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aberrantangelsEnemies again.
Actually, this first day is/was mostly about "catching up with fellow Terats we haven't seen in months and meeting newcomers to the movement," as the count will describe it when he opens discussions tomorrow. Today's discussions have been mostly civil, but with tense undercurrents among the various cliques, according to Leviathan's epilogue to the second of two essays circulating among Terats at mid-year. (The first, by Santiago, covered the movement's history from N-Day to the Null Manifesto; de la Rocha takes it from the Halloween Surprise to the present.)
I'm not sure where I got this impression; the evidence for it seems to have evaporated from my copy of Aberrant: Teragen, even though I swear I've found it on other readings.
Edit June 4: I've since realized wherein the evidentiary basis consists, and it's not much. (It'll be in tomorrow's posting.) We don't actually get datestamps for either day of Saxon's captivity, so in fact, it may already be over by the time the meeting starts.
Synapse taunts Graham for being an "assimilationist sycophant" who wears a mask to hide his glowing eyes and fit in among the "Village People of Righteousness". He shows him the Mumbai News article and calls it proof that Utopia considers Saxon "just another casualty... another nova they don't have to control [and/or] sterilize."
He gives an inside perspective on the Teragen with an excerpt from The Null Manifesto, followed by a lecture on the movement's status as a family and the One Race's status as Earth's new dominant species. "We're [...] the new gods in a faithless age.... It pains me to torture you, but better a dead nova than a brother who fails to see the 'big picture.'" Then comes the shock.
While he's recovering, Saxon is treated to a video stream from Televisa 13's coverage of the 2006 Mexico City rally, followed by an excerpt from "Terrible Angels: The Voice of Nova Liberation", lecturing on how there's no difference between the ugliness of aberrations from a baseline perspective and the (presumed) ugliness of the hairless human body from a simian perspective. "Nature is adapting our bodies to better handle the stress of quantum manipulation — evolution trying to find the p[er]fect shape."
Then a visit from someone who understands that statement: Sin-Eater, whom Synapse asks to show Saxon "the glories of taint". She does, in a rather explicitly sexual way; he rejects it and passes out, evidently losing sphincter control in the process. After which, she listens to Synapse philosophize about how
Then she leaves and he wakes Saxon up: "N! would pay handsomely for footage of you right now, but there's no way I'd sell you out to make one of their baseline execs richer." He then presents a lecture by Scripture on the nature of Teras, pausing it at intervals to present Terat examples that elucidate the three archetypes: Narcosis for the Marvel, Blinker for the Portent, and Lash for the Monster. Once that's done, he reminds Saxon of how Slag and Angie died "so fat, beer-guzzling baselines with go-nowhere, middle management jobs could watch the fucking World Series or get the occasional piece of snatch or whatever." He detects Saxon's anger and hopes that anger is being aimed at Utopia where it "belongs". Then an extract from a Primacy tract calling for a nova nation... then a glimpse of the Nursery, where Bounty's babies blossom, and says the words I quote there about "the potential of a nova born nova". Then he shuts Saxon down for the night.
Enrikssen's ever-expanding intellect needs new stimulation, and Ruiz suggests "the new games of chance from Hattori's pet project" as an option. Cocharin's on "a schedule that allows her to use her matter-transmutation abilities on a regular basis without any real quantum-bleeding or signs of stress." She's taking Slidergate in a Proteus-approved way, having "expressed worry as to what the 'rogues' might indeed try." He's working hard on being friendly to her, and "regular non-nova company... seems to break down any self-imposed feelings of 'being different.'"
June 3
[Aberrant] The Pantheon (consisting, at this point, of the Apostle, the Apothecary, Bounty, the Confederate [filling in for Epoch], Geryon, ibn'Mahmoud, Leviathan, the Mathematician, Narcosis, Orzaiz, Scripture, Shrapnel, Sin-Eater, Swarm Queen and Synapse) meet in council at a hidden retreat hosted by the Count (they are brought in by Blinker, the only Terat with whom Orzaiz shares the location). Topics of discussion include a review of the various Teragen cliques, what precisely is going on with Project Utopia, and how to use Utopia's newly-revealed weaknesses against it.
