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.After stepping out onto the grass I heard footsteps clanging their way up the stairs at my back.It was Chandler, who was sweatier and more frazzled than usual.“Mister sir, Moxon, I mean.hold on.” He leaned forward on his knees and breathed heavily – something Chandler was prone to doing after any form of physical activity.“Hey buddy,” I said, patting him on the shoulder.“Can you make sure there are a few Dr.Peppers in the fridge? Brynja and I are going to have lunch up here in the dome.Maybe Marten can throw together some club sandwiches, too.The ones with those little—”“No!” Chandler panted, waving me off with both hands.“You don’t understand, you have to see this.It’s a.you don’t know how bad the thing.the situation is.It’s bad.Very, very bad.”I didn’t ask any more questions.I threw open the doors, sprinted down the stair case and raced into the main lounge, where the primary media hub was illuminated and glowing brightly in the dimmed room.The holo-screen was broadcasting a live simulcast of The Fringe – my former neighborhood – on the outskirts of New York City.Half of it was gone.Partial transcript from the CBC Evening Simulcast ‘Live from Toronto’Hosted by George Sokratous, December 2041Dennis Benoit, Member of Parliament (Liberal): Arena Mode opened a lot of eyes, for sure.I mean, we were all aware of superhumans before the event this past summer.We knew they existed, and that they lived among us.We didn’t know how many there were, or what type of powers they possessed, but for the most part we felt comfortable because they weren’t a problem.George Sokratous: They were just like us, more or less.Except they dressed better.Benoit, MP: You think.is it the spandex, maybe? Is that what you’re referring to?Sokratous: it was a joke.Sarcasm.Benoit, MP: Ah, I see.Right.Sokratous: But seriously, they were blending in pretty seamlessly for the better part of a decade, up until now.Benoit, MP: Right, right.I mean, the potential was always there for superhumans to pose a threat, although no more than any other threat.Like any weapon; a handgun, for instance: it can be used to protect your home from an intruder, or, in the wrong hands, an unstable individual can use it to go on a shooting spree.Sokratous: Are you calling superhumans ‘weapons’? That seems to be an analogy that a lot of politicians and pundits have been floating around since we saw their potential during Arena Mode.Benoit, MP: No, no, no – not exactly.I mean, yes, some of these people do have massive destructive power.We all saw Sergei Taktarov fight Dwayne Lewis during Arena Mode, and they took down half of Manhattan in the process.That was a controlled event in the context of a sport, and Cameron Frost’s estate paid for the cost of the damage, but still – it was an eye opener.And now this.Sokratous: The event in New York.Benoit, MP: Some people are calling this an isolated incident.And of course, it could be.No one is taking responsibility for this explosion, and no terrorist groups are being linked to the attack.Sokratous: Although you’re not so sure.Benoit, MP: It definitely seems like this is related to Matthew Moxon in some way.This could be Red Army, although I’m not going to speculate.Sokratous: So in the wake of the tragic event in New York, which took over four thousand lives that we know of, what is the response here in Canada going to be?Benoit, MP: The same as in America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, and every other country that has a reported superhuman population.We will likely be enacting the Emergencies Act.It’s not a popular decision, but it’s the only think that is going to keep the Canadian people safe.Sokratous: So this is martial law?Benoit, MP: No, no, no – we aren’t going to be trampling the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.But this measure is being reviewed by Parliament as we speak, and we’ll see if it’s the right course of action.Sokratous: That’s what they said down south about the Patriot Act.“We won’t be trampling anyone’s freedoms.” Now I can’t get on a flight to Orlando without a rectal exam.Benoit, MP: They gave you a.are you serious? Right there in the airport?Sokratous: No.Again, that was sarcasm.Benoit, MP: Ah.I see.Very amusing.Sokratous: This does beg the question, though: how is Canada going to succeed in keeping its population safe from superhuman attacks, while at the same time ensuring that the government remains transparent, and doesn’t overstep its bounds?Benoit, MP: I don’t really know where the boundaries are anymore, to be honest.After New York, the destructive power of these superhumans has exceeded everything that we predicted.Our worst-case scenarios just got significantly worse.Chapter NineIt was the event that the government had warned us about for nearly a decade: a catastrophic superhuman attack in a densely populated area.Homeland Security had, of course, prepared for this type of eventuality, taking precautions for a threat that didn’t yet exist – at least in the wealthier areas of the country.Cerebral Dampening Units were the government’s most powerful weapon to combat an enemy that they didn’t fully understand.The basketball-sized metal spheres could disrupt the brainwaves of a superhuman within a one mile radius, temporarily nullifying their powers.You’d see them mounted atop buildings and stoplights, giving off their invisible, inaudible signal day and night.They were designed to make us feel safer while walking the streets, though up until that day few really feared a superhuman attack.The CDU’s were ubiquitous in the nicer parts of The Fringe, and there were several in the vicinity of the attack.They didn’t make any difference [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]