively. Crossroads of ancient culture: and modern technology, these cities have been caught between the rival influences of the ubiqulrous Medellin cartels and Utopia crusaders, yet have had the will to remain largely independent for now. Sooner or later, though, something's got to give, and. my money's on basic human greed, wh kh may serve Brazil to the cartels readily.

A few rumors have leaked out of the region concerning a species of super-piranha generically engineered to combat novas. I hear they're called "[ersey Devils," "chupacabras' and "boogevmen." Is there anything the press won't print .... ?

Europe

The bullheaded, traditlonal English have largely resisted the efforts of Proj ect Utopia (draggnng Ireland and Scotland into the mire with them), and it shows. For a nation that started asa crossbreeding of Roman soldiers who didn't want to go home and Celtic barbarians who drank the blood or their dead; the UK is a needlessly Stuffy place ..

Such rejection of Utopia's aid is most visible in London, the bactena-Infested armpit of the Sceptered illsme.Wi'th London's (and acccrdingly. the restof the nation's) refusal to support the euro, accompanied by the degrading value of the pound, the United Kingdom seems doomed in the long term, Largel y unaided by me

72'

advancements offered by Project Utopia, England slsps a little more each day. Violence continues to rise in London, and I'm not talking about the good kind, in which members of the now .. extinct House of Lords punched each other and soccer hooligans trampled their own kind beneath their feet. Rather, London has set a tone of ethnic hatred andpetty crime that the rest of the nation seems to. slowly follow down the trail of general seediness.

On the newly (son of) united continent, much has shifted within the past 10 years. Antwerp, the diamond capital of Europe) has. also become the fashion capital of Europe, usurpingthat title from Paris and Milan, Perhaps the most unaffectedly and sincerely stylish people of Europe.the Belgians have s,et a cultural tone that the rest of the Continent would do wise to (anow. As gental.jiospirable people who value their culture and refuse to take sides in political conflict, Be~gium is 9.. model 'Of what an economy should be, if ahit goodygoody for yr, Corresp.utasees.

Likewise, Amsterdam has practically mirrored Antwerp's development, with the added bonus of having virtual] y legalized drug rampages" which goes part and parcel with legaliaing almost every pharmsceutical on God's green earth. Removing the "getting away with something" aspect of the drug bender does take part of the mystique away, but I believe that to be part of Amsterdam's intent.

Ibiza, off the coast of Spain, has made similareffotts, but has succeeded hugely in only the drug liberalism. You're not going to find any culture in Ibiea, unless it's of the model-who-just -came-off-rhe-runway ~ on~the~Groenplatz~5eeking~a~meth~binge~ so-she-can-dance ... all-night .. atnd .. not-eatfor-three-dave variety. Granted, that's not much cultural significance, hut I shan throw no stones from my glass house. Venice) home to T2M Europe's headquarters, continues to sink into the swamp that seems to want to claim haly physicaUy as the general chaos of the nation wants to claim it metaphortcallv. Italy continues the tradition of altemating governmental power between psychotic communists and crazed. fascists every other week with the end result of not a damn thing. As it has always been, as it ever shall be, unless 110va G iancarlo Vocaccio's eye turns more seriously toward political influence in the boot of the Mediterranean.

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War skirmish. hostility and oth r bad craziness continue to plague the Balkans" which" true to form, have broken into no fewer than seven million independent nations, some no larger than one street surrounded by ocher sovereign countries. Likewise, '[he Balkans continue to be a place where an enterpnslng journalist - or anyone, really, I su pose ~ can lose the more dubiou threads of his past. The nightclubs have gun checks, the beer contain what passes for antifreeze in civilized nations and low-manufacturer-

end technology rules the day in lower Eastern Europe.

Russia, the self-devouring serpent, finally seems to have vomlted

ic own tail and turned its eyes on the rest of tl:e world. Supposedly the seat of the shady "Directive," Russia has once again united after years of Balkantzatton. Under the charismatic leadership of cardcarrying lunatic Vladimir ierka, the Russian Confederation has made advance ... rnents that ri val other countries' conrributions, including discovering the M~R node at roughlv the same time as, well, M and R and engineering the first reliable strain of non-seasonal fruir genomes, N at a bad cop for a nation formerly known mainly for fermented potato juke! but the Confederation's role in both Utopia and global polttics remains one of itchy rnunlficence, Of course, Sierka doesn't "officially' lead the Russian Confederation, but yr. Corresp, has experienced enough puppet regimes and banana republics to call them as he sees them ....

Afrlica

Speaking of banana republics, halfof Africa's under the open influence of nova elites and the other .half remains under the control of maniacal dictators who want to be nova elites. Small-scale wars, either

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remnants of the. Equatorial mes or copycat genocide elsewhere, consume valuable resources from. the rest of the world, but anyone who can pull a trigger can pretty much write his own paycheck as a mercenary here. A few notable exceptions, like Addis Ababa and most of Egypt, exit as oases in an otherwise tumultuous continen r, but for the most par • Africa. is a dumping ground for every experimental

explosive, lowestbidder-

produced weaponry and black-market commodity in the wotld .. Any sane person should be at once frightened and titillated by this, but the r tional among u should settle somewhere back into fear after the initial response wears off.

The most notorious example of the Africa Syndrome is perhaps the state of affairs in Nigeria. Powermad dictator- thug Alafin Sango, hated by some African factions (particularly Nigeria's neighbors), beloved by many more) put one over on the

Utopians by accepting miliraty and developmenralald and then backing out of the deal. Seems for al] their brain trust with the quadruple .. digit lQs, the Project couldn't cope with basic baseline no-frills scumbag cheatery. Refreshing, reall y. Anvhow, lagos resembles a prewar Berlin of 1935, and bubbles under the surface with weak but fervent interne] dissidents and apprehensive neighbors. Unhke some of the region's leaders, Sango is not a nova" and relies on sheer caginess to. run his operation. Rumors of Teragen affiliation abound, however) and how exactly Sa:ngo has managed to. avoid crushing Utopia retaliation is unknown.

Addis Ababa, on the other hand! has become an earthly paradise. As the borne ofT2M, Afrka~Mideast; A~A rose from, the ashes of the desert like a phoenix as a result of nova rerraforming efforts that: yielded even more arable land than that surrounding Mexico City. Of course) once you getinside Addis Ababa, an of the glitz, glamour and goodness seems just a bit too!Olstmctured. lsthis the result of all Utopia management? Does a I;((or your own good" ethic pervade the Utopian MO JUSt below the surfaceil don'»now, but if

:j;

-

~~

, ..

Addis Ababa is a model, perhaps I'll settle for a bit of shepherding .. It makes you appreciate breaking the rules all the

more, .... ,

Asia

As fragmented as it has been all throughnut history, Asia remains the ultimate place to' become lost, both accidentally and electively. The region claims almost as. many religions as it does citizens, and any relationship one manages to forge in one cournry maybecome nuB and 'laid in the country 100 yar-ds away,

In, the Middle East) for example, religious conservatism yields a grim outlook regarding nOV8!S,. which reflects in the quaUty of life established there. As nominal .. at-best participants. in Project Utopia, the Middle East is split down the middle by a growing fa.ctio,n of moderate Sunnis who regard novas as Allah's chosen. Low-profile military skirmishes involve almost as many nova freebooters as the Central American conflicts, as the strife OYler matters religious drives neighbors to take up arms. Give peace a chance! though: LQng~sllffedng Palestine has established a national

nE

identity for itself under the gu idance of Utopia intervention. Historical archnernesi Israel is, of course, only polite about this for the cameras. Film at 1], undoubtedly, aga~n." ..

Bombay has become a global entertainment center, taking over the role of schlock- and arthou e fUm and television producer to I he world. :Many novas have flocked to the city and taken an active hand in the entertainment indu try. Films and television show featuring nova act rs have seen a marked boom 'in popu lari ty, which has drawn a good deal of advertising and production revenue into [he dry, making ir a new Babylon.

The endless conflict in Kashmir has actually had some positive effect, as everswingin' Karachi, Pakistan, has evolved into an industrial power in rhe r gi n. Enomlously populous, Karachi has become the Detroit of the Middle East, but has ye[ to become as much of a fetid den of violence and decrepitude as its We tern cousin. Give it a couple of years.

China, ever the troublemaker, mainta.ns a governmenta Uy mandated distrust of the nova situation, meaning that they abstain from most of Utopia's efforts. Chine e novas either nnd themselves acquired by the People' Liberation fumy (which is, of course, one of the wcrld' large t corporate enterprises] or else they flee to Hong Kong. Hong Kong, of course, bas become a super-capitalist den of money-grubbing swine, Aft, r it reverted back 0 Chinese control in the late 19905, it retained a strong sense of itself and breaking: those old habits engendered by the Bri tish

Empire was to much for the city to take. Amanda 'Wu and her uova-employing Novelty consultlng finn keeps 8 steady influx of money into the city, which is

truly remarkable: In one f the largest; most busine s~ riented cities in the world for a sole company to wield over one percem of the city's private resources is unheard f, and here it ha s be n done. Desire [0 me intain its affi uence also keep Hong Kong on the fasr-and-Ioose side of trade policy, and literally anything can 'be

, urchased amid the fabled "midnight markers" or behind dosed doors in the highest corporate rowers.

