Duplication (part 23)
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
Early spring, 2280
Mid-day
The Sky Walkers are not expansionist.
And not just because the Desert Rangers were seriously considering making us 'extinct raider group number three' prior to my takeover. Not just because we share a border with the largest civilised successor state in North America. And not just because Mr House had a plan to overrun us with telepath-immune Military Protectrons and give our territory to the Great Khans in exchange for their help against the Legion. And not just because of the White Legs on our other border, and their growing alliance with the Legion.
The Rangers were manageable. While it was generous of them to absorb the Vipers and Jackals rather than exterminating them, the survivors weren't strongly committed to the cause. The Whisperers actually had what might generously be described as a mutual defence pact with both groups in order to prevent the Rangers doing exactly what they ended up doing and eliminating them one by one. A few lorry loads of guns in the right hands and their supply lines would have been unmanageable. A few barrels of incendiaries and their food supplies would have gone up in smoke.
The NCR weren't manageable, but they weren't focusing on us and there was no obvious reason for them to start. They were happy to use us as a threat to the tribal nations they were hoping to voluntarily annex, or as a road bump for the White Legs or Eighties once they finished fighting the nations to the west. And frankly, when you're telepathic, the fact that you only have to mind control one man to stop a robot army makes it far easier to deal with than a great mass of people with their own motives and desires.
The Whisperers weren't expansionist because they had everything they wanted right here, and believed that once they uncovered enough of the zetans' technology they would be unstoppable. Why waste time and blood capturing territory the hard way now when you could get it easily later? They raided some of the smaller nearby settlements more to make sure that potential attackers remained on the defensive than to acquire resources.
My reasons aren't all that dissimilar. Why expand when we have the resources we need to sustain ourselves? Why expand when I have no desire to rule anything outside of this research institute? Lend the Desert Rangers telepathic interrogators, offer the NCR the aid of our air force and intelligence network, sell technology to Mr House at a discount… Security by diplomacy.
And if we don't keep our allies fully informed on the exact level of our military strength…
Well, look, Left, I said I knew him. I didn't say I fucked him.
I can't teleport, but I don't bother with the stairs as I reach the balcony. Instead I jump-
Shit, the sky's turning red and I don't think it's a dust storm this time.
-and slow my fall with telekinesis. Soldiers and Acolytes are moving to their stations, civilians are moving to the shelters and **with my mind's ear I can hear the subtle hum of the Dream Twisting revving up** as I run towards the command post.
Our neighbours know that we have a small and professional military. They know that we have advanced aircraft, even if they don't know their precise capabilities. But they also know that we don't have tanks or APCs, that the vast majority of our vehicles are civilian and that most of our recent building efforts have been focused on schools, research laboratories and civilian workshops, most likely with a view to us eventually joining the NCR. They know that we don't have pre-war missile silos and aren't building nuclear weapons or missile launchers. They know that we can defend ourselves and could create a nuisance, but they don't feel actively threatened.
As far as the NCR are concerned, the Dream Twister is a telepathic amplifier. Which it… Technically is. They don't know that it functions as a strategic telepathic weapon that can turn the inhabitants of entire towns insane. Turn them into feral savages, cause aneurisms, wipe memories completely… We took a part of the designs from the alien mothership, and the rest from our studies of our own abilities. We've never used it at full power and frankly I've never wanted to-.
"Mister Krono!" I look around as Ambassador Granger and his bodyguard run in my direction. "You know what the hell that is?!"
I fish out the power ring on my necklace, showing him the glow.
"Aliens?"
I half-stumble as **the observers share their perceptions, a four dimensional model of the sky appearing in my mind.**
"It's a distinct possibility, Ambassador. You really should get to a shelter."
He **knows that he should**, but he's been on the fence on the authenticity of this whole 'alien' thing and he'd quite like to clear it up so that he can stop qualifying his reports. **And he also wants to be present personally to see how we respond to attacks**.
"I'll get to cover when the shooting starts, don't you worry."
"I don't want to have to explain to President-."
I jerk my head upwards as the sky buckles, a rainbow of lights shining from a point towards-.
And then the sky bends back, a single small figure plummeting to the Earth.
I run.