Actually, this first day is/was mostly about "catching up with fellow Terats we haven't seen in months and meeting newcomers to the movement," as the count will describe it when he opens discussions tomorrow. Today's discussions have been mostly civil, but with tense undercurrents among the various cliques, according to Leviathan's epilogue to the second of two essays circulating among Terats at mid-year. (The first, by Santiago, covered the movement's history from N-Day to the Null Manifesto; de la Rocha takes it from the Halloween Surprise to the present.)
Synapse logs in and out of the meeting, as he is spending much of his time trying to persuade Saxon to join the Teragen.
Edit June 4: I've since realized wherein the evidentiary basis consists, and it's not much. (It'll be in tomorrow's posting.) We don't actually get datestamps for either day of Saxon's captivity, so in fact, it may already be over by the time the meeting starts.
Synapse taunts Graham for being an "assimilationist sycophant" who wears a mask to hide his glowing eyes and fit in among the "Village People of Righteousness". He shows him the Mumbai News article and calls it proof that Utopia considers Saxon "just another casualty... another nova they don't have to control [and/or] sterilize."
He gives an inside perspective on the Teragen with an excerpt from The Null Manifesto, followed by a lecture on the movement's status as a family and the One Race's status as Earth's new dominant species. "We're [...] the new gods in a faithless age.... It pains me to torture you, but better a dead nova than a brother who fails to see the 'big picture.'" Then comes the shock.
While he's recovering, Saxon is treated to a video stream from Televisa 13's coverage of the 2006 Mexico City rally, followed by an excerpt from "Terrible Angels: The Voice of Nova Liberation", lecturing on how there's no difference between the ugliness of aberrations from a baseline perspective and the (presumed) ugliness of the hairless human body from a simian perspective. "Nature is adapting our bodies to better handle the stress of quantum manipulation — evolution trying to find the p[er]fect shape."
Then a visit from someone who understands that statement: Sin-Eater, whom Synapse asks to show Saxon "the glories of taint". She does, in a rather explicitly sexual way; he rejects it and passes out, evidently losing sphincter control in the process. After which, she listens to Synapse philosophize about how
The whole BaA-BaA, baseline-acting, baseline-appearing assimilationist crap is coming to an end.... It is not necessary to remove the "monster" from a nova, as Utopia thinks; the key is to remove the "human" from nova and let the juju flow.
Then she leaves and he wakes Saxon up: "N! would pay handsomely for footage of you right now, but there's no way I'd sell you out to make one of their baseline execs richer." He then presents a lecture by Scripture on the nature of Teras, pausing it at intervals to present Terat examples that elucidate the three archetypes: Narcosis for the Marvel, Blinker for the Portent, and Lash for the Monster. Once that's done, he reminds Saxon of how Slag and Angie died "so fat, beer-guzzling baselines with go-nowhere, middle management jobs could watch the fucking World Series or get the occasional piece of snatch or whatever." He detects Saxon's anger and hopes that anger is being aimed at Utopia where it "belongs". Then an extract from a Primacy tract calling for a nova nation... then a glimpse of the Nursery, where Bounty's babies blossom, and says the words I quote there about "the potential of a nova born nova". Then he shuts Saxon down for the night.
In a communique to Director Thetis (double-encrypted, Navajo Daedalus 3), baseline Proteus agent Ruiz gives an overview of his interactions with two Utopian novas: engineer Dr. Piotr Enrikssen and someone referred to only as Cocharin.
Enrikssen's ever-expanding intellect needs new stimulation, and Ruiz suggests "the new games of chance from Hattori's pet project" as an option. Cocharin's on "a schedule that allows her to use her matter-transmutation abilities on a regular basis without any real quantum-bleeding or signs of stress." She's taking Slidergate in a Proteus-approved way, having "expressed worry as to what the 'rogues' might indeed try." He's working hard on being friendly to her, and "regular non-nova company... seems to break down any self-imposed feelings of 'being different.'"
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