For true innovation I however, one must trade in Japan. Following the nation'

Saisho revolution, japan shifted into technological, high gear. As they regard Utopia's guidelines on technological

linE

development with Up service at best, Japanese manufacturers have rocketed ahead of the Industry curve by 20 years or more. In their privare lives, however, 'they still hold a soft: spot in their he' res for those little sailor suits 'he girls wear co

chool, Bizarre personal penchants 00[withst nding, Japanese big hu Iness has a curious, shadowy relationship with the nation's Yakuza. ·Oovem,menta~ interdict on certain technology - imposed by Utopia pre sure, of course - ~orblds open sale of key items. The criminal organizations! by din t of their lawlessness - elect not to heed these restrictions and move the: product for big pronto Part of that profit obviously returns to the manufacturer" who then uses it to pay b is taxes and scrub 'me other money ths comes in via various other illicit venues. Obviously, not all Japanese commerce is Illegal, bur the acceptance of the criminal in. the relationship between busine sand government makes for questionable ethics. Didn't YOLI alwavs suspect as much? The government on~y differs from [he criminals in that tbey tell youit's okav, AI: Least when you deal with criminals, you 1,now you're bad ....

Australia/Tlhe Pacific

Perpetually par of its self-maintained "Outback," Australia is a national and cultural backwater. ], always has been! and lralways will be. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (see the efforts of fellow j ournalist Mim Udovitch in her column for Forbes} 'I t: sometimes the world just seems !LOa small. Maybe one requires the relative rusticisrn of eating beetles and drinking beer with no additives to regain a sense of hls place in the cosmos.

N eve rthe less I [he creeping tentacle of technology has not left Talaud bland untouched. Here, Utopia m in ain T2M Asia, as well as a facillrv designed [0 study the viab:ility of alternanve food sources, such as kelp, plankton and lesser fish. All those OpN et rumor, about the enormous blip on the Talaud facility's onar have 'been officlallv denied by both japanese and Australi n governments, a. well as Utopia/ Talaud staff. Thi f C01U.fse means that either nothing actually happened at, U" or something we should fear with,' II our beings showed irs head then promptly vanished. The best way to psyche oneself up to a good, Neptunian dread, of course, is an open-tabbed crip 'CO the nearest pub or -~lclrd.

'7,5

Excerpit from encoded message; dated May 111, 2008

look, the first th~ng you need to know is thalt it's absolutely vital you don't let anyone' catch yO'1ij readirrq this. 1 went to a k~t of trouble to micronize this print to where ifd be all butilli1lvisilbl'e toanyone but someone' with your powers. Please, ilf you value my lifel, don't let on that you Igot ,this message.It's that important,

You know how we kept getting that ,gut Feelil1g that someUilling was goilnJ'9 on, something that t~,ey wo:uidir:tt show us? We were riqht.] saw it.

!t was that espienaqe mission i took. last week; .. ~ d~d a ~ot better than 1 thought] would. 1 wound uptracinq back, one of the INovellty mrnddlemen through about six mdes Q,f f:!lIllse trails, back to the jackpot He had! "orders to cooperate" with at least three e~ites! includinq Pursuer. So 1 started hopping along his contact trails to find out who was payin9' these three, and why. 1 almost wisnl hadn't.

There isn't space to 910 into alii the details here without Imaking~his messag,e Ilook. bigger than apixel, The short of it is -. - ROllrke' UtOiPW81 w,as 1P81ying these guys off. Not directly, of course, But ~ recoqnized some of the flames ,81t the end of the pepertrail, ,2llildthey work inl the ,oiff,ices down the hall These people wereal.irtli!ormzililg lacinq adrenocilin with chemicals that 1 know are ste,dlirty-induciinlg" in doses that could oilly be tailored For people like us. There was a coded mess;a:ge concerninq the Bahra;in faC~~Ety: somethinqabout "detention and treatment" and '~M,azal'"in-Ralshoud disorder." There were lunds goingl to pro-Kashmir groups, the g!liOUPS they send I.!IS over there to check. It wars: like waltchingl a conspiracytheory movie atthree ilil the mo,rning, only it's all' real. Every bit.

Come and talk to. me, You wo~ld~"'t have IQ.otten tl1~s rnessaqe if 1 didn"t think you would care. But ~ know YOll!l do. We have to filgl.!lre out what to do,

'76

'fll THINK: THI'SI5 SOMe KIND OF" FUCf<I'If\J' GLOOAl. CONSP'IRAC.Y :0 COME" ON.J'E'NNllf,;;, lltAT SHire WENT Qt~" j,G, 'G Y6AR:5 AGO.

C~SIM WOAP7' yat "'/$7'I!!'AI rO/fIB' 7A(6Y~ !).5rN@ tis." ~M ""","PIA m~ WII~PRW"~ /$,,R/GtS''tFl? TO Kt!i5P U51NUNIF F~',~Af£!'"H/;V6.'

l/i'HAT DO )l:QU l!'lEi,tlN, ·SE:EN TOO {VIUCH"?

JEN, YI!'Re NOT MAKING ANY FUGKllN' ~N$. Y6'R6NA6 GIV11 N' ,/VI'ri j,HEi Fl)LL SfORY; KEiFlie. I MeANi, YI~'R:E ASKIN' ME TO SWAlLOW A mETTY sle PIl.I- WITH AlL fHl5, an YOU NAS WANT TO 6,111/16 (illS THS r.liiA!t.5J' ~ CANT 60 ALONG WIITH THUS,

~'M NOT K~DVING, HEr::;:e, COR:6. AND THIS ISI'J'T ABOUT SOMe KIND OF TV OR Of'NET 6NTIiRTA~NMrs:NT THING. 'IOU KNOW Me; -I:M NOT SOMe WHAC¥:ISD-OLff COIN5>.PJ RAC)' NUT. I'Ve .JUST seeN TOO

MUCH TO L6:T nus GO at rJNNOf'[CED.

CMRI5TJ5 '

J6N, IL~5r!SN TO 'r'EFl:SEElF. ,USTEN TO WHAT rllS J"iUST SAID, 'T~6Y':FtS 1;)6iING us: 'THEY'" HAve SOMe

SOFT OF 5tJpe;~- 5ECF't6'f EVIL AGENDA

AND W,5E'REE JUST PAWNS, liN Tl'-U:;; GAMe; 16 THAT rT!" ')!'E: KNOW WHAT?" )o'~e LOSJIN,(;,

ItT. TH5Y HAve NAS LOve f'e~ me, THep;~ ANYMOlR~j' 6UT ,,",V,E:iN 51\6 I'M GOING TO CAll. TH.A T Ol'D BAST ARC' Bt.A:sHU_L AND DeMAND He: PUT YEl THPtOUGH PSYGM ISVAL. THIS STR655 15 GeTTING TO

THEY'RE; K6EPINGrn~:s THING GO~NG, COFtB. UTOP/A~ MAKING SUR~ we KILt, 6:ACH OTH6:F!: oveR TtiERIiS. SAMe:

WIT,., iH,AT THII,NG OUT:5IC',!5 MISKI,CQ CITY. ~ COlJl'DVE HANOl60 THAT ALONE<, BtUT T,f'{S'Y GeNT SCHUYL"S:~ At.ONG wrm M~" ANC:> - LO AND t'JEHV!...D - THQ5iE RO~U·ES R£OfEJ:(;4,-es HA.D A NOVA Wo.RKrNG FOF!:TI-U;M, ,EIGHT DAMN DISSA-rIGFIEO GOV,El:R:NM&:NT COPS? WHE2~e:::JD THeY GET THE MONey TO HIRE; A NOI/",r~

so, ,BASED ON MY lOW 5Pe~/101 COUNT - LeT ME GGT THI5 STRAIGH~~ ..16N1- THIS PRO.1Ec.ns .oN SD/II1E KIND OF MINt:rCQl\lm;OL CAMPAIGN.

W)t:lff - WAI/l ..4NG"Hl :rHW~E" //Y .I1fY'#.t5AU,l I'I/_E H8Si:V IIff,WffH .4 .5,11177111' ,(!lJR8ff~t BRAt';V:",WAA?;,D' ,~l ,N6'.tP A!6; ,.:TeFl'll

LOOK" HOW LONG HA.5 TH~5 KASHrnIll::t; , GONe ON? YE2'AA:S, .PiIGHTr AND THE:! NOVA BOD)' COUNT Ke:,~P.s e~Q'I,IV~N6. W!=IY"l" ,JE'S!J5.

KA5H:rVlU:~: 15 .;:rUST A PI66ANT t...ITT,t..1S S:fRIiTCH

OF OiS56RT ~N THL; MllOOLe EAST. I MeAN.

COMe: DIN - ~T'5 eETWeeN GrlINA AND ~NDJA. FOR GOD'S SAI'<E'- Y6AM,. THe;:Y'f{E A LOT OF PSOPlE lH6'Fl6,BUT I'I""S NOT EXACTLY P,~~ME

TiEERR~TO~Y, AND UTOPIA, KS:;:EEP~ .5.ENDING U~ OveR THE2iR:!i, IN THe: INTSRfi6T.s OF "IVIAIINT AININ6 ipeAce:

77

NO. YOU WOK, ANDF!:E2. NOVAS A~Ei l..rre:P;AI..LY ONE IN A MI'-lION, MAYSE $1:<'01=1: e;1,a;H1 THDUSAND WO~l.D'lNIDE:, e;lIIeN IF THE: C;U~V;515 ~NCRI5iASrNG" THeY'Re 5:t5T£!5MA1'ICAlLY' KILLING us OFF, AND THe'f'~E GeTTING us TO DO rr so IT DQ~5N'T LOOK LII<iE ANYT1-HNGf5 up, IT'S, Al.L. FOR Nl DR IF'OR PUBL!C.ITY.