President Anderson may have been evil, but I can't deny the brilliance of the man who actually managed to make FEV work properly. My enhanced muscles combined with my telekinesis allow me to dash across the compound in seconds, to leap over the guards gathered at the forwards muster point, vault over the front gate and head out across the recently planted farmland. A second later I realise that Goris is with me **as I reach up with my telekinetic force in an attempt to catch the falling figure**. At this distance-.
**My Acolytes realise what I'm doing and join me, our combined efforts slowing the figure's fall and pulling them towards us**. A medical team is already leaping in a van and they'll be with.. us…
The figure is a dwarf with blue skin. They're not close enough for me to pick out any details yet, but-.
**Our telekinetic grip** breaks as they suddenly shine with golden light, orientating themselves relative to the ground and looking-.
That's a Guardian. But the hair-. Krona! And he's using a Sinestro Corps ring!
His eyes widen slightly as he sees and.. somehow recognises me. Was he the one who-?
"You. Of course it's another you."
His right hand glows with golden light.
"And your power ring is as dead as you'll soon be."
**One target, full intensity, activate.**
The thing about being on the edge of a Dream Twister activation is that you don't experience the full effect. Obviously. Because if you did then you'd probably die along with the target. But you can.. tell that you're on the edge of something very nasty. As it is I'm close enough to see the exact point where Krona's eyes burst and his brain cooks off, his skull burning and contents fizzing as the liquid within superheats. His rings dim at once, and his body spins as it falls through the air into the western tato patch.
**Deactivate.**
I lean forwards to begin sprinting again, only for Goris to lay a claw on my shoulder and press me back. He then sprints towards the body, and-. Yes, okay, community leader, I shouldn't handle every dangerous situation personally.
"Goris?!"
"It is dead. It doesn't smell human."
"The rings?"
"All but one are damaged. Are they dangerous?"
"If they haven't exploded then they're not going to."
"Do you know what that was?"
"Specifically? No. But I think that's one of the species who made the ring that brought me here." I smile thoughtfully. "Pick up the remains. We'll hand him over to the biomancers."
"And the ring?"
"That… I'm going to have to think about."
Mid-day
The Sky Walkers are not expansionist.
And not just because the Desert Rangers were seriously considering making us 'extinct raider group number three' prior to my takeover. Not just because we share a border with the largest civilised successor state in North America. And not just because Mr House had a plan to overrun us with telepath-immune Military Protectrons and give our territory to the Great Khans in exchange for their help against the Legion. And not just because of the White Legs on our other border, and their growing alliance with the Legion.
The Rangers were manageable. While it was generous of them to absorb the Vipers and Jackals rather than exterminating them, the survivors weren't strongly committed to the cause. The Whisperers actually had what might generously be described as a mutual defence pact with both groups in order to prevent the Rangers doing exactly what they ended up doing and eliminating them one by one. A few lorry loads of guns in the right hands and their supply lines would have been unmanageable. A few barrels of incendiaries and their food supplies would have gone up in smoke.
The NCR weren't manageable, but they weren't focusing on us and there was no obvious reason for them to start. They were happy to use us as a threat to the tribal nations they were hoping to voluntarily annex, or as a road bump for the White Legs or Eighties once they finished fighting the nations to the west. And frankly, when you're telepathic, the fact that you only have to mind control one man to stop a robot army makes it far easier to deal with than a great mass of people with their own motives and desires.
The Whisperers weren't expansionist because they had everything they wanted right here, and believed that once they uncovered enough of the zetans' technology they would be unstoppable. Why waste time and blood capturing territory the hard way now when you could get it easily later? They raided some of the smaller nearby settlements more to make sure that potential attackers remained on the defensive than to acquire resources.
My reasons aren't all that dissimilar. Why expand when we have the resources we need to sustain ourselves? Why expand when I have no desire to rule anything outside of this research institute? Lend the Desert Rangers telepathic interrogators, offer the NCR the aid of our air force and intelligence network, sell technology to Mr House at a discount… Security by diplomacy.
And if we don't keep our allies fully informed on the exact level of our military strength…
Well, look, Left, I said I knew him. I didn't say I fucked him.
