07-05-2016, 01:28 PM
Dorian was right, of course. Registering seemed dangerous. A list of names? Sounded like something the Atharim would love to have.
This kind of news would have consequences. He wondered if Ascendancy had thought it through? People did not react well to danger. And he had to be honest. People with abilities like him were dangerous. He knew that from experience. Volodin had wounded many people in his attack on him, had even killed innocent bystanders- for whatever reason in that head of his. And then there was Andlain and his followers. He still felt anger at the loss of his brothers in blue.
If he, a CCDPD officer felt uneasy about all these people roaming the streets, able to cause destruction on a whim- he, who was one of them!- then what would ordinary people feel? It wasn't like fear hadn't governed before. It was before his time, of course, but was still recent history. The world had gone through a brutal period of terrorism and passions and fears ran high. Profiling, lynchings, hate crimes, radicalization, suicide bombers. It had been chaos until Ascendancy and the then ASU had been able to finally- and brutally, he admitted- put down much of the source of the terrorism. It still festered as events in DIV recently showed.
Suddenly, he knew that things were only going to get worse in his city. Ascendancy has set off his own bomb. What had the man been thinking?
"I think that's a good idea."
He fixed Dorian with a firm look, trying to decide what to say. Finally, "We took an Oath, to protect people and maintain order. This-"
he waved his hand to take in everything that was going on- "is going to lead to a lot of violence- vigilantes, reactionaries. And God knows how these power users will respond. But this is my city. These are my people. Ascendancy-"
he shook his head. He loved the man, served the man, revered the order he had created. But he was angry with him now. "The Ascendancy has made a huge mess that we can't even begin to imagine. We are going to be working over time to clean up. And that doesn't even touch on how your Atharim friends are going to react."
He stood. He had no appetite anymore. He needed to get to HQ, needed to speak to the LT- or even better, the Cap. He looked at Cruz. "Keep practicing. You may need your power."
Back to Dorian. "I need to get back to HQ. See what our orders are. You coming?"
This kind of news would have consequences. He wondered if Ascendancy had thought it through? People did not react well to danger. And he had to be honest. People with abilities like him were dangerous. He knew that from experience. Volodin had wounded many people in his attack on him, had even killed innocent bystanders- for whatever reason in that head of his. And then there was Andlain and his followers. He still felt anger at the loss of his brothers in blue.
If he, a CCDPD officer felt uneasy about all these people roaming the streets, able to cause destruction on a whim- he, who was one of them!- then what would ordinary people feel? It wasn't like fear hadn't governed before. It was before his time, of course, but was still recent history. The world had gone through a brutal period of terrorism and passions and fears ran high. Profiling, lynchings, hate crimes, radicalization, suicide bombers. It had been chaos until Ascendancy and the then ASU had been able to finally- and brutally, he admitted- put down much of the source of the terrorism. It still festered as events in DIV recently showed.
Suddenly, he knew that things were only going to get worse in his city. Ascendancy has set off his own bomb. What had the man been thinking?
"I think that's a good idea."
He fixed Dorian with a firm look, trying to decide what to say. Finally, "We took an Oath, to protect people and maintain order. This-"
he waved his hand to take in everything that was going on- "is going to lead to a lot of violence- vigilantes, reactionaries. And God knows how these power users will respond. But this is my city. These are my people. Ascendancy-"
he shook his head. He loved the man, served the man, revered the order he had created. But he was angry with him now. "The Ascendancy has made a huge mess that we can't even begin to imagine. We are going to be working over time to clean up. And that doesn't even touch on how your Atharim friends are going to react."
He stood. He had no appetite anymore. He needed to get to HQ, needed to speak to the LT- or even better, the Cap. He looked at Cruz. "Keep practicing. You may need your power."
Back to Dorian. "I need to get back to HQ. See what our orders are. You coming?"