OJ:{ WH.A.TBVE.R arHe:~ .scREEN "fH./5Y 1"H~OW UP AGAINST U'S;

THeY\f,!:; GOTTO 8S, 3UST TO KEep U,S 5NGA,t:;EO WIITH eACH OTH6!'~ AND

DIVORCr:;J TH6M- 5Et.ves FROM ANY ~MF't.ICA"ONS-

OKAY, THAT 5 A LOT 0' DliA'D IN A 9-IO~T TIM-5, BUT !'lA,NAg 60 .oFF ,HA~F'~COC:I<60, Ir:::O~ A CHANG,!;:. ACOIDfi:NTS HAPf',E1N; ,J'ENN'I6, PeOPLIS GST HU~T. IT CAN'T 8~ A GENOC'IOO THING, Bi5'CAUse

TJ-teY'V1i GOT TOO mUCH MONlSy INVI65TeD I N' us. urrOPtA'S OPEIRATIN' COSTS ARS BLeeD'IN" ENORNlOU5-

..TEN, SNt/r,l/P A /ifINlITe, WI" Y4?

SE5RIOU,SLY, iHIS 16 50 FA,~-FETCH~D, 1lH.6 ONlY THIN€! THAT eveN MAKES Me ,S5L1EVIEE IN THe 5MAlL5GT PA~T OF IT 15 THAT IT'S 50 e:~ZAA~~ THAT THIi pu;,ces SEEm TO FALL INTO PLACE WHEN )"'E! l.ODK A,I THr:5M F~OM :r',EFt DISTORTED ANGLe.

$(.H:I!:R, TH:IS ONLY REASON II'M GIVING TH~:5 HAt.F AN eA~ 15 6IeCALJ5E I TRUST )Ie AN'D' I KNOW YE~e NOT AN IDIOT. ,ISEFORE YE GO TO ANYONe eL.Se WITH THIS, L6T'S TAKE

THE TI{lVlE TO DO .A LITTLE MO~E= HOMEWORK. I'LL TALI< -ro 6AIFK A80UT ~T; ANO 'tou TRY TO GET A F6W OF TriS LOOS6 THF:eA'D5 1"11E1D TO 5OMETHliN5_

78

Ha CQl?8l .t::>ti1N'7" 7")lU.K TO AAlYONE - tV""'" A .&aI~.' WE !?QN'"T ..t:"Not.¥ IF THEY - t:?atvJr YaY $€S'

From P,"(Jj,ec:t: Pro,te:us Audio Files. [h!l~iivered to ,an Operative! in Second Week aif May, 2008 Clearance Beta.

Alii fiield agents' p:riority.

Concerning neva Jennifer Landers, a.k.a, "Slider,"

Nova Slider poses a threat to Utopia and Proteus ~ongl8'vity,

F~eld observations indxate Slider has made contact with no Fewer than 16 novas and no men than 1'9 novas ina,sympathylbid ilig1ainst the oibj,edives ofP'rojeds Proteus 81r'1d Utopia.IKl1owl1 sympalthi:z.ers indtudle m;)V8IS Coribin, Melzt~szo, Holm, Greer. Y;:mnik, Cherpa and Rang.

Prot'eLlS secrecy ~as, not beencompromised, but lit is 'Of paramount importance to ma,intal~n such,

Aln sympat~etic sndsuspected-sympsthetic "OV;[I$ ~ave been as'Sltgned. to monitored areas for evaluation and damage' control. Aglents of Proie!l1s .atr,e ,elilcou~r,aged to assess pro:x.imate ncves' p,erformslice and ,aU~b~des, and make necessary adjustments,

INova ROlls51eau has not beeli1 associated with this: gliOIUip of anti-Utopia novas to date. though f'€:C0 rds have been incomplete, She's a ,c~nny bitch. though. so keep an eye 011 them and be: prepared.

Jennifer Landers. ak,a .. "Slider," presents ,~iab~~'lrty to Projects Utopia and Proteus ~o such a degree that her cOli1!t~'I1ued perjermanceeaists more as threatthal1 mer,eaglitation .. Act p,er Code Ome.ga dlliredh;es. under norrnsl Pro,te~s visibility guide[~ine5"

A H,an,dlwritten Note From Slider to Corbinl (-

ForgIve me !for the iBomlbar)! (:lich6, but they'reen to me,

~ went to' 'five dif'Fefielilt'1: people - big mistake- wah [he story, and they're either part of the cover-up (maybe out of ignorance) or hostile. Ob¥ilous:~y, the guy 1 t8llked to as my Utop~a liaison (Albert Peb.dan) Ins part of it, but so ers the Calcutta police, t:~e' AP r,e,por~eil" end my repreS'e~tativle wlith A mandai Wu"s ,company. I dOrilJ't kno,w about Rou~keanymore.

The bottom line is, we csn't go to anyone. Get everyone [09,etherand let them know thescaieolFthis thinq, but keep it huSI1~hrU'5h. Obvi9usly. if you're not part .of lJtopi.a 's!I'soll~ltion.!j you're part of the problem.And Utopia,)s go'~ almost ,eve,rY'OliiIe ~litvQ~vied as part 'o't t~e so:~ution on scme level.

Anyway, gotta rUrl, ~I'v€ left rtIiJy ··r"es.ignatiolTill" From Utopi~i b.er€' in C We'll taU" ~ate!L Be care!Fu~l,

s-

P.S. Heard of 50m,sthing ca~'~edl "'Pr.oteus·'1ILet me know .

.bjP' WirE I!),ated Wednesday, May 14, 2008,

CalcilLl!Ua, mndi81 - Team Tomorrow nova, jennifer "Slider" l!Landers, under temporary contract to Novelty ConslJl'~ation. was reperted DOA at UN Franklin Moran fielid 1~()spHall this morning ,at precisely 4:02 am. P'araphyskians, worked tireless!y for ,ei'ght hnurs to reinvigoralte Slider"sfa~!ed biohligica.i processes .ontly to de~ dalie herr dead after unsuccessful .a:tbe~npt'5.

Sl:ider had been retained by NON1ell:ty Consultation to sB,fegu:anl ag:ainst Teraqen corpoeats €'sp:ilonag:e, and :agents, of that. orga:nizaHon are suspected ito have some relation ItO' her dieath.

Details are 'Few and fO!l!r~betweel1li in this event, butthe ,ad seems to be one of assassination, poss,ibJy~illked to' T etrCilg,enradica:~ism. St~ider's ~i1juiile5 appear to' ~lave beemllcaused in confil:ict withenother nOV8, thO'll.!lgh no. more i:nf,ormalt~on is lforthcoming at this ttitme,

5/3112008, Dir~dor Ozaki;

fm sure' I' don't have to [e~111 you tlhat we' have a problem However, what you need to Iknow is tha,t you"ve just been des.ignated .81 'tfo~b'l'eshooter. The informahon le~k on classlfied mater,ial ,extel!l1ded beyond Landlers ,illnd her tmmediste drde of ifnienl!ds.; idthough <our plaints on the team were ablle to minimizethe d~rnage control annong Team Tonilon'IQW members. she somehow managed to transmit some o't her liesto other Ulopialli'ls. who havesubsequent~y 'gone rogue:. 'In a'1~ ~~keiihood. Park WCl'S the: one responsible for their ,eva,cuaJtwon; naturally, he is CJmong the Imissing. At le~stlO have fled [flr~€s ~ot e~ch are attached]; although we"'re wai~ting for confinnation

fmm allcells we believe that number oou~d rise ~o 15 or 20. a~ltoid. .

The good news in this situatien, dF course, is that the' renegades have very Few optiorsat this point.

Landers" findings were rather boo comprehensive, and we suspect [halK Landers put a somewhat histrionic, possibl,y T eraqen- inspired. spin OMi the dab, but tha't ma~ work in our hvo,r. Therenegadles ,call1l be preslJ med to he aw~re that P'roteu!~ has contacts ,amolilgg!oball authorities" and they have ~itt!e reasonto trust ,any p'articu~a:r a,genc)" there. Si m i la,rly, although our tense relations with the United States govemment might seern mo,r1e ,promIsing, to the 1111. t~ey would h,alve' to he fools 00 try [h~E m:!JI[e opelfilly. The Teragen1 thouglh quite poss,ilblly behind this whole Lali1den; situatien, is herdly an option; these renegades are tl~eoretieal:~y smart enough to realize tl1~t they can't count on that nest of vipers. And al~thol.iJgh some mediia b~c~l~ash ii5Cer[a~II1.ly inevitable, we are a~jf'eacly instituting controls to' make certain that the dam(llgle is minimal,. T2M is already being withdrawn, and we won't be making any press (:0l1fer'9[1CeS until we're certain we know exactly whalt needs to be said.

YOlJr role ,~m all this is appropriatelysimple. YO'lJ are to use wh<1lilever reseurces you can covertly mobilize to tr,ac:k down the rogLie novas, silence them however possible, ,arndlle'~ve counter-evidence to d:raw attention away from Utopi,a. We would of course Ipr,efer that you reason with them; convincethem ,of Lalmders' dear!')! compeerrased status, and bring them harmoniously baclc into the fo~d;: if that option fails, however, you are free to escalate damage control options. as you see fit We cannot afford to be exposed in this; st~htlety is of para~ mount limportance here, so don't let any olf your agents get ~oo enthusiastic, E.'spedally not Ohiraben.

Whatever else, be certain thet Mercer doesn't find (lut about this .. He has enough to worry about already, and Hile world needs him focused on his ~asks. It's much better for all ·of' us I~F he; like the rest of the 'Wori!d, believes these reneqades to be just a fringe 'g,roup 'of conspiracy theorists,.

Oiredor Thetis

Frol1i1 :USA, Today" 051.2"08

Do Y"Duthinkthe a'llega,ti:cms o'f 131 icons piracy wi,thi:n: Project iUtllpia ar1etrue'?

Yes ~4%

No S8%

Not sure 28%

Who dOl you 'think murdered Slider'?

T eragen11 34 ~

Corbin .2'1%

Government ,agency 18%

Project Utopia 11%

Criminal cartels 4%

Unkno,wn 12%

IEx,cerpt. pho'ne conversati,on between public 'terminals, May 30 .. 20106 Voice' 1 [male, estimated age 2S]: HeUa?'