I can't teleport, but I don't bother with the stairs as I reach the balcony. Instead I jump-
Shit, the sky's turning red and I don't think it's a dust storm this time.
-and slow my fall with telekinesis. Soldiers and Acolytes are moving to their stations, civilians are moving to the shelters and **with my mind's ear I can hear the subtle hum of the Dream Twisting revving up** as I run towards the command post.
Our neighbours know that we have a small and professional military. They know that we have advanced aircraft, even if they don't know their precise capabilities. But they also know that we don't have tanks or APCs, that the vast majority of our vehicles are civilian and that most of our recent building efforts have been focused on schools, research laboratories and civilian workshops, most likely with a view to us eventually joining the NCR. They know that we don't have pre-war missile silos and aren't building nuclear weapons or missile launchers. They know that we can defend ourselves and could create a nuisance, but they don't feel actively threatened.
As far as the NCR are concerned, the Dream Twister is a telepathic amplifier. Which it… Technically is. They don't know that it functions as a strategic telepathic weapon that can turn the inhabitants of entire towns insane. Turn them into feral savages, cause aneurisms, wipe memories completely… We took a part of the designs from the alien mothership, and the rest from our studies of our own abilities. We've never used it at full power and frankly I've never wanted to-.
"Mister Krono!" I look around as Ambassador Granger and his bodyguard run in my direction. "You know what the hell that is?!"
I fish out the power ring on my necklace, showing him the glow.
"Aliens?"
I half-stumble as **the observers share their perceptions, a four dimensional model of the sky appearing in my mind.**
"It's a distinct possibility, Ambassador. You really should get to a shelter."
He **knows that he should**, but he's been on the fence on the authenticity of this whole 'alien' thing and he'd quite like to clear it up so that he can stop qualifying his reports. **And he also wants to be present personally to see how we respond to attacks**.
"I'll get to cover when the shooting starts, don't you worry."
"I don't want to have to explain to President-."
I jerk my head upwards as the sky buckles, a rainbow of lights shining from a point towards-.
And then the sky bends back, a single small figure plummeting to the Earth.
I run.
President Anderson may have been evil, but I can't deny the brilliance of the man who actually managed to make FEV work properly. My enhanced muscles combined with my telekinesis allow me to dash across the compound in seconds, to leap over the guards gathered at the forwards muster point, vault over the front gate and head out across the recently planted farmland. A second later I realise that Goris is with me **as I reach up with my telekinetic force in an attempt to catch the falling figure**. At this distance-.
**My Acolytes realise what I'm doing and join me, our combined efforts slowing the figure's fall and pulling them towards us**. A medical team is already leaping in a van and they'll be with.. us…
The figure is a dwarf with blue skin. They're not close enough for me to pick out any details yet, but-.
**Our telekinetic grip** breaks as they suddenly shine with golden light, orientating themselves relative to the ground and looking-.
That's a Guardian. But the hair-. Krona! And he's using a Sinestro Corps ring!
His eyes widen slightly as he sees and.. somehow recognises me. Was he the one who-?
"You. Of course it's another you."
His right hand glows with golden light.
"And your power ring is as dead as you'll soon be."
**One target, full intensity, activate.**
The thing about being on the edge of a Dream Twister activation is that you don't experience the full effect. Obviously. Because if you did then you'd probably die along with the target. But you can.. tell that you're on the edge of something very nasty. As it is I'm close enough to see the exact point where Krona's eyes burst and his brain cooks off, his skull burning and contents fizzing as the liquid within superheats. His rings dim at once, and his body spins as it falls through the air into the western tato patch.
**Deactivate.**
I lean forwards to begin sprinting again, only for Goris to lay a claw on my shoulder and press me back. He then sprints towards the body, and-. Yes, okay, community leader, I shouldn't handle every dangerous situation personally.
"Goris?!"
"It is dead. It doesn't smell human."
"The rings?"
"All but one are damaged. Are they dangerous?"
"If they haven't exploded then they're not going to."
"Do you know what that was?"
"Specifically? No. But I think that's one of the species who made the ring that brought me here." I smile thoughtfully. "Pick up the remains. We'll hand him over to the biomancers."
"And the ring?"
"That… I'm going to have to think about."
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