Voice 2' [~emale. ind!etermin~te age]~ Thank you iforpioking up" Voice I: Look, who, ~s' Uus,'?

Voke 2: Someone who,'s well aware of who you am and what yOI!J'rEI' fUDnin.gl from" Voi,ee I: 1 di!nnae h:a~e' "tim.e' for games."

Vo,ice Z: Can you gl.laral1~ee thelt th'is phone lilM' i;s completeiy secure,,? Calill Y(n!Jl91J1Iral1l~ee that if'll remain SD~ Voi:ce I; •••

Voi,ce.2: 1 thou!iI,ht not Uste:nl to 1l~.1 can laWer you and your 'Fdends she~ter., 1 hav'B reseurees ,enough to keep you hiddEl'n - Ibl!Jft I also have resources ffl'l,augh to back, yDI!J on amore ,a.ggressiv'e eeurse o,f actlen, ,one that stands to n:elIIP you correct 'some of your current problems.

V . d i""'_ " I • th' . 'It I t I Qi o:u::,e II: \."an ya prow ~ JS, isn _;21' "(",ap .

Voic,e 2: You harve' a telepati_h among' your numer, ':If!!'? He willi be the proof." Now hang IJp',and start: walkingl south. ,.11 call you agrain in rNa minutes.

[T~ansmiI55!iDn end's.]

From a Telecom Vilfl!.l5 Message Distriibuted by' So'phia Rousrseaut [)Iirectedl award Friends and Acquaintances Greeting~s,,, friends, PI,ease listen ful~y to thlis rnessaqe and palss ilt on vial Forwarding to somecne dose toO you. Utopia dearl¥ wants novas under its thumb. Looking alt recmt!y' cllsoovered evidOOlle (the ohtaitl !ng of v.lhidl1l re~te' below); ~ am fore,ad ~ocondilde' that elements within Utopia seek to subjugate or regulate, possibly evet11 syst:e11TlCl.tically elimina,te, novas as a ~:o!e. How ma:r1IY o'F us have died in meaningless skjmli5hes? How many have accepted a eorporale-, city- or Utopia-sponsored lifes:tyle !:rndlng ourselves 'folr money? As we are not tile enemies; of humankindl, nor are we its servants.

The recent death of Jennifer "'S!liider landers is a p,ivo'tal point lin nova hi'story.lHer dose associate, Andre Corb~n, ~as assembled a ooUedi:o.n of her notes on the malter, and the' .aggreg.ate, cornpil ati'o:n, espec ially in I ight of her mysterious death. pleads a very strong ease'.

However. Vrie need more than ,C)'Str'ongcase'. Utopia has insil100ted itselfiin every,aspedof nonnallife. We h8lle no govemmmt to whi:ch to tum, nor any police force' . .At the same time' we cannot become 'ooITonisi'ts for rea r of losirng sym,paU1)' roJrour cause .. A.s well, Utop.ial has beccmesc enbienched In the geqpdlil:ical structure that to,overhlm public confidence' in it Gould lead to clllirnstrophic panic worldwide. Nor. frankly, do 'We !know a ,great deal regarding the ,extent of the conspiracy in Uropia, whetl1er the ,entire P'rojed has been com promised 'Of ol1l~ a select 'alba! within its adm inisntion.

Nonetheless l\iI€ ,cannot remain passive against a dear and !present threat INovas ilnterested in defending the~r rights es individ'l.!a~s, are erw:ouraged to gather on June 'II of 2008 at !the Amp Room. wh.ere a private room has beensecured.lMattm oritical to the future o,f ourrole in Earth's history shalll be discussed. and your partic'ipation is vul:aI to our success.

Thank you f'Of your time.

A P,age fromi Slide'r"',s N'otes'r IPre·sent'e,d Be'folr1e, the As,sembl;e,d ,A Ib IS rlr,o n:ts

Ccntraceptive compounds mixed into 'foodl adrenocilin (maintains impotency of novas so 1110 more can he borl1)? Utopia regwstrati.on allows constant checkup on status ,of individllal novas (privacy?)?

Nova influence lin globai 'governments establishes 'watcber" ne-two:rik?

P·roteus?

Skirmishl - levei~s of violence to kill on novas/control nova population?

T e/evision ratings peak witih illltem:ovaViiolence -broadcast "neath of Titan IPalmyu:a" highest ,mtingl recorded in history. Mandatory sterilizatiena/appllceticns for childhood in hi'91h population' density cities

Gaia,te'a?

82

thene

From OpNews Live, 11/0'9/07

" .. In other ne1.vs; General Thomas Eddicott was interred today In Arlington N ational Cemetery with full honors .. A long line of Washington's dignitaries turned out to pay their final respects, including Captain Donald R. "Baldwin, popularly known as "The Shooter. n He is survived by his

wife r three children and four grandchildren.

ESCENE: Captain Baldwin's eulogy. On saying Goodbye, Baldwin looks skyward and salutes.]

.• Baldwin: "No finer soldier ever drew breath than General TI10tnaS Dwayne Edd ico tit. I had the honor of serving under him for 15 years, and in that I count myself fortunate, I know Inal1Y of us are gathered here

toda y Ito mourn the soldier and patriot who always served his country with pride. However,

rna ny mnore of us - including myself - are here to mourn the man who loved his family and his country. l-Ie was a good man" first and foremost. And as he looks down from Heaven on us here today, I just want to sa y: 'Thank yout GeneraL .. I - and thank you, Thomas. We'll miss you."

83

From B D',e:partment of IlJe'~ense memo, classified IDeep Black; 0,6120/06

General Endlcott is I./,ery inslstent that Project: Cornucopla be' b:rougM IJJp to operal[!lng status w~thin schedule, Tlhe American military is already over-reliant 011 nova personnel,~ we need these exoskeletons up' and nunning Utopi,an sci!entiflic sanctions be damned. PerFecting! the power grids is, your ,only concern - we'll handl:e the 'Security. General Endicott has told me to reassure you that he is privy to linformatj,onthat will keep the Ul:opians off our backs, even i'F 'lthe-)' sihould uncover our research 'We can be certain that ,they won't want to take 'thlis to a IPulbli,c arena.

Cpt Charles MO!r!in9

C,ommuniqu,e doubl!e ... em;f}'pted with Ns,vsjlo I)aedal~us 3,,; ,dated 6/03/08

111 presume everything is going well on your end. Director, Nonethe~ess. my best wishes,

Dr. Enrikssen is showing some signs of restlessness, CIS l'd projected: alii that ,intelle(:t can hardly be Hnding suf~iiCient chsllenqe in eliilgineeri'nQ and architecture, His ability to process and desiqn seems to be sipeedliing up. at least when ~e"s, not being currently fatced with 8 dllired problem to solve; he's progressed to completing rouglhily three designs jlJoer hour, coroplete with architedural sketches .. He's currently del'eigarting the computerWl!ied reproductions to assistants ~ apperently there i'Sn't enouqh s:ti,m'lijlust,o fin~shin.9a 3,-D model of tal design that he's a,l,ready mentally completed.

I'm thinking olf testing the' new games of chance From Hattori's pet projects on the doctor. W!ithany luck. the advanced probability c,o,nfigurati,ons when 'Set to, cycle through shifting odds in a non-repeatinq series of patterns, wliIIIllProvide enough stimulation to occulPY his, mind during non-peak hours. Psych tens me tha,t he has just enough of a gambliii:ng buq to take interest 'Wlith a minimal chance of overattachment,

In the m.eantilme) alii seems to be going quite well with Cochar~lI1l. She s continuing to adjust well to l'j'Fe in Engineening" and the department, heads worke,d ,otJiI: a sc:hedu~e I::hat allows her b) use her m,a,uer-"transmuta,tiiolil abilities, on a regul.ar basis wi:thoutany r'e2i11 qLlantum~b~eeding ~)ir siglns e'F stress. l"lIe managed ,to bond fairly dosel;y to her. and from wnat she's, sharing. she seems to be taking the who,I'e "Slider" incident as she sholJlld. Thereeren't all)' apparent signs of her hav,ing been part !Q:f Slider's network, andshe's in [ad expressed worry as to. what the "rogues" milght indeed try. 1 intend to be at conhdent-level status within I:wo weeks; she seems glad o'F the reguliar non-nova company'; a's it seems to, break down any se:lf-impos1ed feeliings of ··bei!ng differ~ ent,"

Advise 'Further ,&S you see fit" of course. Ruiz

SA

GnnmUlilltque dOl!lb~e-encryptJ!d 'with Navajo Deedallus 3,,; dated 6/05/08 N:ye:iJng:

Good job on your raeent affo,res. Your next bit of business is, to prep lshida and F:arshoud and have them readY' to' support T2MAs imlillthe d:osing of the Sop, Moei plia~t~ the~/II be wet working among [he locallgorvernmel1lt and m'llitary liln order to make certainthat the d,osedo,wn is permanent, A full dossier of their role is enclosed, B,usinJessa;s usual for T2'MCe~, Eu and Am.

Aliso. 1 want an updated full report on the Aeon board - ~hey'v'e takenl a few stepsl had,n"t expected, and 1 very much dis~i~e surprises. Use' a second-tier alglent~ !. wilnt a p~r,er IllJ1Irrormation feled to milnimize the chance of

discrepancies, -

Dkedor Thetlis

Unma~ked communique, dated 06/0'1'/08 Chirabem

1 wOll!dd very iP'olitel~y li'ke to remind you to keep in fu:cking [ine, We; are not ali1J (1'figaniz8Ition OIf sadiist'S: and bullies. We are n.ot lin th is fr,oir kicks, We ha,v,e been entrusted with the task ,of doing what needs to be done in order to better the whole Qiodldamn planet. If that means somebcdy dies nlOw' and a:gain" thait"s, 'Wh~t it rnesns, Our operatingl principles. are helre' in erder to prevent 'LIS from paralyzing ourselves with levery ~as,t. ,ethical; question; t~~ey 'Were Instituted by neeessity so that we esn achieve: actual! Iregui,ar progress on the betterment of human g'ode'ty as a whole, They do ,not give you carte blanche to do whatever the hell you liket,o' somebody thalt has been designated a ~iiabiHty. We I:!lre Project Pro1b!lu's. 'We ;;lIre the' Dillhalt keeps the ,gears turning. 'We are' the screen that keeps the baselines from outright panic. Arnd we are the only thing standing between the status 'quo and walr or glenocide, hetw1een the' rest o;F tj~e world and IIJMlahr:s like 1M ai' orthese ot~er TH1IN:GS. lin other words. C'ihirabenr, we do .nof fuck around.

You work alene f'lot be'catl!se we WCJmlt youl ,to do whatever the hell you want. YO'nJIl work a:bne because that is the walY we do, thilng,s" If word comes tlo me' again of you misusilng your pawerto get your own sadistic kicks. tllen ~ s'wear to 'God that y1o'U 'wIIIII be the next designa,tedlliability. And don'l~ ,even fucking th!nk of trying to blow our cover to 'save yetlr own skin. That dmdn't save Slider ~ who warS one of the sweetest girls I've ever :known -. and it by God will notsave yOiU. ] know where y,ou live, andll know where you sieep, Don't: even think of doin.g a damn thin'9 that milght possibly compromise us; ,ever ,ag:alirl. or wihat Y(iU did to YOlllr last "assignment" will look like 81 p~cnic 'wiltl~ YOUIi 'gnndmot~er compsred to winat we w~~I~ do te YOII,jI.

Oz:a'i<i

[OlRECTlIVIE 1F1LE] Director Harris:

Enclosed is my preliminary r,e!port on the known persemel and resources of the "Tera:g;en" mov,ament [file:

PA-2]. Operative "Turncoat" continues with hils Infiltr6it~~orl and will update the [ile as cpportunity permits, The evidence suppurtsourtheory that this organization seems i[O' be more popular movement and charisma clJlt than anythingl else -_ - the key difference beilng that only aberrants are ~nvoilived.

Imre,d'o,r, the more lilearn about this, Teragen, the more grave my apprehensions become. 1"11 leave it to you to' pore over the f~lles and piece together the pcssible ex:bent of this threat, but even a cesual scan proves that ~h'ese people hay,s influence across the 'continents, possibly even worldwide. 1 can only presume 'by the mcredibly extensive varliety of their contacts and "customers" that they must halve a highly cellull.ar setup; there doesn;t seem to be much of a regimented central structure at ,8.11. Thal1kfllllly, we' shoLlI!d be able to dose ill on, say. one ,o,f the Zukhov contacts without worryiil191 about the lera,gen's contacts in the Vat.ican.

I hi'ghly recommend isolating seversl of these contact pOlill'lts and moving through them to the Teraqen me.mbe,rs involved. Or course, we~1I need to build up our reserve or reliable aberrant personnel firs:t; of the three aberraots in the Directive I trust, one's in deep cover, the second isa bit unsubtle, snd 6Finging ~111 the third should definitell)' be a last result if we want to avoid a media fiasco,

1 repeat: Trn worried. 1 think you wm be. too, once you go over the file, Although the Teragen has y,st tOI IFuUy blossom into the worst-cese scenarios we were projecting back in '9'8,1 have (II nraggring fear that it's emily 9'olil'lg to 'be till matter e,f time,

Carson

Pri'vate i,aurnal,entrYI'Leland, Cornw'aU; April 23, 20107' Just how I like to beg1ln m!y days,: A telepathic probe just after break'Fast. I wish 1 didn~t have to wander into people's minds like this, par~iculariy criminals - and particul,arly now. 1 SWE!'ar to God't walking ili1side some people's minds is like g,oing in,to a s!eWBI' ,_ i"t's a hell of a lot different than sexplay witl~1 an open partner. thalt~s, for S~lr,e"

That's how ilt was with Sluice. To be honest, 1 was expechngsom:e sort of monstrous asy:lurn dream sequence, like they run on 7ejepa,thsevery n,ocW' and aglai'n, Aft,er all, the Teraqen sre supposed to be brainwashed monst,eiliS, full of p'j,ogrammed sadism. right? Not Sluice.

Hie kn,ew ~. was, com~ng in. even though we had "Psi-Dencer" in the room as a distraction, He: didrnrt't bother w:it~1 her aJt ,alii ~ he was exp'edi,ngl me~ Don't ask me' how; even P;ax can't l:e!1111 her M-R emissions are Falked when 1 don't want him to'I,sa lit wasn't a problem with that. Be pJay,ed the gracious, host, walking me thr.oug,hthe mansion df his cortex and kilndl'y epeninq doors for me. It wB1slilke some drawing-room play.

Worst park is" .hek:ept me eut of 'some of his memories. How tl~e ~Iell'?!? Hie said lit had 'somethingic,o, do with '·'meditative exercises" and "fllnneiing potential." R.ight.

Anyway. J managled to plUlllout :ans,wers to' most of the Directors' questions .. They weren't happy when he saidthat ~he Terag;en had no chain of eemmand, no sup,erilors. The only flash of authori,ty-:resp'ed th,at 1 could gl.esln was when Mars name cameup, The best Cllnalo:gy 1 could come up with 'Was that the 1era'gern was lilke a bunch of 9lr,aclu~ted colllege ~riendls who keep in touch and help each other out now and again - and the Directors dwdn'l III ike that much either.

ShJi,c,e 'sure seemed to be happy with the' arranqement, Even iilll1 captiv'ity" facing l'ilFe in a sol[t:ary dark ,cube., he wasn't bothered by '~hin9s alt all. IIYou'lll come annmd." That's what he said a's hie was esecrtedout. "I 'can w.a,i,t" and you'll come ar;(lund. Then we can "tallk ,about tihlis, like reasensble novas, 'Wit~lout al:l these monkeys screechil~g at us .. tl

] dicln:'t Uke his tone one liUlle hit Particularly because It seemed so genuine. What: does Iheexpecltha!t l'm gO~lfiIig to have some ep'iphali1l[)" and spring him, then we 'can glo wa.ltz off to Mal: together and make theworld a happy place For novas?

Where do the people fit in in this arrangemel1~? . .

I've belen stewing over this alii daYfi and 1 can't think of 2ilf'Vything else.I'm going out toni:g,ht, no maUer what Paxtol'll'sal)'s" it's gO'lngl to take a good ~ol1gl,eve'ning of sex - sensory 'shalring and (111- to get me to, properly uliilwind. With at leastthl"ee

- .

women.

Tl1alnk God 'I'm a nova

[Directive ]

'~TOP PIR10RJTY: FOR IMMIEDlATE mSTRl BlJflON TO ALL AGENTS'1 To: Alii agents

Re: Teragen Fil:e P~-3; Oper,ative J.essle Hooks

lmmediarte[ry cease and desist all operations reliant on data stlPiplied in Tera.gen !File IPA-3. 'PA-3 Imus:[ be treated as Fall's~fied information, de~iberately leaked 1:0 I:he agency.lnaddibon, operativejesse Heeks, codenamed Turncoat, lis to be' considered a rogue lil,gel1t with access to dass,j.fied information. Agen:ts are' ordered to immediately report even the least substantiated si'ghting af Hooks to their superiors.lf Hooks i,s located, do noteng,ag,e him withotlJt heavy backup; Hooks possesses quantum powers of at least "B""-clas'S. and should in evelry way bs considered <ill Titan~das.s t~re'Bt The possibility of b:ra1inwas.hing a'r mill1d control is not an is.s.!Je; tit ~s' utmost priority that Hooks be treated as a de.fecb:n" under his ewn fre,e w~lllll, and dealt. W'i~h alceardingly.

8"

r.P.lllft.~ •• ilftl fr'Dim la F,ormalivai Dii'lrectiv'e M.eti'ng

, ,ApparenUy. the meeting from wlhic:h this transcript lor~g,m,~i~es was; held $h:ortly after tlhe St. Petersburg "nova crrsrs of 2'001. Russ,ilan [sic] physiolo91ists made break~ throtlJghs;s~mil,ar to those ,of Drs,. Mazarirll ,aW1ld Rashoud. ~mt with far less publicity. prompting 190"vernmel1l[ offi,ciallsto look into the m;iilrltter, From the spotty reCOrd:!iBnd primary sources we can assemble, the earlly Direetive disCIJISSIOfiS occurred af~er serne draft. of the apocryphall "Stsrynch Miss,ive" eireli hl,~ed among. canjlflulllyse~eded1 membs,1lS of sUIP erpower governments {though a few seem to havebeell seleded without r,egard for their laek of SlliIipEilqpower status),

At ri:s'k of lending uadae ,editoriall to my notes:.! find it odd that a loose confederati:on of EuraSiaV' states could rnuster ,the ~er:ew~thalto' pa raUe I the M-R discoveries or unite other natienste fo'rm one or the most p,owerriul~ poikef parami~itary orglaniz8It'tons in the world w~en Ithey ean't mana'Q,e to manufadurea decent gas OV~R. The ,pre-Sierka prohlems Rtiissial 'f:a,c~d s:~onJIld halve beelTl enougl~ to cripple th!eir research.but maybe the triumph of the human spirit is worth m~re thaln Hallmark sentiment Yet, ~ dilgress. '10, giet to the polnt, I suspect 'Qtlllli:dance or slJ,pport behind the lRu~si,a:rlls.

a .• Any.w~:y, i hope you enjoy this. llo:s:[s.ix peeple toge,t It. T,he MII.~listry o'f Information iss bittight-fri.st,ed regarding national secrets, 'EM311'1 when it comes to public docllllIments, 1'V'9 taken the liberty of trans~!ating. add:itionally,

-B .. F:

. Uyamo'vi.chl (Russian ConfedersltiCln):: So then, wet,re agre'ed,? The pr,esence of these "novas" lis a concern for alm' OUt ,gov,erlilments?

. Sthilso:n I(UlS): 1 would :~malg:ilii1le so. .. Nakamura (JIapan):: Aglre,€d.

.. '11: Pierfec:t. Now~halt our :semanvtics coincide, pe~~aps we shol.:l~d outline ,exadly now they would best serve US;. lin the sense that th~YWrOuild be worklilFl'gfor 'the~'r '9,o'Vennmeint, of cOllrs~.lf you'll lock thmugh my proposal. geJ]t~emen ,and! ~Iady!yol!lll see we opine that a military structure works best.. Alt~,olmgh our prior ,exp'Briment [1 thin.k f"i's talking about In,ferp't)J. but Fmno: .sure ~- B.F.] failed.l~mibng tlhe structUN:". to fewer participants better able to enfo:li"'ce the Directivecode- see the third and 'fmJlrth atta:chments - :shadd be far more effecti!v€ .

.. N: And the membership is limited to these novas?

. La.thlrrDP (UK): No. we"'ve budg,eted for a .. urn .• normal' SUlIPPOl"t team ,. as wel~as a joint a.tan 'of policy leaders. Leaving the organization sol.e~yin the hands of these' noves and re.lying on their sensa of Ipatdotism wouldn"l work

. .. :SI:.Pardon .'me if Im being a bit slolw; but wihate.xadly IS the POIlmlt ,of tim; [s()unaof papersshufFlingJ ,eir" [)irediv,e?

1'1I~e;111 you right now, my mi~,~tary project expendjtlLlres are stretched fali.rly th~n with domes:tk armed Forces spend,ing !being CI~lt, 60 "police actiens" taking p:lace: and UN subsidies on top of it a~ll don't know that l,canatf~ord another "police force of the worfd"so.rtof action, and l'rn not sure our people W811i1t it. .

., Nt: 1f 1 ma'y be l)evWs A,dvocaie. l'm notsure a nation can affo'rd not [0 be a part of this, 'We''Je~ a~ready seen the power novas possess . .Any state without a direct hand in the gov'e,rnance o,ftheir. ah" supsrpewered citizenry is going to have diFHculty mainta&ning ~t'Sadmin~istraltion without openl revolt.

. ,S: And then what are your ~eielings om Ch~na" 1M iss Nakamura?

,II: A vast population, best watched by-those sharili'Ug OWllr common ~'mltere5t5.

. s: We~I .• '1 didn"t ask you, Petro butlqeess that'll do, [Transcript cont~nlU€S,. delving' ~nto budget allocations

and membership chsrters.] .

FrDm! Ihe,'he,rm'an Repo,rI, f,.~entetl belare "ongress in _.182006

. Spending to support the Dkedive must: continue. even iF addlliltiol'ila.~ support from pr~lvate,cofiPoratioIiS must be ebtained to secure the Un:iood Sta,bes' ongo~ng membership. Currently, ·the Diredwve represenb theonl'y vieble recourse ,against placing near.ly aHfa~tlh in nova mstters in the hands ,oF Project Utopial .

. Directiv,€! records show the foill~lowing' coulnrtri'es' cantributiens and memberships. (AU figures shown are ~n IJS dollars)

United St;a~e$

$35 billion per :annum 3(] a.ctiv'9 members,

Russian Confedemcy S3.2 billion per annum

31 active members,

[apan S2.85 bimon perarnrnum

~3 8(:t,iv.e members

Germany $2"1 billilion per annum

ll Belli ve members

United Kingdom $1.2 himon per annum

10 admve members

Directiv,e' pr,es,eilllc,e and continued Amerkan invo,lve'rnent serve's military and il1lt,eHig,ence ends, as wen as allowing' Alnerican palrticipall:ion~11 Q,loba:1 p,olicy direction .. W'jthdrawal from the organization places tee much power in the collective hands of countries with which the United States ~,as had a history ·of cOfilfli·d and enmity,.

~Y I~ain~aining .8 'strong f,inancia,l and personal presenc:I~.D I rect~veaf,fa~lrs. A merica keeps .thestrong'est we'aJpOIilS In Ih, own hands. Of at least under its sway.

'90

.. -(8_.. .. ..... .,.T __ ~~=~

~ ..

. . ..

. I. -

1 __ • -. ••• ';_._~r': _. -_ ."._, .. _- --

.-: .... ..-

From a CBS Evening News Broadcast. JaniWl:ary13, .2004

Transmission stsrts in media res, owing to storage medium da.mage .

.. Js why we"re here. FederalU;y spcnsored nova CQl1rtractors :Karma and Tombstone are wit.h me, de·scrlbing the presence o~f these unknown novas as !!terri:torialll and cryptorn,scist."

The cadre .df nOivas, 21,111 weari.ng similaJF blue-and-white uniferms, appeared on the scene shortlly {lHer IKarma and Tombstone, and asked the tw.oindepende:nb to ~eave, When Ka.rma and Ternbstone re'Fus!ed. the appalF,el'il[ 1l1lacl~r ,olFthe group dis:plilayed:an ("fficial-I~oolking badg:e and informed the two interlopers that fai~u("le to a!l:i:ow "the Diredive"to handle the hosta:ge situation would result in a federal charge of treason.

Onl·ookers descll":ibethe group membe·r.s a's "clalUlliitling" ando,f ";81 var~ety of 'ethr!IJWcities.·· More O~ this sArtlurationas it deveiops, Sa'ek to YOu; !Jan,

Gir,.Hili trom, ·a S,ub,wiay Tr,ain in

Jalpanl [Tllanslatecl:J --

Super-soldiers or .secr,€tpolice? The Drrtective has its ~ye em you.

Froml 'he Transcrip/I' of Kle.;n, v.' Un,lred ,Slate.

111 2005, EU9·ene Klein was arr-est,€d by a RussJ'an Direciiv« agent w.hile ,B·ttemptinf} to burn down a Moscow warehousestockecf with ,Oilier 4.000 c;)'ses of duty-free a/~ e,cho!. which supposedly b~/on.ged to ,iii .smuggling ring', The wm=ehoase andattendan,f property insur:ane,e WBtS found to be registered in Klein's Ilame in a .Russian .r::ourt Of./8W~ Extl:adite& to· Amedca, bis lan:d.of bidh, Klein expected the charg'es ;to be dmpped, which ;they were ,,'ot. After .being declared guilty 1'1'1 an A mericsn criminal cDurt, Klein .sued· the .American g'ov>ernment, dairninf} financial, physical afld,emo~ tional damages in exc€tscS ,oF th.r,ee billion dollars"

.. Prosecutor I).anvers: A.nd what pnacisely ilsthe n.aJ[Ulie of this Directive, ,c!1!ptalill?

•. ICaptaim IPetrograd: The D irective mairntalirns ,globs I law enforcement. Mr. KI,sin's actions were criminal. as, your own c,o·urt. proved. Asa member ,of tl~e Direcbve •. ~t was my duty to prew:=WiIrt sucih ill,e'gali~~esfri"io.ril takilUilg place.

· po: Arrnd who .• e:xadly! malilml[ains t~;e Directive'?

., CP:.A. joint cemmissien 'of AmedcaWil. Rllliissian. Japanese i:!iUild IUnirted Kingdom govenlmel1i[al ofFicials. Germarrny has l'1€loe.n·t1Iy become 81 member as. weill.

·PID.:: A gll!oba~ 'conspiracy, then? Mo further 'q;uestions. · Cf: No. a check agains:t UtoIP,ja"s iilJmbitio~

·P,D:: No further questions, witness.

· CP::The Dilrecbve exists as analterm1Itiv·eto~he~sillgl.e5 rnindedness ·of Uto~

• PID: Your Honor!

'With little deIiD,sn!Jtion. the Supreme Court found in favar of tne Uni.fed Stat-es·.

From IIThe~ Triton Foundation: Curing th,eWorlldl"~! Time' Mla,gaziine", February 2008

In the decade foUowing the discovery and emergence of Homo sapliens nov'USj [he worlds of science and medicine have undergone drastic advancements .. Many ofthe cancers plagrling mankind. from the dawn of time now have cures. AIDS, once fearedto be the next great plague, is all but eradicated, Doctors even possess curies for spinal injuries that only years ago, would have condemned the victim to a life of paralysis.

TI1e Triton Foundation deserves much of the credit for these remarkable advances in medicine. The TntonFoundationis a large medical, pharmaceutical and research conglomerate corporation with ties to the Aeou Society, the philanthropic organization that founded Project Utopia,

"The staff at the 'Triton Foundation seeks to cure mankind of all the illneesee and injuries that have plagued itthroughout history,'!' said Ryan Gill, Triton Foundation CEO. "In mar lofry goal.we are no different from any other portion of the medica] community," What makes the Triton Foundation different is its unrelenting success rate, In fewerthan

10 years, it has found cures that eluded scientists for centuries. Gill claims, "we have simp~v taken advantage rOf the vast research that carne before US .. ll AU this from a company that has been in existence for on~y 14 veal's.

In Light of the advances made bV the 'Triton Foundation,

no one seems roo ready to lookthe proverbial gifit horse in [he mouth. Of particular note is that the Triton Foundation has fMnded much of the scientific researchinto novas. The Nobel Prizewinning Drs. Masarin and Rashoud have both worked as paJd consultants tothe TdtonFounda~ tion, The company also funded the recent study that discovered a! genetic basis, for the 'MaZ31"in." Rashoud node.

I~We have spent a good deal of our research budget on nova physiology because the research has given remarkable insight into the workings of the human body," said Gut (tW·e have simply followed. the

. d f sci ~ . .n L 'i'i

cuttmg e· ·_ge 0. . sctentinc researcn.

The Triton foundation has 1101 nntention of resting on its leurels. Even now the Foundation is striking new ground in various areas of medical science. Current research pro] ects include complete prenatal genetic screening' and prenatal gene

therapy, which 'promise to cure, Inthewomb, many diseases a person couldpotentially acquire. Serums for viral agents such as anthrax, hepatitis and rhinovirus (the common cold) are alsobeing developed. Possibly the most promising research currently underway involves the cloning of replacement organs and limbs frompatiems' own DNA. This process promises to male transplantation waiting lists and organ rejection a thing of the past, allowing fOJ:

virtually a:ny part of the human body [0 be replaced. '

"We see a very bdght futu.re for medical research," said Gill. III can only hope that we can

. . k . . id II

contmue to mae great strs .es

92

1994: Tritl n Foundation created by the merging of several pharmaceutical and bio .. medical research companies under me allspices of the Aeon Society.

2000: Breast cancer cure developed

2001: Prostate cancer cure developed

2003: AIDS vaccine developed

2004;, 'Generic anticancer gene therapy perfected, cures most known forms of cancer; ebola vaccine developed

2006:: First prenatal cancer creening for breast cancer; first prenatal gene therapy treatment

2007: Triton .. funded research into genetic origins of novas released

--_- - --

- - --

Tlrnellne

5m!1gil"h: 6 lITtclllet: 5 ,Spem; (5

OffeMIII: 7 bdl!im!: 7 V~I'Hy; s

RaoulOo"iz

pho1't! saf(l"~' and his work "as "uJj f£otured prominently ih Notional G~aRr:aph;'c: M;:a_goz'n!! - I'Hs oMlity tel r~n with the,e}i!ee:1t,mhs Cll\1d wander witch ihe liol1lS wit~QIJHear fit harm has ~uved his pho'N19rophy 'l'iltehts w:~II.

o,rozCI,it aM@unoed his ad"epe;rI.C:~ t,!;I ~he ierQS:erl'5 Ci:E~ almost immed1df~ly after 1'h.iH!;l.J~Qsu;'f th'E! NyH M(mifll:sfo. Howeve;ri his h~h.avior is a far c,ry from his mere CO$lKIl1y ,sociopathic: ,coHeClgue$ such 1'1;0; Gi~n - fhe co·unt ts ui'ifomngly pollite. a.nd hei rrtotab~y enjoy.s the com:po:ny of bUSi!:.lline$, lHtnoug~ P'roject Utopia nGS ngi;t.d tho,t they int'end to keep a c.io.se eye on him" the count hoo yet to dill ,rutythirig more $Lll;w,et's~ve than ,lose 'Ill, few ~un'CIl"\edI1t101J.sand frUI'1.(:5 i'n, Monaco's ccstncs,

1IrIII __ Reoul q.iSfol;i(!1 Or;2lilli% .1lI111DiDt Ul1kfili}Wh

"1CI,.If,ld _' Valencia. Spain lea_ SoceaFH~; '["en-eggl"l spokt.S:lil'lfim

INIIIIn;; Count Orzniz refers to himself as .IJ!I'I accompli,shed c.thlete. of my species." He has d.i'S:frncltively SI.I,pei'humQll levels a·f st(lm,ina, speed and strength.olthoug'h he refraol'l5 fflOm pub.lic:r.y deliflol'lstrofing his prowess, Sec(irn.dhond rumor (usu.ally 'll1itr~buted' 'to Oil;!): of his many tlldyfrknds) dtes him as able to 11ft 10 dump truek, run 'dS qlJtddy as Q cheetah t.ma survive smaU~!lrms fllre without (I ~i;ratch_ IIIIbrRI!d: Tney don't come ony mer,e controversial thO!n the celebrated Count OrlJ(Qi~, This EllIropean playboy fs al'l uM~oIClg.e.th: and pUbJic member of the ih1,famous Teb'lCllgen, - and likely 'the movement's mo~t f:e,le9:enfc spokesman, AI'though "'is pMIQsophy is tar fr,om popular I the (:QIJM d{l&-5I'1't ,loc.1\: for po,pulo;riiy af his 01'10,

Count Op%,(li,z: Ii1giJ~ from one C!If the oh::les;f rll:lble fWllili~ j,n: Europe, 1:1 aasque dylidrly thnt sfretches back flo!" l'Ifi.m'Iy eenfurie&, !-<Ill; truptlo'n, which occur-r,ed sl'lllrtJy(llft,~r hi's graduation frollt lIIn/Viu1.sity. 11UlS, widelypubLici~ed 1hrolJgliom.!t liurope. Hi~ rw.~(l p~\V~rs did,.'f seem t'o affed l1i$ j~tse1'trn9 lifMtyle !J'Iucn; lif 'Qnyt,~~n.g,. they only eltCouragei:! ill'. Orxaiz: is f€ll'ld of

g]

, cript 'CJx(;e,rp't ,from do,c'um,en .. t,ury plro'glr'amCu"in:g Ec(ge., lepls,ode #·4'1

The! stateOif orgianized crime at the turn of the century was rnothil11911ess, than ai~ll-out war.lhealready volatile f,ela,twainS between rivalgarngs~ fami!i.es and' cartels broke down int:o even more heavy ~li1Ifighting, which wasexacerbab:!-d when 'certalili org'anirzaticns (most motably among theChilne;se bmgs and South Ame,rican cocaine cartels) begalnemploying ~OV8i 'enforcers. .. This trend wasta '9,et worsewhen the U N gr.an~e,di IUtopia authority to' move aga'~ns;t lilnt:ernationai org;al1liz'ed 'Crime.

Su:ddenliythe criminal cartels and syndi,c:at!3.s of the: w<H'1ld~Gund the:mselv:e's in deep trOl.!lbl'e. Not: only 'We:lie they kmi:ng each other ·ofFat a record rillce. bllt the-sudden interventi an of Team Tomorrow made the situatien much worse:

For them. By 2004, ol:'lliy.a very few cartels were I·eft standmg ....

'Callml Pi Cli Ire· I I i ... Zu.kh Oy MegaI5;yn,dliicate

Excefi,t fr1llfn .B'IPl'tone 00I1Vet5stiion; 0>3.121100

· VDice 1:1 cannot believe you had the 81.!ldaicity te call

me. 1 have nathinug' to say to you.

• Voice .2'.:: !:'f thafs; so, why are you still on the pfllone? · Voieell: lB,e very careful how you put your words ..

• Vorce 2: l'm nOit Itrying t() i'nsun you. Zukhov, Get that through your head,

,. Voice 1: Oil? And what are you tryingbo do:?

'. Voice 2: Look" this war's been ihitting you as bad as me. BILJ:t YOU' .and me, we're beth survl~vors! rllight? I W(llnnaJ ta~,k terms.

,Voiice 1:: Of surrender?

.. Voice .2\: NoW' II shoulld be tihe Olin;€; getting ~I'ilsullted. But rm gonna liet that slirde. See; 1 know wen ;211$ you that we'll be lucky to get. out of this alive, much less ~ree and stilll inbusiness .. We've' both go:t centacts inqoed pl1ac,es, but when it comes downte just the two of us, this. Utopia bunch ws g,oi.ngl to pick Q~f one - then the other" Just likethat, We dorn't have the muscle, and we don't 'havs the freaks to resist them. Nlot separately. Thafs whyl\re g.otal1 oFfer for you.

., VOlce 1: "S this tihe same ofFer YOWl made Seri:zy and his, ft'ienchmen?

., Yoke 2: No. No, itisliill't, They were wcu.m;cled lEI lot

worse tha,J'lll you are; ,they had 'IJ'IO dlio:~ce but to come under mly banner. YOl)JI", You ~ respect, Zukholl. You hal'>!'€' talents like nobody else in this business; comes of beinqa damliiled KGB specsal b'!,lent, huh?' ] walsn't tal.kingl aboet you wo:riking Ifor me.l 'Was talkingahout us working together.

· V.oice 1: Hm. Andl am to trust your goodwill?

· VQ'.i:ce.2: Y6u don't have to. That's the ib.eautifull part. 1 know you 've a Irea,dy Ib een ch ecklhn'g UiP on me and m,~mne. 1 kno.w you kl1owtha~ we're~he ~ast Familystand1:ing .• and ti1Cl,t we've dragged a number ,of the survivors under our wi,l'lIg.s. Just like 1 know you:'v··e managed to piek off ;811 your Organizatsiya rivals. and done some recruitment of your own among the Europeans w~tii~e Y0:L!l1 were at I~t.. Rt!!Ill1' your I1tlm-' hers. I'm guessing you'd come out with the same f'igulres l wou'~d - thalt if we tried' to do each other dirty, we'd wipe each ether out, but iF we cooperated ...

• Vo,j:ce 11: Yes. Thart waiY we s:ti3ll'i1d ill chance of survival. and of con:roundillg one another's enem,j:es by pooling resources.

· Vo:ioe2: You're quick on the, dralw." R.usskie.

,. Voice 1:: ~I have done my homework. '11 will presume that my men Willi be' tr:aining yours ilrl proper enforcement techniques. yes? You wiUabandon your protection operations. of course; the·re is little need for t'hos€ when we can make 81 much glreater pr,oflt on transperti nggoods. bookmak~n9 and, ,of course, "vice," Weare both very good at the vice,

· ",oice 2: Son of a hikh. You were expecting me to. cal'll. weren't yotn,?

• V!oioe el: Is that a problem? [END !PHONE CONVERSA TION]j

Nakat,Q' Gu'mi

Draift iof :sQriplt IEI"'om "GUll11i Nova, Tiragic'" "JAV .• aired 011 113.101

'IRyu:1 don't expect you. to understand, You are dg:ht to hate me. My hands are soaked ill blood - all shed by the order of my oyab.un. ~I have kiiledla hundred men in the name of my gang.l have taken technoloqies Fo:rbidden by Project Utopia, and sold them on the black market. I halve defied the ~aws of the world and: obeyed o~~y the laws of my family.

.. 'lcM<o: But... but YOILI have a choice, Ryu~ Everyone has a choice!

I RytI: No. not everyone, 1 was gJ.ven rtocho ice to be born.81li1d no choice to live, Now 1 have nochoice how to live.

94

From ,a IDeVIi',ies brmefin,glletter. dated 03/24/08 JefFnies:

]fr you've looked over the contract, you've probably already noticed Ithat you're k~Gklill"lg a~ (I, hell of a lot of money fcw asimple extlradi,on. Wel~, don't be fooled - this is 110 si'mpl:e'e,xkadiol1. Thinqs are never simple where the Nakat,o at,€! invoiv,ed.

'I expect you to spend 'some time doing research on the ~li9ht over. YOI!.II'~111 need b), know everything you can about these people to: pull ofF this mi'ssi:on.l hope your chameleon skills are up to the task; Japan's still fairly xenophobic aHer all these years.

Of course, it doesn t help that you're up against one' ,of the mejor organized crime forces in the world, alndg,oing alter them lin their own backyard - where half the za-ibatsIJIi,rl Os.akal are lilkely in their podcets. I'm sure Y'OIJlI've' heard ,alii] the stories about t~e Nakabl< - amphetamine's and spike dealing;, vice crimes money l,au.ndel":~n9 - seems like pretty tame stuff when yOU' compalre itto some of H1ile other jobs, I"iight?

Wrong, The Nakato sre bad, bad news_ I'm serious about do<ingi y,our reseerch; YOIl won't have a chalice in He] otherwise. For one you know that smuggl!ing of Utopia .. banned technologies they db? Don't think ~or 211 m:inute that there aren't any g,immklks with militaryappl'icaltions ,in their inventory.. Some olf those mi'ght even be cap.ab~e of dropping Geryon.

For another, y,ou''U have to, watch out for the wihole neiqhbcrhcod; in Japan, ,thle Nakata hsve populall'"1lty and epprovsl ratingsthat are throll!.!lgh the roof. The nurnber three cernic in Japan ils, a "true I lire'" rag about <31 l1o,va who serves his Yekuza masters, hellping O:lJ't, the' liU!:e guy and tweaking the noses, of fore:igln authorities, They've made a damn cartoon out dF it" too; and the ,thing"s been exported arol:ltild to American and European markets, where we can on~y presume If's stepp~ng up their approval retinqs as welt

!Finally, ,you can bet that tihey've got a nova or two up their sleeves, and we have no idea what 'sort of powers they'n:l packing. That comic shows somebody with superspeed, but there's no reason to believe it's based on realllii'fe;, probably just bankrol~lled by some kobun. So be ready to expect anything.

Full dossier's on the' ,chip. Good luck. and watch yourself. If you p'U~1 this off. 1'1IIi buy you the cognac of ym.lr choice, deall?

IKha~if

He,av,en Thunder Tri,a:d frolll WXLM-News broadc,as,t, 11/30/06

Poll!i:ce continue to. investilgaite the bizarre murder case of Herbert Wal, who, was beheaded in the middle of the Theusand Mirade' restaurant last Sunday. A~tholJgh the restaurant was apparently ;al[ peak dilling hours when the murder occ;urred- the police have :y-et tJ('J'prodllJ1cea ,coo,per,etiv,e eyewiltrJ:ess.As a. further outl<mdlish wrinkle, Mr. Wa's head has yet [0 be recovered; one source at the coroner's omoe admitted that lit. was lif h is head was bitten off and swaillowed.··

EX()6rpt l!from report Filed Iby Y'l!Jkiiko T akemlitsu;, 08/09'1 01

lelepalthic 'scans on the subject are difficlult and still not fuilly condusmvEl. 1 have rnimc~lty penetrating the layers of his 'mental defenses~ to do so causes him 'great pain. and 11 ,exp,eriel1ce some feedback. As such.] would like loll request

!I

---

- ,=-=----==---:--=-- - L : ~'

81 prescription of a.drenocilin before our next session.

Thesubject, Ma rue, is a lifetim:eresident,o'fH'ong Kong.

He' wasrecruited into the triad-sponsored '(ell~ow Siilks tong at the age of '13; he killed his First man at theage of IS. This much is easy to discern,

However" it is whe~ l pry behind the doer pai,l:mted with the words, "Heav,er! Th under" thlat~he defenses Ib ecome ve ry thkk Either he has been psy.choi!o,gicailly condiitione,d to re~ sist t'slep:athic inquiry" or he is holdingl me out with emotions even stronger than a SllllFvilval mstinct, The threat of something' worse than death is very real to him.

The imsqes 1 receive are fleetillilgl., Ma was, apparently only liightly irwolved in any heroin ,dleallil1g or' use, for lilt is not a primSiry mobF at all.He dosstouch on irnaqes of f:at1~hm cards and pa~g:ow dominoes, I,eadllng me to believe that he is lindeed a ranking soldier lin the triad's gambling rii:ng, as Investiqetions reports. .

..

U ls as l attempt toqo deeper that the other imagery rises up. 1 catch the repeate1d chant of oaths of loyalty., many oaths of hl:yallty. 1n alii l' a gruesome fate ,is; promised if he iie~ veals the secrets, The chantingl is accompenied 'by shadowy images - demons with the smiles of 'Sharks, a man on fillre, a gout ofgreern smoke wilt~ tlhe ~ips ofa woman. At this point, the pain becomes too 'great. andl am for,ced to wi hdlraW'.

1 can or[y ,condu,de that these finall images are how the

subject chooses, to acknowledge the nova' enforcers that we know the Heav'en Thunders keep on retainer, Tlhere ils no ev,[de!rr:lce to confirm that their chairman is a nova hilmSleif. 1 will attemptto pry FlU!lrthertomorrow, li'F that is youlr wish. but 1 !fear that the 'Subject is in very real: danger of death ~f 1 pry further. His emotllonal state is SIUC~1 thlBl[ dying or 'fWiiglll is quite possible, 1 Brwalit your decision.

Froml ;8 T eamJ Tomorrow Ameli'ic-as; tf;a in. hrieflin9ii dalts

01/101'07

When it comes to Qrgal1lilzed 'crime" we have three real concerns in the An:"::~r~,ca,s. The Firrs:t is the' trouble with vaniousgarngs. a f,ew of whom now have 110,v.a leaders. )/iou'V€! pfobabl~y heard enough about the rise of the Crill's and [he Sipangll.er Posse, and how their leaders have turned them into 'something much deadlier; however. these are moderately localized threats. and not the subject of this lecture. Secondly, there's the stateside, versions of the 'Nakata, Campalrelli-Zl.llkhov and Heaven Thunder - but these are lalrge1:y Un~ted States-local, and 'smalill sblJlff ~~I comparison ~() their hometown versions, The r,e,all,or,dls of or"~ll!!.I1iiz,ed crime across '~wo-thir,dis of our protectorate are the Mede~lln csrtel,

The MedeUlfn are virtuailly unchaUenged for~heir positiol1l as kings of the cocaiae market. Not long after the Galatea explosion, 'the other Collomhialnlcarlels began 5L1ffer~li1Igl ,crippling hits on their farms., processing plants,. even househo,lds - you name it To nobody's surprise, this swath of destruction had novas behind it These novas, - two, ,o,'f them at f~rst, a1lthoughr we beliieve there are more now - turned out to be hired agents of the' Medel:I(1;1 dn~g, 'cartel. The Medell(ns~aughl:ered all their rivals and set up their own heuseheld a's the unquestiened ruler's 'of the South American COC.C!lifil€ and ICOCBlilne variants trade. Currentlly, we suspect that one olf these novas is the head of the cartel, ,and the other serve's as his lielllltenant; files for both are available on the database.

Ultimately. there's good news and bad news about the Medellin. The glood news .5 til,at they "re' pretty localized; they can be fOIl!n~d wherethe cocaine market is and not much 'of Clroywher,e else, ·lhe bad n:ews is that because they don't re·ally compe,te w.ull anry' of the other'craninal cartels, there's not much chance of them going to war with. 'say.; the INaka:to,_ They st~lclk. to the cocaine business because jrs hugely profitable for them and the-y're inturn ,guarded by not ,only their OWIn novaenjorcers, but their layers ,oF contacts. They make more money than they can ,e.asily spend; as a result, :a lot of their funds are tied up lin various Caliibb,e.an b,anks .. This "investment" has ,given ,them iii lot of alII i es among the appro priate n.atrions, to s.ay noth ing of th e various Central and South Arnericen 'governments hey have in tlileir pockets.

So as you can see, they're a real problem for us .. We can't go 11M after them guns blazing .• because they have too many alillies that might. get us, in I!ega~ trooo~e. We can't easily set them aga,inst rivall syndik,ates,. because they're not in competition. That's why it's one' of our primery objectives to continue Qur glOOdWlilll1 efforts, in the Americas; every Held we terraforrn or power plant we 'set up makes us look a little better to the qovernmental hi,gih-,ups. If we can convince the various heads of state that Project Utopial is a. better and more valuable fri'end to have than the Medelll(n, then maybe we II 91et the sand:ioning and help we need to remove these lParasib:is once and for all.

Until then, it's 'going' to be verY' tenuous ,going. So I~f yO'll wind up crossing a Me,dlell(n. in the COUIFS€ of )'QUIr du[,ies, hold back and play it s-afe. Let us Iknow. 'We can $tril~1 oppose them but we have to be careful about it.

'9·.'6·

. ,,1

'-